It has been two days since the initiative to move the camp, long enlisted soldiers as well as those newly enlisted, moving what they can to the small uninhabited island along the north-eastern coast in order to ready themselves for an invasion. Those two days are used to gather most things up, and a further three to move all of it to the island and set everything up. This camp is very impromptu, so it is no surprise that all of the sleeping quarters and such are tents rather than full-blown structures that had to be built. They are making do with what they can, and that's all that they can really do.

With a potential battle on the horizon, they don't have time to build this camp into a proper base of operations. Despite that, though, they have taken it upon themselves to build a wall out of wood using the island's trees for some kind of protection, but it is being constructed intermittently when the enlistees are not training so they can help. It is imperative that they continue their training, so that when that day comes, they are ready to protect themselves, their comrades, and their nation. 

They also moved their training equipment, what they could at least, the training dummies, and targets in particular, along with the practice swords and bows and arrows of course. They had to leave the obstacle course behind, as it was deemed to take too long to dismantle in order to bring it with them, but they did manage to bring some pieces that they had stored beforehand in order to assemble a new obstacle course. Though it will take a bit of time to do so, time that they do not really have, as war could come at any time.

The most likely reason why an official attack has yet to occur is that Avantasia is more than likely building a large invasion force intended to cripple Lupresia in one fell swoop. This terrifying prospect makes General Knox call upon the forces of the Eastern Shore Encampment to come and join them at the soonest possible convenience, a letter he sent by courier yesterday, which has yet to recieve a response. It's a decent journal from here to there as the islands are fairly large. It would take at least a couple of days under normal circumstances.

Another aspect to the enlistees training, which is seldom touched on due to its seeming uselessness in a defense scenario, is horseback riding. It is seemingly useless due to the fact that it's unlikely they'd haul their own cavalries by sea. Though not impossible to happen, most nations that attack by sea do not send a cavalry to boot, especially if they already have sufficient manpower on whatever vessels they send already, without cavalry. It is mostly due to cavalry being a nuisance to board onto a ship and then take them off of it once they hit land. And in Lupresia, the land isn't too suited for it either, as the nation is pretty hill-laden with dense forests. Open fields, of which there are few of in this land, are much more opportune locales to use cavalry.

Never one to be too great at horse-riding the few times that he has tried, as a child and an adult, Elias rides through the woods alongside some of his fellow trainees, evading trees to the best of his abilities but getting close to crashing multiple times and falling behind his comrades. It's not a race, but he is a bit bummed out to be falling behind. Even if he enraptures his allies with his trance-inducing swordsmanship skills, his horsemanship definitely leaves much to be desired. Ahead of him rides Damien, who surpasses each of the others one by one, making it abundantly clear that horsemanship is his specialty, just as swordsmanship is Elias' specialty.

The goal is to loop around the forest whilst winding between the trees in the hope of mastering the ability of maneuvering their steed, all the while increasing their speed in each go-around to master maneuverability at high speeds. As they finish one loop by making it back to where they started, just outside of the camp, they slow to a halt. They've already done a few loops, and today the quota to fulfill was a grand total of ten, which they have just finished doing. As they all dismount, the horses are tied to some hitching posts so that they can be held right outside the camp.

Damien walks around to the back of all of the horses as some of his fellow trainees do as well, while others continue to tie their horses up. Walking over to Elias' horse, where he himself walks out from the side of his horse as he finishes tying his own horse up to the hitching pole. "Hey, pretty good riding today." He tells Elias as he steps up to him. "Have you been riding much before this?" He asks him with a smile.

He seems to enjoy riding, while Elias doesn't really enjoy it all that much at all. He laughs as he is asked this, as he's surprised to hear an otherwise lack-luster performance looked upon so favorably. Part of him thinks that Damien couldn't see it since he sped ahead, outclassing pretty much everyone. "Well, a few times as a kid and I tried again once I was a teen. Though it's never been my forte." He says with a smirk, "And what did you see? If you think that performance was good, then you're blind." He laughs as he says this, jabbing at how his performance was fairly poor, all things considered.

Needless to say, Damien doesn't quite know how to respond to this. He likes self-deprecating humor as much as the next guy, but worries that laughing might upset Elias, like he's mocking him. But he also realizes he actually didn't get much of a chance to see Elias' skill in action, given how he passed him pretty fast. 'Oh. I- Uh, I-" Damien says, struggling to manage to speak about such a thing, still concerned how it could be received, and he laughs uncomfortably after he fails to get any full words out.

Damien is just too nice, not wanting to make his friend mad or upset, and Elias finds that nice as well, though he is more than happy to make fun of himself. He's not one to take himself too seriously, and making light of his shortcomings actually allows him to not be so downtrodden about them in the first place. As such, he doesn't want to stress Damien out. "It's fine, really." He tells him with a chuckle, "Admittedly, my joke wasn't that good, eh? I've never been too good at horseback-riding. Not as a kid, or a teen. I move like a slug on a tight rope." Laughing again, his demeanor helps Damien realize how he hasn't insulted him. "It's your skill that I want to talk about. You're really good." He says, punching Damien's shoulder gently in a friendly manner.

As Damien begins to reply with his own witty response, as per usual, he is interrupted by a loud and gruff voice from behind, that gets all of the trainees' attention promptly. Damien turns and Elias looks dead ahead towards where the voice is coming from, and it commands the trainees to come inside of the camp to hone their skills in sword and bow training. Looking back at Elias, he finally responds, though not of what he thought that he would. "Well, uh... I guess we should do as told. I was wanting to say something- But no, this is more important." He laughs and proceeds to lead the way with Elias following behind, following comrades towards where that aspect of their training occurs.

The herd of soldiers in training walk inside of the camp, leaving their horses tied up outside of it. He and Elias, walk side by side as they head inside the slapped-together gate, which takes a moment since they are behind most of their peers in line, but as they do make it inside the camp, they are greeted by their superior officers, who stand and watch them enter. Just like always, they are here to observe the soon to occur training and to help them along where necessary. Brutus is amongst the officers, though Luna and Adrian are not, instead being at General Knox's tent since they were the main ones to help with this plan and therefore have been granted a higher position of input.

Grabbing their practice swords from the racks, the two men walk to a spot with a pad, which they stand on. Damien and Elias are going to be one-another's training partner, and Damien immediately feels like he won't stand a chance though he doesn't really mind. Elias has trained in swordsmanship since childhood, per his father's demand, and that's why Damien doesn't mind losing to him. He's been training for a long time in comparison to him, so it's not all that surprising that he hardly holds a candle to Elias. They circle around one another with their swords held in front of themselves, ready to swing at a moment's notice.

Damien is first to swing as his feet stop in place and he stops circling around, but Elias manages to block using his own sword. Given that the swords are merely for practice, they are not made from metal, rather wood, which makes a blunt impact sound, rather than what you would receive from a sharp and fine metal edge. At least if he were to be struck with this weapon, it wouldn't be fatal, which is of course the reason why the ones for practice are not sharp or even metal in the first place. "Nice one!" Elias says with a smile as he deflects the attack.

Afterwards, he pays back Damien's attack with one of his own, hitting him on the top of his shoulder. Luckily, the clothing that they wear for sparring and horsemanship is padded, so it doesn't really hurt, just knocks him down a bit, which he recovers from quickly. Elias doesn't want to overwhelm him by attacking more than once at any given time, and he knows it's not smart to tire yourself by attacking relentlessly, especially in real battles, so he takes a step back and gives Damien some room to breathe. "Ow." Damien says with a laugh, readying his sword again.

Honestly, attacking Damien's shoulder in that manner reminds him of how he defeated Haden Holstein, though he at least allowed Damien to keep his head. Can't say the same thing for Haden. "Get ready..." Elias tells him before rearing back his sword and swinging from the side. Though shockingly and unexpectedly, Damien manages to catch the sword with his own, blocking and deflecting the blade upwards. As it is deflected, Elias steps back to dodge an attack that doesn't come. "Impressive, I've got to say. You may not think you're that good, but you clearly understand quite a bit." Smiling as he says this, Elias' demeanor here is pretty nice and friendly. Skill recognizes skill, and all that.

"And yet I barely hold a candle to you, right? You're on a whole other level than me." He responds to Elias, bringing to attention that he doesn't think he's that great. In that way, Damien and Elias are quite similar. One commends their skills and efforts, while the other talks down about those same skills or efforts. It's like an endless cycle that never ends, and maybe that's why they are friends at the end of the day in all honesty.

Elias doesn't think that's totally true, though. Since the two of them began sparring together towards the beginning of their training, Damien has gotten better at a quick pace. It may not seem like it to him, but Elias can see that swift improvement on full display, as Damien has gotten noticeably better. "I don't know what you're talking about. You've gotten a lot better since when we started. Part of the reason why I'm able to fight pretty well is by stopping and watching the little stuff. It can help you predict when and how your opponent will attack by doing so." He explains his methodology to Damien, standing with his sword at the ready. "If you can do that, then you can beat next to anyone. In one-on-one scenarios, it's acting rash without caution or analyzing these small actions and movements that get a person killed." He says with a smirk, happy to share his secrets.

With that, it clicks with Damien. He has rarely been able to hit Elias, and has struggled to block, but now that he knows this, things may be different. Elias is the next to initiate an attack, in order to put him to the test, and as he swings his sword, instead of blocking, Damien takes a step back and evades, slashing his own sword at Elias and hitting him in the side. This nearly knocks Elias down, but he barely manages to keep his footing, taking a step back and recovering from the blow. "How was that?" Damien asks, getting back in his stance in case Elias comes back for more.

It is safe to say that Elias is superbly impressed, having not mentioned how dodging requires different circumstances than blocking. He knows it is common sense that you could dodge an attack, though not all attacks afford a person that opportunity and must be blocked, and the fact that he was able to determine that he could dodge this attack is the impressive aspect of it, along with how he managed to strike him immediately after. It's clear that Damien is taking in what he has said with stride. "Wow, that was incredible. Nice going." He tells Damien with a smile, happy that he has been able to help.

The two friends square off, once again circling around one another in silence, each awaiting the other to attack first. Damien has also learned that the reason Elias didn't attack him first when they started was to get him to go first instead so that he could counter, therefore he is not going to do that a second time. This time, whoever lasts the longest will get that advantage. Whoever has the most patience. Unfortunately, though, neither are able to attack before a voice screams out, a gruff and oldened voice. This gets everyone's attention, as it calls for all of the enlistees and officers to gather outside of the tent of General Knox.

Of course, this voice came from Knox himself, who has called them to gather for a very specific purpose. As all of the enlistees gather in front of him, his presence pretty domineering with Luna and Adrian as well as a couple of other officers flanking him, the officers who arrived with them joining him at the front, all the trainees, including Elias and Damien can tell that he is about to tell them something serious. "Recruits, I know that you all have been anticipating a battle arriving on our shores as of late... But that time has now come." He says with complete serious urgency in his voice, hands clasped behind his back. "Our scouts along the shores have seen some Avantasian vessels, three in number, coming towards us from the horizons. Go and get clad in armor with your chosen arms. You must be ready for their arrival. The officers and I shall do the same. May you make it home, gods protect you all." He tells them all, which is also the first time that he has informed many of the officers, the ones who came here with the enlistees, about this as well. It was brought to his attention not too long ago.

Everyone knew that this was coming, but they didn't expect it so soon into their training. The military was lacking before they started training recruits, and so they tried to hasten their training a lot so that when the time came, they could fight. It is hard to tell if they are entirely ready, but now their hand is forced, and there is nothing more to be done. As this call to action is given, Damien looks to his right at Elias. "So, we... We'd better get moving, eh?" He asks Elias, nervousness in his voice. Things have gotten very real suddenly.

Elias looks over at Damien, a bit anxious himself. Though despite that, he thinks it's taken far too long for the first battle. He can't help but wonder why they would wait so long while they have the military advantage, as wouldn't that be the time to strike? You'd think that it would make them confident and attack much sooner. "Yeah, we'd better get going." He says as he nods to Damien, and they start moving with their comrades to get ready for the coming battle. One can practically feel the intensity, the air is palpable like the calm before the storm.

A battle is soon to commence, wherever it may happen, be it on this island or if they have to move to any other shoreline in order to meet the invaders, and this battle may will the proving ground for the new soldiers. Tragedy may ensue for some, but those that make it out alive, be it by marching from the battlefield waving Lupresian flag high, or if it is leaving in bitter defeat, will be the best of the best, ready to take to any other battlefields afterwards. This will be where one can show the results of their training and will be the place where the defense of the homeland will be put to the test. This is where worlds collide, where warfare really commences.

To Be Continued...