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Barracker had been hit with a wave of nostalgia upon entering the military facility.  It felt like a long time since he had stepped within these walls.  The walls looked the same, they even had a picture, hung on the wall of the sigil of the Royal house.  Barracker had remembered the exact day of when he had joined up to the military ranks and confided his decision to girlfiend at the time, Evelyne telling her about the reasons why he wanted to join.  That he had a duty to Valhiem, a duty to put his life on the line, to protect the weak and make the world a better place.  For the good fight and to follow the footsteps of great men and women, like the legendary Dante Valeron, the chairman of the council of heroes.  

A second wave of nostalgia was hitting Barracker even harder, as he stepped foot onto the massive yard, where most soldiers spent the majority of their time in service.  The sound, the sight, the smell, felt so familiar.  Almost like coming home.  As he was briefed on the details on his duty as captain, whilst walking across the yard to meet his block, he saw familiar faces.  He nodded a silent greeting but his attention was focused on Vice commander Jeremiah.

“To spread the power of our Source Crystal Users, each of you will Captain 100 men.  It will be for you to fight with them, lead them and help reiterate instructions from the Chain of Command.”  Commander Jeremiah bellowed.

Moments later, Barracker was acquainted with the block unit, filled with women and men of different age and experience ranges.  Before he introduced himself, he thought of what his mentor Odis would do in his predicament.  He had eight days, soldiers and conscripts and needed to be efficient and to stick to his values.  A more ruthless general would put some weaker troops in the front lines to bare the brunt of damage and save the energy of his best soldiers.  This was not an option under any circumstances for Barracker.  As hard as it would be, he would try to save every life possible.  And then it hit him.

A short time later, Barracker was on the training yard with his unit.  He had already made them go and change their weapons, so now every single one of them stood, holding a long hoplite spear and round shield.  On their hip would be a short weapon of their choosing, either a short sword or a hand axe.  

Barracker shouted for attention, [Color=Green]“Warriors we are under a pressing time for Valhiem, we can do this and I will make sure we all cross that line.”[/color]  he paused for a moment to let it sink in, [Color=Green]“We will be doing some physical conditioning, but most importantly, our time would be dedicated to learning the art of ‘The Shield Wall’.  This formation will be crucial and make us stronger than sum of our parts.  We will fight as one and win as one, so long as each person knows their role.”[/color]

Barracker showed them how to handle a Hoplite shield and how in a shield wall you protect the man to your left, from neck to thigh.  The Paladin quickly identified his most experienced soldiers and arranged the formation as a rectangle block, seven rows of forteen fighters.  He put  the remaining two conscripts at the back as the two were barely old enough to vote for the next mayor.  His strongest soldiers occupied the front ranks.

Barracker ordered strongly, [Color=Green]“Remember your position as this will never change, whenever we form up, unless an injured frontliner needs to be pulled back.  In this case the next soldier behind him will step forward to replace the spot, as will the soldier behind them, and so on.”[/color]

For most of the day Barracker sat on a tall step ladder, drilling his block on advancing forward as one, back pedalling as one, and also moving left and right, without leaving any holes in the formation.