Road Of Advancement

The arena that was used in the first week to welcome all the examinees was now filled with all current Horus cadets. On the front row were the twenty-four fourth year cadets. Each of them radiated confidence and pride.

Behind them were thrirty-six third years. They were slightly younger than their seniors but they too radiated a certain strictness and confidence that was usually present in military personnel. Their training regime engraved military values in their souls. And it was visible in all of their posture and movements.

Behind the third years were sixty second-year cadets. They were more organized and united in their demeanour and showed signs of the same air as their seniors, but still exhibited many signs of youthfulness. From the way they talked, laughed and moved it seemed to be a rather jovial bunch. They didn't emanate the same strictness and harshness as their seniors.

The first years were all the way in the back row. The theatre could hold up to seventy-thousand people and wasn't even filled during the examinee introduction. It felt empty, but the emptiness only added to the grandness of the theatre. The first years were considerably more tense in this atmosphere. Their seniors had gone through this ritual at least once, and they probably already knew the score. The selection procedure was more of a formality to them. Perhaps the only ones still slightly nervous were the hopefull cadets that were close to making the team in recent selections.

The stage was filled with props that showed the symbol and status of Horus. As the driving piler of the university, they were well supported. On the balconies, several thousand spectators were seated. They included personnel, teachers, students and alumni. Rooting for their university team was as custom as in any other university. The inter-academy matches were easily the number one favourite topic on campus to discuss. It did not only concern the overall rating of the academy but also their pride!

Theodore sat together with the usual bunch. Julian, Gamez, Quince and himself had become a rather tight-knit and it was not an unusual sight to see all of them to hangout together. With their ranking on the board, they were quite the domineering group to most of the Elite class. There were several groups however that also stole quite a bit of the limelight. Prince Zeus and Davey Walter had their own group of friends that were eye-catching for a number of reasons. The number one on the board was the odd-one-out. On his own, he attracted just as much attention as the former groups.

On Theodore's left was also a group of females that more or less mingled with all the power-influences in the elite class. Among them was also Miss Adair and Miss Davenport.

Miss Adair had been a special pick after entering and became a team leader. She, however, wasn't even in the top 10 of the leaderboards right now. She hadn't made much of an impression on Theodore. Sure, she was an exquisite lady with dream proportions - but her team performed lackl.u.s.tre and her personal skills weren't very impressive. As far as Theodore was considered, her 21st place on the ranking aptly described her performance.

Miss Davenport, however, had climbed the latter in a similar fashion as Theodore. Her fifteenth place made her a true competitor for any spot in the first string. He had been impressed more than once at her ability to pilot a medium striker. She favoured a lance and her swift movement coupled with her sharp thrusts would occasionally surprise cadets, ending a fight quickly before retreating and looking for new opportunities. Her aggressive yet opportunistic piloting style really fitted her mech.

In the crowd behind the Elite class was a rather noisy bunch of cadets that weren't part of an elite class. They were not nearly as organised and divided by seniority as the elite classes. The elite classes were revered on campus because of the expectation the academy had of each of them. Each year they would select the best and drop those that didn't fulfil their expectations. In the fourth year, there would only be twenty-four cadets left that would be allowed to call themself Elite Horus cadets. All other cadets had been relegated to the regular classes.

This process of selection was so harsh, that it was known as the road of tears. Those that walked the road to the end were all destined to become great figures. The academy invested heavily in their elites, in the hope that they would push the university to greater heights.

Among the crowd Theodore of regular classes, Theodore spotted several familiar faces. Among them were Louis Carson, Grey and Rose McKellen who didn't make it to the elite class. They had been notable figures in Theodore's examinee group, but they did not make the cut eventually. Lily-Anne Prescott didn't make it either but she chose to join House Vanir anyways. As an idol, she could profit from their business classes all the whilst still stay active in her profession.

Theodore didn't know if she had wanted to become a mech pilot - she did have the aptitude and fitness for it. Though she messed up during her run on the obstacle course with her mech she did make quite an impression with her movement before her eventual crash.

Of their examinee group, three people made it to the Elite class. This was already a significant number. Anthony Hollow tested a 86 on the aptitude tested and had also impressed in the ringer. His selection was more than worthy. His thirteenth place on the leaderboards also confirmed that he had a great deal of talent. Even though Theodore had surpassed Anthony on the leaderboards by a single spot, he wasn't confident in stating that he was actually a better pilot.

As Theodore started analyzing his opponents for the selection he noticed that Regus really had their hands on a golden generation of exemplary pilots. Dwight Hightower, Zeus Regus, Arthur Levi, James Potter were all direct descendants of the nobility of Regus. With Theodore on the twelfth position and Anthony on the thirteenth, it was truly a golden generation! Imagine if all of them managed to graduate the elite class!?

Theodore also speculated that Carson wasn't selected based on his personality. Overall, he did beat Anthony in scores, but nonetheless Anthony was chosen whilst Carson was sent to the regular classes. His arrogance had probably taken a hit once he heard the news. Throughout the day they were monitored and judged on their mental resilience. Theodore didn't think Carson did all that well in that category. Nonetheless, he still hung out with Davey and his ego was still widely renowned on campus.

Theodore kept all of his thoughts to himself as they all quietly waited for the instructors to take place on the seats on stage. Afterwards, the Headmaster Freyain would start the selection ceremony. There were many rules to these occasions, as military regiments valued traditions and proper decorum, the university was no different.

After being drilled for seven weeks, staying quiet while waiting was easy. Were the regular cadets were noisy, the elite cadets were rather silent in contrast. Not only had they been strictly been instructed to do so, but it also became second nature to them to be calm during momentous occasions. Being drilled senseless, piloting at extreme speeds with destructive machines, simulations that were made to have the cadets feel despair.. the average mental quality of the elite cadets had been chiselled up by a notch during the first weeks of the semester.

The instructors took their designated places on the stage and soon everyone was called to attention as the headmaster walked up on stage. In unison, everyone stood up in position and waited for their headmaster to take his spot at the centre of the stage. As the headmaster turned towards the cadets, all of them saluted the headmaster, showing their due respect and diligence.

"At ease cadets" Headmaster Freyain spoke in his usual stern voice. "Today is a great day in the history of your academic career. Today is a day that marks the first selection ceremony for our new recruits. For those that have already progressed in their studies, it is a reminder that we strive for excellence. Those who are selected to represent our university are our pride. They are your brothers that have shown to excel above the norm and will represent the best of what our university can offer."

"We will, out of respect for the seniors that have graduated before you and paved the way for our university prosper, play the university anthem. Afterwards, we will start by announcing the U4 team and continue with U3, U2 and finally U1 selections."

The university banner was projected high up in the air, with the bannister of house Horus below it. At this point all cadets had their right hand on the left of their c.h.e.s.t, signifying their 'allegiance' to the KMU as well as house Horus. It was a clear sign of respect for the tradition and military history of the KMU.

The KMU tunes were then loudly played in the theatre. It had the usual flair of an 'anthem' and with the anthem playing so loudly he could feel it penetrating his mind. He didn't like anthems before, and with the upcoming headache, he wasn't going to be liking hit anymore than he did.

"We are the pride,

We are the soul,

We are the heroes,

on foreign soil,

We are the soldiers,

that defend the colours,

True to our alma mater,

We are brothers,

no matter what,'

We are the chosen,

We are the brave,

True to our nature,

We shall defend,

until the last breath."

The fatalistic, but inspiring lyrics were sung with great bravoure and seemed to touch the heartstrings of most cadets. To Theodore, it was just a troupe of 'catch' phrases that screamed uninspired bad songwriting. It might have been due to the volume, but somehow it resonated with more cadets than Theodore ever expected.

'Even the anthem is made to have us form a cohesive unit' Theodore thought 'But with all the competition, how can I ever see everyone as a brother?'

"At ease Cadets." Freyain once more took the stage. "We will now start presenting our universities representing teams."

"Captain Thurren Ward, please join me on stage as we present our U4 team." Freyain smiled at the boy in the middle of the first row. Thurren then stood up under thunderous applause, both from the Horus cadets as the spectators on the balcony. He was truly a popular University captain.