The training yard behind the Cindres Guild was alive with noise.
Sunlight poured down on beaten earth. A row of fresh applicants stood tense in a line, all younger than twenty. They wore mismatched armor, leather boots too new, blades too clean. Their eyes flicked between each other, nervous. One adjusted his grip. Another wiped sweat off his brow.
Jinn stood quietly at the side, arms folded, coat unbuttoned, officer badge visible. Her hair was tied back. She watched.
Lavirra leaned on the railing behind her, sipping a fruit drink.
"You sure you're up for this?" Lavirra asked.
"Just observing. You said I'd be judging, right?"
"Mmhm. Think of it like paperwork that swings back."
Jinn stepped forward.
The yard quieted.
"We'll begin with individual assessments," she said flatly. "I don't care how many goblins you've slain. Show me you can think."
She pointed at the first boy, a lanky teen with a chipped axe.
"Come at me."
He hesitated. Then charged.
Jinn didn't move. She sidestepped, tripped him, and pinned him with a boot to the shoulder.
"Too eager," she said. "You didn't read me. You assumed I'd block."
She moved down the line.
A girl swung wild—Jinn caught the blade with the wooden staff she kept strapped to her back and disarmed her.
"Your strength's good. But you're fighting shadows. Don't imagine what I'll do. Watch what I do."
One by one, they came. Each with mistakes. Some repeated. Some new.
And each time, she corrected—not cruelly, but clearly.
Lavirra raised an eyebrow, watching.
Jinn's voice stayed steady. "Judging isn't just pointing out flaws. It's knowing what flaw matters."
---
An hour later, they rested under the shade.
Jinn sat on the edge of the stone platform, watching the group laugh quietly among themselves. Scraped, tired—but still upright.
One girl approached—short, broad-shouldered, with a scar near her temple.
"Ma'am? Can I ask something?"
Jinn nodded.
"You didn't ask about our past hunts, or experience. Why?"
Jinn took a breath. Then looked her in the eye.
"Because a resume doesn't save lives. But judgment does."
The girl blinked.
Jinn continued. "Anyone can kill when it's easy. But when it's not—when your blade breaks, or your friend's bleeding, or the contract was wrong—you need to think. Not panic."
She stood.
"Out there, instincts matter. But they're built here. Now. Today. That's why I watch. That's why I test."
The girl nodded slowly. Bowed. Then jogged back.
Lavirra tossed her the fruit drink.
"You sound like a real officer now."
Jinn caught it one-handed. Smirked.
"Don't get used to it."
Lavirra chuckled. "Still, not bad. You taught them something real."
Jinn looked back at the group.
"I hope so. Because next time... the enemy won't be me."
The wind blew. Dust curled at her boots. And for a moment, under the fading sun, she stood taller.