[ For @warren , Aldrich Abbott , Grant Delaney , @faylin , Kasper Van Zant , @katerina , Rhedara Shannon , @raff , Zarha Sliva , Elodie Atwood , @elletta , Othello Allemeade and Keir Delaney ]

All the soldiers from the ball had been assembled in the training yard—in addition, any of those that carried the rank of private. Dawn had only just cracked the horizon, and many of the soldiers that were gathered were looking rattled and weatherbeaten. The part of Hadrian who had always seen himself as a guardian of his soldiers wanted to reassure them and assuage their fears. But the current times did not call for such things.

They should be afraid. He certainly was—though it wouldn’t show.

Hadrian would arrive to find them already standing at attention, his officers in the front. His pace would be swift as he stood up onto the platform that had been erected for the parade and not yet taken down. He was in his armor, presenting himself fully as the commander that would lead them against the Eldouir—or so he hoped. After a moment of scrutinizing those gathered, eyes dark as a black storm on the horizon, he spoke.

“Let me make a few things clear about the events that transpired last night. A rogue, formerly-paired witch changed one of our own into a werewolf without his agreement. One soldier was killed by the creature, several others were injured. We have notified the family of their loss. The witch in question has been executed for her crimes.” The latter part was not entirely true, but he trusted the paired witches that had been there to keep the details to themselves.

“I recently stood on this same ground,” Hadrian continued, voice booming darkly across the training yard, “I spoke of Nevermerean excellence and our bright future as an empire. But the events of last night have underscored that there is much work yet to be done. Because of this and other instances of poor conduct, some changes will be made, effective first thing tomorrow.” He paused before continuing.

“All soldiers will be assigned to new units. Their new commanding officers will perform an assessment of their skills. Soldiers will be ranked based on that assessment. Within the units of 100, the bottom twenty will be identified. The bottom fifteen will be immediately and permanently dismissed.”

“The remaining five will be remanded to staff duty, performing all the chores and duties that used to be shared by the collective and train on their own time. Those left will commit their attention to training alone. Soldiers will receive only one guaranteed day off a week until further notice. Schedules on the other days will vary as their commanding officer deems necessary.”

“In three weeks, another assessment will be done. At that time, soldiers on staff duty will reenter the assessment. Once again, the bottom twenty soldiers will be identified. Fifteen will be dismissed, and five committed to staff duty. We will continue this process until such a time as I feel our forces are at their fittest.” He once again paused, his gaze seeming to lock on each individual soldier before continuing.

“Today, duties will continue as usual. I suggest you all spend time discerning whether you are able to meet these new demands. If you are not, I suggest you resign your post by the end of the day.” He waited again, before wrapping up his statement.

“Soldiers will report here first thing to receive their new assignments. Soldiers who are not here will receive this information as well. You are dismissed.” And with that, Hadrian would exit and leave the soldiers to go about their duties.

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@berengar , Valeria Delaney , and Octavius Wulfbrand remain in the infirmary but will receive this information. Everyone is welcome to make one reaction post to the news in this thread, though it is not necessary.