The Journal of Mesheiko

[atalanta]

Early Evening
Second Day of the Third Week of Summer
Camp on the Outskirts of Bai Seng Sei

A tentmate of mine, Cheng, went into a nearby village earlier today for necessitites and such. Apparently he bought a journal, thinking his own was about to run out of pages. It's not a wonder. He writes in that book nearly every night. It turned out he had brought a spare, so he offered this to me. At first I refused, but the rest of the tent advised me to take it. They said that a journal is a way to relax. What they said after that troubles me more. They said that a journal is often comforting to the families of dead soldiers.

I don't find that a very comforting thought.

I lost contact with my family a while ago. I'm not sure how comforted they'd be to receive my journal if I should die. If I died, would my journal be given to Midori? But I should probably tell you a little about myself, journal, before I ramble off every little aspect of my life to you. My name is Mesheiko, and I'm eighteen years old. I serve in the 19th Cavalry Division of the Earth Kingdom Army. I own a ostrich-horse named Banshee, and live with three men in this tent among the other untold thousands here. Now, where was I? Oh, yes.

Midori.

She's a young woman I met on my travels before returning to soldiering. I wonder if she's worried about me. I know I worry about her. I wonder if I could send a letter to her. But she might still be traveling, and besides, I wouldn't know where to send it to. You can see men trying to stratch a few more letters into the parchment by the dying firelight now. I wish I had someone to write to.

I need to stop writing now. Supper will be served soon and then preparations for sleep, then sleep. Another day, journal.

Mesheiko

[atalanta]

Dusk
Third Day of the Third Week of Summer
Camp on the Outskirts of Bai Seng Sei

Today can be described in only one word: exhausting. There was hardly a break from dawn until dusk. I woke up before first light thanks to Banshee. Out of the thousands of steeds the stables house, Banshee's screech is distinctive among all of them. By the time I got him fed, it was sunup and the drums and bells sounded to wake up the camp.

We drilled today. No one really likes drilling. It's tough. The commanders tend to yell louder during drills. It was scorching hot today, and a lot of men stripped off their shirts. The commanders frown upon that, saying that if we were in battle a bare chest would be an easy target, so those unfortunate men were the victims through the rest of the day. I can only imagine the heat when we're in full armor against the Fire Nation.

Meals were brief and rationed. We've been on rations for a while now. A lot of crops and livestock have been lost this year to the Fire Nation's rampages. Everyone tries to get on the cooks' good sides in hopes of getting leftovers.

I'm getting ready for sleep now. It's something I wait all day for, but it's not nearly long enough. Soon the candle in our tent will go out. Strange, I think, that were fighting against something that provides us with so much. Cheng ran out of ink, I think, so I think we're going to blow out the candle. Good night, journal.

Mesheiko

[atalanta]

After Dark
Sixth Day of the Fourth Week of Summer
Camp on the Outskirts of Bai Seng Sei

I can't sleep. I keep trying to. I just can't. It's not that I don't want to. In fact, I want to sleep more than anything right now. After a hard day working in the camp, it's really all any of us want to do. But maybe writing down my thoughts will help.

Woke up as I normally did today. Fed Banshee, prepared for the day, the usual. Luckily, it was really cold and rainy today. The commanders decided not to drill so many of us at once, otherwise it could have gotten a little bit messy.

So that meant we all had a bit more leisure time today. It was nice. Unfortunately, with the bad weather, there was more help needed in the infirmary. Actually, there's always help needed in the infirmary. The poor ill and wounded men suffer through heat and cold. I've worked infirmary duty before. I've found if it's not an amputation day, the infirmary tents are rather peaceful compared to drills.

But, yes. On with it. I ended up agreeing to work in the infirmary while I was off duty. Some others thought I was insane, but somebody's got to work the infirmary, and there's always a little something more in the paycheck or in the meals if you work during leisure hours.

It was a terribly hard and depressing day in my infirmary tent.

One of the men died. I know I shouldn't let this take such a toll on me. After all, men are constantly dying in this camp, whether from the battle front or the diseases. But even so, it was awfully sad. We were doing all we could to save him, but we still lost him. The man, Xun Xiang, had been a patient for a long time. I had worked with him before. He got a nasty wound and then a nastier infection in a confrontation with the Fire Nation near Tachi Dai about a month ago. He had been doing really well for a while. Then, he started declining yesterday.

And today he was no more. Well, journal, maybe now that I've expressed myself I'll be able to sleep.

Mesheiko

[atalanta]

Near Sundown
First Day of the Fifth Week of Summer
Camp on the Outskirts of Bai Seng Sei

The camp's been abuzz with excitement and tension, and with good reason. Some of the scouts caught a Fire Nation scout not too far from here. A few soldiers are excited because they think we'll finally get some action. But that's what I'm afraid of. If there's a scout, there's surely a force following behind him. I'm not actually afraid for myself, but for the people of Bai Seng Sei. We're not far from the Outer Wall. True, we do have thousands upon thousands of Earth Kingdom soldiers in this camp, but what if the Fire Nation is planning to make a strike that will wipe out our force and invade Bai Seng Sei? I shudder at the thought.

My tentmates and I discussed it all through dinner. Cheng agrees with me, Hung Yong believes that we will hold strong, and Kun-Tu simply doesn't want to think about it.

Wait a moment, haven't I talked about my comrades? No, it seems I haven't. Well, I'll brief you on them, journal.

Cheng: Cheng's a couple of years older than I. He really is the life of the party, and he's the one that can always make us laugh, even in the worst of times like now. On rare occasions he can become serious, but, like me, if he gets depressed, it's normally after infirmary duty. Cheng and I are rather similar in some ways. He's from the western side of the Earth Kingdom, in a small, hilly, fertile region not far from Zhy that's home to many farmers. From what I can tell, he's quite a winner with the ladies we encounter. He joined because the Fire Nation burned his family's fields a few years ago, and they needed money. Overall, Cheng's a pretty decent guy and he and I are on about the same level when it comes to Earthbending.

Hung Yong: Hung Yong is easily one of the older men in camp. He's been a soldier from a while, I can tell, from the stories he's told. In fact, he was fighting in Bai Seng Sei when the Dragon of the West broke through the Outer Wall, which I guess is why he's so confident they can't break through now, especially with the Avatar's return. He's an advanced Earthbender, and is often called by the commanders to do special tasks. He's got a few nasty scars, I've noticed, and a few engrossing tales to go with them. I think Cheng's envious of him at times. From what Hung Yong has told us, he joined the Army when his elder brother was killed fighting, and he felt it was his duty to take his brother's spot. He has a wife, three children, and five grandchildren. Hung Yong's known to give out some good advice, and he's respected by Cheng, Kun Tu, and I. He can be sort of gruff when he's tired though, but I can't blame him. The day's routine is hard on everyone, and I think he's missing and worrying about his family more with each day.

Kun Tu: Kun Tu's in his thirties, I believe. He's married, and has two children, a cute three year old girl and a mischievious looking seven year old boy, from what the glimpses we've seen of his family portrait. He's a noble man who slipped into poverty, I guess, and then decided to join the military. He can be rather bitter at times, and he hasn't really to the hard life of a soldier yet. I suppose he's still trying to adjust from losing his luxurious life. Kun Tu and Cheng are nearly always at odds.

I can't help it if Kun Tu's as stubborn as an ostrich-horse sometimes.

Cheng, cut the man a little slack. The war's hard on all of us.

Yeah, he's a nice guy, but he's got a bad attitude.

Kun Tu's a fairly experienced Earthbender (nowhere near Hung Yong, though). Despite what Cheng says, Kun Tu is pretty friendly. It's a big adjustment for him. Hung Yong, Cheng, and I all came from small villages, so we were used to work. And besides, Kun Tu's an excellent cook, so occasionally if we hunt/gather something or get decent rations, our tent gets a nice, home-cooked meal.


Anway, I hoped I gave a little insight to the people I live with. They always manage to lift my spirit up when I'm depressed like I was the other day or distressed like today. Until another day, journal.

Mesheiko