Note that these are major events, and I'll be arranging them according to chronology.
The entrance of trainees into Camp Point-Neuf, and the sorting of trainees into their respective companies.
This one is self-explanatory. The trainees come in, the trainers check their bags for illicit material, and stuff, and then the trainees are assigned to different companies. They are then sent off to meet new friends.
The presentation of the companies' flags and manifesto.
The four companies are given a week to finish colouring or designing their flags, and they are also supposed to come up with a set of rules and promises to be kept right up to the end of the conscription. A company song is optional, but is highly encouraged. Once the week-long period is over, they are supposed to present their work on stage in front of all trainers and trainees. The Commander and Vice-Commander of Camp Point-Neuf will also be present.
So it'll be done in the order we did it back in my stint : Alpha-Charlie-Bravo-Delta. Alpha's was pretty monotonous, but they had explained all their content well. Charlie's was vague. Ours was the winning team, and we were the first to feature a company chant in the presentation. We were lively, and the flag was also a favourite. Delta's speaker was very eloquent, and in a last-ditch effort to propel their team up, they commented on the strength of heart of their team. But anyway.
The election of the Company Commanders.
Here, Duchemin is betrayed by one of her own company members and loses the post of Head Girl. It is assigned to Alix Sauveterre of Charlie Company, and Dyane Lalique takes Duchemin's place as Bravo Company Commander (Female Division). Duchemin is left with nothing and breaks down, but when she recovers from it, she is determined to make a name for herself.
The ice-breaking session and singing of the conscription song.
I have the tune of the song in mind, but I haven't got the lyrics yet.
The first day of Character Building class.
I've finally found access to the Character Building class anthem in the real National Service.
In the fictional one, I'm thinking of something with a similar style and a similar message, but I need to change it...
The raft race and watersports tourney.
This one marks the first loss of Bravo Company.
The sports tourney.
All were court/field sports - association football, basketball, netball and volleyball. And we didn't do particularly well here either.
I'm thinking of perhaps inventing a new sport for the role-playing game, where the players would be tackling, throwing and passing the ball around - in a sphere-shaped court filled with nothing but air !
The drill competition.
This one is particularly poignant. The main character, Duchemin, initially doesn't know how to march. Several people have given up on her. Even the Head Boy. And then, Tatienne Delacroix comes into the scene and guides her on the tarmac. When Duchemin finally knows how to march, the trainers are impressed. Dyane Lalique is assigned to command the team, whilst the trainers decide on who to give out the roles of sonneur (now, I'm not sure how I'm going to translate that in English, but the role of the sonneur is something like the role of the soldiers' drummer - (s)he is supposed to keep the pace) and flag-bearer. Duchemin finally gets the role of sonneuse (female sonneur) whilst another character, whom I'm yet to decide on, bears the flag.
A week before the competition, Bravo knew almost nothing. But with vigorous training and constant encouragement from Senior Simon, the trainees are ready just two days before the competition. Bravo is the last to enter here and they put up a good show, being the only team with a sonneur. They ultimately win the drill competition.
Patriots' Night.
Duchemin's moment of glory. It's supposed to be in conjunction with the national day of Sauveterre. A certain team from an organisation dedicated to the arts (I'm yet to think of a name) is assigned to Camp Point-Neuf. However, their efforts are failing as many people do not want to cooperate. Even the agenda seems monotonous, with only old, "phased-out" cultural performances. Duchemin does not know how to save the day... but she is summoned by one of the members of that organisation, and he asks her for background music. She passes the files to him, and she plays something for him to hear. And whilst it plays, she sings (naturally). He is impressed and decides to put her into the agenda, at the last minute.
Also, in the nick of time, Duchemin and Dieudonné are summoned by Senior Akatsuki, who is looking for someone to beat out the rhythm on the drums for the danse profane, the opening dance at the arrival of the Commander. The two are determined to outdo each other, and when the audition day comes, they are witnessed by all the trainers. Dieudonné and Duchemin pound the same rhythm on the drum simultaneously, but they cannot outdo each other. The trainers soon decide to put them both in to accompany the danse profane.
So on Patriots' Night, the Commander and the rest of the trainees are in for a huge surprise. First, the drumming is a success. Then Duchemin surprises all the people of Camp Point-Neuf with (perhaps half of) her song Audace, which I'll probably put in later. The trainers also find out that the invitation cards and the backdrop of the stage are done by Duchemin herself.
That very night, Duchemin's status changes from outcast to celebrity.
Integration Day.
This one is meant to be a mix of cultural performances, and is an inter-class battle. Again, the people do not want to cooperate. Duchemin and Tatienne Delacroix come up with a last-minute performance and manage to choreograph and voice-train at least ten people. In the meantime, Duchemin gets busy mixing background music on one of her trainers' laptops.
The final performance would have been a success if it didn't exceed the time limit of seven minutes. On top of that, there were many hesitant moves and entries. However, Duchemin sings again and manages to wow the crowd, and gets special mention for it. Delacroix also throws in an item which people least expected : a fashion show !
Or... if there are just too many performances for Le Carnet, then I'll fuse Patriots' Night and Integration Day into one night of cultural appreciation.
The final battle with Ankoù.
I'll have to spoil one of the episodes after Le Carnet just to give you the story !
As I said earlier, Ankoù is the main antagonist and the final boss of Le Carnet du Service National. In Breton mythology, Ankoù is the personification of death. Well, Ankoù's story is pretty much like this : ten years prior to Le Carnet, he was originally a human (I'm not sure what I'll name him), but was killed by Langkoi Kaya in Point-Neuf. So that guy dies, but his will is so strong that he gets his life again, body and soul, and comes back to torment the people as Ankoù. Kids, mothers, innocent people are robbed of their lives in every province in Sauveterre.
Langkoi Kaya had a friend, Ani Suring, who is connected to Duchemin in some way (I shall decline to reveal it for now). She travels from province to province in search of a way to defeat Ankoù. On her arrival at Lumine, Duchemin's hometown, she sees a destroyed village, and a small girl (the young Duchemin, who didn't know her own surname back then), banging on her tin drum to get attention. Ani Suring is impressed, and stays by her side to comfort her, and asks the young girl to teach her a simple rhythm. She then sends the young girl to the household of Déchy, who are Ani Suring's acquaintances. The young girl is raised as Aimée Déchy and goes under the name right up to the time she discovers that her actual surname is Duchemin.
So, back to Ani Suring and Ankoù. When Ani Suring finds the way to defeat him, she breaks down - because she is told that in order to prevent him from gaining his life once again, she must die. Ankoù searches particularly for the soul of Ani Suring, and when Ani Suring regains the courage to return to Point-Neuf, she breaks the news to her community. For two weeks, she stays with the community, being as close to them as possible, and after two weeks, she confronts Ankoù, fights him, and manages to pin him into a deep pit. Ankoù screams loudly until he loses his breath, and whilst he is screaming, the people from Ani Suring's community create a barrier of stone around him and cover him up. As a final countermeasure, Ani Suring is burnt alive and her relics are fashioned into a charm, which Duchemin would later attach to her weapon to power it up.
Ankoù is revived when Dolores Lestrange, the person who has been opposing Duchemin all this while, ventures into the depths of Camp Point-Neuf, to the place where Ankoù was buried alive. Lestrange awakens him out of curiosity, and Ankoù is set free. After that point in time, the cycle of death continues and ten trainees are killed during the course of events in Le Carnet. Ankoù, now taking the form of a spirit without the body, leaves behind smaller spirits, known as the Antinaissance (naissance meaning birth, thus, the opposite of life), and possesses some trainees.
Duchemin discovers that each company has a set of summons - higher beings which can be called upon for protection during battle. But two months into the stint, Ankoù possesses the summons, one by one, and the only way to liberate them of his influence is to kill them. Bravo Company has four summons, with names meaning "bravery" : Audace, Bravoure, Courage and Vaillance. When Bravoure dies in Duchemin's arms, she tells her that Aimée's surname is not Déchy, but Duchemin ; and that she is the descendant of Ani Suring. This would mean that Ankoù is in search of Duchemin's blood, and wants to kill her for revenge.
Duchemin retrieves the charm after a long talk with the Commander, who seeks it from Ani Suring's community, and attaches it to her axe. The final battle with Ankoù takes place on (note : not in, not near, but on) the lake where the raft race was held. Duchemin finally slays Ankoù and puts and end to the string of deaths.
Awards Day.
The best company, best trainee and Special Courage Awards are given out. There are also certs for every participating member, as well as trophies for some competitions. The Best Company turns out to be Bravo - which takes Duchemin by surprise. Then, Duchemin is moved to tears when the Commander announces her name as Best Trainee. She is asked by the crowd to do one final performance, and she reprises the song Audace.
I'll have to put it up, I just don't know how...
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