Training Ground

Every warrior tradition in human history began the same way: a cleared patch of ground, a few experienced fighters, and the repetitive, grinding work of teaching untested bodies to strike, dodge, and hold formation under stress. Stone Age training grounds were exactly that — a flattened area outside the settlement where the tribe's best hunters put younger men through spear throwing, club fighting, and coordinated ambush. Archaeological finds at Neolithic sites in the Balkans and Anatolia include caches of practice weapons — lighter, blunted versions of functional tools — confirming that even the earliest groups formalized combat preparation. In the game the training ground is your first dedicated military production building, turning raw population into club fighters and spear throwers. It is cheap to build and essential to place early; a settlement with no trained fighters is an open invitation to every neighboring tribe that has bothered to drill.