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"Mountua"

POV Bodey

The sky was almost completely invisible. Everything was wet with the night's dew, and the air was humid amongst the foggy haze that hovered above the ground. The weather was hardly desirable for anybody wishing to relax or have a pleasant midnight stroll. But for a preemptive strike, the forest around me just beckoned to me all the more.

We had been making our approach for several hours by that point. According to both the map and my instincts, the forest was sure to dissipate soon and reveal the small, windy river to us. I was in the leftward side lead position of our battalion as we pressed through the forest, with lieutenants Tokato and Riicau on the opposite side of me. Lytra and Kovarti took positions near the center of the formation, while Corow and Nuuva took the trailing ends. Are formation had been planned carefully; courtesy of myself.

As I pushed several large, leafy branches out of my way, my eyes finally laid rest upon the river of Little Montua. I stood there within the growth for a moment as a pair of almost silent footsteps trotted up to me.

"Commander, by the looks of it I believe we missed the mark by about a third of a mile" Tokato reported, map in paw.

"That's fine" I responded. "We'll cross here; it shouldn't be too bad, it's just a little wider and deeper here. We can't risk breaking formation."

"Aye sir." he said, then added "Ready for a swim, commander?"

"Am I ever." I said back to him, chuckling a little at a mixture of humor and misery that seemed to go hand in hand with the present circumstances. I listened to Tokato's faint footsteps as he walked away over the undergrowth. Just a minute later, I saw him and a few other begin to stealthily dart out of the woods and over to the water. Recognizing that it was my turn to go, I waved my paw to the soldiers behind me and then took my own charge towards the water.

Well, that little rascal is finally doing his job without being a complete pain it the butt I thought as I saw Tokato efficiently cross the river and lead the rest of the troops across.

The water was rather warm, although that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. With the heightened air temperature and complete lack of wind, it made for a quick travel across the waters.

As everyone began to reach the opposite shore, we all began to make our advance to the forest, which once again was divided by nothing more than a river and a small portion of flat, grassy plain. Although the wet wildlife that surrounded us seemed to be the same as before, there was one key difference: we were now in enemy-occupied territory.

According to our map, there was supposed to be a small outpost located just half a mile into the forest. Unfortunately, we would also have to compensate for being slightly off course from our original destination along the riverside. I would have to trust that Tokato and Riicau would take us in the new correct direction.

After traveling for a matter of time, the order to stop finally passed around. Most likely, this meant that the front-rightmost squad was in position to attack the aforementioned outpost. Knowing that my services were best not wasted, I snuck forward to find the outpost for myself.

From my newly acquired position, I could now see the building; a tall tower with moss and vines covering the old stonework. Several guards were posted around, taking the night shift. From a nearby tree, I tilted my gaze to see Tokato and two other soldiers, propped into their positions and armed with bow and arrow. A few seconds of absolute silenced passed. Then, in the blink of an eye, multiple Agu Morran soldiers fell like dominos, queuing our ground forces to move forward and capture the small, almost lifeless keep. I took my own chance at charging forward; my body colliding with brush as I ran.

I launched forward towards the soldier in front of me. He swung his sword to counter mine as I drew it out from behind my back. The two pieces of sharp steel collided together in a entanglement of metallic noises. However, he was no match for me, and after just a few thrusts I felt my sword pierced his flesh and bring him down to the ground.

In a matter of moments, the entire keep spoke only silence. Tokato and Riicau confronted me.

"All clear sir" spoke their voices in tandem.

"Excellent. Get the word around to switch to our second formation. It's time to light this place on fire."

After getting a curious glance from both of them, I added "Figuratively, of course."

Riicau nodded and ran off. Tokato followed him, but not before giving me a smirk and saying "No promises, sir."

Haha..hey, I'm starting to like this kid.

"Alright!" I shouted behind me. "Let's move onward! We have a kingdom to take back!"

The sound of silent footsteps once again began to tremor across the ground. The dark forest loomed ahead of us in the night; the trees beginning to gently sway in the winds that had started upon our first victory.

Our advance had begun.

POV X

General Uhruan took a sip of his tea as he sat beside the warm fire. The night was beginning to get chilly, and he sensed that a storm might be coming in. He and his compatriots had arrived at the camp within the hour, and were immediately serviced to hospitality by the Bælanian militants. He now sat by the orange, sparkling flames with Generals Brimson and Louskayous of Bælan. Ever since his arrival at the eastern highlands, they had been engaged in idle chitchat.

"I guess they figured that we wouldn't be taking our move on them anytime soon! Haha..." said Brimson, with the accommodated chuckles of the others.

This is one of the rare, nice things in life Uhruan thought as he enjoyed his company. He figured that it was very pleasent that they were talking the way that they were. In the distant past, Bælan and Uthalia used to deadly enemies. There were many wars that appeared between just the two nations alone. Although those days were over, a strong portion of the public in both kingdoms were still rather distasteful towards one another. Yet in the world of the military, all of those ideals had a certain method of just fading away. Everyone was soldiers; no one man any different from the others in their purpose. In situations like these, it created a common feeling between everyone, and it formed a circle of formidable respect. It was something that the General valued.

"Anyways, I hear that the battalion on the western front is being partly-led by one of your warriors?" Louskayous asked Uhruan, focusing his stern gaze on the general. The black feline's eyes returned the gaze, then fell down to the fire in front of him as he spoke.

"Yes, his name is Bodey Aráshvahr; second lieutenant. He's one of the best fighters I've ever seen; a spitting image of his father, who used to be a first general, like I am now" Uhruan said.

"Interesting" Brimson responded. "And if he's such a marvel, why does he still posses such a low rank? Shouldn't he be higher if he were to be placed in command of a battalion?"

"Well, I guess I could promote him...we recently lost one of our other top-ranking lieutenants anyways. He's just..." Uhruan paused, taking a moment to think about his opinion on son of my old mentor.

"He lacks certain things. He's too cocky and impulsive. And he isn't the best with people either. He's too self centered, and never seems like he gives a damn about anyone else or other ideas."

Brimson let out a small mumble of laughter, and Louskayous nodded. "Yeah, I guess I used to be the same way, back when I was a lad! Oh, good old days" Brimson said.

"I'm sure he'll get there eventually. Even if I have to beat some sense into him first" Uhruan said, muttering the last part.

From there, a chilling but somewhat relaxing silence stood in the air. The sound of the crackling fire and the distant winds served to calm Uhruan's nerves. From his observant ears, he soon noticed that the winds were picking up speed. A storm was sure to be rolling in.

"Generals, I have news" said the lieutenant that walked up to their location by the fire. She was a ferret with light gray fur that covered her tall and thin structure.

"Yes, lieutenant?"

"Sirs, did any of you notify the westward battalion of an internment center along the midline passage of Aey'Áris? According to the Camp at the highlands east of the Little Montua, they were instructed to locate it and free the prisoners shortly before they left. It's in Windstrom."

For a brief moment, the Generals each looked to each other with confused expressions. Brimson stood up from his place by the fire.

"There was no such order. In fact, I'm very familiar with Windstrom. It would be a rather strange place to hold prisoners. Who in the hell informed them of this?" the coyote barked. The lieutenant turned around and fixed her eyes on several figures that approached. Uhruan immediately recognized that one of them was Bahrú, his lieutenant. The skunk trotted towards him with quick feet; he was obviously in a hurry. Beside him were two soldiers of Bælan, who were dragging a young girl with them.

"General, this isn't good!" Bahrú shouted as he approached. His dark eyes shown through the darkness, conveying his worry to Uhruan.

"What's the matter? And who is this?" Brimson questioned to figures that now stood in front of them. As Uhruan observed, the girl was a fox; her muzzle was very dark, but her fur was a deeper shade of scarlet then the small gemstone that she wore around her neck. She continued to struggle, but she was unable to break free from the guards, who kept a strong grip on her thin arms. Her clothes were dirty and tattered, and based off of her appearance, she probably wasn't any older than fifteen.

"Sir, we have sufficient evidence to prove that this young girl passed on fake news to the battalion." said the ferret.

Uhruan's muzzle tensed up at the news. A scowl spread across Brimson's face, which was quickly converted into a haste of shouting.

"Girl, what's your name?!"

"U-uhh..." she stuttered, worry and fear appearing on her face.

"Spit it out!"

"It's R-ruby! I'm s-sorry mister, I'm tru-"

"Last name?" Louskayous offered, keeping himself free of calamity.

"I don't h-have one, mister."

"Are you an orphan? Do you have a family? Where do you live?" Louskayous pushed on.

"Yes, but I do...I mean, k-kinda, well umm...I came f-from a small v-village down by the seaside. It's kinda near, umm..."

"This isn't getting us anywhere." Brimson spat. He reached forward and grabbed the frightened fox by her shirt. She let out a small yelp.

"Did you mislead our troops? And why, for what purpose? Is there really a center, or is this a trap that you've lured our troops into?"

"No, it's not! I mean, sorta...but no, wait! I'm n-not with the enemy! I did it to help a f-friend! My bro-"

"You mean to say that there is a prison there?" Louskayous asked calmly. "Then of what nature? How many people are being held there, and why is this a concern for us?"

"Well, as far as I know...just him. My f-friend, I mean" Ruby replied weakly. By the look on Brimson's face, Uhruan reckoned that he was ready to strangle her right where she stood.

"Let her go" Uhruan finally spoke. "The damage is done, there's nothing to do. It's nothing that will hurt our troops, so just leave it alone."

Brimson paused to consider what his fellow general said, then realised the fox from his grip. "Take her to an unoccupied tent. Hold her there; don't let her out" Brimson ordered to several of his men. They dragged the young girl off to the camp, leaving just the two lieutenants and the three generals left.

"Sir" Bahrú said as he addressed Uhruan. "We've got another problem too. A far worse one."

"What is it, lieutenant?" Uhruan asked him, suddenly struck with a wave of worry. Brimson and Louskayous simply stood there and listened. They already seemed to be expecting the worse.

"It's the battalion at the northern front, under General Bakla's command" Bahrú said. He paused for a moment. The lack of sound in the air stun the General's ears.

"We just got the report. They've been wiped out. They're dead. All of them."

POV Bodey

"Commander! Windstrom is just ahead!" Tokato shouted to me.

About damn time!

"Alright! Everyone lay low and quiet, we wanna take them by surprise in order to not raise to much chaos around the civilians here!"

Behind us, the troops all settled into their stealthy forest crawl. I followed suite as we made our way forward. Through the shady grove of trees, I began to see to peaks of buildings coming into view. As we approached, the forest thinned, and I began to feel a slight breeze come in, which sent chills down my spine.

Wind? That's strange; the forecast mages didn't predict weather for tonight. It looks like it's coming in fast, too...

After marching through a bog, being on dry land never had felt better. The mud on my pants and boots was starting to get crusty and chip off. For some reason, I found the sight of it to be very aesthetically pleasing.

So far, we had taken a total of five different keeps. None of them were any match for us, of course. Even now with our battalion dispersing in preparation for our takeover, we still managed to slide by the enemy's sight and take them down with ease. Never before had I been so pleased with my excellent work at the helm of a battle!

The next few moments would turn that streak of success upside down.

"Sir?" Tokato said to me, as we slowly lingered onto the village's dirt streets. I looked ahead and observed the source of his confusion.

The village completely empty. In fact, it was actually very tidy and clean. Everything looked as if it were to be in tip-top shape...except it was empty. No people, no patrolling guards; it was a literal ghost town. I saw a few soldier popping their heads into some of the smaller houses and shed on the outskirts that we now stood on, all of which came out and conveyed their findings to me and each other through the simply nod of a head. Never before had I heard such obscene quiet: there was only the incoming wind from the storm that loomed from the west. If I was capable of it, I might've been scared.

"Perhaps they're hiding. It could be a surprise attack to catch us off guard" whispered Tokato; who stood right next to me.

"Where the hell could they be hiding? I mean, other than the forest there's absolutely nowhere they could be for such a premise. The town is just too opened up" I responded, trying to mimic an equally quiet voice. "But keep your guard up" I added.

We continued our search for several more minutes. It wasn't a particularly large village, so it didn't take long.

Bloody hell, this isn't right!

"I don't understand this at all. Where the hell is everyone? And where is that bloody prison that we're supposed to be?" I asked loudly, feeling that there was no longer any reason for me to keep my voice down.

"She told me that the prison would be here, full of occupants, sir. It's gotta be somewhere. Perhaps it's disguised!" Tokato theorized.

"Lieutenant, who exactly informed you about those prison cells?" said the cold and dark-sounding voice of Kovarti; a wolf with bright yellow eyes that shone out from his pitch black fur. He was usually very quiet; until he spoke, I didn't even know that he had come over to us. Tokato was silent.

"It just doesn't make sense" the logical canine continued. "It's a small village; even if there was hidden underneath a commoner's house, there's no way that it could provide enough space or have enough security for the magnitude of importance that you described."

"A young lieutenant informed me when I was doing a routine check-in with that outpost southwest of our camp...outpost E5, I think it was. Why?"

"Interesting..." the wolf mumbled.

"Is there something that you're trying to suggest?" I asked him.

Just then, I heard the sound of a large explosion. Like a bolt of thunder, it cracked through the air and hung there, sustained by the sheer power of it.

"Shit!" I screamed, covering my ears and glancing around me; unsure of the source.

After a moment, I found it. I knew the direction it was coming from the large red fumes that raised above the treeline from about a mile away.

What kind of insane sorcery could have possibly created such a huge ruckus?

"Riicau and Nuuva's regiment, sir!" Tokato yelled to me over the echoing sound. Kovarti and I both nodded and immediately proceeded in that direction.

As I ran past a small, inordinate house in the village, a figure darted out and tackled me from the side, sending me plummeting to the ground.

"Sir!" Tokato yelled.

"Fuck! Was my reply.

"I darted around to see my attacker. He wasn't there, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Tokato and Kovarti drawing their swords and charging towards something behind me. A moment later, they both went flying back in the direction they came.

I turned around to see my enemy. He was a bear; large and burly and dressed in Agu Morran colors. By the looks of it, he was a general. He had a sword, but it sat dormant in a sheath by his side.

Of course. A bloody mage. Of course it is!

"Who the hell are you?!" I yelled.

With the flick of his hand, I felt my entire body get hit by a wave of sheer cold. My time in the air felt like full minutes of gazing across my vision, yet just a few seconds later my reality returned to me as my body hit the side of the building.

"Who am I?" the bear scrawled at me, his fists blazing with white, freezing energy. "Does it really matter? You're not important to me! Little more than cannon fodder, I reckon."

"I stared at him as I pushed myself up from my position against the wall of the house. Or I suppose it would be better described as a pile of concaved bricks. I noticed that behind him, Tokato and Kovarti both laid sprawled out on the ground. Kovarti was attempting to get up, but Tokato appeared to be unconscious.

Damn you.

"Go to hell!" I screeched, drawing my blade and charging towards the mage at full speed.

He drew his sword to match mine. It was slightly shorter, but made up for it in bulk and the shiny glint of having been recently sharpened. He made a swing for me, accompanied by a few jabs towards my stomach. I stealthly dodged and blocked his hits. Keeping his defences up with his blade, he took a turn to use his upper hand by sending several more blasts of ice towards me. I dodged the first two, but the third managed to sweep past my evasive maneuvers and hit me square in the chest, knocking me off my feet. My skull made contact with the ground with a thudding noise.

From behind him, a sword swung quickly and silently with the intention of taking off the general's head. He blocked Kovarti's blow and turned around to face him instead, as the new found pain to my head was sure to keep my off feet for a moment.

Damn, he's too strong...how the hell am I supposed to fend off against him?

As I tried to prop myself up from the dirt, I took the liberty of looking into to the house that my frosty friend had so promptly made his dramatic entrance from. From my sight next to the wide-open door, I could see that the structure wasn't very large, but there was a dim light emanating from the end of the hallway.

Hmm...

I pulled my weight up to my own two feet again, being careful to not stir his attention from the 3-on-1 fight that he was now engaged in. I walked into the small, empty home and made my way towards the end of the hall.

What I found there was a set of stone-carved stairs. Provoking a smirk from my muzzle, they led down to the large iron door of a cellar.

Bingo.

I trotted down the stairs, sword still in hand and at ready. My head was still buzzing from the impact, but I at least managed to make my way down without too much trouble.

I opened the door with a little bit of muscle and a lot bit of a loud, screeching noise. It opened to reveal a hallway with several cells lined throughout.

I walked down the hallway. Cell number one: empty.

Curious...

Cell number two: also vacant.

Cell number three: a small metal dish and a broken wooden spoon laid on the floor.

Dammit! What the hell?!

Finally, I came to cell number four. It was the only cell that was locked up, and sure enough, I finally found someone. He was a wolf with snowy white fur, or at least it would have been if it wasn't soaked in a mixture of dirt, grime and blood. His clothes were tattered and torn, and one of his eyes was badly bruised. He didn't look very old. I must have caused him to stir, because he slowly began to awake from his trance-like sleep on the cold, steel floor.

All this for one person? He's just some random kid. Ugh...this better have been worth it.

With the swift chop of my sword, I removed of the rusty lock and opened the door. I walked in and kneeled by his side as he raised his head, squinting his eyes at me, as if he were trying to get a sense for his new surroundings. Now more than before I could tell that he was in pretty bad shape.

"Hello? I need you wake up. I'm here to help you."

"H...huh..hmm?" the wolf mumbled, still trying to grasp onto more consciousness.

My name is Bodey Aráshvahr, I'm a warrior from Uthalia. I was sent here to Windstrom to locate and rescue you. What is your name?" I asked, offering my hand to help him up. There was a moment of silence as he stared at me, and I stared back into his swollen and watery eyes; his lightly colored brown irises that were filled with a mixture of dreadfulness and something else that I couldn't quite reach. My hand laid out in the air between us as I awaited his answer.

"My name..." he mumbled to himself. Then, he finally reached out and grabbed my hand. I gripped onto his light, weak grip with a much stronger one that I used to pull him up into a sitting position. He looked up me again.

"My name is Aiko."

END of PART 1