The night was
quiet. An occasional gust of wind would rustle the trees and bushes. The moon
was full, illuminating the forest with a milky light. A man seemingly walked
out of the shadows and into the scenery. He looked around, grimacing at where
he was. He stalked through the woods, his shoes making only the slightest of
noise as he wove through the thicket of trees. Finally he came upon a clearing.
Lying in the middle was a small wooden shack. The man sighed and walked towards
it. As he got closer he saw that there was no door anywhere on the halls. He
smirked. The man kept a very even, steady pace walking towards the wall. He
closed his eyes and when it seemed like he was going to crash into the shack,
he disappeared. All that was left was a wisp of black smoke where the body was.
The night was quiet again
The man opened his eyes into a shocking darkness. He looked
around, trying to get a bearing on what was inside the shack. He began to walk
around, each step echoing around the room. His eyes quickly adjusted to the
darkness. Noticing a big gap in the ground, the man walked towards the hole and
found a stairway leading somewhere downstairs.
He walked down the stairs slowly, trying not to make any
noise. But his shoes didn’t agree with him as they went clack against the concrete. Eventually he reached a room that was
lit by a dim candle. In the center of a room stood another man who was
seemingly overlooking someone in a chair. The man in the room turned to see who
had come down and smiled.
“Crow-Bird! You have come to visit me!”
Crow-Bird, who was making his way across the room, was not as
overjoyed as his friend.
“Well, the only reason I stopped by was because I happened to
be the one assigned on messenger duty. So don’t get too excited, Alessandro.”
The words rolled off his tongue awkwardly. He had a thick
accent and didn’t seem keen on talking to Alessandro.
“Regardless, you have come,” said Alessandro rather happily.
Crow gave a stiff nod, motioning towards the man sitting
down. “How much longer until he talks?”
Alessandro shrugged. ‘I’ve been working on him for over two
hours now. Haven’t really done anything too severe. Just basic steps. So I
don’t think he’ll talk till later.”
Crow walked up to the man, gently moving Alessandro aside,
who didn’t seem to mind. The man had very dark skin, his hair completely shaven
off. Crow-Bird found it unnatural, especially in comparison to his long, silky
hair, for a man to shave his off. Sometimes they made patterns for ceremonies,
but to get rid of something given to you by the mighty god Avihs was a sign of
arrogance and disbelief. He would have been killed in the village center for
such behaviors.
Crow-Bird took special notice of the tattoos that shone on
his torso, his shirt had been ripped off and most of his upper body showed.
They were of signs and hieroglyphics, Crow knew that neither he nor Alessandro
would be to read them. But that was the point of him being brought here.
“We need to find out how he get’s those marks on his body,”
Crow-Bird told Alessandro. “And we need to know fast. Chief just told me that
we lost the battle in the east, the one by your city of Yorkshire. His kind is
advancing forward. We cannot be overrun.”
Alessandro nodded. “I understand. You shouldn’t worry about
it. I’ve yet to lock eyes with him, once I do this he’ll be putty in my hand.”
“If you say so,” muttered Crow-Bird. “Remind me again, how
did you manage to capture him? Only the elites have those tattoos on their
body, the majority of the soldiers are foot soldiers.”
Alessandro grimaced at the memory. It had taken them 12,000
men to secure one of their lieutenants. He at first questioned if the sacrifice
was worth it, but the question wasn’t acknowledged by the King. And when they
started the battle, the question fled his mind. It had taken them the time of a
week to capture a prisoner. The foot soldiers were all useless, whichever
straggled into their hands were killed on the spot. Or after a period of time.
The higher ups who were caught committed suicide, their bodies completely
useless after that. This one, however, they got lucky with. Alessandro’s
archers managed to hit both his arms and one leg, giving Alessandro enough time
to capture him and give him first aid. The man had barely lived and still
slipped to and from conciseness. But it was the closest they’re ever gotten.
“It was gruesome,” replied Alessandro.
“Quite the laconic,” grunted Crow-Bird. “It doesn’t matter.
All that matters is that he wakes up and tells us how his people can manipulate
their weapons. Once we get that skill in our hands we can turn the war into our
favor. Your king and my chief both have a pact of alliance. I am here to help
you in any way.”
Alessandro smiled. “It’s good to know I have a friend here.
It’s so desolate in these forests.”
“That’s because no one knows about this place,” said
Crow-Bird. “It’s one of the Holy Forests our people hold dear. The wildlife and
the wild places of Avihs should never be touched. But that was apparently a
necessary sacrifice for your loyalty.”
Alessandro put his hands up in mock surrender. “Look, I know
you’re mad that your holy land was tainted by us impurities. But we needed this place for the T.I. Squad. And we
didn’t touch most of the land.”
“’Didn’t touch most of the land,’” spat back Crow-Bird. “This
entire area has been cleared. The trees are dead, the animals are dead, the
aura of Avihs is dead. Are you to tell me that you didn’t ‘touch’ the land? You
make me laugh. Laugh and cry. You don’t know the severity of your crimes.”
Alessandro walked up to Crow-Bird. His stature was huge in
comparison to Crow, at least half a foot in height difference and 50 pounds of
weight between them. His face was begrudgingly calm and he seemed not to be
bothered by the harsh words.
“You can yell at me all you want Crow-Bird, but once this war
finished we’ll be out of your land and the trees will grow back. So until then,
you’ll have to be patient and live with it.”
Crow-Bird bit his tongue from saying any more. Once the war
was over, they’ll leave. Everything will go back to the way things were.
