Aspen settled himself quite comfortably that night, in the middle of the Markyne forest on the way to Cheverton. He stretched out beneath the stars as a panther would after it has made its kill and, having eaten its fill, it retreats to splay out on the rocks and bask in sunlight.

The firelight flickered over his face, marring the shadows and moulding them to his scars as the soft chirps of crickets echoed in the background. The dimness of our surroundings did little to hide the aged wrinkles on his face, yet as I peered closer, he seemed just over the prime of his youth, still able to weave and twirl as he did earlier that morning. I observed his face, tracing all those scars covering his face, his neck, his hands and every scrap of flesh I could see with my eyes.

Poor soul... what happened to him?

I pondered in silence as he stared into the fire, lost in thought.

By that point, we had long since finished our meal and were curled up amicably by the fire, with crumbs falling from Adri's lips and the stain of berries darkening Aspen's fingertips. The scent of bread lingered in the air and as of that moment, he had been content to recline in silence, watching the flickering lights dance before his black and speckled eyes as he considered how to speak of his encounter with my Father.

"It was during the late winter months," he began, rubbing his chin, "that I met your father, Alucard Zenith Von Hestion. I had been wandering the Snowy Wastelands, hunting one of the stray hemeoths," he paused as our eyes widened.

Hemeoths, before I ever witnessed one in person, were drawn in the books during our anatomical lessons during our school days. To my knowledge, they were large creatures, reminiscent of a mix between a wolf and a large wildcat, averaging about two full horses in length, seven handspans wide and three foxtails higher than the average knight. The skin was hard to describe, oily with long, uneven and layered fur, leaking sweaty gaseous vapours from the porous epidermis underneath. Their hind legs were bent like wolf legs while their paws were separated, with jagged claws about one dagger's length.

The real danger lay in their ability to hear; hemeoths had four sets of ears, long and pointed, able to swivel around individually and six pairs of slit, red eyes which they used to see vaguely. It is said that a thin film covers their corneas, making daylight shine peculiarly onto the retina far harsher than a typical eye and things appear blurred, like slimy water, thus they evolved their ears in order to accommodate the lack of vision. Paired with their elongated snout and bloody teeth, it was a fairly challenging beast to defeat, serving as the trial of every squire after four years of training in order to determine if they were ready to be knighted.

At that point, both Adrianne and I knew it was uncommon for any regular person to be able to even see a hemeoth. There were few mercenaries skilled enough to attempt such a feat, much less defeat multiple at a time.

"My job was a commission from Heifer, along the northwestern coast. A boorish place, I assure you and though they are still hemeoths, they are half-blooded in that region; they do not inflict much damage. Kit, you had better close your mouth, else you might swallow a fly!"

He chuckled as Adri snapped her mouth shut, glaring into the forest.

"That particular hemeoth had strayed far over the border, but my commissioner was not keen on giving me my wage 'til he saw that beast's fang for himself. I sent them back, of course, bloody and severed, with the tongue still attached, but I myself was still a long way away from home and could not find my way around Taller's forest."

The sound of sifting dust was barely audible over the crackling fire as Aspen drew a vague map onto the ground; Valia in the centre with the Wastelands to the North.

"In any case, I did not manage to make it far past the border when I saw them."

He paused, a shiver running down his back as he gazed solemnly into the blaze. The wind picked up now, kicking up a soft breeze and rustling the leaves as they danced around us, echoing voices upon voices of shrieking souls. I did not hide my fear, but Adrianne only leaned in, all the more intrigued.

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"Zephyrs... Hoards of those blackish nightmares, merging and shifting and twisting like coils of snakes in a den! I cannot begin to tell you what they looked like, for their form was as meaningless as the smoke you see rising before you, but if I said they appeared to be tall, lanky shadows with long, bladed fingers and wet, slopping viscera dripping from porous skin, like fleshy sponges, it might be the closest I ever get to describing the sight. Ghouls from the afterlife, all mingling like undead beings, crawled and walked and trudged around me, all wailing and shrieking over the roar of the Alpine sea, ignorant of me until I had finally trod on a stray branch."

He raised his voice, picking up speed and intensity as his story went on. His hands became animated, flinging to and fro as he became engaged, ensnaring us into his treacherous story.

"SNAP! The echo of the stick had alerted them to my presence and I could no longer hide. Soon, I was overrun with Zephyrs, left, right and centre."

The revolting image cemented itself in my mind as I attempted to congeal his description together, yet at the same time I could not truly comprehend the absolute disgust which he had failed to convey in his story. It was not until long after that moment that I realised how true his words were and how utterly putrid those wretched beings were.

Adrianne leaned in further still, her eyes wide as she was immersed into the world he had painted so easily with his words and Aspen, seeing her fascination, turned to her and focused in on her alone, gesticulating as if he were there in the moment once more.

"I was fighting for my life as hours and hours passed. The snow blinded my eyes and I had yet to see the hoard come to an end. On and on and on they came, seven, eight, nine, more and more 'til the entire hoard was nigh. I was weighed down with fatigue after the seventeenth, my blades dulled from use. I could no longer kill them in one strike and had to slit their throats five times, their black viscera spraying to coat the snow like-"

"Enough of that!" I yelled, perturbed, "There is no need to be so grotesque!"

I sat shaking, chilled to my core as undesired images chased my thoughts, though the fire was nothing more than three handspans before me and soon, I was clutching my arms in sheer disgust. Adri was nonplussed, clicking her tongue as the elder mercenary cut off his story.

Aspen smiled, finally turning to me and chuckling at my outrage.

"Of course not, love, it merely is how things run outside the safety of a manor and the comfort of the maids. Now settle and let me finish; in the midst of the blizzard, half frozen by the storm and half dead by the Zephyrs, I saw a man, clad in white armour, racing in on a black stallion and tossing the wretches aside. He rounded up on me and the cadavers, urging his men to pursue them as they hounded his beasts until, soon, the field lay sluggish with the dripping of blood and snow, rivers of red freezing over as the ice fell harder. The lord told me of his name, Alucard Zenith Von Hestion, and asked me how many I had killed."

Aspen grinned once more, rubbing his chin as his pride emanated from his body, "I had killed roughly twenty seven that day, before the cold had nipped my fingers and I was unable to hold my daggers. According to him, I was severely frostbitten and would have died if not for that moment. That day, he had spared my life, returned me to Heifer and patiently stayed until my wounds had healed before setting me off on my way. In that moment, I had sworn an oath to him, swearing to serve him should he ever call upon me and to carry out his request."

He paused, tracing a long scar that ran from his forearm to the tip of his ring finger as he glanced at the pair of us. A memento, I assume, for his eyes trailed off into the distance a moment after.

"Though, I must say, when I gave my oath, I did not exactly envision myself babysitting his two precious fledglings as he went off to do business. No matter though, seeing as I must accompany you on this amazing adventure." He rolled his eyes, yawning.

"Hey, at least we didn't scare you into falling out of a tree! We're not all that bad, you old crow!"

"Of course not, love. You're far worse!" He laughed again as Adri tried to slap his face, tossing her hand aside as easily as if she were a flea.

"Now then," he turned to me once more, "we must be careful while we pass through Cheverton. There is a heavy darkness there... We must be cautious."

I shivered at his tone, so different and so heavy compared to how he laughed before.

The old crow really does have a different side to him...

"How come?"

"The people there are not as free as they seem, love. It is wise not to ask questions before you have seen the situation, but that is enough for one day. Good night, my dears, I'll see you in the morning!" He replied jovially, flipping over onto his side and was asleep before Adri and I could even process what he had just said.

His answer was as cryptic as ever and all throughout the night, I struggled to sleep, his words echoing in my mind. Regardless, sleep did eventually reach me and another day passed, near uneventful.