Prepping for Carnage...

Commander Alastair gives his brief in the cold morning air and bright sunlight...

"Now, let's get into the thick of things, yes?" Commander Alastair says while pacing in front of the company of soldiers. The soldiers stay silent as the grey-haired man speaks. "Werewolves are dangerous creatures. I'm not going to bullshit with you; they're some of the most savage monsters on the planet when they decide they want you dead. It's one of the traits that gave them dominion over this planet ages ago until those Vampires took them out," he pauses and shakes his head, almost as if disappointed.

"I wish they'd killed each other off all those years back; then we wouldn't be dealing with them now, hear me?" Alastair chuckles, his voice deep with a flair of relaxation. His soldiers laugh in tandem; despite the ominous topic, it's good spirits all around. The Commander pulls out a cigar and sparks it with a match. He takes a deep inhale and blows smoke when he speaks.

"But, I guess then I'd be out of a job, and all of you wouldn't have shit to kill. Yeah?" Alastair asks, earning unanimous cheers in exchange. A cold breeze wisps over them; they've never known a warm day. "So, here's what we're going to do. I call it Operation Animal Control," another pause predates Alastair appraising the soldiers surrounding him. They're the most experienced, hardiest, and toughest men in the village all gathered with one goal: protect their homes. Alastair knows how to make good use of this energy.

"I'm one of those warriors who attack known threats well before they have the chance to attack us first. Now, that Human woman capable of using magic..." the Commander pauses and snaps his fingers, searching for a name that he never recalls. His grey eyes flick toward the company of soldiers. "What's her name again? Aren't some of you friends with her? I know of her, but I've never met her," his gaze quickly settles on Marcus as the blonde steps forward and answers loud and clear.

"Her name is Mona, sir!" Marcus says, truthful and honest as all eyes turn on him. "She goes by Ryn, however," he elaborates, earning Alastair's look of confusion. The Commander mentally inquires through his facial expressions: why is she called Ryn? Marcus answers as if on cue.

"She's disowned her parents and what they named her due to that incident with her cursed brother..." Marcus vaguely remarks, looking at some of the soldiers standing nearby. Alastair's curious expression lingers; he's trying to remember what Marcus is talking about. Then, it hits Alastair like a freight train; he laughs in disbelief he'd forgotten about that incident. Time flies...

"Oh?" Alastair whistles, a peculiar look in his eyes. "She did? Damn, I can't say that I blame her when I think about it..." he snorts as if it's funny in hindsight, but Marcus doesn't share the Commander's humor. The green-eyed blond gently nods his head, keeping a firm tone. The Commander might've forgotten his involvement in that tragic event, but Marcus didn't. Still, the young blonde keeps a rather relaxed demeanor as he elaborates.

"He was her twin brother, sir. When Mona's powers awakened, a curse befell him..." Marcus pauses as Commander Alastair cuts him off with a narrowed, interested look in his eyes.

"Yeah, I remember now. That cursed kid was behind those tragic deaths happening throughout the village at the time. The girl was looking for a way to cure him or something. She never succeeded before the kid kicked the bucket," Alastair recalls, looking at his sergeant before returning his attention to Marcus with a light huff. "Terrible stuff, curses are. They're nearly impossible to cleanse without magic, and they can be debilitating if left unchecked..." he informs not only Marcus but all of the listening soldiers. Marcus hesitates, thinking of Mona. He shouldn't be airing his friend's business like this, but it wasn't private information to begin with. Most villagers knew of Mona and her powers awakening because it happened when her brother's curse started worsening and spreading.

"It was, yes..." Marcus pauses, then continues. "She tried her hardest to find a way to cleanse the curse because she felt responsible for its awakening..." he falls quiet, wondering if there's any more to say. Marcus doesn't like being the center of attention; the staring eyes surrounding him make him nervous. Alastair takes another puff of his cigar; he's a little too interested in Marcus's words.

"Did she also feel responsible that her brother's curse kept attracting monsters to the village, too?" Alastair quips with a chuckle as he looks over the company of men again. It's time to inform the ignorant and remind the forgetful; something Alastair loves doing. One can tell by his showy way of walking around while colorfully talking about it.

"For those of you who joined our little village hidden in the snow after the incident, here's a brief history: A few years ago this Mona girl awakened the ability to use magic. Simultaneously, her brother contracted a curse in the same window of time. Now, this curse didn't just affect the kid; it affected the village. Some of you might remember a few years back that death plague we had going around? Where people were dying without warning at any time of the day, and their corpses looked mummified..." Alastair takes another hit of the cigar as he paces. The entire time he's talking, his voice stays calm, to the point, and serious.

"That was all caused by the cursed kid, and nothing we did seemed to stop it from getting worse. Solitary confinement, twenty-four-seven medical surveillance, hell, we even banished the kid and let the girl leave with him, and guess what still happened? The curse still claimed lives. Multiple. Why, it hit a point that I sent out a group of men to hunt them down and bring them back because I was running out of possible options. It hit a point where I was willing to do anything to fix the problem. And, I wasn't the only person in the village with the same thought process among those who knew what was going on..." Alastair pauses again near the end of his comments, letting the weight of his words hold everyone before hammering his point home.

"Then, I realized that sometimes you have to fix a problem by any means necessary. There are some things that people in positions of power have to do to keep order and structure..." he pauses again before looking at Marcus with a look that chilled Marcus's soul; it reminded him of how Ryn looks every time she's motivated. Marcus feels his chest tighten, but his green eyes remain locked on Alastair's; the two know more than the rest, the weight of Alastair's next words when the Commander looks away, addressing everyone.

"Before we deal with these supernatural monsters, I have a question for y'all. Think about it every time you hear about a threat to our village: your home..." he stops for a second, knocking the ash from his cigar as another chilling wind blows over the snow-covered landscape. Alastair's questions ring in everyone's minds. "What are all of you willing to do to keep your loved ones safe? "And, what are you all willing to do to make sure humanity keeps pushing forward?" he says, and silence follows. It's a moment of introspection for everyone standing there in the cold. Marcus feels anxious inside but stays outwardly composed. Mona was his friend, and he feels for her suffering, but...

The bigger picture is always more important...

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"Enough about the past, though..." Alastair waves the topic off, returning to the day's point. "Let's talk about the present and our future. Now, the way I see it, we've got two options: we find the werewolves before they find us and take them out with the element of surprise, or we let them track us down and kill us first. Because I'm sure they're thinking the same about us if the rumors of that wildcard meeting one in the woods are true," the Commander huffs, shaking his head while tossing the cigar into the snow.

"I won't lie to you all and expect there to be no casualties should we engage these legends of the past. They're werewolves, after all. You don't square up to one of those and expect to walk out unscathed. In fact, if they weren't on the brink of extinction to my current knowledge, we wouldn't be trying to fight them; we'd be packing up and leaving..." he stops and flashes a toothy, arrogant grin as he says this next part.

"But, we live in a new age..." Alastair trails, opening his arms wide to the soldiers and saying with loud and proud confidence. "We live in the age of Humans! We are the dominant species on this planet now. And, We're going to make sure we keep it that way! Hooah?" he says, earning an immediate roar of unanimous agreement from his soldiers. It's a thunderous, uniform assault to his ears that brings him joy.

"I SAY HOOAH!" the Commander's soldiers scream. Alastair cracks a smile.

"Hell yeah, brother..." Alastair says, slipping his hands into his pockets while keeping his pace around the scene. "Starting today after this briefing, we're going to focus on what I call the RPE formula: Recon, Prep, and Execution. A squad of our finest trackers will head up into the Boreal Forest to find and locate any traces of werewolves based on that woman's reports. If she says she's seen them in the woods, I have no reason not to believe her. You'd be stupid not to take rumors like that seriously anyway, considering the fucked up world we live in. Anyway," he continues, never missing a step or losing momentum in his words.

"The prep stage will be handled here in the village. We're going to make this place as unfriendly as possible to these werewolves should they decide to attack us first. That means Stardust and Wolfsbane will be in every fighting position in this village. Hell, if we can do it, stuff it into a baby's crib so they have something to fight with, too!" he jokes, earning more laughter from the crowd. Everyone but Marcus laughs; he's too busy thinking about Ryn. It's been several days since Ryn went into the forest; Marcus is trying his hardest not to overthink. Alastair keeps talking.

"The execution stage will happen once we find where they're hiding in the woods. So, don't worry about that for the time being; focus on prepping for when it's time to get to executing. Hooah?" he says, earning unanimous approval back. However, Alastair notices Marcus is silent. The green-eyed man looks like he's daydreaming, or lost in thought. Alastair notices, but keeps quiet for the moment, turning back to his soldiers.

"That's all I have for today. Leaders get with your troops and let's get to work. The work we're doing will make us legends of the future, gentlemen. Give it all you've got so your brothers standing next to you and their families get to sleep soundly at night. Dismissed!" he says, watching the gathered company of nearly two hundred soldiers disperse to handle their tasks. The Commander quickly whistles for Marcus as the latter starts leaving, though.

"Hey! Blondie!" Alastair calls out to Marcus, and the blonde stops mid-step, and then turns around. His green eyes meet Alastair's greys, the latter beckoning Marcus over as he speaks. "Come here for a second, soldier. You're not in trouble; I just want to talk to you," he assures. Marcus hesitates but eventually approaches despite his anxiety. The young man's never been in good standing in front of people in much higher positions of power. In the small world of human security and survival defenses, Marcus is a grunt while Alastair is the equivalent of a King. Alastair's reputation throughout the village earned him something akin to celebrity status. It's been that way since Marcus was an infant.

"Yes, sir?" Marcus says, his voice slightly shaky from nervousness but otherwise held together. Alastair notices Marcus immediately fixing his posture while being addressed; he's following the customs and courtesies of the militia force he's joined. Alastair quickly waves off the gesture, though; his words are calm and relaxed when he talks.

"Relax, man. Relax..." Alastair instantly notices Marcus's anxiety and laughs out loud. "I ain't gonna kill ya or anything. You're shaking like a stripper," he cackles, and Marcus abruptly laughs as well; he's been disarmed by comedy. Alastair cracks another smile upon seeing Marcus relax and pats the man's shoulder. Alastair's a little taller and just as solidly built as Marcus despite being a little over twice Marcus's age.

"I just am curious about your relationship with that woman. Mona's her real name and Ryn's what she goes by these days, right?" Alastair confirms, and Marcus quietly nods.

"Yes, sir," the blonde-haired man confirms. "She refuses to answer to Mona anymore. If you call her that, she'll get mad..." the younger man lightly laughs, recalling the last time he called Ryn her real name was a couple of years ago. Alastair nods in silence, looking off to the side for a few seconds as he scratches his chin. Then, the Commander asks another interesting question.

"Right. So, why didn't you just say her name was Ryn?" Alastair inquires, and Marcus freezes, falling quiet. His reaction confirms something to Alastair, who pats his shoulder again before whispering a helpful hint. "Next time, respect your friends by keeping some things a secret. These soldiers didn't need to know about her personal life like that; they just needed to know the stuff involving her deceased brother. Okay?" he says, and Marcus feels his chest twist in embarrassment. The Commander was right; Marcus was an asshole.

"I'm sorry, sir..." Marcus trails, taking a deep breath and explaining. "I just assumed that you'd want to know her real name in case you needed to find her in the future. I was merely covering all bases by not withholding valuable information," he says, but Alastair's vaguely judging expression remains unchanged. The Commander waits till Marcus's done talking before stepping closer and responding.

"You know there's a saying that when someone's on a person's mind, that person finds every opportunity they can to talk about the person on their mind. Even if it's to that person's detriment. Running your mouth to the wrong people can do more harm than good. I want you to remember that in the future when you're faced with another situation where your words can sway things..." Alastair says with a stern, yet still laid-back tone.

"I'm telling you this because there's always the chance you get sent out on a mission or something and get captured by the enemy. They'll do terrible things to you to get you to spill shit about your allies. Take you telling me about Mona's alias, for example..." Alastair pauses and crosses his arms. It's scenario time; his favorite topic when it comes to new soldiers.

"Say a human from an enemy village or whatever takes you as a prisoner of war after a battle, and they're looking for Mona. They ask you for a name, and you tell them everything you told me a few minutes ago instead of saying Ryn. Guess what happens then? Mona has no alias to hide behind. Mona's loved ones are now easier to track down. The enemy now knows that Mona's parents are potential hostages to gain leverage over her and us in general, considering Mona's the only Human we know of that can use magic. You get where I'm going with this?" he pauses, and Marcus nods after swallowing a lump in his throat; he feels like a complete asshole now.

"Yes, sir..." Marcus acknowledges, straightening his posture again in defeat. "I will endeavor to keep things on a need-to-know basis when my knowledge is required. I was merely trying to be as helpful as possible by sharing all that I know with my allies..." he says, adding a distinct flair of deflecting energy in his tone at that last word, which draws a snort from Alastair.

"Would Mona be alright with you telling her business like you did?" he asks, and Marcus shuts up again; he can't say anything. Alastair drives the nail in. "Some things aren't meant to be shared with others. I know this seems like a minor thing to get worked up about, but trust me: I'm telling you this for your own good. If you're going to make a career out of this lifestyle defending our home, you gotta learn to separate yourself from other people's personal affairs, especially if they've got nothing to do with you. Roger?" he asks, expecting nothing but acknowledgment. Marcus hesitates while recalling his argument with Ryn a short while back, and sighs before nodding.

"Roger, sir..." the young soldier answers.

"Excellent!" Alastair drops the subject and moves on. "Now, another question: what is that girl to you?" he inquires, earning a near-instant look of shock from Marcus. The younger man locks eyes with his Commander as if Alastair spoke a foreign language. Alastair sees Marcus's reaction as quite a telling answer; he can't help but chuckle. "... you like her, don't you?" he asks, and Marcus nearly cuts him off when he answers.

"No, sir!" Marcus says a little too quickly for it to be believable, but Alastair keeps that smug, knowing smile. Marcus quickly caves in once he realizes he's not convincing the Commander, and sighs. "It's not that I like her, sir; I'm just protective if that makes sense? We've been friends since we were children, and I know her better than anyone else in the village. Maybe even more than her parents these days..." he trails, and that's all Alastair needs to hear. The grey-haired man rests his hand atop Marcus's shoulder, then looks him in the eyes with a knowing look.

"Then, you might just be the second most powerful human in this village...." Alastair says with a pause, his tone growing serious, and his vibe shifting to something more...

"You're her tether to our side..."

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Somewhere far away...

A castle shrouded in cold obscurity lies deep in the northernmost part of the frozen reaches of the continent...

It is where They reside...

And, where Aleria gathers together with her Family...

Next Chapter: The Family...