"Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory."

George S. Patton Jr.

Liten village. Verten Kingdom.  5 chils from Kingdom of Bren. 13th of Balandi, 966th Primus year.

I’m… I was a scribe at the court. Now I’m a recruit, forcibly conscripted into the army. Our king, Karol The Third, has been brutally assassinated. Unfortunately he had no offspring. Now monarchs from our kingdom are trying to seize the throne, while the King of Bren, Edmund Per, his brother-in-law, is marching with his armies at our capital.

Fate of this country is sealed, it will cease to exist. My fate is pretty much the same, without proper training, with my rusty armament which for sure was done by a goblin blacksmith, I will definitely die in upcoming battle.

And it’s not like I even care about this country anymore. I would love to live somewhere else, furthermore I have family here, that I need to take care off. Foster family to be precise, but we love each other more than your typical family.

I was assigned to a team commanded to face the vanguard of Bran’s army. Pff, our commander has a good sense of humor... they will slaughter us when we meet them… there will be no battle… we will just delay them, kill one peasant or something like that. This just shows how arrogant local monarchs are. They think they are unstoppable. Fools!

“Stop reflecting about how small is your dick! Move! Move! Move!” Said one of officers.

So I moved on, trying to catch up with my squad.

“Where the fuck were you?! You want to die now, even before the battle? HAH, you can only dream about it! You will stay with us and die like a real man!” A bald soldier carrying a warhammer said.

Probably, he purposely doesn’t wear any headgear, just to show his bald head. If someone wouldn’t know how a brute looks like, I would show him this guy. He looks exactly like a one, and behaves like one too. When we were resupplying in this village I even saw him raping a young girl and killing her father, who had tried to stop him. I don’t want to imagine how she felt when her father’s head was lying next to her while his murderer was trying to satisfy himself with her body. Her corpse has been found few hours later in the river.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Fuck off! I don't want to have anything in common with something like you!” I yelled at him, giving myself to emotions.

“OH,  little pussy wants to bite his papa. Come to me, you little cocksucker, Papa want’s to taste your fuckhole!” He yelled as I started to back off.

“Get back in the line! Move your fat asses ladies!” Commander Adam Alfson, or as they called him “Twat”, yelled, organizing whole squad once again. This time for good.

We were marching again. Tiveden Woods were only a chil away. Dust was rising in the distance. Our scouts have returned, I presumed. And their haste wasn’t a good sign.

“Everyone, take a quick break.” Alfson informed us, when he passed near us.

There was someone I knew among those scouts. A girl, If I remember correctly her name is Enola. She was tall and had a long blond hair falling on her back. Her lightly tanned face composed perfectly with her hair. I owe her so much.

When our king had fallen, riots broke out in our capital. My family lived in Lund district, where riots had begun. When I was in the palace, saving my own life, she protected my family, risking her own life for them. I’m in debt, but now I know I won’t be able to repay it.

But why she was gagged? What did she do?

“Get on your knees, you goddamn traitor!” The officer said, pushing her forward. She stumbled and fell on the ground “We will end your miserable life here and now. Who wants to do the honors?” He asked us, lifting her brutally by her hair.

“Let me do it!” Baldhead shouted eagerly. “I would love to end this bitch’s life.”

“Such a readiness! I’m really pleased.” He said while kicking her. She fell down once more. Tears were forming in her eyes.

“She is not a traitor!” I yelled at top of my lungs. “She saved lives of my whole family. I do not believe that someone so righteous as her could be a traitor!”

“She tried to desert. How such behavior is not treacherous?” One of the scouts said calmly.

“If you conscripted us with force and sent to die, why would we want to fight for you…” I mumbled under my nose.

“What the fuck did you say!? Shouted the same officer that was near her. “Bring him here! He will struck this bitch down.”

I stood there for a brief moment, shocked by what he said. I’ve never killed anyone in my life, and my first victim is going to be a person that saved my family? They dragged me near her and pulled my sword from sheath, handing it to me. My hands were shaking.

“I… I won’t… I won't do it.” My whole body was shaking.

“So you say… Hmm, what should we do with you?... How about we burn you both alive? It should be sufficient enough for our little lover and his traitorous mistress.”

When he finished speaking, at the exact same moment, his hand had launched forward, disarming me. His subordinates then stunned me.

When I regained my senses I was tied down to a sacrificial pole, my mouth was gagged and hands were tied behind my back. When I tried to look up, I met frightened gaze of Enola, she was also tied to a sacrificial pole. Her tanned skin paled significantly. Her expression revealed completely how scared she was. Soldiers around were watching us with a sadistic grin on their faces, few of them were placing dry stalks under our feet. Shivers went down my spine. I wanted to puke, my mouth was still stuffed with some cloth. I started to sweat. My heart was beating like crazy. Then someone hit my left arm. The pain was enormous. I couldn’t feel it anymore, it went completely numb!

“Did you miss me, you little fucker?” Baldhead said, showing up before my eyes. “I will ask if they can give me your crispy corpse, I would want to…”

“Alarm! Alarm! Enemy is approaching!”