Blood-filled smoke rose from the barren landscape. Hundreds of bodies laid soulless in the grassless valley. The sounds of screaming and horse racing became more prominent as the third wave approached. One man on the left line had a red stripe down the middle of his helmet. His trimmed beard revealed his stern jawline. Each soldier, including him, had the crest of a lion on the chest of their armor. They sat at the edge of the valley on horses, waiting for the smoke to clear. The red striped man raised his sword, and let out a controlled yet loud yell, the horses began to dart into the smoke covered battleground, awaiting a seamlessly unknown fate.

Far ahead near the other edge of the valley, an entire army of men with black stained armor rode on horseback to escape the incoming soldiers. They had just lost a line of their defense due to cannon-fire, but were now out of range. The pursuit of the wave behind them was gaining land quickly. The red striped soldier grinned as he watched the back of his enemy come closer and closer in range of his blade.

Suddenly from behind the smoke rode two groups of four men, each with the same blackened armor as the retreating forces. They swiftly came from behind the line giving chase and were able to pick two of the ten lion soldiers off.

The red striped soldier clenched his fists and made a hand signal to his men to turn around. They faced the ambushers and quickly overpowered them, leaving none left alive. Unfortunately for them, they had let the remaining forces escape their clutches once again.

“I’m sorry, General Locus, we were foolish enough to let them escape.” said one soldier who took off his helmet and knelt before the red striped man.

“Stand comrade,” said Locus. “We have managed to push them back, they cannot retreat forever.”

He helped the soldier off his feet and stared out beyond the valley, then looked back at his men. They were wretched and weary.

“That's all for now, we’ll set up a border and keep them out of the inner kingdom while the hunting squads go after them.” Locus ordered.

A long line of carts and carriages crept through the plains. Horses of the men who had gone to hold off the Soldiers joined the back of the line. Near the front however there were even more horsemen, each of the bandits were battle scarred and had dirty armor. One of the carts in the front of the line had a chain on it that connected down the line to different handcuffs. In the handcuffs were around seventeen pregnant women, all nude and exposed to the elements.

“Hey Santiago, that was a close one back there. I’m not sure how long we can hold those imperial assholes off before all of us get hung.” said one of the front horsemen who was covered in black armor to a different armored horseman with short black hair and a yellow left eye, with a scar covering his right one.

“Fitz, do you really think I don’t have a plan? I find that very insulting.” Santiago joked.

He chuckled to himself and looked back at the women with an evil grin. The looked down and away, seemingly lifeless with terror.

Fitz had both blue eyes still, his distinct white hair a symbol of his northern heritage. Unlike Santiago who had a light beard he was clean shaven

“Obviously the men have worked hard, I think it's almost time for the festival.” Santiago laughed.

He was a big man, not massive but intimidating enough to understand messing with him is a bad idea. He had two swords sheathed on each side of his waste. His face was young but also experienced. He had a very prominent missing tooth in the back of his mouth, seemingly cut from him.

“Sir!” A man with blood stained armor rode up behind the front of the line.

“What is it?” Santiago stated more than asked.

“We- we’ve lost the last of our stealthy men. But for some reason the army of Emissuss isn’t pushing us! We might be walking into a trap!” the man stuttered.

Santiago looked up at the hill behind them, he squinted his eyes before blinking and focusing on the man in front of him.

“Abe won’t push anymore, and this isn’t a trap either. His men are tired from chasing us this whole time, and it's barely worth it for what we stole anyways. Everyone from that village is dead already. No one is going to miss their women.” he grinned a devilish smile and winked at the black armored man.

“Y-yes-! Yes sir! I’ll inform the troops-”

“Tell them to set up camp just beyond the woods, for a festival.” Santiago chuckled.

“Sir!”

The formation stopped near a pit to set up camp, given that they had to pack lightly it only took a few hours to set up. Tiny huts and campfires littered the landscape, spanning almost a mile in every direction. Near the center of the pit walls were erected along with cages inside of them. Seating area was arranged high above the walls to get a good view of each cage below. Santiago and another mercenary with long blond hair and a disheveled face watched from one of the campfires as the men built the arena.

“Are you sure the women are um, ready? For the festival?” the other mercenary asked.

“Nonsense Dange,” Santiago answered with a cocky smile. “It's been around nine months since we picked them up, and about twenty since we’ve been on the run.”

“Wow you really keep track of things like that?” Fitz walked over to the campfire.

Santiago looked away and responded in an unusually serious tone,

“Of course I do.”

After all the women were gathered in each cage the men watched as they gave birth, the children born from them had gone straight into the mud of the pit, from this moment they never stood a chance.

“Now comes the fun part.” Dange said as his evil looking brown eyes widened.

“Disgusting.” Fitz remarked at the man before looking away.

Santiago waved to a heavier set man with longer black hair and a full black beard from across the arena. The man got up on a higher pedestal and shouted to the horrified women below.

“EACH OF YOU IN THE CAGE WILL BE REQUIRED TO KILL AND EAT THE FINGERS OF THE NEWBORN YOU’VE BIRTHED! IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO DO SO IN THE NEXT THREE MINUTES YOU WILL BE KILLED! LET THE FESTIVAL BEGIN!!!” The man screamed in a wretched tone.

Many of the men in the stands laughed and cheered as they watched the cages intensely. The eyes of the women widened and their faces went pale, six of the seventeen had already begun the task, the blood of new souls filled the ground.

One long brown haired woman however picked her child up from the mud and cleaned off his face. The child screamed and cried loudly but the woman cradled him and held him close to her, shielding him from the sight of the men and what had been happening in the other cages. Tears from her eyes dropped onto his face as he stopped crying, he opened his eyes and saw her expression. She wasn’t scared, not even sad. It was the face of someone who longed for a time in the past and had been recalling memories right in front of him.

She was Beautiful.

“Deon always wanted to name our son after his father before he died.” she whispered to him, her breath was warm and loving just as her arms had been. And her voice was strong and beautiful like her expression.

“Your name is Ben, and one day you will do amazing things, I can see it in your eyes.” she said to him.

She looked closer at him, deeply into his new eyes.

“Ben, I lov-”

An arrow had stricken her neck.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“THREE MINUTES HAS EXPIRED!” the bearded man shouted as mercenaries went through the cages checking the children for their fingers. Eight other women had been killed, while Eight women in total remained. They were left in the cages to spend the night there.

“Ay Santiago!” one of the men shouted, “There’s a kid that's alive over here! Should we just kill it!?”

Santiago walked over and took a look at the child that had been dropped in the mud once more. His eyes squinted at the child before he grinned once more.

“The mother gave her worthless life so this child could continue to suffer, how could we get in the way of a beautiful thing like that? Did anyone catch its name?” he chuckled.

“Uhh yeah I think I heard her say Xen or somethin, pretty stupid to think a child would have a good life out here.” a couple of the men laughed.

“Well take Xen here to one of the lucky women, have her care for him until he’s able to speak. We’re moving out tomorrow so if you can try to pack things up tonight, I hate to cut a festival short but we do have imperials on our tail.” Santiago ordered.

The man picked up the screaming child and shouted to the other men.

“WE HAVE A NEW MEMBER OF BLACK HORN!!” he shouted as other men in the area cheered.

Five Years Later

The air had gone quiet once again. It was soon broken by the clicking noises, gradually growing in intensity as they came closer. The little boy stumbled to his feet, dusting the mud off of his rags and skin. The entire camp rushed to the sound, accompanied by their weapons and armor. Upon seeing what had befallen them, the men lowered their weapons and started to cheer.

“Another win for Black Horn!” one smaller looking man had shouted, his sword held almost as high as his spirits.

As the horses entered the camp, many soldiers took off their worn armor and bloodied weapons. Each set of armor was pitch black with a single spike at the top of the head. They quickly entered their tents in order to relax and get away from the swarming crowd. With them they had brought the bodies of the men they slew, distributing the bones and skin as souvenirs.

“Boy.”

The little boy turned around to face the dark armored man looming above him. Santiago. The man who had been looking after him ever since he could remember. Xen had jumped at the sight of him, flinching for half a second.

“I brought you somethin’ kid, what are you like.. Five? Five years old now I think…” The man trailed off and averted the boy’s big brown eyes.

“Anyway, here kid, Fitz made ‘em. Tomorrow you’ll be doing some trainin’ with me.” Santiago dropped a sack before walking away.

The last words he said had troubled Xen. Training? What would that mean? His eyes wandered to the sack at his feet. Upon opening it his eyes widened in fright. Laying in a pile there were human bones. Each one carved to generally look like people or animals, some of which even still had flesh attached. Xen sat there for a while, playing with his new toys and biting them to his liking.

Two Years Later

Xen fell to the ground and dropped his swords, his bruised hands and face smeared into the dirt. He wore an oversized helmet that had fallen off of his head and basic dirtied wraps as clothes.

“Get up.” Santiago said as he kicked Xen in the stomach causing the child to tumble away from the swords and helmet.

“C’man you were doing far better than this yesterday you little bastard!” Santiago shouted as he elbowed the seven year old back to the ground as he was getting up.

Fitz, who had been watching the training along with the other men, decided to speak up.

“Santiago, lay off a bit, he’s still just a kid.”

“Yeah and that means our enemies will go easy on him? No, they won’t. He needs to be prepared for everything.” Santiago grinned and he kicked the child one last time.

Xen stayed down, wheezing and coughing up a concoction of dirt and blood onto the ground. Santiago stared at the child with a look of disappointment before putting his sword away.

“We’re done here today, I need to prepare for later tonight,” he said.

“So we’re not having a festival tonight?!” one of the men cried.

Santiago glanced at him before walking up and kneeing him between the legs. The man fell to the ground crying in pain.

“Stupid brute, try to think with something else for once.” Santiago spit on him before walking away.

Xen slowly crawled over to his swords and helmet, picking them up and walking to a nearby pond. The pond wasn’t very big, but it was the only interesting landmark in the area they were staying at. It was overgrown and full of algae. Xen saw a lone silver fish swimming in a circle around the overgrown pond. It had lived its entire life there, against all the elements, trapped. The fish had no Idea the ocean or any other body of water even existed, this tiny disgusting pond was the only home it had and will ever know. One day, It will die and the weeds that had surrounded it its entire life will consume any trace of its existence.

Xen grabbed a smooth stone and skipped it across, spooking the fish. He spit blood from his mouth into the pond before washing his bruised face and hands.

“Hey Kiddo!” one of the men shouted at him.

Xen turned to face the man who had run up behind him, he had only seen him a few times and wasn’t quite sure of his name.

“Whaddya want?” Xen asked, his high pitched voice was still able to show some annoyance.

“Santiago says he wants you on the ol’ crossbow tonight, our lookout crew got word of an attack. Make sure you’re at the arms tent before dusk.” the man said before wandering back to camp.

Xen pulled out one of his swords, they were both almost as tall as he was. He began to wash the dirt off of it in the pond.

Dusk had come quickly and Xen had spent almost the entire day at the pond. He marched up to the lookout deck with a few other men. The smell of liquor was so strong it was impossible for him to focus his mind on anything else. He watched Santiago playing cards at a table with three of the other mercenary guys.

“Remember to aim for the neck, if they can’t scream your position can stay unknown. If they do catch you make sure you scream loud enough so we can escape.” he cackled as they walked by.

Xen grabbed one of the crossbows and sat at the lookout area. It was on the top of a hill looking out into the forest next to the camp. He couldn’t see anyone approaching yet but if he could then the attack probably would’ve failed. The other guards joked around and made a bunch of noise, they were the ones who smelt so strongly of liquor. They kept getting louder and louder and Xen didn’t have time to worry about their position being revealed because he was scared he would finally have to kill a man.

Crunch.

Xen heard a noise from the trees just below them and froze. His eyes slowly panned to the tree-line. It was too dark to see if there was someone there but an animal would’ve made more noise. The men to his left continued to be rowdy, messing around with the crossbows. They fired shots in a few random directions as a joke.

All of a sudden one of the men was getting stabbed as the other two froze, watching the lion crested soldier kill their friend in front of them. Then two more soldiers came from the tree-line and drove their swords through the drunkards without making a sound. Xen tightened his grip on the crossbow and dove into the underbrush.

“Did you just see that kid?” one of the men asked

“Shut up, we don’t have time for your visions, Dolt.” a more commanding voice replied.

Xen held one hand over his mouth and didn’t breathe. He was scratched up by the thorns he had dove into but the pain didn’t phase him yet. He listened for footsteps moving away from his position and down to the tree-line. He wanted to just sit there and disappear but knew that Santiago would probably torture him for doing nothing.

Xen crept out from the thorns and watched a trail of around ten men sneaking through the woods. He tried to calm his nerves and steady his aim with the crossbow. It was heavy for him and hard to use. His hands had blisters all over along with bite marks around his fingers that made holding the thing a pain. He breathed slowly before launching an arrow through the trees directly hitting one of the men in the neck.

The man fell to the ground gurgling and the other soldiers stabbed him to death before he could make any noise. They all spread out into the forest as an arrow flew by Xen’s head. The boy ducked and fired another arrow in the direction it had come from. He heard a man scream as footsteps from the trees grew louder. Xen shot a few arrows at the men charging him but he had no more on the ground next to him and there was still a soldier rushing him.

Xen quickly pulled out his swords and rolled under the man’s legs, slicing wildly and causing the man to scream as he jumped and drew his own sword. Xen dodged the man’s wild attacks before cutting him deeply in the throat. The man dropped his sword and fell backwards onto a nearby rock. Xen’s eyes widened as he watched the man grasp at his throat, trying to scream only to be drowned out by his own blood entering his lungs. The man reached out towards Xen and began to crawl in his direction. He has said something but Xen couldn’t hear it, or more like he didn’t listen.

Xen watched the dying man as he put his head down and a puddle of blood began pouring stretching out from his body. The young boy stared with tears in his eyes and dropped his swords before looking at his own mangled hands. His vision phased in and out and he became dizzy at the scene before him, the scene he created. His hands felt dry but they were covered in blood.

“I’m so s-sorry.” The child muttered through tears.

Xen returned to the camp with tears streaming down his face and walked up to Santiago through the crowd of men either drinking or abusing the women they had captured. Tears filled his eyes as Santiago turned to him with a blank stare.

“What the fuck are you crying for brat!? Didja get rid of the pests out there?!” Santiago jumped up and looked towards his sword.

“I k-killed them all,” Xen mumbled.

“That’s what you’re sad about?! You did good kid!” Santiago sat down.

“Where’s the others?”

“They d-died-”

Santiago got back up and kicked Xen to the ground.

“You weren’t supposed to get anyone killed! Those were good men and all I’m stuck with now is this useless goddamn runt!!”

Xen could feel Santiago’s rage radiating off that kick and into the surroundings. His eyes were pulsating red with fury. He punched Xen across the face and broke his nose.

“One of ‘em owed me some money too!!” a few of the men laughed.

“That’s it brat you’re sleepin’ with the women t’night.” Santiago had started to slur his words, obviously drunk.

Xen shivered as he got up and was led to a small hole in the ground with a pen around it. 3 older naked women sat at the bottom like lifeless husks. The man who led Xen over took his sword and armor away before kicking him into the hole. The women turned to him with fear in their eyes. They all screamed and grabbed at their heads before rushing at him, trying to bite at his fingers and grab his head. Xen ran away, kicking at the crazed victims as they continued their fearful efforts at harming him.

He knew this was going to be a long night.