Another dawn drags me away from the dreamless slumber as the sun's rays barely pierce through the gray clouds above and slowly caresses my frozen face. My eyelids are heavy, not helped by the restless sleep and few hours of it. I am troubled by nothing, for I dream nothing, it's all empty, it's all black.

As my men wake up one after the other we quickly store back the tents and get rid of the campfires, we have not seen any sign of horsemen but it is better to be safe. As the orange sky finally clears a bit and turns blue, we approach the distant giant trees of the Endless Green. The trees gradually grow in size; Their trunks get darker and the leaves greener, branches fuller even this close to winter.

But then, as the sight of the giant trees grows distant, a smell forces me awake. Blood.

I jump down from the wagon's roof and stand on top of the horse, my men halting the advance as I hold my war pick above my head. Everyone grows tense and Jorr quickly approaches.

"What is it?"

"Blood, it isn't fresh...but it isn't old" I speak to a nearby man "Tell Nojus to bring the huani with him to me" he nods and rushes to the back.

"Orders?" Jorr asks taking his sword out of its scabbard.

"I will guide them to the source while you and the rest of the men stay here" I make my way back inside the wagon, reaching for a horn among the loot.

"There are plenty of beasts in the Endless Green, you may smell something dangerous enjoying its meal" He lets out a sigh "Boss, you are tired, it may best we send Nojus with his men alone"

"Unlikely" I secure the horn in my belt with a leather lace "There is piss and shit too, far too large in quantity, so it is either a single beast that killed a dozen animals or a battle took place"

"Chief" Nojus reaches us with his huani tailing him, I cross eyes with Lina for a second.

"And I'm fine" I turn to Jorr "I will blow this horn if I need you to come once, I will blow it twice if you are to turn back" I get down from the wagon and spin my war picks, making sure I'm awake and focused before rushing to the side.

"Sure" Jorr growls, finding it distasteful the suggestion of running away I assume.

But I do not ponder this, I focus on what lies ahead, and the huani follow me at a safe distance. By now they know to stay behind as I scout ahead, being smaller makes it safer and since I'm the one with the hound nose, I know when I'm too close. I run past the dying bushes and go closer to the Endless Green, what little light pierced through the clouds now choked by the foliage above my head.

After a bit, I stop. There are marks on the ground and my trained eye can tell the difference between normal grass and the one that has been stepped on. These are the soles of boots and there are also large hooves, the smell is also much stronger. I look around noticing that there are arrows on the trees.

I jump and dig my war pick into the tree trunk, freeing my left hand by putting the weapon's handle in my mouth and pulling the arrow free. It's made out of a strange dark-red wood, and its head is made out of transparent metal, unlike anything I have seen before. I throw it to the ground behind me and get down, glancing back at where the huani should be, they are very good at remaining hidden from sight and Nojus will know by seeing this arrow that ahead the corpses either belong to the beasts or the hunters.

And I do not know what would I rather find alive.

But I will find out soon enough. Steeling my resolve I move forward, guided by the scent of blood and feces until I finally reach the source.

It is a fairly large spot devoid of trees, perfect for a battle and I can see the corpses on the ground, five of them humanoid, while two others belong to deer-like creatures. There is blood on the grass and the bodies have arrows stuck in their necks and faces or entire limbs have been ripped out and thrown away. I look around and inhale deeply, but frown noticing the stench of the dead is too strong to know if there is anyone nearby. I lift my war picks and make an X, Nojus knows this means to not come close, followed by a single spin of my right war pick, meaning to surround, there may be clues nearby.

I approach one of the corpses and roll it over its back. The armor of these men is different, the color is like a worn yellow, with tints of green, wearing complete sets from toe to head they are covered by these plates of rugged steel, that end in tiny twisting roots; beneath their armor, I can see brown leather clothes like scales that make a small skirt of sorts. Their helmets are thin and pointed, with horns like deer antlers and visors that can't be lifted.

Quickly, I force one of the helmets off and I recognize the being beneath the armor by the tales Jorr has shared. Ahjhalnar, or Elves, as they are often called by those that don't bother spelling their names correctly. This is a man, his ears are long and thin, skin clean and impossibly perfect even after death; Hairless, neither eyebrows nor eyelashes. His eyes were already foggy but still beautiful like amber pearls.

Glancing at the deer-like corpses I see they have arrows in their heads, they are hairy on their chests but have decorated plumes for a tail, with what looks like scales on their neck and a hawk-like beak with thin and pointy antlers, they are bigger than a horse.

Standing up I look at the field in its entirety and try to paint a picture of what happened here; The corpses all have arrows on their backs, they are spread out in a circle and there are signs of grass being torn from the ground. Two shields that look like they are made out of twisting metal vines lay on the ground, together with spears.

While the other three have quivers; two vanguards and three archers.

They were mounted, pursuing something while shooting arrows at it, but once they reached this spot by the position of the corpses they surrounded it until they were surprised and attacked. I pull one of the arrows from a corpse and see it's the same one I took from the tree...so they are attacked by one of their own?

Something isn't right, this sensation in my chest; Only five men? No, that is not right for a scouting party, and where is the man in charge of them? I quickly glance at each corpse and see no distinctive jewelry or armor, but that can't be right. Why do I know that can't be right?

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My senses are on alert now, and I catch a brief sniff of that particular smell, the only one that can penetrate the stench of multiple corpses; A virgin woman, coming from above. I look up-

And jump back, an arrow strikes the ground right where I stood, it made no sound. I keep skipping back, my eyes looking at the foliage but I can't see where it came from-

I jerk my head to the side as the arrows cut my ear, I have to think fast, I lunge forth to the corpse of an elve and lift it above my body, immediately it shakes as another arrow strikes it. I drag it around as I approach another corpse to have more cover. Where is the attack coming from? I can't hear the arrow and if I peek they will get a clean sight of my head.

My eyes fall on the distant Nojus, I raise my hand to let him know they can't come close, then I point up, he nods and disappears from sight. At least they are alive, I know now that there are no enemies around, just this one, but why is it here? A wound?

An arrow pierces the head of the corpse and manages to penetrate my left shoulder, I grit my teeth and curse for reaching out for the corpse whose helmet I took off, and it means my enemy has moved. I adjust my position after quickly switching corpses, I can't stay here forever.

My heart beats fast against my chest, I swallow hard and struggle to hold the corpse up with my elbow as I take the arrow out of my shoulder, its arrowhead is bloody and transparent.

Another arrow shakes the corpse above my body, I can see a small dent on the chest plate, it almost pierced through. My mind rushes with a thousand thoughts as I try to come up with a plan, if I order the huani to attack there is no guarantee they will see them, and if they can simply escape I do not want an enemy I cannot see stalking us.

What can I do? What do I have that can give me enough time to know where are they coming from? The smell can tell me it's somewhere above, but the stench of the corpses is too much to let me know exactly where. I look all around and lay eyes on the bow nearby, dragging my meat shield to it as another arrow strikes it, this time piercing through and almost grazing my neck. I look at the arrow now stuck in the dirt, I may not be able to see the arrowhead, but the shaft it's red.

But can I see it in time? Can I dodge it? How-

A third arrow pierces the corpse but not completely, the arrowhead is dangerously close to my torso, and I'm running out of time.

Time, I need time.

The trance.

I can't waste a second, this should work, it must. I grunt as I lift the body in my arms and throw it to the side, immediately jumping back as an arrow hits me right on the waist, piercing through and sending and harsh stream of pain. I land right behind the bow, dig my war picks on the ground, pick up the bow and the arrow that pierced me, put it on the string, pull, and trance.

Time slows down to a halt as I see the red shaft of the arrow, they had already shot and it is aimed straight at my head, I can't dodge it in time, and my thoughts already shift to the past, but I fight against it, stay here, at this moment, right now, I need you here.

As the events of the past days mix in with my surroundings, I find myself swallowed by the screams of the village, the fire, and the rain, all while the arrow moves millimeters closer to me. Focus, right now, at this moment, and see what I did not see before.

The visages of the past disappear in a mist of colors, like paint dripping off a wall it mixes with my surroundings and I find myself back when the first arrow was shot, back when I looked up.

But it is not immediate like if I was rewinding time, I go through everything I did before the arrow hit. Now I can see the arrow mid-air as it quickly goes back to the foliage above, and I see it.

As if a furious tornado just swept through my head everything collides as I'm brought back to the present, my mind forcefully grabbing two memories at random, one of Jorr fist-fighting and another of Noju's training with the bow, I'm face to face with the arrow about to hit my face. And time resumes.

My head jerks back as the arrow strike true, so powerful that I almost fall on my back, but I stand my ground, and as I force my head to move forward I lay eyes on the spot where the arrow came from and see the almost ghostly figure of my enemy, almost as transparent as the arrowheads, were not for the small gaps in their armor showing the leather scales decorated with red paint, it would be almost invisible.

Adrenaline shoots faster than my arm can pull the arrow back with all my strength and I know I have locked eyes with them. A wicked grin grows on my face as I feel the satisfaction as I let go of my projectile, not even feeling the pain from the arrow poking through the back of my head, I bite hard into it and moved my head just enough to avoid it piercing my skull.

The arrow hits my target as a feminine scream cries out in pain and falls more than ten twenty meters above the ground, she screams as she falls down and I do not need the trance to see her fall slowly, the helmet with golden antlers stays behind as the face of my opponent is revealed, I can see in her shocked expression the fear of the incoming impact, and in her emerald eyes that lock with mine the mixture of anger and pain.

But the impact never comes, for another figure jumps down from above.

Did it jump at the same time as she fell? Somehow it falls on the ground first, the impact booms and raises chunks of dirt all around, but the elve is saved in their arms.

It is another woman; dressed in rags, her hair pitch black and messy, short and badly cut. Her skin is pale, white as if there was not a drop of blood inside of her, with eyes black as mine, but her iris a bright purple, with almost normal ears except they are slightly pointy. On her back there is a third person, his hair wavy and long black as hers, they seem to be of the same species; He holds onto her neck.

Wasting no time I pull the arrow from my mouth, it must have broken my jaw for I can't close my mouth. I throw the bow and pick up my war picks, slamming the blunt ends with each other hard twice as the loud metallic sound alarms the huani to rush to me.

The man on the back of the woman says something to her as he lets go and falls on the ground, are his legs wounded? The woman replies and drops the elve on the ground, causing her to cry out in pain as she reaches for the arrow stuck dangerously close to her neck, she must have moved away as I did, otherwise, it would be right in the middle of it.

Jumping a meter forward the woman lifts her left arm that wears a gauntlet like that of the elves, except this one, shines bright and manifests a magic spear that she quickly points at me. Her right arm looks like obsidian from the elbow to the hand.

Arrows whiz mid-air as the huani come out of hiding and attack, but the woman spins her spear with incredible speed and precision, shattering the arrows before they can harm her or those behind her, except for those of Nojus and his artifact. She dodges one of the magic arrows but the third strike her in the stomach, but it shatters, leaving only a small superficial wound.

She shouts at the pair behind her and the elve shouts back, but not at her, at the ground as she slams it with her hand, her emerald eyes glowing bright with a red light as they disappear behind a wall of twisting roots that completely swallow them, leaving only the strange woman outside of it.

I notice now that she is strong, muscular, and tall, with black veins marked very clearly on her skin and almost bulging out. She has small black horns and purple tears drip from her eyes almost continuously.

She cracks her neck and steps forward, pointing the spear ahead as she glances around at the huani for a bit before laying eyes on me and frowning, but a small smile grows on her face, is she that confident?

I snap my jaw back into place, relieved that I could do that at all, and although the pain feels like a stab, right now I have bigger problems than pain. I lift my right war pick as I can hear the bows being tensed, and for a few short seconds, there is only silence around us, the only constant being the sound of my breathing.

Then, I scream and point at her, my feet moving almost on their own as the arrows are shot and the woman rushes to meet me head-on.