Chapter 2: Skirmish

Zack

Year - 868

It was an overcast day in the Kingdom of Atlus. 8 years had passed since the death of King Helel. Murdered by a man only known as “The Dark Slayer”. The events of which caused an invasion from the Kingdom of Vholera into Atlus. This was however thwarted by the Kingdom of Ash. Both Ash and Atlus settled a truce based around the killing of magicless in Vholera. However, Vholera was still able to claim land equal to Atlus. The tension remains high between the three nations as wars between the borders continue to this day. Zack was visiting the bar in Atlus City, the largest one that was situated within the inner residential district. It was one of the most common places soldiers of Atlus would take time to relax in between battles. Zack wasn’t sure how any of them could relax though with how loud the bar got as the men pounded ale and sang by the fireplace after a victory had been achieved in recent skirmishes. Zack sat at the bar with his head lowered as he slowly drank his ale silently. Zack was a tall, Athletic but not overly large man with a lifeless look in his eye. He had medium-length black hair that was disheveled and sporting a mask of unknown metal - perhaps made with magic in an unknown method - that covered only the upper left quarter of his face. This was permanently adhered to a soldier's face once they had reached the level of rank named “assassin”, that required them to be close to chancellors and commanders, This made them easy to find if they ever went rogue. His armor was that of a regular soldier but slightly altered to fit his title as an assassin. He wore mainly chain mail covering his body but his torso was covered with a grey brigandine leather that covered his torso, hands, and shoulders, with lightweight steel layered pauldrons over the top. A black studded belt ran from his right shoulder down to his waist, with the brigandine leather extending to a short tunic under another belt of the same design around his hips. Wrapped around this belt was a long capelet that extended down to his calf and covered his lower left. His boots were also leather, worn but sturdy so as to not fail during a mission. His sword layed just beside him, tucked under the bar top as sat in its worn leather scabbard. A blade that did not taper along the length and instead arced at the tip.

“Something troubling you son?” said the keta bartender as he ran a washcloth over the old wood counter. Keta were a little less common than Eldians in Atlus but still plentiful. The keta resembled Eldians with feline qualities like cat ears sticking from their head that seemingly transitioned from their scalp hair and sharp markings across their cheeks. Some sported tails but some did not as some had them removed at birth, supposedly they were from a land outside of Elden where magic was far more potent but they were as much as part of this land as Eldians were now. Their pupils were a little different too, some were uneased by this but Zack paid it no mind.

“No,” He said shortly with a quiet tone. A fellow soldier quickly ran up to Zack and placed his arm around him.

“Don't mind him Da, he’s always like this, ever since I met him he’s had that scowl on his face,” Max spoke to the bartender with a lighthearted tone, clearly under the effects of slight intoxication.

“What do you want?” Zack said to Max with a dry tone. Max was a fellow soldier working alongside Zack in the same army but was just a regular soldier and thus did not sport the same armor he did. He was a man of similar build - if a bit shorter - Soldiers needed to be athletic enough to handle the missions given by Atlus since they usually required a few days of journeying to meet at the camps but he definitely was more on the thinner side.

“Nothing much pal, thought you might want to join us over at our table? Gotta be better than sulking on your own” Zack looked over slightly at the table filled with about six or seven soldiers. All drinking from their ale as if there was no tomorrow. Sat by the warm fireplace, he wasn't often spoken to by the regular soldiers. The mask often scared off most soldiers and Zack's scowl definitely didn't help things.

“I’m fine here,” he said coldly, looking back down into his tankard.

“Suit yourself, Oh! I meant to tell ya. Sergeant wanted to see you now. Said he had a mission or something for you. I can tell I won't get far in a conversation with you right now so I’ll leave now I've given you that pal.” He gave Zack a pat on his pauldron and turned back to the table to join the group of guards. A large roar of laughter heaved from them all as he returned and they swiged their ale. Dropping some on the floor.

Zack stood up after being given the info. He placed a few coins on the counter for his drink which gleamed from the fireplace's light. He reached down to pick his scabbard up and left without a word. He didn't need to question why the sergeant needed him on a mission. If he had the chance for a mission, he would take it. As Zack left the bar he passed through stalls filled with a mix of Eldians and Keta’s selling all sorts of things with their loud and brazen phrases to sell. None paid any mind to Zack, however. The mask attached to his face signified he was part of the Atlus army’s assassin brigade which uneased a lot of citizens. A soldier would need to be adept in both their magic prowess and swordsmanship to even have a chance of making the cut as a soldier, much less an assassin.

Zack eventually met his sergeant, Ryan, along with 2 other assassins who were of the same rank as himself. Ryan was a stern-looking man who always had the face of a man who just had a rat dropped in his ale, with short black hair. Joseph, A lankier man with an overly preened mustache and combed-over blond hair who could never take a telling of when to shut up. Then Dennis who was the only keta out of the 3 and was larger in stature with an absently missing tail and coffee brown hair which extended up to his ears. The three shared the same armor and mask as Zack, all four of them being marked by the empire. They all used a slightly different design of sword from each other but were all issued one-handed swords. The four of them met outside the gate to the castle where it was relatively quiet with Zack being the last to join. It always did make Zack wonder how they built the castle. If you looked at the city from afar, it looked as if the city climbed at a 45-degree angle with the higher income areas being situated at higher altitudes until it reached the castle itself which towered up hundreds of meters, almost like a mountain with its colossal white stone walls and silver finishes.

“Everyone's here, Good” Ryan told the three of them.

“Couldn’t this have waited? I was quite busy you know?” Joseph said disappointed

“The brothel will still be there when we are finished, Joe.” Dennis cut in.

“Harsh of you to assume such a thing of me Den! Do not act like you are any more moral with your coin than me! Gambling away at bars while your wife is awa…”

“Enough!” Ryan spoke sternly. The two listened with a relaxed but formal posture.

“We have been ordered to assassinate the king of ashes daughter,” Ryan said. The three remained quiet.

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“The Ice Queen? I thought Ash and Atlus were on good terms?” Dennis said confused.

“Nothing more than a truce really.” Zack said as a throwaway comment.

“I have to agree with trusty Zack here, they only came to our aid 8 years ago but since then…not even an invite for a cup of tea,” Joseph replied

“Yes…Which is why the chancellors wish to establish their dominance against both nations. The king may not care about her daughter due to that magic inside her, but she is still abnormally powerful enough to be used as a weapon by the soldiers of Ash” Ash was a nation that abolished magic, relying on the body's god had given them and this forged them into fine warriors capable of rivaling magic knights. However, the king courted with a keta which gave birth to a child bearing more keta features than Ashain. One of which was her abnormally strong magic. However, unlike all people born with magic in the kingdom of Ash who were just executed. The king's daughter was turned into a weapon that would be used by their army, due to her unnaturally potent ice magic.

“Our intel suggests that she will be used in a battle between Ashian and Vholera forces on the borders of their kingdoms, our mission is to infiltrate this battle and kill this child after the battle ends. Letting fault fall to Vholera. Now, let us not waste time. This battle should take place shortly” Ryan explained to the three as he strode off to the city gate with the three of them following after

“Sounds about right for Atlus huh guys? Laughed Joseph.

How could someone do this to their own child? Zack thought to himself.

No, I shouldn't let my feelings get in the way. Stick with the empire and follow their orders and soon I’ll achieve my goal. I will get my revenge. The three left the castle gates and entered the long meadows the city overlooked, the journey wouldn't be more than two or three days if they took the trail.

Days had passed and the 4 had reached the border of Ash and Vholeras kingdom successfully. The border was largely a malnourished swamp with shallow ponds of water, dotted with dead trees throughout areas where the grass hadn't completely died surrounded by rocky mountainsides. Throughout the swamp were mainly monstrous bats and sentient slime that were mutated by the magic permeating the area. They were no trouble for a soldier however, neither were the pockets of dense magic in the air as one who was attuned to wielding magic would go unaffected. The four had taken camp under a stone alcove formed in the rock ranges. They had taken the trail that led deep into the mountains but were still able to overlook the swamp land so as to not be noticed but still get a good view of what was happening. Zack sat staring into the warm campfire they had constructed, while all three of them were silent. Dennis sat across from Zack while Ryan stood with his back against the wall, not too far from the two. Joseph was currently scouting ahead to check the army's camps. Joseph was the most extroverted however so they sat in silence for his return. Zack didn't mind this, he preferred the silence as he didn't want distractions from the mission, nor from his own mission. The three sat with scowls on their face until the silence was broken by footsteps. Ryan readied his blade but fortunately, it was only Joseph returning as he jogged back into the alcove.

“So what's the situation? Dennis asked

“The sun seems to be rising so the camps are beginning to prepare,” Joseph told them all. Ryan moved closer to the fire and spoke to them all. The three turn towards him.

“Remember, We are only here for the girl. We approach once the battle has ended and she has expanded her stamina. If done properly this should all be done successfully without any need to involve with the kingdoms or beating down the girl.” Joseph sighs

“So we don’t get to kill any of those magicless bastards over in ash? I was looking forward to that.”

“Cheers to that,” Dennis says in agreement.

“Do not disobey your orders. Our kind does not have the privilege to do so, keep that in mind.” He spoke sternly. “Let's move out!” Joseph and Ryan left the alcove and Dennis stood with a motion as if he was bored of taking lives somehow. He approached the fire and held his gauntleted hand above the fire. As he did his hand began to glow a cyan light which rose into specs of light just above his hand. Water then began to fall from his hand, extinguishing the fire swiftly which awoke Zack from him staring into space. Zack had paid attention to what was said but wasn't keen on speaking unless it was necessary. He didn't desire to waver from his goal in any way. That or he was too distracted by other thoughts to pay any mind to his squad. Dennis left through the hole that Ryan and Joseph left through, with Zack following suit. The four were still within a maze of chasms with the sky being exposed. The rocky land they trekked was at least thirty or forty meters above where the base level of swamp land was. The group eventually stopped at a small cliff side that overlooked where the Vholerian forces were gathering - with no sign of Ashen forces - the battle would most likely take place further ahead.

“Keep moving men!” The three followed the sergeant down into a new chasm that opened up to a shattered rocky land they would have to traverse. The holes within the rocks led down to ravines several meters deep. It was so dark it was impossible to tell how deep they really were.

“One wrong step and you're a goner guys!” Joseph shouted after crossing a few of the rocky formations.

“Yeah yeah” Dennis replied. The four all began to cross the plateau of shattered stone. The area was wide enough that gusts of wind were audible. It blew parts of the rock that were loose and weight applied to it would make bits of stone fall from the edges, dropping below into the crevices but it was manageable. So long as they were careful they would be able to reach the trail again. A few minutes had passed and a large distant rumbling had broken the silence.

“Shit a tremor?” Dennis asked

“Surely not, the armies would have ceased if this was the case” Ryan replied. At this point, the armies had started their skirmish, and roars of battle were headed over the wall of stone that hid the four of them.

“Suprised you could hear that with how fucking loud their armies are, is all of that yelling necessary just to stab a few men?” Joseph interjected.

“Quiet, let's just get it over with” Ryan shouted back. The four continue to cross the ravines until not long later. A giant chunk of ice falls from the sky and slams into a cliff face on their left which sends stones hurtling nearby them. The rocks cause the ground to shake with the four of them stopping to catch their balance.

“Fuck, that has to be her. Men follow my lead!” Ryan shouts back to the other three. The three of them began to sprint and leap across the rock formations as more chunks of ice began to rain down, causing the shattered stone they were walking across to start collapsing into the chasms below them.

“Shit shit shit shit shit shit!” “Fuck this isn't good!” Both Joesph and Dennis began to panic as the entire area began to shift and collapse. At this point, they were out of Zack's vision. Most likely on a lower plane but he could hear them panic but just barely. It sounded like the whole mountain was collapsing.

“Move it, soldier!” Shouted Ryan over to Zack. The path in front of Zack had completely collapsed which led to him making a giant leap over the next piece of stone he could find. As he grabbed a hold and pulled himself up the stone he held began to crumble and he was sent sliding down the cliff as his grip was lost. As he slid down and avoided the ice being thrown out and the stalagmites, he spotted Dennis who had fallen from the side of the cliff onto the same downward slope as Zack. Zack was only able to hear him curse and panic until - as if it fell from the sky itself - A giant chunk of ice dropped on Dennis. Crushing him instantly and killing him with a large cracking sound as it embedded in the earth.

“DENNIS!” Shouted Zack as he reached his arm towards the ice that crushed him as Zack slid by the shard on the further collapsing cliff. Only Dennis’s arm was sticking out of the ice. Blood covered the ice and rock where Dennis once was.