"We'll round them here. Horses are at a disadvantage in this terrain, they'll have no choice but to leave them behind. That should slow them down", clad in armor, she explained the mission, pointing to a map sprawled on the table before her.

"But Captain, our horses can't traverse there either. Its as much a handicap for us as it is for the enemy", another armor clad man spoke, his helmet tucked under his arm.

"That may be, but our goal is to stop them as far away from the main camp as possible", she rolled the map close, "This isn't the North, Gene, we don't fight with guns. Our swords are enough for us. But that means our long range battles are limited to arrows and stones. We'll be enough against those."

"Wouldn't you prefer the North, Captain? It sounds like it'll be a quick battle", another female soldier shrugged.

"Guns aren't the only thing that works there, Nelly", the Captain replied, coolly, "With all the magic they've got, healing is as fast as bullets too."

"Battles are endless in North", a grave, husky, yet heavy voice broke from the corner, "They never stop."

Another lightly armored man stood there, leaning against the wall. With a shaggy appearance and well-built body, covered in visible scars, he looked endearing. His snow white hair tied at his back, didn't help his image. He spoke little and if not for his long companionship with all the soldiers present in that room, he might have been a scare. But everyone knew him as the all too gentle right hand man of the Captain. He was a beast in battle though and no one that crossed him ever survived to tell the tale.

"No need to scare everyone, Grey", the Captain smirked vaguely.

Grey retreated back to his corner silently, which drew a chuckle from all the characters in the room. It was common knowledge that only Captain Silver could tame Grey, even in battle. But it was probably only because Grey held back against her. The two had known each other too long and they'd seen too much together. Grey's word was never different than Silver's and Silver's actions never conflicted with Grey's.

They were a band of mercenaries, led by Silver, but Grey had an unspoken authority.

Grey and Silver grew up in the same tribe somewhere in the North. Although a tribe of gypsies, when the war invaded the Northern front too much, the tribe settled in a safer corner. They lived peaceful lives, especially because the tribe was very small. Grey and Silver were the only ones their age. They ventured far and wide into the mountains, tested their strength against each other, hunted together, and lived in their little world without having known any other friend but each other.

That was until they were attacked by some soldiers. Their homes were burnt to the ground, and the entire tribe killed. They were the only ones who survived and then they left the North.

Their current commission came from the now dead King, the last one he issued before he was overthrown and killed. Mercae wasn't officially a stratocracy in those days. It was a monarchy, even though the ones who truly held the power were those at the top of military. Still, the last King was a just monarch and at least in the West, people loved him.

Stolen novel; please report.

Silver too, now led her people into battle out of loyalty to the late King.

"You intend this to be the end?", Grey asked her.

"We've been fighting long enough. I don't think many reasons are left after this. Even if the war doesn't end, we've come this far. We kept our promise to survive, Grey. I think we should rest for a while now. Perhaps travel, be true to our gypsy roots."

"If that is what you want, I'll follow you, Silva", his answer wasn't unexpected.

******************

A tornado of fire on either sides and the distant wailings had her head spinning. Her eyes stung from all the smoke and there was no familiar face to be seen. What happened here? was her first thought.

Who were these soldiers they were fighting? They weren't any ordinary soldiers. They knew offensive magic. They were the King's guard. But why would the King's guard attack its own people?

No. The King had already fallen and whoever took his place was just an impostor. No matter, the monarchy would fall soon enough. No empire with an impostor for a king could survive. All the mercenaries the previous King had hired were now being wiped out. Those loyal to the late King were nothing but mutinous traitors now. They weren't needed anymore.

But Captain Silver stood there, as it all unfolded before her. Her plan had succeeded. The enemy had been wiped out exactly as she had expected. But the camp she had intended to save was burning now.

"Silva!"

The voice of a young boy rose from somewhere far away.

"Silva!"

She'd heard it back then too. She'd seen the same thing back then too.

"Silva!"

And through it all, there was only one voice.

Before she knew it, she was surrounded. The fire wasn't enough. Every single vermin needed to be wiped out.

She drew her sword, wearing a solemn face. Good thing she had deployed most soldiers away from camp. At least some of them could be saved. Before they came back, things needed to be settled.

"Silva!"

As her sword clashed countless times, wreaking havoc around her, she heard the same voice calling her. But she let her mind go numb. Like a beast, she only needed to kill.

She was in her camp when the tribe was attacked that night. She had quarreled with Grey that evening and he ran off to the mountains alone. She was hiding inside her camp, from where she saw her brother and father getting slashed first and then her mother and then the old lady, the head of the tribe. One by one, she watched all of them, while hiding in the camp. But then the soldiers lit fire to the camps. She stayed hidden until she passed out.

The camp fell on her. She was burnt and bruised but then...

"Silva!"

The voice pulled her out of the burning camp.

And now as she hacked through every attack, putting her all into cutting the enemies down, she caught a glimpse of a beast, much more ferocious than herself.

But it was the King's guard they were fighting. In the end, she knew they'd be killed.

"Silva!", Grey was still calling her, apparently in an attempt to get her out.

"Grey...", she murmured, getting back to her senses.

He was behind a wall of fire. Both of them were exhausted from the battle. Silver knew that. She knew they couldn't hold on anymore.

With one final blow, she pushed away her attackers, and stood motionless. She had made the decision.

"Silva!", Grey knew she would, but he couldn't do anything about it.

And then in the blink of an eye, a sword was piercing Silver's abdomen and all the way out the back. She looked at the sword, and at the face of the enemy soldier, before her mouth filled up with an ironic taste. A gush of blood escaped through her mouth, but her face was painted blank and her eyes empty.

Grey cut through everything in his way, not caring anymore about how bruised he got. He intended to grab her and get out of here.

But he didn't make it in time.

"Silva!"

Silver let her mind run free. The heat of that day that she hated more than anything, that she had decided never to feel again, needed to be eliminated.