The quietness of the tent was unbearable. Everybody was fast asleep, exhausted or wounded, or both. Ottaine survived without any scratch apart from aching feet. The screams ‘kill them!’ were still ringing in her ears and in her mind, as she kept killing them.

When the commander of her regiment shouted ‘fire, just fire or they'll reach us’ she fired without looking. No aiming, no tactics like she learnt, just pulling the trigger and praying you'll have time to reload. Then the senior commander shouted angrily ‘use her as a shield for fucks sake!’ and finally she learnt what it meant in a fight. She did not spread an invisible energy force to shelter her comrade nor did she stop the bullets and crossbow arrowheads with her bare hands. Such things were impossible, they existed only in fantasy stories. No, she crawled in the wet from a red liquid mud towards the nearby group of enemies and fed on one after another weakening them, a dirty move stripped of integrity and international agreements, and that's how she, probably, saved some Solummgerian lives. The Skey-Er fighters were dead within five minutes, their heads open, lungs pierced, arteries dried out. 'Well done soldier' she heard after they won the battle. 'You can be proud of yourself. Do they still take you to the morgue, in the Academies?' she heard a question.

'Yes,' she replied hollowly, 'four weeks in medical schools' hospitals, the second year.' Now it seemed the time spent assisting post-mortems, watching doctors putting screaming people's bones together, watching opened stomachs and betting hearts was a childish game.

'You really did well today, soldier. Death is difficult to watch and should never be easy to inflict.' he praised her once again and walked away.

Now the quietness was unbearable, it was filled with voices of the dead.

Until now, Skey-Er was winning. The small clashes didn't matter, they had a plan. Moving towards the marshes just at the peak of mosquitoes season, predicting the rainfall and placing its army on high ground, moving in dense, unstoppable formations and pushing, pushing where Landhapis and Solummger can’t defend. But now the krools and trained wingfingers arrived and Skey-Er started losing. Krools moved through any type of terrain with the same deadly speed, crashing skulls with their feet, tearing flesh apart with their teeth. The Solummger authorities never confirmed the rumour that some krools fed on the Skey-Er soldiers.

Wingfingers proved to be not the best investment. The riders did drop some explosives however the effect was not the best. Some exploded too early injuring the dragon and the rider, some caused less damage than the production and transport were worth, some dragons simply refused to fly low altitude above a surface that was no water (no training could win with their strong survival instincts not to mention the small size of the brain. They performed well above grass and forest, not above a mass of living things). Overall, the Landhapis command regretted they didn't use planes, at first considered less effective due to the noise they make and thus giving away the position. Planes could not fly in a zig-zag, required building a base and fuel supplies but were, apparently, more reliable than stupid beasts. Unfortunately, the time was not Landhapis' friend and the government had to forget about Solummger planes. The wingfingers were sent home after two battles, now the krools were back in favour. More and more ships with the animals docked in Port Town in the south and in Deyocma further to the north.

Ottaine was serving under general Snevser, a strict and wise general she met at the beginning. He could see her struggle with the reality of war and could always say the right thing to set her mind on the right track.

'I have seen many soldiers like you. You thought this would be easy, you have chosen this path and you've been trained. Now you kill and see your friends killed, you fear death and fear for yourself. It's normal. You must put it aside, think of what you are fighting for: freedom of your people and your allies, for a world without fear and blinding pride.'

And Ottaine kept fighting. She stopped caring about what's fair, she only cared about what she must do, what is her duty. Keeping comrades-in-arms safe in any way possible. She was a Special Forces officer and had to stand up to this.

At first, she wondered how her cheerful and full of joy friend was coping, soon she stopped wondering and started thinking of her with pride when her name reached her ears more and more often.

Kyeta soon became one of the best warriors in her company, then her battalion, division and after her fourth of the fifth battle everybody in Solummger and Landhapis knew Kyeta Asdraghom's name.

It started in the woods when Skey-Er attacked the camp unexpectedly. She had made an oath that she would lead soldiers like her to victory – and she kept her promise.

It was so easy to kill for your life and for your brothers and sisters in arms. She fought for the young children she saw in poor Landhapis villages - she wanted to see them grow up and become wonderful men and strong women. No eastern swamps' savage will cross the line with such arrogance and take this land.

'The Kyeta has arrived' she repeated like a mantra walking unhurriedly towards the broad-nosed foes. The screams made her heart beat faster, the sweat and whizz of crossbow arrows filled her with power. The rage of fight and promise of pain was like oxygen she could finally breathe.

After she smelled the battlefield and sensed adrenaline in her veins, she transformed into a fierce and fearless weapon. This chaos, tension of war was what she was born to: to become the best fighter. When that first battle was over, she was reborn.

From now on, in every following combat, neither pain nor death could look at her and see a trace of fear. She swung her sword with precision, her bullets never missed a target. She could always pass the same fire to soldiers fighting arm-in-arm with her, protecting them and going first for uncertain victory.

In the evenings she was making love to those who showed bravery in the previous battles. She was wild and entrancing, lifting the burden of an unknown future from her lovers, killing all anxiety with her mouth and pelvic muscles. During training, with her fierce enthusiasm, she inspired the whole squad and quickly started rising in the hierarchy. Medals were piling up, Skey-Er learnt her name that poisoned their spirit, and the 'Solummger Snake' title echoed before her.

Only a few figures in Solummger or Landhapis history became a living legend. In her regiment she was one of many soldiers, joking with lads and girls by the fire and screaming songs till their throats were hurting. They liked her, trusted her, warned her: 'stop being so reckless, slow down, you don't have to dive into deep water every time.' She didn't want to stop. This was her calling, this was her purpose in life. With her, the poisonous snake, her friends in arms were all invincible. She got addicted to blood and sweat. Outside, in Landhapis homes and on Solummger streets 'Kyeta Asdraghom' was the name spoken with religious respect. Skey-Er streets knew the name too. A white snake that strikes from nowhere and delivers instant death.

When the army marched further people gathered on the outskirts of towns and villages and chanted 'Kyeta, Kyeta!' even if she was miles away, in a different department. The soldiers didn't mind. Whoever met her was enchanted by her vigorous attitude and amiable personality. And, they all had to admit, with Skey-Er so far winning the race, with a tension between Landhapis king and Solummger generalship, they all needed a hero.

After another diversion from the enemy, it was decided (with the help of intelligence and a few spies sent to watch Skey-Er movements): the allies should go north, try to outsmart and surprise the foe. Kyeta was glad she could rest and think of other things than battles and strategies. She hoped to see her friend once the troops join together, maybe the next battle would be the last one? No, she didn't want that, she realised. She hasn't finished yet, one more medal, one more strike. The war was cruel, unjust, loathsome. She decided to close her eyes to its true face. The time will come to cry and atone, now it was glory and bravery that she chose to live with.

The news rolled through the army like thunder: Skey-Er is approaching, they are ready and deadly, their army is massive, their soldiers are motivated. This battle can decide the fate of the war, we must not fail.

When Kyeta heard it she was happy to fight again. Finally, a worthy opponent. Her example and strong will made everybody around her filled with patriotic zeal against the enemy. She marched the battlefield with new stars on her shoulder, her friends marching arm in arm were shouting towards the distant dark green uniform their new battle hymn: ‘We will beat their arses with iron feet! Their tears will flow mixed right with their blood! I swear I'll walk through those damn formations! I'll send the Skey-Er soldiers to their doom!’

This battle was so epic and glorious! All the Landhapis boys looked at her with awe. Skey-Er thought they would break them today, turn the tide of this war? Impossible. Not with such soldiers the united forces had, not with all the krools, not with sons and daughters from all the Military Academies across the sea. Not with her, famous Kyeta Asdraghom, the heroine of war, the Snake of Solummger. When the battle was nearly over, bloodiest and burdened with the highest number of fatalities so far, Kyeta knew that at least she was one of many hands who stopped Skey-Er from marching forward. She reloaded her gun and aimed her spear for the last time and looked at the approaching evening with joy in her heart.

One of the Skey-Er generals saw her and challenged her. Oh, that's what she wanted! They danced with each other for a while not being able to ignore the other's skills and methods. His eyes, at first mocking, started watching her with admiration. This was his end. Instead of admiring he should have feared the snake. Kyeta led him on the land covered with dead bodies, he had to change his pace. She could see he finds pleasure in this one to one fight, as she did. Her bullet missed the target, as she planned to. Now he was focused on the spear, not the left hand holding a knife.

When he was lying on the blood-soaked soil he managed to whisper something with a hoarse voice. Kyeta, making sure there's no weapon in his reach, kneeled down to listen to the warrior's last words:

'You... no idea... who... fighting against.'

'I fight against you, Skey-Er,' she spitted the country's name. He smiled and shook his head.

'No... Landhapis. You fight with ...L'hapis. Joined them. Against...' he stopped and Kyeta thought for a moment this is the end but he somehow found the strength to finish with a clear voice:

'You joined... fools. If you knew what we try to protect from them...' and then he looked at something behind her with a sudden sadness, moved his hand as if he was trying to stop a distant blow, and his breath left him forever.

Miles away, when Kyeta was at the beginning of the journey to becoming the legendary warrior, her best friend Ottaine, coming to terms with bloodshed and moral dilemma, listened with astonishment and pride about officer Asdraghom's rise as a new shiny star in Solummger's infantry. Soon the fourth regiment where Kyeta served became the most famous and the unofficial names changed to ‘fourth for what's worth’ as they fought like they were four times bigger and deadlier.

Once Ottaine met an astonished group of Landhapis’ soldiers who marched to join the Solummger army and on their way stopped shortly for training with no other than the 'fourth what's worth' regiment.

'They all enlisted. Landhapis uses recruits to fill the formations. So is Skey-Er, but Landhapis has... less effective training methods. No wonder they needed our help. You are friends with Kyeta Asdraghom, right?' The general found her in the canteen during lunch and asked to follow him and meet the group.

The young lads in Landhapis' grey uniforms were made comfortable in a tent on the outskirts of the camp.

'Good afternoon boys', Ottaine greeted them. 'News reached my ears that you met my friend Kyeta on the way to this camp.' The young soldiers looked at her and slightly scared, Ottaine wasn't sure if it was because of seeing an essudus or because of the mention of her now-famous friend.

'We are not boys! We are men' replied one of them, no more than an eighteen years old skinny lad.

'Yes. So you've met her I see.'

'Are all the elves so scary?' asked another one but he laughed before she could reply.

'Don't be racist Zea, I went to school with two elves. It's...'

'Oh, so now any joke with the 'E' world is racist?' They started quarrelling.

‘Come on, tell me more,’ Ottaine interrupted.

'Yes, we were shocked at first to see women in your army, right guys?', another man started talking in the name of the group. 'That woman looked at us at first with disgust, it was our fault to underestimate her. She gave us a really hard time. I would not lie if I said she brought some of us to tears. But then we saw how the rest of them were and we wanted to be like them and to... to... to please her,' he finished with a sudden blush. Ottaine didn’t really want to know how Kyeta would reward the recruits.

'We are going to kick their balls,' the one called Zea said firmly, pointing at Ottaine with a pair of socks he had just unpacked. For a moment Ottaine wasn't sure what he's talking about.

'Ah, Skey-Ers! Right, right... I'm glad to hear that.' They smiled at her broadly and it didn't matter that Ottaine meant hearing about Kyeta, not about kicking balls.

'She showed us how to be fighters. We had no idea before. All my life I liked fighting with my mates, it was nothing. Meaningless. I know the meaning now.'

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

'There's no time to fear death. We must become the death or turn back with shame.'

'At last, I know how to use my anger.'

'Man, the way they were throwing the spears!'

Ottaine wished them a good day and left them to their business. She wondered, how come such a softy like her ended up in the Military Academy when she couldn't find this holy rage inside her, as Kyeta had? The essudus part inside her, probably. It was in her blood like a drop of ink in a glass of water that changes the colour of the liquid. She was driven by this desire all her life, but it was not taking over her whole body and mind. No, Ottaine was not born to be a warrior, if she were not an essudus she would have ended up in civil services despite her previous beliefs about herself.

#

The Solummger-Landhapis army was divided. The majority of the forces stayed in the Mid-West area where Skey-Er focused their excursions. When Landhapis rushed unprepared towards the north, the move that was discussed the day Ottaine joined her regiment, only a small part of the Solummgerian army was able to join them. Now it was clear Skey-Er indeed marched north, the western battles were just a diversion. One misty morning Ottaine was woken up by an anxious soldier. She was handed orders from the top army command. All essudi were to travel north ahead of the rest of the army. The headquarters feared that Skey-Er was planning a huge attack two hundred miles west from the border. Solummger managed to transport krools close to the area in time... but there were not enough people. Essudi, known for their 'shielding services', were required for the upcoming battle.

Ottaine packed her things and rushed with Domicile-educated folk she barely recognised from the meeting such a long, long time ago. The safest means of transport were horses which made Ottaine a bit nervous. She grew up in a village but has never been a big fan of those animals. Compulsory horse riding courses in the Academy evoked unpleasant memories of sore buttocks and strained back. Fortunately, that was before she learnt how to use her muscles more efficiently. Plus there was no time to think about any personal issues with the beasts as the serious problems took over: how far Skey-Ers were? Who will win the race with time? Us or them?

Most of the day they travelled in intense silence, only in the evening in the middle of a supper they shared without much talking someone tried to see the bright side:

'Krools have arrived, you know?'

'My friend was in charge of them', Ottaine commented on that. 'Does Landhapis use the dragons?'

'They... do use krools but ours are better trained. Landhapis uses them without riders so the use is limited to the front lines. You know, so the dragons don't mess with your own soldiers.'

'So, Ottaine, you say Solummger offered ours?'

'Yes, and they were transported straight north. That's good news.'

'I wish the fourth was there too' said another person.

'THE fourth!' Ottaine exclaimed. 'Kyeta is my best friend! No, they were supposed to check the eastern border for diversions. That's what she wrote to me in her last letter, two weeks ago.'

'The diversion is in the north.'

'I doubt there was time to change the orders and regroup the regiments. It would be too good to be true.'

'Ota, tell us. What kind of person is she? I'm such a big fan!'

And Ottaine told them about the Kyeta she had known for years now, adding here and there to present the friend she was so proud of in the even better light.

'Yes, she wasn't like that in the Academy but you could sense the storm within. And guys were always falling in love with her.'

'I have fallen in love with her. And I have never even seen her!' said one man and laughed. 'Will you introduce me? When it's over.'

'Sure. But don't tell my other friend, Verlar, that I promised you that.'

'Ooh, a rival! I'll keep our secret as long as you keep your promise,' the man said with a wink.

'Is she pretty? All I know is that she is an elf from Sjaell,' asked another guy.

Ottaine laughed and replied:

'She's the most elfish elf you could imagine. Light hair, blue eyes, her skin turns pink outside the shadow. And yes, she's attractive. Those broken hearts do mean something, whether it's because of her face or the way she talks to you or the way she kicks you in the fight.'

'Sooner or later this whole war leads us in the same direction and we'll fight together. I'll sleep with this dream in my head,' said the first admirer.

'In your head. Sure. You'll see in the morning,' a woman to Ottaine's left murmured theatrically.

'Talking about the morning, we should catch up on sleep, don't you think?' said the man who asked about Kyeta's looks. They all agreed and soon the silence lulled them one by one into the realm of dreams.

They woke up with the sunrise and continued the ride aware of how little time they might have left. They were passing more and more groups of Landhapis’ peasants going south-west with their belongings, the villages they rode through looked like they had been hit by a plague that decimated them. There was no time to talk to the people and there was no need. The officers guessed the war scared them and whoever had a place to go far away from the front line was not risking staying home. Ottaine remembered the Skey-Er - Landhapis everlasting conflict history, how so many times a little border quarrel led to the manslaughter of a whole region. The civilians didn't need any spies or intelligence, they knew what's going on having learnt from the best teacher – experience.

They didn't make it on time.

The group of Special Forces officers reached their destination two hours after the battle that was to be nicknamed the 'Firewheel Field' had been won by the United Allies. Nobody was celebrating. The number of dead and wounded on both sides was so great it left even the kings speechless. Ottaine and the other essudi stopped the exhausted horses in the distance, looking at the massacre reaching the horizon and listening to the echoing moans. The sun started setting down behind the clouds, turning the sky to evening red that matched the colour of the pools on earth.

An emissary who had been waiting for them at the end of the road passed new orders. Some of the officers were to walk across the battlefield looking for wounded Solummgerians ('there are too many dying souls, you will focus on your countrymen') while others were sent west, where part of the army was regrouping. Ottaine was to reach the headquarters camp on the other side of the battlefield and report to another Special Forces officer named Varsheghom (she recalled the name as one mentioned by general Snevser the first evening on this land, during the meeting around a map) and take orders from her. The group said quick goodbyes and everybody went on where they were supposed to go, knowing they were late to help, to save... to do anything.

The horses were useless in this bloody-muddy mess. Ottaine rushed on foot trying not to look at the pieces of human bodies. The Landhapis brothers and sister from the Order of Eternal Light were seen trying to stitch up the wounded who had a chance of survival and closing the eyes of those who hadn't. They were also carrying long, very thin stilettos, the best friends to some unfortunates.

Ottaine was halfway across the field, her nostrils filled with the smell of blood and sweat, her head spinning from the moans of the dying when a nearby Sister called her:

'Soldier, this one here is from your country. She's still alive but there's nothing that could be done. Would you like to misericorde her? Or just stay with her while I do it? The presence of a fellow countryman would mean a lot to the dying.'

Ottaine looked at the body and had to fight nausea. The stomach was split open and the organs were spilling outside, one hand was severed from the corpus and was lying covered by mud, still holding a broken spear shaft. The rest of the weapon was sticking from the breast on the right side; the point must have been nailing her to the ground. It looked like someone stabbed the soldier with her own spear. The face was all covered in blood and mud, the right eye socket was empty, there was something round lying below the neck and Ottaine didn't want to know what it was. The woman still had her helmet on, mud and blood were everywhere and Ottaine wouldn't even be able to tell the soldier's skin from the dirt.

'No.' she said to the Eternal Light servant. 'I must be on my way... end her suffering, please,' and she quickly turned away.

The woman wasn't even fully conscious and Ottaine had clear orders. She couldn't stop. It was sad but the warrior was left alone, soon the stiletto will end this pointless suffering. Ottaine walked on when suddenly she heard her name:

'Ota!'

She looked at the approaching figure and smiled despite all the horror around.

'Eluik! Is that you!?' They rushed towards each other and without thinking embraced tightly.

'Ota, how are you? You had been staying in the south?'

'Yes, I was late for the battle. Did you fight?' She examined his face closely. He looked tired and it was not easy to make an essudus tired. Ottaine could only guess from the view around her that what she saw on Eluik's face didn't come from physical exhaustion.

'I did. I was a shield for the seventh front section. You had been a shield before? You know what it means?'

'I do. Killing from the distance, before any blow reaches them... was it necessary?;

'Look around you, Ota. This is a true war. This is what happens sooner or later if you don't stop the rage in people. Now I walk around looking for the living with a chance of survival and mark the location', he showed her arrow-like shafts with bright red colour strings that reminded the Firewheel flowers. 'They should have used yellow, or blue. Red will be invisible.'

'I am heading toward the main camp, to report to Varsheghom. That's the order for me.'

'I could walk with you. I have only four more signals left and it doesn't really matter who gets a chance, does it?'

After a long walk in silence she asked:

'So, are you with that girl you left me for?'

'I'm married to her.' he said and an instant smile crossed his face.

'Congratulations! I hope she wouldn't mind us still talking? Does she know... about us?'

'She does. I told her what you told me, that you have never really...' he stopped unsure of if he should finish.

'Loved you. It's true. You are and will be my friend. What you took was mine to give and that's all I ever wanted from you. And your friendship,' she added so he doesn't feel like someone who had been used as an emotionless tool.

'She must be missing you, and you missing her.'

'I do terribly. Especially after the news. We are expecting!'

'Well done! You didn't waste your time! Congratulations even more. I hope you return home before her time.'

Eluik stopped next to a female warrior with a broken leg and pierced side. He let her drink water from his bottle and assured her that help is on the way.

'If you see someone approaching, try to wave it, alright?' he said, handing her the Firewheel stick.

He stopped a few more times over a body he thought he saw a sign of life in. Alas, he still had three more shafts left. Their path crossed with the Order of Eternal Light Servants. Ottaine noticed that none she saw was administering any treatment other than what came with a flash of setting light reflected across the field and to the sky by a silver edge of misericordia.

'Eluik, what do you think: is there any meaning in all this? You had been walking among the bodies for a long time, you must have saved some lives. Did you save them randomly, the blind fate has been leading you or a destiny?'

'Are you asking if I believe in gods? Do I?' he asked himself. 'Two days ago I was a happy lad who joined a Military Academy to become a soldier, somebody who knows how to fight and wear a uniform. One day ago I was a young man who had discovered an enormous source of power within him, who fell in love and started his happily ever after. This morning I was a man who had been ordered to make people die and he obeyed the order. Two hours ago I had become somebody who doesn't recognise that young lad I used to be, who would like to forget the orders. I don't know about the man of tomorrow, how do I know about fate? I'll die. That's all I know. I would not like to die like that,' he moved his head around.

'Better to die with someone than alone... I should have stopped for that soldier.' She told him about what happened just before they met.

'Nothing you can do now. Next time you will.'

'It will never be the next time for that dying woman. She must have had family, friends, comrades. I could have been one for her at that moment.'

'Look around you, listen. It has become quiet. This is the sound of death. When I started my round the whole field was moaning and screaming. All those massacred bodies, limbless corpes, were still conscious waiting for death. The lucky ones are being taken care of in infirmaries, the other lucky ones died quickly, some had been lying here choking on their blood long enough to lose their mind. I don't believe any single one of them had been waiting for someone because that's what destiny told them. Destiny is what we create. For ourselves and for each other.'

'If that's true I wish even more I could turn back time and answer the Sister's call otherwise.'

They had reached the camp tents, now grey in the evening. Eluik took leave to find his regiment and Ottaine asked the guards to point her to the headquarters.

When she entered the command's tent she saw that here too the victory had a bitter taste. Three male high-rank officers were sitting behind a simple table talking with sullen looks. She introduced herself and her business and was told that she had just missed Yrzlaruki Varsheghom.

'She left in a hurry towards the capital, you will take the orders from me' said an elfish, rather stocky man with short brown hair. 'But not today. We can all benefit from a good rest. Come to me tomorrow afternoon, ask for captain Scaughom. You can find a mattress in one of the tents marked with numbers eleven to thirteen east from the flag mast.'

Ottaine saluted and walked off. She found the tent and lied on one of the free beds. She spent many long minutes staring at the canvas, the pictures of the blood-soaked battlefield passing in front of her eyes. Maybe she would go and find Eluik.... no, let him rest. What would they talk about, anyway? She felt so useless here. The soldiers who have just won the battle were sleeping next to her, she has done nothing today. She was too late. Unable to close her eyes, she decided to take a walk, to see if she could find herself something to do. Outside she noticed a brightly lighted area of the camp. Ottaine took a stroll there and found herself in the field infirmary. Two tents were open and you could see nurses running here and there trying to save as many lives and limbs as they could for hours to come. The third tent was closed, a faint light could be seen inside. From time to time somebody was coming in or leaving slowly, head down. Ottaine knew instantly it was the morgue. She decided to pay respect to the fallen warriors.

Inside, dead bodies were lying on the floor in neat rows, faces washed, eyes closed. Next to some of them, the silent figures were standing saying prayers in silence. At the back, a small crowd surrounded a body that had to be moved away from other corpses to give room for the mourners. Ottaine walked the endless rows slowly, looking at the faces, repeating prayer for the dead she learnt as a child, out of respect if not a religious act. After a while, she was close to the group and, led partially by curiosity, she walked towards them. There was a gap between people and she could see the body in the infantry uniform. Suddenly she stopped when she saw the weapon lying next to the warrior. A broken spear. Ottaine had no doubt it was the same spear she saw thrown into the chest of that woman she had refused to stay with. The body had the same injuries she noted a few hours ago, it must have been her. Struck by remorse Ottaine started walking to get closer and after a few steps, she froze. She kept looking at now cleaned dead face while the whole universe around her was falling apart.

It was Kyeta.