A snap of a twig had startled me, I looked to the right to be glorified with the image of feminine black hair running down behind the person now staring at me. She had solid blue eyes and pale skin, covered head to toe in some armored garment. The color was red and blue, which shined iridescently in the night. It seemed she had been caught, and had a sliver of a blush swept across her face as she distinctly avoided my eyes.

“I’m sorry, but I can clearly see you there. There isn’t any point in acting as if I can’t.” I told her outright. She kind of just rubbed her arm trying to think of something to say, but she was pretty silent. Her lips opened as if she were going to say something, but they abruptly closed to signify she was hesitant and didn’t really want to conversate that much. I was at a loss for words. “Speak up, damn.” I said.

She hesitated, but managed a voice. “I am new here. I don’t have a squad...are you an officer?” She looked up toward me with a sliver of hope vibrating from her eyes. It was clear she was anxious about talking to people in any form. She took a step back because she immediately lost her confidence in talking to me.

“No, I’m not an officer, but I can take you to mine. We’re pretty nice, and I’m pretty sure you’d fit right in with Ghost and Evan…” I said, visualizing that perfect trio like a bunch of docile cats waiting for their food. I missed my cats. Before getting too far off track I continued, “Oh--by the way, I’m Tylor. What’s your name miss?” I tried to be prim and proper, but I still failed to understand what was considered common etiquette in Quigtar.

“O-oh...I’m Alice. Alice Andreo.” She said in this feminine voice. She was kind of cute, not gonna lie. But I don’t do relationships, this story was about my rise to fucking power baby! My greedy grin surmounted in the night sky, making Alice more frigid and afraid by the second. She tucked herself behind a tree, looking out at me. “A-Are you okay?!” She practically yelled.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Follow me, and I’ll take you back to camp where my squad is. They are pretty nice men. Unfortunately there aren’t any women in the group, but I’m sure Officer Roger will welcome you just the same.” I explained with a brief smile on my face. Alice became calm, her uptight posture loosened a bit as she left the tree. She stood in place eight feet behind me with her hands clasped together in front of herself. “Uhh? You gonna follow me or…?” I turned back to her.

“Y-Yes!” She said, moving only a foot closer and blushing heavily with redness. It was clear this was her borderline limit. The urge to scramble away was strong on her face, as her tension returned to her shoulders.

“Alright, you’re fine there. Take as much space as you need Alice.” I tried to remain understanding as I shifted my weight from the forest floor back to the clearing where the main campsite was. I decided to just head straight for the camp, instead of taking the long route. This resulted in various awkward interactions as we crossed other people’s camps. I could tell Alice was shivering like a mouse behind me.

How could a girl be so docile? That was strange to me. I often wondered what kind of woman I would marry, but I became so invested in knowledge back on Earth that I completely forgot about marital things and love lifes. Looking back on it now, being fixated on knowledge was a mistake and a good decision. It was a good decision for today. I heaved in relaxation as we reached the campsite.

Officer Roger and the men were just chatting as usual. It was pretty obvious they were getting ready for bed. The night would be short otherwise, and the journey long and harsh. We moved out at sunrise, so it wouldn’t be surprising if we even skipped sleep due to battle. Ghost and Evan were the first to make note of our appearance, they became tense and hid behind the log. Ghost was especially hidden. What a damn ninja!

Roger glanced up from the fire and looked at me, then Alice. “Who is this young girl you’ve brought to us Tylor?” Roger smiled. He was trying to make Alice a bit more at home. “Well this is Alice Andreo, she’s a bit timid and shy but--” My explanation was immediately cut off by loud screaming. Alice began hell-hurdling from the pits of gaia itself as she short-circuited. She began throwing the logs up and tossing the men around with ease. Her barbaric actions were so unexpected that I lost color in my face, my jaw hanging ajar just a bit as I watched her turn into a damn bull.

Griffin and Ferdinand tried to subdue her, but she tossed them into the air like handkerchiefs. “I’m not SHYYYY!!!” All of her built up stress turned into a call upon the gods themselves. She breathed heavily as Griffin rubbed his head, while Ferdinand was helping Roger up. Ghost and Evan were ten miles out of sight. It seems Alice had probably destroyed her chances at joining the group. Roger had a face of contempt, but soon replaced it with one of understanding. “I understand Alice. You aren’t shy!” He smiled, gesturing her to sit down.

Alice immediately switched modes back into her timid ways, her face became blush and her eyes dilated as she glared at Roger. “R-Really? Ahh--that’s good.” Moments later, the group was back together and Alice was resting her head on Roger’s shoulder like a cat oddly satisfied with its owner. She would occasionally glance at me and give me this shit-eating look. Her face had evil all about its nature, as she showed hostility towards me and hospitality to Roger.

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Damn you! I brought you here, how was I supposed to know you had a rage word?! This is betrayal! I said to myself, cringe besetting my heart as I drowned in my virginal sorrows. I guess this really is a story about me not getting the girl… My mind wandered back toward the four pillars. I like to refer to them as the God Pillars. It was a befitting name of pillars that held the foundations of The God Mountain.

“Say, Roger. If the three kingdoms are all equal in strength, how come they don’t just merge into one nation?” I asked him. If geography held true, then the nature of the cultures shouldn’t be so immediately different to procreate hostility between the three kingdoms. It made sense in one fashion, but I was open to his explanation of why it was as it was.

Roger patted the sleeping Alice’s hair as she laid softly on his shoulder. Damnit, they were shipping too fast--or maybe Alice was just a human-cat? “Ahh. That’s actually a good question Tylor. The three kingdoms are vastly different in culture. Explaining each one is kind of hard, but I’ll do my best to provide a decent answer to satisfy your curiosity.” He said.

“First, the Kingdom of Luthric. In actuality, it’s the weakest power of the three. For years they’ve been on equal footing, but Luthric has had certain circumstances lead it into a corner. Our power is a third of what it used to be, only time can tell when the other two nations will discover this secret.” He said.

“Ahh, I see. Now why is The Far Coast, called such a name if it’s on a mountain?” I returned the question to Officer Roger, the young but seasoned warrior. He was more than happy to answer any question I had, so taking this opportunity was more than profitable for me.

“The Far Coast started out as a cultist group to see the ground world, but the ground world was just too far. By the time they made this realization, they were already a major power in The God Mountain. They are the strangest of the three kingdoms and have beliefs far different from the conserving Luthric.” He explained.

“So what about the Western Creed? What makes it substantially different from Luthric in any sense?” I asked. I knew I had to have been getting on his nerves, but this was the last question I had to ask him before sleep ensued.

“Ahh--The Western Creed. They are the heads of the Mountain Council, and decide when the three kingdoms should meet and discuss the events and politics of the mountain top. They created the centerlands, a land owned by all three. It’s a completely neutral zone, a treaty of sorts. That is where they agreed upon creating the massive project Slavopolis. Although it was called Project Ground at the time.” He said.

“Wait! That’s super cool. Tell me more about these centerlands, and Project Ground!” I blurted out in excitement. There was nothing more thrilling than these info dumps, even though I knew I was barely scratching the surface. It was obvious that the man was giving me the sparknotes version.

“I’ll have to tell you another time Tylor. I think it is best we get some sleep and rest for the coming days. This campaign against The Western Creed will not be an easy one. I suggest you rest plenty.” Officer Roger said. He was completely right. I was just a new recruit. A bare-bones recruit at that.

General Lancaster was sure to come in at dawn and tell us to get our asses into gear. The only problem was sleep. I was so used to a soft bed, sleeping on the ground was catastrophic and impossible. Griffin came up to me before heading into the tent to rest, “If you hadn’t brought that girl with you, you could have slept in the tent with the rest of us. Roger didn’t want to leave her out in the cold, so she’s sleeping with him for the night.” Griffin told me as he walked off into the other tent.

“Damnit all to hell!” I whispered to myself in frustration as a tear ran down my cheek. How could I have blundered so hard?! I would never sleep at this rate. I even considered sneaking inside and throwing that damn wretched girl outside. She had been the root of all my problems. The bane of my existence! My achilles heel. I felt like Julius Caesar, devoid of all life and dead on the cold floor, murdered by my own men.

My mind was still racing. The thought of Lincoln and Hibe entered my mind time after time again, I just prayed they were okay. If anything, Baron Roghan was my biggest obstacle at the moment. He was always somehow getting in my way of world domination. His head had to go first, and that was just the truth.

Dawn would quickly rise as the horns shouted from every corner of the camp, and General Lancaster stood at its center, mounted on his horse with his shining armor. He looked like your generic hero, blonde hair and a beautiful face with blue eyes. He was in silver full-metal armor. Which looked heavy as hell to wear, but a general had to be strong I guess.

“Men, we move out now! I’ve assigned the commanders to your squads! There should be ten officers under one commander! Is that understood?! We begin our march now! Keep up with the cavalry the best you can, or die in a pit.” The general shouted. He was not one to mess around with, you’d lose your head!

Our commander came up to the officers in line. An army of men stood behind the officers. “I’m Commander Kyle, you’ll be directed by me. Follow my orders to the tee. Is that understood?” He said, his large figure towered above us all. Frankly he looked like a war god, or maybe the God of War himself. Kratos is that you?! Well, he was bald and had war paint, so that’s enough for me now--Commander Kratos. I smiled internally.

The officers saluted him and acknowledged he was their superior, and the campaign had officially begun. Camp had been packed up and the men were now moving out in an endless line of walking. We walked in a steady direction, the boiling sun bearing down on us. “Shit--I hate hot weather…” I mumbled.