Before The Storm

Kindred threw away the insignia from the top of the castle tower to the marketplace below. It was just a piece of gold and can be easily be mistaken as a gold coin. Perhaps a lucky peasant can have it. The days of treachery are over and he was starting to move his feelings away.

Suddenly, he saw a band of bandits corner a girl with an axe. the 10 bandits closely walked towards her as she seemed to be ready to fight. The girl's hair was incredibly white and her outfit seemed to be as if she was a traveller of some sort. As she prepared her swing, she was interrupted by the calling of a man in a maroon combat uniform.

"Hello there."

As this woman thought, this man seems to be mad as he called 4 bandits for his attention. But as the 4 bandits reached out to him, his quick and precise strikes broke the arm of 1, knocked another unconsciously, cracked the neck of the third, but let the 4th one go as he ran away. It was General Kindred. And as they prepared to fight, it was pretty obvious as to who would win. Just for a quick moment, the remaining bandit ran away from the 2.

"Your fighting skills seem well for a traveller like you. What's your name milady?"

"Morticia. From the Republic of Porthos."

---

John walked along the training grounds, he looked at his hand and saw that it was shaking. The final battle is upcoming and he is too old for this. The times were indeed complicated before. But their enemies are stronger now and more frightening than ever before. He has heard of orcs, elves, dwarfs, rebels, angels, and demons, but he has never heard of 'shapeshifters' before. He stood his ground. Looked closely at the dummy, and swung his great sword.

The dummy's head was decapitated, and flicked through the air. As he caught it, he noticed his hands shake again.

He was getting old...

Goner could not see the general. The others were busy training as they were preparing for battle. He decided to go to the castle as he felt like he needed a drink. As he went inside the throne hall, a lot of humans looked at him. Some in fear, others in disgust, others in anger. The memories of the Great Orc War was still present in their minds. And as another war approached, it made it even clearer.

"Hey."

A hand was felt on his arm, it was Emilia. It was obvious that she wanted to try out his axe. Her curiosity was just too powerful. Having Bastion in prison after an incident of him burning General Kindred's left arm, the mage student stopped teaching his young apprentice. Which left the avid learner yearning for things to do, and be better at fighting.... even if this means trying to master a 6 foot war axe.

The orc smiled as he patted the student's head. The Rotten Veterans however, who were chatting at a corner, stared at them in suspicion. If there was any sort of report from their men that their deal of Emilia not being in battle is broken, then it would be in utmost certainty that they would leave and abandon this contract in an instant. However, it seems that their 'cadets' are just merely students willing to learn. Nothing less, nothing more.

"Ready Emilia. Goner strong. But Goner slow. Dagger weak. But dagger fast."

---

Alvin sat down by the tree. He closed his eyes and started to focus on his energy. His power seemed to fully be channeled into his mind. As he focused more and more, his body began to heat up, and his skin slowly turned to red. If he were to truly master this power, and if he were to truly get back to his village, he must learn how to control his power.

Focus Alvin....

Focus...

Only then will he ever get his friends back...

The loud busy marketplace near the castle was obvious and prominent. Everyone was in a state of panic as they know that a war is coming. Although they do not know when it will start. Their best guess is to hoard as many food as possible, and to wait it out in their homes.

Along the crowd came a group of colorful individuals. Their faces were covered through their helmets and hoods. They seem to have some sort of religious symbol attached to their weapons and clothes. And they seem to be very formal in their actions.

Kindred stopped as he saw the men in different colors. The guards stopped to look at him as well. And the Red regiment arrived to see the new individuals. Sir Darriel suddenly pushed himself towards the crowd of crusaders and then said...

"State your business here."

The crusaders then unsheathed their blades to point them at the private's neck.

"Alright men, stand down." Kindred quickly said. As the tension grew, the faceless crusaders looked at him in fascination. Soon, they slowly lowered their weapons. They began to walk away and into the main entrance of the castle walls.

"Interesting ain't it?" A voice was suddenly heard nearby. And as they turned, they saw soldiers dressed in dark green, with some hint of leafy material in their accents for camouflage.

"I'm Andrew." The voice revealed a white skinned man with a slim-leaning fit with some hints of muscle. He was wearing a standard issue Ravenian Armor, but his olive color, along with his men showed that they came from a different regiment.

"General Kindred, Red Blood Regiment." The former assassin said.

"I've heard of your company lad." The man sourly said. He looked to be very formal. Not lavish, but it looked like he had a very strict persona. With this, he knew who he was dealing with. "Discipline your men, it seems like this isn't the only thing frustrating me in this kingdom." He continued.

"Ahh." The general exclaimed, as if he welcomed this attack on his troops. "My men are the most dependent slaves out there! Whenever I order something, they follow. Even if it's wrong, they follow!" he said. His words were full of sarcasm, and it was enough to be noticed by the ranger.

"Don't test me young man. You don't know what's coming." Andrew said.

Kindred smirked and just tossed his threat off, and walked past him. His scouts told him that Andrew was not the noble loving scum that he would usually take focus in. With this, he needed to get back to his men.

"General, I hope you understand what I mean." said the ranger.

"As you said... I do not know what's coming." the general replied. And with a sigh, he continued on. In his mind however he thought...

I hope what he's saying is not what I think it is...

Walking along the path, he saw his comrades train hard for the battle. Aida and Artemis were competing for their targets. With the winner hardly determined. It seemed to be that they are not even competing at all, as they seem to be smiling and just playing along - truly, he thought, they were indeed sisters.

Serai was studying different sword techniques. Anno was teaching new recruits about formations. And Tiffany was mixing herbs and plants. Everything was going well. It was until someone came in.

"Hey."

The general snapped out of his thoughts. His eyes went to the white haired woman behind him. It was Morticia. He asked what her business was. She then spoke up.

"I just wanted to thank you for what you did back there. And how you accepted me in this regiment."

"You mean when I helped you in your errands with those bandits? Well. It's no problem. It's our job anyways. But I must admit that I was attracted to your skills."

The lady's eyes widened. What did he mean? What was he saying? Her cheeks slightly flustered as the young general saw her reaction. With this, he laughed as he touched her shoulder to reassure her.

But what was he reassuring?

Morticia's mind questioned everything. But it was stopped when Kindred said "No need to worry milady. I was doing my job."

His smile seemed genuine, almost as if he was glad that she was there. However, she suddenly found herself slowly being pulled by Kindred. Her face close to his. Slowly, and slowly,

His dagger was pointing at her neck...

"Rule number 1: Never be distracted."

Morticia shoved him away and they both laughed.

"Are you sure you wish to let me beat you now?"

He smiled. If they will train, then it might as well be their best training yet. The two dueled with haste and speed. They were both competitive as Morticia's ferocity matched against Kindred's agility. This duel would continue for days, and weeks, all while the castle was being fortified. And for each spar, the general would always win. However, for each spar, it seemed more and more impossible for the general to stop her.

As one of the final days would commence, they had their biggest challenge yet. They both knew their fighting styles - they were the only ones sparring for the last few days anyway. And the regiments seemed to be curious about this fight as well.

As the fight began, Morticia was more aggressive yet conservative with her strikes, as she knew that Kindred relied on his agility for his counterattacks and dodge attacks. The general however used feints in attacking, as he knew that Morticia's strength would get the best of her if she only relied on her ferocity.

Morticia raised her wooden staff to strike for a killing blow. Kindred used this chance for a quick counter attack. But Morticia had other plans. All those days of training led her to the prediction that he would indeed dodge it. She instead repositioned her staff for a sweep to the feet. As Kindred fell down, he took this opportunity to kick her legs. She fell down on top of him. She then grabbed his arms to pin him down. Their faces were now really close to each other. And all they could do was to smile at each other.

"Do you yield?" Morticia jokingly said.

Kindred, also knowing that he is cornered and had nothing to do, smiled and said, "Well I have no other choice but to say yes, don't I?"

Then they realized that there were other people in the crowd, so they quickly stood up to face the crowd. Suddenly, a large black smoke appeared in the distance. And pretty soon, a faint drumming sound rumbled through the Kingdom.

They're coming...

With this, all the regiment leaders went to the castle. Here they discussed their battle plans. The Royal Ranger Regiment was to take care of the Western Entrance, the Red Blood Regiment was tasked for the main gate. The Town Watch was to be the front lines, the Black Valkyrie Regiment was to be the backup and would be at the castle walls, while the Straznicy Regiment was responsible for keeping the castle safe. 

As the soldiers gathered around for their final drills and training, Kindred went to the side of the castle for some space. He wanted to take a break from the bustling political tension in the kingdom and wanted to sit with the rustle of leaves as the calm wind brushed through the dusk of night. Coming from the sounds of the drums, it seemed to be about a day before the enemies come. A perfect time to reflect on the events on what lead them here. Suddenly, the sound of grass crunches filled the silence with the wind. It was Morticia.

She handed him a flask of water. And as he drank it, he asked...

"I told you how I saw you when we were fighting the bandits. Care to share yours?"

She smiled, and sat down beside him. "Well, you seemed to be a capable fighter yourself. A good person, and you seem smart enough to know that you have another ally to not get your head sliced."

Kindred smiled and looked at her with a calm face. She then reached something in her pocket.

"You dropped this."

Her voice was full of bliss and innocence, yet she stopped as she saw Kindred stop looking at her. She looked at her hand and was puzzled that a gold insignia would deter him from looking at her. He then sighed quietly, and then looked at the night sky. She looked at his eyes, it was clear and evident...

"You're scared, aren't you?"

She put the insignia inside her pocket again. For Kindred, it was a large reminder for him on who they were fighting. "Yes." He answered. "But having fear means knowing that your enemy can defeat you. Which forces you to prepare."

She nodded. Then as she placed her hand on his shoulder, she reassured to him that everything will be fine. Then, she spoke.

"The truth about when I saw you for the first time. It was the first time someone showed kindness to me. And in joining this regiment, it was the first time people treated me as an equal, as a family..."

"As a comrade...." Kindred continued her words. They both smiled at each other as they looked through their eyes. It was a moment of peace, yet it was also hours before the war.

"I just hope we get to see each other again." She said, looking down a bit. "It's just that...."

"No don't"

"Please listen to me."

"We can't-"

"I think I'm in love with you."