S2:CH8

A snowy field was seen. Birch trees surrounded what looked to be a small crimson-haired girl. The girl's hair seemed to flow down to her ankles as she sat silently in the snow. She then looked up into the near distance which slowly faded into a pitch white fog. Her expression looked empty yet tears streamed down her cheeks and onto the white blanket of snow. Suddenly, her head was touched. And, she was greeted with a warm and welcoming aura as she looked to whoever had their hand on her head. 

As she looked, she was met with a woman that highly resembled her, this time wearing what seemed to be a fox mask and a black cloak. The woman stepped in front of the child, kneeling down and taking the girl's hands, cupping them. She let go of her, taking off her mask and placing it into the palms of her hand. The crimson haired girl looked up to the woman as more tears streamed down her face. She looked to the woman, the woman's face covered her eyes as she let out a smile, standing up and walking away into the near distance.

The girl looked down to the mask once more, this time her hands looked more aged then usual. Many different scars were on her hand, she didn't recognize it for a moment. Suddenly a strange sense of fear brushed against her spine.. 

A red substance splattered onto the fox mask as well as her face. She looked up in a panic to be met with a guillotine which seemed to have the same red substance she saw. The girl looked in true horror as she took her hand and placed it onto her cheek, wiping the liquid off of her cheek. The crimson haired girl then took her hand away from her cheek, looking at her hand as she was met with a metallic smell. 

It was blood.

She dropped the mask onto the floor, looking up at the guillotine as her vision started to blur.

"Ebony." The girl heard coming from her right as she slowly turned her head.

"Ebony!" She'd hear again, this time turning her head to the sound faster.

As she turned her head, she was met with a woman with pitch black wings that rested on her shoulders. The woman was standing behind a tree as Ebony was inside a cave. The girl looked at her hands, feeling them. It appeared that they were real and fine, with no blood at all. Everything felt real.

"Done with sleeping Ebony?" The winged woman asked, chuckling. Ebony looked confused yet shocked at her presence. She felt like her heart was beating out of her chest.

"I suppose so, Crescentia." Ebony grabbed her mask from inside her bag, adjusting it on her face.

"Well then hurry up, we have a visitor." The winged woman smiled then turned, jumping up into the air and flying off. "We have a visitor." She repeated as she flew far away, with her voice still strangely audible.

"Ebony." She called again.

"Lady Ebony." She repeated.

Ebony's eyes suddenly opened. She was in the castle of Ravena, with Ace telling her to wake up.

"We have a visitor." He said.

The two walked through the quiet autumn morning before dawn. The place was so quiet that the sound of the burning torches could have filled the rooms and corridors of the large and proud castle. The guards stood in a tired manner, waiting for their comrades' turn for the midnight shift, not knowing that it had already been past midnight a couple of minutes ago. The two Aeryth officers continued to walk through the corridor and through the gates. The large doors of the castle gave the first sounds of the morning, and at its revelation, a soldier with the uniform of the Red Blood Regiment was presented. It was Artemis. She had a sack covering her head, and she was kneeling down with her hands tied up to her back in the middle of the castle entrance. Her ash white hair was seeping out of the small bag, as her silent breaths moved the fabric a bit. She could not easily move however, since her captors held her shoulders down.

"She surrendered to us, milady." The guard spoke in a low and deep voice. Ace walked to Artemis and kneeled beside her. He then looked at Ebony, who gave him a nod, giving him the signal to take the sack off her head.

Artemis squinted her eyes through the sight of the torches that shocked her vision on the sudden light. Her expression then went almost blank as she shifted her focus from the blinding lights of the torches, to the leader of this new clan she was meeting. Her look was imposing, yet also innocent and approachable. Her mask, almost broken, was visible, yet still obscured through the dim lights of the outside. With a lot of cracks coming from it, it still held on to her face. And with this, she spoke...

"Is this one of your general's tricks?"

Artemis looked down as she spoke. It was as if she risked every action to go here, yet she seemed to just be turned down instantly by their leader. Although considering how she was wearing her regiment's uniform, it would make sense to have that assumption. But this is not about her or her regiment anymore. It was something bigger now. There she spoke...

"I just want this war to end."

Ebony looked at the white haired half-elf with intriguing thoughts. For a while, she thought that the regiments were bloodthirsty imperialists, and as she looked more into it, it didn't seem to be the case.

"What do we do with her, milady?" Ace asked. And as Ebony kept looking at the girl, Artemis slowly looked up to her. And with this, her hand slowly moved towards her mask. The cold early winter blew calmly, then this breeze stopped. Silence filled the place, then a click was suddenly heard.

----- 

“Seems like Gold is staying outside tonight for some reason. Jim, I’m gonna need you to scout this camp’s perimeter to see any threats or rival camps that could potentially harm the siege tomorrow.”

Commander Oliver said as he stood up the tower with a torch in his hand. He looked at Kindred who was still sleeping near the campfire, who seemed to be exhausted from planning earlier at night. Looking back at Jim, the man was eager for this mission as he headed to Gold. However, someone seemed to be following Jim. When Oliver looked closer thanks to his demonic eyesight, he then felt relieved of who it was.

“Sir Gold. Anything you’ve seen so far?”

Gold stood silently as he looked at the castle from afar. It had only dawned on him now that tomorrow would be the time when they would need to attack them.

And, he would need to attack her…

Gold only shook his head, as he walked back to the camp. Jim only shrugged as he continued his travels to the woods. He stopped at a nearby lake, where he suddenly sensed that someone was following him. As he turned around, no one seemed to be there, but as a member of the Red Blood Regiment, his tracking skills knew that there was indeed someone. His mission however proved to be more important. He dove down the river to arrive at a clan base. He slowly rose the surface to see 3 guards outside the COA base. Calculating the risks, he slowly walked to land and equipped his Axe to kill the 3 guards in quick succession. His strikes were quick and direct. Almost loud, but not loud enough to alert the nearby enemies. He slashed his axe on the first guard’s neck, which killed the enemy instantly, then sunk his axe head into the second guard’s face, before running towards the third guard and strangling him to the ground. After it was done, he gave raspy breaths and checked his surroundings. He soon discovered that another guard from a watchtower saw what he did. But as he was about to utter any word, a dagger sunk into his throat, causing him to gag, and fall to his position. Jim looked at the entrance and saw another shifter seeing the pile of dead bodies. And, as she turned around and ran away from Jim, another dagger flung and hit her nape, causing her to fall down and die. Jim looked to the new corpse and then looked behind him, as he saw a familiar face in the shadows. She spoke…

“I usually try to attack the watchtowers first before taking out the entrance guards. That way, I won’t have to worry about this incident from almost happening.”

“So you were the one following me.” Jim said

May looked a bit surprised at his knowledge of her presence. However, she knew that he was on a mission. So she tossed the matter aside and moved on saying “Let’s take care of the bodies for now before more guards come.”

They both hid the corpses on some bushes and continued to talk about the proper way of infiltrating a base. “Always stay low and use your toes instead of your heels when you traverse.” She said as they finished tying down the corpses to the bush. With this, they continued to fight and take out the small camp of enemies in the area. There were only 7 members left, and all of them disappeared 1 by one. After this, May told Jim that they should part ways.

“I’m off to my mission now.” She said.

“What mission?” Jim asked.

“It’s classified.” She retorted before leaving the camp and into the castle. And through that, he saw her footprints moving towards the castle. He then thought carefully about the situation.

"Alright then." He said.

----- 

May climbed the walls of the castle and into the different rooms, there she heard Ebony speak in the throne room. "We'll need the Northern Shifter Clan of Morheim to reinforce us during the battle. When the Selyrians charge in, we'll have them encircle us while we hold on to this castle and attack the remaining forces."

Upon hearing this, May continued on to the corridors and dimly lit rooms around the castle. And with this, she found the room that belonged to Ebony herself, guarded by two soldiers at the entrance. She then positioned herself and prepared to aim her dagger at the soldiers. She then threw them and hit the first one. She then followed it up with stabbing the head of the second one with her short spear. After this, she then lock-picked the door and got inside. And through it, she found a scroll that contained the name of the commander she was targeting.

"Commander Ventress." She whispered as she suddenly heard guards walking towards her direction. And suddenly, she heard the door close, in which she threw another dagger towards it. The man suddenly dodged it with a quick duck. It was almost lethal, but she quickly saw who it was thanks to the shining moon illuminating the dark room she was in.

"Jim?" She asked as she saw Jim holding the two bodies of the guards and putting them down.

"You almost killed me." He stated.

"Why are you here?"

"You told me to use my toes and not my heels when traversing."

"That's not an answer."

Jim sighed, and began to pick up the two soldiers again and put them near the bed. After that, he said, "I thought you needed some help."

May's face hinted a blush but was shadowed by the darkness of the room, And, she couldn't see Jim's blushing face as well because of it. This prompted him to explain further and walk towards her saying...

"Look, I know that infiltrating this place alone isn't an easy job. And I just wanted to help and-"

His words were interrupted by May giving him a sudden hug. This shocked him a lot and made him blush even more. But it was then quickly stopped by the sound of guards marching towards them. Jim quickly locked the door and looked at May in a way as if he was asking her what to do next. And with this, she then looked at the window and took out her rope and tied it towards the metal railings of the window. Jim nodded and followed suit as they both rappeled down towards the side of the castle. And with it, came the sound of more guards moving towards their direction. They soon climbed the walls and made it out safely. But the mission was not over yet.

"We'll need to find that camp. It says here that The Fox has given them the location of the Eastern Camp. Although, I don't know where that is..."

Jim nodded, and understood. Considering how she was from Karthus, both of them were new to this place. However, Jim had the skill of tracking, so he led the way towards the forest and towards the map he had.

"In tracking, the basic things that you'll need, is a compass and a map. But more than that, it's also easy to use the placement of the stars and the moon."

May nodded and followed him as they walked through the wilderness. Jim was looking up as he used his compass to set their course. As he then looked at the stars, he then said "Eastern Camp eh? I guess this is the way we're headed."

They walked through the forest and stopped when they found a path. As they took it, they stuck to the side of the road as they went on. And eventually, they got to their destination.

"I think we're here." He said.

The two saw a small encampment with hundreds of soldiers dressed in gray capes and hide clothes. When they saw different people shapeshifting, they knew this was the camp that they were looking for. May then came up with an idea. She whispered to Jim saying...

"We'll dress up as the shifters, then infiltrate their base. After that, we can get inside their leader's hall, and eliminate them."

Jim nodded, and they proceeded to kidnap 2 shifters and knocked them unconscious to steal their clothes and use them as a disguise. But suddenly...

"Hey."

The 2 humans were startled to see Thomas in the woods calling them in a loud whisper. May got her spear almost ready to stab Thomas, but it was stopped when they realized that he wasn't actually a threat. They then explained to him their plans, and proceeded to continue on with their quest.

Upon arriving at the new base, they saw different people in camps and tents, all celebrating in the night. Feasts were held, children were singing, and the shifters were just living their lives normally. Jim was astonished at this fact, as he had not seen this side of this certain race. Thomas was also shocked at this look, and seemed to be the most intrigued of the three. He then saw some children playing, and he decided to look at them while the two focused on the mission. As for May however, she was too focused on the mission. She then saw the large tent where the commander seems to be residing.

"That's our target." May said calmly, waiting for Jim to respond. The man only nodded, while Thomas was too busy with looking at the campfire. "Go on without me." The boy said. "I'll be on the lookout."

The two nodded, as they proceeded to enter the large tent. Thomas however went by to the campfire to see the group of people sitting by it, watching and laughing at the kids play-fighting. When the others saw Thomas just standing in the distance, one of the women quickly said.

"Brother! Come sit with us. We have chicken and vegetable soup."

Thomas hesitantly obliged and sat with them. The shifters handed him some soup, as Thomas sipped it for a bit. He then watched with the women as they laughed at the kids acting as some kind of fighters. One kid was wearing a green cape, while the other was wearing a gray cape. And suddenly, a teenage man appeared in the campfires.

"I am Geralt Magrin. Slayer of Shifters, and I have come to destroy you both!" A man approached the 2 kids play fighting." He said.

The two toddlers laughed as they lightly tapped the boy. Thomas smiled at this as he saw the man dressed in red, with sticks attached to his headbands to act like horns.

The women laughed even more as the toddlers hit him with their sticks, and Thomas began to laugh with them as well. Thomas then asked the woman beside her...

"What are they playing as?"

The women suddenly shifted their attention towards Thomas, as if it was something he did wrong. But the woman beside him, who seemed to be very old and nearing the end of her 60's, only chuckled and said to the women,"Now now. He's young. And he may not have seen or studied much of the tales yet." She then looked Thomas and said...

"The two boys represent the two shifter clans of the north. The Clan of Aeryth, and our clan - Morheim. our clans have always fought with each other back then. But because of the Shifter genocide, we had a reason to unite. That boy right there, is the one we all feared back then. His name was Geralt Magrin, the one who slaughtered so many men, women, and children shifters. And even now he's in those filthy regiments serving as a dog under the Magrins."

"He is?" asked Thomas.

The women looked at Thomas in disbelief again, as if he was expected to know about this. "He goes by the name of Gold now." The boy then spoke. Thomas could feel his heart pound as the group's attention slowly moved towards him. And because of it, he had to save himself.

"Ah yes. I seem to have forgotten. I'm sorry."

He looked down as he was beginning to feel nervous. But the old woman smiled, and tussled his hair. "Now, now. It's alright. We tend to forget stories from time to time. That's why it's important to always tell them to our children." The woman gestured at the two toddlers still busy 'slaying' 'Geralt'. She then handed him over another bowl of soup, in which Thomas sipped, now even more hesitantly. He looked at the children resuming their battles, as the boy began to greet the woman.

"Good evening elder Soma." He said, and began to sit beside Thomas.

"Edwind. I'm glad you're here after the night's watch. We have another boy here. What's your name pojke?

The woman asked. Thomas however was too busy looking at the shifters all enjoying and smiling at each other. The level of kindness that the shifters treat each other is nothing that Thomas has seen before. There he sat, realizing the amount of shifters his regiment has killed. The amount of shifters he had to fight, and the amount of times he vowed to kill every last shifter after his sister's kidnapping. He started to realize that tears were beginning to fall in his eyes, and he began to cry. Elder Soma suddenly got the attention, and nestled him on her shoulders.

"There now. You must have had a very difficult journey. Maybe that's the reason that you did not want to talk about it?"

Thomas only nodded, but he knew that guilt had already consumed him. These shifters aren't the murderous bunch he thought they were. And the Selyrians have been treating them as such for far too long.

"I'm sorry." Thomas said. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He repeatedly said.

"Hey." Edwind said and put his hand on Thomas's shoulder. "It's alright."

Thomas smiled, but was suddenly interrupted by a loud scream on the large tent. Thomas looked in horror, as he knew what was going on.

----- 

May and Jim entered the tent with the blood of one of the guards on their hands. Commander Ventress was inside the tent, looking at them. She had purple hair, with pale skin, and a heavy scar on her face tracing her forehead, to her eye, and ending on her cheek. On the eye that the scar is found, lies a gray eyepatch. She seemed to be surprised, but was determined to fight.

"Come at me murderers" She said.

The commander turned into a bear, and charged at the two. both of them managed to dodge it as they got to the sides to get their weapons ready. Jim grabbed his bearded axe and got into a defensive stance while May made a similar stance, but with her spear. The two now slowly approached the now transformed commander. Ventress then charged at Jim, who caught her head and was about to ride her, but was thrown off at the table. "GAH" he said it as he was flung. And now, it was up to May to attack. May stabbed the bear on her side, but Ventress moved her hand to claw May's head. The assassin managed to dodge this, but tripped down to the floor. Jim then recovered and saw that the bear was closing in on May. He then closed his eyes trying to reach the memory when he was hunting with his family. And as he opened, He jumped from the table and swung his Bearded Axe to the right shoulder hump of the bear, dropping the bear to the ground. May then thrusted her spear to the bear's stomach, killing the commander in an instant.

"Hey, you good?" Jim looked at May as he gave her his hand. As may grabbed it, Jim then said, "We make a good team." which made the girl smile. May stood up, suddenly close to Jim. And perhaps, it was too close. There was a moment of silence between the two, but that moment was soon interrupted by someone entering the tent.

"What seems to be the proble-"

The woman could not finish her sentence as she screamed in terror while looking at the dead body of Commander Ventress. Jim and May then ran outside the tent pushing the woman away. Chaos ensued.

-----

Screams erupted as the two Karthusians burst out of the tent pushing the woman away.

"What was that?" one of the toddlers wearing the gray cape asked in a bit of a scared face, as they saw the many people running and screaming. Edwind then held their hands and prepared.

"I don't think I have met you yet. What's your name?"

"Thomas! Let's get out of here!" May shouted from afar.

The two toddlers looked at Thomas with widened eyes of horror. "I..." his voice could escape as he could not think he could even explain.

"You're one of them?" One of the toddlers wearing the green cape. They then walked backwards as they seemed to be scared of him now. Elder Soma only gave a look of disappointment as he saw the boy looking really guilty.

"I'm sorry." Thomas whispered, as he began to run away to follow Jim and May.

------ 

As they both returned to the safety of the forest, the three Selyrians walked in silence. Screams of crying and wailing were still heard from the distance. Thomas stopped. Jim and May then noticed this and asked why he stopped. Thomas then spoke...

"What are we doing?"

Jim and May stood there, not knowing the answer. They were puzzled as to what he meant with this, and what he was pointing out. Jim then caught up and said...

"Taking back freedom."

"Why?"

Thomas quickly replied. "Why should we do this just for that reason? Jim. There were children there!"

Jim and May were stunned as they had to take in that information in front of them. Thomas was only there with tears on his eyes, and all they could do was look at him in a worried face.

"I don't understand why this needs to happen. Why does this war have to take so many lives? How many lives does this war need to take? Laura, Uri, Durinus. How many more?"

"Thomas..."

May finally spoke. "We're doing this to prevent more deaths. Our missions are what make that happen. If we don't stop the shifters, we will never stop the killings."

Thomas looked at her, with her eyes still covered in tears. "No, May." he said. He then continued...

"If we keep on doing this, we will never stop the killings."

-----