Those who say 'War is hell' should just shut up.
I would trade hell for this any day.
Once again, I had my orders, I will not question them.
The orders were to march to some village that I had no desire of learning the name of.
The part of the orders I had kind of skimmed over were that we were to fight a bunch of damned Vanguard.
While we were forming our ranks, I received my long sword and just sighed, this weapon didn't suit me.
Turns out, someone knew.
A woman, bearing the crest of, what I recognised to be, the Central Shipping Empire, approached me.
But she approached me with a look of purpose in her eyes, nothing in them told me to trust her.
"Ah, master Rend, correct?" she said to me, readying a package in her hands. "I have a... Gift."
I knew of this 'Shipping Empire', She was lucky I hadn't cut her smuggling hands off.
"Oh? And what would this 'Gift', as you so generously put it, going to cost me, thief?" Nothing told her I cared for her words.
"Please, this is a gift. Well, I guess you could call it insurance." She held that word with a cruel twist in her smile.
"'Insurance'? What in damnation do you wish to ensure you selfish wench?" Almost spitting at her in hatred, she was sick and I was well aware.
"My own skin." As she said this, she thrusted the package into my hands. "Have fun, Elf."
I look up to see her... Gone
"Elf?" I murmur to myself as I open the package, the contents felt so sweet and right.
A bow and quiver full of arrows.
"MEN AND WOMEN OF THE IRON CITY! FORM UP!"
I run to my position with my new friend in my hands, my recruiter taking his stance by my side, Antonius Finch.
"Ha." One simple sound and I wanted to test fire it on him.
"What now, Finch?"
"Oh nothing, when was the last time you even held a bow?"
"A long time ago, my friend." Something told me that he was just being an arse, but I let him play it out.
"Well good luck then, I will miss you."
And there it was.
"What the damned do you-"
"You are a human."
"What does th-"
"You have a bow. Not your weapon."
No matter how much I wanted to argue, he was right. It maybe a real hit to my ego, I had to fight.
I had a purpose.
In all of my arguing in my own head, I missed the advance call.
I almost froze. So many dead.
All that my body did was react. Running forward I almost trip over a body.
Stumbling forward, I look back to see a man I trained with, we started the same day.
We fought together on the ships all those months ago.
He was my friend.
Then I realised, I had seen the man to kill a friend of mine.
