Embers and The Fiend

Prologue

The mangled bodies hung beautifully from the oak trees within the forest, as if sculpted landscape. Five and ten corpses hung amongst the oak tree branches, as if paper lanterns placed for a festival. Entrails, substituting as rope hung from the branches tightly wrapping the necks of fallen soldiers as bushels of lavender and apple blossoms were stuffed in their gaping stomachs and mouths, naked in their shame for all to see. Spilt blood from the hanged dead consumed the earth and appeared as red linen carpet from the faint moonlight above, as if paving a road to one's doom.

Walking in the midst of this butchery, Varyl Perrault continued to gaze at his fellow soldiers and continued deeper into the forest. The vibrant green leaves of the wood were spotless from any drop of blood, yet the effects of warfare was evident amongst the earth. The bodies bruised from fighting had been broken, twisted, and distorted dangled amongst the oak and wildflowers, swaying from the gentle breeze as if their carcasses were but wind chimes. Despite the blood that had been spilt, the death of his fellow men did not grieve him harshly as he knew the cause of this war was entirely their doing, the humans. Invading an unknown magical land would obviously bring forth consequences, yet none like he's ever seen before. Fear and disgust were quickly replaced with awe and wonder.

As the bloodied soaked earth clung to his boots like caramel, Varyl was shocked that the stench of rotting flesh did not violate any of his senses.

"Must be the lavender stuffing," Varyl whispered to himself as he continued to venture deeper into the woods pondering on how lavender had the strength to dissolve the stench of rotting flesh and blood. The scent was pleasant if not soothing in contrast to the ghastly scene. The natural vegetation of the forest seemed to have paused and the pleasant smell all but lingered and flew in the breeze. There was no smell of the oak, the earth, or wildflowers. It was only the light scent of lavender and the blossoms of apple.

Passing through the thick wood, it seemed more than a few hundred of slain men hanging from branches with bouquet stuffing flowing from their decaying bodies. "One fairy is capable of all this?"

Although the vast wood surrounded him, his path was not lost from him to retreat to his camp. The slain of his fellow comrades etched from the outskirts to the forest towards his target; the fairy over this land. Varyl continued his stroll slower than before, his curiosity and cautiousness overpowering all of his senses as none ever before. This war between fairy and man had brought out the worst in this country and he was tired of it.

A man of a very poor lineage and the youngest of six children of a fisherman, Varyl knew that the ones in his position or worse had dealt with the foulest conditions between this war with humans and fae. Cannibalism, disease, and chaos was not what he wanted to experience in his lifetime, yet he had escaped it all by pledging his loyalty to the Emperor and becoming a foot soldier. There he was untouched by disease and cannibalism from the after effects of battle, yet chaos was yet still the mastermind of war. Chaos in how many men it would take to defeat a magical being who is connected to the earth by mind, body, and spirit and how a calculated plan can be destroy and bring forth disarray. It seemed he had bitten far more than he could chew as he continued to gaze upon the mangled bodies around him.

All he wanted was peace. Peace so he could live to see grandchildren and not waste away stricken with disease or malnutrition from war. Sneaking away from the sleeping huts where the remaining soldiers were stationed, Varyl decided to take means into his own hands. He would talk to this fairy who had slaughtered hundreds of human men.

Death didn't frighten him as much as war had. Death was part of life . . . but war was the product of selfishness, greed, and ego. He always knew that a peaceful death was always better than death produced from war. Peace was needed to bring these two races together. But, in order for that to happen, negotiations needed to take place instead of swords and arrows. His plans to succeed must enact peace and negotiations between the two races, there his service in the Imperial Army would be complete and he would be able to rise in ranks to live a simple comfortable life. This war had to end.