Xerxes

Attack on Vlagsir

I was nine when my parents got killed by the Drakas. I watched my mum get stabbed multiple times until she gave up, while my dad got hacked to pieces without mercy. Up until this day, no other memory seemed to overtake the merciless killings of my parents. When they grabbed me and I fought, I didn't know what I was fighting for, or why. It didn't seem right to budge or resist. After all, the only people I loved in this world were dead.

"Corporal!" a hoarse voice called out.

That must be Sergeant Fin. His story wasn't better off when compared to mine. He had watched his parents get crucified upside down as a ten year old. It might have been the reason for his exceeding will to kill Drakas, be it man, woman or child.

What was I saying, none of our stories were better. We had all lost something and we had joined the Dark force to become mercenaries to go up against the Kings army. They deserved it for what they had done to us. For what they would do if they weren't stopp...

"Corporal!" he barked

"Yes Sergeant!" I quivered. I wished he would leave me alone and go pick on someone else.

He looked furious, good.

It meant that a Draka station was close by.

"Are you deaf, Corporal?"

"No Sergeant!"

"Then why do I have to call on you multiple times as a deer in heat calls upon her mate."

That did not sound right. His voice was beginning to sound a bit off. Like he was itching to fight but wasn't getting the order from the Xaj.

You see, unlike normal armies which had Kings or Princes lead them into battle, we had a Xaj. It was what we called leaders with exemplary magical powers.
She was the direct descendant of the great Pontius, one of the greatest Sorcerer to have ever walked the earth.
He alone was enough to end this war, but sadly just like every other thing which were mortal in this world, he was no god. He was killed in battle and his daughter Petra had to take up the mantle as a Xaj.

"Do I seem like a fly to you?" he rapped on.

Huh, he was still here.

"No Sergeant!"

"Where are your teammates?"

My teammates consisted of two magicians, one special archer and two expert swordsmen.
They had their ways of doing things in battle. They were a different breed from the rest of us. I on the other hand was just a cartographer and a stable boy. I did not have the physical strength or the endurance to go through missions like they did, so I was given the post of a stable boy. I could not argue with the Generals when the verdict was passed, after all, it was better than being in battle and dying from a dragon fire or a magic spell.

"In the stables preparing for battle, Sir!" I blew out.

He didn't look convinced.

"And your squad leader? Has he gone gallivanting with the whores of Svilnea again?"

That I could not answer on the spot. Sergeant Roman had always been one to ease his pain with vanity. Wine, gambling, women, men, battle, rumbles, fights, spars, anything to get his mind off the crazy world he was in. He didn't like to focus on the situation at hand, instead he liked to distract himself before getting into the battlefield. Very sad way to live, but it was not a bad one when you lived in a world where your life could end in a flash during a surprise attack.
Nobody knew much about his history, but it was rumored by the abbots that his wife and son had been burnt alive while he watched in agony and pain at their sheared skin turning black.