Rhetoric of Crimson

The Hell That Freezes Over: Five Years Ago

Snow fell gently from the gray sky onto a group of soldiers who believed with all their hearts, that they would be dead by the end of the year. Perhaps it was the flickering eyes of the officers that unnerved her. Seemingly screeching out in a wordless plea to escape the damnation they had been commanded to brave. Marrisa Meldroska struggled against the weight of the crowd surrounding the army sending them off to their supposed doom. Despite being outside for only a few minutes, she could feel the cold morning air attack her face. She reached up to touch her cheeks. They must be bright red from how cold they were. Obscuring the freckles that crossed the bridge of her nose. She quickly tied back her brown hair in a failed attempt to keep her head a little warmer. She took after her mother, a southerner who couldn't handle the climate of the north. Her husband and the father of her children were in the column, and he would have to survive much colder weather than this.

For hundreds of years, it was the common belief of the residents of Melbridge that everyone who went beyond Fort Baerath would meet a gruesome end. Despite this fact, Twenty-six hundred soldiers were marching far north beyond it to test this theory as well as root out the horrors beyond. Fort Baerath represented more than the limit of the empire's influence. It was a marker of where the rules of nature differed greatly from what was known by scholars and peasants alike. Everything north of the fort grew larger and became more ferocious than the southern counterparts.

Snow fell on the masses of gloomy and melancholy soldiers, marching in an organized column out of the city. The white snow, once so pure, had been swept up to the sides of the road. Now it stood as a black and filthy wall about three feet above the ground. On the opposite end, a crowd of tired and scared masses said goodbye to their loved ones in the column. The soldier's armour was a custom-made chimera of steel and fur to protect against the cold as well as an axe blow. The green and black banners of house Meldroska flew beside the banner purple and rainbow banners of the empire. The bright green ice bear of Meldroska was presented in front of a field of black while the banner of the empire was rather simplistic in comparison. Two purple lines created the top part of a triangle with the bottom line dyed in the colours of the divine houses of the empire, including the green of Meldroska. Sorrowful looks were the conversation of choice for the troops this spring morning. However, this may have been a blessing in disguise. If what the soldiers felt in their hearts had any outward power, the entire empire would be swallowed into the abyss they sired.

An icicle shattered. The nearest soldiers jumped back. A few even tripped over each other, spilling onto the icy street. The column ground to a halt as the soldiers got back on their feet and continued to march.

A common belief in the northern provinces of the empire is Ice Never Bends. It demonstrates that northern folk come from different stock than their southern counterparts. They are uncompromising and never surrender to any odds. Nothing contradicted this statement more than the soldier who fled the column.

Had it not happened on her side of the column, Marrisa knew that she never would have even seen it happening. He dropped his sword, still in its sheath and sprinted down one of the side streets only to be pursued on horseback. It had been less than a minute since he had left the column when he was dragged to the front of it. Deserters paid a hefty price regardless of the distance travelled. It was one of her husband's officers who swung the sword to relieve the man of his fear. The city watch quickly dragged the body out of view, but the message had already been delivered. Desertion was a death sentence.

Stone buildings of the city had chipped and partially eroded due to the northern climate and frequent storms that battered their city. The snow was still ankle-deep despite the majority of the empire experiencing the beginnings of summer. The air had a faint aroma of smoke incorporated within it. It was a staple of the city, smoke always tainted the air one way or another. A mob of people that had begun to surround the soldiers sending them off were dressed in traditional fur and leather garments that helped them withstand the year-long cold weather.