*** On the Border of the Empire and the Arturian kingdom ***

Several soldiers patrolled the wall, even through the freezing snow and bone-biting winds they stayed alert.

The keep had been reduced to but a skeleton of its former self.

Where once it had housed a division of 50,000 men, now it only had a few thousand.

“I think your wife is definitely fucking the farmhand.” a guard said to the one beside him.

They were on patrol across the eastern wall, due to the reduced number of guards there was only one patrol per wall at a time.

“You think? I practically caught them together.” answered the second.

“What will you do about the kid?”

“Dunno, maybe take her to me mum.”

“But your mums a witch.” answered the other, breaking out in laughter.

“Eh, shut up.” said the second, shoving the other against the wall.

“Ey! Watch it!” shouted the other giggling.

Then out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something.

“Oy… what's that?” he asked, squinting into the dark.

“What do you mean?” said the other, coming over.

“That!” he said, pointing at something moving in the dark.

“I can't see anything, it's too snowy.” said the other dismissively.

“I'm telling you! I saw something move.”

“It was probably just your imagination.”

But then he also saw something move.

“Holy shit, there is something…” he said, leaning forward.

“I know! That's what I've been trying to tell you!”

“Well, what is it?”

“No fucking clue.”

Then their eyes widened so far it looked like they had died of shock.

“Dear lord…” one whispered

“Sound the alarm…” the other one said.

However, the first one didn’t move.

“Sound the alarm!” shouted the other at him.

That shook him out of it.

He then began running down the walls shouting.

“ENEMY!”

“ENEMY AT THE GATES!”

***

Alex walked silently through the forest, his cloak fluttering behind him.

His footprints trailed silently through the snow.

It pressed against him, laying on top of him.

The chilly wind bit into his skin.

And he welcomed it.

‘When will it end?’

‘When can I stop?’

Then images of various people formed in his mind causing him to smile self-deprecatingly.

‘I can't ever stop walking, can I?’

‘I haven't suffered enough, have I?’

‘Maybe I should just stop?’

Then a specific image passed through his mind causing him to stop his train of thoughts.

William stared at him in his mind, a smile plastered on his face permanently.

‘No, I can't ever stop, can I?’

Alex began laughing, it wasn't a laugh of happiness nor was it one of sadness.

This laugh bore in it a long-suffering.

A laugh of pain.

A laugh of sin.

A laugh of madness.

His cackle echoed through the forest.

Then suddenly all fell silent.

“Man you really are a pain in the ass aren't you?” a voice echoed through the forest.

The snow had stopped falling.

The winds had ceased their endless flight.

All had frozen.

However, Alex kept on laughing.

Never once did he stop.

A loud sigh was heard finally causing him to stop laughing.

“You know you remind me of myself when I was younger…” said a voice above Alex.

Alex looked up, there in the branches above him a man laid on a long branch, he wore what appeared to be some sort of suit.

His short light brown hair fluttered in the wind.

His piercing gray pupil’s boreholes through Alex.

His eyes did not fit his age.

His physical appearance made it look like he was 20.

However, his eyes contained something different.

Something familiar to Alex.

A madness born from deep suffering.

“Who are you?” Alex asked tentatively.

After All, this was no ordinary man, for him to be able to appear before Alex in such a fashion attested to that.

“Who am I?” the man mused.

“I'm not sure I know anymore, it's been so long since I last heard my name I must have forgotten.”

He seemed to sink into a bout of muttering, suddenly a smile graced his face and he beamed at Alex.

“Anyways forget about me, let's talk about you!” he said cheerily.

Alex was slightly unnerved by his quick mood shift however he ignored it.

“Yes… yes… Alex, my dear dear Alex.”

“So young, so naive, I've been watching you for a while now…”

“I've even manipulated a few things for you, you know? It wasn't fun and I never do anything that isn't fun, but for you my dear dear Alex, for you I did.” his smile thinned a bit as he fell into another bout of mutterings before it returned in full force.

“But that is neither here nor there, after all, I am merely an observer and occasionally an influencer, and it seems my entertainment was about to be stopped.” his smile dropped.

“This won't do, no it won't,” he muttered.

“After all the work I put in, sending you to this stupid world, bribing that court of law, positioning good old Edmund to discover the prince, unbelievable to think you would even consider ending my entertainment, I even got you a fucking dog, tsk tsk so ungrateful.” his eyes flashed dangerously, causing Alex to gulp.

“You wouldn’t end my entertainment now, would you?” he asked in a harsh tone.

Alex took a deep breath, this guy was definitely crazy.

But Alex dared not tell him the truth.

After all, the two scariest types of people are those that do not fear death and lunatics.

And this guy felt like he fit both descriptions.

However, Alex also dared not lie.

Therefore he asked.

“What do you mean, sent me to this world?”

The man’s expression fell into deep contemplation before it suddenly brightened up.

“Well you know that's kind of a secret, but let's just say your world isn’t the only one out there.”

“Are you a god?” Alex asked curiously.

“A god?” he smirked.

“No, I’m not one of those idiots.”

This shocked Alex quite a bit, this guy regarded even the gods as fools?

Suddenly his smile dimmed.

“Well, it seems I’m running out of time, got another guy to meet.”

Alex internally sighed in relief.

However just before the man turned his back to Alex, he suddenly looked him in the eyes and said.

“You wouldn’t end my entertainment… Would you?”

Alex shuddered.

“No… I wouldn't dare.”

The man finally flashed him a smile.

“Good, because if you did, I assure you… hell would be the least of your worries!” he said cheerily before vanishing before Alex’s eyes.

Alex’s eyes wavered and he fell to his knees in the snow.

The winds began howling once again, and the snow began falling.

‘Who was he?’

But then all those faces from earlier were recalled in his head.

Alex clutched his head silently.

A few tears slid down his cheeks as he laid his head against the forest floor.

‘Why?’

‘Why me?’

‘WHY, WHY, WHY?!?!?’

“FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!”

Alex’s frustrated shout echoed through the forest as his fist pounded endlessly on the forest floor.

***

Alex entered the temporary command tent they had set up.

Inside was a large table with a map laid upon it.

Aside from that only Alice was in the tent as she went over the map.

When he entered she looked up and furrowed her brows.

“What happened?” she asked worriedly, her gaze lingering on his eyes that were slightly red and his hand which was profusely bleeding.

“Nothing,” he responded curtly.

“What do you mean nothing, clearly something happened,” she said walking over and grabbing his hand to look at it.

“It's nothing,” he said, yanking his hand from her grip.

“It's obvious that something happened, so explain,” she said sternly, crossing her arms.

“I SAID IT WAS NOTHING!” he shouted at her.

She recoiled in shock from his outburst of anger and stared at him with confused and hurt eyes.

Alex caught himself and closed his eyes.

“I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me…” he sighed and looked up at her.

The hurt in her eyes was still there and it seemed his apology had not done as much as he hoped.

“It really is nothing…” he said.

“Very well then, if it's nothing it doesn't matter,” she said matter of factly.

Alex noticed the anger in her tone and sighed.

“Look Alice, I’m really sorry.”

Her eyes softened slightly but then they hardened again and she said.

“You have nothing to apologize for, it was simply me assuming there was something wrong, clearly I was mistaken,” she said coldly.

Alex sighed.

“Anyway, I've checked the map and we should head back and grab our gear before heading towards this city,” she said, pointing to a dot on the map.

“Why that city?” he asked, walking over.

“According to the scouts we sent out, a group containing a few thousand Toryn soldiers should be staying in the city to wait out the winter and return home. If we strike now, we can wipe them out and take their supplies.”

Alex nodded.

“But, won't they run if they see us coming?” he asked.

“No, they have nowhere to run in this cold, they would freeze or starve to death,” she answered confidently.

However, Alex kept staring at the map.

As Alice walked out of the tent to deliver orders, a quiet whisper was heard behind her.

“You'd be surprised what a desperate man will do…”

***

After leaving orders for 10,000 men to stay and watch the captured enemy soldiers, they quickly returned to the camp and grabbed their gear.

Donning their metal plate armor, they set off once more in the direction of the city.

The blizzard had begun to lighten and the snow fell less, however, the wind still howled with fury as it rushed between them.

The gray thunderclouds in the sky showed no signs of easing up.

The party of nearly 40,000 soldiers galloped on their trusty warhorses through the densely packed forest covered in snow, shivering all the way.

Upon arriving at a distant hill they saw the city.

Surrounded by a dark gray stone wall, sitting at no more than 10 meters tall.

It encompassed the city in its entirety.

No keep was present and only a couple of mansions could be seen inside the city.

Most likely a trade hub where a couple of big merchants lived.

On the walls, a few guards lazed around as they huddled in their blankets surrounding a crackling fire.

Alex watched all this with narrowed eyes.

“Let no one escape,” he said.

The soldiers behind him passed the message down the ranks as they hopped off their horses.

They grabbed something out of their bags and donned their cloaks.

They then proceeded in the direction of the city.

***

The guards, blissfully unaware of this, continued lazing around the fire.

“Those fucking bastards took all of our food!” one complained.

“I can't even feed my family at this rate,” said another.

“It’s not just that, those stupid nobles have even begun taking our daughters, who do they think they are, those bastards…” growled another.

“What can we do about it?” yawned another.

“Not much, it doesn't help that they took all of our torches, making it so we can’t even stay warm.”

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The sound of clattering metal filled the early morning darkness.

“What was that?” one of them said standing up.

“I dunno? Should we check it out?”

“I say we ignore it, whatever it was is probably more trouble than it's worth…” said another beginning to doze off.

Slice!

Slice!

Two decapitated heads rolled over to the two men who were laying down, causing them to jump up in fright.

They quickly pulled out their swords but it was no use.

A pair of swords stabbed through their necks, killing them instantly.

Hooded men poured out from the darkness, landing with a clatter on the walls.

They then reached their hands down to help their comrades in getting up.

Several metal hooks lay strewn across the wall with a rope dangling down from them.

Soldiers climbed as silently as possible up the wall.

Once everyone was up, Alex motioned for his 87 personal guards to follow him while motioning for the rest to clear houses.

They then proceeded to the two largest houses in the city.

Flitting through the quiet streets, their clanking feet were silenced by the tall piles of snow.

Upon arriving at one of the mansions, they gazed at its intricate architecture.

Wooden pillars lined the outside, leading into a spacious courtyard that ended at the front entrance of the house.

Positioning themselves at each side of the front door, Alex held up his hand.

Inside drunken laughter rang rampantly and a light shone through the windows.

Alex’s hand-cut through the air, the soldiers immediately smashed open the door by hurling themselves shoulder first at it.

The door quickly collapsed inward, providing a glorious display before them.

Several articles of clothing lay strewn about the living room of the home, 50 or so soldiers were scattered around the room in various states of disarray, most of them buried to the hilt in women.

The stench of alcohol permeated the room making the soldiers wrinkle their noses.

It was no better than a pigsty.

They quickly entered the room and began killing the surprised men one by one, taking care not to hurt the women.

However once they had killed ten or so, it dawned on the enemy what was happening and they scrambled to pick up their weapons which were strewn about the room.

However, they were no match for the soldiers and quickly overpowered.

As Alex made his way over to one of the last soldiers, the soldiers quickly scrambled away from him.

In his haste to get away, he accidentally knocked into a torch that was hanging from a bracket on the wall, knocking it over and letting it fall to the ground.

It quickly lit the wooden floor on fire, causing him to scamper away in fright.

‘Fuck.’ Alex thought as he watched the fire spread to the walls.

‘With the wind outside, it'll spread to the entire city.’

He quickly dispatched the retreating enemy before calling for his soldiers to quickly leave the house.

Smoke began filling the room causing him to cough violently as he ran out.

Once outside he saw just how devastating the fire was.

The fierce wind had blown the fire throughout the entire city, lighting roofs on fire.

Screams rang out through the streets as its residents rushed out of their houses towards the gate.

Enemy soldiers dashed outside in various states of panic as they struggled to ascertain what had happened.

“Go get the rest of the soldiers out!” Alex shouted at his guards.

They nodded and quickly ran off.

Alex turned around.

A group of enemy soldiers had noticed him and were running at him with full armor on.

Alex sighed, they were too many for him to deal with.

He dashed into a nearby burning house and bounded up the stairs.

He pried loose a floorboard that was on fire with his sword and quickly grabbed it with his gauntlets.

It burned.

However, he ignored the pain and hurled it down the stairs.

He heard a series of loud screams as several men toppled down the stairs.

Jumping down after them, he raised his sword and stabbed it into the one in the front.

However before he could raise his sword for a second stab, he felt the tingling sensation of smoke crawling up his lungs.

Choking down a cough he quickly rushed past the fallen soldiers, stepping on them as he went.

Rushing out the door, he quickly slammed it shut and wedged a wooden stick in a crack in the door to prevent it from opening.

Sighing in relief and wiping the sweat from his brow, he walked over to a nearby house to check if any of his soldiers were still there.

Entering the burning house with his hand over his mouth and nose.

He squinted and saw an odd sight.

An enemy soldier had a sword held to a child’s neck, the little girl's mother was sobbing in the corner.

Brandon had his weapon aimed at the man but did not attack.

Alex’s expression turned grim.

The house would soon collapse and smoke was beginning to fill the room.

His mental state already deteriorating from exhaustion from the number of battles he had been in lately, Alex made a decision he would regret for the rest of his life.

He raised his sword up high, grasping its hilt tightly.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Zing!

The sound of a sword slicing through the air made its way to the ears of those present.

Thud!

A sword had impaled itself in the child's neck and went straight through it to pierce the enemy soldier.

They fell together, eyes widened in shock.

Brandon turned his eyes to look at a panting Alex.

Alex’s face was obscured in shadows as a dark look crossed his face.

The mother’s wails could be heard throughout the room as she crawled over to her daughter.

“Why did you do that!?!” shouted Brandon.

“Because if I hadn’t you would not have lived long enough to make a decision,” Alex answered.

“Bu-”

“Quiet! We need to go, now!” Alex said.

“What about the mother?” Brandon asked.

“Leave her, there is no hope for her,” Alex said as he turned to leave.

“How can you say that?” Brandon pleaded.

Alex stopped but didn't turn around.

“I've sacrificed much more than one person for the sake of my ambition, what's one more?”

“Now if you don't come, I will knock you out and drag you with me.”

Brandon looked back at the crying mother one last time before turning his back to her with a hardened expression on his face.

They quickly left the home as it began crumbling behind them.

Fires raged through the city, houses burned.

Even some people burned.

They came across a soldier in full metal plate, being flayed alive by his armor.

They dashed through the streets until they arrived at the wall.

On top of the wall several of his soldiers stood waiting, upon seeing them, they dropped some rope down for them to climb.

Quickly climbing to the top they surveyed the city.

It was like a giant bonfire.

People ran through the streets ablaze.

The screams of the dying echoed in their ears.

At the gate, the citizens were screaming up at the wall where the gate guards were supposed to be to open the gate.

They didn't know that they were already dead.

Alex even saw some of his own men, burning alive in those houses that they couldn’t escape from.

At this rate the entire city would burn to the ground in a matter of minutes, the wind had even begun spreading the fire in the direction of the walls.

It was like a big furnace.

Alex felt the heat blast him in the face.

“Everybody off the walls!”

The soldiers looked at him with doubt.

“But what about the others?” one of them asked.

Alex made eye contact with him and said.

“Leave them, they're already dead.”

“Now get off the walls unless you want to join them,” he said before turning his back to the burning city.

The screams of the dying echoing in his ears the whole way down.

And oh were those sounds familiar.