About a day had passed since Faveen and her men began their trip to the city with a golden heart.

Eslaf Retnec was in plain view, but to the east was something far darker.

A crater that was nearly as big as Eslaf itself.

It was several kilometres wide and had a pitch-black interior.

One didn’t need sharp eyes to see the utter chaos that lived within the crater.

Hundreds, if not, thousands of people died in that hole monthly.

It was such a terrible place, that it even acquired a dark, but rather lazy name. The Hole.

“You scared?” Vael asked, even though everyone could see his trembling eyes.

“To be honest, I am,” Devon said.

“Same here,” Trommer said.

“Tsk! Cowards, the lot of you.” Norn said with a raised nose.

“Rational fear is important, in my humble opinion,” Faveen said.

“Is that so? Well, if you say it, then it must be true.” Norn said.

He couldn’t help but look down in shame as his comrades looked at him with smug expressions.

Silence followed as they approached an outpost that guarded the city.

“Ok, you know the drill. Shut up and let me do all the talking.” Faveen said as their carriages came to a stop.

“Name and rank.” An armoured man said.

Faveen and the man had their little exchange while Danon looked around.

What he saw wasn’t good.

The soldiers he saw all looked malnourished.

Well, the knights looked fine and their armour was indeed shiny, but the imbalance between the two forces was pretty jarring.

The smell of manure and general filth filled the air and even though it was in the afternoon, the sky was rather dark.

“Ok, that’s everything.” The man said before the carriages continued into the capital.

Danon looked at the tall stone walls.

“It's been about seven-ish years, huh?” Vael said.

“Yep.” Norn concurred.

“Dammit,” Vael said to himself as they entered Eslaf.

Danon winced upon smelling something that belonged in the bleakest of battlefields.

Death.

It filled the air and everywhere he looked, corpses were being carried by the grieving.

Countless rotting buildings lined the streets and the sounds of tears hitting the ground were almost audible.

No one said a thing as they made their way to the inner part of the city.

A tall wall separated the inner city from the outer city and the differences between the two were quite obvious.

The carriages stopped by another gate where Faveen answered several questions.

Danon peeked beyond the gate to see clean streets and lavishly built buildings.

Well, nothing could be done about the smell of death, but still…

The carriages continued into the inner capital.

They then stopped by what looked like a barracks of some sort.

“Alright, let’s go get our orders,” Faveen said with a defeated expression.

The group entered the barracks and after Faveen introduced herself, they were led to the buildings main office.

There, they saw a man who couldn’t be described by the limitations of the words beautiful or handsome.

He was perfect.

His golden blond hair and blue eyes seemingly lit the rather dark room and his skin was extremely smooth.

Faveen and her men lined up perfectly in front of the man.

“Sir!” They all said simultaneously.

The gorgeous man, who was known as General Alex nodded slightly.

“At ease,” Alex said.

“Now, there’s absolutely nothing I could say that would make this next part any easier. We’re losing men every day in the hole and sending you fine knights in there definitely makes my heartache. But our duty comes first. Faveen, you and your men are to provide magical support to our troops in the hole. You’ve got twenty four hours to report in, so I suggest that you get some rest.” Alex said.

“Yes sir!” Faveen and her men said before spinning in their heels.

“Oh and I’ll be coming with you, so don’t leave without me,” Alex said with a faint smile.

Faveen and her men held in their gasps.

“Understood,” Faveen said before she and the others left the barracks.

They then made their way to a larger, but less impressively built barracks.

“Ok, you heard the general. We leave in two days, but you’re free to rest up until then. If you need me, I’ll be in the officers quarters.” Faveen said while dismissively waving her hand, signalling that she didn’t want to be bothered.

“Mmm… anyone wanna go take a bath?” Vael asked.

“I’m in!” Trommer said.

“I’ll join you as well,” Norn said with crossed arms.

Danon shook his head slightly.

“You guys go ahead. I’m going to check in on Vara.” Danon said as he made his way east.

“Say hi on behalf of the forty fifth legion,” Vael said.

“Ok,” Danon said with a chuckle.

He eventually arrived at a rather small, but well-built house.

It was just one of the serval hundreds of houses that littered the western part of inner Eslaf.

Danon unlocked and opened the door before plopping down on a nearby couch.

He deeply exhaled as he carefully removed his silver armour.

He then neatly placed his armour set behind the couch before slowly closing his eyes.

.

..

Danon was awoken by the sounds of movement.

He slowly opened his eyes to find a woman with a rather dishevelled appearance.

She wore well-made clothes, yes, but they were covered in dirt, her hair was a mess and Danon could see bags beneath her eyes.

“Hello.” Danon greeted.

The woman stood completely still before smiling gently.

“Welcome back.” The woman, who was known as Vara, greeted as she made her way to Danon’s side.

“You look… terrible. What in the world are they making you do down there?” Danon asked with a voice laden with concern.

“Oh, it's not much. I just help the doctors and nurses. Even if it’s just little.” Vara said.

“I see,” Danon said before noticing that Vara's hair was rather wet.

Her skin was moist-looking as well.

Danon raised his hand and sent particles of light towards Vara.

They gently heated her and dried her body in the process.

“Thanks,” Vara said softly as she made her way to the bedroom.

“Goodnight,” Vara said.

“Goodnight,” Danon said as he slowly closed his eyes.

.

..

The next day came quickly.

Danon opened his heavy eyelids to find Vara packing some things into a pouch.

“Mmm?” Danon sounded, causing Vara to flinch slightly.

“Off to work already?” Danon asked as he got up.

“Y- yes,” Vara said, albeit nervously.

“You ok?” Danon asked as he made his way to a nearby shelf.

He grabbed a certain wooden container and pulled out a block of cheese.

He created a fosblade before chopping off a small chunk for himself.

“I’m fine. I’ll see you in the evening-"

“No need. I’ll accompany you. I do specialize in healing magic after all.” Danon said with a wink.

Vara’s face twisted for a moment before she smiled.

“Shouldn’t you be resting?” Vara asked.

“Nah, not really. Remember, I can use magic, I can heal myself in no time.” Danon said as he took a bite out of his cheese.

“I see…” Vara said as she left the house.

Danon locked the door before joining Vara on her journey to outer Eslaf.

Nothing was said as they made their way to a large building where wounded knights and soldiers were sent.

“Oh my goodness! Isn’t that knight Danon?” A wheezy voice asked.

“Yeah, what’s he doing back in the capital? Shouldn’t he be in the front lines?” Another voice asked.

“Maybe he was injured.” Another voice said.

“He looks fine to me.” Another said.

Danon sighed as they walked past hundreds of wounded.

They eventually arrived at the doctors quarters.

“Ah, Vara. You’ve finally-" The doctor stopped once Danon entered the room.

The Doctors eyes shook as Danon crossed his arms.

“K- knight Danon, I’m so sorry I didn’t notice your presence earlier.” The doctor said unnecessarily loudly.

“It's ok,” Danon said with a wave.

Silence followed as the doctor's eyes shifted between Danon and Vara.

“Is there a problem? Shouldn’t Vara be helping out?” Danon asked.

“Err- actually, Vara isn’t needed today. You’re free to head back home.” The doctor said. His face, visibly flustered.

“Then maybe I can help. I am free today, after all.” Danon said as he walked up to the doctor.

“Oh- that’s not necessary. What good would any of us be if we couldn’t help the men and women defending our glorious kingdom?” The doctor asked with a nervous chuckle.

“I see. Ah well, just send someone if you need any help.” Danon said before walking out of the office.

Vara followed him as they made their back into Inner Eslaf.

“The doctor was acting rather strange, don’t you think?” Danon asked as they made their way into a rather dark alley.

“Oh? I didn’t notice a thing.” Vara said.

“Yeah, well I could see it. He’s definitely hiding something.” Danon said.

“Maybe your days in battle have put you on edge-"

Vara stopped talking as several people surrounded her and Danon.

“Alright, let’s make this quick. Drop anything you may have of value and continue on your way.” A tall rugged man said.

“Ooh! Can we take the woman?” A dirty little man asked.

Danon walked up to the rugged man.

“Whoa there, sir. Just drop your things and-"

The man was interrupted by Danon’s fist, which shattered all of the man’s front teeth.

“What the-?” The dirty little man gasped before Danon dashed towards him.

The little man raised his hands in defence, but Danon kicked the man, shattering the bones in his arms.

“Who in the world is this guy?” One of the people asked.

“I don’t think that matters, just run!” Another said before they all ran in separate directions.

Danon sighed as he walked over the rugged man’s body.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m still in battle mode.” Danon said with a rare smile.

Vara’s eyes shook as she caught up to Danon.

“Y- yeah. Anyway, let’s go home and have lunch. I’m sure you haven’t had a proper meal in days.” Vara said as they made their way back to their cosy little home.

.

..

Danon exhaled loudly after swallowing the last of his rich pork broth.

“I swear, your cooking gets better every time,” Danon said as he helped Vara clean up.

The sun slowly sank and Vara felt Danon’s gaze from behind.

“What is it?” Vara asked as Danon walked behind her.

He then wrapped his large arms around Vara’s waist.

“I’m getting redeployed tomorrow.” He whispered.

“Mmm… where to?” Vara asked.

“The hole,” Danon said and he could physically feel her tensing up.

“For how long?” Vara asked.

“No idea. Could be days. Could be weeks, but the war will soon end.” Danon said.

“That’s what you said last time,” Vara said.

“I know, but trust me when I say that the other side is suffering. We’ll take their false capital come winter.” Danon said as Vara turned around.

“Ok, fine. Just make sure to return in one piece.” Vara said as she wrapped her arms around Danon’s neck.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” Danon said as he lowered his head.

His lips met Vara’s and they kissed deeply as they slowly spun.

They then made their way to the bedroom while tightly clinging to each other.

Vara pushed Danon onto the bed before closing the door.

The sun slowly sank into the horizon dying the skies a strange orange purplish hue.

.

..

Danon awoke with a fiery heart.

He silently crawled out of bed before exiting the bedroom.

He painstakingly wore his armour before returning to the bedroom.

There, he found a waking Vara.

“I’ll be back as soon as the last brick of Marf’s dark wall falls,” Danon said as he kissed Vara’s cheek.

Vara simply nodded before Danon left the house.

He made his way to the barracks and there he found a fully dressed Faveen.

“Of course you’re the first one to arrive.” She said with a scoff.

“And to think you have a girlfriend. I have expected you to cuddle with her until the last moment.” Faveen said as she crossed her arms.

“Nothing would make me abandon my duty, captain,” Danon said as his chestnut brown eyes burnt with the light of the morning sun.

“Is that so? Then Vara is doubly lucky. Anyway, we have an appointment with Adviser Evon.” Faveen said.

“This should be interesting,” Danon said.

“Indeed.”