One night, I awoke to the sounds of a large bell ringing somewhere and the magic lights coming to life. Then suddenly, from the window there was a blast of red light. Groggily, I forced myself from the bed and went to the window. Below I saw several armed members of the staff hurrying about. My eyes darted to the city and my heart dropped as I saw lines of red light raising within the walls.

There came a loud thud on my door. I whipped around as the heavy thing creaked open and the body of a robed man slid down. A guard was at the door, who did a sort of salute while saying, "Master Moores, we must prepare. People have made it in. If you would come with us."

I raised an eyebrow as he stepped back, bloody weapon in his hand. Three guards became visible as I stepped cautiously to the door. I asked, "Where is Anna?"

She stepped forward past the guy from around the corner. No one was properly dressed yet. She walked forward over to me, pushed one of the hilts of the swords into my hands, and said, "Listen, we don't know what's happening either. We'll swing by the armory for you to get better dressed."

I nodded and gripped the handle, saying, "Right. What of Misana?"

The other guard said, "Most of our troops are defending her. We're just those Anna woke. No offense, but death isn't much to you."

I shrugged and followed them out. As we moved, I saw out the window the estate's gate closing and being barred. I frowned and asked, "That war wasn't near here yet, right?"

A gruff looking man I had seen playing gardener said as we moved, "The young lady had activated the alarm, shouting to close the gates. We didn't know what was happening till she babbled about the city being under attack. She didn't explain how she knew, but she was panicked. I guess that horrid light is a good indicator."

We stopped at a room I hadn't been in and the guards moved in. Inside were lines of weapons and various armors. I went in and the guards began to properly gear. Anna grabbed my arm and janked me over to a specific set that looked quite different. It was a gambeson with a symbol of a blue sword in a set of similar colored chains that formed a circle. She roughly helped me down the armor, saying, "This has been in here for a bit, but since you kept screwing up, Lady Lura'mi decided that you'd not get to go out for some time."

Once done, she went to get her own outfit on as another one of the guards asked, "You've been getting taught that magic stuff, any idea what that is?"

I moved to the door, two following, and looked out the window at the red beams that sat directly into the sky. I frowned and said, "I don't know, but the scale of it. This can't be spur of the moment. They either made a massive circle, but how would that not be seen? If not a circle...then whatever they are doing is taking an insane number of lives."

That last bit sat particularly bitter in my mouth. Anna and the others came out, glanced at the light before we continued towards the main hall. The air felt physically strange. A horrid smell seemed to just emanate from everywhere. At that moment, a stray thought caught my attention. It was cut short as we reached the main hall and a guard with a symbol on his armor like mine shouted out to us, "Ah! Master Moores! Over here!"

We, Anna, and the four guards walked over to him as people moved about with purpose. I watched as a couple of men carried cannon balls out the front doors. The guard in charge stood about a table talking to some others, a map having been hastily layed out over it. The men saluted me, yet again confusing me lightly but I was getting an idea of what was happening.

He let out a sigh as I stepped over to the map. It was little more than a scribble with only vague outlines of locations and structures. He then looked at me with a sad sort of stare. "I hate to have to ask you, Master Moores, but this isn't the best situations to force you to start-"

I held up my hand, already bracing for what was to be done, and said, "I don't care for apologies, we all know what I was here to do."

He cleared his throat and said, "Right. With Lady Lura'mi and Captain Zent gone, we have no clear leader. Sense she's grooming you to be her replacement, we want you to weigh in."

I twitched slightly as he said that and I felt Anna's eyes on me. I didn't want to, but I knew I had no real other option. He continued as I nodded, "Misana and those most likely to fall to the influence have been moved to the safe room. The one with the anti-demonic seals. She herself is certain that this is some sort of demon work. They are well protected there. We are still sweeping the buildings and grounds for any of the intruders. The gates are shut and locked. We can manage to hold out for now, but as the Lady Lura'mi's Champion Contritioner Forces, we will be expected to try and help the city."

I steady myself a bit, trying to not consider what I was actually getting into, and asked, "So we know this is the work of demons or their allies?"

He sighed and said, "Misana claims it is and I see no reason to disagree. He claimed it was something called 'The Rite of Red Nights.' That mean anything to you?"

I shook my head and looked at the crude map of the area about the city as I said, "Nothing. Still, having experienced them personally? Yeah, probably demons. Still, that leaves us at what?"

Another pointed to the city, saying, "We are more or less required to send help. We must ask, even without request. Lady Lura'mi would hang us all if we didn't, too. The problem is how much and to what extent. We know you are an utterly green leader, so I'd suggest a small force immediately go forth."

Another grunted and said, "It's clear we should send as many as possible. If the city is destroyed or worse, we're next and won't have any way to stand against it potentially. We should commit fully."

The first sighed and looked at me. There was an awkward moment as I tried to force myself to think at all. I said, trying to keep a steady tone, "Ok. So, then why not send a small force to start and then send a message somehow about what is happening?"

The third said, "We don't have time for that. Most of the horses went with Lady Lura'mi."

The second said, "We might be riding out on a suicide missions."

Anna stood by me as she stared down at the crude mock up of the area. She shook her head and said, "This might all be suicide anyways."

I took a deep breath, fully aware that they were putting this on me. Whether I was worthy or not, I had to come up with something to add. The impasse was clear. So, with my heart thudding away like a large drum, I said, "Ok. We'll leave enough here to keep scouring the place for intruders. We'll approach part way to see what is happening. If we can't tell, we'll send a small force forward and the main will hold back till some sort of signal is heard. We do have some horses right?"

The man who opposed fully commitmenting crossed his arms and said, "We do, but not enough for anything major. What do we do if we are too late, then?"

I considered it for a second. The weight of this felt more like I had to hold up the entire city itself, but I kept reminding myself I had to not break down. As much as I felt sick and light headed, it was more than my life on the line. I had to keep it together. I said, "Then we try and get as many people safely back here as possible. If we can't save the city, then we must try and save as many people as possible, right?"

The one who had not really weighed in said, "Any objections to that idea?" There was a quiet pause. "Right Then. We'll round up who we can to go and leave a defensive force here. We should be ready in the next thirty minutes, Master Moores. Let's hope this goes well."

The man who wanted the full attack nodded and said, "Caution is probably warranted. I just hope this isn't too slow. Will you join us, Master Moores?"

I hesitated for a moment then nodded. It's not like dying was that much of an issue for me. The one who had argued for a small scouting force bit his lip and said, "I'll stay here to command what forces remain and prepare for the worse."

No one said anything and he nodded, turning and walking away saying, "Then I'll get to work."

The one who had remained neutral the entire time said, "Right. So, once we're out on the field our signal will be one short horn blast to advance and two to retreat. That's about what you'll need to know, Master Moores. We'll lead the forces as best we can. We aren't many, but you are not versed in such things as far as we've been told. In truth, it might already be far too late. We'll be marching in proper combat ready formation for that reason."

With one more nod as my heart raced, he walked away leaving me with the final other, who said, "Don't be too hard on yourself if this goes badly. We have no practical information about what is happening either, so caution is good. For now, let's go over the area while the men are assembled."

What I understood was that our stopping point for the main force was on the hill. We'd be able to watch from there as the scouting group approached and keep an eye on the city. Horses were not going to be a resource we had, but it was somewhat around three hours march. I quietly was thankful for the work out I had been given for my stubbornness. From that spot, we were likely to get people fleeing the city to us.

They would be told to move to a spot near the estate, in case we had to retreat. The hope was this was a safe distance, but there was no certainty with whatever was happening. The rest I was told was about various landmarks and that we should expect city guard and militia forces to show up.

The horses that remained were hooked up to wagons instead of being rode. Wounded and civilians would be placed upon them after the fact. The assumption that there would be fighting was probably a fair one, even if it didn't ease my fear. I didn't quite get what I was afraid of, but it was there.

I stood in the garden with Anna, as the soldiers assembled. She wore a heavy frown as we stared up at the great pillars of red light as she said, "I guess you got the answer. Do you understand why Lady Lura'mi has decided on it though?"

The red glow made it almost bright as day as we stood there. Of all the questions she could have asked, that was the one I didn't expect her to care about at that time. I said, a feeling of complete unpreparedness having settled deep within me, "I don't understand the reasoning at all. Just because I'm unable to stay dead right? That's a dumb reason."

She let out an annoyed grunt and put her hand on my shoulder as she said, "Well, it is what it is. I doubt we'll not see some manner of combat. Remember your footing. We didn't get to any real practical training, but luckily you aren't alone."

A shaky breath escaped me as I said, "Yeah. Just don't die on me."

She gave me her best attempt at a wry smile and said, "I'd say the same for you, but you don't need to worry about that."