What is going on? If possible, I'd really like an explanation. For the last month, I have been carefully tracking the Vampires that I fought at Ravensguard. That they seemed to be for the most part just as averse to approaching human civilization I am was a relief. Not only did I not have to deal with humans, but also there was the fact that tracking them through forests is way easier than finding them in a city. They kept going northwest, always and always. I wonder if there is a specific place they are going to.

Eventually, I suppose their hunger and thirst started to afflict them more than they could deal with, so at the end of roughly a month since they left Ravensguard, they stopped at a small human village. I know not of its name, nor did I feel like asking its inhabitants. I merely waited on the outskirts, leaving quite a few observation wards, so that I would know when they eventually leave the village, no matter which way they go.

It was during this time, as I waited and stalked these stupid vampires that something extremely strange happened. It started with the unforgettable sound of a marching army. Although it has been more than a hundred years since I last heard it, how could I ever forget such an important sound of my childhood? Almost every day there was some kind of drill, military parade or a leaving army in the capital of Imaria. I knew very well the kind of sound made by the stomping feet of people preparing to kill other people. The distinctive sound of many people moving with armor on could be heard in very few situations. I was probably the first to realize that this small little village was doomed. How unlucky, as if the Vampires weren't bad enough.

Still, even if I knew that there was an approaching army, even before I saw them. That still did not explain something very important: What the hell was an army doing in the southern part of Meridia's central region? As far as I knew, it wasn't like there were signs of an impending war. Even if the royal army is mustering, there is no nearby high-ranking lord. There shouldn't be an amassing army anywhere near this place. From what I know of Meridia's geography, there are only small and medium sized villages around here. Not exactly a good place to raise an army. So, of course, it could only be an invading force, which raised another set of questions. Who and how?

Nemiria? That's ridiculous. That region is so fragmented politically that it would be unthinkable for them to send an army north. Even if for some crazy reason that happened, the time that it takes for an army to cross the pass, could there really be an army at this place without so much as a warning? That seems impossible. But then, who? I can do nothing else but wait so I can have a look at this army. I considered warning the village, but then again, would the people there believe me at my word? No, the situation is absurd enough that I almost disbelieve my ears. I'd also hate if in an ensuing confusion, I lost track of the Vampires because I was distracted. I must kill them at all costs, and for that, I must keep up with them.

So I wait. However, when I can finally see the approaching army, the confusion inside of me only increases. Dwarves? Why are all of them dwarves? They carry no banners or symbols with them, so it should be complicated to know which country they are from. Despite that, I know. I have been educated on every single army of this continent and a few from other continents. These are all soldiers from Greshe Khaaran. A raiding party of some sort I believe.

“Quickly! Kill them, take what's useful and let's go to the next village! Go, go!”

They rampage through the village without hesitation. What a ghastly sight. I stay as a bystander while they cut down and pillage the whole place while displaying not a single shred of mercy. I can see men, women and children desperately running away or mounting a feeble resistance. Regardless, each of them that the soldiers reach are cut down or captured according to the whims of their attacker. I remember the eyes of those dwarves. I saw those eyes in every officer of Teldarion's army that I met. There are the eyes of someone who threw away their empathy for others outside their group, disgusting. How the hell are they here? But I can hardly consider the question. I can sense one of my wards being tripped by something is neither human nor dwarf.

“Please! Have mercy!”

I coldly pass by a woman uselessly begging for her life. Her death barely registers with me. I have to pursue a taint in the world that is much worse than mere violence. Even if I am satisfied with not having lost them, it is still not the time for a confrontation, so I carefully approach the place where I know those bastards are.

What, how? Why? To my consternation, they are not hiding from the attacking dwarves. Worse than that, I can see them clearly talking to someone that looks like a commanding officer of this raiding party. While he looks somewhat skeptical of them, the dwarves aren't attacking the Vampires. Well, it would be quite foolish of them to do that, to be honest. I merely observe them. To my consternation, the raiding party leaves with the Vampires among them. Damn it. Attacking them is already extremely dangerous under normal circumstances, but surrounded by soldiers? It would be insanity.

I have no other choice but to follow them. At least, now that they are a part of this big group, they not just move slower, but are are also way easier to track. I suppose that after a fashion, things got easier now. This relief did not last very long, however. They attacked a few other villages, then went to a place that should have nothing. It should be a forest. To my shock, there was something there.

It seems this raiding party was one of many that comprised a considerably bigger army. I discovered how they got there. In the middle of a clearing there was a strange dark, but shining thing, like a a kind of cloth. Soldiers went in and came out of it, like it was some kind of passageway to another place. With the attack done, the army disappeared into thin air by walking into it. How ridiculous. Still, not as ridiculous as my discovery of who was commanding this whole thing. Bereul, The Grand Tactician.

So stupid. In the end, I couldn't even muster the courage to follow them into the strange shinning darkness. I could only watch as they left bringing many prisoners with them. After a month of pursuit, I have nothing to show for it as the damn Vampires flee with an army. Well, at least I know one thing: Greshe Khaaran.