FSE

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"What do you mean we've been followed?" I ask as my body tenses up from the thought of another battle.

General Jeval gives out a long sigh and says "the enemy has caught up to us"

"How did they catch up? When we left the city they hadn't even crossed the river."

"Maybe because we have been dragging along over a hundred carts filled with food". Jedrick says with a sarcastic tone. "Or maybe because somebody thought it would be a good idea to have a rest in the middle of the woods instead of continuing to Kouneli."

"You are so right Jedrick." Cola says sarcastically. "Instead of sitting here and giving everyone some proper rest we should've just kept marching on. So when the enemy attacks us we would be too tired to even raise our shields."

"Oh, I'm sorry Cola. I didn't know marching was too hard for a beagle."

"That's enough!" General Jeval shouts at the bickering dogs. "What happened cannot be changed. So how about you two stop whining like cats and focus on the task at hand."

Both Cola and Jedrick stop their conversation and return their attention to the general, though once in a while they glare angrily at each other.

"Marco." I look up to General Jeval and see the frustration on his face.

"You have been the only one who has ever defeated these creatures. I was told by Jedrick that you used an ambushing tactic against them."

"Yes that's right," I say, feeling tense from the sudden responsibility placed on me.

"Okay. Then we should probably use the same tactic since it worked last time." General Jeval looks down at the crudely drawn map with his finger tracing along the road that we were on. "WWell it looks like this endless forest we have been marching through will make great cover for an ambush."

General Jeval looks back at me and says "there's this large open field along the road before entering this town. My scouts tell me they will be here tomorrow afternoon with at least 2,000 soldiers amongst their ranks. So we should be prepared and ready to ambush them on the road before they enter the large open field. Sadly we have merely 500 guard dogs to strengthen our ranks. We're going to need as many animals as we can get to help us with this ambush."

General Jeval looks over to Jedrick with a determined eye and says "Jedrick I want you and as many guard dogs as you can find to start preparing the rest of the animals. I don't care if the only thing you have to armor them with is knives and forks. I want every animal ready to fight."

"Understood general" Jedrick says as he presses his right hand against his chest.

"Cola. Get some guard dogs and place all the carts along the edge of the camp. Then I want you to start fortifying them into a good barricade. If our ambush fails will retreat back to the barricades and use them as a last stand."

"You can count on me." Cola says with a nod to respect the general's orders.

"All right then you're all dismissed except for you Marco."

Confused, I look up to the general and ask "do you need me to do something for you?"

"Just follow me and I will show you."

Cola and Jedrick place there right hand against their chest and nod their heads respectively to the general. They both leave the tent without a single word spoken between them. General Jeval turns around and walks over to a large wooden crate. He opens the top and with his left hand grabs a long object covered in cloth. In his right hand he picks up a circular piece of metal that is shaped into what I would consider a straw hat. He walks past me and starts heading out the tent, but stops right at the opening and looks back at me.

"Come on we don't have all day".

I quickly follow the general out of the tent and down a dirt path weaving around smaller tents. There are guard dogs running around frantically grabbing any weapon or armor they can find. The barking of orders can be heard throughout the dogs as what seems like a structured chaos consumes the entire camp. We make our way down the path which opens up to a small dirt square surrounded by tents. It has wooden boxes and cotton sacks scattered around seemingly in disarray. General Jeval pushes his way through the mess and finally stops at something I've never seen before. It looks like it is the wooden frame for a door but where there would have been a door there is just a string holding up a sack. As a get closer I notic the cotton sack has holes that wheat is poking out. General Jeval walks over to a large wooden crate and places the metal hat and the long object covered in cloth on top of the box.

I slowly made my way beside him and ask "what are those things you're holding?"

He picks up the metal hat and passes it over to me while saying "this is called a buckler shield."

"This is a shield?"

"This shield is built for fighting in close quarter combat. It won't hold back any arrows, but it can sure as hell deflect a sword. There's a small strip of leather in the circular indent."

I place my hand into the circular indent and hold on to the leather strand. I move the shield around and notice that it fits very tightly to my hand. I also notice that the indent is far too small for dogs had to fit in it.

General Jeval grabs the long object that is covered with cloth and slowly unwraps it showing a small blade with its sheet covering it. He pulls out the sword and places the sheets back onto the wooden crate. I notice that the sword is almost half the size of a regular sword. General Jeval lightly presses his thumb against the blade's edge and with a chuckle in his voice he says "as sharp as always". He suddenly looks sad as if a terrible memory has been brought back to his mind. He walks over to me and with a fake smile that even a child could tell wasn't true. "Here take this" he says as he slowly passes me the sword. I hold the sword with my free hand and the first thing I notice is how light it is. The blade has been well kept and the handle which is wrapped with leather has a simple metal guard between my hand and the blade.

"I've never seen a sword this short." I say while slowly moving the blade around as I felt the weight of it.

"It's called a hamster sword."

I look up to him in confusion. "Why would they make swords for hamsters?"

The general makes his way over to the strange wooden door frame as he says "because hamsters need swords. Sure, a hamster like yourself who lives in the wetlands would need a pitchfork more than a sword, but a hamster that lives along the northern mountains; it's a completely different story."

We make our way over to the wooden frame with the sack of hay hanging in the breeze as small specs of hay disperse into the wind. General Jeval points to the front of the weird object and says "stand right there in front of the hanging sack."

I do as he asks and place myself just 2 feet away from the wooden door frame.

"All right, just do what I do." He slowly spread his legs apart and bends his knees to get a better balance. Though truth be told, thanks to the long red garment he is wearing over his legs I can just barely tell what his legs are doing. He then moves his left hand in front of his chest almost as if he's trying to block something from hitting him and with his right hand slowly moves it to his side while wrapping it tightly into a fist. I take a couple minutes to assess how he has positioned himself then quickly copy his stance.

General Jeval takes a couple steps towards me and looks at how I have positioned my body. "Well it isn't perfect but it will have to do. Now I want you to point your sword towards the sack of hay then thrust the sword forward into the sack." General Jeval takes a couple steps back and starts watching me standing there waiting for me to follow his orders.

I thrust my sword deeply into the sack of hay. The blade easily cuts into the sack and as I pull it out small clumps of hay fall from the cut that I've made.

"Again."

I look over to General Jeval and see him simply standing there watching me.

I once more stab the sack of hay.

"Again."

This continues to the point that I've lost count how many times I have stabbed the bag hanging from the string. The bag itself has multiple cuts and by now it's half the size it was thanks to the hay pouring out. I never knew how tiring it was just too thrust a sword.

"Stop!"

I lower the sword to my side. The muscles in my right hand ache profusely.

"All right, I want you to take your shield and slam it as hard as you can at the sack.

I give out a long sigh and immediately General Jeval says "every dog that wants to become a guard must train their bodies for war. This is the very basics of training a guard dog and I want you able to last an entire battle without collapsing in exhaustion."

I look over to him seeing that he is both frustrated and concerned for me. I simply nod my head and turn to face the sack hanging from the string.

I thrust my shield towards the sack of hay with the weight of my entire body. The shield slams into the sack and easily pushes it back. I quickly realize that I put too much force into it and my whole body is thrown forward. I try to regain my balance by moving my left foot in front of me, but a couple pebbles get in between the ground and my shoe and I slip forward landing on my stomach. General Jeval bursts into laughter as I get back onto my feet, my clothes covered in dirt. "This is going to be one long afternoon."

"That's good enough."

I fall to my knees trying to catch my breath. Sweat covers my entire body as it soaks into my fur causing it to feel heavier than usual. I look up and see the sack of hay now nothing more than a ripped cloth. Even the wooden door frame that has been holding up the bag has many cuts from my less than accurate sword swings. General Jeval grabs my shoulder and pulls me over to a small crate. He pulls me up to sit upon the crate which he then chooses to sit beside me. I place the sword and shield beside the wooden box I'm sitting on. I look up to see that the sun is starting to fall behind the trees while leaving behind bright orange flames that light up the now darkening sky.

I slowly start to regain my breath when a thought crosses my mind. "Can I ask you question?"

"Ask away" he says as he tries to get a comfortable position on the wooden box.

"Why are you training me?"

"Well I told you..."

"No, no. Why did you personally train me? Why don't you just get some random guard dog to do it?"

General Jeval chuckles as he turns to look at the camp filled with guard dogs running back and forth. "We need as many dogs as we can get to prepare for the upcoming battle. They are young, strong and brave, filled with thoughts of adventure. Me, on the other hand... I'm just an old dog. Every time I wake up my muscles ache and groan. Every day that passes turns my memories of battle into distant tales of forgotten thought. Back in the day I would march along the mountains excited at the thought of facing another battle; but now all I want is a bed to sleep and someone else to talk to while I get drunk to the point that I would pass out."

He pulls out a small metal container with more dents and bruises than a rusted sword. He pulls off the cap and takes a quick swig of the liquid inside. "I might not be able to move as fast as I used to. But you be damn sure I can yell at you to stab a sack of hay." He once more takes a swig of the metal container and gives out a light chuckle as he continues to stare off into the camp.

The thought of water quenching my thirst made me forget my train of thought and ask "do you mind if I...?" General Jeval looks over to me for a second. Then he immediately realizes what I want and says "of course you can. After that workout you deserve something nice." He passes me the metal container and I take a quick mouthful to satisfy my thirst. Immediately my throat is consumed in fire and I start coughing. The taste is dark and bitter. My eyes start to water and I hear General Jeval laughing. He takes back the metal container and places the cap back on top.

"What the hell is that?" I say while trying not to cough up my lungs.

"What, you never had brandy before?"

I look at him with confusion and frustration. "No! Who in their right mind would want to drink this?"

He puts on a big smile and then points to my stomach. "How does your stomach feel?"

I take a step back from this question and suddenly realize. "Actually... It feels warm."

"Exactly!" he says as he places the metal container back onto his belt. "You'd be amazed how cold winters can get in the northern mountains."

General Jeval gets off the wooden crate and turns to look at me. "The training is over so you're dismissed for the rest of the day. Has some good rest tonight because tomorrow is going to be one long day. Dinner is probably ready right about now."

"I don't know why, but I just don't feel like eating."

General Jeval chuckles while staring off into the distance towards the village as if the small town reminds him of a distant memory. "I remember the first time I was told I would be going on a patrol. I was so nervous that I didn't eat anything for the entire day." He looks back at me with a smile and says "by the time we came back from our half-day patrol. I was so hungry that I almost collapsed on the ground before reaching the kitchen." I give out a slight chuckle thinking about how hungry he must've been. "I don't care if you don't eat tonight, but make sure you eat tomorrow's morning. Got it?"

I raise my hand to my heart and mockingly say "I swear to Auxano's name."

General Jeval chuckles as he turns to leave, but I stop him as I look down to see the sword and shield laying against the wooden box.

"You forgot your hamster sword and shield."

He stops and turns to look at me while saying "you keep it. Besides..." He once more turns back to the dirt path and starts walking towards the village. "It just reminds me of my mistakes."

I'm taken back with what General Jeval said as he leaves me staring at him in confusion. I don't know what he meant, but I sure as hell am not going to pressure him into telling me. I pick up the sword and place it in its sheath. I kneel down while grabbing the shield and quickly regret it because of my muscles screaming in protest.

I start making my way through the camp while following the dirt path that leads out of the guard area and into my side of the camp. There's almost no one left in the camp except for a couple stragglers running back and forth grabbing equipment. Once in a while they look over and wave at me but never actually communicate with me as if our voices are lost in the silence of the night.

I finally make it back to my tent just as the sun is falling below the tree line. I place the shield and sheathed sword to the left side of my tent and slowly crawl my way in my tent. I lay down on the ground which has only a thin blanket filled with hay to cushion my back from the earth underneath me. I stare at my tents roof and give out a long sigh. It's going to be at least a couple hours before I can finally sleep. Every night I think about the dream I had back at my uncle's home. The darkness that consumed me as if I was held in a black void. How I floated in the air as if I was lying on top of a river with no current to carry me anywhere. A calm voice which echoed through my mind as if it was slowly pecking at my sanity. Now with the battle coming up I sure as hell ain't going to sleep anytime soon.

I move my back to try and get a more comfortable position to sleep when I feel a sense of numbing across my body. I keep trying to move my body but, it becomes harder and harder to move my limbs. It feels like my body is giving up on me slowly as my sight starts to darken. I begin to panic and try to speak out but my voice is silent. Suddenly everything goes black.

---

I open my eyes frantically trying to get up but soon realize that I am once more floating in darkness. I try to grab anything I can in the pitch black void the surrounds me, but the only thing I feel is the coldness of the void that is trying to consume me.

"Hello there Marco." The voice echoes in the darkness, but this time it's much louder and sounds much closer than before. I start to look around but then I quickly remember our little talk we had the last time we spoke and I settled myself down.

"I see, you're quite the intelligent hamster... Well either that or you have a good memory."

Why have you waited so long to talk to me? I say to myself, knowing that he can read my thoughts.

"Like you, I have some issues I must take care of."

What type of issues would a God have?

"Things far too difficult to explain to a mere ember."

Ember? I look into the darkness completely confused by his statement or insult depending on what it means.

"That's right. You don't know how everything was created. Well it's a long story and sadly once more our time is short. To put it simply the whole world around you was created by fire. Fire is that which gives life to all living things. There are creators and their creations. The creators usually give part of their fire to bring life to their creations. For example, the ancients created the gods and the gods created the ember. Your species are called ember because you do not contain enough fire within you to create or affect anything. Thus when a fire dies out the only thing left are embers.

I floated in silence pondering what I was just told by the black void. I know what gods are but what are the ancients?

"The ancient ones created all you see around you. They created the sun and the stars. They even created the very planet you stand on. I would go more into detail about them, but sadly we are running out of time."

"Wait, if you are a God can't you just control time?" I ask the dark void starting to get suspicious of his claims and stories.

"Gods can create anything and morph it into our own use, but something as massive as time itself cannot be controlled by even the ancient ones."

Either he is an excellent liar or he's telling the truth. I know that he is real, thanks the last time he visited my dreams, but that doesn't mean I can trust him.

"I understand if you don't trust me, but I'm here to help."

"Why would a God want to help a measly ember?" I say mockingly in to the darkness.

"Because what is happening to you right now happen to me. The kingdom I once ruled fell to ruin and all that I loved was destroyed. The ancient one gave me power to get revenge upon those who destroyed everything I loved. Now it wishes me to help you in your time of need. You must understand that I need to warn you about something."

My train of thought got derailed from the unexpected answer he gave me. Warn me, warn me about what?

"Your ambush plan is going to fail."

Wait how the hell do you know our plan?

"The ancient one told me that your ambush would be a failure."

You mean we will lose the battle.

"You won't just lose the battle you'll lose the entire war. You must choose a different option before it's too late."

Different option... do I even have a different option? Now my mind is racing back and forth looking for any possibility to the situation I've been given.

"Yes you do. The ancient one told me that the darkness is your friend. Use the darkness to fight against your enemy."

So you're telling me if I use darkness in some way I will win the battle?

"You must also search for the rabbit with the red ear for he knows something that is crucial to your victory."

Do you mean Eros?

"Well if it's a rabbit with a red ear then yes it is him."

But I don't know where he is. He constantly goes out hunting for food every day.

"The ancient one told me that you will find him when the sun is slowly rising above the trees. Smoke will rise above his head and where he sits no sunlight can touch his skin."

I suddenly see a flicker of light appear in the corner my eye.

"It seems we're out of time. Do not forget Marco what I've told you!"

Lights start to peer through the darkness and my vision begins to blur.

In the distance I hear a faint voice say "remember the darkness, it is your friend."

I open up my eyes and see General Jeval angrily looking down at me . "I swear it's harder to wake you up than a hungover ferret." He pulls his head out of my tent and I slowly crawl my way out while rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

I look around and see that the entire camp has already become alive with the sounds of animals sitting in groups talking amongst themselves, while they scarf down their breakfast. The sun is just starting to rise above the tree line and the air is filled with the smell of eggs and cured vegetables.

General Jeval passes me a plate of bread, eggs, and some sort of pickled vegetable. "I sent a guard dog earlier to give you this breakfast, but he came back to me saying that it was impossible to wake you up."

I give out a chuckle while rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment. "Sorry about that. I guess I was having... a very captivating dream."

"uh huh." General Jeval gives me a look that I could only describe as stoic. He turns around and walks down the dirt path saying "when you're done eating come straight to the large black tent." I feel an overwhelming sense of hunger thanks to the lack of food I ate last night, but I quickly focus back to the dream I had. I have to find Eros. I quickly start repeating the words that the black void told me in my dream.

Find him when the sun is slowly rising above the trees. Smoke will rise above his head and where he sits no sunlight can touch his skin. Find him when the sun is slowly rising above the trees. Smoke will rise above his head and where he sits no sunlight can touch his skin. Find him when...

I start looking around for any clue to his whereabouts. The tents could be used to block the sun's light but there's no sign of smoke coming anywhere from them. Then I look towards the village and see a single house with smoke coming out of its' chimney.