"Wars begin when you will, but they do not end when you please."

  March 26th.

  Archer Isyrelle Viriditas.

  4 months until the war of reclamation.

  "They lived as briefly as mayflies."

  "Disciplined legions born under war."

  "Bested by elven intelligence."

  "Isolated and died out."

  I asked. Since I was a little girl, I asked about humans. I eventually came to believe that humans did not exist. Wrong. So, very wrong.

  That mountain was a massacre. The humans we were told were unsophisticated brutes were, in fact, the opposite. They wore matching uniforms and fought as one whole body where fighters broke their Knights I assumed they called them Knights, which would force them back into the battle. Men organized by drums and trumpets, flags, and orders. It was a chaotic order that we did not know how to counter.

  And never have I seen bravery like here. A handful of militias stood against our vast army and fought. I understood we lost this war when we gave our enemy a reason to kill. When we massacred them simply for plunder and revenge. I watched because I couldn't do anything else. Yet I remember the eyes of those harmed. Hate. Hate is all I could see from these humans. Hate. And I wonder how a people could hold so much hate.

  I, alongside hundreds of others, decided to leave the mountain. Alaric led us.

  Ilmarith argued with his older brother. Knight Banneret Ysolaren. His older brother refused to leave. And so Ilmarith came with me.

  And on the path, hunger struck us all. In his desperation, Alaric ordered an attack on a large town. It seemed to hold vast mines.

  Alaric sent us archers first. And to my surprise, we won the hill the humans held. We assumed we would actually win here.

  But from our left, we watched as a beast grey and dressed in snow sped into the town coming to a screeching halt. I watched as a wall slid open, and from inside the stomach of the beast came many men dressed differently. Darker. Older. Their gaze hardened, and they came toward us with a purpose.

  Alaric saw it and called for a retreat, but as we began to fall back, those men began to let loose.

  I only remember seeing Ilmarith cry out his leg torn from the knee as bone and flesh hung.

  He grabbed onto me, and I desperately tried to drag him back. I cried for help, yet no one came to my aid. And I heard the echo of those damned human weapons. Ilmarith's cry turned into a whimper he reached to his chest as blood pumped out. I cradled him and comforted him as much as I could until I heard his final gasp.

  I dragged his corpse until my arms burned there. I cupped his cheek one last time.

  The weather was so cold, yet he was colder. His eyes looked into the sky, his eyelashes already beginning to freeze.

  And I slid his eyelids down and laid my pretty little archer one last time.

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  After that, I had no purpose. I march because I have to.

  And I remember in those forests how shadow figures stalked us. Attacked on one day only to be thankfully repelled by our mage. Our only mage after the other went missing.

  Those..things. shadows. Their white eyes look at us with hate as well. Many whisper they may be the souls of dead human fighters. Others claim it is a curse. I only know that ever since we got here, the two mages have been becoming so weak that doing basic spells makes them exhausted.

  And where am I now? After days of walking? After thousands of deaths? We march to the place where it all began. The Rocky Coast. We only hope our ships remain intact. But I doubt this.

  As we approached the place where all this started, we saw nothing but old wood and floating remnants of our ship.

  "Over there!" Someone exclaimed, pointing in the distance past the fog was a ship.

  "They're watching. March faster." Another muttered.

  The entire army fell silent as the rustling of leaves echoed from the rocks. Then we saw shadows moving.

  "Sapiens? Some other beast?" A knight said as he began to draw his sword.

  Before the knight could lift his sword, a single crack echoed the knight's head, snapping back before stumbling onto the floor.

  "What's happening?!"

  "It's an ambush, you fools!"

  "Humans!" Someone cried, though none needed telling.

  A volley cut through the wind. I watched many men, many of whom were trained for decades, cut down in a matter of seconds. Those projectiles, the humans loose, landed like sudden rain upon a roof

  "ADVANCE" A knight called out before Alaric responded.

  "NO! ARCHERS LOOSE AT WILL! THE REST OF YOU RALLY AND RETREAT!"

  Alaric seemed to want to copy human tactics now using us archers at every instance.

  My shoulder was already sore, but I ran forward, dropping a knee into the snow fumbling with my bowstring, flinching at every strike that hissed like a serpent.

  I let loose toward the rocks and pushed myself to my feet. My eyes darted around where I saw my people crying, others praying out loud.

  And from the rocks, the humans moved like wolves. Swift and determined.

  And a trumpet echoed.

  The humans ceased. Quiet.

  I ran back to the rally with the army we were already retreating when another trumpet call echoed, followed by human war cries.

  They emerged from the rocks many dressed in the same dark blue color, but some had a white uniform with different types of hats.

  They fired and shot with perfect coordination advancing rapidly. In our desperation, we fled in a disorganized rout, pushing each other while Knights pulled their armor off, throwing it to the ground, the humans chasing behind us until we were far enough.

  When I gathered the courage to look back, I saw a trail of blood and scattered corpses. The humans stared back at us weapons hung low their posture stiff.

  Why they didn't follow I do not know.

  We stumbled in a disorganized column for hours until Alaric ordered a halt. We made whatever shelter we could most were simple logs driven into the snow with a blanket as a roof.

  As I sat on the snow, a knight bachelor approached me. My eyes locked onto his.

  "Women." He said.

  "Who are you to call me that?" I answered.

  The knight froze, his eyebrows furrowed.

  "Your lover has been killed, hasn't he? You must be in need to find a new..protector." he dug into his pocket and pulled out a ring.

  "Even if I wanted to be with a...thing. like you. The laws state that a priest must be present to divorce my fallen HUSBAND." I responded with a growl. The knight's eyes narrowed, and then he crouched down and reached for his dagger.

  "I don't remember you being married, Isyrelle. Perhaps you lie."

  "Perhaps you must ask a priest if we return back to Xantia instead of threatening me, but your threats don't scare me." I leaned closer and pressed an arrow to his lips. "Because when I let loose, I assure you. My arrow always finds its mark."

  The knight leaned back, his eyes stuck on the arrow before he barked out.

  "You dare threaten a Nobel!?"

  "The Duke is dead. Alaric can care less about you."

  The knight nodded and pointed his dagger toward me before leaving, not before spitting on the ground in front of me.

  I looked toward the sea before lying down, my dagger in my hand.

  "Have you heard?" Someone muttered to another.

  "What?"

  "Alaric claims that a mage has contact hints from the duchy of Eldergrove they are coming to our aid."

  "Eldergrove is an independent coastal duchy..why would they come here?"

  "Who knows. But Duke Thalion swears he's on his way. "

  "So what..who knows how many humans are here or whatever god forbidden beasts.. I say we retreat on their ships."

  "That's treason!"

  "Says who? Alaric has already left Darkheart for dead."

  I closed my eyes and covered my ears. Yet I awoke in the night as someone shoved me awake.

  I jolted up and looked around, seeing how mainly archers were patrolling anxiously.

  And I heard the whistle it sounded so near I spun around yet saw nothing.

  "What is it!?" Someone exclaimed.

  Whistles. More whistles. It never stopped, and what followed was the sound of bones rattling and more whistles.

  We spun around looking everywhere, but the dark night made it impossible to see until someone lit a torch.

  A final whistle echoed. Yet this whistle sounded far.

  "Is it gone?"

  As I glanced at another archer, I saw a figure standing behind him with a straw hat and a sack on its back. Tall amd lanky.

  It grabbed his neck and dashed off into the forest with a speed I've never seen, the man screamed before a final crack of bone silenced him.

  "This is madness! Madness! Were we all doomed to die? Why don't we just make a final stand instead of running!" A man-at-arms yelled out, throwing his halberd to the floor.

  "I've fought countless wars, Alaric! Yet not one where we were hunted like prey! Why are we running!? Answer me, Alaric!" He exclaimed once more before he was tackled down and restrained.

  Not a sound came from Alaric's tent.

  I laid down and tried to sleep, yet I couldn't. Every sound, even a gust of wind, woke me. And so I stood and took sentry duty staring into the dark forest.

  And I could only hope that this invasion hadn't started something we could never end.