The War ( Daft's Story)

INTRODUCTION

“It’s been weeks since we heard any word from the east…Is there anyone still out there….? Well, no matter I suppose. Not now. The darkness is coming, If I close my eyes I can almost feel it. It swept through Amakna from the east, It left no region untouched. It left no army in tact. It left….Nothing. No survivors, no refugees, no bodies. In the south they called it, The Deathless Plague, an invincible wave that no bullet could stop…. The north called it. The Angry Night, but we just know it as, the Grimm. And it’s on the other side of these walls as I write. Amakna is burning….. The Grimm will soon be upon us. I’ve ordered my men to their death. I’ve seen what happens. I’ve seen what they do.. And I know what It means for us.
Never stop fighting.
Don’t let them take you alive.
Because some things ARE worse than death…”

It had been just three months since first word of the Plague. It’s amazing to me how quickly things can go from bad, to worse; I’m still unclear as to how it spread so quickly. Was it airborne? I certainly hoped not. As I sat in the small dug-out, reading the diary I snatched from the corpse of a field marshal, I thought about how this whole Armageddon had started…

Just before the Plague had hit, the continent of Amakna had entered its industrial era. New technologies were being discovered, such as black powder. It started off as simple explosions, and then they found new uses for it. Black powder turned into bombs. This turned into grenades, and landmines – and the most deadly of them all. Guns. With the discovery of this magical powder, the war between the ancient cities of Bonta – of the north, and Brakmar – of the south, raged out of control, with catastrophic results. The continent became their battle ground, hundreds of thousands killed because of their lust, their need for power. That’s just the beginning…
Resources were being depleted at a frightening rate; both cities were in an unimaginable amount of debt. The Amaknan economy was teetering on the brink of total collapse. Then, as if the gods themselves had added fuel to the fires of Amakna, the Plague hit. It struck swiftly; it tore apart small villages in the east overnight. Word quickly spread of this plague, all advancements in technology had come to a stand still. The war all to quickly became the last of our problems, for there was a new enemy. What we in the west call: The Grimm. They were sick, they were infected. Tall, frail creatures – sickly yellow skin.
At first we thought they were mindless creatures, bent on death and destruction. To our horror, we found that we were wrong. They colonize. Their intelligence is….frightening. Soon, their technologies will surpass ours. Everyday, they grow stronger. Every one of our casualties just adds to their numbers. Bonta was attacked by the infected weeks ago, nothing was left but smoldering rubble, it’s a ghost town, a shadow of the great city it used to be. Brakmar is next and anywhere in-between. No where is safe…Nowhere…


CHAPTER ONE


“Lately the Command Bureau has been sending small groups of soldiers on ‘Elite, Confidential’ missions over on the northern border of the Moor. Not just soldiers though, - Sword smiths, Dagger smiths, and Alchemists. I don’t know what they’re planning down there, but it worries me that I haven’t seen any of them return….”

I set the journal down, stared into the evening sun with glassy eyes- as it illuminated the summer sky in a fiery crimson. The journals words danced back and forth, through my head. ‘Sword smiths, and Alchemists…..?” It didn’t make any sense. I picked the journal up again, and flipped to the front page.


This journal belongs to:

~ Bink~

Pandala, 43rd Infantry

MEDIC

“A Field Medic….” I whispered. I turned to the next page.

“Today was my fist encounter with the infected, I soon learned, that whoever they previously were, was now completely gone. They were an empty shell of the person they were in their previous life, spiteful, and angry- they hiss at us. I made the mistake of trying to comfort the frail creature- “It’s all right” I started, as I slowly approached it. “I’m not going to hurt-” before I could finish its body convulsed as it spewed a dark red liquid at me. It then rose to its feet, and started running towards me. Naturally, I un-sheathed my sword and took a step back. “Stay away!” I shouted, but the creature took no heed of my words, and drew nearer. I lunged forwards, and impaled the creature’s neck- it’s arms outstretched, still grasping for me- his orange eyes burning into my soul. With a clean slice, I decapitated the monster… I felt a horrible pit in the bottom of my stomach…. I slumped to the ground and fought back tears…. If Brakmar really is still standing, then there might still be hope for Amakna…..”

“Brakmar…..” I said aloud… I closed my eyes, and waited for morning.

“It’s our fifth week of the war, and despair is the only thing that still makes us different from them…. Sorrow has slowly crept in, where hope used to be…. This morning I received a letter from a Brakmarian messenger, that the great city of Bonta has finally fallen…I don’t know if I have the heart to tell my platoon, It’s still a long journey to the Moor, and more grief is the last thing we need……
Further investigation of the virus has led me to believe it’s not a plague at all. It’s not even a virus… It’s….It’s nothing I’ve ever seen before… It’s not airborne, thank the Gods. From what I’ve observed, the initial ‘virus” leaves the host with abnormally high fevers, dizziness, blurred vision- this lasts for about seven hours before the host finally falls into a coma….”
My eye’s snapped open, as they slowly adjusted to the murky darkness. From outside of the dug-out, I could hear faint footsteps, and what sounded like chains rattling. I slowly stood up, and made my way to the entrance- poking my head out to get a better view. My breathing became heavy; my heart beat against the inside of my ribcage. My legs gave out on me, and I slowly sunk to the floor. There must have been forty, no sixty of them- they had so many of us… all chained to one another... Iops, Pandas, Xelors, a few Eniripsias…. My terror soon melted into fury, only reminding me once again of how truly evil our enemy was. I was clearly out numbered- sixty to one… I sat alone in the darkness, listening, as the footsteps slowly faded….
When the light finally crested over the tree line, I quickly packed up my belongings- flint, sleeping bag, rope, and so on. I picked up the journal, shoved it into my pack, and started outside, into the cold, misty morning. Brakmar was still fresh in my head, and I headed south- the Moor was only about twenty miles away…
As I walked along the path, kicking up small clouds of dirt- I thought about life before the war. I lived in Asturb at the time; I was a scribe- working for the Asturbian Library….

“Daft…? What are you doing here? You don’t work Saturdays anymore you know….” I took a step backwards... “I- I know sir, I was just coming to the library to-”
The old man let out a loud bellowing laugh- that echoed throughout the Library.
“Daft, you spend too much time in here…. Go out- explore the world, go and find yourself a girl… Just look at me, look at what too much time alone does….” The old man pointed to himself, his kind face grinning madly- exposing every ancient wrinkle. I let out a small laugh, “Yes sir”...
I strolled along the isles of the grand Library, each shelf stuffed with scrolls, ancient documents, Encyclopedias... I stopped in the Eniripsia section. I pulled a large, dusty book from the shelf- marked: ‘Eniripsia Spells: VOL. III Offensive Spells’, laid it on the closest table, and flipped though the pages. I finally stopped on a page that caught my eye:

‘Vampyric Word’
One of the most valuable, and powerful spells known to Eniripsias, Vapyric Word leeches life from an enemy, transferring it to the caster.

Below the descrption, were pictures showing how to cast the spell… My wings twitched with excitement, as I set the book down, let out a deep breath, and tried some of the movements shown in the book.
“Well, well, what are you doing here on this beautiful Saturday morning- Daft?”
I froze, my face turning red with embarrassment. “Chem- Chemileon, wha- what, I mean, hey…” The female Eniripsia slowly walked towards my table, giggling as she did so. Me and Chemileon had been friends, all the way through training in Incarnam, and into the Academy.
It all happened so quickly, before either of us had time to react, the heavy wooden doors of the Library burst open, and in came what we all thought were rumors, bad dreams, stories of the north… The Grimm. I grabbed Chemelion by the hand, and ran for the back exit. Screams were heard throughout the Library as we ran, “Hurry!” she shrieked. Finally, we burst through the back- tumbling out into the street. There were hundreds of them, tearing civilians apart. Asturbian guards came rushing in, their armor gleaming in the bright afternoon sun.
“Daft!!” I turned around, Chem was shouting my name, as she was being dragged away by panicking civilians.
“Chemelion!” I shouted back, I started to sprint after her, only to have one of the infected cut me off… I started towards me. I let out a deep breath, focused on the target- “Vampyric Word!” I shouted. Instantly, blue light sprung from my fingertips- plunging into the chest of the infected, turning him into ashes.
“Chem!!” I shouted again, to no avail. To my left, a house exploded into flames- showering the streets with debris. I ran for the southern exit- to see the Amaknan Guard closing the gates… “Their trying to contain it….” I murmured. I spread my wings, and fly high above the wall- only to be greeted with Amaknan arrows. They were containing the virus at all costs, even if it meant killing civilians….. I felt a sharp sting in my left wing, and started plummeting towards the Earth….
Then, everything went black……