drayce

[drayce]

Yay another bit of that story.

Warning: dark.

Cinders

Chapter 1

[Flammelreich, 560 meters from frontlines]

(Julia Robynski)

Knock knock

“Enter,” I said, casually rubbing my fingers over an unpolished wooden piece. The uneven grain of wood was soothing to the touch.

Multiple people wearing the Flammelreich insignia entered, their murmurs quieting down after I removed my gaze from the wooden piece.

“So, Let's start. Reports first,” I point at the yellowed map sprawled on the table, where countless wooden pieces resembling different units were positioned neatly on top.

“We’ve lost 2 Artillery units, 3200 casualties and 120 deserters.” One officer knocked over several pieces, the already thin ranks getting thinner.

I grit my teeth. This is not good.

“How. Many. Meters.” I mutter, judging the distance between the front lines and Flammelstadt.

“Gained 3 meters, General Julia,” a blond man points on the map, shifting the pieces a half centimetre forwards.

The room suddenly becomes silent, with the other officers glancing between him and me.

I glare at the man for a full second. “Do not call me that,” I spoke, and the atmosphere seemed to grow tense for a second.

“Moving on."

“We’ll launch an assault after 2 days, at noon. Tell the soldiers to reposition.” I continue, leaning forwards to shift around the various pieces sprawled on the map.

“Units 43 and 42 go here,” I move a piece somewhat resembling an artillery unit.

“But, General Robynski, our remaining shells aren't enough for next week if we-”

“Shut up while I'm repositioning the units,” I grip the wooden piece hard, leaving subtle dents in its wooden base.

“We are launching that offense. Our new territory of West Monale has multiple iron mines for our factories.” I continue, eyeing the officer that dares to interrupt me.

“Speaking of Monale-” another officer speaks up, and the corner of my eye twitches slightly.

Is it so hard to bloody think before you speak?

“Will this open up another front for us? Likely yes, but East Monale is a mere bug against our reich.” I cut him off, my patience was wearing thin.

“They won't even last a day against us.” I continued, my hands moving the other pieces one by one.

“With our new allies, we will resolve the western front before they can even react,” I thought whilst repositioning.

“Any. More. Questions?” I muttered, to which I was met with silence.

Sometimes I wondered how these incompetent beings got promoted.

I let out a sigh before taking my seat.

“Order our troops to reposition. Now.” I ordered, my voice absolute.

I watch as they shuffle out of the room, closing the door behind them with a faint thud.

“Huff. Finally.” I couldn't help but exhale, the daily meetings with these brain-dead majors exhausting.

I look out the window, observing the blankets of snow on the ground, the subtle grey hue of gunpowder staining the pale snow a light grey.

I watch as tiny specks of white flutter down from the sky, bringing a sense of solace and tranquility before the upcoming onslaught of battle.

As the sky turns from that milky blue into a slight orange, my eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

It was until a slight golden blur entered the corner of my eyes.

“Starbrecher.” A sense of relief envelopes me. The mere thought of the one that can demolish armies finally on my side brings a smile to my lips.

“Wait for me, father. I will make both you and our fatherland proud.”

[drayce]

I started writing a story purely out of boredom and now the story is like 4000 words, so... I figured I should post it and hopefully someone finds it entertaining? (Hopefully)

Warning: dark, traumatic and blood. Scroll away if you're sensitive to this stuff.

Cinders: Prologue

[East Monale, Frontlines]

“Burn!”

“Go to hell!”

“Aaargh!”

The battlefield was thick with the distinct metallic tang of blood, the foul smell of gunpowder and the bitter aftertaste of magic.

I race forwards, their trenches are so close, I can already feel their warm blood on my skin, hear their screams as I tear them limb to limb.

As I look at their pathetic struggles, a thin smile appears on my lips, 30 meters, 30 more meters and those struggles are in vain.

20 meters, it's time to eradicate these pests, time for the reunion of the motherland.

I close my eyes and feel the ebbing and flowing of that wonderful substance within me, as I nudge the liquid towards my fingertips.

I watch as a red glow envelopes my hands, then as flames manifest and spread across the ground, coming to life like a wild firestorm.

The orange red flames spread wildly, engulfing every stray soldier it can grasp its fiery tendrils at. I watched as panicked warriors backed away from the incoming flames, and as the flames got closer and closer to them, only for it to stop at a golden barrier, a mere inch before the trenches.

“Tsk.” I clicked my tongue, someone wanted to be the hero today, someone wanted to ruin my fun.

“So you're the flaming spear,” A voice rings from the trenches.

I watch as a golden haired woman leaps out from the trenches, her orangish irises glowing with a dim golden glow. Her gaze unfazed by my presence as she stares blankly towards me.

Her deep grey uniform is unadorned by medals or insignias, only sporting an out of place orange scarf by her neck, her belt not even having any weapons strapped on.

“Not good.” I thought, as I felt the unbelievably thick air of magic around her.

I grab the spear from my back, watching the engraved runes light up with a red glow as magic intrinsically flows into its spearhead.

“Careful now, this is the great spear of Saria, it amplifies my magic a thousandfold! You're no match for me!” I boasted, the great spear was a work of art, unparalleled in every aspect one could think of.

There’s no way I’ll lose with my strongest weapon, she’ll fall, just like every single one before her, then they’ll all burn.

Her eyebrow arches slightly, before her face returns to that default expressionless from before.

I launched forwards, jabbing my spear towards her, the tip was now radiating pure heat, the mere presence of it suffocating.

She just stood there, watching as the spear got increasingly closer to her. Only snapping her fingers a few seconds before impact.

Snap, snap.

My spear tears through countless magic threads that materialized from nothing, slowing down and stopping just before touching her.

“What in the world was that?” I panicked, blinking several times to make sure this was real.

“...Weakling,” she said, before she grabbed the red hot spear.

I watch as she compresses the spear with her bare hands, crushing it within seconds, turning a feared legendary weapon into a pile of scrap in the blink of an eye.

“There's no way.” I thought, unable to process the spear being crushed.

This can't be happening right now. Her hand should’ve burnt into a crisp, she should be on the ground, grabbing her injured hand, begging me to spare her.

But no.

Her hand grabs onto my chin, twisting it towards my country's trenches.

“Look closely.”

Golden threads appear all across the battlefield. A sudden realization hits me hard, almost like a bullet to the chest.

“No, no, no, you-you’re the starbreaker.” my eyes widen as any remaining shred of hope leaves my body as I realise the hopelessness of my situation.

“Exactly.” her lips curl slightly, the thought of that smile enough to keep any soldier up at night.

The golden threads slice through every one of our soldiers. It's not even a battle, it's a bloody massacre.

My mouth is left gaping open, God has forsaken us, and left us to die under the hands of this monster.

“Your turn.” A smirk appears on her face.

“N-no, please don't…” I mutter, but only her cold smile entertains my desperate plea.

30 minutes later…

[West Monale]

(Starbreaker)

I sat down on a nearby wooden crate, then poured a familiar shot of vodka from my flask.

“Hu…” I exhale, before downing the shot in one fell swoop.

I watch as the remaining enemy troops stop their advance, the impact of losing an “ace” clearly affecting their morale.

Step

Step

I pour another shot as I hear the footsteps grow louder. I swivel the shot glass, watching as the clear liquid swishes up and down.

“Starbreaker.”

“Yes, Major Anton?” I drink the liquor without looking at the man beside me.

“Wonderful job, lieutenant.” He places a hand on my shoulder before he steps in front of me, his eyes looking directly at mine.

“What’s it this time?” I gaze into his eyes, and speak with barely any enthusiasm.

“I just came to visit my finest lieutenant, nothing more.”

“Yeah as if that’s true.” I thought as I poured another shot, and gave him a bored stare.

.

.

.

“Em… actually, I’m here to tell you that the request was approved by Flammelreich.”

My eyes widened and I choked on the liquor.

“Cough, cough, …really?” I asked, unable to believe this news.

This could bring on the era of peace that people yearned for, an era late but not unwelcome.

“On one condition. They want you on the western front.” He grabs my flask and drinks a big gulp of liquor.

“I’ll do it.” I stand up from the wooden crate, taking the flask of liquor from his hands and downing it in one swift gulp.

“Are you absolutely sure? We can still negotiate on the-”

“No need.” I screw on the cap of the flask as I walk towards my quarters.

Finally, peace.