Until the Day We Die
Trailer
Silence swept through the village of Marigold, a settlement on the eastern border of Vacuo made up of a dozen families, at most. The full moon above reached its zenith to mark midnight and only the crackle of torches and the soft footsteps of the garrison patrolling the walls of the fort protecting it could be heard. It was quiet. It was peaceful. It was… temporary.
[Insert We're Going to War by Pagan Fury]
The first warning the guards received was a soft, but regular rhythm that they didn't quite understand. It was unfamiliar, but ominous.
The night is deep.
As it grew louder, the garrison began to congregate near the gate closest to it, trying to see what it was. Soon, the beat of several drums in unison became clear. It had grown so deep, so loud and so all-encompassing that villagers were pulled from their dreams, making their way to see what the commotion was. The guards had no answer, and the few that thought they might hoped they were wrong.
Nobody is asleep.
When the source finally came into view, the villagers wished they hadn't left their beds. Now that they saw where it came from… there would be no sleep this night. There may not even be a tomorrow.
Focused and wide awake.
A group of warriors, fifty or sixty in total, were making their way towards the village. The leader was a blonde teenager with shoulder-length, blonde hair and a pair of piercing, blue eyes which glowed dangerously in the night. Dressed in a dark blue and long-sleeved gambeson, wielding a rather sharp looking ax – balanced with a nasty-looking spike – and a large, round shield of steel in his off-hand, there was no question as to his intentions. The rest of the men – outside of the four with drums – were similarly armed with spears, swords, rifles, bows and everything in between. The drummers had weaponry as well, they just had not taken it upon themselves to wield them yet. Just behind the leader was a single person bearing the infamous standard of the blonde, a scarlet flag with a white raven, wings spread wide.
That rumbling sound, drums are beating loud.
As the group got just fifty feet outside of the walls, they halted. As soon as their leader stopped, his men did so as well. The cacophony died out the moment the leader halted his step. His steely gaze met that of the Captain of the Guard, who had taken it upon himself to stand atop the wall. He looked down at the group with his own men assembled and ready to fire their weapons at a moment's notice.
Victory is coming our way!
The previously clear sky, as if it felt the tension, had filled with dark clouds during this time. With the shattered moon now hidden behind them, the guards and the citizens couldn't help but feel an added amount of fear. The rumors were true… By the Gods were they true.
When the lightning strikes through the storm!
The teen smiled at the Captain and his men as he spoke. It was without hesitation. It was without worry. He spoke with a command so thorough, that the guards thought he might be their commanding officer for a moment. "Citizens of Marigold, I come as an emissary from the great Branwen Khanate! Our leader has seen it fitting to welcome your settlement into her protective wing, to welcome you into our mighty nest! She has even sent me, her heir and only son to give you the message! All that we ask in exchange is a small sum, in order to fund our efforts to keep you, your families and your city protected from the dangers of the Blight. What do you say?"
The Earth is shaking down to the core!
The Captain had trouble for a moment, but found his voice finally. "We will not bow to uncivilized tribals and raiders!" He shouted from his precipice. "Leave now and you can keep your life." If the Captain's voice wasn't shaking, then his men sure were. This only seemed to make the soldiers behind the blonde laugh loudly until he gave them a look, silencing them.
And the thunderclouds above warn!
"Are you rejecting our kind offer then?" The boy wondered. When the Captain nodded his head, the boy shook his own. "That is quite unfortunate. I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but it seems I've no choice." He turned to his men. "It seems that mother's kindness is being rejected. Of course, there is only one course of action. They've spat upon her mercy, her generosity! You know how I feel about people that insult my kin." The men shouted a battle-cry at the top of their lungs, beating their weapons against their shields. "Kill the guards, capture the rest." In the silence, his words were deafening to the village.
Then you know we're going to war!
The men didn't have time to rush, and the guards didn't have time to fire, as one of the clouds released a bolt of lightning that scored a direct hit on the wall just above the gate. The caused guards and civilians alike were blown back as the gate was tossed towards the village center. To those that were watching the blonde in the moment it happened, they would've seen his blue eyes become a bright white as lightning struck.
The world's in fear.
The tribals ran past their leader as he walked forward. His irises remaining that milky white as the clouds began to open up, indiscriminate in who was drenched. He found the Captain of the Guard, who was slowly regaining his footing after he had been thrown from his post atop the wall. He had his sword in hand as he looked around and tried to figure out what was going on. Their eyes locked and the guard found what was left of his courage, bracing for battle as he brought his own kite shield up in defense.
The sky's in tears.
"I know who you are. You're Naruto Branwen." The Captain stated as he fell into a stance. "You're the one who's been attacking the other tribes… people back in Vacuo won't stop talking about you. Why are you here?"
Naruto, as he was named now, gripped his ax tightly and grinned. "I wasn't attacking them. I was uniting them. Under the White Raven's banner, the Branwen will bring together the Blight under my mother. These men here, they're from a dozen tribes. They're from families that fought tooth and nail to survive, against settlements and each other. I've given them purpose, unity, ambition. Now… now we turn our eyes towards the rotting corpse of the Kingdoms to feed. If settlements won't join willingly, then we'll rob their nests and feed the opposition to the Grimm."
Gather your men for the fight.
As the two leaders faced off, Naruto's own tribesmen did what he said. The armed guards were being slaughtered by the numerically superior tribals. Whatever bullets they fired did little against Auras they weren't prepared to grind down. The tribals struck true and without mercy, leaving the civilians able to do nothing besides cower or run. They stopped running after the first one was killed with a throwing ax to the back of the skull.
The heavy rain surrounding rising flames.
The Captain was surprised by the calm tone that Naruto delivered the cruel metaphors in. He was more surprised when he suddenly rushed forward, ax nearly splitting his skull. Only by reflex did his shield come up in time to save him. Even still, he suffered for it as the Lightning Dust from Naruto's ax channeled through his steel shield and armor to deliver a painful blow to the man's already damaged Aura. Spasming on the floor, he could do nothing as Naruto approached him and ran the spike on the back of his pommel into his skull, ending his life prematurely.
Only the strong will survive.