Asura stared out into the sprawling desert before him. Palm trees dotted the horizon and the sun shone proudly in the sky. His tan skin soaked in the sunlight. The chorus of small talk between soldiers filled the air. He used his hand as a shield from the rays of the sun and squinted, making out small little blocks in the distance. Relief poured over him.
"Captain Keeta!" he shouted, the yell putting strain on his dry throat. His superior stepped towards him, sword hanging at his belt, brown hair damp with sweat.
"What is it Asura?" Keeta asked, a hint of desperation in the brown of his eyes. Asura pointed westward and said "A village sir." Keeta shot his gaze in the direction, squinting as his eyes were assaulted by the sunlight. His lips curled upwards and parted, revealing teeth as white as snow.
"Thank the Goddesses in the Sacred Realm." Keeta muttered. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he turned to his men and, in his usual commanding voice, shouted, "Men! A village up ahead!" His battalion roared with cheers, everyone making their way to the tiny structures in the distance. The clanking of armor and shields replaced the small talk. The day was beginning to wear thin, the sun gently kissing the horizon. Asura walked at a steady pace with Keeta, pulling up his belt to prevent his twin blades from dragging against the ground.
"How long have we been out here, Captain?" Asura asked while he ran a hand through his damp black hair. He grimaced when the sight of sweat on his hand greeted him.
"About three damn days." Keeta responded. "To be honest Asura I'm getting sick of this war. The Garo are not going to give up, and it's kind of a pain to have to trek all the way to their country only to come up with nothing. Especially when the miss is pregnant and all." Asura nodded, sharing Keeta's feelings on the war.
"And crossing the desert in these hunks of metal isn't the most fun thing in the world either." Asura muttered grimly, gesturing down to the crimson breastplate enveloping his torso. He could feel the hot metal scorching his skin, even through the chainmail. Keeta merely laughed in what Asura assumed was agreement. As the buildings grew closer and closer, Asura's eagerness for relaxation grew as well.
The village was surprisingly large; buildings stood proudly among each other, each one providing protection from the sun's rays. Palm trees danced in the breath of the wind. Men and women walked along the dirt streets, brandishing bags of food, clothes and other everyday items. Children happily played catch, oblivious to everyone around them, and merchants were screaming too loudly about their great deals.
"Well this is a nice little place. Hopefully there's a hotel somewhere." Keeta thought aloud, gazing up at the buildings. Several soldiers eyed merchant wares and women. Asura couldn't help but feel out of place; the large Ikana symbol plastered on his armor attracted curious looks from citizens. Shrugging off the thought, he continued to walk forward when a sign for a hotel caught his gaze.
Telling Keeta of the hotel, he and his squad filed into the wooden doorway, a musty smell leaking out of the place. Asura was last in line, and his fellow soldiers' loud chatter drew more annoyed glances. But just as he was about to step in, a strange feeling crept onto him. As if he were the center of attention. He turned around to find not a soul looking at him. Eyebrow cocking slowly, he directed his gaze skyward, and caught a glimpse of beady green eyes staring directly at him. They seemed to burn holes in him. An incredible sense of hostility emanated from them. And in a flash of brown cloth, they were gone. A shiver snaked up his spine.
"Alright Asura get up!" Keeta yelled much too enthusiastically. Asura shot straight upwards, nearly propelling himself onto the wooden floor beneath him. His eyelids were locked, refusing to open and be subjected to the sunlight. A yawn forced his mouth open as it escaped from his lungs. Drool dripped from the corners of his mouth.
"Goddesses man, did you not sleep well?" Keeta asked. Asura could picture the cheeky smile on his face perfectly.
"How could I have slept well on this sorry excuse for a bed? I would of rather slept outside." Asura grumbled, cramps rattling through his entire body. His back and bottom were incredibly sore. The bed was as hard as a rock, and the blanket was more like a sheet of paper. Keeta laughed, the sound making Asura all the more irritable. His laughter dying, Keeta threw a bundle of clothes at Asura. The sound of cloth hitting skin was barely audible.
"We're headin' back today, so hurry up and get dressed. I want to go home and just get this over with." Keeta said with a dash of fear in his voice.
"Do you think he'll be angry?" Asura asked as he wrestled into an undershirt.
"Probably. I'm pretty sure the last thing he wants to hear is that this mission was a complete failure. Hell, we haven't even encountered any Garos."
Asura was now slipping the breastplate over his head and onto his torso. "I know, it's weird. You'd think they would come to us, considering we're the ones invading their country this time." His mind raced back to the figure on the rooftops, staring at him with those huge green eyes. He shook the thought off and attached both his blades to his belt.
"Alright then, let's head back." Asura said grimly.
Asura resembled a dog; tongue poking out of his mouth, panting heavily. Even his hair was damp enough with sweat to bear resemblance to a dog's fur. His breastplate had become a slab of metal cooked in a fire. Globs of sweat rained down on the ground when he flicked his hair out of his eyes. Asura's lack of sleep the previous night didn't help either.
Keeta looked no better. Sweat rolled down his skin in beads, but Asura noticed that he had a troubled look in his eyes. He quickened his pace to catch up to the captain.
"Is something bothering you sir?" Asura asked. Keeta sighed.
"I'm just worried, that's all." He started. "Juliana's been pregnant for seven months now, and she's been having a lot of pains lately. It kills me to have to leave her all alone." Keeta took in a large gulp of air. "And with the damn Garo attacking us so frequently, it worries me even more." Asura remained quiet, allowing his superior some much needed time to vent.
"And Stone Tower. I get shivers just thinking of that hellhole." Coincidentally, chills rattled Asura's spine as Keeta mentioned the tower.
"How long ago was that incident…?" Asura cautiously asked, afraid he was prying information out of his commander.
"Three years ago and Goddesses-dammit I don't want to talk about it." Keeta said sternly, his voice rising in volume, garnering quizzical looks from the other soldiers. Asura quickly shut his mouth. Unfortunate for him, his fears of prying were a reality. Tomato red cheeks did a poor job of hiding Asura's embarrassment as his comrades stared. An awkward silence hovered around the group as they continued to walk, while the sun mercilessly assaulted them.
The sight of the border had never seemed more heavenly. The two flags representing the two countries seemed to be beacons of hope. Hope of not only relaxation, but hope of getting away from his fellow soldiers. They had constantly shot stupid grins and whispered to each other the whole walk, no doubt about Keeta's small fit of rage. Asura yawned loudly, dark circles already forming under his eyes. It was only noon, judging by the fact that the sun hung right overtop of them, and Asura was ready to surrender to the heaviness of his eyelids.
"Finally." Keeta grumbled. Similar sighs of relief came from the other soldiers. The captain turned to face his men. "Alright, I know the border is right there, but we should really take a short break and eat lunch. I could practically hear all of your stomachs growling the whole way here." A choir of soft chuckles filled the air. Everybody settled down on the rocks surrounding them and began to chow down on rice and sandwiches.
As Asura devoured a loaf of bread, he took the time to admire his surroundings. Small towers and platforms made of bricks were sprinkled across the sand. The sand rose in hills that gave the landscape a bumpy image. The image was very relaxing, and Asura began to nod off, his head bobbing slowly.
The sound of someone plopping down next to him jolted him awake. He looked to see Keeta smiling. He said "Hey, sorry for raising my voice."
"Oh no Captain, you don't have to be sorry." Asura said, holding his hands up slightly in defense, "I should be sorry. I was kind of too curious for my own good."
"No, don't be like that. I just overreacted a bit."
"No sir, you had every right to react that way. I understand how it has affected you." Keeta's smile slowly began to fade, as the memory no doubt resurfaced. Asura, having no desire to kill the good mood, quickly said "So what are you gunna name the baby?"
Keeta's smile once again graced his lips. "We have no idea. We're just gunna wait and see if it's a boy or a girl. I pray to the Goddesses it's a girl." Keeta looked over at Asura. "Sorry, I forgot you don't believe in the Goddesses."
"It's fine sir." Asura murmured, but in the back of his head it wasn't fine. Every time the three deities were mentioned, it left a sour taste in his mouth.
"If you don't mind me asking, why don't you believe in them?"
Asura hesitated for a moment, and then said "Well sir, if they were real, they wouldn't have created war, or pain or suffering." Keeta nodded his head and was about to say something when a look of terror flashed across his eyes. He stood up and began drawing his sword from its scabbard.
Asura looked to where Keeta's gaze fell, and saw at least fifteen Garo, swords drawn and brown capes billowing in the wind. They couldn't have been more than twenty feet away from them. Asura shot up and drew his blades, the sound of metal scraping against leather as satisfying as ever. His teeth chattered, and his knees shook. His squad of ten would be no match for them. Asura closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Then, the Garo screamed and lunged forward, bloodlust in their beady eyes.
Author's Note:
Thanks for reading, and please feel free to leave a review. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated and it really helps me improve. Thanks again!