At the Mountain Path…

A cold wind stirs among the men, marching in a straight line direction to a lonely path of unknown. They huddled their collars tighter around the neck to battle against the cold and storm, hoping to find some warmth from a nightmare that they venture upon.

"This blizzard is going to be our grave." Oraas Dem, adviser of the mistress, stood beside her at the hill slope with an excellent view over the distant. He had to consider the worst that they were not in the homelands anymore, but rather a strange, alien plane that not everyone could recognize. "The longer we stay in the open, the harder it is for our forces to move. We must seek shelter."

The mistress, Lady Valice of Count Reva, scour the mountains with her telescope, eyeing on the world. "I agree, Master Dem, but where will we go? This land is not like of our home. Everything is different and yet at the same to be beautiful." Lady Valice lowered her telescope, eyes filled with concern. "I do not know if we can return home, Dem."

"Do not be discourage, milady." Dem said. "The scouts that I've send will return very shortly. They will tell us if we are in a different world or not. However, this isn't unlike you to be so distraught over this. You are a Countess, what would happen if your subjects react to your state?"

Valice tried not to show her frustration. Dem had been a loyal servant in her family, and Valice listened to his advice whenever the chance. However, she wasn't a good listener when it came to Dem's outrageous bluntness.

"I am not so easily defeated just yet, Master Dem…Oraas." Lady Valice turned to him. "However, I am quite concerned for the men. Morale is all at the time low and most are wounded from the battle. In the last days of our triumph against the Scarlet, it seems they get the last laugh."

"I'll be the one to worry about that, milady. You mustn't be concern over the men. I have instructed Partishan Callus for the task. He shall take care of them while you rest your weary mind." Dem turned a glance at the approaching soldier. He recognize the outfit right away that it was one of the scouts that returned from their mission. "If you excuse me for a second, milady."

Valice didn't hear the last sentence as Dem focused his attention to the scout's report. Her thoughts were occupied by the disdain of the name: Callus.

Partishan Callus and the rest of the thirty survivors from the forest were unlike any ordinary men. Out of all the Partishan that survived, Valice hoped that Callus was not one of them. She recall of their big debut at the siege of Solus; one city away before the Grey Capitol. What she had witness was beyond miracle as rows of armored men clad in white devastate the massive Red Horde, slaying them with relative ease.

The Partishan made an impression both the Scarlet Order and even the entire world that they were not to be messed with. However, as the war dragged on up to the end, Valice saw the atrocities that the Partishan had done. She saw the crimes been made, saw Callus's injustice against rebels and sympathizers alike. The last time that she saw Callus, he was under the command of Count Deviree in preparation to siege the last stronghold of the Scarlet.

Valice quickly repressed her thoughts about the Partishan for awhile as her adviser returned from his conversation with the scout. "They've spotted an abandon hamlet not far from our destination. About an hour or so we will reach their soon." He pointed. "With your permission, milady, we shall begin to advance onto the hamlet."

The mistress was joyous by the news and delighted that her men may have a chance to survive from the cold. Yet while their fortune seemed to turn over a new leaf, she cannot help but be worried of the dangers unknown to them. Still, she was happy in the case that there was place to rest and lick their wounds.

"Carry them out, Master Dem."

With a firm command, Dem willfully obeyed in departure to the task, leaving Lady Valice alone to her thoughts. Gazing from the distant and beautiful blue mountain, she hoped that whatever lies at the hamlet would provide the essential needs for her men. If there was by chance of inhabitants still laid around then she prayed for a peaceful contact.

The hamlet was just in range of Lady Valice's forces at the outskirt of a large, frozen lake. The first wave of vanguards led by Partishan Simr Var began their advance to claim their new base of operation. Commandant Oraas Dem was not about take any chances with little forces that he could spare even though the scouts reported the hamlet to be abandon.

Although Dem became overcautious and ambivalent in the plan of action, he make up with accurate precision that saved many lives in the process. In the infamous Scarlet Rebellion, Dem learned first hand experience at the hands of the Scarlet. At the cost of his pride, he lost countless good men as well as Garibaldi Reva, father of Valice Reva. Unable to protect an important figure in Reva's lineage, Dem welcomed punishment for his failure, but was given a chance by the mercy of Lady Valice.

As was her father, Oraas Dem shall protect her with his life.

The vanguards gradually advanced on the frozen lake, finding themselves difficult to balance on the slippery ice. Most of Lady Valice's forces had never experience winter before as they all dwelt in an arid climate. Nevertheless, a few soldiers who had lived their whole lives in the cold, were willing to teach the soldiers on the means of winter survival.

Among the vanguards to claim the hamlet, Jason was one of them, struggling to keep his feet balance on the slippery ice. He was deeply worried, not to the hamlet, but to his brother being tended none other than Partishan Callus.

Jason was no fool to hear his name. He heard the tales, the rumors, circled around the soldier. The Partishan made their staunch approach with fury and indomitable spirit, carving through the enemy as they won after each battle for the empire. If the stories the were true.

Jason heard another tale of their ruthlessness against their enemies, the dirty tactics such as using prisoner of wars as meat shields and countless slaughter of innocent villages loyal to the Scarlet. The Empire's 'Butchers' were absolutely given the title for their goal was to win no matter the cost.

Whether Jason believed the tales or not, the very idea that his brother would be in league with them didn't ease his heart. Although profusely concerned, Jason had little choice at the matter as his own brother insisted to partake such request. As Jason loved his brother, he could only hope that the meeting between the two was just a moment brief of their engagement.

The vanguards had cross the frozen lake and made their way to the hamlet. The hamlet was like what the scouts had reported: abandon, eerie and silent as the grave. Yet that didn't stop the Partishan from pursuing to the goals ahead.

Partishan Simr Lars had always stand side by side with Partishan Callus since their grand debut in the siege of Solus. It was a privilege to be chosen by Callus to lead the group and claim the hamlet. Although if he was to die his life mattered little for he was grateful to be the piece of the chess, driving their enemies away in the name of the empire. Nothing was more sacred to him than total victory.

However, as Lars was fully committed to give his life, his vanguards felt a different matter of their situation. It was not as difficult to know that Lars sensed their fear, festered in the mix with a deep and unrelenting hatred towards the Partishan. Lars paid little attention of their matter for they would be dead by the Scarlet Order if not for the intervention of the Partishan.

The vanguard group entered the hamlet; their eyes wandered in cautious advance. Lars quickly pointed at the two volunteers and directed at the nearest structure.

"Remius, Bovo!" Partishan Lars voiced with an authoritarian tone. "Begin your sweep of the place. The amount of ore lying around suggested the place to be a metal workshop. Check of any materials that we can use for our gunsmith."

The two soldiers nodded at his command and entered the house. Lars gave the entire group to check around the hamlet and report back to any discovery. As the group dispersed the only people left were Jason and Tobias as they followed Lars towards a large structure at the top of a small hill.

Lars kicked the door with his halberd at the ready, followed by Jason and Tobias from behind, wielding standard military musket in aim. They advanced through the building, venturing deeper to the uneasy silence, but all that they find was an empty room, filled with long tables and benches. It was then that realized the large structure that they've entered was a longhouse.

The three eased their shoulder to explore freely of the area, seeing as the room was cleared of any danger. Reaching at the end of the longhouse, Lars spotted a wooden throne, ordained in bits of jewel and silver. Already at an instant, the Partishan took a whiff to smell the stained blood on the seat. While the two musketeers observed somewhere else, Lars investigated the throne much closer. With a scratch of his finger, Lars tasted the blood as his eyes began to glow an ambient, bluish light.

Secret from the public view, the Partishans had a terrible talent to visualize the memories of an individual through the use of his or her blood. This was one of the many reason why the Partishans won over the Scarlet as they knew their plans, their tactics, and identifies hidden within the empire.

Since the blood was already dry, Lars could only glimpse a tiny portion of the person's life. Lars paused a moment of the vision, his face remained neutral and cold. He struggled to acquire the information he needed until his face suddenly turned into a painful expression.

The vision was but brief as Lars' eyes reverted back to normalcy. "What in Savior Right did I see?" Lars mentally asked as he felt a chill, like he had never before, ran across his spine.

Just before Lars could understand what to make from his vision, he was quickly interrupted when Jason approached him.

"Sir, one of the soldiers outside request your audience." Jason said. "He wanted me to tell you this after he returned back to his partner.

Lars didn't want the soldier to see his pain as he shake away the vision from his mind. He turned his head at Jason with a steely glare. "Who is this soldier and why has he request of my presence?"

"I'm not quite sure myself, sir. However, it seems the soldier, Grimwald, said that Ernest found something at the storehouse not far from our location.

Lars took a moment of silence before he eventually gave a firm nod. "You and Tobias shall stay here and guard the place. Tell me if you discover something in this place while I head to meet this Ernest person."

"As you wish, sir. We shall be here if you needed."

Lars didn't hear the soldier as he was already at the exit. All alone in the snow, he shake his head furiously, denying the visions of the blood. He was in a state of disbelief, distracted by the idea that something exist. At first he saw an animal, brown matted fur with a pointed snout, walking on two legs like some human, but that changed when it abruptly transformed into something monstrous. All that he saw now was a massive beast, draped in black feathers.

After that the vision ended there.

Lars was sure of himself that this place, this world, was no longer their own, but a land filled with beasts and monsters. The main question that Lars wanted to know was where the transformed monster went to?