Alonzo Marsden

The battle was really rough for us. I thought I was a goner when Officer Odin shot at us, but his aim was off, so I guess I should count ourselves lucky. However, the same cannot be said about Isabella. When her childhood friend was found unconscious, it was learned he is in a coma. Largo was the one who attempted to shoot at Odin to save us, but apparently the hit didn't kill him. We felt very bad for him, so we had a medical truck take Odin to a hospital and see to it that he recovers with care.

When William met up with us, he seemed pretty worried about us. I guess he got the message of what had happened between Isabella, Odin, and us as well.

"Did something happen to Isabella?" he asked with worry, "Was everyone alright?"

"Everyone's okay," I replied, "However, Odin is in a coma. I had a medic truck take him to a hospital, so he should be alright…I hope."

We met with the rest of our troops to see who showed up to help us out so suddenly. Obviously, I never knew her, but something about her seemed familiar with her connection to Lieutenant Welkin. However, I had trouble determining who it is.

"Sorry if I startled any of you who are new in the Militia," the woman said, "My name is Alicia Gunther. I was a member of the Gallian Militia as well, until a few years ago after the war."

"Good to see you again, Alicia," Rosie said with a relieved smile.

"Yeah, how long's it been?" Largo asked brightly.

"So, Alicia, what brought you into the fight like this?" Welkin asked her, "I thought you chose to stay behind with Isara."

"Yes, I did," Alicia replied toward Welkin, "but when these strange soldiers attacked near the village we were living in, something told me I must fight them. Don't worry; our daughter is safe and sound. I had to find out what was going on and who those soldiers were, so I went to Eleanor and asked her about it. She informed me that the Gallian Militia is now facing off against an army called the Sable Eye, and that you guys were marching out to fight them and put a stop to their plans to kill us off. So, I had myself geared up, and rushed out to help you however I could. Hard to believe I rescued the girl before something awful would have happened to her."

She turned around to see me, William, and Isabella among us along with several other recruits in the militia. I think it is us three she is most curious about; I mean with me (a fourteen year old boy), William (who used to be an Imperial), and Isabella (I think her strange appearances gave her away) in the group, obviously she doesn't know us.

"Who are you three?" she asked us.

Under Welkin's beckoning, we walked up to meet Alicia face to face. As we got closer, I could see that she REALLY has no idea what to make of us.

"Um…okay, how about you first?" she asked me.

"I'm Sergeant Alonzo Marsden of Squad Seven," I answered, "I am the son of former Gallian soldier Tomas Marsden, and I am newly recruited, ma'am."

She nodded, trying to understand. She then turned her eyes to that of William Tell; when she did, she seemed to be quite hesitant about him. Maybe she could tell who he belonged to.

"What about you?" she asked suspiciously.

"I am Specialist William Tell, new recruit of Squad Seven," William replied with utmost dignity, "Former Imperial Specialist under command of Maximillian, until circumstances changed me into a Gallian citizen. I am currently following the Gallian Militia to end further conflicts."

She stared at him for a brief moment, and moved on to Isabella. It was when she approached her that her gaze changed into a sympathetic mood.

"How about you?" she asked, "I've never seen you."

"My name is Isabella Hobbs," Isabella replied, "I was a fortuneteller in a small village in Gallia, and I am currently in the Gallian Militia as Private Hobbs. It was Sergeant Alonzo who saved the village from the Imperials, so I joined the military to fight for the cause."

Alicia smiled as she looked at Isabella's eyes, and turned back to Welkin.

"I can see that these fellows are quite something," Alicia said to Welkin, "You're going to have to tell me everything about these three recruits when things quiet down. I'd like to know some more about them, and see if they have been useful."

Welkin laughed with a nervous smile on his face. He probably has no idea what to reply into this affair.

"Well, it's going to be a long story," Welkin said with a light warning.

She didn't seem to care, though. She just passed through, and…well…we just had to pack up and get ready to take a breather. Besides, we've been through a tough fight, and we need a rest for future battles to come. I wonder who would attack us next. The guy called Jagger? Or the woman called Scarlett? I tremble at the thought about it.

It is pretty dark out, so I will write as much as possible before I have to get to sleep. I was informed by Welkin that we will be moving out in the morning to meet against Jagger Stapleton. As far as we learned about him, he has a superhuman skill that was analyzed by scouts before their sudden destruction.

"What I have to say about him, though, is a frightening notion," Welkin sighed.

"What power does he have?" I asked him.

"The best information we could get about him," Welkin replied, "is that he has the ability to manipulate ragnite energy. Whenever he does this, it has been reported that the equipment containing ragnite are rendered useless at the whim of Jagger's power. This way, he can lead his troops and strike without suffering so much of a hindrance. It's that great of a problem."

I gulped as I heard all this. How is it possible for him to render weapons and equipment useless just like that?

"Did they have any insight as to how he makes weapons useless?" I asked fearfully for the first time.

"No, unfortunately," Welkin admitted, "The men who searched ahead to spy on him were discovered, and killed off swiftly."

That made my gulp much worse as my whole face blanched at the horror of such a terrible carnage he could make. I never thought that such destructive power would actually any army suffer under Jagger's command, much less kill anyone. What's worse is that if we make a false move, then we're pretty much dead as a doornail. Either way, there had to be some way to prevent our own troops from suffering devastating casualties as well…if at all.

"I guess…that means we'll have to find a way to stop him before he makes mincemeat of us, Welkin?" I asked while trying to keep calm.

"It seems that way," Welkin replied, "For now, we'd better rest. Once morning comes, we'll move out to face against Jagger."

I couldn't agree more about that. I really want to sleep so that I can prepare for the next battle. But for some reason, I could hardly sleep at all. I guess I was still shaken from the thought of us being hindered because of a mixed blood's sinister powers. How are we going to be able to fight against a mixed blood with such evil inside his soul? I can only hope that when we do fight him, a miracle would come to us.