Yes, I reorganized the story for less jumping around. Over all I'm glad to say that christmas is coming soon :)

Merry Christmas to you all :)

With Love ~Dresner


The II Panzer Corps pushed relentlessly toward Sonthofen proved unyielding in there advance, as did their commander, Erich Zorin. The Oseanian's proved to be a stubborn and determine adversary, especially in the defense, only giving ground when it was absolutely needed and made sure the Estovakians paid a heavy price in men and machinery. The E.A.F gave no quarter to the retreating Oseanians and harassed them at every turn, Bombing bridges to slow them down, strafing columns of infantry, and keeping a watchful eye on them every chance they got. The Oseanian's were lucky, in some cases, to avoid being cut off, encircled, and annihilated.

Every mile, every yard, every inch the Oseanian retreated, The "Dinsmark" division gain four times that. But the aristocratic Belkan elements of the Army ordered Maj. General Zorin to halt his advance and wait for elements of the Corps to regroup and at least catch up with the 1st Panzer. Erich argued about the delays saying that if they stopped for even a moment, The Oseanians would only tighten their grip on Sonthofen. High command ignored his pleads and ordered the army to halt their advance and consolidate their forces. Delay, after Delay, after Delay began to annoy Zorin and soon he broke radio contact with High command and pushed on, Only to refuel and rearm via supple drops from the E.A.F and captured fuel depots to keep the war machines moving.

After Marlow the Oseanian's tighten their grip on Sonthofen and established a heavy defense in the river city's former medieval fortifications and a HQ in Castle Gotha, situated in the Southeast bend of the river Lay. The city of Sonthofen was situated on the banks of Lay river and is know through out the former country of Belka as "Covelenz", "At the merging of rivers" in its basic latin form, because of the position of the city at the fork between the Lay and Güls rivers. Since the border between Osean and The new nation of Estovakia is divided between the Waldreich mountains in the north and the Lay river, and since the city sets on both banks of the river lay, the city has been disputed between Osean and the former nation of Belka. The city was renown for its wonderful wine and save port from bandits who prowl on the Oseanian side of the river, But besides trade, land, and booze, They city held the honor of being the home of King Ludwig Gosler, The Father of and first king of Holy Belka in 1013 A.D. The old guard of the former Belkan Landwehr regarded the liberation of Sonthofen as a moral imperative, while the Volkhovians only saw their attempts as nothing but a vanity and demanded a push though the Waldreich mountains to avoid the hassle of marching head long into a slugging match with a dug in and prepared Oseanian force laying wait for them to come.

But that did not faze the fanatical descendants of the Belkan Knights or the Sons of the Federation itching for a fight to finally prove themselves to the old guard once and for all. Nor did it stop the Volkhovian born Generals from sending four regiments into the mountains...

Karl and Ben soon left their camp with Sasha and her Cossacks in the early morning hours to make up for lost time. The snow storm had subsided and made travel on horse back somewhat bearable, especially with warm pelts and furs to warm their bodies from the heavy winds once they exited the forrest and into rolling country side as they headed east toward the Border. They gained an amazing amount of ground in only two days and could see the Waldreich mountain range in the distance as they cut across the sky, along with Oseanian and Estovakian planes dogfighting above it's snow covered peaks. Sasha declared that going though the mountains was the only logical decision, but after seeing the fireballs of falling planes crashing into the mountains and the intensity of the melee above. The group decided to take the longer rout down Route 19 toward highway 4 leading to Sonthofen


"After we engaged Amsel, Claudia interrupted the song and left the door parochially open. But Ben did not appear and it was just me and him." Karl said, as he finished his story of how he came here to Verusea. "I threw myself in the portal, for what reason I am not sure. Nor am I sure if I was either right or wrong. But I'm alive…" Karl's voice became remorseful and regretful. "And I guess I should be thankful."

For over an Hour, Karl and Sasha have spoke to one another for what seemed to be an eternity. Riding on horseback was eventful, and Karl enjoyed himself greatly, but besides paying attention to the beast between your legs and watching for ruminates of Oseanian troops lurking in the woods near by, There wasn't much to pass the time.

Sasha was curious about the strange and odd sounding outsider in the black coat and cap. He carried himself differently than other men she met over the corse of her life. Karl didn't appear to be arrogant in any known form, as far as she could see, and preferred to stay to himself. He was cold to some degree, but warm and friendly when the time was right. Karl was an enigma to the confidant and aristocratic Maj. General, both as a solider and as a man. Something was troubling him and causing him to be on edge, She could see this in his castleton green eyes.

"You did the right thing," Sasha reassured him as their horses trotted calmly down the desolate highway. "From what you told me about this "Cyrus Amsel". It seems that he was an evil man. But, if I may ask, this "Ravencroft" you speak of. Is it the very man your company?" Sasha turned to look at Ben Ravencroft who rode just behind her with the Cossacks.

Karl nodded, "The very same, but Claudia thought otherwise and believed that his ancestor, Sarah Ravencroft, was going to comeback to the mortal world with Amsel's help. It turns out that Ben killed her and made his home in the world of the Black Sun." Karl replied as he remembered braving the mountains and meeting Ravencroft for the first time in his castle.

"The world of the Black sun… You mean the Schwarze Sonne, The world of the internal light… You… You saw it?" Sasha said in shock and disbelief.

"Yes… I was there… It was beautiful." Karl said as Sasha came closer to him. Karl became a little uncomfortable as the look in her eyes became that of bystander at a zoo gazing over an exotic animal. "There is where I met Ben and where Amsel met his end."

"What happen to Amsel?" She asked him.

"Ben killed him like a dog, left him laying on the floor in a pool of blood." Karl said coldly as sighs of war began to appear in roadway as holes from heavy cannon and machine gun fire began to dot the asphalt like the burrows of the american prairie dog. Tree's were torn to tatters by bomb fragments and machine gun rounds, littering the pavement as well as the shell casings from 30mm cannons and the casings to cluster bombs. The skid marks of out of control vehicles and dirt covered caterpillar tracks were just as propionate as the shell and bomb craters. He followed a set of tracks leading off the road and, to his surprise, to see a derelict Sherman tank covered with holes the size of oranges or grapefruit.

"Luck wasn't on his side, thats for sure." Karl said as he stopped his horse to look at the abandon tank. "Looks like the pilot went though a lot of trouble to knock out this tin can." Ben remarked as he and the cossacks approached Karl and Sasha. Sasha gave a concerned look and galloped ahead of the group over a small rise in the road to scout ahead, but she stopped at the top of hill and turned back to signal her comrades to join her. As the group approached her they began to feel uneasy as the confidant look that dominated Sasha beautiful face disappeared and a new, rather troubling, look of shock and bewilderment loomed on her shoulders.

"There's more Gentlemen…." Sasha said in a whisper as they reached the top of the hill.

Over a thousand destroyed vehicles, Civilian and Government, littered the highway for over four miles. Burning hulks of steel shot to pieces by cannon fire, tanks ripped asunder by rockets, soot from burning fuel trucks blackening the road way, and endless derelict vehicles as far as the eye could see. It look almost like a scene from an apocalypse film where thousands of people attempted to escape a cataclysm. The air around them was thick with the metallic odors of Blood & Iron, the fumes of Gasoline, the smooth scent of gun powder, and the dominating smell of High octane aircraft fuel lingering in the air over the destruction that lay before them.

"They were running away…" Ben said in disbelief, "Look at where they are heading…"

"Who were they?" Karl asked Sasha in hope that she could explain, But she shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea…"

She turned to Ben, "Ben, Go check the markings on the Sherman in the drainage ditch. That might give us an idea of who we might be looking at…"

Sasha voice sounded horrified at the sight before her, It surprised Karl especially after her display of courage at the seconded battle of Marlow just four weeks before.

"This has to be the Oseanian 18th , That Sherman was Lend-Lease from Emmeria. I know it's hull, its the A4 model. God I fucking hope it's those barbarians!" She said in excitement as she watched Ben hope off his horse and run to the wreak in the ditch.

"18th Armored?" Karl asked her as she tried to hold in her excitement as Ben mounted his horse headed back to the group. "The 18th "Red Devils" ambushed my Guards division a few years back and took a few of my female comrades a prisoner…" Sasha said as her voice began to fill with hate as she spoke of her painful memories during the early years of the Continental war. "During the initial invasion in 39', The Oseanians encircled my unit in a village near the former Belkan-Volkhovian border. We held out until we finally ran out of ammunition and food. So I order the unit to disperse into the country side and regroup with any friendly units they could find, But the Oseanians swooped in and killed a majority of my troops and kept the women. I forced to watch as my female comrades were raped on mass in front of me…." Sasha became quiet and Karl could almost see the intense hatred irradiate from her voice and eyes as her aura became burning red.

"I escaped their hands before I too was forced into sexual slavery for those godless barbarians… But I had to end the shame and suffering of my comrades before they were shipped off to Osean itself…" She said as her Aura shifted from red to blue, depression and remorse.

"You killed them, didn't you?" Karl asked her bluntly. Sasha nodded and her eyes began to become glassy as if she were about to cry, But she sucked it up as Ben returned with the news.

"Their Osean alright, the Blue and white roundels prove so." Ben reported to an anxious Sasha.

"I know they are Osean, you fucking baboon! What I'm asking is their division? What division are they?!" She demanded arrogantly.

Ben growled under his breath and reluctantly answered back to the arrogant blonde clad in field grey, "Devil! A smiling devil!" Ben yelled and Sasha burst open with pride and rode down the road at a brisk pace, jumping over fallen trees and weaving pass turned over civilian cars to the hulks of destroyed and abandon Oseanian trucks and tanks. Karl, Ben, and the Cossacks took off behind her as she laughed at the destruction around her and cursing at the burned and dismembered bodies of the Oseanians in her native tongue.

It was disturbing to even the battle harden Cossacks and the two journeymen, but they said nothing as they passed though this highway of death.


The silence was deafening and no one but Sasha spoke as they neared a in the road where route 19 merged into highway to Sonthofen. The heavy clanking and roar of panzers echoed though the forrest as they reached the main highway and soon Sasha began to wave, which was puzzling to Ben and Karl. But the Cossacks soon over took them and joined Sasha at the front and they too began to wave down the Highway toward the sound of machinery. As Ben and Karl joined them they saw, to their amazement, a massive column of Panther and Tiger tanks with several other tanks and support vehicles of various origin and make traveling down the highway.

"That's the Dinsmark division, Great." Sasha said with a disappointed sigh as old Black, White, and Yellow Belkan banner flew from the lead King Tiger tank. The members of the group galloped to the lead King tiger and sasha asked to speak to the commander of the tank element, To her surprise the oil and dirt covered commander in full pea pattern panzer uniform with a black cap just like Karl's. The commander wore the oak leaves of a Maj. general on his collar, a think scraggily beard dominated his face, and the cross around his neck spoke volumes on its own.

"I am the Commander Sasha." The commander said as he leaned out of the hatch of his mighty Tiger.

Sasha was a little shocked to see that the ragged commander was Erich Zorin and she try to return to her condescending demeanor toward him, But Erich gave a small smile and asked why she was not with the Volkhovian forces toughing it out in the froze peaks of the Waldreich mountains. She merely responded with a simple statement, "Fuck you Erich", and left Karl and Ben with Zorin and the Dinsmark Division.

Zorin did not mind at all, Ben and Karl were comrades in his eyes. Two joined four other soliders as they rode on top of the Tiger tank and the column pushed on down the highway. Erich sat up right and out of the hatch to chat with his comrades from the bar as two light Panzer III N's scouted ahead.

"Gentlemen! How have the both of you been? I haven't seen you since Marlow and I see you have already made a name for yourselves!" Erich said joyfully as he shook Karl and Ben's hands firmly in congrats for their decorations.

"I was there at Marlow, You did good comrade." A trooper said.

"Ja! You fought bravely! Like a hero!" A younger one said confidently. An older Sargent laughed, "Medals grow in the trees, son. Right where they bury heroes."

Karl gave a small smile and said nothing as he scanned over the convoy. The Panthers, Tigers, and Panzer IV's were all covered in foliage, camouflage netting, or painted in a pea pattern or zebra style of multicolored brown, darkish yellow, and green patterns. Flakpanzers, Anti-Aircraft tanks, of various calibers scanned the skies with their barrels pointing in all directions, as were the heads of every man in the company. Everyone, even Ben, looked optimistic and a little bit cocky in some cases.

"Erich! Where are you heading?" Karl called to Erich, who pointed up to an over pass where a large sigh hung that read "Sonthofen".

"To free our kin in Sonthofen and plant this flag on the bell tower!" Erich said with confidence as he took up the Belkan Banner and waved it proudly as his men cheered. "And what are we going to do with those Oseanian dish rags brothers?!"

"We'll send'em it over, dripping red, to Queen Liza and her ladies!" The troops responded loud and proud as chuckles could be heard from far behind their tiger.

"Who Liza?" Karl asked Erich.

"Liza is King Samson, Or King Sarin as we know him, wife and mother to the future queens of Osean. Her ladies are her seven princesses who are off gallivanting in Emmeria so there cripple president can continue to send arms to them. Whatever happen to the family unit, eh?" Erich chuckled.

"Sarin... Nerve gas right?" Ben asked.

Erich nodded, "He used it against our men more than once, bastard... But we will make sure he doesn't do it again once we reach the capital and burn it to the fucking ground... No invader will ever use those weapons on Holy Belka again, EVER!"

All became quiet as the column marched forward toward the breech and into the fight once more. Karl couldn't help but ask him if he would live through the up coming battle... But he couldn't help but give a slight grin as the men passed him a package of cigarettes and began to sing in unison a tune of war.

"Maybe I will make it though all this..." He thought to himself.