Of The Life of a Soldier
Private Larnce sat on the floor of the trench, blowing on his cold hands. His gun lay across his legs and felt clammy to the touch. The wind from the North blew in and around the trenches on the borderland between the North kingdom and Ancelstirre, chilling every one in the Crossing Point Scouts to the bone. The gun didn't work; he had tried to shoot it earlier without any result. The government didn't understand the magic of the North. He patted the hilt of his sword for comfort.
Another soldier and a sniffer dog came up the line and the other man sat down next to the cold private. He took out a flask, drank from it, and offered it to the private, who took it gratefully.
"Damn wind," the man said, "Cold and brutal. My dog here has been sick, can't sniff anything for beans."
Larnce looked at the dog and noted that it indeed looked ill. He took a sip from the flask and found the coffee inside wonderfully hot. He took another sip and handed it back.
"Aren't we supposed to meet the Abhorsen later today?" the other man asked. Larnce nodded and felt a shiver of excitement go down his spine. He had met the Abhorsen once before. She had given him a present on that day. He remembered the battle on the front. Three greater demons from the fifth gate had escaped and broken the wall at a weak point. The CPS had held them back for a while, but many died in the attempt. Larnce himself had been farther back using a bow with silver tipped arrows. Five Crossing Points Scouts were left when the voice of one of the bells boomed across the no-man's land. Some one said that it was the Abhorsen's bell called Saraneth. It stopped the demons in their tracks and the Abhorsen sent them on their way into death.
The Abhorsen had decided to reward each of the survivors with a charter mark. The marks had given them some protection over the other demons they had fought since then. He touched it now and felt the warmth of the Charter beneath his fingers.
A whistle sounded down the line. Both soldiers got up and paced toward the gate. It was time to escort the Abhorsen. Larnce smiled and touched his mark again.