Epilouge

-EDITED-

Ember swayed with sickness as the waves moved with the ship. She had been stuck on this godforsaken boat for the past 3 days and it was torture. She would rather endure running 16 laps then do this. She was surprised that she was not on her knees, begging Anahita to give her mercy. Ember had been told to be ready for a battle today, just in case they were waiting for us. Ember was forced to carry a sword that she barely knew how to use the sword at the moment. She held a dagger for emergencies. She knew a little blocking but that was it. She could barely get a hit in on her fellow military members, but even then, she was screwed.

Ember held her stomach as the waves rocked the boat. Her chestnut hair was up in a high ponytail, she wore chain mail covering from her neck to her toes, with pieces of armor protecting the most important areas. Such as her shoulders, chest, elbows, knees, private area and feet. It protected her for a simple battle, but not for war. She had raised her concerns about her armor when it was given to her but was told it was not the final model. Nothing soothed her nerves, because there would be no new model if she did not live through the first battle.

Ember lurched forward when they hit the ground, causing bile to rise in her mouth but she swallowed it. She wiped her mouth, hating the taste of stomach acid in her mouth.

When her feet touched land, she practically got on the ground, kissing it. She never knew how much she would miss dirt. As she looked around, she noticed the surrounding greenery. There was a little sand but grass swallowed the land. Trees were scattered around the area but seemed more alive. Two feet away from her, she heard a fellow soldier comment.

"These resources will help Fufthlion."

"All right, we'll be moving 20 miles inland to set up camp, do not engage without them attacking first." The General shouted, "Grab all the supplies and load them up on the carts." He shouted.

Ember grumbled to herself but grabbed the bag of grain and load it onto the carts as the unfortunate soldiers tried to pull the mules off the boat. She grabbed Atherton and placed him on the ground after grabbing a few more bags and her sword. It was called a 'Greatsword', she didn't know what that meant but it heavy. It was difficult for her to carry both the 3 bags of supplies and her sword with her. It was just light enough to not make it near impossible to run with it, which was a blessing. She was envious of soldiers who got a rapier or were archers, her aim was just under the need to be an archer.

As the last of the supplies were loaded up on the carts and the mules latched onto them, they moved forward. As Ember walked along with the cart, glaring at Atherton and his luck to ride in it. Ember sighed and continued forward. The general was also not walking, but riding on a horse with the flag of Fufthlion flowing in the wind.

When she looked at the symbol on the flag, she found herself angry. She was fighting for something she hated. It made her feel submissive and not in control. Over the three days on the boat, she had kept hidden in the sleeping quarters to avoid the General. She was sure he had noticed but didn't have the balls to point it out. After all, she was just a fragile Neko girl. What business did she have on deck? She was better off in the sleeping quarters then out with the rough men.

It was a great thing being told that you were fragile by everyone and looked down upon; it gave her an excuse on why not to do all the dirty work. As they continued to walk further inland, a feeling of danger overcame her.

"It's just your anxiety," Ember muttered to herself, as her ears lowered and her fur puffed up. Ember continued walking forward, ignoring the feeling that she had gotten. Maybe her gut instinct was right, but who would believe her? She was just a Neko, and even if it has been scientifically proven that Nekos had instincts to future danger. No one really cared about the studies found on Nekos.

As they pushed forward into the land, the feeling only got stronger and Atherton was noticing.

"Hey," He whispered, "Are you okay?" He asked.

"No, I have a bad feeling about this." She muttered.

"Its war, of course, you will."

"No, it's not just that, but I feel like their waiting for us. Waiting for us to come over this hill." Ember explained.

"That's stupid, it's your anxiety Em', we're fine." Atherton soothed, it did nothing to calm her.

No one but Nekos understood what this feeling was like. It was like the gods were yelling at her, telling her to turn back, but she had to push forward. It was an agonizing feeling.

As day turned into night, they set up a little camp for them to sleep. Ember set up her tent away from the general population. Wishing to be far away from whatever will happen that night. Ember entered her tent, taking off her iron armor but refusing to take off the chainmail. She threw a pillow in the corner for Atherton as he settled down. She laid on her tent floor with her thin blanket as she thought.

She was terrified, she even pushed away dinner when offered to her. She couldn't eat, her stomach was in knots and her mind was muddled. She wouldn't be surprised if she didn't sleep. She sighed and blew out her candlelight, turning over and shutting her eyes to try and get some sleep.

When she woke up, it was from someone shaking her. She opened her eyes and saw Damian looking at her, "Wake up!" He pleaded, "We're under attack!" He shouted. Ember grabbed her dagger and strapped it to her ankle.

Ember panicked and grabbed her armor and throwing it on, not securing it properly as she ran out of her tent. She looked all around her, her sleeping away from the circle of tents was a good thing as all of them were burning to the ground.

Ember removed her sword from its hold and ran towards the fighting. Her night vision helped her avoid any flying arrows heading towards her. She noticed a man being pinned to the ground, about to be killed by a Suglion soldier. Her eyes widened as she ran to tackle the man down. She dropped her sword and grabbed her hidden dagger from her ankle and stabbed the soldier in the throat. Her heart racing as she removed the dagger from the man's neck. She got off the man and helped her fellow soldier up. When Ember looked down at her hands, she noticed the blood dripping from them.

She stared down in horror at her hands as her breathing picked up. She was a murderer, it was official, she had just stabbed a man in the neck to save another's life. She looked around the battlefield, the horse was laying on the ground, its blood staining the grass and the General laid not from it. The soldiers she had trained with laid on the ground, being slaughtered but the same was happening to the opposing side.

"Hey! Ember, snap out of it!" Damian shouted, "We have to survive." He yelled as he ran to save another man's life. Ember looked around her sword, she put her dagger back in its hold and grabbed her sword. She ran towards the battle, hearing someone sneak up on her, she turned around just in time to see a pair of round ears and a sword hilt ram into her temple before everything went dark.