The Meeting

The morning light shone brightly from up above as Evran, Marie and Dyrk stood among a small group of soldiers. They were gathered around Gilderick, who laughed and joked with.

"I still don't know why Gilderick gathered us here. What's happening?" Evran asked leaning over towards Marie.

She however just glared at Evran, causing him to flinch away. It seemed that she was still pissed about yesterday's incident.

Dyrk spoke up instead, "From what I know, he brought us here because of some meeting we are supposed to attend."

Gilderick approached the three of them and smiled broadly.

"I hope you guys are doing well, after well you know, last night's...fiasco." he glanced at Marie.

His words caused an awkward silence amongst the trio.

Finally, Evran broke the tension. "So, I heard we are having a meeting today?"

Gilderick nodded. "Indeed. That is why you are all here."

Evran looked at the soldiers around them. "Why do you need the soldiers?"

"They'll be acting as the retinue for us today. Milfsilla will be joining us soon, and when she comes, we'll be heading into the camp to meet with the general."

A loud murmur arose from the crowd of soldiers behind Gilderick.

Evran looked to see and found Benn there talking loudly to the other soldiers. His face was flushed with excitement as he retold the classic tale of how Evran had saved him.

"...and there he was! Fighting valiantly like a hero should! If it weren't for him..."

Evran frowned. "Did you really have to bring Benn? I think he idolises me to an unhealthy degree."

Gilderick chuckled. "He is a little strange, but he does seem fond of you. Besides, he's doing a good job of making you seem like a good guy instead of the monster that they saw you as before."

Evran sighed and rubbed his temple. "Fine, whatever."

After a short while, Milfsilla finally arrived. She walked slowly through the ranks of the soldiers and gave each one of them a small smile. A few of the men bowed respectfully to her as she passed by.

Milfsilla then came up next to Gilderick, who she smiled at pleasantly.

"I see you have assembled some sort of entourage for us. Good, because we'll need it if we don't want to look weak in front of the Andans. Now let's go greet them, shall we?"

With that said, Milfsilla and Gilderick headed the group of soldiers with Evran, Marie and Dyrk following closely behind.

As the group neared the gates leading into the war camp, a tall soldier, who at least had to be eight feet high, stood guard at the entrance. He nodded sluggishly as they approached.

"The general has been waiting for your arrival," he told them. "It's good that you have come early, he does not like to be kept waiting."

Gilderick raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Well, we wouldn't want to disappoint our host now, would we? Now if you would be so kind as to open the gate, then we'll get going."

The big man grunted and opened the heavy wooden doors wide enough for their group to walk through. As they entered the courtyard, a line of mean looking soldiers stood a couple of feet in front of them. One of the soldiers stepped forward and saluted them. "General Rholdrin awaits. Follow us."

Without another word, he turned and led them deeper into the camp.

As they passed building after building, Evran noticed the increasing amount of Andan troops following along behind them. The number grew until there must have been hundreds of them walking alongside the group.

They were allied with them, but he still felt uncomfortable being surrounded by so many of them.

"They are Beasts." Dyrk whispered quietly over to Evran.

"I wouldn't go so far as to call them beasts, but they are intimidating though."

Dyrk shook his head. "No, I mean that's literally what these people are. The Andans aren't human beings, they're monsters."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you don't know about red essence, do you? Most of the Andans have it. It allows them to transform into a monster form."

Evran's eyes widened. "Really? Damn, I wouldn't want to fight one of them if they can do that."

"Yeah, and I even heard from Gilderick that they are fucking ruthless fighters. They'll tear you limb from limb without batting an eye."

They continued on down the road, eventually arriving at a large round building at the centre of the camp. Soldiers lined the outside walls of this building, standing silently in rows facing outwards. There was only one door leading inside.

One of the soldiers opened the double-doors for them.

Milfsilla turned to speak to her soldiers. "Gilderick and the Knights will come with me. The rest of you stay back here."

She strode towards the doorway ahead. With a nod from Gilderick, the others followed her lead.

Inside, Andan soldiers lined the walls of the room. In the middle sat General Rholdrin, a huge man with forearms the size of tree trunks. His skin was dark brown and leathery, and his hair long and black. Even sitting down, he was taller than most.

Rholdrin peered up as they entered. When he spoke, his voice boomed throughout the chamber.

"So, you've finally decided to grace us with your presence Milfsilla. You've been here how long, and you didn't bother coming sooner? You're lucky my king tolerates your behaviour, otherwise I would have punished you for your tardiness."

Milfsilla as calm as always sat opposite him. "Was I brought here to listen to your chastisement, or did I come to actually discuss on how we might fight back?"

Her tone made clear that she wasn't afraid of him at all.

A vein throbbed in Rholdrin's forehead. "Fine. Let us talk. But before we begin, I'm curious as to why you do not give up in this foolish endeavour. Most of your forces have been decimated by the rain user. Your best soldiers are dead; the ones left alive are too weathered to continue fighting. Without us, you wouldn't have even had the chance to counterattack."

He leaned forwards onto the table between them. "And yet you persist. Why is that exactly?"

Milfsilla's usually calm expression twisted into something more menacing. She looked directly at Rholdrin. "No matter how long it takes, or if I may lose all of my soldiers, I am determined to destroy all of the syrn and the evil they harbor. No setbacks will stop my mission."

Rholdrin raised his eyebrow at that.

"What about him?" He asked, gesturing towards Evran.

"He is the exception. He's a knight and has proved himself as an ally to my cause, he will fight for us."

"And will you?" Rholdrin asked Evran.

For a while, Evran said nothing. He didn't know how to answer that question honestly. On some level, he wanted to help, but more importantly however, he knew what Milfsilla was doing was wrong.

He was about to answer no when Milfsilla turned around to look at him. Her blue eyes stared into his. He suddenly felt a strong pull to say yes. He wanted to fight for her. He could give his life for this woman. If that was what she needed, then he'd gladly do anything for her sake.

"Yes," Evran replied, "I'll fight happily."

That answer seemed to satisfy Rholdrin, who nodded approvingly. "Very well, let's hear what you have planned then, Milfsilla."