Rafius

"Get up, rag!" commanded the unit's leader, a man of bright hair, black eyes, exceptional height, as he stared at Urki.

The room, perhaps twice the size of a cell, housed black beds made from the hides of wild boars that roamed the area. The floor was wooden, and a single manaamp stood in the middle, casting just enough light to illuminate the most essential parts of the room. Some sticks stood beside each bed to neutralize the unpleasant odor that permeated the quarters of the lowest ranks of the combat unit.

Urki, with his slender arms, grabbed a part of the bed to rise, accustomed to such working conditions during his service under various commanders, generals, and leaders.

"I understand, sir!" Urki shouted.

The leader's face smiled, seemingly pleased with the new recruits. "Well done, soldier," he called back loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. "This is how a true member of our Coffins order behaves," he said, looking towards the other soldiers. "I expect same discipline from each of you." He bent down to a soldier. "What's your name?" he asked Urki.

"Sir, Urk..." he whispered, then paused briefly. "Dues Nifis, sir," he said slowly, making sure no one else could hear.

The commander then turned to the troops, surveyed the entire unit, and declared Urki to step forward. "This is your unit's new leader," he announced.

Urki had just arrived but was already promoted to the position of unit leader.

For the first week, the "Jumping Lizards" unit, as Urki had named it, did nothing. Wake-up was at 5, and the beds had to be made by 5:10, or the entire unit would receive an additional day of work. Urki woke up earlier to observe the behavior of his unit members.

Then the commander would lead them into exercises. The whole unit would train for a full 3 hours before mealtime.

The unit, including Urki, consisted of six people: Minat's farmer son, known as Morris; a son from a warrior family named Kapernaum, known as Rak; Dos' son; a daughter from a distant line of noble Kamis family; and an older man named Dorad.

Serving in combat units was considered an honor, a path to success, a way to ascend the ranks of elven society. A person could become rich overnight with just one major success in battle or a rare animal hunt. For this reason, most people who served had good backgrounds or lineage.

It was said that the last time an elf was seen on the battlefield was 200 years ago. Those who witnessed the battlefield were human blood only; battles were often fought among humans, most of whom had no interest or gain, except perhaps for individuals. However, it was not rare that missions were to defend castle, camp or stronghold against many monsters that were known to continent.

...

The first mission was on Urki's table. His unit was supposed to load, transfer and secure special firewood while defending against attacks from slightly developed monsters. Even a slightly developed monster had more strength than the average human, Urki thought.

"Understood, sir!" Urki confirmed to the commander.

They were supposed to leave at 4, when dawn was just breaking. The forest where they were to pick up wood was to the east of the camp, the so-called Crnine Forest, where the trees were so dense, that you could not see a thing even in daytime.

Several units were deployed for this mission, mostly lower ranks, which were the most numerous. Units like Urki's followed one after the other, with an common rank unit ahead, ready to act if something unexpected happened.

Slowly, row by row, flag by flag, they emerged from the east side of the camp, while the noise of celebration and revelry could be heard in the meantime.

Urki was the first, leading his unit, which came out second to last. It was going to be a very long journey; they would walk for 6 days, Urki told his unit.

Although due to the obligation of higher ranks set by the commander, the soldiers obeyed Urki, they didn't trust him. After all, he was the youngest, a boy of 14, while all the others were adults or even older, like the old man Dorad.

"The danger of this forest isn't its monsters," he continued. "It's the fact that people get disoriented and separated from the column very quickly," he finished.

"What do you suggest, then?" Rak asked, somewhat sarcastically, as if mocking Urki.

"We'll tie ourselves with this," Urki pulled out a rope. It wasn't his first mission with limited visibility. The rope was supposed to be soaked either with the blood of an animal possessing Solaris mana or with a Rapasta flower.

"As if that'll save us," Rak said with a smile, trying to make the others laugh, but only Kamis and Dos chuckled.

Urki wanted to reply but hesitated. He didn't want to waste time on a fool.

"They say the spirit of vengeance roams through the Crnine Forest," Morris said somewhat fearfully. "And that every 5-6 years, there's a mass disappearance of a unit," he finished, trembling.

Urki patted him on the shoulder and said softly, "You must not show weakness in front of others." Morris calmed down a bit, and they resumed their movement.

"It's just a story," Kamis said, smiling through which a hint of fear could be felt.

"Yes, it's just a story," Dorad confirmed.

"Don't be afraid as long as I'm here," Rak said, laughing so loudly that even the unit ahead could hear.

"Never before, not even in my past life, have I heard a story about the spirit of vengeance," Urki thought to himself.

The soldiers of the "Jumping Lizards" wore leather suits, except for Rak and Dos, who had metal armor of not the best quality. Some of their pants were punctured; Urki had holes in the rear. Pockets were patched, boots were made of the cheapest pig leather, sometimes patched with other parts. As for weapons, Urki carried a dull sword and a small knife. Dorad wielded an axe, while Dos, Morris, and Kamis had the same equipment as Urki but without the knife. They believed they didn't need it. Rak was the only one carrying a sword, which was well-worn but sharper than the swords given to the lower ranks.

The first day went smoothly; the soldiers followed a regular path mostly surrounded by flatlands or short trees. Main camp which they left, "East Sagrass Shield" was surrounded by villages, which the soldiers could defend fast and easily and which could provided them with food.

The darkness was slowly enveloping the area around the column, becoming less and less visible. Night had fallen. The commander of the common unit ordered to set up camp on the grassy plain, from where the view stretched all the way to the camp, various villages, and cities, which sparkled like fireflies in the night.

It was a view that you can only see during peaceful times.

A temporary camp was set up by the mid-rank unit. Urki looked at the stars, trying to orient himself while a fire crackled. He drew an earth structure while occasionally glancing at the map that every low commander had.

The scent of smoke mixed with fresh air, with a hint of grass, filling Urki's lungs while the other soldiers of his unit slept, all except for Dorad.

"Dorad, aren't you sleeping?" Urki asked.

"No," Dorad replied, a man of few words except when prompted.

"Dorad, where are you from?" Urki asked again.

But Dorad couldn't start or finish his answer.

Like a mountain on fire, a body appeared in the night sky.

As if someone had taken a torch and illuminated the dark room, the comet lit up the sky, so much that it could be seen even in distant lands like Vitil Adem, Rama Tamzes, Irom, Davit, and Vidin Loma.

"Ah, a comet," Urki smiled, his face lighting up with joy.

But on Dorad's face, there was frozen expression, and soon, the commotion began throughout the temporary camp.

Someone in the crowd said, "An ill omen," while others began to kneel and pray to the earth gods they believed in.

The next morning, the commander of the mid-rank unit called all the leaders of the other units to join him.

"This is an order!" Commander Taurus shouted. "Be cautious; if the soldiers see an elf, let them all bow to him," he continued. "I expect you to maintain formation throughout," he concluded.

"Throughout?" Why would they do something like that, Urki thought.

The leader of the "Red Stars" unit asked Commander Taurus if this order was related to yesterday's comet.

"Yesterday's comet," I laughed knowingly, understanding the true meaning of such a sign.

Eyes that seemed to want to kill me met mine.

Then Commander Taurus approached and slapped Urki hard with his large hand.

"You're lucky we're in a hurry," Taurus shouted angrily. "Do you even know what that means?" he yelled at Urki!

"Commander, maybe Urki doesn't know the basics," the leader of the "Green Lilypads" defended me, "a comet signifies impending doom, hunger, and thirst," he then continued.

Urki walked away embarrassed from the mid-rank commander's camp.

He entered the small camp his unit had made, angrily telling his soldiers it was time to go.

As they approached the Crnine Forest, the landscape around them changed. Pine, oak, and birch trees gradually replaced vast plains and meadows, with fewer people around.

On the fifth day, a few hours after dawn, when a strong wind blew from the west and the formation occasionally fell due to its force, an object appeared in the middle of the sky, flying like an eagle, hovering over them for the next 2 hours.

Urki had never seen anything like it before, there were no such thing as flying in his past life, he was looking at it confused.

As they passed a bridge over the Mirlug River, something like an arrow flew past the formation, causing panic. A voice shouted that they were under attack, and before the lower ranks could grasp what was happening, a blue-haired, two-meter-tall, muscular elf in light blue attire stood across from them, observing them like a predator eyes its prey, analyzing everything they did.

"Stop," Urki said somewhat quietly, and the unit by unit stopped chaotically,"kneel," he told them again, this time anxiously, realizing what was happening. He had to obey the command, or the entire column would be wiped out.

The "Jumping Lizards" unit was the first to bow to the Elven soldier, followed by the other units, all doing the same.

"Who among you holds the highest rank?" the elf asked loudly, knowing who was who from the emblems on their uniforms and the amount of mana and strength the first unit ahead possessed.

"I aa..am... highest ranked her..e... , Mid-rank commander, Taurus!" shuted, Taurus slowly approached, kneeling the whole time, so his line of sight, in case of an bad luck , wouldn't meet the elf's eyes.

Taurus then gave a detailed report of the mission, where they went, and what they would do, all without lifting his head.

A man from "Crimson Chickens" briefly raised his gaze out of curiosity to look at the elf, but it wasn't even 5 seconds before his head vanished like dust carried away by the wind, his blood splatted across the unit surrounding him, cries of pain soon replaced the silence.

Fear spread like a disease; all the units realized what had just happened, and the light faded from their eyes, all except for Urki's.

The elf noticed this and silently approached Urki, grabbing his jaw firmly with his hand, adjusting it so Urki's eyes met his own directly. "Aren't you afraid of death?" he asked, emotionless.

"A man is destined to die," Urki told him, even though he knew it could cost him his life. The pride he once had as one of the leaders of men was still there, as strong as ever. "That's the only way humans have a purpose," Urki continued, "unlike other races, we live at most 60 years," he told him as the elf's grip tightened, his face tensing from the firm grip of the elf's hand.

Elf got reminded of ideal that once was something that humans gave their life so easy.

There was silence throughout the column. "I'll punish him in a way he'll never forget," Taurus said.

The elf's response seemed to remind him of something, eliciting a smile from him. "Hahaha, it's been many years since I've heard that," he said, releasing Urki's head. "You have more luck than sense, boy," he spoke through laughter. "Commander, thank this soldier for saving most of the column," he addressed Taurus.

"If you live long enough, remember my name, Rafius," he said as he aimed an arrow at a unit where the man who had raised his head was.

In an instant, the units were there, and in the next, the entire unit was gone.

Where the former unit stood, there was only blood, as if the earth had been flooded with water.

"Tile, Flieties," the elf said and thundered away into the sky, leaving dust behind.

Rafius, Urki thought, a name that was well known during the First Elven-Human War, an elf who single-handedly wiped out 2 divisions guarding the Mihildor Castle because the humans refused to give him a trade route that passed through there.

Urki couldn't recall any encounters with a Rafius during the war against him. "Interesting," he thought to himself.