1
HORDAN
They’re coming.
Again. With the same news they bring every time.
The remaining band of violent human rebels in this area have evaded my soldiers in the woods for the third time in three days. Wily little beasts. Their networks of tunnels are wreaking havoc with the end of this war, and my warriors are dangerously frustrated. It won’t be long before someone speaks their mind about simply burying them in their warren of self-dug graves, but a suggestion like that is an intolerable risk to the hostages being kept below ground.
My chair groans under my weight as I lean back and massage the ache between my horns. We don’t have time for this. The longer they remain at large, the more innocents they’ll harm, and our duty is to protect and care for those sweet souls until this once-joyful realm is restored to its original state of love and safety. A kind and happy human is capable of creating beautiful things in absolute harmony, and my monster kin and I have waited so many long and lonely eons feeling the echoes of their fear and sadness radiating through the ethers that we now yearn to experience peace as much as the oppressed beings we’ve cometo liberate. Nothing could have held us back from answering their prayers.
It has been an honor and a pleasure to do this work, but truth be told, I’m exhausted by the drain on my energy day in and day out. While I am dedicated to the cause, and my psychic abilities have seen me become an invaluable machine in the system, every time I reach out with my telepathy, I’m met with the neediness of traumatized victims and the malice of evildoers. I feel everything, and my soul aches for relief from the hell of it. The sooner this war ends, the sooner I can find peace and myself again, and if I’m lucky, maybe I could even find a sweet soul to share the rest of my life with — if there’s even a creature out there I could be around for longer than a few moments without loathing every thought I heard them overthink.
“Enter,” I call out before Shermahn has even knocked.
Already in the motion, his knuckles rap lightly once anyway. He pushes the door open and dips his head in a subtle bow. “High Commander.”
Sensing the chill in his bones, I gesture to the seat by my fire. “You have been in the forest all night, but the heat of the hunt has left your system now you are returned. Warm yourself.”
He obediently sits and holds his hands toward the flames. “I don’t need to say the words, do I?” He sounds as defeated as he looks, but the worst thing is how hefeelsto me. His devastation penetrates my soul as deeply as if it were my own, and my weariness makes it an effort to fight off the thick, aching emotion he’s projecting.
“The words are not necessary. No.” I rise from my chair, needing to dissipate the bad energy through movement. I stretch and step toward the wall where I keep a visual record of the simultaneous attacks under my surveillance. I close my eyes and tap into the universal consciousness. “If it boosts your spirits any, we are nearly done,” I advise him. “While your forces havebeen out hunting, I’ve been busy deploying more soldiers to the farthest ends of the earth for the final sweep. Almost all the remaining scum in other lands have been subdued, and we have only one more cluster to eradicate once we’re done here. Many perpetrators of evil have been terminated, and most of the ones deemed capable of redemption have been sent or are being packaged for transport to Vlad’s re-education centers.”
“So, it’s only my squadron failing, then,” Shermahn says with a groan.
“We have not failed; we simply have not yet succeeded. But our victory is inevitable,” I assure him. “Every problem has a solution, and I will not tolerate any negative mentality in my presence, so you may reframe your mindset or leave.”
Shermahn sits straighter. Checks himself. Nods. “Yes, sir.” He purses his lips and strokes his bearded chin. “Do you have a solution in mind?” he asks, already thinking what I’m thinking.
“We both know what needs to be done,” I say with a smile as I pick up my long-dormant sword. “With the enemy all but dealt with elsewhere, the need for me to stay in stillness and constant connection is no longer required. I believe it’s time I stretched my legs.”
Shermahn grins. “Let’s see how well these miscreants can hide when a high-powered psychic steps onto the battlefield.”
I grunt in agreement and click my neck one way and then the other. “I could certainly use some fresh air and a change of scenery after being cooped up in these cramped quarters surrounded by work. My eyes are desperate for something pretty to rest upon, and a walk in the woods sounds like a good start. It’s about time I had an opportunity to take more than a glance at this beautiful world we’ll be retiring in.”
A cool,low mist hangs in the forest like a still, damp blanket. It has provided much cover to the enemy we hunt, but it’s no match for my extra-sensory skills. It isn’t long before my intuition leads me toward the river, and I know with all of my being, that I will find my first kill for the day there.
And something else.
I’m detecting something… unrecognizable.
I close my eyes, tilt my head, and extend my spiritual receptors further to feel around this new energy, but as if it has sensed me prying, it hurriedly retreats beyond my conscious grasp. A change in the angle of my horns yields no further results, and I open my eyes again to peer fruitlessly into the fog.
Whatwasthat?
I’ve never encountered such a thing, and without a decent chance to determine its energy as friend or foe, I’m reluctant to proceed without taking precautions. I quickly camouflage my energetic signature by assuming a passive and friendly human-like shroud to conceal my true nature before I step deeper into the woods.
Is this how these pesky, elusive assailants keep avoiding my warriors? They have an intuitive with them? A mage?
I run my tongue over my teeth as I grin. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a challenge to rise to, and after what feels like an eternity of predictable boredom, a spark of delight flares within me. I slink silently between the trees, with all my senses activated and wildly heightened for the hunt.
I’m almost disappointed when my prey comes rushing through the forest toward me.
Almost.
There are two humans. Both yelling so loudly it makes my ears ring and my spine shudder.
“Aaaaargh!”
