13

The year was 1004, thanks to its revolutionary tactics The Reevian kingdom of the west was making impressive victories in recent battles but the sheer size of the large Imperial army of the east was preventing ″Reeva″ from making the push they desired into imperial territory. The second Magis war was reaching a stalemate. The only non-constant variable was the number of casualties in both sides, the number of burned down houses and villages, the number of newly orphaned children and the number of freshly dug graves.

Today I stood in one of these recently burned villages. I looked around me, there were no signs of any survivors. The place was crawling with Reevian soldiers moving from one house to another, it looked like they were taking the food and supplies they found. ″ the spoils of war″ was the term the Reevian army often used, a less polite term would be ″ stealing″.

I walked inside a fancy military tent, it was bigger and better looking than the rest. Inside a tall man with elegant armour stood facing a wooden war table. He was engaged in conversation with a female soldier who had a serious look on her face. I decided to put more weight on my feet and the sudden noise of my footsteps caught the attention of the tall man.

He turned around and stared at me suspiciously:

″ You’re not one of my soldiers? Who let you in here? ″ The tall man spoke with a menacing stare.

I noticed the female soldier next to him reaching to her sword and eying me down, she was probably trying to estimate my strength. Most soldiers in such a situation will be looking around trying to spot other intruders but she chooses to focus on me instead. This soldier definitely had special training.

The tall man waited for my answer but whatever I choose to answer him by will be a waste of time so instead, I slowly reached into my pockets, took a small sealed envelope and tossed it in the direction of the tall man.

The tall man’s expression quickly changed to an inquisitive look as he bent down to pick up the envelope.

″How dare you make the captain picks up something off the floor ″courier″? I shall cut you right now for this grave insult ″ the female soldier yelled out as she pointed her blade in my direction.

″ it’s okay First Lieutenant, stand down ″ The tall man said as he waved his right hand at the female soldier.

″ But sir ....? ″ the female soldier replied with confused eyes...

″ The seal on this envelope, this is the high council’s personal seal ″ the tall man replied.

″ The high council? ″ the female soldier said.

The second he recognized the seal was the moment I confirmed my assumptions. Only a few people in ″Reeva″ can identify this seal and based on his distinctive armour and the fact that the female soldier called him ″Captain″, this man is most likely ″ Captain Alexander Welkin ″. The renewed officer of the first Reevian army but why is he stationed in a place like this?

While I was having these thoughts, the tall man finished reading the letter and raised his eyes to face me and said:

″ Can you provide me with details of this mission? ″

″ I’m not authorized to share such information ″ I replied as I locked eyes with the tall man.

″ What’s going on Captain? ″ the female soldier suddenly spoke, her eyes were seeking answers she desperately desired.

″ This is a direct letter from the high council, we are ordered to provide any assistance to this man in his mission ....it says here his mission takes top priority...... ″ the tall man explained. I noticed his fingers suddenly gripping the edges of the paper as he reached the final part of the letter ...

″This man’s official name is ″13″....A high traitor to the Reevian kingdom but for the duration of this mission he shall be considered a ″soldier″ and shall receive the same privileges of that of a soldier ″ the tall man finished explaining the content of the letter ...A hint of surprise was mixed into his words.

″ A TRAITOR? This guy is a ″Number ″? ″ the female soldier stepped forward with her sword pointing at my legs.

″ At ease first lieutenant ″ the tall man gently patted her shoulders...

″ But sir, you heard what the letter said, this man is a traitor. He’s armed and possibly dangerous. I will cut off both his legs just to be safe ″ the female soldier replied without taking her eyes off me.

She was right, I am a traitor or as most people would refer to me a ″ Number″. In the kingdom of Reeva, certain acts could make you branded as a ″traitor″. The high council doesn’t believe in executing ″traitors″ because that would rid us of our sins nor do they believe in impersonating traitors because that would be wasting food and shelter on us. Instead, Numbers are stripped of their name and land and forced to live the rest of their lives shunned and humiliated by the rest of the population. We are stripped of our humanity and looked upon like wild savage animals.

″ Indeed this man standing in front of us is a ″traitor″ but the high council has ordered us to consider him a ″ soldier″ and to aid him in his mission so that’s what we will do ....do you understand the first lieutenant? ″ The tall man declared as he stood in front of the female soldier urging her to lower her blade.

The female soldier was hesitant at first but ultimately followed his orders. The tall man looked at me one more time and said:

″ So ...How exactly do you expect us to aid you in your mission?″

″ I need 4 soldiers: an archer, a .....‴

Before I could even continue the tall man interrupted my words...

″ I’ve lost 2/3 of my men capturing this region and we are on the verge of attacking ″Vastis″, I cannot spare any soldiers. All I can offer you is Intel and supplies ″

The tall man’s words were cut and dry. I anticipated the Reevian army to be launching an attack on the town of ″Vastis″ soon, this is exactly why I was only asking for 4 soldiers but I failed to anticipate the severity of their causalities.

″ I can’t accomplish my mission without soldiers ″ I quickly replied.

This mission was near impossible in the first place, without any backup the chances of success are 0 per cent.

The tall man contemplated for a second. Any other military captain would have just kicked me out by now but this tall man was different. He seemed to care. I guess the rumours I heard about him were true.

″ You can take 1 soldier with you to aid you on your mission. This is the best I can do ″ the tall man finally replied.

Just one soldier, huh? That’s not enough at all but I don’t think I have another choice. If I’m given the choice to pick out one soldier to accompany me then the obvious way to go is to pick out the captain but there is no way he will agree to abandon his post to aid a traitor on an unknown mission.

″ I pick her ″ I replied pointing my finger at the wide-eyed female soldier standing there.