Black, Soldier, and Witch.

Commander Hash stood upon a high stone, located many feet above the battlefield. He looked down on his soldiers who were cheering loud and cutting down the entire Naivan army like slaughtering pigs. Even from this distance, the sound of clinging metals and thrusting shields reached his old ears like a melody.

His soldiers were moving forward, some running and jumping at their enemies, even some crawling towards the northern territory. They were winning. They were winning this vulturous war, after battling for nearly two years.

"Commander looks like this try will be ours." said a brown-haired man, wearing the same green uniform as Hash.

"Just two more wins, they will not have enough men to raise an assault." he continued.

Hash smiled at his colleague's word. He lifted his shoulders, spreading his chest in pride, then turned around. As he walked away, a sudden thrust sound came from down, threatening him and the soldier around him. He looked back, only to see an enormous cloud of dust covering the entire battlefield. As moments passed, the dust faded away, showing the corpse-filled ground. Soldiers wearing green plates, who were winning until then, lay above the broken ground, dead.

Struck by the weird scene, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Deep behind the mist, stood a figure. It was black, unlike the rest of the blue Navian soldiers. The figure spread its arms wide and lifted it. Pieces of land around it started to shake. The more its arms rose, the vigorous the shacking became. And in a blink, thousands of rock pieces shattered apart from the ground and remained still in the free space.

Seconds passed, but the stones remained levitating above the ground, like it was waiting for something. Something mighty enough to bear its entire stone's weight. He could not see the figure's face but could sense its stare on him. It was for him that the black being was waiting. The same thing that made havoc just by showing its face on the field. The being who lifted tonnes of rock like cotton fibers flying in the winds.

The fooled face of Hash turned into a wide grin. Blood rushed hard through his veins, enough to excite his entire body. The power he had never witnessed, the strength he would never dare to go against. It was standing in front of him, welcoming him to touch it, feel it, fight it.

"What more could have I asked for." Shouting loud, Hash jumped from his high place.

"General," a voice called him from above. Ignoring it, he landed just on his two legs.

Facing the black disaster, the bearded Commander unsheathed his long sword and held it above his neck. Green aura radiated from his legs, then spread to his chest, covering him as a whole. The blade soon turned green, matching his aura, losing a faint mist of green on its path. Hash positioned himself to charge, both his hands tightly gripping the long sword.

Like a mad dog, he ran towards the figure, his eyes shining with thirst, mouth widened. Forgetting all his hopes, throwing away all his responsibilities, he charged toward the enemy with the sole aim of defeating it.

As he reached feet away from it, he could see him. Him. Yes. It was a human. But everything else belonging to it was inhumane. His hairs were black, his eyes like an abyss, his face made of ice, cold and beautiful.

Hash backed his sword and slashed his hardest-ever swing towards that black being. His blade was just inches away from the enemy's heart, but something struck him, making his vision go dark. His whole body felt cold, weak. He felt it. Today was the day he was going to die.

Hash opened his eyes to see the empty white sky above. Standing next to it was a person in complete blackness. He was staring down at him with the same hollow eyes, a thread of black aura swirling between his fingers.

"You are younger than I thought," Hash said, with his only movable part. He started coughing blood, which stained his entire beard.

The expressionless boy kept looking down. He took a piece of stick and played it around his hand. Black matter from his hand engulfed the stick, turning it into a narrow two-headed needle.

"Years of pride and fights, and that was your last words?" the boy asked, keeping the needle floating.

"Years of living, and this how I am going to die? From the hands of a little boy." Hash asked, looking at the empty sky, again spurting out some blood.

The needle turned towards him, slowly moving up and down.

"Complain to your God, when you meet him in hell." the boy stated, piercing the needle into General's heart.

***

Hundreds of soldiers moved across the camps, some fetching weapons from the war returnees, some carrying the injured ones. All wore the same blue stained uniforms, different in styles depending on their rank.

In the mesial of everything, was stationed a tall building, more massive than any other of its neighboring barracks. Inside that single-roomed build, stood a tall grey man, looking at the map of the entire Plantos continent. The map marked all the five Plantian countries including Navian, whose borders were sketched in blue.

Side to him was standing a sleek and sturdy-looking woman. She wore a blue long-sleeved leather wear, along with tight black pants. Three silver stars were attached to her left shoulder, which shined from the rays of the Lightstone hanging from the top. She was eyeing straight ahead of her senior, staring into the blank walls.

Breaking the silence, a helmed soldier entered the room carrying a long spear on his back. He halted his steps near the General and saluted. Noticing the man behind him, Huges nodded, at the soldier.

"Raven Dimen reporting to the General. Try, down at the Bellon Hills was a win, sir. Battles at Stones and Wales are favorable to us, sir. Eliminated two enemy Divison Commanders. Report closed." conveyed the new soldier.

"Report received. Well done Veer Dimen", said Huges, patting the young soldier's back. Saluting again, Dimen left the camp, leaving the two alone.

"You know, at the Bellons," Heena started talking, catching his attention.

"It was your lad's doing. He defeated nearly half of Harald's battalion and even killed its Division Lead." Huges continued to listen.

"And?" he asked as no more words came from her.

"And! There is no 'And'. You knew he could do that. Still, you sent thousands of our soldiers at the enemy and left them to die", she raised her voice enough to fill the hall.

"General Heena, you dare to raise your voice against the superiors," he said steadily, forcing her to realize her doing. Heena instantly bowed her head.

"Forgive me, sir. I will not repeat it."

"You will not, at least not around me.

"And for your question, there are many events in a war that could turn tables. Shain is one of them. But every miracle comes at the end of despair. It is what makes the event miracle."

She frowned at his words, as most of them went above her head.

"Shain is a miracle, for everyone at this camp. But he is still a child. What man would throw his boy at the horrors of war?" Huges smiled but was not a very obvious one.

"But the gossip goes otherwise. He eliminated an entire army just by waving his hands. If he had any feelings then that would not be fear."

Huges started at her blunt words, to which she responded by again bowing.

"I know that. And that is why I kept the boy as my last card. But.." he hesitated from saying any more.

"Anyway, how are the results?", he asked, turning back to the map.

"Promising, including the try we had today. Two more wins, and we could incapacitate them from any more attacks."

"Good. Prepare the men for two consecutive attacks. The first should be like any regular try, and the second should be a full-blown battle. Do both on the same day." he ordered.

"Yes, sir." Heena saluted, then left the tent.

Minutes after, a lady wearing a long grey dress entered the carven with heavy feet. She had a red gem attached to her free hair and was dressed like a noblewoman.

"You promised me," the lady shouted at him. Recognizing the voice, Huges would not dare to turn back.

"You old foul. You promised not to let Shain enter the fields."

Huges cringed his face, hiding it from the lady, and slowly turned his face towards her.

"Risha, I know for what I have.." he tried speaking but was interrupted by a strong punch on his face. Gathering all the senses he had, he looked straight to see a flaming lady staring at him.

Her blonde hair, wide eyes, and light tone exaggerated her beauty even in her angry state.

"Don't start with your apologizing nonsense and tell me where Shain is right now?", she asked, louder as even the troops wandering outside, shivered in surprise.

"He is coming back with the rest," he said, checking for the presence of his lower jaw.

Her flames turned wilder, as she checked him one last time and turned towards the entrance.

"Wait. I will escort you." before he could finish his words, Risha left the camp. Looking at her, Huges took a deep breath and continued his planning.