A lantern's light shined upon Venator's waking eyes. The escorts grouped around the table with the General, speaking on something.
"Multiple armies are positioned on different camps, they should be embarking around this time so we must begin heading to the forest quick to meet them." The first words Venator could hear from the General.
He stood up from his place, chains clattering around side to side as he got up, alerting the escorts.
"Excellent, you're awake. Prepare Venator, were about to head out." The General spoke with joy in his voice, different from his tone earlier.
Outside the soldiers were already ready, donning their steel metal armor as they carried around torches, illuminating the darkened camp.
The General continued talking amongst his escorts, the superiors of the unit on the plan. Soldiers outside chattered amongst themselves while they finished putting their armor or preparing their weapons. In the horizon the sun was setting, giving a deep orange tint to the land.
Venator squinted his eyes, yawning while he stood around.
After a minute of talking, the escorts departed back to their men. The General began preparing his weapons and armor, taking the maps with him.
"This is it Venator, the battle that should put an end to our enemy of years. And most likely one that will provide an improvement to mages who don't seek ill wills." The General said with a laugh. Venator responded with a nervous chuckle.
Outside they all went, the soldiers were in formation with their shields at the ready, many holding torches in their hands. The General stood in front of his men, clearing his throat while the escorts and Venator stood behind.
"With the full might of Bellunamien, we shall take the battle to the heart of our enemy. No longer shall we lose more people to them. Today, with a mage and the strengthened hearts of a vengeful mass, we shall set course for their kingdom, and wipe it out!" The General yelled out in rejoice, the soldiers shouted in reply, raising their weapons and torches up upon the speech's end.
Outside the camp, soldiers on horses awaited, carrying their own flags and torches on them, awaiting orders.
"Let us set off, prepare to march outside for we shall begin a glorious march that shall end with our victory, and their end!" The soldiers marched outside the camp, quickly forming up outside as the horses began moving out upon the General's orders to them.
He approached Venator, helmet blocking his face. Signaling him to follow
In front of the army, Venator marched forward. The chains clanged around on his legs and hands on the march, walking up hills and on flat grass.
Soon the sun set, leaving them at the mercy of their lit torches. Anything in the distance became nearly impossible to make out to Venator, no matter how hard he tried. He began slowing his pace, moving closer to the escorts to at least get some more safety.
Cold winds blew through, sending a shiver down Venator's spine. His tattered cloak and clothes barely gave enough protection in the march, even feeling heat of the lit torches behind him.
As they walked on, torches in the distance began appearing from both sides, all marching forward alongside them. A few single spots of light stayed around the army, the horsemen trotted along the road, far but still seeable to the General and the army.
A sense of weariness filled Venator, feeling the safety of being with the army slowly dissipate with each minute, seeing nearly nothing but silhouettes of hills or blades of grass on the ground, he looked around more actively hoping to spot someone or something that may attack them.
The horsemen soon extinguished their fires, now raising their flags higher in the twilight as they began moving farther from the army, scouting more of the field.
In the distance, a wall of pitch black covered the land beyond, the forest. The armies halted their advance almost in synch, seeing the trees in the distance, hearing the faint sounds of rustling leaves as they echoed into the night.
"Lighten your footing men, we shall begin moving through the forests." The General calmly ordered in a quiet but audible tone.
Their march soon became a slow walk, the armies around them slowly converging with one another until they started passing the trees.
Leaves and branches brushed Venator's coat while he passed, seeing near pitch black as he moved through the foliage with the army still behind him. His alertness spiked, staring quicker and more attentively at all directions, slowly getting closer.
"Venator step forward a few steps." The General ordered.
The General halted his army, silencing the forest only leaving the crackling of burning torches.
"It seems were not alone here, where are the horses?"
Just as he finished, a horseman rode through to them, stopping near the General.
"Sir!" He choked out, "There's enemy fighters moving through, they're heading straight for us. Unsure though if they know our location." The horseman continued. As he finished, he trotted towards the other armies.
"Very well, infiltrators step out." Through the densely packed armored men, hooded figures smaller in stature, wearing little to no armor moved forward.
"We will await you here, scour the forested area and eliminate any that do not bear our flag."
The infiltrators silently acknowledged, moving through the bushes quietly, quickly disappearing.
In a matter of minutes, the forest was filled with the sound of faint yelps and metal clattering around the ground. The sounds echoed through the trees as if they came from all directions.
The assassins soon returned, the light revealing their bloody blades and crimson soaked cloaks. Silently they returned back to the General.
With a single arm raised up, the armies returned to the march. Venator looked back at the infiltrators, seemingly highly experienced fighters who take out groups of enemies in an instant.
As they descended deeper, cracks through the foliage revealed the gleam of the white moonlight.
Stepping through the leaves, Venator saw it. The castle far off in the distance and a long field of nearly flat grasslands. All illuminated by the moonlight, far different than the land earlier.