1st day of Nardunae, 1283

I couldn’t help but think about what the librarian told me last night. The unusual behaviors of the Stecars were something that we didn’t put into consideration. We never think of a reason for our repeated encounters with them. What we did was push them away from our borders, hoping they would get tired of it eventually.

After hearing it from the old man last night, I remembered things I hadn’t recognized, or perhaps I purposely turned a blind eye.

The Offensive Team arrived in the morning, minutes before the first wave of Stecars approached us. It was our leader, Lord Andrew, who noticed them first. We greeted the two leaders and the members of each team, but we had to cut it short after we heard the sound of the horn. This signal had come from the sentries, telling us that they had once again seen the Stecars in the red horizon.

I have nothing to say about how the Offensive Team fought the Stecars aside from the fact that they were awesome! It was my first time seeing an Enhancer fight closely against a target.

Most of us Fieldworkers developed a fighting style that would guarantee our safety. We always do the fighting at the furthest distance we can go with our Range. We make sure not to give our enemy a chance to open our throats.

While I watched the Offensive Team, I started worrying about them. There were many instances when they almost got hit by sharp staves the Stecars carried with them. I spotted a Leecher utilizing the Song of Attraction to draw a Stecar close to her. She aimed her sword at the approaching creature, its pointed end piercing the Stecar’s chest. This bunch must be seeking death!

From the palisade, we watched the havoc unfold before the red field. What they did that morning was not something you could call a battle. It was a slaughter.

I realized Stecars would not get a chance to close onto us, so I used that time to do something beneficial.

I jumped across the wall. Shit! I told myself when I finally felt the red grasses brushing on the skin of my feet. Perhaps the ramblings of that old librarian about the Stecars’ desperation to cross our side of the wall piqued my curiosity and turned me into a retard, as Lord Andrew pointed out when he scolded me later that night.

I stared at the battleground before I started walking toward it. I could not will myself to turn back at that moment, especially when I met Edmio’s eyes. He was aware that I was there.

I don’t want to lose face in front of them by returning because doing so would make me look like a coward. I felt my knees tremble as I came closer to where the battle was happening. I could hear the screams, the huffs of breath, and the sound of the sword tearing on the Stecar’s flesh. I even imagined that I heard the Stecars pleading to the Offensive Team.

After a moment, I overheard someone shout my name. It was Lord Andrew’s voice. When it seemed that I refused to listen to him, our leader started yelling all sorts of curses in my direction with threats of dismissal and reports for multiple counts of misconduct and insubordination.

I turned to him and saw his eyes almost popping out of their socket. I swear it was the first time I saw him fuming. Lord Andrew was a good leader. He never asked us to do anything out of his whims despite having a distinguished upbringing among all of us.

“I just need to check on something. I’ll be careful,” I shouted back at him. But he was not buying it. The curses and threats kept raining down at me.

I started searching the field for a dying Stecar. But all I saw were dead ones with their eyes casting a longing look in the sky, as if they began praying to their unnamed god as they took their last breath. Here and there, I saw a dismembered arm, hand, and feet. Sometimes the stomach was cut open, their entrails discarded in the ground for the flies to feast. As I trudged forward, it became more challenging for me to differentiate a pool of blood from red grass. The land I walked in appeared to be covered in blood; a stale smell hung in the air, blended with the scent of earth.

I almost tripped. I turned and saw that my foot caught on something. It was a hand. I was going to remove it when I saw its index finger flinch. The Stecar was breathing heavily, green eyes fixated on the sky above him. I kneeled before him, and when it became aware of my presence, it began to hiss.

I just crouched there, observing the dying Stecar. He was an unlucky one. The stomach was cut open rather too cleanly. The left hand was positioned to cover the cut to prevent some of his intestines from pouring out. He started mumbling then his eyes turned to me. He gave me a faraway look as if he wasn’t seeing me. Then it changed; recognition appeared on him as tears started brimming at the corner of his eyes. He saw me for someone else. The last expression on his face looked as if he had finally found what he was looking for.

I stared at him, lost on what I should do. I put my hand on the ground and drew an arrow pointing to the south, a sign given to someone who had passed away. It was a common tradition that help a soul in finding its way to the Source. What I did was considered by the Church as a form of heresy. But I firmly believe that all Stardust must return to the Source as part of life’s endless cycle.

I stood and took in the massacre before me. My stomach churned, and I vomited, feeling sick for the first time as I realized what was happening around me.

I could not help but be reminded of what the librarian had told me. I even started doubting everything I knew about them. What if these creatures are like us who want to seek protection from what is in the Red Savanna? The question is, what is there that they want to run away from?

Lord Mikkaelo Sarganse

***

ErosFontel

The Red Savanna