Power Struggle

"James! We have contact!"

I whipped around, my leather jacket rustling as I looked at the man standing before me. Archer was the second in command of my squad, as well as my closest friend. His black hair was cut short underneath his black helmet, and grey eyes stared at me from under his visor.

"What? Where?" I asked, bewildered. We were hunting a tribe of Moon Shifters called Mesrits. All Sun Warriors were naturally enemies of the Moon Shifters, but the Mesrits were special. They were trying to invoke the old gods, which would end up destroying the world. The hunting of the Mesrits was a collaboration of both the Sun Warriors and the Moon Shifters, and was the only documented incident of the two races working together. Although we were still wary of the Moon Shifters.

"There seems to be a few of them sixty miles from here. Nothing certain though," Archer replied, a smile creeping onto his face. He loved fighting almost as much as I did. I smirked. The Mesrits were hunted to near extinction years ago. But then the remaining ones went underground and disappeared. It has been years since we even heard anything about them. For ones to reappear now and for me to be the one to get them would be quite an achievement.

I thought deeply. Sixty miles. It'd take an hour to get there. And an hour back to the castle...that would put us within a half hour of sunrise. Being caught in the sun would be deadly to any Sun Warrior. That wouldn't be enough time to get into a battle.

"How many exactly?" I asked, weighing my options.

" We don't actually know. But we can send some scouts to check. They'll be able to get back in time," Archer said, reading my mind and answering my next question.

"Alright then. Send Vick and Ruben. I want to know how bastards are there. Understand?"

"Yes sir!" Archer saluted, his face blank, exiting the room.

I turned back to the table and sighed. It's been a while since I actually got into a fight. With the Mesrits all but gone, and a shaky treaty with the rest of the Moon Shifters, there hadn't been much fighting. And when there was, it was assigned to a lower squad. No sense wasting the top squad on some low rebels right? That was HQ's way of viewing things. I would much rather be on the front lines then stare at this map all day.

I glanced down at the map. Normally it was used to track tribes of the Moon Shifters, to make sure that they weren't gathering to attack. But ever since the treaty was formed, it has only tracked Mesrits. And there were no Mesrits anywhere. All that was on the map at the moment was the castle my squad was based in, and a group of Moon Shifters called the Vitory.

The Vitory were the only Moon Shifters I agreed to work with. At first I refused to work with them at all, killing Moon Shifters and Mesrits alike. But then Ray, the Ulfric of the Vitory, saved my life while I was in a group of fifty Mesrits. We killed them all, easily. From that point on, Ray and I have been friends. As for the rest of his tribe, well, I could get along well enough without them.

Glancing out the window, I saw the sky lightening. Walking over to the shutters, I looked out at the last shadows of the night. I then slammed the shutters shut, effectively blocking out any rays of sun. The sun burned the skin of any Sun Warrior. Some zealots said it was a punishment for past sins. I didn't believe any of that. It hurt because it hurt. Simple enough.

I heard a door slam behind me. Turning again, I saw one of my personal guards standing behind me. Yes, I had a personal guard. I was an important Warrior, of course. Looking at him, I asked tiredly, "what is it?"

"Sir. I'm just reporting that Vick and Ruben have not returned. And they are unlikely to return soon."

"Thank you. We'll find them in the evening. But until then," I stretched, yawning, "I'm going to sleep."

"Alright sir. We'll see you tomorrow morning," the Sun Warrior replied, stepping back outside my room.

Looking back down at the map, I sighed. With HQ keeping me from battling and no possible fights nearby, there wasn't much I could do. But with this recent reappearance of the Mesrits, things would change. I would get to spill blood again. I unbuckled my sword, and hung it on a post. Laying down in the nearby coffin, I closed my blood red eyes, battles from the past and future playing on the back of my eyelids. Blood would be spilled again. And I couldn't wait.