Seth

     It begun just after noon. They had been traveling for most of the morning only passing into Durindal territory almost an hour back.  It now Seth began to feel a strange darkness in the air itself. The sun was out not a cloud in the sky. They were once again making their way through the dense forests that made up Durindal's southern most border. They had to be careful now. They had left behind the supply wagons and had now moved forward to scout out the area.
"We have to be careful. If we are engaged we have to stay together," Seth directed his squad. He could tell it was now starting to set in with them. Karta had begun fighting with the straps of his armor, Aisha's eyes kept scanning the tree around them waiting to see an enemy that wasn't there. Leon wouldn't stop picking at the hilt of his sword, Carla and Justin hadn't spoken at all in the past hour. These last few days had been hard and He had found he had grown to.. at least tolerate these kids. They were funny and inexperienced, even over confident at times. But they were upbeat and each one was exceptionally gifted when it came to controlling their given elements.
Lord Malcovitch Lady Rylee would like to see you at the head of the column immediately!!" A rider called out as he wheeled his horse to a stop in front of him.
"How many times do I have to tell you Gonfall right now it's just Seth or Sethias if you prefer I'm not a Lord right now." The older grizzled man said nothing in response, he just jumped off his horse and offered the reins to him.
"Go! Quickly!" He said. A sigh escaped Seth before he could stop himself.
" You know you really need to work on your sense of humor man." He took the reins from the man and vaulted on top of the grey charger.
He waisted no time getting to the front of the Column willing the horse through his knees as Rylee had taught him. She had been a bit more than distraught at his knowledge of horse riding and horse treatment and care. So, how to use Fey hadn't been the only thing he had been learning.
     He arrived at a cliff over looking a yet more forestry. Great oaks stretched as far as the eye could see. These trees were truly massive, some were as tall as skyscrapers and as thick in width as a car was in length. The leaves were green and yellow signaling the turning of the seasons.
  At first he didn't understand why he had been called to the front, but as he got closer he realized quickly the problem.
  At the base of the cliff face was a sizable opening in the threes easily the size of a small town. It looked tiny in comparison to the rest of the forest but it was easily several miles wide. And down at the opposite end of the clearing from them was a dark mass. It took a minute for his mind to comprehend what he was looking at. It was an horde of armored demons.
The Demons varied in size and shape. While most wore their glinting black plate armor he was accustomed to some wore more specialized and colorful armor. He quickly scanned the ranks trying to find out whether or not there were special types among the enemy. The majority of the demons were shadow hunters and the normal shadow blades they were used too. A cold sweat ran down the side of his face as he realized each and every one of those shadow blades were just as skilled as the one who had killed Joseph.

  He felt a hand on his shoulder as he looked over to see Rylee looking back at him her eyebrows scrunched asking a question he already knew the answer to.
   "I'm nervous," he said out loud as of saying it aloud would make the feeling go away.
"That's normal." Rylee said turning her eyes on the milling creatures below. They were clearly waiting for them to descend the hill to attack.
Just remember one thing." He turned to her and looked Rylee directly in both of her stormy blue eyes. Something in her eyes betrayed her sadness. A feeling he didn't quite understand. Nervousness, anger, fear these were what he expected to see her show. But sadness, that threw him for a loop.
"What's that?" He asked tentatively. Rylee returned his state.
"Focus on who you can protect, don't try to save everyone, you can't." She said with so much conviction it shook him to his core. He could only nod in response as he returned to his squad.
   He lost himself in his thoughts.
   "Could he actually do this?" It was a thought he had been mulling around in his head since the day they had set out. He had seen people die already more times than he ever wanted since stepping foot in Elementia. Isbis, Joseph, even agents that he never knew their names had died.
   Last year when he fought a top the wall against the dragons he had watched people very much like himself and even some younger than him burn to death under the fiery breath of a dragon,"
  Even though he had been distracted at the time with the capture of his mother he doubted he would ever get the faces of those who lay dying out of his head.
   He knew logically that they were being called home to live without pain with God... But that didn't mean losing them hurt less our that their deaths were less horrifying to him. Could he handle seeing it on an even bigger scale?
   "That many huh?" A voice asked and he was pulled from his thought to discover he had arrived in front of his squad. They all were quiet now. Even Aisha and Karta no longer joked their eyes trained on him. They recognized something in his expression and it had obviously scared them. Seth quickly flashed them a smile. He had been stupid to show how worried internally he had been. They were relying on him to make sure they got out of this alive.
   " I they actually have less than I thought," he said back.  "Our numbers are more or less equal." Their faces lit up with renewed hope.
   "Oh then what had you lookin so worried," Justin asked.
   "Wait! can it be? The hotshot of is nervous about his first large battle?" Aisha teased tucking a lock of her blond hair behind her ear.
"No," he said calmly he had gotten used to her teasing at this point.
"I'm more worried about keeping all of you alive," he said matter of factly. She sobered up quickly like someone had stuck her with a taser.
"Oh." He got off the horse handing the reins back to Gonfall.
"We will be fine we just need to remember one thing." He paused to look at each and every one of them.
"Trust in God."

      By noon they were face I face with there enemy. The demons had made no move to attack as they had come down the hill to face them. In less than an hour all two hundred agents that weren't a part of the support or medic team were standing in neat rows with shields of lift already conjured. Some sported shields made out of different elements but all stood united. The armor of the Lightforce a mixture of plate chain and scale glinted in the light almost blinding Seth even thought he was wearing the same. Long white cloaks that were attached at the Pauldron billowed often making it hard to see.
   But he was more focused on their enemy. Pure black bead like eyes stared back at them, talons and claws clinking as they milled about. In stark contrast to neat and orderly lines of the Academies there didn't seem to be any formation to these creatures. He looked to his left and right, at the members of his squad all of them were quiet now, the full weight of what was about to happen coming down on them. They gripped
Their weapons tightly, Carla was even visibly sweating.
    He wanted to offer some last words of encouragement, but he never got the chance. A loud howl vibrated through the air around them making him clamp his hands over his ears. Apparently this was the signal the demons had been waiting for. They came at them full sprint the Sadie hunters out front eyes glinting with excitement. Weapons of darkness began to form in claws as a wave of darkness spread out from under the feet of the horde of fiends.
   "Stay close to me!!!" Was all he could manage as he drew Sonfang and summoned a rectangular shield of light in his other hand. He lowered himself as the demons increased speed yet again. "This is it," was his last thought before the two lines clashed.