A taint is upon the earth where the death-eater bird shows not its face.
It was a saying for barren lands forsaken even by the birds that fed upon the dead. Though most despised the death-eater birds as omens of death, in a remote village on the outskirts of the Asvelt Empire, things were somewhat different. To them, life and death were two sides of the same coin, and they therefore revered the death-eater birds as a symbol of rebirth.
This village had a unique custom. When a villager came to the end of their life, the whole village put on a magnificent festival. At the end of the celebrations, they laid the body upon a towering altar in the village square as an offering to the death-eater birds. The belief was that those whom the death-eater birds fed upon were blessed and would be reborn into this world. In a society where the normal custom was to bury one’s dead, these beliefs were without question unorthodox, but then, there were many customs beyond the comprehension of ordinary folk.
The Imperial Army, Rosenmarie’s Camp
“Something’s strange...” Rosenmarie was having a fantastic time when the faint sense of something wrong came to her. At that moment, her Crimson and Helios Knights were hard at work making mincemeat of the Royal Army soldiers who had charged them.
I can’t see a death-eater bird anywhere. That must be what feels off... As she thought it, an old memory came back to her. She clicked her tongue.
“Lady Rosenmarie, is something the matter?”
“I mislike all of this,” she muttered, not looking at Zacharias.
“I’m sorry? My lady, our forces are dominating the enemy...” he said, misunderstanding her. Rosenmarie ignored him and stared up at the sky.
I don’t go in for foolish superstitions and the like, but the battlefield is a cradle of death. For the death-eater birds to disappear here, something is definitely abnormal.
While Zacharias eyed her curiously, she looked out over the battlefield but found nothing suspicious. Then, she finally met Zacharias’s gaze.
“Do you feel anything?” she demanded.
He hesitated. “I beg your pardon, my lady, but what do you mean?”
Rosenmarie looked at the sky and jerked her chin upward. Confused, Zacharias looked up, then over at the battlefield. “Well, as I said, our forces do appear to have an overwhelming advantage.”
“Anyone with eyes could see that. I’m asking if you feel anything else.”
“Something else? I don’t...” Zacharias stammered, his confusion only deepening. He looked back at the battlefield, then shut his mouth.
Rosenmarie sighed loudly. “Why are you even here? I didn’t call you.”
“I am here for your protection, Lady Rosenmarie...”
“You’re not needed. I can look after myself.”
“But I can’t just—”
“Don’t make me repeat myself.” Rosenmarie waved a hand as though swatting away a fly, driving Zacharias away from her. Arrows sporadically came flying at her, and she sent them hurtling back from whence they came, but her thoughts became more and more preoccupied by the death-eater birds.
I feel sick...
Two hours after the end of the play, Oscar received a curious report.
“A great number of rats?” He thought it was some sort of metaphor, but quickly learned otherwise. According to the officer, they couldn’t see the ground for the great flood of rats running westward. And not only rats—there were gray squirrels, gray rabbits, and all manner of other rodents in there too.
Could a natural disaster be coming?
Animals were said to have abilities to sense things, which humans had long since lost. There were ancient texts that told of a great earthquake that had struck Duvedirica and altered the shape of the land itself. Two days before the quake, these texts said, beasts everywhere had run wild. There were also accounts of a seven-colored light flashing across the sky half a day before the disaster. The sky Oscar could see, however, was the color of lead. He saw not even a glint of seven-colored light.
“It’s upsetting some of the soldiers.”
“If you want me to help them...” Oscar had been sure that if he interrupted Rosenmarie’s fun to tell her small animals were displaying strange behavior, the only response he expected to get was, So what? Perhaps if the times were different, but right now they were in the middle of a battle.
It’s definitely an unusual sign, though... he thought. I’ll just look into it. He had just made up his mind to dispatch a few units to investigate when word arrived that a messenger had come at great speed from the imperial capital. Fears that the Azure Knights had been defeated immediately filled his mind.
“Call them here at once,” he instructed, fighting back his impatience. The matter of the animals’ abnormal behavior was banished from his mind. A woman in ebony black armor presented herself to him, followed by a group all dressed in black overcoats, their faces hidden behind silver masks.
Based on that armor, she must be from that personal army of Chancellor Darmés’s that I’ve heard rumors of... The woman did not strike him at all as a soldier. From their unsettling appearances to the air of gloom that hung over her and her entourage, they were more like the folk who made their living by unlawful means.
The woman saluted Oscar. “I am Major Martina Ray, of the direct forces.”
“Major General Oscar Remnand,” Oscar said. He wasted no time demanding an answer. “The Azure Knights haven’t been defeated, have they?”
“Defeated?” Martina said tonelessly. “No, the Azure Knights turned traitor.”
There was a long pause, then— “What?!”