Perhaps it was an omen of things to come.

Ruka Bright stood approximately one hundred yards away from the camp, hidden within the forest, studying the flames intently... or at least that's what he appeared to be doing. He mused over his plans; they had almost entirely fallen into place.

In order to continue the war and thus get vengeance on the City-States of Jowston, he would have to make a small sacrifice. Ruka thought over this for many a night when it hit him like a lightning bolt to some idiot who thought it wise to raise his sword arm as high as possible as the thunder began to rumble over the battlefield. He had seen this happen exactly three times, each time more amusing than the last. His demented mind meandering back to the war, it had occurred to him that the thing held most dear to common people would be their children. Thus the Unicorn Brigade, a sector of the Highland military with the aim of training young men to serve their country in times of need, provided the perfect victims. The blame could easily be transferred to that of the City-State army, especially with the aid of arrows from Jowston which had been pulled out of wounded Highlanders and the dead; they differed from Highland arrows, being slightly wider and less aerodynamic. He hoarded the arrows upon coming across this stunning revelation.

All that was necessary afterwards was to find one person who would allow the entire plan to commence; naturally this came in the form of the commander of the Unicorn Brigade, the ambitious, gullible, rather loquacious man named Rowd, whom Ruka mockingly called "Loud". Ruka, only a week ago, held a private conference with Loud, telling him subtlely of his plans. Loud readily agreed, proclaiming his dislike of being the "commander of a bunch of snot-nosed kids", as he had so eloquently and rather foolishly put it. Ruka promised him a reward, telling him that at least he would become commander of a REAL unit... and maybe a little something extra on the side. And thus Loud complied with Ruka's plan. The poor fool. He wouldn't last a day on a real battlefield.

He now watched the enemy camp. The young men moved with an ease uncommon of a soldier; after all, they were under the delusion that they would be returning home the following day. They couldn't have been more wrong.

He then glanced at a far-off town; he knew it as Kyaro. The Unicorn Brigade was Kyaro's pride and joy; they would surely be hurt by the demise of the Unicorns. Ruka could almost hear their sorrow, their fury, their cries for revenge.

He turned around, away from the camp, to see how his personal unit, the White Wolf Army, named appropriately after the vicious animals of the north, was fairing with the arrows. They better have improved, he thought with a baleful snarl. Fortunately for their lives, their aim struck true; apparently they had adjusted to the bulkier arrows. The soldiers he had sent out to inspect the camp would be returning any minute now.

Of course, as soon as that thought crossed his mind, the two men he had deployed to report to him when they could proceed with the attack returned.

"Well?" Ruka asked.

"All the preparations are made," one of the two soldiers replied. "All of the children are asleep, and the fires have been put out."

Ruka looked back towards the camp. No longer did the blazes burn.

"Good." He turned to his troops. "Practice is over," he announced. "It's time for the real thing." He smiled slyly as they all stopped firing arrows. Some of them ran over to the targets and pulled out the arrows lodged within. "Let us go, now!" Ruka walked around towards the back of the camp through the forest, watching the archers take their assigned positions around the camp. Most stood near the only exit to the camp, and they were backed up by a group of standard soldiers.

Loud would give the signal. He would light the fire in the middle of the camp, then the soldiers would let loose with a barrage of arrows into the tents. He would also wake them up and tell the survivors of the initial attack to run out the exit. Of course, with the troops positioned there, they wouldn't get very far...

Suddenly, a quick burst of light caught the corner of Ruka's eye. Standing behind a line of archers, he watched as they all raised their bows in unison, aiming for the tents. They all cut loose in a hail of arrows, all screaming towards their targets in a flurry. Many cries of pain followed soon after. A survivor of the attack rushed out of a tent, yelling one single word.

"AMBUSH!"

Soon after, more boys ran out of their tents and abandoned their posts, looking frantically for someone to turn to during this crisis. Ruka immediately spotted Rowd, or Loud, in the middle of it all, a blond man wearing a blue tunic, which was covered by a pale blue cuirass. The boys immediately flocked to him; although Ruka couldn't hear their pleas or his reply, the gesture Loud gave, his arm jabbing out in the direction of the exit, said it all for him. They all nodded and set off in that direction, where they were immediately cut down by another flock of arrows, striking various parts of their bodies, creating little fountains and streams of blood.

Ruka then kneeled to the ground, taking a dry pine branch, likely snapped off by one of the boys, in his gauntlet-shrouded hand. He then called upon the power of his Rage Rune to light the tip of it on fire.

"Come!" he cried. "We'll burn this place to the ground!"

The soldiers that lacked bows grabbed some scattered branches and lined up in front of him, all holding their makeshift torches to his for merely moments, then they trekked into the camp, setting the tents ablaze as they swiped their swords at any wounded boy they saw. Their blood gushed onto the ground, staining it red. The rest of the children panicked and ran off in any direction that they could. The White Wolves gave chase, stabbing them in a frenzy.

Ruka glanced about, taking in his surroundings. Scattered corpses laid on the ground, arrows protruding from their soft skin, smooth slices upon their flesh. Flames shot up from tent and tree alike, even from a boy who had not woken up until he became engulfed in fire. He ran about like a maniac, screaming for his life. Ruka watched him burn, and he reveled in it.

Ruka's eyes immediately connected to the only man standing besides himself: Rowd, or Loud, depending entirely on who you asked.

"So, you are here, Loud," he said with a smile. He loved calling him Loud, if only for the sole reason that Loud absolutely hated it.

"Yes, Lord Ruka," Loud replied, scowling slightly at the mention of the nickname that Ruka had appointed to him.

"You did everything exactly as I told you. Good. Now you shall be rewarded as such."

"Yes?" he said eagerly.

"First of all, as I promised, you shall lead your own unit of soldiers. Real soldiers. Not children."

"And?"

"Well," he said, stepping towards Loud with a twisted smirk, "just between you and me, I have a sister..."

Loud gave him a blank look at first, but after a few seconds, it seemed to click into Loud's brain what Ruka was hinting at, and he returned Ruka's smirk with a sly smile.

Of course Ruka had no intention of actually GIVING his sister Jillia to such an idiot, but it was always wise to keep a carrot under a subordinate's nose, just to keep them in line.

However, Ruka's eyes spotted a figure in the shadows: a young boy dressed in a red shirt, a yellow scarf, and black pants. Ruka growled upon seeing him.

"A SURVIVOR! GET HIM!!!"

The boy's eyes grew to the size of tea saucers as he ran away like a frightened dog at the sight of fifty or so soldiers advancing on him. They chased him deep into the forest. Ruka watched the best that he could, but they soon blended into the night. The soldiers soon returned.

"Well?"

"We got 'im," one of the soldiers said. "Or should I say I got 'im."

"Good. Our job is done here. Loud?"

"Yes, sir," Loud said, having been forgotten in the melee.

"We are returning to L'Renouille. You shall accompany us there. We shall report of your unit's demise, and your torture, until the White Wolves rescued you."

Ruka mounted his black horse, and Loud hopped upon his white horse.

"But of course," Loud said. "You're a life-saver."

No sooner had he said that, Ruka looked down into the valley which encased Kyaro and saw that very same boy that he had seen... that very same boy that was SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!

"WHAT?!" he bellowed, absolutely furious.

"What is it?" asked Loud.

"That boy..." He glared upon the soldiers, centering his eyes directly upon the man who had lied to him. "That same boy... you said you killed him," he snarled, leaping off of his horse, advancing on the man. "He was to die tonight with his comrades... but YOU LET HIM GET AWAY!!!!"

The soldier stared at Ruka in horror, his eyes widening to enormous proportions. He trembled, backing away from his prince slowly... slowly...

"DIE!!!!!" Ruka barreled into the man, knocking him flat on his back, then drew his sword and plunged it into the hapless soldier's chest, blood droplets splattering upon Ruka's face. Ruka smiled viciously, looking back at his horrified underlings. He climbed upon his horse again, and they all began to return home to a warm welcome.