Archist

　　　　My sword runs through the assassin’s body. Its long steel pierces his skin as I see blood forming around the entry. The assailant looks up at me, his pistol still pointed at my chest. His eyes widen as he realizes his mistake. He’d come so close to killing me, he might of been honored as a hero. I withdraw my blade and the enemy falls to the ground with a hard thud. Red mixed with green as my blow began to leave it’s mark. A blue smoke engulfs the body as it disappears from sight.

　　I’ve been playing this game for almost four years now, and I’ve never killed. My position is to lead, and it always has been. Usually my officers would warn me about spies, but both of them are attending to other matters. I should really assign myself some body guards, especially since the assassins always go right for the Archist. Either way, that was too close. If I die we will lose this battle or worse, I might not be the Archist anymore.

　　 I look down from my horse to the spot that held an enemy just a minute ago. Although his body was now gone, the blood was still lingering on the green grass. Not only there, but all across my uniform too.

　　Good thing our colors are red, maybe no one will notice.

　　I wipe off the red stain from my weapon, and return it to its case. Then I pull on my horse’s reigns and turn him around. The open field behind me would almost look peaceful, if it wasn’t for the raging gunfire, canon shots, and sharp swords being exchanged in the clearing. Even from a distance, the flashing colors of green and red give me a tremendous chill.

　　The soldiers need me, it’s time I got back to the fight.

　　While galloping closer to the rage of war I have time to ponder a plan. Jones will attempt to flank my infantry with calvary.

　　Can I force him to charge right into a trap? No, I don’t have enough men to spare.

　　What if we retreated to a more defendable location? That would probably make matters worse. He would deploy his calvary while we retreated.

　　I look up at the blue sky. Dozens of sleepy clouds roll past without a care in the world. They’re all pretty typical clouds, and this actually surprises me. For a world of creativity, the clouds are kinda dull.

　　I top a ridge to get a clear view of the battle. In front of me lies a flat clearing. There’s a single collection of trees to my left and only a few minor hills here and there. In the center, our red units march to the rythmetic cadence of the fife and drums. Each troop is shoulder-to-shoulder, marching towards their potential death. Some have already begun firing on enemy units and receiving gunfire themselves. To my right a few hundred yards away, our canons are attempting to shell enemy troops.

　　I hear galloping behind me. I can see that it’s my two officers as I turn around.

　　“Where the hell were you?” Sarah barked at me. “We’re kinda losing this battle if you havn’t noticed!”

　　Sarah stood with an awkward complexion, as if puppet strings were controlling her. When she tried to stand with authority it didn’t quite work.

　　My Archist uniform was more finely decorated with gleaming medals in the artificial sun. Even so, Sarah looked much better in her uniform. It went well with her light brown hair.

　　“There was an assassin following me. I decided to lead him away from the main group before killing him. He thought I didn’t notice him, but I proved otherwise.” I boasted. Even though I’d outsmarted my enemy, it didn’t seem right. Half of me wanted to be happy that the assassin missed killing me, but at the same time half of me felt sorry for running my blade through his heart.

　　Sarah didn’t seem to like my answer, but she nodded in acceptance anyway. She never liked to argue.

　　Micheal rode up right behind her with his black hair looking strangely uniform. His shoulders were front, and he had a slight slouch. Mike was uncomfortable with authority, but unlike Sarah he didn’t hide it. What he lacked in power though, he made up with intelligence. There’s no two people I would rather have at my side.

　　“Hey, I think Jones is going to force our calvary before deploying his. They’re forming just behind the infantry.” Mike says.

　　The Windsor High School Archist, Edward Jones, is very clever. Him not wanting to take a risk makes him very conservative with troops. I know I can use this against him, somehow.

　　“How many units do we have left?” I ask.

　　Sarah takes a moment to silently count the losses inflicted so far.

　　Mike cooly lists “Ten infantry units, two canon positions, and three calvary regiments.”

　　Sarah scowls at Mike. I know she’s somewhat jealous of his intelligence, but she’ll never admit it.

　　Mike finally sees Sarah’s gesture. “What?” he asks “What did I do?”

　　Sarah snaps her attention away from Mike and rolls her eyes. “Nothing” she replies.

　　Although Mike seems a little confused, he quickly shakes this off. “So” he begins ”What’s the plan Josiah?”

　　To be honest, I hadn’t really thought of one. That should probably change pretty quick. I look over to the battlefield, where hundreds of people are locked in combat. Gunfire is being exchanged as dead bodies collapse onto ground. More and more fall every second the struggle continues. Each corpse descends in a bloody splatter, then is consumed by the blue flames. It’s obvious we’re losing. Our forces of red are being outnumbered, and outflanked by the green aggressors. If I don’t act soon, we will definitely lose. I can’t accept defeat again. Especially to Jones.

　　This time when I survey the field I focus on enemy positions. Jones was careful not to overextend his troops by putting them in tight clusters. Calvary units are stationed just behind the lines of infantry near the left side of the field just like Mike said. I can probably bait his calvary into the woods and spring a trap. Although I might be leaving myself open for attack since I don’t have enough men.

　　This doesn’t feel like the right choice. Will Jones be able to read my plan? Suddenly, I hear a foreign sounding thought give me another option.

　　Kill the their Archist first! You can’t win as long as he’s alive!

　　My head is spinning as I try to make a decision. I’m never this indecisive. Usually I go with my gut instinct without a second thought. My whole body starts to hurt as I grit my teeth. This one decision will either win or lose me the battle, and I feel like luring is the best option.

　　“Um, Josiah?” Sarah asked. She must of noticed me in pain.

　　“I’m fine.” I say, though I don’t mean it. ”Sarah, take a few of our best sharpshooters into the woods. Hide behind the trees and wait for the enemy calvary. I’ll lead them right to you. Mike, you’re in charge until I get back. As soon as we kill their calvary I want you to charge with our own and route their infantry. Got it?”

　　Both of them nod their head, accepting my orders. Sarah gives a sharp kick to her horse and rides off to collect the men. I do the same, galloping closer to the field than I probably should. I’m reminded of this as a canon ball nearly misses my head. It flies over me and impacts the ground, sending dirt flying in every direction.

　　I near the front lines of the battle. Hearing each shot of the muskets makes me a bit nervous. At any moment a stray musket ball could hit me square in the chest.

　　That wouldn’t be pleasant.

　　I quickly inform a company leader of my plan and glance at the woods behind me. Sarah is already in position with a twenty or so soldiers. All of them are waiting for their prey behind various trees. Now it was my turn to give it to them.

　　“Now!” I cry.

　　The drummer signals a retreat with three loud strikes. Immediately, all of my men turn around and run. I ride at the front to point everyone towards the woods where Sarah waits. When I look back, I can see not only the calvary following, but also the enemy infantry that was just fighting this unit.

　　Damnit, I wasn’t planning on this. Why didn’t I think of that? Sarah had enough manpower to kill the calvary, but not an entire infantry unit. What was I thinking?

　　It’s time for a new plan.

　　I’m going to need more infantry to take out both the enemy calvary and foot soldiers. However, that could be a problem. Horses are much faster means of transportation than running. My men retreating are being cut down left and right by the enemy calvary. I won’t have enough men left to fight by the time we reach the forest.

　　An enormous pain shoots in my right leg before I can think things through. I fall off my horse and land on the ground. I know I’ve been shot, this isn’t good. My leg oozes blood onto the ground. As I try to stand, something catches my eye.

　　Dozens of green uniformed soldiers on the other side of the field are routing the remainder of my army. Although the men on my side were ordered to retreat, those men were not. While I was busy trying to fool Jones, he’d already won the field. I’m helpless to watch as my wound prevents me from getting up.

　　I can’t believe it, I lost.

　　An enemy soldier approaches from behind me. He raises his musket up to my head, and fires.

　　Blue flames engulf me.