It was a dark and cold night. Below the slopes of Mount Praetorous, a dozen men sat in silence around a campfire. They are cold and tired having marched for days with little rest and battle awaits them at dawn.

Judeau moved closer to the fire, his fingers trembling from the cold. Across from him, Pippin rubbed his hands together and spoke.

“Have you heard from the scouts? They say the enemy have three times our numbers.”

Everybody stayed silent. They already knew that the enemy was stronger, better supplied, and well-rested. While they came to the enemy territory already tired and with their supplies running low.

Corkus finally broke the silence. He was former bandit leader before he joined the group. “Cheer up. Have we ever lost a battle? It’s just numbers. We’ve beaten worse odds before.”

“Yes, we haven't lost yet. But we haven't faced odds this bad before.” Judeau, a former circus performer with a skill in knife-throwing, replied rather quickly.

Pippin, a massive man who wielded an equally massive mace tried to put a brave face. “We’ll make it through, right?” His voice cracked. “We always do.”

"Don't be discouraged! Corkus shouted. “We are the Dawnbringers! Our leader is Heloise d' Armand, her strength and beauty led us to countless victories! I trust her with my life!”

The others nodded slowly, suddenly encouraged. The confidence in their leader bouyed their courage.

Suddenly, the camp went silent as Heloise d'Armand showed up. She stood in a small hill, in armor and sword in hand.

"Dawnbringers! Listen to me!"

The murmurs stopped, and all eyes turned to her.

"I know that you are afraid. I see the doubt in your eyes, the weariness in your limbs. We are about to face a difficult battle, against enemies that outnumber us!"

She let her words sink in and continued.

"But the Chaos Empire have made a mistake. They believe numbers alone can defeat us. They believe fear can rule us. But they do not know who we are! We are the Dawnbringers and we haven't lost a battle, no matter the odds!"

Her fist clenched, sword held high as her voice rose.

"We fought countless battles, shed a lot of blood, but we are still here--undefeated and unbroken! We do not fight for survival alone, we fight for each other and for Praetoria!"

Somewhere beyond Mount Praetorous, the Tovingor Kalamenty army stand ready for battle. Well rested and equipped, their morale was high, waiting for the sunrise which will signal the start of battle.

Somewhere further, a voice started whispering to Heloise d'Armand, promising victory against impossible odds. "Trust me." the voice of Uul seductively whispered...

Heloise the Hollow

Credits

Images were created with Night Cafe Studio.
Names and some backstories of mercenaries were derived from the "Band of the Hawk", an ill fated mercenary group from the Berserk manga.