Lady Dhampir
Chapter 188

My Dear Little Sister,

As our army has brought itself much further North than any of our people have ever ventured to, the cold that was harassing us day and night seems to have decided to offer us some leniency as the sight of battle approaches closer. I believe we have to thank the tall, mighty mountains standing between us and the icy winds for that. Who knows what lies behind those giant ladies of stone? We are now sighting the very end of what our Kingdoms maps portray, and my curious nature brings me to wonder about the landscapes those mountains are hiding from us. Would there be more mountains hiding behind, or the other half of this endless forest? Perhaps, in those icy winds, shall we guess the salty tastes of a north sea? Many people have tried to guess, but it is strange that, on our way to war, we have wandered into the path of adventurers, our steps reaching where no others, most likely, have ever gone before us. Or perhaps, without knowing, we are wandering into the steps of some long-lost ancestors of ours... Sadly, it won't be long before my daylight dreaming will have to be replaced by the realities of the battle. As you ought to know by now, we have already suffered our first meetings with the Giants over the past few days. As our scientists had guessed, those creatures are different from humans, both in physical appearance and intelligence. They seem somewhat unaware of their gigantic size and strength, looking surprised each time they tear down some trees in their steps, or find a chunk of our army underneath. The sight of their n***d bodies, although very different from the human or vampire skin you'll probably imagine, is nonetheless quite crude to the eyes. After the first fights, with what is probably some sort of disorganized avant-garde of theirs, we can at least look a bit closer at the reality of the situation, and the real challenge lying before us. Their skin is so thick that it takes strength and a very sharp blade to pierce it, as they don't even feel the scratches of wooden weapons or masses. Although slow, those creatures' size and strength is such that just one blow can defeat many of our men at once, making us all fear each strike.

Just as our history books described, those creatures don't seem to communicate in any way that would make them more human than animal, and truth be told, this is closer to our army fighting beast-like herds of dangerous creatures rather than humanoid, reasonable ones. The one thing we seem to be alike in, though, is to fear the elements of nature, as when the all-mighty cold comes to haunt us at night, those creatures flee to God knows what hideout they have found for themselves, away from our camp. The reports that they were coming down from the mountains, and coming south towards our Kingdom, appears to be partially true. However, if they were really fleeing the cold, it surprises me that those giants, who could cross our lands in just a few days, didn't try to approach closer to our lands. Were they afraid of us? Or were they hoping to reconquer their mountains sometime? Perhaps, were they even too dumb to consider going more south when they had found a habitable land here? The mystery remains full, and I will only hope that it was cold indeed that chased them from their mountains, not something else...

The long weeks away from home make me miss you and my dear wife more than ever. The fact that we have no idea how many enemies we have, or how long this war will last, is the most depressing to my heart. I wish I could call it a day and make my way home, but when night falls, my dreams are haunted by the idea to never see those dear to my heart faced with one of those giants. I know many of us here have now found a deep understanding of the necessity of this war. If just one of those Giants were to get past our lines and somehow make its way to our lands, I dare not imagine what havoc they'd create. The younger ones here, like our brother, may enjoy themselves on the glory of the battlefield, but each evening, when I have to bury my men at dusk, I worry myself sick of the thought of losing more the next day. I have to write long letters to their families, promising their father, brother or son fell in combat in all their dignity, but sadly, there is no real dignity behind Death, Millie. She is a sneaky, relentless, and senseless goddess, who will blindly wipe any man in their prime glory. It is frightening how fast she strikes under the feet and fists of those giants. Even the strongest, wittiest men can fall in a matter of seconds. In their panic, I have even seen some soldiers shoot their comrades, and lost men in the senseless, stupid crossfire. The fear battle instigates, to some men, has been just as much of a murderer as the enemy itself. When we were taught as knights, many had not imagined they would one day face an enemy with no common sense, no dignity, or any sight for battle etiquette. Each Commander leads a terrible fight each day to keep our men in tight ranks, have them follow orders and not lose their senses in battle. Some of our most victorious fights have also been the ones lead with less sense and more instincts.

Irony has it that, perhaps, the hot-headed ones will be the ones to lead victory, as they know when to see and seize an opportunity to strike, while the others will hold their ranks and blindly follow the Commanders', hoping that following each order blindly will lead to their salvation. Those who want to return as heroes will surely be the first ones to die or bring victory, but not all will survive. Sometimes, the battle turns into a giant escape game, where it is up to each man to find their way out and pray they don't get completely crushed under a foot, violently thrown against a tree or a rock, or simply shot by a friendly bullet. Sadly, survival is not an art taught in our training racks.

I hope you will forgive my raw depiction of our daily routine, my little sister. I hope your heart is strong enough to withstand it all, for as a De Crescent Lady you will surely find the reality of the situation more important than my good feelings.

As for what you asked me in your previous letter, I know it is nothing but calumnies towards our vampire soldiers. It makes me red with fury to imagine that someone dares to proclaim such a thing, and plant the seed of doubt in the mind of our patriots. There has been absolutely no such thing in our ranks, I assure you. All vampire soldiers have been exemplary, and if I ever caught sight of one acting in such a monstrous way, I can assure you none of the Commanders would even blink about shooting the fellow down. I believe it is easy to imagine our enemies trying to get the best of this nightmarish situation we are caught in, far from the Capital. As the fights continue day after day, fewer of our men have time to sit and write, leading our people who stayed behind to miscellaneous assumptions.

At least, I can assure you Lucian and I are doing well. Despite his typical recklessness, our brother seems to also have the luck that smiles to the bravest minds. He is getting more and more attention as a thriving young lieutenant, and just the other day, two of our Generals came to me to speak of his bravery. I only wish he'd consider the fright he gives me each time he acts out one of his mad plans, and the growing fear in my heart that, one day, he won't return from one of his bravados.

I also need to inform you, though, that last night our cousin was demoted from his position of Commander of the Fifth Division. The young Count de Hyacinth unfortunately had his legs extremely injured, to say the least, during the battle, and had to step down from his position. To speak frankly, from what I have heard of his state, I am not sure the lad will survive until he makes it back to the Capital. Even if he does, Gabriel will be impaired for life. Regardless of our past issues with our cousins, I feel genuinely sorry for the man. I hope you can bring some assistance to our maternal cousins, Milena, and forget for a few, our differences in the hardships they are currently facing...

We have lost a considerable portion of our food supplies in yesterday's fight, unfortunately, as it was soiled by giant blood and we dare not touch it and risk our health, but thanks to the many hunts that were done before, we have been able to stock enough to at least ensure two more weeks of food for our men. We are also beginning to find more and more tactics to defeat the giants in different ways than fighting, by sending more and more men to spy on their daily habits when we find a group before they find us. As a gentleman, I was feeling a bit restless about the use of such low-handed tactics such as poison at first, but after a surprisingly fair point your husband made about our enemies at home also resorting to such methods without having the excuse of being primal beasts, I hushed that chimerical mind of mine. I am sure you would have approved, too.

I hope those new tactics will help get this war to a close sooner, Milena. I still cherish the hope to be back in time to be the first to hold my dear child upon his or her birth, and embrace my beloved wife to let her know how proud I am of her. Once again, I shall conclude this letter by the hope my wife and you continue to take good care of each other. I can only imagine you are doing your very best to keep me far from the worries of your heart and lighten my burden, but please remember you're just as dear to your older brother. As you'll have understood, I cannot promise when I will be able to fulfill my fraternal duty and write to you again but rest assured, my dearest Millie, you'll be on my mind always until the next one. Sincerely Yours,

Valentin Antoneus De Crescent.