Fantastic+Setting

Ettohl brought himself to the other side of the basement, surrounded by walls of light brown illuminated by oil lamps. He approached the empty rectangular window and gazed out to the landscape. It was snowing very softly, and peaceful in the nighttime, but disruptions of the flicker of the rifle fire changed the mood. He was 9 years old, and the age's naivety caused a twinkle in his eyes. There was a battle ahead. Gunshots were heard, and a mortar blast exploded out in the middle of the snow-consumed field. Tall ruined buildings made of concrete were submerged in this snow ocean, with it's white was illuminating the black, bombed out structures standing upon it. And so was the scene of the besieged plateau city of Belamir.

More gunshots were heard. About 400 yards away, the armies prepared an offensive. The soldiers to Ettohl's right wore blue shakos on their heads, with dark blue coats and a dark red 'x' across their chests. They had well-functioning muskets. These troops were from the Country of Annion. Opposite were the Khoretts, and like the Annions were adorned with shakos, only black, as were their coats also. Cannon and mortar fire began in random waves. The field was placed with scattered explosions and the continuous rising smoke of the muskets. The Annions began charging for the Khorretts. Bodies were flung upon the mortar explosions, and the Khoretts fired the muskets from a fine line of trenches and barricades. Cannon fire from the Annions attempted to provide the infantry units with a fearful and distracted enemy. Walls fell off the buildings in large speedy chunks. More chaos and cannon fire trickled the area, and all around it.

Paul addressed Ettohl from the distance. "Ettohl, we've run out of food." Paul walked over, and Ettohl approached more slowly. "Us 3 are too busy helping these wounded. We are in need of a restock. Its a 40 minute travel, there and back. It must be you." Ettohl closed his eyes under the news, and gave himself a disappointed and frightened sigh. This was hopefully the last time he had to do this. He never ran into any trouble before, and he had done it 6 times in the past, so he anticipated that he wouldn't get caught.

By the time he started to get ready, the battle in the distance had ended, and the Annions had retreated, and the same dead silence returned to the streets. He put on his heavy clothes and went outside into the snowy night. He traversed through the city buildings, taking the abandoned trenches in the middle of the street as usual. Coming upon a special hole in the building he takes a route through, he exited the trench and crossed the rest of the street. He slipped through the ruined building, which didn't have much cover, as there were many holes in the sides and countless numbers of collapsed rooms. He reached the corner of the building, and took a survey of the street in front of him. Seeing no one, he crossed left to the side of another building, temporarily in full view in the middle of the street, which had formed a solid snow surface, 12 feet deep. Clinging to the wall, Ettohl took a few paces, and went into a store entrance. He knew the rooms, and walked through the storage room into the alleyway, and entered into yet another building. This was an apartment, and he traveled down the long, narrow, dark hall into one of the last rooms on the left, numbered 368. Coming into the apartment, Ettohl went upstairs and went to the familiar balcony on the second floor, which was level with the snow ground. He recognized it; the courtyard. Still dead silent, empty, and cold, he began walking and sticking to the sides of the building and avoiding the middle ground.

He stopped in horror. "Gunshots." he said to himself. Artillery began roaring in the distance. Ettohl quickened his pace, and gradually started to run, his heart pounding outside of his chest. He was panting out of nervousness, not out of the cold. A loud thud in the distance.

It was clunky. He heard it's steam hissing like a geyser. He ran at his full speed.

Across from him at the other end of the courtyard a giant pod like machine with tentacle legs burst through the building, sending chunks of brick flying through the air. A cannon shot from the other side. It missed the machine, which fired back it's own cannons which were unsheathed by a metal covering. The eruptions caused Ettohl to fall over, almost helpless. From the opposite side of the machine cannons fired from atop the courtyard buildings, and Annion soldiers began running from the streets and shooting their muskets, taking cover amongst the snow piles. Just then another machine approached alongside its companion, and out of the rubble of the entrance more Khorett soldiers came sprinting along.

Ettohl clenched his head, and picked himself up. He sprinted across the plain. Annion tanks rode approached and fired at the great machines. Soldiers were arriving at the hundreds. Muskets screamed and the machines were hit by a number of cannon blasts. An Annion tank rode closer to the machine and fired its cannon. With great effort the machine clunkily lifted its leg up and sent it down. The tank was absolutely crushed.

Etthol was panicked. He managed to get himself into a building and began running through it. Bullets hit the walls around him and he blindly sprinted into the next room. For the next 5 minutes, Ettohl ran through the buildings with no thought. He was behind Annion lines now, but the battle's chaos still consumed the area around him.

There it was, he thought. The hill. He climbed up it, slowly, viewing the battle down below. Finally. He entered the civilian base through the front door, which stood at the center of the building, which was very bland, and had no windows. Orange light seeped through the cracks of the door, and contrasted to dark blue snowiness of the night.

He opened the door without a knock. He recognized the faces. "I've come here for food. My companions need another stock."

They looked at Ettohl with sorrow. "Your building has been destroyed. A cannon barrage collapsed it."

Ettohl looked out. The building was decimated. "Oh no." Stunned, he paced over into the center of the room and sat down at one of the wooden tables. They laid a bowl of soup for him, not saying a word. He stared into his food.