Unlike other buildings he had seen so far, the flooring of the barracks and training grounds were made of stone blocks of uniform shape and sizes. Lars imagined that this was to ensure the flooring would last under the weight and pressure of martial training and heavy movements.

Gatyon stood in the middle of the hall facing Lars and breathed deeply before beginning the lesson.

"Before we begin, you must know a little about the history of Fetch homestead and our land, the Northern Reaches." Gatyon smiled proudly as he told Lars of their heritage pa.s.sed down for centuries.

Nearly half a millennium ago, the ancestors of the homestead had been settlers and explorers led by a landless n.o.ble, Baronet Fetch, striking out northwards in search of new fertile lands. Drawn onwards by the promise of ruling over their own fief of land that would be pa.s.sed down for generations, the progenitors of the Fetch settlement had trekked through an arduous journey crossing into the wild untamed regions beyond the northern border of the Instedt Empire.

This involved traversing the rocky, semi-mountainous region that served as the established border of the Empire until they found a safe route to cross the highlands - a route that came to be called Trailblazer's Path.

Gatyon also explained that the Northern Reaches weren't a well-defined area, but rather a name used to refer to the entire unexplored northern lands. The Fetch homestead was eventually established as a frontier settlement in a highly fertile valley with natural water supplied in the form of multiple streams and rivers. Further north, east and west were the Nogan Heights, a seemingly unending mountain range of icy, blizzard-rife peaks - a no-man's land.

The closest city to the south was Nogan's Rest, a heavily fortified stronghold serving as a garrison point to patrol and strike out against roaming bandits, wild beasts and most of all, the goblins, orcs and other savage dwellers of the Northern Reaches. The patrols also stimulated trade, with many caravans of supplies plying the trails between Nogan's Rest and the homestead.

They would bring abundant supplies of wheat, corn and other agricultural produce south and transport weapons, supplies and other wares from the city back to Faro.

The Faro homestead had been home to many settlers, explorers, hunters and those seeking a new lease on life. Gatyon's own great-great-grandparents had migrated here some 200 years ago in search of a better life - and had settled down to be one of the influential families of the homestead.

"Alas... These are all stories of the past..." Gatyon's boisterous mood fell glum as he reached this point.

"15 or so years ago, things started to change."

"At first, everything seemed the same. Children were happily playing in the streets, there would be the occasional hunt organised to clear out groups of wild beasts, sometimes trouble with the demi-humans...  The Darkness was an age-old legend! Something told to unruly children to coax them to bed. Things were fine and good! And Katya was still..."

Gatyon drifted off, his body still, gaze distant and lost in the memories of yesteryears.

It took a few moments before he shook off his dreamy state and continue with a wistful smile.

"...News of unrest in the south began to trickle in. News of... Of civil war. Rumours were rife, so we didn't know for sure what started it all. Perhaps it was a power struggle between royal brothers? Perhaps the Emperor had pa.s.sed on? Who knows!"

"What we did know was only through the peddlers and travellers who visited Fetch. But somehow, before we noticed it, the caravans stopped coming. We had no more news from the south, no more contact with civilisation."

"Things started to change... Strange things started to happen. We sent our own caravans out to the south, but they would inexplicably disappear - not a trace or a word to be heard once they left. More beasts and animal appeared, enough that we could not afford the manpower to guard every field - we had to abandon many farms and homes further away from the settlement."

"That was also when the Darkness emerged..."

"The strange occurrences were finally too much for the people to bear. After a few batches of travellers were lost trying to contact Nogan's Rest, the council was worried. They decided to a.s.semble a team of twenty, comprised of the most capable hunters, warriors and trackers. This elite team was led personally by the leader of the homestead, Lord Seth, the Captain of the Warriors, Captain Vis and Elder Mash'noth's head disciple, Saint Ren..." Gatyon paused here, appearing heavy-hearted and with a look of regret.

"...Lord Seth is - *was* Milady Zera's father, while Captain Vis was Katya's brother, both stalwart and fearless men; men who lived with the greatest honour and dignity... Men who would rather die than betray the homestead...!"

"...And I... I was a rising star among the hunters and warriors. I volunteered to go with them..."

"I..." Gatyon eyes grew sorrowful; grew haunted.

"I promised Katya, I'd take care of her father... That we'd come back with good news, come back safe and sound..."

"We parted with an embrace, and, and..." Gatyon's voice choked up and he shook his head, wiping his face, coming back to the present. He paused, growing quiet.

"...The first two days of the journey were strange. We encountered nothing. Nothing at all..."

"No goblins..."

"No birds..."

"No animals..."

"Not even the insects that were ever-present in the wooded lands..."

"I remember... Remember how the silence began to get to us. The second night was still fine; but by third, the fourth, the fifth... People began to grow uneasy, sleeping closer together and we realised that something was not right."

"A team would go out to scout daily, going ahead to check the path. By right, the whole journey to the southern highlands should have taken only 7 days - and by the fifth day, we should have left the forest... But the scouts returned every night and claimed that there was only forest in every direction for hours..."

"But it was only on the sixth night that we realised that things were terribly, terribly wrong..."

"On the sixth night, the scouts returned..."

Lars felt the atmosphere around Gatyon change at that point, eyes narrowing as he listened closely.

"Only... It wasn't them anymore..."

"They had changed to become... Creatures of the Taint."

"When they returned, they acted normal at first. But the moment we settled down for the night and slept... The two scouts... The *monsters* changed... With their same, smiling faces, with their warm and kind smiles, they, they--"

"They began to bite and tear apart everyone around them with unnatural strength... Strength beyond even their cultivated powers..."

"Worst of all, how could we bear to harm our beloved Captain Vis? He... Had been like a father to us all..."

"Those of us with stronger Earth Pulse working together were a match for them, but they neither grew tired nor could any injury stop them... They wouldn't stop, they would keep on clawing, biting, kicking and stabbing us with their weapons... Even as they spoke warmly, calling out to us..."

"They wouldn't stop no matter what, not even..." Gatyon trembled when he reached this point.

"...Not even when I cut off Captain Vis' head..."

Gatyon's face wrinkled as he shut his eyes tightly, fighting the tears and the memory.

"I remember... His kind smile, his look of shock and horror when he saw my blade slicing towards his... His neck..."

"He cried out! He called out to me, even as he tore apart our brothers and sisters! He spoke to me...! "Gatyon! Son of my heart! Why! Why must you kill me?" he asked!"

"I nearly stopped, but I, I had to do it... I had to kill the man -  her father - the one I had promised to protect and bring back safely...!"

Lars could feel the man's sorrow, regret, guilt; a wide range of emotions and hurts flowing through him. He waited, not sure how to comfort him. He had always been a warrior, a soldier - Lars' had no confidence in being a confidant or counsellor.

Gatyon smiled at Lars, one of resignation yet with grim determination as he continued.

"We discovered that only Saint Ren's Divine Light could suppress them, burning and searing their bodies. However, it seemed that nothing short of burning them to death with Divine Light would work... And... How... How could we burn Captain Vis...? We needed to bring him back, try to cure him. Even if Saint Ren could not, perhaps Elder Mash'noth had a way...! She surely had a way to cure them! With that belief as the motivation, we subdue Captain Vis and Alice, tying them up with thick ropes. But that was not before 3 of us were killed and half a dozen heavily wounded."

"With the team badly injured, shaken and needing treatment so badly, we dared not continue onwards, not without knowing what it was that had turned the scouts who forged ahead. Lord Seth commanded for us to retreat back to Faro homestead as quickly as possible with the two Tainted scouts as captives."

"The journey back seemed smooth. We covered good ground in 3 days... But there was always a fear and tension in the air - a sense that someone, some *thing* was watching us. That and the threat of the two depraved scouts, kept us awake night after night, so much that we reached the point of exhaustion..."

"While fearful of the night, we never expected that the next attack would come in broad daylight."

"A group of more than 10 deformed, rabid goblins burst from the ground beneath us, with the same tell-tale insanity as the other Tainted ones... Along with..."

"The fallen brothers and sisters who we had buried just a few days ago..."

"We fought valiantly, but it was impossible. 10 regular goblins would have been wiped out easily, but we were so badly hurt, so weakened from lack of sleep that we just couldn't fight back... And against those undying goblins, against the mad attacks of our own fallen companions... It was hopeless."