It was going to be a long day, a once green and luscious field was trampled, stained red and brown, littered with the bodies of felled enemies and friends. Alucard looked over the field while his body trembled in rage. Mostly at himself. How had an entire army just snuck up on him? With his network of Shadows acting as a unique warning system that had never failed before. Not once! It was a failure that Alucard took extremely personal. He was soon joined by four Fledgeling and the King. Alucard set out hatchets in front of the Fledgeling.
"I want you four to go south to the forest and get lumber, lots of it. Each of you fell three trees, then the chop them up and carry the lumber back. If something seems off or out of the ordinary, run. Come straight to me like I am your father. Don't stop until you are at me for any reason. Do you all understand?" The four boys nodded. It was probably unnecessary to tell them to do so, all these boys were of the age to take the Rite of Shadows, they had at least one successful field operation, therefore they had the common sense enough to know if they should run or stand and fight. And they had the understanding that a war without a victor was just waged.
Soon after the boys went off the king spoke up, "anything you need me to do?" Alucard shook his head, this man was either a father or grandfather figure to the entire guild. He had kind brown eyes with white hair and a white Van Dyke that was peppered with some of the darker colors that he once had. Old King Kinder, that was the name given to him, and at nearly 112 years old, it fit him. The powers afforded to him allowed the old man to have the body hand mindset of someone in their sixties despite the fact that he was almost twice that.
"When they get the majority if the lumber up here, have them arrange it into a pyre, make it as big as you can, then have them soak it in half the oil. After that, they can go down below, for now, note down any names I call out to you, for they are confirmed dead." The King Kinder nodded, despite the fact that Alucard held a lower "rank" then he, the old man understood difference between his leadership as a figurehead, and Alucard's back breaking day in and day out running of the Vigilant in order to see it run smoothly.
With orders issued, Alucard went out to the field. The stench of death was thick. It was all the Shtahl could do to keep from gagging. The Master Shadow went to a nearby corpse and turned it over. Sickly pale skin and an unfamiliar face looked up at him unseeing. Alucard stood and dragged the body towards the nearby cliff. Far below, turbulent waters churned against the cliff side. Soon, the corpse of a member of Cleara Verdad splashed into the water, joined by many, many more as the day played out.
Alucard worked tirelessly, hour after hour, until midday. By then, a pyre had been built and filled with fallen shadows, and the nearby ocean had turned into a watery mass grave for the fallen members of Cleara Verdad. The fields behind the temple were still stained red, but that would wash away with the coming storms. With the aid of Rangers who came to pay some final respects, the last of the fragrant oil was splashed over the massive funeral pyre before a call was sent out. Anyone who wanted to attend the lighting ceremony were invited to come and give a vigil for the fallen, and after sunset when the pyre was lit, all non-urgent duties were to be suspended.
Alucard sat atop a crumbling pillar, he was told there had been reports of a leak in the underwater river basin that fed the city's water supply. He was then told that the reports were a false alarm but it had led to finding out that an aqueduct was beginning to fall apart, so in the coming days there would be a need to repair it, and such tasks were already being set in motion. It made him somewhat proud that the city was able to see the problem and know what to do in order to fix it. Alucard decided that if Rowan didn't show up for the lighting of the Pyre, then he would leave, he had his fill with corpuses today.
