chapter 3

Chapter 3: An Uninvited Advisor

Morning arrived with tension hanging heavily over the military camp.

Scouts had yet to return.

Food supplies continued to dwindle.

Every passing hour brought them closer to disaster.

Inside the command tent, several commanders stood gathered around a large battlefield map.

The atmosphere was grim.

"If the enemy advances from the western pass, we will be trapped."

"And if they attack from the south?"

"We will lose our remaining supply route."

Neither option was acceptable.

Neither option offered victory.

At the head of the table, Crown Prince Cassian listened in silence.

The arguments blurred together.

Every strategy eventually reached the same conclusion.

Failure.

Then a shout came from outside.

"Something's approaching!"

Instantly, swords left their sheaths.

Several knights rushed toward the entrance.

The Night Captain stepped forward.

"What is it?"

"A beast!"

The tent erupted into movement.

Hands moved toward weapons.

Commanders instinctively stepped closer to the Crown Prince.

A moment later, a flash of white swept through the entrance.

A large bird landed directly upon the war table.

Silence.

The creature was even larger up close.

Its feathers shimmered like woven silver.

Its eyes, green touched with gold, swept calmly across the room.

Not a trace of fear could be found within them.

One knight immediately drew his bow.

"I've never seen such a beast before."

Another nodded.

"It could be dangerous."

"Should we kill it?"

The Night Captain's hand settled on his sword.

The raven ignored them all.

Completely.

As though armed humans were no more significant than blades of grass.

Cassian watched carefully.

For some reason, he recognized it immediately.

The bird from yesterday.

The same white raven.

The same impossible eyes.

The same unsettling intelligence.

The raven stepped forward.

One claw touched the battlefield map.

Then another.

The commanders stared.

"What is it doing?"

No one answered.

Even the raven seemed uninterested in explaining itself.

It lowered its head toward the map.

Studied it.

Then suddenly nudged one of the wooden markers with its claw.

The piece slid across the table.

Several generals frowned.

The bird adjusted another marker.

Then another.

A route.

A position.

A path through the mountains.

Silence filled the tent.

The raven stared at the arrangement for a moment.

Then it looked directly at Cassian.

As if asking whether he understood.

Cassian felt something strange tighten in his chest.

The bird held his gaze for several seconds.

Then, apparently satisfied, it spread its wings.

Before anyone could react, it launched itself into the air and vanished through the entrance.

The silence remained.

One commander finally spoke.

"...Did a bird just criticize our strategy?"

No one had an answer.

Not even Crown Prince Cassian Lucien Valmont.

Yet his eyes remained fixed upon the altered map.

For reasons he could not explain, he found himself considering the route the white raven had chosen.

Why he didn't know he just felt it deep down and herd his every sense scream that this is the one yes...

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