<b>The Attack - Part 1</b><br/><br/>Patience was one of the general’s greatest strengths. Fools rush in and fools die. The general was by no means a fool. They waited, lying alongside the yahnus in the dense undergrowth. Together they watched the light drain from the sky and the fires flare up within the aviary village and the sounds of merriment rise and then slowly fall.<br/><br/>To the general’s right a particularly large bush parted silently and one of the yahnus officers scuttled through it, slipping down beside their masked superior. The officer’s face was completely blackened, save for the calm eyes and unnerving third central orb. He was controlling his temperament well, but the general could tell that he, as with the rest of the yahnus infiltrators were eager to be off.<br/><br/>‘Scouts report that the majority of the settlement are asleep for the night, general.’ hissed the officer quietly. ‘There’s still some movement within the village, but resistance should be minimal. Do we have permission to advance?’<br/><br/>The general pushed themselves up and stared at the village. The fires had started to burn low indeed and almost all sound had ceased to come from the little gathering of raised huts. A throaty sigh rumbled out of the general’s gas mask filter. There was no indecision in the general’s mind. They were simply savouring the moment.<br/><br/>One black-gloved hand rose up from the undergrowth and slashed forwards. The officer smiled, displaying a mouth filled with sharp little canines. A brief salute was snapped and the yahnus scurried away with a swish of his tail.<br/><br/>Secretive calls echoed into the gloom, sounding for all the world like the quiet songs of night jays. They were of course, nothing of the sort. The prearranged bird mimicry was the signal to advance.<br/><br/>In the blink of an eye the empty undergrowth surrounding the village filled with dark shapes as the yahnus soldiers hauled themselves up and out of their hiding places. Close to a thousand well-armed men and women were on their feet and advancing on the unsuspecting little settlement. They didn’t need any rousing speeches or inspirational figures. All that needed to be done was to point them in the right direction and drop their leashes.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center">***​</div><br/>The yahnus barrelled forwards, covering the distance between their forest hideaway and the bird people’s settlement quickly. Their preparation served the infiltrators well, but the sound of a thousand hurried footfalls across the soft earth thundered loudly in the dark. The general followed them, sprinting along with the second wave of yahnus. Unlike like the infiltrators, the general truly did make not a sound, their padded feet stalking rapidly forwards, eager to get into the slaughter.<br/><br/>The pounding feet of the yahnus didn’t take long to rouse some sort of reaction from the village. The general saw a feathered head emerge from one of the huts, wide-eyed with alarm. Before they could scream a warning a black-fletched arrow punched through the bird’s face and pinned the creature to the doorframe. It twitched against the wood before going eerily still.<br/><br/>Then the infiltrators were into the village, spreading out like a black-cloaked cancer. Their blackened blades came out and went hunting for blood. The general followed small group of yahnus into a particularly large hut and drew their own fighting daggers. By the time the black blades were out the dead were already littering the floor.<br/><br/>Most of the glassy-eyed aviary had been fast asleep, never even seeing the sawing blades that had slit their throats. Others however had been roused by the sounds of confrontation and died much more messily than their fortunate kin. The swift yahnus chased them down as they tried to flee, hacking and tearing at unprotected backs.<br/><br/>The rich stink of blood billowed into the air, rich and heady it sung to the general. Screams too, like beautiful music suffused the air. The general joining in the slaughter. Using the daggers like punching knives the general cut a swathe through the petrified bird-folk, hacking limbs away from screaming bodies, slashing eyes and crushing windpipes with vicious punches.<br/><br/>A child’s caterwauling was cut abruptly short as a yahnus female ran the babe through with a jagged long sword. None were spared from the orgy of violence engulfing the small settlement. The old and young alike were put to death, screaming in agony.<br/><br/>The general watched as a crib was upturned and the mewling baby kicked across the room. There were to be no survivors, that was the Kaiser’s order. Smoke began filling the hut as a fire began somewhere in the upper floors and another odour entered the air. The bitter stink of burning feathers and crisping flesh.<br/><br/>It was delicious chaos.<br/><br/>The general stepped out of the burning building and neatly eviscerated a fleeing aviari that got too close to the deadly dancing blades. Everywhere the general looked the nimble yahnus were getting down to their vile work. They clambered up the sides of buildings as easily as if they were a light stroll. Blood ran thick between the huts as the bird people were unceremoniously hacked down, their limbs severed and throats slit from ear to ear.<br/><br/>There was a beautiful choreography to the scene being played out. The soldiers scampered through the night like visions of death, each and every member of the pack eager to wet their blades.<br/><br/>A pregnant aviari fell to her knees beside the general and clutched at the long leather boot, pleading and begging for release. The general looked down at the pathetic, mewling creature and granted the bird woman freedom by stabbing her through the eye with a fighting dagger, spearing her brain upon the hardened steel. It was so easy. The murder was effortless. Within the dark shell of clothes, the general felt the corners of their mouth twisting up into a smile.<br/><br/>The general yanked free the blade and allowed the dead woman to slide limply to the floor. There was a commotion up ahead, deeper into the village. Some of the aviari had evidently roused themselves and found weapons and were attempting to fight back. A small group of them were ringed by a silent mob of yahnus, deftly dancing away from spear thrusts and lunges. They were taunting the petrified birds.<br/><br/>With a grunt, the general sheathed the fighting daggers and pulled out a sleek, long-barrelled pistol. The crowd parted slightly as the yahnus recognised their commander and allowed the masked figure to advance. The general simply levelled the pistol at the noble aviari warriors and pulled the trigger.<br/><br/>Great gouts of green flame erupted into the night as the magical charge propelled bullets forwards. Loud bangs accompanied the shots as escaping gasses vented in lurid displays of smoke. The general fired four times, each twitch of the trigger turning a bird man inside out in a staggering demonstration of power and flying viscera. Crimson blood flooded into the mud and the yahnus, their playthings dispatched with, went in search of another target.<br/><br/>They didn’t have far to go. The outer edge of the village was an outright slaughterhouse, with the soldiers effortlessly cleansing each home of their feathered inhabitants as they worked their wicked way inwards.<br/><br/>A small child, howling for all it was worth shot out of the dark, swooshing along a vine-like line in an attempt to escape. The general tracked the creature lazily with the pistol and just as the child appeared to have reached some semblance of safety pulled the trigger. As the smoke cleared, the general was pleased to see nothing more remained of the youth but shred of red meat dangling from the line.<br/><br/>Still the yahnus came on, surging deeper into the village. They clogged the streets, seeking the targets that the Kaiser had ordered them to hunt.<br/><br/>That elusive prize that they needed to seek and capture alive. The Kaisers orders stated as much. A young girl just turned at the age of maturity, the girl who would fulfil the prophecy the Kaiser feared so much. The general knew all too well that she needed to be taken alive. Intact however, the orders never speculated that much.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>