Chieftain Araish. The Silver-Haired Princess. The First-Born Princess. The Silver Demon.

All were the names she was either formerly or currently known by. She retained the same identity she was born with, yet in her lifetime there was no certainty that anyone would remember her for any noteworthy events in history.

No one would remember her in this moment of history that was being made.

The men before her were otherworldly to put it bluntly. Their attire was comprised of more natural colors. They held no steel plats or leather guards for their bodies, instead an earthly colored or multi-colored vest laid across their chests and abdomens. Weapons unlike those she has seen before were lightly shined in the dark room. The tan coloring was worn, black splotches began to reveal themselves making the obvious notion that these soldiers were proficient in the art of war, and each had seen it for an unknown amount of time.

With a pool of blood under her heels, all the Princess could do was look in awe at the three men before her. She had encountered their counterparts much earlier in the chamber used for the ancient ritual, yet her first encounter successfully negotiated and prevented any blood from being shed. Though this was most in part due to the others being surrounded and disoriented from the start, she did not expect the situation to escalate.

Eleven holes. Clean cut holes that tore through flesh like an expertly crafted knife to a slab of meat. The soldier below her, a now deceased member of the Royal Guard, had experienced a new form of warfare both unfamiliar and familiar.

Muskets. A tool invented for the purpose of engaging an enemy at range. Musketeers held similar jobs to that of the archers, yet most of their positions were more ceremonial than combat related. Though such weaponry had been effective in the hands of farmers and local townspeople, when used in a established an organized military, the cons for such weapons outweighed the positives. Yet here these three men stood. The man on the right had caught the Princess attention. What looked to be vapor escaped the end of the musket-like weapon he held. His face was covered by a mask not familiar to her, yet she could see the pained expression he wore as he watched her stand over the body.

Moments ago, she had introduced herself to the three men. It did little to ease their tension, as all three remained in a hunched position of caution, yet the possibility to speak was now established, and the masked man to the left spoke as he brushed his hand over his weapon.

“Princess Leccamaradel?” The man through his mask. “Captain Oliver Thompson of the United States Army. Mind if I ask some questions?”

Swallowing in confusion, Lecca recomposed herself as she answered the question posed by the captain, “Of course. Though we shouldn’t spend too much time here, so please keep it brief.”

Nodding his head, Captain Thompson looked around the room gaining several questionable comments from the knights behind the Princess before speaking, “Now under normal circumstances me and my men would immediately question why a civilian would be interfering with a US sanctioned operation in a foreign nation, but by the look of things, it would be safe to say that the United States of America nor the Islamic Republic of Pakistan does not exist as of this moment?”

Taking a moment to process the question presented, Lecca provided an acceptable answer, “Here a kingdom or nation known as the “United States of America” and “The Islamic Republic of Pakistan” does not exist. To put it bluntly you and your men were summoned, thus your former identity no longer exists.”

Behind Captain Thompson the two other men exchanged a confused glance upon hearing the explanation provided by the Princess. “I see.” Thompson began again, “Now the condition of my men? I hope that they are in good health? I have been unable to communicate with them for the past thirty minutes.”

“The other men? We have them currently taking refuge within one of the man guest rooms within the castle. All I can assure is that they were in perfect health, and none were stripped of their equipment upon their arrival to the room, but beyond that I cannot speak for the members of the Royal Guard.”

“I understand.” Thompson said coolly while removing his hand from his weapon, “For now we’ll cooperate with you and your forces to avoid any unnecessary killings, but know that if my men identify any threat, we will persecute it in our own manner.” He warned.

“Then be it. The only thing I request is that the Great Sage will be released.” Lecca said firmly.

Turning around Captain Thompson nodded his head to the man with his boot on the Great Sage. In return the man knelt and brough out a knife to cut the restraints. With the Great Sage practically being pushed back to the guards and Princess, the three men stood in a triangle formation and waited to depart.

Lecca momentarily gazed at the men and their professionalism. They shared many traits with the Royal Guard, yet their purpose was completely different. The Guard main job was to protect the Royal Family, and to protect any diplomatic envoys being made by the kingdom or being sent by another nation. From her observations the men she had the chance to speak to were akin to light infantry, or a different type of calvary troopers that were known for participating in direct action missions in the old ages.

Looking upon the man who shot the guard earlier, Lecca wondered why he wore a pained expression upon her entry to the room. Though such questions would have to be asked later as she and the remaining escorts prepared to leave to the room the otherworldly men occupied.

With the dirtied boots of the men she was guiding, and the steel-plated boots of the guards she was being escorted by, each man walked the velvet red carpets of the lower underground storage area of the castle at a brisk pace. Upon reaching ground level, a flood of light from the sun pooled into the large foyer they had now entered. Around the stone and wooden castle, maids, butlers, and guards strolled about preforming their daily tasks, each one stopped momentarily to gaze upon the newcomers, but were soon waved off by the Princess.

Captain Thompson chuckled and made several remarks to what he witnessed much to the annoyance of the guards, but he kept himself in check as he attempted to explain that his “world” had similar displays in the past. Other than a comment made by one of the more interested guards, he was mostly ignored as the group reached the room where his men were quartered in.

With the three men calling out to their brothers in arms, any hostility that would’ve been directed to the Princess and her escorts seemingly vanished as the men entered the room. With Captain Thompson and the other two he was with demasking themselves, the men exchanged greetings through hand gestures and other bodily motions.

“Sergeant Randall!” A soldier that went by the name “Green” approached the soldier that shot the guard, “We all heard gunshots not to long ago? Did something happen down there?”

The smile that Randall had from seeing his brothers faded slightly as he unconsciously hovered his hand above his handgun, “Well, we had no choice in the manner as we were being threatened, but nothing major happened, and besides we’re all in one piece.”

Lecca watched the exchange between the two and she mentally questioned what their history was.

“Not to bring it up, but how are you feeling? It hasn’t been long since…” Randall said before cutting himself off with a grim look on his face.

“Since Ramirez died?” Green said nonchalantly with a growing frown, “I can’t say that I’m 100 percent, but it won’t affect me for now. We still have to much to worry about at the moment.” Green said while motioning his head towards their current eavesdropper.

Noticing the two men looking at her with concerned gazes, Lecca grew lightly flustered as she averted her gaze looking for something to keep her mind. Though she had no time to dwell on the many questions that occupied her mind, as Captain Thompson walked up to her with an apathetic look.

“It seems that your truth held Ms. Leccamaradel.” Thompson began as he folded his arms over his chest. “Now I’m going to be blunt; what does your nation have planned for us? You mentioned that we were summoned, correct?”

Thompson’s words were direct and held ire as he addressed the Princess.

“Correct. There is a reason why we have summoned you all. Your questions will be answered upon your visit to the king, may I suggest that you all rest for now?” Lecca said.

“What the hell are we supposed to do in then?” The man named Randall asked.

“If you wish to explore the castle, all I ask of you is for you to leave your weapons here, and for you to be accompanied by either a guard or maid.” Lecca stated as she reached out her hand, “I would be willing to give a tour to a few of your men right now.”

Glancing over his shoulder, Thompson took his gloved hand and rubbed it against the miniscule amount of hair that had began to grow on his chin. He contemplated his options as he looked at his battered men. Each had just been through hell, and he wasn’t willing to put any of them at risk, yet it was imperative for him to learn more about the place they ended up in ever since they were able to escape the white void.

Sergeant Randall felt a bead of sweat roll down the side of his head as he and Lieutenant Patterson were chosen to take the tour offered by the Princess. As he passed his carbine to Green, Randall almost felt reluctant about leaving with the Princess as the cold metal left his hands. Though he had his handgun on him, he questioned if the stopping power of the .45 ACP would be enough to get him out of harm’s way.

Turning around to walk with the Princess, Randall studied her appearance. Silver hair, a slim body, and what looked to be a blue silk dress that hugged her womanly features; Randall took a deep breath as Lieutenant Patterson patted him on the back.

“Hey lets go.” He said calmly, yet his voice seemed strained, “This is just an intel op. Keep it together, yeah?”

All Randall could do was shake his head in agreement once more.

The large wooden doors shut behind the four figures that exited the room. Both Rangers, the Princess, and a lone guard gathered at the entrance. Tension built as the guard kept his hand on the handle of his blade, Patterson mimicked his actions and perched his arm on his thigh holster which contained his handgun.

“Now before we start, I would like to ask you a question.” Lecca spoke as she directed her voice to Randall who shrugged indifferently, “You are obviously apart of a military organization, what do you do?”

Patterson steeled himself to answer the question, but he was cut off by the Princess who doubled down on her question as she stepped forward to the Sergeant, her hair fluttered due to her sudden movement and she held a curious, yet annoyed scowl. Feeling a light headache, Randall decided to calm the Lieutenant and answer the question posed by the Princess.

“Sergeant Mike Randall, E-5 in the United States Army, and a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment.” He said firmly, “As the army’s premier light infantry unit, we specialize in direct action missions behind enemy lines.”

“Hey-” Patterson once again try to stop Randall, yet he was stopped by a pat on the shoulder.

“If I’m not mistaken you mentioned that we were summoned here.” Randall scrunched his face as he said this, “Not that I don’t believe it, but you would have to understand that such an idea is merely fiction from where we come from.”

Lecca soon took a step back and nodded in understanding as she turned around, her dress sweeping up just an inch. “Indeed. You were all summoned her as Holy Knights. Such a position lets you answer to the king directly.” She said before walking away with a gesture for the two to follow.

Publicly Available Information: Muskets:

Used by Musketeers, and designated members of the Royal Guard, the musket is a muzzle-loaded long, smoothbore long gun that was invented in the early 1400’s.

Using a finely powdered version of a mana crystal, the Musket can shoot up to five balls before being needed to be reloaded. Yet due to mechanical restraints and materials available, the musket is not known for being reliable in ranged combat.