Ambrose knelt behind a bank of snow, his prey in his sight. The deer was nibbling bark off of a nearby tree, completely oblivious to it's approaching death.
   Ambrose knew that if he didn't make the kill, his village might go hungry for days afterwards. In the middle of winter, deer was a rarity, and in recent times, anything, even a rodent, was considered a blessing. The kingdom of Airad was starving, and already several villages were rumored to have died of hunger.
   He hefted his spear, feeling it's weight. The wind blew drifts of snow over the thin layer of ice that covered everything. The woods were completely quiet, apart from the wind, his breath, and the sounds of the deer tearing bark off the tree.
   Ambrose stood. As soon as his head cleared the top of the snow bank, he threw the spear, his aim perfect, the spear driving through the deer's eye. And the silence was not disturbed.
   He walked through the deep snow till he reached his kill. He yanked out the spear and cleaned it in the snow. He then proceeded to bind the carcass and make it easier to carry.

   Cruel eyes watched the young hunter. Just as the deer had been, the boy was completely unaware of his approaching death.
   Light feet hardly broke the snow as armored beings stalked the boy from every direction.
   Darius's lips curved up in a thin smile. He had expected his journey to be uneventful, but this hunt made it worth it. Back home, he would never have been allowed to freely stalk the townspeople.
   At that moment, one of his men made a mistake. The crack of a broken twig echoed through the empty forest like thunder. Darius watched the hunter's head snap up and catch sight of the warriors closing in around him. He stood up abruptly and opened his mouth to yell, but never got the chance. One of the warriors leapt forward and grabbed the boy around the throat, effortlessly lifting him off the ground. He spat and fought, but it wasn't long before another warrior pushed his sword through the youths chest from behind.
   Darius stepped from the shadows and watched with satisfaction as the terror on the boy's face was replaced by emptiness. When the sword was withdrawn, the warrior let the body drop and seized the deer. Already, the others had disappeared, leaving behind no trace.
   When Ambrose was found, there were no clues, except that he had died on a sword. How this happened, nobody knew. His spear would be found a few feet away, snapped in half. Even after his body was removed, the red stain in the snow remained, an would stay there until the next blizzard, or the thaw. It would be determined that the sword wound was in fact caused by an animal, and the boy's death was nothing but an accident.
   They would never learn the truth. When the thaw finally came, and travelers struck out again, merchants would find only corpses remaining at the village, most slaughtered, some of hunger. All showed signs of torture. But no trace could be found of the attackers.
   Life would move on, and the village would be burned down to make room for fields. People believed the threat was over. But Darius knew the truth.
   The invasion had begun.