1 Introduction: The smell of victory

His begging reached deaf ears for by the time he mustered his last plea his head was already rolling on the ground.

This was nothing out of the ordinary, the screams, the begging, it was always the same. But when under orders, no man was pardoned, no mercy was given and their deaths were another number.

Yet Von felt sick in his stomach, every single time, no forgiveness for the traitors, no pardon for the betrayers of the King. That was what they always said but it made no difference, their tears, desperation, their cries were not those of a monster as they were told but of a human being.

As the body rolled inside the pit, the captain shouted "Freak, clean this up". After seeing Von's disgusted look, he snickered "Cheer up, we won" he said as he walked away from the common pit. The other soldiers walked behind. Von took a last look at his former enemies and with a swift motion of his hand the entire pit lit on fire.

The smell, the putrid, disgusting smell that came from rotting, burning corpses could make anyone vomit yet Von took a deep breath of it.

"This is what death smells like, remember it, take a deep breath of it, only then can you say you've won, when your enemies rotting smell fills your nostrils". His captain had told him and every other soldier when they first arrived to make sure they could get accustomed to a smell that was common in war.

Some would cover their noses, others would put herbs in their nostrils to cover the smell but not Von. For him all this death was meaningless and so as a punishment he would fill his lungs with the crippling reek.