Hero

CHAPTER 5: ELEANOR I

The thought of dying fighting for the rebellion meant nothing to Eleanor Ferindale. She had been fighting her whole life alongside her father Berwyn. He was a fearless warrior that had fought for the freedom of the slaves of Faremoor his entire life against the notoriously sadistic sociopath Lord Juxley. Berwyn was the chief of the resistance and so had little time to spend with his daughter other then their training sessions.

Eleanor did not mind this though as she herself was a strong fighter. Her weapon of choice was an ordinary sword for close combat or the recurve bow thar she was given as a present from her grandfather before he sailed away from Fardawn to the continent Doneria. That was one of the only times she had met her mysterious relative from her mothers side of the family.

Growing up in the resistance hadn't been easy for Eleanor. She had very few friends with very little to do accept practice hunting with her bow. The Evermoor Woods was just outside Faremoor and it is where she had lived her entire life.

Berwyn threw a sword to Eleanor who caught it one handed. She smiled taking a swing at him but he ducked under it kicking her in the leg. A shriek of pain was heard through the forest. Berwyn walked over to his daughter and spat on her as she held her leg injured on the floor.

"You call that fighting, you wouldn't last ten minutes in Faremoor."

He began to walk off but Eleanor called after him saying, "You win wars not by being a good fighter but be being a good tactician."

He stood puzzled until out of no where his leg got sliced at the back. He let out a moan but then started laughing in a deep voice. Behind him stood Ramsey Dunstorm, the youngest member in the rebellion and Eleanor's best friend.

Eleanor walked over to help lift her father to his feet, "Seems like you have got worse over time old man."
Suddenly Ramsey pointed the blade at her. Berwyn stood up pushing her back to the ground.

"You win wars by having inside information and by fighting dirty. I bribed your friend Ramsey here to help me and not you before we began training this morning. I offered him his first horse."

Berwyn shook his head at his daughter and walked off. Ramsey walked over to Eleanor and offered her a hand to stand up but she hit him standing up herself.

"Oi, what was that for?" Shouted Ramsay wiping the blood off his hand.

"Maybe for betraying me and humiliating me in front of my own father. I thought you were meant to be my friend not his?" Replied Eleanor in an angry tone.

"I am your friend, which means I don't want you to die, meaning you have to be put through the toughest training possible if you want to survive the next raid on Faremoor."

Eleanor nodded saying goodbye to Ramsey and sitting down at the edge of the river. She would always come here after hours of training to get away from it all. To listen to the birds in the trees singing to one another, the sound of the river water splashing up against the rocks and the sound of no fighting. This was the sound she liked the best. This was the sound that she always wanted to hear.

* * *

Eleanor arrived to the large fire that all the rebels where huddling round. She sat next to her father and the deputy of the rebellion, Nargor. He smiled at Eleanor with his mouth that was covered in scars.

"Do you know how I got these scars pet?"

Eleanor shook her head, "In a fight?"

Nargor chuckled, "I killed Lord Juxleys bitch of a mother, ripped off her nose and forced it down her throat with my bare hands, After that the slave masters found me, tortured me to get answers about the rebels hiding place, then out..."

"Of no where your chains get released because your leader saved your ass," laughed Berwyn leaning over to join in the conversation.

The pork that had been cooking was given out to the rebels and Berwyn stood in front of them all about to say a speech he prepared.

"We have fought for over fifty years to save our brothers and sisters. In that time we have saved over one thousand men but how many men have we lost because of those bastards who sit drinking red wine fucking every moving thing they see. We're down here starving and they're up there eating are meals and slaughtering our men. It is time to end this. We have just under a month left to prepare. The slave masters are going across the border for trade purposes giving us the perfect opportunity to cease the city and take something of theirs away from them like they took our brothers and sisters. I am done hiding in the fucking woods. We fight now and we save our people!"

Everyone around the fire let out an almighty cheer. Even Eleanor had a smile on her face.