-Steelheart Saga-

Chapter I - Cleave & Splinter

Across the barren, decayed wastes of a ghost town marched one of the rarest creatures in all the world. An Elven Knight wandered alone through the shallow husk of a village lost to time. On her face was an unmoving scowl. A ghastly scar stretched from one cheek to the other, crossing the strait of her nose. The caressing winds blew her messy, cherry red hair to one side, her mint green eyes faintly piercing through the gaps in her bangs when she came to a stop. The lone warrior grasped the hilt of the massive greatsword on her back, its blade rivaling her own height when stood directly up. Her eyes shifted towards the crumbling homes surrounding her.
"Easy now." She heard a man say from behind her. The Elf drew her blade and turned in one swift motion, pointing it at the stranger.
"Explain yourself, at once!" The Elf demanded.
The man raised his hands, but he stood exactly where he was. "What's it to ya, sharp ear?"
The Elf bore her teeth, tightening her grasp on the hilt of her weapon as she glared at the Human. "What was that?"
"Lighten up." Said the stranger, lowering his hands. "I'm Colt, I run a mercenary company a few towns south o' here. Saw ya wanderin' around with that mighty big sword and thought, phewie, we could do some real damage with that thing."
"He's not for sale." The Elf said.
"Is that right?" The man whistled, summoning a troupe of mercenaries from hidden spots all around the town. "Y'see missy, we here in the Toxic Rot got a way of gettin' the things we want. So I'll put it to ya like this. We can do it the easy way, or the hard way."
"For true? You boy scouts believe yourselves capable of defeating a Knight of the Kristenalian Guard? Ha, that'll be the day." She taunted, keeping an eye on the encroaching mercenaries, who drew swords of their own, though none of theirs matched the height and broadness of the Elven Knight's blade.
"Wouldn't be the first time." Colt said. "Think yer all that, but when yer all alone, out where no one can hear ya scream, it's just a simple numbers game then." He drew his own sword, bracing himself for the encounter. "Gotta say, didn't think any Elves were still around, let alone a pretty lil' thing like yourself. Who knows? We might end up takin' more than just yer sword, missy."
Colt's men laughed at his remark. It was quiet as the Elf stared down the mercenaries. A gentle wind kicked over some stones as the woman calculated her opening maneuvers.
"Alright, boys. Get 'er!" Colt ordered, his men attacking on his command.
The Elven Knight reeled her sword back over her shoulder, then swung, cutting open the guts of the closest mercenary before stepping forward, raising her sword for an overhead swing, and dropping the massive blade into the dirt. Colt's torso had been split open. He swayed, eyes fluttering as he wrestled for control, only to crash backfirst onto the soil. The Elf reset her stance, facing down the remaining mercenaries, but they merely stared.
She flicked the blood off her sword, then raised it back towards the group. They dropped their weapons and fled as quickly as they could manage. The woman released a relieved sigh, attaching her sword to her back and continuing onward.

. . .

Under the starry sky, the Elf sat at a campfire she'd set for herself, roasting a stray lizard she'd hunted over it while stargazing. Her weapon was stuck into the dirt beside her. "I don't see what the Captain was thinking. Sending me out here to chase fables of demon swarms? Nary a horned beast in sight." She grumbled, jarring forward upon noticing she had burnt her lizard. "Dammit!" She pulled the charred meat from the flame, examining it as flickering embers reflected in her irises.
Before she could begin her meal, she was interrupted by a distant howling. The Lady Knight turned her attention toward the howls. She located the echo originating from a system of caverns outside of town, or so her superior hearing told her. The warrior removed her overdone lizard from its stick, stuffed it in a sack, then stood, lifting her weapon from the ground and returning it to her back. "There are no wolves in this region. Werewolves, perhaps?" She gazed upon the moon, but it was a mere crescent. "Nay. It would seem I've found the enemy." The Knight followed her ears to the outskirts of the Toxic Rot, where she eventually arrived at an entrance to the deep, dark cavern.
The howls reverberated off the walls, the Knight's ears perking up. "In the midst of a ritual, aye? This should be simple enough." She drew her sword, holding it forward as she cautiously pressed on into the cavern proper. It was pitch black and she couldn't see a thing. Despite the hindrance, she had no trouble navigating, following her ears while keeping herself alert for any Goblins, Trolls, Kobolds, or any other such cave dwellers.
Hearing nothing of the sort, she proceeded further, following the wicked hymns of the evil spawn she was sent to vanquish. The Elven Knight delved deeper and deeper until she heard the wailing, horrid cries of demons just around the corner. She crouched, sneaking along the cave wall leading to the ceremony site, where she eavesdropped on the ensuing ritual.
"O, great evil one, grant us thy power to purge all that is righteous upon the land." Preached a towering demon to a choir of howling followers. The hidden Elven Knight was distracted by the cries of what sounded like a Human woman in the center of the alcove. "Demoness Nora, we offereth thee a sacrifice of flesh, so that we may be empowered to destroy the denizens of this world, for thou souls art vile and tainted!"
"No, please!" The captive woman shrieked, provoking a chorus of sickly laughter throughout the cavern.
The Elven Knight clutched her sword, bringing it forward as she entered the ritual site. "Free that woman, and I might just make it quick." She threatened.
The Demon Lord turned, smiling at the Elf. His fangs glistened in the torchlight. "A Knight of Kristenalia? Splendid. Surely, this is a test from the Demoness herself!" The crowd of demons hollered and cheered behind him.
"Nay, fiend. I bring only pain and death for your kind." Said the stalwart Knight.
"Is that so? And what might your name be?" Asked the Demon Lord.
"Krysté." Answered the Knight. "If your Demoness listens, then remember the name well, for it belongs to the mortal that will end the demon scourge upon this land."
The demons share a raucous laugh at her expense.
"Such petulant Elven swine." The Demon Lord remarks. "Let us tear this vermin to pieces and feast upon her soul!"
Krysté let her blade clank against the stone cavern floor, dragging it along as she charged up to the demon horde. "I've come to rid this world of your filth!" She swings up, slicing at the Demon Lord, only for a minion to lunge and take the fatal blow in his master's stead, his body colliding with stone. Several demons pounce at once, but Krysté swings her greatsword back, carrying the motion into a full spin, then coming down with an overhead slash, eliminating many demons at once. Her armor and blade were stained with black blood.
The unnamed Lord of demons uttered a dark enchantment, granting him levitation. He hovered over the battle firing off damaging elemental spells such as fireballs, ice shards, and lightning bolts while Krysté tore through his legion of minions with her monstrous blade. The Elven Knight dived away from her enemies, rolling ahead and pulling her heavy sword along, narrowly avoiding the singe of a fireball. She turned the flat of her blade as if it were a shield, holding back the hovering lord's elemental attacks as his minions scattered around in an attempt to flank her.
As the demons closed in, Krysté concentrated on her hearing to pinpoint the lord's position. Before the demons could strike, she dived into another roll, pulling her greatsword along and swinging overhead, cleaving through the lord's right leg as her blade hit the stone with a clink. The lord screeched, his deafening wails hindering Krysté as the blood of his severed limb sprayed onto her cheek.
The Elven Knight turned her blade onto the swarm of minions, cutting them down one at a time as the Demon Lord crashed into a cave wall. The captive Human woman shut her eyes. She had been trembling throughout the entire encounter.
"Demoness...where is my power?" The lord asked, using the cave wall for support as he hopped along on a single leg.
Krysté cleared out the rest of the minions, reeling her weapon back and bringing it down on the final minion's skull, cleaving it open, blood running down its twisted face. She struggled for a moment to separate her greatsword from the skull fragments and brain matter, eventually pulling the oversized weapon free and turning her focus onto the fleeing Demon Lord.
The Elven Knight pursued him, shoving his back and causing him to tumble onto the cavern floor. She pointed her blade at him as he glanced over his shoulder, into the emotionless eyes of his enemy.
"Mercy! Mercy!" The nameless Demon Lord pleaded, his right leg still spurting blood.
Krysté drove her blade through the beast's back, piercing his organs and killing him. "Your only mercy is a swift death." She pulled her sword from the deceased demon lord, then wiped it off with a cloth she kept within a sack full of miscellaneous items on her belt. The Knight approached the captive woman, carefully cutting her free of the post she'd been tied to. The woman slumped forward, forcing a hug onto the Elven warrior.
"Thank you so much! I thought I was dead!" The woman said, nervously laughing. "May the Goddess smile upon you."
Krysté stood entirely firm. Her face scrunched up as she gazed upon the Human, who had broken the hug and stepped back.
"My name's Hilda. Yours was Krysté, was it?" The Human asked.
"Indeed." The Elven Knight nodded.
"Well, we should be going, yeah?" Asked Hilda.
"You're not part of my mission." Krysté put her weapon away and turned her back to the Human.
"What? But you're with the Kristenalian Guard, aren't you? You can't just leave me!" Hilda demanded. "Besides, you saved me, didn't you?"
Krysté stopped in place before glancing over at the Human. "Demons feed on the suffering of the innocent. If I let them slaughter you, their ritual would've succeeded. It was never about you, Hume. I did you the courtesy of cutting you free, but your survival is your own responsibility."
"You can't be serious! They abducted me! I don't even know how to get back home!" The woman shouted on the verge of tears.
"Oh, one more thing." The Elven Knight grabbed a small carving knife from the back of her belt and tossed it over to the Human. It clanged across the stone and stopped at her feet. "There's mercenaries in the area. You'll be needing that."
"But how do I get out of here?" Hilda asked, crouching down and retrieving the knife.
"It's easy, follow your ears." Krysté turned once again to leave.
The Human's eyebrow raised. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, aye." Krysté stopped. "Forgot the land doesn't speak to your kind." She faced the Human once again. "Fine, then. Come along, Hilda. I'll show you the way out, but I make no promises." The Knight's ears twitched as she retraced her steps through the cave.
Hilda sheepishly followed behind. "...Thank you."