O Saga: Part Three: Book of War

Chapter Nineteen: Protector

When Oren saw the Witches his blood felt like it had drained from his body. He turned to Master Hiawatha.

"What do we do?" Oren prodded.

"We run back the way we came." Hiawatha said.

"No. They'll kill those villagers if we do." Laurin interrupted.

"He's right. They will kill them to try and draw us back and help." Oren agreed.

"Then we run to the East or West. We should avoid them." Hiawatha said.

"At this point is that even possible?" Nokomis said calmly.

"We can run, and put more people's live at risk as we do. I think no matter what we do, they will find us. We should fight." Oren said.

"Even with your powers, you may not be enough to defeat the Witch of Hagar." Nokomis said.

"Yes, I know. But I am willing to die if it means her defeat." Oren stated boldly. "We can't continue to run and hide from them. Look what has happened. The world is being lost to people like them because no one will take a stand. No even us. The Masters of the Oracle and I are the few who have the ability to take them on and we have only hidden from them like scared animals."

Hiawatha was quiet and in reflective thought. Master Nokomis looked conflicted and unsure. Laurin was the only one who looked fully on board with Oren.

Laurin spoke up. "I know I can't be of much help, Oren, but I will fight with you. I can't sit by and let tragedies like we saw in the village continue to spread. I might die quickly and be of little use, but if my last breath was dying to stand up to these people, then my soul would be at ease when I took the eternal sleep."

Tonk and Mead looked frightened but they would do and go along with whatever was decided.

"I do want to kill some Witches. It's not very monk like of me, but I do." Master Nokomis said with a scary smirk.

It was left to Master Hiawatha to make the final decision. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"The Witches don't seem in a hurry. That means that they probably have reinforcements nearby. Which means if we choose the wrong direction to flee, we will end up in a fight no matter what. Oren is right. We have stood by and watched the world collapse. Perhaps, Oren is right. Sometimes you have to stand up for what is right even if it means your destruction. If you do it when it is easy, then it is meaningless. We may fail, but it will stand for something." Master Hiawatha said.

"Then we all agree, we fight." Nokomis said.

No one disputed Nokomis's claim. No one was in a rush to head into battle, and they waited to see what the Witches were doing. The Witches must have been doing the same as they were mostly observing them.

All six of their group were being led by Master Hiawatha in a meditation to prepare themselves for the fight. Oren kept. The occasional stray eye out just in case the Witches go up to some trickery.

In the distance, Oren could hear the sound of thunder. He opened his eyes and saw lighting striking, and it chilled him to the bone in ways he didn't understand. He could feel the air pressure changing and saw the skies slowly descending into darker and darker shades.

The Witches sensed the shift in the climate and used it to make a move finally. Oren saw around twenty bodies, all cloaked in some way, making their way down the lowland hills and heading towards them.

Oren stood up, and didn't say anything, nor did he have to as the others were stirred. All six were now standing and in frozen gazes as they watched the Witches coming down to them.