The DragonOrb

Sarah

As Sasha's new army general, I'd heard much about the Masked Warrior. When our armies came back from battling with them, they were in a shambles. Usually, two-thirds of the armies escaped the battle. Half of those died on their way back.

No one so far had been able to defeat the Masked Warrior, so, who would Sasha send to finally get rid of this "Masked Warrior" but me? I was her greatest warrior, after all.

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My horse cantered nervously at the head of my division of the army. They were howling, screaming, and making other ghastly noises. I turned around.

"SILENCE! There may be few, but they are fearsome soldiers. Remember that we are the fourth army to attempt to defeat this small group of villagers. There are forces here outside our control. They. Will. Destroy you."

They silenced.

"Our plan is to sneak up and destroy them while they sleep. We cannot do that if you're howling. Now organize yourselves. We attack now."

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 According to our reports from returned monsters and magicians (We had recruited quite a lot of them since Queen Katie's new law), the Masked Warrior always made their way to the leader first, killing everything in their path along the way. This is why I simply sat there on my horse, most of my armour on, as tense as a taut bowstring, waiting for their attack and watching as the suddenly-aware opposing force fought my charges all around me.

A black blur. This was the only warning sign I had before being tackled off my horse. I leaped to my feet just in time to see a figure in a black cloak swirl around, rapping my white stallion on the backside as they turned to face me. I unsheathed my sword, swinging it towards their undefended neck. With inhuman speed, they changed courses with their blade, parrying my attack. Steel rung against steel, rattling my eardrums. The sword was a silver blur, whipping through the air and slamming against against my helm.

I was fighting right-handed. I was left-handed, usually, but upon discovering what my assignment was, I had decided that to simply destroy this person would be no fun. I had wanted to play with them for a bit. Evidently, however, I would need my left hand for this.

I switched hands as they sent another blow towards my rib cage. Left-handed, I was as fast as they were, and parried. I saw the eyes, the only things visible between the Masked Warrior's hood and mask, brighten, like they were thinking Now we're going to have some fun.

Swirling, stabbing, slashing. Steel ringing, bodies clashing. One second we were a mere inch apart, the next twirling away to recoup. We were entangled in a deadly dance, the beat the sound of our hammering hearts, and the music the sound of steel on steel.

I was beginning to win when suddenly, the Warrior whipped their sword hilt around and rammed it into my helm. The helm flew off, landing ten feet away, and I fell to my knees, the dirty battlefield spinning around me.

I noticed something odd then. All around the Masked Warrior, there were tendrils of blue light. Each one spiraled out from them and made it's way to one of the Seventh Kingdom's front lines. I ignored it for the time being. Regaining my bearings, I looked up at the Masked Warrior. They just stood there, blue eyes wide, staring at me with a mixture of horror and surprise. I stared back for a second, vaguely aware of the blood dripping from my temple, but then came to my senses and took advantage.

I lunged, my sword point aimed for their heart. They only just had time to dodge out of the way, and even then my sword sunk hilt-deep into the flesh of their arm, piercing all the way through.

Until then I did not realize that no sound escaped the Masked Warrior's mouth. 

Instead of screaming like a wounded soldier, they simply fell down, shaking. Then they did something surprising. They changed. No longer were they flesh, blood and bone, but completely made of water. Realization hit me. I knew of only one person who had that power. They didn't have a voice, either.

The Masked Warrior was Brooke.

I pulled my sword from her flesh and dropped it, stunned. I looked down in horror at what I'd done, frozen with shock. Brooke lay curled on the ground, clutching at her bleeding arm in agony. She summoned the strength to look up not at me, who had wounded her, but at the place where the armies clashed. The men she'd been fighting for were becoming groggy again. They were dropping like flies. Slowly, Brooke closed her eyes. Then, without warning, a great flash of blue light flew from the witch.

I tried to run. I turned tail and took a full two steps before the light washed over me.

It started in my feet. I looked down in horror and fear as the bottoms of my soft leather boots hardened, turning grey. Turning to stone. I took another step and tripped. It was up to my ankles now. I turned to look, disbelieving, at Brook, who now lay on the ground in her watery form, steaming.

My army turned to stone around me as the magic crawled up my waist and arms, tingling and stinging. The army of Colland was spared, but the monsters and magicians of my force were instantly petrified.

Even little Jeremy, who had joined our forces out of desperation, was turned to a a statue. His parents had been imprisoned by the Queen last year. His features were frozen in a look of awe and fear, his face pointing toward Brooke.

My thoughts were drowned out by a single phrase, filled with utter terror. It was the only thought I had, circling around in my mind and suffocating all reason.

This could be the end.

And, with a last, painful tremor, all went black.

Well that was a cheery first chapter, wasn't it? Don't worry, I'll explain more in the next chapter. Mary's point of view. I know you're all wondering what happened to her.

Here, have a useful hint for later: Remember little Jeremy. He should come up later in the book, unless I change my mind, which isn't likely.

Anyway, TADAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!! I GOT IT FINISHED, AND IT'S EVEN OVER A THOUSAND WORDS! FINALLY!

(In the comments, constructive criticism is welcome, searched for, and loved. I will need to revise this eventually, and feedback is appreciated. Thank you!)