Winter's Warmth

I used to tell her a story. And every night she wanted to hear it again. She called it the story about the best girl. It went a little something like this. Before you were born there was a girl. She was beautiful beyond compare. She was also very skilled with weapons. Swords and bows to be exact. She lived at the wall before the bad ones came back and stole it from our people.

At this point in the story she would always ask about the bad people. "Who are they daddy?", "why did they take the wall?", "why are they bad?" and always I stopped to answer. "Patience little one. All in time. Now where was I?"

She helped keep the wall safe from bandits and robbers people who would look to do the people behind the wall harm. She was so fearsome in battle that soon the men of the wall began to get jealous as she was always out shining them. Except for one man. He looked upon her and saw only perfection. In mind and in body.

"Did he love her?" Another interruption always on queue. Yes very much. He loved this beautiful swordsman. Her name was Winter Rosedaughter. And she was the only elf in a colony of humans. Her eyes always met his own and shone with the very same adoration that he had for her. Eventually the two got married and they had a child. Winter loved her baby more than anything and so retired from the wall. The man continued working to guard his family. A very skilled Ranger he was promoted quickly and eventually was made Senior Captain of the Watch. Then from deep in the mountains of our land came the Orcs.

"The bad people?" The last of her interruptions was always done in a squeak with fear in her eyes. Yes. The bad people. They came to retake the land that our ancient ancestors had driven them from. And like our ancestors we fought. Never winning a battle. The orc numbers were always too great and soon they reached the wall. And Winter and her husband had to fight. And were eventually overwhelmed. The orcs relished in their victory and carved their names into the flesh of the defeated. Letting only the husband go to spread the word of the orc victory. They butchered Winter and would've killed the child had the father not been so clever. He had the child in his hood and took his broken blade with him as he left. Beaten and without the love of his life the man was left to raise a daughter on his own. He bought a new sword and had the phrase Winter's Warmth inscribed on the blade. And he now wanders the lands East of the gate teaching his daughter how to be like her mother.

"They sound like us daddy. I hope we meet them one day." she would always say when I had completed the tale.

"Yes love. One day we just might." I always turned away it was hard to know that my daughter would never know her mother. "Now go to sleep Dove. I'll be here in the morning. We've got a big day tomorrow."

"Daddy?"

"Yes Dove?"

"Why does the man in the story not have a name?"

"He doesn't need one sweetie. He has his daughter and that is good enough for him"

"Okay.... Ninight daddy. I love you."

"I love you too Dove Fairchild. Sleep well," the innocence of a child, I hoped she'd never lose it. But knew that one day we'd encounter the orcs who lived barely ten leagues away. We were already dangerously close to the wall which was why I'd told Dove that we couldn't have a fire tonight.

Game was scarce around these parts in recent months. The orc's work behind the wall probably had something to do with it. Throughout the day loud clashes and roars could be hear behind the wall for close to five leagues away and at night when I scouted the wall looking for my way inside the orcs did nothing but drink and feast and fight and walk the wall occasionally to make sure no one was watching. The patrols however were always drunk and almost always dead before I left.

Ugthak the Unbreaking. He was who I wanted. He was who every night I listened for, his name was carved into my right bicep and I was looking to cross it off. He cut off my Wife's arm and I'd returned the favor on the last full moon. I hadn't seen him since and I knew he wasn't dead. I'd heard his name on the lips of many orcs since that night. Always talking about his anger and hatred for the man carrying Winter's Warmth. When they mentioned my sword all seemed confused as if they thought Ugthuak was crazy.

I had tried almost ten times to get one of them to weaken him and every time I heard tales the next night of how Ugthak had eviscerated, beheaded, tortured, or smashed the usurper. It was high time I got my revenge. Tonight I had already made plans to scale the wall and kill Ugthak. There was a crack and I was snapped back into reality. My sword slid out of the sheath soundlessly.

I retreated into the shadows and listened. Movement. Coming toward my camp, toward my baby girl and my reason for continued living. Hushed whispers followed.

"Grak has us doin' 'is dirty work. Ugthak told 'im to find the human with the Winter's Warmth. And e sends us."

"Shut your hole Garthok. Grak is the boss. Not you."

"I'm just sayin' that while we're out 'ere dlin'  Grak's job. E's sittin' by a fire feastin' an drinkin'. It's gotta be nice to be the boss."

You're both dead anyway. I thought as they walked into view. One was large and muscled and carried a large two-handed war axe with one hand. The other was small and carried only a sword so bent and beaten it looked like a piece of sharpened scrap.

"Oy, what is this? A human? I thought they was gone from these parts." The big one said

"Probly a run away by the looks of it. Let's get 'er I'm starvin' anyway." So you're Garthak? I thought

"Good idea." Bad decision.

I jumped into the clearing as they walked towards Dove. "Hey, I heard you bog shites were looking for me." I said quietly so as not to wake Dove.

"Huh?" the big one said.

"Is' that man what cut off Ugthak's arm!" Garthak shouted. "Ge-" glurk He fell as my thrown dagger found his throat. The other looked at me and stalked forward quietly. He raised the axe and smiled his sharp carnivorous teeth, yellow, contrasting with the brown sooty look of his skin.

"You left my chief to fend for himself with no arm. I'll gut you," and with that he swung the axe at my neck. Ducking I slashed at his midsection. He jumped back but my sword made contact anyway. He grunted in pain and stumbled back clawing at his stomach. It was just a gouge. He jumped at me axe raised above his head coming down toward mine. I sidestepped and stabbed him in the side going all the way through his body. I yanked. But my sword wouldn't come out. The orc punched me and I stumbled into a tree.

Turning back toward my foe he pulled the sword out and gripped it in his free hand. He ran towards me both weapons raised and I grabbed his arms as they fell towards me. He grinned and pushed with all of his substantial strength. So I kneed him in the groin and headbutted him in the nose. I turned my back to him and headbutted again yanking down on my blade at the same time he lost his hold on the weapon and fell to the ground. I turned and smiled.

"You have two options. Run, and tell your boss you failed and I'm coming. Or, die."

"I'll kill you human!" he growled through his pain.

"Very well," I stuck my blade into his neck to silence him.