Chapter 1: Part 1
THUP, THUP, THUP.
Darkness covers everything and my senses are acute but my nerves are numb...
THUP, THUP.
Am I deaf? I can’t hear anything. What the hell is going on?
THUP, THUP.
I hear screaming coming from the distance.
THUP, THUP.
Wait, it’s getting louder, and louder. It’s coming from me?! “aaaaaaaAAAAAAHHHHHGRH!”
Panic and anxiety.
Thup, thup. Thup, thup.
What happened? Think damn it, think!? Where was I last?
2 DAYS AGO…
“Moric are you ready for this?” Lord Bragor asks in his bass vibrato.
Nodding while looking up at this huge mountain in front of me, Lord Bragor always presented a command authority. Even though he was getting old, his raven hair with streaks of silver showing age, was still presentable in blackened armor. His gaze swept over the field, he had decided he would meet the heretics in battle on. I continuously nodded like a moron, brave and wise less I did not know what to expect, this would be my first battle at his side. I could not understand why Lord Bragor first paladin of the knight’s watch was worried, we had fifteen paladins, three hundred swordsmen, two hundred cavalry, one hundred archers and ten priests. A formidable army at worst, a devastating army at best and I have always and will always be confident in Lord Bragor’s command.
The sun was high in the sky beaming its blistering rays down upon us. Thunder clouds closing from a distance with the strong winds from the south. “It will be a great victory today, my lord. The gods favor us.” I say.
“Hurmf, really Moric, have I taught you nothing? Listen to your gut.” He pauses and points south. “The enemy is already there and they have Wizards. Tomorrow when this battle begins, I do not know if we will survive the fall out. Remember this always Wizards count as a hundred men. They’re deadly and destructive.”
“Lord, how will I know that I am facing a wizard? How will I be able to tell if the person is a wizard? Are they giants?” I say with a hint of surprise and wonder at these monsters that count as one hundred men. The thought of a man stronger than one sixth of an army is astounding. I want to kill one, and have the prize as being a mage hunter.
In the years that I followed Lord Bragor I have never once seen a mage let alone fight one, it is a frightening aspect to think about. The stories from the past are that they are a gruesome bunch that will do anything for power. Wizards and mages have been hunted and killed for the last century. And the only place that they can go is Validor. A Sanctuary for these destructible people, although in the lands of the principalities they are all but extinct. They are considered to be a myth now and a fairy tale to scare the younger children on what is exactly the truth. The order in which Lord Bragor is a part of is dedicated to eradicating the users of magic. I have squired for Lord Bragor for the better part of the last ten years and not once have we run into any magic. The divine rights of our priests allow them to pray for blessings and healings. The Magic that wizards use are for personal gain. It is not channeled through them like priests but created by them with their souls. Which corrupt their souls and turn them into evil beings upon death. They will never have a place with the gods. They will always be a part of the void and that means that they will always and forever be tormented.
As the day passes and the sun is settling onto the horizon, a trumpet blares the warning of a rider. The rider is wearing the colors of the Knights Watch. A grey leather hided armor and red sash with the emblem of the Knights watch, an Eagle with a serpent clutched in its claws. The scout rides hard into the camp, his mustang pants heavily and its hair is coated with sweat from the hard run. Galloping through the camp, getting closer to the general’s tent, the rider jumps from the horse and runs toward the tent as Lord Bragor comes out to meet the scout. Words are exchanged that I cannot make out. The General’s face turns grim from what he is being told, the soldiers around him look as if like a balloon, they have been deflated. The news must not be good, so I rush over to find out what is going on.
“Men, double the watch and bring me my distance glass.” As he says this the warning flares of the scouts shoot up and a trumpet is heard followed by another and another. Walking toward the overview of where he had decided the battle was to take place. Twilight was upon us and it was getting darker as the time passed. With the ever excrutiating wait for the enemy forces to be seen. The Lord General asks grimly “You are sure there were 5 legions out there? You’re sure of it?” A legion is considered to be about two thousand five hundred men.
With a solemn nod the scout looks at his Generals eyes and says “Lord General, we were surprised by a forward advance of theirs. We thought that the forward advance was the army they had six hundred, but about five hundred yards behind them was a legion of men marching up the road. Victor and Seth died getting me the message, both pierced by arrows, and some sort of green sludge. It worked its magic quickly and they were consumed by it, as if eaten from the inside out. They’re bodies disintegrated right in front of my eyes Lord General.”
Sighing, the Lord General inhaled a deep breath which was cut short, “By the gods, Of man and monster alike.” His mouth dropped, and the distance glass shot straight to his eye, and he leaned forward as if to get a better look at what he was seeing.
From the distance you could hear a faint thud, from a drum. You could see the torches carried and the dark shadow that was carrying it. It looked like a giant worm with light freckles all over its body. The twilight into dark did not help the look of the shadow worm, with light freckles, because it grew larger the darker it got. The monster was moving into the battlefields that the Lord General had decided to put his troops on the marrow. And the beating of the drum got louder as the shadow worm got closer. The thud of the drum became thunder as the heretic army entered the field and spread like a plague over it. The sight was frightening and the thought of our men fighting that monstrosity of an army out there was even more disturbing…
I was pulled out of my thoughts by the booming voice of the Lord Generals call to arms.“Alright men, get the cavalry up and the lines ready were here to destroy that army! And that is what I plan to do!” A slight cheer erupts from the men around him as they rush to their units excited that battle is near. The Lord General turns to the scout and whispers something into his ear. The scout leans back as though he did not wish to hear what the Lord General has to say, then he nods and runs through the crowd disappearing with the night.
