Airyos was on his toes, fighting back two to three men at a time, but it seemed to him that no matter how many he fell, more were right behind them.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?"
He shouted to himself.
THEIR LINES ARE INFINITE!"
As he made his way toward the hole in the gate, he called out to his men, gathering his forces as they moved along.
"COME NOW! WE MUST STOP THIS MARCH BEFORE IT GETS INTO THE VILLAGE! WE MUST NOT FAIL!"
"YES SIR!"
The elves agreed with a shout of glory and a thrust of their swords. Their morale had been boosted, and it was time to show it. As men came in groups to face off against the elven warriors, they fell just as quickly, some with one less limb than they had come with.
"NOW THE TRUE BATTLE BEGINS!"
Airyos shouted over the roar of the fray. Taking a better grip on his blade, he set his eyes on the gate and pushed forward.
"WE ARE ALMOST THERE, BOYS! PUSH YOUR LIMITS!"
The elves grew more and more excited as adrenaline and their elven magics began to flow through their veins.
Within seconds, they are at the gate with dozens upon dozens of dead Shicato soldiers at their backs.
"...Well done boys..."
Airyos said, catching his breath as he spoke, and taking advantage of the slight drop in the noise that came with battle.
"We will hold off their reinforcement. Don't let a single man in or out."
As the words flow from his mouth. His elves automatically fall into position.
Three elves run to the far end of the gate.
Three sprint to the other.
The remaining four position themselves in pairs to either side of Airyos, their group taking position in the center.
"And now, we wait."
He says patiently as the horizon breaks with the silhouette of soldiers charging toward the wooded valley from a short distance to the south.
The reinforcements had arrived.
With minutes, the real battle had begun.
Hundreds of men charged the gate at full force with swords and spears swinging in virtually every direction.
Airyos and his elves easily held off the charge, but to the dismay of his men, Airyos would not be hanging around to lead this defense for much longer.
As the war raged on, Airyos suddenly caught a glimpse of what he thought was a giant figure rising over the great wall off to their left, and within seconds, he would be off on his own to see who or what it was.
"HOLD YOUR GROUND, MEN! I SHALL RETURN SHORTLY!"
With that, he defended against one last attack and lopped off the soldier's head before turning his attention back to the forest from which he and his elves had originated.
The "thing" that he had seen come over the wall and land with an enormous thud had, in fact, been Yatsimoto Shicato himself, but Airyos had not known this. The one thing that he did guess by the look of his fancy armor was that whoever he was, he had to be an important part of the invading army, and he was not going to let him escape.
"BUT MASTER! WE MAY NEED YOUR HELP! THERE ARE HUNDREDS HERE!"
Airyos was caught in the decision.
Leave his men to their potential deaths, or capture who he thought was the leader of this invading force.
"ARE YOU CONFIDENT WITH THE BLADE YOU HOLD?"
He asked his second in command beside him.
The elf by the name of Aramin hesitated, then straightened his shoulders.
"AYE, SIR!"
He shouted with a salute before turning back to the fray.
"BUT DO BE SWIFT!...SIR!"
With a last salute, Airyos drew his own blade and sheathed the human-forged blade that he had been using up till that point.
"IN THE CASE THAT I DON'T RETURN..."
He paused.
"TELL THE COUNSEL I...APOLOGIZE FOR MY FAILURE."
Airyos was an elf of honor. He never went into battle without praising his god, or left one without all of his men, even if they had fallen.
"AYE, SIR! I WILL DO SO!... IN THE CASE."
Aramin added with a slight nod and a slighter smile.
Within minutes, Airyos was at the edge of the wood. Giant tracks were about, presumably made by the giant of a man, yet Airyos lacked fear in the task to come, and he pushed on into the now-darkening wood.
The inside was almost twice as dark as the outside of the forest. The trees now seemed to be alive, their arm-like branches reaching up and grabbing the sun's rays before they could reach the leaf-covered floor below.
As dark as it was, Airyose's eyes were not as weak as the average human's, and he could easily make out the deep footprints in the soft gravel. His elven sense of smell quickly picked up the faint trail of blood that the "thing" had left behind.
"Whatever that thing is, it isn't human."
He thought to himself.
"This blood is unusually thick, and it smells rather rank..."
As he moved on at top speed, above his head among the branches moved a large shadow, and Airyos was just as aware of it as it was of him.
"So, it wants to surprise me, huh?
He remarked to himself with a grin.
"Well, I'll be ready."
Airyose's sword was drawn and ready.
It craved blood.
It longed for battle.
This was no normal sword.
It was the long-lost LAST Orc blade.
It had been forged by the great Orc king himself.
This blade was said to have its own soul.
"Bring it on!"
At his words, the great and armored beast of a man fell from the sky, swinging a giant branch in his path.
"DIE!"
Yatsimoto roared.
CRASH!
At the point of collision, Airyos was already ahead of the beast, he who had landed just inches from his tiny body (tiny in comparison to his new foe).
As the beast of a man took to his feet, Airyos braced his own sword for combat. He was confident of his skill, yet for some reason, while in the presence of this "thing," his own abilities seemed to be cut in two.
"W...who are you!"
Airyos demanded in his most intimidating voice.
"Flee from this area, young elven warrior, or I will be the death of you..."
Was all the response he received.
"I didn't ask whether you thought you could kill me or not, I asked your name."
Airyos was calmer now.
Since the strange being had given him a false warning (which he had seen right through), he felt much more confident.
Yatsimoto was growing more and more impatient as the seconds passed. He had lost a little too much blood in his last fight, and he would fall if he didn't escape soon. He made his move.
"I am Yatsimoto Shicato, of the Shicato army! Commander and chief, might I add...and I have no time for the likes of you!"
With that said, Yatsimoto was back on the offensive.
Lacking a proper weapon, he swung the large branch as hard as he could in an attempt to finish Airyos off as fast as he could.
"...This runt will be the death of me if I don't get away now!
He thought to himself.
But Airyos wasn't soon to give him a chance.
It was obvious to him that his adversary was heavily wounded, but by what, he could not tell. As he skillfully dodged attack after deadly attack, he silently speculated his enemy.
Yatsimoto was indeed heavily wounded, and time was running out. His right side was covered in blood and earth, several ribs were broken, and his armor was broken in several very threatening places. His chest plate had been dented in by some unspeakable force, and just by looking, Airyos was taken aback by the fact that this massive warrior (even in his size) could survive such abuse and damage.
"Whoever did this must have been quite the adversary."
He thought to himself.
"This man-beast is the leftovers, and still I struggle to keep up!"
The bout lasted a little more than five minutes.
Yatsimoto was growing more and more tired with every passing second, and Airyos was sure that victory was within grasp. He ducked, saving his head from the branch that would have taken it off, and lashed out with one last attack.
"Heeeeeeaaaaagh!"
The elf exclaimed as he quickly slid his deadly sword across Yatsimoto's chest, from his left shoulder to his right hip.
"Aaaugh!"
Yatsimoto screamed as he dropped his improvised weapon and grasped his body in pain, falling to his knees.
"Such speed...cannot be found to match yours..."
Airyos was taken aback by the comment.
"Don't flatter me."
Was his reply.
"Surrender yourself, or face death!"
He said as he approached the wounded beast with his sword at waist level, yet still ready to kill in an instant.
It was at that moment that Himora and I made it onto the scene, our weapons drawn and ready for battle.
Airyos took me by surprise, and within a second, his blade was at my neck.
"Um...I'm pretty sure I'm on your side!"
I said as his blade slowly pulled back and was placed in its rightful sheath.
He pointed to Yatsimoto.
"Is this the...man who led the attack on what I can presume was your village?"
Airyos harshly emphasized the word "was".
I looked over at Yatsimoto and was surprised at his current state.
"Y...yes, sir, it is."
I said, my voice a bit shaky from the effort of the pursuit.
"Did...did you do this?"
Airyos was a tall, lean elf, and at the moment, his patience was just as his stature.
"He is weak and dangerous...but for the most part, it is over."
But Airyos spoke too soon.
Just as Himora had put his sword away, Yatsimoto leaped to his feet and charged the three of us.
"I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU!"
It all happened so fast that I don't recall what all happened!
Within seconds, Himora and Airyos had their swords drawn, and they had non-lethally taken down Yatsimoto once again.
"Um...oh..."
Was all I could say.
"We have to be careful with this one..."
Himora said as he kept his razor-edged blade to Yatsimoto's neck.
"Yes...well, it seems my work is done here. If you don't mind, I will have my elves apprehend him, and we shall be on our way."
As calm as he was, and as generous of an offering as it was, I could do naught but protest.
"No...I can't let you take him..."
My body shook with anger, and my spear raised to its defensive stance.
"I will fight you...If you try to take him..."
I don't remember what was running through my mind, but I was full of rage and pain.
This "thing" had killed my father and taken my home...Leafaria, from me.
From us.
There was no forgiveness for him within me.
"Bastion, what are you saying?"
Himora stepped up to me.
"Let him take it with him...We've been through enough."
I didn't want to admit it, but Himora was right, besides, the elves were stronger, faster, smarter, and everything else. If anyone could handle him, it was them.
"I...I don't...care. Just take him."
My vision had cleared, and I thought more clearly now.
I didn't want revenge, I didn't want any thing.
My young heart welled with the pain and agony of a ten year old boy who had just lost everything.
I wanted nothing more then to sit and cry till all the pain was gone...and that's what I did.
I cried.