Chapter 1
He screamed out in pain, his face twisted into a grimace and the blood pouring out from the cut on his forehead dripping past his eyes, blocking his vision. There was a pause in the action surrounding them, silence permeating the air as everyone turned to him, either in shock or glee; they watched as he gripped the sword’s hilt with such vigor his hand shaked. He glanced up into his opponent’s direction, blurrily seeing the twisted grin and hearing the bubbling cackle erupting from their being. They walk closer to him, abruptly stopping when he pointed the sword their way and muttered not to come any closer.
“Well, aren’t you the brave one?”, they spoke with conviction, “Your soldiers fall by my men, yet you have the audacity to raise your weapon against me?” He noticed that though they stood still, their handle on their blade was still tight, and their stance was solid as well as if waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
He opened his mouth to speak, only to stop to gasp for breath and lean forward to cough out what looked suspiciously like blood; he paused a moment, then softly spoke,“I may have fallen, but that does not mean my warriors have.”
He glanced around at all of the fighters, who were staring at him some in determination and others in acceptance. Nodding to them all in respect, He used all of his strength to heave himself into a standing position, leaning heavily onto his weapon and barely managing to stay upward. He turned to his adversary, and beckoned them closer with a gesture of his hand, where he leaned in close and whispered to them, “When I die, these people will not rest until they have your head on a pike, and your soldiers defeated. That is my promise to you, old friend.” He stumbled back, and, tripping over his feet, fell down to the ground and could no longer move. They stared in shock, and rushed over to kneel next to their opponent, searching for any sign of life, before turning to the battle that had stopped around them, yelling for all to hear, “He is dead! This battle is over!”
His fighters stood unsure, looking between each other for a signal, before one narrowed his eyes and came to a decision. This one raised his sword in the air, bellowing out, “For Our Leader! For Our Kingdom!”
Everyone followed suite, charging to resume the battle, the sound of metal clashing against metal filling the air, and the cry as more soldiers fell by the second. This continued for some time, until the last soldier fell, and the victors continued standing tall.One lone soldier stood admist the destruction, They breathed a sigh, tasting the metallic blood in the atmosphere, and limped to the first body of the Leader, His eyes closed in eternal peace. They gazed down in contempt, before turning Their sight to the distant horizon, the indesribable colors blending and melding to create an instant masterpiece. They turned away from the body, walking away from the scene, along with any surviving warriors. Together they trudged along, past the frozen battlefield, and into uncertainty.
"Until we meet again, Old Friend." They said, their voice carried by the wind, then disappearing into air, leaving the area silent once more.