“Thank you for visiting, dear,” Valon’s mother smiled, trying to stand from her chair.
Valon quickly walked over and hugged her, sparing her from having to get up. He then shook his father’s weathered hand, receiving a nod of approval from the man. Valon looked to his master, seeing the man had the smallest glint of worry in his eye.
“Thank you for agreeing to come,” Seer Mordou said as they closed the door to Valon’s parents’ house.
Valon simply nodded, following his master down the boardwalk path. They did not speak as they trudged through their swamp village, but Valon had some idea what it could be about. Regardless, the ritual was supposed to begin within the hour just after sundown, so whatever this was it had to be quick.
They both remained silent until they had shut the door to the Seer’s Tower. As they took a seat in their usual places, Valon looked at his master, awaiting his orders. Certainly, they hadn’t come here just to talk. Every moment he had spent with Seer Mordou had been for a reason, almost always to learn.
“Valon. Tell me what’s on your mind,” Seer Mordou insisted, taking an old wooden pipe from his pocket and stuffing it with a dark brown herb.
Valon knew the herb well. Magleaf was a special, hard to grow herb that when smoked increased the user’s magical perception. However, it certainly wasn’t good to use often, and could cause fits of coughing. It was no surprise his master was using it before the ritual.
“Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe you will soon be gifting me with the power of the Seer,” Valon replied, knowing his master likely knew this already and was simply asking out of formality.
“Oh? What makes you think that?” Seer Mordou asked with a cheeky grin.
Valon didn’t know how to reply. His master often teased him in situations like this, holding back and making Valon try to wriggle out of his self-made situation. However, Valon wasn’t in the mood for his master’s usual games. The fact he was acting this way before a ritual worried him most of all. Normally, Seer Mordou would be serious.
“I think that because of the situation. I’d rather not go into the details because I know you know what I mean, Master. In fact, I’m willing to bet you know what I’m worried about as well,” Valon replied, remaining stern but respectful.
Seer Mordou chuckled to himself, taking a large inhale of his pipe. He held it for a moment before exhaling a puff of dark grey smoke and a tiny cough. He looked back at Valon with a perplexing expression.
“Of course, I do know. You’re understandably worried about the connection a Seer has. And you’re right. I imagine I’ll be giving you the gift of the Seer shortly. In fact, I believe tonight’s ritual may help me figure out exactly when it will happen,” Seer Mordou answered.
“I understand. But Master, why am I here right now? How can I help you with the ritual if I cannot be there?” Valon asked.
“My apprentice, I’ve invited you here to commend you, to thank you,” Seer Mordou said with a small smile, taking another smoke of the pipe.
“Thank me? For what?” Valon asked, not knowing what was going on.
“For your studious behavior. Valon, you’ve been my apprentice almost your entire life. From the moment you were found to have that special talent in magic when you were young, you have been here learning from me with absolute attention and loyalty. I was not half the student you were when I was an apprentice all those years ago. I don’t know if we’ve ever even had an argument. There’s no telling how this strange, terrible situation will play out. Your time to lead is likely coming soon, and I wanted to thank you while I still could and tell you that you will make an even better Seer than myself,” Seer Mordou explained, his words laced with pride and sincerity.
Valon was caught off guard by his master’s kind words. Never had they had this kind of emotional conversation. He stared at Seer Mordou, finding it hard not to smile. Sure, his master was supportive and told him when he did a good job in his training, but this was something more, like his master was worried about the road ahead. Hearing that he had Seer Mordou’s confidence bolstered his own. He wasn't sure what to say but knew he couldn’t continue to sit in silence.
“Thank you. That means a great deal to me,” Valon replied.
“I’m glad to hear it. Now, I must prepare for the ritual alone. No matter what you hear, do not enter the cave. You cannot pull us out like that again, not considering the power being used. You must remain outside, and I will find you when we are done,” Seer Mordou explained, standing from his chair.
“Of course, Master. I will await your instructions,” Valon replied, standing and heading to leave the tower.
“I shall see you in a few hours’ time,” Seer Mordou affirmed.
Valon left the old tower, stepping back into the humid swamp air. He could hear the swamp frogs call loudly through the quiet village as fog gently rolling in. It seemed peaceful, and he began to walk down the boardwalk back to his own small home, though part of him wondered if this was merely the calm before the storm.
Chapter 10
Trudging through the thick forest, Anna saw something through the clearing of the leaves overhead. She quickly walked left into a more cleared area, worry taking root in her heart. Smoke billowed in the distance, soaring tall over the trees.
“Anna, we must slow down,” Titus spoke as he managed to catch up with her.
“Titus, do you see that smoke? That’s in the direction of our village,” Anna replied.
Before Titus could respond, they heard a loud thud and a quick scream. The two spun around, seeing that Bernol had fallen to the ground, the other surviving warrior, a much younger man named Falu, standing over him in surprise.
“Bernol!” Titus yelled, jogging over slowly in his heavy armor.
“He began to moan and made some weird gurgling sound and just fell over!” Falu explained in a panic.
Anna made her way over, her mind more focused on the mysterious smoke. She watched as Falu and Titus flipped Bernol over, revealing something horrible. The man's eyes had rolled back in his head, and his skin had begun to change. She instantly knew what was happening—he was turning into a Horror.
“How did this happen? Did he bleed out?” Anna asked, slowly unsheathing her sword.
“No! He was fine—well, wounded, but managing. I don’t know what’s going on,” Falu answered.
“He’s turning into one of them,” Anna replied, walking closer as she gripped her sword tightly.
“What? That’s impossible. He was alive! They can only take the bodies of the dead, right?” Titus asked nervously.
“Kill … me…” Bernol gurgled, his mouth thick with black ooze.
“By the gods!” Titus said loudly, jumping back from the fallen warrior.
“No, Bernol, we can help you! I’m sure the shaman can do something,” Falu insisted, trying to pick his wounded comrade up.
“No, Falu, get back!” Anna yelled.
Bernol started changing even more as Falu slowly stood him up. His body began to morph, horrible sounds piercing their ears. Anna knew it was too late for the old warrior; she would grant him his final request.
Before the transformation could finish, she lurched forward, thrusting her sword clean through his eye socket. A very dark red, almost black blood oozed out as it happened, her strike causing the other two warriors to flinch. As she removed the blade, Bernol’s corpse slowly fell to the ground, completely lifeless.
“No!” Falu yelled, beginning to cry.
“By the gods … Anna, are you sure that was the right decision?” Titus asked, his words plagued by fatigue.
“Yes. He was turning into a Horror. That’s why he asked to be killed, Titus,” Anna insisted, looking back at the smoke.
“Let’s give him a proper burial at least,” Falu managed to speak between tears.
“There’s no time! Do you see that smoke? Our home may be under attack!” Anna replied harshly, pointing to the darkened sky in the distance.
&n
bsp; Titus and Falu looked at each other, knowing Anna was right. Bernol deserved a fine burial like any other Narsho warrior, but there was no time. Not only that, but the three of them were exhausted as it was. Digging such a large hole without any proper tools would be far too taxing on their bodies. They had to leave him, for now.
“You are right. If our people are being attacked then we must assist them,” Titus agreed, pressing forward.
Falu didn’t reply and simply followed the two. Anna felt mentally exhausted more than anything. After all she had seen, all she had fought, she was running out of willpower. However, they weren’t far from home now, and from what she could tell there was one fight remaining.
As they crested over the last hill before their village, Anna’s suspicions were confirmed. She audibly gasped as the terrible sight in front of them became clear: well over a thousand warriors were engaged in a large battle just feet from their village walls. Anna knew immediately the attackers were from the Highrock Clan.
“Those dishonorable mongrels, they dare attack our home?” Titus snarled, gripping his greatsword in anger.
“Is that the Highrock Clan?” Falu asked, not having fought them directly before.
“It is. And it looks as though they’ve brought all the warriors they could muster,” Anna answered, unsheathing her sword.
Titus turned, taking the short sword from his side and presenting it to Anna.
“Would you care to use this again? You seemed quite skilled with both blades before. Plus, your buckler is gone,” Titus offered.
Anna simply nodded, taking the second sword. She had only played around with the idea of using two swords before, as it was highly irregular. However, she would rather have two than one, and her buckler was gone, as Titus had stated. She figured she may throw off some of the opponents with her style.
“H-How are we going to do this? Approaching from behind is suicide,” Falu asked nervously.
“We shall head to the very edge of the fighting and outflank their line. Then, if we fight well, we may collapse it,” Titus answered, looking at Anna to see if she agreed.
Being a scout, Anna never found herself in these large-scale types of battles. She had to admit this was Titus’s specialty, and his knowledge and experience was greater than hers. She would follow his lead.
“I’m behind you, Titus,” Anna nodded.
“Good, then let’s move,” Titus ordered, taking one last drink from his now empty waterskin.
They stayed within the trees as they made their way toward the farthest part of the fighting. Anna watched as the hundreds upon hundreds of warriors fought, screams of both pain and bloodlust erupting before them. She took a moment to see how each side was faring, but couldn’t easily see who had more warriors from this distance. She did know that fighting this close to the village was bad; part of the wall already smoldering in flames.
Finally, they were close to the edge of the line, where warriors of both sides were engaged in fierce combat. Blood and bodies were strewn across the ground, the signature red-dyed armor of the Highrock warriors seeming more numerous than the green of the Narsho. She took a deep breath, readying herself for the moments to come.
“Are you both ready?” Titus asked, making last minute adjustments to his battered yet intact armor.
“Yes,” Anna answered, looking over at Falu.
“I guess,” Falu replied with obvious fear.
Titus didn’t reply, turning away from them and sprinting toward the fray. Anna followed behind, knowing her entire clan’s life was at stake. They quickly closed the distance from the tree line to the battle, the Highrock Clan not even realizing they were being flanked.
Anna followed close as Titus brought his greatsword down on the nearest Highrock warrior, inflicting a mortal wound in the single blow. Realizing what had happened, the other warriors nearby began to yell, trying to shift to fight their new foes.
Powered by a mix of exhaustion, adrenaline, and determination, Anna clashed her swords into a nearby warrior. He barely deflected it, staggering back and knocking his comrade right into a spear of a nearby Narsho warrior. Anna cleanly parried the axe of her opponent, quickly bringing twin slashes at both the man’s arms. Unable to dodge them both, he took a terrible gash to his weapon-wielding arm. He dropped it, taking a swing at Anna.
His weak, unbalanced swing hit her in the jaw. Fortunately, it had little power behind it, and she quickly dispatched her foe with a clean stab through the chest. She kicked him off the sword, feeling absolutely numb to the carnage.
She looked to see Falu struggling to fight. He was remaining defensive, unable to counterattack. Anna ran over to ambush Falu’s opponent from behind, stabbing the Highrock warrior-woman directly in the back. A spurt of blood hit Falu as his opponent fell, and he staggered back in surprise at the sight of Anna.
As Anna stared at the young warrior, she could tell he was not cut out for warfare. She knew he would die out here, likely without even taking anyone with them. She put her hand on his shoulder and looked into his young eyes.
“Falu, get back to the village. Tell Chief Barod we’re here and fighting,” Anna ordered.
“Y-yes! Of course,” Falu answered, taking a moment before trying to figure out how to get back to the village.
Hearing a loud metal clanging, she looked to see two warriors fighting Titus. His armor was taking a beating, and certain spots had begun to crumple and split from force, but before she could assist the Champion, he spun around, using his greatsword as a counterbalance, bringing it through the unprepared warrior’s stomachs.
The two fell over in a pool of gore, desperately clinging to their fatal wounds. No normal warrior had the protective armor like Titus and would be helpless to a direct blow from his greatsword. As they fell, the Narsho line began to push through, enveloping the entire corner of the fighting. Seeing their Champion in front of them filled the Narsho warriors with hope.
“Titus! You’re back!” a Narsho warrior yelled in excitement.
“I am!” Titus boomed, cutting down another nearby Highrock warrior. “We must drive these cowards from our land!”
The nearby Narsho let out cheers and ran headfirst into the Highrock line. Anna watched the chaos unfold, their warriors now filled with vigor at the sight of their Champion. She took a moment to catch her breath, watching her people collapse the line of the Highrock Clan. It seemed even the smallest of chaos could interrupt the once-stagnant battle. However, they were still close to their village, and pushing their foes back would be their top priority.
As the Highrock Clan’s line began to fold in on itself, Anna could discern they were barely winning; constantly having to readjust to prevent being outflanked, the Highrock warriors had to move backward, but, then they moved aside, revealing an incredibly tall, buff, and fearsome looking warrior woman. Anna had never seen her, but figured it was one of the two Highrock Champions: Glora.
“Titus of the Narsho! Face me!” Glora yelled loudly over the chaos.
Anna watched Titus turn, seeing the foe that had called out his name. The fighting slowed as eyes shifted toward the strange display. Titus spit out a mouthful of blood and approached Glora. The two stood ten meters apart, surrounded by their warriors.
“Glora, one of the two Highrock Clan Champions. It will be the ultimate glory to take your head in front of your people today,” Titus growled, his face a beastly visage.
Glora simply chuckled and sprinted towards Titus. She held her large greataxe with both hands and swung it hard at Titus. Parrying it with his greatsword, Titus stepped back a few steps, seemingly surprised by the woman’s strength.
Anna’s concern spiked as the two engaged in battle, their powerful strikes sending small sparks as metal clashed with metal. She knew Titus, despite his great strength, must be exhausted too. Not expecting a battle, they had taken very little time to rest on their way home. Because of that, Anna assumed Glora had the upper hand.
Suddenly, her attention
was drawn by someone fighting not far from her. She saw twin blades dancing through the mayhem of battle, cutting down her own people. She stared, now seeing a man in fine armor and a red cape cutting down Narsho warriors, his face contorted in a strange anger. His wavy black hair spun around his neck as he struck down the Narsho in front of him, his bare face covered in blood. Something about him called out to her, but her attention was ripped away by the sound of Titus yelling.
Anna looked over to see one of Titus’s large pauldrons had been crushed in by the axe, dark blood seeping out from his shoulder underneath. The cries and cheers of nearby warriors rang through the air, and Anna instinctively stepped forward. However, she knew not to interfere with such a duel.
“Ha! Is that all you have?” Glora laughed, pounding the wooden bottom of her axe against the ground and causing a nearby eruption of cheers from her comrades.
Titus looked sluggish as Anna watched him stand. Even his posture had begun to wither, not holding himself as tall as he once did; despite this, he looked as determined as ever, and ignored his shoulder wound.
The two Champions rushed forward to meet each other again, their powerful weapons clashing with great force. Each swing made Anna’s heart jump, half expecting Titus to be cleaved in half by the woman’s large axe. As much as she desperately wanted to help Titus, she knew it would be dishonorable. As Titus parried another blow from Glora, she quickly brought her axe around, hitting him across the face with the large wooden handle. He stumbled back, digging his greatsword into the ground to prevent himself from falling. Not moving, he simply stayed there, hunched over his greatsword and staring at Glora.
“Surrendering so soon?” Glora mocked.
Titus didn’t respond and remained still. Glora slowly approached, her ego dominating those around her. Anna could tell the Champion thought highly of herself and believed the battle already won in the Highrock favor.
“I will give you a quick end, poor Titus,” Glora chuckled darkly.
Still, Titus remained, barely shifting his weight as he leaned on his sword. He continued to stare at Glora, as if waiting for something. Anna feared the worst as Glora approached Titus, her greataxe ready to strike.
Rise of the Champions Page 10
