The Dawn of the Raven Omnibus 1: Episodes 1-5

by J. L. Blackthorne

  Captain Vol rediscovered his courage. He calmed his mind. Losing Garen had been a shock. The sophistication of the attack against them had been a shock too. But now he knew what he was up against. A true threat. Whether this was Gekken or Typhorians, the danger was real. He and his men were to be truly tested. He knew they were up to the task. The Typhorian prisoner began shouting at him, telling him this was it, they were here, they were all going to die. He ignored her, and took action. His archers had their bows ready, but held back. There would be no more wasted arrows. They would protect themselves here with their shields, and wait out the attack. Wait for the enemy to expose themselves, if they dared.

  The men were ready. Their spirits were resolved to their task. They reminded themselves that they had been here, together, before; in uncertain terrain, under unfavorable circumstances, and yet they had always pulled through. The men eyed each other and gave each other confident nods and grins, yet their trembling sword and bow hands gave evidence to their true feelings.

  And then, they came. From all sides. They were giants. They were beasts. They were inhumanly fast. They were fearless. They were the Gekken. The captain gave the order and their arrows and their spears flew. Many met their mark, and several Gekken fell prey, but most continued their charge, unfazed, unfrightened, with the thirst for blood emblazoned in their monstrously black eyes and embodied in their fierce war cries. The soldiers stood to meet the challenge. They met the Gekken head on, and fought heroically, but it was a one-sided affair. The Gekken, with their speed, strength, and reach, and armed with long swords and spears, had little trouble with the front line of soldiers. Few Gekken fell to swords, though arrows were still claiming many as they rushed in. Captain Vol, standing with the archers, ordered them to fire as quickly as possible into the throng, even with the danger of hitting their own men on the front line. He could see now that those men were outmatched. He knew that the front lines, though a few still stood, were already lost. But, if the archers could take many Gekken down, and wound and slow the rest, then he, Feur, and the rest of his best men might stand a chance against them, and still stand victorious at the end of the day. He shouted to the troops huddled around him, his inner circle, those whom he had fought beside the longest. Those with whom he had vanquished so many foes on the battlefield. This was their greatest challenge yet, he knew, and they were ready.

  The beautiful Typhorian screamed at the two soldiers guarding her to release her, but their ears were deaf to her cries. Their eyes were fixed on the carnage in front of them. They had never seen anything like it. Suddenly, they were taken by surprise by two Gekken attacking from the back. One guard had his arm torn from his torso and his throat bitten before he could even react. The Gekken warrior stood triumphantly over him, bathing in the blood that gushed from the fallen soldier’s neck, painting his chest and face with it, just as Raveena had warned. Kiella watched in horror as she hid behind the wagon, peeking from below. She watched as the second guard waved his sword wildly, trying to fend off the second Gekken. The one he was engaged with laughed, though, as the other Gekken, now finished painting himself in the fallen guard’s blood, circled behind him and took a firm grip on the soldier’s head in his giant hand. There was a sickening sound as he squeezed and the soldier’s head burst open like a pomegranate. His body fell in a clump on the ground. The Gekken rushed to join their comrades in the fray. Suddenly, the things that Raveena had told Kiella no longer seemed like ghost stories.

  “Damn it! Kiella, release me! Get the keys! Release me! It’s our only chance” pleaded the warrior maiden.

  Kiella, overwhelmed by the horror of what was happening all around her, was startled out of her stupor by Raveena’s scream. She looked Raveena in the eye. The warrior continued to plead with her.

  “Please. Please Kiella. Release me. Let me fight. It’s our only hope. You see. You see now? Your captain, his men . . . they are overmatched. You must let me fight. We will be butchered too. It’s our only hope. For me, for yourself, for your captain, what men he has left . . . Let me out.”

  Kiella tried to gather her wits. Yes. Of course. There was nothing left to lose now. She looked up and saw Captain Vol. He was fending off the Gekken he was engaged with now, with Feur and two of his other top men still by his side, but there were still more Gekken coming in. Orders or no orders, she knew there was no reason left to keep the Typhorian locked up. She scampered out to the bodies of the fallen guards, trying frantically to search their bodies for the keys, while still watching for Gekken that might be coming to part her from life and limb. Luckily, the Gekken’s focus was on the remaining soldiers. She fumbled the keys twice before she was able to secure them, and then rushed back to the cage and began trying to find the one that matched the lock. Once the door was open, the Typhorian waited patiently as Kiella tried to determine which was the key to Raveena’s shackles.

  Captain Vol and his men were standing up to the assault. The Gekken’s numbers were thinning now. The odds were close to even. Three of Vol’s men remained, including Feur, and they were the strongest fighters he had. They were engaged with five Gekken, though a sixth was just now approaching. This Gekken was slightly older than the others, with battle scars all over his body and face. He wore a metal helmet, unlike any of the others, and he approached slowly, savoring his entry into the battle, unlike the other Gekken who had stormed in like rabid wolves, unable to contain their anxious thirst for combat. No, this one was different. Captain Vol knew this was his counterpart. This was the leader. Captain Vol pushed back the Gekken warrior he was currently engaged with and, while it was off balance, he rammed the edge of his blade through its gut. The beast continued to try and get up and fight, so Captain Vol twisted his blade, and the horrible creature shrieked with pain. He stepped on the dying Gekken’s torso and freed his blade of its disgusting flesh. The incoming Gekken leader barked out orders in a strange tongue to his soldiers, and they left the captain alone, and focused instead on the other men.

  The captain and the Gekken leader sized each other up. The Gekken smiled and sneered. The captain scoffed at his foe’s arrogance. He raised his blade and attacked. The Gekken leader stood still as the blade came for him. The captain was sure it would meet its mark, and was shocked that the fight would end so quickly, but at the last instant the Gekken moved faster than he imagined possible. Instead of cleaving the Gekken’s flesh with his blade, Captain Vol found his own hand stopped in mid-air, with the Gekken leader’s hand fastened about his wrist, having stopped it in mid-swing, and now squeezing with unfathomable strength. Captain Vol screamed as he felt the bones in his forearm crack and splinter as the Gekken leader tightened his grip. The captain’s scream was cut short, however, as the Gekken leader’s sword found its mark, cleaving with such force that it effortlessly split the good captain’s armor and his chest in one sharp thrust. The captain became silent, and fell to the ground.

  “Relax” said the Typhorian beauty, an impossible task under the circumstances. “You can do this” she assured Kiella. Finally, Kiella found the key that fit, and the warrior was free.

  Raveena wasted no time, gathering a sword off the ground from a fallen guard. As she approached the battle she shook the blade gently in her hand, an unconscious move that allowed her to get a feel for its weight and balance. She took two Gekken by surprise as they finished off poor Feur and the last of Captain Vol’s men. With precise, lightning fast strikes, her blade severed one Gekken’s leg and the other’s arm. While the former fell to the ground writhing and screaming in pain, the latter turned to her and attempted to strike with his remaining arm. Raveena ducked the blow, and thrust her blade into the Gekken’s gut. A third Gekken warrior attacked brashly, seeing that her blade was caught in the belly of his comrade. His attack was too clumsy as he tried to capitalize on what appeared to be a huge advantage over the warrior maiden, and she was able to evade him and trip him, buying herself enough time to pull another sword from the side of another fallen soldier. She eng
aged the Gekken foe, throwing three quick attacks, the first two swings designed to expose the Gekken for the third. The opening was there as planned, and the Gekken’s sword hand was quickly severed, as was his spirit from his body as she thrust her blade into his throat.

  The Gekken leader was pleased by what he saw. Finally, a human with some fight in her. This would make it all the more satisfying to take her life from her. He had not expected to see this kind of spirit from a human, but it was a pleasant surprise. He stepped up to her and paused, giving her a moment to collect herself, making sure that she was ready, and that he wasn’t going to defeat her too easily. He had seen how she had fought his soldier. He knew she possessed strategy. He also knew that she, like the rest of the humans, would probably underestimate the fighting skill of the Gekken. She would not expect him to know such tactics. Sure, he could defeat her with brute force, but to show that his tactics were superior to hers, that would be even more satisfying.

  He allowed her to take the first swing, assuring she was ready. He evaded it easily, but didn’t want to make it look too easy. He wanted her to underestimate his skill. He let her think he was off-balance. Yes, she came in for the kill, just as he wanted. He used her same trick. With one swing, he blocked her blow. With the next swing, he got her off balance. With the third swing, he stepped in, capitalized on the opening his second swing had created, and stabbed his blade into her lower abdomen. Yes, she was a worthy foe, a great warrior, but not as great as he had hoped. “Humans are disappointing adversaries” he thought. “They die too easily.”

  But this human wasn’t finished. Though the Gekken leader thought that the blow was a death-blow, that surely it would fell even the strongest human, Raveena didn’t fall. It caught her off guard, this level of sophistication in swordsmanship from a Gekken. Even she didn’t expect it. And the feeling of the blade cutting deep into her flesh stunned her. But, the intense pain was quickly overtaken by rage. Rage that pounded through her veins, pounded in her ears and her temples. Her mouth sneered, looking the grinning Gekken leader in the eyes. He thought the battle was over. He underestimated his opponent. He saw her swing too late, and his smug face flew through the air, his head cleaved from his shoulders by her blade, making a thud as it hit the ground and rolled, finally settling with his eyes, still grinning, fixed up into the heavens.

  The beautiful warrior maiden surveyed the battlefield. Death surrounded her. Every one of Captain Vol’s men lay butchered, but so did the Gekken. She looked down at the headless corpse of the Gekken leader, smiled, and then collapsed.

  To Be Continued

  In

  Episode 2:

  Bitter Enemies

  The Dawn of the Raven

  Episode 2:

  Bitter Enemies

  Kiella stared in disbelief. Was she the only survivor? The carnage, the horrors she had seen . . . it was beyond any nightmare. Beyond anything she ever could have imagined. And yet, she was alive, when all the others had perished. She looked to the gorgeous Typhorian, the one who had finished off the Gekken. The other soldiers had looked so outmatched, yet she alone had killed four, including the one who appeared to be the leader, the one who had so easily relieved the great Captain Vol of his life. Yet, she had not survived. Kiella had seen the Gekken’s blade go deep into the Typhorian’s stomach. Such a wound could mean a long and painful death. Perhaps the Typhorian was lucky that she appeared to succumb quickly, but now, what would Kiella do? Alone. Were there more? Had they really killed them all? Sunset was only a few hours away. Soon, it would be nightfall. The Gekken had slaughtered the horses or severed their reigns, and those that lived were long gone. Even if the Gekken were really gone, she wouldn’t make it out of the woods before night fell and the wolves prowled the forest. Perhaps she wasn’t the fortunate one after all.

  And yet, something stirred. The Typhorian. Astonishingly, she stood. Blood oozing from her belly, Kiella watched as the beautiful warrior matter-of-factly tore the fabric from a fallen soldier’s garments and used it to wrap tightly around her wound. She then turned and faced Kiella.

  “You. If you had freed me earlier, many of them wouldn’t have needed to die.”

  Kiella was still in shock that Raveena was standing, or breathing at all. She stared at her for a moment, bewildered, as if she thought she was an apparition. Then, she gathered herself and responded.

  “It wasn’t my decision. I was following orders. I couldn’t have freed you anyway, do you forget, I didn’t have the key.”

  “Your people. Idiots. Fools. Worse than I ever believed. I’ve known your people were senseless morons, but this . . . And now look, look at the price they paid? And my people . . . my people . . . I am the biggest fool of all, to have trusted you. To have put any faith in you. To have thought you would listen. That you might hear reason . . . I am such a fool. I’ve got to warn them. I’ve got to get to my people . . . immediately. They must know what is coming.”

  Kiella held her tongue. Yes, she wanted to defend her people, but now hardly seemed the time. She couldn’t believe her eyes as she watched Raveena begin to walk towards the west. Did she really think she would make it all the way to her kingdom? She would be lucky to make it to the edge of the clearing. She thought of the chickens whose bodies continue to move even after their heads were cleaved, and their death had already been determined. She didn’t see much difference between that and the beautiful warrior, as she limped across the field, acting as if she had no idea or awareness that her insides had been severed and that her death was imminent. Yet, she continued on, and soon Kiella realized she’d better rush to catch up, or be left truly alone there, in the wilderness, with no hope at all.

  “Please, let me tend your wound. I told you, I’m a trained medic” implored Kiella.

  “You and your people have done enough. Leave me alone.”

  “Surely, we are better off together than apart. You must let me tend that wound.”

  “Don’t touch me.” Raveena stopped and looked Kiella over. “You may come, but don’t slow me down. And don’t question me. You do what I say, when I say it. If you make yourself a nuisance, if you piss me off, I’ll kill you without a thought.”

  Kiella could tell that the beauty was not in the most sober of spirits. Whether she was hiding it from herself or not, Raveena’s eyes showed the wear. The dark, gorgeous eyes that could be so striking and vibrant were now fading. Kiella knew it was even more important that she go along for Raveena’s sake than for her own. She put up no argument and followed along.

  Raveena kept a pace that seemed unimaginable in her condition. They made good ground quickly, and had passed through nearly all of the Merken Woods, which were to the west of the Raganean Forest, by late afternoon. Kiella had been wishing to ask for a short rest for quite a while, when they came upon a quickly running stream and Raveena finally paused. Kiella took advantage of the moment to soak her aching feet and drink her fill of the fresh water. Raveena drank, and then carefully undressed and set her clothes aside, so that she could wash her wound without soaking them. Kiella thought it was strange that she took such care not to get the clothes wet when she would likely perish within hours anyway, such was the severity of the wound. Yet, it made sense. With a wound like that, if the clothes were left soaked and moist over it, it would probably only increase the likelihood of infection. She watched carefully as she undressed, soaking in each part of the beauty’s body. As Raveena stood in the stream up to her waist, leaning over to splash water gently over her wound, which had begun to close, Kiella was both distraught to see the warrior maiden so injured, and exhilarated by her gorgeous form. Her breasts were beyond perfect: beyond perfect in that no sculptor or painter could have ever captured the way that they moved, the way that their shape subtly changed with each shifting of her weight. Yes, it wasn’t just their exquisite form, it was the way they seemed to hang and be buoyed up at all moments. The way that their form was constantly shifting, both succumbing to and defying gravity’s pul
l at the same time. They were larger than they had appeared within her clothes, now freed from their restrictive confines. Raveena was so focused on what she was doing that she was oblivious to Kiella’s stare. Kiella soaked in each moment, again feeling her pussy’s lips becoming flushed, and moistening. She found herself wishing, so much, to give in to what she had so long desired but suppressed.

  As Raveena finished cleaning the wound, she stepped back up onto the shore. As she attempted to brush the water off of her legs, she bent forward. From behind her, Kiella watched between Raveena’s legs as water dripped from her gorgeous dark fur. She could make out the soft mound of her sweet, beautiful pussy. And, above it, that beautiful ass. It was so gorgeous, Kiella longed to reach down and rub herself, but she was able to fight the urge for fear of getting caught.

  Raveena turned, and Kiella’s attention fell back on her wound. She felt a great sense of sadness to see such an incredible warrior bear such an injury. Yes, it had begun to clot, but it already didn’t look well. The flesh around it was a strange color.

  “Please” Kiella implored, “let me examine it. I have medicine I carry with me to all battles. Tending wounds such as yours is part of my job.”