Hope in the Shadows

by Umut Ersezer

  The recruits were fighting back; however, overcoming their initial shock, they began to use their training, slashing at the darkspawn. There were as many darkspawn collapsed on the grass as there were men. How long would they last, though? The darkspawn kept coming.

  From the haze of the fires, a seemingly infinite number of hounds kept charging at them.

  Cal and Webil vigorously blocked bites with shields and hacked with swords as they inched away from the forest.

  A horn sounded in the distance from the rear of the formation. The next second, a wave of black arrows, dense enough to further blot out the sun, were shot into the air, arcing their way down to hail upon the darkspawn…and the recruits.

  “Shield up!” shouted Cal to Webil.

  The men raised their shields to block the incoming arrows, several of them wedging into and splintering the wood. It left them exposed to the darkspawn, they had to fend them off with only their sword.

  “What are they doing, Cal!? Webil cried out.

  “Blast it! Blast it all to damnation!” Cal bellowed.

  Wave after wave of arrows were fired, landing on both darkspawn and recruits indiscriminately. They wouldn’t last much longer.

  “Ahh!” Webil cried out.

  Cal turned to find an arrow sticking out of Webil’s knee, forcing him to kneel. Cal couldn’t avoid a sinking feeling envelop his emotions, his friend was crippled, unable to move freely. Cal stepped in-between his friend and the forest, ready to defend his friend with his life. He couldn’t let him die.

  He waited for the next onslaught of hounds, breathing heavily, trying not to cough against the smog filling his lungs. It was so hard to see through it, the fires were blazing with rage now.

  Cal could see shadows forming ahead of him. He braced himself, adjusting his footing to ensure he had a good balance for a block and swing.

  “Webil, can you crawl?”

  “I…I think so.”

  “Let’s go, nice and easy,” Cal instructed reassuringly. They began backing away, step by step retreating from the fight. But then something caught Cal’ eye. The shadows were growing into a different shape this time, not of hounds but of…human.

  Cal squinted, forcing his sight to try and pierce the black and grey haze. He paused in his retreat, mesmerised with the form taking shape in front of him. It was human.

  The recruits were reforming their ranks, huddling together into tighter formations, individual platoons becoming mixed and jumbled into a giant one. All but a couple of captains were slain, with the ones remaining no longer interested in leading but instead only to survive.

  Maybe only a third of the recruits still lived Cal concluded as he assessed their numbers. The arrows had stopped as well, there seemed to be a false sense of calmness in the break of fighting.

  The shadows go grew larger, closer until finally breaking through the haze, getting close enough for Cal to see that they were indeed human. Or at least in their shape, their skin was blackened, like that of the darkspawn hounds. They walked with a jerky nature to their movements, muscles twitching irregularly giving, these bodies a sickly appearance.

  It was hard to make out their facial features their skin was so dark, unnaturally so, like the night sky. These human darkspawn dragged swords in their hand along the ground, as if too weak to carry them. Their eyes were dead, showing no thought, no emotion. The juxtaposition of it was unnerving.

  Suddenly with a frighteningly unpredictable speed, the humanoid darkspawn broke into a run, charging at the recruits but making no noise. Swords raised above their heads before crashing them down upon shields, splintering them. Men were being cleaved apart, it was a gruesome sight. Cal stood transfixed, unable to tear his eyes from the grisly scene in front of him.

  A darkspawn was charging at Cal, forcing him to break out of his trance. This one appeared to be female, with more slender features. She closed the distance between them at an alarming rate. Cal raised his shield, readying himself to block. She raised her sword, but stopped dead in her tracks, sword held high above her head. Her body was jerking violently as if she was having a mental debate whether or not to continue her attack.

  Cal, confused, lowered his shield slightly to try and take a look at what was happening. He peered into the female darkspawn’s jet black eyes, revealing the faintest hint of blue.

  Facial features were slightly clearer from this close range, Cal could begin making them out. She had hair as well, but it seemed to sway in a breeze that wasn’t present. He took a step closer, holding his sword up, ready to smash it down upon the darkspawn creature.

  His eyes widened as he recognised the face, the hair, the body shape.

  “Fidum!?” Cal cried in bewilderment. “Is that you!? How?”

  The darkspawn didn’t respond, it was just frozen in place, jerking back and forth.

  “Fidum, it’s me! What’s happened to you!? Cal cried out.

  No response. Another figure walked by her. Much smaller. A Boy.

  “No…” Cal said in a hushed sombre tone.

  The boy dragged his sword, walking right past Cal to stand beside Webil, looking down upon him.

  “No Amet…stop…it’s me, your father.” Cal stepped slowly towards the darkspawn, but it stood still, just looking down upon Webil who was cowering, trying to hold up his shield to protect himself.

  With sickening speed, the darkspawn boy kicked the shield away and with chilling quietness, pushed his sword into the chest of Webil.

  The young man whimpered, holding onto the blade, trying to stop the sword from plunging through him. It was no use, his hand just became bloodied, as he started sputtering blood. Webil collapsed, his eyes becoming glassy. Cal rushed over and held his head up with his hand.

  “Webil, hang in there. Just stay awake. Listen to my voice. Please, no Webil. Stay with me here, it will be alright.”

  Webil, turned his eyes to Cal, connecting with him for a final moment before his body became limp, his eyelids slightly closing, his life now drained from his body. Cal ran his other hand over Webil’s face, closing his eyelids and resting his head onto the ground now pooling with his blood.

  Tears were welling in his eyes. He had failed. Despair enveloped him as he looked up towards the darkspawn that murdered Webil. It looked exactly like Amet.

  “How can this be?” Cal cried out loud, wiping his tears.

  “How could you do this, son? No, you’re not my son! And you’re not my wife!” He shouted, looking back at the female darkspawn, still frozen, holding the sword above her head.

  Both of these things were lifeless, creatures of darkness. In the next instance, they turned their heads to look directly at Cal. Both breaking out of their stillness, taking steps towards Cal. The boy darkspawn pulled his sword out of Webil and pointed it at Cal. How could Cal fight them, how could he swing his sword at his own family.

  The boy jumped at him, sword first, Cal parried with his shield, then stuck his sword through the darkspawn with a trained reflex. The Amet darkspawn looked up at Cal, simply stepping back to remove the sword from its chest. It jumped toward Cal, again and again, no matter how many cuts or stabs it received, it didn’t go down. Cal gritted his teeth, fighting back tears he swung his sword in a wide arc, slicing the head off the boy.

  The body dropped, now lifeless. From behind him, he heard an ear-shattering screech. It was Fidum. She woke from her frozen state, leaping at Cal, trying to kill him with ferocity. Cal could only defend, deflect what he could while stepping back.

  “Blast it! I need support!” he shouted out. Why haven’t we received back up? We’ve been decimated!

  He danced with the darkspawn in a duel of swords, Cal had become quite an accomplished swordsman from his years of training earlier, farming only making his body stronger. But he wouldn’t last forever. He had to end it.

  He felt two deeply conflicting emotions fighting this darkspawn creature, so vile, so evil, yet it was in the shape of his beloved wife. What if this was
really her? It can’t be, Cal concluded. But why did it pause? Did it recognise him?

  Tears were welling in his eyes once more, knowing what he would have to do. He had to kill her, to kill his wife. The thought unthinkable.

  Cal gritted his teeth, successfully deflecting a blow then ramming his sword in the neck of the darkspawn Fidum. She fell, her body now lifeless.

  Cal dropped to his knees, exhausted, both physically and emotionally.

  “What is this, damnation?” he mumbled to himself, hanging his head.

  At this moment, he didn’t care if he lived or died. All was lost. Why were Fidum and Amet here? he wondered. Does it mean they’re dead? Is it a trick? Have they succumbed to some dark magic and forced to fight? Cal had so many questions racing through his mind. Then, like a thunderbolt, a thought came to him.

  “Volare!” he shouted. Cal’s eyes darting around, looking for his other boy. Nothing. Only death, blood, darkness and smog around him.

  The recruits were all but lost, only the last few dozens of them remaining to fend off thousands of darkspawn humanoids. It was over for them, they had been sacrificed to absorb the brunt of darkspawn, but it wasn’t enough. Not even close. They still came, all around him, he was surrounded.

  A swordsman stepped by him, fully clad in armour, a sword resting on his shoulder, a reinforced shield strapped to his other arm. A few more walked past him, some carrying spears or heavy axes. The military was finally making their move.

  A different sounding horn sounded from once again the rear of the army. The ground began rumbling again, Cal could hear the clash of metal plates as the bulk of the career soldiers finally entered the fray at a run. They were far more organised, moving up in unison, fighting as one, with rhythmic motion, they methodically cut down swathes of darkspawn. They communicated with each other, constantly, warning their comrades of danger, asking for help, instructing battle formations. Not even these creatures of darkness could stand against the organisation and might of the military.

  Cal could only watch, still frozen on his knees, occasionally looking at the body of Fidum, then at the carnage taking place around him. He turned to Webil, half expecting him to open his eyes and get up, but he didn’t.

  A monstrous black horse leaped over Cal, landing with a force to shake the very ground around it. A man, wearing black plate, embedded with gems with a large flaming sword, looked around the battlefield. Trajan! Cal thought. He is responsible for this! The recruits! Their deaths! It’s his fault!

  Cal, in a rage he hadn’t felt before, picked up his sword and charged at Trajan.

  “DAMN YOU!!!” Cal bellowed. He swung his sword at Trajan.

  The Assault – Part 2

  Trajan patted at his horse, Fergus, keeping him calm and focussed on the task ahead.

  He had grown bored of watching frail recruits be slaughtered. But he was satisfied they served their purpose of absorbing the brunt of the charge, giving him and his soldiers a chance to assess their enemy.

  The darkspawn numbers had been culled by a significant margin, with the fires raging in the forest, the hail of arrows bringing them down and recruits fighting for their lives, their initial battle was deemed successful. But it was time to bring it to an end.

  “Mitchim, you have command here, I’m going in,” said Trajan.

  “But, sir!?” Captain Mitchim sputtered.

  “Shut it Mitchim, I’m not walking away from this without the darkspawn tasting my sword. Do you want to be a commander one day or not?” said Trajan in a challenging tone.

  “Y…yes, sir! Orders, sir?”

  “Launch our remaining trebuchet fireballs, launch the chained ballistae spears, launch everything we have across the span of the forest. Force the vile things out. I want them all. If you see their numbers swell, send in the mounted brigades. We’ll crush them from all sides.”

  After making his intentions clear to Mitchim, Trajan turned to Shala.

  “Shala, relay my intentions to the other high commanders through the communication orb. If we work as one, we will make this day a short one.”

  Both Mitchim and Shala nodded and set off on their assigned tasks, leaving Trajan to focus on the coming fight.

  He kicked the side of his horse, encouraging him to charge into the chaos below, his horse galloping at a feverish pace, mirroring his master’s hunger to crush the darkspawn under his hooves.

  They leaped over bodies and the carnage of the battlefield, snaking their way through the battalions joining the fight. He reached the front, where he belonged, where he thrived. He could feel the fire engulfing his sword and rage rising from within him, he lusted after the fight, becoming one minded, his senses acutely sharpened to the sounds and smells of the glory around him.

  “DAMN YOU!!!”

  Trajan turned to find a man, face covered in blood, sweat, dirt and ash charging at him, sword held high. His demeanour was that of anguish personified.

  The man swung wildly, but Trajan, in his black plate, atop his warhorse was more than mere man or soldier. Trajan deflected the man’s swing with his sword, kicking him to the chest, feeling the vibration and hearing the sound of several ribs cracking under the force of his boot, sending him flying several metres.

  The man collapsed, unconscious or not, Trajan didn’t have time to worry about a crazed recruit. He jumped off his horse, wanting to get closer, face to face with the darkspawn. He didn’t fear them, he was adamant that they should fear him.

  The soldiers around him cheered when they noticed he had entered the battle, raising their swords, revelling in the glory of the fight. Trajan saw other black plated warriors now also entering the conflict along the front lines. He felt satisfaction, Shala must have been successful in convincing the other commanders to end this battle with him.

  There were now tens of firebrand sword-wielding warriors scattered throughout the battlefield, leaving embers behind in the wake of their swings. They were beacons of power, beacons of the might facing the darkspawn.

  Trajan turned towards several darkspawn who had noticed him, it was a mixture of humanoid, hound…and dwarf shaped darkspawn.

  Trajan grunted to himself, he breathed in and out deeply, the sound of it amplified within his helmet. He couldn’t help but notice the appearance of these humanoid darkspawn were remarkably similar to those of his dreams. He felt some nervousness about its meaning but forced it aside. He decided the worry would only spur him to fight even harder. Preventing the outcome of his dreams happening in this reality.

  The darkspawn charged at him, but Trajan was not intimidated, he smiled, steeled himself and charged right back at them. His swings were broad and vicious, devastating any darkspawn daring to challenge him. His garrison was gathering around him, wanting to share in his glory, the humans were on top, that much was clear, but what remained a mystery was what would lie within the forest itself.

  Trajan needed to worry about that later, in this moment, he just wanted to do what he did best.

  The battle continued for an hour or two longer, with seemingly endless hordes of darkspawn pouring out of the forest. They appeared to have no limit to their numbers, and the battle had reached somewhat of a stalemate, if anything darkspawn numbers were greater now than before.

  Piles of their bodies were mounting across the battlefield, mixing with the bodies of mostly recruits.

  Even the fires were beginning to die down within the forest, they should have blazed for hours longer, which left Trajan concerned. All the fireballs had been launched, it was now just men against darkspawn. They needed to turn the tide of battle once more.

  Trajan could now see the mounted brigades riding down the hills of the battlefield, approaching from the side to execute a pincer manoeuvre. Yes, Trajan thought, smiling. Mitchim must have read my mind! Excellent timing, I’ll need to reward him after this.

  As the mounted soldiers began to turn into the fight, Trajan heard a booming roar from above. It was still so hazy from the fires, he coul
d barely see through it to the sky above. He could only make out a shadow, a massive one, with wings, spanning what must be tens of metres.

  “It can’t be. Not now. Please tell me this beast is on our side,” said Trajan to himself.

  For the first time in this battle, he felt nervous, not the excited kind but the fearful. The dragon got closer, it was flying directly towards the front lines, diving towards them. Its shadow growing enormous, even at a distance. A horn sounded. Its note instructed a retreat.

  “No!” Trajan bellowed.

  But his voice fell on deaf ears as soldiers cowered under the approaching beast and began their retreat. The darkspawn only followed, not reacting to the dragon’s presence, not showing fear. Trajan concluded that it was probably a bad sign and decided retreat was perhaps the best option, but it was too late.

  The dragon burst through the smog, assessing the situation below. It was mostly coal-black, with streaks of crimson red along its body. This is a different dragon to the one that flew over my garrison thought Trajan.

  “How many of these blasted dragons are there!?” he exclaimed.

  It didn’t matter at this moment. The dragon wheeled around for another flyby, this time its mouth was open, with an orange glow building from within its throat.

  It launched massive streams of fire breath upon man and darkspawn alike. Not discriminating between friend or foe. All would die today to its fiery fury. The dragon missed Trajan on the first run before wheeling around once more, launching more fire upon the ground, scorching everything into a blaze beneath.

  This time, the dragon came directly at him, the stream of fire heading towards him with alarming velocity, there was no escape, he couldn’t outrun it. The firewall created was massive, tens, hundreds of men and darkspawn at a time were burnt to ash in an instant.

  “It can’t end this way,” Trajan found himself saying as he watched the wall of fire coming at him.