Sacorax was leaning back in a chair in a large tent. Several men were on call if he needed anything. Their faces were sad, angry even as they looked at their captain. He didn't seemed phased at all by the deaths that occurred that day, he truly didn't care. Jeff stood faithful behind him and he knew there were several men in the army that were faithful to him as well. The ones he recruited. "You know, if your captain died, how do you think you'll fare in the coming fights?" Sacorax teased the random soldiers he had assembled. Their faces all sunk, in rage and sorrow. Sacorax was pleased, he had sent one of his most faithful messengers to the King for a new captain. They'd be taking the long road and so Sacorax have more power for a long time now.
Chalybs was sitting near the middle of camp where there was a large fire pit. He was surrounded by small pieces of many sorts of metal and he was holding a metal rod in the fire. It must have appeared odd when he cut his wrist and stuck the metal rod in the fresh cut. "Gah... i never can get used to that." he groaned to himself. "Crap, looks like my iron and carbon levels are low." He then took a small shard of iron and a piece of coal and shoved them into the hole in his wrist. His heart and his blood were constantly in need of maintenance. He had to regularly heat up his blood and repair the levels of the different metals that were in it. It was one of his punishments for being allowed another life.
Having finished and mailed his letter, and having nothing better to do, King Quoten decided to take a stroll around the camp. Somewhere around the middle of camp, he saw a man holding rods of metal in the fire and sticking them into his arm. Intrigued by this curious behavior, Quoten decided to investigate. "Hullo there. If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing?"
Hullo there. If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing? "Great, its the insane 'King'" Chalybs thought to himself. He wasn't in a good mood, most people wouldn't be while sticking burning metal rods into their arms. "I guess it won't matter whether i tell him or not" he thought to himself. "Hi, I'm making sure i have enough iron in my blood, you need iron in your blood to stay healthy you know." It wasn't necessarily a lie, it wasn't quite true either though...
"Hi, I'm making sure i have enough iron in my blood, you need iron in your blood to stay healthy you know." "I daresay! Usually I just gnaw on a fork for a while and snack on the occasional metal scrap, but your method is much more efficient. Mind if I try?"
I daresay! Usually I just gnaw on a fork for a while and snack on the occasional metal scrap, but your method is much more efficient. Mind if I try? "...This guy really is insane!" Chalybs said to himself. He prayed that some distraction would send this guy away. "I don't think it would be such a good idea, its actually pretty painful... plus it's unhealthy to share things like needles, right?"
With the mission out of the way and his chores complete, Van turned his attention to training. It took him a few minutes to convince the archers to go along with his idea, but they reluctantly accepted. Even after he stepped out onto the target range, right into their line of fire, many of them still thought he was joking. He drew his sword and split it in half down the middle, making two identical blades, then put away the hilt and held one blade in each hand. With these, he could react faster than using one large blade. He'd need all his quickness for what he was about to do. He was always in search of new ways to hone his skills. Archers and long range attackers were his weak-point and if he was to be the greatest swordsman of all time, he'd have to overcome all his weaknesses. Today, that meant overcoming a barrage of arrows. A crowd had begun to form at the archery range and he could hear their murmurs. Some laughed, some prepared to watch a man die, but most negotiated wagers. "Fire," he yelled to the archers, as he stood before them, ready to accept their incoming arrows. A few were quick to raise their bows, while some were slightly more timid. "And don't miss."
"I don't think it would be such a good idea, its actually pretty painful... plus it's unhealthy to share things like needles, right?" "Yes, I suppose I'll have to do it on my own time." For a second he paused and gazed off across camp. "Terrible thing, isn't it. The loss of Captain Basche."
Terrible thing, isn't it. The loss of Captain Basche. "Yeah, a terrible thing. Eaten by a rabbit nonetheless." Then looking around the camp he saw the man who used a glass sword training by blocking arrows. "My dear king, if you'd excuse me I need to go warm up" Chalybs said as he excused himself and walked over to Van. "Hey, Van. I'd be happy to help you with your training if you'd like," He said as he raised his hands out to his sides and a swarm of metal arrows appeared at his sides.
"Hey, Van. I'd be happy to help you with your training if you'd like," Chalbys said. You again? Van thought, looking the man over. "If you want to help, join the other archers over there," he replied, pointing to the group of thirty archers waiting to fire. A moment later and Chalybs would have walked into a barrage of arrows. "Now go. You're holding up my training. Tell them all to fire at once. Blocking them one by one is just too easy."
Tell them all to fire at once. Blocking them one by one is just too easy. "That's exactly why I'm offering my help. I can shot thirty different arrows at you at the same time, just like they can. I can also soot at you from all different angles and even curve the shots. That ought to make things more interesting, right?"
"That's exactly why I'm offering my help. I can shoot thirty different arrows at you at the same time, just like they can. I can also shoot at you from all different angles and even curve the shots. That ought to make things more interesting, right?" "Magic arrows weren't in the plan today," Van said, growing impatient. He was ready and focused a moment ago, but Chalybs was breaking his concentration. The archers didn't seem pleased either. They were going to miss out on an opportunity to shoot at one of the best soldiers in teh camp. But the more Van thought about it, the more he liked the idea. It would be more difficult this way and he always liked a challenge. "Fine," he said, "but don't hold back." The archers sighed in unison and began to disband, but most of the crowd remained. They wanted to see a man fend off a barrage of arrows. It made no difference to them where the arrows came from. "I'm ready when you are."
I'm ready when you are. "Prepare yourself then" Chalybs's blood was still hot from his repairs, he wanted to burn off some energy. He moved the arrows around, having them circle around Van in a vortex "Here they come" he warned as he started to release them. They were slow at first but they quickly gained speed, and the gap between shots lessened with each shot, soon they would be firing instantaneously, he also started to vary the angles and curves of the shots more and more after each shot. Soon it would be physically impossible to block all of his shots...
"Prepare yourself then," Chalybs said as the arrows began to encircle Van. This isn't what I had in mind, Van thought as he readied his blades, but it'll do. "Here they come." The arrows started off slow, flying in one or two at a time, which was good because Van had no practice defending against metal arrows. He usually knocked them out of the sky by cutting them in half, but that tactic wouldn't work on metal arrows. Instead, he deflected them. The deflected arrows flew back into circulation, giving Chalybs an infinite supply of ammunition. It was clear this could drag on forever. It won't end until I give up, Van thought. And I never give up. The attacks became more and more frequent. He was able to hold his own when the arrows were coming two-by-two, but when they began to swoop down in groups of three, four, and eventually five, Van began to doubt how much longer he could last. He was doing more dodging than defending. In the back of his mind, he knew the only way to block so many arrows would be to use some form of magic. He hated the thought of relying on magic; he was determined to fight them off using only his own strength. Six arrows swooped in. He was still off balance after blocking the previous barrage. Without thinking, he drew the hilt from his belt. The glass blades fragmented into shards and circled all around him, fast enough to form a crude barrier and dense enough to deflect the incoming arrows. It was a reflexive action and he cursed himself for doing it. NO, he thought, throwing down the hilt. The fragments dropped to the ground and the six arrows broke through. He attempted to dodge them, but one got through and pierced him through the shoulder. Chalybs stopped the barrage and recalled his arrows, while Van remained, down on one knee, watching his own blood stain the ground, drip by drip. With his sword in hand, he stood and approached Chalybs. The glass shards followed him, like a shimmering trail on the ground at his feet. "Thanks," he said to Chalybs in a cold tone. Then grabbed the arrow protruding from his shoulder and pulled it out with one sharp jerk. "I want to be the greatest swordsman of all time," he said, the blood-stained arrow down at the man's feet, "not the greatest mage. Save your magic tricks for someone else." And with that, he walked away to treat his wounds elsewhere.
From the crowd, Tenes watched as Chalybs and Van trained. Chalyb's magic was beyond formidable; the man was insanely good. And then there was the human who had fended off the other man's attack with nothing to show for it except for a minor injury. He wondered if he needed to use magic just to get to him as the mage did. No reason not to try. "Hey, swordsman!" He called, as the man retreated. "When you're ready, come back! I've got no magic, and you look like a fine warrior. Good training for both of us, I guess."
I want to be the greatest swordsman of all time, Save your magic tricks for someone else. "Magic tricks? How does he plan to be the greatest swords man without being able to defend himself from magic?" Chalybs thought to himself. He didn't understand what was going on in the mans mind. "Although, he did better than one would expect. And that blade; it was definitely magic. If he had used its power he could have defend himself indefinitely. Although..." He said clenching his fist, "He did manage to drain me pretty well; I ought to train with him again sometimes."
Sacorax had sent all his men away except Jeff. It was clear that something was happening out there, but Sacorax could care less about what it was. Right now, he was thinking about Chalybs and what he could possibly be. His ability to notice minute details about people and come to such conclusions was impressive, something that Sacorax thought was more suspicious than interesting. "Someone thinks they know about me, Jeff," he told the human behind him. There was a long silence before Jeff said anything. "I can kill him in his sleep if you wish." "No," Sacorax commanded. "I wish to study him more. Once I squeeze every ounce of information out of that scum, I'll kill him myself." Sacorax rose, leaving his tent and going to see what all the men were up to.
"Hey, swordsman!" someone called out as Van left the training area. "When you're ready, come back! I've got no magic, and you look like a fine warrior. Good training for both of us, I guess." He recognized the voice, but didn't turn to see who it was. He didn't care, nor did he pay any mind to Chalybs, whose face was wrought with what seemed to be a mix of confusion and pity. Defeat was a rare thing for Van and it always left him a little bitter, though most people wouldn't consider this defeat at all -- it could've turned out much worse. Regardless, he never liked to fail a challenge. He returned to his bunk and stripped off the upper half of his armor, then set to work bandaging his bleeding shoulder, mumbling all manner of profanities as he did. "I f***ing hate magic," he repeated to himself under his breath, amidst a sea of expletives.
A few hours after Van's training session, the dinner bell rang and everyone enjoyed a dinner of three-day-old bread, stew which was little more then boiled salt with a few unidentifiable bits mixed in, and milk which was more butter than milk. Afterwards, most people went off to bed and took a trip to Dreamtown, or performed various chores which needed attending. After another morning being greeted by the foul-mouthed man who rang the morning bells, the barracks filed out into the courtyard for orders from their temporary Captain. "I have received reports of a mysterious magical entity terrorizing the country side, destroying entire villages overnight. We are to rendezvous with three other battalions along with a squad of wizards to the south of its last known position, and attempt to destroy, capture, or in some way disable this entity. You are to eat breakfast, and meet back here in the courtyard within the hour." After a hastened breakfast, the Barracks met back in the courtyard and began their march to a small town less than a mile west of their position.
"That's great", Chalybs thought to himself. "Last time our captain was eaten when we fought a rabbit, what's going to happen when we attack a "mysterious magical entity"?" Chalybs wasn't sure how they were going to fight a "mysterious magical entity" the only magic he knew was metal manipulation, something that would be totally ineffective if this thing was comprised of fire or wind magic like some spirit.
"I'm starting to feel like a glorified pest killer." Tenes said, and sighed. "Why can't these villagers just solve their own problems? We're the army, not their bodyguards. I hope it's a good challenge at least, not some other giant bunny demon." Tenes took an apple out of his quiver and took a bite. No need to be hungry in the morning, especially when about to kill something again. At least the sun wasn't getting into his eyes now.
Van walked along in silence with his sword -- now in one piece -- tucked away on his back. Under his overcoat and tunic, his left shoulder was wrapped in several layers of bandages. After much debate, he had allowed one of the mages at the camp to heal him up. He refused to be completely healed by magic, but had allowed them to close the wound and cast some spells that would fend off infection. It was good enough to fight with, but the pain remained as a reminder, just the way he liked it.
"This should turn out to be a quite boring trip," Sacorax thought to himself. If they needed an army to take this thing down, they'd lose a lot of men in battle. That was no concern to Sacorax. But was this the darkness his organization saw coming? Probably not but Sacorax had to keep his eyes out for anything suspicious. The sooner the world returned to normal, the sooner Sacorax wouldn't have to be in this human cesspool.
After less than an hour of marching, the battalion rounded a large hill. Before them they saw vast grasslands, dotted with dark green forests and, nestled in the crook of a river, a peaceful hamlet. Were it not for the hundreds of soldiers settled in the grass next to the hamlet, it would've been a perfect picture. The men marched up to the other soldiers, and were informed that this was only one of the three battalions they were to meet up with. They were allowed to wander near-by, so long as they didn't go too far away.
"Damn them, I hate waiting," Sacorax said out loud as he heard the other battalion wasn't there yet. Humans were known to be tardy, Sacorax knew it was to be expected of their pitiful race. They were either just late or they had run up ahead for fame and glory only to be crushed by their enemy. Humans did that too, another sad stain on their already pathetic existence.
