Author: HiroAyami
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Heroes Path: Chapter 1
The Raid
Night had fallen quickly, covering the desolate expanse of a land that a pitiful group of people still called home. Those same people dwelled within its ruined walls, clinging to a hope of salvation from their King, the great Adelbern and his son, Prince Rurik, one whom is also known for his great victories. Many were unable to distinguish the growing rift between the two, and those that did chose to over look it, tagging it as a mere disagreement between a father and son.
None-the-less Ascalons soldiers continued to fight against the charr, for king, for country and for their pride and honour. Ruriks fighting force, the Ascalon Vanguard, are no exception, and while they act independently from the military, they often provide support and fight alongside their fellow man. After all, they both had a common enemy, and they had a common goal, defeat the charr, push them back at all costs and free Ascalon from its current war torn fate...
At the Great Northern Wall, a section near the Ruins of Surmia Ascalon soldiers hurried to organise themselves into a last minute defence. The command had shifted wordlessly from the military’s captain to a fairly well-known member of the Vanguard, Hiro Des Trinith. Having fought along side Prince Rurik on numerous occasions and achieving his own victories against the char, he was a natural choice to lead a defence like this. Canthan by blood he stood smaller than most of Ascalons warriors, a mere five foot ten, though still sported the physique of both muscle and scars. His blue eyes were a gift from his mother, a woman of Ascalon, who was once a teacher though her death was brought about from a bad sickness, long before the charr had breached the walls.
“Sir, we’re in position now!” the Captain beside him informed him after speaking to a subordinate.
Hiro nodded, stepping up to the edge of the stairs, leaning up against the stone guards, surveying the area carefully. “Good. Keep a watch for now, the enemy should be here soon. Our archers need to be alert; much of this battle will be determined by them, and your group Captain.” As the Captain saluted him and proceeded to bark orders to his men, Hiro made his way to a small covering setup against the wall, otherwise called a ‘tent’. “Sarnia, the charr will be here soon.”
“Good,” the elementalist told him, getting to her feet slowly, the wince that followed did not go unnoticed by her companion.
“You’ll stay up here and protect the archers.” He told her.
She growled at him and stomped her staff against the stone ground. “Like hell I will! I’m Vanguard too if you haven’t noticed.”
Hiro sighed, “You’re injured, if we had to retreat up the stairs you wouldn’t make it, and I sure as hell don’t want to carry you again.”
Glaring she turned away indignantly, folding her arms across her chest. “Fine, I’ll stay up here and assume command in case something happens to you; friendly fire or the like.”
At that point a soldier interrupted them, his voice strained and he seemed out of breath, “The charr are approaching, it’s a large group, at least fifty or more!”
“Numbers aren’t everything.” He told the soldier, looking back at Sarnia who cast him a wry smile before walking past the soldier to the Captain. “Captain, once the charr are down the hill, give the archers the order to fire let them know that every shot counts. Aim for their throats, let them taste steel.”
In the distance past the bridge the shouts and grunts of charr could be heard, and soon enough the burly beasts could be seen, running towards the wall with purpose. The tension and fear from the soldiers was easy for Hiro to sense and he too said a silent prayer for himself and those defending the wall that day.
“Dwayna preserve…” he muttered before drawing his sword. Sarnia had begun chanting the words to a familiar spell and soon enough she let out a yell, her eyes flashing with her magic before a rain of fire began to fall from the sky in front of the bridge and onto the approaching char. Those with shields raised it to shield themselves, and for the most part those who did so were struck down regardless as the flames rained from the sky. Many survived though, especially towards the end of the destruction, and continued forward, their battle cries indistinguishable from the feral cry of an animal. Readying themselves the thinly spread line of soldiers raised their shields in front of them, preparing themselves into a defensive stance as their Captain gave the order for their archers to fire. Four more char fell as four out of the six archers perched atop the wall met their mark. The char spared from the pre-emptive strikes charged onwards and collided with the soldiers, who, for the most part, held their ground; though as the remainder of the charr followed suit several were knocked over, allowing for several char to break past their lines and continue onward.
Readying his shield Hiro let out a ferocious battle cry and leapt over the side of the stairs, his shield lowered to protect him, he slammed it against a char as he landed, the blade of his sword forced through the back of the wooden shield and into the beast. He quickly pulled out his weapon and moved to face the next char; raising his sword above his head he parried its attack, forcing its sword far enough away for him cleanly slash his sword across its throat. At the same time Sarnia let out another cry and he watched a huge fireball sail over head and into the last of the approaching char, exploding and killing the group. The smell of burning flesh and fur washed over the small battle field immediately. He then ducked an axe aimed for his head, charging his shoulder into the creatures chest as he thrust his sword through its heart.
The rest of the battle did not last very long, the soldiers and Hiro finished off the remainder of the char, every char that had attacked, down to the last one were slain. A total of fifty four char had been killed, according to the numbers at the end of the day a large victory for the thirty soldiers and two members of the Vanguard. In the end Hiro had killed thirteen, while Sarnia had sent over sixteen to their doom. Several of the soldiers took weapons and heads from the char, brandishing them proudly before tossing the severed heads into a fire along with the bodies, keeping their weapons, if any good, for themselves.
As reinforcements arrived a small celebration was still being held, and the new soldiers joined in on the drinking and humble feast. Even Sarnia subjected herself to joining in the fun, despite her half hearted excuses and disapproving looks. However, along with the reinforcements, a messenger for Hiro and Sarnia also came, bearing the orders from Rurik himself to meet him in Surmia. Hiro remained in their tent, packing for their journey come morning to the Frontier Gate and then to Surmia’s Ruins.
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