A tale of War pt1

Prologue

The morning mist slowly crept through the field.

As the two armies slowly became visible to each other like ghosts in the haze, and the sound of the approaching foe came to them, a thought echoed like the roar of a raging god all above the battlefield: “I will kill today. I will gut, and I will slay, and I will bring death to him, to my enemy, just before my own blood feeds the earth.”

As if the voice had been silenced, horns sounded. The warriors’ eyes widened, trying to discern the figure of the enemy but to no avail.  Hearts raced, as the call for slaughter echoed across the field.

Soon, all was madness.

A great roar rose from the warriors as they raced to meet each other in the centre of the valley.  Spearmen regiments stood fast to meet the charge of lightly armed warriors, while cavalry regiments thundered against the enemy knights. A joust, in which the banners would all be the brown of mud, and the crimson of spilled blood eventually.

Untrained spearmen impaled the warriors on the tips of their weapons with closed eyes, as the blood splattered them, trying their best to stay alive. Meanwhile, the knights clashed with a sound that threatened to drop lesser warriors to their knees.

1.The Warrior

“One thousand battles I have given. I meet them there every time. Those warriors, veterans, and recruits, butchers, rapists, poets, lovers, soldiers, brigands. Different faces every time, yet the same people. Many will die today. Others, will survive and return to their homes. Their fields, their wives and children.

As I pack my sword and armor to march to war I think: I am finally going home.

The only thing I fear is the end of battle.”

Through the ranks of Spearmen he came, as if they had been there only to carry this deadly weapon to battle. A lean figure, pale like a ghost, with dark brooding eyes, darker as the shadow of his long hair fell over them.  A wild, vicious joy burned now in his eyes, and a savage war cry came from his lungs. He lowered his sword at the terrified militia, crushing a man’s skull and hit again like a crazed demon laughing as the blood rained on him. Next to the knifes of the militia he was facing ,  his giant sword appeared even greater, a weapon that crushed  bones and weapons, and dug into flesh like a razor.  It was almost as tall as him, and yet he weaved it around as if it weighted a little less than a child’s wooden one.

Soon it became obvious that the scantily armored militia were being driven back and not by the valor of the spearmen.  He now was covered in crimson, only his teeth appeared white as he laughed, bleeding from tens of cuts surrounded by enemies, who could not touch him as he waved a web of death around him. He soon grew bored though. He took a life with each hit and yet it wasn’t enough for him.  Dark memories came to him, and savage sadism woke inside him.  He started playing with his victims. He pretended to stumble, and when someone screamed : “Now is our chance!” He pretended look in horror at his would be slayer.

The man came to him with a crude sword, a little longer than a kitchen knife. Ymir, had to try to contain his laughter. As the primitive weapon came down on him, he rose and punched the man hard on the chin, enough to stammer him so as to relieve him of his weapon. The next thing the over-optimistic warrior knew was that his hand was falling to the ground.

Ymir caught him as he screamed and kept on waving his greatsword at the wall of terrified enemies, who now jumped back anxious to avoid him.

“Look at them” whispered Ymir to the warrior’s ear as he held him, his arm around his his neck in a grip the enemy could not hope to break. “You know what they fear? They fear that they might meet your fate.”

He waved his greatsword again, just to keep them at bay for a moment more, and this time he took out his opponent’s eye using his own weapon. Next came his other hand.  And then his other eye.  Someone came at him trying to stop him, but he was decapitated instantly. Afterwards, Ymir disemboweled his victim while he still screamed, and let him fall to the ground, slowly going for the next. 

There would be no one else. They were running now no more eager to face the insane demon that came at them. He stood, and laughed madly against the bleak sky.

He didn’t even realize, how he was knocked unconscious next to the corpses of his enemies, he didn’t even realize as the world darkened around him that no one would know where he had fallen like a corpse among the corpses.