Chapter 11: For Freedom, For Alfar and For Yourself...

The horizon's edge was painted a crimson red, the sun hadn't shined on Windemere as per Tirnoch's promise. But even if I couldn't see the sun, a new dawn was coming. I could feel it in my bones, feel it in my flesh, feel it...in my soul. I stood with my cape flailing in the wind on a tall building overlooking a mass of citizens, warriors and clansmen whom had armed themselves. Demons strew along the streets of Transvayne, a city that we'd retook for the people.

I wore my golden armor, covering my body with spiked shoulder armor and a heavy new sword strapped to my back that length my entire body. As I began to speak, the aligned masses before me began to huddle. "Gawd...I knew I should have paid attention in public speaking class. Ahem..."

I wanted to say something that would boil their blood, something that would convince them to fight for their homes. But I gazed into the crowd seeing women, children, elderly. Men with broken spirits...this wasn't an army. These were civilians...I dropped my idiotic bravado, inhaled then began.

"I'm suppose to stand up here, give you all a heartwarming speech that hypes you up to battle. But I see now that I don't have to do something like that...fuck a speech. You people know what you need, you people know what needs to be done already. These monsters, these THINGS! Took your home, raped and tortured your family. " I said beginning to pace back and forth while pointing into the crowd at random people, the crying wife. The shamed husband and the defenseless child.

"You want a hero, I understand that. But some things, you don't need a hero for. Some THINGS you have to get off of your ass and start fighting for yourself." I said stomped once. And with that afew beastmen, vampires and dark elves stood up. My ferociousness began to fan out through the speech. "Don't be scared, don't stand up because of some new found sense of justice or worth! GET UP AND GET FUCKING ANGRY!"

"Angry...angry at the motherfuckers who touched your wife, angry at the motherfuckers who kicked you out of your home, ANGRY AT THE ASSHOLES THAT TOOK AWAY YOUR SELF SECURITY!" I punched a hole through a wall of stone beside me and watched it crumble over my forearm gauntlet. The civilians began to bicker, the men with broken spirits found muscle and power in their feet to stand and throw their fists up with me. "I'm not standing here telling you things won't get bad. Sure they are, that's war. But think about it, unless we take the fight to them! They'll always hold the power over your home, your loved ones and your soul! They've already taken so much from you...don't let them take that."

"AYE!" The men, women and children all stood up. Gathering weapons laid astray over the destroyed streets of Transvayne.

"Now...we take the fight to them." I said pointing off to the far south of Windemere where the gathering of flames and demons were. Man, woman and even child took up arms. Some allied soldiers of Vampires and Dark Elves, mounted stray horses and brought me one to lead to group with.

I took my steed and began leading my own allied army of nearly four hundred people through the valleys and fields towards Southern Windemere.

The central valley that we stepped into that connected to the south was a wide open dome like field that was seemingly crafted by the Gods for this one battle. The ground was scorched and bare, the trees surrounding the dome were old, burned and withering. My eyes scanned over the fields as my mind played back memories. "This place..." I said halting my horse to look off to the small grove of trees far west of the dome.

"Sir Kel." Aina said as she road up beside me on her horse.

"This was the battlefield...the battlefield I woke up on." I smiled to myself with a nod looking at the forest where I'd met Esmeralda, the Elf Queen that changed my life. "Hmmm fate is a funny bitch."

"Aye, Sir Sparda." The dwarf from the inn said pointing ahead with a sledgehammer.

My neck whipped forward seeing a demonic dragon like raptor coming over the hill to the south, mounted on this draconian beast was Victor. The once proud ruler of the House of Sorrows, he was clad in crimson armor with a flaming cape and a high horned helm with long red strands of flame like threads running down his back. As he crossed over the hill hordes of demons with goat horns and hooves crossed over with flaming swords, chains and battle axes.

There were no words, there were no screaming or battle cries from each side. There was only silence, I whipped the reins on my horse and it began a slow gallop forward. The forces behind me, the allied forces began a slow walk, which turned to a jog. As my horse picked up speed, the other horsemen with me also picked up speed and the allied forces began running into battle. Now the battlecries started.

The demons in unison began running on all fours like the primal beasts they were meant to be. Victor's raptor monster began running forward as he led his forces, drawing a thick broadsword and pointing it forward. I drew from my back my broadsword as well and galloped into battle.

The two sides collided like two massive walls and battle ensued. Arrows flew, blood splattered and both sides began screams of their own in pain and suffering. While riding on the horse, I slashed off the head of one or two demons. Blood splattered onto my armor but I ignored it thinking it only to be a victory mess.

The Dark Elven mages were in huddles casting protective barriers over the wounded and blasting the warriors who got near away. The Demon hordes morphed together forming a troll sized monster which would slap away men, bite off heads and crush any warrior that approached.

Dust and fumes from spells and flames clotted the air and choked up fighters on both sides.

I'd dismounted from my steed and began punching demons left and right, drawing my sword and beheading, skewering, hacking at my enemies. Another Demon Troll appeared, the demons would combine their flesh together in a nasty bloody dogpile and form a troll. The troll used it's forearm to slap his enemies away.

With it's glossy black eyes and flaming horns the beast spotted me and immediate galloped like a gorilla towards me. I quickly leaped at the monster and stabbed my broadsword to the hilt through it's thick throat. The monster gargled on it's own blood, leaning back and slamming onto the ground with a thud.

"Spartan, you've returned. I thought I'd broken your spirit, destroyed your body." Victor said walking through the crowd of allied soldiers. He stabbed his palm through the chest of a Dark Elf.

"Victor! You betrayed the House of Sorrows!" A vampire allied soldiers ran at him but the leader Victor ripped the vamp's head off with his bare hands.

"I did not betray the House...I've made it stronger." He replied as the headless corpse fell over like a cold stone.

I jumped off of the chest of the Troll after drawing my broadsword of elven steel, from it's neck. I stood in front of Victor, drawing my road shield as well. We both walked around slowly keeping our eyes locked, our blades steady. Behind us, Dark Elves, Vampires, Humans, Dwarves and Beastmen fought together against the Demons. Blood and bodies flying in the background, magical explosions and arrows exchanging in the air.

Despite this, both Victor and I had absolute focus on the opponent in front of us.

"Something about you has changed Spartan, I can see it in your eyes. Why have you come here? To liberate Windemere, to follow in the footsteps of your fallen? Here at the aid of these people as their hero?" Victor asked, his pale skin and crimson red eyes gave me the chills.

"No..." I grunted. "I'm just here to kill you."

I swung my broadsword down once and Victor blocked it with a flaming demon's shield then immediately stabbed back. I stepped to the side quickly then swung my left arm overhead with my shield to hit him in the face but he ducked it and shoved his shoulder into my chest. I went sliding back once with the clank of our armor smashing against eachother.

The Vampire King darted towards me swinging downward and with my round shield, I blocked it by slapping outward which caused him to swagger back abit. I roundhouse kicked his foot knocking his sword out of his right hand, he threw his shield aside and hissed.

With that he slammed a fist square into my face causing my head to jerk backwards. I tried to slash him with my right hand but grabbed my arm by the wrist and with his other hand arm. He slashed me over the face to the right with just his fingernails alone, they cut through my golden spartan helm and I felt them scratch my face.

"Ahhhhhhh!" I screamed sliding back from him.

He roared this time sounding like a demon. I dropped my sword and shield as well, he rushed me again and this time around. His strength didn't seem so overwhelming. I jabbed him once in his face and I felt his nose snap. He came at me again with his arms erect and like a tiger in pounce mode.

I dove into him shoving my shoulder into his stomach but he quickly grabbed me by my head and began slamming his knee into my stomach then shoving his elbow into my back until I dropped to the ground before him. He kicked me over the face and I felt my helm fly off of my head. Blood leaked from lips and cheek from the scar.

"Still too weak." He tried stomping on me but I rolled over and pounced to my feet like a cat then performed a backflip while kicking him in the chin. He slid backwards with wide eyes like he'd never seen a move like that before.

I dashed at him and he swung his claw like nails at me and I ducked them then punched him square in his side. My fist bounced back like his body was still made of steel. His left palm which he threw at me like a flat tipped dagger, he stabbed it into my chest. I felt the tip of his fingernails reach my chest and pierce abit of skin and like a shovel he ripped off my chest armor and chainmail, revealing my white t-shirt underneath.

Following this he swung his right palm across my chest slashing me over the chest leaving four big open gashes, blood rushed from my chest as I began stepping back trying to defend myself. He hissed and swung his left palm again, I raised my right gauntlet and he slashed through that armor as well also striking skin with blood splattering to from my arm.

The armor gauntlets crumbled apart. "Such weak armor, who crafted this junk." He said just seconds before kicking me over the face.

I swaggered back again with a smile on my face despite the blood dripping from my mouth, cheek, chest and arm. "Gimme a break I used to work a burger joint..." With that the armor was off of me and I felt lighter. I immediately ran at Victor as he tried another slash to the right, I ducked it then bear hugged him around the torso.

With that I leaned backwards with a suplex slamming him directly on his head. "GAH!" He screamed. I immediately got up off of the ground, and he did as well beginning to run at me. I leaned down and grabbed one of his knees then lifted him up and leaned backwards slamming him yet again. POW! "GRAaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!" He shrieked holding his head and wrathing on the ground.

I stood up and he did as well, this time he wasn't so fool hardy as to rush at me. He came in slowly but carefully swinging his arms at me but I ducked and dodged two of them then returned fire with a fist to his face. SPLAT! I cracked him one right between the eyes and he stepped backwards as I came forward punching him left and right with hook swings. POW! SWACK! POW! SWACK!

He tried to swing his left arm to retaliate but I grabbed his arm by the wrist and pulled down on it snapping his elbow in reverse joint. He shrieked and screamed in pain with his bone propping up through his skin. With that I elbowed him in the face and he leaned fell backwards hitting the ground, his helm flying off of his head seemingly in slow motion.

I stood above Victor breaking heavily, he gritted his teeth behind the blood. "SPARTAN!" He screamed grabbing my sword from the ground beside him then leaping through the air at me. In return I picked up his black broadsword and quickly then stabbed him straight through the chest before he could slash downward.

"Gughga.a...aahhhhh!" He gargled and choked as he tried to pull the sword from his chest. Pain and death made him weak, with that I picked up my elven sword that he dropped then raised it high over his head.

"Tirnoch's next." I said just seconds before shoving the sword straight through his forehead, the blade wen through his skull and out the other end. With Victor dead it was like an electro magnetic pulse that traveled through the battlefield, all of the remaining demons raised their heads feeling his death and the loss of leadership.

I pulled my bow and arrow from my back while swaggering forward shooting demons through the heads as they tried escaping. Mages shot them with bolts of magic, dwarves broke their knees and ankles with their sledgehammers and the vampires leaped on their backs stabbing them with daggers, dropping them like flies.

Only afew escaped back to the south.

After every demon had retreated a dwarf raised his hammer in victory and everyone else followed suit. Aina found me on the battlefield breaking through several of her allies to get to me. "Sir Kel! We did it! We've won..."

I smiled. "We won the battle...the war's just on the horizon." I stood up straight despite the pain in my body.

"Yes...we'll take the fight to Tirnoch's front door." Tai the Dark Elf King stepped through a crowd of soldiers wielding a massive greatsword that lengthed his entire body.

"No...your part's done now." I said looking south. "I face Tirnoch alone."

"What? That's madness." Tai said grabbing my shoulder, with that I pushed away from him.

"Tirnoch's a great evil, it's my duty as a Spartan to put him down." I started.

Tai still refused. "We will face him as the allied people of Windemere." Everyone nodded with him and began to give Tai praise now. I shook my head again.

"You're welcome to try after I've failed. You owe me this...stay back. I'll deal with that guy." I turned away from him and started limping towards the horizon where the Demons had escaped. I held my chest as if to stop the blood from leaking out.

"You can barely stand...please. Sir Kel." Aina started.

"All of you just shut up alright, you've done your part like I said...now let me DO THIS!" I screamed angrily.

Tai stopped trying to convince me. He bowed his head. "My apologies Spartan Warrior. Do what you must."