The orcs moved toward the beleagured elf, brandishing their crude weapons. Yurok rised his swords, prepared to die as he had lived; as a champion defending all that was good. The first of the orcs, a brute with a distinctly porcine nose, charged at the elf with axe raised. Before Yurok could blink, a massive, black-fletched arrow struck the goblinoid's chest, knocking him back a step. The creature looked dumbly at the quivering shaft, then crumpled to the floor, dead.
"No one touch the elf!" a voice bellowed from behind the Waywatcher. Every orcish head in the area turned to regard the speaker. Balancing atop an overturned table, a tall, muscular orc lowered a gigantic long bow.
"The next one of you fools that tries to touch my prisoner will fall next to your comrade," the orc growled.
Yurok lowered the tips of his blades to the floor as the orcs took a few steps back from him.
"The elf has slain one of my Blackguards, and must be treated with respect," the cheiftan explained. More than one orc scoffed at the notion, but the remaining Blackguards quickly silenced them.
The Blackguard Commander leapt nimbly from his perch and strode toward Yurok. The sea of orcs parted before their great leader. He handed his bow off to another of his Blackguards, then stepped in front of the elf.
"What are you called?" the orc demanded in rough common.
"My name is none of your business, scum," Yurok spat. The orc grinned before responding.
"Watch what you say, elf, and you may walk away form this confrontation." The blackguard was not like the others in the tent. His black hair was painstakingly braided into a hundred dreadlocks, then pulled back over his shoulders. His brow was not as pronopunced as the other orcs, and his nose, instead of flat and squat, was sharp and human-like. The Blackguard's eyes shone with intelligence.
"I am Yurok, Waywatcher of this land," the elf said with as much dignity as he could muster.
"A Waywatcher..." the orc echoed. "Well, elf, you have earned your life by defeating my Blackguard. You are free to go...for now."
"And what, praytell, is your name?" Yurok asked.
"I am called many things; master by some, monster by others...but my chosen name is Mekkhah."
It took Yurok a moment to recognize the word--it meant "outcast" in the language of Those Unseen. Few spoke the tongue, but as defender of his land Yurok was required to know it.
"I will remember your name well, orc."
With that, Yurok spun sharply on his heel and strode toward the ring of orcs surrounding him. They parted wordlessly, letting him pass without contention.
"Open fire!" Commander Marrek Lionheart bellowed to his men. Letting his own arrow fly, he heard the distinct twang of a hundred other bowstrings beside him. The front line of charging orc faltered and crumbled, the second line already falling over them in a bloodlust to get to the semmingly helpless humans.
"Draw blades!" Marrek ordered his squad. Bows were dropped and steel rang out as swords and axes were pulled free of their scabbards. Marrek slung his own longbow over his shoulder and grasped the hilt of his father's longsword. His men stood ready at his side.
"Hold!" He cried. The order was unnecessary; these men had served under him for over a decade, fighting and dying for him without question. He stared straight ahead at the onrushing wave of orcs. Spying a great, green skjinned brute wielding a massive great axe, the knight swore softly "this day you will fall, beast."
When the orcs were barely ten meters away, Marrek signalled the charge. "FOR LORENNA!" He sacreamed at the top of his lungs.
The cries of a hundred men echoed through his ranks as they charged valiantly toward the sea of goblinoids.
Got YWS? I do.
Lumi: Don't you drag my donobby into this. Lumi: He's the sweetest angel this side of hades.
*smaller eyes, as the big eyes are giving her a headache* Nobody likes the orcs... *sigh*
its so depressing to have your notebook taken away because you were writting in class... should have never shared the first chapter with the teacher...
Yay! Someone finally noticed that I'm still working on this!
In the first thirty seconds of battle more than a hundred orcs fell to the blades by the blades of men. Marrek Lionheart worked his longsword skillfully, slapping away orcish blades and returning with a slics that left pain death and destruction in its path. His men tore through the goblinoids like a wolf through a flock of sheep, slaughtering all who opposed them.
They worked as a team, each member assisting the other in a seamless dance of death. The battle raged for hours, neither side letting up. Orc corpses piled high around the brave knights, and the black blood of the foul creatures ran rivers through the plains of Pelanthir.
The battle took its toll on the men, however, as fewer and fewer humans stood to defend their country. Marrek watched his men fall beside him, often throwing themselves between a blade and himself. Soon, a mere dozen of the hundred warriors remained under Marrek's command. The orc army raiders were devastated; over five hundred dead, strewn around the circle of men. The remianing orcs, nearly a hundred strong, prepared to charge for a final attack that would finish the knights of Pelanthir.
Marrek looked to his mean, bloodied and ragged, and said to each and every one of them, "Stand strong, men. We have fought for our Lady, and won. If we must fall this eve, fall with the knowledge these foul creatures shall not penetrate our walls this day!"
His men, men he had fought with for a decade and more, smiled grimly.
"Till the End, Marrek," Lionheart's leiutenant procalimed.
"Till the End," Marrek repeated. He raised his bloodied sword above his head. "Send these beasts to the Abyss from which they came!"
Got YWS? I do.
Lumi: Don't you drag my donobby into this. Lumi: He's the sweetest angel this side of hades.
Even as the remaining men of Pelanthir surged toward the orcs, a hail of arrows streamed from the darkness of the Eastern Forest and entered the orcs' ranks. The unfortunate goblinoids in front were cut down instanty, creating enough confusion for the men to hack into the second line.
Marrek did not question his good fortune, he simply fought. Cleaving an oricsh skull in two, he soun on his heel, deflecting a blade with his own gleaming longsword. Before the orcs could retaliate, a second volley of arrows tore into their ranks. Within seconds, the once proud battalion of nearly five hundred orcs was decimated.
Last edited by Ego on Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Got YWS? I do.
Lumi: Don't you drag my donobby into this. Lumi: He's the sweetest angel this side of hades.
Thrusting his blade into a fallen orc's still heaving chest, Marrek Lionheart looked around, searching for the source of those silver fletched arrows that had so quickly cut down his foes. His men stood all around him, now only ten men strong. All were breathing hard, their chests heaving. They certainly were a haggard bunch, bloodied and exhausted from battle.
"Well fought men...our kingdom is safe once more." His men nodded grimly, going to the task of checking for fallen for any signs of life.
Marrek turned and looked out into the forest, curious as to who hadsaved he and his men.
"Many thanks to you,whoever thee may be...praytell, do you have healers? We are in need of their services!" he called out into the darkness of the forest. For a moment there was no answer--then a lithe form emerged from the trees. Dressed all in the colors of the woodland, the elf had an arrow knocked in his well-crafted bow. His long cloak was dotted with leaves and twigs sewn into the fine elven fabric.
Got YWS? I do.
Lumi: Don't you drag my donobby into this. Lumi: He's the sweetest angel this side of hades.
You dont happen to read R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt books do you, the elf's whirling blades against the orcs (in the earlier parts) reminded me of it. This is good, a little hard to follow with how people reply and you write and you reply and then you write some more but it's still great. I only question a few things (like what looks like a half orc letting a wrethched elf go) but everything is good. Right on! (and bring back the elf)
~Torpid
"Aye, we have healers," the man's voice was soft and melodic, but his words carried the same weight and fierceness as Marrek's. He was obviously a leader. He reached a hand up to his cowl and pulled it back, revealing his elfin heritage. Long, blonde hair flowed out over his cloak, a single braid trailing down the left side of his face. The strand of hair was tied off with a leather strip, and a long, pure white feather hung from the end.
Marrek nodded to the man, sheathing his longsword. "My thanks, lord elf." Felthyn whistled low in the back of his throat and flashed a quick hand signal behind him, into the woods.
"My name is Felthyn, Lord of the Eastern Woods," the Sylvan said.
Marrek nodded again, and said "I know of you. I am Lord Marrek Lionheart, of Pelanthir. We owe you our lives, Master Felthyn."
"Tell your men to head into the woods. My healers will care for them. Fear not, you are safe in my woods."
Marrek turned to what remained of his troops, only ten men strong.
"Lieutenant--get them into the woods, our elven friends will care for you." Marrek watched as his grizzled veterans walked grimly toward the forest, nursing wounds. The last of his men carried an eleventh between them.
"His wounds are grievous, Commander." His lieutenant's face was streaked with tears. The warrior whom he now carried was his only son.
"The elves will help him, Gunthar," Marrek promised, clapping a hand onto his friend's shoulder.
Got YWS? I do.
Lumi: Don't you drag my donobby into this. Lumi: He's the sweetest angel this side of hades.
Yes, Salvatore is flippin gifted. Where's Yurok? And i think i forgot to say this before but when i read yurok it didn't seem so elvenly a name but its your story. How many were in the squad before the battle? What does the human guy look like? Waiting for more.
~Torpid
You, who have all the passion for life that I have not? You, who can love and hate with a violence impossible to me? Why you are as elemental as fire and wind and wild things... — Gone With the Wind
