4 A Legion of Wolves

A man decked head to toe in steel came barreling into The Black Oni knocking him away from Kalinar. The man was a giant easily a head taller than the Black Oni and much broader. He carried a sword similar to gladius style blade like Kalinar's but was shorter and much simpler and he used a massive shield that tapered to a point at the bottom. He pointed his sword at The Black Oni and said, "You bastard. You flee from battle just to ransack a defenseless village!"

"Don't sound so wounded young man. It was you who misunderstood my intentions." With that The Black Oni charged. The two clashed and every ferocious attack the Oni threw was blocked by the soldiers shield and it was thanks to the shields immense size that the soldier was fighting on even grounds. It's size allowed it to cover most attacks and angles while allowing the man to attack from relative safety.

Kalinar noticed one of the Black Oni's men trying to circle the man and in his rage he felt his strength swell. He freed himself, took up his sword, and charged the goon. Not expecting such an attack he was caught wide open and cried out a death scream as Kalinar's sword burst through his chest. The mans comrades grew enraged and surged forward. Kalinar began to run then remembered the only thing between Nadil and these men was him.

He gritted his teeth and roared out a battle cry. He braces himself before the oncoming hoard of men only to find himself looking into the backs of men in similar armor to the man who saved him. What was even more strange is that there were wolves with these men. The forces crashed into one another and the battle began. The Oni's men were clearly not prepared for facing a well regulated army let alone one that had wolves fighting alongside them and as such were quickly overrun. One of them dared interrupt the duel between the commanders and even though it was his man the Oni cut him down. The next man learning from his predecessor instead shouted, "Sir! We're losing ground and fast. You got what you came for now let's leave!"

The Black Oni disengaged with a kick off his opponents shield and while Kalinar could not see it himself he could imagine the look of fury that was directed at the mans subordinate as he physically withered under his gaze. Without a word The Black Oni lifted a hand in the air and swung it in a circle. His men took the message and began a careful retreat. They locked up in a shield wall and began pacing back. Kalinar's rescuers tried to pursue but were stopped by the enemy archers. After a few minutes of this they decided to let them retreat.

Once the enemy head fled over the hill the army began the praetorian signaled his army they began gathering the wounded and clearing out the dead. The commander then came over to Kalinar who was holding a shaking Nadil, "How is the girl?" The man's voice was raspy as if he had eaten a bucket of sand.

"She's not hurt but she's far from ok." Kalinar answered. He stood up and looked at the praetorian barely reaching the man's stomach. He bowed and said, "Thank you my lord for saving my town." He looked at his father's dead body as it was taken away by soldiers and suppressed his emotions. He'd deal with them later. The praetorian didn't acknowledge the look of dread on Kalinar's face and instead forced him to stand tall, "You carry a sword forged by the Gurog Storvath. How did that come to be and who are you?"

Shocked that the man was able to recognize his father's sword from a mere glance he stumbled with his words, "I... I'm Kalinar Storvath. His son. Who are you to know my father?" His head was swimming. Not only did a foreigner know his father but a praetorian did. The man sized up Kalinar then pulled out a rag and wiped the blood from Kalinar's face.

"I am Praetorian Vorn Contorial. Your father was the man who I replaced and forged my sword. It has been a long time since he and I last spoke." He kneeled down to come face to face with Kalinar. It was then he took off his helmet, revealing his face. His skin was bronzed as if he had come from a desert recently. He wore a thick beard that covered most of his face and his skin was covered in rashes as if he hadn't taken off that helmet in weeks. "I am sorry this has happened. Do you have a mother?" Kalinar shook his head. He'd never known his mother and didn't care to ever find her. "Then I suppose I'll take you in if you have nowhere else to go. Think on it."

Kalinar's adrenaline rush ended on those last few words and he collapsed to the ground in a mixture of exhaustion and pain. Nadil snapped out of her stupor and rushed over to him. He heard her asking Vorn if he was ok and before he could hear his answer he passed out. In his dreams he saw Diedrio, Old Man Terrif, and his father all laughing around a table. He tried to join them but every time he got close enough to sit down he found himself right back where he started. He turned around and saw The Black Oni. The murders demon mask smiling at him and his eyes staring through Kalinar's. The words 'forsake your burden' rung in his ears until it blotted out the laughter of his loved ones.

Suddenly it all stopped and he found himself alone. He felt his skin pulled tight and his gaze was drawn upwards. In the dark, empty sky he found nothing. But when he looked harder he saw a faint shimmering veil begin to unravel. He instinctively reached out and as he did Nadil appeared and reached out to him but before their hands could touch she was yanked behind the veil. Kalinar watched in horror as monsters beyond his ability to describe took turns on her. Their ravenous tentacles ripping her apart rearranging her limbs then restoring her just to do it all over again. The entire time she screamed out for him to save her but he could not move. Once the creatures had finished they dropped her broken and ravaged body back down to him but before he could catch her she burst open and something crawled out.

The horror was humanoid in shape but with some clear mutations. It's skin was like mix of a crustacean and arthropods. One hand appeared human save for it's clawed fingers and the other was tenticular. But the most disturbing part of the aberration was its face. It's mouth was broken into four separate jaws and it's eyes were huge and inhuman. The abomination reached out caressed Kalinar's cheek but before it could do anything else he woke up.

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