1 Chapter 1: Deitus

His eyes opened slowly, yawning loudly Vitus sat up from his bed. The interior of his small, one room, house greeted him. Its sparsely decorated walls stared blankly at him and a dim light peeked through from underneath the wooden door on the opposite side of the room. Vitus figured that it was probably around noontime as he stepped outside, the dim light that poked through the forest canopy told him that much. He looked around, he saw everyone going about their business, people moving here and there, he saw Elias waving to him as Vitus moved to join him.

Elias was a short young man, just entering his 20's. He had a clean-shaven face that sported a long scar across his cheek and a deep-set frown that could silence the town crier. Standing at around 5ft 9in he often had to look up to address those around him. He had well-toned muscles and skin that was hued a caramel color from constant work outside.

"I hope you have rested well brother, given the hour in which you rose," Elias said. Vitus opened his mouth to reply but Elias continued

"But never mind that, we have work to do," He said and led the way towards the edge of the clan borders.

The day always started like this, foraging for herbs, then after returning what they had gathered they would go out again to hunt. Elias and Vitus conversed as they searched the forest floor for the plants they needed.

"Are you excited for the ceremony today?," Elias asked, Vitus shook his head which caught a quizzical look from Elias.

"Why, have you not been waiting your entire life for this moment, what better honor than becoming a ranger" Elias said as he reached for the stem of a bright green plant.

"You are aware of the dangers, you would not only be fighting a pointless battle but you could get lost and never find your way back home," Vitus countered as he picked the leaves off of a light brown colored plant and placed them in his satchel, they had had this argument many times before.

"Fine then, what will you do, live your life in the rut of the clan, have you not wanted to see the world outside," but Vitus gave no response, cutting the conversation short.

A few minutes passed by in silence when both of them decided that they had collected enough. They returned to the settlement of the ranger clan Detius. They were headed to the storehouse where they would turn in the fruits of their labor.

Then they were back out in the wilderness once again, armed with short bows and hunting knives, there was no conversation to be had here, not if they wanted to bring any game back. The short bows that they were holding were not designed for the large animals and more intended for hunting squirrels, rabbits, and other smaller prey. These were much easier to transport than a three hundred pound elk. Elias held up a hand, the signal that he had spotted something.

Vitus looked over his shoulder, it wasn't long before he spotted it as well. Near a cluster of bushes sat three rabbits, nibbling at the vegetation. Elias drew an arrow from his quiver, they were nothing special. Little more than wooden arrowheads that had been hardened in a fire and simple feather shafts that allowed them to fly to some resemblance of straight. Vitus took a similar arrow from his quiver, nocking the end onto the bowstring he drew back. The weaved wooden fibers that made up the bow creaked slightly as he felt the soft fletching touch his cheek.

He heard the loud twang as he saw Elias's arrow streak towards one of the rabbits, it thudded just to the left of them and they took off. Sprinting in several directions and Vitus trailed one. Aiming a good distance ahead, Vitus let the arrow fly. He felt the bow vibrate as the arrow whistled towards one of the rabbits. He heard a soft thud as one of them stopped dead in their tracks, a white shafted arrow protruded from its small body. Vitus rose from his crouched position and shot an annoyed look at Elias, gesturing towards the other arrow, buried in the soft earth where the rabbits had been.

Elias looked up at his brother, anger was in his eyes as he stomped towards the bushes to retrieve his arrow. Vitus groaned as he drew his hunting knife and moved to the dead rabbit that lay prone in the short undergrowth. Vitus crouched next to it and after a brief prayer to the gods, he placed the rabbit's limp body in his satchel.

"Do you smell that," Vitus sniffed the air lightly. The light stench of smoke filled his nostrils

"Yes, but where could it be coming from," Vitus asked.

"It smells like it is coming from the village." Vitus stood from his crouched position in the bushes and looked through the thick canopy for the smoke. He could almost catch a dark trail billowing up into the cloudy air.

"Come quickly, we must return," Vitus said

He and Elias dashed through the forest, heading back the way they had come, they cared no longer for stealth, they sprinted through the undergrowth, thorns tearing away at their clothes as they pushed branches and vines alike out of their way as they ran. They burst through the tree line, panting heavily as they looked for signs of danger.

They saw nothing out of the ordinary, all was quiet as Vitus and Elias looked at each other in confusion. Something felt wrong, Vitus could feel it as he walked past the small one-room houses heading for the center of the small settlement. It was too quiet, not the chirps of the birds or the quiet chatter of the villagers as they went about their tasks. Then something shattered through the silence, the shrill cry of a war horn split through the air.

The villagers turned in shock to see several figures emerge from the forest that surrounded the village on every side. Orcs, they charged through the main street brandishing jagged swords and axes as they hacked down the villagers. They were converging on the town center, several carrying torches. Their pale bone armor and their towering stature set them apart easily enough. They howled great thundering war cries as they charged through the village slashing and roaring as villagers fell to the hard-packed ground, unmoving. Vitus turned to Elias who returned his gaze they both nodded in unison, they sprinted off in different directions. Each headed for their home, Vitus reached the wooden door of his dwelling. He reached for the handle as he threw the flimsy wooden door open and dashed inside. He returned a few moments later holding his most prized possession.

A longbow, made from interwoven ebony fibers that molded into a beautiful design, the nature of the spring back capabilities of ebony allowed for incredibly powerful shots with great accuracy, as well as the recurve design for the maximum force in each shot. Vitus had made it himself over the years, collecting the perfect fibers until finally, it was complete. Over his shoulder was a dark leather quiver, filled to the brim with 40 heavy iron arrows. Vitus reached over his shoulder and felt the soft quail fletching as he drew the arrow from the quiver. He nocked the end of it on the bowstring and drew back, he saw an orc bearing a greatsword charging headlong towards the center of town where the villagers began to gather. He trained the arrow on him and released, feeling the soft thrum as the arrow flew towards the orc.

He watched the shaft streak through the air for a short time before burying itself into the orc's chest, the unexpected impact from the shot had enough force to send the hulking beast flying onto its back as it lay there dead. Vitus was not watching however as he already was drawing another arrow. He fired again and watched another orc hit the ground. As Vitus reached for a third arrow he saw Elias emerge from his home, armed and ready.

Elias carried a longsword in one hand and a short sword in the other, he dashed to the town center brandishing his weapons as he watched several orcs circle around him. He gave ground as they began to close in brandishing swords, axes and one even held a great Warhammer. Vitus saw this and loosed an arrow into the small group, watching as one orc thudded into the hard-packed dirt. It was not long before he had another arrow on the way and it thudded into an orcs armored shoulder, roaring in pain it reached for the shaft, snapping the arrow near the barbed head. Elias saw his chance, brandishing both of his weapons he darted forward sinking his longsword into an orcs side. It bellowed in pain as Elias slashed his short sword across its neck and it fell to the ground, gurgling its last breath.

Elias withdrew his blade and spun around to face the other orcs, he could barely parry the war axe that was bound for his head in time. And as a result his longsword had caught in the gap between the bottom of the ax blade and the handle, Elias slashed at the orc with his short sword, he couldn't finish the movement before he felt the orcs meaty hand grab his wrist. In a panic he tried to wrench his longsword sword free, however, the brutishly strong orc held him fast, and his blade did not budge.

Vitus watched Elias grapple with the orc, with it holding his arm which grasped the short sword, holding it's razor-sharp tip from its throat while Elias tried desperately to free his blade from the axe. Elias was losing, he did not nearly have the muscle to go toe to toe with an opponent of this stature, that orc had to have at least 40 pounds on him. Vitus lined up his shot, doubt crept into his mind as the orc seemed to get smaller and smaller. 'What if I miss' 'What if I hit Elias instead' 'What if-' The thought was cut short when Elias, with a mighty heave, wrenched his blade free from the axe and plunged it into the heart of the orc. It let out a brief roar before collapsing onto the ground, now silent. Vitus let out a quivering sigh of relief as he released the tension on his arrow.

The shrill cry of a villager brought Vitus's attention to the opposite street, he watched as an orc raised a gigantic battleax from a still corpse. He saw another orc, its eyes glared with excitement as he smashed a Warhammer into the back of a fleeing villager, the ear-splitting sound of his spine cracking filled Vitus's ears. His eyes went wide as he saw the villager fall to the ground convulsing before a second blow from the hammer silenced him. Vitus reeled when he felt hands on his shoulders, a woman faced him, her eyes were wide with fear and shock. She was shouting something, but all Vitus heard was a high pitched mumbling. Her terrified face was frozen still as a jagged blade suddenly sprouted from her chest and the towering figure of an orc stood behind her.

Vitus watched in horror as she sank to the ground, her face rapidly turning pale as her head slammed against the dirt. The dull thud reverberated inside of Vitus's head like someone had struck a gong in his brain. It echoed over and over and over.

Elias ducked, he heard the whistle of the orc's battleaxe whizz overhead, using this opening Elias lunged upwards, plunging his sword into the belly of the orc he continued the motion until the point poked out of its back. He kicked the now limp body from his blade and whirled around, he saw Vitus, staring blankly at an orc that loomed over him, a jagged and bloody sword raised high in the air, a crooked fanged smile spread across the orcs face. Elias looked at the small group of villagers, clustered and quivering behind him as the orcs circled around them snarling and baring their weapons. Elias looked at Vitus, staring blank-eyed as the orc raised his blade to strike him down. The only family that he had left, about to be so swiftly taken from him. Elias turned and looked at the small crowd of villagers that huddled behind him, could he just leave them, he had to protect them if the clan was to survive. He looked at Vitus, then at the quivering villagers and his decision was made.

He charged from the square, ramming the gigantic orc with his full body weight as it had begun the downward strike. It did little more than stumble the hulking creature. Elias was forced on the defensive as their swords clanged and swished through the smokey air.

Vitus shook his head, and the world returned to normal, he saw Elias battling with a gigantic orc, engaged in a losing battle with the massively strong beast. Vitus swiftly reached for an arrow and nocked it onto the string. As he began to draw back he took aim at the orcs bare and muscular back. Just as he released the shot he heard something, the ear-splitting sound of an explosion shattered the air around him. Vitus turned just in time to see a flaming pile of rubble crash into him, throwing him to the ground and pinning him there. The world began to darken and Vitus began to taste hot blood in his mouth as he let out a soft moan.

Elias recoiled at the sound, it was as if his brain was made of glass and someone had just smashed it with a hammer. This was followed by the sound of creaking wood bending, snapping and finally crashing to the ground. Elias whirled in the direction, clutching his head in one hand and the other held his longsword loosely. His ears rang as he shook free from the daze, the pain in his head gone but his heart sank to the pit of his stomach when he saw who was trapped underneath the rubble. He rushed to Vitus, throwing his weapons to the ground, screaming, as he strained against the flaming timbers, putting every last ounce of strength into it and ignoring the hot pain that he could already feel in his hands and arms.

Vitus tried to scream, he could feel the orange flames licking at his tunic and the immense weight of his own home threatening to crush his ribs. Only a weak grunt came from his broken body as he weakly strained against the massive weight, trying in vain to push the flaming rubble off of his body. He wheezed and coughed as blood began to trickle from his mouth. His vision began to blur from the orange light that the burning village into total darkness. He could hear the dull sound of someone screaming something, his name? His vision faded back into color and he saw a blurry figure shouting something he couldn't hear. It ran towards him, the image becoming clearer and clearer the closer it got. It was Elias, shouting something inaudible as he strained against one of the timbers that were slowly crushing Vitus's ribcage.

Elias shouted as loud as he could as he felt the hot wood burn his hands. He didn't care, his brother was about to die and he would not idly sit by and watch it happen. The gigantic timber began to move as more and more adrenaline rushed through Elias's limbs and with a sudden lurch of strength he lifted the timber away from Vitus and pushed it to the side. Elias sank to his knees as the adrenaline began to wear off gasping for breath and leaning on his longsword Elias watched Vitus, he watched his older brother's chest shallowly rise and fall and the sounds of battle around him began to fade in his ears. He looked at his hands, as the adrenaline left him he winced as he examined the burns that scarred his palms and fingers. But he still had to look after the village, Elias turned, holding his sword he turned straight into the muscular chest of a 7ft orc, jagged sword in mid-swing.

Elias ducked away, quickly bringing his sword up to deflect the powerful swing. His sword met the orcs with a loud clang but the power behind the strike was too much and slashed through Elias's weapon. With the front half spinning and thudding into the dirt, instinctively Elias leaped back but not as the blade sheared through the front of his tunic and left a long gash across his chest. Clutching the wound Elias threw his broken longsword to the side, grasping his short sword in his other hand he advanced towards the orc, little beyond determination in his eyes. The orc slashed and Elias clumsily ducked as the blade whistled overhead. His legs burning with exertion he stabbed his sword upwards into the orcs bare chest. The 15-inch blade slipped in between the ribs and only stopped when the tip sprouted from the orcs back. It howled as it looked down at the blade that was lodged in its side and then snarled at Elias, faster than Elias could react its gigantic fist connected with Elias's jaw. Elias was shocked, any average orc would have been dead

The force behind the blow was enough to send him stumbling backward several feet. Elias, now without a weapon stood firm, protecting his limp brother with square shoulders and a determined face. He stood stone-faced as the orc advanced, the short sword that was still lodged in its torso doing nothing more than anger the creature, still holding it's long jagged blade it faced Elias with a smirk. Elias looked back at his brother, still buried under the burning rubble, wounded, but alive. He looked back at the orc, took a deep breath, and accepted his fate.

The last thing that he saw was the downward arc of the sword bound for his throat.