A New World

"Deal." He finally agreed, his hand grabbed the demon's, in one firm handshake the area around them changed, like paper torn apart, the man was transported to a land dominated by trees. He looked around in amazement, breathing in the fresh scent of the trees, feeling peace once more.

"The Deal has been made, now....Kneel." The man reluctantly knelt on the ground again, looking downwards. The Demon took out a longsword of black, thin lines of gray ran down the blade, the hilt bore markings of eyes, swords, to shields.

He lowered the sword's blade onto the man's shoulders, slowly his clothes began dropping off in clumps of leather, in their place was leather armor in a dark shade of brown encompassing his body, a cloak of black covering his back and head. "As the new Conqueror of the demon king of Bloodshed. You, Cadin, now bear the mark of war," As he said those words, a mark began forming on Cadin's right shoulder, a circle bearing a sword and shield was burned into his arm, dark red in color. "You shall bring glory to the ones that serve under your command, and deliver judgment to the disobedient and foolish. Your glory shall be our glory. Stand, the selected conqueror of bloodshed itself." It extended out its hand, the process complete. Cadin grabbed his hand firmly with confidence, now changed with different armor.

"May you bring eternal glory to us." The Demon handed the sword to Cadin, who took it with pride.

"Time to time I shall check on your progress, your journey to infinite glory begins on this island, as you expand farther and perhaps even beyond this island's borders, I shall return with more power that I shall beseech you for your efforts. Fail...And you shall be sent to the realm of timeless torture." The last few words sent a shiver down Cadin's back.

After speaking, the demon disappeared into a black mist, leaving him alone to his own devices.

Cadin looked down at the sword, it was heavily decorated with a darkened color to the blade, double edged like a longsword. His hands were covered in thick gauntlet leather of gauntlets, the only part left open was his head. Despite the bulky appearance, the armor was relatively light to him, able to walk freely without restriction. Cadin began thinking on what to do.

Lost in thought, his thinking was interrupted by the sudden scream of men and women in the distance, through the trees.

Zeal quickly filled his mind, he ran towards the direction of the noise, moving faster and faster through bushes and trees, the sounds getting louder with each step.

He found the source of the noise after a minute of running, 2 groups of fighters were assaulting each other, one with unarmored civilians behind them, seeking cover behind a measly few fighters in the back. Doubt overcame his thoughts on who to fight with, the one with civilians, or the ones assaulting them.

His mind was made up after seconds of deliberation, gripping his sword with both hands, he ran forward towards the attacking fighters. Through thin leather armor, he slashed at them, their bodies quickly falling to the ground as he continued a barrage of quick and rapid strikes at the soldiers.

In a matter of just a minute or two, corpses of the dead stood between him and the defending warriors, they lowered their small wooden shields, seeing the man that had aided them in a dire moment.

A man donning a tattered red cape moved past the line of soldiers, looking at Cadin with interest.

"You, who are you?" His hand was on his waist, gripping the handle of a sword.

"My name is Cadin."

"Where did you come from and why did you provide aid to us?" Suspicion quickly rose in the man's mind.

Cadin, given the knowledge he gained from his past as a diplomat and strategist began conjuring a lie to try easing the tension.

"I was thrown out of a nearby camp, I relied on hunting and gathering just to survive in these perilous woods." The man's eyes slowly grew larger, slightly convinced but not fully by the story.

"Then why did you help us?" His grip tightened.

"I sought a home, and I believed yours can provide the refuge that I seek."

"Very well," His grip quickly loosened, "We do need more able bodied men, but i'm not so trustworthy of you just yet." He continued.

The soldiers behind him all wore torn leather armor, seeming to have been used in a multitude of battles without repair, their swords were short, decently aged from countless fights.

He moved back to his men, whispering something to one of them, and the soldier began relaying it to the others.

"You may have a hint of trust from me, but it will take far more for you to gain our full trust." The man spoke to Cadin.

Before long, they began walking past the corpses of the attackers, soldiers standing closely behind Venator, their blades aimed directly at his back. The civilians behind him spoke to each other in faint tones.

"As a token of what trust we have, we will offer you some food, made from the comforts of a home." The General spoke from the front, leading the men without turning to face Cadin. His hands clasped together, trying to act as non threatening as possible to the people. The distrust still lingered in the man's mind, a single attack wasn't enough for him to fully put his trust into someone he had just met, but due to the desperate position they were in, he decided to take Cadin in with extreme caution.

The sun of the day slowly rose down, the day was coming to an end while they marched.

After an hour of walking through foliage in a shaded forest, they arrived at a small makeshift outpost, a few stakes surrounded a few tents and a single campfire, and a few soldiers were already resting around the fire.