Chapter 5

The axe in my hand trembled and the shield if you could even call it that was all that stood between me and most certainly death as I was immersed in the world of warfare and death surrounding me, the smell of iron and blood stinging my nose and my heart pounding and stomach burning a loud guttural howl surfacing from my soul as I bore down on another member of the Hessian army charging ahead as if being chased by the hounds of hell themself I threw myself at the enemy hoping it to be enough to secure myself an escape but that dream was cut short as the sound of mounts pulled me from my thoughts too my left a line of Hessian Cavalrymen the one at the forefront in a Black and Yellow Gambeson with a steel helm covering his face almost resembling the face of a hound, in his left hand a mace and his right a shield almost the length of a man. The Baron's men in a futile attempt to slow the charge ran towards him only to further increase the score of men killed by this armour clad behemoth.

"This man is a monster" I thought...his bearing on the battlefield that of a veteran of countless military engagements, his skills polished by warfare and countless run-in's with death, as the man bore down on me my heart froze like one would when faced with the incarnation of death itself and my instinct kicked in the shield rose to block his mace only for it to be turned into splinters and embed itself in my arm...I swung my axe hoping to do something...anything only too be met with such resistance that my axe handle nearly snapped as it qas sent rebounding of the towering shield at this point he has charged passed me continuing his bloody way throught the ranks whilst he was circling back around to finish the job and I knew my luck would not hold out for a third time today all I could do was run...run as fast as I can and hope that in this mass of people he could not catch up.

I turned my back and ran towards for the largest group of people I could see but before I got 3 steps forwards, a sight I could not believe entered my eyes the monster behind me broke of his chase and instead rejoined his cavalry's ranks "my god saved me again" is the only thought occupying my mind but I soon realised he had not instead he doomed me I thought that running towards a large group would save me but in that group lay another more dangerous individual a man even I had heard off in my backwater village.

The Hessian kings right hand and a warrior without equal...Aesling Ritter, a man no older than me wearing scale armour and a helm that only his eyes were visible, the only way I could tell it was him was the sigil emblazoned on his jerkin...the sigil of his ancestors some of the first raiders to ever settle this land; A raven of the darkest black and in his hand was a two-handed bastard sword that he used to quell the rebellions that rose in the wake of the coronation of the young king and that was now pointing towards me as a bellow of a language I could not understand fell from his mouth "Peidiwch ag ildio peidiwch ag ymladd a marw am ddim!" (SURRENDER...DON'T FIGHT AND DIE FOR NOTHING!).

I could not understand a word that this person was saying to me, I mustered my strength to raise my axe to at least look prepared to fight but as soon as I began to raise my axe the blade of the basteard sword was swung towards me, I barely had enough in me to block this sword that was wielded by a warrior unmatched and was thrown at least the length of my own body before being brought down onto the ground saturated in the blood of the countless men clashing in the fields.

I attempted to regain my bearings and bring myself to stand and face him once again only to see him already approaching me and with that I accepted my fate I just lay there waiting for the moment I can go to my gods side and stay there...the only thoughts I can muster is that "at least I tried" and as I waited for the blade to finally fall cutting my brief and lethargic life, I glanced upwards finding a pommel embedded in my forehead followed by a crisp...THUNK and the dimming light in my eyes as I felt a hold on my leg and then darkness.