Night battle(1)

What kind of battle was this. Desertion was a crime punishable by banishment or death. only because of this did the soldier muster all the bravery they could and stand firm. Some were shaking in their boots.

John was equally as frightened as he sat on his horse next to the commander. If they knew that the claims of their origins were merely a play on words and worlds he would probably be killed on site. He was sure that no one in the world had ever seen a sight such as this. They soon came to a temporary erected tent that was clearly central command.

"Lets make this as fast as possible." Balfrod, the interrogator was saying. "He toyed with us too much last time." He was looking around to his fellow captains.

"That because you are a shameless glory seeker, "the bearded dwarf exclaimed, "If you had waited like I had suggested we probably wouldn't be in that much trouble. I am only here in the pursuit of science."

"Yes science," another exclaimed sarcastically. "Everyone knows your claim to be the next commander could use the boost."

"Your words, not mine." he retorted.

"Ha!" a few soldiers saluted. The captains lowered their voices . They were indeed lucky that their men had the foresight to be a little louder to warn them.

"Sir? What are you-" he stopped mid sentence when he spotted John behind the commander. "Ahem, I would not deem to question you sir but I wonder what he is doing here?"

"You do not deem indeed. How do you plan to handle this situation."

"He has one more beast with him this time, but he doesn't seem to be interested in us but those apes. We are waiting to see what happens in the mean time we have set up a barrier between our men and those beast."

"With all due respect sir, isn't the timing of this a bit too coincidental, home city is infiltrated and merely a day later this other human shows up with behemoths in tow." John had taken a few steps back but could feel that the commander was watching him like he had an eye at the back of his head.

"Only time will tell," the commander responded and walked away. John followed him.He knew well enough that there was no love between him and the commander but better here than with the captains who would no doubt look for a chance to torture him. A single chance is better than a back stab. Noira was still seething. Immense blood thirst was brimming through the sword. He placed his hand on the grip of the sword and felt a shock which was surprising considering the magic he practiced. He looked at the young man who was standing on the giant crocodile and their gazes met. What was that familiar yet very unfamiliar feeling.

The eye contact was barely noticeable. The young man was now looking at the pair of giant apes. A sinister smile was plastered on his face as if he was in on a big secret. Kneeling down he seemed to say something before he sat cross legged and begun playing his flute. Surprisingly no sound was heard. About thirty minutes passed and all the beasts seemed to have calmed down.

"What is happening?" John could not help but ask. All his actions were so mysterious an filled him with a feeling of dread.

"The flute he is holding is a legendary dwarven weapon, spoken of in only one book. It is called the Instrument of whispers. The book itself is in tatters and the only thing written is its ability to control spirit beasts."

"Spirit beasts?" John asked perplexed. He assumed they had something to do with elementalists.

"Unlike other behemoths, spirit beasts can be either tamed in the form of spirits and merged with like a normal elementalist or killed and their souls trapped for various purposes."

"Why are you telling me all this?" he asked.

"Because in the same book is an even more mysterious thing. The same runes that your weapons bear, and what it says about them is even more sinister than the Instrument of whispers." This surprised John. He knew that his swords held power but he never thought it would be ancient power.

"This is the first time i have ever seen a spirit beast tamed whole, body and spirit, which is why he is a nuisance. It is also written that he who wields the instrument is the Penedh which is the name we gave him."

"Don't you know who he is?"

"It is said he appears once every seventy five years and wrecks havoc for twenty five. Before he disappears again a massacre of epic proportions happens, both beasts and men, regardless of race die. Corpses line the forests and cities. Rivers flow red with blood."

John raised his head and looked at the youthful man playing his flute peacefully. Looks can truly be deceiving. He would never have guessed that this was some old vicious monster. Who knew what his true intensions were. Setting their differences aside as fast as possible was the most important thing at this moment.

"That report could be further from the truth, the last time he appeared was about five hundred years ago and only spirit beasts died and a few men who tried to stand in his way before he disappeared. Not much is known about that time."

"Could he be related?" John whispered

"What did you say?"

"I said, lets see what happens." Coincidences rarely occurred in Johns life but he felt as if he was using his lifetimes supply of coincidences. Ancient artefacts, periodic arrivals that lined up. There was so much he didn't know or understood. before he set out on his journey he had to study about this world in as much detail as he could. His master Vemuri had done it, he had to as well. There was some knowledge with the dwarves this was where he would start.

As they finished their conversation, the Penedh knelt down as if to pray. His face was now a picture of pain as cuts appeared on the back of his shirt. It was as if something was cutting itself out of his body. A pair of white bony and bloodied wings emerged and his back soon healed. Many of the dwarven soldiers winced as they watched this scene. Eventually he spread them out and shook off the blood and feathers started to appear. He alone had a wingspan of about three to four meters. A satisfied look appeared on his face as he laughed maniacally before he quieted down and looked indifferent again.

'Did we just watch him power up?' John felt like slapping his face. The aura that was emanating from his person made even the beast he was standing on shake in fear. He flapped his wings and levitated before pointing his flute at the apes. The two crocodiles released loud shock waves at the apes that reverberated in the entire plain. The barrier shook and showed signs of cracking.

Roar! It was the turn of the apes as the one on the right smashed its hands on its chest in a show of dominance. The ice on its chest glowed brighter as it raised its hands and smashed the ground with its fists leaving a crater as frost spread out towards the crocodiles.

"I think we may be little too close to the action." someone at the front said. The battle had finally begun.