My Hero Under The Tree

I continued to cry and hold him. He was cold as ice. I could sense the life draining out of him. Athena hugged me. I held his body tightly for about five minutes. I felt even more alone. A piece of me was missing. I felt half complete. Like I was in a dream world with nothing to fill it. I reached under his armor. I wanted to grab his last things and have something to remember him by. I grabbed the chain and watched as it slid from under his armor. It was pretty high-quality. It was a fairly long silver chain and had a silver cross-like pendant. I slipped it over my head and tucked it under my shirt. Athena stayed with me, while Colonel Pole walked back to the fort. They used all the supplies they had on hand and patched up any wounds on their own. There wasn't a problem and there weren't too many injured. This battle was a win, but if the next one happens, who knows what will become of us.

"I have a grave to pick." I said, wiping the remaining tears from my eyes.

"I'll tell the messenger in the fort that the battle is over and ask him to hurry a letter to Commander Prakul in Gilden." Athena said

I brought a horse up to the hill with a cart and wrapped Kyle's body and placed it in the coffin on the cart. Kent helped me.

"We lost many good people." Kent said

"It's just the two of us left, huh?" I said

"Yeah, I just finished burning their bodies." Kent said

"I'm sorry..." I said

"What's next?" Kent asked

"I'll bring Kyle back home and I'll bury him there." I said

"Want me to go with you?" Kent asked

"No, stay here. Help them. Protect them." I said

"Athena will miss you." Kent said

"I have something to do." I said

"I understand. But she won't." Kent said

"She will, some time." I said hoping on the horse.

"This is goodbye then." Kent said

"Yeah..." I said

"Does she know that you're leaving?" Kent asked

"I'm sure she does." I said.

"Be safe, Rowan." Kent said

"You too, Kent." I said

"I'll be seeing you." Kent said

"Yeah... I'll be seeing you." I said

He waved as I rode South, towards Osetrun Village. The tree we used to go to is north of the village and little out. There shouldn't be any interference there. A fitting place to rest. I arrived at the tree in a few days. It was already night. The sounds of crickets could be heard far and wide. I dug the grave close to the trunk of the tree. I carefully placed the coffin in the hole and covered it back up. The silence was the worst thing. There was only the smell of the forest and blood. I carved his name into the tree trunk. The night was beautiful and cold. I slept against the tree that night. 

In the morning, I wandered into the village. The buildings were destroyed. Vikings sat on the ruble and ate of the dead. I unsheathed my sword and walked up to them. In total there were more than 150 of them. Among them was a strong warrior.

"Who dares enter MY camp?" he asked, standing up.

He had long brown hair and a thick beard. He was a little taller than me. Two axes were holstered around his waist.

"I've come to kill you. All of you." I said, unsheathing my sword.

They all laughed. He stepped closer to me.

"Behold! I, Marius Godwin, son of Sigurd Godwin, War Lord of Rune Blade, Destroyer of Beasts, shall defeat this pathetic mortal in combat. In the name of Roman Salazar, our Chieftain, The Dreamer!" Marius said, "Your name maggot, don't utter it. For you will be a whisper in the wind."

He unsheathed his axes and smiled widely. I remained calm and emotionless. I raised my blade and prepared for him to attack. His axes cut the air, barely missing me. My reactions were improved. I focused all my feelings into the way I walked, fought and lived. I wasn't scared anymore. If death awaited me in this battle, I would take it. I would succumb, but not without making him work for his victory. I wouldn't make the same mistake I made against Roman. The others waited for their War Lord to be victorious and stood on the side lines. 

He was fast, but not as fast as Roman. I studied the way he attacked. We read each other's movements easily. We matched each other. He swung meaninglessly and aimlessly. He had no plan nor defense. I just had to wait for an opening. I swung at his arms, but he stepped back and dodged. He swung low, he missed, and I blocked his other swing. He kept his distance and swung around to try and get me from a side angle. I cut his shoulder before he completely finished his attack. I swung even faster than I had before. My accuracy was tremendous. He blocked two swings, one right after the other, and opened his abdomen slightly. He swung around wildly, angrily.

He kept his cool, he was more analytical with his attacks. I waited for his left swing, just like the other. I managed to slice his chest and blood poured out. He has yet to hit me. His swings were wild and powerful, but they did not match his experience. He looked calm and collected, but I sensed the anger building up. After a while, I sensed fear, not from him.

Marius grew frustrated and swung rapidly. It was getting harder to dodge. He swung with even more ferocity. Nothing he did came close to harming me. The pressure wore him down quickly. I lunged forward and sliced his stomach, narrowly missing his intestines. I quickly pulled out my sword and cut off both his arms at his elbows. Blood poured out of his wounds like waterfalls. He stood still for a moment.

"Me? Defeated? By this... this child? I don't... accept... it..." he fell backwards.

Without a second to breathe, the clan was already on top of me. One by one they dropped dead. My sword went in through their soft and vital places. Blood soaked the soil and flooded this once happy village. I was covered in blood, but none was my own. The fear went away and all that remained was the feeling of invincibility. I stood surrounded by lifeless bodies. One quickly got on a horse, before he ran away, I yelled:

"Tell Roman Salazar that I'm coming for him! And for every last one of you!"

I sheathed my sword after wiping off the blood and walked back to my old house.