Battle

Out of the forest an entire platoon of Eriudite soldiers emerged with an incredible battle cry. There must have been fifty men charging at the small group but only the boy looked panicked, the others seemed calm and collected. Once the first wave was ten feet from the small formation Brommel simply bellowed "go" and then Brinya, Tarron, and Brommel took off in a flash. Brommel came down with the fury of a titan. His hand engulfed in fire he shot wave after wave of flame at his assailants and any unfortunate soul that made it through the curtain of flame met a swift end at the end of his blade. The man looked almost inhuman, his eyes ablaze. Brinya was like an immovable wall, any and all that crossed her path were quickly cut down by her great sword now soaked in blood and any projectile seemed to bounce of the beautiful warrior. Tarron now had his eyes open and seemed to be almost ethereal as he dodged any and all attacks thrown his way, the young man danced gracefully across the battlefield his daggers moving so fast they gave the illusion of having a mind of their own as they blinked in and out of existence in his skilled hands. Though not common when one of the three warriors was to suffer a blow from their enemies, a green aura would quickly surround them sealing their wounds and renewing their energy. Gawain watched in stunned silence as the group fought off a group that quadrupled their size. These people were artists and their medium was war. Seeing them fight made Gawain feel incredibly useless. Not wanting to be a burden Gawain focused on the tunics of their attackers and would utter "INFLAMARE" setting them ablaze seemingly out of nowhere causing them to shed their armor or burn. Quickly the battle wound down until the few survivors took off towards the woods. "Tarron track them down and kill them. Not a single one can be left alive or they may report back and bring reinforcements" Brommel ordered and Tarron quickly leapt into the trees.

The rest of the party quickly worked together to break down camp as the sun was beginning to rise. As Brinya and Kara gathered supply's Gawain stood motionless looking over the corpses that had been left in the wake of the battle. Brommel noticed how pale the boy was. Then he remembered that with Gawain's memory gone he no longer understood the weight that came with the price of war. Brommel quickly dropped down in front of the boy and once again realized just how young he was. Tears streamed down his face "B-Brommel what have we done. All these people are gone and I helped. I helped destroy these people, I-I helped cause this damage. Oh Gods Brommel these people had families, siblings like Eiery." Gawain had been too wrapped up in the addrenile of battle to realize what they were doing. He felt sick, disgusted with the fact that he had been amazed at the party's skills. Brommel frowned, understanding the boy's thoughts. Though he had been desensitized to the atrocities of the battlefield there was a time that he had struggled with the same thoughts as Gawain and while he had been an adult Gawain was just a child. Looking deep into the child's eyes Brommel told him the lie they all told themselves every day to get by. "Gawain what we've done is a terrible thing. There is absolutely no glory in battle, it was us or them and we merely did what we had to so that we could live to see another day. While it is okay to mourn those who have lost their lives understand that this was not your fault. You only did what you did to survive and help your teammates and there is no shame in that." The boy nodded slowly at Brommels words but the tears still continued to fall down his face. Brommel took the boy by the shoulders, turning him away from the gruesome landscape but it was too late the price of battle had already been seared into the boy's mind and there it would stay till the day he died.

Gawain felt numb as he helped the others pick up camp. They had to move on quickly just in case the Eriudites caught word of the night's battle. Tarron had returned, assuring Brommel that all loose ends had been tied up and the party had quickly returned to the road. The formation remained the same but this time Gawain made no attempt at conversation. Last night's battle played over and over again in his mind. Kara noticed the boy's silence, typically she wouldn't mind but underneath her icy exterior she was worried about him. She knew the signs of shock well and Gawain had clearly not taken last night in stride. Why should he? He was only a child, much too young to be mixed up in this nasty business. It was even worse now that he had lost his memories, at least before he knew of the price of war and the weight they all carried. He had been raised to be a warrior surrounded by them all his life. Losing his memory could have been a second chance for him. The Keeper worked in mysterious ways but Gawain had no choice but to accept his role as the champion. She pitied the poor fool but she would do her job and deliver him to the capital and pray for him afterwards.

Outwardly Kara turned to the boy "thank you Gawain" she said softly with a small smile. "I saw what you did last night. It was very brave and I admire that you were brave enough to help your friends. You did a good job" Gawain turned to her. These were the first words she'd ever spoken to Gawain and while still horrified he felt a little better knowing that she appreciated his efforts. "How do you do it?" The boy asked his voice barely above a whisper, his eyes focused on the horses. "I honestly can't tell you Gawain. I guess you just get used to it. It's like an injury. Over time, if you take care of it correctly it will heal even though it may leave a scar. Does that help?" The boy nodded "a little thank you Kara" The woman then turned her gaze to the same horse as Gawain. A dark stallion she affectionately referred to as shadow. She had always gotten on better with animals than humans and this gave her an idea. "Gawain do you like horses?" The boy tore his gaze away from the beautiful creature. "Yes I think they are incredible." Kara smiled at the boy's response "This horse's name is Shadow. The other one is named Dawn, when we stop I'll let you water them if you'd like. The boy's smile grew at the thought of being able to help being able to help tend the horses and for the rest of the ride the two chatted idly about the animals that Kara kept. This Helped ease the boy's troubled mind.