「Ashna」Coward

"Ashna, how did that human know our customs?"

One of the Veldan warriors looked at me confused. I did not know how to answer him because I did not know either. Only our people and the invaders knew of our customs, yet that man said that we were well known to him. Could he have connections with the invaders? Or perhaps it was because he truly is an oracle.

"Perhaps it is because he is an oracle," I said. "He was also kind; after crossing weapons with him, I know that he could have killed us all."

The Veldan warrior nodded. "But Ashna, now we must treat him as a warrior. We cannot hunt him for glory. He looked strong. Who among our people who are here can face him in honorable combat?"

I looked at the Veldan warrior and smiled. "Do not worry, warrior. Look to the leaderboards. My father is here; I can sense him. He can defeat Ronan of the humans."

I looked away from the warrior and bit my lower lip. I did not want that man to die; he had shown me great kindness by sparing myself and the warriors I had gathered. There was something about him, some mysterious feeling, that told me he could save my people.

I looked to the sky to track this world's sun; much of the day was already spent. I turned to the warriors I had gathered. "Warriors, we will go to my father, At'tok Krosfah. We must seek his guidance."

The warriors agreed and followed me. My father and I had a connection, as many Veldans have with their family. I could sense his presence to the east of where we were, so we began our journey.

During the trip, I reflected on the battle I had with Ronan, considering all the possible ways I could have countered him. I thought back to the first attack that I made, one I had been taught by my father when I was a child. It was used primarily for hunting but also to fight against invaders from the other world.

The invaders were known as the Talakan, raiders who came once a year from a neighboring planet in our system. They came to raid our people for the abundant resources we gathered and to take us as slaves.

This Ronan knew of our tactics, which meant that he could perhaps have ties to the Talakan, but I have never seen a human man until this day. The Five Seasons were known to us in our home world because it was said that the Talakan had participated in the games many decades ago. Of course, this was just a children's tale at first, one I believed was given to us to encourage our personal growth as warriors.

"I guess it wasn't much of a children's tale after all…"

I felt the presence of my father growing closer; he must have been walking to me as well. I must tell him of my battle with Ronan and that we must respect the hour of peace. He must also know that Ronan must be treated as a warrior and that our people cannot hunt him.

One of the warriors with me suddenly screamed, and I turned to face him. A glowing arrow of white light was sticking through his chest. I readied my warhammer and shield as I watched the young warrior fall to his knees and clutch at his chest. I instinctively knew that he was not going to survive.

"Warriors, prepare for battle!" I shouted to call the men to arms as I stood in front of them all. I had learned from my battle with Ronan that I must not underestimate the strength of my enemies, even if they seem to be weak.

A barrage of arrows, all coated in light energy, flew out of the forest towards us. I held my shield out in front and focused on my shield energy. As a member of the Stormhammer legion, one must be at least capable of using novice shield energy to defend against attacks. Fortunately, I had already reached the pinnacle of adept shield energy.

A spectral shield of dark green energy appeared, expanding from the shield I held in my hand. It grew to cover five meters worth of space, which was enough to protect all the Veldan warriors behind me. I watched as the arrows of light were deflected by my shield energy, ricocheting off into the ground, bushes, and trees in the surrounding area.

A single, much larger arrow of light followed the barrage. It struck the shield I had created and caused me to rock backwards. Two of the warriors behind me stepped forward to catch me and restore my balance. It took all my concentration to maintain the shield energy.

One of the warriors who caught me asked, "Ashna, are you okay?"

"Yes. Warriors, I sense my father drawing closer; he is but minutes away. We must stay alive." I tried to reassure the warriors; I could not let them lose heart when we still hadn't seen our enemies yet.

I thanked Ronan once again in my mind. If I had not fought him, I would have let these warriors fight before me to test the enemy. I would have led them to their deaths.

"Show yourself!" I shouted to the unknown assailants.

There was no response, only silence. I had not encountered any Alorae yet, but Ronan had said that they were after my life. I had encountered other humans, but I had not fought any except for Ronan because the others were all weak. It would be dishonorable to hunt such prey in these games. The Alorae were nowhere to be found in all the travel I had done today with the warriors I had gathered.

Another large arrow of light flew towards me. This time, I angled my shield to deflect the projectile upwards. The force of the attack pushed me into the ground, which I felt crack underneath the weight of the blow. The arrow was deflected into the sky.

As the arrow flew towards me, I caught sight of the archer. She was beautiful, with pale skin and long, golden hair. She had been lit up for the briefest moment as the arrow was fired, after which she darted out of sight.

I caught sight of my prey; she was no warrior. This is a coward.