Rise of the Champions

by Nicholas Joslin

  Reaching what appeared to be a well in the town center, they stopped, staring at each other in awe. Over a dozen buildings stood in the town, most of them larger than any building in the Narsho village. It was hard to think a town like this could exist, and even more strange to find it abandoned. By the looks of it, it had been abandoned for some time.

  “Hello!” Fredrik boomed, looking around after he yelled.

  “Is it really wise to yell here?” Anna asked, caught off guard by her lover.

  “I find it difficult to believe there is nobody here. Should we perhaps look in some buildings?” Fredrik asked.

  “Perhaps. There isn’t much else to do out here than stare at their craftsmanship,” Anna replied.

  As she began to look, she noticed what appeared to be a blacksmith’s residence close by. She quickly walked over, leaving Fredrik to follow her. She figured if anyone would be home, it would be the blacksmith. In their village, Thorvad was always busy at work.

  Reaching the outdoor covered forge area, she slowly touched the forge. It was cold with no signs of warmth or life. She then grazed her hand over the large anvil, her eyes wandering around the long-abandoned workshop.

  Heavily rusted metal was strewn across the place, including what appeared to be ancient swords. It all looked so old, and nothing of any value. Suddenly, she noticed a wooden container resting on a shelf next to the forge.

  “Did you find something?” Fredrik asked.

  Anna, focused on her finding, slowly found a latch and opened the wooden container. There was a small poof as she did, the container taking some force to open. Inside was what appeared to be a blacksmith’s hammer, still in pristine condition and looking of high quality.

  “It’s the smith’s hammer. It somehow hasn’t fallen to the elements like everything else. The container must’ve saved it,” Anna replied.

  “How strange. It looks to be made with incredible skill as well. Before we press on, I want to investigate the large building at the head of the square. I’d wager that is the home of their chieftain, and we may find something there,” Fredrik explained.

  “I agree,” Anna replied, returning the hammer back to its container before placing the container in her leather backpack. “Let’s go.”

  She followed Fredrik to the largest of the buildings, standing tall with two enormous pillars on either side of the entrance doors. As they neared, they noticed the doors were wide open. It seemed suspicious to her that anyone would leave doors open like that.

  Fredrik stopped at the doorway, waiting for Anna to stand next to him. It was dark in the building, with only a few streams of light finding their way through the open windows. She knew there could be wildlife sleeping inside. The worst thing they could encounter was a raptor, but they would’ve probably already smelled or seen the decomposing kills of the ferocious creature as well as seen the territorial clawing.

  “Swift and silent,” Fredrik said with a smile, kissing Anna.

  “Let’s go,” Anna replied with a reciprocating smile.

  Entering the dimly lit abandoned building, Anna instantly noticed the elements had breached their way inside. Leaves, dirt, and other debris of nature lay scattered in the entryway and close to nearby windows. Not only that, but some grass had begun to grow through the floor. Nature itself was retaking the building, and she knew this place had been abandoned long ago. But now the burning question on her mind was why it had been abandoned.

  They split up, and Anna found herself drawn towards a huge, well carved round table in the center of many cobwebbed chairs. On the table lay various parchment and other tomes. She had only ever seen two books before—one was passed down from chieftain to chieftain; it was rarely shown to people, and she knew nothing about it other than it was ancient. The other was a book the Clan Elders used to teach the young to read. Everything else were either carved stone or crude paper.

  Various decomposing tomes lay on the table, some in much better condition than others. She looked through them, all filled with symbols she didn’t understand. Too focused on the tomes, her free hand slowly curled around the one longest lock of her straight red hair, a habit she greatly disliked. Finally, there was one book that called out to her.

  Amongst the scattered, abandoned tomes lay one that seemed to have held together much better than the others. Gold symbols were inscribed on the parchment of the tome, and something about them enticed her. She neared it, staring at the old book.

  Anna slowly picked up the tome, careful not to damage the strange work. Dust and other debris of the strain of time slowly fell from it as she lifted it from the table. She stared at its pages for a moment, not able to understand any of the writing. She carefully closed the book after shaking off more dust and looked at the cover.

  The book was bound with gold material and looked to be of great importance. More symbols were on the leather cover, as well as a drawing. As she brought the tome slightly closer to her face, she saw the crude drawing was of some strange creature.

  The two-legged creature almost looked to be human, but was drawn to have a sinister looking face, claws, and black lines drawn on either side of its head. She had never seen anything like it and took a moment before placing the old tome in her backpack.

  Suddenly, as she went to take a couple more of what appeared to be maps from the table, she heard a harsh, loud cry from somewhere outside. She spun around, quickly folding the parchment and stuffing them into her bag. She looked across the room to see that Fredrik had heard it as well and was already heading towards the front door.

  Anna quickly ran over to meet him, and together they poked their head outside the building. They looked at each other, then back outside, but didn’t see anything waiting for them. Then suddenly, again, the cry came. It was a harsh, primal shriek that pierced the peaceful wind like an arrow through hay. Anna shuddered as she heard it.

  “What in the Dark Depths is that?” Fredrik whispered as he looked to Anna.

  “No familiar creature’s call, that’s for certain,” Anna replied.

  They paused, waiting in silence for another sound. Sure enough, the mysterious, almost desperate cry came from somewhere even closer. A chill went down Anna’s spine as she heard it, her eyes widening. Whatever it was, it sounded nefarious.

  “It’s getting closer. Could it be tracking us?” Fredrik slowly asked.

  “I say we track it,” Anna replied, finding courage within herself.

  “Agreed. Let’s go,” Fredrik said, patting her on the shoulder.

  She nodded, unsheathing her short sword. Fredrik nodded to her, taking his battleaxe from his back. Together, now armed, they made their way back into the warm afternoon light of the early autumn sun.

  They walked side by side into the cobbled town square, looking in every direction for their potential foe. This time, they heard which direction the piercing howl came from, and they looked toward the blacksmith’s home. They both stood still, frozen as the creature finally walked around the home and into the end of the town square.

  Anna had never seen any animal or other creature like it. It was a horrible, tormented, menacing looking being made of flesh and hatred. Rough, almost purple leathery skin wrapped the burly, odd looking being. It walked on all fours, its front two arms enormous in size. Even walking down like an animal, it was almost as tall as Anna. However, something about it seemed unnatural, and as Anna stared, she made eye contact with the creature’s almost glowing solid red eyes.

  “By the gods … what is that thing?” Fredrik said, readying his axe.

  “It looks like some creature from the Dark Depths itself,” Anna replied, holding her sword in a defensive stance.

  As the creature noticed them, it stood on its back legs. It was easily eight feet tall now, and as Anna stared, she noticed what appeared to be small tentacles were growing on random spots on the creature’s warped purple skin. Suddenly, it roared, its mouth filled with terrible teeth and a violent looking large tongue.

&nbs
p; “You there! I don’t suppose you speak the tongue of the clan?” Fredrik asked aloud to the creature before them.

  The creature simply roared again, slamming its burly fists on the cobblestone, shattering it and sending shrapnel flying. Anna flinched, having to move her head to miss a small piece of shattered rock flying her way. She could tell whatever the creature was, it wasn’t capable of communication.

  “Ready yourself,” Anna quietly said, shooting a glance at Fredrik.

  “Oh, I’m ready,” Fredrik replied with his confident smile.

  The two watched as the creature howled once more, hitting the ground a couple more times. Then, it ran at them with full speed, its pulsating muscles working on overdrive. Surprised by the large creature’s unnatural speed, the two jumped aside, the creature clumsily running through them and hitting one of the pillars of the large building they had just exited.

  Anna turned, seeing the creature easily recover from smashing headfirst into the rock. It hadn’t been phased by the hit and immediately turned to face them again. It snarled and charged towards Fredrik. Fortunately, Fredrik was ready.

  The creature ran a bit slower and let loose an aggressive slash from its clawed hand at Fredrik, who nimbly dodged the attack. Using the moment, he swung his axe hard and true at the beast, striking the blade into its gnarled flesh. Thick, black blood flew from the wound, but before Fredrik could dislodge his axe, the terrible creature swung at him, knocking him back a few feet.

  “Fredrik!” Anna yelled, charging at the beast and swinging her sword at it.

  She swung her sword overhead with as much force as she could muster, intent on killing the nasty creature. It raised its barely wounded arm to defend itself, Fredrik’s axe still lodged in its flesh. With vigor, Anna brought her sword down on the creature’s arm, striking it hard enough to dislodge the axe and have it drop to the shattered cobblestone below.

  More black blood spewed from the creature, some of it hitting her shoulder as she slashed open a decent wound on the creature. It howled with rage, taking a step back from her before lashing forward with both of its claws. She dodged to the side, barely fast enough to escape its grasp.

  She continued stepping back as the creature let loose a flurry of attacks, dodging a few and parrying others with her sword. The way it fought was ruthless, desperate, and like no beast she had fought before. As she caught a glimpse of its face up close, it seemed tormented, in pain somehow, but not from the wounds they had just inflicted.

  Then, an arrow struck the back of the creature. It quickly spun around to face Fredrik, who had hit it square in the back with his hunting bow. However, the arrow was expelled from the body of the creature, as though it had some sort of control over its flesh.

  Before Anna could attack again, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She quickly turned to see what looked to be a dozen more creatures coming from behind the buildings to her right. To her surprise, they didn’t all look alike. They were an assortment of hideous amalgamations of gnarled flesh, teeth, claws, and tentacles. Anna felt her heart drop as she witnessed the horrible sight, and looked to Fredrik, who had now retrieved his battleaxe from the ground.

  “Fredrik! We need to get out of here, there’s more coming!” Anna yelled, pointing to the others.

  “No! Dammit! Get out of here, Anna! Make a run for it!” Fredrik yelled, running forward and unleashing a flurry of attacks on their original foe.

  “I’m not going to leave you!” Anna yelled, holding her sword tight and running at the beast.

  Fredrik’s axe struck hard on the creature, but it couldn’t cut deep enough into its thick flesh to truly do damage. Still, it bled, and hot, tar-like blood dripped onto the ground beneath them. Anna took the opportunity to stab the beast clean through with her sword, thrusting with all her might through the back of the standing creature.

  It howled in pain as it looked down to see her blade clean through its body. Yet, this seemingly grievous wound did not stop it, and it swung itself around with rage and speed, taking its large arm and striking Anna so hard she was tossed back ten feet.

  She struggled to breathe, having the wind knocked out of her. However, the adrenaline of the situation helped her get back on her feet. She noticed her bow had been snapped in half from landing on it. Cursing, she saw the other creatures were closing in, only about twenty meters away now. They couldn’t possibly fight them all, but she would not leave Fredrik, she would not leave her love.

  “Anna! Go! You must tell the chieftain what we’ve found!” Fredrik boomed, taking his axe and throwing it at their enemy.

  His axe struck the creature hard in the neck, and it gurgled a horrible sound as nasty blood wept from its head. Fredrik didn’t stop, taking his bow and unleashing two quick arrows. His attacks seemed to work, and creature fell back on all fours, slowly crumbling to the ground.

  “Fredrik! Quick! Let’s make a run for it!” Anna pleaded.

  Before Fredrik could respond, some sort of projectile flew from the incoming creatures, striking him hard in the leg. Anna gasped, seeing the gnarled looking spike that had impaled him. Not only that, but the enemy they had been fighting began to crawl away, her sword still stuck in its torso.

  “Gah! No! If you love me, leave now and save yourself! Save our clan! Destroy these… horrors!” Fredrik yelled, pain lacing his voice.

  Anna took a step back, tears beginning to run down her face. She had no weapons, and no choice. She watched as Fredrik shot more arrows into the horde of creatures, his quiver running low. She knew how important this had been to him, and that if she truly wanted to help, she needed to leave. She had to listen to him.

  However, as she stared at him, her chest felt heavy. Even her legs were controlled by her heart, ignoring pleas from her brain to escape now. If she left, the man she loved would most certainly die. If she stayed, she would likely die too. But as she stared at him, he knew the look in his eyes meant he truly wanted her to save herself.

  “I-I love you!” Anna called out, gritting her teeth as she began to sob.

  Fredrik, in obvious pain, looked to her, smiling as he nocked another arrow.

  “I love you too.”

  Anna quickly turned and began to run, covered in tears and a mixture of her blood and the creature’s. It pained her, but she didn’t look back, even when Fredrik began to scream as he entered battle with the other beasts. Every moment felt like being trapped in some sort of waking nightmare as she ran, her tearing heart beating rapidly.

  She knew she could be followed, and in an adrenaline-fueled frenzy, Anna ran strange patterns, over rocks, around trees, and did whatever odd pathing she could to throw them off. Determined to live and fulfill Fredrik’s last request, Anna didn’t stop running—and later, slowly jogging—at all until she reached her village almost an entire day later, falling unconscious as she approached the gate.

  Chapter 2

  The father and son sat in cold silence, rowdy cries of distant clanspeople the only sounds barely making it into the room. The darkness of the evening was only chased away by two candles between them, their flames flickering as a gust of wind made it inside every few moments. As the son cut through his steak, he watched as the slightest bit of blood was squeezed from the rare cut, which briefly and uncomfortably reminded him of a past battle. He shook his head and looked to his father, who ravenously assaulted his food. Suddenly, his father stopped, looking up briefly.

  As the son went to speak, the door to their hall quickly opened, letting some of the cooler evening air in. He watched as a young warrior quickly approached them, his red dyed armor looking worn. He saluted and stood at attention. The son then looked to his father, who either didn’t realize or didn’t care one of their warriors stood before them.

  “Father,” the young man whispered, then took a sip of his ale.

  “Please, speak,” the father said, adjusting the crudely made gold crown on his head.

  “Chief King Mace, Prince Mace, we have
sighted another Narsho scout, this time heading west. It appears to be one of the two we spotted heading east days earlier,” the young warrior reported.

  “Two enter the Cursed Lands and one returns … How curious,” Chief King Mace grinned. “Is there anything else to report?”

  “No, Chief King,” the warrior answered.

  “Then leave us.”

  The warrior quickly turned and left their hall. Prince Mace was worried about the report, the Seer still on his mind. He wasn’t as convinced as his father that the war with the Narsho clan was their top priority. In fact, he had never been convinced the war had been necessary to prolong.

  “Could it have something to do with that Seer from the Ancient Clan? He did say the threat came from the east,” Prince Mace asked, looking at his father.

  “Bah, the Ancient clan is full of madmen. We cannot let them distract us from disposing the Narsho. We have them on the ropes now, we must follow through,” Chief King Mace answered gruffly, running his bony hands through his overgrown black hair.

  “Father, why are you so intent on their destruction? I’ve never actually been told the entire story,” Prince Mace asked, hoping his father wouldn’t overreact.

  “Why am I intent on their destruction?” Chief King Mace grumbled, slamming a fist on the table. “Those Narsho are traitors and cowards.”

  “How so?” Prince Mace asked with a non-confrontational tone.

  “Their tale of treachery comes during the end of the Great Clan, which as you know was when our clans stood together, unified. These end times were called the Week of Midnight, or at least that’s what our ancestors refer to it as. The Great Clan fought and lost to an unknown enemy. This enemy was strong, vicious, and moved like a shadow. It was apparent to the Great Clan that they could not win, but instead of rolling over like prey, they decided to fight, to lead a strike against their enemies. The Narsho, of course, were against it. They wanted to give up, leave the city, and run into the hills like the cowards they are. The other clans sided with the Narsho and tried to flee the city. But our clansmen, particularly our bloodline, still decided to fight. They courageously pressed into enemy territory and fought the enemy back, probably buying enough time for the rest of the clan to run away like they wanted. However, they all perished. Every single warrior with Highrock blood who fought ended up sacrificing themselves for the rest of those cowards. Only the Highrock too young or unfit to battle lived on. But it was the Narsho that persuaded everyone else to abandon the fight. Who knows, if they had stood together, they could have succeeded in pushing the enemy back and your great, great grandfather may have lived to have more children,” Chief King Mace explained with anger, clenching his fists the entire time he spoke.