<span style="color: #FF8080">”Gods bellow,”</span>Farie cursed as realization hit him of just how many of these creatures were swarming them. He didn’t have long to dwell on this fact as he raced into combat his sword held ready. The sound of thundering feet all around him, the harsh breathing of comrades in arms just barely audible over the roar of the battle that drew ever closer as they ran forwards. To Farie it seemed like everything was slowing down becoming a slow action movie in which every action took ten times too long to happen. It seemed like an eternity before he reached the first ranks of the charging hoard of Tutari. However, it was only a few scant minutes. He could see Cordian by his side running with a giant grin plastered on his face, sword held in both hands ready to fight. The gleam of battle in his eyes. This was what Cordian lived for.<br/><br/>Cordian reached the hoard a moment before Farie did and dived into the fray momentarily lost from Faries sight by the melee. He only had the briefest moment of worry for his friend and mentor before he found himself surrounded by the Tutari. The press of bodies was atrocious. Large melee’s like this are pure and utter chaos. They are not beautiful or elegant or anything of the sort. They are not one on one fights with swords in an elaborate dance. They are pure hacking and slashing. Attempting not to die while killing as many enemies as possible. While the ground beneath their feet runs thick with blood turning soil to mud. Overall the dangers of being crushed or falling are just as great as the dangers of blades and arrows to one’s health in a battle field.<br/><br/>Battles are odd things for the way that things become distorted. The way that the roar and dine become somehow muted and strange almost undulating as though far away when in reality it’s right next to you. Farie’s senses were like that as he took in the monster before him for just one quick moment. The moment before it’s blade came crashing down towards his head that is. The blood thundered through Farie’s ears dulling his ability to hear, though unfortunately it didn’t dull his sense of smell which was overwhelmed by the stench of the creatures before him. It was quite fowl and odor and made him cringe.<br/><br/>Farie dodged the blow which barely missed taking his arm off at the shoulder. The stink of blade grazing flesh through leather and male made him cry out. He swung up with his own blade catching the soft spot on the creatures side. His blow wasn’t strong enough to penetrate more then a few inches into the hide and only succeeded in maddening the beast further. It’s attack became more frenzied and it took all of Farie’s skill just to stay alive. He knew the beasts greater strength would make any counter with his sword against it’s blade almost impossible and tire him quickly so he dodged the blade of the Tutar’s sword whenever possible rather then fence against the blade as a knight usually did in tourneys and demonstrations of arms. This was no time for fancy. The deadly dance kept pace with the rest of the battle. However, to Farie it seemed an eternity was captured in this one moment.<br/><br/>The Tutar came at him again, Farie was tiring, both were bleeding now. Though Farie took satisfaction that his many strikes seemed to have wounded the creature more then it had him. One of it’s legs was barely holding it’s weight from the large gash in it’s thigh that Farie’s low thrust had caused. A larger cut ran up it’s side crossing over the one he’d made earlier in the fight. A few light scratches covered it’s arms and one large hole penetrated it’s belly. Farie himself had half a dozen wounds along both arms and one particularly annoying narrowly missed cutting into vital areas cut that ran over his ribs and burned like hellfire. The beast lunged head lowered weapon flying down towards him. Farie dodged and the blade landed with a thump and wosh of air and flying chunks of dirt and mud to shower them both right next to Farie narrowly missing him. Farie pivoted on one foot brought his sword down hard pressing all his weight and the momentum of the charge into the blade. The beast had charged forwards in it’s attack and it wasn’t quick enough to dodge the blow that took it right across hits lowered head cutting into the neck down one side. The beast bellowed in rage and die at Farie’s feet. Farie had no time to feel pleased with the kill as more beasts came to take it’s place.<br/><br/>Breathing heavily he charged the next one. Adrenaline and the desire to survive this fight were all that kept him moving. As he reached his next target he lost track of the rest of the battle purely focused as he was upon this one monster. He couldn’t afford not to be the last encounter had proven almost more then he could take on.<br/><br/>--- --- ---<br/><br/>Cordian raced into battle beside Farie his eyes blazing with delight and laughter. Not that he found the battle funny, but he was always a little unusual in that he could laugh during a fight. Some ingrained part of him caused by years of training and hardened by true war. It always unnerved your opponent when a grinning, laughing sword wielding madman came running at you.<br/><br/>Cordian ran by Farie’s side the whole time until they came close to the advancing hoard. Then he put on a burst of speed and charged ahead diving into the fray sword swinging wildly and screaming in delight. He lost sight of everyone as he pushed into the mass of bodies and attacked. Unable to keep track of anything as his fury and battle rage turned his sight red and focused. He slashed at everything that moved uncaring what he hit since he was safely away from the other members of the defense. He kept screaming as he did so until no breath was left in him to scream. Then he just panted and kept right on slashing and hacking at the bodies before him.<br/><br/>So lost was he in his frenzy that he could not have told you how many he took down or how badly wounded he might himself be. He always stirred himself up like this for a battle as it helped his nerves. Not to mention it made him a terrifying fighter to behold. Blood covered him along with mud and other unseemly things he didn’t quite know or care what they were.<br/><br/>--- --- ---<br/><br/>Caught in the fight Farie dodged the blade that fell just shy of his left shoulder, but he didn’t see the beast coming up from behind him and felt more then saw the blade bite into his shoulder causing the limb to go numb. He screamed out in pain. Misstepped and fell. He sprawled into the mud on his back. The sticky substance coating his already disgusting self. Blood both his own and Tutar made his armor stink and his leather outfit stick to his skin. The new wound on his shoulder burned like fire and even more so now that mud was seeping into it and his whole weight lay upon it. He screamed. It was all he could do for the pain held him down unable to move for a few deadly heartbeats.<br/><br/>Aldorian had been a few stops behind Farie fighting his way towards his lord. He was one of the nights of the Shalerin household a few years older then Farie, a head taller and quite a bit broader of chest and shoulders then Farie. Aldorian was one of the man who had stood with Farie in the first battle and who had deferred to Farie over his father during the confrontation. Aldorian had vowed to keep Farie safe and had made it his personal mission. Aldorian had trained under Cordian and he had been Farie’s partner during that time.<br/><br/>Aldorian delivered the final fatal blow just as Farie went down and he caught the man’s scream like a fist to his guts. He ran forwards and saw with wild terror the beast raising it’s weapon to finish Farie. Farie couldn’t do anything more then stare at it in abject horror. Aldorian charged screaming and the blow caught him across the chest instead of taking Farie’s head. Farie cried out in an inarticulate manner screaming out his rage and anger over the needless loss. His life spared at the cost of a friend and comrade. And in a blink of an eye a life was lost and it sank into Farie like led. The beast roared in anger, but more fighters pressed in from all around as the hoard was beginning to thin and draw back. They made quick work of the beast as they outnumbered him and drove forwards.<br/><br/>--- --- ---<br/><br/>Cordian heard a scream that managed to penetrate his battle frenzy for just a moment. He knew that voice, knew that sound. Farie. That one single name reverberated in his empty thoughts and he finally took a moment to look around. Blinking he noticed Farie on the ground Aldorian dead atop him and the distinct lack of enemies pressing forwards.<span style="font-style: italic">What the hell?</span>He thought looking around for a moment catching the name being repeated over many beastial throats.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Drorghans</span><br/><br/>Cordian went cold at the words. He didn’t know anything at all about them except that they were the deadliest things imaginable, he had heard old bardic tales of them and he half remembered one, but really the only thing that stuck with him was their deadly nature. Far worse then Tutari they were. He ran. Back away from the fighting towards Farie. He didn’t fallow the others pressing the advantage forwards.<br/><br/>The ground shook beneath his feet and he slid to a stop next to Farie. His face ashen beneath the bloody gore and muck that covered it. He reached down and pulled Farie up to his feet dislodging Aldorian’s body. A quick prayer was spared for the fallen comrade, but it was all he had to offer right now. He couldn’t allow himself to even feel the remorse and loss coursing through his system.<br/><br/><span style="color: #afcfaf">”Can you stand?”</span>Cordian asked not releasing Farie who panted for breath in quick pained gasp.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8080">”I think so.”</span>Farie gasped in earnest his eyes closing for a moment as he tried to gather his senses and dull the pain by a degree at last. Cordian released him and he staggered a moment. Cordian bent and retrieved Farie’s sword. He handed it to Farie who took it wearily. Before either man could speak again their attention was pulled towards the far side of the field where both knew worse was to come. They watched with the rest of the mortal defenders as the literal nightmares of mankind walked forth. Both man watched the carnage the new beasts wroth amongst their own kin with not a care and it was clear that their chances of victory where nigh on impossible. Fear overwhelmed so many around them. Cordian himself felt that fear and knew what it would mean for the defenders.<br/><br/>He heard the cry from Barth and screamed out his own cry of retreat<span style="color: #AFCFAF">”FALL BACK. RETREAT! NOW!”</span>He screamed out grabbing the nearest man and pushing him backwards away from the advancing hoards. repeating the gesture as Farie finally tore his gaze away from the horror grabbed Crodian’s arm and pulled him backwards. Farie added his own cries of retreat into the din and both man knew as they turned tail and ran back towards the lines that many would not make it. If they did they would be lucky.<br/><br/>Cordian attempted to get more to retreat as he ran a step behind Farie, but the exertion of running through the twisted corpses of both friends and foe, navigating the paths across the trenches they had dug earlier and avoiding the falling Tutari from the sky took up all his concentration. On more then one occasion he was forced to slow to pull someone from a near death in a trench or pull them up from the ground before they could be trampled. He himself skidded here and there. Tripped once and had to roll and run on even as he felt the tell tale pain in his ankle telling him he’d done some form of damage to it. There was no time. He could tell from the way Farie ran staggering back and forth that he was quickly tiring and losing track of where the dangers lay. This was not a good day.<br/><br/>Exhausted and only partially able to breath both man made it to the ranks to rejoin their comrades. Farie’s face was white with fear and pain. He leaned heavily against Cordian who stood panting watching the chaos unfold. Waiting for it to reach them. Farie’s eyes were closed his lips moving soundlessly and Cordian knew he was praying. They didn’t have long to wait as the battle renewed with fresh fervor. Cordian took one look at Farie’s face and knew if the the young lord was to life to see the next dawn he would need all the help he could get and Cordian would be damned to hellspawn before he would move from Farie’s side without death taking him first. Drawing his sword once more which he had sheathed before dragging Farie to his feet a while ago he stood ready for the next wave of death. Neither man saw the threat to Barth or the ensuing fight as they were now getting ready to defend against the Tutari and Drorghans swarming towards the lines. Farie staggered when Cordian released him and drew his sword up from where it had rested at his side. He looked weary and exhausted and felt every inch of pain flooding his body, but the drive to live kept him upright and adrenaline soon did the rest. Farie screamed in incoherent anger and rage and attacked the closes Tutar with Cordian right by his side. The two fought on like brothers who where so used to each other that they could fight side by side blindfolded.