Waves of death. Destruction. Pain. it was all that Farie could see around him. It was all so hopeless as the deaths began to stager into higher and higher numbers. It became so evident that there was no way they could stand against the rising tide of enemies. Let alone the giant monsters they fought. Everything was a haze of pain, fear, chaos and anger. There was so much anger inside him. So much hate. He silently prayed for the one thing he held dearest. His finance Elisia. He fought so she would be safe. So she wouldn’t see the death and misery that Barth’s people had suffered. He fought for his mother and Elisia’s parents. Her Siblings. For the men, women and children of his home city. For those of his country. For home and country. For humankin. No matter how hard he fought this day, without divine intervention there was no hope. They were going to die. Everything they held dear and loved would fall, for they were all that stood before the hoards of monstrosities. They needed help. They needed salvation.<br/><br/>At first he’d been keeping track as he fought of those who went down. Committing their names to memory. Their faces to haunt his dreams should he survive to face their families himself. He wanted to stand before them and account for their deaths. He needed to do that. As they fell in greater numbers. Man he knew well. Some less so. He lost track and soon he simply prayed for their families. He felt the hot tears flowing down his face as he brought the sword down through one of the beasts armour, the pain in his arm ripping into him making the task harder, nearly impossible. Through the thoughts of failure and death. Through everything going on he didn’t care anymore. He fought to die with as many of the beasts as he could take down. Cordian by his side every step of the way.<br/><br/>Blood coated him. Pain all but blinded him. He came to the conclusion that trying to figure out just where he hurt was about as useless as trying to figure out where all the blood came from. He needed to fuel the anger raging inside to keep going. He needed to rest. His body begged him to stop. He couldn’t, every time he slowed he simply thought of those who’d given their lives to this fight. For them he kept going. He was still alive. He’d fight to his last breath. How could he ask his men to do that and not do so himself. The simple answer was that he couldn’t. He couldn’t ask of someone what he himself wasn’t willing to give.<br/><br/>It was then, when the battle field dropped away, when every motion was another step in the dance of death, when every thought was where to strike next, lost in the motions of the fight that Elisia’s soft voice drifted through his thoughts.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="color: #AAAAAA">You will come back to me Farie.</span></span><br/><br/>Farie almost froze at those too real words. It was too much like she was there with him. He knew that couldn’t be since she was safe and no where near the bloodbath. He pushed forwards sword swinging down towards the next opponent that reached him. Another Tutar. Another fight. He had no idea how many he’d killed, or wounded, or how many had gotten away. He’d lost track and it didn’t matter. Where one went down another two rose up. He blinked the gore from his eyes. Sword striking hardened flesh and leather armour.<br/><br/>Farie’s mind was wandering, losing focus, his strikes becoming less coordinated and more reaction and adrenaline. He was simply hitting anything and everything he could without trying to be precise. He wasn’t doing anything fancy. Elisia drifted into his thoughts.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Soft laughter drew back the last shreds of sleep. Farie blinked open his eyes to the soft sun streaming in through the gossamer curtains on his window. The thick duvet over his body tangled up in his limbs. He leaned up on one elbow and met the gaze of a beautiful young woman. Her deep green eyes like a forest just beginning to bloom held nothing but love and happiness in them. Something that was rare. Something Farie had never taken for granted. Where his mother’s marriage with his father had never been a truly happy one. His courtship and engagement with Elisia had been one of bliss. She sprang up onto the bed as he watched her. Her long loose red hair flowing around her mesmerizing him with the way it flowed in the wind. Her petite figure was clad in a violet dress and a bright smile curved her delicate features. A smile that carved itself into Farie’s heart. When she spoke her voice was a bare whisper and the words were ones that would see him through a war.<br/><br/><span style="color: #AAAAAA">”You will come back to me Farie,”</span> she had whispered in his ear, her breath tickling the sensitive skin before she kissed it lightly and rose. Dancing from his sight to await him for breakfast.</span><br/><br/>Farie felt his heart clench at the memory. He couldn’t allow the beasts to reach his home. He couldn’t. With renewed anger and fervour he dove into the fight again. It was then that he felt more then anything else the arrival of gods. He hadn’t noticed the light, or the voices, or the sudden turning of the battle. He felt a rush of rejuvenating energy. New strength flooded his muscles. His wounds stopped aching so much. Though they did not heal, they did not sap him of his strength anymore. He spun then and saw the rest of what was unfolding around him for the first time. His mouth falling open as the columns of air whipped down and vanquished their foes. He laughed.<br/><br/>----<br/><br/>Cordian kept glancing over at Farie. He lived to fight, Farie wasn’t like him and though Cordian didn’t care if he lived or died himself, if he succeeded in winning or if the winning happened after his death, he did care about Farie. Cordian lived for war.  He lived to fight. Lived to kill shit. No matter how dark and desperate the outcome appeared, to Cordian it didn’t matter. He was told to fight, he fought, and it was that simple. It was just that complicated. Today he fought to keep Farie from killing himself in some mad attempt at valour. Cordian was accustomed to loss. Accustomed to war. Farie wasn’t.<br/><br/>Cordian bathed in blood and laughed. He killed without remorse and without thought. Without fear and without care. Indiscriminately he waded into the chaos and he relished every minute of it. Laughing he paved a path in blood. His arms tired, blood seeping from a dozen wounds. Some small and some a little more serious. His hair flowing around him, his helmet lost in the fight. His armour dulled by blood, gore and dented from strikes he’d narrowly avoided being skewered from.<br/><br/>He’d lost count of who lived, who died and what the outcome of their war looked like. All he knew was that as one went down two more came up to take it’s place. He didn’t even care anymore. He simply laughed until he had no more breath to spare for it and bathed in the blood of his enemy. Watching Farie descend into madness from his periphery was something that unsettled Cordian to the core of his being. The way the younger man’s form lost their decisive movements and his attacks became the pure reflexive kind that was drilled into every initiate. His mad screaming and the dulled look in his eyes when Cordian managed to spare a glance told him just how far away Farie was. Cordian was worried, but there was nothing more he could do except fight and survive. To make sure Farie did too. The future seemed so set. Against them. Luck seemed to be favouring the enemy as more and more of the front lines went down.<br/><br/>Until the bright flash of light reached his eyes. The enemy falling before those that arrived. The sudden influx of strength, rejuvenating energy. Cordian stopped for only a brief moment drawing back. He uttered soft words of thanks in prayer. For surely this could only mean one thing. The gods had come. And sure enough it was proved true when more enemies died then stood before the onslaught of the gods.<br/><br/>----<br/><br/>Farie barely heard Barth’s orders over the din of battle, but as they were re-shouted again a few moments after by another they became clear. Although they had slowed engagement while the gods decimated the beasts in a show of power the battle hadn’t completely stopped and Farie found himself still in the thick of the fight. Though they had drawn back a little through the melee there was still plenty of enemies to cut down. This was being made easier by the appearance of the gods and Farie couldn’t help by thank them silently in his mind.<br/><br/>Hope had come.<br/><br/>They stood a chance of serving, of winning, of defeating the enemy once and for all. Of winning the day and returning home. Of seeing their loved ones again. That fresh hope was enough to give him his second wind so to speak. It was enough to give him the drive to plunge back into the fight. Coordinating his strikes with Cordian.<br/><br/>A Tutar charged towards him and Farie screamed out his rage and challenge in blind fury as he raised his sword to meet the oncoming beast. Cordian backed off spun and drove his sword through the chest of the closest beast as Farie attacked. Sword flying through the air in frenzied attack. Farie blind to all that was around him except that single minded purpose to kill or be killed. Fire burned inside of him. A fire to life, to fight, to win and to see Elisia smile at him again. To hear her voice whisper in his ear. To hear her laugh. Those were things he fought for. Life. Family. Honour.<br/><br/>The Tutar was gaining the upper hand against Farie’s crazed fighting. Cut and bleeding from many a wounds the beast staggered forwards. Cordian flanked the monster and slid his blade deep into the beasts leg taking it clean off at the joint in one fierce sweep of the blade. Unseen. The beast staggered and fell as Farie dived forwards towards it driving his sword across the Tutar’s chest. It went down and Farie rolled away from it to avoid being crushed, pulling his sword free from it’s chest. He rose in a crouch.<br/><br/>Blood flew in a dark arch and caught him by surprised. He spun to his left and saw a large halbert cave in the skull of a Tutar in a quick blur. A wide smile spread across his features as Cordian rose from his crouch. The Tutar that fell to the halbert wielder would have taken Cordian’s head cleanly from his shoulders had they been a moment later. Farie passed Cordian and clapped him on his shoulder nodding towards the Demigods. In thanks and in invitation to join them in their fight.<br/><br/>----<br/><br/>Cordian heard Barth’s order and their repetition being shouted. He growled low in his throat as he drove his sword through a Tutar’s arm and took a good chunk of it off. He screamed out in annoyance that the beast had moved. With a deft twist of his body he drove the blade deep into the beast chest and barely managed to hold the blade as the beast fell. He yanked hard on the sword to pull it free of the falling caracas when he spotted the beast attacking Farie and the frenzied chaotic fighting his friend was currently employing. Cordian knew that Farie didn’t stand a chance fighting like that against these monsters, even in all his hate there was no way that Farie could stand alone.<br/><br/>After a quick study of the fight he ran to the side out of the beats line of sight and once he’d successfully dodged it and flanked it he dove in low and sliced into joint of it’s leg taking it off. The wash of warm blood coated his hands and splattered his face. On the very edge of his periphery he saw time slow down as he saw his own end coming.<br/><br/>A large Tutar was coming down on him. It’s blade flashing black in the sunlight diving straight for his head. All Cordian could do was turn his head to watch. A moment before it took him a halbert dove into its stomach knocking it back a step before another took it across the face. Two Demigods dove into the fight and the one who’d hit the beast in the stomach finished the now faceless Tutar off with a final Halbert to the head. Overkill as the beast was not long for this world to begin with after the face shot.<br/><br/>Cordian rose and shouted<span style="color: #afcfaf">”Good save that!”</span>In a triumphant shout rising his blade in greeting.<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: white;background:white;"/></div><br/><br/>The men in the winged helms glanced at each other and then at Cordian; the one with the bloody blade at the end of his halberd nodded, whipping the weapon lightly so as to send the viscous liquid flying off the gleaming steel. "Aye, best to keep folk like you on your feet. We'll send back the horde," he began singing softly, "with spear and sword, and these monsters shall find us very-"<br/><br/>"Bored!" interrupted his comrade, who was of a similar height with him, though he didn't seem nearly as intent on singing. Three Tutari warriors reached him, snarls ripping through the air as they closed the distance.<br/><br/>"These things are<span style="font-style: italic">boring</span>me!" he went on, ignoring the sound of annoyance issued by his fellow immortal. "So I'll return the favor. Here, this one's<span style="font-style: italic">BORED</span>too," he said as he drove the tip of his weapon right through the throat of his foremost attacker. "And now his friend is also<span style="font-style: italic">BORED</span>!" he added as he impaled the chest of the next Tutar in line.<br/><br/>The bodies of the two Demigods glowed blue for a moment, and then the other decapitated the final Tutar with a deft twitch of his own weapon, sending a gust of wind out over the battlefield as he did so. "Roth, stop talking," he muttered, casting a look over at Farie.<br/><br/>"What's wrong, brother? It's a joke! Get it? I'm<span style="font-style: italic">boring</span>them. With my halb-"<br/><br/>"Just shut up. More are coming."<br/><br/>The number of Tutar in the area was smaller than before, given that the Drorghans dominated the center of the battlefield, but a small stream of them was still present in the vicinity, and closing in quickly.<br/><br/>Roth and his brother fell into step alongside Farie and Cordian as the beasts drew closer.<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: white;background:white;"/></div><br/><br/>Farie’s gaze darted from the Demigods to Cordian and back. He did not speak as they began to fight. For a few moments he froze watching their work. A smile spreading across his features. It was a good day to fight and a better day to win. He grinned as the three Tutar fell in succession one right after the other and joined their ranks as the horde descended.<br/><br/>Twirling his blade from hand to hand. Ready, willing and able to fight. Deadly. Determined. Insane. He screamed as he took the fight to the monsters. The words he screamed barely incoherent except for one single word that stood out in his shout. Elisia. He drove his blade straight into the first Tutar before him and twisted.<br/><br/>----<br/><br/>Cordian laughed manically at the humor of the one Demigod. Glad to see that one of them was lighthearted in battle. With a wide grin he shouted back<span style="color: #afcfaf">”Let us see if we can’t <span style="font-style: italic">bore</span> some more then shall we?”</span>At the end of their first attack. He held his sword ready. Unlike Farie he did not do any fancy work with his sword. He simply stood. Both hand firmly on the blade. Legs wide and braced, knees slightly bent. Eyes blazing with bloodlust and desire.<br/><br/>As Farie took off so did he. Following a half step behind him. Weapon swinging down in a wide arch straight at the creatures blade arm. Taking his wrist clean off. Cordian laughed.<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: white;background:white;"/></div><br/><br/>"Well said, well said!"<br/><br/>The Demigod called Roth looked to the other, grinning happily at Cordian's remark. "I like these Lebis, Benen. Let's make sure they live, yes?"<br/><br/>His brother, the one named Benen, nodded as the Tutari horde reached them. "Aye."<br/><br/>They were still glowing faintly, though the blue surrounding them was receding quickly; before it could vanish entirely they swept their halberds out in unison, sending a powerful surge of wind forward, knocking several Tutar off their feet. "The battle has slowed down for us," Benen said as he forcefully brought the bladed tip of his weapon down, removing the other hand of the Tutar that had already had one of its wrists severed by Cordian's sword. "I believe Rolyn Skyhand is lending us his aid."<br/><br/>"Should be the whole Circle, damn it," Roth replied as he swept the legs of a Tutar out from under it before delivering a killing blow to the base of its skull before it could rise from the ground. "But old Rolyn will do just fine."<br/><br/>Benen shot a look at the two Lebis; he swept the arm off of another Tutar at the shoulder, and winced as his brother shouted gleefully at him from several paces away. "Hah! You<span style="font-style: italic">DIS-ARMED</span>him! Nice!"<br/><br/>The more solemn of the Demigods shook his head slightly as if trying to rid himself of a headache, before finally addressing the mortals even as he skewered yet another adversary through the abdomen. "Rolyn - you would perhaps know him as Rune. It seems that you all have more than just us on your side here. The Gods favor you.”<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: white;background:white;"/></div><br/><br/>Farie couldn’t help but feel awed by the presence of the Demigods. He couldn’t help being in their midst and feeling completely and utterly in awe of them. He was glad they were on their side. He knew that they would never have stood up against these odds for long without aid and that aid was more than welcomed. Even if it was by only a few of the gods. To Farie one was more then enough let alone the number they had on their side.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8080">”Help is welcomed, be it one or many, it is enough. It is more then we had,”</span>Farie said softly. easily heard by those nearest him, but his voice wouldn’t carry to many of the other soldiers. For he spoke mostly to himself. For his own sanity.<br/><br/>He dealt a final deadly blow to the monster who had taken his sword to it’s chest and it fell dead before him. A spray of blood marking it’s passing as Farie moved on to the next with equal fervour.<br/><br/>----<br/><br/>Cordian was no longer in the words that were spoken, he was in the fight. His mind focused on every movement he made, calculating and seeing where his opponents would go. Working to take advantage of the demigod’s support and skill working with them to kill as many of the enemy as possible.<br/><br/>He laughed as he danced the deadly dance of war.