Demons Return
Author: D.W. Jackson
Date: 2017-02-27 05:00:00+00:00
Description: Ash is trying to make his way home but not everything is as easy as it sounds. The goddess walks next to him but in the world of men her beauty is destined to cause trouble. As his enemies increase Ash must make it back home to where his family awaits him.

8-1

After the first attack, more reports started to come in though they were about much smaller skirmishes along the border. It seemed that sending the extra troops to reinforce the border made the other nobles a little more cautious. Emelia continued to send requests to the king to intervene, but so far they had been ignored as was expected. The only reason that Emelia even bothered with it was for protocol.

While Emelia continued to deal with the nobles and their concerns, Ash spent almost all of his time studying war and speaking with knights. What little time he had outside of the war room was spent working on the fort with the new knight recruits.

With Ash’s large mana pool, he was able to increase the building speed a lot while still reducing the overall cost since he was able to do the work of three earth mages on his own. Even with Ash’s help and tripling the work force, it would still be months before the land was completely cleared, let alone before the real work on the fort could be started. That was one of the reasons that every night Ash exhausted his MP trying to get as much as he could done with the time he had.

It wasn’t until seven weeks after the initial report of an incursion that Emelia’s spies sent the news that she dreaded the most. The duchies were gathering a large force and were planning to attack within the month. She knew that it was bound to happen, but she had hoped deep down that they never fully committed. It wasn’t because she was just afraid for her people, but because Ash had insisted on joining the front lines of the battle. Emelia knew that Ash was strong, but history was littered with strong warriors who fell in battle from a lucky strike.

Once the news came in about the large forces gathered, Emelia tried to talk Ash into taking a post at one of the many forts, but Ash had refused. The truth was that even at the forts, he would encounter danger, but once the commander surrendered the fort, everyone inside was then taken prisoners and none could be killed under the laws of war. Instead, Ash decided to join the advance party which would put him at the forefront of the war. Emelia wished she had more time, but as it was, Ash was planning to leave in two days.

When Ash woke, he looked over to find Shina staring at him with a sad look in her eyes. “Master,” Shina said in a pleading tone.

“No Shina,” Ash said in a stern tone. “I have told you that you cannot go with me. I need you here to look after the others.”

Shina looked down and let out of a soft whimper but didn’t say anything more. She had been trying to Talk Ash into letting her go with him for over a week, but he had flatly refused. He even went so far as to order her not to ask again. Since she couldn’t ask directly, for the past few days she had simply called his name while pouting.

Shina was not the only one who was not looking forward to his leaving. Yuki had cried for two days straight when he told her and Milly had been unusually clingy to him over the past few days.

After getting dressed, Ash quickly headed down the stairs and to his small study as he waited to be notified that breakfast was ready. Not long after, Allice came into the room, her face still showing some of the lines from her pillow. “Morning Master,” Allice said with a slight yawn.

“Allice, you are up early,” Ash said looking at the sleepy girl.

“I need to wake up when master does so that I don’t cause him trouble in the future,” Allice replied happily. She was probably one of the few people in the manor who was happy. She was getting to go with him when he left. Ash didn’t want to take anyone, but he had been informed by not only Emelia but a few of the knights as well that all nobles brought at least one attendant. Ash didn’t think the front line was a place for such things, but he had rolled his eyes and agreed. At first he was planning to take one of the older woman that worked under Gilda, but Allice had fought against him head on and her arguments had left him with little choice about bringing her with him.

“What is the plan today Master?” Allice asked with large eyes.

“Everything is already packed and the horses are ready so today will be used to spend time with everyone. After lunch we will go over to Emelia’s and spend the night there. Once the sun rises we will have to meet up with Count Erin,” Ash replied as he took the small glass of water Allice handed him.

“Understood Master,” Allice said with a slight bow.

Ever since Allice had won her argument and Ash had agreed to take her along, she had changed her attitude greatly. Most the time she acted like a normal young girl. In a lot of ways she acted the way Ash thought a younger sister might act, but now she acted just like a miniature Gilda, though not yet as proficient in anticipating his needs.

After everyone had woken, breakfast was served. Most the time it was served as soon as Ash woke but today was special. It was the last day he would be spending with his new family for a long time so he had ordered for it to be served only when everyone was ready and could eat.

Just after he finished eating and sat down his fork, Ash looked around to see everyone with a sad looks on their faces. Ash was slightly amazed that they would care so much that he was leaving. After he had taken control of the manor from its previous owner, they had showed no emotion over the change. Thinking back, their attitude toward him had changed greatly. At first they were cold and acted like machines, but now they smiled warmly and talked openly with him.

“Master,” Milly said, looking up at him from her place on his lap.

“Yes Milly,” Ash replied, placing his head on her head as he ruffled her soft hair.

“Milly doesn’t want Master to leave,” Milly said with slightly wet eyes.

“I don’t want to leave either Milly,” Ash said with a weak smile. “Sometimes we have to do what we don’t want to. It is part of growing up.”

“Then Milly doesn’t want to grow up,” Milly said, clinging to him tightly.

A warm feeling spread through Ash’s chest as he looked down at the little panther child who not long ago was afraid of him.

After breakfast Ash didn’t seclude himself in his study as he did most the time when he was at home. Instead, he walked around the manor talking with the different slaves and spending some time with each of them. The whole day Milly followed close behind him, her little hand often clutching to the edge of his robe. Ash kept looking back at her and smiling every time he saw the firm determination on her face.

Soon it was time for midday meal. About half way through the meal, Ash looked up to see Yuki staring at him and gave her a weak smile and suddenly she started to cry. Yuki set off a chain reaction and soon Shina was crying as well as a number of the other slaves.

Milly jumped from her seat on Ash’s lap and walked over to the Yuki and lightly patted her leg. “Don’t cry…Don’t cry, Master is strong. Nothing can beat him,” Milly said over and over.

Watching as Milly got the other two to stop crying, Ash nearly burst into tears himself. Pushing his seat back, Ash stood and bowed. “It’s time for me to go,” Ash said as he steeled himself. He wanted to say more, but nothing he could think of seemed right. In the end, all he could do now was bow one more time before quickly leaving the room.

Gilda met him in the hallway along with Allice before he had made it to the stairs and handed him his travel pack. Ash never noticed them leaving the dining room and was slightly surprised to see them standing before him. Before he could say anything, Gilda wrapped Ash in a warm motherly hum. “Stay safe Master,” She said, her voice catching a little.

“I will,” Ash said weakly as he took the bag from her hands. “Keep everyone here safe as well.”

Gilda nodded with tear filled eyes but didn’t respond. Looking back toward where he had left everyone, Ash took a deep breath and then walked out of the door his feet moving almost at a run. It wasn’t until he reached the market district that Ash looked back again to see that his house was no long in sight. Allice was a few feet behind him, breathing hard as she tried to keep up.

“Allice, you will need to start training if you really want to stay with me,” Ash said as he looked at the young woman’s reddened face. Pulling one of the party stones from his inventory, he handed it to her. “I know you are not much of a fighter, but you need to gain a little strength so I don’t have to worry about you,” Ash said passing her the stone.

“I will work hard master,” Allice said, taking the stone as if it were a precious gift.

As he walked through the streets, heading toward Emelia’s manor, Ash felt a huge pressure pushing down on him. Over the past few weeks he had truly started to see how much the people around him cared about him. However, that didn’t weaken his resolve, but strengthened it. Now more than ever, he felt the call to fight for those he loved but still the weight of their feelings bared down on his soul. As Ash thought about it, he found it odd.

When he reached the manor gates, Ash was greeted with a slight nod from the guard and was quickly let in. Before Ash could take five steps into the garden, he was nearly tackled by a slightly red eyed Emelia. She didn’t say anything, just held him tightly.

Looking down at Emelia, Ash felt slightly bad. A few days before he and Emelia had a large fight, not just about him going to fight but about his decision to fight on the front lines. When he had left, she had still been mad. As he had approached the gates, he had slightly feared they would replay the same arguments they had almost every time they had met for the past week. Now looking down at his young wife, all those thoughts fled from his mind.

“Shall we go inside?” Ash asked as he ran his hand along Emelia’s cheek. Emelia looked up at him a nodded her head.

Allice tried to follow Ash and Emelia as they walked to the study, but she was intercepted by one of the maids and taken away. Allice called for Ash to help, but he just chuckled lightly as she was carted away.

Once they were inside the study, Ash and Emelia sat on the long sofa. Well, Ash sat while Emelia laid down on the sofa as she nestled up against Ash with her head on his shoulder.

“You will stay safe won’t you?” Emelia asked after a long period of silence.

“I will do my best,” Ash said as he rubbed his hand along her back.

Emelia quickly sat up, giving him a stern look. “I don’t want your best, I want you to promise me that you will come back. I don’t care if you lose both arms and legs and have to crawl back on your belly. Just as long as you come back to me,” Emelia said as large tears started to form in her eyes.

“I promise that as long as I still draw breath, I will return,” Ash said pulling Emelia close.

It wasn’t the answer that Emelia had wanted, but she didn’t fight as Ash pulled her in close and kissed her deeply. The war had been her choice in a way, but she had never wished for Ash himself to fight. A part of her knew that he wouldn’t just sit around while others fought battles in his name, but she had silently hoped that she could keep him from the worst of it. She had often heard her father talk about the small battles he had fought in and what they had done to him. He had often said that no man comes out of a battle unharmed. He might walk free of injury, but battles leave their mark on a man’s soul as sure as a sword does on flesh.

The more Emelia thought about the coming war, the more her imagination started to produce images of a beaten and battered Ash. Shutting her eyes tightly, Emelia took a deep breath and hugged Ash tighter until she could her the bones in his chest popping.

Ash and Emelia spent the rest of the day in the study, not even leaving for supper. Little was said as they lay intertwined, simply enjoying each other’s company. Ash spent the time reading while Emelia spent the whole time simply watching Ash. Every so often Ash would look over to her and ask what she was thinking, but Emelia would just shake her head and say that it was a secret.

Their meal was simple. In fact it was only cabbage, beans, and a single piece of meat. Looking down at his plate, Ash couldn’t help but ask if there was some meaning behind the meal.

“Yes…It is the traditional meal one eats before leaving for battle,” Emelia responded with a sad look on her face. “The winter cabbage is to remind you that even in the harshest weather, life can grow. The beans are a traditional meal for luck, and the liver is to give you strength. I had the men hunt a wild bear for the liver since it is the strongest animal around here.”

“Thank you,” Ash said as a warm feeling spread through his chest. The cabbage was slightly sweet and the beans had a nice bite of heat to them. It was the liver that Ash had trouble eating. It had a metallic taste and the aroma coming off it was rather stout, but when he looked at his wife Ash forced himself to finish every last bite.

“Tring.”

[You have received the title “First Knight.” When this title is equipped you will receive +10 to strength and +10 to endurance.]

“Tring.”

[You have been awarded a rare title all stats are increased by +2 permanently.]

When the screen popped up as soon as he finished his meal Ash was more than slightly surprised and let out a light gasp. “What is it?” Emelia asked with a concerned look on her face.

“I was just surprised that I got a title,” Ash replied, smiling as he equipped the new title.

“You got a new title?” Emelia asked her face brightening. “What is it?”

“First Knight,” Ash said as he read the description again.

“First Knight,” Emelia gasped as her eyes widened.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Umm…No, I was just surprised. The title of First Knight is something you hear about in stories. It is said that only Knights who are blessed with a queen’s favor can get it,” Emelia explained.

Ash pulled Emelia close and kissed her lightly. “Then that means you must be a queen,” Ash said with a slightly devilish grin and he kissed Emelia again.

8-2

The next morning when Ash woke he found Emelia propped up on her elbow her eyes intently focused on him. Emelia’s eyes were focused so tightly on Ash that he couldn’t keep his cheeks from slightly blushing.

“Morning love,” Emelia said after giving him a light kiss.

“Morning,” Ash replied as he sat up.

As he got dressed, Ash could still feel Emelia’s eyes on him. He tried to ignore her penetrating stare. When he went down to the dining room for breakfast, he was surprised to find that Allice was already awake and waiting on him.

The meal was ate in silence with Emelia barely touching her food, her eyes were still focused on Ash. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Ash quickly ate and picked up his pack, ready to go to meet the knights he would be traveling with. When Ash reached the door, he felt something grab him hard from behind then a few moments later he could feel a slight wetness through his tunic as he heard Emelia’s muffled crying.

Turning around, Ash lifted Emelia’s head with his hand and used this thumb to wipe away the tears from her cheek before kissing her. As he turned to leave, he could only barely hear Emelia choke out the words, “Be safe love.”

As he walked through the garden with Allice right behind him, Ash felt as if a knife had been stuck in his chest. He knew that Emelia was watching him leave from the doorway of the manor, but he feared if he turned to look at her now, he wouldn’t have the strength to leave so he took one step after another with his eyes fixed on the large metal gate at the end of the walkway.

After walking through the gate Ash let out a deep breath and nearly fell to his knees. Ash was starting to think that the short walk leaving the manor had been the hardest thing he had ever done. With a quick look back at the metal gate Ash pushed forward toward the city exit where the others were waiting on him.

Outside the city gate, Ash was met by a group of more than twenty knights. There was also more than three hundred warriors from the militia as well. This was not the first group that had left out, but it was the largest as far as knights went. “My lord, you and your aid’s horses have been prepared,” one of the younger knights said while bowing to Ash. “If I may ask my lord, I do not see your provisions?” the knight asked as he looked around to see if anyone was bringing them behind him.

Ash knew what the man was talking about. Most the time nobles would bring a large retinue just to carry their belongings such as tents and food. Ash had been on the road before and while tents were useful, they took up a lot of space so he had thought of leaving it behind, but Emelia said it was a matter of status so he had one forced upon him. It was a large tent that could easily hold ten people if not more. Ash had agreed to take it with him, but had placed it in his inventory. Even though it was large and had numerous pieces, his inventory took it as one thing so it only took up one spot. As for the other things Ash had been expected to bring with him, he had also placed them in his inventory after selling off all the stuff that had been cluttered inside it. Even with a large amount of wine and fine foods, he still had plenty of room left.

“I have an ability to place things in a hidden space,” Ash said, bowing to the man. It wasn’t really a lie, but it wasn’t the truth either. Emelia knew about his inventory and told him that using space magic to hold things while rare was not unheard of and would make the best explanation, even if it wasn’t completely true. “I still have plenty of room left if there is more you wish to take or if you wish to lighten the load of your horses,” Ash continued with a warm smile.

“Lad if that is true, we will take you up on that offer. The four wagons there are full to the brim,” an older knight said nudging his horse a little forward so that Ash could see him easily. “The supplies are needed, but with the way the wagons are overloaded, we will be lucky if an axle doesn’t snap before we reach the next town let alone our destination.”

Ash walked up to the first wagon and found that it was full of barrels. He didn’t know what was inside, but he was sure that it would fit in his inventory. With his current strength level, Ash had over two-hundred and fifty slots and even with what he had brought himself, there were still slightly over two-hundred left open so he wasn’t afraid of running out of space. Putting his hand on the barrel, Ash pulled it into his inventory. As the barrel disappeared, Ash heard the common soldiers gasp which was even joined in by a few of the knights.

Checking his inventory, Ash found the barrel easily. It was aptly named barrel of oats. Ash continued to put things in his inventory one after another and found that even the barrels could be stacked as long as they contained the same item inside of them. Arrows, food, swords, pikes, and tools all went into his inventory until the four wagons were completely empty.

“I said you could lighten the load, but I never expected you to empty it completely,” the older knight said laughing. “Most nobles are about as much use as a wet towel in a rainstorm, but even if you can’t fight, as a pack mule you are worth keeping around.”

Though his words were a little harsh, the look on the knight’s face was light and had the hint of a smile. Luckily the inventory of the wagons were mostly the same thing over and over so even though he was carrying it with him, it had taken up slightly less than ninety spaces in his inventory. From what he learned, no one else had the inventory ability like he did and even he didn’t have an ability that would explain it. It was just there, but Ash was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth so he decided not to question it too deeply.

With the supplies situated, Ash and Allice each mounted their horses. Ash had ridden a horse a few times before so he didn’t find it too difficult. Allice on the other hand had to be held after losing her balance and falling backward, much to the mirth of the onlookers. Once they were both mounted, half the knights took the lead while the others took the rear with the now empty wagons and the regular soldiers in the center. Ash and Allice were given positions at the front though they were behind the majority of the knights.

After less than an hour in the saddle Allice started to wine as she shifted around trying to get comfortable. Ash was tempted to make a joke but upon seeing her face had wisely decided against it.

The first day they didn’t make what Ash would consider good time. Even with the wagons empty, it was slow moving with so many people at once, but Ash didn’t mind the relaxed pace. He had decided to join the war effort, but by no means was he in a rush to arrive.

The group of soldiers only took small breaks when they marched and even ate while in the saddle. The food was hard bread and dried meat. Ash ate without complaint, but he felt that it was rather lacking. As this thought crossed his mind, Ash couldn’t suppress the laugh that bubbled out, drawing a few odd stairs. It wasn’t that long ago that Ash would have been happy to receive a war meal at all and now he found himself being picky. Shaking his head, he once again found himself surprised at how much a person’s life can change in a short period of time.

At night they decided to camp when they reached a large open field that was large enough for the entire group without having to be too pressed in. Ash and Allice were given spots at the very center of the camp and asked to set up first. Ash did as he was instructed and pulled the large tent from his inventory and started setting it up. Since he had shown his ability to store tings earlier, it didn’t shock anyone but there were more than a few who watched him with enthusiasm, chief among them was Allice.

The tent was large, but was easy to set up since it had been enchanted. Ash still had to stake it to the ground and raise the center pole, but after that, all he had to do was touch a crystal and the tent rose into the air and the canvas just seemed to meld into a tent.

Inside, Ash pulled two beds from his inventory placing one on each side of the tent then called Allice inside.

“Yes Master,” Allice said in a pained voice as she entered the tent.

“I was just letting you know that I set up your bed if you want to lay down for a bit and get off your feet,” Ash said as she waved his hand toward the bed in the corner of the tent opposite from his own.

Allice rubbed her backside and grimaced, causing Ash to laugh. He had ridden a horse as a child once and afterwards he had spent two days feeling as if he had broken something in his butt so he could understand the pain she was feeling. When Allice saw that it wasn’t just a mat, but a full bed, her eyes widened then she looked over and seemed to just notice that Ash too was laying on a full bed.

“Master,” Allice said slightly hesitantly.

“Yes,” Ash replied as he stretched out and relaxed his muscles.

“Since no one else is here, I was hoping that master would let me sleep with him,” Allice said the words seemed half forced.

“Allice, I told you wait until you are a bit older to ask,”

“I am of age,” Allice said a tinge of indignation in her voice. “I…Just want for master to hold me.”

Looking up, Ash could see something in Allice’s eyes, but it took him a moment to figure out what it was. It was fear. He didn’t know what she was afraid of, but the fear was evident enough. Letting out a deep sigh, Ash motioned for her to come over. Allice didn’t respond, but silently walked over to where Ash lay and removed her boots before laying down beside him.

The beds that Ash had brought were not large, but still had enough space that both Allice and Ash could lay on the without having to touch. Ash tried to make enough space, but Allice had other ideas. She grabbed Ash’s Arm and pulled it over her and hugged it tightly. Since she was turned away from him, Ash couldn’t see her face but from the shaking of her body Ash could tell that she was crying.

“What’s wrong?” Ash asked in as gentle of a tone as he could.

“I don’t want master to die,” Allice replied between tears.

“What makes you think I am going to die?” Ash asked as he reached up with his free hand and stroked Allice’s head.

“Momma use to talk about dad,” Alice said after a long moment of silence. “She said we used to live far away and father was a great knight. Then a war broke out between my father’s lord and another and a war started. Father never came home. I don’t remember what he looked like, but whenever I think of you fighting, I remember my momma’s stories about father.”

Hearing Allice’s story, he started to understand why she had fought so hard to go with him. He had spent a lot of time with Allice since she had become his slave and had a good understanding of her. She was a nice, gentle girl who loved her family, but she had a hard life. Her father died when she was a babe and her mother died leaving her to raise her brother. She had worked hard and still fallen into a position of slaver in the end. Since then, Ash had taken care of her and she was always guilt ridden, more than once breaking down into tears. Not just in front of Ash, but around the other slaves as well. Ash knew that Allice tended to blame everything that happened on herself as if she were the cause of all the bad luck in the world.

“Allice listen to me,” Ash said sternly. Allice turned and with wet eyes looked at Ash. “I will not die. At least not any time soon, so you don’t need to worry.” As he spoke, Ash continued to rub his hand through Allice silky hair.

Allice looked up at Ash with her large eyes and gave him a weak smile that quickly turned slightly devilish before she quickly kissed him lightly on the lips. Before he could respond to her action, Allice threw her arms around Ash and buried her head into his chest. Looking at the small girl who was so desperately clinging to him, Ash only shook his head.

It didn’t take long before a soft gentle snore came from Allice while her grip slackened. Ash quietly slipped from the bed and quickly exited the tent.

Outside a few other tents were put up but most of them were small and looked as if they would have trouble fitting one person. The air was starting to turn cold and it had already snowed a few days, though as of yet it had not lasted the coming day and had quickly melted. Since it was nearly full winter, it seemed odd that a war was starting.

“Lord Hawkwing,” A voice called out, almost as soon as Ash had exited his tent. Turning his head, Ash saw the older knight who he had talked to before leaving the city. “Lord Hawkwing, you have all the provisions so I was wondering if you could bring out one of the supper casks.”

Ash quickly searched through his inventory and found a large barrel that was named just as the knight had requested and pulled it out. “What is inside it?”

“Ah...It is a mix of grain and dried meat and vegetables that can be cooked with water to make a soup. That said, most the soldiers just call it rock soup since the dried parts are a bit hard to chew,” the knight said with a bit of a laugh. “I am Knight Captain Jonas. I figure we will be spending a lot of time together so might as well get to know you a bit. Care to join me and the boys for a few drinks? That is if you don’t mind bringing out one of the casks of ale that we had hidden in the wagon,” the knight added with a wink.

“I think I will,” Ash said laughing as he followed behind the captain.

Just as the captain said, the food was less then desirable, but it still filled the belly. After they ate, all the knights gathered around making jokes, most of them making even Ash’s ears burn slightly.

Out of the thirty knights, eleven of them were women. They ranged from the age of nineteen to forty yet when they were all together, they all seemed as if they were nothing but a large family. They seemed a little tense when Ash was around at first, but after he didn’t say anything about them drinking ale and even gave out one of his casks of spiced wine they started to loosen up around him. A few of the female knights even jokingly asked him to their tents.

After the sun went down, Ash returned to his tent to find Allice still sleeping soundly. With a light smile, he crawled back in the bed and covered them both with the warm blankets and drifted off to sleep.

8-3

It took twenty days before they reached the first border fort. Thanks to the large river that separated the Hawkwing duchy from its neighbors, there were limited places they could face attack without warning. One of those was the Reinhorn Plains. It was over a hundred mile stretch of open rolling plains.

When Ash thought “fort”, he was expecting something large and imposing. Instead what he found was nothing more than a wall made of logs surrounding a group of tents. The logs were soaked in a black liquid making them nearly impervious to fire, but a strong mage could still easily open up a hole in the wall. When Ash asked about the small forts, the knight captain gave a knowing nod.

It seemed that the log forts were common and spread out every ten miles. Each one contained no more than a hundred soldiers and two knights at any time. They were not meant to hold the line, just delay the enemy. Larger forts further back were built using earth magic.

Unlike the fort being built outside the duchy capital, the ones made by the knight mages were not meant to last centuries. However, they would hold off for years against standard attacks. Each fort was given one earth mage and each day he would spend his time building and reinforcing the fort. Once again though the forts were nothing more than a wall with tents inside. If the war lasted long enough, that would change, but that would take years for a single mage to accomplish.

At each small fort they dropped off supplies and troops until Ash’s inventory had grown light. Once they were down to only twenty normal troops and four knights they started making their way to their assigned post.

Ash and the others were assigned to the forward group. Unlike those in the fort who stayed within a limited area looking out for enemy approach, the forward group stayed close to the border constantly moving looking for any signs of impending attack. While the forts were the shield, the advanced group was the dagger that struck from the back.

While there were only ten small forts, four advance groups and two larger forts in the Reinhorn Plains there were a total of eighteen small forts, seven advance groups and four large forts throughout the entire duchy. Ash’s group was in charge of twenty-five miles of open land. It was at the edge of a small canyon and one of the areas that was unlikely for an attack, but it still had to be watched. Ash believed that it was Emelia’s hand trying to keep him safe. It bothered him somewhat, but she was the duchess so he had little say in where his group would be stationed.

The group of knights that Ash worked with had a knight captain who was in charge of the group, and three sergeants who were each assigned a small number of regular soldiers. Normally there was an additional knight who would be ranked a lieutenant. The lieutenant would normally be in charge of supplies and rations so that duty had been given over to Ash. It wasn’t a hard job, he just had to make sure that when they started to run low on supplies to make a supply request at a local fort to get them refilled. Thankfully Ash could carry a large amount of supplies without being burdened which made the captain very happy.

Most the time the group would have to make small caches of supplies so that they wouldn’t be slowed down. With Ash around now they could carry it with them and didn’t have to worry about running low though they still hid some caches just in case the worst came to pass.

Each day the group moved a few miles. The plan was to dig out a series of encampments that would hide them from site. Normally this would take a great deal of time and effort. Thankfully though, Ash’s ability to manipulate the earth made it fast. Instead of months of digging, each time they reached one of their designated spots, Ash was able to dig what the knights called badger burrows.

Each burrow was only big enough for one person, or in Ash’s case two. They would start as just a hole large enough that when laying down you couldn’t be seen from the distance. From there they would be dug out enough that you could stand in them with only your head sticking out. At this stage, a lean-to would be built, hiding the hole using wood and shrubs. Once it was deep enough to stand in, a small pit would be dug so that a person could sleep laying down. Finally tunnels would be dug, connecting the different burrows.

They would only stay at one place for three days before moving to the next. As the weeks passed, they decided to make more and more burrows thanks to Ash’s useful abilities. It wasn’t until they had been stationed at the border for three weeks that they caught their first signs of any enemy troops.

It was after midday and Ash and the others were taking a small break when one of their scouts rushed back. “Report,” the captain said in a low yet stern tone.

“Sir, more than five hundred troops coming from the west. They are comprised of mostly foot soldiers, but more than thirty of them are on horseback,” the young scout said as he still struggled for breath.

“Were you spotted?” The captain asked as his hand drifted down to his sword hilt.

“No sir,” the scout said a nervous twinge in his voice. “I was in a small corps of trees…Making water sir…That is when I caught sight of them.”

“Sargent Tennian, I want you to keep track of the enemy’s movements,” the captain barked to one of the older knights. “We will be moving out to bunker five and wait until nightfall so that we can access the situation. Barker, you are to head back to Gort Yewell and report our findings.”

Everyone moved quickly as the captain gave orders. The closest burrow was still more than two miles away and every moment they sat around increased their chances of being found. Their main job was not to fight against large forces, but smaller scouting parties if they were found. In the case of larger forces they were to report and if possible delay their supply line.

It took less than an hour to reach the burrow where the knights and soldiers quickly found succor. Under the captain’s orders, Ash started to clear out a large center area where all the tunnels between the burrows came together. It was not a hard job, though it did take almost half of his MP. When he was finished, the area was just large enough for all of them to sit within the room though only with a fingers width between them. The room became even more crowded when the captain pulled out a rough map of the surrounding area.

They only had an estimate of where the force was and where they were going but that was more than enough to make a few plans. They couldn’t do much, but if Ash could get to their supplies, he could carry them off without much trouble. The earlier scout hadn’t got to take a long look at the force, but there had to be wagons either with the group or behind it.

Everything seemed to be going well until a loud voice echoed through the tunnels. “Report scout,” the captain said as soon as the man sent to watch the advancing army rushed into the small manmade cavern.

“Sir, they somehow know where we are,” the scout said in a hurried voice. “At first I just thought it was coincidence that they turned in this direction, but then I noticed who their scout was. They have Lord Gats as the scout and the leader is Lord Quirelen.”

“How many troops do they have?” The captain asked, his face paling.

“More than originally thought,” the scout reported, his voice trembling. “The group first encountered was only the tip of the spear. Less than a mile behind them were another thousand troops at least. I couldn’t get too close and only noticed them when they appeared behind the forward party.”

The captain started cursing. “Looks like the king wants the war finished quickly.”

“What is going on captain?” Ash asked from the side.

“The men that the scout saw are the kings own elite knights. They might be wearing the colors of other nobles, but they only listen to the orders of the king. It seems that since the king couldn’t stop the war he decided to help behind the scenes. The duchess must hear of this. Everyone, we will split up here, each going our own way. They have horses and we are miles from the nearest fort. Everyone try to reach a town or fort and send word back to her grace.”

For the next half hour Ash handed out rations to each soldier before they disappeared into the darkness. The captain wanted Ash to be the first to leave, but he refused knowing that each person would need some of the items that he alone carried.

Just as the captain had tried to get him to leave, Ash had tried to get Allice to leave but she refused to leave his side. It left Ash in an odd position. He wanted Allice to be safe, but he had his duty as well, so in the end he could only pray that they had enough time.

The soldiers were well trained and it took less than a half hour for all of them to disperse, leaving only Ash, Allice, and the captain. As the three exited the tunnel, the sun was already starting to set and they could hear the thundering of the approaching army in the distance. With a slight bow, the two men each ran in different directions.

Allice had been following Ash’s training, but she was still not strong enough for prolonged runs so Ash was forced to carry her while he ran. They were heading north, hoping that the soldiers wouldn’t skirt their territory.

After running as hard as he could for three hours, Ash was forced to stop. The sky was overcast with clods that covered much of the sky. Ash could still see thanks to his abilities, but he was tired and that coupled with carrying Allice made his stamina reduce at a far greater rate. With little choice, Ash found a nice spot and quickly used his magic to make a shallow pit for them to rest in.

The wind was bitterly cold, but Ash was afraid that if he brought out his large tent that it would draw the wrong kind of attention. In the end, he could only use the blankets to try and stay warm. Ash was forced to sleep with Allice close to his body in order to conserve the heat.

The next morning when Ash woke, he found the ground covered in a light dusting of snow. Looking up at the sky, he found that it was still overcast and looked as if more snow would fall at any time. Sighing, Ash nudged Allice with his boot. She rolled over and opened her eyes weakly giving him a sleepy smile. “Morning master,” Allice said in a groggy voice.

“Get up, we need to keep moving,” Ash said as he rubbed his hands to try to warm them against the morning chill.

Ash pulled out a piece of dried meat and stuffed it in his mouth before handing some over to Allice. She gave a disgruntled whine, but she stared to chew on the meat. Before they had a chance to leave, Ash heard the sound of hoof beats in the distant. Cursing, Ash picked up Allice who had the dried jerky still sticking out of the corner of her mouth and started to run.

Ash at his fastest could outrun most horses, but not even he could keep that pace up for long. Ash looked behind him after he had started to run to see three men on horseback wearing the dark green colors of the enemy duchy. The men gave out a loud series of shouts and one of the men raised a copper rod into the air and a red flash of light shot into the air. Ash didn’t have to guess what it was since he had something similar in his own inventory. Ash was given one in case he was out scouting and found himself surrounded. It was to warn others that they enemy was near.

Cursing, Ash put more strength into his legs and pushed himself running as fast as he could. After he had run more than a mile, Ash could feel his lungs start to burn. No matter how strong he was, his lungs still needed air to breath. It was one of the many factors that limited the people in this world just like in his last.

Looking back over his shoulder, Ash noticed that he had widened the gap between him and the horseman, but they were still within sight. Ash knew that no matter how hard he ran, he would run out of breath long before the warhorses did. “I am going to set you down,” Ash said to Allice who was clinging tightly to his chest. “When I do, keep running.”

“No, I will stay with you master,” Allice said.

“Allice, I can’t fight and keep you safe at the same time,” Ash admitted. “We both have a better chance of surviving if I can fight without protecting you at the same time. I promise I will catch up to you as soon as I am done.”

Allice didn’t reply, but she did nod her head and mumble something that was too soft for even Ash to hear. As soon as she conceded, Ash came to a sudden stop and placed Allice on the ground. Just as he had commanded, she took off running though to Ash she seemed awkward as she ran. Looking at Allice one last time, Ash gave a wry grin then turned back to face the two oncoming horsemen.

Seeing Ash stop, the two men lifted their lances from their holders and leveled them at him. Ash gave a wicked laugh and sent him magic into the ground. A thin, yet sturdy six foot wall rose from the ground and at the same time, Ash’s MP was reduced by almost two hundred points. Ash couldn’t help but smile when he heard a string of curses followed by a loud series of bangs as the horses collided with the wall. Ash felt a twinge of guilt for the innocent horses, but he had too little options available to him.

Pulling his sword from its scabbard, Ash rushed forward and found that the two men were already back on their feet. Ash quickly used analyze, hoping to get a glimpse of their strength. One was level 24 while the other was level 28 and while they both had above average stats, nether were close to his. With a somewhat evil grin, Ash advanced on the two knights.

“Hold and surrender,” one of the knights yelled as he pulled his own sword free. “If you surrender now, I guarantee your safety.”

“I think I will take my chances,” Ash said in a growl.

“Lord Ash, I will give you one more chance,” the man said. When Ash stopped his advance the man gave a slight sneer. “Yes, we know who you are. We have more than a thousand men headed this way and their only mission is to take you alive”

Ash lowered his sword slightly, making the knight sneer again as he took a step forward. Seeing the man relax his guard, Ash tried to hold back the smile as he invoked shadow whip. The shadowy tendril flash into being, hitting the armored man hard and throwing him to the ground. Seeing this the other man gave a yell and rushed Ash.

Though neither of the men were his match in stats, they seemed to be well trained. While the second attacked, the first one regained his feet giving Ash no chance to deliver the finishing blow. Grinding his teeth, Ash batted one man’s sword aside and struck back, but his sword skipped of the knight’s armored chest leaving behind only deep dent. Before he could take a second strike, the other knight came charging in forcing Ash to take a step back to avoid the man’s blade.

Ash had fought before, but this was the first time he had fought armored men and found that even with his strength, he could do little to them while they hid behind steel. Seeing that his sword did little damage to the armor, Ash retreated slightly to gain a few seconds as he once again took stock of the men.

The knights were armored head to toe. One of them carried a two handed axe while the other used a sword a shield. The only points that looked vulnerable were at the joints and spaces where the armor had slight gaps such as the neck and waist. Making his decision, Ash used shadow whip again hitting the shield user and knocking him back a few feet while he launched an all-out attack on the other knight.

Taking three quick steps, Ash’s sword struck out at the exposed elbow joint of the second knight as he raised his axe to attack. Ash’s sword hit hard and cut through the steel rings of the chainmail, nearly cutting the man’s arm off. Bellowing loudly, the man hit his knees but he didn’t have to feel the pain for long as Ash quickly kicked the man in the head knocking him backwards. As the knight fell backwards, his helmet was pushed back and Ash quickly drove his sword into the man’s exposed neck.

The knight that had been knocked back charged Ash as he made the killing blow, but Ash quickly shifted his position, causing the sword to miss him by mere inches. Pivoting on his rear leg, Ash reset his position and readied himself for the next strike.

The knight came forward carefully leading with his shield leaving Ash little chance to strike. Ash had never fought a shield wielder before. Ash wanted to take his time, but with the threat of more soldiers arriving, he was forced to attack. Taking a measured step forward, Ash struck hard but the knight was able to get the shield up. The power behind Ash’s blow was not light and the knight was forced back three steps. Seeing the man retreat, Ash continued to rain blow after blow against the shield until he heard a sickening breaking sound and the knight collapsed to the ground with a loud yell. As the man fell to his knees, Ash didn’t let up and kicked as hard as he could, sending the man onto his back his shield flying to the side displaying the man’s oddly twisted arm. Once again, Ash rushed forward but the knight was able to get his sword in place to block Ash’s first blow and then his second, but Ash’s third blow struck home, cutting a thin like between the knight’s armor and helmet. Ash saw the deep red blood flow onto the white snow and heard the gurgling sound as the knight pulled off his helmet and tried to stanch the flow. For the briefest moment, Ash saw the terror in the knight’s rapidly whitening face as his lifeblood flowed freely to the ground. Feeling a slight pain in his stomach, Ash turned and raced in the direction that Allice had gone.

It wasn’t hard for Ash to follow Allice’s trail through the snow and after he had ran no more than a few hundred yards, he caught sight of her small form running in the distance. When he caught up to her, Ash didn’t stop. Instead he scooped her up in his arms and continued to run.

“Master,” Allice sobbed and when Ash looked down he noticed that her small round face was red and tears covered her face.

“Didn’t I promise you that I would be ok,” Ash said in a calming tone.

Allice didn’t respond, instead she buried her face into his chest and quietly sobbed. The tears quickly soaked through his shirt and the cold air bit whenever the fabric touched his skin, but Ash couldn’t find it in himself to admonish the young girl.

After running as hard as he could for more than a few hours, Ash was forced to slow down. He had continued to run north but he knew that his trail would be easy to follow thanks to the snow laying on the ground. Thankfully more snow had started to fall so there was a slim chance that it would help hide him.

8-4

The snow continued to fall for three days as Ash and Allice continued to run. Ash changed his course slightly on the morning of the second day, hoping to come across one of the forts but since he was unsure of where he was at or where they were, he could only hope.

So far they had been able to stay ahead of their pursuers, but Ash could tell that whoever was chasing them had a great deal of skill. It was only for a brief moment, but the day before he had caught a glimpse of two horsemen following his trail.

Ash could easily keep ahead of a marching army, but men on horseback were a different story. He was human and had to rest and though he was pushing himself, he was quickly running out of energy.

Currently Ash and Allice had taken refuge in a small grove of trees sheltering themselves from the worst of the biting wind. Allice hadn’t said much over the past few days and neither had she let Ash get far out of her sight. She had stopped crying at least and she even smiled from time to time, though it was rare.

When Ash woke, he found that Allice had once again wrapped both her legs around him. Laughing, Ash used his knuckles to lightly knock on top of her head. “Owwww...That hurts master,” Allice said as she rubbed the top of her head.

“Then don’t pretend to be asleep while clinging to me,” Ash said, trying to sound mad but unable to keep the smile from his face.

Sitting up, Ash looked out and started to curse when he saw a number of horses from between the trees. They were still a little behind, but not so far that they wouldn’t catch up quickly. The grove of trees was small and all around it was nothing but open space. “How do they keep finding us?” Ash asked himself. It was at that moment that Ash wish he had learned more about the different abilities of the knights.

The more he thought about it, the more the old saying came to mind. “Knowledge is power.” Of course there is a large possibility that even if he knew how their abilities worked, he might not be able to evade them.

Currently Ash counted a full party of six knights and they were quickly drawing near. “Allice, I want you to hide here. If anything happens stay hidden until they leave.”

“No master,” Allice said shaking her head fervently.

“That is an order Allice,” Ash said, making the slave tattoo on her shoulder flare. Allice gave him a withered glare and tried to argue but the tattoo flared again and a flash of pain flashed across her face. Ash rarely used his position as a master to give orders and each time he felt bad when he did. No matter how much it pained him, it was better than Allice losing her life. Giving Allice one last apologetic smile, Ash saw the tears welling in her eyes. Turning around, Ash pulled his sword free and walked out of the small grove to meet the riders.

When Ash walked out of the grove of trees, the riders slowed their pace and looked at him with disapproving glares. They approached Ash warily, moving at a slow canter. As they approached Ash used analyze on them. Three of the knights were in the low thirties, one was nearing forty, and the other two were too high for Ash to see their stats.

“You are lord Ash, are you not?” One of the knight’s asked as he rode slightly in front of the others. He was a large man but little else could be told about him due to the full armor the man wore.

“Yes, I am Ash Hawkwing,” Ash said through gritted teeth.

“Lord Ash, let me be honest with you,” the man said, removing his helmet and showing a weathered face of a man in his late forties with sandy brown hair. “Right now the kingdom can ill afford this war. As it stands, thousands upon thousands will lose their lives. If the kingdoms’ enemies take this chance to strike at us, then even more shall die. I have come before you today to ask for your cooperation in seeing that it does not come to that.”

“And how may I help you?” Ash asked, his voice losing a little of its hostility though he didn’t let down his guard.

“You just need to lay down your weapon and surrender,” the knight said calmly. “You will be brought before the king and admit that you used a demon ability to charm the duchess. You will be put to death, but giving one life to save countless others is a cheap bargain.”

Ash couldn’t deny the man’s logic and was tempted to take the offer. “And what will happen to Emelia?”

“She will keep her status as the duchess, but she will be wed to a person of noble lineage.”

Ash could easily give himself up if it meant saving the lives of others. He knew that Emelia would curse him for it, but she would be safe and so would the other people of the duchy. What bothered him was that not only would they take his life, they would essentially be taking Emelia’s as well. She wouldn’t die, but from the sound of it she would be nothing more than a slave.

“So you would have me lie and then send someone else to my wife’s bed taking everything from her family including her name. All because the king is too much of a coward to stand up for all of his citizens,” Ash said as if the words caused a bad taste in his mouth.

“Shut your mouth,” one of the other knights yelled and Ash heard the sound of steel being drawn.

“Hush Morris,” the older knight said angrily before turning back to Ash. “There is much more going on than you realize. This war will end and sadly it will end with the fall of the Hawkwing name. The question is, how many people will die during the process?”

“For every man we lose, we will take two with us,” Ash said remembering the words from something he had read before. “It doesn’t matter how many of his dog’s the king sends. This is Hawkwing land and it shall stay that way.”

“Have it your way Lord Ash,” the man said with a heavy sigh. “Maybe after your death, your duchess will see things in a better light.”

The knight slid from his saddle then released a large double bladed sword and brought it to bare. Within moments, the other knights also unhorsed and took up a formation that Ash had seen before. It was the same one that Den and his men had taken up when they were fighting together.

The scout in the back was the first to attack using her bow to send an arrow aimed at his head. Ash didn’t even blink as he batted the arrow out of the air with the flat of his sword.

As soon as Ash’s sword moved, the others began their attack. Ash was able to dodge and parry most the attacks from the three warriors, but the two scouts and mage were a slight problem. The archer kept back firing arrows at him at any opening, while the other kept maneuvering around to strike at his back. While the scouts kept him slightly off balance, the mage used wind magic to attack him. It wasn’t hard for Ash to know that if he didn’t start to reduce their numbers, he wouldn’t last very long.

Without much choice, Ash invoked Gambler’s Gambit and prayed that he got a good number.

“Tring.”

[You have used Gambler’s Gambit. All stats will be increased by 61 points.]

With the sudden increase in stats, Ash’s pace quickened and the attacks that were hard to dodge earlier became slightly easier though he was still finding it hard to strike back. Seeing that he was still in trouble, Ash quickly used Shadow Armor, Shimmer, and Death Wail one after another. When the loud scream left his mouth, all but the mage was grabbed their heads and a few even dropped to their knees. Seeing his chance, Ash rushed past the guards, striking at the distracted bow wielder.

With a flash of Ash’s sword, it hit the thin leather armor just above the chest, splitting the knight open. The knight regained himself just in time to see the strike and let out half a yell before he fell down dead in a puddle of his own blood.

The other knights seeing their comrade die, started their attacks once again this time with much more vigor. Once again Ash used Death Wail, but this time it only seemed to affect them slightly, not even giving Ash enough time to make another surprise attack. Even with one down, it was still five against one and with each passing moment the blades were getting closer and closer to hitting him.

Seeing that his previous attack wasn’t going to work again, Ash once again searched through his numerous abilities as he fought off the knight’s attacks. Three of the knights were wearing armor that made it hard for him to strike easily. Even among his abilities, only a few could do anything to them and even then it wouldn’t be of much use while he was outnumbered. In the end Ash was forced to take a chance and sacrifice 10% of his HP to use Burn Out.

As soon as he invoked Burn Out, Ash could feel himself weaken. A large white flame seemed to bubble right out of his skin and flowed outward. As soon as the flames appeared, the three knights who were close to him tried to back off but the flames moved out faster than they could retreat. As the flames washed over them, their armor which once protected them, turned into a personal oven. The older knight was able to quickly strip his off, but the other men were too slow and fell to the ground as the metal seared into their skin.

Seeing the horror that the two men experienced, even the older knight’s face slightly paled. “Talen, report back,” the older knight yelled and the remaining scout ran toward the horses. Ash tried to intercept him, but he soon found himself pushed back as a wall of wind assaulted him. Soon the scout was riding off at a full gallop back in the direction they had come.

“Well Lord Ash, it seems that our information about you was lacking,” the knight said with a hint of disdain in his voice. “But don’t think that you have won just yet boy.”

Just as the man finished speaking, his sword was surrounded by a dark aura. At the same time as the blade darkened, the words “Soul Scourge,” appeared above the knight’s head.

The older knight’s movements became sharper and Ash found himself having to put all of his effort into dodging the blade. At the same time his Gambler’s Gambit ran out and Ash could feel a bit of his strength leaving him, making it even harder for him to dodge the attacks. With the knight’s strength and speed coupled with his imposing aura and armor, Ash was at a complete disadvantage. To make matters worse, the mage continued to release a number of attacks from a distance.

The longer the battle drug on, the slower both Ash and the knight moved. Even if Ash had ample stamina, that didn’t help with his personal physical and metal fatigue, not to mention after days of running his stamina was reaching its limit as well and he had less than forty points left available to him.

Ash was forced to use Dark Whip. As the dark tendril rose into the air and struck down it knocked the knight back and Ash rushed forward, but the knight was ready for him. As Ash’s sword landed on the knight’s sword arm just between its plates, the knight’s sword struck him though it only cut a thin line in his chest. Even though the wound wasn’t deep, it burned and seemed to sap his strength. Multi colored dots blurred Ash’s vision but he ignored it and pushed his advantage, driving the blade of his sword deeper into the knight’s arm, forcing him to drop his sword.

Ash nearly stumbled as he forced himself to grab the knight by the breastplate and positioned his sword, thrusting it into the man’s neck. As the elder knight died, Ash turned toward the mage who was now sitting on the ground sweating profusely. “I surrender,” the mage said, raising his hands into the air.

The rules of war were simple. Once someone surrendered, you only had two choices. One you could chain them and ransom them or you could release them upon giving them a set of rules. Ash had no way to keep the man if he tried the first so he was left with only the latter.

“You are to retire from this war and you are not to speak of any of my abilities or skills to anyone. If you can agree to this then you may go free, if not, then you must sacrifice your life,” Ash said as he held himself up by will alone.

“You have my oath as a knight,” The mage said with a stiff bow. Taking one of the horses, the knight mage rode off to the west.

Ash pushed himself and climbed upon one of the horses left behind while taking the reins of another then headed back to the grove where Allice awaited. When the pain in his chest didn’t disappear, Ash decided to check his status.

[You have been affected by Soul Scourge. Any MP, HP, and SP that is used will not be recovered. Any wounds received will not heal. Time until Soul Scourge ends: 14 days.]

Ash felt like cursing but he didn’t have the strength. He hadn’t lost much HP during the fight not even 20% of his HP was gone and 10% of that he had gave up himself. The main cost was his MP. Thanks to the number of attacks at the beginning of the battle, Ash’s luck shield had flared a number of times and he had also used a number of costly abilities and now he had a little less than 100 MP left. Even worse was his SP, which he only had 32 points left.

When Ash entered the grove, Allice ran up to him. He tried to give her a smile but he started to sway in his saddle. Ash pulled some rope from his inventory that had once been used to secure things in the supply wagons and handed it to Allice. “Tie me to the saddle,” Ash said weakly. “Then we have to leave. No matter what happens, keep riding. If we get caught, we are both dead.”

Allice was white faced, but she did as she was told. She also used a long piece of rope to tie to Ash’s horses bridle so that she could lead the other horse. Ash had trouble keeping his wits and soon noticed that they were thundering across the open plains. He could see Allice’s back and every now and then he would notice her looking back at him with a worried glance.

Ash didn’t know how long they rode, but the next thing he noticed was he was laying down on the cold ground, yet his whole body felt hot. Turning his head slightly, he noticed that Allice was sitting beside him with a rag in her hand using it to wipe his forehead. When she noticed that his eyes were open, small tears began to run down her face. “Master its ok…Everything is ok.” Allice kept saying the same words over and over. Ash tried to reassure her, but his mouth was dry and each time he tried to speak, it came out raspy and incoherent.

When she saw him trying to speak, she took a long drink from her canteen and then bent down, placing her lips firmly on his. Instantly Ash felt the cool water fill his mouth. As the cool water hit his throat, he instantly felt better but Allice didn’t pull back, instead her tongue flickered inside his mouth for a few moments.

When Allice pulled back, her cheeks were slightly flushed. She took two more drinks from the canteen and repeated the process. Each time her lips touched his, she got slightly more daring and the kiss lasted for a bit longer. At first Ash wanted to push her back, but his limbs moved weakly and he didn’t have enough strength to push her away. After the third time, Ash found that his arms were no longer trying to push her away and instead he was silently hoping that she would draw closer.

After Allice had given him water, she moved a little away from Ash. Ash tried to watch her, but she was quickly out of sight. Soon his eyes grew heavy again and Ash quickly drifted back off to sleep only to be woken again a short while later by Allice who held a large wooden bowl.

Allice helped Ash sit up, but his strength was so weak he was forced to lean on her shoulder to stay upright. She handed him the bowl which was of a watery brown substance. Ash tried to lift the spoon but his hands shook so bad that by the time it reached his mouth there was nothing left to eat. Seeing this, Allice took the bowl and spoon from his and fed him by her own hand. After he ate, Allice helped him lay back down. A few seconds after laying down, he felt something warm press up against his body. Opening his eyes, he found Allice looking up at him with warm eyes. He tried to smile and Allice blushed. It was then he noticed that feeling of her bare skin on his. He tried to speak, but he was still too weak so he was forced to give up. Trying to ignore the feel of her skin on his Ash closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

8-5

As the days passed, Ash’s strength didn’t return, instead he seemed to get weaker as each day his stamina would slowly decrease. By the seventh day his stamina was down to 22 points. His HP was also slowly decreasing due to the wound that was still bleeding and open on his chest. Luckily He had an abundant amount of HP so he didn’t feel as if his life was in danger.

As the days passed and Ash got weaker, Allice got more worried. At first he could eat and drink on his own, if with great effort but now he couldn’t even sit up without having trouble breathing.

Each morning Allice would get Ash into the saddle then they would ride for a full day. Allice looked for any sign of a fort, but she had no clue where they were. On the eighth day she did see a small village at the edge of the plains. She quickly changed direction and headed for the small settlement.

The village didn’t have an inn, but when they learned who Ash was, the village chief invited them to his house. Ash was given the spare room. The village didn’t have a true healer, but the chief’s wife knew a little bit about herb lore.

With a warm and soft bed, Ash felt much more comfortable, but nothing they tried could help him regain his stamina. Ash kept his eyes on his status as he lay awake on the bed while Allice worried over him.

Each day Allice would feed and give him water by mouth. The enthusiasm from the first day had long since left her lips. She never left his side and seemed to have no problem cleaning up after him. Ash felt embarrassed more than once over the passing week, but there was little he could do about it. When allice wasn’t caring for him she would talk to him, even though he couldn’t respond.

At first Allice talked about her family. Many times her voice would get soft when she talked about her mother. When Allice couldn’t think of what to talk about she would ramble. Once she even expressed that her dream was to become a mother.

Though Ash couldn’t speak, his mind was still working. When Allice talked about becoming a mother, she often looked at him with a warm smile and her hand often sought his. After the past week, Ash could tell that she was kind and caring and she would make a great mother.

After the fourteen days passed and the Soul Scourge dissipated, Ash started to regain his strength but it was slow. It took a full day for Ash to be able to sit up on his own. A day after that he once again could eat, drink, and speak on his own.

The first thing Ash said was his thanks to Allice. She blushed a deep red when she heard Ash’s voice, but she didn’t let go of his hand. On the third day, Ash left the bed and stretched his legs for the first time in weeks. Thanks to Allice’s care, Ash didn’t have any sores though he felt slightly weak after spending so much time in bed.

After eating a good meal and going for a long run, Ash returned to the chief’s house. The man was in his late sixties and looked worn and weathered, but he still passed the days with a caring smile on his face.

“Feeling better my lord?” the chief asked with a deep bow.

“You don’t need to bow to me,” Ash said with a warm smile. “If not for you and your wife, most likely I wouldn’t be alive at this time.”

“You are too kind my lord. From the look in your eyes though, it doesn’t seem like to intend to stay around for much longer. Am I right?”

“That you are,” Ash said with a heavy sigh. “I need to reach the nearest fort and report before my wife starts pulling out her hair,” Ash added with a sly wink.

The chief let out a coarse laugh. “Wives can be a bit hard to handle and I am sure that the lady duchess is harder than most. Make sure you bring her gifts and she might not strip too much of your hide from you next time she sees you.”

After leaving the chief, Ash found Allice sitting in the room staring out the window as the snow drifted down. “Something on your mind?” Ash asked sitting down beside her.

“Master,” Allice gasped, having not noticed his entrance. “I…I was just thinking the snow is pretty,” Allice said while blushing.

“Allice, I must once again thank you for taking care of me these past weeks,” Ash said while bowing his head slightly to Allice. “Once we return I will talk to the duchess and see if there is any way to release you from your term early. You have more than paid back your crime.”

“Nooo,” Allice said, her eyes going wide and panic evident as she jumped to her feet and waved her hands in from of her.

“I thought you would be happy to be free of that tattoo,” Ash said confused.

“If master releases me, then I won’t get to be with master anymore,” Allice said as she balled her fists tightly at her side. Suddenly her face took on a warm glow and her hands relaxed. “I love master. I want to stay with him forever.”

“Allice just because you are released from your status as a slave doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to stay at my side,” Ash said, resting his hand on Allice’s shoulder.

Allice shook her head while at the same time bringing her hand up to rest on top of Ash’s. “Master please don’t. I want…I want master to be my master always.”

Before Ash could respond, Allice covered his mouth with her own. There was a slight hesitance in her action, but it only lasted for a brief moment. Ash was shocked, but he didn’t fight back as Allice pushed him back onto the bed. When she released her kiss, she looked straight in her eyes. “I will always be masters,” she said before kissing him again.

Early the next morning, Ash and Allice rode out headed toward the closet fort. Thankfully it wasn’t even a full day’s ride away and thanks to the army using their village to help supply goods, the chief was able to give Ash directions.

The ride from the village was mostly silent but every now and then Allice would look to Ash and give a warm smile. She was happy and her face showed it without reservation. Every time Ash felt her eyes on him, he would look over and she would blush slightly, drawing a laugh out of him.

They reached the fort a little after midday. As they approached, a loud booming voice called out to them ordering them to stop. When Ash announced himself, the guards bowed and he was quickly led inside where the fort commander was summoned to talk with him.

The commander was much younger than Ash expected, only being a few years older than himself but he had the bearing of a military man. Ash quickly explained what had transpired over the past few weeks and was relieved to learn that most of the other knights had reached succor and had already reported the news of hostile forces in the area. The duchess had also responded by sending out more troops, ordering them to look for him.

Ash quickly drafted a letter explaining to Emelia that he was safe and what had happened to keep him indisposed so long, though he left out the part where he had almost lost his life fighting against the enemy knights. After sealing the letter and handing it over to a dispatch rider, Ash planned to look for the closet advance troop and meet up with them, but the fort commander had other orders. It seemed that his wife had left orders that if Ash was to be found, he would be sent to Karin fort which was the closet to the capital, though still more than five days ride away.

Sighing, Ash could only nod his head in agreement to the order. He might be the duchess’s husband, but he was not a noble. Ash wished he had known about Emelia’s order before sending the letter so that he could have complained a bit, but it was already too late. With nothing else to do, Ash was guided to a large wooden building that had been cleared out for him to use for the day. The building had two rooms, but when Ash tried to get Allice to use one as her own, she scowled at him and calmly planted herself on his bed with a wry grin.

Allice placed her hand on Ash’s chest where the wound had been until a few days before. There was no look of pain or worry on her face just a look of contentment.

Ash had been worried that by allowing her to pursue him, he would only hurt her. He had thought that it was only Allice’s feelings of guilt that pushed her to him. Ash was sure that after a few years she would put it aside and find someone better, but now looking down at that warm smile, those thoughts no longer clouded his mind. Allice was different than Emelia in many ways, but the smile she currently had on her face was much like the one Emelia had after they had been together for the first time.

“Master you aren’t going to send me away are you?” Allice asked with a twinge of fear in her voice.

“I thought about it,” Ash teased, but when he saw Allice’s eyes start to redden, he quickly shook his head. “I won’t though as long as you agree to two rules.”

“Master you are the master, I will always follow your orders,” Allice said, sticking out her chest slightly.

“No, I don’t like giving orders unless I am forced to…It feels wrong,” Ash said shaking his head. “I want you to agree to these on your own. The first rule is that when we are alone, you will call me Ash.”

“I can’t.”

“Allice I won’t send you away for refusing, but we can no longer…Be together,” Ash said and Allice’s eyes went wide. “When you call me master when we are alone like this, it makes me feel as if you are being forced.”

“Yes Ma…Ash,” Allice said blushing.

Laughing Ash bent down and kissed Allice softly. “The second rule is that you promise that you will keep yourself out of danger. You have gained a few levels, but you are anything but a fighter. If you want to stay with me, then I don’t need a repeat of the other day at the grove where I was forced to give you an order. I can’t fight if I have to worry if you are safe or not.”

“I promise Mast…Ash,” Allice said, changing her words when Ash started to glare at her.

“As long as you do that then I will promise to keep you as close as I can,” Ash said as he pulled Allice tight to his side enjoying the warmth of her body.

“Love you Ash,” Allice said in a weak whisper that barely reached Ash’s ears.

Ash took a deep breath. It was not the first time she had said those words, but he felt a bit of pain each time she said them. She never looked to Ash for a response, but he still felt he should give one. Just like with Emelia, Ash wasn’t sure how he felt. He cared for Allice deeply, but he still didn’t understand what was really meant by love. He could never really ask Emelia about it.

“Allice can I ask you something without you getting mad?” Ash asked feeling slightly sheepish.

“Of course master,” Allice said smiling.

Ash knocked her lightly with his knuckles. “It is Ash…Try and remember that,” Ash said laughing slightly as Allice rubbed her head while looking up at him with pursed lips. “I was just wondering what you meant by love.”

“It is like a warmth that spreads through my entire body whenever I see master. It makes my heart beat speed up. Whenever mas…Ash looks at me, it is like the whole world is smiling down on me. It is a lot like what I felt when my mother used to hold me, but different.”

“I don’t really get it,” Ash said shaking his head. “I do feel warm when I look at you.”

“Like when you were with your mother?” Allice asked leaning against Ash.

“I never had a mother,” Ash said his face clouding over slightly. Before he knew what was happening, Allice wrapped her arms around Ash.

“Ash, can you tell me a bit about it?” Allice said looking up at him with her large eyes wavering.

Looking into her eyes, Ash felt his chest tighten. Not knowing why, Ash told her that he was an orphan and was move around a lot. He told her how alone he had been until he had met Emelia. He left off everything relating to his own world choosing his words carefully. When he finished he felt something trembling at his side. Looking down he noticed that Allice was crying. “What is wrong?” Ash asked slightly worried.

“Master is not alone,” Allice said hugging him. “Everyone loves master. Lady Emelia, Yuki, Shina, and everyone else loves master. So master isn’t alone anymore,” Allice said in a consoling tone.

Ash didn’t know why, but he felt warmth spread through his chest when Allice spoke, but he still gave her a wry grin. “What is my name?” Ash asked, though instead of rapping his knuckles on her head he pulled her in for a tighter hug.

“Ash,” Allice said, looking up and him and giving him a deep kiss.

When Ash awoke he found Allice still clinging to him and couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t know when, but it was as if something that had been dragging him down had been lifted away. He wasn’t sure when it happened, but looking back on his life in his previous world it never seemed as if he was living. He was just going through the motions. It was much the same way at first in the new world when he learned that people treated him like he didn’t matter when they learned of his demon blood. Now he could see that it wasn’t until he met Emelia that his life had started to change. Ever since then, he had found numerous people that had become part of his family. Looking down on the young woman, who was sleeping contently beside him, with a smile Ash whispered, “I love you.”

Allice opened her eyes just as he said the words and her cheeks instantly turned a bright red. Though she didn’t say anything, the unfettered smile on her face showed her feelings.

Ash quickly dressed and after both he and Allice were ready, they had a quick breakfast before heading to the stable to get their horses. Before they were halfway there, the fort commander ran to meet them.

“Lord Ash, are you leaving already?” the man asked with a panicked expression on his face. “I had been planning to have you go with our next supply run so that they could see to your safety.”

“Don’t worry about it sir,” Ash said with a smile. “I don’t wish to keep people waiting so I think it would be best if I arrived sooner rather than later.”

There was little that the commander could say, but as Ash and Allice left it was clear that he wished that Ash would change his mind.

8-6

It took four days of hard riding for them to reach the main fort. Unlike the others, it was at least four times larger. The front of it was made of mostly stone, but in a few parts Ash could still see wood sticking out. When they approached the front of the fort, five soldiers stepped forward to greet them. After giving them his name and status just like before they quickly ushered him inside while sending a runner to the fort commander.

The inside of the fort was much different than that of the last one. Not only was it larger with more open ground, there was also far more buildings within. Unlike the outside of the fort, the inside of the fort still had a lot of logs showing where the wall had yet to be completed. The smell of oil and sweat permeated the air, stinging Ash’s nose.

Ash could feel the eyes of the soldiers on him as they passed through. Most of the looks he noticed seemed curious, but more than a few were obviously hostile, making the hair on the back Ash’s neck stand up. Before Ash could find the people who were staring daggers at him, he was greeted by a man with light brown hair with more than a few gray streaks. Though the man was obviously in his later years, his body was still well maintained and he walked as if he owned the world around him.

“Lord Hawkwing,” the man said, giving a slight bow. “It is a pleasure to see you safe. I am sure the duchess will be pleased and maybe she will stop sending inquiries every two days asking for a report,” the man added with a light chuckle. “I am Count Harding, the commander of this fort, though I would be pleased if you addressed me as Jorin. I always felt that posturing during war time was not only vain, but ultimately stupid. Might as well paint a target on your back.”

Ash joined in the laugh. “Then please call me Ash as well.”

“Sounds good to me,” Jorin said as he led Ash to the largest of the buildings near the center of the fort. “So far there has been little fighting and no forces have made it this far so mostly we are just shoring up our defenses. I don’t know what we can do to keep you busy, but for the most part you can do what you want.”

“Would it be possible for me to meet with the fort mage so that I could help him with finishing up on the defenses?” Ash asked as he looked around at some of the still bare walls.

“That would be great if you have a way to help out Gabe. He’s a bit young, but he has been working himself nearly to death to get as much as he can done. It is still early so why don’t we go find the young fool. He should be somewhere on the battlements working on the wall.”

Gabe was a short youth in his late teens to early twenties with blonde hair that hung just above his shoulders. Unlike the soldiers around him, the mage was thin and his face was noticeably pale. “Gabe, I brought you a bit of help,” Jorin said, startling the mage who had been bent down with his hand on the ground with his eyes closed.

“Lord Jorin, did the duchess hire a mage from the guild?” The young mage asked as he approached the three. “I heard they were all tasked with the large fort at the capital.”

“No, the duchess still refuses to dispatch guild mages to the outlying forts, but Ash here said he could help, though I am not sure how he means to do so yet.”

“Lord Hawkwing, it is a pleasure,” Gabe said, his face blanching as he quickly bowed. “I meant no disrespect toward the lady with my comments. I am sure that her reasons are well founded and umm well…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ash said, laughing at the stuttering youth.

“Can I ask how Lord Hawkwing will be helping?” Gabe asked as his face regained some of its color.

“Just Ash please. I can use a bit of earth magic so building walls, while tiring, will give me something to do instead of just sitting around getting fat.”

Ash bent down and placed his hand on the ground and started pouring in his mana. As his MP began to reduce, the dirt started to cover the exposed logs and harden. When as stood back up a three fort section of wall had been finished.

“Amazing,” Gabe said, looking up at the finished section of wall. “You were able to do that in only moments. Can you still do more?”

“I can do that much about five times before I start to run dry,” Ash replied.

“With you here, we will be able to finish the wall by the end of the month and start working on building and other fortifications,” Gabe said happily.

Ash had wanted to get straight to work, but Jorin had other plans. After meeting Gabe, Jorin took Ash to the other end of the fort where a number of knights were practicing. Looking through the group of knights, Ash noticed a face that he recognized. When he saw Marilyn, Ash let out a heavy sigh and hoped that he wouldn’t have to deal with her again. It wasn’t that she was bad but something about her always seemed slightly off putting. Ash couldn’t put his finger on what it was, but he knew that it would be better to stay away from her if possible.

After a bit, the knights finished the training and one of them approached where Jorin and Ash waited. “Jorin you old dog, you should stop barricading yourself in your office and come work a few rounds with us,” the knight said loudly.

“Matt, I would love too but I can’t push all the work onto someone else,” Jorin said shaking his head. “I will leave the fighting to the young and I will do the paperwork.”

“If you says so, but if you don’t start moving that body of yours it will rust with old age,” Matt said laughing. “Now if it wasn’t for a good workout, what has brought you to this end of the fort?”

“Matt, this is Lord Hawkwing, though he prefers to be called Ash. Ash, this is Knight Captain Matthew Garabrith though you can just call him Matt,” Jorin said in introductions. “Ash plans to help with the building of the walls and in fact it seems he will easily triple its building speed if not more. From what I have heard, he is also an experienced swordsman, so I thought I would introduce you to him as well.”

“Ash, glad to hear you can use a sword,” Matt said with a wry grin. “I won’t say that a mind isn’t useful but from what I learned, having more than two people with minds during a war just turns into trouble. They tend to end up fighting about what to do, with each thinking they are right and in the end no decisions get made and it is the people on the lines that suffer.”

“Well, I will leave the decisions to Jorin as that is his job. I see no reason to displace him as I am sure that nothing good would come of it.”

“Well if there is nothing else, me and my men need to start digging pits outside the walls. Ash don’t be a stranger and feel free to join us for training anytime.”

“Why are they digging pits?” Ash asked as the knight walked away.

“They dig pits about five foot deep and about three foot wide and stager them so that it would slow down any advancing enemy. It also makes it hard for towers to be used to scale the wall. Most the time the mage does the work, but Matt said it was a good way to keep the knights busy. He thinks that if he gives them more than a few hours to themselves, they would find some way to destroy themselves.”

“We are in the middle of nowhere with nothing around for miles, how could they get in trouble?” Ash asked as he shook his head with a smile.

“I asked him the same thing after his third day here,” Jorin said laughing. “He went on for hours about how they could get in trouble. It seems that knights who are left alone tend to do amazing and yet foolish things. He said that one time he caught a group of them having blind sword fights after drinking homemade wine. From how he tells it, any man left alone too long returns to boyhood and looks for trouble.”

“He might be right,” Ash agreed as he thought about some of his own foolish stunts.

The whole time Ash and Jorin talked, Allice remained silent. Ash looked back at her from time to time giving her a smile, but she just nodded her head. After finishing the tour, Jorin led Ash to an open area where he could set up his tent. Jorin mentioned that Ash would be more than welcome to build his own lodgings if he wanted.

It didn’t take long for Ash to set up his tent and get everything ready. When he was finished, it was starting to near nightfall but there was still a few hours of daylight left.

Allice walked over and sat down next to Ash who was currently sitting on the edge of his bed, looking through one of the books he had brought from the capital. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. Her hands quickly started to roam and Ash was forced to push her away.

“Master?” Allice asked slightly pouting.

“Allice, we are completely surrounded by thousands of other people with only the thin tent walls to hide us,” Ash said trying to explain. “I am sure that you can go a few days.”

“Mou…Not fair. I still get to sleep in master’s bed, otherwise I will still give those guys something to listen to.”

Seeing that he had already lost the argument, unless he wanted to use an order, Ash just nodded his head. Allice kissed him again only to earn a scathing glare when her hands started to slip down his waist.

The first day passed quickly and Ash couldn’t help but smile as Allice clung tightly to him though he had to keep pushing her hands away when they started to roam.

8-7

Three weeks passed in a flash. As soon as he woke, Ash would train with the knights for a little over an hour and then begin working on the walls with Gabe. While he was working, Allice helped the fort commander. Thanks to the training she had received, Jorin found her service invaluable allowing him to spend less time in his cramped quarters.

It took less than a week for Ash to get a letter from Emelia. Thankfully she didn’t seem mad at him, but she was going to limit the rest of his actions within the war. Ash wanted to complain, but after having an army chasing him for days and nearly dying, he found himself with very little ground to stand on.

The letter had mostly just talked about what had been happening during the current war. There had been a number of small engagements along the border, but recently there had been reports of a larger force being sighted. At the same time, the king and other nobles had sent letters to Emelia to use Ash as a scapegoat to escape the fall of her territory, but from Emelia’s own words she had no plan to do such a thing. The last part of her letter left Ash speechless. It seemed that she was with a child. There was only one small line at the end to tell him as if it was only an afterthought.

When Ash had read the last line of the letter he had wanted to run out of the tent and return to the capital. Thankfully his mind returned and he was able to stop before he had made it that far. For two days after that, Ash had walked around mostly in a daze with his mind never truly on the tasks at hand. But as the days passed, he found it easier and easier to return to his normal routine.

Everything seemed to be returning to normal until reports started coming in that a large force had already destroyed two of the small forts and was most likely headed in their direction. Dispatch riders were sent not only to the capital but to the other forces within the duchy. It would be insanely idiotic to march straight toward the capital without first trying to destroy the other forces, otherwise the attacking force would be caught between the wall of the city and the knights who would rush to protect it. The only reason they would try such a thing was if they were sure they could breach the city walls before the defenders could be mobilized.

When the news reached Jorin, he doubled the watch and ordered that at least five scouts were to be out patrolling at all times. The pressure to get the walls finished increased and Ash and Gabe started to work until their MP was completely exhausted each day.

The days passed with no signs of any enemies, then one of the scouts returned with the news that a force of more than forty thousand was marching toward the fort. The number was more than a little surprising as it was almost double what the attacking duchies should be able to field. That could mean only one thing. Either the crown or the other duchies were adding their support. After what had happened earlier with some of the king’s men being among the enemy, it was more than clear what path had been taken.

This was dour news since the fort only had a little more than two thousand men at arms. Even with the strong walls, there was little hope of them holding out long enough for the reinforcements to arrive, much less win. Ash barely noticed the men running around carrying loads of arrows both for crossbows and long bows.

Today Ash stood on the west wall of the fort looking out across the open expanse as a large dust cloud rose up into the sky.

“I think that you should head back to the capital to attend your young wife,” Jorin said as he came up to watch the incoming horde with Ash.

“My wife’s orders were to stay at this fort. I will not abandon my post until new orders are received,” Ash replied with an even tone.

Jorin shook his head but didn’t say anything to try and change Ash’s mind. Everything else was quickly washed away from his mind as the first of the enemy soldiers came into view. For as far as he could see on the horizon, men began to appear. At first it was a line of horsemen, then foot soldiers.

Even though the soldiers had appeared, it still took hours before they stopped their advancement and started making camp. An hour before nightfall, three lone riders carrying a white flag rode out toward the fort.

“Shall we wait for our enemies in the comfort of my office,” Jorin said with a deep sigh.

“Better than just watching them,” Ash agreed with a half-hearted smile.

As soon as they entered the commander’s office, Allice appeared with an apprehensive look on her face carrying a small bottle of liquor. “Double distilled brandy from the southern isles,” Jorin said as he held up a small glass for Ash. “I was saving it to drink at the end of the war, but it seems like we might not get to see the end of it.” Jorin looked at Allice who looked near tears and nodded with his head toward one of the empty seats. “Take a seat. No reason to stand on formalities anymore.”

Allice looked toward Ash and he gave a nod of approval. Jorin quickly made another glass appear and handed it to Allice who quickly filled the three glasses. “Here is to all the days that we have lived and hopes that the coming days will be far kinder than they seem to be.”

The toast seemed a little dark to Ash, but he still gulped down the harsh liquid. Allice started to cough beside Ash, causing him to smile as she tried to drink the brandy. Before Allice had a chance to finish half her drink, a knock came at the door and a young knight entered to let them know that the enemy had arrived in order to offer terms. Jorin nodded his head. “Show them in.”

Three men quickly entered the building. A tall bald man with dark blue eyes and a scar running from the top of his head to just below his cheek caught Ash’s attention first. Out of the three he had the most imposing aura. “Duke Danis, Duke Fouren, Knight Commander Regis, what an honor,” Jorin said, giving each man a slight bow.

“Count Harding, it is nice to see you again, though I wish they would have been under better times,” the bald man said curtly.

“We don’t have all day, so why don’t we get down to the issue,” a tall yet slightly overweight man said with a sneer. “If all your men lay down their arms and surrender the demon spawn, then you shall be spared. Those are the only terms you shall receive and this is the only time you will be offered them.”

“Lord Hawkwing I think the terms are unacceptable what are your views?” Jorin asked with a hint of a smile on his face.

“I completely agree,” Ash said, his hand slightly inching toward the sword on his belt.

“It seems that we have come to a standstill. Though I must admit that I am surprised that the knight commander of the king would be here. I see that his majesty does not even hold to his own laws.”

“Watch your mouth or I will have you hung for treason,” the portly man said with a sneer. “Regis has retired as the knight commander and I simply hired him. The king has nothing to do with this war.”

“That is a joke and you know it,” Jorin said with a look of utter disdain on his face. “You can try and pitch that line to some young fool, but don’t think I will swallow it. If you didn’t have the king’s support then there is no way that you would be able to raise a force this large. Now if you would please leave, I have had about as much as I can stand of the stench of honor-less dogs.”

The two dukes faces paled, but they made no sign of moving for their weapons. They quickly turned and left, leaving behind only the bald soldier. “Regis, is there something else that you need?” Jorin said in a dismissive tone.

“Count Harding, we have long known each other. I know that you are a man of honor and I just ask that you make the choice that is best for the kingdom and for the men under your command.”

“I used to think that you were a man of honor as well, but it seems that I was wrong,” Jorin nearly yelled. “This is Hawkwing land and as long as my men and I live, we will not stand to see if defiled by the likes of people who have already sold their soul and honor for a few bits of gold.”

“It saddens me that you see me as such,” Regis said with obvious pain in his voice.

“It saddens me to see that you sold your honor. Your father would be turning in his grave if he saw you. Now leave, I have had enough of the stench of your disgrace.”

Though the man looked to be a seasoned warrior he hung his head in shame as he left the building. Once he was gone, Jorin sat down in his chair, his face looking to have aged more than ten years in a moment’s time. Jorin picked up the bottle of brandy and drank straight from the bottle.

“Someone you know?” Ash asked.

“Aye. I served with his father when I was a young man. I was there when the boy was born he always had a good head on his shoulders, so when he came of age both me and his father supported him in becoming a knight under the king’s banner. If I had known it would have come to this, I would have demanded that he serve the duchy just as his father did.”

For the rest of the evening, Ash and the others sat in silence drinking. Allice nursed her drink without asking for another. By the time they went back to their own tent, the sky was already dark and only the light from a few campfires lit the area.

For hours Ash lay awake with Allice nestled up against him. Her soft breathing helped ease his tense nerves, but he still couldn’t sleep. After laying still for more than an hour, Ash quietly left the bed and walked outside to feel the cool night air against his skin. He didn’t know why, but soon Ash found himself on the west wall looking out at the enemy camp.

“They will attack tomorrow,” A light voice said from Ash’s side. Turning around, Ash noticed that Marilyn had moved up next to him.

“I was surprised to see you here,” Ash said, turning his attention back to the numerous tents of the enemy that had sprouted in the distance. “I thought that you were back at the capital training the new recruits.”

“I was,” she admitted. “But I asked to be reassigned. I didn’t want to be sitting in safety while everyone else was fighting. It just didn’t seem right.”

“I can understand that,” Ash said remembering his own feeling when Emelia had asked him to stay behind.

Without warning, his luck shield activated and Ash was covered in a light blue light. His eyes widened he turned to find Marilyn holding a dagger in her right hand, her eyes looking at him as if he were some sort of monster. “Why?”

“You have corrupted the duchess and brought this war to us,” Marilyn spat. “The second I learned that you had demon blood, I knew that something was wrong. I went to the duchess, but she had already been taken in by your lies and deceit. I was left with no other choice. I sent word to the king of the truth and my fears.”

“You gave your word to keep your silence,” Ash said, his anger rising.

“Who would keep their word given to a demon spawn,” she said as she lunged at Ash.

Ash wasn’t taken by surprised and quickly grasped her hand with his own twisting her arm behind her. His left hand went to where his sword should be but he was left with only air as he remembered he left his sword lying beside his bed. Marilyn struggled but soon a number of knights who heard the commotion started to gather.

“What is going on?” Matt asked as he came up the stairs to find Ash holding Marilyn against the ground.

“She tried to kill me,” Ash said as he let the knight go and quickly took a step back.

When Matt looked at Marilyn, she just sneered at him. “He is a demon and the enemy of all humankind, why shouldn’t I kill him?”

Matt let out a heavy sigh as he pulled his sword free from its scabbard. Without a word his sword flashed and Marilyn’s head flew up and over the edge of the battlements to fall on the ground below. After cleaning his sword, Matt turned and bowed down before Ash. “Lord Hawkwing, I ask your forgiveness. For one under my command to draw their blade against you, I have no excuse.”

Ash was still shocked but he had a clear enough mind to know that it wasn’t the man in front of him that had meant him harm. “Matt, no need for this,” Ash said shaking his head. “Get off your feet and get some rest. We have enough worries without the added weight of guilt holding us down.”

Matt stood and gave Ash a warm smile though it was obvious what had transpired still weighed heavily on his mind.

Not knowing what to say, Ash started back down the stairs to return to his tent and if possible to get some sleep, though he didn’t think it likely. There was just too much going on in his mind.

Ash found Allice still sleeping soundly when he entered the tent and with a shake of his head, he took his place next to her taking some small comfort in the warmth from her body.

That night as Ash slept, a warm sensation covered his body and a pain shot through his heart. His dreams were disturbed and he felt a sense of loss.

8-8

The next morning Ash was woken well before the sun rose by the sounds of shouting. He didn’t know why, but Ash still felt a pain in his chest when he woke. It was as if the whole world had darkened slightly. At the same time, there was a slight ray of hope building. It was a confusing feeling and one that Ash didn’t understand. Shaking his head, Ash shook Allice slightly until she opened her eyes.

Ash couldn’t help but smile as he watched Allice wipe the sleep from her eyes. “Morning Ash,” Allice said as she laid her head against his shoulder.

“Allice, today I want you to stay in the tent,” Ash said as he stood from the bed.

“Yes master,” Allice said quickly but Ash could tell that she wasn’t happy with his order.

After getting dressed, Ash quickly left the tent and joined the large group of knights that had gathered on top of the walls. It didn’t take him long to find Matt among the others. “Are they going to attack?” Ash asked as he moved to stand beside the knight captain.

“They are starting to form up ranks,” Matt said, his eyes never leaving the field. “I am guessing that we have less than an hour before we are under siege.”

“What is the plan?” Ash asked, trying to keep himself calm while his heart was pounding wildly. He had been in a number of fights, but never had he felt that death was nearer than it was at this moment. They were easily outnumbered forty to one and with little hope of reinforcements. Their death was almost assured, the only question was how long could they hold out. Every day they could keep the enemy at bay was one more day the capital had to reinforce their defenses. The main question in Ash’s mind was not how he could survive, but how to keep Allice from perishing along with the rest of them. She was not the only non-combatant in the fort, but they made up less than twenty people within the compound. As long as the enemies adhered to the rules of war, the civilians would not be touched, but nothing would stop a stray arrow from taking a life.

“Right now we have all the soldiers lining up with bows. When the enemy charges, they will try and reduce their numbers. If the enemy is smart, they will send the fodder first to test us. They will most likely attack throughout the night and into the next day. Each time they will send more and more against us until they overrun us.”

“How long do you think we can hold out?”

“Three days if we are lucky. One if they don’t care how many people they lose. Most of it is left up to luck and their commander. We have limited actions while they have numerous ones they can employ. This is the worst part of any defensive battle.”

Ash took his place on the far end of the wall opposite Gabe. The main forces on the wall were regular soldiers with a few knight scouts mixed among them. Those that couldn’t fit on the wall waited in the main area of the fort in case the wall was somehow breached.

Just as Matt had predicted, the first wave of a thousand men surged toward them. It looked like a small number when compared to the large force waiting behind, but it was still half the number that stood inside the fort and almost triple that of what could man the walls. The men ran in groups of five carrying long ladders that could be used to scale the wall. A few also carried bows with the hopes of taking out a few men if they were able to get close enough.

Ash had a number of abilities, but none of the seemed to of much use at a great distance. All he could rely on was his earth magic. He looked out at the large number of people rushing toward the fort and he felt his pulse race. Ash had trained with the knights and soldiers over the weeks so he knew the range of his magic was slightly less than that of a skilled archer so even though he wanted to strike at the numerous soldiers, he could only watch as the human wave surged forward.

When the enemy passed a number of marked stones on the ground, the soldiers lifted their long bows and a loud twang filled the air as countless arrows filled the air. As the arrows fell to the ground, less than a quarter of them found their mark and even those few seemed to do little to detour the advancing horde. Yet the bows continued to ring out and the air filled with the sound of the bowstrings. When the first sounds of death mixed with the sound of bows ringing out reached Ash’s ears, it was almost like some macabre sonata of death.

When the enemy reached the second set of marked stones, they were forced to slow down due to the number of pits that the knights had dug over the past months. At the same time, Ash and Gabe raised their hands and started their part of the battle. Next to Ash were a number of large buckets of dirt. Reaching down, Ash touched the dirt and four orbs about the size of a man’s head rose into the air. The orbs quickly shifted to look like large stone spears and flew out, each one finding its target. Ash could cast the same spell even without the use of dirt, but it would more than triple his mana use.

By the time the enemy reached the third set of marked stones, they had already lost a quarter of their soldiers and at the reduced distance, they were going down even faster. Though they had received heavy losses, things had slightly turned. A number of enemy soldiers lifted their own bows and while many of the arrows fell short, more than enough found their home in one of the defenders. Each time someone was injured, they were brought down and someone quickly replaced them. A few arrows flew toward Ash, but he was able to easily knock them aside.

By the time they reached the fourth and final set of marked stones, the enemies had lost over eighty percent of their men and a loud horn sounded. As the men turned to run, Ash started to target the fleeing forces. A strong hand rested on his shoulder as he let loose another set of stone spears. Turning his head, Ash found Matt standing beside him with a wide grin.

“Save your magic, there will be plenty of chances for you to use it.”

During the battle, Ash had used less than a quarter of his MP while Gabe had used slightly over half. They both left the wall to rest and recover as they waited for the next attack. As they took their places to rest, a fire and wind mage took their place. There was a total of six mages at the fort, if one were to include Ash. The plan was simple, they would switch with the other mages to give time for their MP to recover. The fire mages were the best suited to attack and were paired with the wind and water mages to help even out the groups.

“Master, are you ok?” Allice asked running up to him as soon as he was back on the ground with a worried look on her face.

“I am fine,” Ash said with a slight grin.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” Gabe said as he shook slightly.

“First time in a battle?” Ash asked, feeling a slight twinge of pity for the young man.

“N-no but this is the first time I have been in such a large scale battle,” Gabe said, his face going slightly white. “There were just so many of them.”

Ash silently agreed. That was the reason that he hadn’t tried to look over the entire battlefield. No matter how seasoned a person was, that amount of death was too much to take in. It was better just to focus on a small area and try and block out the overwhelming sounds of death.

After the first battle, the ground was cleared of the dead and wounded. Ash didn’t ask why no one attacked while the enemy cleared their wounded and dead since he had long ago learned the rules that this world used for war. It seemed slightly foolish to allow them to clear the field as the dead bodies would slow down the next advance, but as long as the rules of war were followed, there would be less unneeded death at the end. At least it would make sure that Allice would be left unharmed as long as she didn’t take up arms during the battle.

As soon as the field was clear, the second battle began. Even from where he sat, Ash could clearly hear the sounds of death. Ash couldn’t help but watch as soldiers were brought down from the wall to be treated in the medical tent. Surprisingly, there were five full healers in the camp. From what Jorin had said, the church of Altina had dispatched priests and priestesses to each fort in show of support of the duchess. Not only had they sent healers, but it seemed that they had also sent out word that no one associated with the church were to fight against them. This might not seem like much, but there was a number of strong knights and fighters who were in the service of the church and every one of them that was forced to hold back increased their chances of winning the war, though with the numbers that stood before them part of that hope had been drowned out.

Thanks to the healers so far, less than ten people had died and many of the injured were already ready for their next chance to man the walls. Seeing how fast the people who were healed were back up and ready to fight, Ash could only feel wonder once again at the way his new world worked.

Almost too soon it was once again Ash’s turn to man the wall. It was only slightly past midday and this was already the fourth attack of the day. Unlike the first attack, this time it looked as if five times as many were ready to assault the walls. So far it had been two groups of one thousand and then one group of two thousand. Now it looked as if the enemy was going to take them seriously.

As the men raced toward the fort, Ash could hear the sound of his heart beating in his ears. Soon that was replaced by the sound of arrows filling the sky. Once again Ash was forced to launch attack after attack. Before he knew it, he had used over half his MP. Breathing hard, Ash looked to where Gabe stood on the other end of the wall to find the mage was already kneeling on the ground his MP totally exhausted.

Ash continued to cast his spells as arrows rained down onto him and the other knights. Soon it was not just arrows, but magic as well that filled the air. More than five mages had joined in the enemies attacks. By the time Ash’s MP had been reduced to only a quarter, the soldiers were starting to gain a foothold on the wall.

Gasping for breath, Ash looked around to see the healers below working frantically to heal the numerous wounded that were being brought to them. Before he had a chance to take everything in, Ash was forced to take a step back as a sword struck from the side. Turning around, Ash found himself faced off against two enemy soldiers. Without hesitation, Ash used his ability Shadow Whip to strike them from the left hitting them hard and throwing them to the ground.

Before he had a chance to enjoy his victory, more and more soldiers began to appear on the wall. Ash fought hard and started to save his MP for when it was most needed. His blade flashed time after time and luckily most the normal soldiers were wearing thin leather armor. After the battle had lasted for more than three hours, Ash was breathing heavy with only seventy MP left. He quickly drank a mana potion but even that would only slowly help in recovery.

A blue spark flashed and Ash felt his MP drain by forty points instantly. His body aching, Ash turned to fight against his new adversary only to find himself faced off against a heavily armored knight. Cursing his luck, Ash took a step back and readied himself. The knight was fast and skilled and in the narrow space of the wall, Ash had trouble finding the room to dodge his attacks. As a strike came in to his left, Ash slid right aiming his strike at the joints in the knight’s elbow. His strike was true, but it was a small victory as the blade only able to make a small cut before the knight drew back his arm and attacked with a sweeping strike. Ash tried to moved back, but found himself near the edge of the wall with the small lookout tower blocking his path. His luck shield flared and Ash once again felt his MP drain, but it wasn’t enough and the sword broke free and struck him in the side leaving behind a deep cut just above his waist.

Pain flared throughout his body as Ash tried to lift his sword to ward off the next blow. Though the enemy knight wore a helmet, Ash could almost see the victory grin on the man’s face as he swung his sword down for a finishing blow. Ash pushed himself and was able to get his sword up in time, but his strength faltered and he was only able to partially block the blade and it dug deep into his shoulder. Ash felt as bones broke and flesh was torn. A loud yell pierced the air as Ash fell back against the cold stone of the tower wall behind him keeping him upright.

Ash watched as the knight neared him, taking only a small amount of happiness of the blood seeming from the man’s injured arm as the blood dripped from the armor. The knight once again raised his sword, but this time it did not fall as a large ball of flame engulfed the knight causing him to scream out in unimaginable pain. The knight moved too far to one side and seeing his chance, Ash used the last ounce of his strength to jump forward, pushing the man over the side of the wall. As the man disappeared from sight, Ash’s head started to swim and his eyes started to falter.

Ash felt something grab him from his uninjured side and tried to turn his head, but it felt as if he was moving it against a tide of water. He caught a glimpse of Matt who was saying something, but it sounded like gibberish to Ash’s ears.

Ash was carried down the ramparts to his tent and soon a woman clad in a white dress stained in many spots with dark splotches of red entered. The whole time he lay, Allice sat by his side his hand in hers. Ash tried to smile, but each time he did, Allice would start crying in earnest.

When the woman laid her hands on Ash’s chest, he felt something warm enter his body and a portion of the pain disappeared. With each passing moment, his mind became clearer, but even when the woman took an unsteady step back, Ash still couldn’t bring himself to sit.

“Master,” Ash heard Allice say her words catching slightly as she spoke.

“I’m fine Allice,” Ash said, giving her hand a squeeze. He tried to say more, but he suddenly felt tired and had to fight against the closing darkness, but it was of little use.

8-9

As he slept, Ash felt as if something was calling out to him. The sense of loss from the night before was still there, but it was much weaker than before. It had been mostly replaced by a longing as if he was missing something, but didn’t know what it was. Hundreds of thoughts pulled at him and in his dreams it was almost as if he could see something forming in the darkness, but it was so blurry that he couldn’t tell what it was.

When Ash woke, he found that Allice was still sitting beside him with her hand holding his. He tried to lift her other arm, but pain shot though his body. Ash wanted to curse, but currently Allice had her head laid against the bed sleeping and he didn’t want to wake her, so he quietly ground his teeth.

Turning his head slightly, Ash looked toward the tent exit to see that the sky was already dark. He didn’t hear any sounds of battle so he guessed that it was in-between battles. Ash’s side and shoulder hurt, but it was only a dull pain, unless he tried to move. Looking back toward Allice, Ash lightly squeezed her hand, enjoying the feeling of warmth transmitted as he did so.

“Master,” Allice said as her eyes sluggishly opened. When she saw that Ash was awake, Allice’s eyes brightened then quickly furrowed with worry. “Are you hungry master…Or should I get you something to drink? Are you comfortable? Does it hurt?” Allice asked another question before Ash had a chance to answer the previous one.

After a bit Ash was able to get Allice to calm down. He asked her to get him something to eat and drink. Allice quickly ran out of the room only to return seconds later carrying a small bowl and a mug of water. Ash sat up and ripples of pain shot from his shoulder and side, but he ignored them. When he reached out to take the bowl from Allice, she pinched her lips and held it out of his reach then took the spoon and held brought it to his mouth.

Before Ash had finished half his meal, Jorin entered the tent and gave a slight laugh when he noticed that Ash was being fed by Allice. He gave her a sly wink and pulled a stool up so that he could sit beside Allice at Ash’s bedside.

“How is the battle going?” Ash asked hesitantly.

“Not as good as I would wish, but better than expected,” Jorin answered cryptically. “Four hundred men dead another seven hundred injured, yourself included. Out of those seven hundred, less than half will be fit for duty before the next wave. Luckily the enemy has taken heavy damage as well and after the last battle they pulled back and night has already fallen. I had expected a few small forays to hit us, but so far the night has remained quiet.”

“Do you think we will be able to hold out another day?”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Jorin said after giving out a heavy sigh. “I won’t lie to you son, it looks bad. I expect that tomorrow will be far worse than today. At first light I think they will mount a large attack at least the same size as the last one. If we can hold that off, they will mount a second larger attack. If we can hold off the second attack, we will last another day, but it won’t be easy. The healers are already exhausted but it seems that the goddess favors us and as the priestess has explained are helping them recover, but even if they could bring back the dead, I still doubt we will be able to hold much longer. Still if we can hold out until tomorrow, it will give that much more time for our messengers to arrive.”

“Will the capital be prepared?”

“That is a question beyond my ability to answer,” Jorin said, his shoulders slumping slightly. “There are less than five hundred troops in the capital. If the duchess is able to gather enough fighters from the guilds, she might be able to hold the walls long enough for reinforcements, but I honestly doubt it. There is just too many walls and not enough soldiers. As soon as there is a breach, the city will fall within the hour.”

Hearing the news, Ash couldn’t help his face from turning slightly white with fear then red with anger. “I will be ready to fight shortly,” Ash said as he tried to get up from the bed. Before he could move one leg both Allice and Jorin moved to hold him down.

“I understand your feelings boy,” Jorin said gruffly. “I truly do, but right now you would just be hastening your death and that wouldn’t help us or your wife. For today take it easy, if it gets too bad then I will call everyone who can wield a sword and that would include you so until then, rest. And tomorrow you can join what is left of us on the battlements.”

Ash didn’t want to heed the commanders words but when he noticed the look on Allice’s face, he relented and nodded his head, albeit reluctantly. Jorin gave a weak smile then stood and excused himself and quickly left the tent, leaving him and Allice alone.

For a long time after Jorin left, Allice and Ash sat in silence. There were many things that Ash wanted to say to Allice, but he could figure out how to put it into words. No matter how many women he now had around him, sometimes he still felt like the awkward loner from his previous world. Ash started to wonder if he would ever truly get over his awkwardness.

“Master,” Allice said breaking the silence that had hung over the two.

“What did you call me?” Ash asked trying to be playful.

“Ash,” Allice said ducking her head slightly. Ash thought that she was embarrassed, though that thought quickly left him. Allice was often insecure, but she was seldom embarrassed. When Ash noticed that her shoulders were softly moving and that small dots of water were falling onto his hand he felt his heart soften. “I don’t want you to die,” Allice said, clutching his hand tightly but not daring to look into his eyes.

“Allice,” Ash whispered as he pulled her to his chest. Pain shot through his body but he ignored it. “I don’t want to die either, but we don’t always get what we want.”

“Ash,” Allice said between tears.

Ash continued to hold her until Allice wore herself out. Once she was finished crying, Ash pulled her into the bed and held her tightly while whispering calming words to her. As Allice fell asleep, Ash softly stroked her hair and stared at the ceiling. He didn’t know how much time passed but soon he saw the first streams of daylight enter through the small gap in the tent flaps. Shortly after the sun was up, Ash heard the first sounds of battle coming from outside.

As soon as the sounds of battle filled the air, Allice started to shift in her sleep, her face taking on a look of pain as silent tears leaked from her eyes. After a few moments her eyes shot open, but when she noticed that she was still in Ash’s embrace, her eyes softened and a light and warm smile graced her face. Ash pulled her close, trying to hide the pained look that threatened to sprout on his own face as he listened to the battle outside.

The day before Ash had only fought in two of the four battles, but each time the enemy attacked he had heard the sounds of the bows and the screams of those injured and dying. Now behind the thin curtain of fabric, those sounds were like a knife stabbing at his heart. A part of him knew that this war was not his fault. It was just something that came about using him as a catalyst. That knowledge did little to lessen the guilt whenever he heard the scream of a man or woman who had been fighting on the wall while he sat by doing nothing.

The fighting lasted for hours and each passing second more and more screams rang out. Ash feared that his own heart would give out from the pain before the battle ended, then he felt Allice’s warm hand on his cheek pulling him down. Suddenly his lips were sealed by hers and his ears were covered by her hands drowning out the sounds of battle. Allice kissed Ash for a long time and when she released him from her grasp, only a small lingering smile was left behind on his face.

“Thank you,” Ash said as he looked into her large eyes that seemed to stare straight through him.

“I love you,” Allice whispered softly.

“I love you too,” Ash said as he pulled her close.

When the sounds of battle started to wane, Ash held his breath. A cry suddenly rose from the fort and Ash knew that they had pushed back the enemy once again. He wanted nothing more than to get to his feet and to see the situation of the fort, but currently doing so would only result in him reopening his injuries. Ash listened intently to every sound trying to pick up any news that the passing soldiers were talking about. From what he gathered, it was the fire mage that had forced the enemy to withdraw though at great cost.

Each mage master level or above had one skill that trumped all others though it was one that could only be used once in a lifetime. By condensing all the MP in their body they could unleash a spell far greater than normal, but the cost would be their life. It was one of the reasons that mages were respected and feared. No one in their right mind would push a mage to the point of death unless they wanted to perish along with them. The best way to handle any mage was too kill them quickly before they had a chance to use their final attack.

The news hit Ash hard. The loss of one of the mages was a big hit to the defenses of the fort. Any man could fire an arrow, but mages were in short supply and Ash knew that his own life was only spared the day before because the fire mage had intervened on his behalf.

Ash didn’t know what time it was, but he hoped that it was at least midday. From the sounds of the battle, it had been fierce and it would take time for the enemy to clear the field before they could begin the next assault.

After the stress of listening to the battle, Ash started to feel weary after it ended. Soon he found his eyes growing heavy and he quietly drifted off to sleep.

Once again, Ash dreamed of something that he couldn’t put into words. It felt as if not just one, but thousands upon thousands of people were calling out to him, but he could not make out their voices. Looking in the distance, all Ash could see was darkness, but it was a hazy darkness as if something was just out of sight. He called out to the darkness but he received no reply. He felt a coldness slip into his bones and a feeling of loneliness overcame him.

Ash’s eyes shot open and he quickly looked around the tent only to find that nothing had changed. Allice had left the bed, but she was sitting close by while sewing. As he watched her, he remembered Lillanis who in a way had become like a sister to her. Ash quickly dismissed that train of thought since it left an unpleasant feeling in his chest.

The sounds of people moving outside were still present, but there were no sounds of battle which allowed Ash to relax. With little to do, Ash checked his status to see if anything was wrong. His MP had mostly recovered though it was only slightly above half. His Stamina was also recovering though at a slightly slower pace than usual. His HP seemed to be the main problem. Below his HP stat there was a small red word, “injured.” His HP had been reduced to only 512/1400 and it didn’t seem to be recovering very fast. Ash had learned long ago that some wounds needed advanced healing and even then it could take a long time for them to be recovered. Ash had not only received a great wound, he also had bones broken. The bones had been repaired, but healing wasn’t some mystical force that could heal everything. There was always a cost and that cost was taken from the body of the person being healed. Most the time the cost was in the form of stamina so as long as the healer had the MP, Ash could almost always be healed, but with the number of people injured, how could they spend so much just for one soldier. It was amazing that they would do as much as they had when it would make more sense to heal many soldiers for what it cost for them to knit his bones back together.

Shortly after looking at his status, one of the priests entered Ash’s tent and bowed. “Lord Hawkwing, I am just about to go off duty so I thought I would check on your state before retiring,” the man said politely.

“I am fine,” Ash said, thinking it odd that he was just thinking about this when the priest showed up. “If you still have the strength to heal, it should be put to better use on someone who can still fight today.”

The priest gave a light chuckle but seemed to ignore Ash’s words as he moved forward. He placed his hand on Ash’s chest and closed his eyes. “The wound on your side is mostly closed, but the wound on your shoulder is quite bad. The sword had cut through your clavicle and severed three ribs. If it had moved an inch deeper it would have reached your heart and not even the best healer would have been able to help you.” A warm light engulfed Ash and the pain lessened. When the healer was finished, Ash could move his arm without much pain. On the downside, his stamina was so low that he was still unable to strain himself without fear of passing out. “I think with this, you should be good enough. Though you still need plenty of rest and some food, otherwise you won’t completely recover,” the priest said before excusing himself.

As soon as the priest left and before Ash could say anything, Allice sat down her needle and thread and left the tent only to return shortly after carrying another bowl of pottage. Ash once again reached for the bowl, but just like before his hand was swatted away as Allice demanded to feed him.

Once he was finished eating, Allice checked his bandages and smiled when she noticed that only a long thin silvery scar was left behind. Ash tried to hold back a laugh as her soft fingers traced the scar as it ran down his chest. She looked up at Ash with slightly moist eyes. “Does it hurt?”

“Not anymore,” Ash said moving his arm freely. “I should be well enough to fight again soon.

At this, Allice’s eyes started to tear up and she leaned against his chest, her fingernails biting into his skin. Before he could say anything to console her, shouting filled the air and once again Ash knew that the enemy had returned. He tried to sit up and reach for his sword but his stamina had been almost completely depleted during the healing. Small multicolored lights dotted his vision and his head started to spin. Without any choice, Ash leaned back onto the bed, once again forced to only listen to the battle.

The fighting lasted for untold hours and the whole time Ash drank stamina recovery potions waiting for the call to arms, but it never came. Soon the light started to fade from the sky and the horn sounding retreat filled the air. Upon hearing the horn, Ash let out a deep breath and he suddenly felt weak as if he had been holding it in the entire battle. Ash got to his feet, though Allice quickly protested and tried to push him back into the bed.

“I am fine now,” Ash said letting his hand rest gently on her head. “I want to see how things are going for myself.”

Hearing his words, Allice’s face paled but she didn’t say anything. In truth what could she say? She knew that Ash treated her nicely, but in the end she was his slave.

As soon as Ash exited the tent, his heart felt as if a hand had reached out and took hold of it squeezing it till it nearly burst. A large area near the back of the fort had been cleared and upon it lay the bodies of countless soldiers ready to be burned at the pyre. Along the ground, numerous cots lay with even more soldiers waiting treatment.

Ash’s eyes quickly scanned the area until he found commander Jorin walking among the wounded, his own arm and right eye wrapped in bandages. Quickening his pace, Ash quickly approached the commander who smiled upon seeing him. “Good to see you back among the living,” Jorin said with a hearty laugh.

“So we made it another day,” Ash said, though there was no happiness in his voice.

“That we did,” Jorin agreed in a dark voice. “Walk with me for a bit lad.”

Jorin led Ash back to the command building and quickly ushered him inside and shut the door. The commander slumped in his chair and pulled out a bottle from one of the drawers and poured a glass, sliding it over to Ash before taking a long draw straight from the bottle.

“Bad day?” Ash asked, already knowing the answer to the question.

“Depends on how you look at it,” Jorin replied after taking another deep drink. “I am still alive so it could have been worse. You know Captain Matthew fell during the last battle. Saw it myself. The young fool rushed forward, pushing one of the large ladders that had been placed on the wall over the side taking him along with it. As soon as he hit the ground, he started unleashing every skill he had killing near a hundred soldiers by my guess, but he still fell to the sheer number of the bastards.”

“Well don’t count yourself too lucky, there is still tomorrow,” Ash said weakly.

“That the truth,” the commander agreed. “We won’t last through another battle. Those that are too injured to fight and the noncombatants are going to be moved to the large medical tent in the back. Anyone who can still fight will have to man the wall tomorrow even if they are missing a leg or two. Even then, I will be surprised if we last more than an hour. They know they have us beat. If the sun hadn’t set when it did, they would have won the field today. Thankfully the captain had the thought of mind to build those infernal ditches. Makes it far too easy to stumble and fall. No reason for them to risk more deaths than necessary. I got to hand it to them, they had good commanders on their side.”

“So do we,” Ash said, taking a drink of the harsh liquid.

“Bah...help me finish off this blasted bottle. No reason to let those bastards drink it after they take the fort. That would just be a waste of good liquor.”

8-10

The next morning Ash woke when Jorin lightly kicked him. Opening his eyes, Ash’s head was pounding but he pushed it aside when he remembered what the day would bring.

“It will be starting soon,” Jorin said grimly. “You should make yourself ready and send that little lass of yours to the medical tent.”

Ash quickly returned to his own tent to find Allice sitting on the bed with a worried look on her face. Ash tried to give her a warm smile but it didn’t seem to ease the tension in the air. Ash quickly strapped on his sword and walked over and grabbed Allice’s hand.

“I need you to go to the medical tent today,” Ash said as he pulled Allice to her feet. “Stay in there until the battle ends.”

“I don’t want to leave you master,” Alice said as tears steaked down her face.

A thousand things ran through Ash’s mind at that moment, but nothing seemed like the right thing to say. “I know,” was all Ash could get out before he pushed Allice away and exited the tent. His heart was beating rapidly but quickly calmed down as he ascended the stairs to the battlements.

As Ash looked over the long empty expanse between the fort and the enemy forces, he felt a calm come over him. He knew that today would be his last, but he didn’t feel the same fear that had griped him the day before. He might die but every one of the enemies that he took with him would be one less to threaten his wife and unborn child. When he thought of that, he saw it as a great bargain.

Not long after the sun had fully risen, it looked as if the entire enemy force charged at the fort. Over the past few days, they had used up almost all of their arrows and were now were forced to use what crossbows they had. The crossbows were stronger than the long bows and were even able to punch through the armor of the knights, but they took a long time to load and they had a much shorter distance. That meant that the enemy had less ground to cover before they reached the walls and even more time between strikes to reach the top.

There was slightly more than a thousand yards between the enemy and the fort. At first they only looked like small dots, but it didn’t take long before those dots to become a tide of soldiers rushing across the open ground. As soon as they were within range, Ash heard the twang of a few bows, but they were far less than before. As he used his own magic to strike at the enemy, the crossbows began to attack as well.

In moments, hundreds of enemies fell to the ground to be trampled by their comrades, but no matter how many fell, more took their place. Ash fired off his magic one after another until his MP had already been reduced by half. Seeing how quickly his MP was being reduced, Ash took out a recovery potion and quickly drank it down. Throwing the bottle aside, Ash pulled his sword from its scabbard and readied himself for those that were started to ascend the many ladders that had appeared upon the wall.

The first people to appear upon the battlements were simple soldiers that were easily cut down by Ash’s blade.

As soon as one enemy fell, they were quickly replaced by the next. Thankfully so far, none of the heavily armored knights had appeared yet. He was more than a passable fighter, but he had no skills and few abilities that allowed him to effectively deal with humans in heavy armor.

As the hours drug on, Ash’s sword arm began to slow and he could feel his stamina dropping fast. Even without using abilities, Ash knew that he couldn’t keep up for much longer and he wasn’t the only one. With every passing moment, more enemies appeared on the wall and there were less defenders to oppose them.

After striking down another enemy, Ash went down to a knee breathing hard. He had taken a number of small wounds. None of the wounds were deep, but added together they had started to sap his strength. His clothes were ripped in many places and in many places blood freely flowed from his body. Before Ash had a chance to catch his breath, a large man wearing half plate armor and wielding a large double handed sword appeared in front of him.

Sighing, Ash pushed himself to his feet using Pounce to launch himself at the new enemy. Despite the man’s size, the large sword moved quickly to intercept Ash. At the last moment, Ash was able to move his sword in place though the strength from the strike sent Ash tumbling hard into the stone wall of the battlements almost threating to send him over. As Ash hit the stone wall, the air was knocked from his lungs and he accidently bit the tip of his tongue filling his mouth with the taste of blood and copper.

Holding his side with his left hand, Ash forced himself to his feet using his sword to help him regain his footing. The large man smirked at Ash and lifted his sword again. Without much choice, Ash used Shadow Whip, his focus on the back of the soldier. Just before the dark vine like whip struck the soldier, the man turned and moved to block it with his sword, but the Shadow Whip passed through it like water, hitting the man square on his breastplate forcing him to take three steps to the side and one step forward.

The attack had not done a lot of physical damage, but it had given Ash enough time to regain his bearings. As the knight turned back toward Ash, his eyes narrowing, Ash put all of his strength into his legs and darted forward, bringing his sword up at the same time in a diagonal slash.

The soldier grunted and easily parried Ash’s attack. The force of the two blades hitting each other made Ash’s hands go numb. It was clear from the battle so far the soldier was easily as skilled as Ash or more likely even more skilled given how flawlessly he seemed to move with his bulky body.

Ash had already used up most of his MP and SP so he could not afford to use his abilities carelessly. The lower his SP got, the harder it was for him to move and recuperate after each strike. The lower his MP, the harder it was for him to think. In a fight, either of those things could easily cost him his life so he paid close attention to both values.

Ash found it odd that the decrease in the use of one’s strength, and agility were not determined by just the numerical value of one’s stamina, but the percentage of it that you had left. Once your stamina was less than 50% of the max amount the rest of your stats started to take a dive in efficiency. The lower the percentage, the more a person lost in stat efficiency. MP worked much the same way but it didn’t start to really effect a person until it was less than 25% of the total. Right now Ash’s SP was down to 30% so his overall stats had taken a great hit though he was not sure by how much as he was yet to figure out how they corresponded. His MP on the other hand was down to 15% making it hard for his mind to work quickly. It was almost as if he was trying to think after drinking a few shots of hard liquor.

Ash continued his attacks, but very few of them made it through the soldier’s guard. Ash was starting to think that he would soon find his end when an opening appeared. One of the other battling groups threw his opponent and it hit the back of the soldier in front of Ash hard in the back, forcing him to stumble forward. Seeing his chance, Ash lunged forward, his sword aimed at man’s unguarded throat. The soldier was not completely taken unaware and was able to get his sword up, but only enough so that Ash’s sword was deflected slightly.

Ash’s blade cut deeply into the side of the man’s neck. As the blood quickly flowed, Ash and the soldier both knew that his time was limited. With a feral roar, the soldier charged him and slammed into Ash’s tired and weary body, sending him toppling over the side, falling hard onto the ground below.

Ash felt his breath rush from his lungs as pain erupted from his entire body. Groaning, Ash forced himself into a leaning position. From where he was, Ash could see the battle on the battlements. It was clear they were losing and badly. The ground was littered with the dead and dying and Ash knew that it wouldn’t be much longer before the fort would be completely lost.

“Master,” Ash hear a loud shrill voice from behind him. Turning his head, Ash saw Allice running toward him. Seeing the fearful look on her face, Ash cursed himself for not giving her a specific order to stay in the medical tent.

Grunting Ash forced himself to his feet but was nearly knocked back to the ground when Allice rushed into him crying. Ash awkwardly patted her back as he stifled a groan that threatened to escape from his lips. “Allice, I thought I told you to stay in the medical tent?” Ash asked. He tried to make his voice stern, but he failed as he couldn’t help feeling a slight wave of warmth when he felt her arms tighten around him.

“I was master,” Allice said pulling back slightly. “But they needed people to help bring the injured to the tent and I volunteered.”

Before Ash could say anything, a slow clapping was issued behind him. Turning around, Ash found two knights casually walking toward him while three others killed anyone that approached their group. Ash quickly recognized the man at the front who was clapping it was the knight commander that he and Jorin had met a few days beforehand. “You have fought marvelously,” he said sincerely. “We have lost far more than I had thought we would, but not so much that it would cause us trouble. Still one must honor those who fight with such passion.”

“The fight isn’t over yet,” Ash growled.

“It is,” the man replied, shaking his head sadly. “Look around, almost all the defenders are dead or soon will be. I would advise you that it would be best if you simply surrender. You can save many more lives by doing so then continuing this foolishness.”

“Master,” Allice said, looking at him with pleading eyes.

Ash separated himself from Allice and pushed her behind him using all his strength to lift up his sword. “I will not allow you to use me as some pawn against the duchess.”

“So be it,” the knight said lifting his own sword.

When the knight attacked the others behind him just watched and only moved when other defenders dared to get close. Ash was so absorbed in the fight that he didn’t notice anything that was happening around him. The knight commander had earned his title. That was something Ash was sure of. No matter how hard he tried, the knight was easily able to block his attacks.

Three strikes had already broken through Ash’s guard, but only two of them had triggered his luck shield the last had left a deep wound on Ash’s left arm that almost reached the bone.

Ash found himself staggering and his eyes starting to lose focus. He knew that his MP had fallen far too low. Even if his luck shield could block the next attack, he doubted he had enough MP left to stop the entire force of the blow. Just as he was thinking this, the knight commander came with a vicious overhand blow. Ash was able to get his sword up in time, but the blow knocked him to his knees.

Ash moved his sword to block the next blow, but it didn’t come. Surprised he tried to look around, but his eyes had trouble focusing. He heard Allice scream from behind him and feared that something had happened to her. Mustering the last bit of his strength, Ash tried to move toward her but his legs would barely heed his call and ended with him crawling in the direction of the scream. “Allice,” Ash tried to yell but his voice came out weak and trembling.

“Master,” Allice said, as she wrapped her arms around him sobbing lightly.

Ash had taken a number of wounds throughout the day and he could not only feel his life draining away slowly, but could also see it in his status window. He still had the majority of his HP, but it was slowly disappearing as he currently not only had the bleed status, but the heavily wounded status as well. Ash leaned back, momentarily forgetting about the battle and felt his head rest softly on Allice’s lap. Forcing his eyes to focus, he noticed that she was looking at him with tear’s flowing freely from her eyes.

In the distance, Ash could hear numerous cries and he was sure that the attackers were celebrating their victory. It wasn’t until he heard Allice gasp and the feeling of something warm spray across his face that he turned his head to get a better look of the situation.

Large figures swooped down from the sky and large flames roared in from out of nowhere killing everything in their path. Ash was amazed at the sheer carnage that appeared before his eyes. He tried to stand, but found little strength left in his own body. Allice gently, yet firmly placed her head under his arm and helped him to his feet.

“Demons,” Ash said as he saw more than ten of the creatures fighting against the knight commander and his retinue.

Fear washed over Ash as he watched the battle. He had read about the demon wars of the past and seeing the large horde that had been gathered, he feared it was the second coming. The Hawkwing lands were on the border of the great mountains that separated the demon lands from the human lands. If the demons invaded, they would be the hardest hit and the first to fall.

While the demons fought, Allice pulled Ash toward the medical tent. He tried to resist, but his body was too weak. Before he reached half the distance, Allice tripped and both of them fell back hard onto the ground. One of the priests ran out from the medical tent and started to hurriedly cast spells on Ash. His wounds quickly closed and his HP quit its rapid decent. Once again, Allice helped Ash to his feet and with the priests help started to move him toward the tent.

Suddenly one of the demons landed in front of the three. Allice let out a gasp of fear and tightened her hold on Ash.

Ash still gripped his sword in his hand, but didn’t have the strength left in his body to strike at the demon in front of him. All he could do was calmly wait for death. Surprisingly, the final blow never descended and instead the demon went down to a knee and deeply bowed to Ash. “My Lord, we have come to find you.”

Ash pushed Allice and the priest away and took an unsteady step forward. “You have come for me…Why?” Ash asked more than a little confused at the current development.

“You are our new Lord,” the demon said without a hint of ridicule in his voice.

“I see,” Ash said before his vision started to blur and he was carried into unconsciousness as the last of his stamina was depleted.

8-11

When Ash’s eyes opened he found himself in a large room laying on top of a soft bed. He tried to sit up, but his whole body ached. “Allice,” Ash called out worried.

“My Lord, are you awake?” a soft alluring voice said.

Sitting up slightly, Ash saw a tall woman with long flowing black hair and deep black eyes. Other than the large wings that sprouted from her back and the thin forked tail that swayed silently behind her, Ash would have believed that she was human. “Where is Allice?” Ash asked the only thought in his mind currently was for the young slave girl.

“The young lady that accompanied the great lord is currently resting within her own apartments,” the woman said with a warm smile. “She was quite hesitant to leave your side and even demanded the commander general to take her along. It took a lot of convincing to have her leave your side so that you may rest.”

Hearing that Allice was safe, Ash let out a relieved sigh. “Where am I?”

“You are currently in your castle my lord,” the woman said as she handed him a glass of cold water. “I am guessing that you are confused about the current circumstances, but I will shortly call the sage. I am sure that he will be able to answer all your questions my lord.”

Ash remained silent and quietly looked around while he was served a small feast. After he had eaten his fill, the woman took the empty tray and bowed to him the quickly left the room.

The place he was currently at was far larger than even Emelia room. The bed he was on alone could easily fit ten people, if not more. It had a canopy that was lined with golden colored drapes. Before Ash had a chance to fully appreciate his surroundings, the door to the room opened again.

The sage was tall, standing a little over eight feet. His face was flat and had a snakelike look to it. His eyes were slightly oval in shape with slit pupils. His skin was made of dark green scales. “My Lord, I am here to answer any of your questions. First off, I am the royal sage, Salvaren. May I ask if you have any dire questions that I may answer first?”

“Can you start at the beginning?” Ash asked, his head swarming with too many questions to voice.

“Certainty my Lord,” the sage said bowing. “Having grown up in the human lands I am guessing that you have only learned their warped version of history. First off, while we are called demons, even among our own kind the truth is a little different. We are not like the lower demons that cover the lands, no more than the people of the beast tribes are like the wild animals that roam the forests.”

“Each race has its own characteristics and among the races, the demon and beast clan are the most diverse. The demon clan has a total of forty-two noble clans and many lesser clans. At the top of those clans is the royal clan. The highest position is the Maoh, also called by many as the demon lord. Whenever the previous Maoh dies, a new one is selected. Throughout history so far, it has been one of the previous Maoh’s direct descendants that have been chosen, but this time it seems it was you.”

“When the Maoh dies. I thought that demons were immortal?” Ash asked as he tried to wrap his mind about what he was being told.

“If you ask if we can die from old age then no, we can’t, but we can still die. Everlasting life is not a great honor. The longer one lives, the more of a burden that it can become. The previous Maoh’s son died due to a rare illness and he wished to follow so he accepted the call of the gods. Shortly after he died, we started to feel your presence. When it became strong enough, we dispatched the royal army to bring you here.”

“I still don’t really understand what is going on. I am happy that I was saved, but everything just seems so…Well, too good to be true.”

“Do you know how demons were created?”

“I figured the same way the other races were created,” Ash replied.

“Well, not the same way that the three great races were created. Humans, elves, and dwarves were created by the gods. The demon and beast tribe were created by humans.”

“Created…Created how?”

“With forbidden magic. Well at the time it wasn’t forbidden, but what they were doing didn’t agree with the God of Creation and in the end he sent his knights to destroy the mages that created us. They were trying to make the prefect soldiers by mixing strong warriors with creatures that had abilities that were useful in battle. The beast tribe was created first, but they found them hard to control. When they created us, they forced a connection between all demons linking us to one demon that they could use to control us and send orders. That was the first Maoh. The connection was made through spiritual magic and has continued to pass down generation after generation. After the mages that made us were killed, the god’s emissary’s set us free, but we had no purpose. The second Maoh brought us to this land and we started a friendly relationship with the humans.”

“We would help the king of the neighboring kingdom wage war. It was what we were bred for, but after hundreds of years of war there was nothing left to conquer. It was at this time, the human kingdom turned on us. They had seen out power and feared that with nothing else to fight we would turn on them. We were strong, but we were still in our youth as a people. In the end, we collapsed the mountain and hid ourselves away from the world.”

“What about the people born with demon blood. I know that demons cross over and attack human lands,” Ash said as he thought about the number of people he had met with mixed blood.

“Just like with humans, there are demons who are both good and evil. At times, demons who are no longer content to hide away cross the border. The previous Maoh did not discourage this because it caused fear among the other races. I know that you have human blood, but be aware that there are still many demons who hate humans. They have never forgot that it was the humans that betrayed us.”

“I understand,” Ash said. “What will they think about me being the next Maoh?”

“They will think that you are the Maoh. As I said, we have to listen to the Maoh. The magic used on us was much like that used on slaves, but much stronger. Most the time the slave brand is bonded to a person, but in our case it was made to a blood ability.”

“Blood ability, I have heard about that but I am not sure what it is.”

“A blood ability is an ability that is passed down from generation to generation. It is a unique ability and at most, only two people at a time can hold the ability. I can’t tell you where the abilities originally came from or how the mages gave it to the first Maoh. That is knowledge is beyond me. I do know that all the demon clans have a blood ability that is passed down, though I can’t tell you what half of them do without looking it up. There are just too many.”

“What ability is it?” Ash asked leaning forward on the bed.

“Demon Absorption.”

Ash had a thousand questions still bussing through his mind but all of them well silent when he heard what the sage had said. True among his many abilities, Demon Absorption was the strongest, but from what he had just heard, it had been around far longer than he had. It was also a manufactured ability and not one granted by the gods or from normal monsters. He had read of nothing that could make an ability and if there was a way, why hadn’t they made more of them. The sage had already said he had no information so it was pointless to ask.

“What am I supposed to do as the Maoh?” Ash asked as he tried to digest what he had already learned.

“There is not much for you to really do as the Maoh unless there is a war. The main reason that we brought you here was that so you could go through the inheritance ritual. After that, I would suggest you go through the normal training to strength your abilities, but that will be up to you.”

“So there are no real duties to being a Maoh?”

“Not really. The clans each control a section of the country, much in the same way the human nobles do. Every so often there is a war between the clans, but as long as they keep it within reason there is no reason for the Maoh to interfere. We have been cut off from the outside world for so long that there is little else to do.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Ash said skeptically. “What is the inheritance ritual that you were talking about earlier?”

The sage looked at the ceiling then let out a long breath. “As I told you, the mages used spirit magic to link all demon bloodlines to the blood ability Demon Absorption. Whenever a Maoh dies, we can feel the next inheritor. It calls to us and until they go through the inheritance ritual, we continue to feel that call. Each day it gets slightly louder and we can see the inheritor more clearly. It can be almost maddening. The inheritance ritual is simple enough, you just have to wear the crown that has been passed down and have it bonded to you. In the past, the new Maoh had to bond with each demon, but we learned that we could use the same method that the humans did for their guilds. When each child is born, they are bonded to a plate that records their clan and is thus bonded to the crown. Now instead of months, it only takes a few moments to link all the demons to the new Maoh.”

“When will we do this ritual?”

“If there are no problems my Lord, we would like to do it tomorrow. Most the time, the ritual is done four to five days after the passing of the previous Maoh, but that amount of time has already passed and the calling is getting stronger with each passing moment. If we let it go on too long, I would fear the consequences.”

“Then tomorrow it is,” Ash said with a sad smile as he once again thought about Allice and Emelia. “Could you send Allice in now?”

“At once my lord,” the sage said with a deep bow. “If you have any more questions, just have one of the palace servants call for me.”

“Master,” Allice yelled as she flung open the door to his room and launched herself at him tears filling her eyes. “I was so scared.”

Ash gently and warmly patted her back as a smile spread across his face.

The next morning, Ash was dressed in dark red robes with silver lining. They were simple enough and not to opulent which Ash was thankful for. As he was led outside, Allice stayed a few steps behind him along with the other servants that had been assigned to him.

The ritual was to be held in the center of the capital city where thousands of demons from all over the country had gathered. There was a large platform that had been built just for the occasion. It was a simple ceremony in which all Ash had to do was say a few words then drop a single drop of blood onto the crown and have it placed on his head.

As soon as his blood touched the metal of the crown, it flashed a brilliant silver color and Ash felt as if a thousand thoughts were rushing into his head at once. Gritting his teeth, Ash kept himself from crying out in pain. After a few seconds the pain passed and Ash could hear a loud cheer fill the air as all the demons present rejoiced in their new Maoh.

After the ceremony, the heads of the different clans each came forward presenting Ash with numerous gifts, many of which were worth more than anything he had seen before. With the help of the sage, he greeted each clan leader and thanked them for the gifts.

After hearing and reading numerous stories about how evil the demons were, Ash was amazed at what he witnessed. From where Ash sat, they were no different than humans except they didn’t seem to be of fond of flashy events. Even the crowning of a new king was done quickly and in view of the entire populace. It was somewhat true that their loyalty was forced, but from the look in their eyes, they didn’t seem to resent his human blood. Allice on the other hand drew more than a few looks of contempt.

The longer Ash watched them, the more he wanted to bring them out of their solitude and back into the rest of the world. They had been secluded for far too long leaving the rest of the world to view them as the root of all things evil. The real problem was how to accomplish this without starting a larger war. The more he thought about it, the more he remembered Emelia and the war that he had been carried away from. Worried for his wife, Ash asked if it was possible to send someone to check on her and the current situation of the war. The sage quickly called a number of people over and without another word his orders were carried out flawlessly.

Emelia’s Side Story

Emelia sat on the long sofa in her study looking at the reports that her scouts had brought back as tears ran down her face.

The enemy had been force back thanks to a horde of demons that had swooped down onto the battlefield, killing thousands. Luckily they had left the fort defenders mostly alone, but after everything cleared, no one could find the body of Ash nor his slave Allice.

From the scouts report, it is believed that the demons carried off a number of people and that Ash was among those numbers. It was not the first time that there had been reports of demon abductions, but why did it have to be Ash.

Emelia couldn’t let the news of Ash’s disappearance and most likely death break her. She quickly penned a note to have the fort reinforced with new troops. The forces might have been pushed back for now, but for how long?

Emelia leaned back and rubbed her hand over her now slightly bulging belly as she thought of Ash. She didn’t know why, but she had loved him from the moment she had met him. It was his eyes that had captured her. He had such kind eyes, but it didn’t seem that the gods wanted it to be. Ever since she had set her eyes on Ash, everything had gone wrong. First there was the problem with the earl and his son and then the war. If she had pushed him away, there would have been no war but she couldn’t do it. The time she had spent with Ash had been the happiest in her life, and while he was gone, he had left something behind.

Emelia had decided that she would not undergo the ritual to purify the child’s blood. She would be just as much Ash’s child as hers and no matter what blood, the child would take over after her.

Two weeks passed with no news of attack. Emelia didn’t believe that she would be so lucky that the war would be called off so easily. Time passed and soon a month had gone by since Ash had disappeared when a letter from the king arrived. He was offering the same terms as before. Denounce Ash and have him branded as an outlaw and take to wed a man of the king’s choice and the war would end.

Emelia had to admit that it was a tempting offer until she felt the baby kick in her belly. In a few months, the child would be born and what would become of it if she surrendered now. Most likely the child would be killed since it carried Ash’s blood and that was something that Emelia could never live with. As soon as she came to her decision, Emelia quickly penned her reply.

The rest of the night, Emelia sat staring off into the sky thinking of Ash and asking herself if she had done the right thing. She had just condemned thousands of her own people to die for a man that was already most likely dead. She knew in her heart that if the king had just asked for her life alone, she would have taken the deal in a heartbeat, but she couldn’t bare it to send her child to death before she even had a chance to live.

The fort’s outer wall had been finished, leaving Emelia with a choice that would save many of her people from danger. Emelia called almost all knights and soldiers to return to the capital and take up residence within the grounds of the new fort, and then she started to plan to move her own lodgings as well. She knew they had little hope of winning the war. The best they could hope for was if they caused enough damage that the enemy thought it was no longer worth it to continue the fighting. If they lost, only the soldiers would be lost with the move to the larger fort outside the city.

Emelia left only a token force outside the fort to patrol the border and to strike at the enemy should they appear. She felt bad about ordering those small strike forces to their death, but most of them had taken it with pride. Many of the forces were made up of sub-humans that had come to the duchy in the hope of finding a place that didn’t hold them in contempt and threaten to throw them into slavery. They were more than willing to die if it gave their children a chance to live in such a world.

Five more weeks passed and Emelia knew that the baby was close to being born. She could feel it moving more and more. When she went into labor, she called out Ash’s name over and over but he never answered. After three painful hours, Emelia held in her arms a new daughter that carried Ash’s beautiful eyes. She decided to name her Ashley in honor of her father.

A week after Ashley was born Emelia received news that a large force of sixty thousand was marching on the duchy under the banner of the king. With their current pace, it would take them around fifteen days to reach the capital, but the numbers of soldiers was far more than Emelia had counted on. She would never have believed that the king himself would march on her lands. It was clear where he stood in this matter and Emelia prayed that the goddess herself would curse the man and his lineage for decades.

Looking down at her daughter, Emelia held her close with a warm smile and decided that a week before the army arrived, she would send Ashley off to live with Helen’s family. The woman was an old cuss, but she would see that the child was raised right if worse came to pass.

Notes

Name: Ash

Level: 35

Experience needed for next level: 2,036,918

Race: Human/Demon 70/30

Occupation: Intermediate Gambler

Title: First Knight

Blessings: Blessing of the Reaper

HP: 1400/1400

MP 1320/1320

SP 267/267

Strength: 74 (+10) (+2) (+1) (+10) (+10) (+194)

Vitality: 77 (+3) (+202)

Agility: 51 (+10) (+5) (+132)

Stamina 73 (+5) (+191)

Spirit 38 (+10) (+97)

Intelligence: 67 (+175)

Endurance: 40 (+10) (+1) (+2) (+10) (+102)

Luck: 227 (+999) (+1)

Abilities

Passive:

[Devil’s Luck: 500% bonus to luck.

Fleet foot: +10 to agility. Max]

[Wolf Eyes: See in the dark. Level Max]

[Mining: Ability to use a pick to extract ore from hidden locations. Able to tell where mining locations are located. Level 2: 23%]

[Poison Resistance: level 2-81%: 10% poison resistance.]

[Grave Domain: Damage resistance to whole body with the exception of the head increased by 10%.]

[Spider Senses: able to detect prey that is up to three levels higher within a 200 foot radius. Able to sense hostile intent within a 100 foot radius. Level max%.]

[Fire Resistance: 15% fire resistance. Level 3-32%.]

[Natural Armor (small). When fighting your skin acts as a natural armor blocking 10% of physical damage. Level: max.]

[Frost resistance: 10% resistance to frost damage. Level 2-47%.]

[Yeti Strength: +10 to strength. Level Max%.]

[Electric Resistance. 5% resistance to energy attacks. Level 1-87%.]

[Water Glide. When moving in water it flows naturally around you decreasing water resistance by 25%. Level max.]

[Cloak of Shadows: When in a dark area cloak of shadows wraps you in shadows making it harder for you to be detected.]

[Dragon Sight: You can see the magical flow of items and creatures]

[Reaper’s Sight: people who have received the ire of the goddess will now appear with a small sickle above their head.]

[Reaper’s Soul: after killing a person who has been marked by the goddess you will absorb a portion of their soul and receive any abilities they possess.]

[Earth Affinity- cost of using earth related skills will be reduced by 14% and power of earth related skills will be boosted 7%. Level 3-26%.]

[Mental Resist- 5% bonus when attacked by a mental attack. Level 1-24%]

[Iron Stomach: for each ounce of iron you eat your strength will raise by 1 but at the same time your intelligence will be reduced by 1.]

[Fire Affinity - cost of using fire related skills and abilities will be reduced by 10% and power of fire related skills and abilities will be boosted 5%. Level 1-13%.]

[Blood Drain- ability to absorb 1% of a person’s experience by drinking their blood after their death.]

Active:

[Demon Absorption: Cost 10MP: Absorb defeated enemies to obtain skills. Level 3- 22%]

[Bash: Cost 1SP - Slam into enemies with your body to do X10 damage. Level Max%]

[Rabbit Punch: Cost 1Sp- Using feet or hands quickly lash out with a lighting quick attack. Level 3-29%]

[Stab: Cost 1 SP- Thrust forward with weapon (sword, spear.) level 2-68%]

[Poison Spit: Cost 5MP. Level Max%: Spit a corrosive poison that sticks to enemy doing 5 damage a second for ten seconds.]

[Analyze Ability. Cost 5MP: Ability to see opponents name, level and skill as long as they are no more than 5 levels above you. Level max.]

[Poison: cost 10MP- ability to make a small amount of toxin that paralyzes. Can be placed on weapons.]

[Sticky Thread: cost 15MP- shoot out a stream of sticky thread to trap opponents.]

[Stealth: Cost 20 MP. Erase your presence from enemies any movement cancels the ability.]

[Fire Ball: cost 10MP. Create a ball of fire and throw it at an enemy. Level 2-82%.]

[Cone of Frost: Cost 15MP: send out a cone of frost freezing everything in its path. Causes 15 frost damage every second for eight seconds. Level 3-29%]

[Crushing Blow: cost 5SP: strike with a hard blow bypassing 55% of opponent’s defense. Level 2-22%]

[Shock Armor: cost 10MP. Covers a small area with electoral energy that will stun an opponent struck with it for two seconds. Level 1-89%.]

[Shock Strike: cost 25MP. Hit an opponent with an energy attack that paralyses the part struck for seven minutes. Level 2-37%.]

[Pounce: cost 5SP jump straight forward with great speed doing 2x normal damage.]

[Poison Vine Whip: cost 40MP. Call a vine dripping with paralyzing poison to strike your opponent. Level 1-76%.]

[Reaper’s Blessing: cost 50MP- bless a weapon or item with the goddess’s power. Lasts for twenty-four hours.]

[Sharp Strike: cost 10SP- strike with a bladed weapon to deal 1.5 the normal damage. Increased chance for a critical strike. Level 1-61%]

[Fire Lance: cost 25MP- casts a long lance of fire. Level 1-52%]

[Ice Spear 15MP- coat a weapon in ice giving it an added ice attribute to its attack. Level 1-62%.]

[Ice Shield 20MP- created a shield of ice that can fend off attacks. Level 1-12%]

[Lullaby of Subduction: cost 20MP- chance to charm an enemy confusing them. A strike releases the confused state. Level 1-21%]

[Death Wail: Cost 40MP- a loud wail that strikes at the mind of them enemy deal direct damage. Damage based off of spirit. Level 1-10%]

[Shadow Whip: cost 20MP, 5SP- attack with a whip made out of pure shadow that will follow the enemy wherever they try to run. Level 3-36%.]

[Shimmer: cost 10SP- surrounds the body with light making it hard to discern movement.]

[Shadow Armor: Cost 25MP 10SP; creates an armor made of shadows to protect the caster.]

[Mana Manipulation: Cost: 36MP- able to manipulate pure mana and give it form. Level 3-51%]

[Hide: Cost 10SP- erase your presence.]

[Boost: Cost 50%SP- Double all stats.]

[Dark Eyes: cost 50MP- strike directly at the soul of the opponent causing them to lose strength and dealing a small amount of damage. Level 1-9%]

[Flame Sword- cost 30MP coat a weapon in flame essence.]

[Burn Out- Turn 10% of your HP into a white hot flame to attack your opponents.]

[Infuse Earth: cost ***- infuse earth with magical energy to strength it. Level 3-12%]

[Earth Essence: cost ***- ability to infuse MP with earth essence. Level 2-71%]

Skills

[You have gained the skill Gambler’s Boost (passive) .2% boost to all other stats for each 1 point in the luck attribute. Level 2.]

[You have gained the Gambler’s Gambit (active) skill. Cost 20MP: boost all stats for one minute. Boost is random. Level 1.]

[You have gained the Poker Face (active) skill. Cost 5MP: forces a calm face no matter the situation. Level 2.]

[You have gained the Bluff (active) skill. Cost 5MP: bluff opponents to make them think you are stronger. Level 1.]

[You have gained the Read (passive) skill. Chance to see what skill your opponent is using. Based on luck.]

[Gambler’s Game (active). Cost 100 MP. Call of The gambling god using your stats as chip to play against another gambler. Can only be used against those of the same rank or higher. Can only be used once every six months. Time until next use 0 days. Level-Max.]

[Luck Shield: passive/active. When attacked has a chance to block attack. Amount of MP used is depended on the attack.]

[Gambler’s Stake: cost 40SP- During a battle you can sacrifice gold in order to temporarily increase you stats. The amount of gold sacrificed determines the rise in ability.]

[Lucky Find: Cost 25MP- search the area for hidden treasure.]

[Luck Toss: cost 100MP- toss a gold coin if it lands on heads your luck will increase by 10%, if tails luck will decrease 10%. Can only be used once a day. Effect lasts for eight hours.]

Equipment

[Silver Gambler’s Emblem: emblem signifying that one is an intermediate gambler of the gambler’s guild. Durability 10/10 luck +1.]

[Sword of the Hawk: Sword belonging to a great hero of the Hawkwing family. Durability 50/50 attack 20-32 strength +10 stamina +5.]

[Mithra armor: Armor blessed by the god of light. Durability 40/40 defense + 20 Endurance +10 spirit +10 agility +5.]

[Dragon skin gauntlets: durability 25/25, defense +10, magical defense +5, strength +1, endurance +2]

[Studded Liro Leather Pants: made from thee tough hide of a Liro lizard. Durability 30/30, defense +7, endurance +2, agility +1.]

[Necklace of the Dragon: defense +15- when HP reaches 0 necklace will break fully restoring the persons HP.]

[Superior Mana Ring: increase mana by 10%.]