Chapter 5: Death

General Stormrage marched forth with his army. They were at this point only a day away from reaching the forests of Vander, home of the elves. The human soldiers had made excellent progress. Even though the humans hadn’t had strong trading or political relations with the elves, they were somehow still willing to fight to defend them.

“Sir! We have spotted dragons on the horizon. They seem to be moving in the same direction as us.” reported a soldier.

“Dragons? Hopefully they are on our side and not the demons.” Stormrage thought.

“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking...what have you been carrying during this journey?” asked the soldier. He had spotted a large bag on the General’s horse with the royal seal upon it.

“It is something that is vital to our winning of this war. Unfortunately, I can’t yet tell any of you what it is.”

“Sorry, sir.”

“There is no need to be sorry. In fact this is something that must be given. You will all know soon enough when I select the person to wield it.”

The soldier began to contemplate what type of weapon it was. Perhaps it was an enchanted blade designed to fight demons. Or perhaps it was something even greater. One of the legendary Avatar Weapons perhaps.

“What is your name?” Stormrage asked a minute later.

“Private Onrad.”

“Full name.” Stormrage asked immediately.

“Private Thevor Onrad.”

“Do you realize the dangers we are facing?” he asked. In fact, Stormrage himself was not entirely sure. If a Chaos Lord was behind this as suspected, what would that mean? What powers did a Chaos Lord possess?

“It isn’t anything we can’t handle.” Thevor responded proudly.

“Wrong.” Stomrage said, a bit angry. “We are fighting demons who are physically superior to us. We are fighting fiery creatures within a forest. Imagine the damage, and the intensity of this battle.”

“If it is so hopeless, then why will we even fight?”

“You already seem to know the answer.” Stormrage observed. “You said it wasn’t anything we couldn’t handle. Explain.”

“Well...we need to defend those who are in danger. Even if the threat is great, someone needs to stand up. Because if nobody does...then the force will win. And we now know we aren’t alone. The dragons are coming...which means other are too. You have to remain positive, or else the battle is lost before it begins.”

“Wise words. Some of them are mine.” Stormrage said with a chuckle.

“Well I do listen. And they are true. I believe in them.”

“Perhaps you will be the one to wield this blade.” Stormrage noted. “However, this blade is more than a tool for victory. If you receive it, your life will be forever changed.”

“What exactly is it?” Thevor asked, still curious.

“Now is not the time...” Stormrage began. “Demons!” he yelled.

As they came over a hill, they saw the army of demons was advancing in their direction. The dragons fought fiercely, but the army continued forward.

“Everyone! Prepare for battle!” Stormage yelled. As he did this, seven gigantic fireballs flew towards the army. They smashed into the ground and exploded, killing a large portion of humans. The flames spread, trapping even more soldiers.

“Everyone scatter!” Stormrage commanded. The troops moved quickly, but could not evade the next barrage of fire. The army was once again hit.

Private Onrad ran as fast as he could forward with the few remaining soldiers. The demons had already pushed through Vander, which meant they were heading towards the human kingdoms. This was now their war.

Before another set of fire could be launched, a silver dragon swooped down and took out the mages. In demon armies there were usually a very small number of mages, and they usually were grouped. This made taking them down easy.

The dragons landed in front of the army and began to act as living shields. The human troops still advanced forward regardless of their numbers. One demon soldier escaped the blockade and ran towards Stormrage.

The demon roared a battlecry as he leapt forward and swung his blade downwards. Stormrage’s arm was chopped off as the sword cut through his iron armor. He screamed in pain as blood tumbled down his body.

Using his right arm, Stormrage swung his blade and managed to make a slight cut on the abdomen of the demon. The demon stumbled backwards in pain and that is when Stomrage spoke.

“The blade! Take it, now!” he yelled through the pain.

Thevor ran to the bag and opened it and found a golden blade. This sword was not gold, though. It had a shine to it...a white aura. This blade was of an entirely different substance.

He grabbed the blade and ran forward. The demon swung at his side, but he rolled beneath the strike and parried. The odd blade sliced through the demon’s body and split him in half.

The sight was horrifying. The demon had been slain, and his blood covered the ground. Stormrage was gravely injured, and his arm also laid in a pool of blood.

“Medic!” Thevor yelled.

A mage who was fighting near the two ran over. He arrived at the scene and immediately responded with a spell to prevent the general from losing anymore blood.

“Can you reattach his arm?” Thevor asked.

“It is too late.” the mage said, apologizing. He bent down to inspect Stormrage. He had passed out from the pain and was moaning. “He is in bad condition. I can stabilize him, but we will need a real healer.”

The mage did so, and a blue aura surrounded Stormrage. The soldier stared at the blade. “Do you know what this is?” he asked the mage.

“It is very magical in nature...” observed the mage. “However, the substance is unfamiliar. It is imbued with great amounts of light...could it be?”

“What?” asked the private seeing the amazement of the mage.

“One of the legendary Heldum Blade. A Blade of Light forged by the God of Light...made of the strongest metal.”

“Runic metal?” Thevor asked.

“No, the legendary metal called Elderium.”