Nothing but anger and rage consume me as I rush at Grush, who finally finishes clubbing a woman’s head with my morning star. The distance between us shortens quickly as I bear down on the brute who stands in wait, unfazed by my intent to end his life. I use my shield to knock away anyone that gets in my way, the battle raging fiercely around me. As I clatter into him, he smashes my morning star against my shield. He falls from the collision, and in the process, I lose my own footing and slide face first through the thickening mud.
Nothing can prepare you for the sights of battle, the death that surrounds you. No one tells you about the smell, sweat and dirt tinged with a rusting stench. It is the latter that catches you off guard, provided by the sea of blood that has been shed.
The mixture of mud and blood washes over my face as I slide front first until eventually stopping. I heave myself to my feet as an enraged Grush is already charging at me. I raise my shield just in time as he crashes into me like a battering ram. My shield holds firm and I plant my feet in the mud, sliding backwards as he continues to push against me.
His snarling face is decorated with the blood of the fallen, and I am surprised his teeth do not crumble, such is the tightness of his jaw.
“Should have done this at the start!” he growls as a quick strike connects with my cheek. It is like his hand is made of stone, the force far stronger than I have known a man to possess. But then again, his hulking frame dwarfs everyone else on the battlefield.
“At last, something we agree on!” I throw my own fist at him, but Grush blocks this, pinning my arm under his own. I swing my shield from the other side, but he parries my attack and throws his boulder-like head into my face. A sharp, stinging pain sets in as my lip and nose begin to throb from the blow. Before I have time to think, he throws another headbutt at me, then another. Dazed, I stagger back as Grush then aims the morning star at me, and I jump back, barely avoiding the strike. Keeping his momentum, he spins and aims the weapon at me again. I raise my shield high to block him, the determination on Grush’s face as clear as the intent of his actions.
He steps away from me for a moment, the two of us breathing heavily as we plan our next moves.
“When this battle is done, I am going to put your head on a spike for all to see. Anyone in this shithole will see how I played the dragon.” Grush spits into the mud and raises his hands to offer me a turn to attack him.
“There is only one monster out of the two of us, and it isn’t me!” I charge forward, my fists clenched tightly as I swing my shield and hammer it into Grush’s side. He accepts the blow and although it no doubt causes him discomfort, it is only a blow capable of injury, not the death that I seek. Grush uses his arm to push my shield away, leaving my body open to an attack. He steps into my space and raises my morning star above his head.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he brings it down against my arm holding the shield. With a crack, my arm falls limp, the spikes of the weapon piercing my tough skin. If not for the cursed body, I hold that blow would have likely taken my arm off.
My arm drops to my side, the weight of my shield dragging my shoulder down. The pain is harsh and unforgiving, and I know straight away that my arm is broken. I release an almighty roar, part in pain, part in anger, and Grush lunges forward with another boot to my chest, sending me hurtling back to the mud.
“See, that’s where you belong, in the mud,” Grush says. “No, you belong in the sewers, in fact!” He stands over me, the rain cascading down his face forming streaks of blood, some of it my own.
I heave as I breathe, my ribs aching, gasping for air. The way this thug fights is far beyond a simple enforcer. He has been trained. With brutal efficiency he has overpowered me even in my cursed state. His movement, however forceful, is skilled, each attack flowing into the next. I have never seen anything like it. I’ve underestimated him.
“Today, the dragon falls!” Grush raises his weapon above his head and brings it down on me.
With little other option, I grab hold of my shield with my good arm and drag it to my front, embracing the blow. The pain is like daggers tearing though my skin and muscle as my bones crunch under the force, a knot of pain in my stomach clenching tightly like a giants fist. But it works. The power pushes my broken arm into my front, and I scream out in agony as Grush throws down blow after blow against it. Each time it is as if a headed blade pushes through my skin, and with each strike I wonder if it will be the last. I grit my teeth and dig as deep as I can. Deeper than the treacherous waters of Yugo’s Tears. If I can survive that, I can survive this. Each time he strikes me, a painful memory flashes into my mind as clear as if I am in the moment.
The burning village, the drink I consumed as I found myself exiled from Rashouya, the gambling it led to. Vireo beating me in the street, the painful moment I told Laith that he could no longer be my squire for I had no chance of regaining the honour I had lost.
The pain travels up to my shoulder and across my chest as Grush continues to rain down blows against my shield. He could easily end this fight, but he knows what he is doing. He wants me to experience this pain, he wants to prolong it.
Flashes of Zerina allowing me on her ship, then a card game where Esara reveals to me her glamour magic, followed by a ship in flames as it sinks to the depths of the ocean. One by one, blow by blow, these memories bay through my mind, each and every act and consequence that led to me being here in this moment splayed out in the mud as my life is about to end. As the memories shred through my thoughts, my fight wavers and my instincts fade, as does my will to live. I deserve this fate, I deserve everything that has happened to me, for the lives I have impacted, for those that have been lost because of the decisions I made. My envoy, Ulrik, Bravor, Preya. They would all be alive on this day if not for me, along with many others.
I can’t hold on any longer, and my shield and arm fall to my sides. I can’t take the pain. Above me, a fork of lightning darts in between the blackened clouds. Rain lashes against my face as I wallow on my back, my body and spirit broken. It is all I can ask to let the gods end the misery I have endured for a lifetime.
“Look at you, you really are pathetic, Dragon. I expected more!” Grush stares down and for a moment I see pity in his eyes. He raises my morning star high above his head for a final time and I close my eyes, accepting my fate.
Grush cries out. I open my eyes and see Rior standing beside him, the dagger I gave him embedded in Grush’s leg.
“Leave him alone!” Rior screams.
Infuriated, Grush swings the back of his hand against Rior’s face, sending him rolling through the mud. “You little shit!” he growls. He grabs the hilt of the dagger and grimaces as he pulls it from his leg. “I should have killed you whilst you sat with your fallen keeper.”
Grush limps towards Rior who shows rugged determination and courage as he drags himself back to his feet, raising both his fists towards Grush, staring him down through his blackened eyes.
“You know they say there is a special place in the afterlife, especially for those who show cowardice and take their own life. Think of the things the demons down there will be doing to your keeper right now,” Grush taunts.
“I – I’m not afraid of you,” Rior says.
“Oh, but you should be.” He aims a fatal blow at the boy.
“Rior!” I can’t see the boy die. I told him to stay by my side, I vowed to free him, I vowed to defend him. I heave myself to my feet, using more strength than I have to fight the urge to give up. Then I throw myself weakly at Grush and grab hold of his arm, stopping his strike.
His arm is taut with tension as he struggles against me. I have enough strength in my good arm to match him, fueled by my desire to protect the boy.
“There will be an even worse place in the afterlife for you!” I roar, and for the first time, it is fear that flickers across Grush’s face. A primal urge takes over me and I do something I have never done: I bite down on Grush’s arm. A metallic taste seeps into my mouth as my pointed teeth tear through his flesh with ease. Grush screams out in agony and drops my morning star. I don’t stop until my teeth meet his bone. He pulls his arm away from me and as he does, his flesh leaves his arm, clinging to my chin.
I stare into his dark eyes, and I swear to the gods in this moment I see right through to his soul. He steps back away from me but my rage controls me now. The things he has done, the torture he has inflicted on behalf of the Wyverns; the man is a scourge on these lands, one I intend to free this kingdom from. I endure the pain as I pry my arm free from the shield and toss it to Rior. The boy scurries towards it and picks it up with both hands to cover himself.
As I step forward, my foot kicks against my morning star. Spitting out Grush’s bloodied flesh, I pluck my old weapon from the mud, then bring my eyes level with him once more.
Grush looks around him as he searches for something to defend himself with. Seeing a pike skewed into a Wyvern body nearby, he races towards it. I chase after him, every inch of my body aching, my legs burning as I force myself across the bloodied, body-laden terrain. A Barbaraq gets in my way but I hammer their chest with my morning star, causing them to crumple to the ground, their chest ripped open in an instant. Grush reaches the pike and growls as he grabs hold of it with both hands, pulling it from the Wyvern corpse. Then he turns to face me.
It is clear from his widened eyes that he is surprised by the speed with which I move, and I am already upon him. I roll into the side of the pike with my broken arm to knock it sideways, leaving Grush’s body open. Then I spin towards him, my morning star outstretched, every painful memory at the forefront of my mind as I let out an almighty scream. With a sickening squelch, the head of my morning star connects with the side of Grush’s head. His blood sprays everywhere as he collapses to the ground. I stand over him, watching his body twitch whilst blood pools around his head.
“This is the day Eltera will remember that it was the dragon who freed them from the monster!” Without a moment’s hesitation, I bring my morning star down onto his head once more, then again and again, leaving nothing but a pool of pulp