"We are doomed," an eighteen-year-old soldier said.
"We are not knights. We cannot cast spells or strengthen our body. I thought that we were just here to deal with bandits. Who would have thought that we were to rush to our deaths today? Lord Reitz and all of us are doomed." The teen said gloomily as he distanced himself from the onslaught of fist-sized rocks that were spraying at them.
"I don't know about the both of us lad, but I doubt all of us will die today. It would be most unlikely that our Lord would die here today." A veteran said as he hid behind his shield. He was in an iron armour using an iron shield. His face was a bit wrinkled and he had crow's feet and sported a walrus-like moustache.
There were around twenty bodies that lay down in front of them, those were the ones that had charged before them. They were totally caught off guard when the spray of stones came bursting out, most of them were dead while the others were too injured to move.
"Why do you say that?" the teen asked
"Let me tell you a story,"
. . .
Reitz was struck at his left side. He was bleeding profusely. The dagger went inside his body beneath his rib but it failed to strike his vital parts and it looked pretty bad. Captain Ashen immediately noticed and he pounced on Sir Allister.
"Bastard!" Shouted Ashen as he charged and drew his sword to strike a killing blow to Allister.
His strike was met by Allister's own sword.
The stab from Allister was totally unexpected he did not use his aura to guard close range attacks at that moment. Even though his body was tough as he circulated his magic through his body a full force blow from a knight at close range would deal a great amount of damage to him.
Allister and Ashen were in a deadlock. They were exchanging blows left and right.
"You treacherous wretch. You dare betray our Lord Blackfyre to a bunch of lowborn bandits?" Roared Ashen.
Allister was silent but then Reitz started to speak.
"These men are not bandits." Reitz carefully got up. His left side was still in severe pain but he endured.
"Milord stay down. The Guard will help you escape. Blackfyre Guard, Clear a path for his lordship. I shall deal with the traitor here," commanded Ashen.
"So you realize it now. Don't you Reitz?" Allister broke the silence after Reitz said his statement.
"Which of them do you work for?" Reitz asked.
"I am not foolish enough to answer that," Allister answered.
The ongoing fight of the Blackfyre Guard could be heard nearby as Reitz and Allister conversed. The Guard had a tough time dealing with the four mages they could not hold. The sixteen guards surrounded them but the earth barriers and simultaneous rock showers gave them a headache. They kept on dodging the attacks but they could not launch their own. These mages were well trained. The Blackfyre Guard were formidable in melee combat but the earth mages made it so that they could not come near.
"So the bandit raids were just bait for me? Weren't they? Are one of the Primarchs after me or is it one of the members of the Tribunal?" Reitz asked as the Guard and mages' battle continued.
Allister was silent. Ashen charged at him again. And the clash of swords reverberated on the battlefield.
"You chose the wrong side, Allister. You will die today." Said Reitz with conviction.
"Hahaha." Allister started laughing while he was fighting Ashen.
"Maybe, but so will you Reitz. We have a force of over forty mages. This army will be wiped out today along with you." Said this as he dodged a spell from Ashen
"Hahaha"
Reitz suddenly laughed maniacally. There was bloodlust in his eyes. He looked like a madman. Allister shot him a bewildered glance. Ashen's face soured when he heard this, his complexion turned white as blood withdrew from his face.
"Captain, withdraw!" Reitz commanded.
Reitz body was suddenly engulfed in flames, he looked like an enormous fireball. He kept laughing as this was happening. He cauterized his wound using the flame. Though normally one's own magic could not hurt the caster, there were cases when one could withdraw part of this protection. The flame slowly turned into what looked like plate armour. His body was enshrouded with flame from head to toe. The fire on his head turned into what looked like a close helm. The fire that covered his hands became a gauntlet, and the ones on the body turned into a cuirass, the shoulders: pauldrons. After a few seconds, his entire body was covered in a flame armour.
"Blackfyre Guard, Great Flame formation," Reitz bellowed.
The guards immediately retreated from their pursuit of the Earth Elementalist they were engaging.
Reitz was swift. He moved so fast that it seemed like a blur. Instantaneously a flame sabre materialized on his right hand. He leapt to the position of Allister. Allister tried to protect himself with his shield but there was nothing to protect from. He had tried to parry Reitz's blow. Reitz withdrew the flame sabre. It was a feint. Allister had an opening below his waist and Reitz saw it and capitalized on this. A fire blade materialized on his knee puncturing Allister's stomach. Allister involuntarily scrunched his body in a fetal position, this exposed his head from his shield. Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
He tried to open his mouth to say something but Reitz's flame sabre already severed his head. The head flew out the sabre's heat burned it into ashes as it flew. The fire from his stomach also spread and combusted his torso into dust. Leaving only the memory of the former knight, Sir Allister.
. . .
The surviving soldiers started to rally and flank the mages. The mages sensed this and adjusted their position. The lad and the veteran were at the back readied for the charge as he narrated a story:
There was once a young lord of fifteen, you see. He was just freshly recruited for a campaign west of the Imperium along with his soldiers. He was no warrior at that time, and he could barely command his recruits. His unit was small, he was just treated as cannon fodder by the Imperium's army. They marched to a suicide mission unknown to the young lord. A detachment of eighty Arcanists attacked the regiment by ambush. All of the soldiers in his unit tried to protect him but every one of them failed. His whole regiment was wiped out. He was left all alone and everyone thought the boy was a goner. But you know what happened next? No one knew how talented this young lad was, you see. Everyone had severely underestimated him, you see. Out of rage, he went berserk. His fire became armour. His movements were so fast like a blur. He severed the head of every last of the Arcanist and they became ashes upon his feet. Our Lord, Retiz Blackfyre, was the only one standing when everything was finished. He had slaughtered them one by one. From that moment on Rex Imperia, may his majesty live forever, bestowed upon him the title: The Ashbringer.