"Soldiers and country man!" The king of Lora Anounncced in front of thousands of soldiers. The arch-bishop Boris stood beside the king as he talked. King Arthur was a young lad still in his teens. He had only recently taken the throne after the war with the demons. Years earlier, a group of rogue demons had invaded human lands, causing the paladin order to be established to deal with them. We succeed in pushing the demons back, but Arthur's father didn't make it. As a young man, King Arthur was very impressionable. A fact the Arch-bishop happily exploited. It was because of the church's orders that we were here in the first place. We were preparing to attack the human kingdom of Rowan, a nation the neighbored Lora.
"Today we fight for a new Lora and for future peace of or great nation. The war with the demons taught us that we can't stay divided!" Arthur said, getting a few cheers from the people. Boris just smiled as he watched the king address the men.
"We tried doing this the peaceful way, but the people of Rowan have forgotten what we have done for them. They forgot that it was the paladins that saved us from utter destruction, Paladins of Lora! Arthur said, pointing to us. The crowd cheered for us, raising their weapons.
"Today we will show them the might of the order, Today we show them the true might of Lora. On ward men to victory!" When the king was finished speaking, the soldiers all charged the battlefield. The paladins were in the front while the rest of the soldiers followed closely behind. I was in the paladin group. At this stage in my life as Sir George, I was a lowly grunt. (Why am I here? Is this another dream!) I thought as my body charged into battle with reckless abandonment.
BANG!
The sound of the two armies clashing filled the air. Metal hitting metal and the dying screams were all I could hear. Without hesitation, I began slaughtering Men left and right. One man raised his sword to me, but I could see the fear in his eyes. I dealt with him quickly, deflecting his hesitant slash and driving my blade through his chest.
Bang!
I caught a spear aim for my side with my shield. I nocked my new opponent off balance. Before the spear wielder could recover, I had already taken his head and was on to the next enemy. The people of Rowan were primarily farmers, and the soldiers they did have weren't that skilled. ( Why do I have to relive this moment.) I thought as I swept through the battlefield like a tornado of death.
"In coming!" Soldiers from Lora yelled. I looked up to see fireballs raining down on the soldiers of Lora. I raised my shield, cathing one of the firey projectiles. A few others exploded around me, causing me to be blown back.
"Ya! There down charge men!" The Rowans cheered at their small victory. My body had taken a beating, but I was already healing my wounds and standing. A few other paladins had also gotten up. Still, the enemy was headed our way. If we didn't regroup quickly, we would be overrun.
Boom Boom Boom!
I saw all manner of spells descend on the kingdom of Rowan's men. Fire, water, and earth spells decimated the enemy's front lines. Lora had an abundance of mages. By the time the barrage had ended, most of the paladins were already charging again. Me included. The front lines were caught off guard and quickly pushed back. I Killed and killed bisecting men with ease. Some of the Rowan men didn't even have armor, so my blade cut through them like butter. (Why! Why! Must I continue to relive this life? Is this my punishment?) I cried in my head as I continued butchered men.
I prayed someone would wake me up. If I was sleepwalking as Gora, Mog should be waking me up by now. (Somethings wrong with Mog.) I concluded. I knew Mog would wake me if she were there. Then another thought struck me. (I don't remember falling asleep.) I thought with confusion. The last thing I remember was practicing with Mog on the training field, and then I was here. My thoughts were interrupted by a large stone hammer that sailed towards my head. The attack came so fast I barely had time to bring up my shield.
Bang!
The stone hammer slammed my shield. It felt like I had taken a ballista head-on. My shield flew out of my now fractured arm, and I was pushed back a few yards. I managed to stay upright but was screaming in my head. However, no sound came out of my mouth. I looked up at the mountain of a man who had swung the hammer at me. He had a cocky grin on his face. He had a mix of leather and iron armor.
"You paladins are made of some tough stu... Nggh" The man started to speak but was cut off by an attack from behind. Another paladin had attacked him while he was distracted. The giant was quick and was able to block his opponent's sword. The hammer wielded pushed off his attacker and charged, completely ignoring me. My arm was still healing, but it didn't matter. My sword hand still works. I began to pursue the man but was stopped by an arrow that landed at my feet.
Examining the battlefield, I noticed the archer too late. He already had another arrow ready. I dodged the projectile at the last second and switched targets. Now I was after the bowmen. The man was quick launching arrow after arrow at me. It was a pain in the ass. When I got closer, the arrows pushed me two steps back. This barrage went on for a solid minute when the archer stopped. I noticed that I was now surrounded and far from any backup. Behind me now were two people. One was a woman in leather armor wielding daggers. The other was a man in the same armor type, but he used a short sword instead of daggers.
"You probably think Rowans nothing but farmers huh? Ill have you know we also have some of the best hunters." The archer said as he nodded at his two companions. The trio had trapped me like a wild animal.
"Retta, Jay, be careful this pricks a slippery one!" The archer said, getting a laugh out of the brown-haired man. Who I assumed was Jay. I could tell that the people had worked together before.
After they were done speaking, the archer prepared another arrow. I wasted no time and went straight for the swordsman. The way he held his blade told me he was an amateur at best. Them being hunters, he's probably only used to using the weapon against animals. I waited for the sound of the archer releasing his arrow as I initiated a horizontal slash on Jay.
Whoosh!
I heard the whistle of the arrow behind me, giving me my cue. I halted my attack on the swordsman and ducked to the ground. Jay was caught off guard by my sudden movement.
"Jay, watch out!" I heard the woman shout from behind me. She was too late. The arrow soared over my head and hit Jay in the shoulder. Lucky for him, he was able to recover in time, or the projectile would be sticking out his throat. I stood up to take advantage of the now wounded sword wielder but found Retta headed towards me.
She threw one of her daggers at me. I batted it away with my sword and prepared to take the woman's charge. The second she got close, I spun around, watching the woman pass me helplessly. As I turned, I brought my sword across her back. Retta yelled in pain and fell to the ground.
"How dare you harm my wife! Jay screamed in rage as he charged. The man was strong, but on his own, he was no match for me. I clashed swords with the man, adding mana to each blow. I was about to finish the man when an arrow hit the back of my leg. Jay took his chance to push me. (Did these people forget I was a paladin?) I thought as I waited for my chance. It was going to take more than an arrow to the leg to stop me. I channeled a large amount of mana for my next swing breaking Jay's short sword. The man stared at me in awe as I brought my blade up again, slitting his throat. Blood dripped from his wound. Jay put his hand to his throat, trying his damndest to stop the bleeding.
"Jay!" I heard a heartbreaking scream erupt from Retta. She limped her way over to her husband, completely ignoring me. I didn't mind. I was busy pulling out the arrow from my leg. When I was done, I looked down to see Retta crying over the now-dead Jay. I tried fighting myself, but it was no use. My blade went up as I prepared to plunge it into the woman.
"Retta Run!" The archer shrieked while launching arrows my way while he charged. As a bowman, he gave up the advantage of distance to attack me this way. I dodged the arrows with ease. Instead of retreating, however, I pushed forward, meeting the archer head-on. I sensed very little mana coming from the man so, I wasn't worried about a close fight.
Crack!
My sword broke the wooden bow easily. The man had used it to try and block my attack. I didn't stop at his bow; however, my long sword continued and cut through the archer's flesh with no resistance. Life left the man's eyes even before his body hit the ground. I turned slowly, finding my last opponent. Retta was still lying there, holding her husband in her arms. (Wake up!) I screamed in my head. I knew all this was a dream, but no matter how much I tried, I couldn't seem to wake myself up.
My body moved slowly towards the woman. Retta didn't even look up at me. She rocked her dead husband back and forth, paying me no mind. Even when I reached her, she didn't move. I quickly ended the woman's life. (Am I trapped here now?) I thought as I made my way back to the front lines. The rowan army was starting to get smaller. I watched as men slaughtered each other. I strolled back, slowly regaining some of my stamina before I rejoined the fray.
I wasn't done killing just yet. Today was the day I had wanted to forget. Today was the day I earned my name. A paladin gains their name by achieving heroic feet in battle. Although there was nothing heroic about what I was about to do. Hundreds of soldiers would meet their end Today. All thanks to me. My sword will be the last thing most of the Rowan men would see. Because of this, I will earn the name Sir Gorge.
Today's war would not be the first, and it most certainly wouldn't be the last time I spiled human blood. (No, this is the beginning.) I thought as I jumped back into battle. Soon The nation of Lora will spread like wildfire and become the Lorian empire. Kingdoms will fall at my hands, and people will die by my hands. Who was I kidding? Did I think I could live a normal life with so much death on my hands? I didn't deserve to be happy. I had no right to have the life as Gora! The pampered life of a princess. I didn't deserve to have people like Mog and Drak. I was going to have to answer for the things I did one way or another.
King Arthur: The young king of Lora who took the throne after the first demon raid. The king was ten when he took the throne and relied on the church's power to secure his rule.
Archbishop Boris: Leader of the church of Lora. Boris ruled the Lorain empire from behind the scenes. He manipulated the king and the nobles into conquests after conquests.
Rowan: A human kingdom to the west of Lora. The rowan people were humble farmers and tradesmen. They had lost a lot of their soldiers in the first demon raid.
The first demon raid: An invasion of rouge and exile demons on the human lands. The demon raids caused the creation of the paladins, who started as a group of glorified cannon fodder.