The Great Battle

THE GREAT BATTLE

Ryu shifted uneasily as he stood over a hedge overseeing the plains of Talador. The plains of Talador, stretching from the Goldern Ocean till the Straits of The Strider was a beauty of the world, home to the famous red tail Drakebirds and the Lorden Beasts. However, it also serves to be the Empire’s boundary, the boundary against the Ravager of the North just beyond the Spine Of The World, a long stretch of very tall peaks that protected the Empire until now…

Recent reports from the watchers and their eagles have been disturbing. The Ravager was on the move, rallying a horde of beastmen to him. It seems that the invasion of the Empire was bound to begin. Alarmed by the reports, the Emperor, Majestic the Second had almost all of the Empire’s forces call to arms. This includes the Shin Blademasters who answer only to the orders of the Emperor in times of great emergency, that is where Ryu comes in. Ryu at 19 is the youngest ever grandmaster of the Shin Clan Blademasters was summoned by the Emperor to lead the forces of the Empire against this threat. Now, according to the latest report, it seems that the Ravager’s horde is moving this way, the estimated number… unknown and they will arrive in approximately 30 minutes.

“30 minutes left,” said Ryu as he readies himself for the impending battle of the greatest proportion. Donning the Ceremonial Plate Armor of the Grandmaster, Ryu adjusts the Horned Dragon Helm on his head, and readies the BloodFrost. BloodFrost, the blade of the cold and blood is one of the 5 weapons of god, mythically forged in the volcanic fissures by god himself and imbued in the freezing cold of the North and of course the blood of God himself. Longer than a normal blade and yet shorter than a two-handed sword, this blade was designed to be able to be used both single-handed and two-handedly. Instinctively, Ryu drew the sword out from its scabbard, sending a wave of cold over him and over the army behind him. The BloodFrost itself was a beauty to behold, with its dark yet dangerous blade and its hilt engraved with various runes and the head of a black dragon whose eyes beamed with ghastly light that emanates not just light but also the frost. The blade known to others for its extreme sharpness, however has a secret only the user knows… it has power to level armies in a single swipe with the power of the Frost and Blood.

It will be a slaughter, thought Ryu as he kneels down, praying to the God of the Shin Clan, not for his life but for the others that follow him to battle as tradition obliges him to do so. Fully clad in battle gear, Ryu then saddles himself onto a heavily armored warhorse. Raising the BloodFrost in his hand, he then charges forward… the entire might of the Empire marched with him…

The army following him was no normal army you could find guarding cities, this army was the entire army that the Empire could ever muster using every resource available. 5 million strong, this army could overrun everything except for what they are facing now. Apart from Ryu’s own regiment of blademasters, they consisted of the Emperor’s finest knights, footsoldiers, archers and even battle hardened mercenaries of many battles were here today. All in the name of Holdern, The God of War, the Eternal Guardian Of the Empire. The balance is at stake.

There was nothing to be seen nor heard in the plains of Talador, its inhabitants possibly fled to escape the carnage that was about to begin. The sun was shining brightly upon the plains, only the shadow of the Spine Of The World covered a portion of the plains. The army marches on… to their doom…

All was quiet at first, then it began…

Drums and sounds never heard before echo upon the wind, the thundering charge of the horde was shuddering, warcries filled the air, shrill enough to oozed the blood out of any mortal brain. However, the might of the Empire was not deterred, fueled by the urge to defend their motherland till the last man. Many forms began to fill the horizon as they swarmed over the hills that lead to the plains, coming down in a blood frenzy. The enemy comprised of many lifeforms that ever walked on two legs, some are pig headed, some lizardlike and so on. All wielding weapons that are evil looking, all for the same reason they are there today… Destruction…


Coming down on his horse, BloodFrost on his hand, Ryu knelt on to his knees, the black blade sunk into the dirt with such ease as if it was butter, and the might of the Empire followed suit. Whispering a prayer to all the gods, Ryu suddenly stood in his full glory, complete with his armor and sword. With a picture of his wife and son spirited away to the hidden accesses of his mind, he then shouted,

Oh Great Holdern!
Today I shall shed blood in thy name on those who dare defile thy Land!
May we all die gloriously and be delivered right into thy’s bosom!

Today, I will be meeting my father!
I will also be meeting my mother, sisters, brothers and all my brethren!
I will be meeting the line of my ancestors from present to past!
All bids me a place among them!
In the Eternal Bastion of the Great Holdern!
Forever!

And he whispered to himself, “and for all the things I had not done, for all the things I had not said, I beg the Great Holdern in his kindness, forgive me!”

Wiping a tear from his eyes, Ryu turn to the battlefield as the horde got closer and closer, the numbers are staggering, almost doubling the numbers of the Empire’s forces down to two against one. Then, in a distance of the capacity of his mind, he heard a faint voice. It was kind, fatherlike and soothing…

“All is forgiven, my son, now fight!”

Without regret, Ryu fully extended BloodFrost to its full capacity, and in a loud and clear voice,

“To arms my brethren! To arms! Let no one cross here today and let them know true fear of what it is to invade the Empire! Strike them down with the fury of the Empire! Charge!!!”

The full might of the Empire was displayed as hundreds of thousand of heavily armored knights accompanied by their walking* counterparts began to bear down onto the advancing horde, brandishing their polished shields and two handed blades. Archers began to shower the horde with hails of both arrow and bolts. Many of the horde died in the first wave but the horde was undeterred. Then the two titanic armies clashed together…

Jumping right into a company of the beastmen, Ryu and BloodFrost began their slaughter, screams of dying creatures filled the air as Ryu wields BloodFrost with such finesse and deadliness, killing many in seconds. Then Ryu wills the BloodFrost and smacks the blade right into the earth… “Frost Nova!” A gale of frost surrounds Ryu and dissipates around him, turning all the creatures that surround him into living statues of Ice before Ryu shatters them with ease. Cutting a swathe through the ranks of Beastmen, Ryu was a demon of war. With BloodFrost, Ryu was simply unstoppable, combining both prowess and magical properties. “Frost Touch!” Suddenly, all weapons and beastmen that come in contact with BloodFrost was turned into shattering pieces of ice as BloodFrost and Ryu continued its killing spree…

Meanwhile, the heavily armored knights are taking out a heavy chunk of the beastmen, wielding both hammers and two-handed swords with ease, shattering skulls and slicing limbs alike. Even the archers are now joining in the battle armed with long swords but wearing only leather armor, not very good armor. However, the numbers of the beastmen was just too many to handle, slowly one by one, valiant knights felled not before killing as many beastmen as possible.

It was a bloody battle, with both sides suffering heavy losses, screams of dying men and creatures alike filled the air with despair and regret. Arrows, spears flew around in the air in this free for all battle, finding unwary victims, the urge of to be able to survive began to fill even the hardened hearts of trained Imperial warriors as they wage war upon the enemy who is still coming down in waves… its… impossible! They were just… too many! The feel of hopelessness and not being able to do anything began to sink deep into their hearts. The feeling was so overwhelming even young warriors began to weep for their impending doom. Even the sky began to darken reflecting on the minds of the Imperial forces. However, all is not lost. They still have BloodFrost on their side…

Ryu almost destroyed an entire regiment of beastmen as they descended on him with the “Frost Spike”. By willing the blade as usual, Ryu slammed the blade onto the ground, sending the earth around the regiment to strike up, forming huge spears of Ice as they impaled the entire regiment. Looking up onto the hills, Ryu could still make out of the advancing forces of the beastmen, and he sensed his men’s despair. This time, an aura of ice swirled around his body as he intensed his concentration for the use of a powerful technique.
Raising BloodFrost into a defensive position, Ryu then executes… “Frost Wave”! This time, the air around Ryu shudders as tremendous forces began to work, snow began to form a huge barrier three-story tall and had the length of the entire battlefield. With a command of BloodFrost, the barrier lurched forward onto the advancing beastmen, the effects are awesome as the barrier like a wave swallowed the advancing Beastmen forces wholly, killing thousands of them. However it is not enough to destroy the entire horde as they were still streaming down from the hills but enough to raise the Imperial forces’ morale. Still straining from the use of such a powerful technique, Ryu raised BloodFrost regardless to face a new wave of the incoming beastmen. Calling now upon the power of Blood, Ryu invokes the “Blood Pact”, a passive but very effective move, also known as the Vampiric Blade which leeches and drains one enemy’s life force and stamina. By killing an enemy means adding increasing ones life force and stamina which is very effective in prolonged battles for the user. Charging into the enemy, Ryu renewed the massacre with much more vigor and vim.

The battle rages on as Ryu led the Imperial forces against the horde. Its been for 8 hours since the beginning of the battle and finally the beastmen faltered, their numbers have been since reduced to more than a quarter left. Finishing off another regiment with the “Frost Spike”, Ryu then heard something and turned around…

A regiment of knights had fallen to the ground, lifeless, their lives snuffed out by some unknown but powerful force. Then there is a mist that hovers over the fallen bodies of the dead knights… slowly, the mist rose up and began to materialize into something, something ancient and… evil.

The shape of the mist began to form of a human, then Ryu finally saw what the mist really was…The Ravager. Dressed in no more than a simple peasant clothes, the Ravager was a devilish yet handsome by standards of a human, but his eyes show his inhumanness that is scarlet red in color. Standing about 6 feet 4’, the Ravager towers Ryu in which Ryu was only 5 feet 7’. Seeing the emergence of the scourge, Ryu readies BloodFrost and stands in a defensive position, ice shards rising around where he stood. The Ravager looks on, his face exudes confidence of no depth, smiled and said,

“You fought well as the Grandmaster, but can you defeat me, a demigod?”

“I will do whatever it takes to stop you from harming my motherland…”

“I admire your courage as a soldier but the Empire shall fall and crumble in my hands, for it is my destiny!”

“What makes you think it is your destiny to do so? Does killing and slaughtering innocents justify your cause as you did in the past?”

“I am the most powerful being on earth and I shall be the only one to rule the earth!”

“Then so be it, all talk is useless, the only thing is that I, Ryu of the Shin Clan shall defeat you and send you to the abyss!”

“You ask for it, human!”

A jet-black ornate black sword appeared out of nowhere into the Ravager’s hand, its blade emanating dark power of unknown origin. Holding the blade up, The Ravager began to whisper words of power into the sword… the show down is just beginning.

“Be prepare to meet your doom, human!”

“I already expected it, but I will not go to hell alone!”

Ryu, BloodFrost raised, charged at the Ravager, only to find the Ravager jumping up high into the air and coming down again, the black sword as if sucking in the sunlight swung down onto Ryu who parries it. Ryu then executes a series of offensive sword styles, which the Ravager counters with his own. The earth around them shudders as two mammoth powers clash together. The clanking of the blades was deafening, as both the blades are in fact outerworld artifacts.

“I feel surprise, human, for no one has ever last so long under my BlackRazor,”

“You may find I am full of surprises,”

“Oh? Let’s see about that,”

The Ravager suddenly melded away to another place not far from Ryu, his sword cackling with demonic energies and executes “Dark Edge”, sending bolts of dark energies onto Ryu. Countering, Ryu executes “Frost Barrier”, a shield made of ice was raised just in time to absorb the damage.

“Now, try this!”

Ryu executes “Frost Spike” sending spears of ice along the ground towards The Ravager who in turn leaps up high into the sky. The Ravager then does a somersault and landed right on top of Ryu, pummeling Ryu’s feet into the ground before entrapping Ryu with a series of ruthless attacks, coming from the air above. Ryu, with all his strength, only managed to repel those attacks and was lucky to escape unscathed from the attack. “Frost Ball”! Ryu fired a ball of frost at the land near the Ravager, upon contact onto the ground, causing thousands of sharp needle-like ice to disperse, like napalm. The Ravager jumped again into the sky, but this time, Ryu was on top of the Ravager already, waiting for him. “Blood Pummel”! This time, using one of the blood moves, Ryu slammed the flat of the blade onto the Ravager’s stomach and gives the Ravager a palm strike onto the forehead, sending the Ravager down onto the earth. Ryu continued his onslaught by driving his knee onto the Ravager causing a crater in the earth.

Grunting with pain, the Ravager rose up to his feet, his eyes flared with scarlet fire…

“Not bad for a human…”

About 10 feet away, was Ryu, standing with BloodFrost by his side, his eyes concealed under slits of the Horned Dragon Helm waiting for the Ravager’s next move. The Ravager, suddenly charges at Ryu, his blade blazing with more energy… “Black Rush”! Combining speed, might and the black energies, this charging and thrust attack was unstoppable, sending Ryu crashing onto the ground almost instantly. Quickly picking himself up, Ryu concentrates as the Ravager begins another Black Rush. Keeping BloodFrost at the waist level near the right thigh, Ryu then executes another move just as the Black Rush came… “Blood Flight”! A rang sounded throughout the battle as both combatants clashed together, each with powerful moves of his own.

The two combatants stood still for a minute, with their backs facing each other, with the distant fighting between the Imperial Forces and the Horde echoing in the hills of Talador. Then both of them collapsed with Ryu suffering a direct hit to the sternum whereas the Ravager slashed across the abdomen. Slowly, the two combatants rose back up to their feet and they continued the fight again, this time…to the death!


They fought each other for three days and three nights, with the remnants of the Imperial Forces looking on, the horde was utterly destroyed, their mission accomplished, they have done their duty. All was left was of the Ravager who is engaging Ryu in a duel to the death. With both combatants bloodied and tired, their swords’ power was almost used up to the limit. Standing silently apart from each other, both knew they could continue no longer… the time to decide the winner is now.

The Ravager began to have dark energies fizzled around his body, his muscles tensing as blood veins pump as much blood into the muscles, and he appeared to be in a trance while whispering words that Ryu could not decipher. The Ravager then spoke,

“You are a great fighter, Ryu, I respected that but too bad I will have to end this fight now,”

“You too are a great fighter, but I will not die so easily for I shall bring you down before I die,”

“Black Storm”! The Ravager finally used up all the energies he had, unleashing a power so terrible even onlookers closed their eyes as the power descended upon Ryu. Causing Ryu to be ensnared in a globe of darkness that binds him, the Ravager then attacks on the vulnerable Ryu!

The “Black Storm” that was entrapping him yet draining away his energies stunned Ryu as he saw the Ravager attacking with another “Black Rush”. He knew in his heart that his end was near, he was helpless, but there was one card left he get to use on the Ravager… BlackRazor sunk deep into Ryu’s body as the Ravager drove the blade home, impaling Ryu on the sword.

“Now, you see, no one can ever defeat me…”

“Don’t count on it just yet,”

Ice shards began to rise up from the ground and began to swirl around The Ravager and Ryu, their twirling began to rise up in frequency as Ryu unleashes “Frost Cyclone”! By creating a huge vortex, Ryu’s move sucked in the Ravager as Ryu in that vortex slashed the Ravager countless times, accompanied by the shards of ice that ripped through the Ravager’s skin. Being caught unaware, the Ravager got full force of the move.

The Ravager, being mortally wounded by the move, dropped to the ground with a sickening thud, panting deeply in the air, his sword landing somewhere within the battlefield. While Ryu with the support of BloodFrost managed to keep his footing even though heavily injured, all was silent… the circle has been completed, the battle has been won!

The battle was not won without a heavy price, as hundreds of thousand soldiers of the Empire was killed in battle, the once beautiful plains of Talador has now been reduced into a graveyard for the dead. Bodies of the fallen filled the horizon, piling up like small hills. Lakes of blood were found everywhere. The after effects of the fighting between the Ravager and Ryu was even more shocking as craters as deep as 200 feet were found to be created by the fighting. Though the battle has been won, but for Ryu, it is not yet over.

Calling upon General Darrell, one of the remaining generals that was left in battle, Ryu spoke to him,

“General Darrell, I trust you to be an honorable man, and listen to what I had to say… General, you better take the remaining troops and leave this place immediately,”

“Why? You are our commander, we can’t leave you here like that!”

“Just go! I got some other things to take care of, besides I cant live on much longer anymore and I want you to live on for the Empire, now go! This is an order!” Ryu ordered as blood foam began to form around his mouth. He then gestured to Kain, a fellow blademaster who was also one of the remaining survivors,

“Kain, I had a favor to ask…”
“What is it?”

“I want you to take care of my family for me,”

“What…”

“Promise me you do so,”

“But…”

“Just promise me!”

“Alright! Alright!”

“Now go!”

As the last of the remaining Imperial forces disappeared over their horizon, Ryu then stood up and walked to where the Ravager lay, the battlefield was as silent as can be, vultures walked among the corpses having a feast of their own. Only Ryu and the Ravager were left on the battlefield, both about to die… soon. Feeling his life force slowly slipping out of his body, Ryu then knelt down to the ground, his hand reached out to feel the medallion hanging round his neck and looked upon it. It was a medallion bearing the crest of a black dragon that only his wife and son had. Grasping it tightly to his body, Ryu began to have thoughts of his homeland, his clan, his city, his Emperor, his fellow blademasters and most of all, his family- (his wife and son). Shedding a tear of sorrow, Ryu then went back to his task that is to completely destroy and seal of the Ravager so that his reign of terror will forever be vanquished.

Standing before the broken form of the Ravager and coughing out blood, Ryu then drew upon the remaining power of the BloodFrost, the sky began to darken, having to bear witness of what Ryu was going to do, it first began to snow, then the wind changed and the weather turn into that of the winter. Ryu at last, released everything of himself, turning himself to the fury of the power he unleashed. “Frost Spire”!!!!!!!!!!!!!…The silhouette of Ryu then vanished into thin air, the powerful BloodFrost too gone. The Ravager was no more, it was just … The Beginning of the beginning…