Mind Warrior [Chapter 1]

"Women are there to be seen, not heard." Leighla's father had always told her. This, she now knew was not true. Her powers were incredible, and she was about to show the world just what she could do with them. These were the thoughts that ran through her head as she marched dutifully to what could well be the end of her.

The Northern Knights had marched for weeks, fed purely with hate and malice for their southern rivals. The Empire's defences were set to move in at any moment, and Leighla was on the front lines.

"Mind Warriors, Forward March!" Her commander yelled over the battalions. His deep voice echoes for miles, startling birds and men alike. The very ground began to shake with the intensity of the thousands of soldiers here today.

Leighla glanced back at the rear lines. They were mainly spotty, scared-to-death adolescants. They shook with fear of the coming battle. What kind of society would put their children out to die? Leighla thought to herself. There was no time for that right now though.

For a front line of defence, they were certainly not anything impressive to look at. Clad in only light leather armour, and wielding no weapons, one would be forgiven for thinking that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But in reality, it was quite the opposite. These Mind Warriors were the Empire's greatest asset. Able to manipulate and unhinge the minds of their enemies, these warriors were easily a match for a hundred of the Northern Knights.

This war had begun many eons ago, through rivalries and diminishing land for which to claim. Legend had it that two farmers squabbled over the same patch of land, each claiming it as their own. Each council had backed their own farmer, and a war broke out. There had been difficulties between the two councils for some time, and this was simply an excuse to bully their rival into backing down, but neither did.
This was so long ago, in fact, that many people wondered why it continued to ravage their country and destroy their lives for which they had worked so hard.

However, it showed no signs of coming to an end any time soon. Both sides meticulously trained every available sword arm to fight in this 'rediculous war'. The leaders of both sides both remained adamant that they were in the right, and that the Goddess was testing them.

Each even thought that theirs was a gift given to them by the Goddess Noisreal. The Northerners with their natural ability to build and operate machines, and the south with their Mind Warriors and Beast-Taming skills.

Suddenly, on the horizon, hordes of enemies began to appear.

"This is it," Leighla thought. She had trained hard for this moment, but reality was only just beginning to set in.

"In the sky!" One of the men cried. his face twisted in fear as down came hundreds of flying machines. They dropped incendiaries to burn the Empire's troops before they could even gasp in surprise. Now was the time to act.

"This is it!" Exclaimed one of the generals. "Mind Warriors, do your worst!"

And so it began.

Leighla concentrated her energies into a single beam, which hit square onto one of the flyers. Then, she was transported to the real battlefield. This was her domain. She was a commander of creatures that she had trained through her early days in the military. Then, her opponent appeared. He too had obviously trained for just such an eventuality. A fierce battle ensued, with Leighla's daemon creatures fighting tooth and claw against the shadow creatures of her enemy.

As the battle raged, she did all she could to will her party into defeating their enemy. The battle remained even, with both sides inflicting considerable damage to the other. There were only a few dozen left, and Leighla's mental power was running on empty.

Fortune smiled upon her though, as she mustered enough strength to break through the enemy lines, with daemon creatures in tow, she smashed upon her enemy. A white barrier rose before him, shielding him from Leighla's blows. She bounced backwards, avoiding the oncoming assault of blue spears which rained heavily from the sky. It was just her and the enemy left now, caught in a battle of the mind.

His mental power began to waver, and the barrier weakened. Leighla took this as her only chance, and poured her power into one final 'Heavenly Slash'.

As if in slow motion, the enemy's 'avatar' shattered into a million pieces, and Leighla was once again on the battlefield. Sky Knights were dropping like flies now, their minds destroyed by the sheer determination of the Empire's Mind Warriors.

"Mind Warrior's, stand down!" Came the general's booming voice. After the initial wave, Mind Warrior's had to recover their energies before tackling futher enemies. To do so would be catastrophic for the defence plans.

The second attack was launched on the enemies' forces, with cannons firing blindly into the distance, skittling the Knights like bowling pins, and Beast Tamers charging head on into the wall of swords and axes.

"We're doing well, aren't we?" Leighla's much younger friend; Marco asked. Leighla could see the signs of mental exhaustion on his boysih features. He may have looked rather delicate, but he had proven to be one of the most promising young Mind Warrior's in training, something that Leighla had always been a little envious of. He made it seem so easy.
"I think so." Came Leighla's reply. She was more exhausted than she had originally thought. The signs were all there; paling of the skin and eyes, burning marks on the palms, and an incescant screeching sound in both ears that made them feel like they were about to explode.
"I'm glad." Marco stated. He forced a smile through his weakening facade.

As the battle raged on, there were many losses on both sides. The Axemen of the north, whom had been recruited by the Northern Knights for this battle, cleaved through the Empire's forces like a hot poker through butter. This made things more difficult for the Empire, but the Axemen's hardy physical constitution usually meant that they were no match for a Mind Warrior. As soon as they could muster the strength, the Mind Warriors rose again and again, taking down their foes with relative ease.

It was not an easy practise, destroying an enemys' mind. Using such concentrated power drained the body of its youth, and often Mind Warriors would retire after single battle, two at the most. Those in their twenties could often end up looking as if they were seventy years of age, but it was all in service of their 'wise leader', whom led them into battle.

It was a wonder that the Empire had enough citizens to throw away needlessley, but both sides refused to let up. There was no truce on the horizon, no compromise would come of this bloody battle. Or the next. Or the next one after that.

The battle continued to rage throughout the night, until both sides eventually began to falter. Both sides had suffered such significant damage that there was no win in sight for either of them. All that was left now was to recruit more troops for the next battle.

Leighla looked around grimly. There were bodies of friend and foe alike littering the battlefield. Blood ran like rivers though the cracks in the soil, and hungry birds circled in the sky waiting for their chance to gorge on the still-warm meat of the deceased.

She should have felt a sense of pride for her efforts in the battle, but no such feeling seeped through this sudden realisation that the Empire cared not for the lives of the men and women. Some of the fighters had been as young as twelve. She recalled the recruiting campaign.

"Come on, don't be shy!" One of the Empire's generals stood before a crowd in the street. He stood tall, with a strong sword arm and wavy blonde hair. He challenged anybody of physical strength to wield a sword and fight him. It was all a bit of fun, but at the end of it the Empire essentially kidnapped all those that had proved able to swing a sword, taken them from their parents and carted off to one of the hundreds of training camps scattered throughout the city.

Rage rose through Leighla, as she remembered her younger brother kicking and screaming as her was dragged from her arms. Their parents had been vicitims of the war a long time ago, and Leighla had taken to looking after her siblings. Now all of them were dead.

A sudden sense of resolve washed through Leighla. She would stop this war. She would stop it and destroy anyone who gets in her way.

And she could feel her bloodthirsty daemons hissing and roaring inside her, just waiting for their chance to strike.