The sun rose over the forest and shone down on the town of Sajorus. An array of various sized thatch and wooden buildings filled the town with a small stone outpost near the entrance. The path stretched from the forest straight through the town. Citizens scattered all over going about their daily business. Not too far off in the distance was a tree with immense proportions. It overlooked the town with a certain mystique that just felt, more real than reality. It had to be at least as tall as 400 houses stacked on top of each other.
A little girl with blonde hair and a red dress watched from the window of a farmhouse. She was staring directly at the entrance to town. Fixated on it
“I wonder what’s really out there? One day I’m going to explore the entire world, Piccucho!” she said to seemingly no one.
The Carriage arrived at the front gate of Sajorus and the outpost was completely empty. George got up to open the gate to town.
“We’ve got to open and close the gate ourselves, Sajorus is so far away from the capital of Emissuss that the guardsmen don’t even bother comin’.” he said to Xen, who was resting in the back. “A wanderer like you surely has nowhere to go, and since you saved my life and none of us could get any sleep, why not stay at my place for a night? As thanks.”
“I’m sorry but I’m going to have to decline,” Xen told the man as he sat back down and the Carriage began moving again. “I have somewhere I need to go.”
“..I believe I know where you are headed,” George said as the carriage turned a corner out of the forest and into town.
It stood there, basking in glory. No matter how far away it was from town you could still see it from anywhere. It bloomed up into the air so impossibly high that to some, it was just a story of legend.
“Don’t even think about it, Triple Swordsman.” George said with a sternness as Xen locked his eyes onto it.
The World Tree.
Xen scorned at it, he began to grit his teeth again while seemingly replaying an Idea in his head. To say he looked to be of malice would be an understatement. Even last night George had not seen him get this angry.
“Do you hear me boy?! That tree may be a symbol of hope and life for many but all adventurers who go near it never come back! I have seen that tree absorb entire armies in its beauty and never let go over them. It's best to leave it as a symbol, as it’s clear that it’s somethin’ man was never meant to touch.” George said while looking down at his hands in reminiscence.
Xen finally averted his gaze from the tree and looked down.
“I’m just goin’ to take you back to my place, I refuse to let anyone near that tree.” George said while steering the carriage toward a farm on the hill.
“HERA!” George screamed as he saw his garbage spread out all along the side of his yard.
“YOU BEST NOT BE LETTIN’ THOSE DAMN MOLES IN THE TRASH AGAIN!” he shouted as he parked the Carriage outside.
“Grandpa!” a little girl shouted as she came running out of the farmhouse to hug George.
“I’ve missed you too, Hera.” George said as he hugged his Granddaughter.
Hera looked past George at Xen with a mix of fear and curiosity.
“Who is this man, Grandpa?” Hera asked.
“Ah this is Xen, he’ll be stayin’ with us for today, he’s got nowhere to go and you know how we treat strangers,”
“With kindness and respect, so that they treat us that way in the future.” Hera said gleefully.
“That's right, now go get dressed to clean up my yard.” George said sternly
“But Grandpa! I wanna know what you saw on your travels-!” Hera shouted
“Well once it’s clean I’ll have a chat with you about it.” George replied.
“Yes Grandpa!”
Hera ran inside the large farmhouse, it was painted blue and a bit further away from the rest of town. It was also a lot bigger than the other houses as well and sat on a hill overlooking everything. Xen took a whiff of the air. Even with the tree looming it was still able to put him at peace.
“I know that face,” George said. “It's the face of someone who’s returned home after a long journey away. You must’ve grown up on a farm right?”
Xen remained silent, he looked down at his right hand and moved his three fingers around.
“I wouldn’t say that..” he trailed off, looking out at the fields.
“Hmph, well come on in and have some tea and soup at least.” George said as they walked inside.
“Pssst. Picchuco.” Hera whispered to the ground while she picked up the garbage.
A single mole popped up in front of her.
“Whatdoya need Hera?” The mole asked.
“What I need is for you to stop getting me in trouble. You owe me one now and I plan on using it.” she said to the mole without any second thought.
“Darn it, what do you want from me now?” The mole scorned
“I want you to listen to what they’re saying and report back to me on it!” she whispered in an excited tone.
“Are you crazy?! That seems dangerous..”
“Fine. I’ll let you dirty up the trash one last time but if grandpa sees-”
“On it Hera!” The mole burrowed down and away before she could finish.
The interior of the farmhouse was smaller than expected. A small kitchen with a table in the middle of it sat on the left while on the right there were four chairs, each with a distinct pattern. George poured both of them a cup of tea while the soup was being cooked over the fireplace.
George noticed Xen looking at the chairs, “there was one for each of us, handmade by my daughter in law.”
He sipped his tea. “After my son had died from the plague she was heartbroken, despite havin’ her daughter, Hera, there was no consoling her. My wife had died four years ago, so now it's just me and Hera”
“What happened to the mother?” Xen asked.
George paused for a moment, then he set his tea down. “One day while in town she overheard some people talkin’ about the tree, sayin’ it could bring people back to life if someone was able to climb to the top. She ran off that day, to the tree.”
His eyebrows fell and he looked out the window at Hera. Xen clenched his fists below the table and was practically shaking in anger.
“We never saw her again. The tree took her away, away from her family.” George paused.
“And I won’t let it take anyone else, including you.”
“Well I’m getting to that tree.” Xen said, “and I’ll cut down anyone in my way, including you.”
“You goddamn fool. Haven’t you heard a single word of what I’ve stated?!” George protested.
“I don’t care, I have to be gone before nightfall anyways, fighting those dire bitches in a house isn’t really something I feel like doing tonight.” Xen got up from his chair and moved toward the door.
Picchuco burrowed underground as the door swung open and Xen came stomping out.
“You mean to say that there will be more of those wretched creatures?!” George shouted after him.
“They come in different sized packs every night depending on the phase of the moon.” Xen stated.
“Tonight.. is goin’ to be a full moon..” George whispered as Xen’s eyes widened.
“Then those dire bitches are certainly going to shred your entire town to bits long before they reach me and I’ll get another audience with the queen dire bitch.” Xen chuckled and kept walking away.
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He turned his head back at George, “If you leave the town now you’ll also have a head start, but getting out of reach from them now is almost impossible.”
“So you just want us to run away?! What about the people of this town!?! How can you be so heartless?! You do realize no matter how much experience you have or how skilled you are with a blade that even you wouldn’t be able to survive a horde of such magnitude that it would leave the town in shambles, you are only one man!” George shouted angrily.
Xen stopped for a moment.
“What do you want me to do? If I try to warn the townspeople they’ll call me crazy and die anyways. The ignorance leaves them with zero chance.”
George clenched his fists, he knew Xen was correct but still wanted to save the people.
“I will make them listen to me.” he said.
George, Hera and Xen went into town in the carriage. They parked near the center of town and George stepped up onto the monument of the founder. He cleared his throat and rang the bell to get everyone’s attention.
“LISTEN ALL. I URGE YOU TO QUICKLY AND PROMPTLY GATHER ALL THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN OF THIS TOWN AND HAVE THEM STAY IN THE TOWN CENTRE TONIGHT. WE WILL BE EXPERIENCIN’ AN INVASION.” George shouted as passerby began to whisper amongst themselves.
“I KNOW THAT THIS SOUNDS HARD TO BELIEVE BUT IT IS AN URGENT SITUATION. ALL MEN WHO ARE ABLE TO FIGHT SHOULD GRAB ANY GEAR THEY CAN AND BEGIN TO BUILD A WALL AROUND A SMALL PORTION OF THE TOWN.”
People’s faces began to worry before one young blonde haired man shouted back at George.
“Get down from there you old coot! Who would want to invade a small distant town like this anyways? We’re barely on any maps! As far as I’m concerned my family isn’t goin’ to play into your little fantasies gramps.” He stormed off along with countless others as whispering became louder.
Xen chuckled to himself. Hera watched as he got up from inside the carriage and walked out.
“Everything this man is saying is true!” Xen shouted at the people.
Many turned around and came back while others watched on with a mix of wonder, worry and excitement.
“Woah a real knight.”
“That’s one of the Emissuss Knights!”
“Look at the lion crest!”
“Why does he have three swords though?”
Xen growled to himself before walking back into the Carriage.
Why the hell did I even do that, did I feel some form of pity for these people? Who knows. He thought to himself.
“You really are a knight!” Hera exclaimed.
Xen didn’t acknowledge her, instead choosing to rest on a pile of hay.
The sun made its descent behind The World Tree, and darkness seemed to rise as the barrier was almost fully constructed, made from fencing, hay, wire, some even took apart their own houses. The men grabbed different weapons such as swords, pitchforks, spears, butcher knives or even just a plank with a nail. The air was thin. Everyone was tense, awaiting the unknown invasion.
Xen got out of the Carriage and made his way out of the border back to the farm. He laid down on one of the hills and looked at the stars while the torchlights from the town border were lit. All he could think about was the tree. He looked over at it, just a glimpse of it made him tremble with anger. He knew what he was going to have to face when he got there, that is if he even survived the night.
Distant howls filled the air once more. Xen got up and drew two of his swords on the hill. The townsmen went silent, each of them shaking with fear while holding their weapons steady. George’s heart started going crazy as he had flashbacks of the night before. He looked over at the carriage, realizing that Hera had not joined the women and children in the town centre. He quickly ran over only to find that Xen and Hera were both missing.
Screaming echoed the town from the darkness, the horrible sounds of people dying and getting torn apart became prominent as the townsmen started to panic at the front line.
“DON’T YOU RUN MEN!” Shouted George as he grabbed his pitchfork. “WE WILL HOLD THE LINE! PROTECT OUR FAMILIES!”
A dire wolf leapt from out of the shadows over the barrier and onto one of the men, breaking both of his arms before quickly tearing off his face leaving him to choke on his own blood.
The townsmen panicked and began to run from the line.
“I DON’T WANNA DIE!”
“I CAN’T DIE!”
“PLEASE JUST BE A NIGHTMARE!”
“SOMEONE SAVE US!”
They all screamed as they ran and the town had erupted into chaos, men began to get dragged into the darkness as the dire wolves tore down the barrier and feasted on them. Crying, screaming, growling, and the sounds of bones being ripped from the bodies of men vibrated through the air. Some of the townsmen attempted to fight back against the monsters but they stood zero chance. George had gotten swept back along with the stampede of men running away. Torches were dropped, and had fallen causing the thatch and wood houses to light up very quickly. The barrier was also lit, creating a ring of fire, death, and horror.
Xen didn’t have time to watch the chaos unfold as he was being swarmed by even more dire wolves, they rushed towards him from the forest and he cut them down one by one, making sure to not get surrounded. He used the farm house as protection while he fought at first, until three of the dire wolves barrelled through it, tearing it to pieces. He jumped over them and cut all of their spines in half before sliding under the dire wolves that had jumped after him, gutting each one with a single slice.
“How many more of my brethren are you going to cut down before realizing it’s all futile?” a sarcastic voice shouted from the fields.
Xen stood up and turned, there were at least thirty more dire wolves in the fields, and probably even more that he couldn’t see. In front of them was a giant bipedal dire wolf that was three times the size of any normal man. She stared at him with the same primal yellow eyes that they all had, but with an even bigger hunger for his flesh.
“So you finally show yourself, queen dire bitch.” he said.
“Must you be so vulgar? You know I’m correct. No matter how many of us you kill there will always be more, we will come for you every night until either we have you or you drop dead from exhaustion. There is no escaping fate, and your fate was sealed at The Tree of the World.” The bipedal wolf said while pointing one of her claws at him.
Xen grit his teeth in anger once more. His heart was pounding so quickly that he couldn’t even think. His hands gripped the swords so hard that they could’ve possibly snapped.
“SHUT THE FUCK UPPPPP!” He shouted in anger as he bolted toward the horde of dire wolves that had laid before him.
Each one of them had their eyes bulging and drooling due to their excitement and hunger, but Xen sliced them up over and over, cutting at any piece of flesh that got within range of his blades. They surrounded him, but he began to spin and deliver attacks, using the bodies of dead or incapacitated wolves as shields. Some of the dire wolves tried to jump over the dead bodies or other wolves, but Xen jumped into the air as well. He jumped from wolf to wolf piercing and slashing wildly at each of them till life had left their body. Even his eyes now looked as primal and hungry as theirs.
The bipedal wolf watched as Xen not only took out the entire horde, but wore himself out in the process. He rushed at her, cutting his way through the last remaining dire wolves that had gotten in his way. She got down low and struck him from her left, quickly causing his sword to go flying from his hands into the farm house. He drew the purple handled sword while blocking and bouncing off of her attacks, she was now faster than him. She started to get cuts on his face and arms. She began to push him back off of the fields, and kicked him into what was left of the farm house.
The town was burning to the ground and George knew they were now not even fighting a battle anymore. It had just become a feast for the dire wolves, they shredded their way through so many men and buildings that he knew there was no stopping them. The men had all rushed their way back to the town center. Some of them even started to bang on the doors.
“PLEASE LET US IN!”
“THERE ARE MONSTERS OUT HERE!”
“DARLING YOU DON’T WANT DADDY TO DIE OUT HERE DO YOU!?!”
“WE’RE ALL GOIN’ TO DIE!”
“THEY’LL RIP OUR SKINS OFF AND TEAR OUT OUR BONES!”
Inside the town center mothers held on to their children and began sobbing as the children wailed. They knew that there was nothing they could possibly do now.
“LISTEN CLOSELY MEN!!!!” George shouted above the rest.
“IF WE GATHER IN CLOSE AND HOLD OUR WEAPONS TOGETHER LIKE A SHIELD THE ENEMY WON’T BE ABLE TO ATTACK US AND WE CAN REPEL THEM!”
The men’s eyes were full of fear but some of them banded close together to try the plan, they didn’t have much of another option. The dire wolves who tried to lunge for them got impaled and died, the plan had started to work. They pushed forward and were able to drive the dire wolves ahead of them back. Until one man on the edge of the formation stepped down on a misshapen stone. He fell over and caused a hole to form in their formation. George looked back behind him to see Hera, scared and covered in blood but alive. The dire wolves had noticed the break in formation and George knew he had to do something quickly.
He grabbed another pitchfork from one of the men and jumped at one of the dire wolves in front of them, he quickly stabbed it in the neck and then threw his pitchfork at another wolf near the formation.
“REFORM MEN! REFOR-” George shouted as he was tackled by one of the wolves and thrown into the middle of them.
They all pounced on him and ripped pieces of flesh from him. They dug through his body until they were chewing on nothing but bone.
“GRANDPA!” Hera screamed as she saw his faceless corpse get dragged away into the darkness.
“What happened to all that anger? Triple Swordsman..” The bipedal wolf cackled as she dragged her claws around the shell of the house to the other side.
But Xen wasn’t there.
“It's right here you bitch. Xen stated as he jumped from the roof of the rubble, he had two swords in his hands and one of them in his mouth. However she was ready, she reached out and grabbed both of his arms before he could slash her. He quickly turned his neck, using the purple handled sword in his mouth to decapitate her. He fell to the ground with his arms and mouth bleeding. He struggled himself up and over to her.
“I’m.. sorry…”
The townsmen reformed into the shield quickly and the dire wolves began to look for weaknesses. Then all of a sudden they began to all shrink down back into normal wolves before running off into the woods. The men all cheered for victory even with how many had fallen. Hera however, kneeled down and started to cry. She had just lost the last family member she had.
Everyone began to clean up and the town center was opened. Xen walked over only to be met with scowls and scoffs of disapproval.
“Mr. big bad Knight of Emissuss left us to die.” one of the men said to him.
He at least found Hera kneeling over George’s pitchfork and crying with different men comforting her.
“Ah the old dumbass went and got himself killed huh?” Xen said to them.
“How dare you speak of him that way! He saved our lives! While you just ran away like a coward! You jerk!” Hera shouted at him.
“Can’t believe a Knight would speak ill of the dead, especially when he saved our lives! Jumping in and attacking like that..” one of the men said.
Xen laughed loudly into the air.
“The old fool really tried to play the hero huh?!” Xen laughed once more.
“It’s better than being a coward like you! He died for us, you asshole!” another man shouted.
“That's what heroes do, they die. And last I saw all of you were running from the front line and even pleading for safety from women and children! How the hell can you even call yourself a man when you’re that much of a coward!?” Xen laughed loudly once more.
Hera started to cry and pointed the pitchfork at her neck. Xen looked at her with a blank stare and she looked back at him with tears in her eyes.
“Go ahead and do it then, kill yourself. It won’t make much of a difference to anyone whether you live or die anymore. You’re a child, you can’t work and now that you have no family you are just a burden to people.” Xen said to her blankly.
Xen grabbed a knife from his leg and tossed it to her.
“You can either turn that knife towards yourself like a coward, or you can turn it towards the world to make it pay for what it’s taken from you.” he said as he walked away.
Hera grit her teeth and gripped the knife and pitchfork in anger
“I’ll never trust a knight ever again!” she shouted after him.
“Me neither, kid.” he said back before walking off into the darkness.