(Includes a death. The following story takes place mostly in the year TA3012)
Orcs... There were orcs swarming all over the camp. They had come seemingly out of nowhere, the detachment had gone from calmly setting up their camp to fighting for their very lives, with Neth barking out orders in the thick of battle
"Form up! Form up and close ranks! They're just Orcs! We've fought them off before!"
She shouted but her and her men were hopelesly disorganised, scattered and surrounded at all sides. She grit her teeth as the realisation begun to settle in, this was no chance ambush, the intel was too old and she had blindly placed her trust in it rather than send her scouts forward, and now there was no way out, they'd have to fight their way out, or perish in the attempt.
And attempt they did. Regrouping as best they could the detachment, despite having suffered grevious losses... But so had the orcs... In the end even when ambushed Neth and her soldiers were more than a match for a band of rampaging Orcs, it gave Neth confidence that they might win this yet, as she shouted out words of encouragement to spur her fellow soldiers on despite the grim situation.
The clash raged on but finally the Orcish numbers were thinning, and the end of the clash was drawing nearer, but a victory this was not. No this ambush had been an utter disaster as Neth could only count four other survivors.
She drove her blade into an Orc that had tried to hack at her, before delivering a kick to knock the cretin back and free her sword before dropping to one knee for a moment. Fatigued, hurt and overwhelmed with greed it took all her remaining willpower not to completely collapse, that's when she heard his voice from somewhere behind her:
"The Orcs are routed! We've beaten them back! Victory is ours! Vict..."
He heard her love announce triumphantly... Before something had cut him off. Neth pushed herself up to turn around to see, and when her blue eyes finally caught sight of him her world froze. One of the fleeing orcs had left him with a parting gift... Neth's eyes turn from the shocked look on his face, to the tip of the spear that now protruded through his chest and all the Woman could do was watch as the man fell backwards, but he caught himself, seemingly steadying for a moment but she knew the damage had been done, that there was no hope left. Her blue eyes met his emerald look one last time before he fell forward, landing face down on the ground accompanied by a thud that echoed in her mind with a finality she did not want to accept.
And then she heard herself scream, the reality of the situation came rushing to her and the world seemed to unfreeze in an instant. The orcs had fled to the hills. The camp laid in ruins and her detachment had been all but wiped out, but that was inconsequential now. With the last of her strength she ran over to him and fell down next to him, but the man did not move. His emerald eyes dim, unseeing. The final shock of what had happened frozen on his face.
She removed the spear and rolled him on his back, shaking his lifeless figure "Therion?! Therion please!" She called, but she knew that he had gone where she could no longer call him back to her side. She trembled, her eyesight felt blurry for a moment as she struggled to process the reality of the situation. Tears begun to run hot down her cheeks. Dripping down from her face as she embraced his lifeless body in her arms, as those who survived gathered around Neth for a moment, but she refused to move. She didnt want to move, afterall the world had ended, there was nothing going forward. She felt the world crumble from beneath her and she fell into the abyss below.
Neth jolted awake and sat up on her bed, panting and confused, before realising it had all been a dream. She grit her teeth and pursed her lips, with nobody else around she allowed her tears to fall once again as she fell back down on the bed and stared into the dark ceiling above, sniffling quietly as she did.
