This is my first fanfiction, so please be gentle.
This is also not my native language, so please be gentle.
I'm not sure if this story will pleases you, so be gentle with the reviews.
Hop you like it.
The sky is dark, the clouds are thick. The land is green, the grass dances within the wind's will. The forest is quiet, while the plain is bombarded by the jittery of thousands of soldiers.
Their foot strike the earth, shattering the global silence who was ruling this peaceful area.
The two kingdoms are at war, their leader need land, wealth and a purpose for their armies.
They both agreed on the same terms: I need what's yours, and by force I shall make it mine.
The respective flags were blown by the calm gust, singing a monotonous choir with no heart nor praise.
Death was waiting, sipping his tea nearby, watching with a bored look the two groups facing each other.
It was hard to tell if any of them were truly ready for this fight. However, it wasn't about having a choice, but having the guts.
Raising shields and swords and axes and spears and bows, they didn't roar, but listened to the commander's speech about the enemy's cowardice, the glory awaiting everyone here at the end of this battle, and to never let the fear strike one's heart.
Someone blew in the horn, announcing the beginning of the battle.
They are not prepared. Nobody but the veterans are. This is the first battle for most of them. The intention to kill is not present, only fear is filling their mind.
However, if you ask yourself, between the fear to see someone take your life, and the fear to take someone else's life, which one will grant you the courage to brave this challenge first?
There is one who is a farmer, conscripted to replenish the forces. He lived by the hoe, and always thought he'll die in his natal village. He's already married, had the chance to cuddle his two sons, to teach them the farmer's inner work.
He never went outside, and never was interested in the world outside of the village. He was of course a citizen of the kingdom he lived in, so he couldn't refuse the conscription call when the king's men came to recruit. But still, that was a horrible pain, to leave his family behind, with the persistent nightmare of not seeing any of them.
There is another who is a craftsman, working the stone and the wood for various usage. He too never was interested in anything else but what lives inside his village. He was married, but fate decided otherwise, and gave his wife a terrible disease which claimed her life.
He is a friend to the farmer, they both glanced at the other with a terribly worried look. Will they ever be able to come back from this war? How many lives were already used and lost?
Far too many… And yet, they continue to throw them, unwilling to listen to their people's lament.
But that was to be expected. Leaders don't act with charity in mind, but with the idea of receiving clear and positive results.
On the other side, there also were farmers, carpenters, fishers, hunters, woodcutters, smiths, and even women and children. It was a plain evidence about how desperate one was against the other.
The war started sixteen years ago, and this battle could be the last for the opponent.
The battlecry has been shouted, the men began now to march forward, guided by a single man.
Show them no mercy, told them the commander of the army, for they are the enemy of the kingdom of Pelidyme!
Captivated by the sudden change of atmosphere, the two friends also shoot in unison, running with their comrades to give death.
The defender formed a wall of spear to receive the first attack. This tactic is hugely effective against horsemen, but against footmen… When they were packed, and just kept running straight, there wasn't much of a difference.
Blood spread on the plain, the spears perforated the chest of many, leaving them with a horrified look, crying and feeling despair, before falling aimlessly on the ground, like puppets whose strings has been cut.
But it was too late to be shocked by such tragedy. They lost more than fifty men, it was their duty to take ten times this amount of head.
Swords were ready, and they slashed through the barely raised shields of the newcomers, while the ones with more experience managed to block the attack.
The farmer was first afraid, but now he was enraged.
His mind was focused on only one sentence.
If I don't kill them, they'll kill my family.
Such words could bring a man to murder another.
This act would usually leave a bad taste in a normal guy's mouth.
But this was war. Killing is not forbidden.
Completely transformed in a berserker, what was previously a farmer is now a man with a blade covered in blood, and sins crawling on his back.
But he couldn't step back now. He wasn't ready for this, but if he stops now, then someone will come put an end to his life.
Roaring like a beast, he slashed and slashed without stopping himself.
The melee was intense, he had to check everything around him. Is that a friend, or a foe? But he stopped thinking the moment blood urged in his brain, and threw his weapon at the back of this unaware soldier.
The body fell on the ground without making any sound. He just knew too much what he had killed in this instant. It was the teary face of a scared children, who will never go home now.
This brought him to a halt. Just for this moment, he started to think again, and finally realized what he has done.
He killed someone. What was the price again? Humanity? Sanity?
His muscles weren't cramped for only this much effort, yet he stopped moving. This act would be suicidal in a huge battle, but it was meaningless to think about it.
What he was slaughtering until now was no less than what a warrior wouldn't even call a small fry.
There weren't soldiers, but the last wall that protected the one man who united the kingdom of Blue: its people.
But that wasn't all that was surrounding him. He looked with a panicked pair of eyes what was going on around him. Bodies sleeping on each other. Unknown faces fighting each other with various weapons. Profanities hurled at one's opponent. Laments everywhere. Can't we just call it a nightmare, instead of cruel reality?
On each side, there were many lost. They lost citizens, they lost manpower, but that didn't mean they lost the war.
Around him, people kept dying. One had a blade through his stomach. Another had his neck cut. One was strangely spared, but you could see he held his arm, or what is left of. All kind of body laid on the bloodied ground.
The question now was: why wouldn't they stop it? Why would they continue to struggle, instead of resigning and dropping their weapons?
It needed no answer, because it was obvious why they couldn't.
If they stopped fighting, then their homeland was doomed.
"Retreat! Retreat!"
It was the enemy leader, which decided to bring his troop under the cover of the nearby forest.
Defeat was on their side. Victory is Pelidyme's.
The men first attempted to give chase, but the horn called them back. Discipline was a keyword, and nobody could go against it without meeting his demise.
And just like that, they won the battle, and with it, the war.
The enemy's kingdom was at his edge, they would either surrender or…
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
What was that? Someone asked.
Someone hurled, obviously.
But that wasn't to celebrate victory, nor was it to complain about defeat. This voice was not full of bliss nor full of anger. Curiosity made them static, watching the retreating soldiers… Coming back at full speed.
"To formation! Quickly!"
Everyone listened, but something was still hard to explain.
The enemy came back faster than expected after this decisive defeat, so why… Why didn't they bring their weapons?
Every man is nervous, and they are right.
The general is uneasy, and they all understand why.
But those simple emotions were suddenly replaced with one way stronger and heavier.
What frightened them so much in this instant was the sight of a black wave coming from the depth of the forest.
Roughly the size of a dogs, but numbered above the millions, they crawled at an alarming speed on their spiked legs, overwhelming the retreating people under an insuppressible force of claws and bites.
Covering the earth like ink-stained paper, the manhunt of the spiders has begun.
Not really long, but hope it's enough for you all.
As I said, it's my first fanfiction. I mostly wrote it on a whip, so I'm not sure how many chapters I'll publish until I drop it.
But let's hope for the best!
... Have a nice day.
