Greetings to all! My writer wanted to start a new story about Lord Marksman and Vanadis(Madan no O to Vanadisu) I hope you all enjoy it and he asks for positive critiques! Enjoy!
-Phoenix
Disclaimer: Neither me nor my writer owns any of the characters for Lord Marksman and Vanadis, with the exception of the OCs. Thank you for your time!
The battle was immense. Only around 9,000 soldiers remained on Ludmila Lourie's army, less than half of the enemy's force. The blue-haired warmaiden had never even heard of this country before, but that did not stop the forces of Braxxis from invading Zhcted's southern, sea-bound border with an overwhelming force. Their red banner with a black hammer and axe crossing each other fluttered proudly in the wind, as if sensing the coming victory. Standing underneath one particularly large banner, without fear or caution, was their commander. He was a large beast, with his silver-and-red armor covering all of his body, and a peculiar helmet, with its faceplate coming to a point before it, making it appear more like some fantastical beast's head in its stead. In his hands, with its head on the ground, rested a large black warhammer. Behind him stood two other figures, who were actually monsters. One appeared feminine, with sky-blue scaled armor and feathered wings coming out from her back, her long dark hair glinted in the sunlight. The other was a true monster, his entire body was a mass of brass-colored scales, and his head was almost all snout, with amber-colored eyes and slits instead of pupils. Ludmila knew that they stood no chance against them. Soon, probably all of her territory would be under their dominion.
She was correct. Her forces had been eradicated, the field soaked in her force's blood. They had only able to dent the enemy's number. Maybe 700, 800 killed? The forces subsided as Ludmila leapt from the cover of different rocks, which dotted the landscape. Soon, only the enemy's commander and his two beasts remained. The commander walked through the battlefield, surveying the damage.
As they approached her position, Ludmila waited until the perfect moment to strike at them, hopefully crippling the whole mass of barbarians. Once the opportunity presented itself, she took it. Ludmila leapt out, dashing at the commander with incredible speed. Without seeing it, the general spun around and blocked her strike with the hilt of his hammer. With Ludmila stunned at the speed of his movement, the commander swung his hammer with incredible might, sending the warmaiden flying. She crashed into the ground, limp. She was struggling to get up off of the ground when the enemy was again upon her. The brass-colored lizard-man who was with the commander, put his foot firmly upon her, forcing her to the ground.
"Stay down, wench!" he cackled, showing his mouth, which contained razor-sharp teeth. He ground his foot into Ludmila's ribs, eliciting a scream from her.
"Eros," a voice came from inside the commander's armor, which sounded like it came from inside a bell, "know your place."
The brass scaled beast dropped both his foot and his head, then said, "I apologize, my lord."
"You mustn't gloat, Eros," the angelic woman said, smirking a little, "It will bring you lower than the enemy."
"Shut up, Galea!" Eros shouted, swinging at the angel, who gracefully moved to evade it.
"Silence!" the commander shouted at them, then advanced upon Ludmila, who was watching them. He looked down upon her form, never taking off his helmet. "State your name and rank," he said to the warmaiden, with no pity in his voice.
"I am Ludmila Lourie," she replied in a shaky voice, then she coughed, the blood spilling from her mouth, "A warmaiden of Zhcted."
"A warmaiden?" the commander replied, looking up into the sky, as if pondering what to do next.
"Is there not a law in your country that states that if you capture a prisoner of war, you can request a ransom to be paid, or else the person in question is then your property?" the commander asked.
"Y-Yes," Ludmila replied, knowing exactly where this was going.
"I see," he said, then gazing back into the sky.
After a while, he looked back down at Ludmila's broken body, and picked her up. With a certain gentleness, she thought. He started walking back toward his army's encampment with her in his arms, bridal style.
"What do you think you are doing?!" Ludmila exclaimed.
"What do you think?" the commander retorted, "I am trying to help you into a presentable condition."
Inside the camp, he laid her down inside a large tent on a pelt of fur, pulled out an ingot of unknown substance, and began to beat it with his hammer. After a while, Ludmila spoke.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Forging a collar," he replied evenly, then continued to hammer away at the ingot.
After a while longer, Ludmila tried a different question.
"What is your name, commander of Braxxis?" She asked.
At this, the man faltered, his rhythm messed up. He started again.
"I am Thyriyn Ayedel," the man replied, "Warlord of Braxxis, wielder of the blessed hammer Burakkufoji."
He said nothing more as he continued hammering away at the ingot. Eventually, he stopped, pulled out a sigil, and put it on the newly forged choker. He dipped it in water and turned back to Ludmila, who fell asleep sometime while he was working the ingot. He was about to put it around her neck when he hesitated. He withdrew the metal necklace and instead sat down beside her and stroked her hair gently with his gloved hand. The brush of warm metal upon her skin woke up the warmaiden.
"Wha-" she asked groggily, then remembered the situation. Thyriyn saw that she was awake and withdrew his hand quickly, silently questioning why he did that.
"What do you want?" she asked harshly, wariness in her eyes.
"I need you to sit up," Thyriyn commanded, "I will now put this on you so that we can cure you."
She sat up, still cautious, giving a jolt of pain through her right arm, left leg, and her torso. Thyriyn quickly latched the choker on her, and she slumped back down on the furs. It may have been her imagination, but the furs felt silkier than any other that she had encountered. Exhaustion took over her, and she fell back asleep.
When she woke up, her bones ached. She first saw Thyriyn addressing the two monsters as he stood in front of a table, bending over what she assumed to be maps.
"So you must traverse this distance and give their ruler our demands," Thyriyn said, obviously finishing up. The one named Galea nodded solemnly. "Then go!" Thyriyn said urgently. Galea left, then Ludmila heard something like large wings flapping.
"And what shall we do about her, milord?" Eros asked, his amber eyes flashing mischievously.
"If you mean to have your way with her, I will say no," Thyriyn said sternly.
It was at this that Ludmila recognized that Thyriyn's helmet was now off. She took in his tanned face, accentuating his deep brown eyes. Despite being a warlord, his face was smooth, and almost child-like. He turned to her.
"I see that you are awake," he said, "I just sent the request for money. I honestly want the money for supplies and weapons much more than you."
His eyes said that he told the truth. Eros grumbled underneath his breath.
"So you will let me go once the money gets here?" Ludmila asked.
"Yes," Thyriyn replied, walking over to her and crouching beside her, offering his hand.
Ludmila took it, shakily standing up. The choker's metal was cool now, feeling strange on her skin.
"I am afraid that you do not have space away from me, so you will sleep here until the ransom money is delivered," Thyriyn said, helping her stand.
"Heh heh. You took quite a beating in that fight you had with Lord Thyriyn," Eros said raspily, chuckling, "You got quite a few broken bones."
"If you were a normal human," Thyriyn said, "You would not have survived that blow that I gave you."
"I don't doubt it," Ludmila said, tenderly touching her ribcage.
"Do not worry about that," Thyriyn said, "It will be treated before long. Until then, rest." Ludmila then fell unconscious.