Aveline's fingers dug into the mire, the stench of blood and burning flesh filling her nostrils. An arrow stuck out of her shoulder, her life's blood pouring out of a dozen deep gashes. Through watery eyes she watched as a horde of the dead bore down on her comrades. She grasped her sword, held by her father and his mother and her mother before her.
She hefted her shield and let her sheer force of will propelled her forward. Her shield crushed one foul monster's skull, her sword deflecting an attack. Pain fueled her. Though she knew she was dying, every second was that much closer to victory, if they could only hold out long enough.
Red hair flashed at the corner of her vision but she couldn't hazard even a second's glance. Ducking beneath the clumsy swing of a skeletal behemoth, she thrust upward, and twisted, dancing out of the way as the creature collapsed besides her.
Her pulse rushed in her ears as the battle waged desperately around her. To her left, the red-haired twins that had so often vexed her patience were succumbing to the onslaught. There was little time to rush in and save the women as one thumbed a detonator, waiting until the horde crushed on top of them. The shockwave hit Aveline, knocking the wind from her.
Her last reserve of strength gone, she sunk to her knees knowing her death would not be so quick. The world was spinning and her vision was swimming. Sounds of battle and the deep blast of horns became distant as though through a tunnel. Aveline struggled to remember the face of her husband.
Through the battles and the blood she'd held onto his face and her promise to him to return once she'd fulfilled her family's duty. It was a promise she wasn't going to be able to keep but the sacrifice was worth it so long as her husband and her country endured.
Aveline could hear nothing now, and the pain had faded to naught but a memory. White light enveloped her, and she could hear a voice calling...