Hey my name's Oracle14 and this is my first warhammer fanfic. I really wanted to try a bit of Warhammer. So here it his.
PS: This chapter won't have a lot of action. It will get more rolling at the next chapters.
Chapter 1 : The fall of Luccini
City of Luccini. Tilea.
The smell of blood and smoke flooded the air. I woke up with a heavy and stinking weight on my back. I tried to shrug it lightly. It doesn't work. I tried harder and this time the weight finally slided off my back. I got on my feet slowly, I fellt groggy. I looked at the weight and realize it was an Ork, a Big'Un. I looked around. The street was littered with corpses of humans, goblins, orks and even a fucking troll. I looked up at the hill and saw the temple of Luccini where smoke came from. I hear the battle cry of the Leopard guard and the greenskins as well as the sound of rifle. The Leopard must be fighting for every inch of the temple. I looked at a peculiar corpse near me. It was Isabella, my second in command and the best swordwoman of the Old World around her was a circle of dead ork at least a dozen. I looked at the wall and I remembered.
Flashback : Three hours ago
I was looking at the hord of greenskins that were massed a few hundred meters from the walls just beyon cannon reach. There were so many of them at least fifteen thousand against our garnison of seven thousand soldier. I looked with the spyglass and saw some trolls, after looking at the goblin'sgoblin launcher I finally setted my eyes o their Warboss an enormous green mass of muscle, a big pea, with an axe my size, and a jaw that could cut my neck so he could eat my head. I shuddered and stopped looking at the Warboss. I've had many encounter with orks and gobelins but i never saw a ork that big. I gulped. Keep calm, you idiot Iscreamed in my head. Before I could answer to my own words i heard someone calling my name.
« Hey Enrico ! » yelled Isabella « What'cha doin' ? » She came close to me and looked at me expecting a quick answer.
She was a lithe, almost feline-like , beautiful Tilean woman with light auburn hair and sparkling green eyes.
« Isabella while I appreciate you as a friend outside the battlefield we are soon going to fight so I expect you to treat me like you captain, understood ? » I said for the thousandth time in my life.
« Nope, and you didn't answer my question Riri. » She said inching closer with a playful smirk. « Now be a good commander and answer the question, Riri. »
My eyebrow twitched after she finished her phrase. I hated it when she called me that and the worst was that she called me with this stupid nickname since day one.
I yelled « My name is not RIRI ! »
I shouted so loud that multiple head looked at me. Some wore a smirk while other a look of confusion or annoyance. I forgot that i was on the wall and that many soldier were here. There was some Marksmen of Miragliono, some Alcatani and of course my company : The Iron Brotherhood.
They were my pride, expert swordsmen and sword-women, master at the art of killing, disciplined, proud and courageous warrior on the battlefield, but only on the battlefield.
They were all smirking at my outburst but a dark glare promising a ¾ cut of their payments was enough to put them back to work. I returned my attention on the origin of my trouble. I sighed, if only my « payment hellish cut » glare, as the men named it, could work on her.
« Answer the question Riri » the troublemaker said while emphasizing on the last word.
I decided to keep calm and answer her question. And once again the mighty Enrico Valera « The Iron Captain» lose to a women a head shorter than him.
« I was watching the bastard » I showed the green-skins with my thumb « to spot their Warboss. »
Isabella's face grew serious as her soldier face came. « How big is he ? » she asked. There was no room for fun in her voice. Her posture was that of the soldier. It was like her coy and sly her never existed.
« He is enormous 3,5 meter, counting the helmet. He has an axe my size approximately, it seems he has a retinue of two dozen of Black Orks and a troll. I also saw a goblin shaman 'round him » I said.
I continued to explain her on detail the composition of the enemy army. She grew more and more nervous after each sentence. To a stranger whe would look very calm and in control of the situation but I saw the sign of nervousness : finger shaking lightly, eyes refusing to look at the green tide, foot shuffling on the floor. I knew her for seven years so I knew,most of the times, how she felt.
I couldn't blame her to be nervous had it be eight years ago i would have probably broken and thought i would die.
« I see » was the only answer from my lieutenant. « I will inspect the troops. »
« Carry on Lieutenant » I answered
« Yes, Captain Riri » She said with a laugh and before i could scold her she disappeared. It was with heavy sigh that I sat on a barrel.
« How is it going Captain Riri ? » said one of my men who was passing by.
« Shut the fuck up Zeismann » was the five word he heard before getting kicked in the ass.
I looked at Isabella's corpse who wear a large wound just under her breast. I kneel next to her, take her hand and kissed it as tears fell on my cheeks.
« I'm so sorry. »
Then I closed her eyes and carried her to bury her. I didn't want those monsters to ate her afterwards.
Flashback : 2 hours ago
We had been pushed back by the Greenskin and we couldn't hold the wall anymore. Half of my company was dead and the Alcatani were down to a third of their member, only the Miraglionos lost a few men. I ordered the rtreat and since the Alcatani's leader was dead the goodhearted pikeman followed me. My plan was to hold them off at the exit of the stairs.
When we got out of the staircase and were on the road behind the walls, i saw Isabella rushing at me and before ic ould say anything she grabbed by my collard and said :
« Since we're going to die I'm not going to die without doing this. »
She then pulled my face closer to her and kissed me furiously. I froze but after a second i returned the kiss with passion, i loved her for a long time but never found the courage to confess. Apparently it was the same for her. After she pulled she said :
« I love you Enrico »
And naturally my answer was :
« I love you too. »
And second after we prepared to fight for our lives.
I kept walking in the street where hundred of corpses lied. I recognize some of my men : Fern, Emilio, Anna, Wilhelm... My whole company was destroyed. They were my familly and now they're just gone... I saw many deaths in my career, it's part of the job, I've seen many of my brothers and sisters in arms die but never had I seen a slaughter greater than that. I see a large crater, with black and charred bits of... whatever the hell it was. Oh yes it was that gobo shaman that this crazy son of a bitch Thomas killed. The Bretonnian had simply thrown his sword at the shaman and killed him, at the same time the magic energy that the gobo stocked was brutally released and the result was devastating explosion. I tried to find Thomas but only to see his headless corpse.
I continued to walk, alone, every green bastard were at the temple trying to kill Leopold's Leopard Company. At least I wasn't not going to be attacked. I was proven wrong minute later as I was attacked by a goblin .With Isabella in my arm I kicked the little bastard and break his neck while trying to strangle him with my foot, my armor did most of the job. I didn't really paid him attention, I was too much focused on my task.
I finally arrived at the gate and checked that no green-skins was near, just before exiting I pick up a crossbow abandoned on the floor. I slung it on my back so i could carry Isabella. I also salvaged some crossbow bolts. I finally left the city. After wandering for some time I found a horse.
He surely got scared and ran away. I thought as I watched the gray stallion. He was wandering, walking, eating not giving a damn about what happened in the city. I thought about the common folks that were livig their happy lives, they were just like that stallion. The people of Luccini had been the same, arrogant, sure that nothing would happen to them. And now their ork's food. I thought grimly.
I sighed and approached the horse carefully, he sensed me approach and turn toward me, looking at me, judging me to see if i was a threat. I was afraid that will sacre him and that he would run away. Apparently I wasn't that scary since he staid motionless. I kept walking toward him until i touched his muzzle, he neighed a bit but staid calm. I walked to his left flank and touched it, he neighed a second time but didn't do anything to hurt me. I put my foot o the saddle, with Isabella in my arms mounting the horse was difficult but i managed to do it. The horse didn't seemed to mind me and he advanced when i gave the order.
I rode six hours without a break so I could get to my destination faster. When I arrived I dismounted slowly. Slowly, ceremoniously made my way to a destroyed village. After arriving i took a little dirt road to the left and after a handful of minuted finally arrived to Isabella's favorite spot.
Flashback : Three years ago.
We rode for two days and finally arrived to the village, it was just me and Isabella, she wanted to see her parents and I really needed a vacation so I let Stanza led the men. But when we arrived it wasn't a sight of lush full vegetation or little wood houses that greeted us but only charred remnants of said house and of their inhabitants.
Isabellla mourned before the house of her parents and headed straight to her spot without a word. I followed suit and silently. The spot in question was a waterfall flanked by white stone cliff and healthy green tree. There was some natural stairs made of drt that lead to a peeble beach. It wasn't the most impressive or tallest of waterfall but there was an aura of calmness and serenity. We sat there for some hours silently. Until she talked :
« You know my parents always brought me here when iI was a kid. Sometime our friend of the village would come and we would eat and laugh together. Those memories are the dearest of my life. »
I watched her silently, she had a small sad smile. She looked at me and I wrapped my arm around her.
« You know there is someone that made my memories even better. » she softly said.
I asked who he or she was, she then looked at me like I was the most stupid person in the universe before laughing.
« Of course you don't know, you're thicker than a brick. »
« Hey ! I'm very intelligent. » I protested vexed.
She continued to laugh before calming down. She looked at me with a genuine smile, not one of those playful smirk she often wore, and said :
« We should go back with the other. »
Before we headed to the Company, I looked at her dead serious and promised :
« Don't worry Isa, we'll find the bastards and kill them.
And after this solemn promise we went back to our family. Our brothers of blood.
We found the bastard and oh boy we maked them pay. It had been a small band of bandits and looters thet no one would cry.
I also remembered that she was the reason i let women enter the Company. She had best me to puple when I rejected her application to join my boys after I said women were too weak to be accepted.
I was this day that I understood the word respect. She bested me at archery, swordmanship and hand to hand comabt. I thought fondly. After that all were accpted into the Brotherhood.
I started digging a grave with a shovel I salvaged from the ruins. I digged, I digged and I digged unitil my muscle burned. After digging a meter deep and wide trench I buried my faithful Lieutenant, comrade, friend and if the gods had permitted lover. I took thick plank of wood to protect her from animals and sealed her grave. I then took tow plank, nailed them together and wrote her name and epitath
Here lies Isabella Corallla. Brave of Luccini, esteemed advisor and lieutenant. My love. May she rests in peace. 2498 IC.
I did a prayer to all the god I knew before finally turning back tears flowing freely on my cheeks.
What are you doing you fool. I can hear Isa calling us Crybaby Riri from heaven. Pull yourself together man. The harsh voice barked in my head. He was right I needed to be strong. Just like her. And so I departed to a new journey.
« I think we agree the past is over »
-George Washington
Well I hope you enjoyed it. I put a lot of romance in this first chapter but it's goal is to add some depth to the character and give him something to believe in, a memory to rely on. THERE WILL BE MORE ACTION FOR THE NEXT CHAPTERS DO NOT WORRY.
Please leave a comment if you want. I accept both bad and good reviews. Please tell me if something's wrong.
See ya !
Oracle14