It would seem I forgot to put in my disclaimer. Sorry for the delay, I do plan on getting more up. Anyways, I am not the original author of "Deltora", Emily Rodda is. Not all the names and places are not of my own creation. Yadda yadda yadda. I will say that while not all of it is mine, some of it is.

Doom with a Heart

As my blade glides through the flesh of my opponent, I finally see through the haze of the dream. Her body hits the floor on top of hundreds of other, this was no fight, this was a slaughter. Hundred of defenseless women and children. How long have I've been doing this?

The guards chain me and take my weapons, shoving me into a cell. Dark, small and damp. "Good show tonight Doombringer. You might get food tonight." Chuckles the guard as he slams the door shut.

Faintly I hear sobbing, and I know the reason: They are next to go into the arena, to the doom. How much time has past? How many have I killed? These thoughts fly through my head as I gently fall into unconsciousness.

"DOOM!!! DOOM!!! WAKE UP!!!" The guard screams and howlers orders, slowly I understand his words. "TIME FOR YOUR NEXT FIGHT!! GER YOUR ARMOR AND WEAPONS!!"

Still in a daze, I slide my armor on and slowly start to gather my weapons: My sword, ax, bow, dagger, and knife. As I head towards the door, the guard stops me and points back showing that I missed my quiver.

Slowly the gate comes up and I step into the arena, my muscles on edge. Ready to attack, to kill. A lone figure stands in the middle, back to me. He is next to die.

The crowd mutters "Doom verses Fear?" "What?" "But they are the best fighters here?" and quickly memories fly back to me, time when me and the man know as Fearfighter, whose true name is Josef, practiced and trained for hours together. Day after bloody day. Slowly becoming friends, my heart sinks in knowing he will not survive the fight.

"THERE HAS BEEN A SLIGHT CHANGE OF PLANS!!" Booms the King, the magician Soldeen. "INSTEAD OF FIGHTING EACH OTHER, THEY WILL BE FIGHTING THE DAEDLY DRAGON!!" and as the words leave his vile tongue, the crowd explodes with excitement.

Fear looks at me and smiles, his eye saying "Thought myself dead." My thoughts begin to race, How well do I fight? What if I forget how to kill? But have little time to ponder such questions, the final gate lurches open, and a dragon, royal purple in color, storms in. Its wings tied tight to its sides.

"BEGIN!!!" and with that the dragon springs into action. My muscles react and move without waiting for my command. My hands and feet doing exactly as they need to do to keep me alive.

Before I even know what was happening, the dragon fell, dead, to the ground. I see only my bow in my hand and an arrow in the dragon's eye.

"DO YOU WANT MORE BLOOD?!?" The crowd just roars all the louder. "THEN RELEASE THE SLAVES!!!" hundreds, maybe thousands, of men, women, and children enter the arena, all armed. Both Fear and I start to work. My blade making quick work of the slaves. Fear is doing well but fails to see the man throw the knife that hits him the back. Quickly, quietly, he falls.

Rushing to his aid, I kill thirty or more men and start to keep his broken body well defended. Kill all who come near.

Finally, after hours, the slaves quit coming. All that's left is three men, five women, and one small, black haired, blue eyed, blood stained girl, no older than seven. I slowly walk over, the adults try to swarm me, I just rip through them, almost as though they weren't there.

Fear limps quickly to kill the lone girl, but I stop him. I don't know why, but she can't die. Not here. Fear turns to me and continues his attack, raising his ax high. My knife in my hand, I roll and plunge it deep into the newly made hole. Knocking him unconscious from the pain.

The girl runs to me and wraps her arms around my legs, openly weeping. I look at the kind and plead "JUST SPARE HER! LET ME TRAIN ER!"

Laughing, he says "LET HER BE TRAINED WELL, SHE WILL FIGHT AGAIN IN ONE MONTH. AGAINST RIOLU!!!"

I bow and lead the girl towards the gate, as she starts to dry her perfect blue eyes. Taking her to the armory, we get her new cloths and finally choose her a suitable weapon. The kunai.

"You see, Riolu is the best child fighter in the whole arena. Behind me, Caffry (AKA Blazer) and Fear. Some say he might be able to beat me some day." I informed Ruth, for I had learned she had no name and Ruth seemed to fit. "You will be fighting him. Luckily, you don't have to win, just show promise."

She looks at me, eyes full of courage, without fear. "I can do it. For my daddy, he was big and strong. Like you…" almost whispering the last part. "Hey, where is Cassie? Me and her are good friends. But he guards made her go right. She don't walk so good."

"I'm sure she will turn up." Knowing she would be fed to the dragons, as all the "defects" were. "Let's start your training. I must know, can you kill someone?"

Her eyes start to well up, and a single tear rolls down her cheek. "Yes" she coughs out.

"Good. Your there! Slave! Here! NOW!!" I bark almost no better than the guards. "Now Ruth, kill this man. Take your kunai, and kill him."

"NO!!" she screams. "NO!! I CAN'T!!"

"Ruth, you must. If you don't you will never see Cassie again." It was a low blow, and I knew it, but she killed the slave, crying silently. Her first lesson over.

As the slave's body hits the floor, so were her tears. One tear landed on the dead man's face. Suddenly the man gets up, hands Ruth the kunai to her, and walks back to the wall, alive. "You see Ruth." I begin softly. "No one can die here. We are protected by magic." To prove this, I take my sword and lob off the same slave's head, holding to where she can see it full detached and place it back oh the man's shoulders. Where it quickly healed back.

Still crying, Ruth spends the next few hours killing slave after slave. Till she was red from head to toe with their blood.