To think there were actually people who enjoy reading this. I'm not a good writer or anything. I'm fairly new, and in no way do I think I can actually write an epic story. Even at best, I can only write a mediocre fic.

So I'm going to apologize to everyone for 2 things.

1)I'm not dead, but I've been doing other hobbies that I forgot about FF for a while.

2) This isn't some great story. It's mostly just for fun, and if you want to complain about my work, then go ahead. Flamers will be reported though.


Blood and gore splattered as a series of swords pierced their bodies.

Though orcs may have stronger physical attributes than a human, they were still flesh and blood.

His projected weapons flew through the air, severing any orc unfortunate enough to encounter him. Shirou ran through the burning village ignoring any object in his way. If there were debris, he would cut it down. If there were enemies, he would slaughter them quickly. They were more of an annoyance than a danger to someone like him.

With his body reinforced, it didn't take long before he reached the centre of the village.

"There's still people here?"

Humans and orcs clashed in the centre of the village amidst the flames. Shirou noticed immediately that the men were better armed than the village guards. Better trained as well, given how these humans were beating back the orcs.

"Reinforcements?"

It was a possibility, but rather unlikely.

He ignored the battle and took advantage to pursue his target.

"At the Northern exit of the village." He reminded himself.

"Hurl these wretches off with the rest of the them. We have all that we come for." A larger orc wearing bulkier armour called out while riding a huge wolf. Next to him was a line of people tied together in a series of ropes. Orcs leading them forth in one direction.

The humans were advancing on their direction to stop them, but the orc raiders hindered their progress. Shirou fared better due to reinforcement. He was faster and stronger than his enemies. It helped that the orcs had no magic of their own. He was able to clear most of the way simply by projecting swords to impale his enemies. Though it ate away at his supplies quickly, it was a price worth paying.

A powerful blow knocked his projected swords out of the way. While the grunts were unable to properly defend themselves, their leader was able to do so. He leapt forth and Shirou evaded the attack by rolling to the side.

A massive axe swung downwards, but Kanshou easily blocked it. The wolf followed up with an attack by lunging forth ready to Shirou's head off. The redhead jumped back in time to avoid having his face bitten off.

Shirou gritted his teeth as the leader attacked again. Quickly he reacted as the wolf leapt forth. He crouched down and touched the ground. "Trace on." A sword burst forth from the ground and impaled the wolf from the jaw.

The impact threw it's master off and Shirou jumped forth and brought his sword down. He barely managed to block the attack. Though it took a little effort, Shirou overpowered him pushed the weapons straight into the orc's neck, killing him.

Breathing out a sigh, he looked around and noticed the aftermath. The fighting was already over, the humans had won, and the fires were being put out, but none of that mattered. His sister had been taken away in the brief moment.

"Damn it!" He punched the nearby wall hard enough to make a small crack. He punched the ground a second time. "If only I hadn't gone off!"

The trail was still fresh, but the fact that he had allowed his sister to be kidnapped again, caused him to panic. Had he been thinking straight, the trail could still be followed with some difficulty.

The boy's frustration and sadness was momentarily forgotten as footsteps approached him. He looked to the side and saw a large heavily armor individual stop in front of him. Though he didn't know who this figure was, he knew that he wasn't a normal man. The hammer he wielded was not like the regular ones that the footmen were using. He could easily sense that it was a blessed weapon, even without examining it's history.

The blonde muscular man placed his hammer onto the ground next to him as he spoke.

"Are you a villager here?"

It took all the willpower Shirou had just to calm himself enough to answer him.

"No, but I was injured badly some time ago and the villagers here took pity on me, they nursed me back to health and gave me and my sister a place among them." He felt bad that he had put them as a secondary concern. But his feelings towards sister outweigh anything he may have felt for them.

"I...see." The man nodded. "I am Prince Arthas, and I must apologize. I was assigned to stop the orcs mindless attacks, this disaster is my responsibility."

Shirou took a deep breath before replying. "It would be hypocritical to blame you when I wasn't even around." Had he been around, the attack would have been almost immediately. The skills he had easily surpassed any regular warrior.

Neither man spoke for a moment to gather their thoughts. It was Arthas who finished first.

"Those orcs, they are not going to kill the prisoners...at least not yet."

"What?"

"My uncle mentioned that these orcs, they capture prisoners, to bring them to places to conduct rituals using the humans they captured as sacrifices for power. If it is true, we still have time to save the few that were captured."

"Is this true?"

"My uncle has encountered many of this events before. If he says so, then it most likely is."

"Do you know where they are taking them?"

"My uncle would know. I heard he was pursuing the main force. I came here to assist this village, but it appears I may have been a little late."

"May I come along?" Shirou's question caught him by surprise. "My sister was taken away. You can not expect me to sit back and do nothing. Furthermore, I am far from a defenceless individual. This may sound like I'm bragging, but I'm confident that I am stronger than most of the men that follow you."

"Indeed...I did not see you fight, but I heard from my men how you overwhelmed most of the orcs easily and defeated the leader here, so I will not doubt your word. If you are confident that you are strong enough, then you may follow me." The hammer that was planted in the ground was lifted up and pointed at him. "However, make no mistake. No matter how good you are or what reasons you have, if you trouble or endanger anyone. I will not hesitate to remove you immediately. Is this understood?"

"I understand."

It was a strange experience. Shirou having been used to operating by himself, found it awkward to be around others. Doubly so when it was with a person whose culture and background was foreign to him. None of that mattered. All that he could think of was retrieving his sister.


"He's incredible."

That was the first thought that went through Shirou's mind the moment he met with Uther. Arthas and several of the villagers had told him of the Paladins, and from there, he knew that they were humans with a good deal of power, but Uther was beyond his expectations.

His very presence radiated incredible power. Enough power that a normal person would be hard pressed to even stand against him, let alone fight him. The man was old, but his age did little to hide the power and danger he possessed.

Even for Shirou who had faced off against other heroic spirits and lived, found it difficult being in his presence. He had heard tales of Uther the Lightbringer and how his name was spread across the land as a living legend. Tales and songs were already being told and sung across the continent. It was likely that had this world followed rules similar to his, Uther may have reached the qualifications of becoming a heroic spirit.

"I heard from my nephew that you wish to assist us in dealing with the orcs in hopes of saving your loved one."

"...Yes."

"I understand." The man shook his head slowly. "I must confess that I am not very fond of your kind, but I will not treat you any differently. If you are to travel with us, then control yourself. I will not allow you to endanger anyone even if it is for the sake of your loved ones. If you wish to assist us, remember that."

"I will."

The heavy presence was lifted without warning, only to be replaced with a soothing one. Shirou took a breath to calm himself immediately. The elder turned towards Arthas next. "By the way, I've sent two of my best man to parley with the orcs. They should be returning soon."

"Sire!"

A pair of horses covered in blood ran into camp in a frenzy. The men hastily did whatever they could to calm them down.

Uther examined the mounts for a moment before he cursed. "Damn orcs. It's clear that they aren't going to surrender."

"If they aren't going to surrender, then let's just destroy them all!"

"Settle down Arthas! We are Paladins, vengeance is not what we aim for. If we let ourselves be consumed by bloodlust, we would be no better than the beasts the are."

The prince took a deep breath to calm himself.

It was clear he was still inexperience. The way he let himself get carried away, reminded Shirou of the overzealous figures he had studied and read upon in the history books.

"Your right. I'm sorry Uther."

"Well now that you've calmed down, how about you lead the attack?"

"Me? I mean off course."

From the way he carried himself, Shirou suspected that Arthas was still new as a commander.

"I'll patrol the area to ensure that no orcs slip past our defenses." Uther glanced at him. "And I would like to have a word with our guest if possible."

"I understand."

Shirou mentally braced himself for the conversation he was going to have.

As Arthas went his way, Uther gestured to follow him. The two walked side by side. The red haired boy noticed how little men there was in the camp and found himself wondering how this could be a proper attack force.

"I heard you fight like a warrior despite using magic." Uther broke the silence. "It's been some time since I've met someone like you."

"Is that unusual?"

"Quite. In all my time, the only ones who fight like you are the spellbreakers and they are a bunch of individuals who specialize in hunting down rogue mythical elements such as other mages." He shook his head. "Before I can even decide what to do with you I wish to know more about you."

"You mean my fighting experience?"

"What else would I be interested in at this moment?"

It was a proper question without any doubt, that didn't mean Shirou had to be comfortable answering it.

"I have experience in fighting, but most of it was against other humans. The battle against the orcs was my first if I had to be honest."

Knowledge was power. After going through the Grail War, Shirou had come to gather an appreciation for knowledge, especially if it was against the enemy. His experience was inherited from a possible future version of him, and was limited to fighting in the Grail War and nothing more.

"So by your words, you have no knowledge about what the types of tactics and fighting styles the orcs utilize."

"I don't suppose they are always going to be about brute force like they used before?"

The Paladin let out a soft chuckled. "Boy, if they were that simple, they would never have become such a problem." Shaking his head, the elderly man went into explanation. "Contrary to what most people believe, the Orcs are not mindless barbarians... most of the time. It is true that they prefer using brute force, but that doesn't mean that is all they know how to do."

"Are you referring to mage-magic?"

The term of magecraft and magic was different here. There was no separation magecraft and magic in this world. It was another thing he had to remember. From the stories told, true magic existed in this world, but regular magecraft was considered magic as well.

"That's just one of the topics to talk about." Uther nodded. "I heard from the Arthas that you used some kind of magic to enhance your physical capabilities."

"My people call it reinforcement."

"An understandable name." He nodded in understanding. "Is there any downsides to using it?"

"Not at all why?"

"If you are to join us, you should at least understand the enemy and potential dangers there is." The elder gestured for him to follow him on his patrol. "The orc shamans have a spell similar to yours. Their spells, increase the strength and speed of the orcs exponentiality, at the price of burning out their life span. When under the spells of their warlocks, apart from immense increase in physical abilities, they also lose their sense of pain."

"So it's like reinforcement then, expect it burns life and also removes sense of pain." The boy took in the knowledge before he changed the topic. "What other things can they do?"

"Before I answer that question, I must know, how strongly are you dependant on your magics?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"The spellcasters the orcs have, are weak individually, but they become extremely dangerous when paired in groups. Even weak disorganized groups can become dangerous as long as there is a single caster in their ranks." Uther took a breath before he continued to explain. "More importantly, depending on the types of magic you use, they can be extremely dangerous to other magicians."

Shirou's eyes narrowed, he thought about the direction the conversation was going. "Are you saying that these casters can counter my spells?"

"Perhaps. I have no knowledge of your magics. What I do know, is that many of them have abilites that stripes a person of whatever magic that they use to support themselves. Take your magic for example. There is a high chance that a shaman could easily stripe you of your power, returning your strength to a regular person."

Shirou nodded in understanding. The situation could be harder than he thought. "Off course it would be. I'm living in an age where magic is not only common but much more powerful." He reminded himself. Azeroth was still living in an age comparable to the age of the gods. An age where magic was far more potent, an age where real heroes and legends existed, and not copies like Servants were.

Even Magross the fishing obsessed maniac was capable of performing abilities while far from a Servant, was still easily above what most modern day magi of his world. And he wasn't anyone special. He understood how dangerous it would be, if he ever met an enemy who could stripe of him of his powers, especially if it was on the battlefield.

"Apart from that, the most difficult aspect of fighting them is their command over the elements. The most experienced ones can summon elemental monsters, or even command the elements in ways you could never see coming. And that's not even getting into the witch doctors."

"Why are you telling me this?"

The elderly paladin turned to face him with a serious expression. "Because lad, even though you are not from these lands, I can still recognize that kind of look you have in your eyes. You wish to save you loved ones regardless of the price that must be paid." Sighing, Uther shook his head. "I've seen many brave people make incredibly foolish decisions over my years of fighting and have lost their lives as a result. You are the type who would most likely charge into battle without information as you are on a time limit. I know it is a fool's errand to try and stop you from taking part in the battle, the least I could do is give you some information that may save your life."

Using his hammer, Uther pointed at a mountain far away. "Now the ritual is likely going to take place at the base of the mountain at sunset. We have a half a day if we are going to save them. But the problem is that there is a huge base that we have to cut through to reach it. A small force may be able to sneak around the base and into the ritual ground itself, but I would like to know what kind of enemies we could possibly be facing there before I send anyone there."

"I'll be heading there obviously."

"As much as it pains me to say this, it maybe for the best." The paladin agreed. "I don't have time to get to know you better and because of this, It is hard to integrate you into the army. It would be better if you attempted to attack the ritual ground directly. Arthas would most likely assault the base first. I would give you more men if I could, but I can't."

"So I'll move when the battle starts?"

"Must you really ask such a thing?"

Shirou just shrugged. Indeed there wasn't any point to asking it.

It didn't change the fact that it was fun.

The most difficult part for Shirou was waiting for the forces to be assembled. While Uther was clearly more capable, the man seemed content on letting Arthas take the lead despite his inexperience. It took awhile but eventually the forces ready to march.

'Hold up boy."

Uther stopped him.

From the forest, a lone individual walked out.

The rantings of the lone orc only served to make the elderly Paladin sigh.

At speeds far belying his size, Uther smashed the orc in one strike.

"A mirror image...it seems you will likely be facing a blademaster at the ritual ground." He turned to Shirou. "Boy, you best be careful. Blademasters specialize in dueling. They have imbued themselves with the power of the wind along high levels of swordsmanship. Don't let your guard down."

"I won't."

Slinging a light travel bag over his shoulders, Shirou Emiya went in the opposite direction as Arthas's army.

There were minor annoyances in the way, but Shirou dealt with them quickly. While the orcs were vastly stronger than a normal person physically, they still died to the same things. The trolls that allied with the orcs were no different.

"What is this?"

Even though he was in a rush, Shirou had to take a moment to register the scene in front of him.

Sure enough, the pathway to the ritual ground was a straight clear road in front of him. There was nowhere to hide. Which bothered him.

"Why is it so lightly guarded? No actually don't answer that."

A ritual ground was necessary for a ritual. It made no sense for it be so lightly guarded. The only guards were the ones at the entrance, and even then it was only a small amount. He recognized a trap when he saw one.

"There wasn't anything like those shamans that Uther spoke off. Then again, he did mention that they were uncommon among the orcs. Perhaps that's the reason why everything has gone so smoothly?"

"Could they make a trap any less obvious?"

"Brother!"

"Miyu!"

The trap was looking dumber by the second. Leaving the sacrifices out in the open? It was so obvious that it was painful. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he approached them quickly.

He pretended to not hear the warnings of the people. Kneeling down in front of his sister and reaching for the net...only to dive to the side in time as a blade slammed onto the ground he was at a moment ago.

"Really? If you want to spring a trap on someone at least try to be discreet about it."

He barely parried the blow that would have cleaved him in half.

"He's fast!"

He was caught off guard by the speed of his opponent. It wasn't as fast as the Servants he fought in the war, but still enough to be a danger.

The boy stumbled back as the blademaster attacked with vigor. Eventually, an opening was presented and Shirou kicked him in the stomach pushing him back. The two circled each other slowly evaluating their opponent.

"Hmph!"

The blademaster grinned as he raised his sword to his chest. His body shifted violently left and right. One became three immediately. They raised their blades and charged at him.

"There are illusions and nothing more."

That was a problem in its own right. His style was built on the idea of leaving fatal openings to predict an attack and counter against it. However in this case, it was of little use. The opponent's were a mix of both real and fake.

Each time he defended, he received different reactions. At times, his weapon went through his opponent's. At times, they were solid. It would be dangerous if it went on like this. The boy knew of a simple solution though. He leapt backwards before spreading his arms forward. Tracing into existence a swarm of blades and spears before firing.

The orc managed to knock away a few weapons, before he faltered and his body was torn apart. If Shirou couldn't tell which was real, he would just strike all of them at the same time.

"Sigh…"

The boy let out a sigh of relief before he fell on his butt. Exhaustion taking a clear toll on him. The battle was easier than the war. He flashed his sister a reassuring smile. The battle was not over, but his role was.


"I see you managed to accomplish your goal. Well done lad."

"Could you please not call me lad? It makes me feel like a little boy."

"You could at least allow this old man some fun."

Uther passed him a jar of milk.

Shirou passed him some seasoning in turn. The food in this land was completely different from what he normally had, and even after a period of time, he still hadn't gotten used to it.

The two had a light meal as they observed Arthas in leading the clean up. The battle was over quickly. The orcs had been outnumbered and outmatched from the start. Things were only easier when they refused to fall back and utilize tactics.

Even a novice commander could have routed them with ease as long as they took no reckless actions.

"So what are your plans now?"

"I don't know. I was only focused on saving my sister that I never thought about anything else. It's not like we have anywhere else to go."

"Yes, with the village in ruins and remnants of orc marauders around, it might be easier and more importantly safer if you were to move to a capital city until the threat is neutralized. I could recommend Lordaeron. Or perhaps Dalaran since you have mystical powers."

"Before that, what would happen to the survivors?"

"The kingdom of Lordaeron would offer them refuge for the time being until the threat has passed. Once then, they will assist in the rebuilding of the village. You are welcome to join if you want."

Dalaran was a nice place. However, it would be foolish to simply assume that it would be the best place when he hadn't seen anything else. Furthermore, the way of living there was more extravagant than he would like to admit.

It would take a huge amount of time before he could get used to living in a place like that.

"I think I'll accompany the refugees instead."

"A fine choice. I'm sure the people will be glad to know that they are in good hands."

"By the way Uther, are all the battles usually like this?"

"Explain yourself."

"I don't mean to sound rude, or overconfident, but it's just that when I went into battle earlier, I expected the orcs to be more difficult. There was no mention of any of these casters nor were there any of these witch doctors you mentioned. Only simple orc warriors and trolls."

"We were quite fortunate. Even on Arthas's side, that was all he had to face. Normally things are far more difficult than this. Had there been such opponents, I was prepared to step in and take control."

The only dangerous opponent was the blademaster. Had he not been so foolish to leave an obvious trap, he may have been able to cut him down in a single strike from behind when he broke his invisibility.

He couldn't count on his enemies being this foolish all the time. If possible, he would rather just find a place where he and his sister could settle down and leave all the fighting behind.


Now I did say that I'm not a good writer. I'm writing as a side hobby, and even then I know I'm not a good one. So don't bother doing things like saying how my work sucks or anything. I'll be glad to report you if you do that.

This story isn't even meant to be taken very seriously. I'm letting people know in advance that I'm not a good writer because I don't want people to expect anything much out of me.