I'm back again! I do indeed live for those of you who are wondering. During this chapter I kinda went through an awakening so if the writing style changes part way through the story you all know why.

A big thanks goes out to my new Beta reader SpacePirateGirl, without whom this chapter would have had bad grammer, and some spelling mistakes (probably a lot of mistakes, lord knows I just skim through this stuff.). Also the editing thing on here is screwed up so if this is aligned wrong, blame the site, not me. XD

As always, R&R just so I feel happy enough to continue, cause as long as one person likes it, I'll keep going.

Chapter 10:

Saints and Demons

Deep underground, where darkness and death hold sway, there was movement, but then again, there was always movement in this section of the underground. He could sense it always; he could hear the rats as they skittered along the floor and gnawed on his books. Tombs of history and magical theory that would make even Athos gaze in awe; but, Athos would not read them because he was dead. The author felt no remorse over his friend's death, as death was human nature, and he was no longer human. The movement happened again and he was sure it wasn't the rats this time… No… this was an almost human movement, yet not human. His interested peaked, and he wandered off to investigate.

Karel and Raven cut a bloody path through the Bern soldiers and laughed all the way. Their blades cut through armour and flesh as though it were aught but air blocking their path. Sharn and his force were all around them, and to the south Karel could see the nomads under the command of Jared. Slowly but steadily Bern was being pushed back into the pass of Faustus where the tacticians plan would be put into action. Raven swung his sword and gutted a man nearby and grinned the manic grin that he had seen back in the days when Eliwood was still alive. Karel had felt it too, a sense of purpose that they didn't have that long ago. They had made a difference then, and they made a difference now. 'Humanity may be far from perfect, but it deserves better than enslavement by Nergal,' Karel thought as he parried a sword, punched its wielder in the throat and finally stabbed him through the ribs. A horn blew from the Bern camp and most of the Bern forces pulled back quickly, leaving a small group to slow any pursuit. The tacticians had ordered them all to try and capture any soldiers they could, and in the end a majority of those left behind surrendered instead of fighting to the death…yet another prediction correct by the tactical pair. Raven turned and grinned at his friend. "Beats the hell out of killing bandits, eh?"

Karel laughed and nodded. "Indeed it does… now I wonder where our gimp of a tactician is."

Said gimp of a tactician was trudging his way though mud, blood, and entrails left behind by the army, and swearing up a storm because of it. Karel and Raven covered their mouths with a hand, in a feeble attempt to cover up their grins. When Sharn finally got to them he was muttering darkly under his breath about how thirteen-year-olds should not buy hookers to play Halo on Xbox with. Karel and Raven knew better than to ask.

"How are we doing Sharn?" Raven asked wiping the blood from his blade.

"The plan is working well. Slowly but surely we're pushing them back, and as we beat them their moral falls even further, making it easier for us to progress. I finally feel like a tactician again!"

Karel cast a sideways glance at Sharn and smirked. "I told you that you could do it."

Sharn laughed. "Yep you did… one second." Sharn turned towards the direction Bern had run off in and yelled, "Bring it on, you ball-less buggers! I'm pumped and ready to go!"

A giggle from behind them caused the trio to jump around in surprise.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd swear I was listening to Great Grandpa Skrimir again," Luna said and grinned.

Emi stepped forward and gave a small bow. "Greetings, warriors of Elibe. I am Emi, and this is my wife Luna. We talked to your other tactician, and he suggested we help you out as best we can."

Sharn sputtered in disbelief… The girl had a white tail and white ears which had black tips. Jared walked up behind them and nodded at Karel, Raven and Sharn. Unlike Sharn who was only splattered with mud, blood and gore, Jared also had smoke smudges, and bags of fatigue under his eyes.

"These two aren't from this continent. They're archaeologists from a land called Tellius, searching for the grave of some legendary swordsman named Ike. They are what are known was Laguz, and they can transform into animals to fight... but these two have decided not to do so here, because it would cause some confusion and possible fear in our ranks… so they brought some magical weapons with them."

Luna nodded and pulled out a pale, white blade which had a skull, complete with vampire fangs, as a cross-guard, and the hilt was covered with black leather. The air around the blade was twisted and distorted by the magic emanated from the weapon. "This is the Naitest, a blade given to me by a friend. The blade has vampiric properties, draining health from its victim to heal its wielder."

Sharn cocked his head quizzically. "A vampiric blade? Here in Elibe we've got something similar called a Rune blade… but it's not as strong as yours due to the fact that many copies were produced at once."

Emi pulled a large labrys axe from where it was strong across his back. The magic around it wasn't as strong, but the weapon was just as impressive as the Naitest. "This axe is called Urvan, which was wielded by Sir Greil, father of the hero Ike. After the War of the Medallion, the heron Lehran placed an enchantment upon the weapon so it would never rust or break. The weapon is also blessed by the Goddess Yune."

Karel felt the age old longing rise in him once more, the urge to kill these strong ones, and he suppressed it with some difficulty. These strong ones would have to wait until those who would do harm were slain. His head swarmed all of a sudden and his vision begane to fade. Raven looked at his friend and caught him before he crumpled to the ground.

"Shit… This isn't good," Sharn said. "We need a healer over here now!"

A healer rushed over and checked Karel over, regretfully informing Sharn and Jared that Karel was in an incurable sleep, and would have to over come it with his own strength. Karel was rushed to a tent in the back of the battlefield where he was watched over constantly by Raven. That night Karel went into convulsions and was mentioning his sister Karla in a barely intelligible mumble. Renault had appeared in his dreams, the servant of Elimine who fought like a beast with a blade, the only man who had bested Karel with a blade. The bishop's words echoed throughout his head. "Why do you kill needlessly, my son? The quest to become strong is a fine one, yet yours is a dark thing, for you do it not to protect as others do, yet for your own personal gain… Think and reflect on the lives of those you have slain in your quest for power… Think of the family you slew for that sword you use, and the sister you spared. Do you know why you spared her?"

The answer came in a snarl of anger "I spared her out of stupidity!"

Even as a dream Renault still radiated faith and calmness. "No, not out of stupidity. You spared your sister out of love. You may be called the Sword Demon, but in sparing your sister you proved that you can be human, you can make a choice to save life, instead of end it. I too was once as you are, using my strength for my own gain, not caring about the outcome, and in the end, when I felt invincible, I was struck down… and in that moment I had a revelation and gave up my evil ways, and took up the cloth… It was only recently that I was truly able to repent for my crimes. I was the man who slew the parents of the monk Lucius… I confessed my evil act to him, and he forgave me… I felt absolved that I had done the right thing… As I said, the pursuit of strength is a noble cause… but should you continue along this dark path of yours you will neither find happiness, nor fulfillment, for always will there be one who is greater than you

Raven was one the border of sleep when Karel bolted up and gave one last yell of anguish. Raven ran over to his friend asking "What's wrong Karel!?"

Karel looked at Raven and for the first time since he was a child, tears welled forth and he cast his gaze down. "I killed them," he said between sobs. "In cold blood, for no reason…the bishop was right… I did not find fulfillment or happiness on my dark path, yet when I fight to protect others, I felt happy… Oh Elimine, what must I do to atone for my sins?" He asked.

A calm voice came from the entrance of the tent. "No one can answer that question for you, Karel, not even divine beings."

Karel and Raven turned to the voice and there stood Renault.

Rath reduced another piece of wood into kindling. He'd been chopping wood for the past four days to get his mind off of things… but it wasn't working. He was worried about the troops approaching, about his family on the plains and also about Lyn. He had asked her to marry him before, and he had been rejected, but when he had asked a few days ago he felt she might say yes… but now on the fourth day afterward his hope began to wane.

"You know that most of this is going to be useless if we don't store it properly?" came a soft voice behind him.

Rin knelt and gathered an armload of firewood and began to stack it in a nearby shed. Rath remembered that her father had been a forester in Kathelet and she had cut firewood for the village from time to time. Rath set down his axe and mopped the sweat from his brow. "Sorry," he said. "I just think we should be stocking up in case of a siege."

Rin snorted and replied "Yeah, what ever you say, boss."

"What does that mean?" Rath asked slowly.

"It's the middle of summer. We only need firewood if we want to boil ourselves to death… What's the real reason you're cutting firewood?"

Rath avoided the assassin's eyes. "I need exercise…"

Again Rin snorted. "You needed a lot of exercise before Sharn and the others left for Sacae, just like when you found out Bern was going to attack Bulgar, and now… I might be an assassin, yet I know people. You're stressed out, and we both know it. What's on your mind, Rath?"

Rath sighed and sat down on the splitting block. "I asked Lyn to marry me four days ago… I've asked her before but I was told that the time wasn't right."

Rin sat beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, just relax. Everyone knows the commander and you are in love…Have you ever considered the fact that she may not want children born into this desolate world? Perhaps, that right time she was talking about was the day when her blade pierces Nergal's foul heart. Besides… you know she's going to say yes eventually, so why bother worrying about when she says it. The only thing that should be on your mind right now is how to defeat Bern and Nergal, aught else."

Rath looked at Rin and nodded. "For one so young you have much wisdom…Thank you, Rin…But I've still got to cut firewood. We may need it to heat the pitch in battle."

"That's fine… I've gotta get back to Yue soon anyway… She thinks she's getting telepathic messages. Personally I think she's going crazy."

Darius sighed and stood up. "No luck," He said with a grumble turning to Fayreil and Minaku. "I know someone hears me, but I don't get a reply…Their dragon blood must be diluted by many generations."

Minaku shrugged. "Couldn't we just force our way through the blockade? Those Bern soldiers couldn't stop us even if they tried."

Fayreil shook her head. "Bad idea… If we forced our way through, not only would we be pursued, but the attack on Bulgar may commence ahead of schedule."

Minaku grumbled and walked back into their tent. They had been traveling with the manakete for some time now, and from what she had gathered, he lived and breathed combat. When he wasn't eating, sleeping, or pestering Darius, who he held in high regard, he was lifting weights or breaking boulders. Darius would always yell at him for needlessly destroying objects, but it was to little avail.

Darius sat down on the rock he had chosen and said. "You should go start cooking… I'm going to try and reach Bulgar by telepathy again."

Fayreil grumbled and went to start making a pot of rice, of which she was thoroughly sick of, and she was sure that someone with a very mean sense of humor decided it was a great survival food. With any luck they'd be able to get into Bulgar within the week and eat some real food.

"Why don't we force our way in…I wanna bust some skulls in!"

Legault and Pent signed and shook their heads. "That won't work, Topaz… Bern would follow us, and besides… we're too big of a fighting force to get through all at once." Pent replied.

Douglas nodded. "Aye…If it were just us, we could get through; however, I think we may have to wait for them to move so we can get them into a pincer attack."

Percival sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "So we have to wait more?"

Legault nodded. "Unfortunately so…"

"This means stupid rice again."

Rashad was furious. Over the past few nights his sentries were being slaughtered as they kept watch. Whoever it was lighting fast, and their swordsmanship was a work of art. Each slash seemed to tell a story of skill and dedication. In his frustration he had ordered tightened security and more torches, but his men were still being killed. He heard the sound of rustling grass behind him and he drew his blade in a fast ark, just in time to block a surprise attack. A woman dressed in blue Swords master's robes wielding a Sacaen blade smirked, her dark hair and eyes glistened in the mood light. "I expected no less from you Rashad; however, it's time for you to die. Traitors to Sacae will pay for their deceit in blood."

Rashad quickly rolled to the left just in time to dodge a fireball from behind him.

"Damn… Karla, I think we'll finally have met our match." Came a female voice from the grass.

"Seems like we have, Priss."

The movement came from the corridor to the right and he turned to catch it in time. A man in dark robes with red and gold runes stitched in it turned to meet him and grinned. Half of his face was covered by a purple turban and his entire presence radiated with malice. Still he felt nothing and continued to study the man when at last the man in the turban spoke. "Hello Barimond…I've got a proposition for you."

A labrys axe is an axe of Grecian design. Look it up on wikipedia. I was considering making it a Tabar Zin, but I chose the Labrys instead.

A classic tactic back in medieval times was to heat pitch (tree sap) or oil, and dump it upon the enemy for devastating effect.