Eroket was wondering why he was still alive...in two days, he wished he
was not.
Visla was an absolute master at the art of torture...he knew every sensitive spot on the body, gouged, raked and beat it viciously, delighting in the pain of the ermine and never causing an injury that would cripple or disable Eroket.
Visla had told Eroket Deran had been sold to some wolf warlord in the north a day before, but Eroket was beyond caring, beyond thinking of anything other then the pain Visla inflicted upon him on a daily basis and the even more intense desire to end the brutal General's life.
Tied paw and foot to a chair in the center of a tent, arranged so he could see all the instruments Visla used, Eroket felt more hopeless then he had ever felt. The chances he would survive this, let alone earn his revenge, seemed slim to none.
The most Eroket could do was spit blood in Visla's face and pray the weasel drowned in it.
***
Taren de-Droka sat at his desk, reviewing several charts, hardly caring as the tent flapped rustled, announcing Mahk.
"Taren, we need to talk..." The stoat's voice was raspy and harsh.
"No. We do not." Taren replied curtly, not even looking at Mahk.
"We damn well do!" Makh hissed, a sweep of a gloved paw throwing the documents to the floor. Taren's dual colored eyes narrowed harshly, but he made no move to attack his friend or pick up the documents that had been dropped.
"What in the nine hells do you want?"
Mahk sighed, almost resigned. "You know what Visla's been doing to my nephew?"
"I've heard..." Taren replied coldly, the same way he had acted since the death of his beloved Sariss.
"This doesn't strike you as odd? That our 'glorious and honorable' General tortures a helpless and captive beast for no greater reason then a grudge against his father?!"
"Why should I care about that ermine?" Taren was trying hard to let go of his obsession against Eroket...he was doing a poor job of hiding it, Mahk noted.
"Have you forgotten it was Visla's fault Sariss died?! Are you dishonoring her memory by working for him still like a good little drone?!"
Taren's eyes flared as he hissed. "She's been avenged...Kalis Deiran killed her..."
"Visla is just as guilty as if he ran her through himself! She was there because of him...and for such a selfish desire!"
"What would you have me do, Mahk!" Taren snarled, springing to his feet. "Have you forgotten who mixes you potions to keep your plague ridden body alive? Have you forgotten I owe my loyalty to Visla a thousand times over?!"
"You give loyalty and honor to a beast that neither respects nor deserves it!" Mahk snapped back, an unusual fire appearing in his cobalt eyes. "He took Sariss's loyalty and honor and he threw it aside! He cares nothing for you and would willingly sacrifice you without a backwards glance to see if your corpse twitched! And you claim allegiance to him over your honor?"
"What would you do in my place?!" Taren hissed angrily.
"I was in your place!" The yell exploded from Mahk's mouth, his paws clenched, and for a moment, looking at Mahk's pale and thin-almost gaunt- figure, it was easy to see the effects of the plague Mahk had contracted in his early years, the plague well known in Taren's homeland, where Taren's herb lore had included those that helped to keep the victim of the Scarlet Death not only alive, but seemingly healthy. Mahk had suffered the plague for over ten years...he owed his very life to Taren, his student and friend....but that didn't stop him from speaking his thoughts now. "And every day I beg forgiveness for whatever God may exist for the choice I made...I gave my brother, his wife, their children to that demon we call our leader! Consider what we fight for, Taren! I was a Calpathion once...and I remember when it meant something...the madman that calls itself our leader holds us only as we let him...I think its time you realize that! Vengeance is a powerful thing, you know...so is hatred of a beast who has lost everything. "
Taren looked down slightly, his mouth set in a frown, eyes burning with hot flame as he hissed. "Are you suggesting what I think you are...?"
"You ever want to fight Eroket Nightblade again?"
Taren sat back, scooping up the fallen papers. "Leave...let me reach my own conclusions..."
Mahk nodded, Taren replied to his friend's back. "I have no intention of mentioning this to Visla...or Geras."
He missed Mahk's small smile as he walked from the room, but not his final statement. "I owe you my life, Taren...but I don't owe you his."
***
Eroket had lost track of the hours...had managed to fall into an uneasy slumber...one rudely ended by the feel of a dagger pressed to his throat, a soft voice hissing in his sore ear. "If you make a sound, I shall kill you..."
Eroket smiles slightly...his body had begun to heal from the torture and he hadn't exactly been starved...Visla wanting his enemy to be in prime condition for torture...but at this point he didn't care about his life. "If you're here to kill me, just do it..."
"If you think I'd do so while you're so pathetic, then you are insane...quite the contrary..."
"Then you're going to torture me some more?"
"You really are slower then I thought, aren't you...an uncle's love comes with this..." Eroket felt the dagger pull away...and felts it sever the ropes that bound his paws.
"Turn around and I'll kill you..." The voice hissed again...it seemed almost familiar though...but t this time Eroket couldn't place it.
"Count to a hundred once you hear the tent flap rustle...I'll be gone by then...Visla will be by the stream...this may be your only chance, Nightblade, so be sure not to die...I rather want to fight you again."
"Taren...?" Eroket whispered, surprise filling him, but there was answer...only the rustle of the tent flap.
Eroket didn't dare move for ten seconds, then he began rubbing his footpaws frantically, trying to get the circulation going again.
When Eroket could feel the blood rushing to his feet and crimson died paws, he rose to his feet, pausing only to slip a dagger into his boot...the only weapon he recognized and actually knew how to use in this tent, and being without his sword he was intensely vulnerable.
Eroket sneaked from the tent into the cool night, his gleaming amber eyes narrowing, silently thankful most beasts had retired to their tents and the embrace of sleep.
Then he saw him...General Visla Deiran...discernable not only by his height and bulk but his hideous scarred and burnt feature.
Visla hadn't seen him yet, Eroket was fortunate to note...he had to make this quick...one attack, a quick kill.
Eroket fully expected to die...but to bring Visla down with him would be a fate Eroket would not mind much at all...Eroket Nightblade could pass into death with a smile on his face, then!
He steeled himself...and he sprang.
Visla was caught completely by surprise, hurled to the ground by Eroket slamming into his unarmored back; he recovered quickly, whirling around, coming up with a punch at Eroket's jaw.
The ermine ducked swiftly, his speed exceeding that of the General's, he came up with an uppercut to Visla's chin and a harsh statement that promised death: "You'd better hope there's an afterlife, Visla..."
"Hope's overrated, boy..." Visla had recovered from his initial shock, insane mind not even questioning how Eroket had escaped...only considering the shame Eroket would have to die now, a shame indeed...all that fun he'd miss out on. Oh well...
"Its such a shame...after all Kalis taught you..." The weasel wiped a trickle of blood from a cut lip, contempt in his gray eyes matching that in Eroket's amber orbs, "That after all Kalis taught you...you lack the virtues of honor and morality.
Eroket lost his temper, a mistake he would never have made had he been thinking clearly. "You BASTARD!" He roared, "All of a sudden you're the guardian of morals?!"
Visla's plot had worked...many soldiers had heard Eroket's roar and were running out to the stream's edge to see their leader and the ermine in their combat...Visla smirked as Eroket made another mistake: that of turning his head to see the Death Watch soldiers, and in a second he was on Eroket, grabbing the young ermine in a headlock, an open claw at his throat. "Allow me to demonstrate one thing my late brother missed; let me show you how to rip out a beast's throat..."
Eroket's elbow came into Visla's side, feeling the weasel's grip slacken; he suddenly threw himself back with all his strength.
Nearly thirty Death Watchers saw their leader, along with Eroket Nightblade, vanish with a splash into the stream, and most of them saw the two carried away by the current.
Mahk Nightblade couldn't resist glancing at the shocked Kallan and Geras...nor the oddly pleased Taren de-Droka
***
Eroket and Visla hurtled through the water at surprising speed, the two exchanging blows whenever they came up for air, neither wanting to let his enemy slip away.
Eroket couldn't help notice the silver flashed in the water, couldn't help but see the large, thin bodies and wicked teeth of the large pike...prudence finding a place in his mind, his paw shot out on instinct, latching onto a rock, his back to Visla, he didn't see the weasel pulling himself to shore, a dagger removed from the weasel's boot.
As Eroket dragged himself on the bank, Visla was upon him, the ermine couldn't restrain a cry as the dagger tore into his side, removed with a brutal motion. Almost instantly he felt his senses dissolve into an almost drunken state, his vision blurring.
"Feeling queasy, Nightblade?" Visla's gloating voice hit his ears. "Good...I just gave you a bit of poison...not enough to kill you, don't worry..." He spun Eroket around, delivering a vicious blow to jaw, hurling him to the ground. "I'm going to handle that myself..."
A desperate thought found its way into Eroket's muddled mind...the pike he had seen minutes earlier...a desperate idea forming as he slipped the dagger from his boot, concealed it against his arm.
Visla raised his dagger, ready to plunge it into Eroket's back, his face twisted into a sinister grin as he hissed, "Kalis would be SO disappointed..."
Eroket whirled around, dagger biting deep into the weasel's flesh, hurling himself forward, he struck Visla as hard as he could in his already wounded belly, hurling him from the bank edge into the water.
Eroket fell to his back as Visla emerged, immersed up to his waist, standing against the current, a paw clapped to his stomach. "You...you think this CUT will kill me?!" He laughed.
Eroket tilted his head to the side, the poison barely allowing him to open his eyes, he felt himself fading into the realm of unconsciousness. "No..." He raised a weak paw, pointed to the forms in the water. "But they will..."
It was then Visla saw them...drawn by the blood from his wounds, they came in with the speed of an arrow shot from a bow, incomprehension dissolved into terror as Visla let out a cry of denial, "NO!!!!"
The first pike's teeth tore into his side, the pain exploded through his body, worse then the burns had ever been capable of.
The second bite ripped into his leg, and Visla fell into the water, his final cries were unable to be heard as the predators continued to strike, the foaming waters died a deep red.
Eroket smiled slightly, "For you...Kalis...for you all..." He couldn't turn his head away from the gruesome spectacle even if he wanted to...he felt compelled to watch the end of the mad tyrant who destroyed two of his families.
Eroket's eyes closed and he abandoned himself to the darkness that sought to embrace him.
Eroket Nightblade knew peace.
***
"So...he died here..."
Taren de-Droka and the Death Watch looked at the gruesome spectacle...following the river from the previous night, they had just discovered the bloodstained riverside...and the mangled remnants of the pikes' macabre feast.
Taren's dual colored eyes narrowed at Geras, who had uttered the comment. "Yes...Visla did indeed die here..."
"I was talking about Eroket Nightblade...
Geras cocky tone replied. "He's dead, hm?"
"No..." Taren shook his head. "Look around for any traces of his corpse...whole or otherwise...and then look at the tracks that lead into the forest...I haven't killed him yet, Geras...he's alive, alright."
"Are we going after him then...?" Kallan the Storm replied, Taren spared the Calpathion traitor barely a glance as he shook his head. "We head south..."
"You haven't got that authority!" Geras snapped suddenly, his eyes narrowing, "General Visla-"
"General Visla is dead, Geras...you want to challenge me for leadership?"
Geras shut his mouth instantly...he knew Taren's dangerous reputation as a fighter and had no wish to match blades with him...he had lost this debate, but managed to hold onto a shred of dignity. "Mebbe my boys'n I'll just leave then!"
"You do that...spares me the trouble of killing you later on....you may call me 'The Merciful' for the rest of your days, Geras Iridan."
Geras opened his mouth, thought better of it, and whirled around, signaling his troops...as he walked away, he turned, letting Taren see the hatred in his eyes.
But in truth, for Geras there was only uncertainty.
Mahk and Kallan saluted Taren as one when Geras was gone, Taren was smiling slightly, allowing himself one last glance at the mighty General who had once dominated his life. "Ready?"
"Ready...General." Mahk replied.
General...Taren liked that, he decided. "Let's go then! South it is!"
The Death Watch was on the move once more...Mahk was pleased his friend had not gone the way of Visla, risking troops for the sake of a private vendetta...Taren was a leader he could trust and respect. "General Taren-"
"That's not my name anymore..." Taren replied, loud enough for all to hear.
"Then what is?" Kallan dared to ask.
Taren thought for a moment...then his mind settled on a name from his childhood lessons...the name of the founder of his family line...who had been feared throughout the north and west as a merciless conqueror. "Mordath..." He replied. "My name is Mordath..."
***
Eroket Nightblade was alone once more...he had awaked an hour after the pikes' feast had stopped...not wanting to see if the Death Watch showed up to see their leader's fate, he had slipped off into the trees...walking in one direction, hoping to arrive at a town, or city soon...
He had no group, no food, no money and only a small dagger...but Eroket Nightblade resolved he'd survive and make his way in the world...his mercenary skills could earn him food, money and a reputation...he'd make his way.
The Hunter's Way...Eroket paused, looked to the trees, wondering what had become of Talrid and Deran...he'd have to wait to find out though..."Goodbye, Kalis! I'm not ready to see you and the others just yet! One day, though! One day..."
A smile appeared on his handsome face as Eroket began walking once more.
And shortly after that, he was gone.
I left behind a piece of myself that day when Visla died...I look back upon it sometimes, but without regret...I only wonder if things could have been different.
I was The Hunter.
I was Eroket Nightblade.
I am content to leave it at that.
-Eroket Nightblade.
Visla was an absolute master at the art of torture...he knew every sensitive spot on the body, gouged, raked and beat it viciously, delighting in the pain of the ermine and never causing an injury that would cripple or disable Eroket.
Visla had told Eroket Deran had been sold to some wolf warlord in the north a day before, but Eroket was beyond caring, beyond thinking of anything other then the pain Visla inflicted upon him on a daily basis and the even more intense desire to end the brutal General's life.
Tied paw and foot to a chair in the center of a tent, arranged so he could see all the instruments Visla used, Eroket felt more hopeless then he had ever felt. The chances he would survive this, let alone earn his revenge, seemed slim to none.
The most Eroket could do was spit blood in Visla's face and pray the weasel drowned in it.
***
Taren de-Droka sat at his desk, reviewing several charts, hardly caring as the tent flapped rustled, announcing Mahk.
"Taren, we need to talk..." The stoat's voice was raspy and harsh.
"No. We do not." Taren replied curtly, not even looking at Mahk.
"We damn well do!" Makh hissed, a sweep of a gloved paw throwing the documents to the floor. Taren's dual colored eyes narrowed harshly, but he made no move to attack his friend or pick up the documents that had been dropped.
"What in the nine hells do you want?"
Mahk sighed, almost resigned. "You know what Visla's been doing to my nephew?"
"I've heard..." Taren replied coldly, the same way he had acted since the death of his beloved Sariss.
"This doesn't strike you as odd? That our 'glorious and honorable' General tortures a helpless and captive beast for no greater reason then a grudge against his father?!"
"Why should I care about that ermine?" Taren was trying hard to let go of his obsession against Eroket...he was doing a poor job of hiding it, Mahk noted.
"Have you forgotten it was Visla's fault Sariss died?! Are you dishonoring her memory by working for him still like a good little drone?!"
Taren's eyes flared as he hissed. "She's been avenged...Kalis Deiran killed her..."
"Visla is just as guilty as if he ran her through himself! She was there because of him...and for such a selfish desire!"
"What would you have me do, Mahk!" Taren snarled, springing to his feet. "Have you forgotten who mixes you potions to keep your plague ridden body alive? Have you forgotten I owe my loyalty to Visla a thousand times over?!"
"You give loyalty and honor to a beast that neither respects nor deserves it!" Mahk snapped back, an unusual fire appearing in his cobalt eyes. "He took Sariss's loyalty and honor and he threw it aside! He cares nothing for you and would willingly sacrifice you without a backwards glance to see if your corpse twitched! And you claim allegiance to him over your honor?"
"What would you do in my place?!" Taren hissed angrily.
"I was in your place!" The yell exploded from Mahk's mouth, his paws clenched, and for a moment, looking at Mahk's pale and thin-almost gaunt- figure, it was easy to see the effects of the plague Mahk had contracted in his early years, the plague well known in Taren's homeland, where Taren's herb lore had included those that helped to keep the victim of the Scarlet Death not only alive, but seemingly healthy. Mahk had suffered the plague for over ten years...he owed his very life to Taren, his student and friend....but that didn't stop him from speaking his thoughts now. "And every day I beg forgiveness for whatever God may exist for the choice I made...I gave my brother, his wife, their children to that demon we call our leader! Consider what we fight for, Taren! I was a Calpathion once...and I remember when it meant something...the madman that calls itself our leader holds us only as we let him...I think its time you realize that! Vengeance is a powerful thing, you know...so is hatred of a beast who has lost everything. "
Taren looked down slightly, his mouth set in a frown, eyes burning with hot flame as he hissed. "Are you suggesting what I think you are...?"
"You ever want to fight Eroket Nightblade again?"
Taren sat back, scooping up the fallen papers. "Leave...let me reach my own conclusions..."
Mahk nodded, Taren replied to his friend's back. "I have no intention of mentioning this to Visla...or Geras."
He missed Mahk's small smile as he walked from the room, but not his final statement. "I owe you my life, Taren...but I don't owe you his."
***
Eroket had lost track of the hours...had managed to fall into an uneasy slumber...one rudely ended by the feel of a dagger pressed to his throat, a soft voice hissing in his sore ear. "If you make a sound, I shall kill you..."
Eroket smiles slightly...his body had begun to heal from the torture and he hadn't exactly been starved...Visla wanting his enemy to be in prime condition for torture...but at this point he didn't care about his life. "If you're here to kill me, just do it..."
"If you think I'd do so while you're so pathetic, then you are insane...quite the contrary..."
"Then you're going to torture me some more?"
"You really are slower then I thought, aren't you...an uncle's love comes with this..." Eroket felt the dagger pull away...and felts it sever the ropes that bound his paws.
"Turn around and I'll kill you..." The voice hissed again...it seemed almost familiar though...but t this time Eroket couldn't place it.
"Count to a hundred once you hear the tent flap rustle...I'll be gone by then...Visla will be by the stream...this may be your only chance, Nightblade, so be sure not to die...I rather want to fight you again."
"Taren...?" Eroket whispered, surprise filling him, but there was answer...only the rustle of the tent flap.
Eroket didn't dare move for ten seconds, then he began rubbing his footpaws frantically, trying to get the circulation going again.
When Eroket could feel the blood rushing to his feet and crimson died paws, he rose to his feet, pausing only to slip a dagger into his boot...the only weapon he recognized and actually knew how to use in this tent, and being without his sword he was intensely vulnerable.
Eroket sneaked from the tent into the cool night, his gleaming amber eyes narrowing, silently thankful most beasts had retired to their tents and the embrace of sleep.
Then he saw him...General Visla Deiran...discernable not only by his height and bulk but his hideous scarred and burnt feature.
Visla hadn't seen him yet, Eroket was fortunate to note...he had to make this quick...one attack, a quick kill.
Eroket fully expected to die...but to bring Visla down with him would be a fate Eroket would not mind much at all...Eroket Nightblade could pass into death with a smile on his face, then!
He steeled himself...and he sprang.
Visla was caught completely by surprise, hurled to the ground by Eroket slamming into his unarmored back; he recovered quickly, whirling around, coming up with a punch at Eroket's jaw.
The ermine ducked swiftly, his speed exceeding that of the General's, he came up with an uppercut to Visla's chin and a harsh statement that promised death: "You'd better hope there's an afterlife, Visla..."
"Hope's overrated, boy..." Visla had recovered from his initial shock, insane mind not even questioning how Eroket had escaped...only considering the shame Eroket would have to die now, a shame indeed...all that fun he'd miss out on. Oh well...
"Its such a shame...after all Kalis taught you..." The weasel wiped a trickle of blood from a cut lip, contempt in his gray eyes matching that in Eroket's amber orbs, "That after all Kalis taught you...you lack the virtues of honor and morality.
Eroket lost his temper, a mistake he would never have made had he been thinking clearly. "You BASTARD!" He roared, "All of a sudden you're the guardian of morals?!"
Visla's plot had worked...many soldiers had heard Eroket's roar and were running out to the stream's edge to see their leader and the ermine in their combat...Visla smirked as Eroket made another mistake: that of turning his head to see the Death Watch soldiers, and in a second he was on Eroket, grabbing the young ermine in a headlock, an open claw at his throat. "Allow me to demonstrate one thing my late brother missed; let me show you how to rip out a beast's throat..."
Eroket's elbow came into Visla's side, feeling the weasel's grip slacken; he suddenly threw himself back with all his strength.
Nearly thirty Death Watchers saw their leader, along with Eroket Nightblade, vanish with a splash into the stream, and most of them saw the two carried away by the current.
Mahk Nightblade couldn't resist glancing at the shocked Kallan and Geras...nor the oddly pleased Taren de-Droka
***
Eroket and Visla hurtled through the water at surprising speed, the two exchanging blows whenever they came up for air, neither wanting to let his enemy slip away.
Eroket couldn't help notice the silver flashed in the water, couldn't help but see the large, thin bodies and wicked teeth of the large pike...prudence finding a place in his mind, his paw shot out on instinct, latching onto a rock, his back to Visla, he didn't see the weasel pulling himself to shore, a dagger removed from the weasel's boot.
As Eroket dragged himself on the bank, Visla was upon him, the ermine couldn't restrain a cry as the dagger tore into his side, removed with a brutal motion. Almost instantly he felt his senses dissolve into an almost drunken state, his vision blurring.
"Feeling queasy, Nightblade?" Visla's gloating voice hit his ears. "Good...I just gave you a bit of poison...not enough to kill you, don't worry..." He spun Eroket around, delivering a vicious blow to jaw, hurling him to the ground. "I'm going to handle that myself..."
A desperate thought found its way into Eroket's muddled mind...the pike he had seen minutes earlier...a desperate idea forming as he slipped the dagger from his boot, concealed it against his arm.
Visla raised his dagger, ready to plunge it into Eroket's back, his face twisted into a sinister grin as he hissed, "Kalis would be SO disappointed..."
Eroket whirled around, dagger biting deep into the weasel's flesh, hurling himself forward, he struck Visla as hard as he could in his already wounded belly, hurling him from the bank edge into the water.
Eroket fell to his back as Visla emerged, immersed up to his waist, standing against the current, a paw clapped to his stomach. "You...you think this CUT will kill me?!" He laughed.
Eroket tilted his head to the side, the poison barely allowing him to open his eyes, he felt himself fading into the realm of unconsciousness. "No..." He raised a weak paw, pointed to the forms in the water. "But they will..."
It was then Visla saw them...drawn by the blood from his wounds, they came in with the speed of an arrow shot from a bow, incomprehension dissolved into terror as Visla let out a cry of denial, "NO!!!!"
The first pike's teeth tore into his side, the pain exploded through his body, worse then the burns had ever been capable of.
The second bite ripped into his leg, and Visla fell into the water, his final cries were unable to be heard as the predators continued to strike, the foaming waters died a deep red.
Eroket smiled slightly, "For you...Kalis...for you all..." He couldn't turn his head away from the gruesome spectacle even if he wanted to...he felt compelled to watch the end of the mad tyrant who destroyed two of his families.
Eroket's eyes closed and he abandoned himself to the darkness that sought to embrace him.
Eroket Nightblade knew peace.
***
"So...he died here..."
Taren de-Droka and the Death Watch looked at the gruesome spectacle...following the river from the previous night, they had just discovered the bloodstained riverside...and the mangled remnants of the pikes' macabre feast.
Taren's dual colored eyes narrowed at Geras, who had uttered the comment. "Yes...Visla did indeed die here..."
"I was talking about Eroket Nightblade...
Geras cocky tone replied. "He's dead, hm?"
"No..." Taren shook his head. "Look around for any traces of his corpse...whole or otherwise...and then look at the tracks that lead into the forest...I haven't killed him yet, Geras...he's alive, alright."
"Are we going after him then...?" Kallan the Storm replied, Taren spared the Calpathion traitor barely a glance as he shook his head. "We head south..."
"You haven't got that authority!" Geras snapped suddenly, his eyes narrowing, "General Visla-"
"General Visla is dead, Geras...you want to challenge me for leadership?"
Geras shut his mouth instantly...he knew Taren's dangerous reputation as a fighter and had no wish to match blades with him...he had lost this debate, but managed to hold onto a shred of dignity. "Mebbe my boys'n I'll just leave then!"
"You do that...spares me the trouble of killing you later on....you may call me 'The Merciful' for the rest of your days, Geras Iridan."
Geras opened his mouth, thought better of it, and whirled around, signaling his troops...as he walked away, he turned, letting Taren see the hatred in his eyes.
But in truth, for Geras there was only uncertainty.
Mahk and Kallan saluted Taren as one when Geras was gone, Taren was smiling slightly, allowing himself one last glance at the mighty General who had once dominated his life. "Ready?"
"Ready...General." Mahk replied.
General...Taren liked that, he decided. "Let's go then! South it is!"
The Death Watch was on the move once more...Mahk was pleased his friend had not gone the way of Visla, risking troops for the sake of a private vendetta...Taren was a leader he could trust and respect. "General Taren-"
"That's not my name anymore..." Taren replied, loud enough for all to hear.
"Then what is?" Kallan dared to ask.
Taren thought for a moment...then his mind settled on a name from his childhood lessons...the name of the founder of his family line...who had been feared throughout the north and west as a merciless conqueror. "Mordath..." He replied. "My name is Mordath..."
***
Eroket Nightblade was alone once more...he had awaked an hour after the pikes' feast had stopped...not wanting to see if the Death Watch showed up to see their leader's fate, he had slipped off into the trees...walking in one direction, hoping to arrive at a town, or city soon...
He had no group, no food, no money and only a small dagger...but Eroket Nightblade resolved he'd survive and make his way in the world...his mercenary skills could earn him food, money and a reputation...he'd make his way.
The Hunter's Way...Eroket paused, looked to the trees, wondering what had become of Talrid and Deran...he'd have to wait to find out though..."Goodbye, Kalis! I'm not ready to see you and the others just yet! One day, though! One day..."
A smile appeared on his handsome face as Eroket began walking once more.
And shortly after that, he was gone.
I left behind a piece of myself that day when Visla died...I look back upon it sometimes, but without regret...I only wonder if things could have been different.
I was The Hunter.
I was Eroket Nightblade.
I am content to leave it at that.
-Eroket Nightblade.