Chapter Thirty-Seven

Grazz couldn't be entirely certain that it wasn't merely the heat of battle that allowed him easy access through the Charr ranks… that in the hectic maelstrom of activity, they weren't actively examining every being that dashed through to determine if they were on the same side.

But he also had the inkling that they knew exactly who he was… and that they weren't stopping him because they knew that the Charr male Grazz was searching for needed to be stopped first.

Could that matted flea-ridden monster realize that the hearts of the Charr weren't in the battle anymore? Couldn't he see that to continue to press would be slaughter? Almost half of the invading force was dead, and the other half wanted nothing to do with the cannons along the top of the wall.

He found himself thinking about Coran, while a little out of place concerning the situation, it wasn't terribly surprising. Grazz was fairly certain that the human king had no real idea how alike they truly were…

Grazz frowned. At one time, the Great Northern Wall had been an admirable, if not frustrating, monument to the humans at odds with the great Charr prides. Now, it was nothing more than a sieve, doing nothing more than forcing the Charr to funnel through the openings rather than pouring into human lands

Grazz had not expected the Wrath of the Fire Gods to work… had not believed that it would mark the end of Ascalon and the rise of Charr dominance over the lands. But if the news he was gleaning from the few sympathizers he knew and from the eavesdropping he had done, the Charr had already overwhelmed Ascalon, pushed Kryta to the bring, and had sank the Kingdom of Orr into the sea.

Perhaps he had been wrong… perhaps he shouldn't have tried to challenge the conventional wisdom…

No, that was the beast within him speaking, and the Charr should strive to be more than mere beasts. There was much the Charr could learn from humans that would be a long painful process to learn on their own. To destroy all that knowledge was foolish… to seek to eliminate a potential path to enlightenment and sophistication merely out of racism and pride was madness.

The exile was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't immediately notice a solitary figure staggering through the wall. Now, Grazz had seen many a Charr come in and out through that particular breach. In fact, three squads had done so just today. But he had not seen a human do so… until now.

This particular man wasn't exactly what Grazz would call an imposing example of his kind. The dehydrated, half-delirious state he was in only contributed to that pathetic, weakly appearance.

The man crumpled, and Grazz approached warily. The human likely wasn't much of a threat, but there was no telling if there were others that might misinterpret the Charr's curiosity. By the time Grazz had reached the human, the man had forced himself up to his elbows, and the two found their eyes meeting.

Grazz had managed to discern much of the human language through his observations over the years, and thusly understood what the man said. "Well, brother, you'll finally get to see me dead after all…" The man said then slumped back to the ground.

Immediately, Grazz felt for the young man, as there were some things that crossed the racial boundaries. Grazz knew far too well what it was like to suffer the slings of a brother who would like nothing more than to see his demise…

Grazz saw his target appear through two Shamans who parted as they saw the exiled Charr charging forward. The grand chieftain of the Charr prides, who placed his claim to the highest spot of honor through blood, battle, and a promise to destroy the human lands. To Hrar Flamemane, his legacy depended on destroying Ascalon. A legacy that clashed with his younger brother's… and that led to said younger brother exiling himself from the prides rather than face his sibling in combat.

That legacy could not be allowed to continue.

Grazz had walked away because at the time, he had felt the reward hadn't been worth the risk. After all, he had thought the event the humans called "The Searing" had been a near delusional flight of fancy. Grazz made that mistake once… his human friends, Ascalon, and also the Charr, couldn't afford him to make it again.

Hrar reacted quickly to the coming threat, but not quickly enough, as Grazz brought him down with a bone-crunching shoulder tackle. Both Charr quickly regained their footing, and roared in challenge. Hrar of course, was looking forward to the opportunity to do what he had wanted to do years ago. Grazz ignored the threat, starting a slow circle to size up his opponent.

Hrar was at least a half head taller, with a more robust and built body shape, with a crudely designed and crafted single blade hooked axe as large as an average human's arm, and had the advantage of a shield. The hammer Grazz "borrowed" from Devona could neutralize that somewhat… but its slower attack might allow the elder brother an opening for a counterattack.

Nonetheless, the bigger concern was the shield, as long as Hrar had that, Grazz likely wouldn't be able to make any significant blow. Devona's hammer was just the thing to attempt to take care of that.

Grazz smiled in satisfaction as he felt the slight crack as the heavy head of the hammer struck against Hrar's shield, and then sprung back to avoid a midriff gouging slash from his brother's axe.

Definitely one of the things the Charr could learn from the humans was smithing and maintenance of arms and armor. The blades of the Charr were often weak and inferior, only the natural advantages of stature and strength making it seem like the weapons of Charr manufacture were even close to on par. Grazz's reinforced that personal point when the second blow of Devona's hammer split Hrar's shield in two and fractured the elder Charr's forearm.

Promising to apologize to Coran's mate for disrespecting such a finely crafted weapon, Grazz tossed the hammer carelessly aside, drawing the Rinblade from in time to intercept Hrar's axe. But the elder Charr reacted with a frenzied speed that Grazz was not expecting, and received a long painful gash along his off arm for the trouble.

The two brothers again circled warily, looking for an opening. Even with the superior weapon, Grazz did not like his chances against the larger Charr. Hrar's reach, strength, and perhaps quickness were all superior...

Grazz needed to be smarter. He had taken a page out of Devona's book to get to this point, and now it was time to take one out of Yuu's…

The feint didn't need much effort. After all, it isn't particularly hard to look overpowered when you really are overpowered. Grazz teetered off balance after avoiding a frenzied trio of swipes and chops, and fell down soundly on his rump, his left leg kicking up, and allowing him to stealthily draw the assassin dagger that had been hidden in his calf bands.

Thus, the grand chieftain Hrar Flamemane received a nasty unpleasant surprise to his chest when he dove forward to deliver the final blow. The force of the impact caused the dagger to snap at the hilt, but by then, the damage had been done.

Hrar staggered back from the mortal wound to his stomach, and Grazz took the opportunity to regain footing, and deliver the killing blow, swinging with both hands across the hilt of the Rinblade, biting into the furred flesh of Hrar's neck, and popping the Charr chieftain's head clean off his shoulders as if the blade had done nothing more than hack at a stray weed.

Grazz didn't waste time admiring his surprise victory. The victor grabbed Hrar's severed head by the back of the mane, and skipped up a jagged rise where he hoped to be seen by as much of the Charr army as possible. From there, Grazz raised the gruesome trophy, and bellowed at the top of his lungs.

That served to draw the attention of the Shamans along the back lines, and the news slowly filtered down the ranks.

The Charr had a new grand chieftain, and he was mercifully calling for a retreat.

"Go play with the cannons, she said." Devona grumped, kicking the unsightly metal tube. To think such an ugly, pudgy machination could bring such terrible destruction. It seemed anti-climactic somehow. "To think I was afraid people would be reluctant to defy me as queen. That was truly a faulty assumption, wasn't it?"

Devona's ears then perked, as if through the din, she somehow heard a sound that was out of place. "Something's going on in the Charr ranks. Their battle cries have halted."

Coran gathered up his telescopic lens, and began scanning the field of battle. After a few seconds, he isolated on one solitary Charr sticking out above the melee. With a smile, he said,
"Well, well… I knew there was something special about you, old friend. Devona, grab that horn next to your feet, and command a halt… I think this battle is done."