New chapter is here

Again, if it sucks, tell me please, any suggestions welcome.

Sha-Kar, Campion of Cyrodill.

Chapter 1

Sha-Kar awoke in the usual way, a nudge on the shoulder from Ba-Zar at five o'clock. He had gotten used to it and was almost awake by the time he got to the lake for his morning swim. This had been his routine for a week now; get up at five, go for a morning swim, eat breakfast and then lessons for the day started.

He was skilled enough with a bow and a sword, and he had an unusually good grasp of magic, particularly Destruction and Restoration magic. He had come to accept and even like this new way of life. Tiring though it may be, the skills he was learning fast and had made many friends along the way, including Eagle-Eye, who had been giving him tips on his archery.

Meal times were getting to be just as enjoyable as the lessons, whereas before, when he first came, he would eat in relative silence, speaking only when spoken to, he would now join in lively discussions and debates with his fellow tribesmen.

"Well I say that the Dunmer have stopped pushing there luck", said one Argonian, "they wont invade again, they may be stupid, but they know when to stop".

Another Argonian replied, "They have been pushing it for as long as anyone can remember", he turned to Sha-Kar, "what's made 'em stop now I wonder?"

Sha-Kar took a moment to ponder this question, on his rare excursions from the campsite, he could have sworn he had seen trees being felled and slow spirals of smoke rising on the horizon, perhaps simply another tribe had risen and was making a home for itself… or maybe a Dunmer outpost. Not wanting to worry his fellows with this news, he said, "If they have left us alone at last, all the better for us, if not…all the worse for them".

Roars of approval met this speech, and after he had bid farewell to his friends, he made his way to his bed.

… Fire…Smoke… Shouting… Blurred shapes moving fast… was this a dream?? … odd dream, he thought… but wait… was that an earthquake?? … it couldn't have been… and again, was he dreaming? … the shouts became louder, clearer… "Wake up!!"… "Wake up damn it, wake up!!"

'Was that, Ba-ZarSomething is wrong', he thought.

Sitting bolt upright made his head swim for a second or two, and everything seemed, fuzzy, he couldn't hear properly.

Then everything came into sharp focus all at once, the shouts of battle, the clanging of armour, of distant explosions and screams from the north.

Stormhold was being attacked.

Leaping from his bed, he strapped his new elven armour on and grabbed his weapons, a steel longsword with an absorb health enchantment, it was a gift from his father, "Just for if you need it, son", he said, he would defiantly be needing it, and a plain elven bow with silver arrows.

Everyone who was ready was clearly running towards Stormhold, he was right. He joined the crowd, eager to join battle with the enslavers of his race.

As he reached the peak of the hill obscuring Stormhold from view, there was a sharp intake of breath, as the scope of the battle hit the eager warriors like a warhammer to the gut.

Stormhold was ablaze. The whole valley was lit by the in a semi twilight. The few survivors were running this way, and a massive Dunmer army had arranged itself along the southern walls. As Sha-Kar looked away from this horrific scene, he could see groups of soldiers from other tribes watching in horror as the Dunmer took pot shots with bows at the fleeing Argonians.

Rage filled him like boiling water; he longed to sink an arrow or two into a Dunmer, any one of them. But they were outnumbered, and heavily. He didn't care though. He would fight to the death. They needed a commander, someone to organise and lead the counter-strike. He needn't look far, in fact he needn't look at all, as at that moment, Mac-Nar and Ba-Zar's voices could be heard over the noise, shouting orders to the soldiers.

"Stop staring and form up soldiers!"

"Ready your arrows and spells!"

Sha-Kar reached into the depths of his mind to search out the element of fire, he let the warmth spread from his mind to his arm, and when all heat had collected one word rung out from the noise of battle.

"FIRE!"

Arrows soared, streaks of lightning, frost and fire flew towards the Dunmer army. Sha-Kar flung out his arm, letting the ball of elemental fire loose to scorch an unwary enemy. He quickly followed the spell with an arrow, it found its mark and the Dark-Elf fell to the blood-soaked grass.

Spell after spell flowed from Sha-Kar's hand, arrow after arrow found a target, but no matter how fast he worked, nothing seemed to slow the oncoming wave that threatened to engulf the Argonians. He put his bow away and drew his sword. It seemed to pump strength into his arm and clear his mind.

The first wave of the Dunmer army bore down upon the Argonian soldiers like a ravenous creature.

The clang of metal on metal, the anguished cries of the dead, blood spattered the armour of the soldiers; Sha-Kar let reflexes take over, barely conscious of his actions. Foe after foe fell by his hand, and they just kept coming, and he just kept slaying.

The ache building up inside his body was ignored, Sha-Kar's anger blinded him, and he noticed nothing. All that mattered was destroying as many Dunmer as possible as quickly as he could. Blood splattered on his armour and whether or not it was his, Sha-Kar did not know, nor care. And though he did not notice it, his strikes were getting weaker and weaker and more as his body took more and more blows…

Suddenly, a searing pain erupted in his left shoulder and Sha-Kar turned his head to see an arrow sticking out from his armour, his sight rapidly failing and body crashing to the ground. Landing heavily on his chest, the last thing Sha-Kar saw was the boots of the ever-approaching enemy.

A big thank you to Ze-Smai for her help with this chapter

Next chapter coming soon….. I hope