The pain he felt in his stomach from fleeing through the forest had hector panting and gasping for air, it didn't help that the strange wound on his upper right shoulder made his arm feel like the pits of the underworld. He clutched it with his left hand as he sprinted through the sticks and bushes careful to avoid running into a tree or tripping on a branch, the armor wasn't doing any favors either it was weighing him down, but he couldn't stop running to take it off, he couldn't stop running for anything.
They had gone to Alnus expecting a strong enemy but even that had been an underestimation of the true horror he had witnessed, his brothers obliterated by fireballs from the sky, thousands of spells flying from the top of the hill the men in green had been on, large war…beast?...machines? He hadn't been able to tell what the hell it that was had killed them but gods it was the most horrifying thing he had witnessed in his seventeen years of life.
He had survived by the literal skin of his teeth, a hole blown into the land by one of the men in green's fireballs had given him shelter from the battle itself; the terrified and pained screams of his fellow soldiers had made him feel as if he was going slowly mad. When the firing of the magic those devils had stopped and his dying brother's screams faded, he had made a beeline for the nearby forest leaving behind his shield and spear which would just weigh him down, in his rush he saw the bodies of men torn to pieces and it only made his rage boil even more. He wanted to grab each and every one of these men in green and strangle them, curb stomp them, feed them to wild dogs, he wanted them all dead so badly that it had been the driving force for him to keep going. Italica…he had to get back to Italica, yes it was the only way he would tell all of what happened before the men in green could arrive and then…what? What would they even do?
His arm felt as if needles had been dragged along it, the stinging from the wound overwhelming him, the pain from so much running had left him on the verge of collapsing, he stopped and sat his stomach rising and falling quickly, his eyes forming tears from the wind. He looked around himself he had come onto a trail leading forward and backwards he clutched the gash on his shoulder and stood a small river was by the trail he looked into it gazing at his reflection, his red hair was matted and with dirt in it, his green eyes had bags under them and his tan skinned face had small little knicks on it from the bushes and tree branches he had hit while running. He dunked his head in after removing his helmet taking a long drink of the freshwater and fell back onto the trail.
the wound had stopped bleeding but it was the least of his worries he turned his head looking all over the place and listening closely for any footsteps but he heard nothing and saw nothing good…perhaps they hadn't followed him he stood again and placed his helmet back on and began walking the trail he would need to find a farm or village nearby that could house him for the day and then he would set off the next morning back to Italica then it hit him.
Nobody was coming to help him, every one of the soldiers, the men he had considered friends and brothers were dead, and their enemy the men in green had been undefeatable. He collapsed on his knees hot tears forming in his eyes he began to breathe quick and fast and he felt as if he could still hear the horrendous sounds of the spells firing at his fellow soldiers who screamed in agony and fear as they were all torn apart he clutched his chest his heart beating so fast it pained his chest, he felt dizzy, he felt numb, he felt cold, and then…then nothing. He was back at the trail in the forest by the small river he looked around wondering what he had just gone through, was it some kind of effect of the magic they had used on him? He hoped not but currently he just couldn't tell he wiped the tears away, he needed to show stoicism now he needed to be strong.
He stood again feeling determined to make it the pain in his shoulder no longer bothering him anymore, he walked the trail for a few hours as he watched the sun rise overhead the cool spring breeze providing him with a sense of relief and peace from the battle a few hours previous and yet he still felt a pang of nervousness as if he was being watched, he didn't know where this trail would take him but he hoped someone, anyone, was nearby.
So, I've always wanted to see one of these from a pov of an imperial soldier and when I couldn't find any I was like fuck it I'll try it.
word of warning I've never written before so this is probably God awful but a guy's got to start somewhere, right?