(Hey guys I am back, I really hope you guys are still around and still interested. Life took a few unexpected turns but I am happy to be back and I should be writing something almost regularly for here on out. Expect a few chapters every week from now on!)
Chapter 9
Roots of War
Two men and a young woman sat together on a small stone bench running parallel to the well kept cobbled street of the small village on Durinsdale. It rested in the quaint hills of the south-eastern territories of Demacia and was granted a great deal of freedom given its sheer distance from any major government center. Not that the people abused that, for they were kind and gentle folk who disliked getting into any kind of trouble. The village itself was merely a collection of small thatch and brick homes gathered together along a hundred yards of one of the smaller trade and travel routes that led all across the country. The road had been shutdown after the great war and since then the town has all but been left to its own devices, as only a few visitors come each month, usually. Most of which were Noxian deserters or vagabonds, but any visitor was welcome for it was quite a dull place. The two men were lightly armed in chainmail and were equipped with small bucklers and shortswords. The woman was hardly so, being only seventeen or eighteen years old but the smile on her face gave her a great radiance.
"Shouldn't you two be patrolling the town instead of trying to flirt with little old me?" The woman joked and both of the men laughed.
"No my lady, we are perfectly content where we are now. I am sure the town can fend for itself, like it always has." The younger of the two men said. The woman smiled her bright smile again and he laughed in response. The older guard stood up and patted his younger on the shoulder.
"I will give you two some privacy, I am going to have a quick look around." He heard the younger make a joke but he did not pay attention and walked away. He felt odd today, not sickly odd but just different. Something strange was about, the birds were not chirping and the wind was stiff and almost foul. He had caught the scent of battle in his long years many times before, and this was something similar. He began walking south along the road until a figure crested over the hill. It was the local forester, his bow was slung over his back and he seemed out of breath. The guard sprinted his way towards him, the forester tried to speak but instead fell to the ground, with an arrow shaft protruding out from his back.
"Damn..." the guard spoke and knelt down. He pressed his callous fingers against the foresters throat but there was no sign of life. He rubbed the mans hair for a moment and muttered a few honorable words before he brought his attention to the arrow. The shaft was of finely cut black wood, not some amateur bandit work. And the feathers were a sickly green. His mouth opened slightly and his eyes widened as he broke off the fletching and ran back towards the center of town in a full on sprint.
"Raise the alarm! Raise the alarm! We are under attack!" He shouted and men and women poked their heads through the windows in disbelief. The younger guard said some words to the woman before she scurried off and he ran to meet his elder.
"What? Are you sure?" He was a brave boy but he was very obviously nervous. The older held up the fletching of the arrow grimly.
"This is a Noxian arrow, I have seen such before on the field of battle many times." He looked down to the boy. "It could be some Noxian rouges, but I am unsure. This is a military grade arrow, made for taking down plated targets, not deer or wandering peasants." He threw it down on the ground and spat. A dozen more equally armed men ran to the center of town, coming from houses and alleys. Along with a handful of men with little to no armor and merely kitchen knives of farm tools as weapons. The youngest mustered up his courage and raised his sword in the air and shouted. And soon after, a line of men could be seen cresting the hill.
These indeed were not brigands, for this was a well armed troop of Noxian soldiers. Originally part of a much larger force, the main army broke into divisions and were set all across the eastern border cities and villages all across Demacia's border. The force attacking Durinsdale was very small, only three dozen footmen and a handful of bowmen but General Darius himself was present for he had a special purpose for the small town. He held a note in his hand from Jericho that stated he was to make a forward command here, for the town was the closest Demacian village to a major Noxian city and could be easily reinforced, if necessary. He turned back around and saw dozens wagons loaded with supplies and hundreds of laborers who would be easily disposed of once their jobs were finished. Evaine also sat on one of the carts, for she had no interest in the affairs of battle. She looked at Darius and smiled and then began to play with the tip of her staff.
"All of the men are to be killed, the women and children are to be spared. I want a dozen of you to go around the flank, bring three of our bowmen, make sure none escape." Darius closed the visor to his horned helmet and hefted his ax. "For Noxus!" He cheered and he ran down the slope along side his men, the archers sprinted forward and stopped halfway down the hill and readied their arrows. The guardsmen formed a shield wall that spanned the entire street, with a few men behind to strike down from over the shield wall. Normally this would have been a very dangerous engagement but the defenders had no archers and their shields were small and weak. Darius knew this and just his force reached the town a volley of arrows struck low on the shield wall, hitting legs and feet, causing them to stumble just before they were met by Noxian steel. Darius brought his ax down upon an unhelmeted man, splitting him down the middle before he wrenched his ax free and brought the spear tip of the ax eye into the gut of a man in mail.
He looked quickly to his left and right and noticed the shield wall had been cut down and the few remaining men had backed off significantly. Only four remained but one of them, a mere boy was mortally wounded and was held by an older, much more experienced fighter. His sword dripped blood as he stared back at the Noxians who had only lost a handful of soldiers. Darius held his troops back as he approached the remaining men. "No more blood has to be shed, disarm yourselves and you will live to see all of Valoran become engulfed in the glory of Noxus." He raised his visor and smiled but the old man spat. He whispered in the ear of the wounded guard and sat him down on a bloody stone bench.
"I will end your rain of terror here and now, Noxian dog!" He yelled spitefully and raised his sword against Darius. In return, Darius drew his own sword from its scabbard, a beautiful long blade with a hilt embedded with gems and a snake pattern. He handed his ax to a soldier and stepped forward, crunching down on a fallen guards neck as he walked.
The old man charged in a fury and dodged a quick stab from Darius as he swung, but missed wide left and Darius brought his blade back around and drove it into his exposed ribs. The man fell down a began to cough and spit blood onto the cobbles. Darius placed his plated boot on his head and stepped down, staring down the remaining men as he crushed his head against the street. They took of in a sprint and Darius raised his hand and they were cut down in a volley of arrows. The young boy had bleed out on the bench and slumped over, falling onto the street next to his elder and all was still.
"Raid the homes, do not burn anything that we can use. All Demacian flags and embroidery shall be destroyed, save and books or papers for me, they may contain something of value." He signaled for the men to get to work but he quickly stopped them. "Oh yes, the women and children are to be unhurt and unspoiled. This is not Ionia and you are not under the command of some immoral sergeant, gather them in the center of town and tie them up, we will send them all in a cart straight to Demacia."