My eyes flutter, wanting to see the stars one last time. As fate would have it, I wouldn’t be granted any last requests. My eyes sting with the smoke and the smell of charred wood clings to the air. I’m part of the horrifying truth; our nation took advantage of others during the Great War for personal gain. Granted that was the unspoken rule when all hell broke loose; kill or be killed. Evil and good were now a matter of situation, than a clear boundary. We had back-stabbed anyone we could to get ahead, given that our country had no real special skills other than pure tenacity. We did what we had to and now it was time to pay our dues.

The moans of my soldier get a bit louder and more pitiful. I close my eyes and sigh. Sitting around while others suffered, had never suited me. Whether saving their life was pointless or not, I could at least spend my final hours with someone who wasn’t trying to kill and eat me; not necessarily in that order. Hell they might even trade off between doing both several times. Og Nag will make their prey wiggle while they eat if they can. Something about more blood pumping through your system in every bite, was a treat to them.

I roll to my hands and feet, planting my scabbard into the ground to help me stand up. I choke on the high-pitched gasp that almost escapes as I remember the nasty gash in my side. The path to the cries of agony is almost clear, save for the large slabs of stone illuminated by various small fires. My gaze shifts quickly, but quietly as I let my eyes do most of the scanning.

I pass by another soldier who went out the best way possible. She was missing her head, but beside her lay a dozen dead Og Nag, as well as a few empty liquor bottles. A small smile creeps onto my face, happy that they at least died how they wanted, on their own terms.

I turn a corner and stop; I almost lose what little I had in my stomach. A soldier without his helmet lay pinned between two large stone slabs. Everything below his shoulders was almost completely concealed. His eyes were literally beginning to bulging from his head. Trails of blood seeped from his tear ducts and his face was a dark shade of purple. I couldn’t even tell the tone of his skin. His short brown hair is half caked with dried blood. He couldn’t be any older than seventeen.

He peers up at me with wonder, almost as if his mission was to find me. His temples pound rapidly on his forehead. He tries to mouth words to me, but can do nothing but gulp like a fish. His eyes dart to my sword then to me. My fingers caress the handle as my stomach rots. It was the duty of a captain to end needless suffering. It was my burden to bear and mine alone. I whip out my sword, trying to make this as quick as possible, but I hesitate.

This was the first friendly face I had seen in hours and I was about to remove it from existence. I didn’t even get a good look at sargent Tanis. Standing by his side, I raise my weapon above my head. Besides the light crackle of flames, the night is serenaded with the clanking of my armor as I shake in place. Once again, something inside me just...can’t. I lower my sword and take off my helmet.

Our eyes lock as I take a knee, setting my helmet next to him out of respect. He deserved to see my full face. This could easily be the last friend I ever meet. He does his best to close his eyes but literally can’t. I tear off a piece of red cloth from my Captain’s Cloak and lay it across his eyes. He didn’t need to see it coming. With one stroke, he’s gone. The built up pressure of blood comes jetting out over the ground with a loud splash. The slabs of stone shift a bit as they settle down.

I see his helmet laying a few feet away, resting on an upright stick. He had it so it was just barely visible over the short wall. If anything came wandering, it might jump the wall and go for his helmet first. He tried to catch his breath in this building, but it must have collapsed on him as he slept. His helmet was the same design as mine. It fully covered the wearer’s face, but his had a massive dent in the left side. The sides of the helmet that cover our ears, continue above the head and quickly dip forward like the end of a scythe blade. While it could be used for headbutting soldiers, it almost never came up and got caught more by weapons being swung overhead than anything else. You could thank our King for wanting our armor to be as dramatic as possible, regardless of practicality.

I mindlessly put my helmet back on, doing my best to block this moment out. Some of his blood had apparently filled my helmet, as it slowly oozes down my cheek. My eyes are wide as I walk away from him and this damn war. Stones crunch under my boot as I stand on a long path that acted as a main road. This city had been my home, but everything looked foreign. There was nothing recognizable anymore. The sky mocks me again. I wanted to see the moon, the stars, anything. This was the end.

My head snaps to the right as I hear my name called down the road. It takes my eyes a bit to see the fire’s light reflect off his armor. He runs towards me. Emeris, my second in command and lifelong friend. He might as well be walking straight out of the gates of heaven. Him being alive was impossible.

“Captain Raiden!” he calls out again, waving his hands. I begin walking towards him, but pick up the pace once he looks behind him. At least twenty Og Nag came into view, waving their swords and snarling wildly. I look down at my weapon and sigh. One day I had planned to walk down the steps of a huge, white house, walk into the living room and see it mounted above the fireplace. It curved near the end, to make it more aerodynamic. The handle had weaves of red and gold fabric. The once polished blade had been hideously reforged in a hurry several times. It had been custom made for me once I had hit captain, as is tradition.

Emeris does his best to run, but limps on his right foot. He only has a basic sword, and no shield. I go into a light jog, knowing I’ll need to save some energy for the fight. My eyes scan the debris around me, and I finally see a cramped, intact alleyway to my right. I stop and make a triangle with my hands above my head, our signal for either a trap or tactical advantage in our favor, with an X meaning the opposite. He sheaths his sword and runs as fast as he can. The stone slabs groan a bit as I pat them for stability. If it wasn’t steady, we might have to use it to slow them down, but if it’s still decently intact, it could be a good choke point. The ground holds a single piece of hope for us: an abandoned shield. After turning it over a few times in my hands, it seems to be decently intact.

Emeris stops and slides across the ground. I grab him and guide him into the alley way.

“How tired are you?!” I ask urgently

“I’m...I’m okay, I can fight!” He barely gets out the word between breathes.

“Then we hold them off here. Keep an ear out if they start trying to climb around us. If they do, we keep backing up. The debris should help spread them out.”

He nods his head furiously.

It’s only a few seconds before they get to us. They hiss wildly as they all try to crowd into the narrow alley. The walls surrounding us crack and groan as the monsters slam into the side as they round the corner. We both flinch and scan the tops of the walls as a few rocks roll down. Emeris grabs the shield from me and braces himself. He starts shaking in place, his eyes are wide and focused. I lean over to his ear.

“Try to deflect their attacks instead of stopping the entire hit, you’ll use less energy.”

The first Og Nag charges. It swings his sword at Emeris, who quickly leans back, barely dodging the attack. He jams his sword into the Og Nag’s stomach. A second one quickly climbs on top of his fellow soldier and tries to swing at Emeris from the left. I raise my weapon and block the attack, but only momentarily. Emeris quickly jams his sword up and into the creature's face before he can swing again. Emeris pulls out his sword from the dead Og Nag, and kicks the creature away, then goes back into the same position. A third Og Nag tries to swing down at him, but I can see his other small, frail hand on a shank.

“Den Right!” I yell. Emeris slams his shield to his right, pinning the monsters arms against the wall. I quickly reach over the shield and stab it in the forehead. Its bulging eyes roll back and both weapons fall to the ground. Emeris barely has time to deflect to his left, as another attack happens. He runs it through with his sword. I get my sword up just in time to block and impale another attack from above. I flinch as a rock falls on my helmet. Two Og Nag stare down at me, their eyes are yellow and empty. They clutch their weapons menacingly.

“Emeris, time to move!” I yell. We back up as fast as possible, still having to defend ourselves with every step. I check behind us every second, knowing a well-timed ambush would end it all. Their bodies keep piling up and the alleyway is running out rapidly.

“Gai!” I call out, letting him know it was time to leave. Emeris slices up one last Og Nag and kicks it into the small crowd which are stunned momentarily. He spins around and we empty out into a large area that was decently clear of debris. This must have been a small market area due to the random colored fabric tucked into the stone slabs that ring the clearing.

I glance over and see an Og Nag as tall as I am, rushing at me. With no time to draw my sword, I stand there for just a brief second, baiting him to take a confident swing at me. He quickly raises his sword above his head to bring it down. Right as it begins its descent, I immediately crouch and turn my right side in his direction and rush forward. In a split second, I’ve rammed my shoulder spike into its chest. The moment my shoulder pad makes contact, I reach across and clamp my hands around his, controlling the weapon. As fast as I can manage, I swing it across his neck and sever his head which clanks against my armor on it's way down. The brutal shriek of another Og Nag makes me turn around and he's followed closely by two allies.

I kick my former opponents head into the face of the first little monster, stunning it momentarily as it protects its face. The second sword makes a light whistle as I hurl it through the air, nailing him in the chest. His accomplice tries to swipe at my head. I duck under the swing, and draw my sword to the left, across his stomach as I sail past. Before he can do anything else, I slash his spine to finish him off. He falls face first into the ground.

My hand instinctively goes for my side. I knew I needed to take it easy, but how could I? My veins pulse with every block and every swing of my blade. The makeshift bandage was doing its job for now, but by the time it would matter, I’d be dead. Something deep within drove me to keep pushing, to keep fighting, to keep resisting.

The footsteps of my last foe echo off the debris around me. I flip my sword around so it goes back across my forearm. His first swipe is blocked with my blade, as I swing my free arm and ram my elbow spike into his face. His only sound is his metal weapon clanging against the ground.

Another comes in, sword drawn. I deflect his attack to the left. Instead of stopping, I spin all the way around again, allowing me to hit him with my shield, sending him sailing into another approaching ally. They collide and hit the ground. I rush over and impale them both with a single downward thrust. I pull out my sword, and see Emeris has his hands full.

Two tall Og Nag come at him from the sides. He raises his shield. Right before the left one brings his sword down, Emeris dodges to the left, under the creatures swinging arm and cuts off its leg. It falls to the ground shrieking. His ally watches him hit the floor. As soon as it looks up, Emeris sends its head flying. It falls to the ground on its knees, then slumps over dead. Emeris finishes the one on the ground. The last six decide it’s time to run.

“Emeris, we can’t keep doing this, we have to get back to the castle!” I hiss with frustration. It was common knowledge in our army that if everything fell apart, that you retreated to the nearest landmark. A well-known tower, a command post, whatever stood out the most was the assumed location. If we were regrouping, it would be at the castle. It hung silently in the distance, devoid of any light and hope. Every candle that could be seen from the outside was snuffed to make it impossible for catapults to sight in on it. Calling it a castle was a bit of an exaggeration, since it was only as wide and long as eight normal homes, but it did its job. With six floors and what appeared to be a completely winged design, it was an eyesore but had resisted plenty of sieges.

Emeris and I stay low and try to keep out of the light. This also helped our eyes adjust to the darkness as well. Emeris sighs as we skulk through the city. His voice is quiet but full of frustration.

“Why are we even doing this? Let’s just sit here and watch the castle go caboom! We did our job! We lured the Og Nag here and fought them for days now!”

We stop and I slump against a wall. I prop one leg up and have my arm hang over it.