Siege of a Castle

As Hinin gave his speech, once again Fallen was off in the distance speaking with Sora, who was now growing angry but as before could do nothing to persuade the young WereChild that this venture was a bad idea. For every point she made, he countered with one better and their wrestling match never seemed to end. "I don't like this." Said Sora.

The boy shook his head and scuffed the ground with his boot. "You can't change my mind. I have to go, it feels like I have no other choice." His stature was getting tense again. "I will be fine. There is a rather large city there plus the hundred of us. I have killed more demons than I can count!"

Sora snapped at him, "I am not worried about the demons! I am worried about you!" He looked a bit shocked and then drifted his eyes away from her. "What if you change at night? Those humans would obliterate you for what you are! You cannot fight as well in that form as you can in this one."

He shrugged, "You worry too much Sora...I can lie and say that I'm headed on patrols every night so no one notices."

"Someone will notice your being gone and find it odd! It is too risky!"

He smiled, seeing confidence raising within the army as he pulled his dual blades from their slumber and raised them high above his head. He crossed the tips of the blades and gave a whooping roar before yelling "I will lead you all to victory that much I swear. Weather you be human, coward, strong weak, big little tall, skinny, dumb, intelligent, or even the greatest mage of all. " He put emphasis on the word mage, hoping the were child would hear.

Off in the distance his adept sense of hearing caught the last part of his praise which caused Fallen to look over his shoulder, "What the...?"

Sora raised a brow and looked at him. "What did he mean by Mage?" Here eyes narrowed and she focused on him.

He gave a nervous chuckle, "I have no idea."

She hummed a bit, "Dear, what did you do?"

"I may have...destroyed a mage with my aura?"

Her eyes widened a bit, "Fallen! They could have arrested you for such a think! Not to mention if they figured that you are a WereChild!"

He clapped his hands over his advanced ears and moaned, "Why did he have to say mage!?"

He chuckled lightly at his hinting then smiled. "You men have one hour to pack up and prepare to travel a bit. You should also be equipped to fight a very hard battle. You are dismissed. Remember though, meet here one hour. Any man who isn't here will be replaced and forgotten. " He returned to his tent and began strapping his light scout armor to him. The shoulder blades arched upwards so to protect from warring swords. His leggings were tight around his thighs and ankles. his gauntlets were made for speed as well. There were no sleeves on the armor but this revealed his chain mail underneath. He left his helmet in the tent. He didn't see a need for more armor that would slow his pace. He grabbed his pack and packed it full of food, rations, and anything else he may need on the trip, including bandages, stitches, and other medical supplies even though they already had four medics on the squadron. He pulled the pack onto his back, his arms through the straps and headed out of the tent. He smiled, finally having a real excuse to use the armor.

Fallen was standing outside his tent leaning against one of the posts that acted as a support beam. He was dressed in the attire of a rouge and the most armor he wore was the chain mail hauberk he wore under a leather tunic loosely sewn together and iron grieves he seemed to have obtained in the short time they were separated. He wore leather boots over the grieves and his face was mostly shrouded behind a hood except for one un blinking eye that peered out like the moon in the night sky. Around his waist was strapped the long steel blade and the dagger that had once been stuck in his shoulder blade. A weary smile formed on his face, "A spirit almost ate me because of you."

Completely ignoring his own comment he proceeded to speak without oddity. "So, we move out then? The West is waiting for us and I wish to kill more demons then demons kill humans." He appeared to fidget in a bit of impatience.

He shot a odd questioning at the boy and said "Um, a spirit almost did what?" He shook his head a bit as if he had just been drugged then answered with "And yes. About thirty minutes from now, I will rally the soldiers and we will move out. Which reminds me. " He went back into his tent and grabbed a scroll he had written all the names of the soldiers on including Fallen. "Gonna need this if I am to make sure everyone is present. " He gave a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck.

He nodded a bit and walked along to face the crowd that had gathered near. Hinin would hopefully be standing somewhere near when Fallen suddenly fell into a trance, staring at a specific soldier for about a minute strait. He then whispered, "Not all of your soldiers are human." With this he glanced to the side opposite Hinin and walked off, not really saying anything else other than a few muttering voices directed at himself.

He smiled and leaned over to the child. "I gathered that much from your 'magic' the other day. I know what you are. It hardly matters." He looked around and then realized there might have been an alternate meaning behind that. "You weren't referring to yourself, were you?" He did this in the quietest whisper he could manage, so as to make sure no others could hear him.

Fallen turned to look over his shoulder and whispered, "I am impressed that you are as intelligent and understanding of the other races as you are...and yes, I speak of another." His eyes drifted back towards the crowed and he leered at a specific spot. "He doesn't seem to notice me however, that is odd..." Narrowing his eyes gave him a appearance that seemed a bit odd and then he made a huffing sound almost like a pant and looked back at Hinin. "I think he's a cat..." With this he walked off.

He nodded a bit, feeling a little confused then let out a soft chuckle. "Interesting. Very interesting. " He was glad to have not just one werechild in his mix but two. He smiled and rubbed his chin, watching men swarm onto the field, all dressed in amour of their own choice. Some had helmets and some did not. One thing seemed all too clear on everyone's person though; They were ready for a fight. At the mark, he raised his hands high above him so that everyone could see him and yelled. "Men Fall in line. " In a scurry of motion, everyone jumped into their orderly stations and stood silent. "Ok now I will take a count of each man here from my list. " He raised the list and began. It only took about thirty minutes, each one giving a loud "Sir" each time their name was called. After all the names were called, he smiled, looking back to them now. "And now we march. " with this, he had everyone form into two lines as to keep things much more orderly. He led them in the North west region until nightfall. There, he stopped them and had everyone make camp. he knew it may be hard to sleep without a proper tent but then it was a battle so he ignored any aches or pains anyone had. As he sat down on the cot he had brought, he removed his armor and chain mail thus relaxing for the first time in days. He wore a brown shirt and matted pants. It felt good to have a relaxed stature before going into battle. He let his lids roll into sleep as he drifted into his dreams.

A few hours just before the sunset, Fallen explained to Hinin that he would have to leave due to his becoming a dog by night and that if anyone asked he assigned him to patrol. When he felt he was far enough away, he perched himself on a lone tree that had fallen somewhere out in the fields of grass that shifted the reflection in the sunlight to give an illusion of flowing waves as the wind blew over. Shadows began to stretch and eventually the world became dark when the sun set. Patches of blue flame slowly engulfed his entire body and in a few minutes, a rather large dog was perched on the tree in place of the humanoid being.

The dog was mostly brown with a diamond shaped patch of black fur covering the top and the end of his tail. His paws were black on the front side and everything else was the regular brown. Although he did have a few patches of black fur on the top of his head and a line running from his nose up to a diamond shaped patch on his forehead. With a wag of his tail he leaped from the branch and began to wonder around the area near the camp. At one time during the night he came back to the camp. Most of the people mistook him for an actual dog that just happened to be fairly large. This was common with him and he decided to visit the 'cat'.

This was fairly curious for him as he watched from a distance. The person didn't seem to show any sign of being a WereChild. Not even the teeth were different as all lore explained. How strange....

He didn't have much happen worth attention throughout the night. He sat there, relaxing in the moon light.

In the morning, Fallen had returned as his normal self and was walking around the camp in his normal attire. He arrived at Hinin's tent and crossed his arms. "The other knows nothing."

He nodded. "We need to get moving as soon as humanly possible. " He chuckled at the choice of words and stood, putting on his amour. "Can you do me a favor and let some of the men to get ready to march?"

Fallen did as he was asked and rallied everyone up, telling them it was time to move out once more. While everyone was folding their tents and putting up cooking pans as well as loading supplies onto a wagon, the WereChild sat and watched the event while chewing on an apple he obtained a few minutes before the packing started. He enjoyed watching their custom as he rarely needed such supplies. Everything he needed was easily obtained. Killed food and ate at night as a dog, looted any corpses he came across, and would sometimes work a short job in a town for a few pieces of gold to get him by.

He had tore down his tent and shoved it into his pack. He moved in front of the army and smiled. "Everyone here?" he shouted after he read the names through. After he saw that everyone was accounted for, he continued on west.

About three days would go on without anything special happening and on that night Fallen decided it was time to confront the WereChild. First he made sure he concealed his transformation and then summoned the child to Hinin's tent where the three of them could speak. Fallen was standing in the corner as odd as always and the other was standing at the opening a bit curious, "Why have I been summoned here."

Fallen raised his hand, "That would be me. What is your name?"

"Oh uh...Ouatel, sir." He was very tense and seemed scared for some reason. But Fallen seemed to think it was unrelated to the actual situation.

Then Fallen decided to play with the child and he stared at the boy for some time before giving him a wide smile to reveal his sharp teeth. This startled the boy who backed away slightly. He pointed frantically, "He is a...WereChild?"

The dog closed his lips and looked to Hinin, "He has no idea." He appeared quite amused by this.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Fallen don't play with the ignorant one. Its not his fault he doesn't know. "

"It is curious though...I can see his soul and it is obvious that he is a cat." He pointed while saying this, as if he were tattling on the other for having his true form suppressed for some odd reason. "Since the day I was born I have turned into a dog every night but he does not even know. That is not possible." He lowered his arm and looked at the creature. "Hm...perhaps there is something more to this." After looking at Hinin he spoke, "I must head off to speak with the Spirit that tried to eat me." Then he left the tent and wondered off to the forest.

Outel stared and his mouth was nearly to the floor, "I'm a what!?"

He scratched his chin then motioned to the boy and sighed. "You are dismissed. Go eat a meal or something. " He relaxed on his cot.

The strange WereCat was a bit confused after the encounter and it stuck on his mind for the rest of the week.

Fallen returned some time later as a dog and entered the flaps of Hinin's tent, sitting before him with a focused stare. His muzzle moved and he began to speak without synchronization of his lips. "Some are born with the soul of another animal thus why they become that animal when the sun goes down. No one understands why they change but they do. Although most of the time that person only part of that soul, so half would be human, half would be animal. Mine is unique but his is more human than animal. It would take a lot of magic to release his cat form." The dog done with the odd speech scratched behind his ear with his hind paw.

He eyed the dog suspiciously before recognizing the voice. "You must be Fallen. You are a fine looking dog. And very informative. The Were-child eating spirit I assume?"

"Her name is Sora, she is a special case I suppose, but as am I." He paused for a long time before standing and exiting the tent, "Time to hunt."

A few days later; almost half way to the city to help fight the demons, Fallen and the entire group found something horrifying, the ravaged band of travelers who had all died. Everywhere they looked there were those who had been slain and eventually Fallen announced that it was demons that had done this. A few minutes later he also noticed something odd and crouched over. Before her was a beautiful woman and by the appearance, she was his age. Her skin was flawless and she was garbed in more masculine clothing such as an average tunic and trousers as well as a hooded silk cloak of a dark brown color that matched her normal clothing. Her hair was a dark golden color that seemed a bit more brown but still had an odd golden sheen. It was long and reached the back of her waist. What was most amazing about her was that she was breathing.

He placed a hand on her chest just above her breast to see if her lungs were working properly and when he was satisfied she had no life threatening wound, he checked for the cause of the blood running from his head. When he pulled back her hair he noticed something else that was odd, "Wait...this woman is an elf!" He turned and pointed at another soldier and told him to check the others. It was eventually concluded that every corpse was an elf, unfortunately the woman before him was all that survived. It made him sad but nothing could be done to change it.

As he wrapped her cloak around her curved figure, he saw sword drop from her cloak that had been hidden from sight before. It was held in a scabbard of pure metal with bright steel lips and a piece smelted to the end. The handle was wrapped in wire and was about the length enough for two hands. It had a sapphire gem as a pommel and the stopper was sculpted to appear as angelic wings slightly folded and had a comfortable groove under them. When he reached for the blade he blinked when the girl opened her eyes and grabbed his arm.

She seemed fairly weak but suddenly seemed to gather a massive amount of strength and tackled him with a ferocious roar and pinned him to the ground. He blushed a bit and then smiled as he looked at her face. What she saw were his teeth and her eyes widened a bit, "You're a wer--" Fallen cut her off by pushing her off with his own strength, pinning her down himself and covering her mouth. He held one hand up and put a finger to his lips while whispering, "Shhhh." She blushed as he did and he found it a bit awkward as his face burned with embarrassment. Something differently felt odd when he looked at her but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

A loud roar of men threw him off guard and he turned in time to see a demon charging through them. He pushed them away with his large hands and stood about eight feet tall. The grotesque creature summoned his most hated emotions for the beast and as it approached him with gaining speed, he drew his blade. For some reason it was coming directly for Fallen. He swore and the demon knocked his blade away and followed up that attack by punching him in the chest making Fallen lose wind and fly back. The sword next to him that had dropped from the Elf girl's cloak glinted next to him and in a quick motion he grabbed it and unsheathed it. Then something amazing happened.

The blade rang with a heavenly bell and a blue flame sparked around the entire body of the sword as well as his hand which startled everyone including himself. This was followed by the loud roaring that couldn't be mistaken for anything other than that of a dragon. He had no time to examine the blade as the demon charged at him again and swung his arm down towards him. He blocked with the blade by holding the flat side out and used his other hand for support. Noticing that the edge wouldn't cut him, nor would the flame burn him, he thrust forward causing the large beast to stagger and with a shout he looped the flaming blade over his head and sliced towards the demon causing a large bloody gash to slice open across it's chest. The demon let out a pain filled moan and then Fallen held the blade with both hands and held it back at his own eye's height and shoved it through the demon's chest bone, heart, and out the backside with a splatter of blood that sprayed over himself and the ground around them when he forced the blade out.

He stood over the corps with his inflamed weapon and looked at the scorched and bloody hole of the demon he just slew. Once again he was kept from examining the excitement when the elf girl tackled him again, but this time it wasn't an attack, no, it was a hug. To his surprise when he turned to face her, she smiled and seemed to be crying. "My people have been searching, for you! It has been so many years and we found you!"

Meanwhile, Hinin watched. He wanted a fair aspect of the were-child's strength and stamina and this was a perfect chance to see. After the event was over, Hinin smiled. He clasped his hands together and nodded. "I am proud to see that I may have the opportunity to fight along side such a fine warrior. " He looked at the elf woman and motioned one of the medics to aid her. "Ma'am, this man will treat your wounds, if you have any. As for us, we stop here for the night. I think after this sight, we have had plenty excitement. We will be at our destination in a few days, holt and set up camp. " With this, he chose a area away from the rest of the army. He then set up his tent and sat his pack inside.

The woman refused their help and there was a bit of ramble about her not wanting help from humans which rose questions when she only wanted to do with Fallen.

A few hours later the two of them were along in a large tent and she was mending her own wounds. Fallen was trying to avoid any eye contact so he stared at the floor while she stared at him from the place on the bed she lay on to rest. That odd feeling had returned and wouldn't go away. He couldn't figure out what it was and decided to stay with the girl until he could figure out what that strange sensation in his chest was.

She suddenly started talking which broke his thought, "I've been meaning to ask...how is it that you don't transform at night? You are a true WereChild right?"

Fallen responded with a sheepish nod, "Um, yes. It is much like uh...I can...I suppress it?" He was at a loss of words and it was making him blush again.

Turning her gaze to stare at the ceiling she frowned. The girl was a bit more serious then before and as she still showed interest int he boy, she was still fairly moody. Oddly he found it attractive. She shifted her gaze at him, "So...what is your name?"

He looked at her with stumped look. "Fallen..."

She blinked in reply and gave a small smile, "That is a good name. It is Elvish too."

"It is? I though it meant...well...to fall?"

Her smile spread a bit and she held in a laugh, "No no, it is Elvish. Who would name a child after something like that? It means Noble Hero. The words falura and lennah; noble and hero. It is a combination of those two."

Fallen stared without blinking for a few seconds before finally blinking, "Oh..."

The girl laughed faintly. "It makes sense actually...fitting name for the one person to wield Bane."

"Bane?" He asked curiously.

She nodded, "Yes, the sword that I dropped, it is named Bane and it belongs to you."

This astounded Fallen for he was curious about the blade but figured it was magical in some way and highly valuable. "Why would you give away such a powerful tool?"

With a chuckle she shook her head, "I am not giving it to you, it was made for you."

Fallen took this a bit odd and raised his brow in confusion, "Made for me...?"

She went on and explained the situation and how the ancient elf smith crafted the blade and spoke of it being alive. Then she explained how her family was given the blade by the old Spirit and Human who bonded together so long ago. Also how her family had been searching for the owner but happened to be relocating for a different reason when the demons attacked. He was awestruck by this story and an entirely new sensation overwhelmed him, importance.

"Oh...I almost forgot, what is your name?" He asked, still a bit stunned by her story.

With a smile she spoke, "My name is Lorana." To Fallen, that was the most amazing name he add ever heard and it belonged to the most gorgeous creature he ever met.