Prologue

The night air was cool, brisk winds found thier way into the inner lining of his trenchcoat and sent a chill down his spine. He knew he had to get off the streets but he had to meet his contact at Charlies Bar and get the weaponry he was going to need to shut down the alien plant. The alien factories were turning hundreds of humans a day into easily digestable food for thier home planet which had become a barren and dead place. Destroyed by neglect and over-industrialization, they had sent emmisaries out into the stars to seek new food sources. As far as he, Jack, knew they had devastated over thirty worlds, stripping them and completely depopulating them. Earth was fighting back though, the Aliens had not counted on the tenacity of the Human Race. And Jack was at the forefront of the fight.

I

Jack loved his trenchcoat; supplied to him by the last surviving agent of the N.S.A. The aliens controlled all the worlds satellites and could pinpoint any human to within an inch of where they were by thier bio-sig. They were using sophisticated tech linked with ours to monitor uprisings and any rebel actions. Lucky for Jack though he had the Black Trench. It was a marvel of modern human tech, able to conceal and hide its wearer from any video surveillance equipment and also had the bonus of hiding Jack from the alien tech. Which he found as a Godsend. Especially right now on the run as he was from alien snoops.
Jack had just succesfully taken down a Redwing, one of the alien Masters. Now the aliens were an amazing and beautiful sight until you understood thier intentions. They each stood about ten feet tall on average and resembled nothing more then miniature Dragons. The Redwings were always the leaders with the Gold wings taking on the military side of things and leaving all of the tech to the Greenwings. Right now Jack was on the run from two Golds and his options were running low. He was caught between the outer wall of Old L.A. and the inner wall of the Alien Sanctum where he had just commited Diecide if the Aliens were to be believed. That was when he stumbled into a backwater scumhole bar by the name of Eddies Stiffies; and his whole life changed. He met Blacky.

II

Jack knew that the only way he was going to get to Charlies Bar was going to be to lay low for a bit. This dump looked like the right place to do it in, very low key and full of drunks, pimps, whores, and junkies. As Jack walked in through the single metal bound door the first thing he noticed was a man sitting in a corner booth; back to the wall and wearing a Trench exactly like his. His first thought was to turn around and get the hell out of there but he knew that whoever the man was he had already spotted him. Judging by the mans reaction he was just as surprised by Jack. Jack took this as a good sign, though he could be wrong.
Jack walked boldly through the crowd around the bar and sat in the booth next to the man; smiled and said;"Excuse me; where the fuck did you get that coat from and yes thats a Desert Eagle .50 Caliber semi-auto you feel pressed up against your balls."
Calmly and smiling the whole time the man smiled and held up his hands. He looked to be 5-6 inches shorter then Jacks 6'6" and much slimmer; whereas Jack had light blonde hair the other man had raven black hair.
Jack knew though that the wieght and hieght disparity meant little if the smaller man could handle himself in a fight.
"My name is Blacky, and I was just about to ask you the same question. Though i know who you are Mr. Jack Crown. And I have followed your movements for some time. I did not expect you to come here. Hehe... you surprised me."
Jack hid his surprise well and bumped the Desert Eagle against Blackys' thigh as he spoke."Why is it that you are keeping tabs on me. Do you work for the Redwings?
Some sort of rogue government agency? What??"
"I am; was a part of a special British Alien Penetration Unit... now I am the last. Believe me I want thier blood just as badly as you. They owe me the bloody dragons. And I recieved this coat from the same operative as you; he was the one that put me onto you. I have something to show you."
"What??" Jack asked as he put his gun away; still feeling weary of Blacky yet intruiged by what he was hearing.
"It is a storehouse, safehouse, and filled with all the goodies two pissed off alien haters could ever want."
Jack grunted, scratched the stubble on his chin and hid the smile that was forming on his face.
Before he could reply though the entire front wall of the bar exploded inwards and he was thrown forward over the table and onto Blacky. They both tumbled to the floor and were up in an instant. Jack noticed that Blacky had a strange large gun held in both hands, he could not tell what they were as he was too busy trying to get a bead on the Goldwing that had burst in unannounced.
Jack knew that his .50 caliber auto would only anger the Goldwing yet that did not stop him from pumping all seven rounds into the thing. The last four shots were taken blindly though as Blackie fired both his guns at once lighting the place up like the fourth of July. All 12 feet and two tons of Goldwing flew apart as a huge concussion blew into it, knocking Jack onto his back. Jack felt more then saw pieces of the Goldwing fall all over him and Blackie; blinking Jack rolled over and stood back up.
It looked to Jack as if someone had shoved a Fragment grenade up the Goldwings ass; there couldn't be a piece larger than a small dog left of the thing. Jack stared over at Blackie openmouthed and looked down at his trusty .50 Caliber Desert Eagle; still in amazement he quickly popped the clip and reloaded.
"Shit! Thats bound to bring every Goldwing in a fifty mile radius right to us."
Blackie shrugged and replied,"Thats Ok. I have more then enough ammo on me to take out at least ten of them."
Jack sighed and pointed to the back door.
"I think we should maybe run our asses off to this safe house of yours. More Ammo or not, we do not need the heat until you equip me with one of those Handcannons."
They both ran for the door; jumping dazed junkies and debris.

III


Half an hour later Blackie led Jack into a piss and vomit smelling alleyway and walked up to the door of what looked to be an ancient warehouse of some sort. Blackie unlocked what looked to be an emergency callbox and placed his hand on the Imprint Lock; immediately the duel steel doors slid smoothly back revealing a dark and musty foyer. Blackie led Jack in and shut the doors behind them with a voice command.
"Lights. Security arm. Jack Crown authorized as visitor status code 11-248. Grant priviledge pass for all doors voice command only. External sector cameras activate and warn of any alien presence."
"Well I will be a son-of-a-bitch... nice place Blackie. Hope you have a kitchen and some cold beer because I am starving and very thirsty. As well as very curious to see these arms you say you have stored away."
Blackie smiled and led the way down a dirty hallway; opened a door and led Jack into the nicest kitchen he had seen in many years.
Blackie went straight for the fridge,"Guinness or Bass is all I seem to have."
"Jesus; I will take two Guinnesses. I thought England had been bombed into the stone age."
Blackie shrugged and said,"I have maybe the last 30 cases of it and another 30 of Bass. Us Irish have to have our booze."
"Irish? You do not look like any Irishman I have ever seen."
"Well I may be a bastard Irishman, but I am still Irish. Of course Ireland may be a large crater; yet all that did was piss us all off."
Jack laughed and popped open his bottle; he felt like he might get to like this little black haired cocky ass Irishman yet.

IV

Both Jack and Blackie were feeling the effects of the guiness as laughing Blackie led Jack to a reinforced steel door.
Blackie put his hand against the door as he spoke,"This door is reinforced titanium alloy, impervious to most projectile weapons and also impervious to most normal demolitions. The room beyond is a self contained bomb shelter with all the arms and food you would need to survive for many years without going outside once."
"Wow; who built this thing... the government?"
Blackie laughed as he replied;"No the N.S.A. It was built for occasions just like the one we have; there are more strewn about the country, at least one in every major city. This is the only one I know of."
"Well goddamnit open the friggen door now that you have me all curious."
Blackie chuckled and reached his hand out to the side of the door and flipped open a small keypad. He punched in what seemed to Jack about twenty-five numbers and a smooth vibration began to eminate from the door as it slowly began to open.
Jack felt as if he had just entered through the pearly gates of heaven. The sheer amount of weaponry he saw before him brought tears to his eyes. Woe unto the lizards Jack thought; for armageddon hath come.

V

The shelter was about the size of a large two bedroom apartment and was accomodated with a small kitchen, a bathroom, two bunks and very little walkspace as boxes of food and ammo lined every available wall. One room had its walls lined with an amazing amount of weaponry which Jack had never seen before.
Grabbing a rifle from the wall Blackie spoke up,"This is an experimental rifle I like to call the Dragon buster. It fires depleted uranium slugs which are filled with a chemical that is very volatile and explodes on impact; sending small slivers of radioactive particles all throughout the body. Very nasty."
"Too damn big." Jack replied with a laugh. "What about this?" Jack said as he grabbed a streamlined pistol that resembled a compact Mac 10.
"That is a rapid firing dart gun. Though the darts themselves are very small they deliver about the same punch as this big nasty weapon here and it is capable of firing about 300 of them in the space of one second. The clip itself holds three thousand of the darts and can empty itself in the span of ten seconds. Good for a small room party yet virtually worthless in a long range battle."
As Jack hefted it and noted that it must have wieghed only a little over one pound Blackie walked over to an unopened box and began tearing into it. He produced a small box of cartridges and tossed them over to Jack.
"Since it seems you prefer that huge unsightly beast of a pistol these should be more to your liking. They are .50 caliber rounds filled with a vitriol substance that is inert until heated and is capable of eating its way through five feet of alloyed armour. It ought to make even the toughest Dragon drop a load in its ..errr shorts."
Jack laughed and began changing the cartridges in his clips with those from the box."How about demolitions? We will need some to take out thier Towers. The more Towers we take out the less influence they will have on the populace."
Blackie moved to yet another box and opened it."This is a very advanced plastic explosive. Very safe to mold and handle; and it packs one hell of a punch. One pound of this stuff is akin to about 20 pounds of TNT. It is most defenitely a gate crasher."
For the rest of the evening Jack and Blackie wandered through thier new found surplus of destruction and began to formulate thier first strike against the Dragons.

Chapter One-

I

Jack knew the shit was hitting the fan when he saw the sky above him filled with the large winged Gold Dragons. He swore silently to himself as he fumbled to switch on the emergency transcievers he and Blacky both wore. He thumbed it on quickly and hailed Blacky.

"Hey there Big Guy did you start the commotion?"
"No. I thought maybe you had something to do with it."
"Not a thing. I was planting the last of the charges when all of the gates to the tower opened and these blasted things started pouring out by the dozen."
"Well I think I will lure them away so you can finish up and we can blow it to Hell and back."
"Want me to wait for the Dragons to come back?"
"Just blow the son-of-a-bitch and let me worry about these Dragons."
"No problem. See you in a few hours."

Jack thumbed the transciever off. He was feeling giddy as he unstrapped his pack and dove inside for the flare gun he had rigged. He had left the propellant charge intact and had unpacked the gunpowder and sulfur in favor of C-4. Though a very dangerous proposition as he had not had the time to test it he loaded a shell into its belly and clicked it shut.
He took aim directly overhead and fired a round at the nearest Gold to him. Jack was in no way prepared for what happened next. The shell bounced harmlessly off the tough hide of the Gold and began a downwards plunge toward him. He hastily began to run toward the only open end his little dead end alleyway offered. Just a few steps from the mouth of the manmade cave Jack was picked up by a seemingly gentle and very hot hand and slammed into an oblivion his conscious mind welcomed immediately.

Blacky heard a very large explosion come from somewhere near to his position and hurriedly finished planting the timing device on the white blob of C-4. He checked his watch and noted that he and Jack had 15 minutes from then to escape the immediate vicinity or get caught in the aftermath of the explosion. He attempted to hail Jack on the transciever and recieved static for his troubles. Well; Blacky thought; we both knew the possible consequences of our actions. He could only hope that Jack would be alright and meet him at the safehouse. Blacky began to run as fast and as far from Hollywood Boulevard and Vine as he could. All the Golds were far more interested in a spot some two blocks from the tower and Blacky could only hope that it was not Jack that was the focus of all thier attention.

II

Everything was black as coal. Jack knew he was in trouble the instant he awoke. Aside from the fact that his head felt as if the Air Force had inadvertantly dropped a salvo on it Jack felt wonderful. Jack knew almost instantly despite his headache that the rest of his body was in very good shape. No broken bones or cuts or abrasions. He also knew that within some span of time this whole area was going to blow to hell and back.
Jack blew a thick layer of dust off of his chrono that he wore on his wrist and peered at the dimly glowing digital numbers. Jack had eight minutes and 45 seconds. He immediately assessed the situation. The bomb Blacky was planting was not very large; only enough to set off the tower. Yet as he knew from prior experience the tower itself would go off like a loaded roman candle and incinerate a good 25 block radius around it.
Jack was two blocks away from ground zero. Each block was about one tenth of a mile. The distance was easily run given a fifteen minute time span. Jack knew that unless he was able to run two four minute miles he was doomed.
Well fuck it anyways Jack thought. There should be some of those damn dragons flighting about with no clue as to what is going on. If he could drag them closer to the epicenter of the blast they would have at least obtained thier mission objective.
Jack unholstered both of his huge .50 caliber guns now loaded with explosive and incendiary rounds and walked boldly through the door of the abandoned candy shop whose window he had smashed through.

III

Jacks heart was racing as he stepped through the doorway and took stock of the Dragons surrounding him. There were three Golds in the air, two to the left and one straight ahead, and two on the ground slowly advancing toward the abandoned candy shop Jack was exiting. Jack could tell in an instant that he had surprised the two on the ground as thier advance hesitated. The three in the air had not seen Jack yet though he knew beyond a doubt that within seconds they would.
He took aim with both guns and fired one explosive round and one incendiary round. The incendiary round took one of the Golds on the ground right in the mouth and for an instant it became a fire breathing Dragon cooking its brain in a matter of seconds. The explosive round splattered into the second Golds right eye and it stood there a second with a look of befuddlement before its entire head flew apart with a loud concussion.
Jack barely noticed the effects of his two first rounds as he began to run along the row of buildings and fire wildly at the closest flying Dragon. Jack smiled with satisfaction as that Dragon tumbled to the roof of a nearby building across the street as a result of an incendiary round to its fragile wing.
He looked over his shoulder in time to see the last pair of Dragons wheel around in the air and begin to dive down towards him. Jack jigged his body to the right and threw himself toward a large glass window.
Jack covered his head and smashed through the glass landing amidst a tumble of old dusty mannequins. Jack quickly jumped to his feet and ran deeper into the department store. About twenty feet in he came to a glass set of doors and saw that there was an old mall on the other side of it. Glancing around for anything that might help protect him from the blast his eyes lit up. Jack bashed out the glass in the doors and ran toward his salvation. He switched out his specialty bullets for a clip of more conventional bullets and fired two rounds in quick succession. The bullets conveniently shattered the huge glass case surrounding a 2005 Honda Cyclone Motorcycle.
Jack quickly cut the ignition wires and started the bike up with a throaty growl.
With a snarl of satisfaction Jack gunned the throttle powering the bike off of its pedastal and squealing across the marble tiles towards a double set of doors leading to the street beyond.
Jack knew that if he made it out of this alive he would have to toast Lady Luck with an ice cold Guinness.
The Honda Cyclone was an aptly named motorcycle. With its ultra-light alloy frame and 1700CC engine it was capable of reaching very high speeds within a few seconds.
Jack knew he was going to need every last ounce of that precious power in order to escape the area of the blast. The bike was just hitting sixty miles an hour as Jack hit the large glass doors at the end of the mall walkway.
Jack blasted out of the mall in a glittering shower of glass shards and fought for control as he tried to jig the bike to the left so as to not smash against the ten story brick building across the street. He hit the sidewalk curb almost losing control yet managing to straighten out and pulled back smoothly on the grip accelerator.
Jack glanced at his wristwatch and noted that he had under two minutes to clear the radius of the blast. The roads in the area were impossible to travel at any speed in a car because they were strewn with all sorts of detritus. Yet his face lit up in a broad grin as he zig-zagged through the garbage at speeds reaching eighty miles an hour or more.
He felt the heat behind him before hearing the loud clap of thunder that accompanied Blackies wonderful gift package.
Jacks grin faded as he felt the bike and himself lifted up into the air. As the wall of a nearby bank began to rush toward him all he could think about was how much this was going to hurt.

IV

Jacks head felt as if it had been the tarmac under hundreds of large feet marching in a military band. He could easily time his pulse according to the rhythmic pounding in his temples. Upon attempting to lift his eyelids he thought he may have gone completely blind. Yet to his surprise he found a small glimmer of light come into being to the right of where he was laying. He closed his eyes and did a quick summary of his entire body assuring himself that he was in one piece. Slowly he lifted his battered body into a sitting position and came to the conclusion that the worst of his injuries were deep tissue bruises which he could easily recover from. He quickly scanned his surroundings and found them unfamiliar. He should have been laying out on a street next to a large brick building with debris all around him yet this was clearly not the case.
Jack almost panicked as he slowly came to the realization that he was imprisoned. The glimmer of light was coming through a small crack in a pass way through a door which was made of what looked to be metal. From what light came through he could make out that he was in a tiny windowless room that was about six feet by ten feet. The walls, floor and cieling were poured concrete and very cold to the touch. As a matter of fact Jack was freezing. He was wearing only his underwear.
Jack quickly grasped his left ankle and felt his skin for the telltale lump of his skellie key. He breathed out a sigh of relief as he felt its comforting hardness underneath his skin.
Jack almost jumped out of his skin as he heard movement on the other side of the door. Footsteps to be exact. Heavy footsteps.
"He is awake."
The voice was cold and dead.
Jack immediately slowed his breathing and calmed himself. He had a quick urge to play dead which he suppressed. Whoever it was on the other side of the door knew he was awake and had apparently been waiting for just that. Instead he stood up and backed into the corner. His ears perked up when he heard a female voice reply to the cold dead voice.
"Open the door and leave me be with him."
Although Jack could tell the voice was female he could not place the heavy accent. Jack flexxed his muscles preparing to run if need be.
He heard a key slide into the lock and turn and the door slowly opened making a loud squealing noise which made him grit his teeth. The light momentarily blinded him to everything except the large shadow beyond which quickly moved aside to allow a smaller, much more femenine shadow to walk in.
When jacks eyesight finally adjusted he could make out an amazingly lithe and tightly muscled female looking him over with liquid violet eyes and very pale, almost albino skin.
"Well met Human; it has been too long since our races have spoken."
Jack noted that her voice was high pitched and very sing-song in tone. It was almost as if she were singing to him instead of conversing. Jack could think of nothing to say so he decided to remain silent unless asked a direct question.
"Do not be frightened. I am not here to harm you, rather I am here to make you a proposition. One which would be beneficial to both of our races. First of all though I would have your name."
Jack was far from frightened but his mind was screaming at him to run and escape. Yet his reasoning told him that the huge shadow had been well over seven feet tall and would prove a most formidable opponent. So Jack answered admitting to himself that he was intrigued and the female seemed to mean him no harm.
"My name is Jack Crown. I would have yours as well if you do not mind."
Jack noted a smile begin to curve her lips and was entranced by the sight of it. She was very beautiful and far more so when she smiled.
"I am Alu'vrl of the Carvira, or as you might better know of us in your history, The Light Elves. I am here to ask for your help in saving both of our races from the Carviri or as you would know of them; The Dark Elves."
Jack stared at her with wide eyes and cleared his throat before he spoke.
"You have gotta be shitting me, right?"

V

Jack was astounded yet he hoped he hid his surprise well. At one point in time if anyone had told him the Earth would be devestated by Dragons he would have laughed. In that context this should not be too much more of a stretch by any means.
He also felt a whole lot more comfortable now that he had his clothes back along with his trench. His weapons had all been inspected he had been assured. So as he sat at the huge dining room table he slowly and methodically cleaned and inspected them all just to be sure. Across from him sat the alluring Light Elf whom he had taken to addressing as Aluv with a long "u". She had offered to answer all his questions as soon as he was dressed and had his weapons back.
Jack had both of his .50 Caliber Automatics and his ammunition belt back and felt a whole lot better with them in his hands. He looked over at Aluv and contemplated where he should start.
"So Aluv," Jack cleared his throat and continued,"Are you and your friends capable of tossing around fireballs and other magical delights?"
She laughed a clear tinkling laugh,"No, some of us are capable of things that would appear to be magic to your eyes yet are nothing more than tricks and illusions."
"Does that mean all the old stories of your races are a bunch of bullshit? I mean every one of them describes you guys as magical creatures capable of astounding things."
"One of the Elves you will meet Jack is very old, over 2,500 years old. He will accompany you to seek an artifact which has been lost to the Carvira for many millenia. What he can do will seem like magic to you yet it is only a more advanced technology. If you were to go back 500 years and show a learned man your beautiful guns there he would also think you a magical creature."
Jacks eyes got wide as she mentioned the old elves age.
"2,500 years old?? I think I can do without a geezer toddling along. And what the fuck do you mean an artifact?? Like a Sumerian Tablet or something?"
"Slow down Jack, slow down. We Elves do not age nor do we die natural deaths, if and when we die it is through accident or an act of murder. He looks no older than I do. How old would you say I am Jack?"
Jack chuckled.
"I would say you were not a day over 30 years old. Yet after your explanation I have a feeling I would be dead wrong. Would that mean if you slept with me it would be an act of pedophilia?"
Jack noted that Aluvs eyes widened at his bold proclamation.
"I am 223 Years old Jack. If I were to sleep with you our offspring would be malignant, evil. Never have our genes matched nor has anything ever good come of it. The last child born of a Human Elven mating was a vile creature who nearly destroyed the known Universe."
She cleared her throat and Jack swore she winked at him,"The artifact is a key. A key to the Global Defense System that was installed here well over 36 million years ago by a joint command of Carvira and Carviri. It is quite possibly our only hope of cleansing your planet of these vile bastards. Yet the only way to find where the command center is is too have the key which is also a locater."
"223 Years old eh? Thats not too big a difference if you ask me."
Jack smiled.

VI

"So Aluv; where do we start," Jack was a bit nervous faced with a 2,500 year old Elf who looked like a whip thin young man. Granted he was pale and had strange almond shaped eyes and pointy ears yet he resembled a man maybe nearing his early thirties.

"My name is Alystyr. I am a First-Circle Mage Born. I will accompany you to the Key should we be able to find it."

Alystyrs' voice was hypnotic and Jack had to glance away to get his concentration back. These Elves all seemed to have operatic training and perfect control over thier voices.

"What do you mean; should we be able to find it?" Jacks' voice cracked and he kicked himself for it doing so.

"Look Jack," Aluv broke in, "We will have to first find an ancient Gate forgotten for almost 30Million years. The Carvira used to be Masters of space/time manipulation. Although this knowledge is lost to us the Gates still stand, though many of them have been lost to the ages.
"Alystyr here can "feel" the vibrations sent out by the strongest of these gates and has single-handedly found over 5 ancient gates over which we guard. The Gates are two way affairs and sometimes things tend to crawl through them."

Alystyr set his wine glass down after a healthy sip and cleared his throat,"These things have spawned many a myth. Usually we are able to capture or kill these things before they harm Mankind yet we would venture that there are still about 30 or so Gates still hidden. As such sometimes these things do get into the larger view of the world. Such as Vampires, werewolves, and liches. Which I might add still exist though they hide very well."

"The Gate," Aluv continued," Which we are looking for is somewhere in Northern California which is why we are presently in the area. Your actions over the last few years against the Dragons have attracted our attention. While most Humans are already convinced of thier fate you and your friend have both been waging one man wars against them. We have the need of you and your friend where it is we will be going."

"And where will that be?" Jack was very conscious that his voice was very gruff and scratching when compared to thier beautiful tones.

"If you have ever read any high fantasy,"Alystyr chuckled as he said it, " you would possibly be able to imagine where it is we will be going. Trolls, Goblins, Ogres, amongst many other equally lovely creatures live there. For it is known that the Key was hidden somewhere upon the world of Carymor. Which is where lovely Aluvs' huge assistant comes from. Though he came from there a very long time ago. Ogres it seems are immortal as long as something does not take thier head from thier shoulders or they are not dismembered. Kryjes is older than I am and older than our memories. Not even he recalls where the entrance to the Gate is exactly.
"Yet I feel it calling to me. I feel its pull. In our Myths the Gate to Carymor lay within the land of the Red Giants. The Gate Jack is somewhere within the last remaining Redwood Forests in what is left of Northern California."

"I just have one question," Jack grinned, "Will my guns work there?"

Chapter Two-

I

Mordwer crawled to the edge of the ridge and peered down into the dust filled valley below. Even though he was a very large man filled with great deals of courage his breath was caught in his lungs as he felt his throat tighten and dry. Within that valley were at least 100 of those festering evil bastards he had come to know as ruhks. They were huge creatures standing at least 8 man feet high and as broad through the shoulders as a good size horse. Thier skin is mottled black with a slight oily sheen which lent it an evil green irridescent cast matching thier bright green eyes twice the size of a normal mans. Completely hairless they wore only enough to cover whatever passed for genetalia and each carried a large and very formidable axe.

Mordwer himself was not a small being; he stood 6 and a half man feet tall and was very broad of both chest and shoulder. His legs and arms under his leathers were very large and muscular. He was a man used to combat and every day excercise. He wore black leathers and had a hand and a half bastard sword sheathed naked in a loop of hardened leather behind his back. His long hair and short beard and mustache were ice-blond matching his ice blue eyes. His face was very scarred and stern in its expression as he viewed the small army layed out before him.

He smiled and pulled his sword out in one silent movement from behind his back. The pommel was golden in hue and seamlessly joined to the blade which was silver in appearance and covered in red runes which were embedded along both sides. As Mordwer stood up the runes pulsed glowing a low red. His eyes creased as he instantly settled on a attack scenario. He knew he had to slay them all before any had a chance to escape and alert The Crescent Lord to his presence. Mordwer knew he should not slow himself to kill these foul ruhks but his honor would not allow him to let them pass with the knowledge they would soon come across human settlements and ravage them ruthlessly. Yet not as ruthlessly as Mordwer planned on ravaging them.

II

Mordwer stood tall and focused his rage into a coelescent red sheen of light upon his entire body, the runes upon his sword began to pulse rising and falling with the beat of his strong heart. Mordwer screamed, using the rage to increase its volume until it could be heard echoing across the entire valley, stirring the dust and raising the head of each and every ruhk toward his glowing form. With the ruhks full attention Mordwer gathered his strength into both of his huge legs and leaped outwards from the ridge two hundred feet and landed fully swinging amongst the ruhks ranks.

Two ruhks fell headless immediately with irredescent green blood flowing from thier huge necks. As the two bodies fell to either side of him Mordwer fell into the first of his swords five runes and focused his passion into an electric blue outward expanding oval ball which turned every ruhk it touched into a green noxious vapor. Mordwer quickly counted that in the first few seconds of his fight he had already killed twenty five ruhks; one quarter of thier entire force. He fell into the red bliss of his rage, shirking off two blows from two different ruhks who had flung thier axes at him. Both axes fell away harmlessly, bouncing off of Mordwer in a red electric shower of sparks.

Smiling; Mordwer advanced quickly past the first ranks of the ruhks surrounding him and swung his sword in a huge arc cutting several of them in two. One ruhk, an exceptionally large one finally allowed itself an earsplitting shriek and dove in courageously behind Mordwers sword. The ruhk brought its axe down upon Mordwers' head with a resounding crash which flung Mordwer about 30 feet away to land on the ground hard and slide a goodly ways. As the ruhk advanced quickly toward him with several more immediately behind it as well as many more to either side Mordwer sprung up from the ground and dove into the group to the left of him avoiding the large ruhk for a moment.

Diving forward with all of his wieght Mordwer drives his sword deeply into the chest of the first eight foot tall ruhks. Mordwer uses the corpse to drive his way deeply into the middle of the group of ruhks and ferociously lashes out in a series of blinding strikes. As the last disemboweled corpse hits the dust Mordwer sees the giant ruhk advancing toward him on the run. Mordwer knows that when he finally kills thier captain the rest of the ruhks will flee into the surrounding country side. He wanted to delay its death but could see no way to avoid killing it now.

Standing firm Mordwer watched its hulking form advance quickly its huge green eyes blazing hatred and death. At the last second the ruhks gigantic axe lights a smoky green leaving a blinding trail behind itself. The ruhk slashes out first to the side of itself hoping to catch Mordwer in the ribs. Mordwer dodges upwards avoiding the first strike and attempting to bring his own sword into the top of its meaty shoulder. The ruhk adjusts its first swing thrusting the axe out and over its own head deflecting Mordwers artful thrust and colliding with his wrist. Mordwer gasps in pain as his hand reflexively opens from the pain and his sword tumbles away from him. Losing his concentration Mordwer lands on his side instead of his feet and tumbles a few yards before coming to a halt.

“You are brave and strong human,” the ruhks voice grated,” But you will now die at the axe of Guhdr the Rune Captain of the Crescent Lord.”

Mordwer stumbled to his feet holding his useless hand judging the distance to his sword and fully acknowledging that the ruhk as powerful as it was would intercept him quickly before he even got five feet. Mordwer grimaced before smiling and finally allowing himself to laugh loudly.

“Come kill me than you ugly son of a snake, you vile whoreson, come kill me!!”

Before the large ruhk could advance several small sounding explosions rang through the air and it was flung several feet with large chunks of its flesh spraying forth from its chest. Before Mordwer could react to the senslessness of it all he heard even more of the explosions and saw several more of the ruhks fall to the ground with similar wounds. Mordwer looked into the direction he thought the sounds may have come from and saw the strangest sight. He was first drawn to the huge Ogre wearing the strangest assortment of items and clothing he thought he had ever seen until he gazed downwards a few feet and noticed the other form next to it. It was a human but dressed in a large coat of some sort which resembled a black cloak and clutching some strange smoking objects in either hand.

“Hey bub, whats wrong with you?”

Mordwer noticed that a strange amulet around the humans neck pulsed as it spoke.

“Look, my name is Jack and I think I just saved your ass from..... well... from these strange fucked up things that were attacking you.” With an inane smile which radiated confidence and charm Jack shrugged as Mordwer fainted dead away.

III

Mordwer awoke in a cold sweat of anticipation and anxious energy. Looking around him he saw he was in a crude camp. Both the strangely dressed human and the gigantic ogre were sitting around a merrily burnning fire warming thier hands and having what seemed to be a conversation. They both looked his way as he levered himself up with his good arm. Mordwer noticed his right arm was tightly bound to his chest with a red cloth which judging by the wretched stink of it had belonged to the huge ogre.
"Dar ak ta tuk?", the ogres voice was very deep toned and heavy.
Jack looked from the ogre to Mordwer and translated in what seemed to Mordwer to be his own language, High Vaz,"The ogre wishes to know if you are alright. As do I. You took one hell of a hit at the end there. The ogre here wanted to jump in and help you but I held him back."
"I am glad you did... Jack... you said your name was Jack right?" Mordwers voice was very dry and he realized that he was thirsty and must have been out for quite some time.
The ogre noticed Mordwer licking his lips and threw him a leather drinking skin. Mordwer caught it nimbly with his left hand and glared at the ogre.
Jack coughed silently to catch Mordwers attention and spoke,"The ogres name is Dekr, he is not going to cause you any harm. And yes my name is Jack Crown. What is yours? And who are you?"
"Firstly Jack thank you for your timely assistance: secondly, even though ogres live only to cause harm I will for now believe you as my energy would be sorely wounded in such a wasted excercise as to fear this fellow Dekr here. I will savor that fear within and save it for another time. I am Pri... forgive me.... King Mordwer Cyadin Of GrayWyr. The last Empathic Warrior of the Warden Mountains."


((Note from Author))

This is an original work of Fiction written and copyrighted by Dylan A. Wilson. this is only a small sampling of the book I am writing at the moment. As I get further along I will share further samples extending the storyline from where I left off here. I hope you enjoy it and I would love to hear feedback and comments

Dyshade

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