He couldn’t stop to think now. The time had come for him to make up his mind. "Do you want to live or not?" was all he said to himself before the people started shouting and running forward. He wished he hadn't decided to travel north at all. He was scared to death.
The previous month, January, he thought he would follow his stepmother’s counsel and do some travelling to know the world. He was given money so he could buy some food and stay at an inn during the night. An old sword was also given to him in order to defend himself from bandits and wild animals. That, he thought, was nonsense. Being the son of a poor farmer never had he the opportunity to handle a sword, forget the idea of fighting with it. But he knew that arguing about the sword would be futile.
During his first week he had to fight his way out of the forest. Grizzly bears were not that ferocious as people usually said, he thought after killing on of those animals. The same night he fought the bear he encountered some travellers, like him. They seemed to be better prepared for fighting, though. Their leader, Hans, was an expert bowman who seemed to be escorted by some knights. -Come and join us- they said, after he told the anecdote of the grizzly bear. -Gladly. There’s no purpose in continuing this pilgrimage- was all he answered, longing to use the sword one more time, now against something more challenging than a bear.
The weeks passed not so peacefully until the group came to a huge camp. Hans was no common bowmen after all but the commander of a foreign country's army. All of a sudden he learnt he had been involved in a fight that was not his. Hans had offered him to join them so he could fight for Hans and his country. By the warning look on some officers' faces, he could not reject this invitation. The first battle, which was against the barbarians from the west, was fought and lost. He avoided this fighting by helping with the supplies. Before the battle, when the things were organized for the coming skirmish he felt suddenly paralysed. Imagining the enemy kill him in so many ways made him tremble. Someone might have noticed it because he was given permission to assist with the supplies, arrows and healing the wounded. But so many soldiers fell in battle that no one was excused from the next encounter, unless they were already crippled. -They’re damn brave, they are, these beast men- he heard a legless soldier say. "Beast men". Curious. They were called that way because of the wolf or bear hide they use as battle regalia. -Axes seem to be their only weapon- the soldier continued - not only they use them for melee combat but also throw them like arrows-. The thought of those axe-thrower beast men gave him creeps. Werewolves were much more than what he could take. He realized now that his ambitious desire of using his sword against something more challenging than an old grizzly bear was a terrible mistake. When he was thinking of running away he was told that those who tried to escape were executed; so he thought better and decided to die in battle, like the brave warrior he was not.
- This time, we will summit them to our emperor's orders- Hans speech began, as the armies moved to their position in the battlefield. -We're outnumbered by three to one- he heard a soldier say. Out of the blue, thousands of arrows soared through the air while the armies started to advance.
He couldn’t stop to think now. The time had come for him to make up his mind. "Do you want to live or not?" was all he said to himself before the people started shouting and running forward. He wished he hadn't decided to travel north at all. He was scared to death.
Petrified as he was, he didn't see the axe coming. The choice had been made for him.
The previous month, January, he thought he would follow his stepmother’s counsel and do some travelling to know the world. He was given money so he could buy some food and stay at an inn during the night. An old sword was also given to him in order to defend himself from bandits and wild animals. That, he thought, was nonsense. Being the son of a poor farmer never had he the opportunity to handle a sword, forget the idea of fighting with it. But he knew that arguing about the sword would be futile.
During his first week he had to fight his way out of the forest. Grizzly bears were not that ferocious as people usually said, he thought after killing on of those animals. The same night he fought the bear he encountered some travellers, like him. They seemed to be better prepared for fighting, though. Their leader, Hans, was an expert bowman who seemed to be escorted by some knights. -Come and join us- they said, after he told the anecdote of the grizzly bear. -Gladly. There’s no purpose in continuing this pilgrimage- was all he answered, longing to use the sword one more time, now against something more challenging than a bear.
The weeks passed not so peacefully until the group came to a huge camp. Hans was no common bowmen after all but the commander of a foreign country's army. All of a sudden he learnt he had been involved in a fight that was not his. Hans had offered him to join them so he could fight for Hans and his country. By the warning look on some officers' faces, he could not reject this invitation. The first battle, which was against the barbarians from the west, was fought and lost. He avoided this fighting by helping with the supplies. Before the battle, when the things were organized for the coming skirmish he felt suddenly paralysed. Imagining the enemy kill him in so many ways made him tremble. Someone might have noticed it because he was given permission to assist with the supplies, arrows and healing the wounded. But so many soldiers fell in battle that no one was excused from the next encounter, unless they were already crippled. -They’re damn brave, they are, these beast men- he heard a legless soldier say. "Beast men". Curious. They were called that way because of the wolf or bear hide they use as battle regalia. -Axes seem to be their only weapon- the soldier continued - not only they use them for melee combat but also throw them like arrows-. The thought of those axe-thrower beast men gave him creeps. Werewolves were much more than what he could take. He realized now that his ambitious desire of using his sword against something more challenging than an old grizzly bear was a terrible mistake. When he was thinking of running away he was told that those who tried to escape were executed; so he thought better and decided to die in battle, like the brave warrior he was not.
- This time, we will summit them to our emperor's orders- Hans speech began, as the armies moved to their position in the battlefield. -We're outnumbered by three to one- he heard a soldier say. Out of the blue, thousands of arrows soared through the air while the armies started to advance.
He couldn’t stop to think now. The time had come for him to make up his mind. "Do you want to live or not?" was all he said to himself before the people started shouting and running forward. He wished he hadn't decided to travel north at all. He was scared to death.
Petrified as he was, he didn't see the axe coming. The choice had been made for him.
Guillermytho
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