https://www.flickr.com/photos/fantasy-art-and-portraits/2885790228

But then just as quickly, rage flooded through Gregor’s chest. He had done everything he could to see that she would not die, and here she was, wasting all of his efforts. See, this is why people hated heroes. They never think, and they are always trying to prove that they are better than everyone else. Well damn her for coming, and damned if he wasn't a little glad to see that she was still alive.

Snarling like an animal caged behind bars, he picked up Lost Flame, and stalked away. “Leave now! I don’t want, nor need your help!”

When her words echoed around him. “You are better than this, Gregor.”

The fiery rage that bubbled out of him, burst into outright fury as he spun around. “And what do you know about me?!”

“I know that you could have shown them mercy. That Khorasan sensed goodness within you.”

His arm waved disparagingly to the side, he scowled. “Then the elf was wrong. Mercy is a weakness I can no longer afford.”

“Why?”

As memories of Kira flooded back into his mind, he roared, “because the last time I showed mercy, I lost her.”

The words that had been torn out of his lips, took him back to that night…

His bones weary from the cold, Gregor sat down by the campfire, while Siwen and Kira crossed blades on a small rocky plateau. The fireflies that buzzed around them, silhouetted their shadowy forms as their swords clashed repeatedly. Kira, as was usual, pressed the wiry elf backwards, her short silver hair braided off at the back as she kicked Siwen’s feet out from underneath him. The veteran elf with a scowl on his lips, shook his head groggily, and grew still as Kira’s sword touched his jugular. “That’s six wins in a row. I think you owe me two hundred gold pieces now.”

His green eyes lit up angrily, Siwen thrust the sword aside, and sat up. “You’ve already taken all my gold. Perhaps we could try archery next.”

Kira, laughed however, and sheathed her sword. “Now why would I do that?” Before she swung around to face Gregor, her scarred face highlighted by the stars that blanketed the night sky. “Are you finally going to tell me, what we are doing out here?”

Having journeyed together deep into the Red Waste, Gregor stared out into the barren wasteland that had been his home, and replied, “this is your final test, Kira.”

“But I’ve slain monsters before.”

“Not like this, and not on your own.”

Her cool gaze looking down at him, she waited for him to continue, and he opened his mouth to explain. “Caroline, believes that you are ready to become a leader, but first you will need to prove your skill as a warrior.”

“And the reason we are out here in this desert?”

His hand pointed out into the darkness, Gregor replied, “out there, among the rocks and sand, lies a monster that my people have hunted for generations. We call them worldshakers, and in order to become a warrior within the tribe, one must be slain.”

Her silver eyes suddenly gleaming with interest, Kira asked, “have you ever killed one.”

And Gregor had to smile. “Several, but these beasts should not be underestimated. They are fast, they move underground in tunnels, and if you’re not careful they can swallow you whole.” It was also a way to knock two birds with one stone since he had been contracted to slay it.

But instead of looking worried, Kira’s hunger seemed to burn brighter, her lips crooked into a wry smile as she leaned down to warm her hands. Siwen, who had taken a seat across the fire, complained bitterly. “I still don’t understand why I had to come all the way out here. It’s bloody freezing.”

Stretching his back muscles, Gregor lay down on the hard rock, and grunted, “this is nothing compared to the heat of the morning suns. Be glad that it is simply cold rather than seeing your skin peel away in the daylight. And as for why you are here? You are here to bear witness, as am I.”

Silent as the night air grew colder, Gregor watched as Kira stood half crouched by the fire, her expression, a mixture of determination, and excitement. And again he felt a touch of pride at the confident way she held herself. The young girl he had found by the roadside had become a fine young woman, and an even better warrior. Although sometimes while she slept, he would catch her thrashing about from side to side. The years she had spent in captivity with rabid vampires had never left her.

Filthy savages that were little better than kindred, they had kept her chained up. They had fed on her, tortured her, and left scars both on her body and soul. If not for her implacable will to survive, she would have died a long time ago, but instead she had become stronger. She was his reason for living, but as he turned his gaze to the heavens, he began to wonder if she was ready? There was no doubting, she could fight, but to battle against a worldshaker was probably the most terrifying thing in Coroleya, second to dragons. The first one he had slain, had been a baby sleeping in its nest, and even then he had nearly died. So why then set such a difficult challenge?

Staring into the crackling flames that popped beside him, it suddenly dawned on him that he knew why. And it was because Caroline did not truly believe that Kira was ready. The Captain of the Wingdarts still saw Kira as a little girl, whereas Gregor saw her as the born warrior she was.

And as he slept that night, he felt at peace, because he knew it was true.

Shaken awake by Siwen, Gregor opened his eyes to stare into the blazing heat of the four suns, the elf’s expression worried. “I believe some of your friends arrived last night.”

Sitting up uneasily at that, Gregor saw that Kira was still asleep, and thought to wake her, when he heard the familiar drawing of strings. His head swinging, he saw a trio of barbarians in woolen furs, bows taut with tension.

Standing atop a ridgeline, they drew back ready to loose upon them, when without a thought, he charged. Siwen’s bow, took one with an arrowshot to the eye, before Gregor smashed the jaw of a man, and thrust his dagger into a wild eyed woman. The howls as more tribesmen rushed out of the desert, flooded Gregor with rage as he let out a battle cry. His longsword swung in tight arcs to slice two of them apart, before he was beset on all sides. Kira’s infuriated shrieks, followed by spurts of blood as she rushed in to join him. The pair of them, butchered dozens more, when finally they retreated back into the sands.

Gasping for air, his cheek badly bruised, Siwen complained, “I thought your people didn’t murder each other?”

Gregor, his hard gaze still on the desert around him, replied, “I haven’t been one of my people for years.”

Kira, her shortsword wet with blood, looked withdrawn. Her scarred features curved downward in a frown, she stared at the faces of those she had killed. A young barbarian with gray eyes that stared blankly up into the sky, a woman with short auburn hair, and a tall heavily built man with a scraggly black beard. All three of them looked to be starved with sunken faces, rotted teeth, and weathered bodies. And while times were always tough in the Red Waste, his people had always found a way to survive. But this was different somehow. Something must have changed.

Half wondering if they should head back, Gregor cleaned his longsword, and studied the rocks around him, when Kira piped up. “I think one of them is still alive.”

His head half turned to look back, he saw the woman with auburn hair move, her body wracked by spasms of pain. Starting back down towards her, Kira continued, “we should do something.”

But as she saw Gregor draw his longsword, she hopped into his path. “Please, Gregor, we have to save her. She doesn't need to die.”

And whether it was the pleading tone in her voice, or the way she looked up at him, he paused. And in that brief second of hesitation, the wounded barbarian pulled a horn out of her pouch, and blew. The single clear note that floated atop the breeze, sent a shiver down his spine, before the world crumbled underneath their feet. The great worm that emerged out from the sands, surged out to grab hold of Kira with razor sharp teeth, and dragged her down into the underbelly of the world. Her screams of terror as she was snatched into the darkness, turned Gregor’s blood ice cold. The echo off her voice, bounced against the tunnel’s smooth round walls as he leapt down, slipped, and fell tumbling for miles.

His head rocked to the side by a jagged stone in his path, he came to rest in a flat circular bottom. The crimson eyes of the creature that peered out at him from the shadows, seemed to smile, and fuelled his rage.

Struggling to get to his feet, he limped forward, his body badly beaten up, and bounced from side to side. His eyes followed the trail of blood left behind by the beast, but as he reached another chamber, he could feel himself grow weaker. The screams that he still heard ahead of him, backed now by his own rapidly beating heart, before he fell forward into pitch black darkness.

The next thing he knew, Siwen was standing over him, his cheeks wet with tears as he slumped down beside him. “I am sorry, Gregor. She’s gone…”

And as the memory washed away, he saw Daria gaze at him with sympathy. “Who was she?”

“Her name is Kira, and I mean to bring her back.”