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ing . They had come to invoke justice , or in my eyes , excused slaughter .
Sophia was ashen , her eyes wide with fear . Her rosy cheeks had been drained of color . I pushed her behind me and examined my hands . Nine rings remained on my warrior hands . I clenched my fist as three rings melted to form the web work of my armor . The rest followed , responding to ages of repetition . A heavy , black ring became my trusted sword . Something I had never wished to see again . But there it was , in my hand , prepared to mutilate flesh .
The band of Midrial locked in on me . I held Sophia with my left arm tightly behind my frame . She was shivering .
Blooming Tree
Jack Cotton ‘ 14
I could tell the leader by the way he walked . I still remembered his movements , even though I had not seen him for a decade . His name was EldrinGalvar , captain of the Midrial . I had suspected he would inherit my position as Szlauhter after my desertion .
He was the first to advance , moving with a solid grace like the movement of a wolf .
“ Andrin Yborri Corlov , I do hope you remember me .” How could I forget ? I had saved his life . I did not answer , though .
“ We ’ ve come to take you in , to face the justice of the Yaldorin .” I could not see his face beneath the armored plate . “ Come quietly and nobody else has to get hurt .”
I spoke up , then , feeling the fire return to my face . “ So , this is what you would do ? Harm civilians to get to me ? When did the honor of the Midrial fade , when you would harm your own people to touch a criminal ? But I guess there never was any . I realize that now . We were always brutes , slaying the enemy and the innocent , mindless with the stench of blood .” He paused in his steps . The others moved in beside him , forming a semicircle . “ What happened , Andrin ?” He returned . “ Why did you abandon your people ?”
I had thought on this far too often to not speak . “ Because I realized I wasn ’ t helping anybody by fighting . Why fight , when nothing will change ? I asked myself what I was fighting for and never found an answer .” “ You fought for your people ! To win the war against the Naebrythyl and keep them from hurting anyone else !”
“ At what cost ? We would have run our enemy into the soil and still be searching for victory . Too many lives , Galvor . Too much death .” “ So you ’ re weak , then .” “ No , I am strong .” I said . The Midrial drew their blades . “ Come , Andrin , surrender with your dignity intact .” Sophia stiffened behind me . “ No ,” she began , her voice broken . “ Don ’ t go , don ’ t- ” “ Kill her !” Galvor shouted . Before I could react , half a dozen warriors leapt in and swung . I fought harder than I had ever fought . I had to protect her , for she had saved me . Sophia screamed but was unharmed . Two heads dropped to the ground as I swung my dark blade . My sword worked with the same skill that had kept me alive through a century of war . Like flashes of lighting , it struck and parried with a rhythm too fast to see . I felled two more , barely noticing the pools of blood gathering around their chests .
More leapt into the confusion . I kept them at bay , trying to protect the only one who could see such beauty in such a tattered world .
But I could not beat the odds . I knew it before I saw , how she fell with her gown dressed in red streaks , her eyes cold and distant . Time gave me the curse of watching her fall , as Galvor ’ s blade dripped red drops of her blood .
I killed him then , him and the rest of his warriors . All twenty four of them , dead in the courtyard . Fire returned to my mind as I lifted my sword from Eldrin Galvor ’ s split body . I was tired , but my heart beat like a thousand drums , strong as thunder . I turned to see the survivors . The people of Coradona stared in fear as I , the respected townsman Andrin Corlov , rose from the carnage , astonished how the quiet man could fight with such rage . But they didn ’ t know me . They had not seen what I had . As my armor reformed into the nine heavy rings on my fingers , the smells hit me with a strong blast . Roses and blood .
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