Tainted Steel

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. There weren't always hordes of fowl-twisted creatures marching under their decaying wings. There weren't always the corpses of valiant knights lining every inch of this desolate place; glistening red of their blood drizzling from once vibrant green blades of grass. Once this opening between massive giant mountains was the entrance to the most bustling city in the kingdom. Now, littered with death and evil, it was nothing but a prelude to the inevitable terror and woe to come. Nightfiends, sadistic monstrosities of a hellish plane, had torn through to our world, snuffing out all embers of life just as countless elven prophecies had foretold. We should have listened, but instead we claimed ignorance, embraced safety in our knights and magic, this we would all soon regret; nothing now could save us. Mindless they march forth, decaying flesh forming terrifying raptorial tissue that protruded their hideous forms and trailed behind their unnatural hobbling; with each rot-infested step groans of monstrous agony escape their demonic faces of sagging skin. Each one, held together by different combinations of grafted appendages, clambered over the crimson-soaked steel of their recent victims, their unruly form reflecting from the glistening sea of gore they had birthed.

Appropriate for the scene tears from the heavens danced among my face, drizzling down and melding with a profusion of blood that donned my solemn visage. Paralyzed, I could only glare as terrifying beasts slog over my thrashed body; black liquid dripped from every one of their hideous orifices and leaped from my shattered breastplate. Honestly, it was doubtful that I had retained the ability to move, and only when the wretched army had past would I find out. With each group stumbling over me I held my breath, even though murmurs of involuntary pain snaked out of my contorted body. Terror inflicted me, it consumed every inch of my being as an incomprehensible quantity of monsters stumbled over thousands of my dead allies; occasionally the sickening thud of a skull being crushed under their mammoth feet would reignite my spiralling anxiety.

Panic-stricken shuddering vibrated my body; the occasional screech of survivors meeting their demise as they desperately tried to crawl away with broken bodies haunted me. Meanwhile, I could only watch as massive dragon-like creatures infested the airspace, odd tendrils coating their bodies that met their bladed teeth. Corrupted by the very essence of death itself. As they passed I could only dream of home; our valiant army was supposed to quench the "non-existent" threat of these Nightfiends; we were to be home for a luxurious evening of celebration. At this very moment we should be drinking gallons of alcohol and exaggerating tales of our heroism. But instead we were butchered by a threat so gruesome it was still beyond belief. Now as I lay with the mangled corpses of my to be drinking buddies I pray relentlessly that this was all the distorted façade of an unmerciful nightmare. But my dead friends who surrounded me, their faces in permanent anguish, would attest to this. Numerous lives snuffed out, for the sake of what? This question repeated as I glared at Thinius, my closest companion, who remained lifeless as his cold dead eyes pierced my very soul. His compact dwarven body bent out of shape; it made me sick to the core to see him in such a dejected state. Though while grief consumed me, I knew that his brutal end would not be the last; once the scourge had arrived at the capital none would be safe: men, women, children, kings and beggars were all about to meet a brutal and unstoppable end. Nightfiends would give the cruellest of demons the shivers; unlike those entities, they do not destroy entire worlds for sustenance but for pleasure; their only joy in their corrupted lives was the unwarranted suffering of their pray.

Time itself seemed to slow; Phasing between peaceful unconscious death and agonising waking terror I gazed as the horde steadily drifted from sight, as the flames of our burning torches fizzled into darkness, and the eternal struggle of sun and moon commenced. Honestly, it was impossible to identify the passage of time. I couldn't even speculate how long I had been lying in that pit of decay; but as the hungry flies swarmed my brethren and their rotten stench filled my nostrils, I could tell it was already far too late. Eventually, I would find the strength to crawl to my battered feet, utilizing my sword for support as it pierced the soft soil. Unenthusiastically, I must admit, I was no longer a swift swordsman but a mutilated snail. Fortunately for my survival, the valley had cleared now. Trailing the path of destruction I stumbled over corpse after corpse as I fled the long-deserted battlefield. Oddly enough, I had begun feeling almost immune to the sight of such a gruesome scene now that I had resided within it for so long. Animal instinct had consumed me, injured I headed in the direction of home, only I knew for certain that home was not safe; by now it must be under brutal siege. Alas, I had no alternative... Where else could I go?

Poignant rain had evolved into a sinister downpour by the time I reached the end of the valley, the stench of decomposition still fresh to my senses. How long would their bodies remain before drowning under the rampant storm? That all too familiar red slipped away from my cracked cuirass in rivers as I reached the wide open fields of the kingdom, and though many miles away I could see my home. Ferocious flames engulfed it, reaching to the very heavens as they burst from every section of the capital cities grand design. Shattered castle walls merged with crumbled wooden abodes. Even from this distance the sickening cries of help could be heard as the pillaging of innocent lives raged on. Most sickening, those twisted monsters that consumed the form of once gentle dragons swarmed the skies, plunging all beneath into darkness. Gripping my swords hilt with pure fury I hiked forth with little hesitation; My determination to avenge the fallen was immeasurable. I would be marching into the belly of the beast, and no manner of malformed monstrosity could stop me.