There was blood everywhere… On his hands, his face. Although his body was feeling wrecked, he clung to his sword with a death-like grip. Moau had no idea how this had begun but knew that he had to survive, no matter the cost. Such is the way with life: Every being wants nothing more than to see another day’s sunrise, yet all must eventually perish. For a moment – just a moment mind you, but in a battle, a moment can feel like a lifetime – Moau had thought his time had come. One quick thrust of his opponent’s sword had come at an unexpected angle. Luck had saved him in the past more times than he could count. Another warrior had dodged out of the way of his opponent’s battle-axe and had jostled Moau’s enemy causing his thrust to be thrown off course. Moau capitalized with a two-handed arcing swipe, splitting his opponent nearly in twain. Now standing there, panting, he looked around wondering what he should do next. There were two other men still standing, both looking equally as exhausted as Moau felt. He numbly lifted his sword and took a step toward them.
“We are not your enemies, Soldier,” one of them said.
“Well, that’s good news,” Moau thought to himself. Aloud, he called out to them, “Then who is and why did I have to kill all of these men? What reason for this bloodshed?”
Moau tasted salty blood in his mouth and spat disgustedly, for he knew that it wasn’t his own.
“This is a war, Soldier. You’ve just helped us destroy a platoon of those most reviled creatures of Nature’s womb, the Golends.”
Moau’s heart contracted, wrenched and contorted itself so painfully that he felt his head swoon and he nearly collapsed. He looked around, but as gory as the scene was, as bloody as some of those faces were, he saw none that he recognized – though it helped none. He had loved the Golend clan with his entire being and in the most ghastly way imaginable, had just helped to kill a piece of his own heart. He took two steps, saw a boy that could have been his cousin torn practically in half, his entrails spilled from his belly to land in a steaming, bloody pile beside the fresh carcass and finally did collapse. As a shroud began to envelope his consciousness, he dimly registered the sound of the two remaining soldiers approaching him… Something about a commander… Something about a medic.
