Three days have passed since the eastern fortress. Units one and five have just finished their massacre in the southern fortress. Once a kilometer away from the Southern fortress Calmantos used his irium shard to communicate with all units. “Southern Fortress is down, start closing in on the central fortress, we’ll be there in two days.”

Everyone sighed and said “Two days.” The group was exhausted by the pace Calmantos wanted to keep. “We’ll rest here tonight. I’ll set up a perimeter.” It was still day time. Calmantos spoke into his crystal again “Scratch that, add half a day to that estimate. We’ll let you know when we get there.” Everyone looked relieved, even Bwoire was tired.

In the distance, Bwoire noticed a wild boar. “Anyone mind pork for dinner?” he asked. Bwoire killed the boar in an instant. It was rather massive. Ithilious created a perfect log from his wood elestran while Bwoire began to carefully construct a spit roast. Anarion found a nice tree to lean on, though he tried to make sure the group couldn’t see him as he wanted to be alone.

Anarion felt the weight of all the people he killed in this war. In less than a week he ended up taking roughly seventy-five thousand lives, even if they were blue-skinned savages they were still people. Amma accidentally stumbled upon his hiding spot. “Sorry!” she said in a panic. It was very clear he was trying to be alone. “It’s alright. I’m just thinking. I also want a break from Calmantos.”

“From Calmantos?” she asked. Anarion shook his head trying to get the last few days to leave his memory. “What do you think about this war. Are we doing the correct thing here?” Amma sat down next to Anarion, she put both of her hands on her chin. “If I were the council I would do the same thing. While I hate what we are doing, it’s to prevent a terrible thing from happening.”

Anarion looked at Amma “What terrible thing could happen? I know we could be invaded.” Amma smiled at Anarion, she then looked down at the ground. “If Giguk is alive and is aligned with Maluk. It could become the trigger for our downfall if all of these Oren become Xalnog. We can’t fight them in the North and the South. If the Oren became Xalnog, that will result in us losing this war against Maluk.”

Anarion sighed “You are right. We are doing the correct thing. But it feels like killing a murderer who hasn’t committed the crime yet. It feels wrong to end so many lives just because. But if we don’t, then everyone we know may become Xalnog. They’ll just kill me since I can’t be turned.”

Amma smiled again at Anarion, his heart skipped a beat. “It’s dirty work. However, it’s for the better. Being a Swordsman is the most difficult thing to do. We are forced to do terrible things if it means saving innocent people. I’m glad you are here though. I don’t think I would have the strength to carry out my mission if you were not.”

Anarion scratched his right cheek with his right hand. His face turned slightly red. “I’m glad you are here as well.” Suddenly from around the corner came Ithilious. He stomped his right foot on the ground. “Oh, I see. You two lovebirds are looking for a place to make sweet passionate love. One must relieve such tensions in wartime.” Amma stood up and yelled “Ithilious!” She then proceeded to assault him with a flurry of fists followed by a sidekick to finish him off.

Falcon poked his head around the tree. “When the two of you are finished, come see Bwoire.” Anarion said, “It’s not what you think, we were just talking.” Falcon looked at Anarion “You know I heard that whole thing.” Anarion glared at Falcon “You shouldn’t eves drop on people's conversations.” Falcon laughed. “Your calm about this.” Anarion sighed “What do I have to be angry about. Sure I’m a little annoyed that you heard our private conversation, but its not the end of the world.”

Falcon laughed again. “I’m glad you are here as well,” he said in a mocking voice. Amma grabbed the back of his head and smashed it against the tree. While he rolled around in pain Amma and Anarion returned to the group. Falcon and Ithilious followed soon after. Bwoire looked at all of them, then said “This next fortress could prove to be dangerous. With all five units there I want you all to promise me something.”

Bwoire looked serious. “If you encounter a difficult fight, call for help. Someone from the other units can come in to assist. None of you have fought a Swordsman before. It’s rare to fight one of your own. We could very well be walking into an extremely dangerous situation. There is no shame in admitting you can’t handle a foe.”

Anarion looked at Bwoire “You are still underestimating us.” Bwoire looked like he was ready to snap “Don’t get cocky dumbass! This isn’t a game!” Anarion looked coldly at Bwoire “Did I ever say it was a game? I’m not playing around here. We are stronger than you think. We’re not children anymore.” Amma nodded her head “Every moment possible I’m strengthening my blade. I don’t take this lightly, but I think you are worrying too much.”

Bwoire brought his hand up to his face. “Overconfidence kills more Swordsmen than anything. I’ve witnessed it myself countless times. How long do you think I’ve been alive? How long do you think I’ve been a swordsman? I’ve seen and experienced more than you ever will. I’ve lost so many important people because they were overconfident!”

Anarion yelled “I’m not going to die. I don’t need you to worry about me!” Before the situation could get worse Calmantos stepped in. Bwoire avoided everyone in his unit for the rest of the evening. Night turned into day, and day turned into night. When they were one kilometer away Calmantos told Units two, three, and four to begin the assault.

As they approached the fortress it was very clear that it was bigger than all of the others. The assault was underway by the time they arrived. They scaled the Southern wall, there was no entrance so they had to run around to the front to attempt their assassination. They made way into the inner part of the fortress. There was a massive throne room and a throne. The room was not lavish, it was the same as every other part of the fortress, made out of stone, covered with moss.

Atop the throne sat a massive Oren. He was twenty-five feet tall, considerably big for an Oren. He was missing his right eye, he looked old. “Giguk!” yelled Calmantos. He all but confirmed the rumors with his shout. Another Oren stepped out into the room from behind the throne. He was massive as well, he looked crazed like he had snapped and was looking for someone or something to kill.

Like Giguk he had a Katarn sheathed at his side. “I didn’t think they would send you Calmantos, this could be a problem,” said Giguk. The other Oren pointed at Bwoire “I want to kill this one, let me kill him, father! Please let me kill him!” Giguk said calmly “Be calm Calnurtuk, that one might be too strong for you.” Giguk looked somewhat lethargic. He looked like he did not want to fight.

“I can take him! Let me fight him!” yelled Calnurtuk. Meanwhile, Calmantos whispered “This can’t be all of them. Bwoire and I will start this fight, go past and find any other Oren Swordsmen.” Giguk laughed. “Lord Maluk told me he would take care of you Calmantos. You are the most troublesome opponent.”

Bwoire yelled “Enough talk.” A bolt of lightning came down from the sky, hitting the ceiling, blowing it up. Bwoire’s physical form transformed to lightning. He yelled, “Go!” Both him and Calmantos charged at Giguk and Calnurtuk. Everyone else ran past. Behind the throne was a small room with a door. Beyond the door was a set of stairs that went deep underground. They reached a standstill when multiple pathways presented themselves.

“Everyone pick a path, we can’t allow a single one of these Oren Swordsmen to live,” said Bernard. Anarion picked the path on the far right and started running. Above he could hear what sounded like both thunder and water as well as a tunnel collapsing. He paid the noises no heed, trusting Bwoire and Calmantos could handle their respected battles.

At the end of the hallway was a door. Anarion kicked it in. Behind the door was a massive dark room filled with Irium Shards. It was somewhat dark. “Oh, look what we have here Scrath.” Another voice replied “One very unlucky human.” Anarion removed his shirt, wanting maximum rotation. “Why is he getting naked?” asked another.

Slowly torches inside the room were lit by one of the Oren. Anarion was grinning from ear to ear. He counted “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven” he paused for a moment “Eight.” In the room, eight Oren Swordsmen awaited him. “How unlucky for you,” said Anarion. He had a look of determination on his face. He remembered his conversation from a few days ago. “I could bother my comrades, but you know. I’m a little curious to see if I can kill all eight of you.”

“He’s overconfident,” said one Oren. He was completely bald and had far less muscle mass than the others. The largest Oren of the group laughed. “One cocky Swordsman. Even if you called for help, I don’t think you’d survive that long.” He unsheathed his Katarn and held it with both hands. A large red aura enveloped him, the aura turned to fire. He no longer held one sword in his hand, instead, he held two swords that were flaming. This Oren was showing his second release from the very start of the battle.

“Very impressive,” said Anarion. “I might be out of my league here. I don’t have a second release, still, I have no reservations taking you all on.” Anarion unsheathed his Katarn. He gripped it in both hands. Suddenly a massive blue aura enveloped his body. The aura was extremely strong, so strong that everyone could feel it. The irium shards for creating Katarn started to rise. Anarion’s eyes had a faint blue glow. Little did he know, but he was on the cusp of unlocking his second form.