My sword ran red that day, so did the ground. It was a morbid tapestry. Soldier on the northern front.

1st day of the 8th month 579th year of the 8th era

At dusk, the trolls withdrew to a safe distance away from the fortress wall. Akuchi and Mayu gathered with fifty others in the mustering yard. They sat on their horses, ready and waiting. Torches arrayed around the yard flickered, casting the yard in their yellow light. Akuchi’s horse stood next to Mayu’s; the torchlight flickered, catching their oiled bodies. Commander Oghenekaro sat on his horse at the vanguard, facing the gates. A soldier at the gatehouse raised his hand and waved to the Commander.

“Open the gates,” Oghenekaro commanded.

The gates began to swing outward at the commander’s orders. Oghenekaro raised his hand above his hand and when the gates had fully opened he swung it forward, signalling the troop to move forward. He urged his horse on. The horse’s shod hooves clattered through the gateway.

The whole squad advanced forward at the same time, moving out of the gates into the plains. The soldiers moved out and formed several lines on Oghenekaro. The troll’s camp was situated to the north one kilometre away. Too far to shoot from the wall, far enough to make charge speed.

The squad moved silently to face the camp. A large gathering of tents encircled a bonfire.

Oghenekaro raised his hand and then swung it forward. His sword glistened in the faint light. The squad began to move forward at a quick trot, then faster and faster until they were moving at a full gallop. The pounding of the horses’ hooves on the ground matched the pounding of Akuchi’s blood in his ears. The charge covered the distance over the flat, yellow grassland to the troll camp quickly, and they began to cut their way through, slaying trolls as they arose to defend the camp.

The first wave of soldiers split and moved through the camp; the pounding of the horses’ hooves on the ground awoke the camp, and trolls started to appear out of the tents. They ran to the weapon racks and grabbed a weapon. Trolls died as they emerged from their tents. As the charging horses went deeper into the camp the charge slowed as the soldiers engaged in fighting with the trolls.

Akuchi and Mayu were in the second row and slashed at trolls as they formed small groups to defend against the charging horses. Akuchi swung at a troll as it stepped out it's formation and only hit the air as the troll dropped to the ground. Akuchi glanced over his shoulder as the troll got back up and was decapitated by the soldier in the next row. Akuchi passed another tent and swung at a troll. Akuchi’s blade found its mark, slashing a deep mortal wound on the troll. It fell to the ground, its blue blood pumping out of the wound.

Akuchi found himself riding behind Oghenekaro with Mayu beside him. The commander charged straight to the largest tent in the centre of the camp. Akuchi and Mayu followed him. A large green-skinned troll with pure white fur stood three metres tall. Wielding a large two-handed axe in each hand, it roared a challenge at the commander. As the commander charged the beast, they both swung at each other and missed. The troll swung and felled a rider behind them. Akuchi galloped past Mayu on the other side. They both swung and missed the large troll as they passed by him. Oghenekaro, Akuchi and Mayu all wheeled their horses and charged past again. Oghenekaro swung his sword and sliced through the troll’s arm, severing it. Akuchi and Mayu galloped past the troll, each missing as the troll turned to face them. As they wheeled their horses for another charge, the troll dropped his axes, grabbed a tent pole and levelled it at them.

Oghenekaro charged forward as Akuchi and Mayu both followed; the troll waited as they charged toward him. As Oghenekaro closed, he raised his sword to bring it down in a mighty thrust at the troll’s head. The troll lunged forward with the tent pole and thrust it into Oghenekaro’s horse. The horse panicked and threw Oghenekaro to the ground before dying on the tent pole. The troll threw the tent pole to the ground and picked up his axes. Akuchi and Mayu charged past and sliced the troll in the back with their weapons. The troll roared and turned to face them.

“Akuchi, save Oghenekaro!” Mayu shouted over the din of battle. “I will distract him.”

Mayu charged the troll, slicing him again in the back. The troll turned to face her and charged her down with his axe. Mayu turned the horse away from the troll and galloped away, leading the troll away from Oghenekaro.

Akuchi galloped his horse to where Oghenekaro lay in the dirt. He dismounted and bent over the unconscious commander. Akuchi sheathed his falchion onto his back and lifted the commander onto his horse. A roar from behind the horse drew Akuchi’s attention. A troll was stomping towards him, wielding a curved scimitar in each hand. Akuchi tied the commander to the horse and slapped the horse’s rump, sending it running out of the camp.

Oghenekaro stirred as the horse galloped away. Akuchi drew his falchion and gripped it in both hands and took his stance, sword held in front of him. The troll grinned as it approached. The troll opened its mouth, roared and then yelled a guttural curse at Akuchi.

The troll’s attacks were fast and vicious. Akuchi stepped into mountain stance to defend against them. The troll jumped and swung both of his scimitars at him three times, then backed away, each hit sending sparks flying from the brutality of the strike. After the troll withdrew, it then launched itself at Akuchi again for three swings with each scimitar before landing and stepping back.

Akuchi let the troll settle into a pattern before he lunged with a strike of his own as the troll stepped back. Akuchi struck, lunging forward and pierced the creature before it could raise its defence. His blow sliced through the troll’s chest and up to its chin, killing the creature instantly. The troll’s mouth spewed bile and blue blood, before it collapsed on the ground.

***

Mayu led the troll through the camp and lost it in the fighting by dashing between the blazing tents. The attacking soldiers were cutting down trolls effectively. A bellow of rage echoed from the centre of the camp. Mayu smiled to herself, wheeled her horse and charged through the camp. A troll emerged from behind a tent and Mayu reacted by leaning down and striking it across its face, taking off its nose, blood spurting. The troll screamed as it covered its face with its clawed hands before falling backwards into the conflagration.

A loud horn bellowed retreat across the camp, cutting through the battle din. Mayu heard the sound and turned towards it, lying low against the back of her horse. She charged through the camp towards the sound. The smell of horse sweat filled her nostrils.

Mayu came out of the camp with other soldiers retreating around her. Trolls rushed to the edge of the light, waving their swords into the air at the retreating soldiers. Mayu rushed to the fort and waited for Akuchi to return. She experienced growing concern as the soldiers returning began to trickle back in and eventually stopped coming altogether.

Akuchi heard the horn blast and started running toward it.

A troll towering over Akuchi, at two metres tall, emerged from behind a tent. Akuchi skidded to a stop and held his weapon before him. The stench of sweat and sex overwhelmed him. The troll stomped towards Akuchi and swung the mace at him. Akuchi blocked the mace’s first swing with his sword. The impact of the mace crashing down on his sword buckled his knees, sending Akuchi to the ground. The troll took another swing and Akuchi barrel-rolled under the strike. The troll’s swing went over Akuchi’s head, embedding the mace several centimetres into the ground.

Akuchi stepped up and noticed the mace on the ground. The troll yanked the mace with one hand and it refused to budge. Akuchi lunged with his sword levelled flat and stabbed the troll in the side.

The troll howled in rage, let go of the mace on the ground, and swung his large clawed hands at Akuchi. Akuchi ducked the swing and stepped back. The troll placed one hand on the gaping wound and looked at the blue blood soaking its hand. Akuchi smiled as the troll roared again and swung his claws at him. The swipe sailed short of its mark as Akuchi leaned back. The troll overbalanced. Akuchi struck again, stabbing in the ribs. The blade became stuck on a bone. The troll roared in fury and struck Akuchi in the head with a mighty backhand. Akuchi sailed into the tent and hit the main support beam. His vision blurred. He tried to stand but his legs wobbled, and he collapsed back to the ground. He watched as the troll pulled his falchion out of its side and tossed it aside like a thorn. The troll smiled in triumph. The last thing Akuchi saw was the troll lumbering towards him, blue blood dripping down both its sides.

Mayu was past worry and was fraught with concern; she was responsible for looking after Akuchi and ensuring he was fully trained. She cursed herself for not being more vigilant with ensuring his safety. Panic rose in her throat as she watched the gates close for the last time that night. Mayu paced in front of the gatehouse as she considered her options; she would need to inform Oghenekaro that Akuchi was lost and suffer the shame of losing her partner.

The time spent without a training partner had been torture, she had to either train by herself or group up with another willing pair. That was not an option. The last person she had trained had formed a strong alliance that was distasteful to her. Going back to the twins to ask for training would be beyond humiliation.

A member of the Commander’s Guard walked over to her.

“The Commander would like to see you in the infirmary.”

“Thank you,” she replied, gulping.

She was going to have to stand before Oghenekaro without Akuchi—that was going to be the most shame she would ever feel. She whispered a silent prayer to Pierre the God of Mercy to help find her a way out of this mess. She stroked a small arrow-pierced heart bracelet. She began walking to the infirmary, dragging her feet as she dawdled, hoping for some divine miracle to help her out of this miserable position. Arriving at the infirmary, she sighed to herself. Better to do this and get it over with. She steeled herself and pushed into the infirmary. Despite the calamity of the attack, there had been very few casualties.

“Mayu, good to see you,” Oghenekaro called from his bed. A nurse was still fussing over him.

“Sir,” Mayu returned straightening up. The least she could do was take the consequences with a little dignity.

“Did Akuchi make it out of that mess OK?” Oghenekaro asked, straight to the point.

“I haven’t seen him since I told him to go save you,” Mayu answered.

“Well, that is unfortunate. I wanted to thank him for saving me.”

“If he didn’t come back, then he is most likely still in the camp.”

“If he is not already dead.”

“I refuse to believe that Akuchi is dead,” Mayu snapped.

Oghenekaro watched Mayu as she glowered at him for even suggesting the idea. Mayu was a stubborn sort. She had refused to wear any form of armour from the moment she had arrived, rigidly sticking to her cultural beliefs about clothing. This had led to several other training pairs to shed a little of their clothes, citing cultural reasons. He had nearly lost control of the fort until she had finally agreed to wear that loincloth. It was only a minor victory but he hadn’t lost control of the rest of the force.

“Go back to your bunk and rest, it has been a long day,” Oghenekaro soothed, “let’s see if our actions have had any effect on the troll camp.”

“Very good, sir.” She snapped a crisp salute and marched out of the infirmary.

Once outside Mayu sighed with relief. How could Oggy think that Akuchi was dead?Tears welled up and she wiped them away. She had to get out of sight. She rounded the outside of the command building and slipped into the training room Akuchi and she had been using. She curled up on the mat in the very place she and Akuchi had made love only a few hours ago. Her heart stung from the loss and Mayu let the tears glide down her face.

Mayu did not sleep that night. She stood on the wall and watched light seep into the trolls’ camp. A gentle breeze cooled her body. She placed her hands on the crenelations. A cool shiver ran up her spine. A gentle cough behind her caused Mayu turned to face Commander Oghenekaro, wearing leather trousers and a bandage on his head.

“Can’t sleep?” Oghenekaro asked, smiling.

“Oggy, you can’t be up already,” Mayu started turning and leaning against the crenelation.

“Can’t lie down during an attack,” Oghenekaro grunted.

“You should wait until the sounding of the horns.”

Oghenekaro arose from leaning on the wall and came to look out over the wall towards the troll’s camp.

“That’s odd.”

“What is it?” Mayu asked turning to face in the same direction.

“The trolls are not marching towards us.”

“They are moving, though not towards us. That means you can go back to bed.”

Oghenekaro laughed, moved off the wall and headed back down the stairs.

“You can come with me,” Oghenekaro commanded, “don’t fret about Akuchi. If you have trained him, then I am sure he will be fine.”

“That’s the thing.” Mayu welled up. “I am not sure if he is dead or alive.”

“I am sure that Krite will look after him,” Oghenekaro comforted, giving Mayu a squeeze on her shoulders.

“I pray so.” Mayu wiped away moisture from her eyes.

“Come, let’s get some breakfast.”

“Thank you, sir,” Mayu agreed as more tears began to glide down her face.