Kingdoms of Korinth :: Page 1

The rain on the mens shoulders and heads was heavy, the sound of the tapping was tedious as they looked up to the mountain surrounded by a ring of jagged rocks as big as the largest mountain any man saw. Atop such a creation, creatures of such huge size flew, they guarded the crest, the very top they wished to attack.

The horses shuddered and hooves stomped in stress, no body spoke, not even those who never shut up where finally silenced by the size of the great horizon ahead of them. Atop that mountain, gods they once worshiped, once held hope for, loved and sacrificed so much effort to please now planned their destruction.

Its not of greed that men of the south, orcs of the west and even the elves of the south that gathered the largest armed force this world has ever seen and ever would. It was the greed and malice of those they called immortal. The gods found no use for mortal lives any longer; gods grew tired of watching mortals like ants and planned the destruction of their very creations.

It was months in preparation, messengers from the greatest kingdoms rushed back and forth, old wars where over, old hate buried and a new enemy has shown their face. No sons of men, no daughters of elves and no warriors of the orcs would ever let the lands, the lives and the reason for living be taken by gods who served them no honor.

This was the Armageddon, the war of all wars, if lives where to be lost and forgotten, they would die on the battlefields like their brothers before them. As the day the gods where silence, every race of living knew something was wrong, something the gods didn’t expect was a betrayal of their own kin. A single demi-god left the mountain to warn the kingdoms of their doom and their fate that was decided without discussion.

Malick looked back to his men, to the captains he trained, to the fellow generals he served with, to those he knew would not see the next morning… His eyes where hollow, knowing this fight was grave, as the sky was gray and the ground was mudded. He looked around like a military man, trying to see any advantages they may have. But knowing against a force that knew not death knew not fear that even if the sun was at their backs, even if arrows flew with blessing, that it would be a loosing battle.

The wind picked up for a moment as Malick looked forward again, feeling the breeze push the rain that dripped from his helm into his face, his horse shaking its head to stop the chill that even ran up its spine.

“Will the winds of Korinth follow us even here, its warmth has not graced my skin in so many days, I think it forgot my grace.” Svcik said, the chaotic and poetic soldier knew always what to say to remind you of exactly what your fighting for. Malick didn’t feel this wind, he tried to ignore it, as he ignored the nights he traveled so long to get here, to die with the millions of men, elves and orcs, even other races and tribes sent their warriors.

“I doubt it forgot your grace Svcik, for it would carry your smell further then the scent of bread.” Malick laughed and did his friend and comrade, Svcik still looked back and forth though as the men didn’t speak, they just looked down to their warn gauntlets and gloves, even the archers didn’t check their quivers, figuring if their arrows flew astray, it wouldn’t be because of their craftsmanship.

“Mayhaps you should give a word to the men, they lost the fire we once had at the castle.” Svcik said as he looked back to Malick from the men. “Maybe it was the size of the giant prints we seen, maybe it was the thousands of wyverns that flew over our heads, maybe it was dark elves that slew many of their brothers on the journey here.” Malick spoke, staring before him, as though living the moments of the journey here, obviously having had his courage, his mind and his heart broken. “Maybe it was not that, but their leader losing faith.” Svcik said, being an infidel was always in his demeanor, but when he was he always had reason. “Maybe its because they seen worse and you’ve seen them through it..” Malick knew Svcik was right, so with out a word, he gave his silent agreement to Svcik’s words as he turned his horse to face his men, an army that stretched longer then his eye could see.

“MEN!” Malick shouted. “We have been drawn to the flame like a moth you may say, you may think that only death awaits us here, but in your hearts you know at home death waits us there too. The shadow has crept past our boards and THIS! THIS IS OUR CHANCE! Our chance to STRIKE BACK at those who think they are untouchable. Let them know, let them see, that the hearts and swords of men have no limit to its reach should you strike at our homes, our hearts and our lives! Draw your strength, draw your last ounce of courage, for they stand in awe that we have come this far, let them stand in awe and FALL IN AWE!”

The speech called forth a roar from the men, the soldiers cried out in a cheer, swords raised, shields being banged together. The more they screamed, the less they heard themselves, the more they couldn’t hear themselves, the more they screamed. So it was said in chaos, order has no place in combat, but the roars of men.

Just at the loudest of times, the ground shook, many men didn’t notice, but it shook again and rumbled. Their feet and knee’s shuddered as the earth beneath them started to bounce, no pattern, just a thud before two thuds, then a thud and three, was the gods coming? Where they sending their death and spitting upon the living?

“The ground shakes and the sky clears, is this the act of gods, the fate of men, or the will of…” Before Svcik could finish his words, the sky ripped open like a swirl of bright white and bright blue.. “Heaven..” He finished as they watched the out pour of the literal hole in the sky. “Heaven has come to fight the gods?” Svcik said, Malick now returning to the front as he looked above, the thousands of winged people, with hue’s of beauty and grace. “You forget Svcik, for once we fight on the side of good in a place where even heaven would lose if we lost.” Then the men cheered again, ignoring the fact that the ground stopped shaking.

Just as the armies of heaven took lines in the sky, the ground shook like never before, as the earth a few hundred feet before the human army ripped like a paper pulled tightly from two ends. “The ground my lord!” Svcik shouted as a few men in the front row fell, horses shook and reared, tossing their riders as both Svcik and Malick fought to keep their mounts hooves to the ground and steady.

Just as heaven came, hell did too. As the ground ripped, like they where too impatient to wait till the earth gave way, demons poured from the torn dirt, fire and brimstone light poured from the growing crack. Infront of them all, a creature that was a breed of nightmares, a monster that leads demons from hell and back, Odium was there, the fabled general of hell. His back was strapped with a banner, like the soldiers of old, two poles springing from between a large set of wings to the sky as between was stretched skin with red and brown paint that had the symbol of hell. His head was not of men, it was of dinosaur, a creature with eyes of serpent, teeth of a carnivore, claws of a hunter and wings of a bat stretched out to the sides as though to show to the mountain and heavens above ‘here I am embrace my presence’.

His wings whipped out twice, as he stood, showing his lith form, riddled with tight muscles and his large head that sharp spine spewed down his back between his wings to his human like legs only cleffed with claws of rending.  When his wings snapped twice, the demons behind him stood 50 feet behind him, no closer and no further as he looked above to the heavens. The other demons as well looked up to their old foes, sneers and growls where spoken, but with a snap of his jaws, Odium silenced them as he twirled around to look back at his minions.

“SILENCE! We are not hear for the feathered ones, we are here for blood of immortals! And look behind you maggots!” The demons looked back to the humans who now moved back, wondering who’s side these creatures where on, but Odium soon made it apparent. “Look at the men, the apes of mortal, look how they have come and tried to take our place in combat! We have come here not for their flesh though, we have not come for the angels, but today we call them allies… BUT TAKE NO HONOR IN THIS! For they want the kills that belong to us! Our foes think themselves immortal, they think that hell and fire cant reach their belovanant arses! We will not wait for the attack of our allies, we strike first! I AM NOT DIEING HERE TO SAY I DIED BEHIND THE SKIRTS OF MEN NOR ANGEL!”

The demons roared and some blew fire from their mouths like it was anger pouring from them. Odium looked back to the mountain before them. “Today we die, die with the heads of gods in you maws..” And with that, they marched, no battle plans where made, not all demons had wings, even ones with wings didn’t fly they marched with the sloth like creatures of girth, with the creatures like snakes, the giant ones, the small imps, everything moved towards their enemies with anticipation, not fear.