Episode 3 - The Rise
The sun was setting over the courtyard of the manor as eight year old Nara was finishing his lesson in swordsmanship that afternoon. His teacher, a man about his father’s age, was relentless and expected nothing less than perfection from his student. Despite being so young, Nara was able to defeat boys twice his age because of the rigorous training he had to endure, truly training meant for a grown man. Beads of sweat poured down his face as his arms had become heavy as lead, his sword an increasingly difficult burden to wield. While the practice sword was much smaller and lighter than a combat sword, it was still hard for Nara to maintain a firm grip while swinging the deadly implement for hours at a time. Until he could master the necessary skills, Nara would never receive a sword of his own; because of this, he worked into the late hours of the afternoon every day with his teacher, the black knight.
“Good, now step forward after you deflect my attack! Remain aggressive even while being on the defensive. Every moment your opponent falters and shows weakness is an opportunity to change the pace to your advantage.” The black knight smirked as he flicked his sword up and easily disarmed Nara. “You see? If you had pressed the attack, I wouldn’t have been able to do that.” Disheartened, little Nara kicked a rock by his foot and picked up his sword out of the dirt.
“I’m sorry sir; I’ll do better next time.” He had been trying his best the whole day but his body wasn’t meant to do this much at this age. “What more does this guy expect of me? I’m just a kid, geez,” thought Nara as he brought his sword back into a ready position. While he greatly enjoyed becoming proficient with a sword at his age, he didn’t agree with the pace of his education. Nara’s arm stiffened up and cramped as the black knight disarmed him once more after a flurry of parries and blows.
“Alright, that’s enough. I can see you’re at your limit. Good work today, we’ll work even harder tomorrow.” The black knight sheathed his sword and patted little Nara on the back. “I’ll go call your father and tell him that we’ve finished for the day.”
Nara let out a sigh of relief as he sat down on the stone wall bordering the edge of the courtyard. His feet dangled off the edge of the cliff his father’s manor stood upon. He looked out across the city below he would soon grow up and defend. Though it was years ahead of him, he was excited to one day take his place among the brave knights that kept the city safe. He would soon be able to join the armored ranks like his father, a general in the army.
“Nara! Come and greet your father!” Nara quickly turned around with a smile blooming on his face only to find himself on a war-torn battlefield out on the plains. The courtyard and his father’s manor had all disappeared. The air reeked with the smell of blood and decay causing Nara to convulse and vomit. Dark energy swirled in pitch-black clouds across the battlefield letting loose bolts of blue lightning down upon those few still locked in combat. Orcs and humans were fighting tooth and nail for every inch of ground on the blood-soaked, god-forsaken plains. Dirt churned into mud as huge pools of blood began to form beneath the heaps of fresh corpses. Reeling from the nauseating sights and smells, little Nara curled up into a ball and began to cry. Just when all hope seemed to have been lost, Nara spotted his father across the battlefield fending off a trio of orcs as his men tried to recover their wounded comrades. Nara leapt for joy and sprinted heedlessly across the plains toward his father ignoring the battle raging around him.
“Father! Father! It’s me, Nara! What’s going on?” Nara dove to his father’s side to wrap his tiny arms around his father’s massive legs only to find himself face first in the dirt. His arms had passed right through his father’s legs as if they were an illusion. Nara’s father doubled over and growled in pain as an orc stabbed its serrated blade into his side. Suddenly, an evil cackle rang out across the battlefield. The booming laughter pierced Nara’s heart for he knew this voice; it was his teacher, the black knight.
“Ahhh, general, it seems you are wounded? Here, let me end your suffering.” The traitorous black knight, supported by a squad of orcs behind him, let loose bolt after bolt at the fallen general. Each black arrow found its mark and plunged itself deep into the general’s back piercing his lungs and heart. Nara cried out in agony as he saw his father beside him gasp for one last breath of air as blood rushed into his lungs. Tears streamed down Nara’s face as he tried to hug his father for the last time but the vision was beginning to become foggy as the clouds of darkness grew even thicker.
Nara jolted awake from his nightmare. The black knight had permeated every aspect of Nara’s conscious and unconscious thought. He had tormented Nara’s nights, offering him no reprieve from the daily horrors of his imprisonment. It had been days, weeks, possibly months since Nara had seen any signs of civilization while trudging across the vastness of the empire under the watchful eye of these orcs. His grasp of time had eluded him since his capture at the hands of the black knight. The monster that he had known growing up as his teacher and his father’s best friend was only a few tents away but alas, he was powerless to do anything at the moment. His sword and armor taken from him, Nara would have to bide his time and wait for the perfect time to strike then that would be the end of it. For now, Nara endured the torture and slave labor at the hands of his savage orc masters. He had begun to become numb to the daily kicks and sneers. They would curse and jeer at him in their native tongue, Giant. Remembering from his studies of the basics of the Giant language itself, Nara began to understand and commit the language to memory. He was sure that this knowledge would be beneficial and help him and his comrades escape one day.
Nara spent most of his time in the camp trying to keep his sanity by getting to know the other prisoners. Most were human soldiers from his town but a few of the captives were obviously from different parts of the empire. The two that interested Nara the most were a goliath barbarian who mostly kept to himself and a man simply known throughout the camp as rogue. None of the other prisoners spoke to or interacted with the goliath because of his fearsome appearance but Nara knew him better. Nara had learned that despite his enormous height, Sumalseh had been banished from his clan for being a runt. Nara had even gone so far as to give Sumalseh a nickname, Smalls, which Sumalseh had eagerly accepted with a smile for he had never been given anything or shown kindness before. The man the other prisoners called rogue kept his hooded cloak on and never spoke to any of the other captives besides Sumalseh and Nara. Rumors spread that he was from a distant continent and had been a vagrant traveling through the countryside when the orcs held their uprising. He didn’t speak much to Nara or Sumalseh but what he did tell them about his past was his name, Jaku. Jaku spent the majority of his time in the camp whittling a wooden lute with a small bone knife he kept hidden in his boot. The three kept each other company the most during their captivity and developed a deep bond.
A hot summer wind swept across the grassy plains as the moon dipped below the horizon. Nara continued to contemplate the realness of the nightmares that had been plaguing him. The other prisoners groggily opened their eyes as their orc masters kicked them awake, it was time to move out. As the sun began to peek over the hills and ridges across the plains, dragonborn war-cries rang out followed by the thunderous sound of a plate armor charge. The camp was immediately thrown into mayhem as orcs rushed about yelling orders, grabbing weapons, and packing up belongings.
“What’s going on Nara? What’s got the orcs so riled up,” questioned Smalls as he yawned and stretched out his enormous arms and legs. Smalls rubbed his eyes in a daze as the situation slowly began to dawn on him.
“This is it, this is our chance to escape this wretched existence. Jaku, go and rally the men. Tell them the time has come to relieve ourselves of our oppressors.” With a nod Jaku ran off to carry out his orders as Nara and Smalls stood up beside each other ready to face the upcoming battle. Nara didn’t even compare in height to the goliath standing next to him but his commanding presence was known of throughout the camp. While Nara outranked the majority of the men in the camp, even those that held higher office grew to unquestioningly follow each of his commands. They had seen his bravery and maturity during the fall of their city and he had kept the survivors together and sane during their imprisonment. “The orcs are worried they are going to be attacked by the dragonborn we just heard. They cannot even tell that the charge is not coming in our direction. They are lost and in a state of confusion. At best we will only have several minutes to accomplish our task.”
“How do you know all this Nara?” A quizzical look appeared on Smalls’ face as he scratched his head in confusion. Suddenly, Smalls appeared to have an epiphany. “Wait, do you mean you can understand what they’re saying Nara?”
“Yes Smalls, but this is neither the time nor the place for me to explain my grasp of the Giant language. We must make haste if we are to succeed. For now we have the element of surprise and we must make use of it.” Nara lead Smalls out of their tent to look for more of the other men and then for the armory. Nara knew that that tent would be the most important part of their revolt. He didn’t plan on being skewered alive during his escape because he and his men weren’t outfitted properly with weapons and armor.
Jaku, accompanied by thirty strong and able-bodied men, eventually regrouped with Nara and Smalls. All of them looked eager to shed orc blood and gain revenge for their months of torture and subjugation. “I’m sorry this was all I could muster in such a short time, Sir. The others were afraid of rebelling and wished to be left alone.”
Nara let out an exasperated sigh. “No matter, you have done well Jaku. We will make do with what we have and be victorious. Tonight we shall dine and rest in front of our own campfire as free men.” Nara’s confidence bolstered the hopes of the men around him. None had a look of fear or uncertainty on his face, all were ready to taste victory or death. “We must make our way to the armory tent. Jaku, use your stealth skills and lead the way.”
Jaku silently led the way as he stealthily crept by orcs dashing about through the encampment. As he watched Jaku in action, Nara realized that he could not be an ordinary rogue like the rumors spoke of. He took note that Jaku did not even leave footprints wherever he tread, truly the mark of some sort of huntsman or assassin. Eventually the small band found themselves at one of the armory tents and quickly overpowered and subdued the guards. Each man immediately suited up and grabbed a weapon. Finding his armor and weapons inside a locked cage, Nara began to worry about how he would reclaim his armaments. Seeing his newfound friend in a predicament, Smalls strode over to the lock and drove his fist into it. The bony growths protruding from his skin around his knuckles smashed the lock into tiny pieces swinging the door of the cage wide open.
Astonished, Nara’s jaw dropped in amazement. “Wow, I didn’t know you could do something like that Smalls.” Nara patted Smalls on the back in thanks and walked into the cage still dazed at what he had just learned about his new friend and quickly donned his armor. The feel of Lionheart in his hands reassured him and warmed his heart. Lionheart returned the sentiments and burst into flames at being reunited with its master.
Scratching his head and smiling in embarrassment, Smalls let out a small laugh. “Haha, well, I didn’t know I could do that either.” Returning to looking for a weapon, Smalls walked around the small tent and looked at all the deadly implements. He had never used a weapon before and was having a difficult time deciding. All he had growing up was his favorite childhood toy, a sling he had been given by his mother. It had saved him during his banishment from the clan and was his most cherished belonging but the savage orcs had taken it away from him when he was captured.
“Let’s go Smalls! It’s time to go! Just grab something,” ordered Nara. He knew their time was running out and they needed to get into action.
“Yes, Nara.” Smalls gave a quick look around the room then grabbed the biggest and spikiest weapon he could find when a familiar sight caught his eye. His sling hung from a rack on the opposite side of the room. Smalls strode out of the tent with a smile into the early morning light, craghammer in hand and his favorite sling stuffed in his pocket. In full armor and armed to the teeth, Nara, Smalls, and Jaku led the men in full run toward the border of the encampment. It wasn’t until they reached the final outer gate were they stopped by a rather large squad of orcs led by none other than the black knight himself. His polished black armor glinted in the light as he gracefully flourished his halberds with effortless twists of his wrists. A slight smirk grew on his face as he saw that Nara was leading the ragtag band of rebels.
“Ah, so you think that you could just escape from here little Nara? No, I’m afraid not. You and your friends are going to rot under my feet after I kill every single one of you. I can’t have you running off to the empire and tell them my little secret.” With that threat, the black knight pointed his halberds at the escapees and ordered his orcs forward.
“Everyone, handle the orcs and make your escape. I’ll deal with this traitor.” Nara’s men rallied behind him and fought fiercely. For every fallen comrade, ten orcs were put to rest never to see the light of day again. The summer wind whipped at the battle standard strapped to Nara’s back. Nara looked up at the crimson banner and reminded himself about the words he had sewn into the fabric: God of Death. The monster standing before him had betrayed and killed his father. He must take revenge, but was his skill enough? After all, the black knight was his teacher and had taught him everything he knew. Ignoring the doubt in his mind, Nara charged forward at the black knight blind with rage. He took wild two-handed swings with Lionheart, the blade ablaze with righteous fury. The sword had embodied the wrath of its master. The black knight blocked some blows and dodged others while counter-attacking at every possible opening. Both warriors seemed to be locked in an epic dance with death only but a razor’s edge away from either combatant. Suddenly, the black knight slipped on a pool of blood which allowed Lionheart to graze his black chainmail and singe the interlocking metal rings. The black knight yelped in pain as he stumbled backwards to the ground clutching his abdomen where a small splotch of blood began to appear.
“Hah, it seems the gods favor you today little Nara. Luck is on your side,” gasped the black knight. He winced in pain at this wounded abdomen as Nara stalked closer with a cold look on his face.
Nara no longer heard the battle around him or even what the black knight had just said. All he knew was that vengeance was lying before him, helpless, at his mercy. “I have dreamt about this moment for months, traitor. Now I will finally have retribution for the death of my father.” With a grin on his face, Nara raised Lionheart above his head, the blade seemed to scream in anger at its next victim. It knew what this monster had done to its previous master. Just as Nara was about to deal the death blow, a familiar voice seemed to cry out for help from somewhere halting his swing. “What was that,” thought Nara. Shrugging it off, Nara again raised his sword over the black knight. The black knight cringed in fear as death itself stood above him. As Lionheart came screaming down, another faint cry for help again halted Nara in his tracks. Turning around, Nara saw that his comrade’s had begun to lose their battle with the orcs who were finally beginning to regroup. If they didn’t escape now only the cold grip of death awaited them. He would have to finish his grizzly deed quickly then immediately return to his allies. Upon looking down, Nara realized the black knight had made his escape, a trail of blood led off deep into the camp.
“Nara! Help! We need you,” yelled Smalls as he stood back to back with Jaku. The two were surrounded by orcs felling them one after another yet their numbers continued to increase. Realizing his friends were in danger, Nara decided not to pursue the black knight. What good was a leader if all his men were dead? He would have to put his own feelings and agenda aside and exact his revenge on his father’s murderer some other time, the safety of his friends was more important. Nara quickly charged into battle and rallied his men back together under his banner. Lionheart mercilessly cut down orc after orc, its bloodlust had not been quenched for the black knight still breathed. With the renewed vigor Nara brought to the battle, the prisoners were able to make their escape into the wilderness with Jaku covering their tracks. The orcs in disarray after the retreat of their leader, the black knight, did not follow Nara and his band for they weren’t worth the trouble they caused nor could they even find them.
A picture of Smalls:
A picture of Jaku: