Heroic

I easily slid into the chest plate as my friend, Richard, a knight, strap the leg guards on my legs. When he was done, he stands up and looks at me.

"Are you sure this is the best idea?" He asks adjusting his great sword across his back.

I slip my boots on then stand up. "Normally, I'd say no to starting an all out war, but ever since Martin's death, I've wanted to kill him." I attach the arm guards.

He looks at me with both pride and understanding. "I know you want revenge for the deaths of Martin, but, Dracorex, come on! There has to be another way to get revenge other than starting an all out war."

I whirl around to face him so quickly that strands of hair fall into my eyes. "You don't get it, Richard!" I yell pushing the hair away. "He was my wing-man in battle! No matter how many enemies we fought, he always had my back! He was my best and closest friend. He was like a brother to me." I clench my fists in their black leather gloves. "I still remember that day..."

Martin and I were out exploring the unknown like we always did. He was dressed like always was. A silver chainmail breastplate, leather boots and leg guards, and a green cape. He carried a set of glowing longswords and a black bow and quiver of magical arrows. His short, dark brown hair was covered by a black hood and his deep brown eyes scan the trees.

I pull the hood of my cape over my head so that my face would be in darkness.

"Why'd you pull your hood up?" Martin asked, turning to me.

"I sense that something's wrong." I answered, reaching for my black, poisoned daggers. "Stay on guard." I stepped into the shadow of the nearest tree.

Martin took two more steps before he spun around with his longbow in his hands. He had an arrow notched and was aiming it at something over by my right. I looked over then tightened my grip on my daggers. There, a few feet away, was a portal that was a shade of white so bright that I was afraid that my hiding place had been compromised.

When I looked back at Martin, I saw that he had pulled the bowstring back as far as he could. I squinted at the arrow then gasped. The arrow he had on the bow was an explosive arrow. Then I saw the glint in his eyes.

"No, Martin!" I shouted, stepping from the shadows. "You'll get us both killed! Don't shoot that arrow!"

Martin looked at me apologetically. "Sorry, Dracorex, but we can't let anything come through that portal."

Suddenly, a goblin wielding a great axe ran through the portal. Martin released the string as I stepped back into the shadows. The arrow sent the goblin reeling back into the portal. There was a muffled explosion; then it was quiet. As I was about to step out from the shadows, there was an inhuman roar then an army of goblins, bugbears, and snake men rushed out of the portal towards Martin.

Martin fired arrows like a machine. The entire front line disappeared under a rain of arrows, but more kept coming. I silently snuck out of the shadows and began to drop creatures left and right. When the creatures were too close for arrows, Martin threw away his bow and brought out his glowing longswords.

Suddenly, we were surrounded with no escape route. We fought like crazy trying to get away, but they kept us where we were.

"Kill them!" The inhuman voice boomed. "Kill all who resist!"

"Dracorex!" Martin shouted, decapitating a goblin.

"Yeah?!" I yelled in reply. I dodge under a snake man's arm and stabbing it in its back; it topples forward.

"Get out of here! I know you can travel through the shadows! So, get away from here! Far away!" He pulled out 12 explosive arrows.

"No! I'm not leaving you to die! If you die, then I'll die fighting beside you!"

At that moment, he grabbed the front of my armor and chucked me straight at the shadow of a tree. I had no choice, but to travel to the nearest city. When I shot out of the shadow of a column, a passerby rushed over and helped me to my feet.

"Are you ok?" She asked, brushing the dust off my armor.

I nod, but at that moment, there was an explosion off in the direction where Martin was. A big mushroom cloud appeared in the distance.

"What was that?" The passerby asked, staring at the cloud.

"My life being destroyed piece by piece." I replied. Suddenly, I couldn't take it anymore. I slumped to the ground and began to cry.

Richard stares at me. Even though I can't see his face through his helmet, I knew that he's smiling with sympathy.

"See you on the battlefield then." He hurries out the door.

I attach my cloak to my shoulders then pull the hood up over my head. Finally, I sheath my poisoned daggers in their scabbards and attach them to my hips.

As I exit the building, I notice that there's no one in the town square. The stalls full of armor, weapons, food, and other assorted goods are closed. All the merchants aren't there either.

Probably getting ready for the war, I think to myself as I walk out the gate of the city. When I exit the city, I gasp.

The part of the hill that's near the city is covered with the residents of Moonbin. They all look up towards me and start to cheer. The roar of so many people having come to fight for what we deserve makes me smile.

I drop the hood of my cloak so that everyone can see my dark blue eyes, my shining golden hair, and my elfish features.

As I arrive at the army, they part to let me through to the front of the army. I slowly walk past face that I know. Dean, a knight, is wearing pitch black full plate armor and carrying a set of longsword. His face and eyes are hidden under his helmet. Corey, a wizard, is wearing a bright green robe with his hood pulled up and carrying a wand. His face and eyes are in darkness. And Jenny, an archer, is wearing a dark brown cape, a leather breastplate, and leather tights while carrying a dark blue bow, a navy blue quiver of arrows, and a set of gleaming daggers. Her long, brown hair is covered by a brown hood and her brown eyes are shining with happiness. She waves at me; I wave back.

I step in front of the army then turn around to face them. They all stare at me attentively.

"Warriors!" I cry as loud as I can. "These intruders think they can conquer us! They believe us to be weak and cowardly! Are we going to take that!?"

"NO!" They exclaim in reply."Are we going to let them sweep over our lands and destroy everything we know and love!?"

"NO!"

I turn around to see the opposing army marching over the next hill. It's made of bugbears, hellhounds, goblins, and snake men. I unsheathe my daggers and hold them high.

"Then let's show them that we are not weak! Not cowardly! But strong and brave!" I shout.

"YEAH!"

"Let's show them… how tough we really are! CHARGE!" I scream, rushing down the hill.

"YEAH!" The army rushes down the hill behind me.

The opposing army screams insults and begins to rush to meet us. My friends, Dean, Richard, Corey, and Jenny, rush up beside me.

"Kill 'em all!" Dean roars, waving his swords in the air. "Kill every last one of 'em!"

In the next moment, I clash with a bugbear as both armies ram each other. The bugbear stinks so bad that my eyes begin to water. I wipe my eyes then dodge its club. Then I dig my daggers into its leg. The poison takes effect immediately, killing the bugbear; it falls to the ground.

I run between the creatures striking the ones within reach; my poison killing the ones I wound. Suddenly, I'm fighting next to Dean.

"I don't think… I can last… much longer." He huffs, running his sword through a snake man. I can see a huge gash across his chest and teeth marks on his mangled calf.

"Here." I hand him a health potion from my belt. "I can fight a little while longer without it."

He takes it and drains it in one gulp. The gash and teeth marks close and disappear. "Thanks."

I nod then disappear into the shadows. I fly out of the shadow of a goblin and launch myself a Hellhound. The coal black hellhound is the size of a one-story house, but I tackle it to the ground and ram my daggers into its spine. It spasms once then slumps to the ground. The battle lasts for hours and it's all a blur to me, but just as quickly as it had started, it stops. All the enemy creatures are dead, but many of our own are dead of seriously wounded.

"I guess that's over." Richard states from behind me.

I shake my head. "No. It's not over." I dive into another shadow and appear behind Brian the Conquer. He whirls around to face me.

"Well. Well. Well. What do I have here?" He asks, smiling. His flaming red hair is neatly trimmed and his green eyes shine with triumph. He's wearing bright red chainmail armor and carries a flaming red great axe across his back. "You're too late, Dracorex. You only have two minutes to live." He waves to a huge stack of TNT with a timer counting down. It's as tall as a two-story building.

"I don't care," I retort, gripping my daggers tightly. "As long as you're dead." I spring forward and embed my daggers in his chest.

He stumbles backwards; Brian falls to the ground, dead before he hits it. I stand up quickly and yank my daggers out of his chest. Then I hurl one of my daggers at the timer. The dagger impales itself in the timer which puffs smoke and stops counting. My dagger appears back in my hand.

"As long as get my revenge, I don't care what happens to me." I say aloud, stepping into the shadows again. "As long as Martin is avenged."

I travel through the shadows back to the battlefield to see dead soldier's bodies being burned. It's dark and the fire casts an eerie glow over everyone's face. As soon as I step into the firelight, I'm suddenly tackled to the ground by Jenny who presses her lips to mine.

She kisses me fiercely. My arms wrap around her as she pulls away and looks down at me. In the dark, it's difficult to see her blush.

"I guess I'll have to get used to doing this." I state, smiling. She smiles back. "But I don't think it will take that long."

As I lean forward to kiss her again, I hear people giggling. I look towards the fire to see Dean, Richard, and Corey trying to stifle smiles, but failing.

"Stop smiling!" I bellow, throwing my glove at them. They start rolling on the ground while laughing. I look back at Jenny. "You ok with this?"

She nods and smiles. Her brown eyes sparkle in the darkness. "Yeah." She leans towards me. "Yeah." We kiss again and my heart flies into my throat.