Mage Slayer part 4: Battle for my Homeland

 Jack stood anger blazing in his eyes as he grabbed the spear off the ground, looking out he saw three giants attacking his village. One giant was armed with a large club, another threw human-sized spears at the screaming villagers, and the third tore down houses and stomped down the rubble. The giants were the size of five tall men, covered in leather armor. A woman in the distance screamed for someone to save her, Jack recognized her voice, "Mother!"

Launching himself forward Jack bellowed at the top of their lungs, like a Viking warrior leading the charge in battle, Jack got the attention of the giants, throwing the spear through the skull of the giant who threatened his mother, and the giant fell back dead. Looking at his childhood home Jack saw his mother, lying under rubble, as a wooden beam was stuck through her heart. Tears filled his eyes as a large hand smacked the back of his head, "Where were you!"

Jack turned seeing his father, or at least the man who said he was his father, fear, anger, and grief mixed in the depths of his soul as his hand rose, slugging the man in the jaw, as one of the giants yelled out in mourning of the giant Jack had killed moments before. The old farmer fell backward into the dirt. Jack stood over him eyes narrow, "Don't talk to me, old man."

Looking up at his destiny, the boy yelled in reply to the abominable creatures who deserved to die. Looking around for a weapon, Jack spotted a pickaxe as the giant wielding the club charged forward, Jack ran, dropping to one side, he rolled, grasping the pickaxe. He threw his momentum forward, as the pickaxe landed in the giants foot. Before the giant could react to the pain, Jack yanked the weapon out of its foot and into the creature's knee. The giant fell back, crying out, and a spear landed next to the boy. he looked up, Finished the creature first then got the other one. Jack launched himself forward, stabbing the pickaxe into the giant's chest. Jack looked up and saw the giant launching another spear at him, leaning back, he dodged the spear. Jack grabbed the spear the other giant had just threw, and launched it at him, the spear missed, Jack yanked the pickaxe out of the dead giant's carcass and jumped at the giant, landing the weapon in the giant's knee, he fell backward. Pulling his weapon out of the creatures knee, the giant yelled, "Please end it!"

Jack looked up, "You speak?"

The giant roared, and it was evident that the creature had no more speech left in him. So Jack took the Giants spear and stabbed it in the heart, granting it a merciful end.

Off in the distance, the man of shadows stood on the mountain watching the battle transpire, smiling he turned to the realm of darkness were the king of giants resides. 

"You said that the humans are too weak to fight my soldiers, but that one warrior just killed three of my men." The Giant king said, his nostrils flared as he stepped out of the shadows, "Do you know what he will do to you if you fail too often?"

The shrimp like man of shadows shuddered as the king leaned closer, "Do you remember what he did to her last time?"

"Don't speak to me of failures, when you have a deeper ledger than I." the shadowy man countered, "It was your men who were too weak to face a farmer's son..."

"That is no mere farm boy!" The king said.

"I mean an unskilled human, I meant no disrespect your greatness." The man said, while giving a mock curtsy, "The fact is that your men failed, ooonnnly because they did not listen to my strategy."

"Had they listened they could have avoided failure?" The Giant king said, completing the man of shadows thought.

"Of course." the man said.

From the darkness a deep menacing voice exclaimed, "Excuses are for the weak, failure is only shame, end this discussion now and you shall live again."

The Giant king and man of shadows shivered in fear, bowing low with his face on the ground the little king said, "Master, what are your orders?"

A hand launched from the shadows, that dwarfed the giant in sheer size as it pointed to the portal, "Send your forces to Camelot, We have been hiding for long enough, It is time that the golden age of this kingdom comes to an end, I must feast on dead souls once again."

The man of shadows shrieked back in fear as he bowed low, "Yes my lord, I shall tell Morgana to take her new pet to the peaks..."

The finger bent back pointing at the man making him squeak in terror. 

The voice commanded, "Noooooooo, bring me the boy, I must see him for myself."

"Sire, the boy is not ready, he has only been initiated in the first phase of magehood..."

The voice interrupted, "End your excuses, I will see him and if he lives he shall be my vessel to rule the world of man from the throne of chaos."

Bowing low the man gulped, "As you wish my liege."

While still bowed the man left through the portal.

The Giant slowly rose from the ground, "Master, I do not believe that I have enough giant soldiers to win a battle against the humans, with your permission, and honor, will you allow for me and my men to  bring humans so they can be cleansed by the, The Balor?" his voice cracked as he gulped, memories from his unpleasant turning momentarily rose to the surface. 

The voice hummed for a moment, "Go."

© Copyright Tailspinners Ink all rights reserved 2024

Mage Slayer part 3: Attack of the Giants

 The morning began with tranquility. The rooster crowed in the distance, as Jack stirred at the sound, day had arrived, and it was time to start the work. Leaping out of bed Jack started to his backpack and ran to the barn to take the cattle to pasture. The family had five cows, two old females, two young females and one male calfling. They used to have one bull, which had died the previous year from disease. The younger calfling, was half the size of the other cattle by now, and tried to show his dominance on the other females, but being so small could never make the landing. 

Jack sat at the base of the tree as the cattle grazed reading one of his books about the history of the Fae, which he wondered if Nimue was, based on the description of the fae in the book. 

"Oye," Shouted a voice from behind, Jack looked around, there was no one there. 

"Am I hearing things?" Looking around some more, hearing footsteps behind him, Jack turned. Nothing, turned again, nothing. The only sound he heard was teeth ripping grass out of the ground. Then a tap on his shoulder made his skin crawl, turning. Wack. Jack landed on the ground, punched in the nose, looking up he saw, Fremde. 

"What was that for?" Jack exclaimed.

"You need to pay attention, anyone can sneak up on you," said Fremde confidently, "That's your next lesson."

"Not letting people sneak up on me?" said Jack turning his head up to drain the blood.

"In part, seeing danger coming before it happens." Fremde took an offensive stance, his feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart, hands up and loosely held, not quite fists, not quite chops either, Fremde had that strange look that told Jack this lesson was one of the more difficult ones, his eyes were narrow as he grinned wickedly at Jack, Yeah this was going to be a hard lesson.

Moments later Fremde was blind folded in the field, as Jack snuck up on him, stick in hand, ready to  strike.

Jack charged the Fremde swinging the stick like a club and the old man ducked under the stick in one swift motion, swinging his leg at the back of Jack's knees. flying through the air Jack landed on his back the wind knocked out of him. Jack stood back on his feet holding the stick out, Fremde, with the blindfold still over his eyes, "Good lad, back on your feet."

It frustrated Jack how the old man could do that. Jack swung his stick again, like a sword this time, Fremde parried with his off hand, knocking the stick-sword back, Jack struck again, but only hitting air, Fremde dodged behind the stick, and slapped Jack in the face. 

"How is this teaching me to see danger before it happens?" Jack asked frustrated.

Fremde chuckled, as he disarmed Jack, slapping him backward. "Boy if you are going to announce your presence while we are training, then you won't learn anything."

Jack stood his nose flaring, and brow furrowed, "What am I learning, WHAT AM I LEARNING?!?" 

Fremde slapped Jack's face with the stick, "In order to see danger coming, you must become the danger that comes, in order to see the monster in the dark, you must become that monster in the shadows, once you know how to take a city, you can be more equipped to protect your walls, and lands."

"What does that even mean, Become darkness to defeat darkness?"

"Do you want to be a hero?" asked Fremde

"I want to protect my home, a hero is a knight or a king or a mage, not a farmer." 

"Not all who wear shining fancy armor are heroes, and most who wield magic are corrupt, some of my favorite heroes are farmers, and I know of a king who was once a carpenter's son, understand that not all will be or ever has been what it seems, life is more beautiful than that."

Jack stood silently, pondering the wise man's words, "Sir..."

"Yes, son?"

Jack cleared his throat awkwardly, "What is your name?" Jack stammered, "I always call you Fremde, because no one knows where you come from, nor cares who you are, but I want to know who are you?"

The old man chuckled, "Well boy, you can say that my name is..." He never got to finish, as he spoke a spear blade protruded out of his chest as Jack jumped back, eyes wide and heart racing, "Sir?"

The old man looked down absent minded as he fell over, blood pouring from the corner of his mouth, Jack caught him before he hit the ground, he pulled the spear out of the mans chest. Looking up Jack saw giants, Giants? His mind raced as he saw a ditch close by. Sliding on the ground with Fremde on his back Jack crawled to the ditch laying back holding the old man who was bleeding out. "J-J....a...c..k..."

"Shhhh..." 

The pounding of distant thunder could be heard, or was it their footsteps, Jack peered up over the ridge, to see the giants standing at least a full oaks length tall, their heads shaved, and their beards thick and long, they wore simple leather armor. Jack remembered back to the night before, Nimue said that the giants would return, but he didn't know if it was a dream. This is real! The giants of myth and legend had returned, and they came back with a vengeance.

"J...a...c...k..." Jack looked down, as the old man's eyes faded, the old man who had been like a father to him, more than his 'true' Father ever was. 

"Fremde?" Jack asked, hope for his survival rising, "What is it?"

"You.........asked............my.............name...........I........must..........tell ........you..before......" 

"DON'T SAY THAT YOURE GOING TO LIVE." 

Fremde let out a chuckle, that was more of a cough, "Don't....be...s-stupid......boy."

Tears filled Jack's eyes as he held the old man close, "Don't die, please don't die on me..."

"My name....is....Lancelot...."

Jack's eyes perked up, "Lancelot... You?"

Lancelot the old smiled, as his eyes faded, speaking his last breath, "You must save your brother Jack...." Lancelot's voice strained as he gripped on to life to tell Jack one last secret before he faded from this realm, from his vessel, "Jack your....f-father is not....the farmer, you....and......your brother are sons.......of.........The king."

Jack blinked, "W....WHAT?!?" Jack stammered, his breath quickening as his mind raced with this new information, thinking of the farmer who raised him and fed him, the man who beat him, and belittled him, the man who favored his older brother, Dredmur over him. Dredmur, the liar and the cheat, there is not saving that.

Jack sat in the ditch deep in thought until he could hear the cries from the cattle, from  the village, the laughter from the giants, from the thunder, and the old man who taught him how to fight, who taught him the difference between right and wrong, lying dead in his arms, Jack's blood boiled as he laid Lancelot to rest pulling his hunting knife from his sheath, and stood from the ditch, as a giant wielding his fathers pickaxe, the pickaxe that had his father's, well not his father, the symbol of the family the old farmer belonged to, Jack looked up knife in hand as he charged the giant.

© Copyright Tailspinners Ink all rights reserved 2024