The Demon

"You're going to be okay," Valia said, kneeling next to Guron. She pressed a hand into his upper chest, where a stray enemy arrow had struck him. 

She had since torn the arrow out, which had caused the wound to bleed more profusely. Guron was still awake, which lifted her hopes for his survival. 

Alon stood in front of them, firing arrows at enemy soldiers on the wall. More of them were climbing the walls now, and quickly becoming impossible to defend against.

"Hold your hand here," she said to Guron, placing his own hand on his chest. "I'll be right back."

She stood and moved next to Alon, who fired another arrow directly into the eye of a charging soldier. 

"Take Guron," she commanded. 

"What?" Alon asked with confusion, lowering his bow.

"Get him down off the wall and get him into the city. Guron can't fight, and we can't protect him. It's not safe here anymore."

"What about you?"

"The General. He's our only chance, remember? If he dies, everything was for nothing."

After the barrage of arrows and Guron's injury, Valia had lost track of General Hawke and his son. 

Where did they go?

Alon nodded. "Fine. Just…come back. I can't lose you."

"I will."

Valia took off down the wall, holding her sword in one hand and dagger in the other. 

A Leandis soldier stumbled in front of her, carrying a bucket of tar. 

"You. Where is General Hawke?" She demanded.

The soldier turned to the battlefield and pointed. "Just led a squad outta the gates to stop that ram."

Ram?

Valia followed his finger finding the battering ram that rolled toward the gates. The frenzy around the wooden structure made it impossible for her to spot the General. 

"Get me a ladder," she commanded. "I'm going down there."

*******

Hawke launched a barrage of quick attacks on Kallos, each aimed for the gap in his armor at the waist and at the neck. 

The gap at his neck was nearly impossible to reach as the golden knight stood over a foot taller than Hawke. 

He slashed again, this time once again aiming for the waist. 

The sword made a screeching sound as it came into contact with the golden armor. 

Then it shattered.

Kallos laughed. "Weaponless again, General?"

He didn't seem the slightest bit winded or angry. Hawke swore the expression on his face resembled boredom.

I'm not strong enough to beat him, Hawke thought, ignoring the pain pulsing throughout his body. But I have to. I must protect Kaladia.

Hawke sidestepped a strike from Kallos, whose golden sword sank deep into the dirt. 

He needed another weapon. Something stronger than the sword he'd been using. 

Kallos ripped the sword free and slashed at Hawke again. This time he fell backward, the tip of the sword just barely grazing his throat. 

"Almost got you!" Kallos laughed, plunging forward.

Hawke rolled out of the way and stumbled back to his feet. Blood was seeping from the cut on his throat now, but it wasn't enough to worry about.

A desperate plan popped into his mind.

He turned and ran.

"Where are you going, Demon?" Kallos shouted after him. He followed behind, just as Hawke hoped he would.

Hawke pushed himself to go faster, but Kallos was quickly catching up to him.

Go. Go. Just a little more….

Hawke reached the battering ram and dove inside the wooden structure. He crawled through and the soldiers inside stared at him in surprise. 

"Like a rat, scampering into a hole to hide!" Kallos screamed. 

The wooden structure exploded open from the top, the golden sword shattering the wood into hundreds of pieces. 

The soldiers inside yelled in horror and all moved to escape. 

Hawke crawled toward the front as another slash sliced through the structure from the side. 

One more….

"Get out here! Face me!"

He moved himself out of the way at the last second as the golden sword split the battering ram in half.

Hawke rolled out of the broken structure and back onto the ground. 

I did it. The battering ram is destroyed, he thought with relief. The city is safe…for now.

It was likely that Styte had more battering rams, but it would take time for them to reach the wall. And that was all they needed right now. Time.

"There you are!"

Hawke looked up in horror. 

Kallos stood over him, his sword raised.

There would be no dodging this attack.

Hawke closed his eyes.

The sound of two swords clashing together forced his eyes back open. 

In front of him stood Elond, blocking the attack that would've ended Hawke's life. 

"No," Hawke croaked, stumbling to his feet.

"You again," Kallos said with a smirk. He gave his sword a shove, sending Elond stumbling backward. 

"Stop this!" Hawke yelled, charging at Kallos. It was a desperate move. Suicide, even. 

Kallos slammed his knee into Hawke's stomach. Even through the armor, he felt the impact.

With his left gauntlet, Kallos punched Hawke in the side of the head, knocking off his helmet. 

Hawke fell to the ground, his old limbs finally giving in. 

Kallos snatched him up by the neck of his armor and threw him backward into the destroyed battering ram. 

He coughed up blood as Kallos knelt in front of him, bringing his face close enough so he only needed to whisper. "Watch. That's all I need you to do."

Hawke watched.

He watched as Kallos stepped over to Elond, picking him up by the head. He raised the boy up, so his feet no longer touched the ground.

Elond stared ahead, tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry, fath-"

Kallos cut through Elond's neck in a quick slash, decapitating him. He laughed at the horror on Hawke's face and tossed the bloody head to Hawke's feet.

"A gift," the golden knight said. "For the Demon. Will you finally show me what he's capable of?"

Hawke didn't respond, staring blankly at his son's head. 

No.

No. 

"NOOOOOOO!" He screamed. It wasn't real. None of this was real. Just another horrid nightmare. 

He'd gotten them hundreds of times before. Nightmares of killing people, random faces of soldiers who happened to fight for the other side. Nightmares of Stiela dying. Of Elond dying. Who was to say this wasn't another one?

Elond wasn't really dead. 

No. He just needed to wake up. 

When he finally opened his eyes, Elond and Stiela would be there, and they'd eat together. He would tell a joke, or a fun story for their entertainment. They could go hunting in the woods again, go shopping at the market, or even just have a day for themselves.

But Elond really was dead. 

There was no waking from the nightmare of war. 

It's inevitable. Inescapable.

"Where'd you go there?" Kallos asked, kneeling in front of Hawke. "Did…did I push you too far, old man? I'm truly sorry…."

Hawke said nothing. 

"My father will be mad if I don't kill you now," he said quietly. "Unless I see a sign from the Six, it seems I must end our spar. Before I do it, I'll have you know…you didn't live up to my expectations. But you survived longer than any opponent I've ever faced. You should be proud of that."

Hawke closed his eyes.

"This is better, truthfully. You won't have to be in pain anymore."

He nodded, raising his face to the sky. Those gray clouds would be the last sight he would ever see. 

Plink.

A drop of water hit his face, searing his skin as if it were made of fire.

Hawke's eyes shot open. 

A second drop hit his face, immediately eating away at his skin. 

Kallos frowned and looked to the sky.

The sun had disappeared behind the clouds now, and the wind was beginning to pick up. A drop hit the knight's face and he quickly wiped it away. 

"What…what is this?"

"A sign from the Six," Hawke said weakly.

Kallos looked at him with surprise. The grass around them began to sizzle as the raindrops fell at a faster rate. 

The soldiers around them began crying out in pain, and a moment later, both sides were retreating. Many of Styte's men took off toward the forest, which would provide the nearest cover. 

Kallos smiled. "So it is. It seems you're blessed, General." He sighed. "Well, there's not much I can do without my men. I suppose this is a temporary retreat."

He began moving toward the forest as the acidic rain fell harder. "Take this time for yourself, General. We'll be back at your walls as soon as this passes. I look forward to our next fight."

With that, the golden knight followed his men to the forest.

Hawke slumped to the ground, ignoring the pain the raindrops brought.

"You alive?"

He didn't move. The voice was familiar, but he couldn't pinpoint it.

A face appeared above him, blocking the rain. 

"Valia?"

What is she doing here?

The girl crouched next to him and pulled him up to a sitting position. "Let's go. This rain is only going to get worse."

"I can't…," Hawke mumbled. "I can't leave him."

Valia looked at the decapitated head and the rest of the body nearly twenty feet away. "We have to. Do you want to melt away out here?"

He nodded slowly. "Leave me."

"What of your wife?"

"She'll hate me. For not protecting him."

Valia quickly wiped away a raindrop from her face. "She might. But she can't lose any more family today. You can take the blame, but you must also survive. For her."

She pulled him to his feet. "Now, come on. We need to find shelter before this rain gets any worse."

Hawke nodded, glancing back at his son's body. An image he would always remember. It would haunt him until the day he died.

I couldn't save him. I've never been able to save anyone.

Only myself.

He looked away, turning back to the city. 

Kallos. Kallos Styte. 

You will die for this.