A man with raven-black hair, broad shoulders and a small horizontal scar on his nose stood atop a large rock, his narrowed eyes scanning the horizon like a hawk's. He was not alone. Seven figures stood behind him silently. They seemed to be awaiting his decision. Five of them were men and remaining two were women, and they were all Lowlanders.
One man stepped forward,he was lanky and of average height. He positioned himself beside the rock. This was Aiden, Beebee's cousin, and the man on the rock was none other than Herman, Aldrich and Bernard's best friend.
"Have you decided, Herman?" Aiden's voice cut through, tinged with a little impatience.
"Hmmm," Herman rumbled, rubbing his stubbled chin as if divining the forest's secrets. Then, with a decisive slam of fist against palm, he declared, "Alright! We head east! I'm sure we'll find one of our own there."
"Not to piss on your foresight, but you said that last time," a dark-skinned man with short, woolly hair interjected, his tone dry. "And we landed in a serpentis' nest." He did not hide his skepticism.
"And we all walked away with juicy points, did we not, Norrich?" Herman shot back, waving off the doubt with a grin. "This time, though, I feel it in my bones, we'll reunite with my brothers." His smile widened.
He leapt from the rock, striding to a tree where a longsword leaned, its blade still stained with blood. It once belonged to a highlander. However, his body now fed the soil.
That night, Herman had infiltrated their camp. Like a silent reaper, he had slit their leader's throat as he slept. They, highlanders, had enslaved some Lowlanders, some now his followers, including Aiden, chaining them and forcing them to be of slaves. Herman had freed them that night, and with their help killed the rest of the enslavers.
The eight of them decided to head east, like Herman had suggested. They walked through the dense forest, until a cleared path opened before them. But they didn't advance, instead, they melted into the shrubs, and as the peeped through, dread pooled in their eyes.
A massive army of Orcanas marched past. They stretched like an ant column, their massive frames shaking the earth with each step.
Leading them, atop a Kuna mount, was a strange being. He was different from the rest of the Orcans. Tall as them, yet lankier. His frame was devoid of their hulking bulk or protruding tusks.
His long ears bore him a semblance to a Sylvarith, but his brown skin and eyes resembled the Orcana's. He was a hybrid, an unnatural fusion of bloodlines, and he had an army.
"Herman," Aiden whispered, voice trembling. "Never decide our destination again, please." He swallowed hard, fear engraved on his face.
"Noted," Herman murmured, his face just as scared.
"Over there," Martha, one of the women, tapped his shoulder, pointing into the army's midst.
Their gazes locked onto hundreds of humans, Highlanders and Lowlanders alike, bound in a ragged line, marched as prisoners.
"We need to leave. Now!" Herman hissed, his face darkening even further.
They retreated from the shrubs, gently. However, fate was cruel. The hybrid leader's nostrils flared, a callous smile curling his lips as he turned toward their hiding spot. Their eyes met, and terror seized Herman's heart.
"Run!!!!" he roared, his voice a thunderclap.
With a sweep of the leader's arm, over three dozen Orcanas peeled from the ranks and chased after them. The ground trembled beneath their thunderous pursuit, their grunts closing in after the seven of them.
Herman led, his longsword bouncing against his back. Aiden and the rest followed, their faces cut with fear.
How had they stumbled into this nightmare?
A root snagged Martha's foot, and she fell to the ground with a gasp. Norrich halted and immediately doubled back, helping her up.
"Keep moving!" Herman barked at them.
He led them toward a dense thicket, hoping to lose their chasers, but that was not enough to stop the brutes. The hulking beasts pressed on, slowly closing the gap.
Herman's jaw clenched, the words he loathed to utter clawing up his throat. It was the only way to ensure at least some of them survived.
"Split!" he bellowed, his veins bulging with the strain. He instantly seized Aiden's arm, dragging him eastward. Laura and Jika followed him. The others, however, Kuriel, Sori, Norrich, and Martha headed west, unfortunately drawing the bulk of the fray.
Herman had no time to dwell on it. Some Orcanas still thundered after them. One soon came too close to Laura, the slowest of the group. Its massive arm snaked towards her long red hair.
"Not on my watch!" Herman snarled, spinning back. He snatched a vine, and swang with it, the momentum launching him airborne. He unsheathed his longsword and plunged into the Orcana's face, a wet crunch echoing as he tumbled to the earth. He rolled towards another one as it approached him and slashed it across its chest, its blood splattering his face.
Aiden and the others halted as well, and drew their weapons. They joined the fight. An Orcana slammed into Herman, hurling him across the ground, but Aiden retaliated, his spear arcing through the air to lodge in its back. He slid aside, dodging a swinging axe, his agility an edge.
Jika parried a scarred, one-eyed Orcana's blow. It grinned wickedly as it pressed him to his knees with its great strength. Laura immediately leapt on its back and coiled her chain blade around its neck. With a fierce yank, she forced a cry from its mouth. She kicked its knee, toppling it to the ground. Jika's machete flashed, severing its head releasing a spray of blood.
Herman was already back on his feet, and two more Orcanas had fallen to his blade. Aiden moved through the chaos, dodging and fighting as best as he could. He was the weakest amongst them.
Jika and Laura synced like a storm, their teamwork dropping the orcanas one after the other. However, misfortune soon struck. An Orcana's slap sent Laura sprawling, and in the same breath, its axe tore through Jika's abdomen as he turned, distracted by her.
Laura's scream pierced the air, a shrieking lament that drew Herman's attention. His eyes darkened as he charged, ducking the beast's swing and driving his sword deep into its gut.
"Die!!" he roared, yanking the blade free and spinning to decapitate it.
He rushed to Jika, cradled in Laura's arms as she sobbed. Blood bubbled from his mouth, his eyes half-lidded and almost lifeless. The wound was fatal.
"We have to go," Herman rasped, his voice heavy. "More of them are sure to come."
"No!" Laura wailed, clutching Jika. "We can't leave him!"
"He's gone," Herman sighed, staring at Jika's vacant gaze, the life finally gone from his eyes.
Laura buried her face in Jika's chest, her cries broken. Aiden stepped forward, his thin voice cracking as he gently pulled her up. "We have to keep moving, Laura."
The three fled deeper into the forest, leaving Jika's lifeless body behind. Another life claimed by the trial.