Chapter 2 A warrior in peasant robes Myra had requested to make camp by the edge of the beautiful river known simple as Silver river, for the water in the river ran so clean and fast that it, in the early morning light it looked like pure silver. She was at the waters edge, washing her face and getting clean water. Aidan was standing look out from the tree tops, or so she thought. HE was not watching for enemies or for anything really, he was simply watching her, all her in all her beauty. She was amazing he thought but still he felt he needed to hide who he was from her. He watched her intently; she looked over her shoulder and then slowly took off her top. Aidan then looked away, it was her private time and he did not mean to intrude. Slowly his eyes wondered back to the half naked beauty. Her back was dirty but she let the water from the stream wash it away, he winced when he saw the slight red line of blood from where the orc’s had scratched he back. Foul creature they where, in all his days he had never met a smart one. Orc where the scum of the plant and deserved nothing better then death, but who would deal it to them? Aidan most certainly had taken many with him, but who was to kill them in is absence? Who was to defend the people that got captured by them while he was taking Myra home? He had never stopped to think about it but the neighbouring towns that surrounded the forest of voices needed him, needed the protection he provided even if they did not know he was there. How many children would scream for help in this forest and get nothing. This sat hard in his stomach as he thought about elm town, burned and buried by orc. He thought about his friends and all the people that died, the little baby that he was to afraid to defend, his fathers face before the arrow struck him in the back of the head. Suddenly he was on fire, his body was shaking and he could not control it, the memories where assaulting him. He gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, forcing them to stop, but it wasn’t working. “No.” He growled through gritted teeth. His little brothers face and corpse lay beside his sisters, burned so bad that he couldn’t see them anymore, but he knew it was them. Fire blazed around him, his heart pounded in his chest and his hands clinched around the hilts of his swords. While all this was happening to Aidan, Myra continued to wash your body with the cool water from the river. How long had to been since she had hand a nice warm bath, she wondered to herself. She smiled and leaned down toward the water, looking at her reflection, above her she could see a hawk circling over head, the symbol of her adopted father, a hawk, the protector of the land and of sky. She sighed and looked across the river to see a stag kneeling to drink the fast flowing As she looked back at her reflection a dark figure dressed in black armour and a black helmet stood behind her with a sinister grin he pulled his sword. Myra screamed for Aidan, but the sword came at her quickly. Aidan sat straight up clinching his swords and sweating profusely. He was breathing hard and his body was hot. Myra lay beside the fire, wrapped in a deer skin blanket and using Aidan’s shirt as a pillow. The glow of the fire made her look so beautiful and the sounds of the night where simply amazing. He fell back onto the soft cool dirt and sighed. “It was only a dream.” He said to himself. “Only a dream.” He would not let her out of his sight from now on, dream or no dream she was his to protect and he was not going to let her get hurt, so long as he had a breath in his body. He looked up at the night sky and put his hands behind his head. He signed and thought to himself, what would ever happen if he was killed. Would anyone come to mourn his death? No. No one would care for he died so many years ago. Gone was Aidan Dragune, the weak soul that couldn’t defend his home or his family, he was Aizana, the warrior in peasant robes. He had to chuckle to that, and he even had to smile at Myra, the wondrous woman who knew who he was not. She would be the death of him he knew, his heart would not be able to take the pain if she, a friend from the past, his only connection to his old self, were to ever get hurt. The sound of breaking brush made Aidan flip to his feet, swords drawn. Myra awoke seconds after, hearing the rush of a huge body coming through the brush. She squirmed to a tree having nothing to defend herself but Aidan she had to hide so that he would not worry about her. A huge man, as tall as small giant and with arms the size of tree trunks barrelled into there camp site, swinging his two handed axe with such force that Aidan had to roll with the blow instead of deflecting hit. His face was covered in mud, but Aidan could see that he was blind on the right side, his legs where like the legs of a bear huge and muscular. His axe swung once again at Aidan’s head, “ORC SCUM!” he yelled as Aidan deflected the blow into a tree, from the impact Aidan thought the axe might go right through it. He sprang into action driving forward and punching the huge man in the face, sending his reeling much to his surprise. Aidan then ran and sprang off the same tree the axe was embedded into and drove forward with his swords leading the way. The man slapped the swords aside and stepped forward, landing a left hand that send shockwaves through the air and sent Aidan tumbling out cold to the ground after completing two summersaults, Aidan landed face first in the dirty out before he hit the ground. The last thing that crossed his mind was I have failed. He awoke to the smell of cooking meat, the sun was barely in the sky and the world seem to be spinning. He opened his eyes the best he could, and groaned, Myra quickly came to his side and started to dab the blood away from his face. “What happened?” Aidan asked groggily. “Well,” Myra started. Then off to the side the huge man come into Aidan’s sight. Suddenly he had a burst of stenth and determination. Myra was in danger. Aidan pushed himself to his feet and reached for his swords, but they where not at his side. He looked around as the huge barbarian looking man advanced at him. “Stay away from us or else?” “Else wat?” the man said with a harsh accent. “Or else I will cut out your heart and feed it to the wolves.” Aidan growled. “Tis dat so?” The man asked as he squared himself to Aidan. All of a sudden Aidan’s mind started to clear. “Why have you not killed us?”