his choice was his responsibility. He opened
the volume to where he had left off and continued reading.
- Idammah-Gan
Codex - Depth of
Correction IV -
TIME: LATE SUMMER, 985 A.D. UKRAINIAN STEPPES
There were screams all around me. All varied, in an
orchestra of bellows, shrieks, yells and cries. They were all voicing pain,
rage, lust and death. These sounds drowned out the others, only slightly less
audible — the ringing of steel, the impact of bone-crushing blows and the
sounds of battle.
Along with my tribesmen, I came here to defend our
land from invaders, claiming to have brought us the lord. We never asked for
the lord; they could keep him. They never even offered him nicely. If they had,
we might have considered it, but they tried to force him on us, in return for tribute.
It was like they were expecting payment for goods that we didn’t want. How rude
and boorish.
Their officers, and those who tried to sell us their
savior, were called Byzantines. The rest were like us — men who simply
had a job to do. They could’ve come from any of the surrounding lands. They
could have done anything, but they had chosen to be mercenaries in the armies
of the lord. He paid well.
It was they whom I did not want to kill. I did, mind
you, but I didn’t want to. I tried to be as quick about it as their attacks, or
their responses, allowed. I removed them from this world, and all this
suffering, as efficiently as I knew how.
Those Byzantines, with their pretty helmets and scale
armor, were a different story. With them, I took my time. They were special.
Every time I split their faces open, I was also killing the beliefs, which they
tried to force upon me. For some hours now, my leather armor had been
splattered with their blood, as well as some of my own.
One came at me with his horse and retainers. He must
be important to have a horse and yelling minions.
It was easy enough to duck under his blow, then
forward in a roll that I continued, enabling me to cut the legs from under one
of his men. His screams erupted as soon as my axe went through his left knee
and he fell forward, landing behind me.
When using an axe in battle, the key is to avoid
thick bones, where the blade could easily get stuck. Rather, aim for smaller
joints, where the weight of the implement, combined with sufficient force,
results in a maximum amount of damage to your victim, with a minimum amount of
harm to yourself. Thus ends the lesson.
In my other hand, I had my short sword, ideal for
slashing and quick thrusts. This I used to slash across a bearded fellow,
raising a huge two-handed sword against me. It quickly cut through the chord of
his neck and left him gurgling on the field.
The rider who had just missed me was coming around
for another pass. I knew I had to distance myself from the remaining three
retainers, or he would be able to easily pick me off. So I ran towards him and,
once again, ducked low. This time, I took out the horse.
I do not wish to describe this. I have always firmly
believed that unless you intend to eat an animal, killing it is a horrible
thing. Men are a different story; they deserve to die at my hand.
As I intended, the horse pinned its rider to the
ground. He hadn’t had enough sense to jump free of the falling beast. I jumped
past the thrashing steed and slashed down with the axe, taking off the rider’s
head. It landed before me as I hit the ground.
The lord’s remaining retainers yelled murder at me
— at least I think it was murder. They were speaking Greek as they rushed
to avenge their fallen benefactor. I rose to meet them, for only three remained.
It is important to note that when you are facing
numerous foes — five or more — you should wait until they come to
you and then respond to their attack. However, with four or fewer, it is
prudent to bring the attack to them. This generally works because they don’t
anticipate this approach. Also, they are far too few to hamper each
the volume to where he had left off and continued reading.
- Idammah-Gan
Codex - Depth of
Correction IV -
TIME: LATE SUMMER, 985 A.D. UKRAINIAN STEPPES
There were screams all around me. All varied, in an
orchestra of bellows, shrieks, yells and cries. They were all voicing pain,
rage, lust and death. These sounds drowned out the others, only slightly less
audible — the ringing of steel, the impact of bone-crushing blows and the
sounds of battle.
Along with my tribesmen, I came here to defend our
land from invaders, claiming to have brought us the lord. We never asked for
the lord; they could keep him. They never even offered him nicely. If they had,
we might have considered it, but they tried to force him on us, in return for tribute.
It was like they were expecting payment for goods that we didn’t want. How rude
and boorish.
Their officers, and those who tried to sell us their
savior, were called Byzantines. The rest were like us — men who simply
had a job to do. They could’ve come from any of the surrounding lands. They
could have done anything, but they had chosen to be mercenaries in the armies
of the lord. He paid well.
It was they whom I did not want to kill. I did, mind
you, but I didn’t want to. I tried to be as quick about it as their attacks, or
their responses, allowed. I removed them from this world, and all this
suffering, as efficiently as I knew how.
Those Byzantines, with their pretty helmets and scale
armor, were a different story. With them, I took my time. They were special.
Every time I split their faces open, I was also killing the beliefs, which they
tried to force upon me. For some hours now, my leather armor had been
splattered with their blood, as well as some of my own.
One came at me with his horse and retainers. He must
be important to have a horse and yelling minions.
It was easy enough to duck under his blow, then
forward in a roll that I continued, enabling me to cut the legs from under one
of his men. His screams erupted as soon as my axe went through his left knee
and he fell forward, landing behind me.
When using an axe in battle, the key is to avoid
thick bones, where the blade could easily get stuck. Rather, aim for smaller
joints, where the weight of the implement, combined with sufficient force,
results in a maximum amount of damage to your victim, with a minimum amount of
harm to yourself. Thus ends the lesson.
In my other hand, I had my short sword, ideal for
slashing and quick thrusts. This I used to slash across a bearded fellow,
raising a huge two-handed sword against me. It quickly cut through the chord of
his neck and left him gurgling on the field.
The rider who had just missed me was coming around
for another pass. I knew I had to distance myself from the remaining three
retainers, or he would be able to easily pick me off. So I ran towards him and,
once again, ducked low. This time, I took out the horse.
I do not wish to describe this. I have always firmly
believed that unless you intend to eat an animal, killing it is a horrible
thing. Men are a different story; they deserve to die at my hand.
As I intended, the horse pinned its rider to the
ground. He hadn’t had enough sense to jump free of the falling beast. I jumped
past the thrashing steed and slashed down with the axe, taking off the rider’s
head. It landed before me as I hit the ground.
The lord’s remaining retainers yelled murder at me
— at least I think it was murder. They were speaking Greek as they rushed
to avenge their fallen benefactor. I rose to meet them, for only three remained.
It is important to note that when you are facing
numerous foes — five or more — you should wait until they come to
you and then respond to their attack. However, with four or fewer, it is
prudent to bring the attack to them. This generally works because they don’t
anticipate this approach. Also, they are far too few to hamper each
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