Hero Dyes - Blue

Yohan: I’ve seen this exact scene before. An arrogant warrior standing up to this tyrant with bravery. They only puff out their chest because of the ones behind them, the ones that will not make it and die. A true hero would face the tyrant alone to avoid further bloodshed. Perhaps it was the tyrant’s size that frightened all of them. For this reason, I normally lead my heroes to this tyrant first. Once they see how many lives it took just to slay the one, they reconsider their plan of action for the next one. Before we even reached this point her alliance members were throwing themselves at death itself in order to keep her alive. This is why I was baffled when my own son did it. Other followers raced for Bridget when the rivaling archers revealed themselves. The fool-hearted boy managed to reach her first and took one of the arrows for her. Mind you, she was covered in armor, he was not.

I doubt she even knew he had done such an idiotic thing to save her. She simply kept pushing forward without a care in the world. I would imagine she slayed most of the knights that lay at our feet currently. As we waited for her to order the attack, I noticed my son was moving backwards instead of forward. I could see the ill look upon his face when I answered his questions. He thought the same thing I did the first time I did this. Why lead these men and women to their deaths if you can slay the tyrant yourself? That was the point in all this. Our current hero is a coward. She doubts herself and doesn’t believe in the power that was given to her. She ignores her own plans and pays no attention to the absent details in her strategy. If it wasn’t for Ulrik, who worked on the inside and managed to get us in, we would have failed before entering Magnus’s fortress. The fact that Ulrik is detaching himself from this charade means he doesn’t think she will last that long. Even her own lover has no faith in her. I hope we are both wrong.

Instead of chasing after my son I let him leave. It is wise to let him be absent for this. Nothing will be gained by haunting him with the horrors I’ve seen. Finally she yelled her battle cry and followed with the word ‘charge’ to signal the attack. I’m sorry, I mean slaughter. I felt the shoves of the warriors eager to die as they ran full speed towards the tyrant. The archers released their bows which mostly missed as the giant managed to use his oversized weapon to shield himself for the most part. He spun it like a propeller and deflected the arrows. Most of them pierced right through his attackers that were too close. All he was doing was defending himself and the body count of the dead was rising. Meanwhile, our brave hero stood there waiting for an opening, I assume. Maybe fear finally struck her and she couldn’t move. Once all the archers roped themselves down from the balcony, some taking the stairs behind me, Bridget decided to rush towards her target. She leaped high and dived down with great speed. Using her two swords she slashed his arm as blood gushed from his wound. It was deep and very impactive, as it left him open for the alliance members to get in several attacks. Their spears and swords were like toothpicks compared to Bridget’s strikes. Once the giant would regain himself more would be slain, and Bridget would simply watch for her next opening.

This hero operated like a villain. She cowered away in the swarm and would attack when she saw the right moment. Meanwhile her army was dwindling, her cover was shrinking. She repeated this sick and twisted action over and over. It didn’t take long before the last alliance member cried his last battle cry and fell silent quickly after. Now, only three people remained in the corridor, surrounded by a horde of corpses. I scowled as the tyrant was breathing heavily from this tactical move. It was clever, don’t get me wrong, but unethical. A flashback entered my mind of the promises she made to them. Her speeches of them returning to their families after this was done. While they planned this event and practiced for it, she swore she would bring them back to their loved ones. The lies she spewed to rally their hearts. It sickened me. And yet, I couldn’t care in the slightest. If I was so moved to help these poor lambs I would aid them in this fight. I have a rule, however. Never fight alongside the Hero when facing a tyrant. In the event that I am captured, which has happened before, the restart of this quest will only take longer because of the trail of escaping. Also, fear of losing the amulet, like I have done before, is the second reason for this rule. This amulet is more important to me now than it has ever been before, all thanks to my son...

“You are weak, little wench.” Magnus spoke as his breathing was shallow and weary. Bridget just glared as she waited for the rest of his speech.

“You allowed these soldiers, some of whom served me well, to die for a cause that is more pointless than your existence. You think you are a hero? You think you are brave!” He started to yell as he slowly gripped his cloak from the front. There wasn’t much left of it, as he tore it off and revealed what he really was. I wasn’t shocked by this reveal. Bridget was, as her shocked gasp echoed through the walls.

“You’re an orc…” She stated softly. It was like staring at a unicorn for the first time. A mythical being that is rare to see, and here she was face to face with it. Orcs were only in folklore. Never have humans been privileged enough to be in their presence.

“All this time, I took orders from an orc.” She stated with wide eyes as she gazed upon his bleeding and battered body.

“How grotesque.” She spat on the floor in disgust as she continued to insult the tyrant with her disapproving glare. I sighed at her ignorance and wished this tyrant had more in him to slay her here and now so I could find another, more respectable, hero to work with. Unfortunately I could tell he was on his last legs. He barely had enough strength to move.

“Golden Sage.” The tyrant addressed me, to which I moved a bit closer and nodded to inform the tyrant I was listening.

“When I die, educate this pup on my history. Not that she needs to know my story, but she needs to learn the lesson within it.” I lightly smiled as I bowed to confirm my next words.

“I will, Lord Magnus. It would be an honor to retell your reason for being here.” Our conversation confused Bridget as she looked back and forth between us. Our eyes met and the same look of disgust she gave Magnus was being produced towards me. I could see the panic in her eyes as she wondered if I was on her side or not.

“Well, are you going to kill him, or let him recover!” I yelled which startled her back into her combat stance. She gripped her swords tightly and rushed him for the last time. Springing high into the air she knew he was too weak to swing upward to deflect her. The tyrant tried regardless, yet he wasn’t quick enough as she came down like a bolt of lighting. Her sword punctured both sides of his chest as blood gushed out. The force of her attack slammed his back to the ground with a mighty boom that echoed through the room. She continued to drive her blades into the giant until the hilts reached his flesh. By then, the tyrant had gagged and moaned his last breath.

As I drew closer to them I could see the crazed look in her eyes. She huffed and panted as she stared with her wide eyes, examining his lifeless face. It was as if she couldn’t believe it herself that this behemoth of a warrior was dead.

“I wouldn’t remain standing on him if I were you.” I warned. This caught her attention as she snapped her sights towards me with fear swelling inside.

“He isn’t dead!” She nearly shouted as she pulled her swords out while preforming a backflip off of him. Her landing was ungraceful as she stumbled a bit and prepared to fight again. I chuckled to myself. Seeing her so doubtful of herself was becoming assuming now.

“No, he is dead. Just watch.” I told her. Soon, the tyrant’s body started to evaporate into a purple and red mist. Following this, all of the bodies, men and women, that were killed by the tyrant started to do the same thing. It was beautiful to watch as it looked so peaceful. Having for you body transcend into something more as your soul leaves this earth and enters into the land of the immortal gods. I can only long for such a glorious ending. My eyes began to water as I watched the mist carry on through the walls. I hurried to the window and watched as the mist continued upward to the sky. I couldn’t help but smile at this sight as a tear rolled down my cheek.

“What a wondrous thing it must be… To die and live no more… Goddesses, please embrace me one day. Take me away from this hell…”