Gabriel lay in the grasslands, a single piece of hay sticking from his mouth, his entire figure unmoving and seemly either asleep or left to die in peace.

Around his body however the ground told a different tale. The corpses of both orc and man lay around him, the men with brutal war wounds, slashes and gashes from orc blade. The orcs however were battered, their armour cracked, their skulls crushing in on themselves. The men had been Knights of the Hammer, the sole few who had given up lances and swords for hammers.

Gabriel was lay against the body of a stallion, its flanks and throat covered in cuts and blood. While it was obviously dead, it nonetheless gave off an aura of power.

After a while, Gabriel pulled himself to his feet and stretched his aching muscles. While old, he still saw himself at the prime of life, and so ignored the protests of his back as he hefted the hammer of souls into his arms and began swinging, loosening up his muscles gradually. With one final swing he cracked the head of the nearest orc body and laughed.

"Still got it..." he said, seemingly not only to himself but to the fallen as well. With one last goodbye to the stallion he had been lay on he set off following the tracks of fleeing orcs. This was not over, not by a long shot...

Orcs...why did it always have to be orcs? Couldn't it be goblins, or even werewolves or something, that gave him problems.

Of course not...everywhere he went, it was either humans or orcs that seemed to want him dead, or that he encountered in a situation where they'd be his enemy. Of course, right now that was happening more often with the former race, as his jet-black, almost dragon-like wings and tail were revealed once more even in his human form. It had happened a few times in the past, and had taken over a month each time to reverse, but this time it was caused by a recent reversion back to his true, demon form, and he wasn't sure if he could make them fade into his human form again. That was a problem for a later time, though...right now there were the orcs surrounding him, acting superior.

"Come on, swing that teeny little blade at us," one of them taunted the one-eyed swordsman, poking at the sheath that held his katana. It was relatively long in comparison to his size, but of course they were bigger, and thus it was smaller compared to them.

"That's the plan," the boy said, smirking slightly, ever calm and collected in whatever situation he was in, which came from over a century of endless battle and threats of destruction. Crouching slightly, he grasped the hilt of his blade, sheathed at his right, with his left hand, holding the sheath firm with his right, and unsheathed it in a lightning-fast attack that felled four orcs standing before him, and seemed to trail shadowy sillhouettes of the blade. Not wasting any time, and thus not letting the others attack him freely, he spun around quickly and swung his blade down at the nearest orc behind him, jumping up as it began to fall and using his wings to keep himself aloft in the air, out of reach of their weapons. With this vantage point, he saw a field where many corpses lied, as well as a man rushing at the orcs with a large hammer. The only surviving member of the army that had been fighting against them at some point earlier, it seemed...or at least the only member that could still move.

(welcome lance, Thanks for the reply)

Gabriel looked up at the winged figure in amazement, then pulled his eyes swiftly back to more pressing matters. Winged people and creatures were becoming more and more everyday occurances in his life, and while orcs were not rare, despite his many attempts, the ones in front of him with weapons took presidence. Thw winged he would deal with later, but right now they were killing orcws, and therefore not a concern.

With a roar he leapt into battle, his hammer turning into a crimson swathe of destruction. As it collided with the head of one orc, Gabriel reversed his hands and the arc of the hammer, leading it to crash into the ribcage of another. Hefting his hammer high he brought it swinging low, crushing the kneecaps of any unlucky enough to be near him and then hurtled it flying through the crowd. Its flight path brought it into the hands of the head orc, but instead of smashing him to the ground it merely glanced off his head, turning his arrogance to rage.

"Puny manling believes he can defeat us...even with the flying one we will destroy him"

With a snarl and a roar he plunged into the fray, heading straight for the now weaponless Gabriel.

Upon descending back down into the fray of orcs, not bothering concerning himself right now with whoever that man was, or the cause of this apparent battle, Lance swung down with his blade, nearly beheading the two orcs that had come directly beneath them, and slicing easily through the poorly-made pikes they'd been holding at him.

Not bothering to waste too much time with these pitiful creatures, his right fist charged with a dark energy as he fell to the ground, and he immediately slammed it into the ground upon landing, an earth-shattering blow that shook the ground all around him where the orcs were. Some died falling over each other, some falling over each others weapons...but overall, at least half of their remaining ranks died in that attack, and the other half had at least fallen to the ground and would find it difficult to get up. A simple enough strategy to use when going solo against an entire army of creatures...although he wasn't exactly going solo, there was that other man here, who seemed to be going berserk now that he caught sight of him once more.

The earth trembled with the force of the blow yet the chieftain came on; His axe carving a deadly streak through the air. The beast charged towards the weapon-less Gabriel, filled with a primal fury.
With a roar, the enraged orc raised the weapon for a devastating blow but stopped suddenly before he could bring the axe down.

With horrified eyes the orc looked down at the blood-covered spear tip protruding from his gut.

"Still leaving yourself vulnerable during combat? Will you never learn... brother?"

Xoco kicked the orc general with ferocious force, mostly brought on by his anger. His cloak and robes billowed around him from the angry energy that he was emmiting. His trusty longsword, Ice, was gripped firmly in his right hand. It's blade gleamed in the sunlight. His eyes burned under the cowl of his cloak, the only visible part of his face. The fire in them was accentuated by his rage.

The orc general stood slowly, groaning in pain. Several orcs also clammered to their feet. Xoco spoke with an added treble to his voice to make it sound more authoritative and terrifying. "Fool," he scathed, meeting the orc general's eyes, "My instructions were simple and easily followed. I want the Knight's head on a plate. And yet you are too incompetant thus far to even kill one aging human."

The orc general looked away, "We are trying, but he's smashing us up, me lord." Xoco's eyes flared with anger,

"No excuses!" he said, hitting the orc general upside the face and sending him sprawling into the dirt, "Bring me his head!" He brought Ice's sharp edge up to one side of the orc general's neck. "Or your own will serve as it's replacement."

The orc general looked at the demon who had appeared. "What of the flying one, me lord?" he asked. Xoco thought a moment. The demon was powerful, but he had probably spent much of his mana on that powerful spell. Not wanting to let on that his presence merited a serious complication, Xoco said.

"I will feast on his soul."

Gabriel looked up in horror. What had begun as a simple raid by him and other knights had become a massacre. Orcs now lay all over the ground, being killed in their droves by the mysterious flying one.
If that was not bemusing enough, his bloodbrother had appered seemingly from nowhere to stop the charge of the orc leader, and a wraith of all things had appered, seemingly intent on both his head and that of his ally.
Grimacing as he looked around, giving a single nod of respect and thanks to Vaul, Gabriel bellowed out a challenge to the newcomer, drawing his Skullshredder slowly. It wouldn't be much use, but he only needed it to do till he reached his hammer
"Wraith...Its me you came for, so come and take me!"

"Wraith...Its me you came for, so come and take me!" yelled the knight. Xoco’s head snapped to his right, looking for the Knight. He had produced a nasty-looking knife, and his hammer was some distance away. Xoco looked at him, and then the demon, and then at another warrior who had appeared. He tried to gauge which of them merited his own attention, and which could be dealt with by the orcs.

“I intend to! The days of the Knights of the Hammer are coming to a close!” Xoco’s eyes burned with madness and fury. Long ago, he had had a rather nasty encounter with one of the Knight of the Hammer, in fact, one of it’s members had sent him on a painful journey back into the Netherworld. He had sworn to see to it that the Knights were brought to a sudden, pointy end.

Looking at the demon, Xoco smiled. “Dominus aeio, domus Anerth requiem!” he yelled. Xoco brought his hands up in a slow, steady motion, calling up a demon from the farthest reaches of the Underworld. The ground splintered and cracked, and small flames of hell-fire shot out. Many orcs backed away, terrified. Finally, a large demonic being arose out of the ground. His eyes burned like hellfire, his skin was as red as blood, and huge black claws adorned his fists. A pair of leathery black wings sprouted from it’s back. The demon let out a terrifying roar as the summoning completed.

“Go forth, minion of chaos! Feast of his flesh!” shouted Xoco, pointing at the winged demon that the orcs had dubbed “Flying One.” Xoco’s cloak billowed with furious power as he began to advance through the crowd of orcs to engage the Knight. On this day, he would bring his wrath upon the Knights of the Hammer.

Gabriel looked across the battlefield at the wraith and fear filled his soul. These things were legendary to the Knights of the Hammer, the death of one causing the last grand master to rise to power. A deep hidden pride grasped him, though not enough to dislodge the fright still holding him down. Fighting what remained of his common sense and dread he opened his mouth wide, roaring the oath taught to him by his bretherin who now littered the floor.

"Souls strong, Hammers swift, Revenge total. The Knights of the Hammer stand against you, and thus your defeat will be certain!"

Charging towards the wraith, his dagger gleaming a dull red in light emanating from the baleful glance of the summoned demon. Gabriel knew he needed his hammer to win this, but maybe a knife would do for the time being...

Preparing himself for the first attack, Gabriel chanted slowly within his mind, an old battle song that was said to ward off mental attacks. It had never been proven to work, but it was better than nothing.

"Wraith, your time draws to an end!"

Xoco’s advances were met with a mad rush from the Knight. He chanted a battle-oath, a rather old one that Xoco had heard during his last confrontation. It struck a hint of baleful remembrance into him, at the thought of being sent flying back to the Netherworld under the weight of a warhammer. He hated the memory, and had sworn himself to vengeance against members of the Knights. They were already an enemy of chaos and evil, but to Xoco, his conflict with them extended far beyond mere alliances.

This was personal.

Gabriel wielded a substantial dagger that Xoco recognized as a Skullshredder. Ice was at least five times the length of the Skullshredder, but Xoco knew that it would do him well to avoid the glowing red length of steel.

With a flick of his blade, Xoco sidestepped the charge and knocked the Skullshredder away. He kept a careful eye on his summoned demon and the other two enemy combatants. But for now, he knew, he need to focus his attention on the Knight. Xoco wondered if perhaps he could draw the Knight away from his dangerous hammer.

“You cannot win this fight, Knight. Your butter knife is as pathetic as your order. Many of it’s members have fallen to my blade. Prepare to join their ranks!” he yelled. Xoco twirled Ice in a complex series of motions, hoping to intimidate the Knight with a show of swordsmanship. Finally, he used the slight gathered momentum to slash at the Knight. Ice’s cold steel flashed through the air, hoping to fell yet another Knight of the Hammer….

Drawing the Yin Halberd, Vaul set off towards the remaining orcs. His great blade sweeping left and right. The spray of blood thrilled Vaul. The screams of agony as limbs and guts were rendered from bodies.

Vaul bathed in the sweet ecstacy of pain. He revelled in it.

The terror swept through the ranks or the remaining orcs as the Dark Knight slaughtered all in his path.

As Vaul stopped for a moment to let the screams and death throws resonate through him, Vaul spotted the great Hammer of Souls partially hidden by the bisected corpse of an orc.

Calmly walking over to it, as the remaining orcs tried to flee for their lives.

Ripping it free and in one swing, hurled it in the direction of Gabriel.

"BROTHER, CATCH!!"

Gabriel attempted to dodge the swift blow from the wraith, but only succeeded in stumbling across a fallen orc. The blade missed him by the merest distance, and though his fall gave him a disadvantage, he could see his mighty hammer flying in from some unknown quarter.

"BROTHER, CATCH!"

The voice of his bloodbrother rang out, and Gabriel grimaced. He may yet live though this fight, but the debt to Vaul would weigh heavy on his heart. The hammer sailed over, just past his outstretched hand, and collided heavily with the dirt.

Knowing he only had a moment to react, he leapt to his feet and charged fists first towards the wraith, swinging both hands down towards Xoco's head. It would never connect, but maybe it would be enough to put the fiend off balance whilst he ran to his hammer.

Xoco’s arms vibrated with the heavy impact of his longsword against the ground. The knight was surprisingly agile for his old age, something Xoco hadn’t counted on. His attack had missed by a hair’s breadth, something that enraged Xoco, making him wish even more for his opponent’s demise.

“Brother, Catch!” came a yell from one Vaul Felinate, a known member of the prestigious Brotherhood of Chaos. Xoco wondered why he would be calling this warrior of righteousness “brother”. Shrugging it off, he decided to put his focus back on the Knight. The warhammer missed, thudding into the dirt away from Gabriel’s grasp. Xoco smiled, and prepared to make another strike, but then the Knight did something unexpected.

Jumping up, the old Knight began to punch and hack at Xoco’s face, an annoying occurrence. Xoco stumbled backwards, tripping over an orc corpse and falling backwards. A scowl adorned his face. He was quick to get up, but he knew that it was too late. The Knight would soon recover his hammer, and then Xoco would be at a clear disadvantage. Xoco’s cold eyes glowed with a hint of insane rage.

“Fools!” yelled Xoco, calling to the orcs, “Do not let him touch that hammer!” commanded Xoco. The orcs hesitantly obeyed, grabbing weapons and charging forth to attack Gabriel. Xoco smiled wryly as his minions began to strike at Gabriel, trying anything their tiny brains could imagine to prevent him from reaching his weapon.

Gabriel threw the last vestiges of his energy into a run at his hammer, wincing as the orcs that attacked from all sides hacked away at him. One orcish blade hacked at his head, causing a lomng wound on his forehead that half blinded him, whilst another swung low, cutting thrugh his old rusted armour and deep into his leg.
Bellowing in anger and pain he swept an orc foolish enough to stand before him aside, using the adrenaline from his wounds to push himself further and further.

With one final leap, Gabriel reached his hammer and fell to the ground. The fight and escape had taken alot of energy and he was more fatigued than he could ever have imagined. Now the hammer was once more in his hands he knew he had a chance, but with ragged breathing and trembling legs, Gabriel didn't know if he had enough left in him to capitalise.

Pushing himself to his feet slowly, every move sending shudders of pain through him, he managed to stand, Hammer of souls held tightly in both hands, his knuckles white with effort.

"Wraith...your orcs could not stop me, your skill could not kill me, and these wounds will not slow me. Lets finish this"

He stood his ground, trying not to show the sheer effort it took to hold him on his feet. For a meer man to defeat a Wraith would be hard, but as he saw the battlefield around him, the orcs dying at his blood brother hands and the epic battle the winged one was engaged in, he knew the gods were on the side of good this day.

"...or if not good, at least of me" he muttered, almost entirely to himself

Xoco scowled with rage, an unholy look of total fury and frustration as the orcs failed to separate the Knight from his hammer. Xoco brandished his sword with a skillful flourish, egging on the Knight to attack him. His hammer look twice as intimidating in such skilled hands, but Xoco kept his facial expression as one of total anger. He was an intimidating figure all his own, but when he was angry, Xoco was downright terrifying. His cape was kicked up into a stronger billow as angry energy radiated from Xoco’s body. His rage gave him power and focus.

Xoco waved one hand, signaling the thinning orc ranks to move aside and allow him a clear path to his adversary. There were very few orcs left now, most slaughtered by Vaul Felinate. Xoco reminded himself to make Vaul pay as well once his vengeance upon the Knights was complete. His attention turned for a split second to watch the encounter between the winged demon and his own summoned creature. His view, however, was obstructed, and he got naught but a few sedentary glances.

Xoco’s fury was re-directed back to the Knight. He began to advance slowly, with Ice in one hand and his other clenched into a tight fist. His grip on Ice was firm but loose, just as he had been taught. He noticed that Gabriel was holding his hammer tightly; he stored away that this might prompt mistakes later. Xoco re-examined his opponent, finding it worse for wear than before. The orcs had done a number on him, leaving him with several wounds. Xoco smiled at their fiendish handiwork, reveling in the blood that trickled from his opponent’s wounds.

“It is time to finish this,” said Xoco, and he charged at the Knight, intent upon completing his long quest for revenge.

“It is time to finish this”

Gabriel smiled, hands holding the hammer tight, eyes locked with the wraiths charging form. All his training, all his years as a knight, and a horse lord, had led him to this battle. If he had not lost his horse in the battle with the orcs there would be no doubt as to the winner, but here and now he would stand, here and now would he fight and it was in the Gods hands who would live
Gabriel called to Vaul, casting a single glance his way.

"Brother, my thanks for the assist. Your debt is close to payment"

With that Gabriel set his eyes on the now mere inches away Wraith and brought his hammer sweeping between them, from the ground up aimed directly at the wraiths side, hoping to knock him away. Stepping back smartly he awaited the the next attack, grinning as he remembered the anger in Xoco's voice. With his wounds Gabriel would need to be careful, but if he could hold the wraiths anger, he could well win this.

Xoco let out a grunt of incredible pain as the warhammer connected with his side. He was flug to the side, landing hard on the softened dirt. Dark red orc’s blood ran across the ground in small streams. Xoco felt his essence weaken significantly as the hammer’s blow took it’s toll. He had no bones to break, but the impact point smarted as he stood slowly. The pain infuriated Xoco, causing his eyes to burn with an unearthly rage.

"Good strike warrior. Savor it, now, for you will not land another!" he yelled, focusing all of his wrath on this Knight. The orcs began to steadily step away from Xoco, frightened by his anger. Xoco's cape billowed furiously now, as did the rest of his clothing. He was infuritated, and his unholy energy eminated like heat from a flame. It was time for this Knight to meet his end.

Xoco brought his hand up, pointing his fingers at the Knight and speaking an incantation in the Black Speech. As soon as the last of the evil words passed his lips, a crackling bolt of energy zoomed out of his fingertips and flew steadily towards his target. Xoco used the Enervation spell sparingly, as it consumed more mana than most spells. But it was incredibly effective, and if it connected, his revenge against the Knights of the Hammer would be complete!