What Blood Is

Your eyes focus in slow motion on the same color liquid spurting through out the air as you jog towards your fallen comrade as you recollect on what you only saw moments ago.

Ashe was able to pivot backwards in her step, jumping her body farther away from Rixx but with how towering of a foe he was, with how far his reach is, it wasn't enough. As his great sword slashes down, arching towards the ground, the tip connects with Ashe's chest, cutting inside her body from her collarbone all the way down her torso. Ashe flies backwards and you see blood splatter out in an arc through the air. She got hit and although she dodged the majority of his attack, she was still struck and the tip of his giant Greatsword penetrated her body, cutting her, disabling her from battle and potentially killing her.

As Ashe's body tumbles to the ground below and her weapons scatter across the grounds, you see Rixx turn around and take a few paces away from her body, readying his Greatsword to easily defend another attack from one of your warriors and then shortly afterwards, that giant sword is pierced through the torso of that very same warrior, ending his life instantly with that very same Syndicate blood pouring all over the soil. Another handful of your Sicilian warriors charge into him and the enemy Rathkin forces which pushes him farther back, parting distance between himself and your High Commander.

So many of your Syndicate brethren were getting slaughtered left and right but you didn't even second guess or care one bit who those warriors were because all that was on your mind was Ashe and making sure she was okay.

Stabbing your dagger three times into the stomach of another Rathkin attacker, you push his body back, causing him to tumble onto the ground below before quickly holding your blade horizontal to defend yourself and then leaping to the side, dodging another attack and then completely slicing off the hand of that invading Rathkin warrior. You dislodge his hand from his body and with a quick spin and slash across his throat you end his life instantly and it's at that point you finally get to your fallen comrade.

"ASHE!" you shout out as you kneel down directly at her, "Ashe!! Ashe!!!" you wail out again as your eyes roam her body, bringing in the giant gash on her torso while watching the deep red liquid gushing out. "No no no no no..." you drop your dagger on the ground to bring your right hand up to her face, "Ashe...Ashe! Please..."

You rub your hand across her cheek, softly caressing her face as you stare directly into her clenched eyes. You know she's in great pain and you really need to get her off the battlefield. Even though Rathkin is fighting all around you and the man you want to kill is only a handful of meters ahead of you, she is now your priority, you need to get her safely back to your side of the river no matter what.

In the back of your head you knew it was possible you could lose Ashe today on the battlefield but now finally seeing her on her back, with blood pouring from her body, it was truly starting to set in. This was real. This was happening. This was Ashe, on the soil below, a giant gash across her torso and at this brief instance of time, you were scared that you were about to lose one of your best friends.

"Ashe, Ashe, Ashe!!" you keep grumbling out over the screams and clashing of the battle while you caress her cheek, "Come on, don't you dare die on me." you tell her, "Don't you dare fucking die on me! Come on, I'll help you up, get you out of here." you softly pat her cheek as her eyes stay clenched. "Come on..." you move your hand to her shoulder in attempt to help pick her up.

"Stop, Darien..." she eventually gasps out before she gives a painful cough, "No..." her right hand reaches across and grips your wrist, "I'm..." she coughs again, a few specks of blood escape. "I'm..." she tries again but she appears to be losing her strength.

"Ashe, shut up! Stop talking!" you immediately reply, looking back at her, "I'm getting you out of here, now!" you tell her.

"No you're not." she groans as she releases your wrist and brings her hand down to her waist to let it rest there, "I...I'll be okay..." her voice is sounding so weak already. "You need to keep fighting...you can't...you can't fall back now." she finally cracks her eyes open only a sliver but that was all you had to see. You could see the pain behind them, you could make out how much she was hurting and you didn't want to leave her side. "I'll be okay, Darien." she whispers again only for her body to quiver and pulse in pain as you see her tense up.

"No, Ashe!" you growl out, "I am not leaving you here to die on the battlefield, now come on!" you bring your hand back to her shoulder to attempt to pick her up, "I will return to battle once you're safe!"

With all the strength she could muster, you notice her right hand moving up. The entire length of her arm was shaking as you knew her body was slowly starting to deny her. Her delicate blood coated fingers reach up under the hood of your armor and when those soft fingertips make contact with your cheek you stop and look back at the red head, "Darien..." she grunts out in discomfort again, "Today you'll...ugh," she clenches her teeth hard, "Today is when you'll finally...ahhh..." her eyes squeeze shut so hard you notice a few tears escape the corners, "After all this time you'll...."

You knew exactly what she was going to say and didn't need her to continue to push herself, "I understand, Ashe." you too move your right hand from her shoulder down to her cheek. You rub the side of her face with your thumb, feeling the soft skin of one of your greatest allies. That beautiful face, the most exotic one you've ever see, is now covered with dirt, sweat and blood. You crack a smile under your hood as you gaze into her hopeful eyes, those exact eyes which usually share the same color as the beautiful lush landscapes of which you're battling on, but now both are being soiled with a deep red stain, one blood, the other pain.

Turning your head around only briefly you notice a Sunrider not too far from your location, "YOU!" your voice beckons to gain their attention and when they make eye contact with you, "Over here!!" you order as one hand waves them towards you. As they kneel down next to you, "Bring her to the medical tents, make sure she gets all the attention she needs." the way your eyes are locked into this Sunrider confirms how important this is, "Tell them to do everything they can to make sure she doesn't die!" your left hand now reaches up and places itself on the random Sunriders shoulder, "Even if you have to leave immediately back to the Syndicate, understand?" you ask even though this is more likely a direct order.

"Yes sir!" she immediately replies, "For the Syndicate and for you, Darien." her tone sounds so professional.

With that, you turn back towards Ashe and force yourself to smile, "I'll see you after the battle..." you nod your head as her eyes are barely cracked opened but looking at you, "Stay strong Ashe..."

At the same time the Sunrider is helping Ashe sit up on the battlefield, both her arms are around her back and softly cradling her head as she sits the red head up, "Darien..." Ashe coughs out once more as she's finally upright. Your eyes haven't left her body since you got here and as she connects with your gaze once more she forces out a smile, "Do you recall our first night on the Turth?" her barely audible voice murmurs out as another dribble of blood pours from the corner of her lip. You nod at the reclamation, "Remember what I said..."

"I do." you cut her off, not wanting her to use anymore of her strength, "I'll always remember that night, Ashe." you tell her as you finally see your High Commander give you a smile after all this time, forcing it out through the pain, "Always, Ashe..." you grip the side of her skull and stare straight into her body.

And with that, the Sunrider helps Ashe to her feet and the two of them begin the slow march back towards the Turth to make it to all the medical tents which were set up back on your side of the river. As the two women leave your side, you look down at the stained soil below, the yellowish green grass is coated with Ashe's blood. Your right hand moves down, trailing your index finger across the grassy texture as it really dawns on you how dreadful of an attack this was.

Clenching your eyes shut hard for a second before you shoot them open wide and take a few deep breaths to calm your racing heart. Then, your left fingers curl around the grip of your short sword which was laying on the ground to the your side and at the same time, your right digits wrap around your dagger. You squeeze the handles tight, feeling the pristine textures within your grasp as you continue to gaze into your High Commander's blood below.

Another deep breath escapes your lips as you slowly push yourself up, rising from the ground, almost like a phoenix from the ashes. The battle was still full swing around you with warriors fighting, weapons clashing, screams echoing and blood flying but you couldn't hear any of it as your eyes stay locked into the body fluids staining the soil where your High Commander once laid. It's almost as if you blocked everything out, that you didn't care anymore, that this entire war between the Syndicate and Rathkin would be pointless if you lost her.

Then your head tilts up slowly, inch by inch as your surroundings start to come into view and that's when you finally see him again.

The monster himself.

You exhale out slowly, watching him as he slashes his Greatsword with another hearty swing, almost completely splitting a warrior in two. His golden, normally glistening armor was now coated with a sheen of your fallen allies. You inhale the stale air of the battlefield as you continue to ease yourself. That color you saw though, it wasn't the blood of your allies, it wasn't the dead that was coated on his blade, it was something more.

It was fear that everything you ever fought for, everything you ever wanted to do in your life was about to come to an end.

It was anger that this man stole so much from you, he not only took your family almost six years ago from your village but he also killed your sister not long ago.

Most importantly though, the stain dressing his entire glorious armor and sword that very well may have taken Ashe from your life as well, that deep shade of red, it was love. Love of all the people in your life that believed in you. The love of all the friends who would drop anything to help you out. The love of your warriors, Sunriders and civilians who look up and respect you.

Those markings, they were Claire... Lexie... Ashe... Karisi... Zoe... Felix... Sylvius... The people in your life you would always fight for. The allies that would always be in your memory by being with you, helping you out and even waging war.

You exhale out again, zoning out everything around you as you focus on the man before you. He takes a step back and pivots his body and that's when he turns your direction. Your eyes lock into his own and it's at that moment you realize he finally recognizes you.

Under his eagle-like mask, you see the corner of his lip crack a smile as he grips his Greatsword with both his hands and readies his stance, getting himself prepared for the upcoming duel.

You inhale one more time as you squeeze with as much force on the handles of your blades before you too spin them around and bend your knees slightly, readying yourself for the confrontation. Exhaling out, focusing on the eagle before you and even though tons of warriors were still fighting and many loud clashes of steel were coursing through the skies, you could only focus on him. Everything else around was null and void, it didn't matter, nothing else did.

This is how your story ends and whether you finally get to avenge your sister after all this time or you fall to that very same blade and join her in the afterlife. This is it, one decisive battle, a last duel between foes, the final fight among champions.

With another inhale you finally feel calm as all the adrenaline that was pulsing through out your body was starting to dwindle down. After almost six years, this was it, the moment you were waiting for, the battle you were longing for. This was the man who took it all and for that he would pay for his sins.

Your body begins to step forward, closing the distance between Rixx and yourself, slowly coming step by step closer to the conclusion of the journey of hope you started so long ago and the ending to your Path of Conquest...