Lorone is an old and battle hardened warrior and general, known far and wide as Sir Lorone 'The Immortal'. After the fall of his army, must get home to inform the king and people of the success of his army and what it cost them, while also having to deal with changes to himself.
He watched on as his army approached the thick mist. He knew that the battle to come would be his last. He had told his men the night before of the enemy they now faced, told them that that for this battle alone, victory meant not defeating the enemy, but holding them back long enough to let the of the people of the kingdom they defended to escape. He had told them that, knowing the risks and that they most likely would not survive, they were released from their bonds of service and were free to go. Not a single man had left. It wasn't loyalty to the kingdom they all served, the kingdom whose king had shown before that he was willing to sacrifice them for his own gain, but loyalty to him. There had been many times where the only thing that saved them from death and defeat, dishonor and the enslavement of their families, had been his ingenuity on the battle field, not only a a leader, but also as a soldier and a warrior. He had earned their trust and in their eyes, they owed him their lives ten times over. His men had just seen it as him collecting a debt long overdue.
His name was Sir Lorone the Immortal. He had long since given up trying to tell people that he was just a normal man, but he had somehow survived so many battles that had either maimed or killed some of his best men, that most would just ignore his complaints. He wasn't invincible though, and he had his fair share of battle scars to prove it, he just didn't have it in him to quit and die.
This battle was different though, he and his men both knew that not even he, the man known as the Immortal, could escape his fate.
He was going to die and all he could do was fight as hard as his aged and battered body would let him. He was nearly fifty and had been on his last campaign when this new enemy had showed itself. It was like nothing that he or his men had ever seen before. They bled just like he and his men did, but they wouldn't go down no matter how many times you cut or stabbed them. It seemed like the only way to kill them was to take off their heads, or to drive your weapon straight through their heart. So unknown were their ways and origin, they came to be known simply as the enemy.
His thoughts were interrupted as his army came to a halt, and it truly was HIS army, just before the mist that shrouded the enemy. They all knew the fight to come would likely be their last. They knew it was an uphill battle, but still they prepared to fight. The only warning they had before the enemy came out of the mist was the nearly silent footsteps they made as they charged forward, Immediately the sounds of battle erupted, it had begun.
Lorone is an old and battle hardened warrior and general, known far and wide as Sir Lorone 'The Immortal'. After the fall of his army, must get home to inform the king and people of the success of his army and what it cost them, while also having to deal with changes to himself.
Lorone jumped awake. As he tried to clear the sleep from his mind the last thing he could remember was being struck from his horse just after the battle had started. He tried to sit up, but couldn't. He tried again, only to realize that it was armor that was impeding his attempts, armor that was much too big, making it awkward to try and sit properly. He ignored the questions that his current situation raised and just focused primarily on figuring out where he was. Lorone managed to, through much difficulty, undo the straps of the armor and get up to look around. What he saw shook him to the core.
Lorone was still on the battlefield, but that's not what surprised him the most. His men had managed to do more than just hold the enemy back, at the price of their very lives they had been not only able to stall the enemy, but to defeat it. The bodies of his men laid scattered across the field, but for every one of his fallen soldiers there had to be at least ten of the enemy. It was truly a sight to behold.
They had fought against an enemy stronger than they, with vast numbers, and dark magic on their side, yet still they had come out victorious.
Lorone spent the next five days burying the men that had given up all in order to save the lives of others. As he moved among the fallen soldiers, he noticed that his body seemed to be lighter and smaller, and though not at all weaker than he remembered, it was still different.
It didn't hinder him in what he perceived to be his duty to his men though, so he just put it out of his mind and eventually forgot about it.
On the end of the fifth day, as he finished burying his last soldier, his last friend, he began to prepare for the journey back to his kingdom to tell them of their victory.
He gathered as many supplies as he could, which was not as many as he would of liked, and put them near where he had woken. It had become Lorone's makeshift camp as he laid his once powerful and always loyal army to rest. After he had gathered the supplies he had been able to find, he began to strip out of his clothes to bathe in the nearby stream, but the more of his clothes he removed, the more he realized the differences in his body that he had been ignoring up until that point had not been his imagination. Somehow, for one reason or another, the great Sir Lorone the Immortal, had become a woman.
He knew this had to be the work of some sort of magic, but for the life of him, Lorone couldn't figure out what kind. He had never before heard of magic that would do this to a man. Upon further examination of himself, Lorone discovered that while definitely younger than he had been, maybe early twenties if he guessed correctly, he still had all of his old battle scars. It was certainly a new and weird experience for him to be looking at a young woman's body from that angle, and weirder still for that body to be riddled with so many gruesome scars. For the time being, Lorone just tried to ignore his new body and made him focus on cleaning the dirt off him, now herself.
Once she had deemed herself clean enough, Lorone started scavenging again to see if she could find some clothing that would fit her better. She eventually found something among the dead enemies. It felt wrong to her to wear something of theirs, but it was all that would fit her new body, so she had to deal with it. Next, she set about finding her old weapon. The massive great sword had on had once been an icon for allies to gather hope and strength from, and enemies to fear the sight of. Lorone was slightly worried that she wouldn't be able to wield it as she once had. She knew that she still had the strength of her former self, but she was also smaller.
Lorone saw the gleam of her sword's hilt from where it was on top of a hill. It had been struck into the ground by someone, but she didn't know who. She had counted the bodies of her men to see if any had escaped, and she was sure that none had made it out of the battle alive. She admired the sight none the less.
It was a beautiful weapon, made to be durable and to still be presentable in a formal situation, but not so much that it was gaudy. The original smith had given the great sword a name that never fit and she had long since forgotten it, but over the years and through the countless battles in his possession, it eventually earned its own name. It became known as simply as the Immortal's Blade, and Lorone had given it the nickname Imbee. She picked Imbee up and strapped it to her back. It felt bigger than she remembered, but that was just because she was smaller. If anything, it felt lighter.
As Lorone went to turn around, she heard something coming through the air toward her head. Her reflexes reacted before she could and her hand shot out to catch whatever it was, which turned out to be a small throwing knife. "Who's out there?" she called. The only answer was three more knives thrown is Lorone's direction. This time she drew Imbee and blocked all three in a single swift motion.
She also managed to see where they were thrown from.
"I know where you are now, you might as well come out" said Lorone. All she got in return was silence, so she started to move toward where the knives had come from. She used a trick she had picked up from a foe she had once fought and seemed to disappear and reappear on the exact spot she had seen the knives come from only to find no one there. Lorone stood stock still as she listened for anything that would give her assailant away. There was a rustle of leaves from a nearby bush and she was instantly there with Imbee at the throat of her attacker.
"Who is there?" shouted Lorone. She couldn't clearly see her attacker, but years of experience told her that whoever it was probably wasn't very experienced themselves and was more likely than not terrified. "Show yourself. As long as you don't attack me again I can assure you that you will come to no harm from me."
Lorone watched as she lifted Imbee to her back. What came out of the bush shocked her nearly as much as her own problem had. The person that came out from behind the bush turned out to be a young girl no older than maybe nineteen.
"What are you doing out here and why did you attack me?" asked Lorone.
"I came looking for my father," said the girl. "He was a soldier in the Great Sir Lorone's Army, sent to protect us from evil." The girl had a faraway gleam in her eyes as she talked about his once great army. All that remained now were graves.
"So why did you attack me?" asked Lorone again.
"Because I've been traveling for days to get here and when I do get here, the only thing I see is one of the enemies with the Immortal's Blade in his hand," said the girl. She looked up at Lorone with a defiant glare in her eyes. "I won't let some evil scum take the Great Sir Lorone the Immortal's sword without a fight," she added, reaching for her belt. Lorone’s sword was at her throat before she could even blink.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Lorone. "I'm not the enemy, now what is your name and who was your father?"
"How do I know you're telling the truth? I can't even see your face," said the girl.
She was right though, Lorone had completely forgotten that she had her face covered. It was supposed to be to hide her gender so she was less likely to be taken advantage of as she travelled, but in this case, it was clearly working against her.
"Alright then," said Lorone. "If I uncover my face, will you believe that I truly do mean you no harm?" The girl nodded her head in agreement.
With a sigh Lorone unwrapped the cloth she had used to hide all but her eyes. She winced as the girl gasped in surprise, Lorone still didn't know what she looked like after her change, but if the rest of her body was anything to go off of; she figured that the scars on her face would still be there just like the rest of them. There were three scars in total on her face. One was a thin white line down the left side of her face, going over her left eye. Another was a jagged looking scar just above and at the end of her right eyebrow, and the last was an X shape on her right cheek. All three had been earned in battle and she had once been proud of them, but they weren't the thing you would normally see on a young woman's face.
"Wow, you're so beautiful," exclaimed the girl. "But it looks like there's something on your face."
"They're scars," Lorone said distantly.
"Oh, sorry... So anyway, my dad's name was Lox, my mom said that he was a flag bearer in Sir Lorone's Army," the girl said, obviously trying to change the subject.
"Well, I'm sorry to say, but I'm afraid your father is dead. Don't be sad though, he, along with the rest of the army fought bravely to the last man and saved the kingdom," said Lorone.
"How do you know so much?" asked the girl.
"Because, I've spent the last five days burying them," said Lorone quietly.
"Oh, so what is your name?" asked the girl, again changing the subject. Once Lorone actually took the time to look at the girl, she realized that, even if a little young, she was quite beautiful. She had long dark blond hair and sky blue eyes.
There was still a small amount of baby fat on her face, but Lorone could tell that once she got a little older, the girl would make a very beautiful woman.
"Lorone is my name," said Lorone, realizing her mistake only too late. "I mean Loraine."
"That's a pretty name," said the girl smiling. "Why did you say Lorone first though?"
"I don't know, I guess I was just distracted with us talking about Sir Lorone's Army and all," Lorone lied easily. It felt weird to her to be referring to herself in the third person. "So what's your name?"
"Oh yeah, my name's Ilaina," said Ilaina excitedly. "So can I ask a question?"
"You just did," said Lorone, laughing inside at the glare Ilaina gave her. "What is it?"
"Where did you get those scars?" asked Ilaina.
"Which ones?"
"The ones on your face... Wait! There's more?"
"The last time I counted, there were fifteen or so larger ones and too many smaller ones to count, why?"
"Oh, wow," said Ilaina a little timidly. "Where did they all come from?"
"They're just old battle wounds," said Lorone, thinking nothing of it. "Nothing to be so shy about!"
"How can you have so many scars from old battle wounds, you barely look older than me," said Ilaina.
Lorone had a mischievous gleam in her eye as she answered, "I am far older than I look Ilaina." The way she spoke to Ilaina was similar to an old and experienced soldier speaking with a young and overzealous one who had yet to see the hopelessness of real battle.
"Oh, um... Can... Can I see them?" asked Ilaina nervously.
"See what?" asked Lorone, lost in battles long past.
"Your scars," said Ilaina,
Lorone didn't really see too much harm in it until she remembered her current circumstances. "Maybe later, okay?" answered Ilaina trying and failing to hide the blush that was quickly spreading over her cheeks. "For now let's just get going."
"So you know how to fight, right?" asked Ilaina.
"I do," answered Lorone.
"Can you teach me?" asked Ilaina.
"Why?" Lorone answered with her own question.
Ilaina stayed silent for a minute, but eventually responded. "My dad used to show me tricks to protect myself, but he would never teach me how to really fight. He always said it wasn't a woman's business to fight." She had a sad look on her young face that didn't seem to fit there.
"I guess I'll see what I can do," answered Lorone with a sigh. "No promises though!"
"Okay," said Ilaina happily. She bounded over to another bush and disappeared, after a few moments she reappeared with a pack and a walking stick. "Alright, I'm ready to go," she said.
Lorone just started walking after packing the things she had been able to find, and then proceeded to look around. Eventually she found what she was looking for in three swords of nearly identical make. Two of them she strapped to her right side, the sheathe’s extending behind her, one slightly above the other. The third she kept in her hand as she approached Ilaina.
"Ilaina," Lorone said with as friendly a smile as she could muster and warm eyes.
"This will be yours while I train you." Lorone handed her the sword, which she took eagerly. As Ilaina unsheathed the blade Lorone drew her own two swords. She held one in her right hand at an upward angle while the other was held in a reverse grip and kept close to her forearm. She faced Ilaina and got into a solid stance with her feet.
"Ilaina?" said Lorone, all friendliness gone from her voice and a cold and emotionless expression.
"Yes?" asked Ilaina too distracted to notice the change at first.
"Would you say that you trust me?" asked Lorone.
"Yep," answered Ilaina. "If you meant me harm, you probably would have done it when I attacked you."
"Okay then," said Lorone.
Ilaina looked up at Lorone, finally noticing something was off about her, but by then it was too late. Lorone disappeared and reappeared behind Ilaina. Ilaina started to ask what that was, but noticed a stinging feeling in her left arm. She looked down to see a cut from her shoulder to her elbow in her shirt, and a quickly growing red stain.
"Defend yourself," yelled Lorone. "You have a sword and knife, use them!"
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To Be Continued…….
Lorone is an old and battle hardened warrior and general, known far and wide as Sir Lorone 'The Immortal'. After the fall of his army, must get home to inform the king and people of the success of his army and what it cost them, while also having to deal with changes to himself.
>ILAINA<
Ilaina didn't know what to do, sure she knew a few tricks with her knives, but she had never actually used them until that day. She had definitely never used a sword before, and now she had a trained and seasoned warrior that she thought she would be able to trust, trying to kill her.
"Why?" pleaded Ilaina. She looked at Loraine, looked into her eyes for any glimmer that she wasn't serious, but instead what she saw was her own death playing in Loraine's eyes.
Suddenly Loraine was gone and there was another pain in her left side. Ilaina spun around only to see Loraine disappear yet again. It happened again and again, and every time it did, a new cut would appear somewhere on her body. She pulled out a knife with her left hand while she weakly tried to defend herself with the sword in her right hand.
"It doesn't matter, all that matters is staying alive, because... I will kill you," said Loraine. Ilaina could hear the truth of it in Loraine's voice. She knew Loraine wasn't kidding. She disappeared again and this time Ilaina's right knee exploded in pain. She looked down only to see her own knife driven through her knee. Ilaina began to cry out for someone to save her, but she knew it was hopeless. Suddenly Loraine was directly in front of her, sheathing her swords.
For a brief moment Ilaina thought that maybe she would be allowed to live, but that hope was quickly doused as Loraine pulled Sir Lorone's Immortal's Blade off of her back like it weighed nothing to her and put the tip to Ilaina's heart.
"If this is all you have, then I guess I will just kill you," said Loraine. She gradually began pushing the massive blade closer and closer until it finally pierced the skin, then continued to keep pushing.
Ilaina tried to push it away weakly, but didn't seem to have the strength left. She didn't want to die; she was still young, still had so much that she wanted to do with her life. She couldn't just let herself die here. She started to regain her strength as a fire lit inside of her. She was not going to just give up and let herself die like this.
>Lorone<
Lorone saw the look of determination in Ilaina's eyes, it was exactly what she had been trying to get from the girl. She took Imbee from Ilaina's chest and returned it to her back. It was a brutal way to start off on one’s training, but it had been done the same way to her, except his master had nearly taken her right arm off, but it was one of the fastest and most efficient ways to show a potential student the determination needed to be successful with the training Lorone was going to put Ilaina through.
"Ilaina," said Lorone calmly. "I'm going to put you to sleep now."
Lorone saw the fear pass through Ilaina's eyes as she thought this really was the end, but she simply put her hand over Ilaina's forehead and mumbled the word 'sleep'. Instantly Ilaina was in a deep sleep.
So began the long process of healing that Lorone would have to do so that Ilaina could recover properly and quickly.
”¡ ”¡ ”¡
Lorone carried Ilaina down the path along with both of their packs and weapons. It had been three days since Lorone had attacked Ilaina and she still hadn't woken up.
It had been interesting at first, trying to figure out how to carry everything with her new, smaller build, but yet again, Lorone had discovered that she was just as strong now as she had been before, if not stronger.
Lorone was still dreading her first human contact with someone other than Ilaina, especially if they saw her carrying a full grown girl and two packs like it was nothing.
As Lorone walked, she studied the girl in her arms, Ilaina did have long dark blond hair, but now that she looked closer, Lorone could see a slight reddish hugh to it also. Ilaina was right at the age where she was still between being a girl and becoming a woman, and it wasn't lost on Lorone. She may be a woman now, but that didn't mean she wasn't still attracted to other women, and having a young, beautiful girl in her arms was almost too tempting for Lorone.
As she came to the top of a hill, Lorone noticed a small village that still seemed to be inhabited a short distance away. She carefully set Ilaina down and went to work hiding her gender. She had dark brown hair that came down to her mid back, but that wasn't all that uncommon for young men, so she tied in a masculine style and let it hang down her back. Next she covered her face completely leaving only her eyes visible; she already had on semi-loose male clothing that worked rather well in hiding her womanly figure. Once she was ready, she picked Ilaina back up in her arms, much the way a man would carry his wife, and headed into the village.
Lorone got a few curious looks as she wandered through the small village looking for an Inn, but her disguise worked wee enough, because most people took her for what she appeared to be and nothing else, just a man carrying a young woman while she slept in his arms. It was a small village and it didn't take too long to find it’s only Inn. It was a small two story building with a faded old sign that could barely be read, the name of the Inn, ironically enough, was the Immortal's Haven.
Lorone almost laughed at the name.
As she entered, Lorone was pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness of the place and the cozy felling it had to it. She walked up to the counter where a youngish woman was cleaning glasses with Ilaina still in her arms. "Excuse me ma'am?" asked Lorone. "Can I get a room for two?" Lorone wasn't sure how it sounded to the woman. She had used the deepest voice she could, but was still worried it would give her away. Her worries were relieved though, when the woman responded.
"Of course sir, how long will you be staying?" asked the woman.
"I'm not sure yet, but you see? I've got a bit of a problem," said Lorone. "I was robbed a few days back, and while I managed to fight off my attacker, another got my friend here and stole what money we had.
"I may not have much experience in running a place like this, but I'm a quick learner and good in a fight and was wondering if I could work for a place to stay while my friend gets better." She normally didn't lie to hard working fold like that, but at this point it really wasn't much of an option, she had to get Ilaina out of the wilderness while she finished the last of her healing. "If you can't answer, then maybe I could speak with the owner?" added Lorone as an afterthought.
"What, you think that just because I'm a woman, I can't own my own place?" the woman practically shouted. "Your friend there can stay in one of my rooms while she gets better, and don't worry; I'll take good care of her. You on the other hand, can find somewhere else to stay, I won't have some man who thinks women are inferior staying here," she continued.
"That's fine ma'am, as long as she's taken care of. Her name is Ilaina, where would you like me to put her?" asked Lorone.
"Just put her in the first room on the left side of that hallway," said the woman, pointing the hallway in question out. "Put her in there and get out." Lorone quickly followed the woman's orders and took Ilaina to the indicated room, not even taking the time to look around. She put Ilaina on the bed and headed toward the entrance of the Inn. As she passed by the woman, Lorone could hear her mumbling something about arrogant men who thought they were better than women. It all made Lorone glad that she had her face covered so the woman couldn't see her smiling at the irony of the situation.
Just before Lorone reached the door, she turned to the still agitated woman and said in the deepest voice she could muster, "Ma'am, I'm sorry if I offended you, I honestly meant no harm. Lease take good care of Ilaina and give her this when she wakes." She said it with a smile in her voice and amusement evident in her eyes.
Of course it did exactly what it was meant to do and just angered the woman all the more, but before the woman could go off on another rant, Lorone was already gone. She had more important things to do than listen to some woman wine and groan about the difference between how men and women are treated.
"As Lorone made it to the edge of the village she had only one thing in mind, and that was to see the difference in abilities between the body she had now and her old one. When she had been carrying Ilaina, she'd noticed that she was indeed stronger than she had been before, but she also had a vastly larger muscular endurance and stamina. She had carried Ilaina, Imbee, three swords, and two nearly full packs from dawn till dusk for two straight days and barely felt tired at all.
Deciding to start with her speed, Lorone took off for the closest tree line she could see, which was nearly a full mile away, at a dead sprint. She made it there in only a couple of minutes, barely winded, so she decided to work on agility next. Lorone stepped directly in front of the tallest tree she could find and jumped as high up in it as she could with a single bound. Looking down she realized that she was nearly thirty feet up. It surprised Lorone so much that she nearly fell off the limb she was standing upon. There was only one thing on her mind at this point, all else being forgotten. With a mad grin, Lorone drew Imbee from her back and another sword from her belt. Holding the sword in her left and Imbee in her right, she wondered just how much damage she could now cause.
”¡ ”¡ ”¡
>Ilaina<
Ilaina jerked awake. The last thing she remembered was being attacked by Loraine, and that she had thought that she was going to die. Ilaina looked around to see that she was in a small room with a single window, a small table, and a wardrobe. She was lying on a soft bed, under a larger comforter and with large soft pillows. She had absolutely no idea what was going on.
Just then, a woman appearing to be in her late twenties walked in holding a sheathed sword in one hand and a bowl in the other. The woman jumped at seeing Ilaina awake and nearly dropped both items in her hands.
"So I see you're awake," said the woman. "My name is Nevaya, how are you feeling?"
"Where am I, what happened, and how did I get here?" asked Ilaina.
"Whoa there, you're still sounded, or at least that's what your friend said when he dropped you off, though for the life of me I can't seem to figure out where you're wounded. As for where you re, you're in the Immortal's Haven, and your friend dropped you off here a few hours ago, saying that you were attacked and robbed," said Nevaya.
"Who do you keep calling my friend, was her name Loraine?" asked Ilaina.
"Well, I don't know what his name was, but I doubt it was this Loraine person, considering that he was a man," answered Nevaya.
"What did he look like then?" asked Ilaina, she had a sneaking suspicion that this man was most likely really Loraine.
"He had his face covered, so I couldn't really tell you that much, but he did have a big great sword on his back, and two smaller swords on his left hip. Also, he had long dark brown dark hair, if that helps at all," said Nevaya.
"Um, ma'am, I don't know how exactly to say it, but my friend that you just described, she's a woman," said Ilaina.
"You must be mistaken, I know a man when I see one, and he definitely acted like a man, plus he came in here carrying that big sword, three smaller swords, two packs, and you like it was nothing. No woman is that strong."
"I beg to differ, I've seen her handle that great sword like was nothing more than a small stick, it's amazing."
"Well, alright hun', whatever you say," said Nevaya, deciding that the injury she'd sustained may have been more mental than physical. She walked over to the side of the bed and handed Ilaina the bowl. "Here," she said. "Drink this, you'll feel better."
Ilaina took the bowl, which was filled with some kind of broth, and gulped it down quickly. She was a lot hungrier than she realized.
"Where is my friend, by the way?" asked Ilaina suddenly.
"He's not allowed in here anymore," said Nevaya icily.
"Oh... Ok," said Ilaina. Nevaya's tone of boice had not been lost on her and she wondered what Loraine could have done to make her so mad. "Um, Nevaya?"
"Yes?"
"Could I please have some more food? It feels like I haven't eaten in days," asked Ilaina.
"Sure," said Nevaya, taking the bowl and leaning the sword against the wall. "I'll be right back."
Within seconds of Nevaya leaving, Ilaina heard a tap on the window.
Looking over to see what it was, she saw Loraine standing there, looking lightly exhausted.
"Loraine!" exclaimed Ilaina. "Where have you been?" she asked as she opened the window.
"Around, how are you feeling?" asked Loraine.
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To Be Continued…….