Arkarum: The Hammer and the Blade

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  Jax had been wandering aimlessly, lost and alone, for what seemed like days. There was no end to the mist before him, and no respite in his wanderings. His mind was primarily focused on Mercius, for he knew, somehow, deep within himself, that the love of his companions would bring the lad back. But his wife, his beautiful, steady Sophia, had been separated from him some time ago. Her face, and the love he felt for her, warred in his brain with Mercius'. His darling Sophia, with her wisdom and continuing beauty, was his wife and his truest love. Mercius, though, was his best friend. Of the two, he would sacrifice Mercius in a heartbeat to save his love, he admitted to himself shamefully. But of the two, Mercius was in the greater danger. Jax had seen Sophia assaulted and accosted, physically, mentally and emotionally, on more than one occasion, and he felt comforted by the fact that she had always been able to acquit herself more than admirably by the sheer force of her will. When her will failed, however, he knew that the woman was spit and gristle. She would scream hate and defiance to her very last breath as she battled the King of Hell himself. These mists and whatever evil they held, he laughingly thought, should pray that they don’t have to face his wife.

  Mercius, on the other hand, was in an entirely different realm; a realm in which his stalwart courage and honor would not avail him much. Mercius was in Hell, and Jax knew that it would take a miracle for him to escape with his soul intact. He thought of Mercius. He thought of the first time he had seen him. Jax had found the young lad, on the point of death from starvation and exhaustion and terrible wounds. Even then, when Jax had brought Mercius before the council of the village, Mercius was straight-backed and stern, showing no sign of weakness or fear. Jax had admired him from the first, but that moment, when he had told his story to the council and then bade them make their decision quickly! Priceless! Jax had had a difficult time keeping his face schooled at that moment, for sure. And since then, through all the trials and pitfalls the two had gone together, Jax had never harbored anything but sheer admiration for the boy. He was valiant and true, and filled with honesty, compassion, and empathy. Jax had never seen Mercius harm another human being in all the years he had known and watched the lad. He knew there was evil in his young friend; that he could see in the burning eyes. But Mercius was more of a man than most in that respect: most men who harbored evil were too weak to control it, and so let it manifest itself upon their brethren. Mercius, not so. He had always been in absolute control of the darkness that dwelt inside him. Mercius, though roughly twenty years his junior, was Jax’s closest friend. So close, in fact, that they seldom had to speak to know each other’s thoughts. Mercius' strength was so great, Jax thought, that the only thing that kept him from following the boy when he was exiled from Drurador, was the warmth of his loving wife. And Sophia, in the end, was the one who insisted that they rush to his side when the dreams came.

  With that reminiscence, Jax’s thoughts turned once again to his woman. He fretted hopelessly for her safety, for he knew not what he would do if he lost her. But there was nothing he could do for her now. He had called her name ceaselessly until his throat had been worn raw and his breath nearly entirely expended, to no avail. She was alive, he had to believe, and in as much safety as the Hollows could allow.

  With his worries for Sophia in his mind, Jax heard a noise. It was slight, distant, but familiar: the snarling of hungry demons. The sound sent shivers down his spine as it always did, but he walked onward, feeding his resolve with the fuel of fear. Then, with unexpected suddenness, the mists before him departed almost entirely, and he was suddenly faced by a horde of grey demons with gnashing fangs and scrawny, bony limbs that seemed to be made of the very fog of the Hollows. Without hesitation or thought, Jax pulled the two curved blades from their places at his back, and rushed into the fray.

  The things were atrocious, but killed easily. Jax was well past his prime, he knew, but the blades felt at home in his grasp, and he felt naked without them there, as if he spent more time battling than anything else. His blades hummed through the dimness as he slashed and stabbed and twisted and danced among the demons who were ever trying to disembowel or decapitate him. Mercius' eyes burned in his skull, and he sent forth shouts of rage as he killed and dodged. The things were not the most potent demons he had ever fought, bearing no weapons and having not much intelligence for fighting, but there were hundreds, perhaps even thousands of them.

  Jax knew that he could kill. He could kill a hundred of these things without breaking a sweat. Possibly three hundred with breaking a sweat. But he knew that no matter what strengthened his heart and his resolve, he would eventually weaken and falter, and the demons would swarm over him like locusts, consume him, then move on to their next prey.

  The admission to himself, subtle and unconscious though it was, pushed Mercius from his mind and brought forth Sophia. What would become of her if he should fall? Would they kill her quickly, or capture her and sentence her to a life of imprisonment and torment? Fighting with renewed rage, Jax nevertheless took a faltering step back. He was suddenly overcome with images behind his mind’s eye of his dear wife being violated and mutilated and tormented in the depths of some dark, unknowable place. His physical strength increased, but he was not able to keep up with the demons. This confused him, for he had known the battle rage many a time in his life, and always with renewed rage and strength came more slaughtered foes at his feet. Not so this time. Each time Jax felt the rage boil inside of him and pour from him at the thought of what would happen to his loving woman, he was beaten back another step. He didn’t understand it, but could not waste time trying to comprehend; every breath was a fight for his life, and could be his last.

  He was faltering and failing. He knew defeat when he felt it. He was losing ground no matter how much strength he summoned, and he was defending more than attacking now, unable to kill every demon that confronted him.

  Then, suddenly, there came a woman’s piercing cry, and he saw, to his dismay and hope, Keira leap before him and begin to tear at the demons that assaulted him, ripping them apart with the grace and speed of a veteran warrior. Though she carried only the long dagger that Maul'din had bestowed upon her, Jax saw that Keira was dismembering and decapitating and disemboweling demons left and right.

  Jax, seeing the passion with which Keira fought, and reminding himself of his love for Sophia, went to join the battle once again. He shouted Keira's name in a fury and rushed to side with her. But, suddenly, the mist rolled in and his vision of the young, furious woman was cut off completely. He could no longer see her. But he could hear her blade as it whispered through the demons that stood in her path. Jax rushed to the sound, hoping that the mists would clear again, but they did not. And then, without his realizing how or when, the sound of Keira slaughtering demons was behind him. He had gone too far, somehow. He retraced his steps, back toward the sound of her battle, but, again, he found that he had missed the mark.

  Jax, with hope dying slowly in his heart for the young courageous woman, gave up trying to find her, and went in search, again, for his wife.