The Dar Horde

The patrol was walking along the edge of the forest, where the tall trees gave way to the hilly grassland. There were five of them, gnarled figures dressed in shabby leather, armed with rough metal weapons, their dark ochre skin and misshapen faces making their identity unmistakeable. Orcs.

Gracius glanced back at Bear, who was standing a few paces back, hiding behind a tree. Gracius nodded, holding up five fingers. Bear grinned and slowly, quietly, notched an arrow into his war bow. Gracius scurried back from the bushes behind which he hid to join Bear and Val in their hiding spot behind the tree. Bruno peeked his enormous head out from behind a tree a few paces further back.

"I don't see anyone else, but we should be quick. No telling how many more of them are out there," he said quietly.

"What do we do?" Asked Val, nervously.

"He charges," said Gracius, pointing at Bear, "we follow and take out whoever is still standing."

"I like it," said Bear, smiling.

"We take them out, okay..." repeated Val, clutching her antler sword.

Gracius gave her a reassuring pat on her shoulder. It was obvious that Val was afraid, but trying to hide it. He had to remind himself that despite the bravery she had showed before, she had never been in combat. This will be a good test, he thought. A necessary test.

"I will be right by your side. Just do what I do," he said reassuringly.

"Okay, no problem," she said, though mostly to herself.

Gracius gave her one last look. She had grown in the last few days. She was quite literally taller now, nearing six feet tall, her skin an even tanned brown, her body more visibly muscled than before, even though she had already had an athletic build. Her breasts were still high and firm, tipped with brown nipples, larger than they had been before, he thought. Her hair was pulled back in a rough braid, revealing the two little horns rising from her forehead. The glow had left her eyes, though even Gracius could feel the energy still swirling within her.

Gracius moved forward, peeking over the bush. The orcs were a dozen yard away, about to pass them as they walked along the forest's edge. Gracius noticed something; another small group of orcs, walking parallel to the first group, about twenty yards further away, almost hid by a fold of earth.

Shit, thought Gracius. Charging at them orcs was not going to work. The second group would have far too much time to run away and warn any other orcs in the area.

"New plan," said Gracius as he once more scurried back. "There's another group past this one. We'll have to make sure they don't alert anyone."

"How many," asked Bear, looking serious.

"Just a handful," replied Gracius.

Gracius motioned to Bruno to come forward, motioning him to be quiet. Val almost smiled, watching Gracius deal with Bruno like a fussing parent does a toddler. When the lumbering giant was seated next to them, Gracius turned back to the others.

"We go first, " said Gracius, indicating Val, himself and Bruno," and distract them and you come in from behind to catch the other group," he told Bear.

Bear nodded and quietly moved back to start a circling path.

"Come on," said Gracius, taking Val's hand.

*

The first orc saw them and grunted in alarm. His companions clustered around him, looking into the dark forest. A naked woman came strutting out of the shadows, tall and beautiful, holding a stick. A gold chain was hanging from her hips, a single pearl dangling down, resting on the dark triangle of curls that covered her pubis. The orcs hooted in excitement. There were few things better in life than naked women and gold.

They excitedly started to lay claim to her, not paying attention to the half-man, half goat who was crouched behind her, half hiding.

By the time they saw him, it was too late. Gracius stepped forward and threw his first dagger, taking an orc in the belly. A sudden crashing sound made them turn. A minotaur came charging out of the bush, head held low, arms wide like a wrestler.

With a screech of defiance and rage, the orcs faced the new threat. Bruno was on them in a second, like a steam locomotive crashing through a herd of goats. He pounded one into the ground with a massive fist, goring another from belly button to throat with the tip of his horn. The other orcs jumped aside, spreading out.

With a thundering of hooves Bear cut off the distant group of orcs, taking two down with his bow before they could even react. The young centaur warrior drew his carved wooden club and charged.

The battle was on.

Gracius kept a hand resting on Val's lower back. Gently guiding her forward as they trotted towards the two remaining orcs.

"Sword up, " he reminded her.

Val nervously hefted the sword, holding it with two hands. One orc was facing off with Bruno, holding a short spear with trembling hands. The other orc came at them, sword held high, snarling a curse in an unknown language. He swung at Val, aiming for her head. She screamed and stepped back, ducking away from the swinging sword.

"Use your sword!" Urged Gracius, who was moving quickly to stay right behind her.

"What do I do?!" Val snapped back.

The orc came back at them, sword aimed at Val's exposed belly.

"Block!" Shouted Gracius.

Block? Thought Val, how is that helpful advice?

But block she did. Or at least, the sword did. It twitched in her hand and, faster than her own eyes could see, it rose up to stop the orc's incoming blade, knocking it aside.

Gracius whooped.

"Kill him!" Shouted Gracius.

Val hesitated, the thought half formed in her mind. She had never chosen to kill anything, or wanted to kill anyone. The orc came back at her, sword swinging. She could only think of blocking the blow, which the sword did again, perfectly.

"Kill him!" Shouted Gracius again.

Behind the orc, Bruno had smashed his foe into a pile of broken bones and bloodied flesh. He charged off towards Bear and the few remaining orcs.

Bodies were strewn across the grass, bleeding. The one with Gracius' knife in the belly was still alive, moaning in pain, clutching at his bloodied wound. The others were still, their bodies pummeled and torn. Death had become very real. What had been a strange and erotic dream for Val had turned into a nightmare. She stood frozen as the orc turned to swing at her again.

"Stop him!" Shouted Gracius.

Stop. Yes. Her arm swung out suddenly, snapping the sword forward so that it touched the approaching orc. He froze, a shocked expression on his face. Behind him, Bear and Bruno were making short work of the remaining fighters. The frozen orc was left standing, motionless, on the now silent battlefield.

Bear trotted over to them, Bruno following, joining them in staring at the strange living statue before them. The orc was obviously alive and conscious. His eyes darted to and fro, and his breathing was fast and panicked. But he was stone still, every limb frozen in the position he had been when the sword touched him.

"What did you do? Asked Gracius.

"I don't know, I just wanted it to stop, and then the sword did that." Val replied.

"What happened?" Asked Bear as he looked curiously at the frozen orc.

"This sword of hers is more powerful than we thought. I think it does whatever you ask it to do,"said Gracius. "Not just kill."

"What are we going to do with him?" Asked Bear, pointing at the frozen orc.

Gracius paused for a moment, looking at Val.

"We should kill him. Val, you should kill him." He started flatly.

"Why? He can't hurt us!" Replied val hastily.

Gracious sighed. Bear just looked confused.

"We don't know how long this will last. If it lasts forever, you have condemned him to a slow death from starvation. At best. Also..I think you need to use that sword and...kill."

Said Gracius, softly.

"Kill?" Replied Val.

"We are going to war," said Gracius gently," you are our greatest weapon against these invaders. Our mission is to kill a god. You must be ready to do what needs to be done."

"I have to be ready to kill..." said Val softly. I was the first time that she had had to face that reality. She would have to kill, or be killed.

She lifted up her sword, pointing it at the frozen orc. All she had to do was tell it to kill, and it would be done. That thought never arose in her mind, just a nervous nausea.

She let go of the sword, letting it fall to her hip.

Gracius sat down abruptly, head between his furry knees. Bear approached him, bending low to put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay there buddy?" He asked.

Gracius' head suddenly popped back up.

"Yes! I know what to do!" He exclaimed. "Whistling Bear, my friend, I need you to take us to the top of Granite Hill. Can you get us there before sundown?"

"No problem!" Said the young centaur.

So Bear helped Val clamber up onto his back while Gracius retrieved his knife from the belly of the orc. Discreetly, silently, he slit the frozen orc's throat, letting a river of dark blood pour out. He gracefully jumped up onto Bear's back, and the four were off.

Granite Hill was just that, a jutting chunk of granite surrounded by forest. Bear had maintained a slow gallop for the last few hours, making his way through the forest along paths that were invisible to Val. Bruno followed at a seemingly effortless jog, though far more noisily.

Val clung to the centaur's chest, sitting right behind him, leaning her head against his back. Gracius sat behind her, leaning back, giving her space to be with her thoughts.

Val was crushed by a sense of failure. She had been swept up in the adventure of it all, and when Rom had asked her to possibly kill a god, she had agreed, not understanding the reality of taking a life. That reality was here now, and she had failed. Or had she? Had she not instead demonstrated a higher moral sense? Wasn't war wrong? Wasn't killing the greatest sin? The moral high ground was small comfort. All she knew was that she had let everyone down.

Bear clambered up the jagged slopes of Granite Hill just as the sun was turning orange on the horizon. The top of the hill was a shallow bowl, with the remains of a campfire in the middle of it. They quickly gathered the remains of branches and lit a new one as the sky darkened.

Seated around the small fire, surrounded by a small ridge of stone that sheltered them from the wind and cut them off from the surrounding forest, they shared a quick meal.

"Now what?" Asked Val?

"Now we wait for the moon to rise. In the meantime, I need both of you to memorize a few lines," answered Gracius.

"What are we doing?" Asked Bear.

"We are going to try to get the attention of a Goddess," said Gracius flatly.

"You want to summon a goddess?" Sputtered Bear incredulously.

"Not summon. We just need to get her attention. It's her servant we really want."

Gracius turned to Val and, pointing his finger right at her, " you are going to have a little chat with him. If we get lucky, you even get to fuck him and grab some of his energy."

"And if we get unlucky?" Said Val.

"You...fail, and our mission fails, and...I guess we all die," replied Gracius, his voice heavy with sadness.

"No pressure..." muttered Val to herself.

"So who is this Goddess we are trying to reach?" Asked Bear.

Gracius started to draw a large circle around them with a piece of charcoal from the campfire. He added symbols and sigils at various points, checking his orientation from time to time. Bruno followed all of this with puzzled interest, his great bovine head slowly swinging around.

"We.." said Gracius as he worked, "are going to call on Astarte, goddess of love and war, and Her servant. A lion. And you.." He said, nodding towards Val, "will gain the heart of a lion. Hopefully."

As the moon slowly rose in the night sky, Val and Bear dutifully responded to Gracius' chants, in a hour long call-and-response. They all three sat around the dying fire, letting the wavering flames lull them into a an altered state, helped by herbs that

Gracius had tossed in.

Bruno had been convinced to lay down and quickly fell asleep, to Gracius' relief. Now only his gentle snoring would disrupt the ceremony.

"Mistress of horses, you drive the chariot," called out Gracius.

"Astarte, we call on you.." Val and Bear chanted.

"Queen of Heaven, Earth Mother, Queen of Kings, you reign supreme..."

"Astarte, we call on you". And on and on they chanted, until Val was ready to fall asleep with boredom.

She might have fallen asleep. She suddenly realized that she was sitting behind herself, looking over her own shoulder and into the fire. Something had startled her to this strange new situation. A presence.

As soon as she acknowledge it, the presence became intense and terrifying. There was something there, invisible, potent, dangerous. She could feel the gaze of the presence sweep over her and her friends, the gaze of a predator.

Cautiously, she looked to the side, trying to see what was there.

Standing right outside the charcoal circle was a giant lion. It was red, and apparently on fire, or it was made of fire. Its eyes were a deep black, and fixed on Val.

Val gasped and was suddenly back in her body. She looked around for the burning lion, but there was only darkness around them. Except...was that a shimmer, a haze moving around the fire? The presence could still be felt, but muffled. A wave of goose bumps swept over her body. Val closed her eyes. She took a few deep breaths and, in her imagination, stood up. She looked around and...there it was, the lion, staring at her from across the charcoal line.

"Go to him," the Hungry Woman whispered in her head.

Val hesitated. If she had learned one thing from television and movies is that you don't step out of a protective circle. She walked up to the line, watching the bright red beast as it slowly moved towards her. She forced herself to stay still as it approached. It was huge and powerful, its mane waving in the heat of its body. It came to her until its great flat nose was inches from her chest. It fixed its black eyes in hers.

Val was trembling with fear. She could feel its breath blow across her breasts, filling her nostrils with the smell of ashes and blood.

"Who are you?" the Hungry Woman asked Val.

Val took a deep breath, swallowed her fear and brought her attention to her pussy. She did a few Kegels, willing herself to become wet, aroused. But of course it didn't work that way. She had a flash of insight and, instead of focussing on her pussy, she focussed on the void within her pussy. Suddenly she felt the lion as a source of energy, a powerful presence that would be absorbed by her voracious pussy. Suddenly she was hungry.

"Well done," whispered the Hungry Woman.

The great lion took a step back, and Val followed it, crossing the charcoal line to step onto the cool stone. The lion took another step back, watching.

Val looked around. Behind her she could see the fire, and the four figures seated around it. Below her was the stone bowl of rock they had settled in. Above her were stars, and a moon bigger and brighter than she remembered ever seeing. Val forced herself to focus, bringing her attention back to the lion. Gracius had said that if they were lucky, she would fuck it and get his energy. Well, here goes, she thought to herself.

The lion had crouched low, as if ready to pounce. Val slowly, keeping her eyes on the lion, knelt down. She spread her knees a bit and, facing the lion, eyes fixed in his, she reached down with one hand to cup her pussy. She fanned her fingers through the tangle of short soft hair that framed it, finding her outer lips, pulling them open to reveal pinker flesh. With her other hand she pinched her small nipple, feeling it turn hard under her fingers. She reached deeper into her pussy, opening it, pulling the inner lips aside to reveal the moist folds within. She paused there for a moment, exposing herself to the great beast. She felt his gaze move over her body, finding her cunt, lingering there. His gaze was a hot wind moving across her body.

Slowly, she turned around and brought her face to the ground, cushioned by her folded arms. Her ass, raised, was aimed at the lion. Val opened her knees a bit more, exposing herself even more. She could feel the lips of her pussy slowly part and open.

The lion pounced.

Suddenly his great mass was on her, filling her nostril with the musky scent of his fur, his great jaw clamped on her head. Val cried out in fear as she felt the sharp teeth push into her skull, her throat. The flames of his body were warm feathers brushing against her skin. For a few moments the great lion was still, his breath hot against her face. She trembled under his weight.

Val felt a pressure against her pussy. A cock was being pressed against it, demanding entry. She curved her back a bit more and let it in. Suddenly, her pussy was full of lion cock.

Val gasped at the sudden intrusion. Somehow she was already wet, or maybe in this half imaged space she found herself in, there was no friction. But there was feeling. Her pussy was filled with a wet heat, hotter than she had ever felt. The great beast was an almost suffocating presence over her, a mass of fur and heat that pinned her to the ground, her hips caught between his great haunches. His jaw still held her head between sharp teeth, his breath hot and musky. A low growl rose from his great chest, a deep rumbling that shook Val to the bone.

He started to slowly thrust back and forth, his growl modulated by his movement, his cock sliding in and out of her gaping pussy.

Val could only answer with a hapless moan. There was no way to resist, to fight. She let herself go and focussed on the sensation of the cock moving in and out of her, of the rising pleasure growing in her belly.

But she was here to learn something, wasn't she? She could take his energy, but..was that all?

Val watched herself getting fucked by the great lion, puzzled.

With a start, she looked around. She was standing on a low hill covered in boulders that had been eroded smooth by eons of wind and sand. The hill she was on was somehow also part of a larger landscape, a vast and rocky plain bordered by old mountains, under a slate grey sky. She looked down from her hill at the lion as it crouched over her own body, while a bit further away she saw herself yet again, sitting by the fire, chanting. There was a translucence to the landscape, and a slight effort of will brought brought one and then the other into sharper focus, into greater reality. As her attention shifted, so did the sensations in her body. She could feel the hard ground under her ass, or the heat of the lion over her body, and the cock moving back and forth in her pussy. Or she could feel a cool dry wind and the rough texture of sandstone under her feet.

A movement caught her eye. From around a large boulder stepped a man. He was tall and broad shouldered, massively muscled, his skin tanned and covered in scars. His face was covered in a scraggly black beard, his eyes set deep under bushy eyebrows, his lips thin and humorless. Over his shoulder was a lion skin, the paws and head hanging over his chest. In one hand he held what looked like the jaw bone of a large animal, like a horse. He was otherwise naked, apart from leather strips wrapped around his fist and forearms. His cock hung half-erect between his thighs.

Val took a step back, afraid. The man crouched slightly, spreading his arms a bit as if to catch her. Val ran.

She leapt from boulder to boulder until she found a sandy path. She raced down the gill, glancing behind her, catching glimpses of the man as he ran and leapt from boulder to boulder, chasing her. Val tried to run faster, her heart thumping in her chest as fear griped her, pushing her forward. She reached forward and her hands were hooves, her body shifting into that of a doe, fast and nimble, her mind getting foggy with fear. Behind her, she saw the man was a lion, teeth sharp and deadly, and he had her scent. Panic flooded her brain.