Notes from the author
: I wanted to give fair warning to the readers regarding the use of violence that has been written into this story. It's done with a purpose, to give the reader a feel for the emotional state the protagonist is in, and the desperation in his actions. I easily could have toned it down, but chose not to, and I figure with a warning in front of the story those who aren't open to the prospect of violence in erotica can simply skip this one and opt for another story from one of the other wonderful author's on the Literotica site. Furthermore, I'd also like to point out before the story is started that while there is violence in this story, it does not take place during the "steamy" moments. I do not condone sexual violence, forced sexual acts, or rape, and therefore will not extend the use of violence into the realm of my erotica. Those of you who do read it... I hope you enjoy the story, and if possible vote and/or provide feedback to let me know what you think :)
Bodies covered the hillsides for as far as the eye could see. The snowy hilltops were host to a great battle over the control of lands, and much like every other battle Kraigen had been in this one showed many losses on both sides. Everywhere he stepped were the bodies of friend and foe alike. Blood oozed from their mortal wounds, mixing with the snow to form a crimson slush which he now strode through.
It was a thankless job to wander the fields of such battles, seeking out the mortally wounded to ease their suffering. Kraigen stopped, peering over to see a kid no more than sixteen seasons, who lay among a heap of dead bodies, his arm severed and blood still pouring forth. He could tell the boy would not make it past the eve. With ease of stride, despite the many bodies at his feet, Kraigen walked over to the boy, and gave a solitary promise before bringing his broadsword to bare.
"You have suffered enough warrior of Tyr, may Valhalla welcome you with ale, wenches, and respect from the Gods." There was no bitterness in his words, no emotion at all. To the men of his lands it was honorable to die on the field, having spilled the blood of their enemies until struck down. Kraigen lifted his sword above his head, then brought it down square against the young mans neck. There was little resistance as steel met flesh, and in a fraction of a second the boy's head left his shoulders. His body fell flaccid, head rolling a short distance before coming to a rest.
Kraigen sat down, as if carrying a great burden. He himself had been injured during battle, having suffered several glancing blows about his body, but was none the worse for wear. Many times he had fought in such wars, and every time he had come out on top. He sat, thoughts wandering out of his current situation, to question if Valhalla even wanted him. He had fought well for his God's, to be sure, but all other aspects of life he had not achieved save for the unsatisfying life of a warmonger whose sword was getting too heavy to carry with the burden of sadness.
It was a good thing to spill the blood of your enemy in battle, but so many friends lost, so many battles fought in vain, Kraigen began to wonder if the broken, smashed corpses of the men beneath his booted heel were friend or foe. Certainly they had families of their own. Certainly they worshipped such Gods as he, perhaps even the same ones. And perhaps, even though such thinking was preposterous, the Gods were angered by his actions against the men who worshipped them. This was never the knowledge his father had given him before death, but Kraigen felt these thoughts to be at least partially true.
A noise rang from behind, and Kraigen's thoughts were broken as his senses brought him back to the battlefield about him. He wheeled around in the direction of the sound to find a short, stocky, bearded fellow, carrying axe in hand and stalking towards him. "Ah! Tis a foot soldier of the usurper who seeks to steal our lands from beneath our very feet. Know this young warrior that today you have met the axe of Fenra, and ye shall not be returning home this day!"
The man called Fenra lunged forward with frightening speed for someone of his stature, and Kraigen barely had time to recoil, even as Fenra's axe came at him in a sideways swipe meant to tear his torso in half. He parried the attack, returning with a sword lunge that glanced off his targets heavily padded arm, and as they brought their weapons about again the two came face to face in a showdown that would show one of them dead by the end of the skirmish.
"Surely Modi has given you a great skill in axe-use, but whether you spill my blood this day or not know that my people shall never stop until our flags are raised from the ground we now stand!" and with that Kraigen struck again, thrusting his sword forward in blinding speed to strike Fenra directly in the gut, then with a quick move of his arm the man's guts were spilled onto the field.
With a last desperate strike Fenra lifted his axe and struck Kraigen on his shoulder while the mans sword was still in his gut, and instantly both fell to the ground, the last breath of Fenra escaping his lips as he fell to his side. Kraigen let himself fall onto his back, having seen his enemy dead. Pain wracked his body, the injury on his shoulder deep and brutal. The blade of Fenra's axe had struck bone, but it did not feel broken.
Once again Kraigen drifted back into thought, wondering if he could survive the trip back to his home. Surely if he did not find a horse he would not make it with such an injury, and yet he felt that if he died where he laid that would be ok as well. He looked up to the sky, to see the dark, angry clouds that threatened to rain down hail or snow, and pondered on how their world had come to be made this way. It seemed as if kingdoms were always at war, and to be a mercenary was a sure profitable way of life if you had the skill in sword or axe. Kraigen began to despair, and for the first time in his thirty-six seasons questioned his Gods and the way of life in Eleysir.
Little time did he have to think on such thoughts, for as he glanced in the distance he could make out the frail shape of some person or creature. His vision was blurred with tears from the bitter cold winds, but as he watched he made note that the thing was coming towards him. He supposed it to be yet another of his enemies, one like him who had taken up the job of walking the killing fields and ending the lives of those who were mortally wounded. Kraigen wondered if his enemy, finding him here injured, would end his life, or simply go on about his way to leave him to find his own path to home or Valhalla.
The thought quickly left his mind, however, as he saw that the thing coming towards him appeared to be that of a woman, but not any woman he had ever laid eyes on. She was a vision of beauty, but her beauty carried with it an icy feeling of dread. Yet Kraigen could not look away, for he was entranced. Her skin was the gentle color of alabaster, blending almost perfectly with the snow. Her long, black hair flowed down her back, and she was naked, save for a thin wrap of lace, which left nothing to the imagination. Her eyes sparkled a cold blue, being the same color as the blue flame which burns so brightly in his homeland of Dumaria.
She stood above him for a long moment before Kraigen finally spoke. "What devil or succubus be you? Have you come to take away my soul to the old ones of Kurilia to be forever feasted on by the soul eaters?"
She did not answer, only stared down on him with her eyes of blue madness. The woman frightened him, and excited him all at the same time. His eyes met hers, and he could not look away. The woman gave a small giggle, as if in response to his questions, but there was no warmth or compassion in her laugh, rather the laugh filled Kraigen with a deep and dark haunting to which he could neither describe nor ignore.
She began to back up, slowly moving away from him. Kraigen looked on quizzically, wondering where a woman as naked and unprotected as a newborn baby could come from, or be going to. He forced himself to stand, and as he watched she continued to back up, and he followed, the pain in his shoulder and despair in his heart momentarily forgotten. On he followed her, over the hillsides and scattered bodies of the dead, until the battlefield was long behind them and only a snowy horizon stretched out ahead.