Following the Battle in Moon Bay I decided to write a bit about the potential aftermath of the battle. It could be true for any battle though and I think it brings the other side of war into perspective. Enjoy!
The Hard Road
A small train of men and simple carts slowly made their way through the wasteland of Moon Bay. The days were growing warmer and the landscape ever more lush as rain-clouds changed their shift with the bright sun turn and turn again.
The fields were full of dandelions, fresh herbs and the scurrying of small animals. The roads as they were in Moon Bay were little more than dirt paths or flat, submerged in mud, stones. Moss and plants ever trying to reclaim the feeble trails. Aldrakar had since washed himself of the blood that had drenched him in the battle the other day. The cuts delivered to his livery and cloak couldn't be washed out though, their memory remained.
Butterflies landed on the multitude of bright flowers strange and mostly unique to the badlands, even in this wasteland flowers and life endured. Sadly the same couldn't be said for wheat, grain or rye. Rye was one of the hardiest of crops but even that couldn't flourish here. A muffled scream startled the butterflies and with their richly decorated wings they quickly fled the train of wounded soldiers that passed by.
''How bad is it?'' Aldrakar asked the thin man caring for one of the soldiers who lay on a cart. The answer was already known to him for the bandages were already and again drenched in blood. It was the 4th time this morning Aldrakar visited this particular soldier and healer. ''The bleeding won't stop sire.'' The small man replied as he offered an apologetic look to Aldrakar. ''The sword must've hit something inside his body that I cannot reach or mend with my simple tools.'' He lifted the soaked bandage to reveal a crimson line that separated as pressure was relieved from it. A gush of blood escaped the wound that wholly didn't seem to come from the surface of the cut.
The soldier cried out again, his muscles taut and the veins on his neck bulbous as they rested on his skin. His body was covered in sweat and color had long forsaken him. He was a pale grey man with blue lips and red eyes, probably from crying. ''Sire.'' the voice of Aldrakar's aged sergeant greeted him. It was both formal and yet demanding attention.
The sergeant had been a longtime companion of Aldrakar and his heavily lined face with its assembly of little scars showed signs of compassion as he and Aldrakar locked eyes. ''He won't make it Aldrakar, he is going through hell right now.'' the Sergeant paused a moment to let his words sink in. ''Better to grant him mercy and be done with it.''
The thin healer made to protest but Aldrakar raised a hand to silence him and it worked. ''I'll do it.'' Nodding to the Sergeant he instructed the men pulling the cart to slow down and park it at the side of the road. A few ravens crowed curiously as they spied out the change in the train of soldiers. They quickly gathered nearby the now stationary cart and turned their eyes greedily towards the struggling patient. Some still in the air but most had already landed.
Aldrakar motioned for the Sergeant to help him and together they lifted the mortally wounded soldier from the cart and carried him to a small outcrop of young grass where they gently put him down. ''Hmmmwwff!!... Wmhmmm!'' The soldier whined and groaned. His head lolling to the left and to the right, occasionally his eyes flashing open but always quickly shut again. ''Hold him upright please.'' Aldrakar asked the Sergeant who silently complied and ensured the wounded soldier sat on the ground but with a straight back. Dark blood amply escaping the poorly bandaged wound and glistering in the spring sun.
Unsheathing his sword Aldrakar whispered a few reverent words as he positioned himself behind the delirious soldier and raised his sword with both hands, the point aimed at the soft spot of flesh between neck and shoulder. ''You lived bravely, continue your legacy in the afterlife!'' A wet and smooth sound accompanied the descending steel of the sword as it plunged into the soldier's flesh. It punctured skin, sliced through muscle and pierced vital organs until the soldier released his tenuous grip on life and with his last breath escaped his mortal coils.
As the train of soldiers slowly moved onward several of the soldiers along with Aldrakar and the sergeant dug a shallow grave for the now dead brother in arms and said their goodbye's. War had claimed another life and tore apart another family.
