A New Beginning
By Hawke Darkblade

Reprinted with permission.
Added 07/19/2002.

All was silent on what seemed a paradise tropical beach. There was no wind to cool the heat of the scorching midday sun, and even the unmoving water of of the sea looked warm and offered no respite. He looked around at the small group of adventurers with him, filled with the resolution he needed to continue with this ill-advised journey.

He shrugged uncomfortably at the sweat that was forming under his armour, the heat penetrating through the padding to his skin.

The group stood on the beach, in a wedge formation, him in the lead and the lone Wizard behind him. The two Swordsmen stood determined at the tips of the wedge, and the Spearmaiden was directly behind him to the left, ready for battle.

The sand in front of them was undisturbed, but he was still weary of the new dangers of the wastelands. Even on this paradise of a beach, the wastes were still aptly named. The tall palm trees off to their right, and the mountains beyond held a beauty that would belie the terrors that they held. From behind that palm could charge one of the dreaded beasts that gave him the scar on his leg that had never healed, even through resurrection. It was a constant reminder of his past trials.

Without thinking, he reached down and touched his leg at the spot of the old wound, as if he could touch the wound itself. He felt only the cold steel of his Celdon leggings, which brought him back to reality. The others were looking at him now, concerned for his well being. It had been a long time since a group had trusted him with their lives, and he was not going to let them down. He would die before he let one of the foul denizens of the wastes harm them.

He nodded resolutely and furrowed his brow in concentration. The others were comforted by his strength, and they took up positions. Swords, spears, and staff were held at the ready, for what they knew would eventually come. The rise of the Undead.

They continued on, slowly, cautiously inching forward, every step a difficult one to take, knowing that with every foot they moved onward, the danger increased tenfold.

Suddenly, without warning, the Undead rose around them, the sand draining from their empty frames, and the skulls howling and echoing the torture of lost souls. There were three of these abominations of death, rising up, longing for the flesh of the living.

The group was ready for this onslaught, and broke off in a pre-determined plan of attack. He rushed the one directly in front of him, which was the leader, one of the more powerful Undead Knights, as the Swordsman to his right joined him in the battle. The other Swordsman and the Spearmaiden rushed one of the Skeletal Warriors to their left, as the Wizard began his incantations.

Before the Undead had fully formed to press their attack, the Wizard unleashed a mighty shockwave which slammed into the lone Skeleton, echoing its destructive energy in a crack of thunder which caused even the nearby mountains to quake in fury. The Skeleton Warrior shattered into thousands of bone fragments which littered the ground behind where it once stood, its sword dropped to the ground and vanished beneath the sand.

In the forefront of the attack, his rush was successful, as he slammed his shield into the body of the Skeletal Knight, knocking it off balance. The Swordsman slashed at the Knight with his flaming sword, chipping bone fragments from its body, which caused little or no damage to it. No matter how often the sword rang into the body of the Undead, the creature did not reel or flinch.

His hope withered slightly as he feared that they may not be powerful enough to destroy this fierce creature, as his spear was useless as a piercing weapon, and all he could do was keep the Undead off balance, while his partner attempted to hack it to oblivion.

The warriors to his left were having an equally hard time, the Spearmaiden attempting to slam her spear sideways into the midsection of the Undead Warrior while the Swordsman slipped around behind it to deliver a crushing blow with the side of his blade. The Maiden broke the defenses of the Undead Warrior and with a mighty crack, crushed several of the creature's ribs, which in turn, did not slow it one bit.

Suddenly the Wizard, who could not get a clean line of attack with his shockwave, unleashed a curse on the Skeleton Warrior. The Warrior dropped its shield, and turned towards the Wizard to counter-attack. Its mindless focus on the Mage was its undoing. As it rushed the Mage, the Maiden dropped to her knees, rolling in the sand and lashed out with her spear, tripping the Skeleton to the sand. The Swordsman fell upon it with furious hacks of his sword. The curse upon the Skeleton also withered its defenses and the Swordsman hacked away the life which animated this Undead. Its power was no more.

The three turned towards the last remaining Undead, preparing to join the attack.

He continued to slam his shield into the foul Knight as it attempted to hack the Swordsman. The other three surrounded the Undead, and he took up position with them to form a circle around it.

"Time to be banished from this world forever, spawn of Hell", he shouted at the creature. The rest of the party's spirits were lifted by his grim determination, and they also shouted curses towards the abomination. It was unfortunate that the mindless creature could not understand such threats and gestures as it only hungered for flesh. It began to howl in a piercing shriek which made the entire group wince, even through their helmets. They thought that this was its final try to throw them off guard, they realized in horror that they were wrong.

From the sand all around them began to rise Skeletal forms of long dead Giants. They looked around, knowing they were in all in mortal danger. There was no way a group this small could handle the massive onslaught of over a dozen of these Skeletal Giants.

"Retreat!" He shouted over the howling din which was rising, and growing more piercing with each passing second. "North! I will call upon the powers of Phoenix to usher us back to the mainland!"

The Skeletal forms were rising and beginning to coalesce, in moments, the group's fate would be sealed. The group rushed North into the foliage, into further possible danger to escape their imminent destruction.

As they scrambled forward, they hacked at the foliage which slowed them down somewhat, and he offered a silent prayer. "Phoenix guide my focus, and provide me with the means to save these brave adventurers from their deaths". He ran quickly ahead of the group, thundering through the undergrowth, hearing the loud chattering of bones as the army of Undead began their pursuit.

He channeled the power, using a crystalline rod as a focus of energy, and opened up a rift to allow the group safe passage to the mainland. Standing at the mouth of the portal, he hurredly motioned and yelled for everyone to dive into it. One by one they rushed through, except for the Mage who stood at the enterance and grinned back at the rushing monsters. His thoughts were incredulous! The Mage meant to attack them!

He shouted at the Mage to enter the portal, as the rushing army was almost upon them. Seeing there was no time to argue, he attempted to tackle the Mage through the portal as the incantations started. The Mage grinned at him, and sidestepped, losing his incanation as he dove through the portal screaming for the Mage to follow him. The Mage shrugged at him and grinned towards the incoming army as the portal closed behind him.

He tumbled to the ground, coming to a rest several feet from where the exit portal once was. The other three members of his party rushed over, and worriedly helped him up.

"I'm fine, thank you my friends." He said as he brushed himself off, removing his helmet. He looked at the ground and saw that his spear was cut in half. The portal had closed upon its haft, and it was usless now, the magic imbued in it was gone.

"Where is the Wizard?" The Spearmaiden asked, her green eyes casting worried glances at him.

"Dead. Or worse, most probably," he all but spat in disdain, "The fool stayed behind of his own accord. He did not have to, as we could have both easily entered the portal before the undead reached us. He stayed to test his mettle, I suspect." He shook his head.

The others looked at him, knowing there was nothing that could be done. If the Mage still lived, they would hear about it soon enough. The Mage could summon his own portal using arcane energy, and would meet them back in Lin. If he survived.

The group picked up their belongings, discarding their broken equipment, and began the short trek over the rolling countryside back to the small town of Lin. The hills were not that trecherous here, they were close enough to the town that there was not much danger.

As they travelled, he wondered if the Mage was alive. He wondered perhaps that next time when he went into a den of undead to cleanse it from their filth, would the Mage be one of the ranks of Liches that he would have to face. Indeed the Mage was powerful, more powerful than himself or any of his remaining comrades, but was the Mage powerful enough to face and defeat an army of Undead Giants, and that damned Skeleton Knight.

His thoughts then turned to the Skeletal Knight that rose from the sands. Was it once a brave Paladin like himself that found itself prey to the beasts of the wastelands? Many questions, few answers, such is life.

There would be another time, another quest, and he was ready for the challenge. He was a solitary Paladin once again, free to roam the land of Dereth in search of whatever and whoever needed him. His powers had returned and he had gained new ones. He had regained his resolution of old, and his determination was stronger than ever. He had overcome, adapted, and in the end, would be victorious.

After the short hike, the group arrived in Lin, and he spoke to them in parting. "Take care, my friends. May Phoneix guide you and keep you safe." They smiled, wished him well, and strode to the tavern for a well-earned drink after their arduous trials.

He could not join them, he had other appointments to keep. It was almost time for him to meet one of the land's most powerful Monarchs, to consider a request to join under him, least of all to accept an offer to join a great quest, to explore a new land.

The possibilites were endless, the future full of hope. It was a new beginning.