A Hero's Second Chance

A chill ran down Damien's spine, forcing him "awake". His body shook of it's own volition, moving for the first time in over a thousand years. His eyes opened, eyes that were as light blue as the sun. He sought to turn his head, lift a finger, wiggle a toe, anything. It was all for naught though. Too long had his body been unused, too long had it been since he'd moved from that spot.

It took Damien almost eight hours to finally regain feeling in any part of himself, let alone start to move. A full twenty four hours passed before he pushed himself to his feet and looked around him. The place was cold and empty, not at all like he'd expected, though even he didn't know what he truly expected. After all, his mind had been roaming the heavens for over a thousand years. He'd certainly hoped for more than just a blank icy cave when he "awakened".

It was at that moment, when the word empty entered his mind that he looked around. His belongings should have been here, the things he'd attained and used in the life that had gotten him this far.

Damien closed his eyes, trying to think of what all had passed. He'd lived so long, that things started to blur together. He remembered that first adventure, the one where he'd helped assault an orc encampment. He certainly remembered his last, in which he'd helped assault the strongest bastion of evil on the material plane, and he remembered most of what happened in between. What he couldn't remember though, was where he'd put his swords. He certainly should have been entombed with all three of them, in addition to his armor. Yet all of it remained absent.

With a shake of his head and a sigh, Damien moved towards the entrance of the cave. If he'd been here as long as he thought, it was entirely possible that his things had been stolen by random thieves. He instead set his mind to why he was truly back.

He'd been in the heavens for exactly one thousand four hundred sixty seven years, that much he knew. He remembered why he'd been up there, but he forced those thoughts from his head. It wasn't the why he'd been up there that mattered just then, it was the why he was back. Evil stirred once more, not just one this time though. As he'd been in the heavens, he'd seen it, seen it like no mortal could. There were four of them, small dots against the greens and blues of the world, but each had grown. They were still fairly small as of yet, but they were growing and pushing towards the beacons of light that remained within the world. When they were strong enough, they'd overpower the forces of good, and it was that that he'd come to stop.

In Damien's mind, he remembered the largest bastion of good, currently unassailable, even if all four joined forces, which they would eventually. And so he set his mind toward reaching that point. He was hundreds of miles from it, but he'd be strong again soon. He just had to get there.

3 Months later

Damien came around the last corner, relieved to finally see his destination. The city of Alexandria had certainly grown large since he'd left, and he smiled at that. It was large enough to last years under siege, and it was for that reason that the council had been called here. A meeting was to be had to determine what should be done about the growing evils, and it was for that reason that he was here. Without his strongest possessions, he might not have been strong enough to assault the evils alone, but he hoped to be able to help.

Damien walked through the town, everybody around him obviously on edge. He was one of many warriors roaming the city. He wore simple chain mail, a far cry from his own personal armor. He also now bore two scimitars, one at each hip, and a large falcion on his back. He'd always been a fan of the curved blades, large and small. He made his way towards the large castle, where the meeting was to be held. He pushed his way through the crowd, and managed to just barely get inside the door. The meeting would soon begin, and he wanted to be there when it did.

“Leah, they’re breaking camp!” A soldier called to the woman crouched at the edge of a cliff, she was lost in a haze of thought as she responded to him absent mindedly.

“Yes, I know and we’ve been recalled...or at least I have...” She said and without looking held a scroll up in her hand and allowed him to take it.

He unfurled the scroll and read through it as she stood and tossed her ebony curls aside, her armour was becoming uncomfortably tight in the hot sun but still she refused to remove it. In Leah’s mind; her men just barely respected a woman and she’d give them no reason to batter her down further by unwrapping herself of the heavy chainmail. Her broad sword swung from her belt and her hazel eyes lifted to meet the soldier’s gaze, he was a good head taller than her 5’8” worth in height.

“They say they’re creating a force to fight...a council or something...you’re really going?” He asked as she took the scroll back and walked away from him without responding even as he followed and begged her to answer him.

“Samuel...you should know better than to underestimate me when you speak, you knew that of course I’m going and you should learn some manners!” She snapped and made her way to a creamy brown gelding; her horse. She ran her hands over his mane soothingly and smiled as she slid the scroll into her saddle bag.

“You sure Arrow will manage the trip?” He asked timidly as though trying to make conversation.

She nodded, “He’ll do fine, he’s used to it and besides I’m not exactly very heavy Sam!” She grinned at him and let him give her a boost into her saddle.

“You sure you don’t want company? It’s a long trip...”

She smiled and kicked her horse into a gallop, leaving Samuel to roll his eyes as she faded into the distance.

Three Weeks Later

Leah dismounted from her horse near exhausted by the journey but quite glad for the bustling streets of Alexandria, her eyes roamed over every building and she breathed in the city air as she led Arrow down the dirt street. She wandered down and approached a small building, a stable boy walked up and took the reigns of her horse, she smiled and flicked a gold coin his way before he took Arrow away. She strode up a few sandstone stairs and walked through the front door. She sighed happily as it seemed near deserted but for a few; Leah would ‘ve kept a home in the city but she would hardly ever reside in it for all her travels. The Inn keeper cleared his throat and she looked up and shook herself from her thoughts.

“My apologies Sir, I’d like a room please...just for the night most likely.” She slid some gold coins across the wood at him, her eyes narrowed slightly as she watched him take in her sword, her hair, her armour and finally her breasts; all with disapproval. Luckily enough he eyed her shield and thought it best not to say anything; the insignia spoke for itself and she was a Commander of the 5th regiment of Egypt. Of course a woman was enough to fight for her country against the greatest battles but not enough to lead Pharoah Ptolemy’s army; something that grated on Leah’s nerves.

The Inn keeper nodded and took her down the corridor to a small room with a back door leading out to the bathing square, a small bed made of heather and stuffed with geese feathers and a table with a chair. She smiled and nodded as he shrugged and left her to it, she shut the door and wandered to the bed; setting down her small leather bag. She untied her shield and set it on the bed; grateful the weight had been lifted from her forearm. Next she removed her upper armour and guards before stripping the heavy chainmail from her body and revealing the simple cotton shift beneath it all.

Leah groaned happily and sat on the edge of the bed, her head in her hands. The meeting was tomorrow so she was unsure of exactly how long she would be here; a night in Alexandria seemed sufficient as the wording in the message had told her it was urgent. She laid back on the bed; thinking she was just resting her weary bones for a moment but before she knew it ; she was sound asleep.

It was at time like this, that Damien was grateful for not having his key possessions on him. The armor he'd worn before would certainly have attracted attention, as would his old falchion.

Thankfully his appearance was common enough. He stood a full six feet tall, his shoulders and chest broad and strong, his arms well worked, and even his legs were wiry and firm. Everything about him spoke soldier. His hair was golden brown and hung just to his ears. Most notable though, were his eyes, and if one knew him, the slight change that came to them based on his mood. Back in his old life he'd been able to swoon the fairest of royalty with one look of those light blue orbs into their eyes. On the other hand though, they turned a deeper and darker blue when he was angry, and more than one sword had been turned aside by that gaze.

And so here he stood, not even noticed, despite the fact that over fifteen hundred years ago, he couldn't go half a city street without being recognized. The meeting hall was hustling, bustling, and quite loud, until a man who'd seen at least forty summers rose to stand on a platform.

"Welcome to Alexandria worthy champions!" The man called in greeting. "As you all know, you've been called here for a very special reason! For on this day we decide how to deal with the evils swarming over our lands."

The room came alive with chatter than, each person seeming to have a different idea in mind for how to deal with the coming threats. "We know not yet what form the leader of these evils takes, but we know it is of the purest evils. Our attempts to divine the identify of their leader have failed. It is for that reason that this council has been called. So I put to you all now, how would you all have us fight this threat?"


The room again burst into ever-louder tones as people tried to make themselves heard. From what little could be understood, most were of the mind that an army was to be made, scouts to be sent out, and allegiances to be called upon. Then an elderly man took the place of the leader on the make-shift stage. This was the sort of man that commanded attention, even without having spoken a word.

"I agree with you my friends. All those things must be done, but we must also find a way to attack, not just defend. From what little we know of these evils, they have demons, devils, fiends, and undead in the midst. I am of the opinion, that if they use outsiders against us, that we attempt to use outside powers against them."

Damien's head perked up at that. He wondered what this old man had in mind, and he wasn't disappointed. "Legends tell us that upon each of the four outer planes, earth, fire, water, and air, there rests a temple, inside which is said to be an item of great value. It's believed that the nature and powers contained therein are different for each person who claims them, and that each was meant to be used for a different purpose. It is my suggestion, that while we use a larger force to defend and attack against the armies themselves, we send a smaller force to the planes via magic to acquire weapons better suited for the threat at hand." There was little disapproval from the crowd. Nobody seemed against using weapons better made than the ones they had.

"And who would you have go wise one?" A voice called out from the crowd.

"That is a good question indeed. I believe a smaller party, perhaps ten at the most is wise. Too large a group could draw attention to themselves on the outer planes. Are there any volunteers."

Another loud clatter came from the crowd as everybody tried to make their plee to go heard. It was as the elderly man held up his hand for silence, and as the crowd did just that that Damien spoke up. "Damien Denar would answer the council's call!" He said confidently as he pushed himself from the wall. There was an audible gasp from the crowd as he moved to step forward.

Not a soul among those gathered didn't know of Damien Denar, or rather the legends told of him. It was said that he was the finest warrior ever seen, and the truest beacon of light and hope in this world or the next. He fought and conquered evils long since thought untouchable, and he came back each time. There was, until the day he disappeared without a word. Nobody saw him for one-hundred years, and then the next, and the next. Some thought he'd come back after a thousand years, but still he remained gone. It wasn't until the evil started to come that they truly started to wonder what had become of him. For it was as the evil started to swarm that they realized how much they'd come to rely on this champion that had abandoned them.

It had been one hundred years since the evils had reappeared, evils that hadn't been seen in well over a thousand years. And where had their champion been all those years? Why hadn't he helped them then? It was for that reason that the crowd gasped. For nobody named their child Damien anymore. Yet here this man stood, a man supposedly named Damien Denar. Perhaps he was the namesake of the great champion, or a young fool trying to make a name for himself. Nobody knew, yet their gazes turned to him all the same. None could deny though, that he did indeed fit the description of that fabled hero, even if he was a fair bit younger than when Damien was last seen.

"Will anybody else join me?" Damien asked calmly. The clamor didn't come this time. He cast his gaze here and there, waiting for more to speak up.

Leah awoke at the crack of dawn as usual, she realized she’d fallen asleep without bathing or eating and groaned though found herself grateful for military training giving her a sleeping pattern or else she may have missed the meeting altogether. She shook her head to clear it and made her way to the bathing square, once she was clean and well fed, she found time enough to scrape the layer of dirt from her sword and armour before throwing the whole lot back on again – foregoing the helmet as usual; she hated the damn thing!

She made her way outside, breathing in the fresh air and strolling toward the main square where the council would be holding this meeting. Leah watched, rolling her eyes now and then at some of the bragging she could hear. She shrugged her agreement for the most part; Commander or not; men would not listen to a woman. It was this Damien that broke her from her reverie and she looked up in surprise along with the rest of the men, surely the legend was long dead? She shook her head and decided then and there that eventually he would show his worth and she would either find him wanting or honest.

She watched the few men that broke from their shock to volunteer as the man asked them, she sighed and wondered if she should even bother but knew that she’d been called upon for a reason. She considered it and groaned as she raised her hand to be seen in the crowd of much taller men surrounding her.

“Helena Fernang will volunteer!” The crowd practically parted as she called out and she growled softly at the gasps of ‘woman’.

Leah rolled her eyes again and unbuckled her sword from her belt, holding the sheathed weapon up for the men to see as she arched a brow, “As able as any of you men. If you doubt me; take a closer look at my shield and you’ll see the rank of Commander to Egypt on it.” She lowered her sword and belted it around herself once again before making her way up to the dais, standing beside the supposed mythical Damien where she folded her arms and held her ground.

“I’m pleased you came Helena.” A softer spoken young man already standing on the stage said to her, she turned and her eyes widened as she went to a single knee before him.

“Of course Your Highness, you requested it of me.” She said with her eyes on the ground as his fingers curled under her chin and urged her to stand.

“No need for such formalities Helena, I’m glad to have you fight for Egypt. You give us a face, respect, our own female warrior. You would make my sister proud.” He near spat the last of his words but his anger was obviously directed at his sister and not Leah, she nodded and watched Ptolemy walk away, returning to the council’s side.

The last few volunteers were flushed out and there the ten stood though the council was still whispering concerns about these members; were they truly up to the task? How to test such a thing in the first place? Leah suddenly found herself quite nervous in the face of so many men, most of whom she’d heard of and she stared at the ground trying to smother her anxiety. Helena was well known to Egypt but that was as far as her name went whereas these men were known all over the world!

Leah chanced a few glances at this Damien standing next to her and wondered if it was really him? It was impossible wasn’t it? And yet the legends bespoke of such an appearance though she was quite curious as to where his armour and fabled weaponry was; unless of course he didn’t carry it with him? Though she found that quite strange as she never went anywhere without her sword, just thinking of it made her fingers itch and her hand settled peacefully over the hilt to cease the twitching need to hold it.

Damien showed no innate emotion as a few men responded to his call. He had hoped for more, but wasn't truly surprised that the majority stepped down when called out.

“Helena Fernang will volunteer!”

Those words caught his attention though, and he turned with the rest to see the owner of the hand that lifted above the crowd. He certainly hadn't expected a woman, but his experience was far more than that, and he knew better than to rule her out for that reason.

“As able as any of you men. If you doubt me; take a closer look at my shield and you’ll see the rank of Commander to Egypt on it.”

Those words made Damien smile. Whether or not she was a good warrior, the women was brave and sure of herself, qualities that certainly mattered in the heat of combat. He simply nodded as she moved to stand beside him with the other eight men, making an even party of ten.

As Damien and the whole of the crowd watched, the woman warrior was approached by a small figure, to whom she immediately knelt. Their exchange was between them alone, so he politely turned his head away at it, instead looking over the rest of the other men. Not surprisingly he saw several of them turn away from him as he looked, and he stifled another smile, already knowing their thoughts. Everybody in that room wondered about him, whether they would admit it or not.

Once the party was complete, the question now turned to how to test the group before sending them blindly to another plane. It took the council a fair bit to decide on it, but in the end they decided on a large cave that had very recently become inhabited by a clan of trolls. Certainly if they could overcome the strength and toughness of trolls in their own cave, the group could handle other planes, or so the council claimed.

The next order of business came up immediately. Who should lead them. All of the other eight clamored loudly about their past deeds, and he couldn't help but nod at each. It didn't matter to him whether he led or not, the overall competence of the group mattered more.

It was eventually decided that the largest among them, a hulking brute of a man named Kruxus would lead. He grandly walked down the isle, leading the way, showing plainly the pride of his chosen position. Damien followed at the back of the line, walking side by side with the woman Helena. Though he hadn't spoken a word since calling out the champions from the crowd, Damien's posture left little to question. He stood strong and proud at his full six foot height. Though it had been a long time since he'd fought on the material plane, and he was fighting with weapons and armor that weren't truly his own, he still knew how to fight, probably as well as anybody who lived today.

And so the group headed out, on their way to the troll cave, which stood about two days journey from Alexandria.

Helena rolled her eyes at the hulking brute that got chosen as leader, she knew better than anyone that mere physical strength did not make one a strong commander but she followed silently next to Damien knowing her thoughts would go unheeded. A troll cave would be their test? Leah shrugged in agreement; it would be far too easy for this group as trolls weren’t exactly known for their brains.

They marched to the front of the square and awaited their horses who had already been packed, her eyes widened in confusion as she saw Arrow standing with them and she glanced over her shoulder at Ptolemy who merely smiled and gave a curt nod. She bowed her head gratefully and wandered over to mount her horse, brushing his mane in a calming manner as she set her foot into the stirrup and hauled her body over which got more interest from the other men. She groaned and looked away, they were staring at her because she wasn’t riding side saddle of course but she chose to act as though she hadn’t noticed the attention.

Her focus was on Damien who didn’t seem to care as much as the others did that she was a woman, this caused her slight confusion but she shrugged it off as their appointed leader ordered them out and her horse broke into a trot with a soft kick of her heels. They trekked for a long while in the sun, mostly in silence or whispered words but Helena merely ignored the looks she got just before the whispers broke out.

“Children…” She muttered and rolled her shoulders beneath her armour; it was getting heavy again and closing around her in the sun.

She was grateful when Kruxus told them it was time to set up a camp for the evening and create a perimeter, she arched a brow and smiled for the first time, she was pleased they hadn’t been saddled with a complete moron. She dismounted with a bounce; not an easy feat for someone clad in heavy chainmail but Leah managed. Kruxus ordered some of the lessers to take care of the perimeter and Helena glared at him when he gave her a pointed look as she hauled her pack from Arrow’s back. She turned away from the man and set her bag on the ground.

She stalked away without care, knowing Arrow wouldn’t run off on her as she found some sticks to use for firewood deep inside the forest. Another day’s ride to the troll cave through the mass of jungle they found themselves in, she heard a wolf howl and she shuddered as she made her way back and set the firewood inside the small circle of rocks. She ripped her breastplate and shield off, tossing them aside and pretending not to notice the eyes on her as she did so.

Helena sighed; this was going to be a long trip if they continued to do that! She opened her pack and shrugged at the contents; rations, a change of clothing, some rags and a few knives along with a canteen of water which she pulled out and drank from. She set it aside, decided to leave her chainmail in place and merely watched as the fire was lit by Maximus; another of the men. She unfurled her bedroll but didn’t yet lie down as the men gathered and conversation broke out in bits and pieces, each was introducing themselves and telling of what they’d done prior to the meeting of the council. She was just disinterested in all of it really; she’d been scouting and reporting offending break outs of war all over the place. Keeping small groups of soldiers from joining up and making larger groups, defeating them before they had the chance and while it was not anything legendary; it was necessary.

Damien let his gaze wander here and there as they were led to the front of the square, the place where their horses awaited. He had no horse of his own, but one look at them told him more than enough. They were all of strong stock, and few of them would spook in a fight. His eyes scanned their numbers, and he settled his gaze upon a sturdy black mare. He knelt down to look into her eyes as he lifted his hand to let her sniff him. Soon after, he was astride her, easily guiding her with his legs alone.

The day's journey was an uneventful one, though they entered the jungle, which was known to be far less safe than the open roads. Any number of things could kill a man in the jungle, one wrong step could be fatal.

When the call to dismount, setup camp, and set up a perimeter was given, Damien did so quickly. He dismounted and tied his horse with the rest of the men's horses, though he noticed that Hellena kept hers near her. He was given the order to set up the perimeter, which he did, moving as quietly as he could through the brush, his light blue gave missing nothing.

When the fire was lit, Damien noticed the men's gazes watching Hellena as she stripped off her outer armor and shield. He moved to walk past her, smiling to himself as he spoke softly for only them to hear. "I'm sure you're used to it now Hellena, what with being the commander of an army and all." He turned his gaze to her briefly, but then moved once more to the outer edge of the camp. He was one of two sentries, one watching north and the other south.

Damien heard the men swapping stories, and he let his ears tune in to those conversations as he leaned against a tree. He was still within their sight, but he was alone on his side. Every now and again though, he turned that gaze towards Hellena, studying her. He'd been right about her spirit. She was a warrior by nature, and probably one of the more trustworthy people in the group.

With a sigh and a shrug though, Damien turned his gaze away from the fire and out in to the jungle. His eyes adapted to the dim light, and he scanned back and forth across it, searching both it and his memory for what might pose a threat to them.

Leah smirked as Damien whispered softly to her and moved off again, she shrugged in his direction and gave a look that said she noticed but didn’t care. She also noted that he was similarly disinclined to join the conversation but Kruxus obviously thought it was important that they all get to know each other if they were going to fight together and he turned his gaze on her with a sneer.

“What of you Commander Helena Fernang? Where were you before the council called?” He asked her.

She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at his pointed emphasis of the word ‘Commander’ and the formal use of her full name. Instead she sighed and pushed herself up from the ground, moving over to Arrow and patting her horse down before covering him with a blanket and feeding him an apple. Once that was done she turned back to Kruxus who was still eying her with the same leer. Leah moved back to her bedroll, unbuckled her sword and carefully set it aside, sat down and folded her arms before she chose to answer his question at last.

“I was in Syria actually, my regiment has been ordered to hold the land from the invading armies though of course we weren’t told what we were dealing with. We watched the smaller pieces trying to gather together and we were ordered to stop them from doing so, we were failing with so many pieces coming together. We managed sound reports and I was recalled by His Highness Ptolemy. My regiment is now under orders to retreat and regroup, we had severe losses and regrouping was a requirement. Are you satisfied Kruxus?” She asked, raising a brow in his direction as he seemed momentarily lost for words.

“Extremely Helena.” He sneered and found his wicked tongue again; she took another deep breath as the urge to snap the man in half crept up on her.

She shifted in her seat and looked over at Damien again, “What of you Denar?” She made no emphasis or comment like Kruxus had to her instead she merely admitted curiosity as she posed her question to him.

Damien kept to himself as the rest talked, but he made no move to join them, nor any more to stop them. It wasn't until his question to Hellena came up that he finally tuned in.

“I was in Syria actually, my regiment has been ordered to hold the land from the invading armies though of course we weren’t told what we were dealing with. We watched the smaller pieces trying to gather together and we were ordered to stop them from doing so, we were failing with so many pieces coming together. We managed sound reports and I was recalled by His Highness Ptolemy. My regiment is now under orders to retreat and regroup, we had severe losses and regrouping was a requirement. Are you satisfied Kruxus?”

Damien listened to Hellena's story and bowed his head briefly. He wished as much as she likely did that she'd had something more personally benefiting to say, yet she'd chosen not to lie. She was in fact proud of her acts, as she should have been. Accurate intelligence on the enemy can often be just as important.

“What of you Denar?”

He'd been expecting this question for some time, though he hadn't quite been expecting it from Hellena. He turned his light blue gaze towards her and shrugged. "Sadly Hellena, most of these men wouldn't believe my story, even if I told it to them, so I'm not sure it's worth the time."

"Come now, everybody else has told their story, even Commander Hellena. Certainly somebody with the name Damien Denar must have been up to something."

Damien immediately pushed himself away from the tree and turned towards Kruxus. His gaze was steady, and his movements confidant. Kruxus rose to his feet as Damien neared him, assuming violent intentions. The man was truly a bear of a man, standing a full seven feet tall, and having at least one hundred pounds on him. The rest of the men rose as well, but backed off, giving them room if it came to blows.

It was at that exact moment that Damien's gaze turned it's darker shade. His anger and annoyance showed only in that deeper and darkened gaze.

"If you simply must know, the council didn't call me. I came of my own choice and will." With that said, Damien confidently turned his back to the man. Kruxus's gaze turned sour then, and he reached to grab his shoulder and turn him. Damien snapped back around and gripped his wrist, that steely dark blue gaze on his face once more.

"Before you reach for me again I want you to think about something. If I am lying about who I am, then it matters not. You'd crush me without even trying." Damien pulled the man forward, his grip tightening. "But if I am who I say I am, then I have well over a thousand years worth of battle experience under my belt." With that, he released the man's hand. "Next time consider that before trying to goad somebody into telling a story you have already decided that you won't believe."

Damien then walked back to his sentry point, without saying another word. Nobody made to stop him, and nobody challenged him. Whether or not they'd admit to it, some of them were starting to wonder if he might not be true to his name after all. "I'll wake you all at sunrise." Damien said in closing.

Helena shrugged at Damien as he mentioned his tale wasn’t worth telling, it was his call to make after all but Kruxus didn’t seem to think so and she watched the men scramble away from the pair as movements were made. She simply rolled her eyes and refused to budge, she’d seen more than enough displays of male testosterone in her unit and could care less if these two wanted to fight it out.

She was still grateful that it didn’t come to such things though she watched them both interestedly and hoped she’d never get into a disagreement with either of them. She nodded to Damien appreciatively as he said he’d wake them at first light though she probably wouldn’t need it, the gesture was kind enough. Leah was about to remove her chainmail but Maximus gave her a single leer and she moved her hand away. He glared at her for an instant and stalked off to his own bedroll while she sighed and lay down, staring up at the night sky.

Leah opened her eyes, blinking the world back into focus as she sat up and realized it was just before dawn, she couldn’t recall going to sleep but it didn’t surprise her in the least. She grabbed the canteen of water from her bag and took a long drink to clear her throat before she stood up and packed up her bedroll again. Today was the last trek; they’d be there at dusk, make camp and work out a plan of attack then. She replaced her breastplate and shield, belting her sword to her waist as she wandered over to Arrow and fed him some grain. She stroked his mane and knew he was thirsty; she whispered calming words to him and replaced his saddle to get him ready for the day.

Leah wandered back to find the rest were slowly getting up, others were obviously more for heroics than preparedness and she rolled her eyes knowing she and Arrow would have to wait for the men to get to their feet. Except for Damien she noticed, he might make a good soldier after all, perhaps he is telling the truth? She thought to herself as the others scurried about, she groaned quietly and folded her arms as finally they got themselves together and without waiting she stalked off towards her horse. Helena mounted Arrow while still considering the fact that she was more accustomed to leading than being led, the lion and not the sheep so she had to wonder how many in this group were sheep and how many were lions?

She kicked Arrow into an easy trot and decided to stay far back from the majority, riding at an even pace next to a man named Hamid, an Arabian soldier by all appearances. He seemed to be one of the few to have himself in order but she’d definitely judged him to be a sheep; though he was a sheep that didn’t leer at her so she felt comfortable riding next to him. He offered her his hand and reintroduced himself to her which she returned and she actually managed to smile.

“This is Sandstorm.” He patted his cream coloured bay mare and smiled at Leah.

“Arrow.” She nodded to her own gelding and breathed deeply as the group came to a stream and Kruxus called for a halt to rest and water the horses.

She slid from Arrow and took in Hamid’s appearance properly, he was a little taller than her and more rotund than the majority but he carried a curved blade and she’d no doubt in her mind that the man knew how to use it. She followed him and Sandstorm, leading Arrow by the reigns as they wandered to the stream and left the horses to graze and rest for awhile. She sat on a rock next to Hamid who offered with a kind gesture as they both sipped from their canteens sparingly while Kruxus marked the location of the fresh water stream on a map.

“So Helena, how did you come to be a Commander? I was under the impression that Ptolemy did not favour women for military roles, certainly it isn’t done in Arabia.” Hamid asked her politely.

“Call me Leah please, only irksome fools call me Helena.” She smiled sweetly and he nodded in return, “As for how I came to be a Commander, the queen decided she would like female protectors and I was a mere girl, daughter to one of the Pharaoh’s maids. The queen wanted the ladies to be trained up, we rode under her banner and eventually Ptolemy took a liking to me, he wanted to see what I could do…” She shrugged, there was a lot more to it obviously but Helena didn’t feel like sharing too much because far too many were paying attention to her story.

Damien didn't sleep that much, though not any less than normaly. He might not have had some of his stronger possessions, but he still had some of them. One of the things he still carried was his Ring of Sustenance. It ensured that he didn't need to eat or drink much, and only required a couple hours of sleep each night.

He woke from his brief sleep and started waking up the rest of the group, except for Hellena who was already awake. It took the group much longer than he preferred to be ready to go, but he was grateful when they were finally ready to depart.

The day started out normally enough, but the farther into the jungle, the hotter it became. IT didn't make any sense. Even the water was hotter than normal, what little of it they could find. Many of the rivers and streams were dried up, and even the trees were starting to show signs of the continued heat.

Thankfully, Kruxus signaled them to stop. Most everybody was breathing heavily, their armor starting to wear on them. "Everybody make camp. The cave isn't far from here, and I think it's best that we save the horses and proceed on foot."

For as slow as everybody was at getting started that morning, they dismounted and were ready to proceed fairly quickly. Kruxus looked over the group and started calling out orders. "I'll take point, Denar scout to the west, Reese scout to the east, Hellena you're rear guards. Something isn't right about this jungle isn't right, but we're not turning back. Move out" And with that, the group started forward, making for the troll cave that they knew was nearby.

Helena nodded as Kruxus gave the order and she tied Arrow to a small tree with a lengthy lead before feeding and petting him one last time. She slung her leather satchel over her shoulder and out of the way as she dropped to the rear of the group and let them go ahead. The heat was stifling and her armour was heavier with every step but the occasional groan from one of the men up ahead let her know that she wasn’t the only one suffering.

Leah was glad when they made it to the cave and Kruxus sent two men out to scout it while the rest of them waited. Most of them were drinking heavily and peeling off their armour for a while though Helena drank sparingly and stood waiting for the scouting report. The scout; Abraham and Hamid returned and stated a head count of 15 adult trolls and a single child. Kruxus took a stick and had Abraham draw up a rough picture in the dirt. Helena and the others stepped up and knelt around it as Kruxus began to state their positions and the proposed plan of attack.

“Alright, we split into teams. Two teams for the main entrance and one for the rear. Team A will be the lead team for the main attack while team B covers them. Spears and arrows team B. Team C enters and attacks while the first team has them distracted. I’ll lead team A with Maximus and Reese.” Kruxus stated and Helena almost snorted, she could just about picture how he was about to select teams.

“Abraham you’ll lead team B with…Joseph and Hamid.” Abraham nodded and finally Kruxus turned to Damien, “Well Denar, think you can lead the rear attack? Helena, Tobias and Calhoun are all yours. We’ll soon see what you’ve got!” Kruxus smirked at him for a moment before he turned to everyone, “Any questions?”

“Actually I have one.” Helena said as she stood up slowly, everyone else following her movements and standing up, “What about the adolescent troll?”

“What about it?” Kruxus spat his words at her.

“I’ll assume we’re not going to kill the infant?” Helena’s eyes sparked though her words were coolly spoken.

Kruxus’ eyes became steely along with his expression, “Assume we are Helena, it’s a troll! This is why women can’t be soldiers; you’re far too soft for it!”

Helena stepped closer to him and the nervous laughter surrounding them died, “No, women just won’t murder a helpless infant in cold blood no matter what species it is Kruxus.”

His face split into a cruel smile, “Do you propose to care for this helpless infant Helena?”

She became indignant and cold, “No, we leave the parents alive Kruxus.”

He appeared to consider it though he was clearly mocking her as he did so before he finally took half a step to be nose to nose with her, “Very well Helena, you’re know you're so pretty when you’re angry.” He smirked and backed off to address the group, leaving Leah to snarl at him, “Leave the infant and parents alive.”

“How will we know which ones are the parents?” Tobias piped up, one of the not so bright soldiers in their little band.

Kruxus rolled his eyes, “They’ll be the ones protecting the child you numb skull! God help me, anything else?!” He barked at the group, clearly losing his patience.

Damien watched the scene between Hellena and Kruxus with some mild tension. Admittedly he was curious to see who would come out on top between the two, now was far from the time for dominance disputes.

Thankfully however, it didn't progress that far, and a As Kruxus spoke to his team, he turned to his. His face was calm as he looked at the other three. He gave them each a brief look over and then nodded.

"Hellena you'll be with me, Tobias and Calhoun, I want you two to have a sword in one hand and a torch in the other. Your primary job is to set fire to the ones struck down so that they don't rise again."

Damien turned his steady blue gaze to Hellena and just nodded to her, saying simply. "You watch my back, and I'll watch yours Hellena. I won't pretend to know more about your skills than you do, so bear what you will into that cave."

With that said, Damien turned to Kruxus and nodded that he was ready. For many it would sound crazy, marching into a troll cave outnumbered as they were, but for their previous disputes and doubts, every man, and woman, in that group looked ready. "At your ready Kruxus."

As Kruxus made ready to charge, Damien loosed his scimitars from their sheathes. As he cast his blue gaze down upon them, he wished once more that they were his true weapons, but knew that wouldn't happen. With a shake of his head, he grasped the hilts firmly, let his gaze darken in preparation for battle, and waited for Kruxus to go.

To Damien's own surprise, Kruxus managed to hold himself with some dignity as he crept into the cave. It was the middle of the day, so the trolls would likely be sleeping, but he wasn't taking any chances. He waited longer than many would have, but it was at the first clash of steel, and the first roar from a troll that he started to move, signaling his team to move with him.

Damien rushed into the cave, thankful for the torches that followed him. The cave branched off, but they all knew that it led to a central chamber, and a single branch off from that chamber later. In his mind, Damien knew that that central chamber is where the real fight would be, and the final branch was where the infant and parents would be.

Damien heard the sounds of combat coming from straight ahead, so he rushed down the branch, knowing Hellena was right there with him, as were the other two. They reached the central chamber without incident, but the moment they came through, they saw the other group. It was almost impossible to tell what was fully going on, but Damien knew that the three men were fighting side-by-side in the entrance, keeping every troll in front of them.

Damien surged forward, knowing again that the others were with him. In a split second decision, he sheathed his scimitars and brought his falchion to bear. The first troll had no idea what hit him as he caught it from behind. It's roar of pain caught the attention of the others.. A second fell before it had a chance to defend itself, but then the battle was on. three trolls were down so far, and now the battle would truly begin!

Helena nodded at Damien as he spoke to her and took a knife that was strapped to her arm from beneath her armour before she drew her sword to save precious time later. She followed along close behind Damien and her eyes flickered back and forth as she heard the first sounds of engaging battle ahead. When Damien took off she followed quickly and reminded herself to don her metal armour for leather later as this would be far too difficult in the future for movement purposes.

Helena watched as Damien took down the first troll and the other two quickly set it alight, when Damien moved forward she realized he’d caught a decent amount of attention from the trolls closest to them and the battle truly began. She held her sword high and spun as she heard a whooshing sound and rolled just in time to miss the club aimed at her head. Leah cursed loudly and plunged her sword into the troll’s leg as she got to her feet.

The scream from the troll was deafening as she tugged her sword free and slashed across the back of his knees to bring him down. She pointed with her sword and Calhoun rushed forward and set the troll alight, she rolled her eyes and found Damien quickly. She slipped between the legs of another troll, her sword cutting him in places that would make a man speechless; the troll was no different as his entrails spilled out and he fell.

She came to Damien’s back and grinned at him for a moment before she threw her knife into the esophagus of another beast. Calhoun and Tobias moved efficiently to set alight the trolls as they dropped to the floor, the ear splitting scream caused Leah to look over as a troll gripped a spear and pulled it free of his chest before slamming it into Maximus’ leg. She gasped and watched Kruxus bring it down as Reese dragged Max to safety – the spear still in his leg.

Helena didn’t find Damien wanting and she didn’t know if it pleased her or not but the man was a puzzle and she still felt she was missing pieces. When the last troll fell; Helena breathed a sigh of relief and watched warily as the parents of the troll infant carried their child safely out of the cave. Offering no attack or threat to the small group of soldiers and she was grateful Kruxus kept his word. Her eyes were drawn back to the screaming Maximus and she stalked over to his side.

“Let me see.” She said firmly as Reese hovered over him with Kruxus who turned to her.

“Think you can take care of it Helena?” Kruxus snorted.

“I’m a woman aren’t I?” She answered indignantly and the pair stepped aside. “I warn Maximus, this will hurt.” She gripped the end of the spear and shoved it all the way through his leg; Kruxus grabbed his arms to cease his movements.

“Guard the entrance, I don’t want any surprises!” Kruxus yelled the order to the others as he pinned Max down.

Helena dropped to her knees, “Reese lift his leg up but keep it straight would you?”

Reese did as she told him and she gripped the head of the spear with one hand while her other held the length of it firmly. She made a swift break of the spear head and Maximus screamed in agony, she pulled the shaft of it free and tossed it aside, his leg was bleeding heavily. She took some rags from her satchel along with her canteen and poured water over the wound to clean it before she tied a tight tourniquet around the injury.

“I’ll have to cauterize it later when we get him back to camp, he’ll need to be carried Kruxus.” Helena told him and he nodded, motioning for Calhoun and Tobias to take him.

The fight with the trolls was short but brutal. Their regenerative capabilities were legendary, and thus required particular brutality when slaying them. Damien had heard the scream, and his eyes had found the source, the wound could indeed require the amputation of the man's leg if it wasn't treated soon.

When it was all said and done, thirteen troll bodies lay on the floor of the cavern, all of them burning. Their combined stench wafted throughout the cavern, and was almost unbearable.

When Kruxus gave the order to guard the door, Damien happily moved to the task. The only unfortunate part, was the heat, which annoyingly enough, seemed to be rising. One glance down the hill to the small stream didn't help at all, for the water was starting to boil. Then the earth began to quake. IT wasn't normal though, and Damien knew it. First it would shake, and then stop, and then shake again. It was almost like...footsteps!

Damien's eyes widened as the creature came into sight. He knew what it was, but that didn't make him feel much better. It was easily larger than any of the trolls, it's massive body moving through the jungle. One touch of it's orange skin set anything burnable aflame."Pyrohydra." Damien said to himself as he watched it approach, a full ten heads swiveling here and there on snake like necks. "Kruxus!" Damien called out loudly into the cave, not taking his eyes off the huge monstrosity. "We have another problem!"

As Damien waited, he studied the hydra, watching it's slow and confidant stride. It didn't fear him, and they both knew it. The other members of the group came running, except for Maximus, and Reese, assumable to guard him. "Eight of us against a fully grown Pyrohydra..." He said softly, almost more musing to himself than to his comrades.

Damien gave one look to Kruxus, then back to the hydra, and started speaking. "Every one if it's heads can breath at once, so we'd best be spread out. Kruxus, Tobias, and Joseph, you three take point, but move after the rest of us so you don't make yourselves a target. Abraham, Hamid and Calhoun, you guys take the left side, Hellena and I will take the right. Remember, the heads grow back if we don't take off all of them quickly, two heads for each one removed. Think carefully before each strike, and fight defensively." Damien took a slow breath and lifted his Falchion. We've had our disagreements, but now is not the time for that. If we move as one, strike as one, and fight as one, we'll win this day and have proven ourselves worthy. Move out!"

With everything said, Damien watched the others as they moved, even Kruxus following his lead. The heads turned and looked at each of them, more of them centering on Kruxus' group. It was now or never. "Attack!"

Helena pulled away from Maximus in surprise as the ground began to shake, she looked around wildly and watched the rocks shuffle slightly, pause and then do it again. She looked up as Damien called to Kruxus and her eyes bulged at the sight that presented itself; she’d never seen such a thing before! She moved forward next to Damien and heard his muttered words, her brow furrowed as she searched her memory for a ‘pyrohydra’ but the only thing that came to mind was the two words separated. If she put them together though she could guess what they were up against and why she felt so unbearably hot!

Helena watched Damien quickly give orders and everyone moved into position without argument, Leah included. She held her sword out, slightly concerned for the amount of heads and how quickly they moved. She saw the smoke curling in its nostrils and knew instantly that it was a fire breather. Helena watched the heads split in different directions to cover each of them though the majority was focused on Kruxus’ team which suited her just fine.

Those three stood perfectly still, only moving to draw its attention as Helena moved up with Damien and prayed he knew what he was talking about as she didn’t fancy fighting this thing and losing. Her knife was lost to the throat of one of the trolls and she pulled a second from her thigh, shrugging and smiling at Damien. She waited for the command and let Damien take the first head; she studied and moved accordingly to slash the second. Her arm singed against its skin and she emitted a soft growl – it was hot!

“You might’ve warned that its skin burns Denar!” She yelled at him and held her sword up to deflect a head as it lunged at her and nodded gratefully at Joseph who sliced it neatly.

Her dagger reached up into another of its heads and held it still as her sword came down and sliced it again. One of them started to grow back and Helena dodged as it made a lazy lunge for her before a battle axe came down on it and Leah found herself at Damien’s back again.

Damien found himself moving this way and that, dodging bites from the three heads that were turned in their direction, as he watched though the group started to handle themselves. The only problem was their pace at cutting off the heads. If they didn't finish this thing quickly, there would be twenty heads to worry about!

“You might’ve warned that its skin burns Denar!”

Damien heard the words but forced them out of his mind. "Hellena, follow me." With that he moved around to his right, trying to get behind the hydra. Even so, a few of the heads were still following their motions, but they mattered little to his plans.

Everything in Damien's mind told him he was crazy, but some distant memory told him it would work. As the rest of the group battle the increasing number of heads, Damien studied the tail and it's movements. Back and forth it moved, swishing here and there and then...stopping. Damien's feet pounded at the ground as he pushed himself forward. Two long strides carried him to the large body of the hydra, and a large bound pushed him forward and up, landing on top of it at full stride. 'Gotta keep moving, gotta keep moving, never stop!'. The words were like a mantra in Damien's head as he took each step, knowing at any moment that a wrong step could have him rolling off of the hydra, and possibly get stepped on.

Four of the hydra heads turned towards him now, and it didn't take a sage to know what was coming as smoke started to release from their mouths. Thankfully, the hydra;s body was so large, that it actually gave him a small bit of maneuvering room. He took a large step to the left, drawing the breath of two of the heads that way, he darted away from them, back to the right, drawing the third. One final step brought him right to the front of the large body. It was then that Damien brought his mighty Falchion to bear, bringing it around in a mighty cleave that swept off all four offending heads, even catching the last one before it could breath on him. That mighty swing didn't stop there though, and he reversed his grip on the hilt as he brought it back around, plunging it straight down. As Damien watched, the blade buried itself to the hilt within the massive creature, and all of the heads lifted in a wail of pain.

"Strike them now!"

Damien called as he forced his legs to bunch beneath him and leap. He leapt forward, doing a half turn in the air, drawing his scimitars as he did. He darted forward with the rest, all of them taking that perfect moment to sever any heads that were close enough. As the last head fell to the ground, the beast shook and quaked, and finally fell to the ground. Damien let loose a sigh of relief as he let the adrenaline rush fall. With that, he turned to each of the other seven, letting his eyes scan over them. He tried to ignore the looks they were giving him as he looked them over. Several of them had burn or scorched, either from the skin of the creature, or it's fire breath, but they were minor in comparison to what could have been.

Without saying a word, Damien moved to approach the creature. Once more, did he have to leap atop it, this time to loose the falchion from where it was deeply embedded within the creatures body. Damien climbed down, knowing that it was only a matter of time before somebody said something, but he was in no hurry to get to that point.

When it was all said and done, the majority was trying to catch their breath while staring at Damien in awe; Helena was shocked herself but not nearly as open about it as some. Tobias’ mouth was agape and that made Leah chuckle as she moved from behind the dead and slowly cooling carcass of the pyrohydra. She wandered over to Tobias and placed her hand under his chin, shutting his mouth while rolling her eyes. She pulled her dagger free of the dead beast and sheathed it again, it was still hot but she was more concerned with the blackened skin of her forearm in that moment.

“Damn…” She muttered and went to her satchel; she took her canteen and poured water over the burn. She took another rag and dabbed at the wound, leaving the cool air to touch it as she replaced the items in her bag.

“What the hell Damien?” Kruxus finally found his voice; he was still breathing heavily but managed to muster some anger, “Care to explain how the hell you knew about that thing?!”

The others were nodding and Helena sheathed her sword, piping up before Damien could answer, “Isn’t it obvious Kruxus?” She grinned at him as he looked at her in shock as though he hadn’t expected her to speak at all. “He is who he says he is, simplest explanation and it’s usually the correct one. You saw what he did; you’re just too macho to admit he was good at it.”

Kruxus’ mouth was very nearly hanging open but he snapped out of it and turned to Damien again, “Right, fine…you were good but I think you owe us something of an explanation Denar whether or not you are who you say you are…”

Helena gathered her things together and shook her head at Calhoun and Tobias, “Go help Reese with Maximus you idiots! We need to get back to the camp so I can cauterize his wound as soon as possible!”

The two finally snapped out of it and went inside the cave, moments later a very pale Maximus was leaning on the two of them as they held him under his arms. Reese was walking behind them and taking in the scene of the dead hydra and the others gaping at Damien, he scratched his head and shrugged.

Helena rolled her eyes, “Men…” She muttered and turned to Damien, wondering if he was going to answer Kruxus or not.

Damien took several slow and deep breaths, trying to calm his body down from the high that had come with the battle. He didn't even truly see all the gazes that were looking at him as he watched Hellena tending to the burn on her forearm.

“What the hell Damien? Care to explain how the hell you knew about that thing?!”

Damien turned his gaze, now it's normal sky blue towards the larger man and opened his mouth to respond, but Hellena spoke first. “Isn’t it obvious Kruxus? He is who he says he is, simplest explanation and it’s usually the correct one. You saw what he did; you’re just too macho to admit he was good at it.”

That gaze turned appreciatively towards Hellena now, silently thanking her for the time to think about how best to respond.

“Right, fine…you were good but I think you owe us something of an explanation Denar whether or not you are who you say you are…”

Damien was again thankful for Hellena's interference. He moved as well, moving instead to grab the packs of Maximus, Calhoun, and Tobias. Damien hung back as they all walked back to camp, first of all, deciding whether or not to respond to Kruxus, and then how to respond, and what to tell them.

It wasn't until later that night, when they were all around the campfire once more that he made his decision. The jungle was much cooler now, confirming their thoughts that the hydra had been causing the heat. With a shrug to nobody in general, he walked to the fire and settled down with the others. He let loose a long sigh just before he started to speak.

"I suppose the only proper way to do this, is to start from the beginning." Damien's gaze lifted, almost glowing a pure violet in the light of the fire. "You all know the stories of Damien Denar...Hell, everybody in the goddamn world knows the stories. What they don't know, is where I went and why."

Damien was again silent for a minute or two while he considered his thoughts. "It wasn't as easy a life as everybody thought, hunting down evil wherever it made itself home, but I became so good at it, that the gods themselves interfered, Not directly of course, but they sent things after me, things no good person should have to face. I fought demons, devils, fiends, dragons, and hydras to be sure, but I wasn't expecting to fight angels, archons, guardinals, and celestials." Damien shook his head sadly. "I knew then that the gods themselves were trying to rid me from the world as well. "Damien's gaze softened as he considered something just before voicing it.

"Then came the offer, the kind of offer that every mortal dreams of. The gods themselves stole me away from the world and offered me anything. A single wish to be granted by them personally. It took me a long time to think about that offer, a whole month in fact. When I was ready, they took me up there again, and I wished for...peace, one year of peace for every innocent life that was lost in the years they were trying to kill me. None of us knew how many it was, so they brought forth the god of death. By his count, which nobody doubted, the total number was one thousand three hundred sixty-seven. They talked amongst themselves, and later came back with a deal. They would accept my wish, with a condition. If evil wouldn't be allowed to wage war, than neither would good. They asked me to remain in the heavens for the duration of the wish and another hundred years after it, to give the world time to balance itself once more."

Damien gave a snort of indignity before he spoke again. "I didn't know what to think of their condition. It didn't make any sense to me then, so I accepted it. They even let me watch the world from the heavens, watching as time moved on. I saw everything I'd hoped for. I watched the world flourish, crops grow, treaties happen, allegiances formed. It was everything I could have imagined until the last one-hundred years. From the heavens I could see the evils starting to take shape. I Watched them and waited, waiting for a force of good to move against it...but it didn't happen. It was then that I realized my mistake." He let his head sag into his hands, breathing a deep and heavy sigh.

"I had done so much for the world, that when they felt they needed me again, nobody rose to take my place. Nobody stood out among them to fight these evils. They all kept saying that I would come back. Which leads us to here. When the time had finally expired, I woke to find myself in any icy cavern far to the north. The gods had left my body there, helpless to defend against the people who'd stolen my weapons and armor. Even without them though, I knew what I had to do. I had to help make this right again. So I came to Alexandria, the one place I knew that would stand against the evils. And the rest, as they say, is history."

There was nothing left for Damien to do just then, but sit back and wait, wait for people to call him a liar, or ask questions he expected were coming.

Helena watched as Damien moved forward and started to tell his tale; she rummaged through her bag and took a small iron poker from it which she put in the fire. Maximus lay nearby passed out from the combination of blood loss and pain. Helena checked on him one last time before she moved back to listen to Damien. When he’d finished his tale there was a dead silence, Reese was the first to speak.

“You expect us to believe that?” Reese snorted.

“Shut up Reese.” To everyone’s surprise the quiet utterance had come from Hamid.

“He’s completely insane Hamid!” Reese responded in disbelief.

“According to you and your limited brain power Reese!” Hamid said indignantly, “Say something constructive or hold your tongue. He more than proved himself with the Hydra; I’ve no reason not to believe him.” Hamid nodded to Damien respectfully.

Helena remained silent having said her piece back the cave. The men continued to converse while Leah took the poker from the fire and moved over to Maximus.

“Calhoun, Tobias! Come hold Max down for me!” The pair scurried over with wide eyes focused on the glowing poker she was brandishing.

Helena took a deep breath and nodded to them, Tobias pinned Max’s shoulders while Calhoun held the man’s legs. Leah slapped Maximus awake and slid the bloodied bandage from his calf. Before Maximus could register what was happened; Leah plunged the poker into his wound. Maximus let out an ear splitting scream and Tobias had a hell of a fight holding him down for a moment before he finally passed out. Helena tossed the poker aside and grabbed her canteen; she poured water onto the seared wound. Leah wrapped it with a fresh rag and put all the items away.

“Thanks Cal, Toby.” She nodded and gave a quick smile, wiping her brow.

The three moved back to the fire just in time to hear Kruxus speak up, “I don’t get it Denar, won’t the Gods just do the same to you all over again? Why not just kill you? They’re Gods right?”

Damien waited in silence as he judged the reactions of the people around them. It was more of a stunned silence than anything, but Reese spoke up first. “You expect us to believe that?”

“Shut up Reese.” Everybody stared in shocked silence at Hamid. Nobody had expected that, let alone from somebody as quiet and stoic as Hamid.

Damien watched impassively as the men argued about him. In truth it mattered little as to whether or not they believed him. It only mattered that they help him set the world right again.

“Calhoun, Tobias! Come hold Max down for me!”

Everybody's gaze turned to Leah as they all realized what she was about to do. All but the three attending to Maximus had to turn their gazes away when she stabbed the poker into the wound. The scream of pain however, would likely stay with most of them for some time.

“I don’t get it Denar, won’t the Gods just do the same to you all over again? Why not just kill you? They’re Gods right?”

Another silence followed Kruxus' words. Damien had of course considered it, but he had little choice on the matter. "There is always that chance Kruxus, but I can't just sit back and watch the world fight this battle. They're in this situation because of me, and I'm going to do my best to help out. I just hope that when it's all said and done, others are willing to rise up and take my place this time."

Damien's gaze traveled over each of the members of the group, a small smile on his face as he finally pushed himself to his feet. He once more returned to his place on the perimeter, this time facing them, almost inviting any of them to freely question him.

Helena and the others weren’t quite sure what to make of it all, some still doubted and outright disbelieving Damien but he had swayed several of them; she and Hamid included. She watched as he walked over to stand guard again, a puzzled expression crossed her face as something came to mind and she got up from her spot. She slowly walked over, thinking over her words before she got to him and folded her arms.

“So tell me something, what makes you different? You don’t seem to need as much sleep or food as the rest of us and I’ve barely seen you drink any water in the unbearable heat the Hydra caused…does that make you a mortal man or something else oh legendary one?” She grinned at him in a teasing manner.

Her raven tresses had frizzed up in the sweltering heat earlier and she was slightly red in the face, the small blackened patch of her forearm was weeping a little. It still caused her pain but she merely ignored it now. Hamid followed her over and handed her some fresh water as her canteen had been emptied using the last of it on Maximus. She nodded, smiling gratefully as she took it and sipped from it. They’d be heading back to Alexandria in the morning though Kruxus was concerned for Max’s travel while he was injured.

Joseph had volunteered to care for the horses while Abraham hunted for their supper in the wild jungle, Hamid returned to the fire as Abraham hauled a dead wild pig from the bowels of the woods. Hamid helped him to prepare it and then they put it on a spit to roast over the fire. Kruxus was running around checking things while Calhoun and Tobias guarded the perimeter on the other side of the camp.

Arrow was not pleased at being handled by another and Hamid shot Helena a grin as he saw the trouble her horse was giving Joseph. She returned the smile and rolled her eyes, taking pity on Joseph as she called to him.

“Arrow won’t take food from your hand Joseph, you have to place it on the ground and pat his mane twice to let him know you have my permission!” She winked at Hamid and returned her attention to Damien as Joseph grumbled and did as she said; surprised that Arrow ate the grain after that.

Damien let his gaze roam out into the dark woods, letting his mind wander to whatever thoughts it may. He heard Hellena approach though, and he turned that light blue gaze towards her. “So tell me something, what makes you different? You don’t seem to need as much sleep or food as the rest of us and I’ve barely seen you drink any water in the unbearable heat the Hydra caused…does that make you a mortal man or something else oh legendary one?”

Even Damien couldn't help but chuckle at her words. They all knew she was teasing with her last words, but the question itself was understandable. "That is an easy one as a matter of fact. I am no less mortal than any of you, I just have a gift from an old friend." He lifted his hand to indicate the golden and rune-etched ring upon his left hand.

"It's called a ring of sustenance. After a full days worth of wearing the ring, I no longer needed to eat or drink, the ring providing me just as it's name indicates, sustenance. Helpfully enough, I also only require two hours of sleep each night, far less than most people."

As he was talking, Damien came to realize that he didn't know as much about Hellena as the rest. "So what about you Hellena? Even with the council calling like they did, what made you leave your command and men, and head to Alexandria." There was a curiousness in his light blue gaze.

She nodded at his rather curious explanation of the magical ring, she wondered who gave it to him but didn’t want to intrude on something so obviously secretive. She did look around briefly as he spoke, the jungle was so very quiet and it made her somewhat uneasy though she supposed it was something residual of a soldier; she was much more comfortable when swords were clashing.

"So what about you Helena? Even with the council calling like they did, what made you leave your command and men, and head to Alexandria?"

She grinned and chuckled softly, knowing the question had been coming along with many others that she’d answered over the years.

“Curiosity I suppose, I never thought I’d be called on in the first place. Then I heard the first Commander hadn’t been invited at all, I had to know why, why me and no one else. Ptolemy answered it for me when he said he was proud to have me fight for Egypt, though I still suspect I’m a part of some plot of his to anger his sister. I just don’t know what yet.” She shrugged, “Being a pawn is part of being a soldier I guess, though I much prefer knight status in the game.” She smiled cheekily.

“Though the first Commander is supposed to lead the army to fight a direct battle on a large scale with the other countries, we don’t get along too well.” She said darkly, “Don’t get me wrong, I am in fact accustomed to the glares, insults and comments that come with being a female soldier but some get under my skin a little more than others. It’s more than apparent that most men consider themselves to be my better under any circumstances.” She snorted, smiling as her voice edged with sarcasm and she shot Kruxus a quick glance, “But I’d not have gained the respect I deserve from my men had I not earned it and believe me the rumours about that one are not true.” She rolled her eyes; she’d had to deal with the conspiratorial whispers of her sleeping with her second in command – Samuel, for far longer than she cared to say.

She shrugged, “In any case, that’s the lot of the fifth Commander of Egypt. A lot of rumours and mumbo jumbo really which is why you’ll rarely find me spilling my guts to this lot.” She tilted her head toward those gathered around the fire and folded her arms.

Damien couldn't help but chuckle at Hellana's words, especially about being a pawn. His blue gaze found hers as she smiled and he spoke. "We're all pawns in the end aren't we? Gods playing games with all of us?" Even as he spoke though, Damien smiled.

“Though the first Commander is supposed to lead the army to fight a direct battle on a large scale with the other countries, we don’t get along too well.” She said darkly, “Don’t get me wrong, I am in fact accustomed to the glares, insults and comments that come with being a female soldier but some get under my skin a little more than others. It’s more than apparent that most men consider themselves to be my better under any circumstances.” She snorted, smiling as her voice edged with sarcasm and she shot Kruxus a quick glance, “But I’d not have gained the respect I deserve from my men had I not earned it and believe me the rumours about that one are not true.”

"Sadly your words are true. Many a man, warrior or otherwise look down upon the women who would seek to be their equals. Many, that one included..." Damien spoke seriously, but smiled and nodded towards Kruxus as well. "would do well to learn that judging people too soon is a grave mistake. In my experience, I have often seen the unappreciated stand tall when the world needs them most."

“In any case, that’s the lot of the fifth Commander of Egypt. A lot of rumours and mumbo jumbo really which is why you’ll rarely find me spilling my guts to this lot.”

Damien's gaze softened as he turned to look at the men by the fire. "Come now, you judge them harshly, despite having fought side-by-side with them twice. Friends and potential allies are a terrible thing to waste, even if they are rather...rough around the edges." Damien spoke his last words with another chuckle, casting his gaze once more at Kruxus and the rest.

As he looked though, he felt he saw more to Kruxus than many gave him credit for. He was large and brutish yes, but he had a tactical mind, and the world needed men like that nowadays. Damien made a mental note of that as he turned towards the forest once more.