Chapter 6: Chapter 6 (Rewrite)
===Godrick, age fifteen===
The young warrior stopped at the bottom of the hill Agravain and Galahad watched him from.
He took in the castle he was to take, and the town built around it. He would have to keep the damage to a minimum while also killing the four headhunters inside.
Headhunters were some of the Warlord's most vicious fighters, said to be on the level of the lower ranks within the Round Table.
They were the Warlords "Right Hand" you could call them, right after her four Generals. Each General had a retainer, hence the four headhunters.
Now, he would have to fight each one, hopefully not all at once.
"Well. Better get to it." Godrick said to himself as he rolled his shoulders and popped his neck.
"Here we go." Agravain said to Galahad atop the hill in anticipation.
Walking forward, Godrick started to pick up speed, going into a light jog before he was sprinting full speed at the gate.
Bells started ringing in the town encased behind the walls, alerting the people of Aberrheidol Castle that they were under attack.
"Why are they ringing that bloody bell? It's only one knight." A guard said atop the castle wall before his section of the wall was completely obliterated.
Godrick hit the massive iron portcullis with so much force, it forced it back into the equally massive wooden doors that exploded inwards.
The mechanics holding the portcullis all were ripped apart, causing the heavy counterweights to be thrown upwards through the top part of the wall.
Walking through the dust that had appeared, Godrick readied his halberd as he appeared from the dust like a reaper, intent on slaughtering anyone who fought against him.
Men shouted as they ushered their families away, Women screamed as they held their children to themselves as they ran.
Soldiers gathered around the gate entrance, and readied themselves to fight against this lone Knight.
"Do you know that you harbor the Headhunters of the Warlord here?" Godrick asked, his loud voice ringing through the street.
A few of the soldiers looked about them, clearly not knowing that fact.
"Those who wish to lay down your arms and face the King's mercy may do so now. Go back to your families. Those Who wish to fight…" Godrick tightened his grip on his halberd, almost snapping the handle in anticipation.
A few soldiers threw their weapons down on the ground and ran from the group, returning to their families.
"Cowards!" A man from the back shouted as he pushed through the ranks of men.
He finally came forward, and Godrick saw the man was a little taller than he was.
He was in black full plate armor, and held a halberd as well.
"Name yourself!" He demanded.
Godrick said nothing as he stared at the man.
"I demand you name yourself! Who are you to attack my city!?" He screamed.
"I'm not here to exchange words. Surrender, or face my ax!" Godrick retorted.
"You little bastard. You do not get to come here and make demands." The man said, putting his helmet on and motioning for his knights to back up.
The man suddenly charged, and Godrick planted his feet as the black knight tried to impale him with the spike atop his halberd, but the young warrior was able to block the blow and shove the enemy back with the haft of his weapon.
The enemy knight tried to make a quick jab at Godrick, but to no avail as he was ready for it. He was able to knock the jab aside and bring a devastating blow down on his enemy's head with the hammer back of his halberd, dazing the knight.
This gave Godrick the chance to flip his halberd and stab him with the sharp butt end under the man's breastplate.
Godrick then pulled his enemy near him and bent over to throw the armored man backward over his shoulder onto the debris-covered stone behind him.
As the knight in heavy armor crashed to the ground, it gave Godrick a split second of an opening, and he took it. Bringing his ax blade down on his foe, he cut clean through the man's neck and ended the battle quickly.
He then looked back up, and saw all the other men looking at him before they all readied themselves.
He had felt good about the little duel that had just taken place, feeling like he was able to control himself.
"Get him!" One of the soldiers screamed.
Suddenly a mass of metal-covered men charged at Godrick, who met the first ranks by swinging his halberd at them, cutting through them like they were wheat.
Back and forth he cut through the men, soaking the street in blood as he made his way towards the main Castle.
Soon the ranks broke, and men ran in every direction, though they wouldn't escape as Godrick lunged forward and slaughtered each one.
"SON OF A BITCH!" A man screamed, having lost both his legs.
Godrick stomped down on the man's head before backhanding another, completely obliterating his head.
'Is this what the other Knights of the Round Table feel when they fight normal rank and file soldiers?' Godrick thought to himself as he headbutted a man, crushing his skull inwards.
He brought his left arm up and caught a broadsword on his forearm, feeling the blade cut through his armor and into his skin.
He used the spike on the top of his halberd to then impale the man throwing him to the right, into other oncoming soldiers.
He could feel himself slowly losing control, wanting to let loose and destroy the city itself.
It all came to a head as he saw a line of soldiers running away, making him grin. He took his halberd, and threw it It at them, making it spin.
His weapon cut through them all before slamming into a building where he suddenly heard screams come from.
The screams snapped him from his berserker-like state, forcing him to look at what he had done.
The building started to collapse, causing the screams to become more frantic.
He reacted, and ran at the building, smashing through the front door before the building completely collapsed.
Godrick, who had found a mother and daughter in the house, held up one of the support beams as the building collapsed in on itself before throwing it up and out onto the street.
Seeing the two fine but shaken, he walked over to his halberd and picked it up before walking away.
The mother and daughter quickly ran away, though the little girl looked back at the Knight walking away, his long mane of golden hair flowing from the back of his helmet.
There were no more soldiers that held their weapons in the streets of the city as Godrick made his way towards the main keep, but he did see some ushering women and children out of his way, presumably their families.
Returning to the main roadway that led to the keep, Godrick finally saw his four targets.
Two men and two women. All exotic in their own way, telling that the Warlord had been busy in her conquests. Godrick had known that the Warlord had been to many other places in the world, and in his studies with his mother, she had educated him in the different regions of the world.
The first two looked to be from somewhere in the east regions of the world. The one to the right was dressed in what the young man thought was traditional armor, her whole body covered in a black suit save for the top part of her face, and the very ends of her fingers.
Four metal plates were woven together to protect her chest while another four were woven for her abdomen and groin region.
Her helmet left her face open while fanning out around the rest of her head and neck.
A thick cloth was then wrapped around her waist to keep everything tight, and act as a holder for her long blade, which was a sword with one edge that was slightly curved.
To her right stood a man taller than Godrick himself. He had the same armor style of the woman to his right, thought this time he wore large metal shoulder pads, and nothing else, leaving his arms bare, save for his gauntlets.
His hair was shaved except for the top part of his head, bringing the remaining hair into a high ponytail. His face was covered in a mask that had metal tusks coming from a mouth, grinning full of vicious fangs.
The man held a large wooden club with metal spikes covering it.
To the smaller woman's right stood another man. His chest was completely bare except for a wolf's skin that covered his left shoulder and left bicep.
A large strap ran from his left shoulder to under his right pectoral muscle, and finally reached his waist.
He wore a helmet that had two large horns on it, coming down to frame his face which top half was hidden behind the face of a skull. His long beard was braided down his chest before ending in a metal ring that slowly swayed in the wind.
He held a large one bladed ax that looked like it could cut through trees, let alone humans.
To his right stood the final member of the headhunters. A woman who was covered in furs that came down to her knees, and held a long spear and shield in her right and left hands respectively. The parts of her skin that were showing were covered in runic like tattoos, which Godrick didn't understand.
Something that caught his eye however, were these symbols that seemed to be burned onto the weapons themselves.
"So, we have been found out. Very curious." The woman in fancy armor said as she stepped forward.
"Who are you? And why are you here?" She asked.
"Enough talk. I want to fight." Godrick said, hefting his halberd off his shoulder and letting the heavy blade bury itself into the cobblestone below him.
"As you wish then." She said, drawing her blade.
As his four enemies readied themselves, he began to march forward. The larger man lunged forward first as he brought his massive club down on Godrick. Sidestepping the blow, the young man shoved the man hard enough to make him fall to the ground.
The woman with the spear then tried sweeping Godricks feet from underneath him, but her spear stopped dead in its tracks as it clashed against his left foot as he stood firm.
The barbarian man then came from the right and tried to pick Godrick up over his shoulder leaving him vulnerable to attack, but Godrick lowered his center of gravity and met the man head on, bringing him to a complete stop.
He was able to grapple the man with one arm, forcefully throwing him to the ground before the young warrior drove his fist into his chest.
The barbarian hit the ground with such force he cracked the ground before Godrick raised his halberd and drove the spike down towards the man's chest.
Before the spike hit home however, the man was able to deflect the blow so that it buried itself in his left bicep and not his chest.
Howling in pain, the man rolled away as Godrick pulled the spike from him. He then felt a searing pain in his side and saw the small woman had driven her blade between the gaps in his armor.
She quickly backed up as her companion came from behind Godrick and slammed his giant club into his back.
Falling to the ground, Godrick lost hold of his halberd before he quickly got back up to one knee.
Shock ran through his body as saw the smaller woman's blade approaching his left eye hole in his helmet before he reached up with his left hand and caught the blade.
The blade however, stabbed through his hand, exiting the back as it continued towards his eye. It stopped as the guard met Godricks hand a few inches from his eye.
As shock ran through Godricks system, he wrapped his fingers around the hand that was still holding the hilt of the sword, trapping the woman.
As this was happening, he failed to see the large man with his massive club appear to his right, and bring his massive weapon down on him.
The club struck Godricks head, making his vision go black for a moment before it returned, and blood started to fill the right side of his helmet. He then reached up and caught the second blow with his gauntleted hand, stopping it dead.
'Control!' Godrick thought as he could feel himself beginning to lose himself to the rage.
He could see the shock in the massive man's eyes as they met through their helmets, which Godrick found curious.
This moment cost him however as he felt something peirce his chest before warmth filled his breastplate.
Looking down, he saw the spear sticking out of his chest, and the barbarian woman who threw it standing a little ways away.
"GRRRRR" He growled as he struggled to breath.
He could feel that his sternum was broken, and that his ribs were beginning to fall apart.
'Don't do it!' He screamed to himself as he felt the crack of a whip on his back.
The final straw came when the barbarian man from behind Godrick, who raised his great ax.
Bringing it down, he tried to bury it in the young warrior's left shoulder. The first, second, and third strikes failed as Godrick was forced to inactivity due to the sword still trying to stab his left eye, spear embedded in his chest, and club trying to crush his skull.
The fourth strike, however, finally broke through his shoulder pauldron and dug deep into Godricks left shoulder.
"DAMN IT!" Godrick roared as he finally broke, drawing on all his strength.
He shifted the club and brought it down on the spear still in his chest. To everyone's surprise, the club and the spear both ended up shattering, though leaving a segment of the spear still in his chest.
He shifted to his right, allowing him to use the force of the blade stabbing through his left hand to drive the blade into the ax wielding barbarian's neck, killing him.
The smaller woman tried to tug her still gripped hand to no avail, as Godrick then ripped the spear from the hands of the barbarian woman that had impaled him.
Then, using the broken shaft, thrust it in her throat, standing to his full height to give it more force. Letting go of the shaft, he saw the disbelief in her eyes as she fell.
Godrick then brought his armored elbow back into the face of the large man, snapping his head back. He then turned his attention to the small woman and threw his raised fist into her face full force.
She gave a shriek of fear and agony as the force of his punch threw her backwards, ripping her arm from her torso and destroying her helmet.
The cry was so loud it dazed Godrick, turning the world black and white.
As the color began to come back to his sight, Godrick picked up his halberd and threw it at the woman, impaling her, and sending her crashing into one of the surrounding buildings that collapsed from the force.
In a sudden burst of anger, Godrick turned around, ripped the sword from his hand, and tried to stab it into the chest of the large man who was preparing to bring his broken club down on him.
The man suddenly redirected his club to clash with the blade, but the force was strong enough to knock his broken club from his hands.
Godrick threw himself at the man, picking him up over his shoulder before he charged at the portcullis of the keep behind them.
Smashing into the metal gate, Godrick threw the man farther into the keep.
"Bastards." He cursed in anger before the man reappeared from the destroyed section on the keep.
The man looked injured, and he was limping from a large cut that he had on his thigh.
Steam shot from Godrick's helmet before he charged the man again, only for the older warrior to side step him, and push him towards the darkness he had come from.
The young warrior flew through the stone wall, making another section of the keep collapse on top of him.
Anger surged through the young man as he ripped himself from the rubble, feeling foolish at having been deceived before he walked from the main gate of the keep, looking for the last Headhunter.
The man had ran from the keep, back to where the handle of his weapon was before he picked it up, and turned around to face his much younger opponent.
"You think a handle will help you survive?" Godrick cockily asked as he marched forward, determined to finish this.
The man then said something in his own language, which Godrick didn't understand, but he couldn't have cared less.
The Knight then began to run before leaping into the air, driving his fist at the man as he descended.
His opponent sidestepped at the last moment, causing Godrick's fist to shatter the ground around them, though the man wasn't affected much.
He then drove his left knee straight into Godrick's face, throwing him into the building to his left.
The young man burst from the building with a scream of rage, the right side of his helmet crumpled in on itself.
Once more he charged, but this time as they grappled with eachother, the man used some sort of technique to throw Godrick to the ground before he picked him up once more, slamming his fist into his chest plate.
Godrick flew high into the air before crashing down into one of the buildings, steam practically coming from his ears.
He slowly got to one knee as he thought of how this was going. The moment the man had the handle of his weapon, his strength suddenly increased ten fold.
Standing, he looked to his right where he saw the leader he had killed, his halberd standing from her chest.
"Son of a BITCH!" He yelled, ripping his weapon from her chest before walking from the ruined home.
'Fine.' He thought to himself as he watched his foe, taking another one of his peculiar stances.
He looked around him and saw the destroyed road, buildings, and the keep that was half collapsed.
He had failed his task, and he knew it. There was no way his mother would allow him into the Round Table Knights.
"Fine." He said to himself as he pulled his helmet from his head and dropped it to the ground.
He had to respect the large man in front of him. Fighting with everything he had.
So Godrick would do the same.
"What's your name?" He asked the foreign warrior.
"Shu Goki." The man said in his strange accent.
"Godrick." He named himself as he patted his breastplate.
Now with introductions out of the way, he marched forward, matching the pace of Goki as they approached each other.
Godrick swung his halberd, which Goki slid under. He was surprised at the larger man's dexterity, but he didn't let that distract him from his opponent's retaliation.
Bringing his weapon back around to his back, he catch the broken club with the shaft of his halberd before twisting to his right, snagging a jagged piece of the wooden club to throw it from Goki.
In that same motion, Godrick swept the man's feet from under him, and shoulder checked him while he was falling, hard enough to throw him back into the keep that finally collapsed.
Seeing this, Godrick became more angry, seeing his dreams of becoming his mothers Knight literally crashing to the ground in front of him.
Unconsciously, he flexed his halberd out of anger before it suddenly snapped in his hands, the shrapnel lightly clinking off his chest plate.
He dropped both halves to the ground in irritation before walking towards the keep, intent on finishing this once and for all.
The rubble of the keep began to move as Goki stood up, throwing the remaining handle of his club away as he walked forward, and picked up the barbarian's ax from the ground.
As they neared each other, Goki swung the ax with all his strength, trying to cut the young man in half.
His plan was foiled however, as Godrick caught the ax by its shaft with his bare hands.
The two of them looked at each other for a moment before Godrick brought his right fist up, and smashed it down, snapping the ax in two.
He then threw his opponent's arms wide before throwing his head forward, smashing it into Goki's face.
The man's head snapped back before he felt Godricks hands around his throat, choking the life from him.
Goki's hands came up, and began to claw at the armored gauntlets around his throat to no avail before he was suddenly lifted into the air.
"Mon-ster" Goki said in choking breaths, bring his arms down on Godrick'sto no avail. He was slowly losing consciousness as he kicked and clawed with all his might, but Godrick didn't budge.
He let go of the man with his right hand before reaching down and ripping the spearhead that was still in his chest out before he viciously drove it into the man's side before he suddenly snapped the bigger man's neck.
He then threw the body to his left before he turned around, and looked at his failure that had collapsed all around him.