Sorcerer… Cyborg???

Warning:This chapter contains gore and violence, skip down to the ********* if you would like to avoid it.

Tam was the fastest person on the battlefield, but even he couldn't outrun a swinging halberd. He watched as the Bata's halberd cut down into Ophil's shoulder, sending a spout of blood into the air.

Right up until the impact, Ophil still had a focused look on her face, not realizing that the enemy she was looking for was right behind her. Ophil's torso had been torn, nearly in half and she desperated channeled her mana to try and heal herself.

The damage was far too great, and her spell failed. Tam let out an inhuman wail, looking at his soulmate bleeding out at Bata's feet.

Seeing Tam's reaction, Bata cackled loudly and sped away, regrouping with Rulaad. Tam knelt beside Ophil, cradling her head gently, and looked into her eyes. She gave Tam a weak smile and tried to speak to him.

No sound came from her mouth, she could only gurgle and blood bubbled from her mouth. Tam held onto her as the light faded from her eyes, the raging sounds of the battlefield and the flashing of spells faded away for him, and all he could see was the light slowly fading from Ophil's warm brown eyes.

The same eyes he had gazed into for hours on end, the same eyes that had peered out at him from beneath a ratty hood in Newport and those same eyes that had brimmed with tears when their son had been born.

Ophil was gone.

Meanwhile, Rulaad and Bata had taken the opportunity to viciously tear into the rapidly advancing Ursten soldiers, slaying them in droves, swatting away their futile counterattacks.

The tide of the battle began to turn, and Bata's cackles filled the field as the Kalun swarmed into the gap and began to push the Ursten back.

"Grrrrraaaaaaghhh!" A bestial scream sounded out, Ophil was dead, but Tam came to senses from his grief, realizing her killer was still alive, charged at Rulaad and Bata ignoring the rushed attacks they sent flying at him.

Tam's armor took the brunt of their blows, Rulaad's greatsword glancing off his shoulder and slicing into it. Tam grabbed his greatsword tightly, and gave it a yank, sending the Kalun commander flying towards him.

Tam's sword sliced through the air, and blood sprayed wildly over Tam and Bata, as Rulaad's now decapitated head tumbled through the air. Immediately, Tam turned to face Bata, a cold look in his eyes, but the portly man had already fled, before his companions head even hit the ground.

*********

As Bata fled, he looked back, looking to see if Tam was far behind. Tam was nowhere in sight. Bata couldn't believe his luck and continued to run, deep into the Ursten ranks, looking to use an Ursten soldier as a human shield.

Soldiers began to call out in amazement, squinting up above the Ursten ranks, calling out to each other.

"The last hawk!" Tam's men began to chant, and Bata looked above and saw Tam. He flew far above him, a glowing blue aura in the shape of a hawk with wings outstretched around him.

The hawk dove down, aiming for Bata, who started up in shock; very few individuals of the advanced rank could fly. Before Bataa could even move to respond, Tam's sword stabbed through his chest pinning the minister to the ground of the battlefield.

Bata screamed in anguish but Tam swiftly dispatched him, having no taste for torture. Others would have their time to kill their wife's murderer, but Tam was not one of them.

Utilizing the short while left for his Hawk Aura, Tam flew into the air, charging at the Kalun forces, who began to scream and flee at the sight of the glowing hawk flying through the air toward them.

The Ursten followed Tam's advance, charging at the Kalun, and the battle was decided as the Kalun, losing both theri commanders to one man, turned tail and began to retreat.

Far from where the battle was taking place, in the city of Newport, Kothar was in a heated argument with the Duke.

"Kothar, listen to me lad. You'll make little to no difference on the battlefield, and the battle has likely already been decided." Anteris said coolly, they were in his study again, and Kothar was protesting what was technically a house arrest that he had been under, since Anteris was worried Kothar would go rushing back to Ursten.

"They'll need me, my parents are on the battlefield and every little bit counts on the battlefield." Kothar argued back, ticked off that Duke Anteris was so much more powerful than he was, that all it took was a mere bit of pressure from him to stop him in his tracks.

"You'll only make them only more vulnerable, family is a liability on the battlefield Kothar. Believe me, I would know." Duke Anteris' eyes misted up, and he took a huge gulp of the orange colored liquor that he favored.

[He's completely right Kothar, What's come over you? You know this isn't rational, you're being driven only by emotions.] Silane murmured softly to Kothar, she had never seen him act so impulsively, it seemed to her that he had really accepted Ophil and Tam as his family, and to be fair, she had grown some attachment to them as well.

Kothar sat silent, mulling over what might be happening at the Ursten-Kalun border. When the scientist had augmented him, they had also pumped him full of chemicals that dulled his emotions, and now that he was in the body of a hormonal teen, he struggled with his impulses.

Sometimes, he would think back to some of the things he had done like going off into the FIdour mountains alone, which was completely reckless and the cool calculated Commander Kothar would never have done.

Slowly but surely, Kothar was changing, and SIlane along with him. Not only was Eclat a different world, bt the life he had lived here was almost richer and felt more vibrant than the life he had lived amongst the Alliance, since he was no longer required to be a cold, calculated machine of war.

"Alright Duke Anteris, I'll stay as long as you deem necessary. But please, keep me updated on any news from Ursten." Kothar said finally, after giving the topic much thought.

"Agreed! Now, why don't you make use of the ridiculous collection of odd books and treasures my forefathers and I have accumulated after many years. You may find something of interest to you." Anteris reclined back into his chair, took a big slurp of his liquor.

"I think I'll do that now." Kothar was eager to get away from Anteris, as Anteris grew drunker, he would ramble on and on, regardless of whether anyone was actually listening to him.

Last night, Kothar had been sucked into a particularly long-winded tale about a strange crab that Anteris had found while stranded on a remote island. Most people would have told a story about their stranding and rescue, but Anteris, drunk as he was, chose to drone on about how he was sure the crab was communicating to him with the waving of its claws. As Kothar left, followed by the pair of armed guard who would alert the entire guard if Kothar attempted to escape.

Anteris watched the door long after it had shut, staring at it. Lost in thought.

"I'll have to keep him here. He'll be perfect." Anteris muttered to himself, a dribble of orange liquid trailing down his chin, dripping onto his shirt and burning a smoldering hole in it.