Chapter 1: THE SHADOW WITHIN

Slivers of moonlight shone through dense fog as the clopping of horse hooves echoed over a dilapidated cobble stone road.  The stench of war was in the air and darkness riddled the land.  As horses trudged over a deteriorated path, sludge of damp earth mixed with the blood of warriors splattered across the trail.

Wounded warriors draped themselves on top of the armored animals.  No one spoke as a horse from the front of the pack turned and faced the men. “We rest here,” commanded the voice of a shadowy figure astride the lead horse.

The weary men slowed to a stop and dismounted their horses.  Complete exhaustion filtered through the ranks of nearly one hundred warriors.  They fell to the ground and huddled around one another.  Silence reigned as flasks of liquid passed through the group.

The light from the moon disappeared as the fog increased.  The lead warrior, Tolar, a large soldier with broken armor covering half of his body and most of his face, directed his horse toward the men.  He surveyed his legion.  Wounded and exhausted, the men gazed at their giant, but weakened, leader.

These men had been through something unspeakable.  Many nursed broken and severed limbs.  More had been left behind for dead. 

Tolar could do nothing but trot past his men and soak in the utter defeat of the souls in front of him.

When he reached the center of the group, he stopped his horse and gazed down at an equally large warrior lying in exhaustion against a tree stump.  Fighting the pain from his severed arm, the wounded warrior said, “We are no match for him without Eseph.”

Tolar remained silent, a look of utter despair on his face.   He wiped a drip of blood and sweat from his brow.

Groans of pain and anguish increased as the men settled in for the night.  The fog swirled and swelled within the encampment.  Tolar turned to dismount but heard a disturbance from the front of the pack.  Looking up, he saw hordes of warriors retreating in fear.  One of them screamed, “He has found us!  Malkuth has found us!”

Chaos ensued as the men reacted and grabbed their weapons.  Tolar shouted. “Stand your ground.”