A Warrior's Redemption (The Warrior Kind)

Marfoul lifted his arm and broke the stillness of the moment, "Kill them! Kill them now!"

As dazed guards clumsily rushed forward to do his bidding a miraculous thing happened. I felt as if I must be dreaming, even though I knew I wasn't, because of what I saw. A strong wind blew into the cliff top knocking the hats off several of the onlookers in the crowd.

A void of air formed immediately following in its wake, which seemed to suck all the breathable air from off the cliff top. Breathless I watched as flashing thunderclouds that blocked out the sun materialized all around us.

I had spent many nights locked up in rusty metal cages in my days in the arena, when thunderclouds like these would storm in. Those nights had been a living horror for us, who had been locked up in those cages.

Continuous air to ground lightning strikes would occur all around us, as we sat huddled in the middle of our cages soaked and shivering in fear from the storm and the dampness of the rain. I had learned early on to stay away from the bars and standing pools of water after having witnessed one man blown apart from a lightning strike to his cage, which he had been leaning against. It had left a lasting impression on me and a respect for the power of lightning. This storm had no lightning, but it had the electric feel of it all the same.

The crowd and guards drew back in fear from it. Marfoul, seemingly coming unhinged by the fast approaching storm screamed at the guards, "Kill them now you carrion swine!"

The guards coming out of their daze moved back towards the Kurt family, who hadn't moved the whole time or ceased from praying. The guards now more afraid of Marfoul then the approaching storm rushed to do their assigned task, with swords lifted high. The storm hit the cliff top and out of it materialized beings clothed in flame. They strode purposefully from the storm towards the cliff top. Each fiery individual being intercepted one of the guards headed for the Kurt family.

Their appearance was fierce and terrible, and as they approached they lifted one hand and withdrew swords that seemed to be made of light itself from behind their backs, and in one fluid overhand downward motion ended the lives of the stunned guards. As the guards hit the ground the warriors of the storm turned towards the crowd and advanced purposefully towards them. At their approach the crowd broke and fled trampling over each other in their haste to get away from the flaming swords of the avenging warriors behind them. After the crowd had fled I looked around for Marfoul, but he was nowhere to be seen.