The hoar was closed down over marsh and only few vaporous snags peeped out. This dead silence was only disturbed by hurried footfalls and deadbeat voices of two soldiers...

“... perchance we’ll have luck and save our lives....” said soldier and looked with anxious eyes at his friend who couldn’t hide even despite of dirt and thick stubble on his face the suffering of last few days and nights.

“Perchance” replied second soldier without any emotions. Long ago he threw off his sword and armor that were only useless burden. He stopped to hope and believe like his friend. Only they survived, survived from thousands of soldiers…They trailed through almost impenetrable swamp upon which the darkness began to sink.

“It was different before…” said after a while, ”we were formed into lines, our armor gleamed, we had neither anxiety nor fear. And the sun glinting from our swordblades lied to us by promise of victory….”

“Oh yes, I believed too that Dark Elf will be defeated but I hardly misjudged. The number of lost battles was increasing and number of soldiers was decreasing. I’m not surprised that many of us already fled before the last battle which was the most bloody…”

“We should flee too… I feel that today we are just at death’s door.”

“Today?! This sense follows me more than one year. But I’m soldier, so I know what is honor and courage in battle where steel stands against steel but armies of Dark Elf, it’s not only steel…”

"I remember that old Arcos told me something about him, that once, at the dawn of ages, The Dark Elf was only one of many wizards but his knowledge of spells and dark magic started to slop over the knowledge of the others…and so how centuries went, he mastered the most forbidden magic and joined the darkness... that time I only treated that as gabs of old man and I disbelieved in his words.”

“I know this story.” rejoined second soldier, „And I treated his words only as coward pipe but I believed that evening when during the night our camp began to be strafed by fire rain which consumed our tents and ourselves too.“ „My friends were dying in flames. They were yelling and weltering on ground to put out themselves, for nothing. You could smell burnt meat everywhere.“

“I don’t even want to thin…“At that moment, before the soldier could finish the sentence, drove arrow through his throat. He felt down on his knees with surprised eyes still stared on his friend and blood went out from his throat. He dropped down on ground.

Before than the second soldier could awake to death fear, a black arrow ran through his right arm. He shrieked out.

He leaned on some broken dry tree and he was trying to look through the hoar. But silence was around. He appealed to his dagger, the only weapon that left. He glanced at its rusty blade but he felt neither hope nor ease.

He turned back his gaze on hoar. He overheard some motion somewhere behind him.

And now some other from left. Then intense silence was again.

At the moment when he was turning his head, another arrow found destination in his leg. He shrieked desperately out again. Finally he could see their silhouettes, faithful servants of Dark Elf. How they were coming closer and closer, their figures were more and more sharp-cut.

Suddenly another arrow hit his belly. The soldier threw up, he saw his blood and gastric juices. Tears sprang from his eyes and he sank to the ground. He knew that time of his end came, he dropped his dagger on the ground, he clasped his hands and whispered the last short suffrage. The suffrage for some warchief to come once and to bring this world from the darkness back into the light!

And maybe you are the hope for this world...