Zwei The Defender
Hate, Despair, and Death be my allies!
"We've located the target sir." "Good work Colonel Drake, send your most elite squadron and bring him to me, dead or alive. Destroy anything and anyone he has made contact with since his defection. I want him to dissappear, completely"!
Over the rolling hills and plains that made up the LegionHorn territory, on the northern plains, stood the home of Cedric Moore, a hired soldier for the defense of the small town of Rogenthall. Cedric was paid a handsome fee, considering all he did was jog around the town chatting with the locals in case something were to happen, which wasn't likely. Rogenthall was an agricultural town, and a small one at that. It was virtually worthless to any country, so it was never considered a threat to any of LegionHorn's enemies.
Everyone knew who Cedric was, and saw him multiple times during the day when he went for his periodic jogs through the town. Although everyone knew Cedric, not many knew about his personal life, nor did they care, except for one anyway. Her name was Celia. She was a young girl in her early twenties that had fallen in love with Cedric the first time she laid eyes on him, and the two of them had gotten quite close since then.
Cedric was in the middle of his morning jog when he heard a cry for help. He unsheathed his great sword and rushed in the direction the noise had come from. "I will only ask you this once more, where is he..." said a well dressed officer. "What seems to be the problem, I hope you weren't planning on causing any trouble." said Cedric. The terrified girl ran behind Cedric for protection. "Drake, what the hell are you doing here. I thought I told you I wanted nothing to do with the Imperial Legion! I suggest you leave before I am forced to remove you by force". "And I suggest you come along quietly by the order of the Imperial Legion, an order released by Lord Kane himself. You know as well as I that Lord Kane is not one to be taken lightly..." Drake replied. The girl gave Cedric a confused stare. "I'll explain everything later Celia, I promise." said Cedric. "I'm waiting...." said Drake impatiently. "I want nothing to do with the Legion, now LEAVE!' said Cedric strongly. "Fine..." replied Drake, "but this will cost you, I promise". Drake walked off laughing.
"What was that all about?" Celia asked looking very confused. "I used to be in the Legion, but left once I found out about a horrible secret..." Cedric replied. "So what was it you discovered"? "I cannot say, if i told you then your life would be in danger...". "But you'll protect me, right?" Celia asked. "Of course, that is what the town is paying me for, isn't it?" Cedric said with a chuckle. "By the way..." Cedric said, "I will be out of town for a few hours tomorrow, I have to check on something".
The next day, at daybreak, Cedric rented a horse from the stable and rode off into the distance, saying he would only be gone for a few hours. He rode towards the forest to the east, the Sleeping Wood. Within about an hour he reached his destination. "Where was it again..." Cedric said as he searched the large boulder in front of him. He soon found what he was looking for. It was a small impression engraved into the boulder. He took the pendant from around his neck and placed it in the hole. With that the rock sank into the ground revealing a cave. Cedric climbed down into the small cave. He saw a huge sword on a pedestal. "Old friend, I need your power once more..." Cedric said as he lifted the sword. He swung it around lightly, to get the feel of handling it once again. As he emerged from the cavern, the boulder closed up the cave once again. As he rode out of the forest he saw smoke rising in the west.
He rode out toward it and arrived back at Rogenthall, which he found to be in flames upon his arrival. He rushed in and found most of the houses to be collapsed. The only building that seemed to be standing was the town hall. He quickly rode to it, knowing time was of the essence. The few remaining townsfolk were huddled together in the town hall, and gave Cedric a thankful glance as he ushered them out of town. As he herded the last resident out of the town, he hear Celia scream off in the distance. He rode once again to her rescue. He reached her home, which had just recently collapsed. Cedric quickly began ripping pieces of wood and stone from the pile of burning wreckage. A hand reached out from the wreckage, then fell limp. Cedric feared the worst and quickly ripped large piles of rubble from the ruins and pulled Celia out of the pile that was once her home. She was out cold, but alive. Feeling relieved, Cedric ordered the townsfolk to rebuild their homes as he took Celia and rode off to the forest.
Before the town even left his sight he was intercepted by a platoon of Drake's finest paladin, the Defenders of Light. His horse was hit with an arrow and panicked, throwing both Cedric and Celia onto the ground. Celia came to and Cedric rushed to her aid. Another arrow let loose, this one aimed at Celia. Cedric quickly deflected it with his sword and told Celia to run to the forest and use his pendant to open up the secret alcove. With that she ran off with the pendant toward the forest.
"Drake! I'm the one you're after! Leave these people alone"! "Sorry Cedric, or should I say, but I cannot do that. Lord Kane's orders". "These people know nothing! I am the only one who knows of that abomination, the very reason I left the Legion"! With that another arrow let loose towards Cedric. He nimbly dodged, and Drake dealt a mortal blow to the one who fired the shot. "Hold your fire! Are you people deaf, or do you just have a death wish!" Drake yelled out to his platoon. Drake pointed to two of his pike-men. "Get the girl, we'll handle Zwei"! The two men rode off after Celia.
Cedric ran off after the two soldiers, but was cut off by Drake. "You're not going anywhere! Now meet your fate and embrace sweet Death"! Cedric rushed the archer and landed a critical blow slicing through his side. Drake lunged at him, but his sword was deflected into the paladin ready to attack Cedric from behind. Cedric blocked the pike of the paladin to his left and gave him a good kick to the chest, knocking him to the ground. He then parried Drake's assault and threw his great sword into the skull of the fallen pikeman.
It was just him and Drake now. Their swords clashed and sparks flew. Drake knew he was fighting a losing battle from the start. He was now only stalling for time and hoping his soldiers could clean up what was left of the Rogenthall and get Celia. After a long strenuous battle, Cedric finally landed a fatal blow into Drake's chest. "Heh, my job is finished..." Drake said with his final breath. Cedric looked back toward the town to see a second group of Imperial warriors finishing off what was left of the town.
Cedric ran toward the forest in hopes of finding Celia safely hidden in the secret alcove. Upon reaching the boulder he lunged his sword into it. The boulder slid open and Cedric ran inside. To his dismay, he found no sign of Celia. He saw a note on the pedestal reading "Come to Fort Greiss for the girl. She is still alive, but won't be for long".
Cedric ran toward Greiss in hopes that Celia was still alive. He plowed through the front gates and slaughtered the guards as he went. He ran into Lord Kane's chambers, which also overlooked the weapon laboratory. Kane had been waiting for him, with a little surprise. "Glad you could make it, I hope you enjoy the show"! "What are you talking about?" Cedric replied. "See for yourself". Cedric ran to the window overlooking the lab, and what he saw horrified him. "Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. Project Redemption has been completed". Cedric looked at the giant contraption.
Project Redemption was a top secret weapon that harnessed the life energy of the innocent and used it to purge the world of evil. Of course more than one person's life force would have to be used, but the machine did its job nonetheless. Cedric had attempted to stop the construction of the project and even attempted to destroy it after his defection from the Legion, but they had apparently made up for lost times and finally completed the monstrosity.
"You should already know how this works Cedric..." Kane said, "but we had to make some adjustments. In theory, neither good nor evil force can be truly embodied, but are more of ideals. Therefore neither are actually are able to be destroyed, unless we could find a way to put these forces into a physical form. That is what this machine is for. It takes all the evil emotions of hate and anger from its target and channels them into the crystal core of the machine. The life force of the pure are used to keep the seal intact. If all goes as planned, then the innocent will live through the experience, but will remain one with project redemption so that their life force will form a barrier around the core sealing the evil force within. Now prepare to watch your precious Celia be used as the first barrier"!
With the pull of a switch, the machine began to function. A beam of light fired out of the top and through a skylight in the ceiling. The beam dispersed in the air and fell over the fortress. The developers of the project were the first Cedric saw to be affected by the machine. It was almost as if the beam ripped their souls from their bodies and pulled them into itself. Eventually the beam was no longer a beam of pure light, but a beam of sheer darkness. Celia began screaming out in pain as the machine began siphoning her life force to form the barrier. Kane seemed shocked as well to the machine's devastating power, which was much more than he had anticipated. "What is going on... the targets are not supposed to DIE! What the hell is going on!" Kane began screaming frantically as the beam began leaving lifeless corpses in its wake. Cedric could no longer just stand by and watch. He leaped through the window and thrust his sword into the core of the machine.
The barrier was broken, and the machine stopped, but it was to late. Celia was already too weak to live for much longer. "I guess I will explain everything now." Cedric said, "It was long ago when I joined the Imperial Legion. I was selected to use the new experimental weapon, the Zweihander. It is a powerful sword that channels ones emotion and transforms it into sheer power. I have spent many years wielding this sword. Everything seemed to be going fine until the day I stumbled upon Project Redemption. Its purpose was originally to send a calming light throughout the world absorb evil entities. But something happened during its construction. Unfortunately it seemed Kane hade made some additions to the machine in the process of its construction, now requiring it to use human life to capture the evil. That is when I defected, and used this very sword to put the production of Project Redemption to a screeching halt. I killed many innocent people that day, and made my escape to the forest. It is there I noticed a change in the Zweihander. Its bright glow was beginning to dim. My emotions of hate were corrupting it and turning it into a sword of evil, which is why I sealed it away. That is when I came to Rogenthall, where I had hoped my past would not bother to come back and haunt me, but it seems I have caused the deaths of countless others. I am sorry, this is all my fault". "Cedric.... I...." Celia was unable to finish before dying, but Cedric knew what she had been planning to say, and he had loved her just as much. Cedric began to well up with hatred. "I tried to stop this for a reason Kane, this is an apocalyptic creation! It cannot discern pure goodness from pure evil, and therefore takes everything in between as well! No one man is ultimately pure. Not only that, but by using this abomination, you have killed Celia! As hard as I tried not to, I couldn't help but fall in love with her over the years! I will no longer run from my past! I shall stop you myself"!
Unbeknownst to Cedric, the evil energy from the core had been channeling through his sword and into his body. "Your prophecy of Death incarnate will come true, in me! Death be by my side, help me to destroy this poor soul"! Kane stared blankly as if he had just seen the truth behind everything. "What have I done.... all those lives..... for nothing.......why......did you make me......tell me it would bring a greater good....." Kane muttered as though in a trance. Kane stood stunned, unable to move, as Zwei came at him with lightning speed and cleaved through him in a single blow. Before his death, Kane muttered "Perhaps...the legend....is true.....". With that, Kane's body erupted into black flame.
Zwei jumped down and grabbed Celia's body before making his escape. He returned to Rogenthall to give Celia and the rest of the town a proper burial. "I am no longer worthy of your trust my friend, please choose a wielder who will put you to a more noble cause". Cedric put the Zweihander blade back on its pedestal and laid Celia's body down in front of it. As he left the cave in the forest, with a tear in his eye Zwei said "Someday I shall return to finish off the rest of the Imperial Legion, along with any death sees fit, I will never forgive humanity for its crimes"! He walked off with the shadow of Death not far behind to aid him in his travels.