Another solo for fun.

A ringing sounded as a blinding flash of silver flickered within his vision; but, only for a moment, just a moment. It was the sound of a blade being drawn. The champion squared off with Enigma, he was the head of the rebellion and having his forces crushed in the cleverly executed pincer maneuver had nothing left to lose.
"I will not falter. Not before you." The Elf declared proudly as he prepared himself for the duel.
A similar sound to the first echoed one hundred times over errupted as Enigmas guard all drew their weapons, they would not let their Generals honour be sullied by this... Rebel.
Enigma gazing upon the heavily armoured host at his beck and call merely raised a slow and steady hand into the air ordering them to sheathe their swords.
"That would be a great dishonour." He stated gently as he drew his own weapon, while it was only a ceremonial sword and no where near as sharp as the rebels he knew it would do. The Elf was not as heavily armoured as he was but Enigma considered it fair contest due to the superior weapon, after all compared to the silver tooth held within the Rebels hand his sword was nothing more than a toy.
He smiled to himself because he knew the Rebel thought the same.
"For Highever!" Boldly proclaimed the Rebel as he charged towards the waiting Geomancer. The Elf brought up his sword in a wide arc, and in a split second reversed the blade in a hooking motion hoping to catch Enigma off guard at the throat. The feign however was expected. Enigma easily parried the blow but as the two swords made impact he could feel the strain on his blade. It could not withstand a few more blows like that. The Rebel was a truly powerful fighter.
The Rebel nimbly hopped back smiling, he was clearly impressed by the Generals expectation of the strike but the smile was present because he also knew the sword would not last a few more strokes with such force behind it. Enigma took a brave step forward and pointed his sword towards the Elf, and with it beckoned him forward challenging him to broker his luck.
The challenge was accepted.
The Elf leapt at Enigma and swung his sword in a side ways slash, hoping to meet the flanking blow Enigma raised his sword in order to catch it mid air. This however; was, what the elf was anticipating and he quickly pulled his body to the left and reverse the blow into a stab.
Enigma winced in pain, his armour had blocked most of the jab but he took took one inch of steel into his gut.
Impressive. Thought Enigma as he steadied himself, he had clearly underestimated the foe, something he had sworn he'd never do. Of course overestimation can be just as lethal.
The Elf withdrew the sword knowing that the steel armour of his foe would give no quarter and he backed off circling the General, preparing for a renewed strike. He hoped to end it fast.
"No magic today Imperial?" Spat the Elf in a mocking tone. Enigma smiled to himself at the taunt, while he had been busy underestimating the Elf it seems they could both say the same.
Faking panic Enigma simply shook his head grimly, hoping to fool the Rebel. It worked.
Seizing the advantage now that his opponent was wounded the rebel advanced going in for one final strike poised at Enigmas throat. The wind up was strong and the aim was true, he knew that if he attempted to parry the stroke it would break his sword so he did what the Elf had not thought of. He tackled forward meeting the blow straight on. Surprise filled the Rebels eyes as the Geomancer dashed forward madly taking the blow at a glance across his shoulder plate snapping off pieces of armour yet rendering the strike completely harmless.
He was not so lucky however.
Looking down the Elf saw the hilt of the Generals sword, it had gone straight through. He collapsed.
Enigma put a stronger grip upon the blade and pushed the corpse off with his foot.
He'd won.
"Fool." He spoke softly and turned to face his cheering men.


The marble floor echoed the sounds of footsteps, it was a large and hollow hallway. The bodies of numerous rebel soldiers lay against the walls. The Imperial forces of Ironwood had captured this grand citadel in merely one day. That does not discredit the cities defences; but, Enigma Essen was part of the infamous order of Geomancers, those bestowed with the ability to shape and distort the surface of the Earth at a whim. The cities name was Betawood, it was of course not made of wood but an ancestral name, that being the way the Elves of Highever named their cities. The city held walls that were twenty feet high and ten feet thick, unfortunately for the rebels, those defenses were no match for Enigmas power. He merely swept them away with a sweep of his hand while his army poured in and did the rest.
He turned his gaze to the right and saw upon the ground a wounded Elven mage and twelve corpses those of his Silver Cloaks. While it was a staggering victory, it was not without losses.
"Oh, we've got a straggler." Laughed a heavily armoured warrior to the right of Enigma, he walked up to the corpse of the young woman and pulled her up by her hair. She let out a pained moan.
"What would you have me do General?" The man adorned entirely in a layer of silver plate armour asked, his armour was similar to the corpses of the bodies on the ground. It was ornate and finely polished and was not one piece; but, many different layers stacked upon each other; however, his had on the chest plate a red fireball logo. The sigil of his house. House Derriss.
"Lord Aemen Derriss, you know the Emperors orders as well as I do. Or do you wish to betray the Emperor to merely please me, a meagre field general? I will not permit showy boasts or sycophancy among my command." Enigma spat derisively, while he could not ignore the fact that Lord Derriss was an accomplished fighter and a brilliant strategist; how much the man enjoyed killing angered Enigma. It was the part of a soldier to kill not to enjoy it, that was the part of a mad man and mad men were bad at following orders.
"No.. I was just.. I'm sorry Lord General." Lord Derriss stammered, taken aback at the aggressive tone taken up against him, a frown creased his face and was quickly replaced with the classic soldiers poker face. He dropped the woman to the marble floor and pointed at one of the Generals guards.
"You heard the Lord General! Kill this ragged bitch!" He shouted angrily and returned to the side of Enigma, walking just a few more paces behind then before, It seemed as if a little bit of his fire had been taken from him. Fire was no hot commodity among house Derriss.
Enigma sighed. Ever since he'd been placed as Lord General of the 6th army he found that he was surrounded by sycophants and maniacs. These men were less soldiers then he was a horse. The Emperor must've been testing him by placing him in command over this division, he knew that he'd have to break these men and reforge them in war. It was the only way. They were the arrogant children born of the aristocracy, he'd have been the exact same of them had he not met a god and failed his test. The test had taught him many things these men needed to learn, humility, wisdom and most importantly respect for his enemy.
A man with a poorly shaved face and scraggly black chin beard leaned close towards Enigmas ear. Well what the man thought was his ear since it was encased in Enigmas black steel helmet.
"Very wise my lord, very wise indeed. I am happy to have your wisdom leading us." He whispered appraisingly, the man was as fake as any con man. Enigma let out another sigh, loud enough for the small group of men following him to be heard. When would they learn? Was this fool even listening to him?
"Lord Flyren, if I had want of your opinion. I'd have asked it of you. I advice you to keep your silver tongue in your mouth; Until, I decide I have need of your spells. Whence such a time should come, I'd also like it if you kept what little thought you're capable of to yourself. Heed my words and listen, I'll have no sycophants among my command." Enigma commanded, just hoping beyond belief that the man would challenge the hypocrisy of the order. Can I not have one free thinker? One with enough wit to challenge me?
To Enigmas shagrin it was met only with silence.
Lord Flyren nodded and stood back, his face was bright red and poorly masked his anger at he insult. Enigma had after one day put all of these men in their place numerous times, being of the nobility it was not what they were used to. He was damn certain by the end of the tour they'd be more accustomed to it.
The only men that Enigma had respect for in his new command were the soldiers of the 6th, they'd proved both brave, willing and when he had gone through the camp and spoken with several low ranking soldiers, found that they had good suggestions to give. He could tell that they'd be a dream to command, it was their commanders he was having trouble adjusting to.
"Lord General!" Cried a lightly armoured soldier as he ran up towards Enigma and his command, he quickly caught his breath and dropped to one knee.
"Yes scout, report."
The man gazed up at the ring of steel that surrounded Enigma, his bodyguard always intimidated the lower ranking soldiers. He made a mental note to teach them to try and look less frightening to his own troops.
"Well.. The entire city is now secure. I have also received word from Lord General Tyrneth, that he would like you to join you at your meal this evening."
"Lord General Tyrneth? What is he doing out here?" Asked a confused Lord Flyren. Enigma held up a hand telling him to be silent. Do these men have any patience? Of course he's going to explain. Thought Enigma a little bit ashamed at the foolishness of his Officers.
"Him and his host just made it into the valley sir, him and his guard are on their way here right now. His squire came to me and personally requested that you allow him to be there when you contact the Emperor and interrogate the Rebels commanders." The Scout explained, it was clear by his face that that was all he knew.
"I asked for why he was here, you bloody idiot." Lord Flyren spat, disgusted with the man's inability to answer his question.
"And I commanded silence." Enigma said coldly.
"You've done well Scout, how long have you been riding?" He queried, his voice full of respect for the man's work. He'd done a good job bringing the news straight to the general. Most scouts would not have come in panting so, they'd have taken a break first.
"Three days Lord General. I didn't stop, I brought the news as soon as I heard. It seemed curious that the general would bring a host so large here." The Scout explained, regaining his composure after the verbal attack from Lord Flyren.
What does he mean a host so large? Wondered Enigma. He had heard that Lord General Tyrneth was only out in field with a small troop of Steel Cloaks and that he was on a surveillance mission across the border only. The Emperor liked to have his Generals do those mundane tasks from time to time, to keep their mindset in the field. If a large host was with Tyrneth that was alarming, it could mean any number of things.
"You!" Enigma commanded pointing at one of his heavily armoured guardsmen. "Go get this man some wine. He's done me a great service today."
"Lord General." The two bowed as they walked off.
"Lord General if I may speak." Asked Lord Derriss. It seemed he was learning already. "Speak your mind."
"That scout just said that lord Tyrneth is accompanied by a large host.. But he was dispatched at the exact same time as us, I know he was only out here to check the borders defenses." Lord Derriss said only validating Enigmas thoughts, so it was true. What was the meaning of this? Could there be some clandestine mission he was not informed of.
"And better yet, Lord General. Why would they bottle off the valley with such a large host? Or even come here. The Emperor knows we've successfully defeated the Rebel forces and regained control of the city. We have no need for reinforcements." The man was definitely voicing Enigmas own thoughts, it was for sure a very curious situation.
"I'm proud of you Derriss, you've asked all the right questions. Maybe there's hope for you yet; unfortunately, I do not have the answers. We'll just have to see to Tyrneth and find out ourselves." Replied Enigma with more respect then before, he figured he'd have to treat these two like children until they proved him worthy of more.
Lord Derriss nodded in response.
"I was going to ask the same thing!" Whined Lord Flyren. "You just commanded my silence."
"A command which you've just violated Flyren. Do so again at your peril." Enigma glared at the man, his voice was starting to annoy him. This man would be harder to teach.
"Yes Lor-" Began Lord Flyren, but he stopped and simply nodded thinking better of it.


"I heard that one of their bladesmen nearly defeated four of our Silver cloaks single handedly! So then they called me in and I saw that they were having trouble with a Woman! So I came in and merely laughed at the men, she gazed up at me in fright. She tried to parry one of my blows and it damn near broke her arm!" A very drunk, very boisterous Lord Derriss said as he burst into laughter with a mouthful of food.
Enigma merely continued to eat his meal in silence, there was nothing he could do for this man right now and he wasn't going to face lord Tyreth without his two aides. He wanted them to learn something; but, now that seemed like a fools dream. As the day had dragged on Lords Tyreths forces had become increasingly suspicious. He'd found out that they were a host of forty thousand men, three times larger than his own. They'd even set up a fort in the mouth of the pass. The city of Betawood was located within a valley surrounded entirely by a ring of impenetrable mountains, opened up at a wide pass. The only exit, which was now blocked off by some forty thousand men. His men appeared hostile and as if blocking the pass would stop Enigma, surely they knew he was a Geomancer and could merely bend the mountains out his way?
The more curious thing was how Tyreth had called for this dinner and was now two hours late.
The spiced lamb that Enigma ate was delicious, they had kept the rebel chefs alive for this dinner alone - of course they were heavily guarded to make sure no poison slipped into the meal by "accident." He hated to admit it but they were quite good at what they did and it was a shame he'd have to kill them.
Just then then the doors burst wide open and a man dressed in a black and gold trimmed military uniform came through. He was tall, muscularly built, with short cropped black hair and a well kempt beard. The man wore upon his right arm the trident symbol that marked a general while just underneath the star that symbolized the man was part of the Imperial order of Starcallers. The Starcallers for the infamed illusionists of the Imperium, calling forth vast armies of frightening nightmares forth that plagued the minds of lesser mortals. They also wielded the frigthening power to call forth lightning.
Trailing behind the man were two well armed women, each masked and garbed in a tight fitting leather suit. All Enigma could see of their faces were piercing, hateful eyes; that he had to admit were absolutely beautiful. They each wore their silky black hair in a large ponytail. He thought each of the two women must've been carrying enough swords to outfit an army.
"Lord General Tyrneth, it is my honour to have you dine with me and my command." Enigma said graciously as he stood up and welcomed the three newcomers to his table. Tyrneth merely cast upon Enigma a stern withering gaze, one that not only spoke of deep loathing but also hidden hostile intentions. Enigma could tell instantly that this would be a long and dangerous night. A lot of the aristocracy resented Enigma for his respect for commoners and the way he treated his soldiers. They were also envious of the respect the Emperor had for him. Remembering his two young companions he quickly shot both of them a warning glance. One that said disobey me at your peril. He could tell that Lord Flyren was in awe and had forgotten himself leaving his jaw dropped at the strangeness of the three, while Lord Derriss looked on with apprehension and mild fright.
"I'm sure it is Enigma." Tyrneth spat as he took himself a seat at the opposite end of the table, he could tell that Lord Flyren and Derriss were shocked at the blatant disrespect, Tyrneth had not used his title and not only that but addressed him by first name.
"Tyrneth, I'm pleased to have a colleague dine with me; but, I think you forget yourself." Enigma warned cautiously, he had also noticed the slight and was not willing to merely take it. If that was how this man was going to be, then so be it. He'd merely have to be more prudent. After all if combat insued between these two, Enigma had the advantage. They were both on the ground - his domain.
Only a fool would challenge a Geomancer to a fight on land.
"I know you've only just arrived here; however, I must betray my curiosity. What has moved you and your men to aid in the subjugation of this city, "Lord General" Tyrneth?" Enigma querried, adding extra emphesis on the title. Hoping that maybe the man had merely made a mistake with his previous slight; deep down knowing that it was no accident.
The man's two escorts pulled up chairs and sat next to him, it was clear that they were his bodyguard. He could see out of the corner of his eye, Lord Flyren undressing them with his eyes. Of course he was still a young man and weaker than Enigma to the charms of a beautiful woman, these two; however, were more than mere women and it appeared that the ridiculous amount of weapons each had strapped to herself was for more than show.
"You know why I'm here. You're a smart one Enigma, not one to be easily fooled. So cut the stupid questions." Lord Tyrneth growled as his hateful gaze still rested firmly upon Enigma. What Enigma had done to make this man hate him so, he could not recall, in fact he'd never even met Lord Tyrneth before today; sure he'd heard about the man, he was a Starcaller of some renown - but he certainly had done nothing to inspire hatred.
Then again, people have hated each other for good intentions, why not ignorant indifference? Enigma thought to himself. What ever the case, Lord Tyrneth was correct, he did know why he was here, he had just hoped he could lie to himself. He knew the man's goal but not his reasons.
"Yes. You're right. I do know." Enigma began as his gaze hardened, if Lord Tyrneth thought he was angry he had another thing coming - the fury now directed at Tyrneth clearly took the large man aback; he quickly regained composure.
"Wait, what is it?" Questioned a confused Lord Derriss; however, a look of apprehension appeared upon the face of Lord Flyren. He took stock of this, from this intrusion he had learned something - the strengths of his two new companions. Flyren was the articulate and Derriss was the obedient one. He just hoped that maybe these two could learn a thing or two themselves.
"Guard, you're all dismissed." Enigma called as he waved his arm across the room, Enigma had four Steelcloak bodyguards positioned in each corner of the room. They at his command saluted and left the room to the peculiar gathering of young men, women and generals.
"Why, Lord Derriss. They've come here to kill me."