Here’s the final part of the trilogy about Coren’s past. Part one and part two are also available.

Five Years Ago…

Sword clashed against sword, sending a shower of sparks to scatter onto the muddy ground. Recovering quickly, Coren swung his long sword again and the blade bit deep into the side of the orc. Black blood sputtered over his arm as Coren wrestled the sword free of the dying body. He stepped over the dead creature, wiped the worst of the gore from his gloves, and looked around.

The initial charge was dying down. Small skirmishes were taking place here and there but most of the major damage was already done. The advance of the dolfanc and the humans in league with the Dragonlords had been halted for now. But it was just another battle - the third he'd been involved in that year - and Vwrg knew how many they'd been since the start of the War five years ago and how many more they’d have to endure.

In the earlier days Coren had fought with the Dragonlord armies. Although not a slave by that point, he'd been hired by the pirate brigands employed by the Dragonlords to help fight in the War. But soon Coren had come to his senses and had realised that he was fighting his fellow Northmen and killing clanfolk. For the only time in his career as a mercenary, Coren dropped his contract with the Dragonlords and switched sides. He'd been fighting his old masters ever since.

Months ago, the fighting had moved towards the coast city of Per. Sensing the oncoming attack, General Yngvar had recruited any and all mercenaries he could to help defend the port and surrounding area. Coren had joined up and was immediately impressed with the General's tactical and leadership abilities. He'd learnt a lot from the man.

Coren had completed his assessment of the battle. He'd spotted the General and a few clansmen surrounded by a group of dolfanc and humans. The General was outnumbered. Within a few moments, he would be overrun by the creatures. That would create a hole in their defenses not to mention demoralised the defenders. Gritting his teeth, Coren raised his longsword and charged.

Hacking into the backs of the dolfanc, Coren made his way towards Yngvar. The general was sorely pressed, his runic axe moving slower and slower as he tried to fend off the enemy. Coren gradually made his way closer and closer, the dolfanc on the outskirts of the battle dropping before him under his relentless onslaught. He was getting near when a swift-moving silver cutlass cut in front of him, parrying his sword.

“So, yer’ve joined the other side, eh Coren?” came a voice from his flank, a voice Coren recognised.

He turned and saw a short man all in grey, his long rough hair the same colour as his clothes. His dangerous, grey-blue eyes pierced Coren as his deadly cutlass tried to do likewise.

“Ragnar!” Coren spat, his longsword turning aside the blade of his old captain.”Get out of my way before I spill your guts”.

“Think yer better than me with a blade now does yer?“ Ragnar replied, cackling. “Them’s fine words comin’ from one as brave as you” Ragnar replied, smiling. “Yer weren’t so brave when we first went t’war, was yer? Nor when I first met you. Neither, if I remember rightly, was yer mother”.

Coren lunged at the man but the old pirate sidestepped, flicked his cutlass up and cut Coren’s upper arm deeply. Coren growled and stepped back.

“Ooh, still miss ‘er, does we?” Ragnar continued, taunting Coren whilst slicing his blade in front of the bigger man. “She was a sweet woman, Coren. I can’t remember how many times I took ‘er that night. But she wasn’t half a screamer!”

Ragnar stepped forward and jabbed at Coren again, getting past the big man’s guard and scoring another hit on Coren’s side. Coren yelled in pain.

“Aye, she screamed a little like that. I does like me a screamer. Yer never liked to talk about ‘er, did yer, Coren? Lost her for such a long time. Tell yer what. You stop fightin’, come and join the boys again and I’ll tell yer something’. She’s…”

Suddenly, Ragnar’s eyes went wide. Blood began to trickle from the corner of his mouth and down his chin. He looked down slowly and saw Coren’s longsword stuck in his stomach up to the hilt.

“You talk too much”, Coren grunted and wrenched his bloody sword free. Captain Ragnar fell and before he hit the ground his life had left him.

Without another thought, Coren turned and saw that a single dolfanc had positioned itself behind the General and was ready to strike. With a mighty bellow, Coren hurled himself at the creature, bringing his notched sword down in an arc, slicing the attacker in two.

And not before time. The General was almost done for. He was on his knees, exhausted from the fighting. Coren quickly finished off the remaining goblin facing the General and helped his fellow Northman to his feet.

“Thank you”, grunted Yngvar. Coren nodded in return and began to move the wounded man back to somewhere safe when suddenly his guts began to squirm and a wave of fear and apprehension overtook him.

He felt weak and suddenly alone. With all his effort he looked up. There above him flew a black shape only just visible against the dark sky. Coren recognised the shape. It was one of the Dragonlord’s wyrms. A part of him knew that it was one of the smaller beasts but from here it appeared huge. He knew he had no chance against it. It would swoop down and devour him in its vicious jaws. He knew it was watching him, about to descend and end his life.

Then a brightness lit the sky. The moon appeared from behind a cloud, followed by a huge, blazing ball of fire. The ball of flames arched across the sky above Coren and hit the wyrm in its chest, where it exploded into an almighty firestorm. The fireball was quickly followed by a beam of lancing light that shot out from a nearby hilltop and ripped through one of the wyrm’s wings. Badly injured, the wyvern began to plummet downwards, heading towards the sea.

Coren turned to look up at the hillside. There he could see a single woman dressed in a white robe. Her hands glowed with a dazzling, silver-white light and her face shone as if reflecting Mathern’s glow. As Coren stared at her, behind her other sorcerers appeared, many also dressed in white but others in grey robes. Coren could hear the sound of many voices chanting coming from the hill, as the sorcerers began to glow and cast spells at the oncoming wyverns and at groups of dolfanc still fighting on the battlefield below them.

Grateful for the appearance of the magic users, Coren reached down and lifted General Yngvar. The man groaned but was thankfully still alive. Lifting the man almost off his feet, Coren carefully helped him make his way towards the walls of Per and to safety. This battle was over.