Commander Braghaman Larethian

A Final Meeting

(Originally posted Nov 14, 2010)

Braghaman sat up on the bed and glanced around the room. It was a small room, enough space for a table and a chair at one side and the bed at the other. It was a quaint home, comfortable for the people who lived here usually. The hearth had a cozy fire in it, casting a warm glow around the room. The door was open, the early evening peering into the room.

It had been two days since the priestess had brought him here. Smuggled out in the back of a wagon, she'd brought him to Darkshire and to this little home just outside. She'd bound his hand and helped him as best she could. Then the young priestess returned to Stormwind to see what could be found out.

Two days of laying in the bed with nothing to do but rest and heal. And after two days, the restlessness grew quickly. Pushing himself up to standing, it was hard to tell which groaned louder: the bed or the paladin. His left hand still ached and he couldn't make a fist yet, but at least he could move some of his fingers. Rubbing his face, Bragh walked out of the house and stood on the porch. As he stepped out, the paladin glanced down and noticed his shield and mace leaning against the wall. Next to it, a bundle of cloth that Bragh assumed held his armor.

Stepping off the porch, Braghaman looked up. Through the canopy of the trees, he could see the early moon looking down. There was still daylight, but not much left of it. Looking down, across the clearing he watched the trees with their branches waving slightly in the wind. The leaves would sway from side to side, and every now and then the paladin was sure he could see the glow of eyes looking back at him. As the evening was beginning, Bragh could hear the night animals waking. On the breeze, he could hear the growls and groans of the beasts that called the darkness their home.

For the first time in a long time, as Bragh stood quietly watching the woods around him, the paladin could admit to the dark beauty of this shire. It had been a long time since that had occurred to him. For too long, Braghaman thought to himself, he couldn't acknowledge that this was a place worth living in. As he listened to the songs of the night, Braghaman relaxed.

"I knew I'd find you here," a voice spoke. Turning suddenly, Braghaman saw the paladin sitting on his charger. His hands were crossed over the saddle, holding a large mace across his lap.

"Faris," Braghaman growled. Lowering his hands to his waist, Bragh remembered that his weapon was on the ground behind him. Keeping his eye on the paladin in front of him, Bragh mentally tried to recall how far away his mace and shield were.

"You're a lot more trouble than you're worth," Faris said with a sneer.

 "I guess you should have killed me when you had the chance," Braghaman challenged.

"I guess I should have," Faris replied darkly.

Suddenly, Bragh turned and, fueled by adrenaline, raced for the shield and mace resting against the side of the house. As soon as he started moving, Faris spurred his charger. Bragh could hear the hoof beats closing behind him. He reached his weapon but knew that Faris was right behind him. Instead of turning to face him, Bragh dropped to his stomach. He heard Faris' mace whistle as it passed over him.

Bragh struggled to quickly get his arm through the straps of his shield. His bruised hand made it a painfully slow action. As he pulled the shield up past his wrist, he glanced up to watch Faris reining in his horse and wheeling around. Far quicker than Braghaman would've liked, Faris was riding down on him again.

Bragh held his shield up, angled above his head. As Faris rode up, he swung his large mace one handed. The spiked edge of the mace clanged against the shield and was deflected up and over Bragh's head. Braghaman gritted his teeth in pain as the impact jarred across his broken fingers.

Bragh turned and watched Faris wheel his horse around again for another charge. He held his shield up in defense as the horse raced towards him. Bragh said a quick prayer. Then, as Faris rode down on him a third time, mace whizzing through the air, Bragh ducked low. As Faris' mace swung harmlessly above him, Bragh swung his mace lower. Striking the front leg of the charger, the horse whinnied in pain. Its left foreleg broken, the horse lost its balance and fell head-first to the ground, throwing Faris into the air. Faris landed heavily on the ground and rolled.

Braghaman stood and walked quickly to where the horse lay. Just beyond, Faris struggled slightly to get up in his heavy armor. As Bragh got closer, Faris swung wildly with his mace. Braghaman stepped back out of the mace's reach, watching as Faris stood up.

"Things would've been so much simpler if you'd followed instructions," Faris said with a growl. "But you had to stay with your little trollop."

"Things would've been so much simpler if you'd learn your lessons," Braghaman replied with a smirk. "Last time, I just broke your jaw."

Faris roared and charged at Brahgaman. His heavier mace swinging high, Faris aimed for Bragh's head. At the last moment, Bragh ducked under the swing and brought his mace across Faris' chest. Faris' armor took most of the impact, but the paladin staggered back from the blow.

Before Braghaman could press his advantage, Faris roared and rushed forward again. Bringing his mace above his head, Faris brought a clubbing swing down. Bragh barely got his shield up in time to meet the blow. It was solid enough to stagger down to one knee. Faris swung his mace backhanded, hitting the back side of Bragh's shield and sending it flying away. Reaching with his left hand, Faris held his mace two-handed and swung again at Bragh's head as he kneeled on the ground. As the mace came towards him, Bragh leaned back out of the reach of his enemies' mace. Bringing his own mace up, he brought it against the haft of Faris' weapon.

Faris' stumbled back, knocked off balance from over-extending his attack and being knocked away by Braghaman's attack. Taking two steps back, Faris planted his feet to regain his balance. Bringing his mace back around for another attack, he looked back at his opponent. Braghaman pulled his right foot under him and pushed off, launching forward. Before Faris could stop him, Bragh barreled into his midriff. Shouldering him back, Bragh knocked him off balance again.

Dropping back to his knee from the charge, Bragh swung out with his mace. Aiming low, Bragh struck against Faris' left ankle. There was a cracking sound and Faris howled in pain. Hobbling, Faris backed away. Seeing his enemy struggling, Bragh stood up again and ran forward.

Faris swung his mace again, catching Bragh across his left shoulder. Bragh grunted in pain, but knew it should have been much worse. Faris' being off-balanced and unable to stand on both feet, the attack had not been to full strength. Bragh shifted to the side with the impact of the attack. As Faris' mace lowered in the arc of the swing, Bragh spun around it and swung his mace low again. This time, he hit Faris' other leg at the knee, shattering it.

Faris dropped to the ground, roaring in pain. Rolling onto his back, he gripped his weapon and prepared to swing it again. But before he could raise it from the ground, Bragh was above him, stepping down on Faris' hand. Holding his own mace up, Bragh brought it down and across Faris' head. There was a deafening clang as the helm, that had protected Faris' head from a mortal strike, went flying into the air and landed with a thud on the ground nearby.

Dazed, Faris looked up and to find Braghaman standing over top of him, his mace held in the air. 

"You won't kill me," Faris spat.

"You're right," Bragh said slowly, lowering his mace to his side.

"You're weak, Larethian," Faris taunted.

"Maybe," Bragh said as he stood up and backed away from the prone paladin. "But there's something you should know." "What's that?" Faris asked through the pain of his shattered knee and ankle.

"I'm not going to kill you," Bragh said. Then he pointed to the woods close by. "But the things in there likely will."

"Goodbye Faris," Braghaman added as he turned and walked away. Picking up his shield, Bragh whistled for his charger which showed up quickly. Bragh climbed into his saddle and looked back at the paladin laying on the ground, sputtering insults and demanding help. Bragh shook his head and rode away.

Faris rolled on the ground and tried to crawl back towards town. He could hear the howl of the beasts in the forest. They'd smelled his blood and were coming to investigate. As he crawled slowly, panic building, he tried to call on the Light to heal his wounds. But the pain was too much, his hate too great. Faris could not focus to repair his wounded legs.

Looking behind him, Faris saw the first beasts peering out of the treeline. They were starting to move closer to their prey: him. Panic grew and he tried to crawl quicker through his pain. As he turned to look where he was heading, he noticed a person in white robes looking at him, watching.

"Father Corenyn," Faris called with relief. "Help me."

"Why would I do that?" Father Corenyn asked, looking down at the damaged paladin.

Faris shook his head, not understanding the question. Looking back, he saw the beasts had stopped. Something had caused them to stop. They simply stood there, watching what was happening.

"Braghaman got away," Faris said through gritted teeth.

"He's of no consequence anymore, Faris. We must change our plans because of your failure."

"You have to heal me," Faris pleaded, crawling closer to the priest. "Then we can go after Larethian." 

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Corenyn said, looking down at Faris with a look of slight disgust.

"What? Why not?" Faris sputtered.

"Well, as I'm not really a priest, there's really nothing I can do for you," Corenyn replied with a dark grin. "You've outlived your usefulness, Faris. You should pray that they're quick with you," he added with a nod towards the beasts that stood back, growling.

Before Faris could understand what was happening, Corenyn disappeared. Turning back, he watched as the beasts sniffed the air. Whatever was holding them back was gone. With howls, they launched forward at the prone paladin.