It was night, the very air was cold as the Icy Mountains and the sky above was black. The only source of light was the pale specks of stars and the full moon. The clan guards remained awake and ready at the gate which led to the forest where War-Chief Steel and his warriors marched through to greet the enemies’ blades with their own. The torches around the clan fences burned brightly, and all the villagers slept soundly with confidence that they were well protected... All but one, who always saw things in a grim yet all so true way.

Thorgard lay upon his back within his hut. The embers within the middle of the hut burned dimly. Thorgard was soundless yet awake, blades nearby and ready for the worst. Like his father, he always prepared for the worst, no matter what the situation was. It is not that he lacked faith in his father, only that he could do nothing more than wait... To sleep soundlessly during a war was just not Thorgard's style.

A shadowy figure made her way into his hut, Thorgard's icy blue eyes darted to the entrance of his hut to greet Dawn's dark blue eyes. She came into view and smiled weakly, she was bundled up in thick bear furs. Underneath the fur blankets she wore nothing.

"What are ye doin' here at this here hour?" Whispered Thorgard. He sat up, leaning against the back of the hut wall. He sat upon a thick bearskin rug; Dawn made her across the small hut to sit beside him upon the rug. She laid her head against Thorgard, feeling the arm hug her body tight to him made her shiver.

"Couldn't sleep with th' thought of y'er father out there... He be th' only one ye love..?" she asked softly. Thorgard looked ahead of him across the hut.

"Nay," he replied in a low voice. "He be th' one of two people that I love..." he said. Dawn's eyes lit up as she sat up to look into Thorgard's eyes. The two stared into each others eyes.

"Who be th' second?" She asked as she blushed heavily. He chuckled softly before he replied. "In y'er thinkin' it might be ye, then y'er wrong!" he said. He laughed as he raised his arm to shield himself from Dawn's fists which attempted to land on his jaw. She quickly caught the furs as they almost slipped off from her slender form. She now blushed even more, her face red.

"Gah, I hate you..." She said in an angry tone. Thorgard smiled as he put an arm around her, hugging her close to his muscular form once more. Thorgard wore old wool pants with no shoes nor a shirt.

"But in truth, 've been meanin' to tell yeah that I really do appreciate all th' things ye been doin' f'er me... Ye saved me a great deal, many times... Like th' time that old man Maraugh came to me hut when I was a wee lad, accusing me of theft... Ye came an' took th' blame... Knowin' that if I was th' one, he'd chop me head off since father was gone... Many times, savin' me arse an' th' means alot... To me... 've grown to care f'er yeah, an'..." Thorgard stopped, catching himself. Dawn now smiling wide.

"An' what? Thorgard..." Dawn asked as she drew closer to him. He could feel her crawling over on top of him, the blanket now half way off. Before he could tell her exactly what he was feeling, an arrow shot right into the wall next to them, barely missing his head.

The clansmen screamed from outside. War-Chief Steel didn't make it, nor did the warriors, nor did the clans guards... The rival clan was already swarming the camp, and now they were killing all, women and children.

"WAIT HERE!!!" Roared Thorgard as he picked up the axe and darted outside his hut only to turn his head left to barely dodge a blade from a barbarian twice his size.

Thorgard growled as he raised the axe high and sent it down straight onto the barbarians head, cleaving the skull in two. Thorgard's face splattered with the blood, his face like a crazed animal as he joined the few old warriors and the injured clans’ guards. They were outnumbered by hundreds and hundreds more as many more rival clansmen jumped the walls. One by one, the enemies fell, but such countless numbers; it was only a matter of time before they drowned the camp in their mass army.

Thorgard and the others fought hard, bunched in a circle, Odis at Thorgard's side. The two turned to each other and nodded once before looking back into the mass of rival barbarians. With a savage roar, the enemies drew near, Thorgard held his ground while Odis was impaled with a spear. A savage rage took over, and Thorgard swung his axe in an arc motion where it cleaved several rival barbarians in half. The other clansmen already dead behind him, he continued to swing in an oppressive arc, keeping enemies away.

A barbarian from behind attempted to attack his shoulder bone, only to have an arrow shot into him from above. Thorgard looked to see the last clans guard alive. The mighty clansman of Thorgard shot several arrows at once, all meeting the throats of the rival barbarians in front of Thorgard. With a roar, Thorgard looked back to the rival barbarians, and charged them. With another powerful swing, he took off a barbarians head, and opened another's stomach.

Finally, Thorgard yelled in pain, as he was knocked face flat onto the dirt by a barbarian who bull rushed him. Quickly, Thorgard leaped to his feet, unarmed now. The enemy barbarian smirked as he attempted to send a fist to Thorgard's face. Thorgard quickly ducked and picked up a bloodied long sword, sending the blade through the enemy barbarians jaw.

The barbarian's eyes widened as the blade entered the lower jaw, breaking the bone and exiting the mouth. Blood gushed as the barbarian made a few gurgling noises before Thorgard ripped the blade out. Thorgard was now surrounded, a torch near to his left. The enemy barbarians laughed coldly as they closed in on him.

Thorgard reached for the torch and quickly grabbed it, casting it in front of him. The enemy barbarians startled, Thorgard made a dash towards his hut where he attempted to find Dawn.

When he entered the hut, he looked to the corner to see the slender and naked figure crouched and crying. "GET UP, WE'RE GETTIN' OUT OF 'ERE NOW!" Roared Thorgard as he grabbed her arm and yanked her up. He quickly grabbed his baggy shirt and shoved it into her arms. "PUT THIS ON AN' LET'S GO!" he shouted as he yanked her out of the hut with no second more. She gasped, putting the large shirt over her head. The size of the tunic was so big to her that it went to her knees, covering herself up.

The two found a horse while the enemy barbarians were scavenging the area. Little did Thorgard know, that the Clan Conarch... was far from destroyed, not realizing that the warriors still fought, somewhere in the madness of the many masses.

Thorgard hopped on the mount and lifted Dawn up. She hugged to him tightly, her breasts pressing against his back, she whimpered softly, tears trailing down her cheeks.

The mounted couple dashed madly towards the exit, many arrows passing by them. "WE BE ALMOST OUT!" Shouted Thorgard who boomed over the madness of the screams.

A gate lay ahead of them, and as Thorgard closed his eyes as he approached the gate, he made an attempt to jump over it. The mount jumped, rising over the gate, the hoofs barely reaching above the wooden spikes. The horse landed, galloping off into the distance.


When Thorgard and Dawn were far away from the war, he ceased the mount, stopping by an ice cold river. He panted aloud. Thinking back to all the faces in the clan... All of them, dead... Few surviving and his father most likely dead. "We..." He managed to say after a few minutes. "We made it..." He said as he turned around, only to see Dawn pale as a ghost.

She looked to him with a loving smile; she held one hand over the arrow shaft which had penetrated through her back. Thorgard cried out, grabbing her before she fell, getting him and Dawn off the mount. He dragged her away from the mount and the horse, away from the river. He leaned against the cold rock behind him, the village in the far distance behind them. Tears now running down his young cheeks.

"Not you too..." He managed to say softly. A weak trembling hand brushed against his cheek. She forced a weak smile upon her dying face. "I'm... S-Sorry... Didn't... want.. to.. be... troublin'... ye... while we was passin' the arrows.." She stopped, and then continued.

"I..." she said, Thorgard interrupted her. "S-save y'er strength ye fool! Don't be wastin' it on shallow words..." he said firmly as he could. Dawn smiled, then her eyes rolled up into her head and she closed her eye lids.

Thorgard cried out with agony and swollen bitterness, cursing Crom and all the gods, as he hugged her face to his chest, he spoke in a trembling yet deep voice. His very soul now swollen with spite.

"Before we be interrupted by th' fiends..." he said, he stopped himself, struggling to speak straight without bursting into tears. This was the first time he had ever cried, and the last.

"I wanted to tell ye, that I loved you... I always ‘ave… And always will… I’m.. sorry th’ I never told you until… Until now." He said.