"The Blood Lion"

"The Blood Lion"

 by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

 

 

    I was young then , barely 16 summers old as I helped in conquering city after city.  We were a victorious army and though we had so many champions in our midst , there was one who would always stand out in all of the battles , he who would amass the most glory in all of the fields of war that our army would ever set foot on. They called him the Blood Lion. I first saw him on the fields of Arlon. The massive area filled with the Arlonian Dogs of War , the strongest legion in the west , we were on the brink of a disastrous campaign , the Arlonian tacticians have managed to slow down the progress of our siege engines , the support lines  were straggling a bit farther than our own generals wanted and there was a belief that cutting these vital supplies would stop the army from progressing.  There was always a strafing run aimed at these caravans , one of them lead by an Arlonian General called Cleaver , no one believed he got that name by being very nice to his enemies and we would soon behold his entire cavalry of Cleavers... massive knives on poles meant to slice a man in two...I was one of the luckiest ones hand picked to protect the supplies and was also the first to witness those who would fall by the hands of the cleavers. They were efficient killers , each strafing run resulting in more and more deaths. Though my comrades fought we were clearly outmatched and I knew that in the next run it would be my turn to die. Then as they were about to reach me they froze in their paths and as I turned to look where their gazes have been transfixed I saw the reason why they stopped. "Blood Lion"  , the peasant to my left would whisper , half in awe , half in fear.

 

     In contrast to the sea of White armors all around him , The Blood Lions armor was made of metal that was pure red , rumor has it that it started out silver but got that hue due to the many battles that he has fought.  he waved for the rest to hang back and to see to the caravan. He moved forward toward the enemy.This would be the first time that I would see him in action. He pulled out his 2 swords from behind him , they were curved like half moons , the one on the right was the Black Moon and the one on the left was the Red Moon , legendary swords in the hand of a legendary swords man , the breeze seemed to stop as the Blood Lion kneed his warrior steed forward...an audible thudding of hooves as 2 Cleavers drove in to meet the challenger and in an instant that defied any logic the 2 chargers passed by the Red Armored Champion , their bloodied halberds still pointing forward , their heads severed so quickly that they fell and the Blood Lion paused for a moment to whisk away their blood from the moon swords...

 

General Cleaver upon seeing two of his ranks dead moved forward. "What is your name?" The General demanded , grinding every syllable into a command that would shake any other mans will.

 

     The Blood Lion did not respond , he merely waited and with eyes that no one could see behind his red helm stared at the general. Waiting.

 

     The General took offense at this and merely charged  believing that protocol would not be served and his honor would not be satisfied until the death of this Red clad stranger was upon his hands. He felt the anger welling up from within him that he felt emboldened to attack with his fastest strike , something he hasn't used in years but something that seperated men and horse alike in previous battles and that was his aim , to strike a blow into this champion so that everyone would surrender in terror , that their fate would be the same , that the cleavers would be true to their name hack all of them away.

 

      The Blood Lion had other thoughts about his death  and if he was like a blur in his previous attack , his speed this time made he seem like he was phasing in and out of reality one horse gallop and he would reappear much farther and if someone as keen eyed like me could not catch up with his movements , the peasants might have thought he was some sort of Kami that has materialized because of their prayers. but he was not a Kami , I believe he wasn't a man as well , but maybe a little of both and as I thought this the outcome was no longer in question the phasing Red Warrior phased one more time his left hand sword slashing sideways as his stable steed jumped once and seemingly phased out of reality only to reappear with what only seemed the blink of an eye directly at the back of the offended general. The general then turned his steed back and looked at the Blood Lion. "Please tell me your name." The Cleaver pleaded softly and at first I was surprised that the ill tempered man would change in an instant , then I saw it, the armor splitting slowly from his left shoulder down to his hip , where a red line was already  forming. "Please Sir , Your Name."  He pleaded.

 

     "When you arrive in hell tell them that the Blood Lion has sent you." The Red clad man said with no inflection.

 

     The General smiled and said. "That I will tell them...and I shall await you there to regain my honor" and with that final word the man tore in half as if his own weight betrayed him. The rest of his cavalry became hesistant but his lieutenant knew better than to fight a man that could easily strike them down without breaking up a sweat and ordered a hasty retreat. And that was how the legend of the Blood Lion grew by saving the supply lines that I was in , ensuring the army of a great victory on the Plains of Arlonia. I was with the Blood Lion in all his campaigns. This is only the beginning.