[Narrator] At dawn the gates of Granite Respite opened. The Living Swords marched east beneath grey skies. Not heroes yet. But willing to walk toward the dark. [Kess] Listen carefully. Granite Respite survives only if we build something stronger. Thirty warriors for the Iron Barriers. Thirty for the Steel Vanguard. Every recruit must be someone we trust when Hell opens again. [Brakka] Then we find the strongest. [Kess] Not just strongest. Reliable. Protective. Disciplined. [Hagan] So definitely not me. [Laughter] [Lira] You’re useful bait. [Huge laughter] [Narrator] The roads beyond Valorn had changed. Burned farms. Broken wagons. Old graves dug open from the inside. And carved into dead trees… the same infernal mark appeared again and again. [Kess quietly] Eric was right. Demons are moving through the frontier. [Brakka] Then bigger things follow. [Narrator] Then they found the bodies. Three merchants beside a shattered cart. One still clutching a child’s toy. Another pinned to a tree by a broken spear. Burned into the wagon… the mark of the Pit. [Lira kneeling] Tracks. Bugbears. Orcs. …Trolls. [Kess] Weapons ready. [Narrator] The forest erupted. Bugbears charged from both sides. Orc archers screamed from the ridges. Three chained trolls dragged iron hooks through the snow. And behind them… a horned demon commander. [Demon] VALORN WILL FALL!! [Double kick drums] [Brakka] SHIELDS UP!! [Narrator] The impact shook the road. Brakka met the first troll head-on. His hammer shattered bone like thunder. But the monster kept coming. [Kess] LEFT FLANK!! [Lira] ARCHERS HIGH RIGHT!! [Narrator] Arrows darkened the sky. Lira dropped two orcs before they reached cover. Hagan vanished beneath a charging bugbear… then somehow emerged riding it downhill into another group. [Hagan] THIS IS EITHER VERY BRILLIANT OR VERY BAD!! [Narrator] It was both. [Kess] Protect the wounded!! Stay together!! [Narrator] The enemy kept growing. The Living Swords were being surrounded. The demon laughed as black fire spread across the battlefield. [Demon] The Spider Riders already march. Valorn dies next. [Narrator] Then Brakka fell. A troll smashed him into the frozen road hard enough to crack stone. [Kess] BRAKKA!! [Kess kneeling] Brakka… please… [Brakka coughing] …not dead yet. [Brakka roaring] NOW I’M ANGRY!! [Narrator] The counterattack became legend. Brakka crushed the troll king’s skull. Kess drove radiant steel through the demon’s chest. Lira blinded archers with impossible shots. And Hagan accidentally ignited an enemy supply wagon. [Hagan] GOOD NEWS!! [Kess] WHY IS EVERYTHING ON FIRE?! [Hagan] THAT FEELS SECONDARY RIGHT NOW!! [Kess] HOLD THE LINE!! [Brakka] FOR VALORN!! [Mercenary Crowd] FOR VALORN!! [CHORUS] WE STAND OUR GROUND WE DO NOT BREAK WE ARE THE BLADES THE DARKNESS HATES WHEN HELL DESCENDS WE RISE AGAIN THE LIVING SWORDS WILL NEVER END STEEL AND BLOOD FIRE AND STORM WE FIGHT TO KEEP THE LIGHT STILL BORN WHEN SHADOW FALLS WE STAND AS ONE THE LIVING SWORDS ARE NEVER DONE [Narrator] When the battle ended… snow melted beneath burning corpses. And inside broken prisoner cages… they found survivors. [Torren Vale] You people always fight like this? [Hagan] Unfortunately yes. [Sylra Moonbrook] You saved us… [Kess] Can you fight? [Sylra] Can you survive without a healer? [Kess smirks] Fair point. [Narrator] Torren Vale. Shield mercenary. Sylra Moonbrook. Battlefield healer. Two more blades for the Company. But the warning mattered more than the victory. Spider Riders were marching. New armies gathered. And somewhere in the darkness… someone was rebuilding the war. [FINAL CHORUS] WE HOLD THE LINE THROUGH FIRE AND PAIN WE RISE THROUGH LOSS AGAIN AND AGAIN THE DARK MAY COME BUT WE DON’T RUN THE LIVING SWORDS FIGHT ON AS ONE WITH HAMMER STRIKE AND BLAZING STEEL WE ARE THE SHIELD THE DARKNESS FEARS WHEN KINGDOMS FALL WHEN HOPE IS GONE THE LIVING SWORDS SHALL CARRY ON [Narrator] And so they marched onward toward the Red Dragon Inn… bloodied… bruised… and finally understanding what being Living Swords truly meant.
