Throughout the history of our great continent of Elibe, there have been many occurrences that can simply be referred to as legends. The Scouring, the massive war that pitted man against dragon in what seemed a hopeless war. The Eight Legends, who crafted their weapons of legend, made to strike down dragon, that brought mankind back from the brink of destruction. The events of the last several years are something that I, having lived through them, can only describe as worldchanging. Like many tales that transcend time, the events that set our legend in motion seemed mundane in comparison to all that would come to pass. This Chronicle, which has found its way to you, relays this information from the eyes, ears, and words of those who lived it. While the Legion had been around for around two years already, its legend begins on a calm Spring day in mid-March in the year 983…
As with every challenge for full membership in the Legion, it was around noontide of the day the duel was set. Every member, from the newest trainee, all the way up to Cinder himself, was present. Asher, our second-in-command, was centered in the sparring area, which has been worn to dirt from constant use. On this day, a new format of challenge was to occur. Due to an increase in the number of trainees, gone are the days of a one-on-one duel with a captain to earn their red. Now to earn the red garb of the Hellfire Legion, one must, with a partner now, finish their six month training cycle. At the end of the cycle, they face off with another group to the point of inability to fight to earn membership. The winners earn their red. The defeated either leave the group, or may elect to repeat their training and fight another group to earn membership. This fated day, one group stands where they stood six months ago and were beaten by our group’s ninth and tenth full members, Osric and Silver. After a year of Asher’s demanding physical training, Grant and Langley were aptly prepared for their challengers. Across from them stood two men who met on the road briefly before joining the Legion. Duringard, a man in his mid-twenties, was once a minor noble in Pherae, before his father and elder brother were assassinated. His family’s remaining holdings were picked apart by the other nobles of the city, and all he had left was his cavalry unit. Misfortune struck, leaving only him, his horse, and word of a group of mercenaries that were working out of the northeastern part of Lycia. On his way there, he encountered a nomad of Sacae, wandering aimlessly through the Lycian countryside. This young man, now his partner, was a member of the Cimmerian tribe, found in the northern mountains of his home continent. Corin was considered a barbarian amongst his tribe, more so among the rest of the tribes of Sacae. Fate couldn’t bring together two more different individuals. Fate didn’t care. Fate needed these two for its plans of grandeur. Fate required them to be prepared to what would come. This was just the first step towards all that the world would throw at them.
In the true mercenary spirit, many of the members were placing bets on the outcome of the fight. There seemed to be no favorite in the betting. Both teams had a member skilled with hammers and axes, the other with dual wielding swords. The combatants held their training weapons at the ready. Grant’s knuckles were white from clenching his sword handles. Duringard’s ever-calm demeanor was being tested. All four of them knew what was at stake here. Asher gave both teams a look and a nod. He backed out of the ring, and spoke.
“Give it everything you’ve got, and fight ‘til you can’t!”
At once, the teams dashed at each other. Like fighters met at the center of the ring. Duringard scored a quick hit to Langley’s chest, knocking the wind from him. Corin and Grant locked swords in a contest of strength. Recovering from the hit, Langley gave a counterattack, but was met with Duringard’s hammer, the blow deflected. Grant, realizing he would soon be overpowered, broke away from the deadlock, and took a pair of swings at Corin, one sword connecting, the other caught by Corin’s swords. With a skillful maneuver, Corin disarmed him of one his weapons by using his momentum to rip it from Grant’s hands and throw it to the side. However, with his side exposed, Grant used the small opening to strike with full force at Corin’s ribs. He was rewarded with a solid knock that garnered a few grimaces from the onlookers. Seeing his partner’s success, Langley refocused on Corin and hit him squarely in the back with his hammer. To save his partner, Duringard forced himself between Langley and Corin. His armor would be able to eat a blow or two while he assisted Corin dispatch his rival. With a swing of the hammer and a pair of swings from Corin’s training blades, Grant took the full force of their efforts and was beaten. Right before he slipped unconscious, he uttered a phrase of encouragement to his teammate. Seeing that this was now an unfair fight, Langley attacked with reckless abandon. Duringard’s armor did exactly what it needed to do. The team, now able to focus their efforts, moved to surround him. And while Langley could give as good as he took with Duringard, the combined assault from Corin and Duringard proved to be too much and he fell from many strikes from Corin’s weapons.
The duel lasted a matter of minutes, and it took a few seconds after the fight was over for the duo to realize that it was won. Corin and Duringard were met with several cheers and the odd groan from people that lost their wager. The trainees soon left, and the other full members helped the defeated team to their feet and led them off to receive any needed medical attention. At this point, all that remained in the training yard were the victors and the four captains of the Legion. Cinder, the commander of the Legion, skilled in many magics; Asher, the sub-commander and blacksmith for the Legion; Heath, the quartermaster and stable master; and Glint, head of scouting and the architect of the Legion’s fort, awaited them. Cinder stepped forward and was applauding slowly.
“Let me be the first to congratulate you on your victory today. This is an important day for you two. First things first. Asher!”
Asher produced two large cloaks from a bag he was carrying. They were freshly made and dyed a dark crimson color. He gave one to each of them. Corin tied his around his waist almost in a manner similar to how Glint wore his. Duringard had other plans for his red. He held on to it and awaited what Cinder was going to tell them.
“This is your red. Take care of it. It denotes your full membership in our Legion. We want to stand out in the field. It makes us visible. It makes us memorable. When people see it, their first thought should be of the Hellfire Legion and what they can have us do, for the right price, naturally. Now that you are full members, you will need a captain to work with. While you’ve worked with all of us, from here on, you will work directly with one of us on your missions until we deem you proficient enough at finding jobs and have built up a reputation for yourself. As for who your captain is, we’ll let fate decide.”
He turned his attention to his fellow captains and they all walked over to a wooden box and each placed in two spherical stones. Asher put in black, Heath’s were the same shade of cerulean as his plate mail, Glint’s were a lush green. Cinder picked up the box and gave it a solid shake and placed in his two fire red stones before giving the box another shake. He stood facing Duringard, who stood about six inches taller than the commander, and motioned for him to draw. Duringard reached in and drew a red stone out. Cinder smiled, and walked to Corin, who towered over Cinder by at least a foot and placed his hand in. He gave Cinder a slightly puzzled look, and Cinder smirked back at him. Corin drew out the other red stone in the box. Cinder walked back to the table, put the box back on it, and dismissed the other captains. He leaned on the table and addressed his new team.
“Well, fate has determined that you will work alongside me. I’ll soon show you your new quarters in the fort as well. Truth be told, I wanted you on my team. I’ve watched the two of you throughout your training, and there’s something special about the two of you. I’m looking forward to teaching you what I know about being the best mercenaries the land has to offer. As far as the rest of the day goes? Rest up. I have a mission for us, and we’ll be heading into town tomorrow to accept it.”
Before he leaves, he flips a small latch on the box and removed the top half of the box, revealing a hole that was too small to allow Cinder’s stones to pass through, but the others could.
“Always remember, if you know what you’re getting into, you have more control over your fate than you realize.”
He gave a slight smile as he walked away. His words would prove to be more true than even he realized in the days, weeks, months, and years to come. The Legion would grow, fight in and lead armies, and take part in events unthought of for hundreds of years. And it all started with a duel with wooden weapons, fought on a field of dirt.
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