“Put your back into it! The kingdom is not paying us for you to slack off.”

Whenever they acquire newly forged weapons, this is the common occurrence in the barracks of the royal army. Most knights are on the burly side, with their significantly broad shoulders and heavily muscled torsos with some elongated scars running along the length of their skin.

In the armory, the youngest knights are in charge of sorting through the delivered weapons. Spears and lances were placed against walls. Swords positioned pointing down along pegs with some shields paired up.

“Eric! Take these with you. Your squad might need more of them.”

The man named Eric proceeded to take the crate off his companion’s hands. It was filled with armor plates for replacement. The last time he was on a mission, more than half of his soldiers went back barely breathing with their own blood marring the otherwise pristine sheen of their armor. As all of them were on recovery, Eric is currently made in charge of the newly joined ones.

Orders were given left and right with not much room to breathe. The armory reeks of perspiration from half a day’s work and it doesn’t seem to be over anytime soon. Yongsun merely accepts that this is how her time will be used today.

Yongsun never thought she would want to be a knight. She came from a fairly well-off family in one of the kingdom’s main towns. Her father is the local blacksmith, her mother runs a dress shop and her sister attends to the local clinic. It was her dream to be part of the court with the numerous balls and parties when she was a child but her perception changed after an attack.

The kingdom is currently at war with the rising tyranny in the neighborhood. Everyone knows how dangerous it is to simply let the orcs ran amok while swinging their grotesquely stained bats and blades. Also, the outskirts of the kingdom had already been enslaved by the violent creatures and they are going to be next if they do not move.

Most townsfolk are engaged by the crown to fight amongst them in ranks with appreciable rewards in slaying heaps of them. However, it was not enough motivation as some took sail to flee the continent and find their fortune somewhere else. It was what Yongsun’s family intended at first… before they became victims too.

Her innocent childhood turned to dust after she saw her parents get cut in half in a raid. She was hidden with her sister under the wooden floors of their house. Through the gap, she gave herself a goal instead of a dream.

“Everyone gather around,” Eric’s voice boomed through the armory. “I am Nam Yoondo, better known as Eric,” a collective gasp came from his audience. “Today, I will be in charge of your training exercises as well as your first few missions for the kingdom so I hope everyone here would do their best. That’s all.

“Hail Solra!”

“Hail Solra!” the crowd cheered back.

The next two years was full of grueling training sessions and endurance tests to assure they are in top shape to face an orc alone. Along those days, Yongsun became close to two other trainees, Chorong and Changsub. Just like her, they too have their own purpose in joining the kingdom’s army. Chorong came home to her parents’ mangled bodies after she went to another town for a business errand and is currently seeking justice for her family and innocence. Changsub was an orphan along with his older brother and they both traveled within the kingdom as freelancers just to get by, however, they were ambushed by an orc caravan that took everything but his life.

All three of them went through losing loved ones.

Their main goal is found somewhere treading along the thin line between vengeance and justice unlike others that are truly honorable enough to fight for their people or those whom have been attracted by the prospect of gold and glory.

It is not ideal but a war with savages is not the place for strict principles.

The time they have been preparing for has finally come. At the break of dawn, Yongsun woke up to the captain’s voice notifying them of a mission from a nearby border. The briefing entailed that they leave at the soonest time possible since there seems to be a patrol party of orcs that is dangerously progressing nearer each day.

Captain Eric’s squadron packed up immediately and suited up properly for probable combat and temporary stay at the northeastern border camp. The young knights were abuzz with fear and anticipation of the coming events in their three-hour journey as it is their first time into the actual fray.

“Everybody stick in groups,” the captain announced. “Sooner or later you will encounter one of those nasty bastards so there is no use in thinking negatively. They don’t know what mercy is and will certainly not show any so don’t let your training be in vain.”

The knights nodded their understanding and soon began to file out of the barracks.

The journey started out smoothly in the early morning. Most of their belongings were slung across the horses’ backs while anything that might be urgently needed is either tied around their waist or torso.

Yongsun’s hands were shaking in nervousness despite the calm atmosphere. A war is an unpredictable phenomenon and anything can happen. She could die at any time, her friends could die at any time and not to mention, her sister is most probably worried sick about her. She hasn’t written to her in two weeks and today she just might breathe her last breath.

Changsub was the bright ray of sunshine in their little group. Upon noticing Yongsun being too quiet than usual, he broke out into a marching song.

Yongsun got startled at his antics and Chorong noticed. Despite her reserved nature, Chorong was quite sensitive about her surroundings and proceeded to slap the singing man on the shoulder, hard. Changsub let out a yelp but otherwise continued, looking back at both of them with his smiling eyes trying to cheer them up somehow.

His infectious energy was able to affect the group and everybody else followed along. The captain didn’t mind too much, claiming that it could raise everyone’s morale.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. Time passed and they finally reached the border.

The encampment was already burnt to ashes.

Everyone tensed as the captain drew his sword from the scabbard. The young knights followed suit and began scanning their environment.

With shields raised and swords tightly held, not one soul dared to breathe upon checking each burned remain, may it be the tents or their fallen comrade.

Yongsun kept aware of any sudden movement. She was made in charge of keeping the horses from running away since any trap left behind can startle them easily. Chorong and Changsub were sent to investigate more on the corpses since they trained for longer than she did.

Suddenly, a blur from far away is darting towards the camp. At first look, it might be a wild horse running away from humans but when it passed the camp, everyone saw the trail of blood dripping off its tail and the forgotten saddle placed at its back.

Captain Eric rushed in the direction of where the horse came from. He was shouting orders for the knights to assemble in a defensive position and raise their shields at eye height with helmets.

He made some of his jousters remove the baggage on the horses and mount them while being armed with lances.

The archers with their lighter armor were made to stand back at a considerable distance and put up an improvised fortress for them to be stationed at and also where the injured could be treated.

In the midst of their preparation, the ground began to shake. In the distance, eight towering orcs can be spotted.

The fearsome brutes charged head on. Archers were doing their best to keep them at bay but they don’t even flinch when arrows sink into their skins. When the orcs breached the limit Eric designated, the knights went into the fray with their lances pointing to the targets. They were able to take down two but at the cost of half the squad.

The captain keeps on shouting orders but Yongsun remained jittery at the back with Changsub and Chorong. Her usually bright and happy friend kept on flexing his right arm, constantly adjusting the grip he has on his sword. Her composed friend on the other hand has a tight grip on her bow and keeps on muttering something akin to a prayer under her breath.

Yongsun herself can’t focus properly. From the beads of sweat on her forehead to the distinct thunder of the battlefield and her heart, she can’t help being oversensitive in the situation. They were nearing too fast for anyone’s tastes. However, they seem to be injured enough for it to be plausible to engage combat.

They finally broke through the main defenses.

“For Solra!!!”

All at once, everything was gruesome and bloody. Blood splattered across pristine armor, blunt weapons crushed into well forged plates and shields and blades kept on slicing through flesh. The battle at dawn went on until the sun has risen to its full glory, exposing the stained meadow.

Only two orcs were remaining at the opponents’ front end with their ringleader seemingly looking over them. It was not boding well for any remnants of the knights since they were either bleeding out or full of gashes. The reckless way the brutes were fighting caused damage on both sides but significantly more on the less towering humans.

Yongsun has long shed off her gauntlets and shin plates for additional mobility as it is the only area they can overcome the orcs. Chorong on the other hand removed her helmet to properly feel the wind and aim the arrows where it truly hurts while keeping distance. Changsub was not taking any chances and kept his full gear, willingly going toe to toe with one of them.

The tall man launched himself at the smaller orc that is dual wielding war axes. He bashed his shield into its side for it to stagger then followed to stab its arm. His strategy worked but the orc didn’t give and was looking to strike back. Yongsun rushed from behind, jumped and fully stabbed its exposed back with her sword. Caught off guard, the monstrous creature swung its arms wildly in order to reach the girl at his back, hitting Changsub with the blunt of his axe.

Within the chaos, Chorong aimed for the legs and the monster was finally at its knees. Yongsun merely kept the sword within the flesh and moved it around causing the orc to jerk violently in random directions. After recovering, Changsub finally finished the job and cut off its head.

There was a fraction of satisfaction within the three of them after going through the difficulty of taking down one. They looked on in awe as they witnessed their captain flawlessly directing their remaining comrades while fighting with them. The captain truly displayed the heroism he was known for and kept getting into the fray, exiting with minimal injuries until finally the ringleader was the one left.

A deep rumble echoed within their ears as the remaining orc laughed tauntingly at them.

“Tch,” he scoffed. “So you are Eric, the clean-faced imp that killed my brother.” He laughed again, “it would be a pleasure to finally break your bones and I do wonder…” There was a malicious glint in its eye, “would the flesh of a damned hero be more appropriate for stew or roast?” Then he charged without warning.

The war hammer the large orc was wielding struck the ground where Eric was. The remaining soldiers struggled to keep their balance and rushed away from the probable showdown between the captain and the ringleader. Surprisingly, it kept up easily with Eric’s renowned nimble movements and doesn’t give him any chances of striking.

“We have to do something,” Changsub muttered loud enough for his comrades to hear. Everyone only looked at him with wide eyes at the idea he was suggesting.

“Are you crazy?” one of them contested. “We can’t even stand a few meters from that- that monster!”

The tall man looked lost for a bit but Yongsun joined them looking determined.

“We don’t have to get in there if we fight smart.” They then turned to look at her like she was possessed. “Get the ropes we have and tie them to the sturdiest arrows available. The captain wouldn’t last long fighting that monster with his injuries.”

It was true. He was limping from time to time, favoring one of his legs just in time to dodge a swing. If her plan works, this battle could finally end.

The fresh knights surrounded the battlefield with a rope arrow in each hand. Chorong and another archer would shoot the arrows in order to tangle up the opponent when the other knights would apply tension to the rope and make the orc immobile long enough for the captain to injure the enemy.

The archers targeted its limbs first, doing test shots at its thighs with regular arrows. The strategy slowed the orc for a bit with the number of arrows embedded in its flesh. When they proceeded with the rope arrows, they first aimed at its back, moving on to its inhumanely broad arms, momentarily pinning it. The captain saw his chance and swung at the beast’s hands to cut off its fingers. Blood rushed out and the orc thrashed in pain, pulling on the rope arrows.

The knights let go of the ropes in response. Now with neither fingers nor weapons, the beast looked much more sinister and enraged than it had been before.

“You will pay for this puny human.” It seethed out.

On full alert, all of them waited with baited breath what the beast is going to do next.

It went to a full on rampage and pursued the surrounding knights, batting away the captain as if it was a rag doll. It set its sights on Yongsun, somehow sensing that she was the mastermind of his injuries. Its daunting steps approaching near caused her to freeze in place, facing the darkness looming from the distance. Fortunately, one of her fellow knights was on a horse with a spare lance and hit the orc at its ribs but it was a short lived victory as the green monstrosity simply plucked it off the horse with both palms and proceeded to bite his head off, spitting the helmet.

That got Yongsun to have a flight response and tried to lead it to one of the fragile watchtowers. The watchtower fell on the orc but only caused minimal damage to the enraged enemy. The monster finally caught up to Yongsun but another rope arrow found space at the monster’s right calf, with Chorong pulling from the other end.

Yongsun’s momentary relief was immediately shattered when the monster pulled on the rope forcefully and pulled her friend along. Another kind of panic settled at her stomach, and she picked up the nearest weapon available- a spear- and proceeded to stab it on the other leg, giving her friend a chance to scamper away from danger.

The spear remained lodged into the orc’s flesh. It is now limping towards her with unbridled bloodlust. She scrambled to pick up a discarded pair of sword and shield and prepared herself for combat. She immediately dodged the arm sweeping to take her down and kept an adequate distance to hopefully tire out the orc. It went on for what felt like hours but was actually only a few minutes. She was getting more and more exhausted by the minute. A few stabs and slashes were not enough to deter the orc from trying to reach her.

Thankfully, somebody also sought to end the battle and assisted her. From out of nowhere, Changsub was able to swing a grisly club at the orc’s injured left leg causing it to kneel on one knee.

“Now, Yongsun!”

Not waiting any further, the woman mentioned cut off its standing leg from the front and blood poured out by gallons. It was not yet finished as she run around it barely dodging the sweeping motion of the brute’s arm. When she placed herself behind the hunched-over orc, she climbed its lower back dexterously and stabbed the blade behind the neck. To finally finish off everything, she dragged the sword along its spine with the monster thrashing, flailing and finally, dead.

Yongsun let her body slump to the ground from all the exhausted effort for the first battle she has ever experienced.

“We… we did it,” Yongsun murmured quietly as everyone surrounded the blood-stained patch of grass she is in.

Chorong was the first to run to her and check her injuries. With bleary eyes, she tried to scan around and saw that not even a fifth of them remained. As she was recovering her thoughts, she saw Changsub pick up an axe from the ground and cut off the head of the dead monster. Sensing some people watching, he turned around while holding the orc’s head.

“It can’t hurt to make sure… he was the one who killed my brother.” With shining eyes, he turned to Yongsun, “thank you, my friend.”

Behind Changsub, they saw a figure rise. They almost forgot about their captain that got batted away into the barricades.

Everyone rushed to him, Yongsun forgoing her injuries for a moment. The first two who reached him propped him against a nearby boulder and promptly removed all his armor, left in nothing but his clothes. They can see his shirt soaked in blood while he holds his side. Chorong tried to give him immediate aid but he simply shooed her away.

“Captain you’re going to bleed out,” Chorong argued.

Eric didn’t heed her and just scanned the crowd in front of him.

“Well, at least – ugh – you guys did not go through this alone,” he was smiling brightly at them even with blood staining his teeth.

“Jin-JInyoung, you lead everyone home now, okay?” it was phrased as a gentle request but everyone knew he was giving out his last orders.

“And-and Changsub bury me – haaah – beside this boulder,” he tilted his head toward the direction of the orc’s head. “Put that thing on a pike,” he coughed out some blood, “and place it near my grave.”

“Anyone of you got a dagger?”

Chorong took hers out of a satchel and turned questioning eyes to the captain.

“Chorong, can you – ahh – cut off my amulet for me.” The girl in question did as she was told and held out the amulet while waiting the captain’s orders.

“Y-Yongsun, take the amulet and my sword,” he looked off into the space near them. “I would award them to you myself but – ah damn – as you can see I’m a bit preoccupied.”

Stunned at the sight of their strong leader, he held all of Yongsun’s attention. Chorong headed for the sword a few meters away and handed it with the amulet to her friend.

“Y-You lead them now, okay? F-From this day onward, you will be acknowledged as the daughter of the sun, b-born at the battle of dawn.”

With the sun shining high above their heads, a hero has fallen, giving rise to another in his honor, Solar.

A/N: I'd like to know your thoughts on this one 
:D