Old War Dog

He lay quietly on the muddy ground, uncaring of the coldness soaking in through his clothes and simply gazed at the grey clouds above. He cared not for the stains of brown on the expensive silk of his red trousers already drenched from the arrow imbedded in his right leg and the cuts on his left from the bite of steel blades. His leather boots were already heavy from battle, so he offered no resistance when they sank slightly into the ground. His brown longcoat was torn and soaked in blood that wasn't his own. The metal breastplate, poleyns, and pauldrons he wore were dented, scratched and splattered with blood.

No, he was already a mess so what was a bit more? If nothing else, the coldness of the mud worked to numb the pain of his dying body.

The sound of clinking metal caught the old man's attention, though he refused to spend his waning energy to look for its source.

"So, this is how the great Ricard Lupus falls. Leading an army of heretics and spending his dying breaths in mud," a young masculine voice to his side said, its tone filled with melancholy and spite.

Ricard frowned as he recognized the voice. "If you intend to spite me, Lord Commander, do it where I can see you." He still refused to look at the voice's source. His neck was stiff, the boy wasn't worth the energy.

A young man, pale of skin and hair with bright blue eyes, encased in a fine suit of plate armor entered his vision. Ricard noted with some satisfaction that like his own armor, it too was scratched, muddy and bloody. "I do not intend to spite you. Despite your poor choice in allegiance, you are still a man worthy of great respect," the man said with a frown. "I only ask that you tell me why."

Ricard huffed in amusement and eyed the young man with such. "You make it sound as if I betrayed her 'majesty'," he made no effort to hide his loathing of said woman. "Boy, you can't betray someone you were never loyal to."

The Lord Commander tightened his grip on his sword at his side. "You served the crown for more than forty years! You dedicated half your life to Her Majesty and her father!" Ricard would have laughed were his ribs not in agony.

"That's because her father was a man worthy of my loyalty. His daughter, on the other hand, is a foul, spoiled little girl pretending to be a queen. When her father died, it was only gold that ensured my continued service. Then a higher bidder asked for my service."

For a long time neither said a word. The silence between the two was even more overpowering than the silence of the dead field around them, scattered as it was with thousands of dead men who had spent their final breaths in mortal combat. Finally, the Lord Commander spoke. "Were it not for your presence here today, my men would have easily overpowered this rabble." Another long silence. "As it is, I lost many a good man here today because of you."

"Good," Ricard breathed with satisfaction.

"Good?" The Lord Commander's knuckles grew white under his armor as his grip tightened even further on his sword.

"Yes, good. It'll motivate you to not make the same mistakes you made here, today. All the death today would be pointless if you didn't take-" Ricard's body was wracked with pain as he coughed blood "-something from it."

The Lord Commander released his grip on his sword as he stared at the old man lying in a puddle of mud. Even as his body finally started to give in to Death's embrace, Ricard Lupus had an air of dignity about him than even the highest nobles in the Queen's court could not imitate. He turned and scanned the field around him until he found what he was looking for.

Ricard had resigned himself to a lonely death as the Lord Commander walked away. It came as a surprise then when the man returned with a rapier and longsword. "What are you doing, boy?" Ricard wheezed.

The Lord Commander held the two blades upside down in front of himself as he brought them before Ricard. "An old war dog like you deserves to be laid to rest with with as much respect as a you deserve," he said quietly as he assisted Ricard getting the two grips in the old man's hand before folding his hands over his chest. As the Lord Commander stood, noticing the quickly fading light behind the fallen man's eyes, offered a quick gesture and prayer. "May you find peace in the next life, Ricard Lupus."

Ricard gave a faulting hum. "Doubtful, pup. Old war dogs like me never truly stop fighting." And with those final words, Ricard Lupus allowed darkness to swallow his vision.

Queen Chrysalis looked at the strange ape-like creature before her with curiosity. To say that she was confused would be an understatement but like any Queen worth her title, she did not let it show to the changeling in the room with her.

According to the changeling stallion next her, the strange being had simply appeared in the middle of the medical wards of the castle, no great flash of light or magical explosions. He, and the mostly naked and heavily bandaged creature was most definitely a he, was simply not there one moment and then was the next if the words of her subject were true. It came as no surprise that she was extremely skeptical.

"Has anyone delved to determine his origins?" Chrysalis asked.

The changeling shook his head as his eyes drifted toward the ape thing. "No. He appeared to be near death when he appeared so I couldn't properly justify ordering a delve, in case he died during the process. We have since been waiting for him to stabilize before trying." Chrysalis nodded in approval of the stallion's wisdom. Delves were dangerous enough as they were, as entering the mind of another left a changeling vulnerable to the inner workings of the subject's mind. If said subject were to die with a delver in their mind, the delver would be left brain dead from the trauma.

"What is your name?" Chrysalis asked without warning. If the stallion was surprised by the sudden, odd question, he did not show it.

"Sev, your majesty."

"Very well, healer Sev. Would you say that it is safe to perform a delve now?"

Sev shifted uncomfortably, the thought of performing a delve so soon leaving a bad taste in his mouth. "Yes. It has been several hours since we were able to stop the bleeding and set several broken bones that could have damaged what we presume are major organs, if their position and structure are anything to go by."

He paused and Chrysalis could only guess that his mind had drifted to said similarities. Sev shook his head after a moment and returned his focus to the conversation. "However, despite this, I would recommend we wait another day or two, your majesty. I have no idea how much blood is needed to keep the creature alive but he has lost a significant amount to warrant extreme caution. He may very well still be on the verge of death"

"Hmm," was Chrysalis' only response. She was curious, extremely so, and she wanted to determine if this being was a threat as soon as possible. However, she would trust the healer's caution. There was no use putting either herself or her subjects in danger with so many unknowns.

"Very well," she declared finally. "I want this creature under watch at all times. As soon as you believe he is healthy enough, notify me immediately." And with that, she turned and left the room. There were other matters to attend to that required her attention and not even this strange creature would distract her from them.

"Of course, your majesty."