Roland took a deep breath, his heart beating in chest. She'd just... disappeared. Right in front of his eyes. She said they'd kill him if they saw him. For a moment, he wondered why. Couldn't they tell they were on their side? Of course, they wouldn't trust anyone. He wouldn't either, if an entire kingdom was trying to kill him and everyone he knew. He took a look around, trying to see if the coast was clear. Then he realized he likely wouldn't see them in time, anyway. So he just took off, doing his best to stay low.
The first Fae had already fallen. Griffin bashed it out of the air mid-jump, battering the being's body with the steel of his shield. His reaction speed was amazing, fearsome. He drove the spike of his bill down into their chest, skewering their heart cruelly. He laughed, pleasure flooding his body at the squirming, dying being who pawed up at him fruitlessly. He twisted the spike cruelly, sensing the rapid approach of another. He let go of the bill, drawing his sword in one hand and spinning to take the impact of whatever weapon the Fae was weilding on his shield.
The force of the impact rang out through the din, he felt his arm nearly give way at the force of it, knocking him backwards several feet. Somehow, the prodigy kept his feet, setting them down and facing the Fae with a grin on his face. The Fae was tall, his white hair streaming down his back.
"Elf. You look fierce. Hopefully you're a better challenge than your friend over there." Griffin watched a look of anger cross the being's face, and he raised his blade. "Good, a sword. Glad to see even a savage can appreciate a duel." Griffin stated, dumping his shield and taking the longsword in both hands. Behind them the battle raged on. Their line staggered, the knights pushed back hard, attempting to retake ground.
One found his helmet ripped from his head. He turned, swiping out with instinct and scoring a large gash across one Fae's back. Several darts pierced the back of his skull and neck, and then a small blade punched through his throat, sending him twitching to the ground. Two more knights managed to knock a Fae off stride, battering the being with their shields, driving it to the ground and stomping upon it with their boots. The Fae twitched their last under the cruel men's boots and shields, body broken and bloodied.
Screams echoed out from both sides, wounds suffered, armor stripped, magic deflected. Griffin and his foe faced off, Griffin assuming a solid stance, blade held over his shoulder. They stared into each other's eyes, the fight playing out in their heads. The Fae moved first. He darted at Griffin faster than he anticipated, leaving him only time to react. A glint of silver, and with expert movement of his wrists, Griffin brought his blade down into the bind.
The Fae was flighty, trying to step artfully out of the bind. Griffin saw it coming, pressing the advantage and stepping out to the side. Leveraging his blade around, the pommel of the longsword smashed into the Fae's jaw as he pulled away. Two teeth were shattered inside the Fae's jaw, and a third by the follow up boot that Griffin snapped up instantly, meeting the doubled over Fae midway. The steel toe crashed into his face, splitting the Fae's lip viciously. The Fae's head snapped back, and he responded with blinding speed, closing around Griffin's guard and striking him with a vicious fist to the jaw that rocked him. The Fae's blade shot out at his chest, but Griffin spun away from it.
The move cost him. His footing and ground lost, the bleeding Fae pressed the advantage with his speed. He closed in again, lashing out over his shoulder and scoring a gash that Griffin took across his back. He seized Griffin from behind, attempting to drive his blade up into his kidneys. Griffin responded with astounding speed, perhaps out of pure instinct. He threw his elbow back into the Fae's busted face, flattening his nose in a spray of crimson. His head snapped back, and Griffin turned into him, driving the point of his sword into the Fae's foot.
He cried out, and Griffin snapped his toe up into his gut. Wrenching his blade free, Griffin wound it up over his shoulder and snapped both wrists down, slicing into the back of the Fae's leg. The being dropped to his knees, and Griffin drove one of his own up into the being's bleeding and broken face.
"Severyn!" Griffin heard someone call out. He spun, both hands on the blade, ducking and whipping the blade forward and up. The Fae's speed carried it through his blade, severing its own leg with the sheer velocity. The Fae that had rushed to save their comrade slammed into the ground at full speed, tumbling over themselves horrifically again and again.
"No..." Severyn groaned. Griffin kicked him in the jaw as he passed, and Severyn's vision snapped white. Walking calmly over to the downed Fae, clutching at their ruined stump, he swung the blade up and then down. As Severyn came to, he felt something set upon his chest. He blinked his eyes, and was looking into the eyes of a severed head. The battle. There was no noise anymore. It was over, and Griffin stood above him. That meant... All of them. They were all dead. He had been saved for last.
Roland reached the scene of the massacre, watching from the tree line in horror. All of them... The Fae had been slaughtered, although at a cost to the Knights. Most of their number were dead as well, those remaining wounded. All save for Griffin, who stood over a downed Fae, holding a severed head. Wanting to vomit, he crept over to where Sir Thomas had been. He was nowhere to be found. Perhaps he had escaped?
"Something to remember me by, Fae." He heard Griffin say. He turned to see one of the Knight's handing him a broken bill. He shoved the spike into the ground, and forced the Fae's severed head down onto the splintered shaft."Go back to your people, and tell them nothing will save you from my wrath. Not your armies, not your magic, and not even the Joined Blade, who fight us on our own turf. Men! We can do nothing for the fallen, save pray for their souls. We need to fall back from enemy territory and regroup!"
Roland rose and sprinted away from there then, as fast as he could. Thomas. He had to find Sir Thomas.