So this is Ramsey, the hero of mankind, the general who leads their armies to impossible victories against us, Burof thought, batting the man into the corner of the room with one swing of his colossal blade. Not so strong without his army.
Burof was an Orc elite. He weighed three or four times as much as the human struggling to stay on his feet before him. The Orc king had been humiliated by Ramsey’s strategic brilliance for the last time. When he learned where the general was staying, he sent the entirety of Gorthac’s Fang, a battalion of the mightiest Orc soldiers, to take him out.
Burof thrust his sword forward. Ramsey tried to knock the attack aside but failed. The massive weapon impaled his chest, shattering his ribs, and drove two feet out his back. His face froze in a voiceless scream.
Burof raised his sword and the limp body into the air. The hero of the humans was dead. Orcs would soon rule the entire valley. He cocked his head to the side as Ramsey’s eyes flickered open. He had killed many a human; that was not normal. Ramsey lifted his head, staring straight at Burof. What is happening?
The human set one palm to either side of the sword running through his body. He grunted and pushed his hands past each other, snapping the blade. Dropping to the ground, he landed lightly despite the huge chunk of metal lodged in his torso. He picked up his own sword and charged at Burof.
It’s not possible! The Orc flailed what remained of his weapon, but Ramsey dodged with inhuman speed and then brought his sword down on Burof’s wrist. It cut clean through. Burof howled in pain. The next strike cut his leg in half. He crashed to the floor in a pool of his own blood.
Ramsey leapt off the fallen giant. In midair, he cut straight through the next Orc’s battle ax and neck. This was the strength of a god.
The strength of the gods bestowed upon a human, Burof realized. It is not the Orcs’ destiny to rule the valley. The gods have deemed us unworthy.
Notes:
The first two paragraphs started as one of my 10-minute speed writes. The premise of the story came from a vague idea I have for a novel. The main character is the polar opposite of your typical protagonist; he's bad, he's powerful, and he's content with his life as it is. He easily overcomes any obstacle that he encounters and beats any adversary that stands in his way. This scene would be the turning point of the story. Afterward, he's weak, missing a hand and leg. He can't be a warrior anymore and must rely on the help of others. It would be interesting to see how his perspective and character would change going forward.
