Lake Symphonia.

"Everyone, get back!"

A deafening explosion rang out over the lake, causing a gigantic ripple effect that pushed the waters back, creating a dry space in the center of the lake.

Within the spiraling waters was a creature covered in thick sea blue armor. Spikes lined the pauldrons and the back, all the way down to the tail of the massive monster. A helm with a decorative trident shape masked the features of the being.

An ethereal glow emitted from it's eyes as it peered out at the intruders. The being raised its hand and summoned an elongated spear that crackled with dark magical energies.

Were we really ready for this?

"Katsu, Reaver's Blessing, quick!"

Within a crowd of combatants stood an assassin clothed in dark raiment. A hooded cloak with a mask covered his mouth and nose. Upon his back was a long nodachi marked with several rune engravings. The assassin unsheathed the blade and held it out horizontally- placing his hand upon the flat side of the blade as he began chanting a skill spell. A crimson aura soon wrapped around the party he was with, endowing the physical fighters with life-stealing abilities.

I had hoped that would be enough...

"Here it comes!"

The Lake Guardian rose up from the waters and brandished its spear, his powers enabling him to hover in the air over the surface of the waters. The creature remained motionless, as if observing who to attack first. Surrounding him were warriors of every kind. On the ground, there were several ranged units consisting of healers, archers and mages who held up damage reducing fields along with several other buffs that stacked with the healing abilities of the clerics. The creature knew it was outnumbered, yet it remained calm.

"Tank units! Charge!"

The battle cry reached the ears of the creature, causing it to ready it's spear. It began to twirl it above its head, creating a kind of vacuum that sucked everything towards it. With a mighty sweeping motion, the guardian created a shockwave that began forcing back the squads that were charging it. The damage from the assault was absorbed due to the high hit points and defense of the tanks that were leading the charge. However, everyone was debuffed in that same instant.

We seemed so prepared...

"Mage unit! Rebuff!"

One of the mages stepped forward and brandished his staff before raising it high and gathering power into it. A bright light erupted from the staff, creating a similar glow around each of the other combatants. Their stats were raised once more and a regeneration buff was placed upon them.

The assassin called Katsu, rebuffed his team. The guardian looked around and brandished its staff again, pointing it straight at one of the tanks leading the charge. Electricity gathered into the point as it lowered itself into a charging position. In a swift motion, the guardian flickered towards the tank at an accelerated rate. The tank threw up his massive shield in attempts to block the strike.

The spear point crashed into the tank's shield and forced him backwards and through one of the trees surrounding the lake. As it readied itself, a figure flickered into view and lashed out at the colossal guardian, landing several swift strikes with a nodachi before being blown back by a shockwave, into the ground. Katsu landed hard on his back in front of a mage unit, and pushed himself back to his feet, staring up at the beast, his eyes glowing to get a look at the health bar. The clerics immediately set to work on healing him.

I barely scratched it.

The creature aimed its spear at Katsu, gathering electrical energies into the tip as it charged for a special assault. Raising its spear, a beam of bright blue light erupted from it, creating a much longer, lightning spear that reached towards the heavens.

Its target, the ground unit. With a deafening roar, the creature swung its spear down towards the ground only to be met by an obstruction as it clashed with a magic enforced shield. The tank that had been flicked aside had returned, rejuvenated and ready to fight. The electrical current shot across the ground and was pushed away from the squad behind the tank.

"Got your back Katsu..." the tank stated with a smirk.

"Thanks Jay..." Katsu replied, standing up and holding his blade to his side.

"We're really in deep here aren't we?" An archer named Sora stated as she watched the second squad get blown away by an electrical, widespread assault.

She was right...we really were in pretty deep.

"Katsu, Jay, get your asses over here, we need help!" Came a feminine voice that was laced with a thick Russian accent.

"Keep your pants on Yoni, I'm coming!" Katsu yelled, breaking into a sprint, his body becoming a blur as he darted along the path towards the battle.

"Again with the sex jokes?" Jay sighed, taking off after Katsu as the battle rampaged.

The guardian was now on the ground after its life bar had been reduced by a fourth. Katsu flashed between a ginger haired assassin with mini crossbows on her wrists, laced with poisonous ammunition. Her main weapon of choice was concealed. Soul Devouring Claws.

The other individual was a Gladiator with a one-handed blade and black hair covering one of his eyes. Jay followed behind him, swiftly skidding in front of them as a blast of lightning shattered the air. He threw up his shield and absorbed the blast in time. A few of the other squads weren't as fortunate.

"I'm here...what's the plan?" Katsu inquired, getting a stern look from Yoni.

"The same as it was five minutes ago tupitsa, keep track of his timing so we can hit him where it counts. Now move it!"

She was so demanding...but her tactics were always spot on.

"It's shield is going up! Archers, debuff it!"

Several squads of archers readied their bows, lacing them with magical energies before raining down arrows upon the guardian. Once again, the squad of tanks resumed, keeping aggro on them so the other warriors could do their damage. The life bar began to slide lower and lower until it was nearly at half.

"Here it comes! Tank squad, be careful! It's about to get nasty!"

She couldn't have been more right.

With a roar, a powerful surge of electrical energy forced everyone back, troubling the waters below. Magical shields were broken and barriers cracked from the force. The guardian had changed forms. It had discarded its spear and was now wielding a massive trident. It had grown in size and bulk and was now a hulking monstrosity. Annoyed didn't even begin to cut how this thing sounded. It looked around as the faction began rising to their feet, only for its eyes to fall upon the ginger who had been calling the shots. It pointed its scepter straight at her, gathering power in massive amounts as it prepped for an assault.

We were prepared for a fight...but what we got...was more than we bargained for. We were not ready...for this...

"YONI!!!!!"

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And this is where I leave you all in the beginning. Welcome to Swords Of Honor! What you see above is but a taste of what is to come in this book. A little bit of info about what you've read, it was a flashback which will be revisited later in the book. Anyway, thank you to those who have submitted OC's for me to use here! As you can see, a few names have turned up. More will be showing up here and there in this series! I know the prologue was short, but they don't always have to be long. In any case, enjoy the ride!

Ciao!