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The stench of blood filled the frigid air as countless dead lay across the battlefield and thousands more kept on fighting. From behind a twisted pile of bodies, Hood leaped, twirling once in the air and landing behind a Luminous soldier. Swirling air, hard as steel around his fist made the punches Hood landed feel like a hammer coming down on the soldier. Three blows to the body and the man fell over, dead.

Hood looked around and saw that the Horde was going to win today, but it would be close. There would be a lot fewer soldiers left on his side and the likelihood that they would be able to pursue the Luminous survivors was slim, though they'd still be ordered to do so. Another Luminous swordsman attacked Hood, aiming the blade at his neck. Maintaining the steel air around his arms, Hood blocked the blade with his forearm and then pushed the air around his shins, kicking the man in the head and breaking his neck. Another Horde warrior came up alongside Hood and the two of them charged a line of Luminous archers, the soldier with his shield in front, Hood with his arms blocking his body with the steel air around it.

Hood landed in the center of the archer line, breaking one man's neck with a kick and swatting an arrow down before it managed to dig into his shoulder. One of the archers pulled a short sword out and lunged at Hood, but the Hored soldier that had rushed with him plunged his own blade into the Luminous archer.

The two fought back to back for what was only about forty seconds, but seemed like ages. When the line of archers was dead, Hood looked around to see that most of the Luminous were falling back and the Horde was just wrapping up the last few stupid enough to stand and keep fighting. Just about all of the men held their weapons in the air and cheered, but Hood stood there, silently. He had no desire to celebrate a victory for the Horde when it just meant he was continuously getting further and further from his own freedom. Hood spit on the ground and began walking to the rear Horde line where they would begin to set up camp and rest until the reinforcements arrived and the next battle began.

As camp was being set up, Hood walked over to where the fire pit was being set up. There was already several large pots and pans ready to be set on top of the giant span of hot coals that would soon be laid out and lit. Looking around and noticing that almost everyone had shed their armor and set their weapons aside, Svexal removed his hood and with it, the name.

"Oi, Svexal, you making that sea food thing again?" one of the men setting up the fire asked.

"There's no fish fresh enough for a man to eat anymore. I'll give you guys a taste of something new." he told the man. That seemed to please him so the soldier kept on setting up while Svexal walked over to one of the few trees set up around the base and sat down under it, pulling out a flask of water and taking a small drink.

As the heat of the coals finally started to make them glow, Svexal walked over to where all the slaughtered livestock were and hefted some meat over to the large pan. A few others grabbed what was left and tossed it on the pan as well, making the cooking process a little faster.

Svexal had noticed, with some annoyance that, while the spiciness of his food always seemed to upset the soldiers, usually because their eyes started watering, they still liked the taste enough to ask him to make the meals on occasion. The whole point was to hurt them more then help them, but that was just his luck.

Grabbing a few jars from where the meat had been laid out, Svexal began seasoning the food while the men who weren't busy sang songs while they waited for the meal. Svexal was never much for happy tunes or merry cadence. No, he preferred the sounds of instruments to that of a human voice's imperfect notes. Still, he just kept on cooking, neither smiling nor frowning as he watched the food cook or call for more produce to be tossed in.

Svexal glanced over at Sophia as she addressed him and cleared his throat of all the smoke. "Hello, Miss Sophia." he began. "We were all out of sea food, being so far from the shore now, so I decided I'd make some of my mother's secret recipe. No name for it, it just involves beef, veggies and enough spice to incinerate a man's oral cavity."

She would probably be able to tell it was an exaggeration but Svexal did like to joke around with the champions when he got the chance. Out of all the Horde scum he was forced to work with, they were the only ones he didn't mind being around. Then again, that mostly had to do with the fact that he wasn't a champion himself, but all the other grunts treated him like one simply because he was a better fighter then most.

"A good fight today." he said, changing the subject. "Hopefully we can keep the momentum going and end this war..." he didn't add that he would be assassinating as many of the Horde leaders that had been over him as he could once he was free, but he figured that was just best left unsaid.

"I couldn't agree more." Svexal said, glaring at a group of men who were already completely drunk and walking dangerously close to the pan Svexal was cooking on. One of them lost his balance and was foolish enough to grab the pan instead of just falling to the floor. The man screamed and Svexal merely shook his head at the idiot's burnt hand. "But, if they don't celebrate, then I don't get a show like that one." He said, cracking the slightest of smirks.

"Well, Miss Sophia, the food is ready if you want to grab one of those platters over there." he said, pointing to the large stack of plates that the men would soon rush to grab once they knew the food was ready. Svexal grabbed a cleaver hanging next to the pan and started hacking off pieces for everyone, taking plates and sliding a piece on. "Make sure to drink water, gentlemen. Wouldn't want you children crying to your mothers when the spice is too much for you."