Chapter 1: Dake's New World 01: Sunshine

Dake sat down heavily on the log. The half-rotted wood cracked loudly underneath his massive weight. For a moment, his eyes widened in concern, but the fallen tree managed to hold his weight. Chuckling, he shook some of the blood free from his two-handed ax and watched the crimson splatters on the leaves.

“You aren't thinking about staying here, are you, Dake?” The exasperated sigh came from his male companion, a human who called himself simply “Righteousness.”

Dake peered at Righteousness and scratched the large horn that grew out of the left side of his head. It felt hard and sticky and he chuckled as he remembered the monstrous spider he slaughtered with a well-placed charge. His eyes rolled in their sockets before he stared out into the clearing, at the sprawled bodies covering almost every foot of the ground. Blood pooled from gashes and slashes, the bright color of shattered bones bringing a smile to his lips.

“Well, yeah. Not like anything is going to show up.”

The paladin shook his head, “Didn't you say that an hour ago, right before these showed up?”

Chuckling, Dake shook his ax again. More drops of crimson fell to the ground, splashing in the growing puddle of monster blood.

“Well, yeah.”

Righteousness paced back and forth, the squelching of blood not even disturbing him. Dake watched him move, tapping his own massive hoof into the ground, grinding the broken skull even deeper into the soaked mud.

“Something bothering you, Righteousness?”

His companion slowed to a stop. For a moment, bright blue eyes turned to look at Dake, then he slammed his foot down hard. Blood splattered in all directions but somehow missed the paladin's chain armor.

“Damn it, Dake, I'm suppose to watch over you!”

Dake scratched his horn again. He shifted his position on the log and felt the wood crack underneath him. When it didn't collapse, he let his eyes focus back on the paladin.

“Well, yeah.”

“Stop saying that.”

“Okay.” Dake grinned. Slowly, he stood up, his feet settling into the growing mud, his hand easily holding up the massive, enchanted ax in his hand. For a moment, he thought about how easily it would be to crush his friend, the puny human was nothing compared to the broad expanse of muscles that strained across his chest. Even the bulge of corded muscles along his right arm, his weaker one, was thicker than Righteousness' thigh.

He resisted the urge to find out and stepped forward over the body of a spider creature easily four times his height.

“So, what did I do wrong?”

Righteousness glared at him, “You are suppose to be ‘good,’ remember?”

“Yeah, I killed every single one, didn't I? I was better than all of them.”

“No… ‘good’ as in trying to help the humans and elves, not fighting against us like the rest of the tauren.”

“That isn't really fair, not all tauren-”

Letting out his breath in a shuddering sigh, Righteousness interrupted him sharply, “Damn it, Dake, that really isn't the point!”

Spinning around on his heel, Righteousness stormed out of the clearing and into the shadows of the heavily overgrown woods. Dake stared at the disappearing figure, then shrugged. His shaggy head rippled as he stared around at the remains of the battle. A slow grin crossed his face.

“It was a good fight.”

While he waited for his companion to return, he occupied himself by checking out the corpses. He tossed most aside as being long since useless. He found a strange ax on one of the bodies, peering at it for a moment. Then he remembered when he quested for one so long ago, so many years ago. For a moment, he felt a profound sadness in his heart as he hefted the tiny ax in one of his hands. There were no quests left for him, nothing that excited him except storm through monster after monster, taking advantage of their almost never-ending hordes to keep him occupied. His thoughts turned bitter and he threw the ax away. It slammed into one of the heavy trees and the haft snapped.

Pawing through the bodies, he quickly gathered up the gold and split it in half for his companion. It was getting dark, the sky turning a sullen orange color when he heard Righteousness coming back. Standing up, he shook his bloody fingers free of droplets and peered at his friend.

The paladin led his horse into the clearing, an apologetic look on his face. The swift white steed was prancing carefully between the bodies. It, like both Dake and Righteousness were used to the endless battles that dominated their lives.

“I'm sorry, Dake, but the guild needs me.”

Dake shook his head, “Go on.”

Righteousness gave him a quick smile and jumped up on his horse.

“You really should consider joining it.” It was a tired argument and Dake already knew his line.

“They don't want me, your humans have never tolerated me.”

Sadness filled the blue eyes of the human.

“I know, but you are so much better.”

“Well… yeah.”

Silence filled the clearing. Dake could hear the shuffle of creatures coming closer, the next wave of endless monsters. Righteousness turned his head, fingering his sword, then shook his head to himself.

“Where are you going, Dake?”

“I don't know, why?”

“That farming community we left a few days back, I'd rather you didn't go there.”

Dake chuckled, remember the look of one of the soft serving wenches. More accurately, the creamy expanse of her breasts peeking above her dress. Righteousness clicked his tongue.

“That's why, Dake.”

The tauren reached up to scratch his horn, “I wouldn't do anything.”

“Dake, please don't-”

Dake felt a powerful surge of anger, “I said I wouldn't do anything!”

“I know-”

“I haven't raped anyone in over a year, you know that!”

Righteousness held up his hand, “I know, just… just don't tempt yourself.”

Dake shook his head and flicked a piece of spider monster from his finger. “Don't worry, I still have my RA card. I'm almost up to step eight.”

The paladin shook his head, “I better-” He paused in mid-word, his eyes defocussing while he listened to some mental communication. A frown flashed across the his face before his eyes came back into focus.

Waving his ax, Dake gestured for him to leave, “Go on, I'll be out of here before the next wave.”

A nod of thanks and the paladin was gone, his white horse sprinting across the ground and disappearing in a matter of seconds. Dake took a deep breath and slowly turned around to regain his sense of direction. Finding the path they came into the clearing, barely visible through the carnage of war and fighting, he started down it, toward the farming community and white, creamy breasts.

Marching along, he thought about his own life. Years of fighting and now this, nothing left to battle. Just endless waves of monster. Except for the occasional creature that was too powerful for just himself, a mob that destroyed hundreds of lives with a single blow of his sword. It was pointless, there was simply no more challenged left for a single warrior. Everything left was too easy or required too many people to even survive it.

His path drew him into along a dark path and darker thoughts. His massive feet, like two toes sticking out of a furry trunk, pounded into the ground. Above him, the sky grew dark but he just kept on walking, driving himself into a deep funk of being too good.

He stopped when the darkness enveloped him, when he couldn't even see the one horn from his head. Reaching out with one massive paw, he pressed himself against a tree and scratched the remains of his right horn. A gold plate covering the end reminded him of his sacrifice, to no longer kill and destroy despite the fact his heart yearned for it. He rubbed against the plate, idly trying to pry it off, to return back to his old life when morals were no longer an issue.

It resisted, it always did, but he kept on picking at it. He let his eyes half-close as he listened to the woods around him, resting to regain his strength and wait for the coming of morning.

Then, a brilliant flare of golden energy lanced up into the sky. He jumped, surprised at the sudden light. His eyes spun around the clearing, looking for charging monsters, but he was alone. Spinning around, he looked for anyone, any fight. His ax felt heavy in his hand, but ready to slaughter his opponents.

There was no one.

He came around in a complete circle and looked up again. The golden pillar of energy remained in the sky, piercing a dark and swollen storm cloud. Inside, he could see an image of a naked woman, easily hundreds of feet tall, spinning around on her toe. Surprised, he stared at her until the golden glow started to fade.

Dake grunted to himself, “Damn impressive illusion.”

Then, with a sigh, he hefted his ax and started to walk through the woods toward it.

“It's either too big to survive or a horde of monsters, but at least it is something new.”

He felt a grin cross his face and reached up to scratch his one good horn. He started to trot in the fading light, slowly building up speed. Inside, he could feel a hope that he would finally find a proper challenge, one that would remind him why he was fighting all these years. Before him, the golden light faded after only a few seconds but he could still make out a golden glow above the rim of the trees. He ran as fast as he could, using the fading light to work his way down an old game trail before the world was once again plunged into darkness.

This time, Dake didn't stop. Instead, he held out his ax in front of him and worked his way through a suffocating darkness, praying to some unknown god that he would find the source. No one answered, but he felt a tiny tugging sensation to his left and he followed it. His massive body slipped through the trees, snapping branches and crushing leaves as he blindly moved forward.

More colors spread out over the horizon, all from around the same location. This time, they were flickering reds and other colors. Frowning, he thought he heard a forest fire and a tornado at the same time. With the very dim light, he was able to creep further.

Then, the spear of golden light burst up through the trees, piercing the clouds above. Heat lightning flashed along the underbelly of the clouds as the golden light lit up everything for easily miles in all directions. Dake peered up through the canopy of the trees, his view from below the naked woman. To his surprise, the illusion was detailed even between her legs, the delicate folds looking like they were hundreds of feet long. Eyes widening, he peered up along the wide hips and large breasts. Half-forgotten feelings rose up and he felt his cock starting to twitch with a simple, primal appreciation for the human form. It wasn't tauren, but it was so much softer and more enjoyable.

Not to mention tight.

He tore his eyes away from the brilliant pillar of light and sped through the woods, seeking out the source. His heavy feet crushed rocks as he pounded forward, his ax held lightly in one hand. The light grew brighter even as the illusion above started to fade.

Sprinting around a tall outcropping of rock, he saw the source of the light, like a sun right on the very earth. It was too bright for him to stare at but he kept moving closer, not slowing down. Tears dripping from his eyes, from the painful brightness, then he blinked them away.

As he sprinted forward, his vision cleared and he saw a woman, burning with the golden light. He thought it looked like the one above, except she was running for him, not spinning like some silly top in the clouds. She was almost mostly naked, only a dark-stained sheet wrapped around her lithe pumping legs and arms. He could see just hints of her breasts, but she was moving too fast to catch anything but a glimpse. Dake stopped as his eyes focused on her breasts, but some bright light was pouring out of her forehead. It looked like some sort of sun, full and bright, and it hurt his eyes to stare at.

For a moment, he felt a powerful wave of fear surging through him and, like some newbie fighter, he froze in shock. She flew past him, her bare feet leaving tiny little streaks of blood. The sheet cracked in the wind, then burst across his vision as it sliced across his face. With a snapping sound, it disappeared as she raced past him.

Dake locked his thoughts against the fear and snarled as loudly as he could. The tenuous grasp of terror wrapped around his heart snapped instantly and he stumbled forward. Still growling to himself, he looked up to see the woman's hunters come into his line of vision.

There were five of them, each one wearing some sort of heavy plate armor that glinted in the now fading golden light. Flames rose up from two of them, some sort of red plate armor from the light. The others had other, stranger auras that looked like thorns, leaves, and wood rising up from their green armor. Dake's eyes locked on the large weapons in each of their hands, swords made of the same material as the plate armor.

In that brief moment, Dake made a choice. He stood up straight and bellowed at them.

Four of them skidded to a halt, but one of the flaming ones tried to run past him. With a casual grace, Dake lifted his trunk of an arm right into the face of the warrior. There was a cracking noise and the man dropped to the ground.

Dake chuckled, then glared at the four.

“The bitch is mine!”

He paused, wondering why he said that, but the four yelled back at him in some unknown tongue. Dake shook his head and yelled back.

“Trying speaking cultured!”

Random noises back. Dake tried to speak slower and much, much louder.

“Speak Kalimdor!”

No answer. He tried again with the tongue from the Eastern Kingdoms. It quickly became obvious they were not interested in speaking any language he knew when they brandished their weapons. The warrior he knocked down scrambled to his feet and backed up, holding his weapon in a ready position.

They finally spoke a language Dake knew: violence.

The red-plated warrior he knocked down lunged forward first, his blade flaring up with the light of intense blue flames. Dake backed way from a wild swing and spun around, grabbing his ax with both hands. The blade, called Drake Talon Cleaver by the fools who died during his quest, sliced around him as he spun. The blade slammed into a small tree and sliced through it before burying itself into the face of the warrior who attacked him. The red armor shattered as Dake followed through, leaving a shower of blood to splatter the fighter's companions.

They attacked, all four of them at once. Dake grinned manically and let out a bellowing roar. Two of them, the ones with the strange tornadoes of wood and thorns, hesitated but Dake was already following the motion of his first attack. Spinning the handle in his hand, he brought it down then back up in front of him, catching the second flaming fighter in the crotch. The armor shattered again, soft and useless as the ax came up, gutting him in a second and sending the head flying off into the air.

The other warrior slashed down with his own blade and it caught Dake right in the shoulder. He could feel the sharp pain cutting down to the bone, but he grunted and slammed his shoulder into the warrior. The blade slid out as the man… no, it was a woman in the plate armor, staggered back. She attacked him again, moving almost faster than he could.

Dake felt a flurry of blows slash his sides and arms before he could retaliate. With another roar, he released his ax and reached out for her. His massive hand caught her in the face, helmet and all. Still roaring, he twisted hard, his corded muscles standing up from his arm, and snapped her neck. She slumped to the ground and Dake looked up at the two remaining fighters, breathing heavily.

He could almost see the fear rising up from them before both of them spun around and sprinted for the darkness of the night. Dake took a deep breath and spun around, throwing his ax after them. The blade screamed through the air, slamming into one of the green-planted warriors and punching through his chest in a shower of blood. Shattered armor exploded from the impact, sending shards into the woods and a few into Dake's chest.

Storming forward, Dake recovered his ax and yelled at the retreating warrior.

“You better run!”

Not that he could be understood. When the woods grew silent again, Dake knelt down by the green-planted and pulled up the ruined remains of the armor. Frowning, he peered at it and poked at it.

“Jade? You are wearing jade? What kind of lame armor is that? I mean, even a dagger could punch through it!”

Scoffing, he looted the body. He found coins, but they were not the familiar golden ones he was used to but some sort of useless jade coins. Sighing, he pocketed them and finished looting the rest of the bodies. Finally, he stood up and looked around, seeking out the golden glow. It was gone.

Grumbling, he considered following after the warrior. Instead, he turned back and headed the way he came, looking out for the woman.

He found her at the rocky outcropping, trying to climb it. She was staggering, barely on her feet from exhaustion and pain. As he drew closer, she hissed at him and threatened him with a tiny little knife. He laughed and brushed it aside.

“Like that would even scratch me.”

She kicked at him and he grabbed her, plucking her off the stone. When she kicked him again, he shook her a couple times and dropped her to the ground. She hit the ground limply, collapsing at his feet. When she didn't move, Dake prodded her with his toe.

The strange woman still didn't move, so he crouched down, towering over her, and poked her. He poked her again, then pushed her on her back. Her arm sprawled out, the sheet tugging down from her breasts as he stared down at her.

Hesitantly, he reached out and felt for a pulse. It was there, beating fast and strong. She passed out.

Grumbling, he held his hand over her, marveling at the delicate appearance of her body. The woman looked soft, her body smooth and flawless. His finger dipped, brushing a rough fingertip along the mound of her breast. He felt her nipple, circling around it. It started to harden after a moment and he pushed one finger along the soft, wonderful mounds to the other nipple, bringing it to life.

Dake froze as he felt his cock, a thick knock of man-flesh, start to stir to life. His lusts started to rise and he pulled his hand away, clutching them into a fist.

“No. I won't rape her, I promised Righteousness.”

He turned his back on her and sat down next to her. With a steely determination, he refused to look back as he waited for morning. As the hours passed, his will started to crumble and he found himself peering back at her. Finally, he half-turned to stroke a hand along the sheet, pulling it side to reveal her flawless skin. With another tug, he pulled it from her legs, exposing the lightly furred slit of her sex. The smell, like spring flowers, teased his senses and he, for a brief moment, was reminded of home in the Eastern Kingdoms. As delicately as he could with his large hand, he pulled the sheet further down until it slid away from her leg.

His cock started to rise up again, pushing at the loincloth he used to cover it. He groaned softly, staring at the naked woman sprawled out on the ground. Two fingers pushed at her knee, spreading her legs to give him a hint of what lied between, then he turned his head.

“No!”

With shaking hands, he tried to force himself to look away. When that failed, he slipped out of his backpack and pulled out his own sleeping blanket, easily three times larger than her. Spreading it on the ground, he looked at her. Crouching over her, his head almost hanging from his shoulders, he scooped her up. A bolt of pleasure raced through his veins as he held her delicate, helpless body in his arms. Then, with the supreme effort against a sudden urge to rape, he set her down on the rough blanket and spread her sheet over her.

Happier that she must be more comfortable, Dake turned his back on her and sat down again. This time, he wrapped both arms around the haft of his ax and stared out into the woods until the false dawn started to brighten the horizon. He occasionally scratched at his cut-off horn, picking at the golden plate.

The sun just peaked over the horizon when he heard them. The sound of marching men. It was light compared to the heavy tread of trolls, tauren, and the rest of the Horde, but it was too heavy to be the elves. Standing up, he held his ax in both hands as the first ranks came out of the woods. They were human as they lined up, spreading out along the woods. Some of them had strange flags and symbols, none of them from civilized lands such as Kalimdor or even the Eastern Kingdoms.

More men poured out of the woods, lining up in ranks. He spotted archers and unarmored people spread out among the ranks. Then the idiots in jade armor came out, acting like they were somehow more important than the others. He scoffed, soft armor compare to the iron chain of their front ranks. As they formed ranks, he counted them, maybe ten of the jade-plated ones, half a hundred of the warriors, and thirty archers and what he guessed were mages.

Dake started to laugh, he knew endless hordes. The scratches of years of constant battle itched for more, and he felt his heart starting to quicken with a desire to slaughter every single one of them.

Finally, the last one came out, wearing very impressive black armor. That made eleven of the ones in plate and hordes of others. Walking forward, he stood in front of the front ranks and called out in some language. Dake didn't understood so he yelled back.

“You know any real languages!?”

No answer. He scanned the rank after ranks of humans. Reaching the end, and ignoring what sounded like an obvious speech, he scanned them again, looking for his real threats. He spotted it near the back, a seemingly normal person who looked completely unremarkable.

Never trust the boring ones.

As if to answer him, he saw a smirk on the man's face and Dake vowed to kill him at soon as possible. Re-wrapping his fingers around the haft of his ax, Dake let his vision focus on the speech-maker. It took a few more minutes for it to wind down and he almost wished that he understood the haughty language.

The one in jade suddenly pointed past Dake toward his backpack and the strange woman he guarded, well, mercilessly drooled over. Dake shook his head and swore back. The man in jade repeated the gesture, he wanted the woman.

Dake responded by stepping forward, holding up his ax. Instead of properly responding to a request for a one-on-one fight, the fighter in jade yelled out a command and backed up. The hordes of humans raced forward, screaming like it would frighten the likes of Dake.

He laughed, took a deep breath, and bellowed as loudly as he could. Birds rose up from the trees like an explosion as the men staggered backwards, naked fear in their eyes. Dake continued to bellow, pouring all of his energy into the one terrible sound. The human ranks broke and he charged, his ax held high.

In the back of the fight, he could see coruscate energies flaring up from men next to the archers, mages by the smell, but he was already throwing himself into the front ranks. His ax punched through the chest of the first one and buried itself into the hip of the second. With a grunt, he yanked his weapon out and slammed the head of the ax into the face of a third with his back swing. The warriors froze then regained their moral as the jade-plated ones yelled out to them. They started to attack, but he was already swinging again, mowing down four more men. They were easy… pathetic actually.

He felt the slashes of their weapon and slaughtered another five before one managed to pierce his hide and magical armor. He roared at the one who succeeded who turned to flee. Dake cut him down at the knees before slamming his ax into a second warrior.

It was a slaughter, pure and simple. At least until Dake crashed through the ranks of chain armored people and launched a blow at one of the idiots in jade. To his surprise, the nimble human parried with a long, narrow sword. Dake didn't give him a second chance and swung a blow at the man's legs. It was also parried.

Backing up slightly, he surveyed his opponents. All ten were surrounding him. One at each end paused for a moment. From the left flank, a flickering burning aura rose up from the man and started to spread down the ranks. On the other side, smoke began to rise up from the shoulders of the man, circling around him before spreading down through the ranks.

Half-worried, Dake attacked again. This time, his blade go through and slammed into the jade armor. To his surprise, it didn't shattered like the rest, but the head punched through cleanly and he slaughtered the man. The smoke and flame effects crossed in front of him, spreading out to cover all nine remaining men.

All nine attacked, moving faster than before. Blades sliced into him, cutting through his armor and into his flesh. He could feel blood pouring out of his wounds as he slammed his ax into the next one. The smoke seemed to sting his eyes and the man stepped back at the last moment. Dake roared in surprise at missing, but they were already attacking him again. Their weapons were sharp and cut into him, he could feel his life force pouring out at a faster rate.

Digging deep into his soul, Dake drew on his rage, pulling it out of his chest almost like a weapon and launched a blistering attack against his opponents. Even with the smoke stinging his eye, he missed with his first attack but continued into the warrior next to him. This one hit, decapitating the warrior in one powerful blow. Dake roared out and spun around, attacking the third. He missed twice before the third blow slammed into the man's chest, killing him instantly. This time, the armor resisted heavily, no longer the soft delicate jade but something stronger. His ax caught in the chest and he had to grunt to yank it out.

Frowning, he stared at the armor. It looked the same, but somehow the jade was growing stronger with every blow. It was becoming useful armor for some reason. His eyes scanned around him, watching the archers. They were drawing a bead while the mages held raw energy in their hands. They were waiting for some sign to release them. His eyes focused on the normal-looking man. The man held up a piece of jade and smiled at him. Dake stared for a moment, his eyes blurring from the smoke. For a moment, it looked like the man had eyes of solid green, but then he was gone.

Startled, Dake stared around but the man was utterly gone. But, the fight didn't wait for him and he felt the blows coming. They were fast and hard and very powerful, slicing into him. He dropped to one knee from a lucky shot in his side and he roared at the warrior.

With his fading strength, he slammed his ax into the nearest opponent. It struck, but the armor absorbed the blow like the strongest of the plate armor. Snarling, he lunged up from the ground and repeatedly slashed at the warrior. He got a couple good strikes, then the ax caught a joint. A spray of blood and the warrior dropped to the ground, with a stunned look on his face and his leg flopping next to him.

Only one of the fighters in plate managed to strike him in the instant it took for him to take a new tactic. Grabbing the severed leg, with the jade armor still on, he used it like a club and started to slam it hard into the next warrior. To his surprise, neither armor cracked or shattered, but it was enough to stun his opponent for Dake to swing his ax one-handed into him, cutting an artery. The warrior staggered back, clutching bloody hands to his throat.

A blow slammed into his side and Dake dropped back to his knee. Pain bolted up his leg as he took his whole weight on it. He snarled as the five remaining fighters that spread out. The flames and smoke around their bodies was making it hard for Dake to hit them and they were obviously enhanced by some effect, their fighting skills almost doubled when the flames surrounded them. He groaned and clutched at his ax.

Dake refused to give up.

Then, a flash of white. The woman, the strange woman jumped over his head, her bloody sheet trailing behind her as she landed in front of him. He saw a view of her tight ass before the delicate fabric settled down. His eyes stared at her back, then at her hand. She was wielding the tiny, useless knife. It wasn't even that strange jade that kept getting harder and sharper. It was the type of knife you found at the pub or inn.

He tried to call out, forcing himself to his feet to protect her when she charged.

Dake was stunned as she almost disappeared with speed, reappearing next to one of the warriors. Her blade flashed in in the light as a golden glow appeared on her forehead. It plunged into the hole of the armor and out again, a fountain of blood spewing out from the weapon. Before the body even started to fall, she was next to another, cutting the throat before slamming the blade into the joint between the breastplate and the throat of a third.

Still stunned, Dake could only watch as the two fighters charged. One of them caught her along the back, leaving a bleeding line along her perfect skin, but she managed to avoid the other blow.

Coming to his senses, the tauren rose up despite the pain and attacked one of the warriors. He managed to slam his ax into the side of the armor. It bounced off and he spun around to slam it into the other side of the same warrior. As he focused on the near-naked warrior, he saw her slash into her opponent, finding vulnerable spot after vulnerable spot until her opponent collapsed to the ground.

Her forehead was burning like a brand, brilliant gold and painful to stare at. He dropped his eyes, watching as a river of sweat and blood rolled down toward her cleavage and he realized she wasn't as weak as he thought.

Then a command which sounded very close to “fire!” He managed to spin around in time to see thousands of black butterflies burst out of the hands of the mages. Arrows slammed into him as the butterflies raced toward him. They impacted like thousands of glass daggers, cutting into his skin, face, and arms. He threw up his hand to protected his eyes and charged.

New strength poured into him as he slammed into the rank of archers, cutting through them. Each one fell to the ground as he sliced through to the mages behind. The fools were already trying a new spell, but his ax caught one before slicing into the second. He didn't kill the second one, a female. Instead, he just nicked her. To his surprise, the energy sputtered then flared around her. She screamed out before exploding in a shower of energy and blood. He felt his fur burning as he threw himself back, falling down.

He landed hard on the ground, stars exploding in his vision. He tried to stand back up, but his body refused to respond to his efforts. His eyes rolled around in his head before he forced them to look out into the battle. The archers and mages were dead and gone. On the other side, he saw his ward fighting with her delicate little knife against the man in massive black plate armor. It must be some sort of jade, based on how the blade bounced.

Then, she stepped back and screamed out. Her forehead lit up even further, a massive pillar of golden energy bursting out of her body and spearing up into the sky. Around her, he could see phantom images of her arms spreading out, two then four arms stretching out for that brief moment in time. In each hand, a golden sword flared into existence right before she attacked. Her phantom swords were just as real as her knife as they attacked her opponent with the fury of a storm. Black jade chipped and flew everywhere as she attack. To his surprise, even the tiny little dagger was carving off huge chunks of black stone.

Dake tried to follow the movement, but the golden glow became too bright for him to focus. He turned away from his. A wave of nausea slammed into him and he kept on turning, falling to the ground as unconscious violently grabbed him.

When he woke, the sun was high in the air. He groaned, his hand snapping out for his weapon. He only found ground. His heart pounded as he sat straight up, looking for an opponent, any opponent. A thin sheet slipped down over his furry chest as he bolted to his feet. His ax was a few yards off and he scooped it up, still searching for an opponent.

When none attacked, he let his nerves relax. Slowly, he became aware of his own body, the warm air teasing his privates. Glancing down, he saw that he was naked, his cock hanging between his legs like some swollen snake. Uncomfortable be unarmored, he returned to his sleeping blanket and wrapped it around his waist before digging into his backpack for a fresh outfit.

“I see you are awake.”

It was the woman, but she was finally speaking something he understood. He almost felt her voice more than heard it, a soft whisper of sound that left a tingle down his spine. Looking up, he saw her coming around the rocky outcropping. She was wearing one of his shirts, it reached almost to the ground and there was no question how her breasts were holding up the front.

“Well, yeah.”

She smiled warmly as she knelt down in front of him, spilling out fruits and nuts from one of his large pockets on the white sheet.

“It isn't much, but it should be enough for now.”

“Um… thanks?”

She looked up and he was overwhelmed by the delicateness of her body, the flawless skin of a courtier, not a warrior. But, there was no question that she was at least his equal when it came to the fighting arts. His eyes started to travel down into the shadowed valley his height afford him when he realized she was speaking. Blushing underneath his fur, he brought his eyes to hers and listened.

“-should me me who is thank you. If you didn't protect me, the Dragon-Blooded would have captured or killed me.”

“D-Dragon-Blooded? Is that what they are called?”

This time, she looked shocked, “You don't know… are you fey?”

He frown, “No… I'm straight.”

She grinned, “No, I mean are you one of the Raksha, the Fair Folk?”

Slightly confused by the obvious capital words, he shook his head, “No, I just like women.”

She laughed, a bright sound. He chuckled, a little nervous himself. Trying to mask it, he reached out and grabbed a handful of the fruits and stuffed them into his mouth. She watched him and picked one delicately out before sucking on it.

He swallowed noisily and looked around.

“Are they gone? These Dragon-Blooded?”

“None of the survived.”

He let his eyes slide back to her, enjoying the sight of her body half-hidden underneath his shirt. His gaze caught sight of one of the openings between the buttons, where he could see just a hint of the dark hair between her legs.

“Seems strange, there was what, almost a hundred of these Dragon-Blooded?”

“Oh no, only the ones in armor and half the warriors. The rest were mortals.”

He looked up at her, getting even more confused. With a tiny portion of his mind, he realized she had auburn hair, when it wasn't glowing. That strange mark on her forehead was also gone.

“Mortals? Aren't they all mortal?”

She smiled, almost coyly, “Well, yes, but only the Dragon-Blooded have the ability to use charms. Or attune themselves with-”

She paused, the smile on her lips spreading out a little. Dake looked away, feeling a blush growing on his body. She didn't say anything for a moment, then repositioned herself so she was kneeling in front of the fruit. Grabbing one with her hand, she sucked on it lightly as she stared at Dake. It grew uncomfortable for a long while before she spoke again.

“Are you a Lunar?”

“What's a Lunar?”

“Well, you don't seem to understand, so I thought you might be from the Threshold. There are rumors that Luna's warriors are coming from there.”

Dake shook his head, “No, I'm from-”

He pointed in the direction he came, then paused. In the day's light, there was a very large mountain that wasn't there before.

“Um… where did that mountain come from?”

She followed his gesture, “It's always been there.”

“Well, yeah, that would make sense. But it wasn't there last night.”

“Oh?” she said archly.

He nodded, a frown ghosting his expression, “Uh… yeah. No mountains.”

When neither said anything, he awkwardly grabbed another handful of fruit and stuffed them into his mouth. Starting to talk with his mouth full, he swallowed before trying again.

“What's your name?”

“Oh, Brilliant Sunshine of the Golden Harvest.”

Dake swallowed, “That… that is a very long name.”

She cocked her head and smiled, “Golden Harvest works. And yours?”

“Dake. Dake Axreaver.”

Sunshine hesitated, as if waiting for more, then nodded.

“Dake, I have to thank you for saving my life.”

He looked quickly away as she bowed, half in fear he would find himself gaping again.

“Well, yeah. It was the least I could do.” He paused, “Uh… where did you learn my language?”

“From you?” Her voice was tinged with amusement.

“Huh?”

“If I hear enough words, I can understand and speak most languages. At least for a while.”

“Oh…”

Dake was confused. He didn't know what to say. He felt uncomfortable staring at her, but she was a delicate warrior and his equal. But, he didn't know what to say, nor how to handle the strange fluttering in his stomach. He lapsed into silence as he tried to struggle with his words.

Crickets chirped in the distance and he breathed in deeply, smelling strange flowers and plants around him. He tried to remember back to his early days, when the tribal shaman told him how to speak with the forest. Anything seemed better than speaking… or gaping. For a moment, he thought he felt something in the woods but Sunshine cleared her throat.

“Dake?”

He jumped, glancing over at her. She was still kneeling, but she rose up, arching her back. He couldn't help it as his eyes focused on her breasts, held out almost for his enjoyment. He could just reach over and stroke one but he resisted. Instead, he stared at the two peaks, the tiny nipples pushing out against the heavy fabric of his shirt.

“Uh… um… yeah?”

A sly smile curled her lip, “Were you watching me while I slept?”

A simple question and one that brought a deep blush to his fur. His cock twitched in half-forgotten memory. He looked away.

“Yeah.” It came out as a whisper and he stamped his foot against the ground. She stood up and walked in front of him. Her voice held a quiver of amusement as she spoke in her soft voice.

“Did you pull the sheet off?”

His cock lurched and he fought the urge to hide it from her. It was barely hidden by the blanket. He looked up to find her staring right into his eyes. He reached up and picked at the gold plate on his right horn stub.

Sunshine repeated her question. Finally, he nodded.

“Well, yeah.”

His body was betraying him, rising the thick python between his legs against the blanket. Her eyes didn't even dip down as she smiled.

“Did you like it?”

“… yeah.”

She chuckled, “Good, I enjoyed doing the same to you.”

“Uh-”

Sunshine pressed one finger against his lips, silencing him. She stepped forward until he could feel the softness of her body pressing against his legs. He leaned back, balancing on the balls of his feet. She continued to step forward until she was between his legs.

“Its been a very long time for me, Dake.”

“You… you don't have to-”

“I want to, Dake.”

“Why?”

She leaned forward, pressing her fabric-covered breasts against his chest. His cock surged up, rising up between her legs, caressing her inner shins as it crawled up. He breathed in deeply the scent of flowers, her body.

Shaking her head, Sunshine whispered softly, “I've been a slave for three years now. It was a very long three years and I can't think of a better way to… thank… my savior.”

Dake had no response. Instead, he reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his immense hands against the tight backside and just cupping them. She moaned softly and lifted her fingers to open up the large buttons of her shirt. It slid open, revealing the most perfect breasts he had seen in his life. Seeing a lust in her eyes, he lowered his head to lap at the breast.

Sunshine arched her back, pressing her soft mounds up against his mouth. He opened his lips to nibble on the soft nub, teasing it until it felt hard as… well, jade in his mouth. She gasped as he opened his mouth more, sucking all of her breast into his mouth. His tongue swirled around it, enjoying the flavor and sensation of woman against his body.

Between his legs, he could feel his cock reaching up, a thick tree of man-flesh. It was already aching as it teased right between her legs. She was rocking back and forth until it started up toward her junction, then she spread her legs and rested the wet heat of her sex against the broad head of his member. Hot juices dripped down his length, hot and fresh, the body of a woman who wanted him. He moaned, his hands slowly gripping the perfect curves of her ass as he held her still, balanced on his aching member.

She moaned, her hips rocking slightly as she lifted one leg to press her knee against his inner thigh. With his large size, she could keep the very tip pressed against the wet gate of her sex as she pressing down to lift herself up, one hand reaching up to grab his horn. He felt her pressure as she planted her other knee on the other thigh, her body held in check. Her arm trembled to hold her up. He groaned deeply, his fingers spreading her ass cheeks and rocking her hips along his cock. It felt hot and wet and he could only imagine the tightness of her perfect body.

His member started to drool with lubrication as he kept rocking her, his hips also rocking as he started to push up inside her. She hissed out in pleasure as he felt her labia spread around his crown, resisting even the few inches of his massive member. She pressed down just slightly, the scent of her excitement rising. The pressure on his cock increasing as she ground down on his member. He felt it inch inside her, the heated liquid of her insides boiling against his nerves.

With another groan, he pushed up into her. Her arm tensed, pushing down at the same time. His cock head pushed into the powerful vise of her sex, lodging inside the tunnel of her being. He felt every pulse of her muscles, the throb of his veins as they increased the pressure, forcing the very thick member up the narrow channel.

The pleasure mixed with pain of her entrance, but neither would relent as his thick crown was forced deeper and deeper, just half an inch at a time. Juices dribbled down his length as he felt the pressure start to relax around his very tip, her vagina. He moaned and took a deep breath, pushing up. She moaned, her body shuddering. Her eyes were tightly closed, but there was a flickering of golden light along her forehead.

He gasped, “What- what is that?”

She moaned, panting as she continued to push down, “A… charm… so you… can't hurt me.”

His curiosity piqued, he nuzzled his mouth up her chest to her shoulder, then her ear. As he slid his hands up her back, toward her shoulder, he whispered.

“Not at all?”

Gasping, she nodded, “I… I want all of you.”

He grinned, feeling the heat growing in his cock, swelling it out until it stopped moving inside her. “So I should push harder?”

She gasped, her eyes snapping open. Surprise burned in her eyes.

“This… you aren't?”

Dake shook his head, “I'm not even using a tenth of my strength.”

“Oh… Sun.” She moaned and took a deep breath. She seemed to steeling herself, shudders of anticipation rippling through her body.

“Harder please… I want you. Please?”

He remembered some of the words Righteousness gave him. He hesitated.

“How hard?”

“Y-You can't hurt me.”

His hands, large massive hands, were sliding up her back. They curled around her shoulder, holding her still as he took a deep breath.

“Are you sure?”

With her free hand, she punched him lightly on the chest. He shrugged and adjusted his position slightly. He could feel her knees against his inner thighs, sliding up toward the ridge that would spread her legs for his thrust. The hand on his horn gripped tightly.

Roaring, Dake thrust as hard as he could, standing up as he yanked her down. Muscles surged as he felt a dam of resistance before his cock punched through it, burying a foot worth of thick, throbbing meat into her pussy with one hard stroke. She screamed out, but he was overwhelmed with the sensation of so much heated pressure around his shaft to identify if it was pain or pleasure. Grunting, he tried to force more into it, but it felt stuck.

His large fingers holding her tightly, he yanked at his cock. It drew out, squeezing painfully through her channel. He took another breath and slammed it back in, throwing almost all of his strength into impaling her on his length. The slick pressure of her body rode down his length and he easily buried almost all of his cock into her. The back of her sex crashed against his cock head, but didn't tear or give. He grunted and gave her another thrust, ramming it in as hard as she could.

Sunshine screamed out again, this time in pleasure as she bore down on his length. Dake could barely think with the wonderful feelings, the sensation of her naked body against his. He released his controls and started to thrust as hard and fast as he could. One hand slid down to her hips, holding them as still as possible as he drove his cock deep and hard, then pulled it out until only the head remained the deliciously tight tunnel.

Grunting, he pounded it back and forth, pistoning into her body with every iota of strength. And she just kept on screaming out in pleasure. Her forehead was brilliant with golden light, surging up with every thrust into her perfect sex. His upper thumb came around her shoulder, pinching her entire breast between two fingers as he pumped. Her body shook, sliding back and forth on air.

Soon, he was burying himself completely into her. The feeling of her tiny body against his base, her legs spread lewdly was too much. He pulled her off and punched his cock back with strokes that left him breathless.

And then he came.

His cock swelled to almost double its width. He could feel her bones creaking as a single hot jet of burning cum exploded inside her. He came hard, a hose, flooding her insides. He roared out, trying to force his cock directly into her womb as he continued to pump out the hot liquid.

Sunshine gasped from her own orgasm as he continued to pump into her, swelling her insides before he slipped out. His cock continued to send out a large surge of cum as it slipped out of her sex, splattering the ground for a long count before it started to slow down. A flood of juices poured of her gaping sex. She gasped, dropping to her knees in the cum-soaked ground as he groaned, his cock still sending out a long jet of bright white liquid. It splashed against her stomach and dribbled down before it finally died off.

Dake swayed from the intensity of it, his entire body shaking from the strength of his orgasm. In front of him, Sunshine's body shuddered and he hoped he didn't hurt her.

She looked up with a smile and he felt relief pour into his veins. Moving carefully, he sat down heavily in front of her, ignoring the white lake between them.

Sunshine spoke first.

“That… was amazing!”

He could only nod. His eyes rose to watch the golden sun on her forehead fade away, disappearing with a tiny little flash. He smiled while his breath slowed down. They shared their afterglow until it faded, then Sunshine drew him back to where he slept, laid out his blanket, and pressed her body against him. Moments later, she was snoring in exhaustion.

Dake watched her sleep, tiny tremors of his afterglow still rocking his body. He looked around at the strange new world, where “Dragon-Blooded” hunted after women with glowing forehead. He thought back to Righteousness and his own life in Kalimdor. Finally, he looked down at the sweat-soaked woman sleeping in his arms. It was pretty obvious what he would choose.

“Well, yeah.”