Varrence von Sabreheim

All there was was death. The shattering scream of metal on metal. The mindless shouts of war. The cascading glory of the blood lust. It encompassed Varrence's world. He caught a heavy blow with his shield and thrust upward catching the cloth armored conscript in the belly. The man collapsed and was replaced by another. And another. And another. There was no end.
A halberd thrust nearly caught Varrence in the face, a desperate dodge and instead the poleax clanged off the left side of his helm, nipping sharply at the Knight's ear. The chain armored soldier, swinging a hand ax and gladius, between the halberd wielder and Varrence launched a furious assault as he reeled from the heavy pole-arms blow. A dodged gladius thrust, a parried ax slash, a blocked downward swing all the while the halberd loomed above.
Then it fell. An arcing swing just as the third blow from the ax-gladius soldier landed, just as Varrence's guard was down. Mid-air, the heavy ax head stopped its clean downward arc and, with a ragged cry to accompany it, spun wildly, glancing harmlessly, jarring, yes, but harmlessly, off Varrence's pauldron. Varrence risked a glance past the ax-gladius soldier and saw the halberd wielder rolling in the bloody muck screaming with a crossbow bolt through his shoulder.
The ax-gladius soldier saw the glance, and attacked, again. Reflexively, Varrence dropped to one knee and caught the sweeping gladius. The move pinned both men's swords high, and left Varrence in his heavier armor, with his right side wide open. As the soldier raised his ax to strike a deadly blow, Varrence countered smashing the edge of his heavy steel shield into the man's right shoulder, with a sickening crunch the man's arm went limp and the ax fell from his grasp. The soldier shouted, mournful roar, and collapsed to the ground, a splash of blood and mud spurting from beneath him. Gravely, Varrence stood and lifted his bastard sword high, point down. Wordlessly, he brought it down through the soldier's chest.
He placed an armored foot on the corpse and tugged free his blade. A solid thunk to the elbow greeted him as he turned back to the battle. A spear thrust aimed at his side had glanced off his couter. He faced his new opponent and found a once regal soldier, thick plate mail cloaked the shorter warrior's frame, and a heavy red crested helm was splattered black with mud. A long crimson cloak hung limply from gold studs on the man's collarbone. An imperial guard... on the front?
The cloaked guard gave him no time to think, another sharp thrust, this time for the knee, caught air. Varrence raised his shield and sword before him, ready. A blood covered figure loomed to Varrence's right wielding a two-handed ax as tall as some men. The figure dropped with an unintelligible cry onto the exposed guard. The ax gleamed and took the man in the chest, a moment of surprise glimmered over the man's visage only to turn to wordless horror as the ax was yanked free.
Then all was silent. The enemy was gone. A few final figures disappeared into the fog, and all was silent. The grizzled wall of a warrior with the ax shouted a bestial roar, to which all around joined in. A long victorious boom of joy from the survivors. Varrence joined in, his spirits raised by the battle won.
After a few long moments of roaring sound the shouts of officers and calls of the wounded over-rode. Men began breaking up into their units, some looting the dead, others helping comrades limp away towards the camp fires on the other side of the valley.
The hulking man, Kathal the Kraken, turned towards Varrence and with a grim grin said, "Come on Varr, I bagged me an Emperor and ten of his guards! Drinks are bloody on me!" he bent and took up the helm of the dead guard. "And maybe a few girlies!"
"Pass, Kathal, pass." Muttered Varrence as he cleaned his bloody sword on the cloak of the fallen man. There was some damage to the blade itself, would take hours to smooth out the nicks alone.
"Aw, c'mon, Varrence. If you ever decide to have lil' fun in life, there'll be a spot fer ya in Kraken's Crushers!"
"I'll consider it once they exist." The man unnerved Varrence at times. How easily and off handedly he took death. Laughing once again Kathal wandered away shouting to some random warrior amongst thousands.
Sheathing his bastard sword, Varrence glanced around, looking for the ax-gladius warrior's corpse. Looters hadn't made it this far yet. Slowly, Varrence retrieved the dead man's weapons. Kazinian work, both were well made, well balanced and sturdy. Taking a few skilled practice swings, Varrence nodded absently to himself and walked away with one in each hand. Maybe today wasn't a total loss.