Choasheart

O'Chunks lay on his bed in the generous but spartan quarters that had been assigned to him in Castle Bleck. He was unsure of how many days it had been since Count Bleck and the women known as Nastasia had brought him here but it was all something of a blur, almost dream-like in terms of all the strange things that he had been put through since coming here. It was like he had died after all and this was a completely new life since he saw nothing of O'Seamus. He touched his chin, the only thing that remained was his beard. From the first day of his arrival he awoke in a strange, brightly-lit strangely smelling room where Nastasia was present at his bedside. "Good Morning, O'Tcheunks. I hope you have slept well for there is going to be a lot that needs to be done over the next few days. Count Bleck requires you have a medical examination and some time to rest first though." To his surprise, he understood most of what she was saying as if she was speaking his language, but there where

O'Seamus sat on the cot in the room that was to be his quarters and shut his eyes. The last day (as far as he could tell) had been a blur - a waking nightmare. Even now he wasn't sure he was actually awake as he was thousands of miles away from anything he'd known. Gone were the mountains and the loughs; the fleeting shafts of light on the water bright like silver; the frequent rains; the soft green grass. The warmth and camaraderie of his men around a campfire. But also the thrill of the battlefield and the screams of the vanquished. The wash of elation and fear as you could never be sure out of your men who would still be alive at nightfall. And the strange quietness in his head as he focused on where to send his troops as the battle unfolds. How he could be sure that those who were closest to him he could trust with his life... He awoke with a start - a rank wash of fear sweat on his face. The screams and then the silence and the frantic dash to a new position. The