Only Pussies Throw Fireballs

Infiltration

The remaining Hawks have informants in the castle; they tell them of a hidden sewer path from a neighboring graveyard that will take them within the castle walls. Those that remain at the camp, including Rickert, are in high spirits that Griffith will be back to bring them the prosperity they once held. As Rickert draws a pail of water from a lake close to the camp, he spots a pixie floating above him. He’s captivated as it flutters away. The screams from the camp break the daze. When Rickert arrives, everyone is missing; most likely dead. The entire group has been ravaged by monsters as the pixie lords over its destruction.

Griffith lies in solitude, silence, darkness. “I wonder… Have I managed to preserve my sanity or has it already been lost long ago?” He can’t stop thinking Guts and all of the emotions tied with him. Griffith believes that Guts is the one who caused his confinement, yet also knows that he will be the only hope he has in being saved. He begins sensing his presence.

Guts opens the door to Griffith’s cell; he’s the first one to notice him lying on the cold floor. He comes closer to see him, the scars and emaciated, lifeless figure that now personify this man. Guts removes his mask; the sight shocks him enough to tell Casca to stay back. Griffith is able to open an eye; he can’t believe that Guts is there saving him. He wants to say something, but his tongue has been cut out. He’s able to get the strength to bring his arm and wrap around Guts neck in an effort to choke him, but it is so weak that Guts doesn’t even recognize the attempt. Guts’ tears make his hatred subside.

The door suddenly closes, locking them in. The torturer stands at the doors window, telling them that they will all look the same after a year as well. Guts draws his sword and runs it through the door. Any subsequent guard that comes along, Guts disposes off out of pure hatred and disbelief. In his wake, a trail littered with frightened corpses. He’s smeared in their blood; Casca begins wiping it off as Griffith stares intensely.

Eve of the Feast

The group is able to escape with Griffith, but enemy troops are close behind. They are able to arrive to the Hawk’s first post of reinforcements before having to turn around to fight. Guts sends the wagon on ahead as planned, but they are headed off by the enemy commander. As the remaining Hawks fight, the commander holds Griffith before them and displays his body to everyone. Mid-speech, Guts stabs the man and covers Griffith. It’s shocking for the group to see a man so beloved and worshiped to be reduced to what they have seen. The entire group is in disbelief and denial. Their one hope is back and he is clearly not the same as he ever was.

One member finally announces, “There’s no Band of the Hawk without Griffith!” It’s a sentiment they can all share. Casca walks off to think of how to handle the situation and Guts follows. She wants to disband, but has a hard time coming to terms with that. Griffith can see the two from his carriage as they hold each other. And everyone begins making their own plans to move forward.

Griffith lies awake in carriage, beginning to see himself from one-year ago standing before him and asking why he is trembling in fear. Griffith as a child then appears and he begins attempting to scream out to him. He takes control of the horses in an attempt to follow him. He eventually hits a bump and is sent flying into a shallow lake where he has a new vision: one that this was a dream. That he was married to Casca and had a child named Guts. He’s still not full recovered and Casca feeds him soup. As he looks into the bowl, the behelit emerges from the liquid.

When he comes to, he sees that his elbow has been dislocated and begins laughing at the situation. Griffith eyes a large branch sticking from the water and hovers his neck above it, considering taking his own life. Instead, scrapes past the side of his neck. He bleeds; a sign that he is still alive. Looking down in disgust, a string has become entwined around his fingers. The behelit. He can’t believe it is here and in his grasp. He remembers the words he was told when it was given to him: the one who owns this will become ruler of the world in exchange for his flesh and blood.

His will is enough for it to happen and as the remaining Hawks appear, Hell is being created on Earth.

Separation

Judeau and Corkus appear after a night of drinking and pull Guts aside to talk; Casca runs to tell Griffith as she thinks he is the only one that will be able to stop him. Corkus eggs him on, saying that since Guts only knows a life of fighting, its no wonder this new way of life is hard for him to adjust. Guts agrees. “Killing others to survive, that’s all I’ve ever done.” He’s had enough of being part of Griffith’s dream and always looking up at him; he wants to have his own dream to fulfill and call himself Griffith’s equal.

Corkus can’t believe those words and storms off. Judeau stays and eventually asks if he will be taking Casca with him. He says that Griffith is something Casca will never have, because there’s something else Griffith wants and Princess Charlotte’s hand is the fastest way to obtain it. Judeau walks him to the outskirts of town where Griffith and the gang are awaiting his arrival.

“I told you once before, you belong to me.” He unsheathes his sword; he wants Guts to fight for his resignation. Casca attempts to interfere, but Judeau says that this isn’t their place. He’s starting to think that Casca has become used to a life of not fighting now and that she is changing. Casca starts thinkins to herself that she is acting this way because she doesn’t want Guts to leave her. Has she finally moved away from her blind admiration of Griffith? Guts breaks Griffith’s sword with one sound blow. He has lost and in disbelief. It is the first time Griffith has lost to anyone. Guts walks away, a quiet “Goodbye,” and never turns around.

Later in the night, Griffith appears at the window of Princess Charlotte; rain drenches his face, asking if he can be let inside. She clings to his chest, declaring how much she missed him and feared that he would die in battle. What he wants is in his sight at this moment. A maid passing by hears noises coming from her chambers. She looks through the keyhole to see their two bodies clinging to each other and runs away. In the early morning, Guts leaves the castle, and not too far from her room runs into a large number of castle guards who immediately arrest him.

Sparks

A year has passed. Guts has retired to a quiet life in the country where he stays with Godot, a master swordsmith, and his granddaughter Erika, who hopes to take over the business as she becomes older. On the day that he decides to leave, a man comes riding on horseback screaming for Godot. He is in need of as many swords as possible as he and a group are going to take out a group of bandits with a bounty on their head. They are the Band of the Hawk.

We cut to the Hawks; they are not the same formidable group that we once knew them as. They are injured, restless, and in poor health. Casca has become the new leader in Griffith’s absence. They have been looking for him this whole time and have just learned that he is in the lowest level of the torture chambers in Windham Castle according to their informant. The same informant hasn’t heard him scream in months, however, and he is feared dead. Another raid on the camp begins; it surely isn’t the first. As their makeshift buildings begin to burn to the ground, Casca is finding herself cornered and close to her last breath. A blade comes from out of her view to save her. “Stay alert, Captain,” Guts says. Everyone is surprised to see them.

Confession

The sight of Guts invigorates all of the Hawks; they’re motivated to fight for their lives more than before. They are able to push back the invaders and then quickly move to a new site. After the fight, Judeau informs Guts as to their status. They have been reduced to one-fifth of their original force. One year ago, they gathered under Griffith’s earlier command, but he never showed. They were ambushed by the Midland Army. They’ve been on the run since and now they are working on a plan to rescue Griffith. In addition, he also asks of him to take care of Casca.

We can now see Griffith; he’s alive, but barely. He remains hanging chained by his arms to a wall, his mask still covering his face, spikes being driven into his body. Lastly, he’s branded. The torturer caresses his necklace in his hand before ripping it off and throwing it to the floor. It rolls into a drain in the middle of the room.

Casca pulls Guts aside to talk, but she begins attacking him. She blames him for everything that has happened. “Griffith can’t go on without you!” Those words stop him and she does stab him in the shoulder. She says that the day he left was the day that she realized her dream with Griffith had already died. She closes in on the ledge above a stream, ready to let herself die. As she falls, Guts runs to grab her. The two finally realize their feelings of love for one another. He decides to stay until Griffith is rescued and the Band of the Hawk is restored. After that, he will leave to realize his own dream.

Moment of Glory

The Band of the Hawk return to a victory parade being held in their honor. The only people not cheering are those who are plotting Griffith’s death at the evening’s ball. While talking, Minister Foss receives a letter and becomes visibly startled. At the party, men flock to Casca but it embarrasses her. In an attempt to get away, she pulls Guts onto the balcony. She’s surprised to see him there, but he says that he wants to see this part of his life through to the end. She starts to believe he is going to leave the Hawks again. As she leaves, he talks to himself, stating there is another reason he is there, one that is a little too much even for him to handle.

The King decrees to all in attendance that Griffith and the Band of the Hawks are now honorary White Knights, the highest honor in the kingdom. They all toast to not only their new placement, but the future prosperity of Midland. Everyone is handed a goblet of wine and soon after Griffith takes his first sip, he faints before everyone.

Tombstone of Flames

The waiter who had handed Griffith his cup is on the run; Guts is already waiting for him. As he passes, his blade cuts through him: a clear indication that the assassination plan had already been known. The conspirators gather to revel in their deed; the minister clearly becoming more and more pale, he steps out for fresh air. Shortly after, smoke begins seeping through the cracks in the floor. The building had been set on fire and the party barricaded inside. The Queen runs to the window to watch flames pour from every window and at the base of the building is Griffith, staring into her eyes. He stands, watching, until each member has perished.

He turns to Minister Foss, who has remained hiding and reveals that he had only predicted that he was the one behind it and found him to be easy prey to get the rest. “Come on, Minister. It’s time for me to return something to you as promised:” his daughter.

Griffith had hired a group of mercenaries to kidnap the girl. He tells them that they had done a good job and rewards them a little extra just before Guts kills them for knowing too much. The pair return to the Hawks’ quarters where everybody is shocked to see Griffith alive.

Much later in the evening, the snow has started to fall and most of the Hawks are asleep. Guts ties the drawstring on his bag, giving his armor and broken sword one last look before walking out the door. Casca is reading by candlelight and can see Guts walking away from the quarters through her window. She runs to talk to him and finds what she had always assumed would happen someday; Guts is leaving.

The Decisive Battle

The earth surrounding the castle is littered with corpses. The army’s commander stands back and watches; a messenger approaches. The White Tiger Knights are no longer.

The commanders of all of Midland’s official armies meet; some are outraged at the loss of the soldiers. They debate over capturing the castle and kingdom of Doldrey. The majority believes that even though this is an important place to capture, they will still win the war. Finally, someone asks for Griffith’s opinion, also asking for confirming if the Band of the Hawk would even be able to capture the castle.

“We could, if given the order.”

The King obliges.

The Band of the Hawk prepares for the battle. Casca asks Guts if she remembers the story she told him of the first person that Griffith used for his personal gain: a man that Griffith had relations with in exchange for the money to fund the Hawks. He does. Casca hopes that Griffith can maintain his composure on the battlefield as that man, Governor Gennon, is leading the army they will be fighting.

Governor Gennon, preps his number one man, General Boscone, before he goes off to fight the Hawks. His one order to him: bring Griffith back alive.

The battle starts–swords tear through flesh and blood coagulates with the sand. When the Hawks murder the first wave, they retreat in order to confusing the enemy. It’s their plan to draw them out and introduce them to the rest of the Band of the Hawk. General Boscone is reluctant to send out his troops; however, the Governor says that the first to bring back Griffith alive will be rewarded with whatever they desire.

The Conqueror

A number of troops have been drawn out of the castle; Casca uses the blowing sand to her advantage and is able to shoot down those guarding the entrance. They never see it coming. Casca and her group storm the castle, fighting those that remain which includes Sir Adon. He’s confident he’ll be able to take down Casca, especially considering their last encounter; however, she is quickly making a mockery of him. While he begs for his life, he shoots her with an arrow; poison overcoming her body. She’s able to regain her composure just enough in order to counter his charge and slice his face. She yells to her troops to take the rest down now that their leader is gone.

In the desert battlefield, Guts is holding off General Boscone; Zodd the Immortal has made an appearance in a far off cliff, watching the bout. Just as he thinks he may be able to defeat Zodd, his blade cleaves, leaving him defenseless. Zodd, not wanting to see Guts die like this, throws his sword down to him just in time for Guts to pull it from the ground and behead General Boscone.

The fight is over. Griffith begins, “From now on, we will hunt the remnants of the enemy. Only let the enemy pass if they immediately flee! If they resist, exterminate every last one of them!”

Everyone flees from Governor Gennon’s pleas as he cowers on the ground. Griffith trots up to him; he’s already asking for forgiveness based on their past.

“I do not bear any ill feeling towards you, Governor. However, it upsets me when you speak of us yearning for one another, for I feel absolutely nothing for you at all. Neither ill feelings nor otherwise.”

Gennon is shocked by these words.

“I took advantage of an opportunity, and you happened to be there at the time. I just picked up a pebble lying in my path and it happened to be you.”

Griffith gives one fatal stab and leaves Gennon to die in the windy desert.

Prepared for Death

Night falls; Casca and Guts leave the cave. They are ambushed by a bandaged Sir Adon and many of his troops. He says he’ll kill Guts and take “the woman” to be his personal plaything. Guts advises against that; “she’ll rip you to shreds.” The two begin warding off each soldier, but Casca is tiring quickly. Adon has had enough of the current slaughter and calls out his brother, Samson, a beast of a man, drenched in armor and wildly swinging his mace. With each throw of the mace, Guts is able to strike it, hitting it back towards Samson. Casca knows that Guts could easily evade these attacks, but then realizes he is doing this to protect her. Eventually, there is a break in the action and Casca is able to run for help. She wants to stay, but Guts asks if her dream has rotted away that much to die a meaningless death here. “Go back to Griffith.”

She runs off. The soldiers begin to comment on the size of Guts’ sword who only comforts them with the words, “just hope you die when I hit you.” The 100 remaining troops don’t want to fight him anymore; they’re scared. Sir Adon promises a promotion and to increase the reward times five to the man that can behead him. This is enough to motivate them. This night, Guts earns his nickname as the Hundred-Man Slayer.

Casca is stopped by a few enemy troops on her way; she’s about to become their plaything before they kill her. Trying to find something to cling onto, she remembers Guts’ words and grabs the closest stick, stabbing the man on top of her in the eye. Shortly after, Judeau appears with some of the Hawks and saves her.

Bonfire of Dreams

Guts continues his slaughter and wonders why he even fights. Is it for Casca? Judeau tries to bring Casca some treatment for her wounds, but she says there isn’t time. She informs them of Guts’ situation and they all run toward his direction. At daybreak when they arrive, they see the ground littered with pierced armor; corpses lie inside. Guts is resting against a tree, scarred and cut all over his body, embracing his sword.

They return to the camp; however, Griffith isn’t there. Casca walks away and Guts can see the disappointment in her eyes. The group asks if she is going to get treated; “No, after all, it’s not as if I were wounded.”

Judeau pulls her aside for a conversation. He says that the nobles were advising Griffith against sending a search party out for their rescue; however, Griffith stood up for them and said that they both were important to him, he couldn’t lose them. Judeau feels envious now, something Casca was used to. He hands her some special medicine for Guts, pixie dust, which she runs to his bed in order to deliver. When she arrives, he’s not in his tent, but on top of a hill overlooking the camp. She rubs the medicine on his wounds which instantly causes the pain to subside. He tells her not to worry about him, that the wounds are part of the nature of his work; she asks if it’s in his nature to fight one-hundred men on his own. The more he talks, the more his admiration shows for Casca and Griffith; how they are fighting for their lives for a dream where as he is merely just fighting for his life. He talks about some of the troops he’s met along the way and their plans after the war. The more he talks, the more Casca believes Guts is considering leaving the Band of the Hawk.

Hey all,

Had some computer issues since the last update which have only now been resolved. I’ll try to replace this entry with a real entry tonight, but I’m also still getting my computer set up. With that said, tomorrow will have a real update.

The Battle

Charlotte hands Griffith a gift before he leaves, a keepsake that will give him good luck and promise his return. Casca listens, in hiding, not wanting to hear the exchange. As the battle begins, Casca becomes ill. Sir Adon is on the battlefield and ready to challenge her. We can assume that he wants to take down a high-ranking officer as it would make him look very well in the eyes of his superiors. Coupled with the fact that he thinks she is incompetent because she is a woman, he’s feeling like he will win easily. Adon says that she must have gotten her position by getting into her commander’s bed which puts her into a blind rage. He is able to corner her on a cliff and with his spear pointing at her throat, offers her to live and be his army’s prostitute or to die. At the last second, Guts interferes and is able to take down Sir Adon in two blows. Looking at Casca, he asks what is wrong as this isn’t like her usual self. When she begins to faint, he grabs her hand; an arrow is shot at Guts and together, they fall into the stream below.

Guts is able to pull her into a cave after they come ashore. He wants to make a fire to keep the two warm, but cannot as it will give away their position. Guts has to lie next to her like she had to all those years ago.

Together

Casca awakes; not happy that she’s disrobed. Guts only did what he could to save her life. It takes a while for that to register. He says that if she weren’t a woman, he would’ve punched her by now in order to come to her senses.

“I was not born as a woman by choice!”

Casca explains her past. She was born in a small farming village in the mountains, bled dry by the war effort; it was common to die of hunger. A noble saw her working in the field one day and outright bought her. During the ride, she tries to escape. The noble attempts to rape her in the field until someone came to save her: Griffith. “If there is something you wish to protect, take the sword,” he tells her and throws the blade near her. She and the noble lunge for it and she stabs him. She joins him.

“Everything has changed since that day I met him. From a life of enduring and waiting for things to happen to a life where I would fight for my aspirations. Of course, I worshipped Griffith. I want to stand by him. If he has to fight to create his dream, I want to be a sword for him.”

Assassination

The hunt has started; grown men on their horses chase a fox through a portion of the forest. The Band of the Hawk is merely there, as a duty, to overlook the festivity. Corkus is, surprisingly, the only one to understand how much of an honor this is for the group. Griffith consoles Charlotte as she watches the hunt; it’s the first time she has participated. She doesn’t understand how man can be so barbaric. Charlotte’s horse becomes spooked and runs off on its own with Griffith following. Captain Julius determines this to be the best time to follow through with their assassination plan and arrow pierces his front armor.

Guts races to where Griffith has fallen, asking the princess if she knows where the arrow came from. In her delirium she is unable to determine; the assassin hides above the scene. Caska yells Griffith’s name while she holds him as he regains consciousness and asks her not to panic.

The assassin is surprised at this sight, as the tip was drenched with a deadly poison. Everyone sees the poison sheen over the arrowhead as he extracts it from his chest plate and Griffith shows that the behelit served as his shield. Everyone thinks that he was saving the princess and his status and accolade has only elevated within the courtship. As nearly everyone disperses, Griffith sees General Julius standing over, watching and then trots off on his horse. Griffith stares into his eyes, as a hawk sizing up its prey would. “It is expensive… isn’t it?” Griffith remarks of the poison, knowing that not just anybody could afford it. He knows who had planned the attempt.

Griffith calls Guts into his room that evening and asks if he will kill Julius. Because of the difficulty and nature of the request, he only asks, not orders, Guts if he will do this for him. Guts accepts.

Noble Man

Julius is training his son, Adonis, well into the evening. He doesn’t give him a chance to even stand before attacking again. According to Julius, Adonis will be commander of the White Dragons and possibly marry Charlotte. Guts watches; it’s an image from his own childhood. A soirée is being held that night for those who have been fighting in the war and of respectable rank. The King notices Charlotte’s demeanor: she must be in love, he remarks.

Meanwhile, Guts enters Julius’ room and delivers a single fatal strike. Shortly after, the door opens and Adonis sees his murdered father on the floor. Without thinking, Guts runs his blade through the child. “He saw;” that was reason enough. Guts holds the boy’s hand until his last breath escapes his body. Upon discovery, the priest who helped raise him runs to the boy, “After all he has been through, he never once saw a father’s smile of affection.”

Guts escapes, thinking of his own childhood and how he just once wanted to be praised by Gambino. Guts enters the pub where the Hawks are drinking; Caska notices the arrow wound. He asks for Griffith’s whereabouts and then heads to the castle. Caska had followed behind and asked him to wait until he was done talking to Charlotte before interrupting. She tears a piece off of her top to tie around his puncture.

Griffith prepares to leave the castle and head into his next battle; Minister Foss stops him in the courtyard. Foss tells of a rumor he heard, that the arrow at the hunt may have been intended for him. Griffith appears nonplussed. As Griffith walks away, Foss begins to wonder if Griffith knows that he was a part of the assassination attempt. When Foss turns around, he sees Griffith standing at the end of the hall, staring into his soul: the look of a hawk about to catch his prey.

For all three of my actual readers:

Just a site update that the address will be moving at some point in the near future, once I transfer all the previous posts of the Tremendous Thirty. Why? Well, I got this site on one of those DreamHost’s cheap one-year sales and in May, it’s going to cost a lot of money to renew.

I don’t plan on abandoning my commentary or finishing the Tremendous Thirty though, so a new website will be posted here in the near future.

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Another game-in weekend is being planned for potentially next weekend (January 22nd-24th). I’ll keep you updated. I’ve come up with some new resolves regarding new game purchases this year (that I will cover soon, along with a look ahead into 2010) which will be limiting the amount I buy and working towards completing the games in my backlog that I do want to play. Having said that, I have picked up on new 2010 game from the DSi shop named Trajectile, which is also one of the most fulfilling purchases I’ve had in a while.

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I feel like a slob, but I don’t have a new piece prepared for you regarding Berserk right now. I think you’ll see that I’m starting to move towards condensing the synopses a lot starting now for two reasons. 1) To get through the show; 2) I don’t think anyone likes reading that much. Of course, that means I have to watch more episodes at a time now.

My reasoning for writing the volume that has been done in the past is because I want a lot of the nuances of these characters to be shown through. A big reason I like a number of these shows is because of implications and how-fleshed-out the characters are within the story. If I were to just say “the Band of the Hawk fought and won,” that wouldn’t really tell a lot about the interaction and dynamic of these people.

The Sword’s Owner and Conspiracy

The nobles are becoming furious that such classless individuals are now being knighted and recognized by the King. As they talk, Guts passes, bandaged and harassed by the group. As he leaves, his crutch uses one of their feet as a pivot point; “an accident.” The group wants to visit Griffith in the infirmary, but his guest list is pretty full. Guts, however, doesn’t care and will go to see him by force. Caska doesn’t think Guts understands how important of a situation Griffith is now in and punches him in the face to make her point known. He sees her crying face and decides that the mood has been ruined to see him now. Griffith is able to meet up with Guts in the courtyard and they catch up. When he asks how he was saved, Guts says that “it was because of that thing around your neck.” That’s all that needed to be said. Guts questions why Griffith would put his own life on the line for him when essentially, he is one of his mere soldiers. “Do you really want a reason?” That’s all that needed to be asked.

While they are talking, the King appears and praises them. His followers don’t think they should waste his time, but he is more than appreciative to give his personal thanks. Griffith notices a young girl watching from behind a pillar who is introduced as Princess Charlotte. When everyone takes their leave, the Princess falls and he catches her. His punishment for touching her is a backhand from one of the King’s followers. Griffith smiles, blood dripping from his mouth, and excuses his behavior.

It’s a new day and Sir Adon at a new post, occupying a new fort. He displays his incredible tactical approach which is met with a counterpoint for every detail. He’s quite boisterous in informing them how ridiculous their counterpoint is that there is no way it would happen.

This will be the next fort that the recently titled Count Griffith will take over.

General Julius of the army, the White Dragons, complains of Griffith’s recent appointment. A minister of the castle informs the general that the King has specifically requested the Band of the Hawk to accompany him on the upcoming hunt. This angers him more. “You never know what kind of beasts hide in the woods. Stray arrows that may have been launched at said beasts…” the minister trails, implying that they further their plot to poison and kill Griffith.