“You don’t think I can do it, do you?”

Cassidy picked at the red feather tucked under the brim of her cavalier hat as she leaned back on her barstool and studied her first mate intently. “That’s right. Don’t see any way that ya can manage to. Not saying you shouldn’t try though.”

“Really?” August scoffed, gesturing the tankard clasped in his hand towards her, precariously sloshing its contents to the cup’s brim. “Do you truly believe that I’d struggle with something so measly?”

“Measly? I think you’ve had too much to drink, pal. There ain’t anything measly about trying to do what you’re talking about,” she replied.

“Have a little faith, Captain! After everything we’ve done together, you don’t think I have the slightest chance?”

“We’re not talking about venturing into Bloom infested god guts or brawling with rowdy pirates. This is on a whole other level, and you know that. But by all means, go ahead. I’m bored out of my mind and could use a little excitement.”

August paused to take a heaving gulp of his drink, then turned to fully face Cassidy, his eyes studying her inquisitively as his lips unfurled to form a mischievous grin. “I thought we just came to have a quiet drink in celebration of your homecoming. I didn’t think you were looking for excitement.”

“Of course, I am! When am I not?” Cassidy declared, waving towards the inert patrons around them that peppered the tavern. “I swear, this place is like a funeral! This isn’t the Cardinal I know and love!”

“Not everyone can be as jovial as you and me, Captain,” August pointed out. “But perhaps you’re right. If I were to achieve such a fantastical feat, it could energise the drunken people of this fair tavern and fill them with a more celebratory spirit!”

Cassidy shook her head sluggishly, then stared up at her first mate with a brazen smile. “I never said you could do it, I said that it’d be interesting to watch you try. That is to say — watch you try and fail. No way you’re going to be able to succeed, even with all those muscles.”

“Miss Quinn is right, August,” Pippa said, the sound of the kitchen door she had entered through slamming shut accenting her approach to the bar counter. “You ain’t got an inkling of an idea how many drunken fools have attempted it and passed out just from the effort.”

As soon as the barwoman spoke, August’s ears pricked up and his head darted towards her, his eyes widening alongside his smile. “Pippa my dear, you should know by now that I am no ordinary drunken fool!”

Pippa placed her hands on her hips and leant forward, her sullen face mere inches from the man. “True, you’re not as ordinary as most of the barflies that hang around my tavern, but you’re still a drunken fool, nonetheless.”

“Don’t be so prickly, my pulchritudinous rose! The only thing I’m a fool for is you,” August replied, taking hold of her hand and staring at the barmaid dreamily. For a moment she stared back, her eyes locked on her reflection that inhibited his emerald eyes. Then after a handful of seconds, she shook her head, pulled back her arm and folded it beneath her other.

“Lay of it August, you bled headed ponce! I already told you, not while I’m working!” she insisted.

August took a step back, clutching his chest as if he had been pierced through it with a knife. “Has my darling grown weary of my company? Has her love for me soured and spoiled? Then I must prove my worth to her! And what better way to do so than to attempt the task at hand!”

“You know that’s not what a meant you daft idiot!” Pippa groaned, fiddling with her braids. “I should kick you out of my tavern for thinking of trying something so reckless!”

Cassidy smiled, taking a swig of her tankard as she watched August weave a web of eloquent words and flowery vernacular in an effort to justify his need to attempt his proposed labour, while Pippa hurled insults and slung profanities in response. It was a dance the two engaged in every time she and August made port at Bergelmir, and it was one she thoroughly enjoyed, especially considering the tavern ambience had remained as quiet and dead aired as a graveyard. Seeing such a dull atmosphere infect the Cardinal was quite the disheartening sight, but luckily, for now, Cassidy could distract herself by watching August cluelessly court Pippa while she questioned why and how she tolerated the man in between insults.

It was a rare occurrence to see someone challenge August in such an assertive way. Even though he was as gentle as a buzz fly, most wouldn’t dare to cuss him out due to his appearance. He was muscular to the point that his figure strained against his clothing and his stature made him tower over most men. His dark skin was peppered with wounds, from fresh fleeting cuts too deep, aged scars, each one contributing to a tapestry that boasted his battle prowess. Behind his rope-like locks, the man’s face was sculpted to bear a look of regal dominance, but instead, it held the eyes and pout of a soft-spoken lover boy. Luckily while they travelled, most bandits and marauders didn’t stick around long enough to find out he was a pacifistic soul, so he served his purpose well acting as a scarecrow for the cravens that festered the nooks and crannies of Mausolus. Cassidy prided herself on being capable of taking care of herself, but she wasn’t going to frighten pirates, thieves and scoundrels by being a short-statured, middle-aged woman in a fancy hat. She needed more than a gun on her hip; she needed a bodyguard, and August served that role well. It was simply an added bonus that he was admirable company and a hilarious drunk

“That’s it, I’m cutting you off!” Pippa exclaimed, her sudden increase in volume slicing through August’s words and Cassidy’s thoughts. “You wouldn’t be acting so hard-headed if you were sober!”

Cassidy looked to either side of her, inspecting the loose collection of people present at the Cardinal to see if Pippa and August’s back and forth had roused them from their drunken stupors, only to find that they remained as half-present as when she had arrived. A disappointment that held for only a short moment before she turned her attention back to the only two engaging people present.

“I dunno about that, Pippa,” Cassidy said, turning back to face the barwoman. “Even when he isn’t sloshed, August’s head’s as hard as a Behemoth’s skull. He still hasn’t given up on trying to make the bilgebrats laugh at his corny jokes.”

“I will not give up until I draw smiles from those children!” August proclaimed. “My jokes are hilarious, and you cannot prove otherwise!”

“Well, I’d say their lack of smiles are proof enough.” Cassidy pointed out. “But that’s beside the point. What I’m trying to say Pippa is that this man can’t be stopped once he’s put his mind to something, drunk or not.”

Pippa shrugged, then nodded in agreement. “I’ll admit, you’re right. But if he was sober, his brain would still be working well enough to tell him that trying to attempt something he’s witnessed so many others fail is a fool’s errand!”

August gently placed his empty tankard in front of him, and clumsily leaned forward, his eyes wandering aimlessly as they struggled to focus on Pippa. “My darling, my beauty, my beloved. I do not act this foolish because I am drunk with liquor. It is because I am drunk with love! I must prove myself to you, and the only way to do so is to lift that man’s axe!”

After an inelegant spin, August jabbed his finger towards a lone table in the far back of the tavern. As always only one man sat at it and as always, he was dressed from head to toe in crimson armour, gripping a tankard of untouched ale while his black-bladed battle axe rested by his side. All throughout the Halcony Grasslands knew of this man, but none knew his true name. And so, he came to be known as the Silent Knight.

Since she was a youth living in Bergelmir, Cassidy had been intrigued by the Silent Knight. Nobody knew where he had come from or why he had arrived. He simply appeared one day, almost twenty-five years in the past and decided to remain. Since he had arrived, nobody had seen his face or even knew of his name. At all times he remained encased in his lacquered armour, and at all times he refused to speak.

He would occasionally venture out of the settlement, travelling the grasslands surrounding it in search for bounty. He would disappear for weeks, sometimes months at a time, but he would always return to Bergelmir, dragging a glorious bounty that he would deposit at the apothecary. It was twenty years ago that Cassidy had become fascinated by the Silent Knight when he came back to town covered in dead Bloom vines with a Giant’s heart in tow, a rarity that none in Bergelmir had ever seen with their own two eyes. After that, she had tried her best to learn more about him, and when she became a Corsair, she had tried her best to recruit him to her crew. But the Silent Knight never replied, responded or rebuked. He would simply go about his business as if she was not even present, treating her the same way he treated everyone else who attempted to speak with him, which only made her more intrigued.

“Miss Quinn, you can’t possibly think this is a good idea?” Pippa said, her eyes distraughtly darting towards the woman. “He’s your first mate, can’t you talk him out of this?”

Cassidy stroked her chin as she stared at the Silent Knight intently while the mysterious individual remained a motionless sculpture in the corner of the room. “I’ll be honest Pips, I’m kinda torn. On the one hand, in the twenty-five years the Knight has been here, most every person who has attempted to budge his axe has ended up in the hospital. On the other hand, I’m bored. It really is quite the dilemma, ain’t it?”

She glanced to her right, staring down at the few individuals who sat solitary at the bar counter. “What do you think, fellas? We’ve all seen our share of limp arms try and lift the Knight’s axe. You think my guy has a chance of showing them all up?”

The patron closest to her suddenly jerked his head upwards, as if he had been startled awake, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of something more thrilling than the bottom of a whiskey bottle. “Aye, aye. Aye! I say we let him take a crack at it! Let’s see if your man’s as sturdy as he looks, Quinn!”

“Yeah! If pretty boy thinks he can do it, then I say let him try!” another called from a table behind them.

And like a spark seconds before striking kindling, Cassidy finally saw the opportunity she’d been waiting for. An opportunity to inject a little excitement into the tavern and get them in the mood for a celebration.

"Patrons of the Cardinal, I think it’s time we threw a little gasoline on this poor excuse for a fire. I know things are slow around here and that there’s been a dire absence of excitement, but I came home to enjoy myself, not sit in silence and sip glumly! And so, I am offering a solution, a temporary reprieve from the monotony of your lives. You’ve seen just about every person in Bergelmir try to lift the knight’s axe. But you haven’t seen my strapping first mate give it a try and believe me, when I say that he’s chock full of surprises, I mean the kind that’ll blow you all away!”

The already present silence that had afflicted the patrons somehow grew more intense as all eyes drifted towards Cassidy. For a moment, she thought she may have miscalculated. That the patrons were in more of a lethargic trance than she had anticipated. But then, they stirred from their midday drunken stupors to turn their attention to the first glimmer of excitement to come their way since they had arrived. Soon enough, each person began voicing their excitement and placing prospective bets until eventually, the loose collection of patrons present began chanting August’s name, with Cassidy leading the choir.

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“Don’t be stupid, August! You can still walk away from this!” Pippa insisted, her voice rising higher in an attempt to surpass the chant’s volume. “Who cares if a bunch of drunkards want you to lift the axe?”

“Who’re you calling a drunkard!” Cassidy called, raising her drink above her head, prompting the other patrons to do so as well.

August took hold of Pippa’s hand and caressed it softly with his thumb, staring into her eyes with a look of fevered intensity. “You are right, my darling. I don’t care what the tavern folk think of me. All I care is that I convey the totality of my devotion to you!”

This time, she did not pull back her hand. Instead, she simply rolled her eyes and tried her best to hide the smirk attempting to manifest itself on her face. “Whatever. Just don’t come crying to me when you hurt yourself.”

“My love, I am August of the Silken Heart!” he declared, striking his chest with his fist. “No mere axe will harm me!”

“You tell ‘em, August!” the crowd cheered, slamming their tankards against the tables.

“If anyone can budge that thing, it’s the right hand to our very own Captain Cassidy Quinn!”

After taking a satisfied sip of her drink, Cassidy indulged in the ecstatic madness that had infected the people of the tavern. It was good to see it so lively after witnessing it in the sorry state she had found it in. She didn’t mind going for a quiet drink, but this was Bergelmir, her hometown, a place she only came back to once a year, if at all. And when she did return, she made sure that every second she spent in the settlement was filled with joy and excitement. However, sometimes her acts to incite such excitement grew beyond her control, which was a blessing or curse depending on who was asked.

“Well, August, you might have to get in line,” she said, indicating towards the back of the room. “It looks like you aren’t the only one who wants to take a crack at lifting the axe.”

August’s head snapped towards the table at the tavern’s far back to see a steadily forming throng of men and woman, all of them eyeing the axe that lay before them. The combined volatility of Cassidy’s rallying cry and the liquid courage that coursed through them spurred the patrons to attempt the impossible task that they had witnessed countless fail. All of this occurred around the Silent Knight, who did as his namesake indicated. Despite the drunken masses crowding him and those of them attempting to lift his weapon, he sat as still as a statue, and as quiet as one too, his helmeted face angled downwards at his untouched drink.

“Hey, wait a second! That’s supposed to be me!” August pouted, jabbing his finger towards the crowd.

“Let the locals have their fun first, August,” Cassidy remarked. “It’ll give you a refresher of what you have to look forward to.”

August crossed his arms, took a deep breath and obliged his captain, as he joined her and Pippa in observing the people of Bergelmir’s ill-fated attempts at lifting the Silent Knight’s axe.

The first person to dare to grab the axe’s hilt immediately collapsed to the ground and was promptly dragged off and propped upright inside one of the tavern’s booths. This was the most common result of attempting to lift the axe and Cassidy had witnessed more people than she could count pass out just from making contact with the weapon. Even though the outcome never changed, she still held out hope that one day someone would manage to lift the axe. Perhaps then, she’d finally learn something new about the enigmatic Silent Knight.

The second and far less likely outcome occurred when the fourth patron made her attempt. Being far more muscular than the previous three, she managed to grab hold of the axe’s hilt without passing out. But even with her immense strength, the weapon did not budge, and after only five seconds of gripping it, she stumbled backwards and caressed the palm of her hand in pain-induced shame.

“See, you dolt. It isn’t as easy as it looks!” Pippa blustered, her piercing glare snapping towards August. “Sylvia there has worked the bone quarry for fifteen years and is just about the strongest in all of Bergelmir and even she couldn’t lift it. I’m telling you right now, there is no way you’re gonna manage it.”

August stared intently as more and more patrons piled in through the doors of the Cardinal, the siren call of fervent cries and howls drawing them in from the streets to either watch or participate in a chance to give the axe another shot. But instead of being deterred by the sight of their failures, all they did was spur August forward.

“My dearest Pippa, if I was doing this for you, then I would have ceased any thought of attempting to lift the axe upon your first request,” he said with a respectful bow. “But I am not doing it for you, or for them. I am doing it for me! To prove to myself that I am still worthy of your love!”

Pippa stared blankly at August, her eyes narrowing as her forehead creased with confusion. Cassidy knew the look well and had seen the very same one on the faces of numerous women. It was one of simultaneous frustration and endearment. One that gave form to the opposing feelings cascading within Pippa’s mind. It was the look of someone in love.

“Fine, go do whatever it is you think you need to do,” Pippa said. “Just be careful.”

And with her final word, August launched himself from his barstool and began wading through the crowd of people that was continuously growing as more from outside flocked to the tavern upon hearing the ruckus within. As he made his way towards the axe, the patrons began to cheer his name louder and louder, clapping him on the back and yelling words of encouragement as he closed in on his goal.

“You know, if it were any other man, I’d say he was only acting like this to charm his way into my trousers,” Pippa sighed, resting her head on her hands as she stared forward, unblinking. “But not August. He really means what he says, doesn’t he?”

Cassidy shrugged, reaching behind the bar and topping off her tankard. “What can I say? The man speaks from the heart, and his has a voice louder than most.”

“I know that we agree to see other people whenever the two of you ship out, and I know that he has other loves in other settlements, but I swear, there ain’t a fella in all the Halcony Grasslands like August. Where did you ever find a guy like him, Miss Quinn?”

“There’s a big ole world beyond the fields and forests that surround Bergelmir, Pippa, and it’s filled with people, places and things that’ll make your head spin,” she replied. “Heck I’ve been ferrying cargo across Mausolus for years and I still ain’t seen a fraction of what it has to offer.”

Pippa smiled softly, her finger tracing a mangle of shapes in the fog of an empty glass. She glanced at Cassidy for a moment, her lips pursed to speak only for nothing to escape them. After seconds of silence, Cassidy was just about ready to ask what she wanted to say when the barmaid finally managed to squeeze her words past her lips.

“I’ve thought about it you know. Leaving. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Cardinal and I love Bergelmir, but I’ve always wondered what’s beyond those Fallen One filled fields.”

“Mostly more Fallen Ones,” Cassidy remarked, gulping down the contents of her tankard. “But in between all those corpses, if you’re lucky, you’ll find something special. Me? I’m still looking for that diamond in the rough that’ll scratch the itch that spurred me to leave Bergelmir in the first place.”

“What do you mean?” Pippa inquired.

“When I was about your age, I was going stir crazy scavenging god guts and piking crawdads just to get by. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life working my hands raw and eating plantains, so

I packed my bags, jumped on the first docked vessel I saw and set out. Now twenty years later I’ve got my own ship, my own crew and my own story. Greatest saint-dammed decision I ever made.”

“I wish I was as brave as you, Miss Quinn,” Pippa sighed. “I could never be so spontaneous. I’d love to take August up on his offer and join the two of you on your vessel, but I just can’t. I think I prefer stability over excitement.”

“And that’s just fine,” Cassidy insisted, reaching over the bar counter and placing a hand on Pippa’s shoulder. “You know, I used to have a friend like you. He wanted to see the world too and I almost managed to convince him to come with me all those years ago, but he chose to stay, and I never held it against him. He made a fine life for himself here in Bergelmir, one that he would have missed out on if he left it all behind. The world doesn’t need more cavalier Corsairs like me. It needs more hardworking and dedicated lasses like you. You’re a braver woman than me for staying here, Pippa. Besides, somebody’s gotta keep this town good and drunk!”

Pippa smiled the kind of smile that could melt any heart, no matter how frigid. One that she had worn since she was a child and never failed to warm the cockles of Cassidy’s soul when she saw its homely sincerity.

“Thank you, Miss Quinn,” she said softly. “To hear something like that from someone like you is a true honour.”

“Attention, attention!”

August’s voice suddenly boomed throughout the tavern, cutting any present conversations to ribbons and ensnaring the interest of all within, as he accentuated his words with a thunderous clap.

“I, August of the Silken Heart, right hand to your very own Captain Cassidy Quinn, hereby dedicate this act of immense strength and fortitude to the most beautiful soul in all of Halcony! Pippa Labelle! With my success, I mark a day for all in Bergelmir to remember. The day that the axe of the Silent Knight was finally conquered!”

A roar of cheers erupted from the crowd, entombing the tavern in an echo chamber of ovations. Most within it gawked with genuine awe at August, their hearts and souls convinced that for the first time ever the axe would be moved. But not Pippa and Cassidy. Instead, they observed the man with two very different expressions. The former, with one of flattered embarrassment, and the latter with one of eager intrigue. The roaring crowd would have continued for as long as their lungs would have allowed them, but they were promptly silenced by August’s hand rising upwards as he began to approach his quarry.

A hushed stillness consumed the Cardinal as August stared down the axe, inelegantly circling the table the Silent Knight sat at. Slowly the circle grew smaller and smaller until he was inches from it, and once he had made one last lap around the table he stopped in front of the obsidian-hued weapon — his eyes darting between it and the still motionless Silent Knight. After a tension-filled pause, August gradually inched his arm forward, unfurling his hand as he reached out to grasp the hilt of the axe. Cassidy was sure that he would not succeed in lifting it. After all, she’d seen people double August’s size fail to do so. As a Corsair she was good at taming the odds, and she rarely ever found herself surprised by the outcome of a situation. To her, the improbable was the impossible, as her gut instincts had never steered her wrong. That is until today. She was so sure in what the outcome would be, that when it finally arrived, she almost fell out of her seat.

August didn’t fail to lift the axe, nor did he succeed. Instead, it was suddenly snatched from his grasp by the Silent Knight himself.

Faster than she had ever seen him move, the Silent Knight lifted his axe and brandished it in front of him. The runes engraved on the black metal began to glow red in a manner that none, including Cassidy, had ever seen before as the Knight’s head began to dart from side to side as if he was franticly searching for something.

The entire population of the Cardinal took a step back, producing a large space where now only August and the Silent Knight stood. August took a wary step forward, trying his best to make sense of the situation, but before he could even part his lips to speak, the Knight darted towards the tavern’s door and burst through it.

Everyone in the Cardinal regardless of drunkenness or sobriety had the same thought, and without a word or hesitation, they acted on it, piling out of the tavern’s door and following the Silent Knight’s trail. Cassidy knew that none of them had ever witnessed the Knight act in such a way, and like her, they all wanted to see what could have possibly caused him to exit with such urgency. And it didn’t take long for them to get their answer. As soon as she stepped outside, Cassidy noticed that something was very, very wrong.

It was past noon, on a pleasant summer’s day, but despite all that, the sky had been consumed by shadow. The people in the streets outside the Cardinal had frozen completely still, their gazes angled upwards and their jaws slacken with horror.

Cassidy forced herself to look upwards, forced herself to see what horrific sight had rendered the people of Bergelmir petrified, and when she finally saw it, she stood frozen in fear too.

Descending from the heavens was the largest Fallen One that she had ever seen. Larger than any Giant she’d scavenged. Larger than any Colossus she’d plundered. Larger than any Behemoth she’d scaled. Which meant that it could only be one thing.

“Titan,” August said, as if reading her mind, his voice harsh and devoid of its usual gentleness. “It’s an actually, saint-damned Titan.”

“But that’s impossible, isn’t it?” Pippa sputtered. “I thought that a Titan hadn’t fallen for centuries?”

“Not impossible,” Cassidy said, forcing her trembling lips to form words. “Just improbable.”

It had been far too long since Cassidy had felt anything resembling genuine fear. After years of travelling Mausolus, it was the devils she knew, rather than the ones she didn’t that rattled her spine. But now, for the first time, she was shocked by something unfamiliar, something fresh. And although she was afraid, Cassidy felt another feeling, one that was contradictory to her entire situation. A feeling of excitement.

But that feeling was simply a drop in the ocean of dread that currently engulfed her, and everyone else staring up at the sky. All in Bergelmir stood consumed in varying degrees of shock and awe. All were worried and trembling at the implications of such an event. All, but the Silent Knight.

Despite the sight of the Titan, he took a step forward, as if in defiance of the Fallen One’s arrival, cocking his head upwards to glare at the descending corpse. While everyone around him stood as still as statues, he lifted his axe until it was pointed directly at the horizon, then placed his arm over his chest and began to beat against it.

Cassidy wanted to ask the Silent Knight what he was doing. She wanted to ask why he was suddenly acting so animated, and how he knew about the Titan. But even if she had the strength to force her lips to move, she wouldn’t have had the chance. After the Knight had struck his chest a fifth time, with a resounding metallic clang his axe began to shine with a brilliant, blinding radiance that robbed her of her sight.

The sound of the Knight’s metallic drumbeat, the feeling of the Titan’s corpse shaking the world and the scent of wild berry ale on her breath were the last sensations Cassidy experienced before she, and everyone around her were consumed by the Silent Knight’s light.