TYRAM

The horrible noise filled Tyram's entire world. It was a noise so horrible it couldn't be heard, only felt. Like icicles stabbing into his brain, a cold insistent humming drilling into his ears and lacerating his thoughts until he couldn't think, couldn't move, couldn't only fall to the ground clutching the sides of his head, desperately trying to block out the horrible cursed noise, to stop, to think, anything...

Something slammed into his side and sent him tumbling, and something else made wind whip past him as it flew towards the ground. As sanity and reason returned he realized the thing that flew past his head had been Jarlo's ax, coming down in an arc that would have split him in two. What had slammed into his side was Rimni, tackling him out of the way of blow.

Rimni it seemed actually had summoned his Regalia. It's physical form was nothing more than a circlet of dull bronze around his head with two green jewels set in the middle. When his coat's hood was up all that could be seen of his face was those jewels, like eyes peering out of the darkness.

“Why were you just standing there!?” Rimni demanded.

“His armor's got some kind of power,” Tyram said, shaking his head. “I couldn't even think, let alone move.”

“Come on, a Knight's gotta be stronger than that!” Rimni said. “I bet it wouldn't even work on me!”

“That so kid?” Jarlo roared, turning on them.

“Go for it,” Rimni stuck out his tongue at the huge bandit.

Unfortunately, Jarlo did. Tyram was only vaguely aware of Rimni collapsing beside him, both of them clutching their skulls as they rolled on the ground in agony. All thought was gone until there was a ping! Of snapping metal and the agony ceased.

“What happened?” He heard Jarlo roar as his head cleard. “How did...how could...”

“You okay?” Fann asked as Tyram climbed to his feet. The Bat Knight stood between Tyram and Rimni with his eyes closed and his hand on the hilt of his sword. He had his Regalia active as well. Like Rimni there was a circlet, though Fann's was made of glossy black metal, a blank triangle of it going down to the bridge of his nose. The same metal had grown around his hands and feet as well, less covering like armor and more like forming a thin skeleton outline flat against his skin.

Behind him, Jarlo patted the place where one of his antenna had been cut off with a face twisted in utter horror

“Yeah,” Tyram said. How the hell can he cut auram metal so damn easily? “Yeah I'm okay.”

“Don't ignore me!” Jarlo shouted. “I saw you coming but I know I hit you with that! How the hell were you still standing?”

“You wouldn't believe how good your hearing gets when you accept the Bat Regalia,” Fann said, smirking at the bandit. “Seriously, you wouldn't. So if you don't want to go insane in a crowd from the sound of everybody blinking you learn how to tune out any sound you don't want to listen to. Including whatever that horrible noise you make by pressing your antennae together is.”

“Fregg you!” Jarlo snarled, but the Bat Knight was already moving, slashing his blade across Jarlo's belly. There was a clang of metal against metal, and the bandit stumbled back. Before the bandit could recover Tyram ran up and punched him in the gut, smashing Jarlo through his own chariot. The vehicle fell apart into metal scrap and the snails, no longer tethered to it, bolted away from the battle and disappeared into the town.

“He didn't get cut in half,” Fann said, looking at the blade of his sword. “That move usually cuts people in half. Guess he's a lot better armored than his antennae.”

“Did you think I was a pushover?” Jarlo laughed, picking himself up out of the wreckage. “You're not the only one who's got regalia left over from the Ruin Wars! And I know how to use mine a lot better than a bunch of kids. Pretty sure you're the ones who picked the wrong day to come to town! All five of you wouldn't be enough to take me!”

Jarlo roared, charging at Fann. Or at least trying to. A thick red cord had been tied around his feet so that when he tried to move he went sprawling in the dirt. From behind a pile of fallen bandits Rimni ran out and kicked him in the face.

“There's six of us!” the impish rat knight giggled. He grabbed Jarlo's discarded ax and disappeared with it back into the sprawling bodies.

“I,” Jarlo said as he climbed to his feet, raggedly panting out the words in a voice that was more beast than human, “will kill. ALL OF YOU!”

The fall had turned the cut in his lip into a big, ugly split and blood spattered from his mouth with every heaving breath. Fann and Tyram didn't give him time to recover. Fan brought his katana slashing for Jarlo's neck from the back while Tyram threw an auram-enforced punch into Jarlo's gut. Jarlo grunted, but dropped into a deep horse stance. Some kind of body strengthening style, Tyram had heard of things like that before. Whatever it was he took both blows with little more than a grunt.

“I'm ready for you now!” Jarlo laughed. “Gonna take more than that to get me down again!”

The bandit's fists flew out, catching both Tyram and Fann and sending them sprawling on the ground. Tyram tried to get up but his head swam. For a moment he thought he'd hit his head, but then he noticed Jarlo's evil grin and began to recognize the symptoms.

“There it is!” Jarlo laughed. “I can only hit one at a time without both antenna, but it's enough to finish you off!”

Tyram tried to fight off the effects but his head refused to clear. Fann was still lying on the ground. The Bat Knight was a light, quick type fighter, if Jarlo's blow took him by surprise it could have done a lot of damage. Jarlo stomped casually over to Tyram and lifted the Dragon Knight into the air by his throat, squeezing to cut off his air. Tyram tried to struggle, but he was too disoriented.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

There was a black blur of motion and Jarlo tilted his head to the side. A deep gash appeared in the bandit's cheek, blood gushing from a hole Tyram could see teeth through.

If Jarlo hadn't moved that would have cut his throat, Tyram thought. I've been underestimating the kid.

“I told you!” Rimni laughed. “There's six of us!”

“Little brat,” Jarlo growled, bloody spatter falling down his chest. He kicked Tyram viciously in the side and dropped him, turning his attention to the Rat Knight. Rimi turned into a black blur that seemed to be everywhere at once, darting around and taunting the bandit.

“Can't hit me with that great big ax if I keep moving right?” Rimni laughed.

Jarlo stood silently, his shoulders slumped, patient as a boulder.

“I'll probably never get to feel what it's like to get hit with that thing!” Rimni chuckled from somewhere among the blurs of motion he had become around Jarlo. “But I'll live with the disappointment. I'll get your neck for real this time, you fat...”

Jarlo thrust his arm out, still holding the ax. Rimni's gut slammed into the handle, choking the air out of him. He dropped his daggers and tumbled down, clutching his stomach. A cruel grin split Jarlo's face.

“What was that runt?” he growled, lifting Rimni up off the ground in one hand, his other hanging by his side holding the ax. “You'll never get to feel it? Don't worry I wouldn't want you to miss out!”

There was no visible beam but Tyram could see Rimni clutch his head and struggle in Jarlo's grip. But he'd bought them the time they needed. Free from the beam himself Tyram could feel his focus returning and started gathering auram. Fann was recovering too, moving slowly to his feet. They caught each other's eyes, nodded, and moved.

The bandit had been ready for them. He caught Fann's sword with the blade of his ax and threw Rimni right at Tyram's face. He slammed his shoulder into Fann, sending the much smaller and lighter knight flying. Then he turned his attention to Tyram...and got a boot to the face. Because things hadn't gone the way he, or Tyram, had expected.

Jarlo had assumed Rimni would slam into Tyram, or that Tyram would catch Rimni rather than let the youngest knight hit the ground.

Tyram had seen the move coming, and thought Jarlo was underestimating Rimni. The young knight in the Rat Regalia could certainly take the fall, if he had to, but more likely he would roll with the fall and land fine.

Rimni, on the other hand, had flipped in midair and used Tyram's face as a springboard to fly right back at Jarlo, so when the bandit turned around he was alright flying foot-first at his head. The blow landed with a sickening crunch and Rimni kept going, rolling over Jarlo's helmet and using the back of his head to spring away. Jarlo's nose was a crumpled mess, blood pouring from both nostrils, covering his face.

“Dad liddle shid!” Jarlo roared through the cascading red. “I'll...”

But Tyram was already there.

It had taken him a second to recover from being used as a springboard by the mischievous Rat Knight, but as soon as he had he'd started gathering auram in his palms for one of the strongest blows his master had taught him to perform. He slammed both hands into Jarlo's gut and released the auram in a great pulse that blasted through Jarlo's body. It cracked and crumpled the auram making up his armor, blasted through his stomach, and exploded out the back in a wave of light that looked like a roaring dragon. When his grandfather had used that move the dragon had truly roared, but Tyram's version was weaker and the only sound was the cracking and shredding of Jarlo's broken body. The bandit's eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the ground, an enormous hole drilled through his stomach. With it's user dead his regalia evaporated into floating dots of sparkling light.

Tyram stared at the hole in the corpse for a moment and fought down the urge to vomit. He'd trained for years and years, even been in a few fights...but he'd never killed anyone before.

No time to think about it, he told himself. The fight's not over.

But it was. With their leader down, facing an enraged town and six Regalia users, the few remaining bandits turned and fled, running out of the village into the fields. Andry burst through the crowds, running after them.

“No!” Andry shouted. “No! You can't let them run! They'll tell--”

“Peace boy,” Chaddim said, reaching up to put a hand on Andry's shoulder. When the old man had gotten down from his balcony was anyone's guess. “No way we could really take them all out. They were bound to get back eventually. It's all started now, and there's no way to stop it.”

Andry glared at Chaddim, but didn't argue. Tyram wanted to ask what they were talking about, but Fann clapped him on the back and distracted him.

“Gods,” Fann laughed. “We won!”

“Yeah,” Tyram said, staring at Jarlo's hollowed out carcass lying on the ground. “Yeah we did.”

“I knew we would,” Rimni sniffed. “He wasn't so tough. I could have taken him alone!”

They whole village was smiling and laughing and clapping each other on the shoulder and hugging. For the knights it was more than just a victory. For the first time since joining together on their quest they had fought together, and won. It wasn't long before J'vann placed a fist in a palm for prayer though, and began mumbling words over the dead.

“Why bother?” Fann asked. “They're just bandits.”

“They were children once,” J'vann said. “They had mothers and brothers and husbands and wives. However misspent the life, losing it is a tragedy.”

“Well said,” Sasha pressed a fist to her palm and gave a bow.

“He's always like that,” Rimni sighed, walking off. “But yeah I don't get it either. I wonder if there's anything to eat around here?”

“You idiots!” Andry shouted at them. “You complete idiots! I told you! I told you to stay out of it!”

“Relax,” Rimni said. “We won didn't we?”

“Jarlo is the weakest of the Brothers Sloth!” Andry snapped. “There's three more, and you killed one of them! Not just their soldiers, one of the brothers! Plus they've got lots more men, and some of them have got Regalia of their own!”

“So what I'm hearing is,” Verro said, “the fight's not over yet. I vote we stay and help.”

“It's the kind of thing the knights were originally created for,” Sasha said. “Besides, we can't leave after starting it.”

“Yeah,” Rimni said. “Protecting people is what knightsdo. It's cowards who don't even bother to help fight who do the yelling and complaining.”

“You've dragged us all into a war!” Andry roared at them, and there was auram behind it this time. Tyram could feel waves of it washing at him through the air.

“Easy there Andry,” Chaddim said grimly. “This war was coming either way, and it was high time it did. We couldn't live like that forever.”

“He's right son,” Dorret told his son. “I know you took your grandpa's death hard, but still. Think about it. Sooner or later they were going to go wild and crush the village. I'm just glad it happened while these young knights were in town to drive Jarlo off.”

“Now we're in with a chance,” the mayor agreed. “Not a great chance, but a chance. Will you really fight with us?”

“I will,” Tyram said. He thought maybe he said it a little too fast. The hole in Chaddim's stomach, the blood and the gore around his corpse, were fresh in his mind. He was a little worried if he didn't say it quickly he'd never say it at all.

The others didn't seem to have a similar problem, and voiced their agreement one by one.

“Idiots,” Andry said. “Idiots. We're all going to die.”

“There's things worse than dying son,” Dorret said. “I was never much good as a fighter, but your grandfather taught me that much.” Andry just snorted.

“Well we don't have time to stand around,” the Chaddim told them. “We've got to fortify the town. And arrange to bring more people in, from nearby villages. The more warm bodies we can put up the better. The rest of these flesh mites will know about the battle in a few hours, at the longest.”

“Is their base close?” Verro asked.

“Not too close no,” Andry said. “But while you were busy prancing around congratulating yourselves like idiot heroes in a fairytale you let a whole bunch of them get away. So if we're going to do this let's hurry up and do it, if we work hard we can at least die tired.”