“Ugh…” Owin squints his eyes open, vision blurry and head still spinning. He raises his hand to his head, holding it lighty, trying to remember how he got here. He takes a minute to breathe consciously, then looks up from the ground for the first time. Slumped up against a tree, he’s looking out onto the crisped field, ash covering the ground and blanketing the air. His legs are bandaged with some sort of blue cloth.

“It’s been about 20 minutes”

Owins head snaps to his right, finding the lancer sitting by another tree next to him, grinding his spear on a heavy rock he’s holding. His sleeves are ripped off, though the rest of his outfit is even worse for wear, cuts and rips on every side and crevasse, yet he seems completely uninjured now, to Owins joy.

“You’re alright! That’s a relief”

“And you?” the lancer asks, looking at the knight's legs.

“Ah no worries, probably- NAGH!” He suddenly screams as he tries to move his legs. He winces and decides to let them rest instead.

“I did my best to patch them up”

“Right… thank you” Owin looks at the shotty and crudely tied excuses for bandages. At this point however, anything is welcome.

“And now, if you’d be so kind as to say…” Nialuc gets up slowly and steps toward Owin. The lancer already towers over the knight when standing, so looking up at him sitting down is almost mesmerising.

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Oh, I am the Knight of Sumah, the chosen Sapphire of the Gem Knight order, after my predecessor's disappearance. Acclaimed for the last-”

“I have no god damn Idea what any of that means. Speak like a real person. Please.”

“... I’m a knight and you can call me sapphire”

“Isn’t that a girl's name?”

“It’s my title”

“I'm not worthy of your name?”

“No! It's not that! Culturally our order just-... ugh… call me Owin”

“Nialuc”, the lancer responds and ducks down to shake the knight's hand. Owin takes his hand happily.

“Where did you come from? You just appeared out of nowhere.”

“Im… not quite sure. I had this tablet in my hands and I saw you and that other guy and he was gonna kill you and I really didn’t want that to happen so-”

“A tablet?”

“Yeah, its… oh” Owins mouth drops at the sight of an identical tablet strung around the lancer's waist. Nialuc takes it into his hands and shows it to Owin.

“Can you read the text?”

“Not at all. But it just sorta started glowing in my hands. I saw this field, you, and I kinda put my hand into it. Then it just kinda dragged me out here.”

“Hm… A teleportation tablet? I don’t understand how you got it to work”

“Beats me. Where am I anyways? I need to get back as fast as possible”

“We’re just a bit aways from the Wametat waterfall.”

“The wame- what- waterfall?”

“Wametat, super famous around here. Deadly river. Serene nature. Weird rock formations”

“Ah well I'm not from around here”

“Mmm.. we’re close to Korka I think”

“Korka!? Perfect so we can’t be far from where I was”

“Hold on, I've got a lot more questions. Like, what the hell was that thing you did?”

“Gonna have to be more specific.”

“The magical flames on you, the crazy boost in your aura, the thing that made you lose all your mana”

“Oh right, it's an ability any true gem knights possess. Gem evolution”

“Alright and now what the hell is a gem knight. You keep saying it over and over but I’ve never heard of a gem knight before”

“We are an old order based in the far east. Classic chivalry, magical powers, protecting those under our care. The norm”

“The fuck is chivalry?”

“... I thought I was the uncultured one”

“Excuse me?”

“Chivalry has been a thing all throughout Europe, Africa and the East for the last 300 years at minimum”

“Impossible. I’ve lived for centuries, never heard of it”

“You’ve lived for centuries?”

“Yeah. It's a bit of a long story”

“Now I have a lot of questions”

“Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. What is gem evolution and a gem knight”

“Alright so, in basic terms. There’s roughly 20 to 30 of us in total.”

“Small Order”

“Well those are the actual gem knights. Our Order has a lot of regular knights who follow the gems. Anyways, each knight has been and is accepted by our gem.” Owin says, lightly tapping the big sapphire on his chest.

“When a knight passes away or they are unable to continue their duty, the gem detaches from the knight, and any person can theoretically become the next knight of that gem if the gem accepts them”

“And then the gems grant you magical powers and abilities?”

“Sort of. Each gem is a little different and unique. Sapphire does focus more on magic. Since I’ve become the Sapphire knight, it has helped me greatly expand my stamina and mana and makes it easier for me to learn spells.”

“And the whole evolution part?”

“To evolve is to unlock the gems latent potential. The knight functions as its implement”

“And your evolution grants you a big boost in strength for the cost of mana?”

“Basically“

“Hm…”

No wonder he was able to keep up. He’s using some kind of magical artefact to strengthen himself. But his aura… it was massive but messy, chaotic, untrained. We’re lucky Hiterito and I underestimated him, he still shouldn’t have made that big of a difference.

“Thanks for… saving me”

“Dont, It's my duty to. Speaking of, why were you trying to kill each other? Are you evil or something? If so, please don't kill me.”

“What?! No! Of course not, I just bandaged you!”

“Well not very well to be fair. I could have mistaken it for an attempt to give me an infection, those sleeves don't look clean.”

“What? I- uh..”

Owin chuckles at Nialucs sudden insecurity.

“Im joking! Mostly…”

“... No, I'm not evil. And neither is he really. It's his job to kill me”

“His job?”

“We’re the implements of Tyr”

“...okay?”

“... do you… not know who Tyr is?”

“No? Am I supposed to?”

“He is one of THE most powerful gods. Everyone knows Tyr!”

“Well I'm sorry. You’re the one who doesn't know what chivalry is”

“Is chivalry a god?”

“No?”

“Then it's insignificant”

“You just insulted my entire culture”

“Well it sounds made up”

“Just like your little god”

“He’s the god of rebirth and justice. Hiterito, another warrior called Cutter and I, are all his gifted soldiers”

“So you guys are a team?”

“Not really. As our god, he makes us carry out his form of ideal justice and in turn, he grants us his powers. However, to keep our ‘contract’ going, we have to be reborn every so often. So each of us is tasked with killing another to make sure we get reborn. Then to make sure we do manage to kill each other, he implemented our abilities and strengths in such a way that one of us would always have the advantage against the other and a disadvantage against the third. Like a game of rock-....”

Nialuc stops himself by biting his tongue as he realises what he’s about to say, thinking back to Hiteritos mocking.

“... Rock, paper, scissors” Owin fills in for him. Nialuc sighs.

“Yeah…”

“Sounds… Like a lot. So you’re like friends with a god? Thats cool”

“No that's not-”

“I get why that other guy thought so little of me. You guys are working on a whole different scale aren’t you?”

“You could say that. But you sure as hell managed to surprise him”

“Thankfully. I'm glad to hear it though”

“What?”

“That he’s so powerful. He’ll be alright.”

“You mean his injury?”

“Yeah, it looked pretty bad. I don’t think I could heal a spear through the chest. Twice”

“Twice?”

“I healed you didn’t I?”

“Hmpf.. I mean kind of. I wasn’t going to die from something like that anyways, plus I have a regenerative body.”

“Your body can heal itself?”

“Lets not get off topic. Why do you care for his safety?”

“Well why do I care for yours?”

“...”

“Everyone deserves to live. As I said, no one is killing anyone”

“Well, then I’ll get going. I don't know how long he’ll be recovering for”

“He’s going to return soon?”

“As soon as he can. So I need to go now”

“Alone? And where? He’s going to kill you”

“Exactly. So the only thing I can do now is say goodbye”

“You’re giving up?”

“I don’t know anyone who would bother to help me, much less anyone strong enough to help me”

“Hello? I'm right here!”

Nialuc stands up, once again towering over the injured knight.

“Yeah. No. You are in no condition. Even if you were, you’re not strong enough”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Didn’t we just beat him?”

“He knows better than to be surprised like that again”

“I'm better than nothing though!”

“Not in that condition”

Nialuc turns his back to the knight and begins to step away.

“Wait! You’re just going to leave me?”

“You’ll recover your stamina and heal yourself eventually”

Owin tries to move but the pain in his legs sears through him. “Angh!” He stumbles, falling onto his chest on the grass, watching the lancer walk away. In desperation, he cries out “Wait, I can't heal myself!”

It gets his attention. He stops and turns around to look the knight in the eyes.

“What do you mean? You did during the fight”

“I-I can only use that spell 3 times a day!” Owin lies through his teeth.

Nialuc closes his eyes and begins to listen to the violin of the knight's essence. It's hampered and out of rhythm. He can’t tell if it's because he’s lying, or because he’s in pain.

“Please! At least take me to Korka. I can get help there”

Nialucs opens his eyes after trying for another minute to discern his aura. “I only saw you heal twice”

“I used one before I got here”

“...mngh…” Nialuc grumbles, shaking his head. Owin stares at him with desperation.

“Fine…” The lancer grumbles, walking back towards him.

“Thank you!”

“Yeah yeah. You can do me a favour by not talking too much. Or asking anymore questions”

Nialuc picks the knight up effortlessly.

“How come? You were happy to ask me as many as you wanted”

Nialucs eyes catch Owins with an annoyed glare. “I will drop you”

“Okay okay. I'll shut it”

“Good”

The lancer and the knight trek north, with the lancer carrying Owin for the entire duration, still without any signs of exhaustion. After a good half hour, Owin tests his luck and speaks up.

“How come you don't get tired? Is that another ability you have?”

“Didn’t I say I’d drop you”

“That was at least half an hour ago”

“38 minutes”

“Is a perfect internal clock another one of your powers?”

“Very funny”

“And what do you do exactly? You said ‘carry out justice’. Are you like a hero?”

“Depends how you describe heroism”

“People like to call me a hero. But then again, people do that a lot”

“I don't think you can call me a hero.”

A short silence follows, Nialuc taking a moment to ponder about his heritage.

“...But I should be”

“Should be a hero? How’s that?”

“That's a ‘ask it and I drop you’ question”

“You’re very touchy”

“You’re very annoying”

“I like to think its my charisma”

“And I like to think its annoying”

“So you WANT me to annoy you”

“What? No”

“You said you like to think it”

“I'm actually about to drop you”

“Sorry sorry! Please don’t”

“Where is your tablet anyway?”

“What?”

“You said you came here through a tablet, like mine. Did it stay behind?”

“Oh yeah.. Huh.. I guess it did”

“You think you can find it again?”

“Probably. How come?”

“Because if you can activate them again, it could be helpful.”

“... right… I understand…… why?”

Nialuc glances at the knight, somewhat in disbelief that this man actually gained the title he carries.

“Because then I can teleport. It's instant transportation. With that, I might be able to get away from Hiterito for a bit longer.”

“Aha… so what you’re saying is… you need me”

Nialuc stops walking, his face set forwards, not looking at Owin out of pure spite for his absolute correctness.

“I’ll take that as a yes”

Nialuc still refuses to move, not even turning his head, not even breathing.

“Um… Nia-” Then Owin falls and slams into the ground with a thud, Nialuc dropping him.

“Ow! Damn!” He yells at the the impact. The fall itself not hurting much but the force spreading through his body into his legs causes them to burn with agony.

“Aagh…. That really hurt!”

“I warned you. You’ve suffered worse today anyways, suck it up hm?”

“I'm starting to think I was right to call you evil!”

“Aha.. I’ve been carrying you all this way and that's my thanks?”

“I saved your life didn't I?”

“And you told me I didn’t even have to thank you. Sounds hypocritical”

“... ngh… can we just get to Korka? I’ve had enough of this wilderness. Why aren't we using the main road anyways?”

Nialuc doesn't bat an eye as he lifts the knight back up. “There aren’t any”

“There definitely is one. I distinctly remember a big paved road. One that leads from Abkbir to Korka at least!”

“You must’ve hit your head or suffered some brain trauma. Paved roads outside of the cities? Are you mad?”

“I couldn’t believe it either, but they’re here in europe! Not really where I come from”

“Nonsense”

“Ugh. I dont understand whats with you”

“Same here”

“About you or me?”

“Both”

“...So you think with these tablets you can get away from Hiterito?”

“As far as I know, he has no way to travel faster than me and it would take him a while to figure out a solution to instant teleportation.”

Owin starts to ponder on the lancers motives, but doesnt say much more.

Within the next half hour, the dense forest turns into an open plane. Chopped down trees line the perimeter of the forestline with some tree stems still left in the ground, not yet unearthed. The city looks isolated in the middle of this cut open field, surrounded by nothing but forest. No large roads string out from its edges into the beyond. Only small dirt paths, which are few in number, that protrude out of its borders toward the forest, yet all of them but one stop before they even reach the forest line.

Owin glances around, uneasy. Workers trapease around the field, carrying logs, chopping down trees or heading out into the forest, adorned in hunting gear. As they approach the city, Owins queasiness only worsens. The buildings are all small one family homes constructed out of pure logs and cobblestone held together with thick rope and clever use of supports. They look old and worn, primitive almost. Even so, it is a city. It's massive in scope. Easily 30 thousand inhabitants at minimum. But with that, no protective wall, no towers or even a barony. No forts or patrols. Unheard of to Owin for such a large settlement.

Walking along the dirt paths in the city, people have set up stalls and even small shops, but they dont exchange coin, instead they barter. No horses trot through the streets. People pull and push their own small wagons and wheelbarrows. The inhabitants give the pair glances here and there but no abnormal reaction to their abnormal appearance.

“To the church I presume?” Nialuc comments.

“R-right..”

Nialuc walks without directions, to the absolute relief of Owin who’s never actually been to Korka.

“So. You know this place Nialuc?”

“I’ve been twice before. I’m well acquainted.”

Nialuc carries Owin through the streets as if he’d memorised its layout, crossing through tight passages and alleyways between buildings like it were his hometown. The church soon came into Owins view and with its sight, his ill feelings became true. Owins stomach turned, a feeling of fateful weight fell on his shoulders as his mind grasped the situation. The church was the tallest building so far, built out of limestone, the only one made of it. It has a massive central structure in the form of a hexagon with a large dome on top, with 6 slim towers standing on each of its edges, across them was strung wire, together holding a banner in the air in the centre above the central dome. The banner is painted red with blood, green mutt from grass and a part was left blank white. The three colours represent man, earth and spirit.

An ancient symbol of Oghma, god of knowledge.

“no…” Owin whispers.

“Huh?”

“No…no no no this can't be…”

“What's wrong”

“Put me down Nialuc”

“What?”

“Put me down right now!”

“Alight. What's going on?” Nialuc places Owin onto the dirt path. He grips his legs and squints in pain, beginning to heal himself quickly.

“You WERE lying! I knew it!”

“Not now Nialuc!” Owin screams, half out of pain and half out fear. His feet mostly recovered and his stamina as well as mana more replenished after time, he springs to his feet and pushes Nialuc back the way they came.

“We need to go!”

“Hey! Owin!” Nialuc grabs him by the arms, stopping him.

“Stop it!”

“Then explain! What's gotten into you?”

“What year is it Nialuc?!”

“...The year?”

“Tell me!”

“682”

Owins legs shake and his head sinks. He pushes his head into Nialucs lower chest.

“Oh fuck…” He says in complete distress.

Nialuc winces at hearing him swear for the first time and his overall reaction.

“Are you… okay?”

“Nialuc… I’ve travelled back in time”