Sir Raimond glared up into the distant sun. His hands were folded and his knees rough on the obsidian ground.

The light of home had long vanished. It had the moment he held the aging body of fair lady Portfall in his arms. Marie. Her name was Marie. Named after her mother and last of her house. Now it was gone, and he a knight with nothing to protect.

This was a cursed land. They knew that it would be when they were sent away. Schemes and tricks had forced them here. Away from the courts of the republic and into the service of Magister Aurrilian. A man Sir Raimond had despised from the first day he saw him at a tourney when he was but a squire in the service of House Portfall.

A man who had lived far longer than he should have. Granted with far more years than any human ever should have and like so many of his caste a leader of just as long. A warden of democracy chosen for eternity.

Hatred was filling the old knight's heart the more the magister was running through his memory. And there was so much time for it to run and circle.

The witch that had stolen his ladies youth had casted him in this cell. Who knew what purpose he would hold for her, he only knew that it would be his blade to end her wicked life. And should he return home, should he find his way back to the silver streets of Goldstein, he would do the same to the magisters. His oath was to justice, to the republic, and to the glory of house Portfall, not to any of their masters.

There were days when the witch approached him with a wicked smile. Even more wicked since she had taken the form of his former lady. She paraded that body around like it was hers, she tried to lure him with it, she mocked him with it. Yet despite her advances, he would not defile his ladies purity. Once the witch started to understand she instead took his blood. He had heard that the blood of the righteous was of use to witches, yet he also knew very well his righteousness would end once he could cast his sword down upon that hag.

Yet despite all of it, one day it was all silence. No stomping guards, no wicked laughter, no horns or drums, not even thunder anymore. Only a howling wind and the distant waves remained. He remained on guard. When before he was fed quite well by the witch, now he had to get the rats crawling by. Raw flesh of beasts that had eaten the same. It was hard to swallow, but he would survive to cast justice down upon her. He tried to catch some rain yet it was not nearly enough to drown his thirst. Finally he knew the only thing left to do, that could grant him any hopes of survival, was prayer.

And so he prayed. Day and night. To the sun and the distant stars. To the sea and the hidden deep. Finally the sun started to pierce through the dark clouds and into his cell and he could hear the distant choirs of the stars. Tears ran down his eyes and reflected the warm golden glow, the very distant promise of hope.

Time was but a distant thought to him and yet it was broken when he finally started to hear voices again. Rough enough to be of ogres, and with what he thought their tongue. Finally the door at the end of the cells cracked open. He remained praying, expecting another of her wicked plays. Yet what arrived was an entirely new horror. It whistled and brought two more of it and finally he turned to look at them. Only two of them showed skin. Two male creatures with dark ashen skin and burning eyes. One of them far smaller than the other. The big one, carried an axe big enough to cut a man in half and even though smaller than an Ogre was still bigger than the biggest man alive.

The third one, was masked and clad in obsidian armour, black leather and cloth, enough that no skin was seen. Yet he could tell it was a woman. The first one outside of the witch he had seen in these lands.

Slowly he took his sword “No matter what forms you monsters take, it will not change my judgement!”

The creatures spoke to each other. Grunted sounds that sounded rough and similar to what the Ogres spoke among themselves. After but a few words the masked woman stepped forth to the bars. She whispered something in their rough tongue while she tolk hold of the bars that made his cell. “You..not with her?”

His eyes widened at her words. A rough accent followed the flow of her tongue yet she spoke with his. He lowered his sword again and stepped closer. “No..I am not.”

She said something in the other language over her shoulder to the other two. The smaller one in their centre nodded. He wore a cloak of big scales and stood tall despite his small height. The big beast of grey muscle next to him only huffed from his horned helmet.

Then the woman spoke again. “Where?” she asked.

Sir Raimond shook his head. “I am afraid I don’t understand.”

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It was hard to tell what she meant without a face attached to her words. It took her a moment of thought until she gathered the right words again. “She, Sorceress. Is where?” She asked. her words wrongly attached to one another, yet this time he understood.

“I don’t know.” He answered. She said something in their rough tongue to the small one with the cloak. He answered and the big beast readied his axe.

“But I assure I wish nothing more than to end her!” He exclaimed proudly and held his sword downward in front of him. It was hard to stand with pride after days without proper food or drink or bed or talk.

She slowly turned her masked face back to him and he could feel her hidden gaze. “You want to kill?”

He nodded. “I want vengeance!” His words were rougher than usual, and for a moment he was ashamed that he stated vengeance and not justice as his goal. Yet when she told the other two, they answered with dark and deep chuckles. The big one lowered his axe and the small one with the scale cloak and obsidian armour stepped forth to the bars. He said something to the woman. She nodded and he started to speak. Quite a lot. Once he stopped she took word for him, yet far fewer than he had used. “This is Khan. Chieftain of Chieftains. He seeks Sorceress death.”

Sir Raimond didn’t understand much, but savages or not, he knew a nobleman’s words when he heard them. They always started with introducing themselves. He made a small bow and locked his eyes with the Khan’s as he came back up. The Khan looked at him for a while. He punched his chest with his fist and greeted him in their tongue. “Shak’Aruk!” He said.

“Star’s blessing.” Sir Raimond answered. The Khan grunted and nodded before the masked woman continued. “He ask. You know to kill Sorcery?”

Raimond was struggling to understand what she truly meant yet he knew the answer would remain the same. “I am a man trained to fight the darkness. I will kill her.”

She repeated his words, or at least what she understood in their tongue. It made the Khan nod and shout an order to the one with the axe. The other two took a step back and he gazed at Sir Raimond for a moment. Finally while the burning eyes stared at him from below that helmet he understood and took a step backwards.

After he laid his axe against the nearby wall the big beast of muscle started to grab the bars of Raimonds cell. To his disbelief he not simply bent them but soon ripped parts of them out. “This thing could punch right through my armour.” Sir Raimond thought. He was glad to be saved by those savages, yet a part of him remained uneasy. It always would.

After a while in which the Khan said a few more rough words to the other two, enough of the bars were broken away that Sir Raimond could slip through. He took the bundle that was his armour and threw it on the other side together with his sword. Without waiting for the orcs he grabbed his belongings and marched into the big and empty room. Too hungry for shame he went to the table, and took some bites and drinks from it. Behind him more of those grey creatures with burning eyes and big tusks appeared. All bigger than the masked woman and the Khan yet smaller than the beast with the helmet.. They glanced at Raimond and seemed ready to attack when the Khan came from the cells and shouted at them. Raimond didn’t need to understand their tongue to know it was orders.

After that the Khan said some words to the masked woman again, he went over to the table to gaze at some of the food as well. He took a big pig’s leg and quite a big bite before telling her again.

She nodded and approached Sir Raimond. “Not time much. You will ride me.”

Sir Raimond coughed and for once corrected her. “With me..” he said.

He doubted she understood, but it did not matter. “So you are following that witch?”

She nodded. “She seeks dragon blood. We will end her be.”

“Good.” He answered. “How fast will we be on our way? I need to put my armour on again.”

“Only till the Riders gather.” She answered and took some pieces of fruit from the table into a pouch that hung from her belt.

“Then I will make ready.” He said and went over to place his armour on the ground. He looked at the still gathered three orcs. All of them clad in obsidian armour. Only the big one was mainly free despite his boots and fists.

“I assume you know how to get an armour on?” He asked around. “I might need some aid.” She understood and the orcs changed some words before she and the big one started to aid him. “I am Sir Raimond.” He told them while his arms were stretched out to get the plate gloves on.

“I am Sha’Raph.” She answered and soon told him the names of Bruna and Aru’Gal.

It was just when he was done that they went outside with the Khan once more. Raimond could feel his heart raise in panic as he saw their mounts. Wyverns big enough to take a group of horses. Most of them protected by red scales and even in parts obsidian armour. Few of them of different colours. The Khan took to one that seemed strange even among those beasts. Sleek and thin, yet with dotted colours and a twisted tongue that seemed similar to a snake.

Meanwhile he and Sha’Raph went onto the biggest beast of them all.

Dustfang made a strange sound of snapping teeth and deep grumbling when they approached. She whispered to the Wyvern in her own rough tongue before she aided him up. The rider's seat was big and meant for many. Carved into a big scale and hung with trinkets and leather to close it like a tent.

The Khan shouted at the gathered riders and blew his horn before they dashed into the sky. The sun was almost down by now yet stars took her place over the sea.

Raimond knew their light would shine once he met that witch again. No matter what the orcs might do to him, or what they might think of his duties, he would cast justice upon her.

Behind Sha’Raph he whispered prayers in a tongue she started to remember more and more. Her mask remained while she started a distant prayer to her own ancestors.