Thunderous booms accompanied by the noise of clashing blades filled the night. The putrid scent of blood wafted through the halls like an omen of doom, gusts of wind dispersing the iron laden scent. A battle raged within a once pristine palace, the source of the artificial wind, the noise and the scent of blood.

A red knight tore through his enemies like a demon bathed in blood. Belying his appearance, his skill with the two handed sword he wielded was far from that of a battle crazed berserker - his bladework skillfully serene to a transcendental degree. He danced across the battlefield forced upon him, his form akin to ripples upon the surface of a tranquil lake.

 Knights of great renown frustrated themselves trying to take this demon down. They knew who they were up against, but never did they expect the difference between this foremost of knights and themselves to be so vast. The truth they all were forced to acknowledge by cold experience proved very bitter. There appeared to be nothing they could do against this man besides hindering his speed of flight, not without his peers all being away for one reason or another.

The current situation was worsened by the fact that amongst those who were perhaps capable of stopping this man, one was actually backing him up rather than standing against him. His peer in position, the foremost knight of the lance stood by the red knight’s side, guarding a lady behind him.

The knight bearing a beautiful, deep red blade carved a path ahead and away from the palace. The knight behind him with what was perhaps one of the most dangerous lances in existence escorted the lady through the gap the other made. The synergy was flawless, the execution absolutely precise. The red knight knew - no one in this group of opposing knights would be capable of stopping him.

Another knight rushed into the battle zone and stepped up before him brandishing a sword bubbling with poisonous purple. The chaos intensified within the spectral crystallization, ready to be unleashed at any moment.

The red knight responded in kind, raising his own sword saturated with power.

 Gwenwyn

 Secace

 Turbulent deep purple light charged towards the red knight and was met with an extended wave of rippling deep red. Where the purple light was bubbling over like water boiling within a kettle, the red simply rippled like the unquiet surface of a bloody lake. The deadlock lasted not more than a second as the red wave cut through its opposition into the purple knights’ armor. The defence of the armor proved absolutely worthless against the tidal red wave of power.

 Another knight thus fell.

 “Come,” a serene voice intoned, the red knight rushing ahead towards the archway beyond which freedom awaited.

The knight of the lance dismissed his weapon and picked up the lady delicately. Just as he began rushing after the red knight, the latter halted. The lance knight scrambled to a stop in order to look at the reason his greatest friend had stopped.

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 A black knight stood silently by the arch. Though this adversary was silent, the two knights could feel animosity pouring off in waves from the aforementioned knight.

Still silent, the black knight materialized a red hilted greatsword. Black visage, white fang - that was the image the knight induced as the knight coiled like a beast about to pounce.

In response, the demeanor of the red knight also changed. He was now a great lake - the depths churning water at glacial speed, ready to burst into life and energy as sudden violent currents, while the surface grew absolutely still without even a single disturbance - a mirror of the starry night. A young dragon and a beloved of the lake stood facing each other like dragon and dragonslayer.

 The lady who had remained silent throughout watched the two with bated breath and troubled gaze as she was set down by the lance knight. He stepped in front of her as he took in the situation. From behind them the other knights started closing in rapidly. The lady blinked, and madness broke its leash.

 The black and the red knight all but disappeared and reappeared from sight with their blades clashing against each other. The other knights once again found themselves frustrated as they had to face the might of a weapon greater than even the one wielded by the red knight. The chaos threatened to consume the lady and the palace as it grew in intensity.

The first few clashes between the two titanic forces were quite evenly matched. Minutes ticked by in a frenzy of steel and force. But soon the even scales of the battle started tipping ever so slightly with the passage of time. The lance knight started gradually getting overwhelmed due to greater numbers and his status as a defender. The red knight at the same time slowly yet surely was overwhelming the black by virtue of greater skills.

 Finally the lady who had been nothing but a spectator this entire time herself got into action. Turning away from the lance knight, she raised her hand up towards where the black and the red knight were clashing.

“Back!” her shout cleaved through the battle like the thunderous peal of a massive bell.

The red knight pirouetted back, keeping his back turned towards the lady; the outstretched hand of the lady flashed with a brilliant light.

The black knight was disoriented by the flash just for a fraction of a second, but that was enough for the red knight to take advantage of. His red sword punched through the gap in the armor plates, through enchanted fabric and chain-links. Blood immediately gushed out from the fresh wound on the knight carapaced within. With another swift well-aimed kick the black knight was thrown away towards the depths of the palace.

Without wasting a single moment the red knight scooped up the lady in his arms and leapt away towards the lower citadel down below. The red knight himself now blew away his own adversaries in a show of strength and skill, then paused to address them.

 “It seems this is my cue to retreat. Honorable knights! I am honored to have been a knight together with every one of you. I wish circumstances had not driven us apart like this. Tell my king - for what it is worth, I am sorry and will exile myself for repentance!”

 The lance knight thus spoke and leapt down tracing the same path as the two before him. At the same time an enraged roar tore out from deeper within the palace.

 The lance knight did not look back after he hit the ground. He started sprinting in the direction he could see the red knight moving ahead of himself. Just a second later a knight in dazzling silver armor shot past him and leapt up towards the palace.

Neither looked at the other, content to run towards their own destination. From this moment onwards everyone had their different path to walk.