The first rays of dawn were radiating over the snowy clearing where Viryl had built his shelter and over the fir trees that surrounded it. The blinding red disc of the sun was rising over the ridge of the mountain, on which the imposing silhouette of the observatory stood out. In the daylight, one could see, next to the hut that had been destroyed by the bird that Viryl called "Fearkan", two low buildings: a stable and a barn.
At the eastern end of the plain, under an old fir tree, Anker was sitting next to a cairn of limestone rocks, carefully chosen for their regularity and just as carefully arranged to form a cone. On a patch of ground between Anker and the mound there was no snow, but only loose and wet earth. Anker and Viryl had spent the last hours before dawn digging a grave for Madja without exchanging a word, then they had lowered her into the hole still wrapped in bear skins and buried her.
Now Viryl was tending the sheep and Anker was there, at the side of his fallen comrade-in-arms, with his mind lost in his dark thoughts once again.
Fallen comrade-in-arms, yes. But fallen for what reason? Dedicating herself to the achievement of what goal? All these questions were answered with a disconcerting triviality. She had been injured by a bear and then killed by a large bird while they were trying to recover the weapon of a fallen knight on their first mission. Ten years of study and training at the Golden Fox Knightly Academy of Tarterno wiped out in the snap of a finger.
Anker and Madja had never gotten along particularly well. Not that they hated each other, but even though they had studied in the same class with the same instructors for all those years, they had always felt a mutual indifference, which turned into clear intolerance when they were forced to be too close and their very different characters clashed in copious sparks.
Anker liked to build automata, Madja was completely absorbed in fencing.
She was the best in their year in that discipline and she was having an affair, according to the gossip, with a cadet a year older than her that she had met in the school fencing team, but whose name Anker didn't remember... Rodelion? Rhodeus? Robarth? Something like that. He was a clean-cut guy, athletic and sculpted like a museum statue. He had a good boy face and short, neat hair. Madja also seemed like a really good girl, they looked like a solid couple. Anker was disgusted by their romantic-sports school comedy, but now that Madja was dead, largely because of him, the thought of going back to Rodelion with Madja's badge in hand and giving him the news, made his stomach clench.
After all, if Anker had returned with the Exoplion of Viryl the White Gale, facing that situation would have been bearable. He had taken part in a competition and had won it, unfortunately something had gone wrong in the process and Madja had met her untimely demise, but that's life. Here’s some heirloom I’ve recovered from her corpse, Rodelion, go to the Horn of Morghorou to pray at her grave or something if it makes you feel better, I've already processed the mourning, bye bye.
Even returning with Madja alive and without Exoplion would have been acceptable. The humiliation of defeat, shared with such a prodigious novice, would have been easier to swallow: evidently the task assigned was too much for the recruits' abilities.
But returning alone and empty-handed, all the glances of blame would have been on Anker. He would have been given a standard Exoplion anyway, but he was preparing for a life of mediocrity and loser assignments. And if that was the case, it was better not to come back at all.
Anker sighed disconsolately. He spent another couple of minutes lying there, then got up and went to look for Viryl.
He found him in the stable with bundles of hay in his hands, separating them to put them evenly in the animals' manger. Hearing the sound of boots on the gravel at the entrance of the stable, Viryl turned to Anker while he was still intent on his task.
“Viryl tell me,” Anker began to ask, “what are your plans now?”
“Why do you care? I’m just a lunatic, ain’t I?” Viryl replied, putting down the last strands of hay and starting to look at Anker with his arms folded.
“You're a really strange guy, Viryl of Zelfiria.”
“Why?”
“Nothing. The crazy shrew of the village told us that you looked and acted like a basic shepherd, and, well, I couldn’t believe her. She wasn't so crazy after all. I just don't understand how a knight of your caliber could end up like this.”
“End up like what?”
“Herding sheep on a mountain and translating old stone tablets.”
“If I want to stay here and translate stone tablets, I'll need a way to eat, won't I?”
“Come on, don't be coy, you know what I mean.”
“Hah…” Viryl blurted out, passing Anker and turning his back to him, as he headed for the sunlight outside the dusty building: “I don't think you want to listen to the maxims of a doddering old man. In my days as a knight I had my troubles, my victories, my defeats, but it wasn't the life for me. At one point I decided I had had enough of that bullshit and I quit. Trust me, it will seem strange to you but I'm still alive, never been better.”
Anker went after Viryl and rephrased the first question: “Okay, so what then? Are you going to stay and tend to the sheep? Are you going to go looking for the Exoplion and your stele? After all, I can't leave you either my badge or Madja's, and without them you can't go back inside the observatory, even if you were able to pick up the translation where you left off.”
“Maybe you don't get the gist of the situation, kid,” Viryl replied, stopping his march: “I have to find the stele and make sure it's not used for nefarious purposes. I hadn't been able to get very far with the translation yet, but from the little I've understood so far, breaking a seal will lead to some kind of cataclysm. Maybe the awakening of the Ancient God associated with the temple, maybe natural disasters, I don't know, but if I have to find out, I'd rather do it by reading it from inscriptions in stone than by watching the calamity unfold before my eyes. The only thing that's clear from what I've translated is that one day all the seals will be broken and that will be the end of the time of man, whatever that means. Well, even if it's fate that it will happen, I prefer it to be as late as possible.”
“You're really convinced of what you're saying, aren't you?”
“It seems obvious that you're not, so I don't see why you care what I'm going to do.”
“I'm coming with you.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Excuse me?”
“You're interested in the stele, I'm interested in the Exoplion. The damned crow has both of them. I think going together is the best choice, since you seem convinced of what you're saying. Obviously if I realize you're following a crazy trail I'll go my own way, but until then I'll be your shadow. And know that when the time comes, I'll defeat you in a duel and your Exoplion will be mine.”
“Anker, boy, we both know the protocol. Whether a mission succeeds or fails, you still have to report back to headquarters. And you have clearly failed it, you have to accept that.”
“What if I took a Vow of Dedication?” Anker asked, his eyes narrowed into a slit.
Viryl looked at him in dismay. Then he said: “A Vow of Dedication is not something you do after your first failed mission. You don't even have an Exoplion, for God's sake. If it wasn't for that badge, there wouldn't even be enough evidence to call you a knight.”
“But the conditions for taking a vow are there. And what are my prospects for the future if I return empty-handed and with my partner dead on my first mission?”
“What if you don't find anything after months of searching? Your reputation will be really tarnished at that point. Trust me, the wisest thing to do is to go back to Nomenas and get yourself assigned a task that's within your reach.”
“No, there's no way. I want to be frank with you Viryl: if things turned out this way, if Madja is dead, it's almost all my fault. It's by returning to headquarters in these conditions that I wouldn't feel worthy of calling myself a knight, even if they gave me a shiny Exoplion to wear on my chest. I have to make amends, and I still have a lot to learn. If everything goes wrong, I can abdicate, and at that point I will have deserved that fate. And it's not the end of the world, you just told me that you've never been better.”
Viryl shrugged and concluded with a conciliatory tone: “You're fine grown man, so decide for yourself. I won't stop you from following me. But know that it could take weeks, maybe months, to sniff out a lead, and maybe twice as long to follow it. If you think my Exoplion is worth all this effort, if you think you can't do better for your Order, then go ahead.”
Anker smiled and went to the center of the yard to stretch. “Thank you, Viryl!” he said, and then added, “So, what's the plan?”
“Get ready, we'll leave before the sun is high. First we'll take my flock to Petratonna, to entrust it to a shepherd who can take care of it. Then we'll have lunch, and stay at the inn until dawn to recover from this sleepless night. Tomorrow we'll go to Zelfiria, where I have to recover some ‘funds’ that I left at my house for emergencies... hoping that Radios doesn't put a spoke in our wheels. Then we'll head to the port city of Corlona, where I hope to catch up with a contact of mine. Based on the information he gives us, we'll decide what to do.”
“I'm sorry to tell you this Viryl, but Madja and I were in your residence and there was nothing left inside.”
Viryl laughed out loud: “Because you didn't know where to look, boy.”
“If you want to use hippodrones to move faster, we left two at the Petratonna stables. I don't think anyone will come to claim Madja's, you could borrow it.”
“Nah, we don't want to attract attention.”
“Uh? Well, right,” Anker agreed, slightly confused by Viryl's answer. There was a strange light in the eyes fallen knight, as if there was a truth that he had refrained from confessing.
*****
Viryl had told him to get ready as soon as possible but, unlike him, Anker had no preparations to make: he was already carrying all of his belongings with him. He wasn't even hungry or thirsty, and in any case all his supplies had been lost with Onyx the previous day, so even if he had wanted to, he had to give up breakfast. So he just leaned against the fir tree next to Madja's cairn and waited for Viryl.
The latter, on the other hand, seemed quite busy. He was trying to salvage what he could from the rooms of his house that were still standing, but he was also rummaging through the rubble to find sturdy objects that had not been damaged by the collapse. First he retrieved a leather armor with hood and fur trim and explorer boots, and put them on. Then a belt that he buckled around his waist. In what must have been his study he found exploding crystal bullets, Fuligine Stones and a dozen potions and ampoules, which he put in his belt, plus some tomes. He put these in a bundle, into which he also threw some utensils and tools that would be useful both for crossing rough terrain and for setting up camp if they had to spend a night in the open. He also managed to get his hands on some meager rations, which he added to the bundle: some hard bread biscuits, plus some cheese and some apples. Finally, he extracted, from among beams, stones and planks, two light alloy hollow-headed javelins, which he put in a sheath and secured to his back. To conclude, he began to look for any traces that the monster might have left during its attack, but he only managed to find some black feathers. When he had done all this, Viryl was satisfied and went to warn Anker.
As soon as Anker saw him walking towards him, he could not help but notice that, even though he was no longer a knight, even the organization of his clothes highlighted his heritage: the pockets of his light armor were organized with the same order used in the uniforms of the Order of Ferlonia. Once he had reached him, shaking a hand in a sign of success, Viryl began by saying: “I managed to find some Fearkan feathers. They're not much of a clue, but I think that by asking the right questions to the right people, we'll be able to trace back to the cult where this type of arcane ritual is conducted, and once we find the sect we'll also be able to find the sorcerer responsible.”
“Look Viryl, since you brought up the topic, there's something I wanted to talk to you about but haven't mentioned yet." Anker replied thoughtfully, turning his head towards him as he remained with his back against the tree and his arms folded: "According to the information we were given in the mission briefing, in recent months there have been thefts of Exoplions orchestrated by anarchists, and we were sent here specifically to take yours away before an enemy of the kingdom could think of it. Assuming that what attacked us was really a Fearkan, granted that... that such a thing really exists, do you think that rebellious faction would go so far as to hire a sorcerer?”
“Ah, right, I heard voices about this anarchist business a few months ago. Well, anything is possible, and in fact, it's very plausible. Sorcerers are formidable enemies for the most obtuse knights, because they don't even have the mental frameworks they need to deal with them. They think their powers are the result of unknown magic and tricks: if not downright folkloric jesters, at most they consider them simply a nuisance for inquisitors. And that's how they end up with their butts on the ground. So, why not, if these anarchists are smart, they might have actually done it,” Viryl said, with conviction. Then he added: “Anyway, I'm done, so if you want to proceed with the Vow, I'll be your witness. A fallen knight isn't much of a witness, but I think you'll have to make do.”
Anker nodded and stood in front of Madja's cairn. He took off his left glove and tucked it into his belt so it wouldn't fall to the ground. From his breast pocket he took out a handkerchief with his left hand, a square of white and immaculate silk, and held it between his thumb and forefinger. With his right hand he drew his sword, and resolutely made a superficial cut on the palm of his ungloved hand, then turned his wrist and squeezed the handkerchief tightly. In a few seconds it was completely soaked with blood, and began to drip onto the ground under which Madja was buried. Anker did not move an inch or blink for three or four minutes, until the drops stopped falling. At that point he stuck the sword at the base of the mound of stones and tied the handkerchief, wet and red, to its hilt. Finally he pulled out the blade and put it back in the sheathe.
He solemnly proclaimed, “May the light of Madja guide me, Raging Torrent from Grotta Celeste, on whose tomb I stand. So that today I, Anker, Black Moon from Colleluna of Valbaudia, make a solemn vow. This knot will not be untied, I will not bear forth the insignia of the Order, until the day that the Exoplion of the fallen Viryl of Zelfiria is made my ornament.”
GLOSSARY:
Explosive Crystal Bullet: bullets built with a Memory Crystal and Fuligine stone. Upon impact they release the spell “Minor Explosion”.
Vow of Dedication: a formal act that the knights of the Order of Ferlonia can perform in front of a witness. A Vow of Dedication implies that the knight won’t be accepting new missions from the Order until he reaches a predetermined goal or he dies. Knights who took the Vow are marked by a cloth stained with their own blood that they usually tie to their belts. The handkerchief is a tangible and ever-present reminder of their objective.