Gawain closed his eyes as he heard the sound of splintering wood and shattering stone. He closed as he heard the great groans of the building as it fell in on itself as the great wooden sword exploded within. He heard the rustling of leaves as pieces flew into the forest, some smashing into trunks of trees.

'The mate of the Green Knight is dead...but his offspring is not here...' mused the Spriggan as he walked towards the carnage it had wrought. Its hooves clopped on the stone and wood, making a sharp sound.

Splash.

'YOU BASTARD!' roared Gawain as he heard this sound. He could not look down but that sound told him all he needed to know. He heard it again and he roared once again. 'YOU KILLED HER!'

The Spriggan did not answer and instead turned his body southward. As it did so, Gawain felt it's grip on him tighten before he felt his body trailing behind as the monster rushed off.

Alis! The kids!

Gawain felt his stomach twist, vomit lying just behind his mouth as he felt more weak than he had ever in his life. He felt nothing, no bravado, no courage...only fear.

'Leave them alone!' he pleaded, tears mixing with the blood on his face, 'Kill me, dismember me...just leave them alone!'

'All will fall human, some faster than others!' replied the Spriggan as he broke apart trees, as he careened towards the ring of stones. It knew where they had run; there was only one place left within this forest where they could be safe. The resting place of Green Knights long past.

◊◊◊

Alis had run without looking back, clutching onto Dindrane and Percival with all she had. She kept running towards the ring of stones she had seen once before. It was a ring of menhirs around another ring of smaller pale capped mushrooms. The grass there was darker than everywhere else, bordering on navy blue but there had been white flowers growing at the base of the stones. She had not thought much of it, but Sir Bertilak seemed to hold it in great reverence.

'Aunty will that scary thing come for us?' asked Dindrane, unable to understand the situation. She clutched onto her stuffed drake while also looking at her brother, who was still wailing which irked her. Without hesitation she reached for him with her hand and slapped him across the face. 'Stop crying Percy!'

'Dindrane!' exclaimed Alis as she saw light ahead. Breathing heavily she prayed what Gawain had told her was true. They would be safe. He was probably right behind her carrying Delyth and Sir Bertilak is about to defeat that monster.

Looking at Percival, she saw that the boy had stopped crying and was instead giving his sister the stink-eye, with attitude unbecoming from a baby a week old. Breaking into the clearing, she ran past the stones and into the dark grass. Catching her breath, she gently placed the two children into the ring and then clasped her hands. She knew that a faerie ring was symbol of the Faerie Queen, and while she did not believe myths, she prayed. She got on her knees before the ring and prayed, her voice rising into the red of the night.

'Hear me O Queen of Faeries, I plead to you on this ground. I plead you to protect these children with your grace, protect them I beg of you. Protect them this ghastly night, save them from the monster that exists this ground.'

BOOOOOOOOOOM

Alis twisted her head, her eyes widening at what she saw. She saw smoke rising from the direction of the house. She heard tree's crack and an unholy wail that sounded like Gawain. She felt her heart sink, as she turned to face the way she came.

'Gawain...sister...Bertilak...' she breathed, covering her mouth as she remembered the children. Holding back tears, she turned to the two who had mysteriously fallen asleep amongst the shrooms. Their faces were at peace, as if it were a mercy. She looked at the stones that stood like a wall around her, all of them carved with intricate runes and covered in green moss. They all were different, some seemed to be as old as Avalon itself. The stones stood there menacingly, frowning upon her presence in someway. Despite Gawain's words, she did not feels safe at all.

'RUN ALIS!'

The sound of crashing trees reached her ears, causing her to jump out of the ring and in front of the children reflexively. She opened her arms wide and stared down what was coming for her, she could not back down...for her sister's sake. Sweat slowly dripped down her face as she reached for the kitchen knife she always carried on her. Drawing the tiny blade, she waited for the monster to appear.

'GAWAIN!' she cried out, wanting any response from him. What had happened? WHAT HAD HAPPENED? Her thoughts were answered by something flying high into the sky, through the trees and landing within the ring of stones with a wet crunch. Something fell on her as it passed above her, something wet and sticky. Touching her cheek, she looked at her fingers and gulped; it was blood. Turning immediately she saw the object move, before she saw Gawain's bloodied face come to view.

'Run...Alis...' he managed, blood caught in his throat. That monster had tossed him with enough force to damage his insides but not kill him on impact...and he could not even pass out due to the stench of the flowers around his neck. He was a prisoner of the pain of his own flesh. He looked at his arms, both of them twisted and his bones sticking and dripping with his life force. It was a miracle he was still alive.

'The Green Grove will not protect you humans,' proclaimed the Spriggan as he reached for the gap between the stones, triggering another barrier of sharp green. It crackled and hissed as the monsters fingers broke through and it pulled apart a gateway large enough for it to walk though. 'I have been eroding this even longer than the last one.'

Is this the end? wondered Gawain as he tried to crawl towards Alis. Every single breath he took burned, every single twitch of a muscle felt like his body was on fire, just opening his eyes felt like lifting a ton of steel. He felt like he was dead. He felt like he wanted to die. His fear of it had disappeared, now it just seemed like freedom.

I cannot die. I made a promise. I have to survive! I have make sure that Master's family, his dream survives! He trusted me to kill that thing, I need to believe in his words. A miracle will happen, I know it will! I just need to have the strength to fight! As long as I breathe, I can fight!

'SPRIGGAN!' roared Gawain as he turned his head up towards the monster, before the next words he was going to say got caught in his throat.

'I am sorry Gawain...'

◊◊◊

'I am sorry Gawain...'

Gawain froze, his entire mind shut down as he heard these words.

'I cannot marry you,' Alis replied before seeing the permanent shocked face on Gawain. 'It is not that I have anything against you Gawain, I do love you.'

'Then why?' asked Gawain as he slowly rose to his feet. Casting a glance towards Tapco, he saw the Yesbryd had turned its head away and was laughing. Its body was shaking as the flames on its back wavered with each snort. I am going to murder this horse.

'Gawain,' began Alis solemnly as she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down until the two of them were sitting on the grassy hill. 'It is not a secret that you want to go off on your adventure, to see the world.'

'Yes and I want you to come with me,' repeated Gawain as he fumbled with the closed box with nervousness, 'I want to see the world with you, to meet new people, see new things.'

Smiling softly, Alis took his hand and looked him in the eyes. 'I cannot come with you Gawain. I have a duty here to raise your brothers, to help my sister. I was never like you, Morris or Corwyn. I was always sick, and I know I still am. I could not survive a journey like that.'

'But Alis,' began Gawain as he searched for the words in his heart. 'if you cannot leave...then ... then I will stay. I will not leave New Camelot, I will take up a position in the Roundtable Knights, I will do what my father wished for me to do ... I will...'

His lips were sealed with a kiss from Alis, stopping from rambling. As she pulled away she looked at him and said, 'Then you would not be happy. I could never bear to see you agitated, doing a job you never wanted to do because of me. If not for your sake, do it for me for I do not want to see the man I love suffer every day if it was for my sake.'

'But...'

'No buts Gawain,' she asserted using her nanny voice on him, 'do what you want to do. I will always be here, waiting.'

'But what if another man comes along? What if I do not return?' he asked.

'Then you will just have to return, and kick his butt,' laughed Alis as she grabbed Gawain in a hug. 'You will return, I know you will. That is who you are Gawain Orkney, a man who always keeps his promises.'

'Then I promise that once I am done,' swore Gawain, whispering the words into her heart, 'that you and me will leave easy, get a house and maybe children.'

'Then until that day comes,' replied Alis as she pulled away and waved the ring box in front of Gawain, 'I will keep my ring on me at all times. Until my knight comes back to sweep me off my feet again.'

'That ring will be the symbol of my promise.'

◊◊◊

The ring fell to the ground in silence, as the rest of the silver chain fell around it. Landing, it bounced once, before becoming painted in the blood of its owner.

'ALIS!' cried Gawain as he pulled himself towards it. Like a snail, he left a trail of blood as he moved towards the ring and its owner. He crawled, and crawled and crawled. Each inch he made felt like an eternity, each drop of blood a second past his failure.

'I am sorry Gawain...'

Alis had been facing him, a sad smile on her face. The smile conveyed their entire history together, the good, the bad and the awkward. Before it was savagely ripped apart and flung to the far sides of the forest. The Spriggan had impaled her with its fingers, ripping her body apart without a second thought. Its red eyes showed no emotion but elation, no hesitance and only joy. Another human dead, another step closer to the reign of nature. Turning its head to the two children who lay asleep within the ring of mushrooms, it knew that was one thing it could never break into. The power of its former liege was too powerful within and doing so would only cause harm to it.

'Soon not even you will be able to challenge me! I will kill every human, dwarf and elf in this land. I will rip out Yggdrasil's heart and once again everything will belong to me again!' it roared as it lumbered to where Gawain lay crying. Reaching out, it picked up the knight once again and held it close to its face. 'You cannot win human. You have lost everything. See for yourself how your futile resistance falters beneath the tirelessness of nature.'

Gawain looked into the deep red eyes of the Spriggan and soon drowned in the numerous images flooding into his head. All tinted red, he saw through the eyes of the crimson-eyed monsters that attacked each and every corner of Avalon.

He saw Eonan fighting a pack of Direwolves that had managed to scale the walls of Freysguard. He watched as the hunter's blade broke and in a split second had his throat ripped out.

The vision shifted to where Dohate was spitting out blood as he fended off a Huldra with magic, his left hand been cut clean off. The Wyrm was nowhere to be seen, but he saw the bloodstained robes of the two mages out of the corner of his eye.

It shifted to a Wyvern soaring high over New Camelot and breathing fire down upon the city. He saw a small figure leaping over the rooftops, bow in hand, chasing the monster down.

He saw a elf holding a katana slicing through wave after wave of the many creatures that attacked him. The trees were tall and lush, the ground soft and covered in bushes. The elf noticed his gaze and in an instant killed the monster he was looking through.

Then he saw a single knight facing off against three griffins and a wyvern in the center of New Camelot. The knight had a elated face as it slayed one of the griffins in a heartbeat before turning on the rest. His eyes glinted with pride before once again the connection was destroyed.

Blinking, Gawain was once again face to face with the monstrosity. As he looked at its face, Gawain felt nothing. He felt absolutely nothing but one thing. He was going to die. That was a given.

'...one...more...'

'What did you say?' asked the Spriggan as it shook Gawain. 'You have some last words human? or words of terror from the purge? Did you see your friends and family fall before my pets, my fellow citizens of nature? This is the power of the wild of nature human, not the tame silent beauty that fool of a tree covets, this is how we are meant to be!'

'IF I AM GOING TO DIE, I WANT TO HIT YOU AT LEAST ONE FUCKING TIME!' roared Gawain before feeling his skull crack as it was bashed against a stone menhir. Falling to the ground, he did not feel pain. It was as if his body had decided to numb everything, everything except his raging desire to get even with this thing. It did not go after the children for some reason, choosing to taunt him.

'My time on Avalon is done...my time as a Green Knight is over...I pass unto you my dear friend...my Blessing.'

I did not need a blessing. I needed a miracle. I need power. I need enough power to rip this son of a bitch to shreds!

Slowly he got to his feet, wavering with each step. He took a step forward, then another, then another one after that. His head was fuzzy, his vision clouded and the only thing in his head was the feeling of his clenched fist and reaching the monster that took everything from him.

The Spriggan King had not been paying attention to the nearly dead knight, for he had been viewing the Faerie Ring and wondering how to get at the spawn of the Green Knight. His mind was also focused on a single individual putting up a resistance on deep within Alfheim, a singular elf which had killed the largest and most dangerous of its minions single handedly. The Lich had made sure to place dangerous bones in the area, but why were they failing?

Had it not been pre-occupied with the ring, the Spriggan would have seen the leg of Gawain Orkney fly from where it had been impaled and re-attach itself to its owner. Had it not been focused on the elf, it would have heard the snapping of Gawain's bones fixing themselves, felt the hiss of steam as the knight's wounds healed and seen the coagulation of green light throbbing deep within the knights closed fist.

'One hit...for her sake. For their sake,' muttered Gawain incoherently as he moved closer and closer to the oblivious Spriggan. Pulling back his arm, he slowly moved it forward for he had no strength left. It was a gentle movement, one in complete opposite to the feeling driving it. As he stood before the massive monster, Gawain felt nothing but relief as he tapped the creature on the chest. 'I am coming...Alis...' he smiled, waiting for the Spriggan to end him. Closing his eyes, he wondered what he would tell Arawn when he arrived at his Halls.

Death would not come for him that day.

The Spriggan reacted too slowly to the punch and it's eyes widened as it saw the fist hit it. Something ran down its spine, a feeling it had never felt before; fear. It watched as the fist lit up with green light, before its world exploded.

With sound of a hundred thunderbolts, the Spriggan disappeared into the distance. It smashed through tree after tree, spinning as its body became sheared apart by the very nature it so coveted. Its antlers flew off on impact, its armor cracking into pieces and its chest now a hole.

Gawain stood there with his hand outstretched, unaware of what he had done. His ears were full of blood, his mind in all aspects dead. As he slowly unclenched his hand, he felt something fill his grasp. It felt smooth and cold, yet also familiar. Opening his eyes, he saw he was holding the hilt of Galatine. Looking at the silver blade, Gawain looked to who was holding it along with him and he felt his throat clog.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Standing before him, young as he had been on that day ages ago, was Bertilak. He was not made of flesh, more of a wisp, a ghost, with a greenish tint. His eyes were blank, glowing with the same color as the moss of the Green Grove. Smiling he held onto Galatine and thrusted the sword into Gawain's hands.

'Master...' began Gawain before he noticed where his Master was looking. The green ghost of Sir Bertilak was looking down at the sleeping faces of his children, children he would never be able to see grow up.

'Gawain. I give you not a dream this time, but the duty to protect dreams.'

The voice felt old, older than Bertilak had ever been, as if he was talking from within Gawain. He nodded for Gawain to look behind him, before casting a glance once more to his children. Gawain looked behind him, where his eyes met the faces of other green ghosts. All of them glowed the same color, but all of them were different.

There was an elf, a dwarf, a man who wore armor as ancient as Avalon itself. Many men stood behind Gawain, the same as the number of menhirs that stood. All of them silently nodded in acceptance of Gawain, kneeling before him. They turned their gazes to the ground and remained there; silently. Their bodies wavering in the gentle breeze, each breath they took mirrored the glowing pulsing of the runes on the menhirs.

'The power of the Green Knight is passed down like a torch from those chosen by her majesty, the Queen of Faeries. You were always meant to have this power, it has long been fated. I never wanted for you to take the mantle after me, I wanted to save you from such a fate. Alas, it was never meant to be. For as long as there has been that which has threatened Avalon, there has always been a Green Knight. This mantle is now passed onto you, my dear friend.'

Bertilak clasped Gawain's hands with his own and looked at him sternly. 'A dream will always die Gawain, but from its death a stronger desire can bloom. Your dream of becoming a documenter, the dream of your friend Osgar, my dream of a family...all will die. And from it, rise Gawain, rise and hold onto their fragments and make a stronger dream. Become the Faerie Knight Gawain, become the Greatest of Knights to take the name Green!'

'HUMAAAAAN!!!!'

'Give up on your dreams and die...about time I found a new one,' replied Gawain, feeling energy slowly seeping into him. Taking a deep breath, he felt the oxygen fill every artery and vein in his body. 'I have wandered enough, I have fulfilled my dream Master. Now it is time I fulfill yours.'

'I know you will. Take care of them Gawain and do not regret our deaths. Death is a cycle of life and rebirth. Now take the sword and end this wretched Red Night. Seek revenge for all those that died this night, take it and fuel your Blessing. End this Red Moon.'

The Spriggan burst back into the clearing of the Green Grove and slammed aside the menhirs as it ran for Gawain. It had reclaimed its sword and roared at the top of its voice as it rushed towards the knight. 'HUMAN SCUM! I WILL END YOU!'

'Fuck off,' replied Gawain as he swung his sword. His eyes blazed white, the color slowly changing to deep green. His skin slowly changed from his normal complexion to snow white, with circuits drawing themselves over his body. Galatine shifted and twisted in shape, slowly elongating and hollowing itself, until it became a sword like fleur-de-lis.

'YOU WILL NOT STOP THE PURGE! HUMANITY WILL FALL!' cried the Spriggan as he witnessed the manifestation of the power of the Green Knight.

'Stay by me, Brother, Alis...' said Gawain softly as he took the blow from the Spriggan, feeling the entire left side of his body become cut off. As the wooden blade left his body, Gawain looked at the Spriggan with as much anger and hate as he could muster before letting loose a primal scream. His detached body and arm leapt back and healed itself, with green light travelling from the wound into Galatine.

Putting his back into it, Gawain slammed flat of Galatine into the Spriggan King without hesitation.

Green light exploded into the red night, purging its light and returning the world to normal. As the white moon shone down upon the world again, its light viewing the cone shaped path of destruction that led from the center of the Green Grove all the way to the southern sandy banks of the province.

The Revenge of the Green Knight, the Blessing to escape death until a blow is returned to what the user feels is the appropriate return. There was a tale of a Green Knight who had his head chopped off, but simple repaid it by a small cut on the neck of the person who had beheaded him.

◊◊◊

'Get behind me!' commanded Gareth as he placed his hand in front of a girl his age.

She held onto him as she tried to stop her screams from escaping her mouth. Her hands trembled as she grasped Gareth's arm, holding onto the trainee knight with all she had.

'Where is Agry when you need him?' muttered Gaheris as he faced off against a Wyvern that had snuck into the city. He was exhausted, his sword hanging limply from his arm. How long had it been since this nightmare had started? His throat was parched, his eyes wavering as he struggled to maintain his stance. Between chasing after rogue monsters and helping defend the walls, Gareth felt like his body could shut down at any moment.

Turning his head, he looked at the scared girl. Between the thoughts of how cute she looked and imminent death, his focus turned itself into a awkward smile as he said, 'Do not worry, I will protect you.'

She just nodded, before her eyes widened in fear. Gareth had saw the reflection of fire in her eyes, before turning back and instinctively thrusting his sword into the monster's exposed neck. He watched as the fire leaked out through the wound, burning the corpse in its own flames.

'You are not getting me off guard again.'

A screech overhead made Gareth look up to see a pair of Wyvern circling around above, eyeing their dead comrade before zoning in on its killer.

'Arawn help me,' swore Gareth as he lifted up his arms in futile resistance. He turned to the girl and said without hesitation, 'run. I will hold them off.'

As he turned his head skyward again, Gareth saw something that made him suspicious. The eyes of the wyvern; they were no longer red. Backing away, he watched them fall from the sky and land onto the ground with a disgusting squelch. Their skulls fractured on contact, their bodies slumping.

'What in the?' wondered Gareth as he looked around him. Blinking once, then twice he saw the red tint of the world disappear. Rubbing his eyes to make sure, he saw that the moon overhead had turned back to white.

'GARETH!' Dashing up to him, Agravaine slid to a stop before his brother and panted. 'What has happened?'

His words were echoed by the sound of a massive explosion in the distance, followed by their retinas being seared by an intense green light.

'Where did that come from?' exclaimed Agravaine as he looked for the source of the light and sound.

'From the south...' muttered Gareth as he shook his head. 'but the monsters are dying Agry! We won!'

Agravaine did not respond. His mouth was hanging ajar at the angel before him. While he began to form a crush, the rest of the night was filled with the joyous cries of the knights. All over the kingdom, from Arotebrae to New Rome people cried in ecstasy that the night was over. The Red Moon was no more. Humanity had won.

'What is brother doing?' wondered Gareth as he held onto the scared girl, who had clung to him as soon as the monsters fell. If he had turned his gaze slightly to the left, he would have seen Agravaine seething at the sides.

Meanwhile somewhere within New Camelot the mysterious Queen, the one who had instigated all this made a 'tch' sound. Turning her face from the sky, she walked back into the shadows as she muttered to herself.

'So another plan is ruined. You had something to do with it didn't you Shade of Arthur. Do not worry, the time of reckoning will come. Your world will fall and my paradise will rise from it.'

◊◊◊

Gawain had closed his eyes on the impact, unwilling to see the destruction he had caused. He stood protectively in front of the Faerie Ring, shielding the children from any debris. It was unnecessary , for the ring itself had a barrier that disintegrated anything that flew within its borders. As he looked at the cone shaped gouge he had just draw into Avalon, Gawain wondered what this power he had been given was. A Blessing or a curse? As he pondered this, something felt off. The looming pressure, the anger of the forest had not disappeared.

'DID YOU THINK THAT I, I WHO HAVE STOOD FOR CENTURIES! WHO WAS BIRTHED FROM THE REMAINS OF A WAR TORN WORLD WOULD DIE JUST LIKE THAT!'

Turning his head, Gawain saw that the top half of the Spriggan land outside of the ring of Menhirs. Its eyes burned red, as its body began to reconstruct itself. Its armor gone, the red fruit like heart in its chest was exposed, pulsating with a deeper shade. It was like it had withdrawn all the power it had exerted to resurect the monsters, using that power to strengthen itself.

As it reformed its body, its face plate changed to that of a wolf skull. Its antlers grew sharper, with red veins slowly emerging from beneath the ivory. Its arms grew slender, the vines turning red before ending in claws of bone. Its bottom half grew as well, slowly taking a more streamlined form. Its legs no longer were hooves, but now paws as it stood upon legs similar to that of a lion. Ribs emerged from its chest and sucked the beating heart within, before covering itself with plates of white oak. Emerging from its rear, three tails made of bone and red sinew emerged and hung in the air like hungry snakes. Spikes emerged from its limbs, before it released a blood curdling cry.

Instead of panicking Gawain felt the warmth of people behind his back. He felt the presence of the Green Knights before him, of men and women who died to protect the dreams of their people. Looking at the monster before him, he growled and replied to its proclamation.

'No,' he said as he took up a stance. Green electricity crackled around him, streaming from the circuits on his body as he faced off the monster that he considered was the embodiment of the nature's wild side. 'I had hoped you survived so I could rip and tear you to shreds for everything you have done. One shot would have been letting you off too easy.'

'GRAAAAAAAGH!'

'RRAAAAAAAAARH!'

Gawain dashed forward, Galatine ready to cut down the monster. Bringing the blade down, he felt it slice nothing but air and looked up. Eyes narrowing, he rolled to the side before slicing off one the extended bone tails. Spitting out blood, Gawain grabbed the other two tails which had impaled him while he had been down. He heard the thud of the Spriggan landing on its feet, while he struggled to pull out the tails. As his fingers slipped on his own blood, he felt his body rise.

The Spriggan hefted Gawain with its tails before slamming the knight onto the ground, and withdrawing its bony tails. Dripping with blood, its head ticked before the three tails began striking like a twisting snakes at Gawain. They flew through the air like whips, cutting through the air just barely within the speed an eye could follow.

Gawain's eyes followed each and every moment, his eyes glowing with magic as he followed the movements. Taking a deep breath, he repelled each and every strike with Galatine. Sparks flew as he parried each blow, leaping under and over others as he slowly advanced.

'HOOOOOWWWWWLLL'

As Gawain fought the onslaught, he heard the sound of paws against dried leaves just outside his vision. The Spriggan had not deactivated the magic of the monsters within this forest, meaning they were able to come after him.

'For killing Eonan and maiming Dohate,' promised Gawain as he leapt backwards and had his back against a menhir, 'you will fall too.'

Spinning around the mehir, he impaled one of the wolves which had snuck up to him and swinging it in an overhead arc, brought it down on another. Then withdrawing his weapon, he kicked the two bodies towards the Spriggan.

Slicing the corpses apart, the Spriggan's eyes widened as through the veil of rotten blood it saw a flash of green. As it reached out its hand, it saw Gawain had slid beneath its grasp and was about to swing.

Green energy crackled, as Gawain sliced the Spriggan's arm off and leapt into the air. Turning midair, he slammed the back of his leg into its face and released his Blessing. Light exploded and the Spriggan was sent tumbling into the dirt.

'Get up.'

Spitting out dirt, the Spriggan clawed the ground and dashed forward. Throwing chunks of dirt behind it as it ran, it lowered its head and bore its horns towards Gawain.

'HUMMAAAAAAAAN!'

Letting go of Galatine, Gawain braced himself as he opened his hands. He grabbed the Spriggan's horns with all his strength, his heels digging into the dirt as he shoved against the creature.

'For killing Alis...' breathed Gawain as for a moment his green light was tinged black, '...your name of Stag-Horned will be stripped first!'

Bending his arms, Gawain snapped the antlers off the Spriggan while slamming his knee into its skull breaking it. His Blessing's power was not ready, but he still used both of the broken antlers and shoved the tips into the Spriggan's eyesockets.

'WRYYYYYY' it screamed in agony, reeling back as it reached for the antlers. Liquid amber poured out if its eyes, falling onto the ground as it struggled to grasp the ivory weapons.

Picking up Galatine, Gawain blocked the haphazard flurry of attacks from the Spriggan's tails. He walked forward slowly, almost as if he was unaware of the tails. He let some hit him, feeling the pain before it subsided and was replaced with energy. His blood flew into the air in streaks, before vanishing in a puffs of steam.

Ripping the antlers from its eyes, the Spriggan hissed as it healed itself. Opening its blood red eyes, it saw Gawain and blinked. What he saw before him was not a human...one could call it a Giant. The silhouette of a giant, stood before him and was carrying by its side a weapon of untold destruction.

'WHAT ARE YOU HUMAN?' it cried as it plunged its hands into the earth. Reaching deep, it formed a new greatsword out of tree roots and pulled it out, dirt falling as it was swung.

'A dreamer...' replied Gawain as he dashed forward. Slicing downwards, he felt his blow blocked by the Spriggan. Pulling back he twisted and swung from the side. Once again blocked. Roaring Gawain continued his assault, slashing, dodging and parrying with skill. Each blow carried the burden of a single death he had seen, each blow carried with emotion and rage. Sparks flew as he slammed Galatine upwards, his blade knocking the Spriggan off balance.

Lunging forward, he pulled back his fist and slammed it as hard as he could in the chest. He felt the impact connect, before seeing the Spriggan blown into the forest. Making sure its remaining bony tails sliced off Gawain's leg, before the Spriggan felt what constituted for its spine snap from the impact.

Crashing through trees, Spriggan felt its body snap back together. As it lumbered back to its feet, it thought of how to kill this human. The plan was a bust, there was nothing it could do now.

'I can end the legacy of the Green Knight...' it breathed as it saw Gawain emerge from between the trees. It saw the blazing green eyes of the knight, the hatred and anger behind them like a bottomless well. The Blessing of the Green Knight was indeed overpowered but it had a weakness. Once a 'Revenge' had been executed, there was a refractive period where it would not be able to be used again. If it could land a fatal blow, with no one to pass the Blessing onto, the Green Knight would be no more.

'Get up.'

When he closed his eyes, all Gawain could see was the cross of thorns, the ruins of the house and the silver ring. The silver ring falling to the ground, soaked in blood. When he recalled the sound it had made, when he remembered her face...

'Enough of this,' he cried, tears dripping down his face as he walked forward. 'Enough of this bloodshed...enough of this...'

'Loosing your anger Green Knight? In the middle of battle? How foolish!' The Spriggan eyes flickered as it dashed around Gawain. Its feet flew across the ground as it encircled him. It watched as Gawain did not move a muscle, the knights face turned downward while his tears stained the ground. Opening its claws, it prepared to shred the human to pieces, so small that the Blessing could not heal the knight.

'YOU ARE TOO PATHETIC!' roared the Spriggan as it leapt at Gawain. Leaping into the air, it twisted its body as it brought down its ivory claws. Its eyes gleaming from the spark of victory.

'I will never loose my anger.'

The blow was blocked by Galatine, metal against bone, sparking off one another. As green looked at red, red looked at green. Both eyes filled with anger, hate and rage.

'You took everything from me Stag-Horned Knight. You took my love, my master and his dream. You killed hundreds in the pursuit of your own.' Releasing his grip on Galatine, Gawain let the claws slice him down the middle. It slit him into pieces like a knife through bread, burying into the ground from the force alone. It hurt like hell, it hurt so much Gawain would have passed out.

But he was numb. He was so numb. Nothing hurt as much as the sound of that ring on bloodied earth. As his body fixed itself, Gawain reached out and stuck his hand through the chest of the Spriggan King. He felt the heart like object within his grasp. clutching it as he forced the monster to its knees. The huge beast fell before him, its red eyes staring at him with malice and untold wrath.

'You dream ends today.' Gawain grasped the heart and flooded it with magic, visualizing it travelling from his body into the heart. Electricity crackled around him, the magic flowing into the organ. Gawain had color return to him, the circuits around his body coalescing into the hand that grasped the pulsating heart.

The Spriggan felt so much pain as the magic corrupted itself from the inside. The entire forest screamed, its brothers and sisters across the kingdom screamed. Its cries fell on deaf ears, cloaked by the cries of elation from humanity. Those that could hear did not respond, the Druids and Shamans shook their heads for they knew it had to be.

◊◊◊

The clickety of clack of the spindle of fate alerted its mistresses who huddled around it. The Fates held the thread in their hands and watched as it began to glow and they whispered in hushed tones.

'Fate has come to pass. The Last Green Knight has defeated the Spriggan King. The Keeper of Trials, the Wild One has fallen. He will be reborn for nature doesn't die, but he will be reborn knowing the pain and suffering its previous incarnation had wrought. It will be reborn once again as a servant of the Faerie Queen, but it will know fear. Fear of loosing, Fear of humanity and that which fights back. It is no longer a predator but a prey.'

'So it shall be.'

'Such is the way.'

All three looked up into the heavens and simultaneously said, 'Pŵer o galon, pŵer enaid, Pŵer Rydym yn rhann, pŵer a ddelir gennym

◊◊◊

'GRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH'

'FOR AVALON! FOR BERTILAK! FOR DELYTH! FOR EONAN! FOR DOHATE!'

Gawain fed the last bit of magic he could muster into the heart and felt it explode in his hands. He felt the sticky fluid between his fingers, as he watched the light in the Spriggan's eyes disappear. Pulling out his hand, he fell onto the floor panting. 'For...for Alis...'

Surprised he was still alive, Gawain watched as the body of the Spriggan slowly dissolved away into dried leaves, carried away by the night wind. A beautiful end for such a heartless monster.

As he saw the corpse Gawain was once again reminded of...he was once again reminded. So there he sat, for minutes? For hours? Just looking up at the night sky they had once shared. He watched the stars disappear as the sun began to rise. Like falling stars, his tears fell. Falling upon the earth, scarring it.

'I will keep my ring on me at all times. Until my knight comes back to sweep me off my feet again.'

Chuckling as he teared, Gawain said to himself, 'we never got a first dance did we. What were doing when we had time?'

'I was cleaning after your messes. Though I know you were always a bad dancer.' '

Turing his head, Gawain just came face to face with the darkness of the forest. Shaking his head, he fell back onto the ground and was now only forced to look upwards.

'Gone are the days of four kids messing around...four kids who no one could stop. Gone are my days as a loner...which was my fault to begin with...' he sighed as he still teared. 'wonder if in some other world you and me could have lived happily? That whoever wrote our story had shown mercy...'

It was then that he heard the cries of children in the distance. He heard their wails, harbinger of the morning as he slowly got to his feet. Wiping his tears, he picked up Galatine before trudging back towards the Green Grove. They were his duty now, to raise and to protect.

'My knight. After hardships always come ease.'

Turning around Gawain saw what Bertilak had seen all those years ago and smiled. He smiled unlike his master had at the sight of the person before him. 'I should be surprised to see you, I really should. But after tonight...I doubt anything could surprise me.'

'The Kingdom of Avalon will always hold surprises Sir Gawain Orkney. You never know what can happen in this land of legends.'

'I should know that...' chuckled Gawain, 'I did walk across it. It was a world worth protecting. I guess...I am technically your chosen knight now.'

'And guardian to those too.'

'It is about time I woke from my childish dream,' replied Gawain as he got to one knee. 'and take on one of an adult.'

'Rise Hero of the Red Moon. Rise vanquisher of the Spriggan King. Rise defender of Dreams...'

'Rise my Green Knight.'