‘What makes us different from any other riffraff is our ability to stick to a well-formed plan, if we follow this formation and think quickly, we can manage to escape any sort of trouble. That is why we, the knights of flame will never be extinguished! We shall defeat any foe, be it bandit or enemy soldier.’ Siegmund’s words echoed in Metas’ mind. Of the knight teaching young recruits including him about the knights’ battle tactics. “Metas are you alright? It’s almost time.” Ellyn tapped on his shoulder. “Yeah, I was just reminiscing on some things.” He answered.
They were sitting on a high ridge behind a tree and watching the guarded gate of the barracks below. “So, what if they’re not there?” Ellyn asked him. “After she sneaks in, we’ll try to read one of the guards or the knights and-“ “Try to confirm from them if they’re here or not, I remember now.” She responded before Metas could finish his sentence. “You were a little preoccupied earlier.” Metas stated. “I was preoccupied with gathering and making supplies for this, like this thing I picked up earlier.” Ellyn peeked over at the gate with a brass-colored tool. She watched intently looking into the binoculars as two knights stood guard over the iron gate. One guard slowly walked around the perimeter of the stone walls, holding a torch in hand. Two torches were also mounted at the sides of the gate as it was dusk, approaching nighttime. ‘
'Well, I’m the one doing the reading not you guys. Also why did you regret not including me in the planning process, before joining her. All I’m saying is that something feels off about her, she might tell us off to the knights!’ The orange-haired boy complained to the two, via the crystal they possessed. ‘She’s being hunted by the knights, why would she go to them?’ Metas responded, in his mind. ‘Shh… There she is.’ Ellyn responded, peeking over towards the white-haired boy, who was being led by hand by a seemingly invisible force. ‘Let’s table this discussion for later.’ Metas replied, before holding out his hand towards Ellyn and looking towards the gate with the binoculars.
He looked as the invisible force let go of the child just before the two guards saw them. The child was wide-eyed and had a glazed expression. Metas and the others tried cleaning him up earlier, but he shed no tears nor said any words, he ate the food and drank the water they gave and did not resist to travelling or being pulled along from place to place. “That’s it, take him inside...” Metas said to himself as the two guards approached the child. Yuria stood a short distance away from the gate, making her presence unseen whilst the knights approached.
“Hey, I think he’s lost.” The guard said to the other. “Come here kid.” He waved over to the child. The boy slowly walked to the guard curiously. “Where are his parents? This place isn’t hard to get to so maybe he just wandered off from the city.” He put away his weapons and held the boy on his shoulders. “What should we do about him? Maybe call the orphanage?” The other guard said to him. “The barracks are right here? Don’t they pick up orphans as new recruits or something?” “Nah, its nighttime. Don’t want to be the guy to bother them.” “So what do we do, just make him stay here for a while?” “Maybe if we wait, his parents will come running? I don’t know.” The guard then led the child and made him sit on the ground as the two knights kept standing guard.
“Besides, one of us has to leave our post to get him inside there.” The other knight stated. “Come on, its not like this place gets attacked often.” Up above, Metas was looking at the gate below and muttering to himself. “No, no.” “What’s the matter?” Metas then handed over the binoculars to Ellyn. “They’re just talking, and the kid’s still outside.” She remarked. “Well, they let us inside immediately when we came there.” Metas responded. ‘Hey kid!’ Ellyn called out to the boy in her mind. ‘You need my help now?’ He grumpily responded. ‘Yeah, talk to Yuria and tell her to do something so that the guards would open the gate.’ Ellyn responded, ignoring his comment.
‘Hey ‘kid’, your friends want you to do something so that the guards would open the gate.’ The boy said to Yuria. ‘Hold on, I think I can do something.’ She responded. She pulled a bone out of her pouch bag. Suddenly, bushes from within the gated area began violently shaking. “Hey what’s that?” One guard asked. “Probably just some animal.” The other answered. Suddenly, a tree near the bushes began rocking and shaking as if something from the bushes was striking it hard. “Hey, hey! Open the gate!” The guard yelled to the other. The other guard began opening the iron gate from the outside, as the knight beside the boy called out the knight who was patrolling the perimeter. “Watch the kid!” He yelled as both quickly ran inside the opened iron gate. The bone Yuria held turned into dust as claws that rose from the ground disappeared after repeatedly striking a tree hard.
As the gate opened, Yuria ran as fast as possible towards the gap, before locking eyes with the boy. None of the guards could see her, but the boy turned towards her, looking at her straight in the eyes. For a moment, she was not looking at where she was going and tripped on the side of the iron gate. As she fell to the ground, the amulet she wore around her neck flew off, and the guard saw a glimpse of her before she rolled into the bushes below the tree. “Hey you! Stop right there!” He yelled. He drew his sword and walked closer to the bushes, the other one followed him with torch in hand.
Suddenly, Yuria ran from the bushes and emerged from the other side, occluded by the amulet’s ability. “Hey!” The guard yelled. The other one tried to pursue, his torched raised high, but could not see anything. “How’s the kid?” He asked to the guard outside. “Fine.” He walked over to the boy and noticed that he was looking straight towards the barracks. “I’ll get the kid inside, alert the others. Someone just entered right past us.” The other two guards nodded and walked away. “Yes!” Metas quietly remarked. “Phew, I was a little nervous back there.” Said Ellyn.
‘Nervous, I was certain she was going to be caught. Then we would have to off these guys to be undetected.’ The boy remarked, using thought transference. “Whoa, it doesn’t need to come to that.” Metas responded. “Metas, I understand what you’re getting at. But if it’s us or them, it’s going to be us.” Ellyn replied. As the kind guard walked the boy towards the barracks, the child kept staring at something, his eyes following an unseen object in the distance. “Do you see something kid?” The guard noticed. Yuria ran to behind the barracks to open windows that led inside. ‘Hey, connect me to Metas.’ Yuria asked the boy. ‘Why not just tell me what you want to say? Its tiring having a constant open connection.’ ‘Just do it, its urgent.’ ‘Alright.’ He replied.
Yuria was crouching near the window, tiptoeing up to get a look inside. ‘Yuria, its me.’ Metas remarked. ‘Metas. The windows are open like you said, a little high though. Are you sure they’re going to be here?’ ‘Well, no. If they’re not out on a mission, or called by the higher ups in the castle, they’re going to be spending their time here.’ ‘And its better to get information from someone nearer to them if possible.’ Ellyn replied. ‘Okay, I’m going in.’ “Hmph.” She struggled as she tried to climb the window. She repeatedly tried to jump up towards it in futility. Having no other choice, she sighed as she grabbed another item from her bag. She was hoping to save them all for more dire situations but wanted to get up as soon as possible. A small bone platform emerged from the ground, she stepped onto it and climbed into the window.
There was a faint thump as she landed on the inside of the building. This was one of many small buildings, small barracks where knights ate and slept, there were also other large buildings in the area including a mess hall and a building where the child recruits were taught and raised. Normally, knights young and old where jovial but all were tiredly wandering the halls, eager to get a good night’s sleep. The rooms were faintly lit by the lanterns on the wall and candles, knights were sleeping on their beds or sleepily walking around and putting away their gear.
There was an armory room where the knights stored their weapons and armor, on stands and racks. They walked around wearing only their plain tunics, shedding their heavy burdens, and going to the bedrooms in exhaustion. Yuria was unnoticed as she entered, she tried to wipe off the dirt from her boots by gently brushing them against the floor, but it was slow and tedious as she tried to make no noise. ‘Hey Metas, are you sure this is the right one?’ ‘Well…’ He replied but was cut short. ‘Shh… Just get ready, I’m going to put the crystal in someone’s pocket soon.’ She sighed out loud, but momentarily looked around if any in the room saw her. All of the knights there were asleep in the cot-like beds arranged for efficiency in the room. ‘Um… Find somebody alone, it would be difficult if somebody noticed if someone was acting off or snapped them out of it if somebody is nearby.’ The orange-haired boy said to her.
Yuria slowly walked cautiously through the room and did a brief visit of the hallway and looking at the various rooms. ‘There’s more than one person in every room!’ ‘Maybe the lavatory?’ The boy asked. ‘What?’ ‘What?’ Yuria and Ellyn replied. ‘Ah… They would be alone.’ Metas suggested. ‘Am I supposed to go in there?’ Yuria questioned. ‘Wait, just sit tight there’s something-‘ “Hey.” The boy addressed the lady in white who was at the foot of his door. “You are busy helping the children, I see.” “No, no.” He tried to brush it off. “I was just resting.” “Hmm. It’s a noble cause, and it doesn’t necessarily contradict our cause.” “But?” “The way things continue, what you’re doing might impede our work, and if that time comes, I will ask you to cease.” “Threatening me for cooperating with them?” “Just remember our cause.” She replied.
‘Someone’s walking by, what should I do?’ Yuria asked. ‘Put it in his pocket!’ Ellyn hastily remarked.. Yuria gently took the crystal out of her person and slipped it into the knight’s pocket before they entered the nearby commodore room. ‘Wait, depending on what he’s going to do, he might be separated from his pants and thus the crystal in his pocket.’ Metas posed. ‘And the other option?’ Ellyn asked. ‘It means that he’s going to get out of the bathroom fast.’ Metas responded. ‘What do I do then? Pick his pocket again?’ Footsteps could be heard approaching the door to the comfort room. ‘Guys I’m back, what did I-‘ The boy said, establishing communication with the group once more. ‘The crystal’s in his pocket!’ They ‘shouted’ almost in unison. ‘Okay!’ Yuria could hear the handle of the door being grasped, but then their footsteps stopped, and they let go of the door’s handle.
It began to glow an orange color in the young knight’s pocket. ‘Sethan and Asralyn, a young knight captain and their kin. Their location, here or otherwise. State it.’ The orange-haired boy asked the knight in their mind. “I know them.” The knight said, in a trance. “They were sent out in a mission but aren’t back yet. I heard that they were held up from returning to the capital because they were defending a village from bandits. I heard rumors that somebody died but,” Metas had gritted his teeth with his mouth closed. “The two of them are the toughest knights here, tougher than all of us. I’m sure they’ll pull through.” ‘Knowest thou of any other knowledge thou carest to share?’ “Oh, all of the knights and the knight captains are called to report in the main castle keep. If his company is coming back, they’re going to go straight there before coming back to the barracks. Since Siegmund’s death and ever-increasing encounters with bandits and cultists, the kingdom’s on high alert.” The knight answered.
“Hey, are you alright there? Are you talking to yourself?” “What?” The knight was immediately wrest from the spell’s grasp. Seemingly he had no recollection of the recent event. As he opened the door, the other knight looked at him strangely. Undetected, Yuria grasped the crystal out of his pocket and slunk away. Outside, the boy led the guard to the window, the guard followed his gaze and found the unsettled earth and bootprints on the soil and leaves near it. “You saw them, huh kid?” The guard looked at the wall and the windowsill and saw dirt marks. He peeked into the open window and could not find anything suspicious or the continuation of the tracks.
“What’s wrong?” A half-asleep knight asked the guard. “We think that somebody got inside the gate, and now I’m seeing tracks leading from here and possibly up the window. Did you see someone pass through here?” “Well, if someone climbed up the window and walked through here, I think I would’ve seen them. Maybe.” The knight remarked. The guard sighed and he went around back to the entrance of the barracks and towards the boy.
Suddenly, the boy turned his head towards a sound in the grass and leaves. “Are you seeing something?” As he walked to the boy and followed his gaze to a faint movement in the grass ahead of them. He squinted and saw the ground was being impacted by a force he could not see; small indents were formed as if someone was running along it. “Hey, there’s someone here!” He called out to the other guards who immediately came running. The boy was merely curious at the unusual aberration he spotted, he looked at it as if it was a colorful butterfly or a shaped cloud in the sky.
“Where?” The other guard wielding a torch asked the guard. “There!” He pointed at the spot where Yuria stood still in the grass. ‘Do they see me? No, only the kid does. Should I make a break for it?’ Yuria asked. ‘Go!’ The orange-haired boy remarked. ‘Run around them, if only the kid can see you then quickly get out of their sight-‘ “Wait, what are you doing?” Metas looked up at Ellyn who was unfolding the mechanical crossbow on her arm. “Just in case.” She quietly said, aiming directly at the guards. ‘Push comes to shove, huh.’ The boy stated.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“There!” The guard yelled and pointed towards the folded grass. The other guard quickly ran with his torch held up high. He was confused for a moment, but then saw a shadow forming on the ground from the torchlight. As he walked in to investigate, the grass was unsettled as steps ran across it, along with the visible shadow. “After them!” He yelled and the other guard soon followed suit. As Yuria ran, she was cornered against a wall. She brought out her pouch and prepared to bring out one of her items for defense. “Hey Metas, I think I’m going to have to take a shot.” Ellyn turned around to look at Metas but found that he had already left. “Where is he?” She asked. ‘He… left.’ The boy shrugged.
She put down her arm and looked around and looked down the ridge and saw him slide down the side of the rock face and down into the grounds behind the stone wall that surrounded the barracks. “Tch.” Ellyn remarked, she stepped forward debating on following after him but walked back up and pointed her arm at the guards. “Identify yourself?” One of the guards shouted. “Hey, what’s that smell?” The other asked. A tree on the opposite side of the grounds caught aflame and was producing a trail of smoke that stretched high up into the air. They both looked at the tree, now set alight but after they turned back around the light from the torch no longer showed Yuria’s shadow.
“Hey kid, where did they go?” The guard turned to the boy who was now looking upwards, more interested by the fire than the unseen figure. ‘Metas, Yuria, where are you? Are you out? Hey, can you speak to them, are they saying anything?’ She asked the boy. ‘Wait a second, its just a little hard…’ The boy answered. Suddenly there was rustling on the foliage behind her. Ellyn turned around with her arm pointed at the two of them. Yuria held the pendant in her hand and put it in her pack shortly thereafter. Metas closed his palm and put out the spark of flame in his hand. “Well?” Ellyn asked, putting down her arm. “Well, we got some information out of it.” Metas answered. “Hope it was worth it.” Said Yuria, looking at the burning tree. “I made sure that the fire wouldn’t reach too many places and would be pretty isolated.” Metas answered.
Ellyn sat on the ground, cross legged. The other two followed suit. “So, what do we have?” Ellyn asked. “He said that they were out on duty, then they fought some bandits in a village. He said that there were rumors that they didn’t all make it out.” Said Yuria. She looked to Metas who had a serious, and solemn expression. He continued her statement. “But if they’re returning, they’re going to the main castle proper. Apparently, the captains at least are being summoned for urgent matters.” “That’s because we killed that knight, Siegmund, isn’t it?” Said Yuria, looking down wistfully. “Hey.” Remarked Ellyn. “He was a knight, they’re the ones protecting the kingdom. Now that we killed him, the whole kingdom is looking for us. To them, we’re the bad guys. He was someone important to a lot of people, you knew him for a long time. All this trouble just because I wanted to live.” Before she could continue any further, she was cut off by Metas. “Hey, we talked about this earlier. What happened, already happened and its us before them.”
Ellyn and Yuria looked at him in silence. “He was good, he inspired many people including me. But then he started accepting doing the kingdom’s dirty work. This kingdom like any other is like an animal, it does what it needs in order to survive, good or bad. We’re just trying to survive, too.” Metas then stood up, and clenched his fist and placed it on his chest. “But, there are truly some people who make others suffer no reason, and people who believe in helping regardless of its gain.” Flashes of memories came into his mind. Burning villages, Helia, his siblings. “Someday I’d like to be that kind of person. That’s why you may think I’m acting weird; I want to be different. But I’m also not that naïve. We don’t have the luxury to. If it comes to it, survival first.” He sighed. He offered up his hand to Ellyn, pulling her up. “To survival.” She said. “We’re right behind you, leader.” Said Yuria, after being helped up by Metas.
Metas turned around, hiding a slight smile. ‘Hey guys, I’d hate to interrupt but I’m closing our connection for a while. It’s been pretty tiring since I don’t do it all the time, and for long. Plus I spent time trying to reach you earlier so…’ “Yeah, its alright.” Replied Metas. “Just come back to us, we’ll need you later.” Said Ellyn. “Good job, kid.” Yuria remarked. ‘Kid?’ The boy wondered. ‘See you later.’ He said before the orange crystals lost their light and color. Inside Jura’s retreat, he looked out the window, at the seemingly endless field of white flowerless plants. He sighed and walked to the nearby bed. He laid down with his arms spread out. “To be that kind of person.” He remembered the early days, where he was a mere flying speck of a spirit, and to his friends, now much changed.
As the three walked into the night, Yuria started the conversation once more. “She went straight to the castle. If we’d know that we’ll be going there, we should’ve come along.” “It’s convenient having all these points she can travel to, makes traversing the kingdom while being hunted much easier.” Ellyn commented. “If only I learned more from her, my only experience with witchcraft is just self-taught.” Said Yuria. They walked a little further, before Metas stopped to talk. “Actually, I knew that there was a big possibility that they’d be at the castle. Even with her with us, sneaking in is going to be an impossible task, much less storming it.” He looked over the horizon, the giant stone castle glowing brightly and standing high amongst nearby towns filled to the brim with houses and buildings.
“Even this close, its still so far away.” Metas said to himself as the other two followed him, they too awed at the sight, but only Metas despaired. Emerging from a pool of ink-colored liquid, the white-haired scholar rose from seemingly beneath the ground and surveyed her surroundings, crouching to avoid detection. She had cautiously put down unseen marks on the ground, using her previous role as an excuse to visit a multitude of locations as a failsafe to escape to if the need arose. She didn’t think at the time that she would use it to infiltrate the grounds where she was once revered and respected in.
She emerged to an old stable that was now unused at the side of the castle’s inner keep. She crushed purple powder in her gloved hand before sprinkling it at her feet. She acquired the substance via the mineral attached to the chain which was used by Yuria and the others to hide their presences. After Yuria was proudly boasting the item and its properties to her, she asked to inspect it and she discreetly shaved off a bit of fine powder from it, its residue colored a dark shade of purple. It was then grabbed by Metas who hid it away for safekeeping. Disgruntled, she took the spoonful of powder and poured it in a mortar and after placing an ordinary rock within, crushed it to pieces using the pestle. After muttering a quiet incantation, the volume of the powder increased to the fistful she poured on the ground.
‘If what she says is true, the implement she uses is quite the tool indeed. However, I recognize the potency of the stone itself. And…’ A faint fog surrounded her, and then as she stood up, she was clouded in a force that left her unseen. She looked at her hand, and then began to slowly walk out into the courtyard. It was a beautiful area; a tall tree was planted in the center and the hedges and grass were well kept and trimmed. Though, it could hardly be noticed in the darkness of dusk and the concerns of all were placed elsewhere.
As she sneaked through the area, knights with torches were patrolling and moving through the side of the grounds to and from other areas of the castle. She crept into a nearby building with two large stone doors opened, she walked inside and looked up at empty seats in front of an ornate railing overlooking the floor below. It was the place where she used to sit with the king and addressed the subjects of the court, as of current it was empty and deserted.
She walked to a set of doors at the end of the room, which were usually guarded by a pair of knights, which would grant access to a deeper part of the castle. As she rushed forward, she walked almost to the end of the room when she saw that her arms and feet were completely visible once more. She could no longer sense its presence cloaking effect on her. ‘Perhaps I overestimated its efficacy. A tool like that would be extremely useful to me, but I suppose I’ve been well without it.’ She continued walking forward, cautious of her surroundings until the two small doors at the end of the room began to open and she instinctively jumped backwards.
One of the doors opened and out walked Alroc, donning a brand-new crow feather cloak. He put one arm on opening one door but before he could utter a word a sharp shadowy tendril blasted through the air towards him. It suddenly stopped midair, and Alroc nonchalantly opened the other door, and ‘she’ walked out. “You may go.” Alroc bowed and walked away. “Hmph. Coming out here, aren’t you worried about getting your clothes dirty?” The academic mockingly remarked before pulling the tendrils back, she had her arm in a shadowy tear beside her and removed it, the tendril disappearing when she did so.
The academic was wearing a simple black dress which had been faded and altered to match her present living situation, there were various tears and patches in the clothing, mended with patches of different clothing and slightly reinforced with pieces of leather armor. She carried a satchel containing her items, whilst the woman carried none. “This place, dusty, dirty, and abandoned. No wonder I would find you here, seeing as you both are faded in glory.” Her green eyes glowed bright in a sinister gleam. Her elegant red dress to the scholar's faded black dress. Her amber hair and green eyes to the scholar’s white hair and black eyes. “Suppressing my magic, a childish trick. Why did you let him leave, I thought you would be more content on letting someone else do the work as always?” Serafion, the academic remarked. “We’ve… had our differences when we were equals. But you were consumed by delusion, your actions moved away towards the ‘good’ of the kingdom and towards yourself. As you delve deeper into heresy, you became a detriment. I pity you.” The other woman responded.
“Delusion, detriment? Acting in my own self-interest? You are very much the same. If me and the others decided that your arts were heretical then you would be in the same place as I.” Serafion responded. In response, she other woman laughed and sighed. “That’s true, maybe I’ve been so used to politics speak that I hid my true intentions.” She then snapped her fingers. A ring of light glowed bright on the ceiling, and then broke apart and disappeared. “Well, why did you remove it if you planned on using magic anyway?” The white-haired woman asked. “I wanted to talk to you, but I feel it would take too long. Before I kill you, what plan do you have to take this rightful throne of yours and survive the kingdom’s might?” She then held out her arms to her sides, and then two balls of fire appeared atop her palms. Symbols appeared in the flames, a bony mangled claw which was then burned away, and the color of the flames changed to a bright green.
The scholar stepped back in agitation, but then smiled. “You know of it. The Ruler’s Regalia. A relic that is powerful enough to make anyone worthy a sovereign.” For one moment, the green-eyed woman was surprised but then formed a wide grin. “Your delusions die with you, Serafion.” “I’ll return the favor, Seruvia.” Seruvia then threw the bright green fire at Serafion, who raised a wall of darkness in response. The flames impacted the wall but appeared to have no effect.
But suddenly, the symbol of the broken claw appeared in the dark wall and then it cracked like glass, shattering into pieces. The green-eyed woman grinned, and more fires flashed atop her hands, but then her face turned into confusion as she could no longer see her opponent in front of her. She then looked around, spotting a large shadowy pillar reaching from the ground and onto the balcony atop the room, Serafion having already reached the ledge near the thrones.
Angered, Seruvia threw her flames towards the pillar which crumbled almost instantly but not before the academic had escaped through a door in the upper floor. “Hey, she went upstairs!” She yelled. Alroc then quickly emerged from the downstairs doors and leapt up to the balcony like a shadowy blur. He went to the doorway past the thrones but found that it was blocked by the dark abyssal energy. He swiftly attacked, trying to puncture past the barrier with his thrusting sword, but the weapon bounced off without any visible effect. “She created a barrier.” He said. “Stand back.” Seruvia replied, before Alroc stepped away and she walked backwards aiming her flames towards the door before tossing it into the barrier, it too crumbled like glass, allowing Alroc to proceed.
He looked within and saw an unlit tunnel and remarked: “I don’t see her, she may already have gone further or disappeared to someplace else.” “Tsk. I know where she’s going, pursue her there, I’m going to approach from another way.” She stated as she walked out of the building. Alroc sighed, before running into the tunnel. ‘Hmm… Perhaps I should have killed her earlier when her magic was suppressed. But countering Lady Seruvia’s wishes, can be troubling… As careless as she is, she is capable in rooting out threats, cancers that crawl beneath the kingdom’s surface. This castle up to its depths, is a sspeard wall facing inward. The traitor will find no escape nor solace within its walls. Unless…’ As he ran, he remembered what Serafion said earlier.
“The Ruler’s Regalia. Myth or not, she will not lay her hand on it.” He went further into the darkness of the desolate building until he blended in with the shadows. As nightfall approached, darkness nipped at the outermost walls and regions of the kingdom. It stood tall, burning bright with its lanterns and torches flaring like countless stars amongst the night sky.
Nearby a rundown town at the edge of the kingdom, there stood a figure with his palm out in front of him. Hiding in the darkness, they had no torches or bonfires to serve as light. Only a dim blue light momentarily illuminated the dark, before the lord of the bandits closed his hand. “If fate demands destruction, I will bring destruction for it. Only then, it will return its boons in kind. I can still see that sight long ago, no matter how faded it became.” He recalled a vision of himself and others, standing tall amongst crowds of people, with bright banners waving high and wearing gleaming armor commanding a massive army.
‘Isha, Rennon, everyone…’ He stood silently overlooking the walls of a nearby town in the distance. He had a massive grin on his face, he turned to the others behind him, they were silent and simply nodded back as he nodded to them. They walked on, like an ordered formation of a single living mass. ‘Kieron…’ Grisham thought as they slowly approached the town, under the cover of darkness, like ominous grey clouds gathering in the sky.