Final Fantasy XI
Windurst Rahdian Knights
Chapter 1
"Brother Ai'Vaerr! Close the doors!" General Paiyaku shouted as he ran past the old heavy doors of the Yagudo stronghold in Giddeus.
General Paiyaku, General Taokii, Captain Ai'Vaerr, and fifty Rahdian Knights had cleared the Yagudo caves that the Yagudo used as a stronghold and were now under attack by the united Yagudo and Goblin tribes in West Sarutabaruta.
"Their past the doors!" Captain Ai'Vaerr said, as the Knights were forced into close combat against the Beastmen.
"To the death!" General Taokii shouted!
Paiyaku cut down into the face of a Yagudo, then turned and fired his pistol into the chest of a goblin that charged him from behind. Another Yagudo charged the general from his left and he spun left and cut down hard with his sword. Another Knight jumped behind Paiyaku and shot the Yagudo while driving his sword through its head.
"Nice one!" Paiyaku shouted as he reloaded.
"Thank you sir!" The Knight said as he pulled his sword free.
Taokii stood up from the corpse of the Yagudo that killed the Knight that guarded him. A Goblin charged at him quickly, but a blast to the face from Taokii's gun brought it to its knees. A large Katana wielding Yagudo ran at Taokii, but a Knight stood in his way and tackled it. They two fought viciously, but eventually, the heavy armor and hard kicks by the Knight weakened the Yagudo enough that the Knight could rest the end of his gun on the Yagudo's head and explode his face across the cavern floor.
The Knights were making short work of the Beastmen, but their numbers dropped steadily. Now there were forty-two against a hundred in the cave, Captain Ai'Vaerr led ten Knights on the ledges overlooking the cave floor. There they fired well-aimed arrow shots down on the Beastmen.
Paiyaku and twelve Knights formed an arc and pushed towards the center to help out as many Knights as they could. Taokii and sixteen Knights did the same and met in the middle where the fighting turned into a slaughter.
Paiyaku speared a Goblin with a kick then cut his head off. Then he turned around to shoot a Yagudo in the face and cut him across his chest as he fell backwards. Another Yagudo tried to leap on Paiyaku, but a Knight pushed Paiyaku out of the way and tried to fight off the savage attack, but more Yagudo charged in and tore the Knight apart while Paiyaku fought back two Goblins.
Taokii threw his empty pistol at the shot Goblin that staggered towards him. It hit in the face and the Goblin fell back. A Yagudo tackled Taokii, but two Knights cut the beast off of him and helped him up.
"Good job!" Taokii said.
"It was no-" The Knight was speared with a long spear by a Yagudo behind him and was thrown fifteen feet through the air and landed in the thickness of the Beastmen horde.
The Knights continued to fight courageously, but they knew it was only a matter of time. Forced down the cave tunnel, the Knights were in one of the main chambers of the cave. Captain Ai'Vaerr and the Knights he had on the ledges were cut off from the rest of the Knights, but their quick reloading skills saved them time and time again as the Beastmen climbed up to them.
"Ai'Vaerr is still out there!" Taokii shouted as the knights barred the doors while others fought the claws that reached through the damaged door.
"He has our best marksmen and right now we need to find a way out of here."
As the Knights finished barricading the door, the sounds of howls alerted them to a tunnel that they thought to be a dead end.
"Are they…?"
"Yes, defensive formation in front of that doorway. Ranged combat for first strike, on my mark." Paiyaku shouted.
The Beastmen had found another way through to the Knights, but as they charged into view of their prey, a wall of arrows greeted them. Following the arrows were the Knights, they were not going to give the Beastmen time to recover from the hail of arrows that covered them. The narrow space in the tunnel was perfect for making a wall of death that cleared the Beastmen from the tunnel.
"I can see Ai'Vaerr and the Knights! They still hold the ledges!" Taokii shouted to Paiyaku.
Suddenly a large Yagudo came running into the stronghold. It was twice the size of the normal Yagudo and was three times as strong. It threw a spear at Ai'Vaerr and pinned him by his arm against the wall. He struggled to unsheathe his sword to fight off the Yagudo that had now climbed up to the ledge and were storming his position. The large Yagudo picked up a smaller Yagudo with both hands and threw him at another ledge. That Knight fought hard to keep back the Yagudo that had reached the top of the ledge, but like Captain Ai'Vaerr, he was torn apart in a bloody mess. One by one the Knights on the ledges fell. They were helpless, Paiyaku, Taokii, and the remaining Knights had to leave them.
"These tunnels go deeper and deeper." Taokii said.
"There are two entrances and exits to this stronghold, we can find our way to the second and fight our way back to Windurst." Paiyaku said not realizing the danger they were in.
The Yagudo had finally killed off the last Knight on the ledges. Now they could safely charge into the cave and find the remaining Knights.
"I knew it! We're trapped!" Taokii shouted as howls came from all around as they stood in a large room with many tunnels leading to it.
"This is our last stand! We will not fall back, but we won't go down without a fight!" Paiyaku shouted as he held his sword up in the air.
The beastmen came running in, bloodthirsty and vicious, overwhelming numbers that covered the defensive lines of the Knights like a wave crashing on a beach. Paiyaku and Taokii were fighting back-to-back and danced through the moving mass of Beastmen.
"Good fighting Brother! I'll see you in the afterlife!" Taokii shouted as he charged into the fray.
From Windurst, the Medium for the Star Sybil saw a beam of white light explode in crooked lines across the sky at Giddeus. The ground she stood on shook with fierce booms that repeated in an unstable tempo for a while, but suddenly stopped.
"They won…" She said to herself.
A Rahdian Knight wore a full iron armor set and carried a one-shot pistol, a heavy shield bearing the insignia of Windurst with the Rahdian Seal. (Knights kneeling down in a circle around the Star Sybil) They also carried an iron sword and had a Windurst bow with arrows of great varieties. Paiyaku and Taokii, two Tarutaru brothers, founded the Rahdian Knighthood. They had many members from Windurst and other nations were getting interested in the strength of the knights.