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A Helm of Gold
The helm belonged to one whose wish was to be always in the center, to stand as a shield between the righteous and the evil, a sentinel to defend civilization from the monsters that plagued it. To this end she donned a suit of golden plate, a blood red surcoat draped over it. The helm itself was of the full face variety, though the lower half could be moved upward via a set of hinges. From around the upper portion of the helm rose a series of simple spikes, giving the impression of a crown. On her left arm sat a small, circular shield, and that same hand was wrapped around the sheath of a rather peculiar sword. At first glance, one would take it for a normal sword. However, on closer inspection, one might notice that only one side of the blade contained a cross guard, and that that cross guard was actually the clip of a gun. The hilt of the sword even had a trigger mechanism attached just below the clip, and was shaped more like a pistol grip than a sword hilt.
Thusly attired and armed, the knight made her way through a field of desolation, charred wood and burning ash crunching under the heels of her boots. Still burning trees surrounded the knight, casting ghastly, tortured reflections off her armor. Occasionally, a burning ember would drift down and land on the knight, and a soft pulse of golden light would ripple away from the point of impact, dissipating as it went. As the knight walked through the burning forest, she began to detect a distant sound. Straining to make it out, she soon recognized a demented noise somewhere between the scream of a bird of prey and the roar of a big cat. From the variety of sounds, she surmised that the number was rather large, and from the increasing volume, that they were coming closer. With practiced ease, her right hand dropped to the hilt of her sword, her left hand holding that sheathe in place as she drew out the blade. It was a double edged longsword, split down the middle by a rifle barrel. She held the blade down at her side, waiting calmly.
She did not have long to wait, before the first of the creatures came into sight through the trees. A nightmarish beast, with the body of a panther and the wings of a giant raven; a griffon. Its fur and feathers were blacker than a moonless night, broken only by a series of white, bone-like formations that covered its body. None of these formations more prominent than the almost mask-like formation that completely covered its bird-like head, looking like a second skull. Burning, red and gold eyes glared out at her, silently whispering of rage and blood-lust, hatred and madness. A small smile graced the knight's lips at the sight. No matter how much she hated the creatures, she could not help but be reminded of her master whenever she saw one. Raising her sword calmly, she squeezed the trigger and was rewarded with a staccato burst of bullets flying from the barrel of her blade. Racing forth, the bullets struck true, shattering the mask and piercing deep into the monster's brain. With hardly a sound, the beast fell from the sky, turning to smoke before it even hit the ground. Her victory was short lived, however, as many more of the beasts burst through the trees, some running along the ground, while others swooped down from the sky. Settling into a stronger stance, began to swing her blade, firing burst after burst, turning in short circles, felling foe after foe. All too soon, however, her clip ran out, forcing her to reload. Doing so took no more than a handful of heartbeats, but it was enough for the griffons to close in. The first came from above, dive bombing her with claws outstretched. The knight raised her left arm, the small shield spiraling outward, nautilus-like, into a massive targe, a pair of crimson wings spread wide on the face. The griffon slammed into the shield, and though the force was enough to drive her feet a few inches into the ground, she did not waver in her stance. Thrusting her blade up, she impaled the beast through the heart. The next attack came from behind. She did not bother to block this one, side-stepping and piercing the griffon through the eye with her sword. When two more came from either side, she blocked one with her shield while the other, which attempted to bite her, found itself clamping down on her sword instead. With merciless force, the blade was forced in farther still, shearing away its jaw and separating the upper and lower halves of its head. Pushing back with her shield, she threw the other griffon away, turning to face more pressing threats. She decided it was about time to go on the offensive, and charged the remaining griffons, swinging her sword with a grace born of years of practice. Hacking, chopping, and stabbing, her armor soon ran red with blood. Luckily, even their blood turned to smoke before too long, so there wasn't too much concern regarding stains. Soon, there were only a handful left, but the knight was breathing heavily. The weight of her armor finally starting to slow her down. It was then that she felt a dull pressure on her shoulder as a griffon attempted to bite her from behind. However, the beast couldn't even scratch her armor plating, and she wasn't too concerned about it. She simply drove her sword into the ground and grabbed the griffon by the back of the neck, flipping it bodily over her shoulder. As it hit the ground, she lifted one leg and brought it down on the creatures head, crushing it. Picking up her blade, she waded back into the fray, firing the occasional burst as she went.
Eventually, there were no more griffons to defeat, and she stood in the center of a ring of already dissolving corpses, stretching her tired muscles. When she heard a familiar hum behind her, she did not even need to turn around to know that she would find a red and black portal when she looked. Sliding her sword back into its sheath, she passed through the portal, finding herself in a dimly lit antechamber. She knew from experience that the room contained no exterior doors, and could only be entered through the portals. The room was bare, save for a single ebony table, upon which sat a red and white Grimm mask. The knight smiled, it had been too long since she had a chance to talk with her master. Reaching up, she unlatched the clasps of her helmet, sliding it up and off, revealing yellow hair which did not quite reach her shoulders, and eyes a burning gold. Placing her helm next to the Grimm mask, she passed through the door at the end of the hall, deeper into the compound.