Part 1: The Beginning
I have to wonder, "How did I get in this situation?" I am staring down the face of a gigantic creature that is literally made of evil and hatred. I have a magical sword, shining armor, and a team ready to fight with me….
You know what? I'm getting ahead of myself. My name is Jay, Jay Fox and I guess I should start at the beginning of my little adventure. I live on my home, Soularis, a nice, mostly peaceful, planet. I am known as a Foxsin, a native, fox-like race of the planet. I never knew my parents; I've grown up with my uncle and cousin, Ray.
I suppose I should begin with the day the Knight came. Started out a normal, boring day, then he appeared. The Black Knight, a warrior of dark legends, had ridden through our village and the next moment, poof, he was gone. It was only after he left that we realized what he was after and almost got. The Omni Crystals, crystals of untold power. Thankfully, he only got one, the others were still hidden.
After that, my uncle said he had something to tell me and that I was ready to know.
"Jay," he began, "Your parents were the last king and queen of Soularis. When you were very young, the Dark King approached the kingdom of Archea. No one knew who or what he was, only what he wanted, to rule. His knights demanded the last of the Fox family to turn themselves over or they would destroy the kingdom. The Dark King was unaware of you, however, so your parents had a plan. They knew that they couldn't lose you so they asked me to care for you while they turned themselves over. Now the Dark King rules over the once proud kingdom of Archea as a tyrant and warmonger. Your parents also wanted me to give this to you when you were ready," he pulled out and old weapon case, when I opened it, I saw an old, put powerful looking sword, "That is the FoxFury, a legendary sword of great power that can only be wielded by a member of the Fox family. It is the sword that was once wielded by the first Fox Knight himself. I have been keeping the blade waiting until you were ready. It has been passed down and carried by each Fox and now it's your turn. Wield the blade and stop the Dark King from recovering the Omni Crystals! Understood?"
"Yes, of course!" I quickly say, still stunned by this revelation.
"You must begin your journey in the Ancient Forests," my uncle instructs, "Now, go!"
That was how my adventure began, but that's not even the full beginning. The true adventure began in the Ancient Forests. It's where I met the first of my team. A small dog, a long way from home, out on a big adventure.
As I approached the forests, I hear something moving in the trees and see something approaching fast. As I ready the FoxFury, I see a small dog and a fearsome creature burst out of the trees. At a closer look, the creature looks more like a half dead soldier from the first War for Soularis. It approaches wielding a demonic, blood-red and ebony battle-axe and wears a full set of jet-black armor that reminds me of the armor once worn by the guardians of Archea. Immediately, the creature attacks me and as we fight, I can see the dog watching me intently. I dodge the first swing and strike at its back, and then I quickly duck to avoid the sweeping attack. A quick roll to the right allows me to avoid losing my tail and I quickly counterattack after a low sweeping attack. I jump over its head and slice at its head, which rolls of slowly, followed by the body kneeling, then collapsing. After I finally cut down the creature, I went to check on the dog. The first thing I notice is the single crystal-blue eye of the dog and the red and golden fir, which looks like fire.
"Poor little guy," I say to the dog, "That thing must have been chasing you for miles. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe".
Then, as I put my hand on the dog's head, I hear a voice in my head, "Thank you".
I quickly realize it was the dog, somehow communicating with me.
"Don't be alarmed, I am here to help you Jay. My name is Evo, I am your protector. I am known as an Archilite". It continues after seeing that I am speechless, "I was sent by the spirit of Arceon, the last Fox Knight, to help you gather what you need to stop the Dark King. Understand?" He asks with a tilt of his head.
Slowly, I nod, "Well now, this is quite a surprise, a talking dog, which only I can hear… I'm not going crazy, am I?"
"No, no! I am connected to you through the FoxFury. Only those who touch the blade can understand me."
"So… what now?"
"Now", Evo states, "Now we find the next Grand Knight."
"The Grand Knights…" I comment in disbelief, "The Knights of legend? The knights led by the great Fox Knight?"
"Yep"
"Well then, let's get a move on. Where to first?"
Evo turns and faces the forests, "In the center of the forests resides the next Knight, the Knight of the Soulfire."
"Well, off we go then."
As we set off towards the center of the forests, I have to wonder, "How did I get myself into this situation?
Meanwhile, in the former kingdom of Archea, a shadowy king watches over the lands, a glowing, blood-red blade at his side. He awaits the return of the Black Knight so he would possess the Omni-Crystals.
He quickly senses his commander enter his throne room, "My lord, the Black Knight wishes to inform you that only one crystal was found, the others are still hidden…", the commander reports.
The Dark King is silent for a few moments then glances at his sword, "There is more."
"Y-yes sir, the FoxFury has awakened, the Fox Knight has returned."
"I thought we captured the last of the Fox family…" the Dark King responds angrily.
"M-my lord, the king and queen hid their only son from us and now he has the sword, and the guardian."
"Well then, stop him and bring him to me, dead or alive. Do not fail me, or the consequences will be dire…"
"Y-yes s-sir, m-my lord Deabohr." The commander stutters as he leaves.
The Dark King stares at his sword, "I thought we had prevented the Fox Knight's return. You said he would not return." As he picks up the sword, a voice in his head replies, His return was unexpected, but this changes nothing he is but a child. He cannot stop you.
"You had better be right, or all of our plans are ruined. Do not worry my king, the boy will fail, he will not find the Knights, your soldiers will see to that.
"Yesssss he cannot win. We will rule… I will rule!" The Dark King settles back into his throne and plots his domination of Soularis.
As we are walking through the forests, I think of something,
"Hey Evo, how will we know the Knights when we see them?"
At this, Evo stops and tilts his head," Hmmm… I'm not sure"
"You don't know?"
"I guess we will know when find them…" at this point, I think I'm crazy, then I remember this is what I've always wanted, adventure.
"Look!" Evo suddenly exclaims, "The clearing, this must be where the knight is".
In the clearing, however, we see no one.
"Umm, Evo? There's no one here."
"Yes I can see that, but there should b- Look out!"
He suddenly pushed me out of the way as something in the trees attempts to ambush us. As I grab the FoxFury, I see it is another of my kind.
"Sorry 'bout that, "she says, "thought you were more Shadow Knights."
"Shadow-Whats?" I ask.
"Shadow Knights, the heralds of the Dark King. Anyways, my name is Rena, you?"
"I'm Jay, and this is Evo, my, uh, protector"
"Your protector? Well now, he doesn't look so dangerous"
"Jay, have her touch the sword" Evo demands, angrily.
As I roll my eyes, I tell Rena, "He has something to show you. Just put you hand on the sword."
With a skeptical look, she places her hand on the hilt, "Now then Rena," Evo begins, "I'm more dangerous then you know!" "
What the-!" Rena exclaims, releasing the FoxFury, He just… talked!"
Calmly, I put the sword away, "Yeah, he'll do that, but only to those who touch the sword. He's still yelling at you now, in fact, just you can't understand him," I have to shout near the end because Evo is still barking at her.
"OK, Evo, calm down! Are you done?"
"Yes… yes I'm done. Is she the Knight that we seek?" It's then that I remember why we're out here.
"Oh yeah, Rena, do you know about something…" I stop short because her necklace is glowing.
"Umm, is that supposed to happen?" I can see that Rena is as confused as I am.
Finally, Evo exclaims, "She is the Knight that we seek, the Knight of SoulFire."
"Rena is one of the Grand Knights?" I asked very confused.
"Wait, I am?" Rena asks equally confused, "I'm one of the Grand Knights of Legend?"
"Yes," I tell her, "You are the Knight of SoulFire. So I guess you are joining us on our little adventure…" "Really? Awesome, let's go!"
As I look at Evo, I ask, "Well then, Where to next?"
Evo looks towards the East, "The Grasslands, the next Knight awaits".
As we approach the Grasslands, Rena asks, "How will we know this Knight?"
At that, both Evo and I glance at each other, then at her, "We don't know, we just will. We didn't know you were a Knight till we met you." The moment we enter the Grasslands, I see several dust clouds moving rapidly across the land. I recognize these as Hedgin, the speedy, hedgehog-like people of the Grasslands.
"Well, this isn't going to be easy," I comment dryly, "How do we talk to them without running into them?"
All of a sudden, I hear someone shout, "Incoming!" just as one of the Hedgin run into me.
As we both get up, he quickly apologizes, "Sorry 'bout that, hard to stop at these speeds. Anyways," he sticks out his hand, "I'm Sam. Who are you?"
"I'm Jay. This is Rena and Evo. We came out here looking for someone."
"Really? Who's that?"
"The Knight of the Wind", Rena states.
"The Knight of the Wind? You mean one of the Knights of Legend, meant to defeat the Dark King?"
"Pretty much" I reply. At that moment, another Hedgin stops next to Sam.
"Hey, I'm Boomer, Sam's brother. What's up?" Before I can answer, both of their necklaces start to glow similarly to Rena's.
"Umm Evo, I think we found two Knights"
"Remarkable, Sam is the Knight of the Wind and Boomer is the Knight of the Storm" Evo replies, amazed.
After telling them what Evo said, I tell them, "Boomer, Sam, we need you two to join us on our adventure to find all of the Knights. What do you say?"
Both of them looked at each other, grinned, and replied in unison, "We're in!"
"Ok Evo, where to next?" I ask.
After a few moments, Evo responds, "Strangely enough, back to your village Jay" Confused we set out for my home.
As we head for my home, Sam and Boomer ask me about Evo and the FoxFury.
"The FoxFury allows me to understand what Evo says and allows us to find the Knights. Speaking of which," I turn to Evo, "which Knight is next?"
Evo calmly responds, "The Knight of the Dragon." I can't wait to see who in my village could possibly be this Knight.
As we approach, my uncle greets us, "Jay, you're back. Is your adventure over already?"
"No uncle, the next Knight is here."
"Really?" My uncle asks with a knowing look, "I think I know who it is, come with me."
As he led us to our home, I see Ray running up to us, "Hail, the great and mighty hero!" he laughs, "Good to see you again, it's been two weeks"
Before I can say anything, my uncle interrupts, "Ray, I'm sorry I didn't tell you this, you are the next Knight."
All of us look at my uncle like he's grown a second head. "Wait, Ray is the Knight of the Dragon?"
"Yes, he is to join you on your journey. Are you ready Ray?"
"Always ready for adventure, let's go!"
I quickly interject, "Perhaps we should rest for the night before continuing. Do you mind uncle?"
"Of course not. You'll all need your rest before heading to the Forest Shrine."
As we head inside I think to ask, "Uncle, how do you know all this anyways?"
My uncle slowly turns to me, "Jay, I have guarded that sword my whole life. I also asked the spirit of the last Fox Knight to send the Guardian."
I watch him walk away, even more confused.
Later that night, I awoke with a strange feeling. Something was missing. As I look around, I notice that Rena is missing and the door is open. I make my way outside to see Rena sitting up in an old oak in the center of the village. As I quietly make my way to her, I notice she seems to be lost in thought.
"May I come up?" I ask her softly.
She looks down at me and smiles, "Sure come on up". I make my way up to see she has made room.
"Can't sleep?" I ask.
"No, too much going on…"
I start to relax a bit and try and get her to talk, "You know, I always used to come up here in the past. It was my private spot where I wouldn't be disturbed. A nice place to think… or talk. Rena, what's bothering you?"
She closes her eyes and I think I did something wrong.
Then she speaks, "So much has happened since that day in the Forests. I never would have thought any of this stuff about the Knights true."
"Rena, I've been thinking about that day. The way you tried to fall on me, it seemed like you knew what I was, you never drew a weapon or even tried to attack. What were you really doing up there?"
"I was trying to get your attention." She says after a while, "I noticed you fight that Shadow Knight and save Evo, I wanted to know who you were."
"So you attempted to fall on me, making it look like an accident."
"Hmm, you figured that out pretty quickly."
"That's just who I am, I'm a problem solver and a team leader. I always defend my friends and anyone who needs help."
This is followed by a few minutes of silence, and then she speaks up, "I suppose we should go inside, right?"
"No, I don't mind being out here, let's stay a little longer."
We both don't realize that we have fallen asleep until morning, when we hear something moving in the tree. We both wake up to see a Nacturn, the plant-like people of Soularis, moving towards us.
"Hi, I'm Lilli, who are you?"
We both look at each other, then quickly look away in embarrassment, "Umm hi Lilli, I'm Jay and this is Rena… how long have you been sitting there?"
"Only a few minutes, I notice something moving in this tree so I went to see what it was."
Awkwardly, Rena and I climb down to see Evo approaching with the FoxFury on his back. I notice the sword itself is glowing again. "Jay, another Knight is near. It's her" he says looking at Lilli.
"Wow, another Knight already. Rena, Lilli is the next Knight."
"Really, I'm one of the Knights of Legend?" Lilli asks.
"Which one?" Rena asks.
"The Knight of Nature. I was expecting this one at the Shrine. Now I am unsure which is there." Evo responds.
I quickly relay Evo's message to Rena and Lilli in time to see everyone else approach.
"Jay! Rena! There you two are!" Ray shouts, "We wondered where you two went."
Before I respond, I hear some calling, "Jay! There you are!"
I turn to see Cooper, my raccoon-like, Ractain, friend.
"Hey Cooper, good to see you again."
I quickly introduce Cooper to everyone and when he learns where we are going quickly asks, "Can I come?"
I look at Evo and he replies, "He can come, but he is not to be one of the Knights."
"Ok Cooper, you can come with us. Let's go!"
As I waved good-bye to my uncle, we set out towards the Forest Shine in the Ancient Jungles.
As we are heading out to the Ancient Jungles, I sense that something isn't right. Immediately I pull out the FoxFury and aim it at an ebony armored knight.
"You fox!" he shouts at me, "By order of the Dark King, you are to surrender yourself and the sword!"
"If the Dark King wants me, he's gunna have to do better then you to stop me." I say with a smirk.
The knight begins to laugh in a low, deep voice, "You don't know what I am. I am Kelguar, the Twilight Commander, leader of the Shadow Knights, and I have come for you fox."
"Well then, let's dance." I say, lunging at him.
As our swords collide and we stare each other down, I notice the others watching the fight with no way to help.
"You are a foolish child if you think you can beat me. I will keep you just barely alive for the Lord." He shouts at me.
As we separate, I feel a strange sensation in me and I notice things I didn't before. He's too slow; all he can do is block to the left. So I'll attack to the right. I think to myself. I start sidestepping to his right, attacking at every opportunity. The next time our swords cross, he is on his knees, barely defending himself.
After a quick maneuver, I quickly disarm him at hold the FoxFury to his neck. "Tell your master what has happened here, that he shouldn't underestimate me. I leave you alive for now, but should you attack any of us again… I will not hesitate."
As I pull the sword away, he slowly rises and backs away. At the same time, everyone else approaches.
"Whoa! Where did that come from? I've never seen you do that before." Ray exclaims.
As I put the FoxFury away, I respond, "I'm not sure what happened, I just knew what to do. It's like the FoxFury guided itself to victory."
Evo nods at this, "You are right Jay. The sword is alive and can fight, but only if wielded by the right warrior."
"So who was that guy anyways?" Cooper asks.
"He called himself, Kelguar, the Twilight Commander. I've heard of him, but never thought I would face him."
Evo gets a worried look on his face,
"If the Dark King sent his commander, he must really want to stop you. We need to hurry and get the final four Knights."
"Right, off to the Shrine. Let's get going, before more come."
At the Shrine, I notice nine cases and ten chests, each with a specific symbol on them.
"Ah, the Spirit of Arc has sent help. Each case and chest with matching seals goes to each Knight. All you must do is find each of you symbols."
Each symbol seems to match each person, except for Cooper, except for four unknown symbols.
"Those four cannot be opened yet, not until the matching Knights are found. For now, they will stay here."
Evo instructs. I notice that only a chest has my family seal, then I realize that my uncle had the case.
"Each seal can only be broken by the correct Knight. A simple touch to the seal will do."
Evo comments. As each seal is broken, a sword and gauntlet are found in each container.
"A gauntlet?" I ask, "Why not a full set of armor?"
"The armor will reveal itself as each of your true potentials reveals themselves" Evo replies.
As we are equipping ourselves, two figures approach. I see they are both Tigrand, the cat-like race of the Jungles.
"Hey, I'm Kori," the black furred one begins, then gestures to the white furred one, "and this is Tora. What are you doing here?"
"Hi, I'm Jay. We are here looking for the next…" I drift off because two of the chests and two of the cases are glowing.
"I think we found the next two." "Yes, the Twin Knights of Day and Night. Brother and sister. They are to join us." Evo says.
I quickly relay Evo's message to Kori and Tora, "Wow, we are two of the Knight of Legend. Well then, shall we be off." Kori says.
I turn to Evo, "Where to know?"
Evo seems to think about it, and then responds, "To the Crystal Caverns, the Knight of Thunder awaits us there."
"Ok then, off to the Crystal Caverns" I tell the others.
Meanwhile, back at the throne of the Dark King, the Twilight Commander approaches slowly,
"M-my lord, he was stronger than we expected, he got the better of me. With a few knights behind me though, next time will be different, we will-"
"Silence!"
Immediately, Kelguar falls silent,
"You have failed me commander, your punishment is death…" the Dark King shouts as he stands and picks up his sword.
"No sir, please, just one more chance…"
Before the commander can continue his pleas, the accursed blade cuts clean through him. As his body collapses, a dark red mist-like substance leaves his form and enters the blade. He was useless, his soul barely feeds me.
"The fox is getting farther then you predicted; my greatest commander couldn't stop him."
Send your newest soldier, the demon will quickly see to the fox's death. "Very well, send him in…"
As we head towards the Caverns, Kori and Tora question me about Evo.
"Evo is a, well I guess you can say, magical animal sent to guide and protect us by the last Fox Knight. The only reason I can understand him and you can't is because he is connected to me through the FoxFury."
I explain, showing them the sword. After a few hours, the Caverns come into view. However, as we approach them, multiple Shadow Knights exit the Caverns and attack us. "Cccccease them," one of them shout, "For the glory of the Dark King."
Quickly, we all brandish our swords and fight back. As we fight, we can tell that all of the swords seem to know what to do; we just need to guide them. The leader of the group's sword clashes against mine and we have a stare down.
"You cannot win, fox. We will bring you before our massster."
"He he, it's funny that you think you'll win. I'm clearly winning this face-off." I reply with a smirk.
"The commander may not have been able to stop you, but I am stronger than him. I am Xarcuvis, the right hand of the master, and I will crush you!" He's faster than the commander, stronger too. He has to have some kind of weakness, though. Throughout the fight, I am looking for some kind of weakness. Then I notice He's overconfident. He is not paying attention to his surroundings. I quickly lure him into the Caverns and, as he attempts another lunge at me, I duck, roll and slam my sword into the wall. The result is exactly what I planned for; the force of the blade shook the Caverns, causing the stalactites on the ceiling to collapse on top of him. I then sheath my sword and go join the others. I see that the other knights have already been dealt with.
"Well now, that was easy." I comment, "Shall we continue?"
After a quick rest, we continue into the Caverns and I notice some Rocktat, the reptilian race of the Caverns, watching us. A few approach use and the elder one of the group stops us, "Did you cause all that commotion? One of the scouts noticed the fighting."
I step up to him and respond, "We were merely defending ourselves, and those knights attacked us first. We meant no harm to any of you." Before I can continue, the elder interrupts,
"I know why you're here, fox. You seek the Knight of Thunder. Your uncle informed me of it. Now we will help you find this Knight."
"My uncle informed you? How?"
The elder chuckles, "Your uncle is an old friend and a great traveler. He's been here a few times. Now then, how do you intend to find the Knight?" I pull out the FoxFury, close my eyes, and concentrate.
"Hmmm, it's you." I say to a young Rocktat, "You are the Knight of Thunder."
He looks at me dumbfounded, and then responds, "I'm Vee and I guess I'm supposed to join you now."
"Is there a problem?" the elder asks.
"No, no. It's just unbelievable; I'm just trying to make sense of this."
Immediately I laugh at his comment, "Trust me, Vee, I'm still getting used to it. Now then," I throw him the bag containing, his containers, "Suit up. Evo, where to now?"
Evo ponders this, then says, "The Statue of the First Fox Knight, The Knight of Earth awaits."
"Ok then," I turn to the rest of the team, "Off to the Statue of the First Fox Knight. First, though, we should rest for the night. We don't want to run into any more Shadow Knights. Do you mind…?"
The elder looks at me and says, "I am Argon and yes, you may stay for the night."
"Again, my knights fall so easily, what would you have me do, now?" the Dark King shouts at his sword. Send the one you know he fears, the Black Knight. He is your greatest knight, but this time; send with him your best knights. They will stop the fox, he cannot win.
"No mistake this time FaalSilAl, if the Black Knight can't beat him, I will go after this annoyance myself!"
That night, I once again awaken to see that Rena is gone. I head outside to see she has climbed into a nearby tree.
"Problems?" I ask her, climbing up.
"No, it's just that, what if, even after all of this, we can't stop the Dark King?"
"Don't think about that, we can't lose because we are a team and we stick together."
"But, what if we make a mistake?"
"You can't go through life without making a few mistakes. It's like I say, live and learn."
After a few moments of silence in the dark, I can feel her move next to me and fall asleep. It's a good think she can't see me, I think as I start to drift off.
I wake up to someone softly breathing next to me and I see that Rena is still asleep, a bit closer than she was last night. Carefully, I try to move but I accidently wake her up.
"Mornin' Jay, sleep well?"
"Yeah, just fine, you?"
After a brief moment, we both climb down and join the rest of the group.
"Again? Jezz Jay, can't you ever sleep inside?" Ray asks rudely.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just wanted some fresh air. Can we get going soon?"
As we set off, later that morning, we notice something. Everyone else can now understand Evo for some reason.
"My guess is that the swords allow for translation." Evo comments. "Well, at least I don't have to translate for you anymore." I remark. As we approach Legends Peak, we run into some trouble.
"Well, well, well, we meet again fox," the Black Knight himself says, waiting for us at the statue, "You're uncle wouldn't tell me where the other crystals were, so I went looking for the sword. Hand it over, NOW!"
I unsheathe the FoxFury, shouting, "Never, you will regret ever trying to stop me. Ready team?"
In unison, the rest of the group takes out their weapons and say, "We're ready when you are." As my sword clashes with the Knight's sword, he begins to taunt me.
"Weak, pathetic fool, you cannot stop me. I killed the last Fox Knight, I captured the last king and queen, and I will stop you!"
I can't beat him alone, I glance at the others, it's a good thing I'm not alone.
I turn to my team and shout, "Everyone, with me. Attack him all together!" Together, we attack the Black Knight and begin to overpower him with constant attacks.
Slowly he begins to fall and before I can finish him off, he laughs, "You didn't think it would be that easy, no, I was merely testing your strength. We will meet again young knights and next time, I won't hold back." Then, he casts a spell that teleports him away.
"Wow that was tough." Ray comments.
"Yeah, the Dark King knows that we are getting stronger, so he is sending is best to stop us. We have to be ready for anything. Now," I pause to look around, "where is the final Knight?"
Before anyone can answer, a voice comes from behind the statue,
"Is he gone?" Slowly, a Bunyip, the rabbit-like people of Soularis, comes out of hiding.
"Yeah, he's gone. Who are you?" Rena asks him.
"I am Terri; I came here looking for a way to protect my people from the Black Knight and his master."
"Evo is he the one." Slowly, the final case begins to glow. "Yes, he is the final Knight."
"Well then Terri, looks like you're going to get what you came for. You are to join us on a quest to stop the Dark King. What do you say?"
"Of course I will come, anything to help my people."
"Well Evo, now that we have all of the Knights, now what?" Evo sits by the statue and responds,
"Now you must all unlock the true potentials of your weapons and armor. To do this, you must all take out your swords and point them all together in a central position."
As we do this, I feel a strange feeling inside the FoxFury, almost as if it has been waiting for this.
"Good, now together you must all say the oath of the Grand Knights of Soularis. Only then will the power be unlocked. The oath is; 'As one, we fight. Together, we stop the Darkness. For we are the Knights of Legend. Friends together, Knights forever.' Ready?"
"Yes," we all say together. As one, we repeat the oath;
"As one, we fight. Together,
We stop the Darkness,
For we are the Knights of Legend,
Friends together, Knights forever!"
Immediately, our gauntlets and swords begin to glow and armor starts to form around each of us. The armor spreads across us and covers each of us in unique armor, bearing each of our seals. Finally, the helmets form and the transformations are complete.
"Wow… that was awesome," I say after a few seconds, checking out my new armor.
"So this is the armor of the Knights of Legend?"
"Yes, now you must complete on final test. We must journey to the shrines of the Knights and seek out the Omni Crystals. Are you all ready?" Evo asks.
I look at the others and I can tell we all agree, "Yes, we are ready"
"Very well, our first stop is the Tatarus Crater. Let's go."
As we set off towards the Crater, I feel a shift in the wind and I can tell adventure awaits us.
Before we can continue however, we hear a voice that chills us to the core.
"Where do you think you're going fox?"
I turn around to see what at first appears to be another Shadow Knight. As I look closer, however, I can tell he is more powerful than any we have faced before and he is wielding a large, crimson blade that appears to be studying us. Then, he speaks.
"I am Deabohr, the Dark King of Nightmares, and I have come to end this annoyance once and for all. Prepare to Die!"
As he lunges at me, I quickly parry then call to the others, "Come on, we can beat him!"
We each take turns blocking and slashing at him one by one. We could see he was getting irritated though and finally he shouted, "ENOUGH!" then he cast some sort of spell that paralyzed the others, leaving one me to stop him.
"Your tale shall end here foolish knight"
I surprise him however by actually laughing a bit, "I don't think so; my story won't end until I stop moving. After all, I am the Fox Knight and it is my destiny to defeat you Deabohr. Let's finish this."
I quickly duck low underneath a sweeping slash from him, then attack from behind before jumping over his head. He manages a glancing blow, but the armor protects me from the attack. Then, he begins taunting me.
"I know who you are; you are the son of the king and queen of Soularis. I had thought that I had ended the Fox line, but they had hidden you away. Oh how you should have heard them, they were pathetic. Eventually I got tired of their wining so I fed their souls to FaalSilAl, my blade. Now it shall feed on your soul as well."
As we continue to fight, I feel the fear and anger slipping away, being replaced by bravery and justice.
"You have caused so much pain and hurt to this world, well no more." I quickly jump away from another slash and, amazingly, begin to rise into the air. "It's over now." As I raise my blade towards the sky, I can feel the power of the FoxFury and the trusts of my friends empower me for this attack. Before I unleash this attack, I say a single line, "Prepare for Justice!" then I unleash what I would later call the Judgment Strike. As he is blasted and weakened by the attack, I quickly charge at him, cutting off his sword arm and finally beheading him. As his head rolls away, I notice the others getting up, the spell lifted upon the King's death.
"Evo, what was that?"
"That, Jay, was the power of the Fox Knight. Each Knight has a different power and signature attack, you just discovered yours."
"With the Dark King dead, is the planet finally safe?"
"Not quite," Evo looks out towards the horizon, "The crystals must still be found. Only then is the journey complete. Let's go, for real this time."
Unknown to us, as we have long left the body of Deabohr, a strange energy surrounds the blade and a voice can be heard, Foolish, foolish Deabohr, now you've gotten yourself killed. No matter, you will still serve me. Then, the sword fuses itself to Deabohr's lifeless corpse, becoming a new arm. The head soon begins to roll back to the body, finally reattaching itself. The King's eyes open and he lives once more, only more powerful than ever.
"Thank you, my master. The Knights will be stopped, but now, we do it your way."
He rises and slowly heads back to his castle, FaalSilAl already planning the next phase of the plan.
