Chapter 9 – Sir Dallon's Secret

The Arcceonn Liberation Army and the Wyvernian Empire have been at war for over six months now, and the late summer of 1365 gave way to the late winter of 1366. Due to the cold, very little fighting took place during that time save the occasional skirmish near the Steel Mountains, giving each side a much-needed respite. Arcceonn needed this more however, as now they were planning to finally go on the offensive, the question is where and when? It is also during this time that Raynar returned to Port Haven, their temporary capital, for a short time, as did several of his knights. With Sir Damien in charge of the front line's defenses during this time, Raynar could rest assured that he might be able to enjoy this momentary peace…or so it would seem.

As Raynar returned to Port Haven with many of his troops, very few were outside to greet him; he wasn't surprised, given this had so far been the coldest winter Arcceonn had experienced in two centuries, so he understood why everyone was inside. Still, that didn't help the fact that although it at least wasn't snowing, the air was so frigid it was painful to feel it on him; he was lucky that both he and all of the soldiers with him had survived the journey back without too much difficulty.

"Dismissed, you go as you please" Raynar said to his soldiers, allowing them to visit their families, buy a drink at the tavern etcetera. As for him, he stayed in a spare room at a nearby tavern despite the insistence of Sir Gannon that he find a better place to stay; Raynar didn't particularly care for luxuries, he could live without them.

"I hear everything is going well" Gwynn said as she sat next to Raynar on a sofa.

"Y-Yes…quite well" Raynar replied, shivering from the cold slightly. Despite the blanket he had around him, it didn't seem to help, primarily because on the way back it did snow, which then melted and soaked his fur, only to turn into ice when the temperature dropped again; to put it lightly, he was very cold.

"You know Gwynn, I wonder, why do the Wyvernians fight so hard against us?" Raynar said, "I understand their imperialist ambitions, but why so hard?" Gwynn shrugged in response.

"That would be a question to ask my father" Gwynn answered.

"I did, and he didn't know either" Raynar said flatly, "Oh well…"

"Ask and you shall receive your answers…" said a deep voice from out of nowhere.

"What the…I know that voice!" Raynar exclaimed as he jumped to his feet and ran outside to see none other than Sir Dallon Lettos in his full armor waiting for him.

"Of all the times you could have shown up, why did it have to be now?" Raynar muttered.

"I came here for a fight Raynar, and you will accept if you value the lives of your comrades" Dallon said as he summoned Harbinger.

"You are an enemy to Arcceonn's sovereignty" Raynar answered as he summoned Exomere in its broadsword form, "I would have accepted anyways."

"Be careful Raynar" Gwynn muttered, being sure to remain hidden from Dallon's view.

Dallon and Raynar suddenly leapt at each other and slashed, their blades colliding so hard that they were both flung back into nearby buildings. This caused some inside to look out in astonishment at what was happening; they could hardly believe their leader was fighting the Black Knight right before their eyes. Both of them were back up within seconds and attacked each other again, with a similar result, only this time they rebounded back and slashed at each other as they passed at high speed. They each came to a stop and stood their ground as they caught their breath, or in Dallon's case, recharged his energy.

"The fact that you would come here alone just to fight me is quite surprising Dallon" Raynar said in a slightly-taunting tone.

"I won't make the same mistake I made with you eight years ago" Dallon replied with a wide grin just before they both charged at each other again, this time pushing against each other's weapons in an attempt to overpower their foe.

"Why did you kill her? Answer me!" Raynar demanded angrily.

"I do not forgive traitors…" Dallon replied coldly as he pushed harder, Raynar doing the same.

"Traitor? She was anything but treasonous!" Raynar retorted.

"She betrayed me!" Dallon replied, unwittingly allowing a bit of his rage be expressed as he pushed Raynar away, the latter simply back flipping and landing about twenty feet away.

"Betrayed you? What do you mean?" Raynar said as the two circled.

"Your father knew, as did she. I'm surprised she didn't tell you" Dallon answered as he disappeared, popping up on the roof of a tall guard tower. Raynar followed, leaping on to the wall and running up the wall as fast as he could. Dallon fell off the top, traveling in the opposite direction. The two of them approached each other and attacked with their weapons, but Raynar broke through Dallon's defenses and slammed him into the ground.

As Dallon struggled to get back up, Raynar landed just in front of him, and picked up Dallon's own sword with the clear intent of using it against him. Raynar attacked again, slashing Dallon multiple times with both weapons when suddenly he realized what Dallon was about to do. He spun out of the way, narrowly avoiding Dallon's Payback by mere inches before slashing Dallon with Harbinger. Dallon evaded the attack and yanked his sword back out of Raynar's hand before counterstriking. He struck his foe right in the middle of the chest and launched him like a Geodude from a Rhyperior's arm into the side of the tower.

"Well well Raynar, it seems that the better of us has secured victory" Dallon gloated, "It's time to end this insurrection once and for all!"

"I will never give up!" Raynar replied as his Aura flared up, changing from blue to silvery-white. The Aura Overdrive! It thought only his father knew how to do that! Dallon thought when he was viciously attacked by Raynar with Dark Pulse. Dallon was sent reeling backwards, but managed to recover from the attack. Raynar was soon upon him again, and the two of them began hacking away at each other with their weapons, but every time their blades would meet and deflect each other to the side. Suddenly, Raynar landed an upwards slash directly on Dallon's armor, knocking off his helmet from the blow!

Many were now watching them, among them being Sir Damien. He had never seen Dallon without any part of his armor missing, and now he realized upon seeing his former comrade's eyes that he recognized him.

"It's him! I don't believe it!" Damien exclaimed.

"Who?" Gannon asked.

"Remember that Zoroark from years ago? The one with the buster sword?" Damien replied. At this, Gannon's eyes grew wide from shock; he had witnessed the brave knight's final sacrifice, and he found it impossible that one of the greatest knights in history had fallen so far as to become what Dallon was now.

"That explains his animosity towards Raynar…" he muttered, "but why? Why would he stray so far from his convictions as to be beyond all recognition?"

At that moment, the fight became even more violent as Raynar and Dallon began firing Aura Spheres and Shadow Balls at each other rapidly, the stray shots creating massive explosions upon impacting something. Finally, the two of them streaked in for a final exchange of frenzied melee attacks. The two of them attacked with greater speed and power than ever before now, as they now seemed as nothing more than two blurs fighting a battle of Light and Darkness. Finally, Raynar forced Dallon to lower his guard and struck the Gripper pokemon right in the chest, impaling him on Exomere!

Dallon stopped and winced in pain, Harbinger fading away from his hand; he looked at the sword stuck through him and then at Raynar. Much to the latter's surprise, Dallon seemed to not be as much angry as he was feeling regret.

"You won this round…but the next time, I won't just defeat you, I will destroy you!" Dallon shouted furiously as he forced Raynar back and pulled Exomere out of himself before throwing it to the ground. In what seemed to be dark fire, Dallon faded away and disappeared to parts unknown, although most likely Arcceonn City. Raynar stood there for a short time before he collapsed from sheer exhaustion and passed out, the last thing he saw before his vision faded being Sirs Damien and Gannon rushing to his side.

As Raynar awoke, he felt as if his entire body had shattered into pieces; Sir Dallon had severely injured him, but not gravely. He took note of Gwynn, Sir Damien and Sir Gannon sitting around him.

"What the…what happened?" Raynar asked, his memory of the event a little foggy.

"You defeated Sir Dallon, but he escaped" Gannon responded, "I am quite surprised you survived the battle, given his skill."

"He was surprisingly good for a regular knight" Raynar replied.

"He was anything but an ordinary knight when he was alive" Gannon muttered. Raynar picked up on what Gannon muttered and began to think. What does he mean? What is it I don't know that they do? He thought.

"What are you talking about?" Raynar asked.

Gannon sighed and answered, "When he was alive, Sir Dallon Lettos was a Zoroark, and was known the Knight of Justice for his unwavering sense of honor. He had many admirers, but there was one that he had a particular interest in, and unfortunately that would spell his downfall."

Raynar looked at Gwynn in surprise, who looked back at him with equal shock then turned back to Gannon.

"She was an Umbreon named Lily Normand" Gannon continued, "He declared to her that no matter what, he would remain loyal to her, and all he asked in return was the same from her. Unfortunately, the Arcceonn Civil War broke out that year in 1345, and Dallon went to the front with your father, who was at the time a Knight like him; Damien and I were there as well, since the Grand Republic of Wyvernia had dispatched some of their knights as well. In the final battle, we were nearly surrounded, and we couldn't hope to outrun the enemy forces for the life of us, so Sir Dallon told us to go while he stayed behind, ultimately sacrificing his life to save us."

Raynar looked away for a moment; he had to admit, he almost felt bad for Dallon, even if he was his sworn nemesis.

"Now, Lily was distraught by Dallon's death, coupled with the sudden end of the Arcceonn Civil War" Gannon continued, "Your father was selected by a group of knights of the revolutionary army and became the new King of Arcceonn. Despite this achievement, he felt bad for Lily, and tried to help her get over Dallon's loss. Eventually she did, but something else also happened: they fell in love, and three years after the end of the Arcceonn Civil War, in early 1349, they secretly married. Dallon, revived as a Dusknoir somehow found out, and was consumed with anger. He joined the Wyvernian Army and helped Saul ascend to power under the condition he help him obtain revenge against Raynar I and Lily. That is why we invaded your homeland, and is why we fight today; it is all because of Dallon's jealousy and hatred."

At this moment, Raynar really did feel bad for Dallon, and somehow it seemed like it was his fault, because if that hadn't happen, he wouldn't be alive, but Arcceonn would never have been wasted. He was also deeply angered however at Dallon's selfishness, and knew that the only way to win this war was not to defeat Emperor Saul, but Sir Dallon Lettos; the Black Knight must fall!