Chapter 1: Contemplation
It had been three years since the downfall and ruin of Theiren, and Spence, a knight who was wounded in the battle, sat drinking in a bar with a handful of others. He contemplated what he could have done; or done differently to save his companions each time he came to this bar. The bar was a small wooden structure on the far East side of the town of Ralnir, a town of the Kingdom of Ley'then. It resembled the common bar with swinging double doors, a small stage to the left for performers, and multiple tables along with the bar decorating the rest of the room. Each time he came here, Spence hoped that the answer to his question would be at the bottom of a beer mug, it never was and never would be. A creak was heard as the doors to the bar were pushed open. Bar stools creaked and benches scraped against the floor as the few patrons in the bar turned to look at the oncoming figure. Spence did not have to look to see who it was, the clanking of metal on wood and the jingling of chainmail told him exactly who just walked in; in fact, they had been doing this for weeks. Spence groaned as Gezeiten sat down beside him. He was a tall blueish humanoid creature with dark black eyes with light blue eyes that seemed to constantly be shifting. His hair seemed to only be a few shades darker blue than the rest of his body and the gleaming steel armor he was wearing only highlighted his unnerving coloring. Even though Spence had known him for over 10 years, he was never able to decipher Gezeiten's species. They sat in silence for a few moments, Spence knew what was coming, they had this talk every week and it always went the same.
"It wasn't your fault that the fort was lost," Gezeiten quietly spoke.
Spence turned his stool to face the knight and said with a snarl, "We have the same damn talk every week so for god's sake lay off and leave me to my misery."
Spence knew he shouldn't be angry at Gezeiten as he was only trying to help and it didn't help that he had consumed more than a few drinks before Gezeiten arrived. As he turned back to his drink he felt a firm hand grab his shoulder.
"Oh no you don't!" Gezeiten growled, spinning Spence back around to face him."Enough with the guilt and no more feeling sorry for yourself! It's been three years, get over it! "We are in desperate need of your skills and I can't have you coming back to the Order looking like a drunk!"
"What 'skills' are you talking about Gezeiten? I am less than worthy of going back to the knights after what happened," muttered Spence.
"Oh for god's sake Spence!" bellowed Gezeiten. "You are one of, if not, the best knight, swordsman, and commander in the kingdom. You were the sole reason for our victory in seven battles and you have trained some of the best companies of knights I have ever seen! These accomplishments should not be overshadowed by a stroke of bad luck."
"But I lost the only weapons that could have saved the fort," Spence cried."I had them in my hands, Gezeiten, and I lost them."
"A SHADOW DRAGON ATE THE WEAPONS AFTER KNOCKING YOU DOWN SPENCE!" Gezeiten roared. "It was, in no way, your fault! No one and I mean NO ONE, not even you, can defeat a regular dragon solo, let alone a shadow dragon. "It is laughable how you think you could have taken on a dragon solo and you faced a shadow dragon. The shadow dragon. "You are lucky enough to be alive, so stop being so pitiful," Gezeiten pushed back his barstool and stood up, walking towards the entrance of the bar. "I expect you to be at the barracks tomorrow. We are training a new specialized unit and we need the best of the best to take command of it. Do not let me down."
Gezeiten pushed the doors open and walked into the night while Spence sat looking at his drink and contemplating what he should do.
Chapter 2: Return
As the sun broke the horizon and cast a pale glow on the sleeping town of Ralnir. On the north side of town, in a secluded grassy area, stood the knight's barracks; and Gezeiten stared out at the dirt pathway leading to the town. The barracks was short, long, made almost entirely of stone, and had windows evenly spaced along the side of the building. There were three doorways on each side of the barracks for easy access and wooden support beams kept the angled roof from collapsing. The sun rose higher and the town started to come to life as people started getting ready for work while people started streaming out of the barracks, getting ready for the day's training. Light bounced off the shining steel plates as the instructors donned their armor, and yet, Gezeiten still stared at the pathway, hoping that he would see a figure coming up the pathway. Soon the ringing of blades and thud of shields filled the air and Gezeiten decided that he had failed to persuade Spence to show up and started walking to the training grounds. But then he heard it, a slow thump of metal on dirt, the clink of chainmail, and Gezeiten slowly turned around, grinning like a jackal, to greet the oncoming figure. Spence staggered up the pathway that led to the barracks, the hangover from the night before along with tripping on his way to the barracks was not helping his mood. He rounded the hill and saw Gezeiten grinning from ear to ear. Of course, he was, Spence was grinning a little himself, it was good to be back at what was once his home. He tried to walk a little straighter but only stumbled as he ran into Gezeiten.
"Ah, Spence it's good to see you!" said Gezetien looking Spence up and down. "But you might want to go take a shower before I introduce you to the recruits you will be training. It might also help with your hangover."
"Thanks, Gezetien," said Spence grimacing. "I'll take you up on that offer. Give me a few minutes to clean up and we shall see what these new 'recruits' are all about and why you needed to annoy me enough to come back."
A bellowing laugh escaped Gezetiens's throat. Wiping a tear from his eye Gezetien chuckled. "Oh you'll see! They are a…." Gezetien paused for a moment to think of the right word. "They are a unique bunch and I believe you will enjoy getting to know them."
A unique bunch thought Spence as he headed behind the barracks to the open showers. He didn't want to think too hard about what Gezetien meant. He only hoped that the cold water collected from the rain would help him clear his thoughts and lessen his headache.
About 30 minutes later Spence was dressed in an instructor's uniform, steel plates shining in the sun, and he was walking down a path behind the barracks, hidden by dense foliage and a thicket of trees. He was wondering why such secrecy was needed for a bunch of new knights; it wasn't as if they were dangerous to others. A few minutes later he rounded a corner and ended up in a large open field surrounded by an impenetrable wall of massive oak trees. Immediately he froze, he felt his face go pale and he began to shake with fear, because in the center of the field sat a large serpent. The serpent had dark green scales covering its whole body with small spikes lining its back. It had fangs sticking out of its mouth and two horns on its head that curved backward in a sleek fashion. Its wings had been folded to its side and its eyes were closed, to Spence, it looked to be sleeping. But Spence knew that those creatures could kill at the drop of a pin and never hesitate to torture their prey.
Shaking out of his petrified state, Spence noticed more figures on or around the serpent. On top of the sleeping beast sat a small blue fox that seemed to shimmer in the sun and leave frost wherever it stepped. To the side of the serpent stood a tall man with pale skin and dark grey hair. He wore a long brown tunic with leather pants. He kept shifting about, never staying still. Besides the tall, pale man, was a more normal-sized person who looked almost like Gezetien but more feminine. Light blue eyes against a dark background, pale bluish skin, and long dark blue hair. Lastly, there was a small pink figure almost knee-high, with large blue eyes, a white belly, and pink bear ears. This small figure happened to be riding a shibe but the most confusing part of it all was the large black bushy mustache that the creature had upon its face. After taking all of it in, Spence was approached by Gezetien.
"Sooooooooooooooooooooooo," said Spence as he stood at the edge of the field taking it all in. "Ummmmm, I am assuming these are the recruits?"
"Right you are," declared Gezetien. "This is the new experimental unit."
Spence sighed. "So what do I have to work with?" he asked.
"Ok so, you're probably wondering about the big serpent monster in the middle right? Well, that's Serpent. We don't know its actual name or gender as they are a mythical creature and we haven't encountered anything like it before that wasn't trying to kill us, so we decided to just name it Serpent. It was found at an abandoned temple guarding an ancient statue of what we now know is the Ancient god Bonjourlamort. A deity of creation and magic. Serpent seems to have an above-average intelligence and can use unusual kinds of magic, but, when we asked them how they acquired such powers they kept telling us that 'Bon rewarded them for their devotion to him and whatnot. They also seem to have a split personality disorder but that probably developed after being isolated from any sentient being for so long."
"Okay," said Spence. "What about the small blue fox?"
"Oh that's Furion," replied Gezetien. "We found them a while back after a Pilyot raid. They seem to also have intelligence but do not seem to be able to speak. After some time we also found out that Furion can use variations of ice and water magic which has been extremely helpful to the advancement of science as only monsters can use magic." Gezetien took a breath before continuing. "The small pink creature riding the shibe is Meep. we do not know where Meep came from or what they do but we do know they are highly intelligent and capable of speech. The shibe seems to just be a normal dog and we have no idea how Meep acquired it."
"And the two humanoids?" asked Spence.
"Ah, War'bon and Bea," replied Gezetien. "War'bon applied for this special unit as they seem to be a hybrid of some sort while Bea can use water magic but will tell us nothing about her race, only that she is seeking revenge against the Pilyots."
"Okay then," stated Spence. "Besides the fact that most of them are monsters and any monster is an enemy to the Kingdom of Ley'then, why in God's name dID YOU BRING MONSTERS INTO OUR BORDERS!?!?"
"Spence! Keep your voice down!!" Gezetien hissed. "This was approved by Zephyr and is supposed to remain a secret so don't go blabbering for all to hear! I know you haven't had the best experiences with 'monsters' but trust me on this one, these creatures are alright and we need them for the upcoming mission."
"Why the hell would we need a religious Serpent, a small marshmallow looking creature that's PINK, and a fox that appears to be able to freeze things?" whispered Spence.
"Ohhhhhhh you'll see" replied Gezetien with a vague response and a wave of his hand dismissing the overall question. "I mean, it's better that they're on our side and not the enemies, right?"
"Just because your right doesn't mean I have to agree with you." Spence grumbled angrily, "Let's just get this over with."
Spence huffed as he stomped towards the center of the field with Gezetien trailing behind. The sun bared down from overhead as they approached the figures in the field. Spence noticed how each of the creatures there (humanoids included) seemed a little on edge. He figured that they were not used to seeing other people besides Gezetine and other high-ranking officers.
"ALLLLLLLL RIGHT RECRUITS LINE UP!'' Spence bellowed as he neared the unusual group. With a hasty response the more humanoid ones of the group lined up into a single file facing Spence and Gezetien. The small fox trotted to the far right of the line while the pink Meep creature rode their shibe to the right of the blue fox. The serpent, however, rolled itself over to the far left of the line with a lazy groan.
With the group facing him, Spence said, "Hello there cadets! I am officer Spence and I will be taking command of your merry batch from now on. In this mission-" Spence was about to continue and tell them about the mission they were assigned to but then realized that he did not know the details of the mission. Looking at Gezetien, Spence quickly said, "Commander Gezetien will tell you the details of the mission."
From behind Spence, Gezetien strode up beside him and said, "This task force has been assigned one of the most dangerous assignments in the history of our order. You will be tasked with taking down a monster stronghold in the land Isen'dor."
This caused some of the group to shuffle their feet in nervousness. "I know that may seem like a daunting task but fear not. You are headed to Ravensback, an area on the borders of Isen'dor, not very far in but still in enemy territory. We have information that the dark sorcerer, Raz Yulan, is creating a new hybrid beast in that cursed area and the Knights Order wants this group to….. Dispose of it," Gezetien said.
Gezetien stepped back as he finished his long monologue. It took a few moments before Spence realized that Gezetien was looking at him to address the group.
He quickly stepped forward and said, "Ok. I will now interview each of you individually to determine your strengths and weaknesses," quietly adding, "I do hope this goes faster than Gezetien's speech."
First Spence went to talk with the more human-like creatures of the bunch, Bea and War'bon. He walked them a few yards away from the rest of the group and asked them a few questions to understand their motivation to be in the group and their prior knowledge of fighting. Spence learned that Bea was proficient with a labry, a double-headed battle-ax with usually large heads and a shorter hilt than usual battle axes. It was also lighter than the usual battle-ax making it easier to carry around. After his interview with Bea, he motioned for War'bon to sit down for his interview. He learned that War'bon came into the knights of his own accord. Because of his pale complexion and taller than normal figure, he was mocked at his home village and decided to join the knights to earn glory and respect through combat. War'bon seemed to have a higher than usual knowledge of alchemy and claimed to have basic training with a sword. After finishing his interview with War'bon, Spence realized that he had no idea where these people would stay. He couldn't put them in the barracks with the normal soldiers as that would cause an uproar and they were supposed to be a secret group. Deciding not to think too hard into it, he ordered Bea and War'bon to talk to Gezetien to find out where they were going to be staying and then bring whatever luggage they had with them there.
Spence then strolled back across the field with Bea and War'bon to where the other three, along with Gezetien, were standing. While Bea and War'bon talked to Gezetien about lodging, Spence called for Meep to join him on the far side of the field. From the sitting on the ground, Meep mounted his mighty shibe and rode beside Spence to the designated area.
Once they reached the area, Spence sat down in the grass as Meep dismounted his shibe and then said, "So what do you want to know?"
It was then Spence learned that Meep had a very deep, announcer-like voice. This caused him to jump a little although it went unnoticed by Meep. He wondered how such a small creature could produce such a deep sound but dismissed the thought. He told Meep that he would just be assessing his knowledge on weapons, reasons for becoming a knight, and some other stuff. Meep responded as informative as possible, telling Spence that he was proficient in using a lance and had some knowledge of mythical monsters/creatures. They chatted for a few minutes and afterward Spence got up and told Meep the same thing he told Bea & War'bon. As he was walking back to the center of the field Spence motioned to Gezetien letting him know that he could leave, he could handle the rest himself. Gezetien looked at Spence with some concern but started walking back to the path that would lead him back to the barracks. The setting sun created long shadows from the surrounding trees, plunging the whole field into twilight.
"Ok you two," started Spence. "I have no idea why you were let into the Knights Order but I am hoping that you two have a good reason as to why you can stay in it. I think I get the gist of what the fox can do so it's free to go. But you Serpent. You shall stay here and tell me why in god's name you should be allowed to stay."
Serpent wiggled around, its body constricting and contracting as it slithered up from its resting position. It said with a semi-normal sounding voice, "It's in Bon's name."
"What?" replied Spence bewildered.
Serpent stood a little straighter and replied, "In Bon's name. I am a follower of Bon. Not the fake gods you follow."
Spence was disoriented. He didn't know how to respond to this. He took a moment to think about how to respond to Serpent. "I-" he started, "did not mean to insult your god or you in any way shape, or form." He hoped this would appease Serpent. The serpent stared at him with unblinking eyes.
"You are forgiven Spence and I thank thee for apologizing," Serpent finally responded. "I must say I have heard a lot about you from stories told by travelers. I am a fan of yours, to say the least."
At this point, Spence was just confused. Serpent went from being angry to saying they were a fan of his? He couldn't tell what they meant or were thinking.
"Thank you?" He questioned. There was a lull in the conversation and Spence took the opportunity to ask Serpent why they decided to join the Knights order.
"Oh, we thought that it would be an interesting experience," Serpent replied.
They then paused for a moment, their eyes going from brown to red, "Remember to tell them about the monsters," they hissed.
Their eyes turned back from red to brown. "Oh yes yes the monsters," replied Serpent to themselves. "Our glorious temple was attacked by the Pilyot's and they have desecrated the sacred lands. They must be held accountable and destroyed."
Serpents eyes switched back to red. "Yes yes destroyed, we shall wipe them from existence and hunt down EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM!" Serpent thundered.
Spence started slowly backing away from Serpent, trying not to enrage the creature further than it already was.
"WE SHALL DESTROY ALL WHO HAVE DESECRATED THE TEMPLE OF BON! "WE SHALL SLOWLY TORTURE RAZ YULAN SO THEY CAN PAY FOR THEIR SINS WITH THEIR LIFE!" roared Serpent.
By now Serpent had worked themselves into a berserk rage, thrashing around on the ground and hissing at random. Spence, still backing away slowly, took out a small piece of paper and pencil. He then wrote on the piece of paper the directions to the place where Serpent would be staying while in the Knights Order. He slowly put the paper on the ground and backed away into the trees. No sooner had he done that he saw Serpent gather a large amount of energy in their maw. He had seen this before and knew what was going to happen. With lightning reflexes Spence fell to the ground right as a large beam of lightning fired from Serpent's mouth and vaporized a vast amount of trees in the area leaving only charred, smoking stumps.
With Serpent still thrashing around in the field, Spence decided that the best thing to do would be to leave and hope Serpent saw the note he left. Making sure Serpent wasn't facing the direction where he was, Spence slowly got up from his position and started walking back along the trail out of the woods. He hoped that the bar was still open as he needed a drink to help him contemplate what he experienced and all the information that he had acquired throughout the day. As Spence walked back to the bar, which was where he was located, for the time being, he only hoped that tomorrow would be better.