Mystery Knight
I saw the sword first-off. My first impression was that the blade was as tall as the boy was tall. Considering that he was about six foot tall, that's no small amount. Then I noticed that the blade was only about about half to two thirds his height. I fancied then, that this sword was the sharpest I'd ever seen. I later learned that he also had in his possession, a green- glowing one that was not only longer, and sharper, but also had its own eerie aura.
All the same, this ridiculously slender boy was flashing it about, not only as if he knew what he was up to, but also as if it weighed nothing. This was the first of many improbable- impossibilities he had that I noticed.
Right along with that, I noticed that, although he'd seemed oblivious to our presence, as we reached him, he turned and acknowledged our existence with a wry grin.
"Don' tell me" he spoke with a lilting accent, "Th' villagers be afraid 'o me, swingin' this stick about? An' you're all here t' tell me I'm in trouble, eh?"
"Sort of," our commander hesitated, "They think you are an assassin, a mercenary, or a bounty hunter out to kill someone."
"Or worse," the other commander quipped, "All three."
The boy smiled. It wasn't much of a smile, and it gave me the feeling that he felt able to take anything any of us could dish out. This rather infuriated me, and without thinking, I growled, "Impudent little jack, isn't he?"
The commanders looked at one another and grinned, "Takes one to know one, doesn't it?" the blue knight leader looked at me, "If you think you can, why don't you try taking him on?"
"Oh, bravo," the lad clapped sarcastically, "Send an underling. If I led a bunch o' warriors, I'd not send them t' do something I'd ne'er done, or were t' scared to."
"Why you-," the red knight leader's temper was inflamed, as the lad had intended, so Sir Brinz swung at him. Sir Brinz swung wildly at the boy, whose only response was to jump back. Then the swings became more moderated, calmer, and more deliberated.
"Ho," the boy finally began fighting back, "Good t' see y' aren't just a hot head. Too bad your friend's a coward." which had the desired effect of rankling Sir Trenz to the point that he also began fighting. For a second or two, Sir Brinz looked as though he might step back, but the boy drew a second sword, the green one, and began to fight them equally.
He almost seemed to be two people. One knight would swing, and he'd block it. The other would slash and he'd deflect it. Both would attack and he'd arrange his blades to cause theirs to bounce off each other. None of us had ever seen blade work like that. Not even among the White Knights.
As though thinking of them conjured them, they and their Commander, Sir Poratev, arrived in the small- and getting smaller- clearing in the forest behind the village. Sir Poratev not only led the White Knights but the whole Knightdom overall as well. Unfortunately, he didn't see much battle anymore, so he'd filled out accordingly.
It didn't take long for Sir Poratev to assess the situation, "Camus! Miklotov! Stand down!" The two immediately jumped away from the fight. The boy sheathed both his weapons in one smooth motion, as though there had never been people fighting him. Even a few White Knights were impressed, and they're all cynics about swordplay.
"I can't believe that the two of you, supposedly the best, could not defeat a mere child one- on- one, much less two- on- one," he began dressing them down, "And I find it hard to believe that you two deserve your ranks if your tempers are so easily combusted. If not for the fact that I cannot find soldiers that value their honor so much, you would be stripped of your ranks as Knights!"
Both of them paled, then looked to the ground. At this point, the boy stepped forward and proved that his intentions were not malignant toward us Knights,at least, "Whoever y' are, these 'knights' as y' called them, were only defendin' their honor, an' the honor o' all th' other knights. They were investigatin' my practice, and I picked on them a tad much."
"Well," Sir Poratev seemed a bit taken back, "Well."
"Just what were you up to?" Sir Trenz asked.
"I was merely practicin'," the boy shook his head, "I'm a bit rusty. I'm also headed for a 'Harmonia.' I was told that t'was North o' Highland, which was North o' Jowston. I came from Rune."
"Ah," Sir Poratev nodded, "the Grasslands. It explains the accent."
"No, Rune," the boy argued, "I never heard of any 'Grasslands.'"
"People 'round here consider Rune t' be the Grasslands," Sir Brinz drawled.
"Don' seem too happy 'bout that," the boy grinned and shook his head, letting the reddish- brown hair flop around his face. At that point, Sir Brinz gave him an odd look, then smiled quietly and laughed.
"Long time, no see, Max," he shook his head as well, "Why are you going to Harmonia?"
"Well," the boy flung his arms high into the air, then behind his head, "I think Harmonia'll need my help."
"If that's not a leadin' statement," Sir Brinz looked to Sir Poratev, "Do you think he'd be of any use?"
"Hmmph," Poratev assessed the boy- young man- carefully, "How long have you known him, Camus?"
"I met him about a year before I came here," he thought for a minute, "I always thought of him as stodgy. Too cautious, too patient, too eager to learn."
"Sounds perfectly fine to me," Poratev offered, "Would you mind being a trainer?"
"Train these chaps t' sit, beg, or roll over?" Max didn't seem to understand, but was actually needling the older man, "I think I could teach a few of them. Mind you, I choose who I teach, and I'm not stayin' forever."
"Miklotov," Poratev ordered, "For now, he'll take on the status of a Blue Knight. I think he may give you a run for your money."
"Just my luck," Sir Trenz said under his breath, then, "Yes, sir. Is it safe to assume we'll be returning to Rockaxe now, sir?"
"Quite," Sir Poratev agreed, casting a leery look about him, "But don't all of you rush to mess at once. I'd like for this lad to assess you all, decide who he'll tutor, then I wish to have a conference with him."
"Sir," all of us saluted, standing completely straight, except for the youngster.
I still haven't heard his last name, not from Sir Brinz, or him, and he left about a month after he came. He trained three men, one in each sect of Knights: Sir Brinz, Sir Trenz, and Sir Baduin, a new recruit who quickly won Poratev's favor and became his second in command. We've none of us, seen him since. That is really quite eerie.
I saw the sword first-off. My first impression was that the blade was as tall as the boy was tall. Considering that he was about six foot tall, that's no small amount. Then I noticed that the blade was only about about half to two thirds his height. I fancied then, that this sword was the sharpest I'd ever seen. I later learned that he also had in his possession, a green- glowing one that was not only longer, and sharper, but also had its own eerie aura.
All the same, this ridiculously slender boy was flashing it about, not only as if he knew what he was up to, but also as if it weighed nothing. This was the first of many improbable- impossibilities he had that I noticed.
Right along with that, I noticed that, although he'd seemed oblivious to our presence, as we reached him, he turned and acknowledged our existence with a wry grin.
"Don' tell me" he spoke with a lilting accent, "Th' villagers be afraid 'o me, swingin' this stick about? An' you're all here t' tell me I'm in trouble, eh?"
"Sort of," our commander hesitated, "They think you are an assassin, a mercenary, or a bounty hunter out to kill someone."
"Or worse," the other commander quipped, "All three."
The boy smiled. It wasn't much of a smile, and it gave me the feeling that he felt able to take anything any of us could dish out. This rather infuriated me, and without thinking, I growled, "Impudent little jack, isn't he?"
The commanders looked at one another and grinned, "Takes one to know one, doesn't it?" the blue knight leader looked at me, "If you think you can, why don't you try taking him on?"
"Oh, bravo," the lad clapped sarcastically, "Send an underling. If I led a bunch o' warriors, I'd not send them t' do something I'd ne'er done, or were t' scared to."
"Why you-," the red knight leader's temper was inflamed, as the lad had intended, so Sir Brinz swung at him. Sir Brinz swung wildly at the boy, whose only response was to jump back. Then the swings became more moderated, calmer, and more deliberated.
"Ho," the boy finally began fighting back, "Good t' see y' aren't just a hot head. Too bad your friend's a coward." which had the desired effect of rankling Sir Trenz to the point that he also began fighting. For a second or two, Sir Brinz looked as though he might step back, but the boy drew a second sword, the green one, and began to fight them equally.
He almost seemed to be two people. One knight would swing, and he'd block it. The other would slash and he'd deflect it. Both would attack and he'd arrange his blades to cause theirs to bounce off each other. None of us had ever seen blade work like that. Not even among the White Knights.
As though thinking of them conjured them, they and their Commander, Sir Poratev, arrived in the small- and getting smaller- clearing in the forest behind the village. Sir Poratev not only led the White Knights but the whole Knightdom overall as well. Unfortunately, he didn't see much battle anymore, so he'd filled out accordingly.
It didn't take long for Sir Poratev to assess the situation, "Camus! Miklotov! Stand down!" The two immediately jumped away from the fight. The boy sheathed both his weapons in one smooth motion, as though there had never been people fighting him. Even a few White Knights were impressed, and they're all cynics about swordplay.
"I can't believe that the two of you, supposedly the best, could not defeat a mere child one- on- one, much less two- on- one," he began dressing them down, "And I find it hard to believe that you two deserve your ranks if your tempers are so easily combusted. If not for the fact that I cannot find soldiers that value their honor so much, you would be stripped of your ranks as Knights!"
Both of them paled, then looked to the ground. At this point, the boy stepped forward and proved that his intentions were not malignant toward us Knights,at least, "Whoever y' are, these 'knights' as y' called them, were only defendin' their honor, an' the honor o' all th' other knights. They were investigatin' my practice, and I picked on them a tad much."
"Well," Sir Poratev seemed a bit taken back, "Well."
"Just what were you up to?" Sir Trenz asked.
"I was merely practicin'," the boy shook his head, "I'm a bit rusty. I'm also headed for a 'Harmonia.' I was told that t'was North o' Highland, which was North o' Jowston. I came from Rune."
"Ah," Sir Poratev nodded, "the Grasslands. It explains the accent."
"No, Rune," the boy argued, "I never heard of any 'Grasslands.'"
"People 'round here consider Rune t' be the Grasslands," Sir Brinz drawled.
"Don' seem too happy 'bout that," the boy grinned and shook his head, letting the reddish- brown hair flop around his face. At that point, Sir Brinz gave him an odd look, then smiled quietly and laughed.
"Long time, no see, Max," he shook his head as well, "Why are you going to Harmonia?"
"Well," the boy flung his arms high into the air, then behind his head, "I think Harmonia'll need my help."
"If that's not a leadin' statement," Sir Brinz looked to Sir Poratev, "Do you think he'd be of any use?"
"Hmmph," Poratev assessed the boy- young man- carefully, "How long have you known him, Camus?"
"I met him about a year before I came here," he thought for a minute, "I always thought of him as stodgy. Too cautious, too patient, too eager to learn."
"Sounds perfectly fine to me," Poratev offered, "Would you mind being a trainer?"
"Train these chaps t' sit, beg, or roll over?" Max didn't seem to understand, but was actually needling the older man, "I think I could teach a few of them. Mind you, I choose who I teach, and I'm not stayin' forever."
"Miklotov," Poratev ordered, "For now, he'll take on the status of a Blue Knight. I think he may give you a run for your money."
"Just my luck," Sir Trenz said under his breath, then, "Yes, sir. Is it safe to assume we'll be returning to Rockaxe now, sir?"
"Quite," Sir Poratev agreed, casting a leery look about him, "But don't all of you rush to mess at once. I'd like for this lad to assess you all, decide who he'll tutor, then I wish to have a conference with him."
"Sir," all of us saluted, standing completely straight, except for the youngster.
I still haven't heard his last name, not from Sir Brinz, or him, and he left about a month after he came. He trained three men, one in each sect of Knights: Sir Brinz, Sir Trenz, and Sir Baduin, a new recruit who quickly won Poratev's favor and became his second in command. We've none of us, seen him since. That is really quite eerie.