Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun or any characters related to the story. I also don't own a story mentioned. You'll know what it is in a moment.
The Rider of Darkness
It was a crisp, cool autumn night; the cold air enhancing the smell of the colorful leaves. The Blushing Luna lit the forest in a pale light. Deep in the forest there came an orange glow, seemingly giving the illusion of Sol rising over the mountains. Instead it was a fire, keeping warm four weary travelers. A tall, red head was telling some sort of story to his three companions. His brown eyes shown with pride as he saw the other three were captivated by his story to the very end.
"And that here is the end of the tale of Thorgils and the Dragon King of the Frozen North," he finished. He was then given a round of applause.
"Very good Garet," said a tall, blond haired man with steely, blue eyes.
"Thank you Isaac, although I could have sworn that it was you own mother that told us the tale," replied Garet. They then started to laugh, enjoying the brief break in their quest.
"I believe it is your turn, Mia," said a short, blond haired teen, his violet eyes shining in the firelight.
A quiet young with bright blue eyes and hair nodded and cleared her throat. "This is, The Legend of the Rider of Darkness, she said in a soft voice. "It takes place in a land far away, in a simple village, actually. They were hard working folk and were always true to each other, but they were very greedy when it came to strangers entering their town. They always over charged them for everything and if they had nothing, they were beaten and thrown into the mud outside the village walls. One day, a kindly old wizard came to the village to seek shelter from an oncoming storm.
"The villagers would not even let him in, for he was dressed in rags and he had no emeralds to steal. When he kept pestering them, one of the villages struck out with his sword and sliced the man at his side. They then threw him in the mud and cursed him. But then a white light shown and they saw him again, but clothed now in white robes and bearing a great staff. 'You have been cruel unto me, so now I will be cruel unto you. May you be destroyed be one more evil and wicked then you all shall ever be,' spoke the wizard.
"He then collapsed and drew his last breath. But they paid his warning no heed. Later, a storm came and hit the town hard. The wind howled and the rain fell for hours. When it was approaching the sixth hour, a horrible cry or screech drowned out all other sounds. The town's people froze with horror; never had they heard such an unearthly sound.
"What could have made such a noise, no one knew. Soon the rain stopped, only the howling wind and the thunder remained. A few brave people ventured out of their houses, but soon fled back. For standing in the village square was a mighty horse, larger than any other. Its snorting was like an avalanche and the eyes glowed a crimson red. But what terrified the villagers the most was its rider.
"He was cloaked in a pale gray, his hood up covering his face. In his hand was a long, pale sword, sharper than most. Another cry came, this time, they knew were it came from. The rider ran his horse through the entire town, bursting down doors and slaughtering the occupant's of the houses. Soon, other cries joined the riders, that of those that were being slaughtered. The old man's curse had come true! By the time Sol awoke, the entire village was dead.
"But it did not stop there. For the rider was evil. He went about, killing all he met. And it is said that even now, he roams across the plains, his horrible cry making even men with the most stout hearts cry in anguish. It is even said that he can raise the dead, turning them into evil riders like it," finished Mia. The other stared at her, mesmerized by the tragic tail. Garet then started to laugh.
"Good story, Mia," said the laughing warrior. "You almost had me fooled. Rider of Darkness." Mia just smiled and started to laugh with him. Ivan soon joined also. Isaac, though, remained quiet, the story burrowing deep in to his mind. Slowly the others drifted off to sleep, leaving Isaac to take the first watch.
All legends do have some truth in them, thought Isaac. Could that story really be true? He started to feel a little bit light headed, probably tired from staying up. He slowly closed his eyes, letting his hearing be his main sense. Suddenly a terrible cry came, a sound similar to that which a dying monster made. Isaac snapped open his eyes and looked around quickly, trying to see if there was anything. When he saw nothing, he started to relax, until he heard the sound of an animal snorting.
He quickly looked around again, searching for any thing in the firelight. He then stood up and drew out his sword, its blade glimmering in the light. "Come out," he shouted. "I know you're there." He stood there, waiting for anything to happen. Isaac then heard the sound that he feared most, the sound of a sword being driven through a body.
He quickly turned around and saw it. It stood tall, cloaked in gray, its sword glimmering in a pale color. But part of the blade was covered in red. And thus Isaac saw it, the Rider of Darkness, standing over the body of his best friend, whose head was severed off. Isaac could feel the blood leave his face, terrified of the sight before him. The tall figure then let out another sickly cry.
It rang in Isaac's ears as would thunder. The evil rider then rushed forward, bringing its blade down onto Isaac. Isaac quickly blocked the attack, countering with a chop to the head. It was blocked with expert precision, the pale blade pushing back Isaac's. He stumbled back and tripped over Ivan. The boy quickly opened his eyes and gasped, but was quickly put to silence by the pale blade that went into his throat.
Isaac felt his right arm going numb as he watched Ivan's life end, his sword dropping from his hand. He quickly ran over to the sleeping form of Mia and kicked her awake. She was about to yell at him when the evil demon let out a cry, stunning her to silence. Isaac quickly yelled to her, "Run, get out of here." Mia then ran off, quickly followed by Isaac. But the rider pursued them.
They soon came to a cliff, the drop down too far for them to survive from. They quickly turned around as the gray rider came out of the thicket of trees. "Why doth thou run?" it asked in a voice full of darkness. "Thou knoweth it to be futile."
Isaac just stood there in front of Mia, his body hopefully partly shielding her from the deadly blade. It crept forward, its footsteps making a sound similar to thunder. It held its sword up so that the flat end faced its empty hood. It was about a stones toss away when it brought the sword back and swung at the two. They quickly ducked under the blade and rolled to the side. Isaac quickly got up and tried to tackle it, but it moved to the right and swung at Mia, catching her in the arm.
It let out a cry once again and stabbed down at Mia once more, this time striking her in her chest. The once pale blade was now pure crimson, only enhancing the horrible nature of the rider. Isaac stared in horror, watching the last of his friends die. Isaac drew forth a hunting knife he had in his belt and leapt at it. He slashed at its cloaks hood, trying to take out the head. But the evil demon ducked, the knife only cutting off the hood.
Isaac landed and turned to attack again, but froze. The hood had been cut off, revealing his attackers face. The face was a sickly colored gray, the eyes that once held the eyes of a warrior filled with pride, were now as dead as it was supposed to be. The face belonged to Saturos, the man whom Isaac him self slew at the Venus Lighthouse. But what made it worse was that his neck was bent at a sickly right angle, something no living could do. As he saw it, the words of Mia ringed back into his head. It is even said that it can raise the dead, turning them into evil riders like it.
"It can't be true!" whispered Isaac. "There is just no way it can be true!"
Isaac now shrank back to the ground, the tall being loaming over him.
Saturos slowly walked forward, bringing its blade over its head. When it was a mere foot away, the blade flashed downward. Isaac waited for it to connect with the crown of his head.
He then awoke, morning just creeping over the trees. He shook his head and rose, his mind still reeling from the dream he had. He looked over at Garet and sighed in relief when he saw he was well. He slowly walked over to his friend and woke him. "Time to wake up and get moving, Garet."
Garet groaned and slowly rolled onto his side. "Right, right, time to get moving," he grumbled. Isaac left his friend and woke up his other two traveling companions. They soon had the camp packed up and they ate some bread and cheese as the walked through the woods down a path that should lead them to the open fields of the land. The clearing remained quiet; a squirrel jumped down from a tree and ran to gather any nuts left. But a cry worse than thunder came and the squirrel went scampering up its tree.