Chapter 1 the Meeting

            A man stood some yards away from the entrance of the Knights' Chivalry in the hectic city of Prontera. He was a large man, a giant called by some, with more grays than raven hair and a thick beard. Dressed in worn-out trousers and dirty cotton-shirts, everyone would have passed him as a blacksmith – which he was not.

            Raising a hand to shield his cerulean eyes from the glaring sunlight, the man eyed his surroundings. His gaze went through the few houses that were built at the north-western part of the great Capital, the chattering birds on some of the trees, and the running children. He saw a handful of townsfolk talking with each other; a knight's shield bearing his guild's coat-of-arms, a soldier on his post…

            His eyeing stopped. His forehead creased in a frown.

            'My what!?!'

            Then it suddenly dawned. He shifted his now incredulous gaze back to the knight.

            "Burris, you are one OLD geezer," he muttered to himself.

            Your sight sure is tricking you. You should have drunk that tea like your daughter had told you to.

            He closed his shocked eyes. After a few seconds, he opened them. The knight with the same coat-of-arms glued to its shield was still there.

            This is impossible! This could not be happening… This shouldn't even happen! Why, he was the only one to-

            His face contorted into a pained expression. Then, redness started to dominate Burris' face.

            That coat-of-arms was dead and buried 15 years ago!

            Daffid was fiddling with the old shield he had with him. He had had it buffed yesterday and was quite pleased to see its shining glory restored. Even the colors of the emblem on the shield were vibrantly displayed. He looked up at the few flags bearing different emblems of the Knight Chivalry's different associations and back to the shield.

            They all look the same to me. He shrugged.

            "YOU THERE! You, Sir Knight!"

            Oh no, was it that quick for them to learn that I'm a hoax? Daffid tensed. He swerved his body to face the owner of the voice. He considered himself tall so he was surprised to face a chest – a very broad chest. He angled his face up to see the man's face and immediately felt relieved. For a second there, he thought he was one of the men who collected the applications.

            His relief, however, was short-lived for the giant had grabbed him by the chain mail he was wearing. Effortlessly the giant hauled him off one foot from the ground and brought Daffid into eye-level with him. The giant then thrust his face close to him.

            "Where did you steal the shield you have with you, Sir Knight?" The last was uttered sarcastically through gritted teeth.

            "I… why, I… well…"

            "YOU THIEF!!!"

            "I am not! I am a swordsman who has come here to become a knight!"

            "Dressed in a knight's garb already? You're pretty confident."

            "I am not a thief," he asserted for he was at a loss for words.

            "Aw, come now. Is that all you can say? I thought thieves are very good at making excuses."

            Daffid's face burned with embarrassment.

            "The shield belongs to my family," he croaked with as much sincerity as he could muster.

            Burris felt sick. He threw the young man away from him. Daffid landed ten feet away while the shield clattered at Burris' feet. He picked up the shield. He felt confused. He fingered the coat-of-arms on the shield. He ran his hand over the falcon with its wings spread out and a coiled snake dangling from its claws. It was an exact replica. He flipped it so he could see the other side. His grip on the shield tightened until his fingers went white.

            If it was possible for him to get even sicker than he felt, he would have. The shield right before him was no replica. In fact, he knows who owns the shield because of a signature etched on one corner. What sickens him is that the owner was already dead. The owner had died a tragic death in the castle of Glast Heim fifteen years ago. How the shield got here he dreaded to know.

            Dazed from the impact, Daffid sat up. His whole body hurt because he wasn't used to wearing heavy metal around his whole body. It was only now that he noticed the eerie silence that has befallen the north-western sector of Prontera. Everyone, even the children, had stopped their doings to witness the scene unraveling before them.

            The giant and the false knight have acquired an audience.

            Burris didn't notice any of this. His mind was already elsewhere…

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As usual, darkness covered Glast Heim Castle. Four knights and a priest were waiting at the entrance.

            "Will they still be long, Sir Burris?" asked the priest, albeit nervously.

            "I hope not. It will not be safe for us to stay at one place for too long a time," Sir Burris, the burliest of them all, answered.

            "Why don't we pass the time by slaying monsters inside - just the first floor of course," Petula, the only female knight in the guild, suggested.

            Burris looked at the auburn-haired female knight with irritation. Always the energetic one... Always in the mood to prove herself better than us men… He sighed. With masked impatience Burris answered, "We must conserve our energies, Lady Petula."

            One of the knights, who held a permanent malicious glare in his eyes, laughed. "If only the Goddess Freya gave you some looks instead of your boundless energy!"

            "Agh...I hope you rot in the underworld with Hel!"

            "Oooh... feisty aren't we?"

            "Shut up, Malfoy." the last of the knights, Balder, said with cold emphasis.

            "Ah, ice-lover to the rescue," Malfoy answered with a snicker.

            "Settle down everyone! Save your energies for the monsters," Burris intervened before the argument could get out-of-hand.

            Footsteps echoed in the silence that had followed.

            "Sir Skuld!" everyone, except Burris, called out.

            "'Bout time you got here Skuld. Where is your loving wife, Lilibeth?"

            Burris went to Skuld to clasp his hand and to give the man a hug.

            "She is preg- ...er... indisposed."

            "Eh? You're not telling me everything, old pal."

            Skuld just smiled.

            "Well… as long as she's ok?"

            Skuld nodded.

            Burris smiled. He smacked his hand on Skuld's back and turned to the group.

            "Will we be able to do this, Sir Burris? We lack a sage. We do not know the capabilities of this priest here."

            The priest glowered at Balder. Ignoring the priest, Balder continued.

            "Lacking a support, we will not be as strong as we would have liked."

            "Your tone of voice does not suggest lack of confidence, Sir Balder. I trust that you are not backing out?" Burris queried with raised brows. "No? As for the priest I have been told that he casts fast. Let us commence with our mission gentlemen-"

            "-and lady." Burris added before Petula could open her mouth to utter a word of protest.