Crimson Twilight: Dusk

Chapter 46: Abysmal Knights

"Sir, Fourth Knight Division ready for duty, sir!"

Heivan Nall, the new second-in-command of the Fourth Knight Division sounded off. Agranias returned the salute as he inspected his new troops. He did not expect that he would be assigned to handle a knight division. Not that he was not used to leading him own troops. 'A strange development.' he thought. 'Do they trust me that much already?'

He suddenly stiffened as the Fourteenth Knight Division passed by.

The new Fourteenth Knight Commander, Sir Joe Buck, smirked as he passed close to Agranias. "Good to be fighting on the same side, Agranias." he said.

Agranias watched the doppelganger lead his own division of knights to the western gates. He still couldn't believe that the immortal was an actual full-fledged knight. 'So he's a "knight" now, is he?' he thought. 'Strange developments indeed.' He signaled his men to be at ease. They still had an about a few hours before the wizard divisions attacked the remaining kobolds. In the meantime, he decided to spend his remaining time contemplating his situation. He walked the streets of Prontera slowly. The citizenry was in a state of fear now. The attack on the cathedral had shaken everyone badly. Not only that, the breakthrough from the west gates as well as the death of Koullufen Aethernas were obvious signs that they were dealing with truly dangerous enemies. The Regular Army could not keep them entirely safe. He suddenly bumped into someone as he continued walking. "Excuse me." he said.

Before Agranias could walk past the person he bumped into, a pair of arms suddenly held him by the shoulders. "Captain Agranias!" the person said.

Agranias's eyes narrowed as he stared at the cloaked figure in front of him. The man was only slightly shorter than him. That alone was suspicious given that he towered over everyone in Prontera. For someone to match his height would mean...the man took off his hood; revealing black irises and short, spiky, black hair. He recognized the smooth, unmarked face and the boyish-looking eyes and nose. "Selinas?" he asked in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

Selinas let out a sigh of relief. "I've found you at last!" he said in relief. "I was starting to believe that the Dark Lord had killed you after the troop tried to hunt you down!"

Agranias stared at his former subordinate dubiously. Selinas still referred to him as "Captain" even though the position now belonged to Aelumina. What puzzled him though was why Selinas was searching for him in Prontera.

"Captain, I came here to convince you to return to our lord's service." Selinas said.

Agranias's expression saddened. He knew that he had no one in the troop more loyal to him than Selinas. "Selinas, I'm no longer your captain." he answered. "Aelumina is. Besides, I have no intention to return to the Lord of Death's service."

The younger-looking abysmal knight did not look discouraged. Although, he was puzzled by Agranias's reply. "Sir Agranias, you're the only one who's capable of leading the troop." he pressed on. "My sister, she...she's too ambitious and self-centered. She can't handle the rest of us as you could!"

Agranias thought hard for a while. Selinas had always been his supporter during his time as captain of the abysmal knight troop. In those days, the power struggle between him and his second-in-command had polarized several abysmal knights to two sides. Some like Cafranel and Dornacath were too focused on fulfilling the wishes of the Lord of Death to bother with their immediate leaders. Others, like Selinas and Ixyll, supported Agranias's leadership. The power-hungry ones, like Phaernal and Dervos, sided with Aelumina, hoping to secure a position for themselves should the captaincy ever change. "Selinas, that's out of my hands." he answered. "The Lord of Death ordered my execution remember?"

Selinas remained resolute despite the refusal. "The Lord of Death did that just to set an example." he insisted. "I'm sure he'll let you lead the troop if you swear fealty to him again."

Agranias looked away. "Selinas, I can't do that." he said. "I can't swear fealty to someone whose principles no longer appeal to me."

Selinas's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that, Sir Agranias?" he asked.

Agranias expression grew determined. "You were there when I refused to slay those novices, remember?" he asked. "I still abide by that decision."

Selinas clenched his hands into fists. "Captain, that's absurd." he said. "There should be no other things for us other than the orders of the Lord of Death!"

Agranias watched as a pair of acolytes passed them. Prontera was still oblivious to the presence of a pair of abysmal knights in their midst. "Selinas, if you truly believe that then you would not be here searching for me today." he replied.

Selinas was silent for a time. "Is really no way you're ever coming back to the troop, Sir Agranias?" he asked.

Agranias did not hesitate with his reply. There was only one path for him now. "No way at all, Selinas." he answered. "Forget about my involvement with the abysmal knights or the Lord of Death. My place is in Prontera now."

Selinas's hands went to the pair of swords that hung from both sides of his waist.

Agranias noticed the movement and moved his hand to his own sword. "You would fight me now, Selinas?" he asked.

Selinas gripped his swords tightly. "If I cannot persuade you then I have no choice but to treat you as an enemy of the Lord of Death!" he answered.

Agranias was about to draw his sword when he heard a familiar voice call his name.

"Sir Agranias!" Silmeia called out and then moved hurriedly towards him. There was something in the way he face the one he was talking to that spoke of hostility.

"Silmeia!" Agranias turned his attention towards her worriedly. If Silmeia saw him in this compromising situation...

Selinas watched the priestess intently. He recognized her somehow. Finally he was beginning to understand Agranias's situation. "Captain...it's not about those novices in that forest is it?" he asked. "It's about that priestess in the desert!"

Agranias expression hardened. He did not want to reveal himself accidentally because of Selinas's carelessness. "Selinas, leave!" he threatened. "If you draw your sword here you will be staring down the points of over a hundred lances in this city!"

Selinas's eyes narrowed as he released his weapons. Agranias was right; he was in enemy territory after all. Besides, there was no longer any need to slay him. "I leave for now, Sir Agranias!" he said. "But trust me, I will walk this city's streets soon enough! "Our" lord will see to that!"

Silmeia's hands glowed with holy energy. It was obvious now that the man Agranias called "Selinas" was an enemy. Before she could cast a spell, the man suddenly dashed from the street and into a nearby alley. She was about to follow when Agranias stopped her.

"Don't chase him, Silmeia!" Agranias warned. "He's probably outside Prontera by now."

Silmeia stopped in her tracks and turned around. Agranias was right; whoever this Selinas was, he would probably carry a butterfly wing that was keyed to some hideout outside Prontera. "Sir Agranias, was that man-?" she asked.

Agranias nodded. "A member of my former troop." he replied.

Silmeia's expression grew serious. As if Prontera didn't have enough problems, now they had to deal with a band of rogue knights. "What was he doing here?" she asked. "Was he sent by your former commander to kill you?"

Agranias was silent for a while. What was Selinas doing here? Was he under orders from Aelumina? Or perhaps from the Lord of Death himself? It was strange that he would come by himself as well. The abysmal knights always traveled by twos. If Selinas was alone it could only mean that he was not under orders from anyone. 'Selinas...' he thought. 'He'd breach orders just to get me back?"

"You're the only one capable of handling the troop."

Selinas's words echoed in Agranias's mind. 'I am still an abysmal knight.' he reminded himself. 'The only difference now is that I'm hiding it under the guise of a knight commander and Silmeia-' He suddenly remembered what happened yesterday. 'I was a fool to let myself go like that. If Silmeia ever finds out...no, she will find out eventually.'

Silmeia stared curiously at Agranias. He had become quiet all of a sudden. "Agranias, what's wrong?" she asked.

Agranias shifted his attention back to Silmeia. "Silmeia, about yesterday..." he began.

Silmeia remembered the incident at the mansion and reddened. The entire thing was...instinctive. She barely knew what was going on herself when it happened. It was clear now that she was attracted to Agranias. He was different from the other knights, priests or anyone else for that matter. He had his own secrets to keep and his own burdens to carry. They were alike in so many ways that it frightened her to think that there was someone out there who felt the same way as she did. If only he would say more about himself though. What was his involvement with Lystra? What was this troop of knights that he was trying so hard to escape? "Yesterday...Agranias, I-" she replied.

Agranias shook his head. "Silmeia, you-I mean we shouldn't." he began. "It's not right."

Silmeia stepped closer to Agranias. "Right?" she asked. "What do you mean? What's so wrong about it?"

Agranias felt his resolve waver. He knew that it would be better not to involve himself with Silmeia like this. Complications were sure to arise. He had to put a stop to whatever this was while he can. "Silmeia, there are things about me that-"

Silmeia cut him off at once. "That I don't know right?" she said. "Just as there are things about me that you don't know. It doesn't matter. Agranias, I love you, it's something I want to do whether it's right or not!"

Agranias was at a loss. Hearing those words broke his resolve completely. All he wanted now was...no, he couldn't...he shouldn't- "Silmeia, I love you too, but-" he heard himself speak.

Silmeia cut him off again by putting a finger between his lips. With her other hand, she grabbed hold of the collar of his dark armor and pulled him to her level. "No buts." She whispered. "Just show me."

Agranias's lips closed in on Silmeia's hungrily. There was no point in denying it anyway. Every instinct in him screamed for this. His heart, a thing he had long considered blackened and dead, throbbed for it. His hands went to her back.

Silmeia felt the Agranias's hand run up and down her hair; brushing it against her back. The feeling was...good; wonderful. She wanted to stop. After all, they were in a busy street with soldiers coming and going and everybody was probably staring at them for now. But Agranias was never this...passionate before. With the coming battles, he may not be anymore soon. Her hands tried to reach his torso but his black armor prevented any sort of contact. She sighed beneath his kiss. Things were a bit...one-sided. She just wished there was something she could do to make Agranias feel the same way she did about now.

All around the two, people were beginning to stare. While many of them suppressed snickers and not-so-polite remarks, no one could keep from smiling in bemusement. For a brief moment, the people who watched them forgot that they were surrounded by orcs; that the cathedral had burned down, that the Dark Lord, Baphomet, and all sorts of horrid monsters prowled the nights and that they had already lost so many to this siege. Old people who watched them wished that they were young again while young ones sighed in envy or longing. A few people who watched them stared disapprovingly of the two.

"That is no conduct befitting a priestess! Right before an important attack too!"

One knight shushed the old merchant who made the remark. "Hush your mouth!" He said. "That's Second Head Priestess Silmeia Cafilence! It's about damn time she got that kind of...stuff. I mean there's the First Knight Commander and Sir Makaelthos at one side and then there's that Zaisen fellow and Mister Xalascent's younger sister. You think that, with all that action around her, she's just going to sit around...praying?"

Another knight interrupted the first one. "Shut both your mouths!" he said. "The way you're talking you sound like they're miles away from you!"

From his lair in Glastheim, Abraxil Sovivor watched the two with extreme interest. It was the great thing about involving love in his plans. It was incredibly predictable yet volatile at the same time. Even he did not expect things to get this far in such a short period of time. It only proved how emotionally unstable Silmeia Cafilence was and how much of a fool the Lord of Death's former captain was as well. 'No wonder you wanted him dead, Lord of Death.' he thought. 'Foolishness is contagious. Still, it was a brilliant move on my part to spare him from you troop." He remembered accidentally running into the injured abysmal knight while he was near the grave of Lystra Cafilence. It was a sheer stroke of genius to let him and Silmeia meet that day. All he had to do was protect him from the rest of his troop.

The Dark Lord continued to watch. Just a few more days. A few more days of love before everything crumbled apart and he would stand triumphant.