Chapter Thirty-Nine: A True Knight

"You look tired," was the first thing Scales said to me when I met up with him outside the tavern in the central square of the High Council Fire.

"Yeah." I stretched my arms and legs, taking a few moments to let out one of the most satisfying yawns.

"Did you not ssleep well?"

"Oh, no, I slept perfectly fine," I explained to the red-scaled cobra, taking a few steps out into the square, breathing in the fresh air. "I just…well, I just had a bit of a crazy dream…"

The memories of my dream self's escapades in the Badlands with the Alabaster Rifles were still all too clear in my mind. As I've said before, usually my memories of dreams grow fuzzy when I wake up from them, but not this one. Fighting off mutated, nightmarish, radioactive Dersite zombie-like…things… Well, in the immortal words of Agent J from Men in Black: "That's not exactly some shit you just forget."

It was a crisp morning. Past dawn, not quite Skaiarise… The bluish-yellow light of Skaiarise was beginning to shine faintly in the east, melding with the soft violet light that emanated from the rain clouds of this planet. I have to say…when I wasn't balls-deep in a swarm of underlings or in the middle of getting sacrificed by my consorts; when I actually had enough time to just take a few deep breaths and enjoy the scenery…

I have to say my planet is one of the most beautiful places I've seen. And from me, that's saying a lot. In my Boy Scout days, I've been backpacking and canoeing in some of the most breathtaking places in the country—the tail end of the Rockies in New Mexico, the lakes in Canada just north of the Minnesota border, Yosemite National Park in California…sailing in the Florida Keys… And the Land of Rain and Rivers ranked up there with all those places.

I mean, just come on! An already beautiful landscape on its own…where everything was a constant summer shower, with rain clouds that shined violet…and rivers. Rivers that flowed through the fucking sky. I mean… You just can't beat that!

Whew, I guess I've just smoked too much pot.

But the downside of all these moments is that they always have to come to an end. You take your deep, relaxing breaths, you enjoy the scenery…then you remember that you're in the middle of a fucking revolution.

Word spread incredibly fast through the north of my arrival in the High Council Fire. The Northerners had been waiting centuries for this day, and so when Achcauhtli—the leader of the Faithful—sent out messenger cardinals to all of the other Faithful throughout the North, ordering them to start the revolution… Within a single day, the Dersites had been driven out of every small village and town.

After the Dersites were able to recover from the initial shock, they pulled out of their outposts and stations in the villages, falling back to their forts. They had a fort located at each of the twenty clans' capital cities. But the consorts had planned for this, as well. By the third day of the revolution, the last of the Dersites' lesser forts was captured. Centuries of preparing and planning were at last coming to fruition. There was just one thing left to do. The last bastion of Dersite resistance left in the North was their central fort…the one built into the slopes of Mount Lonesome, overlooking the High Council Fire.

Here in the High Council Fire, when the revolution broke out, we took the Dersite guards by surprise. Destroyed their camps and sentry posts, drove them back to the walls… We spent the next day clearing the dark-shelled carapacians from the city walls. We didn't take too many losses—again, the Dersites had been taken by surprise, and by the time they rallied all they had to defend were the walls…which wasn't a very defensible location when you're being attacked from the inside. We took the walls from them, driving the survivors back to their fort on Mount Lonesome.

And so, we came to Day Four of the Northern Revolution. Today's agenda:

Wake up.

Meet Scales.

Take a piss.

Capture a Dersite fort.

Party ass off with consorts.

Oh, good thing I went through that mentally—I almost forgot about item number three.

"Gimme a sec, dude," I said to Scales before we could get moving. I jogged around the corner of the tavern and unzipped my pants, relieving myself into a bush before getting back to Scales. In case you were wondering, the consorts do have bathrooms, but…uh… Well, they're snakes. I won't even describe their bathrooms; all you need to know is that I can't use them.

I hurried back to Scales, who was still waiting impatiently in the square, feeling much better.

Five hundred consorts were standing ready outside the front gate, in the middle of being inspected by the senior warriors and clan chiefs. They weren't in formation, or anything—that was not how my consorts fought. But they were still standing in rough groups; not just a massive, disorganized rabble. An aging, lime-scaled cobra was coiled on top of the front gates, looking out over his fighting force. That was Achcauhtli, and he seemed to be the one heading up the show.

"Why didn't we attack earlier, when we had the cover of darkness?" I asked Scales as we neared the front gates.

"The Green One hass a plan that doess not require darkness to ensure itss success," Scales explained, nodding up towards Achcauhtli. "In truth, sseveral of uss could execute the plan oursselvess, without you…but there would be ssignificant loss of life, as well as a chance for failure. You are the besst one for the job."

"Okay, I'll bite," I murmured, already curious as to what this mystery plan was. "What do I have to do?"

"I'm not the one who should explain it to you," Scales replied. "The Green One will show you what to do. You should go to him now."

"You coming?"

"No." Scales shook his head. "Aiyana and Inuyyak are waiting for me. I will fight alongsside them. They can never ssay that the Treefolk did not help them in their time of need after today."

"Okay, sounds good! I'll, uh… I guess I'll see you out there, then."

I started to walk away, heading towards the walls…but then Scales cleared his throat and said, "Watch your ass out there, Knight." I turned to raise an eyebrow at him, and the red-scaled cobra hesitated, his brow furrowing slightly in a frown. "Did I ssay that right? Your way of sspeaking iss quite sstrange to-"

"You said it perfectly, Scales," I chuckled. "Watch your scaly ass out there, too."

And with that, I jumped into the air, using my Aspect to levitate myself up to the battlements above the front gates, where Achcauhtli was overseeing things. The Faithful did not give much reaction to my arrival, not taking his eyes off the assembled consorts below. "You look as if you jusst ssurvived a battle of your own," the lime-scaled cobra observed.

I know I didn't have any blood or fresh cuts on me, nor the grime of the Badlands…but I must've just looked exhausted. Technically my body had gotten more than enough rest, but… Well… Before, when I was awake, I'd be fighting my way through the Land of Rain and Rivers, trying to unite my consorts. But when I went to sleep, I could just get together with Cruz and sometimes Tami, and we'd just veg out, smoke, maybe go on the odd stoned adventure through the rooftops of Prospit… But it was a good time for my mind to recover.

Now, though… I fight the Dersites alongside my consorts when I'm awake, then I fight the Dersites alongside the Prospitians when I'm asleep. Fighting these dual wars at the same time was taking its toll. My body wasn't physically tired—it was sleeping during the push into the Badlands, after all—but my mind felt exhausted. If I didn't get a break from all this, and soon mind you…

I found myself sorely missing Cruz. Yeah, we had awesome adventures together, but… I dunno, the guy just has a calming aura about him. He can make people chill the fuck out just by being in the same room with them, and…well, I could use some chilling the fuck out right now.

Hell, I was missing Cass, too. A lot. I know if that sounds kinda crazy—I've only had a couple full conversations with her, but… We didn't even get to go on a first date, and now I haven't been able to contact her in over a month, and… I had her! I fucking had her; we were in the middle of cutting class and going out together, after I spent a year trying to work up the courage to talk to her without having my heart explode.

Then the world just decided to fucking end.

Maybe that was for the best… Even if we had gone out, and—hypothetically speaking, of course—even if we'd had a good time… How could you possibly maintain a relationship in the middle of all…all… All this?

"Time is almost up…"

What the fuck? Who…? I turned around, and I could've sworn I saw a shadowy figure standing in the open doorway of the home on my left. I just saw it out of my peripheries, though, so I turned to look at it…and, unsurprisingly, it vanished. Looks like the Phantom was back, again…

God damn it, I haven't seen the Phantom in four or five days. Not since we were traveling to the High Council Fire on the Nanuk River. I've been seeing it since I was a little kid, but I've still never quite gotten used to it… But I'd enjoyed not seeing it for the past few days, and I was hoping to keep the streak going-

"…Knight?"

I shook my head, returning to reality. Achcauhtli was looking at me now, some small measure of concern visible in his gray eyes. "Sorry," I apologized, massaging my temples for a few seconds. "Sorry, I've just been having some odd dreams. Don't worry, I won't come apart at the seams in the middle of the battle, if that's what you're afraid of."

"I never once had any ssuch resservationss," Achcauhtli assured me. His forked tongue flitted out and tasted the air several times. "I alwayss had faith that one day the Knight…that one day youwould come to uss. But never in my wildesst dreamss did I believe that I would be there to ssee it."

I returned the Faithful's gaze. "You don't have any doubts, then? Like the others?"

"I am a part of Clan Tlaxata. I am a Sand Dweller," Achcauhtli explained. "If Matlal, He Who Sees All, confirmed your identity as the Knight…then you musst be the Knight. The Northerners know of and highly respect Matlal, as well, but… Well, in the end, the Northernerss are taking the word of one of my people; it iss only natural for them to want ssome proof of their own. But fear not; I believe you have proven yoursself more than enough these passt couple dayss. And if anyone here still doess not fully believe in you, I think their doubtss will be washed away when the day iss over and the Dark Ones' fort liess in ruinss."

I took another deep breath, grateful for the reassurance even if I'd never admit it. "Scales mentioned you had a plan that needed me." I decided to change the subject and get an answer or two, if the Faithful was willing to spare them.

"Yess, I will show you once the warriorss are in place," Achcauhtli said to me. "It iss something we have labored over for centuriess. Conssidering the level of control and ability you demonsstrated with your Vis, when you firsst arrived in the High Council Fire… I believe you are the perfect man for the job. Come, let uss move the warriorss into possition for the attack."

With that, the lime-scaled consort bellowed out a series of orders to his senior warriors. Like a chain reaction, the senior warriors all began calling out orders of their own. I knew the consorts who lived in the High Council Fire were, like those who dwelled in Aztlán, members of all the clans in the tribe. I wasn't sure if the warriors were fighting with their own kin…but upon closer examination, it appeared that none of the fighting groups comprised of warriors from a single clan; everyone was mixed together.

I dunno, I kind of liked that. I mean, considering the main objective for my quest on this planet involved unity. Unity of my consorts. And seeing consorts from different clans fighting alongside each other like brothers… Well, maybe uniting the three tribes wouldn't be as hard as it'd seemed before. The Northern Fires and the Desert Fires had already been working together in some way, shape, or form for a few centuries; the Treefolk traded irregularly with the Northerners…

I think the most friction would come between the Desert Fires and the Western Fires. The Western Fires considered the Desert Fires foolish and unintelligent for stubbornly standing their ground against Hyperion's conquest and no retreating into the Sands, even when victory was hopeless, and the Sand Dwellers resented the Treefolk for withdrawing into their forests and not giving them aid.

Still, though, I think that any bad blood there might be between the tribes would—if only for a while—be set aside when we marched on Hyperion's Palace. Yeah, all the tribes had some form of beef with each other, but in the end the cause of all their woes was Hyperion. They would unite to fuck him up before they started getting pissed at each other again. I mean, hopefully the unity that came with fighting Hyperion would last, but… Well, I'm no psychic—or Hero of Time, for that matter—I had no way of knowing. All I could do was hope.

Achcauhtli and several of the clan chiefs moved the force of warriors to the lower slopes of Mount Lonesome, just east of the High Council Fire. They stood in loose formation, waiting patiently for the order to attack. Further up the mountainside, the Dersite fort was abuzz with activity. We weren't the only ones waiting for the assault on the fort—the Dersites had been preparing for the inevitable since we'd driven them from the walls.

Guards were hurrying to their posts on the battlements and towers. There were energy turrets that had been mounted on the parapet at regular intervals, and all the Dersite soldiers were armed with automatic energy rifles, more advanced than the weaponry used by the Prospitian infantry. Now I'm not usually one to worry too much about the future…but I'd be lying if I said those energy turrets weren't making me nervous.

Because they were. I was pretty fuckin' nervous, thanks for asking.

"The warriorss are in place," Achcauhtli declared, though I wasn't quite sure who he was talking to. Kinda stating the obvious, there… The lime-scaled cobra turned towards the dark green-scaled chieftain of Clan Unagwe. He was the one of the clan chiefs who'd stood up for me when doubts over me being the Knight were raised. "Aumanil, I turn command over to you until I return," the Faithful said to the Unagwe clan chief. "Keep the ladss from charging to their deathss, will you? The Knight musst complete his tassk before the attack commencess."

"Jusst don't take too long, Faithful," Aumanil replied. "Thiss day wass centuriess in the making. They will not wait forever."

We didn't actually have anything to worry about, really. Not with Aumanil in charge. I've mentioned before how the Northern clan chiefs, due to oppression by the Dersites, seemed to have become little more than figureheads…but over the past few days, Aumanil was the clan chief who had proven me wrong the most. He was highly intelligent, much more of a tactician than a traditional warrior, but still a fierce fighter. He was probably the best person to leave in charge in lieu of Achcauhtli himself.

As for the Faithful and me, Achcauhtli led me away from Mount Lonesome, taking me in a wide arc around the western shoulder of the peak. Before long, we found ourselves in the woods—the lower reaches of the trees that thrived on the slopes of the mountain. The Dersite fort was still somewhat within our view, but only just; we couldn't see much more than the very top of it. The Faithful quickly spotted a small cliff face of reddish rock nearby, rising up at least eighty feet into the air, surrounded on both sides by thick shrubbery and foliage.

"Tell me, Knight, do you know anything about the underground tunnelss that we have been trying to make over the yearss?" the Faithful asked me.

It rang a bell; I remembered Aiyana or Inuyyak mentioning them during our final push towards the High Council Fire. "Yeah, I was told that every time you built a tunnel, the Dersites—ehm, sorry, the Dark Ones found it and destroyed it. Nothing could get past them."

"Yess, that iss what anyone who iss not part of the Underground believess," the Faithful explained to me. "For two centuriess, we have toiled. Ssome of uss worked on digging decoy tunnelss that ran under the city wallss, but these tunnelss were alwayss shoddily done—the Dark Ones would disscover them sstraightaway. Thiss kept their attention focussed on ssearching for identical tunnelss under the wallss."

"Wait, decoy tunnels?" I frowned, trying to make heads and tails of what the consort was telling me. "What was the real tunnel if all your past tunnels were decoys?"

"Thiss iss the real tunnel." Achcautli took me to the left side of the reddish cliff face, where he proceeded to tear away the thick layer of foliage, revealing more of the reddish rock that made up the cliff…and a wide, dark cave entrance. It had been well concealed—no one would've been able to find it unless they already knew where it was. The lime-scaled cobra led the way, ducking into the cave entrance. "It took our fatherss and grandfatherss, and their fatherss and grandfatherss, over two hundred yearss to complete thiss tunnel. Ssuch a tunnel could have been completed much ssooner under normal circumsstancess, but we had to build it with the utmosst care and ssecrecy. For those reasonss, the Underground hass kept knowledge of thiss tunnel sstrictly to itsself."

I figured it was simply a secret passageway that ran under the mountain and into the Dersite fort. Did Achcauhtli mean to have me infiltrate the place, fight my way to the gates, and find a way to open them? It'd make sense, I guess… If he sent in a strike team of his warriors, more than likely none of them would return alive. Sending me in was a strategic use of resources.

Turns out that I was almost right. The tunnel did lead to the Dersite fort…the only thing was that it didn't actually go inside the defensive structure. Instead, it led to a giant, hollowed-out cavern directly beneath the fort. I could only imagine how something of this size had escaped the Dersites' attention for so long… I guess they'd never invested very much time in checking their own foundations. After all, they'd built their fort on a mountain—who on this planet could tunnel through a mountain?

The Dersites certainly would never suspect the seemingly meek and subservient Northerners of being capable of such a thing… But they'd learned their lesson too late. And now they were about to pay out of their asses.

I could see that the cavern had been very painstakingly created. There were dozens of supporting pillars that had been constructed at various key points throughout the artificial cavern. A couple of them were solid rock, but the majority of them were made of wood.

"The tunnel itsself did not take very long to dig; sstone yieldss to the Vis more eassily than mosst think," Achcauhtli explained to me as we entered the cavern. "Thiss cavern iss the crux of our plan. It alone took uss over a century to complete without alerting the Dark Ones to our pressence, or bringing the mountain down on our headss. The weight of the mountainsside above uss iss evenly disstributed between the sstone and wood ssupporting columnss."

I was beginning to see the big picture, now. "So burn the wooden columns…suddenly the cavern ain't so stable, anymore."

"Exactly," the Faithful nodded. "Now, ordinarily it would take many of uss to burn all the wooden columnss. It musst be ssynchronized, you undersstand, to prevent any one portion of thiss cavern from collapssing before the resst. The Dark Ones would then learn of our ploy before it came come to itss full fruition, and we will be sslaughtered before we even reach the fort'ss defenssess. But with you… You could easily overpower all of us if you sso chose, even if you are not yet aware of it. You're the only one who iss sstrong enough to produce fire hot enough to collapsse thiss chamber on your own."

"Okay…"

There was nothing more to be said, really. When I asked the lime-scaled cobra how I was supposed to get out after I did my job, he suggested I start with the support columns furthest from the entrance. I would then have as much time as it took for the columns to burn through to get the fuck out of dodge. And with that, Achcauhtli took his leave—the warriors were in position to mount the assault on the Dersites, but the Faithful needed to confer with his senior warriors and organize the attack, as well as ensure that the warriors' morale was as high as it could be.

Now left alone in the artificial cavern, I had nothing to do but get to work. I took a couple deep breaths, firing off a few blasts of flame to exercise. This would've been so much easier if I was my dream self, right now—I could just let loose and completely obliterate all those support columns without even breaking a sweat. It was a bit more of a challenge when I wasn't dreaming, but I guess that was how it was supposed to be. Skaia had a knack for making potentially convenient situations more challenging than they had to be.

I approached wooden support column that was furthest from the tunnel entrance and knelt down. I took a few moments to focus on my Aspect, producing a modest flame in my hands. Then I gave it more juice, causing it to grow smaller and brighten to a blinding white color. I could barely look at it without having my eyes water up.

Experimenting, I pressed the concentrated white fire to the base of the support beam. It was almost like the wood was soaked in gasoline, because the entire base of the column was wreathed in flame within three seconds. Damn, I could make fire burn hot…

While that first support column started burning up, I got to work. I ran up and down the artificial cavern, maintaining my white fire and passing it along to all the other wooden support columns as I passed them. In the end, I counted around fifty wooden columns, and I had the whole lot of them on fire and burning up within five or six minutes. And by then, the first columns I'd set ablaze had already collapsed.

I could understand why a consort would have been unable to do this on their own—hotter flames took more energy to sustain, and I was starting to breathe pretty hard by the time I lit up the last support column. By this point, the cavern was practically saturated with smoke, and if I stayed in there any longer I wouldn't be able to breathe at all.

I wondered if, originally, lighting up the support columns had been a suicide mission. I mean…unless a good number of consorts were sent, it would take them a lot longer to set the columns alight. The only reason I'd done it so fast was because I was able to superheat the fire… In fact, being able to produce fire at all with your Vis seemed to be a rare skill, so I actually doubt any of the warriors with that level of skill would have been removed from the fighting… Which in turn meant that any consorts who came down here probably would've been stuck using torches, which would have taken a little while.

When the cavern was saturated with smoke, it then started to fill the entrance tunnel. As I hurried back through it, it was only just beginning to thicken. If I'd been stuck using torches, though…if I hadn't died of smoke inhalation by the time I burned the last of the support columns, then I never would've made it out of the tunnel.

Achcauhtli was taking a risk, temporarily removing me from the rest of the warriors to take care of the cavern, hoping I'd make it back in time…but so far the risk was paying off. The cavern was burning and no one had to die to keep it that way—my fire was more than enough for the job.

Smoke was beginning to waft gently from the entrance of the tunnel by the time I emerged back outside, pausing momentarily to take a deep breath of fresh air. Then I was off, sprinting as fast as I could. I kept my breathing under control, timing it with my footfalls; in through the nose, and out through the mouth.

I dodged trees and had to jump over tree roots at several points, but these were minor obstacles. I was out of the woods and rounding the tip of Mount Lonesome's western shoulder in no time.

Overall, by the time I returned to the Northerners' position, nearly half an hour had elapsed since I'd started burning down the cavern supports, and Skaiarise had already happened. I hadn't realized it'd been so long—it felt like it'd only been ten minutes, or so… Time sure flies when you're having fun, I guess. Achcauhtli was behind the lines, towards the center, so I had to run through the Northerners' left flank to reach him.

Many of the consorts stared at me as I ran past. There wasn't any cheering, or anything…more like a quiet reverence. I'm not trying to sound like I'm building myself up, or anything—that was really the best way I could describe these consorts' attitude towards me. I guess I could understand why they acted like that—you spend millennia waiting for someone special to arrive, and when they finally do arrive… I wondered how surreal my presence must feel to them.

Achcauhtli regarded me with some measure of surprise when I showed up. "It iss done, then?" the Sand Dweller asked.

"Yep," I replied. "How long is it gonna take?"

"You musst have used ssome powerful fire indeed to have finished sso quickly…" the lime-scaled consort surmised. "It should happen within the next few minutess, I would imagine."

Aumanil, who was still at the Faithful's side, gave a quiet hiss of impatience. "Will you finally tell me what the Underground'ss grand plan iss, then?" The Northerners had grown restless, and the Unagwe clan chief was obviously no exception. Just because he was able to restrain his warriors did not mean that he himself had no desire to charge the fort.

"Aumanil, old friend, I will not need to tell you what the Underground'ss planss were; I can only show you," the lime-scaled cobra assured the Unagwe clan chief. "The ssignal to attack will be arriving momentarily. It iss the result of the planss we have laid. And you will not miss it—that would be quite impossible."

Off to the north, I could spot a few faint tendrils of smoke curling up over the broad arc of Mount Lonesome's western shoulder. Though they were faint at first, they quickly grew in strength and opacity, until a solid pillar of smoke was gushing into the sky. Obviously there was a shit-ton of smoke built up in the burning cavern.

Any time now…

It started with a dull rumbling sound. It sounded like it was coming out of the earth itself…which in a way, it was. Then the rumbling gave way to louder and sharper noises than sounded much more like cracking stone. I watched very closely, able to see little patches ground falling away and disappearing, as if plucked away into a void.

Then the walls of the Dersite fort itself cracked, sending a cascade of dust, rock fragments, and good-sized chunks of masonry and metal falling to the ground. I could see the Dersite guards milling about in alarm, unsure of what was going on. If any of them decided then that it would be a good idea to get the hell off the walls…then they decided too late.

I watched wide-eyed as the front gates and majority of the western wall of the Dersite fort came crashing spectacularly down as the ground underneath it literally opened up like a gaping maw. The Dersite guards unfortunate enough to be stationed on that part of the walls could be seen briefly, flailing about as they were hurled through the air, before they vanished into the dusty, smoky haze wafting up from the cavern below.

"Forward, Northernerss!" Aumanil thundered, after Achcauhtli gave him a nod. "Come with me and take back our mountain! Drive the Dark Ones out of our home!" That got a roar of approval. "Out of our landss!" That got a bigger roar. "And out of our very livess!"

That got one of the biggest roaring vocalizations of fury and affirmation that I've heard in my life. And with that, the gathered force of warriors from the High Council Fire surged forward, flying across the earth the way sidewinders do. I personally wouldn't have wanted to be one of the Dersite guards there. Standing on the ruined remnant of a wall, watching a horde of giant, incredibly pissed-off Notherner cobras thundering towards you… I'd be shitting my little carapacian pants.

I ran with them—neither in front of nor behind the masses, but right in the middle of it. I was running a little bit faster than most of the consorts, though, so I was gradually pulling up towards the head of the advance. As we approached the damaged fort, I could see smaller forces of camouflaged consorts—warriors who must've hidden themselves by the fort's sides under cover of darkness last night—broke cover and made a beeline for the remaining walls of the fort. They bore climbing poles, similar to the ones I'd seen used by the Sand Dweller prisoners in the labor camp, during my trip through time with Anna. And while the Dersite guards were focused on the fact that part of their defenses had just inexplicably come tumbling down, these two flanking forces attacked the walls of the fort.

I ran as fast as I could. My fatigue had melted away as adrenaline began to course through my body. I was barely conscious of the hundreds of consorts all around me as I steadily pulled ahead into the front of the charging mass. I wasn't experiencing tunnel vision, or anything…but the only thing I had eyes for was the Dersite fort just several hundred yards further up the slope.

After the Dersites recovered from their initial shock, they started desperately trying to mount an impromptu defense. A couple surviving energy turrets were moved up from deeper within the fort, and Dersite reinforcements formed a firing line behind the cover of the mangled rubble of what had once been the fort's western wall.

Streaks of angry red light started to sear through the air, peppering the ground all around me. A tan-scaled cobra running alongside me went down, a still-smoking hole blown through his upper body and most of one of his neck hoods. As I kept running, the consort in front of me was struck directly in the face with a slug from one of the energy turrets—most of his head was obliterated, and the rest of his twitching corpse was thrown backwards. I had to leap into the air to avoid tripping on it, but I landed on my feet and kept on running.

The charging mass of consorts had assumed a bit of a rough wedge or arrowhead shape, with the center of the advance pulling ahead of the sides. And I quickly found myself in front of the very center of the advance. I was quite literally leading the charge, now…

That was appropriate, I guess. As I said before, I'm no leader; I am a blunt instrument. A weapon. Place me at the front of a charge, and I will fuck up anything you want me to. If Skaia had any plans to make me into a better leader, it obviously hadn't chosen today to do so.

Almost unconsciously, I focused on my Aspect and threw up a loose barrier about myself, deflecting any energy bolts that came too close to taking me down. And as I continued to run…in the back of my mind, I was suddenly able to see an image of a strange ladder, with each rung shining a vibrant color; save for the topmost three rungs, which were still dark. It was my echeladder, the record of my progression of skill with my Aspect.

But as I neared the Dersite fort, the third-last rung came blazing to life, shining a bright orange. I didn't have time to spot the name in the rung, but I did feel a strange sensation as it came to life… I've never unlocked rungs of my echeladder before while I was in the middle of using my Aspect, so I never quite noticed the difference it made…but this time, I did.

I always climbed my echeladder whenever I completed integral parts of my quest on this planet, as well as whenever I gained a deeper understanding of my Aspect. And while I was charging toward a Dersite fort at the head of a horde of angry cobras from the North… I guess you could say that inspiration struck.

The Knight class and the Prince class, according to Gwen, were similar in many regards, but also fundamentally different. The Knight is a warrior class, whereas the Prince is a destroyer class—both classes are able to use their Aspects as a weapon…but I think there was a very subtle difference in the manner in which these two classes do so. A Prince conquers and brings destruction with or through his Aspect…but a Knight seems meant to use their power to defend.

And even though technically I was attacking the Dersite fort… I started to use my Aspect—at least at this particular moment in time—not to try and take out the Dersite guards…but to defend my consorts as they charged. And that was the proper way for a Knight to use his power, I realized. It didn't mean that I couldn't act like a Prince and wreak havoc wherever I went…but I was at my most powerful while defending others.

Just like the ideal Knight. A warrior protecting his lord's people—or in this case, his planet's people.

I took a deep breath and gave my loose energy field as much juice as I could spare without passing out from the effort. My breathing became ragged and irregular, and the edges of my vision started to darken…but my protective field gradually spread further and further out, until it protected the vast majority of the charging consorts from the Dersites' weaponsfire.

The consorts took this in stride. If they were surprised by the sudden shimming veil of amber light that now shined in the air in front of them, deflecting the red bolts of energy that came into contact with it, they simply stuffed that surprise into a dusty corner of their minds and continued to focus on attacking their Dersite oppressors.

My protective field turned out to be vital to the success of this assault. I could recall reading of a battle that happened during the latter years of the American Civil War called the Battle of the Crater. It happened during the Siege of Petersburg; after several unsuccessful attempts to drive Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia out of Petersburg, the Union army devised a plan to end the siege. They would dig a tunnel under the Confederate lines, load it up with explosives, and blow the Southerners to kingdom come.

The plan was only successful at the very beginning. The tunnel was dug, the explosives detonated, the Southern line in that sector virtually destroyed…but the gap in the Southern lines created by the explosion was a giant crater. The Union Army sent unit after unit into that crater to breach the enemy lines, but the advance was disorganized, and the northern soldiers were unable to climb out of it. Then the Confederates were able to rally and mount an impromptu defense at the lip of the crater, firing indiscriminately into the massed Union troops, eventually even managing to bring some of their artillery into the fray. And when those northern soldiers tried to retreat…they were unable to, because more Union army units were charging into the crater behind them.

The Battle of the Crater was a disaster for the North, and described by the Union commander, General Ulysses S. Grant, as the 'saddest affair I have witnessed in the war.' It was one of the most horrifying real-life examples of 'fish in a barrel' I could think of.

And it nearly happened here, too.

The collapsing of the cavern had created an uneven crater of sorts, which we'd have to charge down into and make our way up the far side. I'm not so sure the Northerners, or even the Underground, had foreseen this… I mean, they had no idea what the American Civil War was; and when I saw them fight, I got the feeling that they did not use complicated tactics in battle very often. It was simple strategy to devise a method for bringing down the fort's defenses, but I don't think any of the Northerners actually thought too much about the potential consequences of that plan.

I wasn't surprised when, as we charged into that crater, I spotted the Dersite reinforcements waiting for us at the lip of the other side of the crater, within their ruined walls. Some of them had even managed to pile up sandbags in front of their turret emplacements. I could feel my strength ebbing away as I deflected the barrage of weaponsfire that started to rain down on us.

The ground here, to make matters worse, was quite terrible. When the cavern collapsed, everything on top of it had kind of fallen down and inwards…resulting in a nightmarishly treacherous patch of ruined terrain. The consorts were agile, and they were able to easily navigate the rocks and pitfalls, but it cost them time.

Like the Union soldiers who charged into the crater outside Petersburg, the cohesion and momentum of the charge was lost in the crater as the Northerners struggled to reach the other end of the crater. But the difference was that those unfortunate Union soldiers didn't have a Knight of Force with them. These consorts did.

My vision was growing blurry and my head was beginning to throb, but I kept my protective field going strong. The consorts had to reach the other end of the crater; that was all that mattered. If I could at least get them in safely, the battle could be won.

My body slowed down, and I could no longer run. I limped and staggered through the rocks until I couldn't move anymore. I knew I was about to collapse, but before I did I was able to find a large boulder jutting up out of the ground, angled towards the other end of the fort. I fell onto it and pulled myself to the top so I could still see the charging Northerners.

The first of the consorts reached the other end of the crater, and those who had to scale the rocks to get to the top at the steeper portions began to do so. Others, who were able to find easier ways to the Dersite lines, began to engage their enemies in combat. I wanted to release the protective field, but I couldn't yet…sure some consorts had reached the Dersite lines, but all of the Dersite energy turrets were still in play. If I removed my energy field, the consorts currently in the crater would be slaughtered, then the ones who'd made it to the Dersite lines would be mopped up in nothing flat.

I tried to count to thirty to keep myself focused, but I could never make it past seven. I started to feel really dizzy, and then a wet feeling on my upper lip. I raised a hand to wipe my nose. It came away bloody.

My vision started to blur, and I had to really focus to be able to see ahead. Consorts were streaming around both sides of my boulder, pressing on to join the attack. As I watched, the first of the consorts who'd been scaling the rocks reached the top…and I witnessed firsthand the fury of the Northerners being vented on the Dersites. The guards manning the energy turrets were torn to pieces—snapped necks or spines, heads torn from their necks, limbs twisted at impossible angles…or separated from their host bodies.

Then more consorts joined the fray, and they actually had time to draw their swords and knives, fighting with conventional weapons. As they left the protection of my field, some of them were taken down by the defending carapacians…but the Northerners had already established several footholds above the crater by then. They wouldn't be slaughtered.

I relinquished my hold over the Force Aspect, allowing the loose energy field to dissipate. The relief was immediate—my breathing and heart rate slowly stabilized, and my vision started returning to normal. But then I tried to get up…only to give up before I'd even put a fraction of my weight on my arms. They immediately gave out, and I ended up on my back, looking up into the rainclouds, listening to the sounds of battle behind me.

I'm not sure how long I lay there. Maybe an hour, maybe just a few minutes. Dunno. But after a short period of time, my view of the rainclouds was obstructed by the silhouette of a giant, muscular cobra. I turned my head so I could see him more clearly, instantly recognizing his violet scales and large, dark brown eyes.

"Come, little Knight," the violet-scaled giant said to me, the usual gruffness in his voice curiously absent. Could it be affection I detected? "Come and witness our victory." He lowered himself fully to the ground like an Earth snake. I felt an invisible grip gently close around my body, lifting me into the air and placing me down, holding me in place on Inuyyak's back. I wrapped my arms around his neck and let him left himself back up into standing position.

Inuyyak carried me through the rest of the crater and up into the inside of the Dersite fort. The other walls had been taken, and a line of Dersite survivors was being pushed roughly out of the central tower by a group of consorts led by Aumanil. The corpses of dead carapacians—or at least, what was left of them—were strewn all over the fort's inside. I could see countless places where the Dersites had tried to stage a last stand before being torn apart.

The central tower, evidently, was the last place to fall. I could see consorts howling their victory to the skies from the top of the tower, as well as the remaining walls. As the Dersite prisoners were lined up in front of the central tower, Aumanil and Onartuk—the navy-scaled chieftain of Clan Inokksuk—gathered a small group of warriors and arranged them behind the Dersite survivors. Those consorts raised their swords. I was obviously about to witness an execution.

But, for some reason, I didn't want them all to die. So I raised trembling hand and called out for Aumanil to stop…but no one heard me. My voice was too weak. "Inuyyak…" I whispered to the violet-scaled consort carrying me towards the tower. "Inuyyak, make them stop…"

"HOLD!" Inuyyak roared at the top of his lungs. His gravelly, booming voice actually echoed off the walls, reaching to every corner of the fort. "The Knight wishess you to hold, clan chiefss!"

Aumanil and Onartuk whipped around, spotting me on Inuyyak's back. All the other consorts, who'd been too busy celebrating or watching the execution to notice my arrival, saw me as well and murmured amongst themselves. "We have waited for centuriess, Knight," the Inokksuk clan chief hissed to me. "Do not deny uss the deathss of these vermin."

"Hear the Knight before you argue, brother," Aumanil said to his fellow clan chief.

By then, Inuyyak had reached the central tower, standing next to Aumanil so I could be heard.

There were fifteen Dersites lined up waiting for execution. All of them sported a variety of wounds. I then pointed to a Dersite who'd lost an eye and a hand, and then to another who'd lost an entire arm. "Those two…" I took a deep breath, making sure I was speaking loudly enough to be heard. "Take those two out of the line. Kill the rest. Then let me speak to everyone."

Aumanil and Onartuk glanced at each other, but thankfully they did not argue. Under their orders, their senior warriors removed the two Dersites I'd pointed at from the line. The executioners raised their swords, placing them above the backs of the Dersites' necks, waiting for the order. And when Aumanil gave them a nod, as one the senior warriors plunged their blades down into the Dersites' torsos, sending them convulsing to the ground, choking on their own blood until they finally lay still.

Then, as promised, Aumanil raised his voice and demanded silence so that I could speak.

I was surprised—at once, every single consort immediately fell quiet. Maybe they knew that I'd been the one responsible for the protective energy field that had kept the crater from becoming their grave. At my request, Inuyyak grabbed me gently in his Vis and lifted me high into the air so that I could be heard by everyone.

Summoning the last of my strength, I began to speak.

"I, uh… The fight's taken a lot outta me, so I can't really stand on my own, but…uh…" I swallowed, took a deep breath. "I haven't been here all that long, in the grand scheme of things…but, uh… But I know you all have been waiting for me for a really long time, and I just wanted to…um… Fuck, I'm sorry, I'm really bad at this…"

There was a silence for a beat, then somewhere one of the consorts shouted, "Knight!" Then another consort shouted it, and another, then another… Before long, all of the warriors were chanting my title, like we were at some sort of 'Defeat Hyperion' pep rally.

Invigorated by the show of support, I continued once the chanting quieted down. "You all think I'm the one who's supposed to come in and save everyone from the Denizen. You think I'm the one who will lead you to victory, but… Well, that's just not true. I couldn't have done this by myself! Don't you see? Without you, I never would have learned how to use my Aspect, my Vis. I never would have learned what it means to be a Knight. I never would have learned anything about my purpose here! I am not leading you to victory, nor are you leading me to victory…we can't afford to think so linearly. No… I am a part of this struggle now, and I say we're leading each other to victory! Today, we're all Knights!"

That got an even bigger response from the warriors than Aumanil's pre-battle morale lifter. I guess this was just my inner performer coming back to the surface…but that wasn't entirely accurate, because I wasn't performing. I vehemently believed every word I was saying. Is that performing? Or is it just…doing.

I paused as my voice gave out, and I broke down into a fit of painful coughing. Inuyyak started to lower me, but I shook my head, stopping him. I wasn't done yet. "Everyone has proven something today. Let no one say that you Northerners lost your souls or your fire after the defeat of the Bear! Today you reclaim your rightful place as the masters of this land!"

That got another roaring response. Okay, I didn't want this to drag out… Time to bring it home.

"But!" I shouted, my voice beginning to run ragged. I waited for the warriors to quiet down. "But we aren't done, yet! The Northern Fires are free, but there is still a shadow over this world. We may have defeated the last of his dogs here, but in his palace in the Old One's Garden, Hyperion's waiting for us! He's waiting for us to have the balls to directly challenge him!" I declared. The warriors drew in a collective breath, murmuring amongst themselves once again. Invoking the name of the Denizen wasn't something that was done very often. "So gather the clans, gather all the warriors the North has to offer, and come with me to the Forbidden River! And as for you…" I turned my attention to the two Dersite prisoners I'd ordered to be spared. "You two are free to go. Run, now. Run back to the Old One's Garden. Run and tell Hyperion that together—Northerner, Treefolk, and Sand Dweller—we will make your conquest of this world to be your biggest regret! The Knight's here, motherfuckers, and I'm just getting started!"

The two Dersite guards gave each other a sidelong glance. Then, after looking back at all the angry consorts who surrounded them…they wisely chose to abscond, fleeing the fort through the crater.

As all of the warriors started to resume the celebrations, Inuyyak lowered me back to the ground. Warriors crowded in to get a good look at me, touching me gently on the arms and face with their Vis. I guess if I were in their shoes—or scales—I'd want to get a good look at a figure of mythology, too. But it quickly got kind of claustrophobic.

I was too tired to speak, anymore. I tried to hold up my hands, to get the consorts to give me some space… I was burnt out, and all I wanted was a quiet room to go and quietly die in for a little while…

One of the last things I remembered was a red-scaled consort slithering out of the crowd, planting himself in between me and the crowding warriors, getting them to back off. Then he picked me up with his Vis and started to carry me away.

Scales… I tried to talk to him, but I could feel myself starting to lose consciousness before I could say anything.

Then I passed out.