Eric the Warrior

The skies were shown to be peaceful in another part of the shattered world. This region is part of the kingdom of Nerath. And on one of the grassland islands of this kingdom was a small house. Outside, a boy with blonde hair and brown eyes was seen playing fetch with a brown dog. This is Eric, a young boy who wishes to one day become a warrior.

"Ready, Leo?" he asked his pet as he got ready to throw the stick, the dog jumping with excitement. "And... fetch!" Eric gave the stick a hard throw, and Leo made a dash for it, quickly getting ahead and jumping up to catch it in his mouth. Leo then returned to Eric and dropped the stick at his feet, panting happily.

"Good boy." he said rubbing the dog's head with a smile on his face. Leo gave a friendly bark to his master.

The two then noticed a figure coming over to them, one they seem to recognize. He was a middle-aged man with a short grey beard and wore heavy armor. He looked to be carrying something wrapped in a bundle. This is Uther, a seasoned warrior and weaponsmith and Eric's uncle.

"Hey uncle." Eric greeted. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Indeed I did." Uther replied before turning to enter the house, where he placed the package on the table and unwrapped it so his nephew could see what was inside. It was a bunch of ores of different kinds, from copper to gold.

"Wow." Eric said in awe, having never seen this many kinds of ore at one time. "How'd you get this many ore?"

"Well, the village I helped protect from that grunt attack had a local blacksmith." Uther explained. "And when they wanted to express their gratitude for saving them, he gave me this bag of ore."

"Really? Cool." Eric said picking up a piece of iron ore. "You think I'll be able to have a real sword someday?"

"Maybe, if you feel like resuming your training soon." Uther teased taking the iron from Eric's hand and walking over to the furnace. "I want my nephew to know how to defend himself, after all. That's why I made you my squire."

Eric chuckled at that before turning back to the pile of ore, feeling that he knew what plans his uncle had for it. "Ya plan on turning these into metal bars to make new weapons with?" he asked sarcastically.

"I think you know the answer to that question already." Uther said chuckling alongside his nephew before Eric decided to ask another question. "Who're you planning on giving these weapons to?"

That question made Uther pause at what he was doing and quickly turned his head left and right like he was making sure no one else was here to listen and quickly closed the doors and windows to make absolutely sure of that before kneeling down before Eric to tell him something.

"Can you and Leo keep a secret, Eric?" Eric nodded and Leo barked as a way to say yes. "I'm actually planning on giving these weapons to the Warrior's Guild to help them in their fight against the Hollow King."

"Ah, so you're planning on going behind the queen's back and doing what she specifically told the kingdom not to do, again." Eric said slyly.

"Yep." Uther replied. "Even though the queen has no intention of helping in the fight, both me and my friend Rudyard know we shouldn't stand around and do nothing while that beast of darkness and his Hollow Legion run wild ravaging all that remains of Elysia."

"And that's why your old friend became the guildmaster of the Warrior's Guild." Eric praised while looking at some of the weapons his uncle already made. "By the way, how is he? I heard the Hollow King led an attack on the castle not too long ago."

"Oh, he's fine." Uther answered. "It takes more than a surprise attack to bring that battle ax down. And while he's training new recruits, he's also working to try and rebuild most of the castle." He placed some iron ore and coal into the furnace and calmly walked over to take a seat next to his nephew. "Trust me, Eric. He knows what he's doing."

"Yeah. If he didn't, they wouldn't have made him Guildmaster, now would they?" Both Eric and Uther chuckled at that.

The two and their dog were soon alerted to the sound of knocking on the front door, and Uther went to see who it was. Opening the door, he saw it was two men dressed in golden armor. They were the kingdom's royal guard, and Uther knew that when they showed up, it meant the queen was trying to stick her nose in his business again.

"Can I help you two with something?" he asked begrudgingly.

"The queen wants a word with you." one of the guards said with a scowl.


Uther found himself being escorted to the castle by the royal guards, with Eric in tow due to his presence being requested for some reason, as well as Leo due to his bond with the boy. They soon came to the castle, where Eric saw that the place was being renovated to be made out of all the different kinds of metals in Elysia.

"Is this what she has you and every other metalbending craftsman doing instead of using them to make weapons?" he whispered to his uncle. who nodded in response. "Yeah, so she can better ensure her own survival."

The two soon found themselves in an iron-plated throne room. The place had a copper ceiling held up by four pillars of titanium. At the end of the room, a golden throne sat in front of a golden wall. There sat a teenage girl with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail and a golden tiara atop her head. She also wore a red and white dress and light blue shoes. The is Chloe, the recently new queen of Nerath.

"Hello, your majesty." Uther greeted with a bow.

"Uther, there are rumors that have come to my attention that you're making weapons and supplying them to those fools who're trying to fight the Hollow King." Chloe said annoyed.

"What?" Uther said, pretending to feel outraged at such rumors. "Where did such ridiculous stories ever come from?"

"I heard from the other metal-workers that you haven't provided as much metal-plated blocks as them. It led me to become suspicious." the queen replied with a glare. "So tell me, have you been making weapons and shipping them off to those who are getting involved in a futile fight, like those fools in the Warriors Guild?"

"Hey! The warriors of the guild are not fools!" Eric called out, angry that the queen just insulted her idol order of fighters. "They're the best warriors in all of Elysia!" His rant was halted when his uncle stepped in to stop him from going too far. "Eric, easy. You don't want to do something you'll regret later."

"The greatest warriors? Ha!" Chloe scoffed. "You call them the greatest when they and all the others that side with them can't see the reality. The Hollow King cannot be defeated. Many have tried and failed to stop him and his Hollow Knights. Even my own father fell at his hands." she said with tears forming in her eyes.

"Of which we're all in mourning." Uther said with his head lowered in sorrow, Eric and Leo as well. The old king was well-respected by the people, because he, like all those that still fight the Hollow Legion, believed they could be defeated. But when he went to intercept his attack on an undefended island three years ago, he was easily subdued and killed.

Chloe eventually found this meeting pointless and decided to brush off the rumors. "Never mind, But know that if I find the rumors to be true, you two will be locked up in my new golden dungeon as punishment for disobeying my orders." she then threatened, Leo growling in response to her threat.

With that, Chloe gave a wave of dismissal and told the old blacksmith and his nephew and dog to leave her castle.


"Man, why does Chloe have to be such a coward?" Eric said annoyed.

"Don't be too hard on her, nephew." Uther said calmly. "She only got like that when her father died. Remember, Eric, the king was a skilled swordsman, whom no one could defeat in all the years he sat on the throne of Nerath. So when word reached Chloe that the Hollow King had triumphed over him..."

"It must've really shook her." Eric said, felling a bit sorry for Chloe after what she went through. "I guess when you lose someone close to you, you tend to feel scared and vulnerable, huh?" His uncle nodded in agreement. As soon as they were clear of the guards' hearing, Eric then decided to change the subject.

"So do you still plan on making those weapons and sending them to the Warrior's Guild and all the other regions still in the fight?"

"Of course." Uther replied. "Because like I said, even though Queen Chloe doesn't want to have any part of it doesn't mean we can't lend aid in any way we deem fit. She believes the Hollow King is unstoppable. But many people, such as her father, believe the Hollow King has a weakness we haven't found yet."

Eric felt himself smiling at that. "Yeah, and when they do find it, the Hollow King is goin' down!" he said confidently as he looked over the horizon at the edge of the island.