"You not be mean, right?" Achlys asked the Horseman looming over her.
It was always around her finding day when Hecarim would pay a visit to the cathedral to assess Achlys's growth. These visits were always brief. He would usually show up, look at the child, grumble in dissatisfaction, and depart, only to repeat this process a few months later.
This time though, Achlys was determined for things to go differently. She was a big girl now, having experienced four whole finding days. Big girls, she assured herself, could be brave enough to stand before Hecarim and no go running away to hide behind their father's robes. And so she planted her feet firmly on the ground, steeled her nerves, looked defiantly up at Hecarim, and demanded to know if he planned on being big, mean, and scary today.
"You should answer her question," Karthus commented.
"I do not owe her kindness," Hecarim cut back, "I will treat her as I would others on the Isles."
"I do not believe you. You do not speak to your knights with the same contempt with which you speak to her."
"My knights do not question me. They know their rank," Hecarim paused for a moment and looked down at Achlys, "but if the child needs an answer, I do not intend to treat her with cruelty. If she perceives my actions as such, it is simply because she has not experienced true cruelty."
"With good fortune, she may never have to."
At this, Hecarim chuckled.
"And yet you frequently bring her before Thresh. You push your luck, Karthus."
"He knows better than to cross me."
"You assume he fears your wrath?" he scoffed, "and you dare call me a fool."
"He understands her value to the Isles."
Hecarim's dark laugh echoed through his helmet.
"Keep deceiving yourself, Karthus."
"What is funny?" Achlys demanded.
"Karthus's faith in that wretch," Hecarim answered.
"Enough of this," Karthus sighed, "state your grievances Hecarim and be on your way."
Like glass shattering against stone, the shriek of a wraith pierced the air. Karthus whipped his attention towards the sound, recognizing the shrieking spirit as one of his own. It, along with several other wraiths, was being dragged from the cathedral by tendrils of the Black Mist. As the Mists continued to rein in the lesser spirits, several more tendrils raced toward Karthus and washed over him, curling around him like tethers. Karthus's eyes went wide as the force within the Mist pulled on his soul.
"I am summoned," the lich gasped.
"Then depart as you are ordered," Hecarim commented.
"But Achlys," Karthus protested, "she cannot be left alone."
"Then take her with you."
"I cannot."
"Why?"
"She is vulnerable."
Karthus's words became more strained, as though resisting the summons was causing him physical distress. More Mist enveloped him. His call could not be ignored.
"Hecarim, you must take her," Karthus pleaded.
Not waiting for Hecarim's response, Karthus plucked up Achlys and thrust her upon the Horseman's back. As soon as his hold on Achlys ended, Karthus was overwhelmed by the Mists, completely enshrouding his being and bearing him off in a wave of black and green.
"Wait! Father!" Achlys cried out, "Where you going? Wait!"
She reached out for him, straining her small arms as far as they could go, but it no use. He had been called, and there was nothing she could do to overcome the will of the Mists. Achlys considered chasing after him. She went to pull herself to her feet but Hecarim's back was not as stable as surface as she had imagined, and she tumbled immediately off his back.
Hecarim caught her before she crashed to the ground. Achlys shouted in surprise as he effortlessly scooped her under his arm. His armor was frigid to the touch, as though his whole body was incased in ice. Despite this, Achlys pounded her fists against the dark metal, squirming desperately in his grip.
"Put down!" she demanded, "Put me down! Let go! I want Father!"
"I desire nothing more than to drop you," Hecarim growled in annoyance.
"Down!"
"No. You are Karthus's problem, not mine. I shall return you to him."
He held her fast to his side and galloped off in the direction Karthus had vanished. He sped over the blighted ground, moving with a swiftness that was dizzying for the child at his side. The rocks struck by his iron hooves sparked, a rare flash of light in the dark landscape. Achlys wrapped her arms around his, holding on for dear life. Her face contorted in discomfort as she felt every inch of her body being roughly jostled by Hecarim.
"Ouch," she whined, "stop, please. My head hurt. I do not want to go."
"I care not what you want," Hecarim scolded.
"Why?"
"I do not need to."
A jump over a ruined wall left Achlys's teeth clattering together. She let out a low whine. Despite straining her eyes to search for anything familiar in the landscape, it was passing by too quickly for her to recognize anything.
"Where are we going?" Achlys asked, her voice shaking as she struggled to speak without biting her tongue.
"Karthus insists that you are here because the Mists wills you to be. If that is so, it should have taken you with him."
"Oh."
Achlys remained silent. She didn't understand what was going on, and she didn't want to ask anything else of the terrifying creature holding her. It was taking all her focus to not get motion sick and vomit all over him. She failed, and threw up as Hecarim came to an abrupt stop.
"Yuck. I feel sick. Put me down," she groaned, "please. Down now."
Now that they had stopped moving, Achlys was able to get a look at where she was. She had no idea where they were, but she did recognize that once again, the Black Mist was swirling around them. A thin thread of it spiraled around Hecarim's head. Just like Karthus, his gaze became distant as he too was called. From the Mist, several of Hecarim's knights stepped forward. The largest of the group, a knight with a helmet, adorned with a great black plume, and horn, sculpted to look like a howling beast, gave a bow.
"Commander," his voice echoed, "we have been called. Invaders. We await your order to ride out."
"And so we shall. Summon the others," Hecarim answered.
The knight put the horn to his helmet and though he no longer posed lungs, the instrument rang out clearly. More knights gathered, seemingly appearing out of thin air. They gathered around Hecarim, awaiting his command. Achlys covered her ears as the sound split the silent sky. She was becoming overwhelmed. She had enough bravery in her to control her fear around one Hecarim, but many Hecarims was asking too much.
"Who are you?" she cried.
Her whimpered question brought Hecarim's attention back to the child tucked under his arm.
"Karthus departed for battle and dared to leave you with me," the Horseman snorted, "I should drag you with us, have you bear witness to what you will someday do."
"What?"
For a moment, Hecarim considered charging into battle with the child at his side. The sight of battle would, he hoped, breed some courage within her timid soul. He squeezed her tighter to him. Her will to fight was rekindled, and she thrashed against his grip.
"Fortune smiles on you, child," Hecarim sneered, "you shall ride with one of my knights."
"No!" she protested.
Hecarim ignored her plea. He motioned for one of his knight to approach him and placed the struggling child into the waiting hands of his obedient soldier. The spectral rider looked down at Achlys, his expression completely neutral. Achlys stared back up at him.
"Who are you?" she asked the impassionate being, "let me go!"
Pinching her cheeks, Hecarim turned Achlys's attention back to himself.
"Be grateful for this, child," his voice boomed, "for you will witness the true might of the Shadow Isles, and you will be fortunate enough to survive."
He turned to address his knight, but before he could speak his order, the Mists that had curled around Hecarim flashed angrily and tightened around his brow. Hecarim staggered backwards, his free hand grasped at his forehead. His balefire blazed and a low growl rumbling forth from him.
"Commander," the knight asked, his tone unchanged, "your orders?"
In a sudden motion, Hecarim reared up and brought his hooves crashing down before the knight. They tore at the ground as Hecarim shook his head as if to free it of the Mists.
"Take the child," he snarled, "and depart."
"As you command," the knight obeyed.
Without another moment's delay, Hecarim raised his glaive and gave a war cry. His knights, save the one holding Achlys, joined in the cry.
"Ride out!"
With the thundering of dozens of iron hooves, Hecarim led his knights away in full gallop. The remaining knight watched his companions speed away. He was silent, unmoving until Achlys spoke to him.
"Who are you?"
The spectral rider looked down at his charge.
"I am a knight of the Iron Order."
"Iron Order?"
"I serve Grand Master Hecarim, Knight-Commander of the Iron Order."
"Oh."
"He has commanded I take you from this place."
"Where?"
"I was only ordered to take you from here. Where I bring you was not specified."
"I want to go home?"
"I do not know where your home is, child."
"Go to beach?"
"I can take you there."
"Then go."
The knight placed Achlys on his back. For this, Achlys was grateful. She had had her fill of being roughly carried for the day.
"Hold tightly."
Achlys summoned her magic and wrapped its tethers around the knight's chest. She hugged him as closely as her small arms around his chest could reach. Satisfied that his rider was not about to tumble off, the knight took off for the beach at a comfortable trot. For the first time since Karthus left, Achlys was beginning to relax. No longer being cruelly jostled about, she could watch the Isles pass by without nausea inducing dizziness. She let out an exhausted sigh and rested her cheek against her surefooted guardian. Just as Hecarim was, his armor was cold to the touch.
As she rested, Achlys began to notice how the knight's spirit, now touched by her magic, felt. There was something about it that made it different from her father's wraiths or Katherine. There were traces of another's presence wrapped around his soul. Wrathful and restless, this other being's magic marred the knight's soul like a hot branding iron. Achlys did not want to focus on this hateful sensation; it felt like being in Hecarim's grasp again. In an attempt to distract herself, she once more tried to strike up a conversation.
"What is your name?"
"I am a knight of the Iron Order," the wraith responded with a voice as emotionless as ever.
"No, like this. My name is Achlys. Who are you?"
"I am a loyal knight. I follow the Commander's orders. Nothing else matters."
Achlys sighed. This conversation was getting her nowhere. She tried a different question.
"Who is Commander?"
"Knight-Commander Hecarim. He leads the Iron Order. He shall lead us to glory."
Alright, Achlys thought, so the knight could answer questions. She decided it would be best to keep the conversation going along this path.
"What the Iron Order?"
"We are the kingdom's greatest knights. We shall fight his enemies both foreign and domestic. We fight for –" the knight paused, "we fight for –" his hand gripped his head, "we fight for him."
The last word was said reluctantly, as though the knight was dissatisfied that he could not recall a name. Achlys knew what was happening. When Katherine had first begun talking to her, she was much the same way; forgotten words, sentences that would trail off into nothing, reluctance to speak. She knew that she could help the knight, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to spend days around him as she had with her friend. It would be best, she reasoned, to try and talking with him as much as she could now.
The sound of a crashing wave was heard up ahead. The knight increased his pace and headed for the sound. They stepped out of the woods and beheld the grey sand dunes before them. The grasses that had grown here had petrified during the Ruination, turning the dunes into a field of sharp blades. The knight appeared unbothered by this as he made his way to the shore. Hooves turned the grasses to dust under their weight and the blades that did graze his form were unable to damage his armor.
"We are at the beach, child," the knight informed her, "now we shall wait until my Commander returns for you."
The thought of rejoining Hecarim didn't sit well with Achlys. She scanned the sandy shoreline, seeing if there was any landmark she could use to direct the knight back to her home. In the distance, she spotted the glow of the phantom city of Helia. From there, Achlys knew how to return to the cathedral.
"Lia!" she cheered, "go to city! Please go!"
"I will bring you there," the knight agreed dispassionately, "there is nowhere Commander Hecarim will not locate us, so we may go."
It was peaceful as they traveled along the water's edge, the loudest sounds being the washing of waves and the soft swish of shifting sands under the knight's hooves. In the comfortable silence, Achlys began to think again. Being by the ocean had helped Katherine, so perhaps her current companion would also be more comfortable here. She decided to test her theory and try speaking with him again.
"Who are you?"
"I am a knight of the Iron Order."
Achlys sighed. Still no progress with that question. Oh well, time to try a different one.
"Why is Iron Order here?"
"We were ordered here. I followed Commander Hecarim."
"Why?"
"We did it for her. She had to be saved at any cost. At any cost."
"Why?"
Achlys nodded in approval. Now the conversation was getting somewhere. Perhaps, she thought, if she were able to wind her magic into the knight, she could convince him to speak more. It had worked with Katherine, so why not again? She focused on the spectral bindings she had used to attach herself to him. Calling upon the magic she had learned from Thresh, she sought to exert her will over the wraith and command him to speak. Her will brushed against the other presence in the knight's soul.
Instantly, the knight roared in pain. He reared up, hooves kicking at the air. If Achlys had not tethered herself so firmly to him, she would have been thrown into the sand. Fear gripped Achlys, and she withdrew her magic, but the damage was already done. The knight trembled, but whether this was from fear or rage, she couldn't tell. His voice came out as pained howls.
"But Commander," he grunted, "they are unarmed."
He thrashed and clutched at his head in a blind panic. Achlys was also panicking. She had no idea what fury she had accidentally awakened, but she regretted it deeply.
"No, Sir," the knight gasped, "I am loyal. I am not like her. I obey."
"Please!" Achlys tried to calm the raging spirit, "Stop!"
"I cannot."
He gripped his polearm and raised it above his head.
"I am a knight of the Iron Order!"
The balefire on his body flared brightly at the violent memory. He lowered his weapon, prepared to charge at foes long dead. And then a spear crashed through his chest.