"What a marvelous view!", Maria spoke with a hushed but excited voice. She looked out across the vast expanses of land that was under Camelot's protection. The land was vast, yet, everything seemed so small from her viewpoint on the mountain. "If only King Ulrich could be here to see such a beautiful sight.", Maria let out a heavy sigh, "Well, I'm sure I can bring back the treasure that's hiding on this mountain. Once I return with it, the rest of the knights in Camelot will have to recognize that I deserve the right to serve as my king's bodyguard."
Maria's young age and unrefined skills were seen as "immature" by the Council of the Round Table. Thus, the twelve on the council continuously rejected her applications to serve as King Ulrich's personal knight/bodyguard. She was only sixteen, however, her talent in swordsmanship was already leagues above the rest. While they continuously rejected her, citing her immaturity as a knight, she felt like they weren't telling her the whole story. Whatever the reason, no one could deny her request if she brought back the treasure.
She took one last look at the view before turning around and continuing her trek up the mountainside. The air was thinning and the temperature had begun to drop rapidly. Even with her winter gear on, she was still susceptible to her lungs freezing and altitude sickness. "If I don't find the location before sundown, I'll freeze to death up here. Heh, I would look so crazy talking to myself if I were around other people." Maria smiled at the thought, however, her smile quickly faded as she saw something that seemed out of place. She knelt down and examined what she saw. "Footprints? From the looks of it, two people have made a trek up this mountain before me. There were no prints on the way up. They seem to almost appear out of nowhere." She then remembered that it had been snowing pretty heavily on the mountain before she made her trek upwards. The prints seemed to be a bit shallow to her.
She began to follow the prints up the mountain until she came across an archway near the summit. The archway was very ornate and seemed to be decorated in a multitude of seals and runes. Whatever the archway was leading to, someone didn't want leaving. Maria's mouth curled into a slight smile, "Finally, I found it". As Maria crossed the archway, a massive surge of an ominous and hate filled aura quickly overwhelmed Maria faster than a thunderbolt striking the earth. Maria fell to her knees, the color of her elegant and youthful face was drained, a cold sweat overcame her, and her body was gripped in a existential fear. It was as if death himself had shown himself to her. What could possibly have left behind such a powerful aura? An aura so dangerous and dark that it had to be sealed off. Only a handful of monsters could have left such a mark on the world. None would have ventured onto this summit without the knowledge of the Round Table.
Suddenly, Maria felt a hand grab her arm without warning. She still couldn't move to well but she could still move fast enough to kill whatever was grabbing her. She mustered up all of her strength and put it all into one quick motion. Within a split second, she managed to pull her arm away. Using her momentum, she spun around while drawing her rapier and managed to put a decent amount of space between her and her assailant. The speed and momentum of this caused the hood of her cloak to be removed. The cold air hitting her uncovered hair was enough to shake off the fear she was feeling, at least enough to allow her to be in fighting shape. After she regained her composure and managed to put distance between them, she finally saw who grabbed her.
A middle aged man stood before her, garbed in thick furs and holding a staff. His eyes were full of shock and fear at the sight of Maria. Maria could smell a faint fragrance coming from behind the man, it smelled like a mix of roses and berries. The smell was sweet and reminded Maria of Ulrich's constant trips to the gardens in Camelot. It reminded her of how the two would often sit in the garden and spend the afternoon conversing for hours. Her memories continued to flood in, until the age where she couldn't form proper memory. Throughout all her memories, she couldn't remember a time when she wasn't at her king's side. Why would the council continually reject her? None of it made sense.
The sudden sound of snow crunching returned her to her senses. The man was still standing frozen in the snow, the footsteps weren't his. She stepped to the side and saw a young girl walking towards her. She lowered her weapon, but wasn't ready to sheathe it just yet. The man seemed to be a bit more relaxed, however, his relaxed attitude quickly stiffened as he noticed the young girl grow closer to Maria. The girl was finally in front of her. She looked at Maria with great interest and zeal.
She studied Maria, she looked at the gear that Maria had on, fur lined black leather armor and a cloak, all of which had runes placed on them. While the furs made the armor bulkier than usual, the young girl still noticed Maria's dedication to training, as her body was slim, but not because she was slender. She was slim because her body had been trained to the point where she didn't have much fat on her toned body. She also took note that her grip seemed strong. She looked at Maria's face and noticed it's beauty and elegance. Though there was a small scar on her eyebrow, it seemed to add to the beauty of her face. Her eyes were green like a sparkling jade gemstone. They seemed to radiate confidence, compassion, and kindness, but there was also a slight hint of fear and anger within them. It was then that Maria realized her hood had come off her head. This made it possible for the young girl to see that her hair color was red, like a deep, dark, crimson. The color itself was rare, though many find it unsightly as it was the color of blood. Maria used her spare hand to quickly pull her hood up.
"Why do you cover your hair miss?" the young girl spoke. Maria was taken aback at the direct nature of her question. Maria sheathed her sword and ignored the young girl. Something about the young girl was troubling Maria, she was wearing the same bulky furs as the man and, unlike him, had a fur lined hood over her face. Maria looked at the girl before turning her gaze to the man.
"I need you to tell me where the cave entrance is." The man seemed shocked at the question, even more so than when Maria had her sword drawn. "I'm looking for something important and I need to find it to return home."
"Th-the cave entrance? I-I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't tell you ma'am." the man began to look uncomfortable. "Y-you see, that cave is, well it's trapping something inside."
"I'm guessing you and this girl live on this mountain? Otherwise, you wouldn't be trying to hinder my progress." Maria's demeanor began to change and her eyes seemed to become a brighter shade of green. "I'll ask you one more time sir, where is it?"
"I cannot." the man hung his head dejectedly. Maria then appeared right in front of him, grabbing him by the collar of his coat.
"Alright listen, Tell me where the entrance is and I will go and kill whatever is in there. It's in the same place where I need to go anyways. I have had my wish rejected multiple times now and I will not let you be another old man who stands in the way of my wish to be by my friend's side. He must become powerful and I can help him do that if you just tell me where the entrance is. You don't even need to show me, I will go myself." Maria's eyes grew in intensity. "Is that agreeable?"
"As long as you promise to keep my daughter safe, I will show you. It is hidden, behind a secret door. My family was placed here to safeguard it after the mountain had a crater carved into it." Maria let go of the man, though she seemed perplexed. The mountain had a crater carved into it? This mountain is huge? What could possibly have done that? The more Maria tried to understand about the mountain, the more questions arose.
"Alright, I can do that. However, you have to tell me what you know of this place on the way there. Also, you must tell me your names." Maria's eyes slowly returned to normal after she calmed herself. She realized that she was close to making a mistake that couldn't be reversed and it had nothing to do with the old man.
"I am Leonhart and my daughter's name is Layla. I apologize lady warrior, my fear had overtaken me. I will answer as we walk. It isn't far." The man bowed his head and began to walk further inside the barrier of malevolence. Maria had acclimated to it as she was interrogating the man. As they walked through the barrier, Maria looked at Layla who was still looking at her. Why did this girl bother her so much? Suddenly, the man's voice began to ring out. "The barrier keeping the evil in was placed there by a knight of the Round Table many centuries ago. The grandchildren of King Arthur, one brother and one sister, had appeared at this summit to stop a being of evil from wreaking havoc across the surrounding land. The details of what happened aren't clearly known, however, the end result is. The grandson, King Leon, used Excalibur to not only kill the beast, but to erase it's very soul. To accomplish this, it's said that he used a forbidden technique to make sure it succeeded. The sword was broken into 8 fragments and they spread across the great united continent. This is the result." As Leonhart stopped, Maria was able to see the crater clearly.
"You said a crater was carved into the mountain." Maria looked in awe at the sight she beheld. The mountain itself seemed to almost be split apart, however, there was no jagged rocks. The crater was smooth and appeared as if someone had simply erased the land there. The land wasn't destroyed, it was gone. Almost as if it were caught in a sphere of displacement magic. "This is what my king's ancestor was capable of?"
"Your king?" Maria simply nodded, the man seemed to be more relieved than surprised. "Well, it seems I now understand why you were so aggressive about what is in the cave. To answer your question, yes. King Leon was said to have been born with no magic energy and no spirit energy." Before he could finish, Maria quickly interjected.
"How was he able to pull something like this off without having any magic or spirit energy? Excalibur is a magical and divine blade that almost has no peer. Yet, this formation of crater shouldn't look like this even with Excalibur. " Maria knew a small amount about King Leon from books, however, it never mentioned any weakness nor his lack of magic and spirit energy.
"He was said to have been at the pinnacle of the art of combat. None could match him. He had no use for any of the other things, his strength and skill were leagues above what any spell or miracle could accomplish. That may have a bit to do with it." Leonhart then began to make his way around the crater to a rock face. He touched the rock face with his hand and chanted some inaudible words. He motioned for Maria who quickly ran over. "Sorry to cut the conversation short, however, this is it." Maria could notice fear in his eyes.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of this for you, then you and your daughter will be at peace. You'll be able to live life without worry. Now, go to your daughter as soon as you release your hand. On my count." Maria held up three fingers and began to count down, she looked over at the young girl. The girl had removed her hood, revealing the same blood red hair. Maria then understood why Layla asked about her hair. The young girl smiled brightly as Maria's count reached one. Leonhart quickly removed his hand and ran to his daughter with as much speed his age could afford him.
Maria quickly moved into the entrance with her sword drawn. It was an ornate, but very capable sword. It was a magical sword that was gifted to her by Ulrich when she turned sixteen. It was specially modified for her use only. The ornate designs were wards and runes, but they were placed in such a way that they were seen as decoration. The sword seemed to resonate with something inside the cave. "It's here." Maria said aloud before being knocked back with such momentous force that she landed in the middle of the crater. Maria quickly rolled over until she was gazing at the sky. Dark clouds began to form and a blizzard was starting to roll in. She could feel blood begin to pool underneath her. Her vision slowly faded into black. Death would soon reap her soul without her accomplishing her goal. Her thoughts were of regret and sadness, at not being able to accomplish this task and not being able to see her friend again. What caused this motion of events to take place? Why was she always treated differently than the other knights? None of it mattered, she was about to die. In the pitch black void, she heard a familiar voice call out to her.
"You giving up so easily Maria? A shame really. I'd hate to be king without my friend watching my back." The voice was that of Ulrich, the King of Camelot. "You know, I thought your skills were on par with mine. Yet, your going to let a scratch keep you down?"
"King Ulrich, I'm sorry I failed you. I just can't keep going like this. I think that 'scratch' was a bit more severe than you know."
"Sounds to me like your just feeling sorry for yourself. If you have enough energy to complain to me, then I'm sure you have enough energy to get up. However, you may be right about that wound. Of course, I wouldn't know, I wouldn't have been hit by such a thing, so yeah. Even if I were dying, I still wouldn't give up. " Maria smiled at the cocky statement of her king.
"You know, one day that attitude you have is going to be the death of you." Ulrich's voice brought a strange comfort to her troubled heart. In her eyes, the king was a man of integrity and strength, a man who would fight gods themselves if it meant protecting his people. The cocky attitude gave her a feeling of assurance, because it wasn't cockiness since he was capable of backing up his statements. She wished to be like him, to have the strength to speak up for herself and the strength to back up her claims. "Since I know that it will kill you, I can't let myself die here. You may be King, but you still need someone to watch over you."
As the words left her mouth, the black void grew brighter and brighter, she could feel her strength returning. "I'm glad you finally made up your mind. You need some help with him?" Even though Maria couldn't feel her head move, she knew she responded with shaking her head in the negative. "Then rise Maria Du Lac, last descendant of Lancelot, this will not be your grave!" Suddenly Maria's eyes opened to the sky looking down on her. A loud roar could be heard from where she had been hit. She slowly made her way to her feet, the pain she felt was nearly gone. She looked down at where she had been hit, the wound had completely healed. The blood that had pooled under her body was nowhere to be seen. She quickly picked up her sword and readied herself for whatever had attempted to kill her. She heard heavy steps grow closer to her location until she could finally see her assailant.
The creature had skin that barely seemed to hold in the immense muscles of its body, it's legs were that of a goat, and it's face was twisted and foul with a mouth that was full of fangs. It's skin was charred, adding to the already pain inducing look of the creature. When Maria looked upon it, she knew exactly what her opponent was. "A demon knight. That's going to be a problem." Though it had no weapon, it was still a creature capable of causing massive destruction. It's hands still had claws capable of ripping apart flesh. Before Maria could come up with a strategy, the demon rushed forward with ferocious speed. Maria was not well versed in miracles, meaning she could only use her sword. Magic would have been a good choice, however, against a demon, it may as well be trying to throw a bucket of water into the ocean. "Only one choice." Maria charged forward with her sword and quickly slid under the demon while delivering multiple slices to it's legs. The demon howled and quickly turned around and swung it's claws at the knight. She quickly ducked underneath the strike and stabbed the creature in the chest before jumping back. She noticed that her attacks were harming it, though it wasn't fatal. Before she was able to launch another attack the demon held out it's hand and began to summon flames.
Maria's eyes widened, she couldn't take a direct hit from his strikes and the flames were just as big of a threat. She quickly removed her cloak and her excess furs. A massive fireball was then launched directly towards her. Maria managed to jump out of the way. The ground the fireball touched then erupted in flames so hot, the surrounding snow quickly melted into the ground. The clouds then began thundering and the blizzard finally arrived, causing Maria's vision to become obscured. However, Maria realized that this meant that the demon's visibility was also poor. She quickly picked up her cloak and threw it into the air. The flames caused the silhouette to become visible from the demon's point of view, he quickly leaped through the air and grabbed the cloak, slamming it down into the ground with such force that the ground had cracked.
Maria then jumped up and impaled the sword into the neck of the demon. The sword managed to pierce deep into the skin of the demon. The demon fell to it's knees. Maria felt a sense of relief. King Ulrich told her that behind a demon's neck is it's weak point. As quickly as she felt relief, the demon reached back and grabbed Maria, throwing her into the ground with such force that it caused Maria to cough up blood. The demon then stabbed Maria in the stomach with it's claws, causing her to let out a bloodcurdling scream. Instead of fear, she felt uncontrollable rage. Her eye color once again intensified, her face was then filled with hate, and then, her eye color changed. The demon let out a sinister laugh, thinking that he had won. What he didn't notice was that Maria's bleeding had stopped. Even with his claws impaling her, the bleeding was nonexistent. It should have been gushing out and joining the massive blood pool underneath the two.
No one, not even Maria, knew that her eyes had changed into a crimson red, much like her hair. She was in a great amount of pain, though none could see it. Her face remained filled with hate. The beauty and elegance of her face was gone, it was replaced by the face of a stone cold killer. The demon remained laughing, however, it quickly stopped as he let out a roar of pain. He stumbled backwards as he tried to see who else was attacking him. He then noticed that his hand was missing. The demon's yellow blood was spilling on the ground, mixing with Maria's. He continued looking around but saw no one. He then looked back towards Maria. She was standing there, staring at the demon, in her palm was the hand of the demon. Her wounds were gone. She stood there, with multiple red spears behind her.
The demon then noticed that Maria once again had her sword in her hand. The demon roared and once again charged her. Without warning, he was stopped dead in his tracks. The red spears had pinned his feet to the ground and impaled his legs. No attacks had managed to fatally injure the demon before, but now, now he was being impaled by these spears. Maria walked slowly towards the demon. The demon then noticed that one of the spears was yellow in color. As Maria walked, the blood on the ground seemed to separate where she stepped. The blood then rose from the ground and formed a spear in the air, before launching at incredible speed at the remaining hand. As the spear pierced his flesh, the blood seemed to violently expand in his hand. There was no hand left that the demon could use.
"It is said that demon's have never experienced fear."Maria's voice, while normally harmonious, soothing, and pleasing to hear, was now cold and was much deeper than before. They may have had the same appearance, but this new Maria was a dark and merciless harbinger of death. The reasoning of the Round Table's decision was now justified. "I, Maria Lancelot, am going to make you the exception." The remaining spears launched towards the demon, impaling his legs and arms until reaching the torso. The demon's roars of pain were bloodcurdling and deafening. The roars caused the father and daughter, who were hiding a decent distance away, to feel icy fingers around their hearts. The two were frozen in fear until Layla spoke, "Dad? Is that lady knight making him scream like that?" Layla looked at her father with a sad expression on her face.
"I don't know sweetie, but if it is, then she's even more terrifying than the beast in the cave." Leonhart thought to himself, "There was no way that the young knight, who's eyes radiated such kindness and compassion, could be the same person causing this to happen." Layla could see the look in her father's eyes and could tell that he was full of worry. Layla closed her eyes and put her hands on her ears.
Maria's spears began to retract from the wounds and return behind her. The demon was full of holes and in massive pain. Nonetheless, Maria still hadn't seen true fear in it's eyes. This caused her to repeatedly impale him and keep him alive by using the demon's blood. The demon may have wished to die, but that didn't mean he was afraid. "You're eyes still have no fear? Alright then, I'll show you something that will cause you to wish those spears had done the trick." The blood then began to form wings behind Maria, causing her to look like a red colored angel. She began to walk closer to the demon. As soon as she was within arms length, she began to reach her hand towards the demon's chest. The demon then opened his mouth and began to try to take a chunk out of her. Just before he made contact, his body stopped completely of it's own accord.
"Oh? You can't move can you?" She let out a twisted laugh, "What you don't know is that I have complete authority over you demon. Stand straight!" The demon then straightened his back and head to it's original position. The demon could slowly feel something he's never felt before. This wasn't a normal human. Could it have been a angel, he thought. Maria could see it now, she accomplished what she said she would. "That's the look I wanted. Well, it's been fun but now I have no need for you anymore. Bye, bye." Maria sheathed her sword and began to walk away, the blood falling and forming a multitude of spikes, which then shot through the demon. The demon's body was laying on the ground bleeding out yellow blood, however, Maria's blood had mixed in with it. Throughout the entire body.
Maria walked back to the entrance of the cave and began to walk down the corridor. After a bit of walking, she found what she was looking for, a shard of Excalibur. She tore off her sleeve and wrapped it around the shard and proceeded to store it away in her armor. As Maria reached the entrance of the cave, she began to feel lightheaded and weak. She passed out as soon as she noticed the feeling of cold air on her face. As she fell, her eyes reverted back to green as her eyelids shut. In her dreams, Maria remembered fragments of the fight and singled out her change in demeanor.
Maria's eyes opened to reveal the ceiling of a small cottage. She could feel the warmth of a small fire and noticed that a object wrapped in cloth was laying beside her. Maria noticed that while she had no external or internal injuries, she did have a piercing headache and noticed that she was lightheaded. She slowly sat up and checked the object. As she unwrapped the cloth, she saw the fragment of Excalibur that she had come looking for. A flash of memory came rushing back, of Maria grabbing the fragment inside of the cave. It had been imbedded inside of the rock for generations, yet the fragment was still in perfect condition. She then noticed that the fragment had electricity emanating from the blade and that, when in contact with the open air, it seemed to reverberate in her hands. She quickly wrapped it back up and found a small bag next to her that had a note on top.
"Lady knight, I wish to offer my thanks for getting rid of that creature and for not allowing any harm to come to us. The sound of combat had stopped and the blizzard that had swept in shortly after you began fighting had disappeared as quickly as it appeared. So, I came to check for myself if you remained alive. I found you at the mouth of the cave. It appeared that you lost consciousness due to blood loss. When I checked to see if you were injured, I noticed the holes left by the creature, however, no wounds were found. While you may be confused, I have an explanation that you need to know about. The red hair that you and my daughter possess is an attribute shared only by a handful of people. These people are capable of using a technique that is seen as unnatural. The technique has been dubbed, Blood Magic, and is highly volatile."
Maria looked away from the page and a few flashes of memory from her fight came back to her mind. She indeed felt like a different person and noticed that she couldn't remember anything else. A fear overcame Maria as she thought about the possibility that this could pose a threat to her king. She decided to read the rest of the letter, in case there was some way to control it. "Another attribute is attributed to this Blood Magic, red crimson eyes. When the eyes turn red, that's when a shift in personality ensues. The user will have no recollection during the duration of it's activation. Honestly, I wasn't sure if you were one, even though you shared the same hair color as my daughter. After seeing the remains of your enemy, I realized my fears were correct. I willingly stayed atop this mountain because I knew that if my daughter were to lose control inside of a town, nothing could stop her. At least, not normal people. I tell you this because I could see into your heart. You're eyes radiated kindness and compassion. They overshadowed the anger and fear that dwells inside. It is this reason that I want to tell you, you can find a way to control it and harness it's power. It has been done before, long ago, but it requires one to maintain complete control over their emotions. If you are able to find a balance, you will be able to access your abilities. Not all at once, that requires practice. My daughter is still to young, it has been a hard process. However, with the demon killed and the barrier in pristine condition, we can now seek counsel with people that have knowledge of this. Thank you for everything. Give the king my regards for making the mountain safe. The bag is filled with food and water, take it for your journey home. Once again thank you."
Maria's armor was nearly destroyed in the battle, so she discarded it and noticed a pair of clothes on a table in the hut. She quickly changed and prepared for the long road home. She looked at the note and noticed it had something written on the back. "Dear Lady Knight, thank you for protecting us. I wanted to tell you not to hide your beautiful long hair. I just know that you'll find a person who compliments it's color like my dad compliments mine. I also wanted to tell you that you reminded me of my mom before she passed away. You both had the same hair and eyes. I had forgotten what she looked like, thank you for reminding me of her face. Layla." Maria's eyes began to water, no one had ever said her hair was beautiful. Despite the fact that Maria had been feeling like a monster since she woke up, this girl was able to show her that being a monster was a choice. Maria had no knowledge or control over her ability, nor did she have balance in her heart. Nonetheless, Layla inspired hope in her. If Layla was still positive and happy, then Maria could find a way to live that way too. A smile emerged on her face.
"Right! I'll control this power and assist my king in his duties. I refuse to give up on my wish." Maria stepped out of the hut and into the brisk mountain air. Since she woke up, she only had the smell of blood in her nose. However, the air of the mountain overpowered that smell and drove it away. Instead of blood, she could smell a gentle aroma that consisted of the pine trees and multiple different flowers poking out of the snow that surrounded the house. It was earthy, yet sweet. The melting snow made the mountain trees appear serene and glisten like stars when the sun hit the condensation just right. She closed her eyes and took in the scene. "Alright! Time to head back and present this gift to my king." Maria then began to follow a pathway that was obviously made by Leonhart. It led her to the pathway that she used to climb to the top. As she walked down, she stopped and looked out across the lands under Camelot. Instead of being captivated by the sight, only doubt occupied her mind. Under her breath she spoke softly, "King Ulrich, my friend, did you and the Round Table have knowledge of my condition?"