The white carriage rode across the dunes. Its wheels replaced by long ski-like staffs that allowed for the carriage to skim across the waves like a sled. Five powerhouse horses carried this box of wood like it was nothing like it they were carrying onlt air behind them. At blazing speeds, they strode into the distance, toward the Outerlands, where the Monster Gate was located.
The thirty-five-year-old, white-haired leader of the Knights of Murami, spoke up in a commanding yet slithery voice, "my men of Murami. This boss is not but a simple monster. It is a Threat Level Castle. And before our departure, the medium suggested a force of great power to be along with this monster. A force, not physically strong, but mentally strong. A force much stronger than hers. A mage of sorts. But be wary, for our first order is to kill the beast."
Five minutes later they crossed the intersection between the Kingdom of Forr and the Outerlands. The outcast towns surrounding the valley where the beast roamed in a rampage.
---
"SCREEEEECH! ROAR!"
The Devil Dog tore across the sandy dunes. Bodies of blood and guts everywhere. The Monster looked for its next victim in the haze of its rage, before landing on the closest and only person to remain on this hill of time.
"Shit shit shit shit! I gotta get out of here quick! Chinin is dead! Mirda is dead! everyone else is dead! And I'm the only one alive..." Lin looked across the battlefield to see Ceauli, Tusk, and I huddled back behind another ridge on the other side of the valley, "they... They left me... They left me to die..."
The monster stormed through sand, the clouds in its wake as the blood from its mouth foamed up in anticipation. The last kill, the last human, the last snack. And Lin sat defeated. His knees to the ground, his arms out to the side, his face to the heavens, he gave up on surviving and strode with sadness and self-pity.
"They left me to die... They left me to die... My own sister... She left me to die... That... That guy... He left me to die... Why won't they die with me? Is it because they think they're better than me? I'm not good enough for her? I loved her... Yet in her own pursuit of love, she never thought of me? Was it because we were siblings? Was it fate? Was he fate? A man to come into our lives, to come to this place, on this exact day, to come here, to die like this. Like an animal, to be eaten by one, to be looked down by one. By them... Or... Or was that us? Was I looking down on him? Was this our fault? Our greed? Our want to be better than them...?"
The monster reached out and clawed across the sand. Its large black nails scratching across the rock underneath, rubbled in the air. Lin closed his eyes, and accepted his-
Slice!
"Nothing is your fault, my child."
---
"Hide my sword," implored Tusk as he grabbed at my cloak.
"What? You're sword? The magical one?"
"Yes, give me your cloak to hide it quickly."
I quickly took off my grey cloak and wrapped up his black and golden sword and sheath.
I asked, "why do you need your sword to be-"
He suddenly pointed out at Lin, at the blood flowing out from the Devil Dog's hand, as a white silvery sword split it in two. Ceauli gasped in relief as six knights in white appeared from a white carriage. They each wielded swords above their height and were clad in armor shinier than the sun itself.
"Who are those people? Are they the Monster Hunters?" I asked Tusk.
He said while slowly getting up from his sandy seat, "they're not Monster Hunters, nor mercenaries of any kind. They're the Knights of Murami. A holy group that worships the singular God, Murami."
Ceauli added, "they originally came from the Kingdom of Stonefall, but when it fell, they made their way to the Kingdom of Forr since it was the only sanctuary in the world where their harsh religious beliefs wouldn't be scrutinized."
"You are exactly correct, girl. But their religion over the past four years has doubled in believers. Which has in turn grown their group into a powerhouse of wealthy and streangth."
We watched as the leader of the Knights of Murami stepped forward, his sword still half inside the Devil Dog's paw as it screeched out in pain. But he wasn't just done yet. He pulled out a large bottle of water and tossed it into the air.
"What is he doing?" I asked.
"That's holy water," pointed Ceauli.
---
The water cracked and splashed across the top of the Devil Dog's head, turning the flesh underneath the fur into blisters of blood and puss.
"SCREEECH! ROAR!"
The knights started laughing at the whimpering dog as their leader pulled his longsword out of the paw and swung it across his head. He looked down at blood-covered Lin with a smile.
"Watch this, my child. Don't be afraid of monsters, don't be afraid of death. God is always here watching you. He knows your fate and your destiny, so don't worry, your time hasn't come yet."
The Devil Dog raised its last remaining weapon, its fanged mouth into the sky. It came down on the white-haired knight with all its strength. But before it could even get close to him, he switched up the handling of his long sword at the last second. He flipped his hands, by placing his left hand on the grip and his right on the guard. He then swung down at full speed connecting the tip of his white thick blade against the large open bleeding mouth of the giant dog coming down on him.
Slice!
He cut the monster's head in two as blood came pouring out from its temple.
---
"Who is that man?" I asked.
"He is Lanis of the White Poem," said Tusk as he grabbed his wrapped-up sword and turned around in the other direction.
Ceauli quickly jumped forward from beside me. She ran across the sandy dunes of blood and gore toward her blood-covered brother. I stood still. The man behind me, or the girl in front of me. I had a choice. My unknowing fate with him, or my safe future with her.
It was a choice that I knew I had to make, and it was a choice I knew I couldn't choose. So without a second thought, I turned around-
"Don't kid... Don't take another step..." Tusk held out his cloaked sword and pointed at Ceauli, "go back with your girl. This life is but sorrowful and lonely. Your death will surely come in time."
"But I-"
"You saw today. Wherever I go, wherever my fate leads me, abnormality strides in my desolate path. And you are but a child. A kid thinking he can control fate. Let me tell you now. Your fate is nothing more than in your head. This was but a coincidence, a choice of moments where yours coincided with mine. We are not..."
He lowered his weapon as I stepped forward, my eyes determined, ready, and focused.
"When I met you just now... I gave up on fate!"
His red eyes wavered in those words as the Knights of Murami turned their gazes toward us.
He looked at them, then at me, then sighed and shook his head in his own stupidity, "fine kid... But before you follow me... Go to the Red Light Tavern, between the brothel and the... You'll find it... But when you get there ask for Twine and tell her that I sent you, she will help you with your decision."
As he walked off into the sun I felt a sudden urge in my stomach to keep following him, but I stopped myself. His words felt so rough and cold. They were unlike the words of Sariel, unlike that day five years ago. He was different, different than him. There was something deep within his body that pushed him forward even through the toughest pain. It felt dark and hollow like he was but a husk.
But that husk, his eyes glaring in red, his sword shining in gold, his cloak veiled in black. I didn't care about fate no more, I didn't care about anything like that anymore. I knew that I had to follow him, that he was the next step in my journey.