Night fell over the town of Ravenwood, a small town that existed on the outskirts of the kingdom of Evaonfell, the main human kingdom that existed in the known world. To the horizon, away from the village and the kingdom of Evaonfell lay the dark lands, lands tainted by corrupted magic and the banished mages of the kingdoms who swore to get revenge on those who banished them. It was a dangerous land that had slowly grown to find its way to the edges of the kingdoms and had begun causing chaos on those outskirts with foul beasts leaving the dark lands and entering villages and towns. Ravenwood was one of those villages.
The villagers armed themselves with what they could as the older women took the children into a house in the center of the village that had been reinforced to hold in the last stand scenario that all the villagers began to fear. The kingdom had yet to really react to the new threat and sending soldiers to the distant and isolated villages would take time, for now, the inhabitants for Ravenwood readied themselves to stand and fight. Torches and lit bonfires illuminated the pitch black night around the village as unsteady hands held pitchforks and scythe, waiting to stand and fight. Silence reigned before the sounds of groaning and stumbling creatures would announce the arrival of the dark lands' harassment and soon, the silence was broken.
A young man, the youngest person standing in defense of Ravenwood, stood with a pitchfork in his hands. They uneasily moved and changed their grip on the wooden handle, "Come on, Reynold, you'll be fine," An older man commented as the first lumbering, stumbling and limping creatures appeared in the light of the torches, "Just keep them away," It was easier said than done but Reynold moved forwards as the other men and women did and his pitchfork found its mark in the chest of a creature. However, unlike a human being having their chest punctured, the beast kept trying to reach out for Reynold. Panic began to rise from within before his mother, wielding a spear, jammed it into the pinned creature and it stopped writhing.
"Aim for the head, dear, be brave," Her words comforted him before he found the next creature to attack. Heeding the words of his mother, his pitchfork dug into its eyes and it stopped, flailing its arms once before becoming motionless.
Blow after blow, Reynold moved forwards as his newly discovered battlerage drew him to kill more and more creatures. Each strike led to death by his hands, but not of humans but of monsters, he was acting like a hero but also like a senseless madman as he was moving forwards, away from the safety of the well lit village. His father's voice called him back to reality as he realized the beasts were around him, he was surrounding, "Reynold!" He held his pitchfork as the beasts began approaching their trapped prey, "I am coming!" His father hacked away at the beasts while the other villagers quickly realized and tried to help but they were going to be too late to help Reynold.
The sound of bugles and horses came in from the darkness as lanterns dashed towards the village. As if soldiers of the king arrived at the perfect time, the riders rode through the streets of the town and towards the small mass of creatures trying to get at Reynold. Crushing bones and stomping corpses under their hooves, the horsemen cleared a large path in the beasts before one reached down and yanked the young man from his feet and from his place of danger before swinging him onto the back of his horse as it continued to trample the evil beings that the dark lands had sent forth, "Hold on, boy, the Dawn Legion has arrived!" He cried as the other riders replied with loud cheers as maces, swords and axes hacked through the group of creatures that were being pushed away by the bright lanterns on their horses.
Reynold held on as the rider kept him on his horse and his mace brought death to any foul beasts that it touched. The bright lantern on the back of the saddle made the creatures turn in fear and shield their eyes before an ax, mace or sword cleaved through them and brought an end to their pathetic existence, "Why are they so human?" Reynold questioned and spoke alone while the armored rider kept working.
"They are humans, boy, damned, dead or dying, corrupted by the dark lands," He replied as another swing of his weapon shattered another skull, "At least, that is what the Dawn Lady has discovered."
As the last beasts were chased down and cut down, Reynold was allowed to climb off of the horse and rejoin his father and mother. She quickly grabbed him and embraced him tightly, "You scared me, Reynold," He returned the embrace as his fear of death had turned to adrenaline on the back of the rider's horse as the man effortlessly cleaved through the foul beasts and the young man was witness to his talent and skill.
"Thank you, kind strangers," The town's mayor spoke up as the riders, clad in shiny, silvery armor with white and gold engraving and a sun in a circle symbol on their chest plates and the saddles of their horses, "Are you men of the king?"
"No, we are our own faction, loyal to these lands and the people of these lands," The lead rider spoke, "The 1st cavaliers of the Dawn Legion," The other men cheered and raised their weapons, "We fight the beasts of the dark lands and all those who belong there to protect the men, women and children of these lands."
"The Dawn Legion?" The villagers seemed bewildered as the men turned in unison to the sun as it began to break over the horizon, "I have never heard of them, have you?"
"We are a faction that has only just reached this region, our numbers are low and we hope to have more people willing to join our ranks to fight evil alongside us," As much as the villagers seemed doubtful or worried about the older villagers and the children that had been barricaded in the town hall, Reynold couldn't help but listen to the words of the leader of the Dawn Legion cavaliers. They were his heroes, saving his life from certain death while also being heroic figures, acting for others, risking their lives for others. Reynold now had something he was aiming for once he became a grown man himself, to become a legionnaire. The day would come where he would be allowed to leave the safety and comfort of Ravenwood and venture into the kingdom to find the main base of the Dawn Legion.