"By the light of this radiant blade.
From Lustria to the Sunder Sea,
No darkness shall escape unscathed,
No shadow shall have way to flee."
It had been but a month since the day that Lorenza had graduated from Knight to Sentry, a role and title that she had dedicated the greater part of her life to obtaining. The warm air rolled over her from where she sat "vigilantly" atop one of the four dauntingly tall walls of the grand and sprawling city of Theodora.
It wasn't that she wasn't paying attention, it was more so that her shifts were ALWAYS so very uneventful that she never expected anything to happen.
Ever.
Who or what would ever be foolish enough to attack Theodora? A city of nearly 70,000 people with at least 8,000 said people belonging to the Theodoran Knighthood. Theodora was long-lived with a deep history, one that Lorenza had studied intensely in her years as a Squire and then further still in her later years of service as a Knight.
She stared off into the distance, admiring the strange beauty of the large and looming Thorn Willows that marked the edge of the Lorendey Swamp Lands. She would be patrolling those wicked edges in a couple of years' time… she looked forward to it. This wall duty was for the Squires and Cadets in her eyes, not a well-weathered, experienced SENTRY like herself.
She sighed inwardly and recited the mantra in her mind again, and then again.
She had to stay grounded.
She was getting ahead of herself.
She had made it this far.
One step, one challenge, and one fight at a time.
She was a Sentry.
She was a proud fackin Sentry!
Her time to really shine, to prove herself to herself would come.
Soon enough. She knew it.
But…
-Because unfortunately there always tends to be a but or two in her life-
Her station was made a bit more complicated by the fact that she was a Tinker-kin, or a "Halfling" if you were to be as discriminatory as a third of the people she crossed paths with on a daily basis… the same people she had vowed to protect and serve till the day she died. She rolled her eyes. Not at the idea, but the people.
Whatever.
She couldn't let it get her all worked up.
It would pass.
That feeling.
It always did with a little time.
and a drink or two.
If you thought being a Tinker-kin in such a large city was tough, try becoming a Knight in that very same city, let alone a SENTRY.
Not many people took Tinker-kin seriously these days… she would change that.
Lorenza was proud of herself.
She had come a long way.
A very, very long way.
Four Years a Fighter.
Six years a Squire.
Nine Years a Knight.
And now she would dedicate another seven as a Sentry before her final stop.
The REAL goal.
Vanguard.
The best of the best.
"Bah."
She was getting ahead of herself again.
Now was now.
She has worked her way up this far.
On her own strength.
On by her own mind.
Alone…
Her legs swung from the parapet as the northern wind picked up and threatened to push her diminutive form from the wall's edge.
She didn't fear the fall.
She didn't fear much of anything at all.
It was this grit, this determination that had gotten her this far in her journey.
She was also far from foolish.
With a sigh she let her thoughts slip back to the task at hand, night watch.
She placed one hand on either side of the inner wall and pushed herself into a backward flip, from which she landed nimbly on her feet. With a quick glance to her left and right, she confirmed that no one had seen. The other Knights already made it a habit of commenting and picking at her size whenever the chance presented itself.
Even with her newly obtained rank.
She didn't care to give them any other reason for jokes and jabs.
Unfortunately for her, night watch was a bit of a joke in and of itself…
She was hardly over four feet tall.
The wall to her now left that separated the city from the outer wilds was at least four and a half feet in height. So for the most part, Lorenza was on the tips of her toes every three to five yards if she wanted to give the outside world a look-see.
A pain to say the least.
An embarrassment if anyone happened to be near enough to see her.
"Bah!"
She spat in her head.
She would never actually spit on or inside of the walls of her precious city.
Theodora.
The city that had saved her…
She needed to shake the funky mood that she had suddenly found herself in.
They had been calm thus far, and her night watch duties were very nearly over…
Lorenza had always had a strange sixth sense.
One that would often affect her moods so profoundly that she would simply avoid others just to not spill her anger and irritation all over them inadvertently.
She had been more keenly aware of it for just over a decade now.
It seemed to have gotten more potent, more intense near the end of her stint as a Knight. She had no idea why her "Feels" as she come to call the premonition-like feelings always pissed her off when they would very suddenly manifest.
But they did.
They always did.
Maybe it was because with the "Feels" almost always seem to be accompanied by bad news. As one might imagine, constantly being aware of impending bad news would leave her in a rather foul state of mind.
This combined with her inherent Dwarven blood made her one hellz of a hot head, her irritation boiling over into fits of rambling anger at times…
Lorenza had learned from a young age to pour the anger that came with those "Feels" into fighting. Something that would aid her greatly throughout the remainder of her natural-born life. She had always been in trouble.
Always in a scuffle with some lad or another.
For some reason or another.
In her defense: being a Tinker-kin in a predominantly Human settlement made her a bit of a target.
Conversely, one cannot control how people act towards us. One can only control how we react to that treatment.
Upon becoming a Squire, Lorenza had taken the Knights Oath.
A legally binding series of "to-die-by" rules that were meant to keep all aspiring Knights on their "most moral path."
"Never drawing steel against an unarmed combatant."
"Never turn a blind eye to any form of human or humanoid plight be it morally just."
"Turn the better eye if struck, allowing the offender to digest their error in humility."
and so on and so forth…
She loved and respected the Oath.
Order was key.
Order was in her blood.
But Lorenza's notoriously short temper would often make "Turning the better eye" a much harder oath to live by…
She understood the need to be civil and show retrain, but man oh man…
Humans did not tend to make that part of her Knights Oath easy to stand on.
Not in the least.
It had gotten to the point that her life got a bit more annoying for having this "gift"
"Bah."
She said aloud this time.
Suddenly her "Feels" kicked in.
The base of her spine tingled.
Her hands shot to the handles of her twin short swords, one over each shoulder.
She swiftly turned back towards the wall, leaping and up and onto in, just a few paces from where she had sat just moments ago.
She knelt and looked intently off into the gloom of the night.
-------------------------
-22 years ago-
"By the light of this radiant blade.
From Lustria to the Sunder Sea,
No darkness shall escape unscathed,
No shadow shall have way to flee."
The mantra tumbled through her thoughts.
The Dwarfs had asked her to resit it and explain its meaning so many times a couple nights back, that she no longer knew if she was even quoting it right anymore.
Bretani sat atop the canopy of the wagon as it bounced along the rocky trail to the South and West of Theodora. Her legs dangling over the edge as the trees on either side of the path slipped my with their steady pace.
At the front end of the wagon and to her right sat the Squad Leader and Vanguard veteran of the group, a tall slim Elfym named Vraylin.
Below her and inside sat three others.
Their group was of just five that night.
Vraylin: A Vanguard of some repute, and some notoriety.
Bretani: A fledgling Human Knight with dreams of greatness.
Mira and Calt: A pair of Elvin twins who had just graduated to Sentry class.
And lastly, but not at all the least, came Kit: A Dwarven Squire and the heart of the group. Kit who's confidence was as large as a Hill Giant.
Their mission had been relatively simple.
They were to act as a boost in escort to a group of Theodoran merchants and traders on their journey to the Dwarven city of Onlyndebar, located just past the Southern boarder of the Kingdom of Zentrum. They had been successful in the undertaking of this mission, and were now on their way home,
A fact that Bretani was particularly proud of.
she reflected on the trip as time crawled on.
They had made it to Onlyndebar without incident. It had been an interesting tenday and a half. On the way to Onlyndebar their company had consisted of nearly thirty Humans and Humanoids alike. Needless to say, their shared cuisine alone had nightly kept the camps alive with music and merriment. It was a good and solid time.
Humans, Elves, Dwarfs, and Mixies, a colloquial term for the Elfym, Dwarfym, and Tinker-kin who lived within the towering walls of Theodora. Traders, Merchants, and a hand full of Mercenaries had made the trip. Mercenaries -or Sell Swords- were a common folk to be found in nearly any corner of Enverdolmol, for even in it's times of peace, the world was ever evolving and the wilds were teeming with all forms of life both friendly and fearsome.
It was ill advised to travel any real amount of distance in any direction outside of the city walls without either having been trained in some form of Combat Arts, well-studied in some field of magics, or -if neither of those were possible- be able to afford a good Sell Sword or two.
They made good progress.
Nearly twenty miles a day they paced. Over hills, through thick and thin patches of forest, and even through the territory of a clan of rather mild mannered Cave Giants.
The Giants traded large hunks of dried meats and several comically large barrels of mead to boot. It had been a good and lucrative pair of days. They moved on and made healthy time.
The size of their traveling group had been deterrent enough to keep both beast and bandit at bay during their initial trip. The return trip home would be a bit different. Their group was a bit more… appealing, having gone from just under thirty, to just five. Unfortunately, this fact would with time be noted by something far worse than bandits.
On the thirteenth day out from Theodora they had passed up and over the Basador bridge from its Eastern approach. It was a massive natural viaduct that connected the two ridged sides of the colossal canyon know as Kraak, through which flowed the great river Vanonasu nearly fifty meters below. The passing had happened without incident with all fifteen wagons clearing the cavernous gap and rolling along at a slightly increased pace, the massive gates of Onlyndebar in view, even a full days ride out.
The Mercantile branch of the Dwarfs of Onlyndebar, nearly a thousand strong, had been waiting with a large feast and above-ground festival for their caravan. King Giafray of Clan Darkerstone had personally joined them in their joy making as well, gifting the Sell Swords with beautifully crafted swords of Deep Steel, and a small palm-sized sapphire satchel for each of the member of the Theodoran Knighthood. They were asked to open them on a later occasion, as tonight was to be one of celebration. He also made it clear that this was because -in his own words-
"Ye other-minded folk be detracted by trinkets with far to ease. Gawk later! Drink, eat, and dance NOW!"
And so they did.
But not without minding their limits to the last.
They were still of a Knighthood.
Still representatives of Theodora, and still on a mission.
Vraylin had allowed them the night to be free.
They had had their share of both mead and meal, staying that night, and another to rest. On the third day, they bade the King and his kin farewell and set off again to the North and East. The Knighthood would return in two months time with twice their number to escort the group back to Theodora with their newly acquired goods. Bretani was sure that that trip would go just as well.
With Onlyndebar now two days behind them, they would travel another ten to eleven before they would see the looming, comforting walls of Theodora again.
On the evening of the second day they came again to the edge of the canyon Kraak, and the land bridge that spanned it's massive width, this time approaching from the West. The canyon was nearly thirty miles long in either direction, and half a mile wide. The group stopped to take in the sights before beginning the trek up and over the Basador.
Bretani was not afraid of heights.
It was not the height that would kill her should she fall.
In a land full of Aether fueled magic, and peoples whom could utilize it, falls were rarely fatal. She slipped off of the side of the wagon and walked to the edge, stopping several feet short. Vraylin and Kit joined her while Mira and Calt lay fast asleep in the warm interior of the wagon.
"A good trip thus far!"
Kit exclaimed as she unclipped her heavy battle Axe from the small of her back and began to lean on the butt of the long handle, its double blade glinting softly in the orange light of the soon to set sun. She had been particularly happy to have the night with her kin. Her Clan was not theirs, but Dwarfs were different in that their love for each other was not always defined by titles
Blood was blood was blood.
"A better one still if we can make it across this shat of a canyon a'for the sun hits land."
Vraylin replied, his long arms crossed over his thin yet muscled chest.
"Making camp within the next couple of hours would be ideal."
He continued.
He was a calm and serious Elfym.
Some would call him standoffish, but he was simply an introvert.
Vraylin was a man of few words with anyone outside of the squad under his charge.
Bretani knew him best from those in that squad.
"T'is not the night you fear…I can sense them too."
She said as she chanced a single step forward, a bit closer to the edge of what may as well have been Hell itself. During the daylight hours, all was well and normal in and about the canyon Kraak. The landscape at the bottom of the canyon was broken and inhospitable to all but the meanest and hardiest of things.
Massive boulders littered the ground level from its start to its finish, and even the Vanonasu river that flowed through it was made choppy and white due to the large and jutting stones that made up its bed. There was very little vegetation, and certainty no trees. Thus there was no shade.
Every meter or so, if one squinted, there could be seen a sizable pile of stones and boulders. Scattered among those piles were broken and shattered parts and pieces of all manners of weapons and armor.
All that remained of those who either fell into the massive crevice by chance, or were dragged down to its debts by the things that occupied its cave lined walls…
Those things were known as Klepsiens, or "Stony boys" as the people of Enverdolmol had dubbed them.
Nature had a much simpler, much more terrifying name for the things.
Rock Trolls.
-------------------------
Hello all!
I hope you all have been well since last we were here together in Enverdolmol.
beg you pardon my lack of post as of late.
It has been a very… very long month for me.
Nothing to crazy, I am okay.
Just… human you know?
My mind can be a bit foggy at times with so much going on in the world at large, and it can make writing pretty hard. I will always strive to write and bring you all new and amazing stories, I just ask that you are patient with me.
I love you all for your support, and readership.
💪💜💪💙💪❤️💪🖤💪
I can't believe still that together we have crossed the line to 3K readers!
I am forever humbled by your willingness to invest your time and energy in me any my little tales.
Please keep coming back, and i will keep the stories coming for you. Every single one of you.
My word. 🦾🦾🦾
Creating these stories is very therapeutic for me.
I hope they help someone, anyone else out there escape reality for just a bit, like they do for me.
follow my Facebook page!
✨One Last Knight. A series of short stories.✨
and my Wattpad as well if you would like to dive deeper into the world lore and see all of the amazing character art and a DOPE hand made/drawn world map!
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-I am working on it myself-💪😊💪
I will be taking note of any and all readers who comment on and save my series to their library's, and I will be contacting them to send them personally made canvas world maps of Enverdolmal!
I will also be offering chances for readers like yourself to become a customer character in one of my stories by taking you on as a concept. You could even get a custom made art piece of your character if they are chosen for a main event role! 😉💪🗡️💪
💪📘💪📕💪📒💪📗💪
I'll stop selling myself 😭😭😊
Till next time my friends.
Here in the world of Enverdolmal.
Stay safe.
Stay healthy.
Stay vigilant.
-Redd.