Sentinels: Forsaken Knight

by B. H. Savage

  “Child, I see you have recovered the arms of your bloodline,” the dragon said to her. “Well done, but now you must prove your worth.”

  “And what must I do, dragon?” Anye asked. She wasn’t happy about having to do anything more, and she wasn’t going to pretend to be.

  “Step outside. You shall see,” Eisenzahn told her.

  The creature spread his wings and took the sky before she placed a foot on the dirt outside of the tower, kicking up a dust storm around her. Anye closed her eyes and put an arm over her mouth to keep the dirt from getting inside as she took a step forward. She felt the effects of the trial begin just as her foot fell.

  “What!?” she yelled. Anye turned to look to Glenn and Amadi for some kind of explanation, but as the dust settled she saw that they were nowhere to be found. “What is this? What’s going on!?”

  Anye spun and looked everywhere, but neither her human companions nor the giant dragon were anywhere to be seen, even in the air above. The sound of stone cracking and breaking in front of her caught her attention. She looked out through what had once been the decrepit garden at the base of the tower to see that the figures placed all about were shaking free of their pedestals, shedding the gray stone skin and revealing the unnatural red flesh underneath.

  “What is this!?” she cried out as she drew her new sword. “Alistair, what’s happening!? Where are Glenn and Amadi!?”

  “This is your trial, Master,” the sword answered. “They cannot help you here. This is something you must do alone. Emerge victorious against your foes, and the rite of succession shall be complete. Fail, and perish.”

  “Oh, that’s comforting…” Anye replied sarcastically.

  The high pitched wail of the creatures in front of her chilled her to the bone. She had never heard such a hellish cry, and a lesser person would have wet themselves and tried to flee. She wanted to flee, but something inside her wouldn’t let that happen.

  The first demon flew at her from the crowd quickly, using its small thin wings for momentum. It was brandishing a small axe in its hand that looked like it was made of bone and rock. Anye’s reflexes kicked in and she managed to block the attack with her shield and cut the creature down from the air quickly, but instead of spilling blood and falling to the ground, it disintegrated in the air, turning to dust and dispersing in the wind.

  “What…what just happened to it?” she asked.

  “These creatures are…not natural to this world,” Alistair explained. “They do not have the same characteristics are man or beast. They are beings of nearly pure magical energy. Cutting them down severs the magic keeping them alive, and turns their bodies into dust.

  “How is that possible? Magic needs to be controlled,” Anye persisted.

  “And so it is, to a point. But these creatures have lost conscious control, and mindlessly serve their master, Stragus. For that, they must be destroyed.”

  The explanation didn’t make much sense, but there wasn’t any time to think about it. The creatures obviously wanted her dead, which meant she needed to kill them. She was a knight, trained in the way of the sword and had taken lives before. This would be no different.

  Anye moved through the small horde of demonic creatures with ease, enchanting her sword with magic that helped it cut through an opponent’s protective spells, and her shield with a charm that would help push them back. Both uses of magic were spells she already knew, but Alistair’s memory infusion, coupled with Amadi’s training exercises, boosted their potency remarkably.

  “Very good, Master,” Alistair said as she sliced through another of the foul creatures. “You tap in to your ancestral skills quite well.”

  “I’ve had some practice,” Anye remarked. She jumped away after killing a couple more of the grotesque creatures to survey how many remained. There were only three left, each standing in front of her and screaming angrily as she stood there. She assumed it was because she was still alive and their friends had all been cut down.

  “I’m getting tired of this,” Anye said to them. She used as much magic as she could gather and effortlessly entered the state of enlightenment, feeling the overwhelming power come over her. Her eyes glowed white as the air around her swirled and kicked the dust up. The strength, speed, power; all of it was just as exhilarating as the first time she felt it, only without the fear and lack of control. She felt omnipotent, invincible even.

  The demons each moved against her, but the state of enlightenment made them look as if they were moving in slow motion. She could tell what they were intending before they did. With her sword held high, she struck. She moved through the first of the demons, cutting through its chest like butter, using the same momentum to spin and decapitate the second, coming around to reverse-stab the third from behind her. She removed the sword and turned again, kicking the creature away from her with such force that it tumbled to the ground. Anye jumped on to the creature’s chest and swung the sword’s blade low across its neck, turning her last opponent to dust.

  “Impressive…” Alistair commented.

  Anye released the magic she was using and felt her head go dizzy for a second. “I guess even with this newfound strength, that’s still difficult to manage…”

  “Indeed, such capabilities require much discipline, but you have performed admirably. The trial is concluded,” Alistair answered.

  Anye stood as the dust around her swirled again, similar to how it did when Eisenzahn took to the sky, but this time it only lasted a second. When it settled, she looked around to see that Glenn, Amadi, and Eisenzahn had reappeared where she last saw them near the tower’s entrance. The statues of the demons were all in piles of rubble where they originally stood as well, as if they had crumbled upon themselves instead of what she saw happen.

  “Anye!” Glenn shouted as he ran towards her. “You disappeared…what happened to you?”

  “The trial happened,” Anye answered without going into detail as she placed Alistair back in his sheath. “But I’m fine…hungry, and very thirsty, but fine.”

  Glenn sighed in relief. “Good,” he said, relieved. “The sun is starting to set. We should go to the village and rest. There’s much we should talk about.”

  "Yes, there is," she replied. "But how about a ship instead?"

  Chapter 6

  The Forgotten Kingdom

  Anye and Glenn sat themselves down in a set of chairs within her cabin aboard The Empress. Small flames danced in the darkness from the candelabras on the walls of the cabin. A single candle stood on the small wooden table between them. Amadi, in his youthful wisdom, noticed the desire for the pair to converse alone, and decided to spend the evening with the crew below deck and uncharacteristically indulge in some ale and storytelling. The way he figured it, he’d been through more than most elderly people in a lifetime and he deserved to unwind a little bit, although Legeia didn’t agree and nagged him the whole way down.

  Eiesnzahn thought it would be best if he remained on the shore so as not to frighten the crew. They saw him, of course, as he flew the trio down from the mountains and across the desert back to the rowboat Anye and Amadi had taken ashore, but they assured the captain and crew that he wasn’t a threat. Glenn’s promise of an additional sum of money for the extra passenger also helped the captain make the decision to trust the newcomer, and he welcomed him aboard.

  Lookouts in the crow’s nest of the ship had spotted Tao Long’s naval fleet move back in to position through the use of their spyglasses, and it appeared that the islanders hadn’t noticed the ship’s presence near the desert shore and remained some distance at sea. It was either that or they believed the crew to be dead from some curse or sorcery due to their superstitious view of the landmass, however accurate the stories turned out to actually be.

  Alistair and Darius were placed near the beds Anye and Amadi had slept on during their voyage across the sea. Neither presented any argument to being placed away from their owners as they conversed with each other, opting instead t
o go to sleep or a state of meditation. Anye wasn’t particularly sure what it was the spirits did and Glenn didn’t provide an answer, but they kept quiet and that was all she wanted.

  “It really is good to see you again,” she said to him. Her heart raced. “But what happened to you? What happened in Delrich after you helped me escape?”

  Glenn looked away as he searched through the memories. Anye saw that the thoughts bothered him, but she wanted to know. She needed to know what had happened to him and their home.

  “The night of your…disappearance, did not go quite as I had planned,” he began to explain. “I’m not entirely sure how he knew, but Amador showed up at the castle’s dungeon as I was making my exit after you went through the old passageway. I, of course, fed him my story of you surprising me and fleeing, but he saw right through me. The next morning he had already told the king about your escape and I was having doubt cast upon me by the man who raised me as a son. I don’t know why he listened to him or how Amador gained His Majesty’s unwavering trust so quickly, but he convinced him that my loyalty to the crown was debatable.”

  Glenn paused as he looked out through the window at the starry night. “Amador was suggesting that I not only be stripped of rank and title, but be tried for treason and thrown in the dungeons. Thankfully King Justin isn’t that big of a fool, and he recognized what Amador was trying to do; remembering our past quarrels with each other over the years. But he believed he had a point. I was sent to Toran, alone, and stripped of my link with my dragon to investigate reports a feral dragon that had been attacking herders while in the mountains. Honestly, while I didn’t want to leave, it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened.”

  “What do you mean?” Anye asked. “You look like you’ve been through hell and back, Glenn.”

  “Well I’m not proud about it but I was almost sent there,” Glenn replied. “I visited your family before I departed. Have you heard from your father? He was quite worried about you.” He looked like he regretted asking the question as the words finished exiting his lips.

  Anye nodded her head, remembering the letter she had received. “He wrote a letter. Lord Taggart, in Bridge Port, delivered it to me.”

  “Lord Taggart is a good man,” Glenn replied while looking surprised. “I’ve met him before…even escorted Prince Robert, rest his soul, to attend his yearly tournament. Quite a show he puts on for his people.”

  “Yes, I’m aware. I won this year,” Anye proudly proclaimed. She gained some amount of pleasure looking at the surprise in his face at the comment. “Before you say anything, I was trying to keep a low profile, but the only thing I’m good at is combat, and nobody wanted to hire a female mercenary, especially one without any sort of reputation. The tournament was supposed to get my name out there as a woman with a good sword arm. Besides, I needed the money. What you left me was all but gone.”

  Glenn laughed and took a swig of the drink he had in his cup. “I’d heard of a woman winning the tournament this year. News travels, but I didn’t think you were the infamous Amy Karst!”

  The two shared a laugh for a moment before calming down and continuing on with their stories of the past couple months. Glenn started, beginning with Toran and the herders he was supposed to help. An old colleague of theirs from Delrich’s military, Aldrin Fawkes, was living under a new identity as the leader of the dragon tamers. When they found the dragon, it fought off its attackers ferociously until Glenn injured the creature. By that point, many of the Toraners were dead or missing. Amador appeared and attempted to murder Glenn, but the dragon returned and drove him away. That was how he met Eisenzahn.

  The dragon tended to his wounds from the battle and took Glenn to the North Tower, the location Eisenzahn mentioned when Anye first met the enormous creature. It was there that Glenn acquired Darius and his new armor. Knowledge of the goings on with Stragus demanded that they fly west, to the Sun’s Bed, to either move Alistair by some means or guard the location until the sword’s heir appeared. Luckily, the tower was Anye and Amadi’s destination, though memory of the prophecy foretelling of their claiming the artifacts made it less luck and more destiny.

  Once Glenn concluded the obviously abbreviated story, Anye began to tell hers. She explained how she crossed the toll bridge and had been living at Byron’s inn, having settled in Bridge Port. Her tale was much shorter compared to Glenn’s though, as much less had happened with her until the tournament and the events leading up to her arrival at the West Tower. Still, thinking about the lecherous old man and his filthy jokes made her miss the simplicity of things during that time, and she wished to return there regardless of her obligation to Lord Taggart. “Well, this ship is headed back to Belrun, is it not?” Glenn asked. “We’ll need to warn the kingdoms of Stragus’ return. If Lord Taggart has been studying Del’Mond’s history and believes in the legends, then having him on our side could help us convince the reigning monarch of the validity of our warning.”

  “True,” Anye agreed. “So you’ll be coming with me then?” she asked anxiously. She was looking forward to being with him again, but her excitement was cut short when he shook his head in reply. “Glenn, why not?” she asked. She sounded as a girl who’d been denied permission to attend a ball or social gathering.

  “I must return to Delrich,” he explained. “It is likely Amador has either reported me dead or traitor. If he is serving Stragus, I need to warn King Justin of what’s coming. Amador’s been keeping Delrich at war with Mitus for the sole reason of weakening both of their defenses…I know it.”

  Anye looked down at the table and cradled the cup in her hands before remembering something else that had happened at the tower. “Glenn, what was that with Kiya?” she asked. “I’ve never known her to be adept at using magic, let alone black magic, and to be in bed with Amador.”

  Glenn furrowed his brow and got to his feet, visibly angered at the thought of his wife. “Kiya…that woman did nothing but use me, all these years,” he said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “If you’ll remember she was married to me,” Glenn said. “I want to make that clear.” He paced around the room as he gathered his thoughts before continuing. “I tried to love her, to be the husband she apparently wanted me to be, but in actuality she used her position as my wife to move about without restriction. She had been having an affair with Amador for some time, perhaps as long as our entire sham of a marriage, I don’t know. The day King Justin ordered me to Toran she left me a letter,” he continued. “She told me she was leaving me because I was a disgrace, and had dishonored her by my infatuations with you and suspected involvement in your escape.”

  Anye blushed slightly at the mention of the infatuations, but tried to hide it from Glenn.

  “The next time I saw her was when I was in Toran. I didn’t know how she got there at the time, but she and Amador were working together. She’s the one really responsible for…well, this,” he said as he pointed to his bad eye and scar. “I nearly died in that frozen waste, and would have if Eisenzahn didn’t drive them off”

  “Conveniently left that part out of the story before,” Anye commented.

  “I prefer not to think about it,” he replied. “I suspect you enjoy the memory of Prince Robert’s murder about as much.”

  The comment stung, but the man had a point. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. We’ve both been stabbed in the back,” Glenn sighed as he sat back down in his chair again. “I’m just happy I was able to see you again.”

  The two stared into one another’s eyes for the moment, enjoying the ambient sound of the water splashing against the hull of the ship, and the soft glow of the candlelight on their faces. Anye had forgotten what it was like seeing him every day, and she wanted to continue to do so. She hoped he did too.

  “Now what’s going on in here!?” a loud and drunk sounding Amadi yelled through the door before barging in, effectively ending the moment Anye and Glenn were sharing. “Did I inte
rrupt something?” he said with a slur.

  “Amadi…are you drunk?” Anye asked with a smile on her face. The way the boy moved along with the ship’s rocking indicated that he had indeed drank too much with the crew and she started laughing at the boy. Glenn, while less enthused by the boy’s antics, also smiled and laughed.

  “Those men…” Amadi said as he stumbled over towards his friends. “Now they know how to have a good time…I should do this more often!”

  “Okay~,” Glenn commented while catching the boy’s stumble. “I think you’ve had enough, Amadi. Let’s get you to bed.”

  “Bed…yes…bed seems smart…” Amadi tried to reply in his drunken stupor.

  Glenn helped the boy walk. His staff was still miraculously in his hand, although Legeia may have had something to do with that. The pair slowly stepped towards one of the beds in the cabin and Amadi lowered himself down to sleep. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was out cold and snoring.

  Anye could barely control the laughter, a feeling which she hadn’t really felt in a while, and it felt good. She laughed as Glenn shook his head at the boy similar to how an older brother would treat a younger sibling in a similar situation, reminding her of the nights she’d spent in Delrich’s tavern near the castle with friends and colleagues. They were good memories.

  “We should get some rest,” Glenn told her as he picked up Darius from where it rested. “I’m going to find a hammock below deck.”

  Anye stood surprised. “You won’t stay with us…?”

  Now it was Glenn’s turn to blush. “I wasn’t sure if you…um,” he tried to say as he nervously swallowed.

  Anye walked up to him, the smile completed faded from her face, and she got close to him. She looked him in the eyes and he looked back, although an obvious feeling of nervousness and awkwardness was around them.