by Heath Pfaff
His human features were well drawn. He had a noble jaw line, and his tussled, medium length, black hair hung about his face in a roguish way that I was positive would have had human women clambering for his attention if not for his more startling, alien features. If the standards of man applied, I thought, he was probably very popular among the female Devils. He approached me slowly from across the room and I couldn't but help stare at the way his legs moved beneath him, balancing his weight with a seamless grace. I could tell, without knowing why, that he was capable of moving at startling speeds, like Tempest had during his fight with the Shao Geok. Graceful though he was, I could sense that he was using a perfected control to keep himself moving slowly. As he came within range of me he extended one of his massive, clawed hands in my direction. I reached my own hand out, and watched it disappear in the clasp of the much larger man.
"I am Ethaniel, head of the Knights of Ethan, Lowin Fenly. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance." As he spoke I could see rows of razor teeth, like those Tempest had displayed and I could hear the harmonic timbre of a voice that had the same power to strike fear into others. There was, however, a restraint to Ethaniel's voice that hadn't been present in Tempest.
"It is my pleasure to meet you, Sir Ethaniel," I said sincerely, offering my best bow. Being near Ethaniel gave me the distinct feeling that I was in the presence of a legend. It seemed as though history was being created in his wake, and while I was near him I was a part of that unfolding history.
Ethaniel smiled a toothy smile. "Among the Knights, we do not use titles often. They are unnecessary. A man who does not respect another will show disrespect with or without a title. A man who wishes to show respect simply does so through his actions." Ethaniel's gaze turned to Silent and Kyeia. "Silent, you may wait outside. I will send these two back out when I'm finished with them." Silent bowed, and stepped back out of the room, closing the door behind him. "Kyeia, I am surprised to see that you chose to come this meeting. The Bound generally do not." I turned to Kyeia and saw her stiffen momentarily, but Ethaniel continued, "Of course, I will not ask you to leave. It is refreshing to see you show an interest in Lowin. I have long said that forming a bond was important to the process." Kyeia visibly relaxed. This conversation went over my head, and though I wanted to ask what was transpiring, I knew that it was not appropriate for me to intervene. It seemed that it was never appropriate for me to ask questions. My lack of knowledge was troubling to me, and these secrets all about me felt overwhelming.
Ethaniel turned back to me. "I'm sure you're feeling quite estranged, cast adrift in a violent sea with no shore in sight. I wish I could say that you have nothing to worry about, but that would be a lie. I'm not in the habit of lying, Lowin. I have done some terrible things over the long course of my life but there are two things I will not do. The first: I will never abandon a companion to an enemy. The second: I will never tell you something I know to be false. It would be nice to have more to stand by, but those are what I have." He spoke sincerely, and with the grace of a man who has given many speeches to many men over the years. "Allow me to tell you a little about why you are here." He motioned to the seats around the table, and waited for Kyeia and me to sit down before taking a seat himself.
I awaited his words with something close to desperation. There had been far too few answers so far. Once Ethaniel had made himself comfortable, he began to speak, "As you should have already been informed, you are here because you are possessed of a special characteristic that makes you quite valuable to your kingdom. What has not been explained to you is what exactly is implied by your special characteristic." His blue-black eyes met mine, and I felt their full weight brought to bear on me. "What do you think of the Knights of Ethan?" He asked.
I hesitated for a moment, trying to think of the best way to phrase my feelings. "They... they're terrifying, Ethaniel. I mean you no disrespect, but you and your people frighten me."
Ethaniel chuckled. "Of course we do, we're fearsome, inhuman beasts. We're the Black-Eyed Devils, right?" He asked with a note of humor in his voice. I wasn't sure how to reply, because that was exactly how I had thought of them since first meeting Tempest. I nodded dumbly. "It is true, in its own way." He said before proceeding. "We are, however, not so strange as we might seem, Lowin. You see us in our shifting cloaks, stalking about with our fearsome features and terrible power, and are rightly intimidated. However - and remember that I do not lie, I tell you now that we almost all began our days as humans."
My eyes widened in shock. "What? How could that be, you're all..."
"Monsters?" Ethaniel asked. "Only on the outside. Most of us come from human stock, and we remain human in mind. Some of our numbers, very few of us, come from Kyeia's people, but that is a story for a different time." My mind was making connection quickly now, putting pictures together that it didn't necessarily wish to see. I had been brought to this place, amidst the Black-Eyed Devils, for a very special type of training. The Black-Eyed Devils were somehow created from men.
My mouth spoke the thought as my mind grasped it. "I'm to become a Black-Eyed Devil?"
Ethaniel shook his head. "No, Black-Eyed Devils are foolish legends. You are to become the reality, a Knight of Ethan, first among the greatest platoons in service to your king."
I was lost somewhere between wonder and horror. I was in wonder to discover that I would become something as powerful as Tempest, or Malice, but, at the same time, I found myself horrified at the changes I would need to undergo to achieve that. "How is this even possible?" I asked.
"That is one question that it is not time to answer. Suffice it to say, you will undergo thorough training to prepare you for the trials ahead. Becoming a Knight is a difficult process. It is so arduous that no few of us have died in the process and that is after succeeding in the early tests." His voice was calm but behind it I could sense the weight of a difficult past. Ethaniel was no mere figure head to his Knights. He was the best of them and had suffered as they all had. "I make it a point to meet all of the new prospects, Lowin, and I have been assured, repeatedly, that you are something special. I can see it in you, young one, but it is all potential. As you stand right now, you will have a hard fight ahead. What you choose to make of yourself from here will depend entirely on how hard you are willing to push yourself forward."
I shook my head, as if in doing so I might cast aside the madness of the world I suddenly found myself in and return my life to what it had been before, "What if I do not wish to become a Knight of Ethan?"
Ethaniel actually laughed at this, though I'd feared he might have lashed out at me in anger. "I'm afraid that you have already begun down the path and you can't turn back now. Your king has need of you more now than ever in the past and he will not let you simply walk away." The Knight's eyes took on a distant look, "Would that we could change our fates and live as the rest of the world...." He was silent for a moment before continuing, "That is not our lot in life, though. Once your training is done you will be given time to roam the world as you like, to learn and train in any way that you wish. I will tell you this though, every one of us has come back in the end and most choose not to leave at all."
I took a deep breath, gathering my nerves about me. The revelations of the day were far harder to accept than I could have anticipated. I, a simple loremaster's apprentice, was to become a warrior of legendary power in service to the king, a sovereign I knew of only by reputation. The king had always been a far distant figure, someone who held no sway over my day to day existence. Of course I felt some responsibility toward him, as any citizen of the kingdom would, but he had always been an enigmatic figure, simply a silhouette on the currency. In the span of few minutes, everything had changed.
"For now you'd best concern yourself with your immediate future. You will be here, at Fell Rock Post, for at least a year." That was the first time I'd heard anyone mention the name of where I was, and I was surprised when I didn't recognize it. I had thought the trip from my h
ome had been only a day long, but I couldn't account for the time I'd been unconscious before waking in the carriage. Apparently we had traveled much further that I thought. Ethaniel continued. "Your time here will help shape you into that which you wish to become. If you work hard, you will be great, if you don't..." He let the words trail off ominously.
I was thinking of the trip to reach Fell Rock Post, and it suddenly occurred to me that I had not, yet, heard anything to do with the betrayal mentioned by Tempest and Kyeia after the attack on the carriage. I decided to try probing for more information. "What of the enemy I've heard mentioned? What is the nature of those who oppose the king?"
"Hmmm," Ethaniel seemed to be mulling over that line of questioning. I guessed he was deciding how much to tell me, and while I would have preferred to know everything, I felt that any answer was better than none. "Our enemy is powerful, and it is true that he has spies within the highest levels of our government. The attack on yourself and your protectors was unprecedented. It was not, entirely, unanticipated, but nothing of its like has ever occurred in the past. As I told you before, the kingdom is in the most precarious position it has been in, in a very long time. The populace does not know it but we have already had several skirmishes along our borders and there have been four attempts on the life of our king. Each attempt has resulted in the death of a highly trained enemy assassin and such skilled killers do not come without exceptional cost."
He didn't come right out and say it, but he was implying that whoever was opposing the king possessed resources and dedication to their cause; otherwise they would not have put so much effort and expense to the task. That meant that the opposition was greater than a few dis-satisfied members of the High Court. It was possible that one of the neighboring nations had grown disgruntled about their borders and was trying to expand their territory into human lands.
"We stand at the cusp of war and every Knight of Ethan is an important asset to the kingdom. The attack on you was significant because it was directed at one of our rarest resources. Currently we have less than three hundred Knights of Ethan in service. While that may sound like an impressive number when you consider our power, we are not immortal and in a great battle every one of us can make a great difference. Losing one of our number hurts our forces more than any of us would like to admit," the massive warrior finished.
I nodded my head, understanding all too well the position I was now in. I had become an important military asset and that meant my life was no longer my own. Ethaniel must have noticed a look of distress on my face, though I hadn't intended to have one, because he softened his tone. "There are advantages to being a Knight, Lowin. We do not lead empty lives. There is a great deal of reward and satisfaction to be had in fighting for your country and your king."
Kyeia spoke, and for a moment it startled me. I had almost forgotten she was sitting at my side, so lost was I in thoughts of my own. "You are destined for greatness, Lowin. I know it."
Ethan chuckled. "At least you will have support on your path." His expression sobered a little, though the slight smile on his face didn't falter. "I am eager, too, to see what becomes of Lowin Fenly." He stood from the table and I took that to mean that I should as well. Kyeia stood at my side. Ethaniel, once again, reached his hand out to me, and I took it in my own, this time making sure to hold his powerful claw firmly in my tiny human hand. "It will be a long while before we meet again, young Lowin. Train hard."
I was surprised. I had expected Ethaniel to be around during my training for some reason. "You will be leaving Fell Rock?" I asked, though the answer was already apparent.
"Yes, I came only to see you before your training begins. I try to do so for all initiates. I'm afraid time no longer permits me to be around for all of your training. I trust you are in good hands, though. Malice, the dire-wolf-bitch in Knight guise, is quite efficient at making people reach their potential. She fights like a demon, too. Learn well from her. Listen to what she doesn't tell you, more than what she does. That's the best advice I can offer." The Knight turned to Kyeia and bowed. "Watch young Lowin, Kyeia. Keep him strong and on course and try not to let the future he doesn't control mar him in your eyes." Kyeia smiled, the sadness I'd seen often on her features, lurking just beneath.
"I will not." She said solemnly. Ethaniel turned then, returning to his window, and I understood that our meeting was over.
...Try not to let the future he doesn't control mar him in your eyes. I couldn't begin to understand what Ethaniel meant by that, but it bothered me. As we left the room and rejoined Silent in the hall beyond, I moved close to Kyeia, and opened my mouth to ask her just what had been meant by that cryptic phrase. She seemed to sense the question coming though, and put a finger up and covered my lips, as she'd done to me once before when she didn't want me to ask a question. "Don't worry about it, Lowin. It is nothing to be concerned about." She smiled at me, and though it was a warm smile, I saw it for what it was- a mask put on for my benefit, to cover up what she was really feeling. I let it go, but at the same time I decided that I would not let it go indefinitely. I would know what was bothering her, so that I might find some way to help her.
I was at the training yard the following morning well before dawn. I didn't, however, beat Malice to the field. This time she was already waiting, crouched down in her shifting cloak, for me when I arrived. I approached her with no little trepidation, never quite certain what she would do from moment to moment. I took heart in Ethaniel's praise of her abilities from the day before, but still I feared her temper and vicious tongue. She stood as I approached, uncoiling like a serpent until she reached her full, impressive height. I stood quietly, waiting for whatever might come next. Silent was somewhere behind me, having followed me from my room out to the practice field. I was happy for his friendly company, even if he had little to say. I knew he wouldn't stick around long - he had other things to attend to - but at least he was a comforting companion for the initial meeting with my rage-filled instructor.
The tall female warrior chose not to comment on whether I was early, late, or how long she'd been outside waiting for me. "Today we will be ascertaining your current level of skill in multiple areas." Her voice was crisp and authoritative. She was obviously familiar with the role of command. "I will expect you to keep going until you believe you cannot, at which point I will force you to go until I believe that you are unable to go any further. If you are smart, you will not allow for much discrepancy between those two points." She turned away from me than and began walking. I fell in behind her, not sure what else to do.
"We will start with a test of your balance." She led me to a strange set up of narrow poles protruding from the ground at varying heights, anywhere from a couple of inches, to nearly seven feet in height. The poles were circular, rounded at the top and no wider than a palm's width across. There were hundreds of them stretched out over thirty yards of area, irregularly placed so that they looked like some strange forest of topless trees. She stepped onto the first one, and then another, maneuvering through the field of truncated trees without breaking her pace at all, seeming to not even watch her feet as she moved. When she reached the far end she turned to me and held up her hands, as if asking, "Well?" I took a deep breath and stepped up on to the nearest pole. It was about knee high, and as I got my right foot onto it I realized that it would be nearly impossible to get my left up as well. I sent my left out searching for another pole and found one, but not without some considerable effort and wind milling of my arms to keep my balance. It was still dark outside and that wasn't making things any easier. I tried to lift my right foot again, to move it to the next closest pole, but as I did, my weight suddenly found that it had nowhere to go and I fell to the ground, my left foot sliding from its precarious position. The fall wasn't far but I still managed to trip over the pole that my right foot had been on, until a moment before, and fall to my knees in the grass.
"That is the worst anyone has ever done on their first try, oaf, get back
up and try again." Malice called from the other end of the obstacle. I bit back my anger and climbed cautiously back onto the polls, determined not to fall so quickly again. Once I had both feet into a starting position, I tried to move my right foot again, shifting my weight to my left in the hope of using it to anchor my movements. It almost worked, but I moved my weight too far over my left foot and ended up falling backwards to the grass, this time hitting my head on one of the wooden poles on the way down. I got back to my feet, meaning to try again, but before I could get my wits about myself I felt a strong push at my back and I went sprawling forward. I turned myself back over, looking up to see Malice standing behind me, rage in her eyes.