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Chapter 4: The Knight's Revival |
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After that night, I gathered my gear, said my good-byes, and ventured out into the desert with the historian. As we rode across the desert, we exchanged legends and tales of battles we had heard. For days, we rode, in the blistering wind and sandstorms. One night, as we slept, I heard a sound near the edge of our camp. I put on my cloak and hood, and went to investigate. Suddenly, a dark figure dropped from above and pierced my shoulder with a small blade. I screamed in agony, but managed to throw my attacker away. He slid across the sand, readying himself for the next attack. I figured now was a good a time as ever to test my new technique. I removed the blade from my should and began to focus. As he stood there, watching me, the historian peaked through the slit in his tent. I finished gathering my energy and sprinted towards my opponent. He drew another blade, and swung at me. A sloppy attack, if I must say so myself. I easily dodged, and grabbed his hands and the hilt at the same time. I thrust the blade into the ground, and delivered a bone-shattering uppercut to his chin, launching him into the air. Focusing my spirit into my hands, I charged up for my technique. As he fell, I could feel the terror pulsing from him. Seconds before he hit the sand, I lept to him, and delivered a massive strike to his throat. This flung him to the edge of the camp. I moved with amazing speed to his resting spot, and lept into the air. Now moving the energy to my right leg, I prepared for the final strike. As I plunged towards him, I brought my legs in towards my body. When I was close enough I thrust my leg into him, breaking his ribs, back, and destroying is organs. As I pulled my foot our of him, the historian came out of his tent. After collecting himself he said “Very well done my boy. I am glad that you are on our side in this fight. However, when we get to the Debari enclave, I believe that you should focus on controlling your energy. I noticed when you release it, you release huge amounts, more than enough to defeat your opponent.” Tired from my battle, I nodded and went back to my tent. As I slept, I had a nightmare like no other.
In this dream, I was in a deep, dark, and lifeless valley. In the sky, hung a black sun casting an evil glow on everything around me. Out of the shadows, walked a man in bulky armor, wielding a riveted sword with a dragon head as a guard. I felt something wrong in this man, like something inside of him caused him great anger and pain. Before I could focus on him, he was behind me. He sliced my back with the blade and knocked me back over thirty yards. When I tried to rise, he was on top of me, pushing my face into the cold stone of the valley. He sheathed his sword and created two black daggers out of this air. He quickly thrust these through my shoulders, pinning me to the ground. I screamed in agony as he did this again, only to my ankles, stopping me from moving in any way. He drew his sword once more, and stepped in front of my head. All I could see was the sword being brought into the air. A great black ray shone on him, and his sword seemed to absorb this dark energy. Pulsing, the blade began to glow. He gripped the hilt with both hands and brought it down on me. Suddenly I awoke in my tent screaming. The historian ran to me to see what had happened. The wounds I had received in the dream were still there! Everything was fading out, and all I could hear was the voice of Ryuka, saying “Swear you will never leave me…..”
I awoke four days later in a small cot being held between two horses by ropes. As I became aware of my surroundings, I realized we were in a forest. I also realized that one of the riders was the historian! He must have been taking me with him, even though I was unconscious. He heard me moving and stopped the horses. “Sokein! You are alive! I feared the worst when I saw your wounds. I did not know if you would heal. They were like nothing I have ever seen before. Even with all my knowledge, I could barely stop the bleeding. It looks like they have healed, but I think you should seek a priest when we arrive.” I got back on my horse, “How long before we arrive?” I asked wearily. “We should be there in a few hours.” And so we rode on. Finally, we arrived at the gates of the enclave. “Who goes there?!” I heard from a guard behind the gate. “I am the King’s historian, and I have brought you the boy we believe to be the True Warrior.” Without another word, the gates swung open, granting us passage. “I must apologize, I can go no further. From here, seek the head of this camp. He will tell you what you need to do. Goodbye.” And off he rode into the forest. As I walked my horse through the grounds of the enclave, I felt those same piercing looks as I did when I joined the Black Templars. This place was far more advanced than the Templars’ camp. They had built their city into the side of the mountain at the edge of the forest. I was forced to leave my horse at the entrance of the Ceremonial Grounds. As I walked through the ebony doors, I saw a figure ahead, chanting a prayer in a strange language. A guard stopped me, “Wait for him to finish” he said in a whisper. As I watched and waited, I noticed something strange. The floor around the chanting figure was glowing with a bright white light. As he finished the prayer, the light faded, and he came towards me. I kneeled on one knee and said facing the ground “My liege, what is it that you believe I am? Why have I been sent here? And what was this great battle that was waged so long ago?” He said in a gentle, but firm voice, “Rise my child, and call me by my name, Raken.” As I rose, I noticed the garments he wore, pure white silk with a gold lining. As I saw his face, I felt great fear, yet I was not afraid. One of his eyes was a dark, blood red color, while the other was a light gray. “Come with me.” he said as he walked past me. He walked me to the barracks, where I would be staying. We went into my room, and sat in the dining room. “About those questions you asked earlier, they will be answered. But you must be patient, for even I do not know the answers to those questions. All I can tell you is that I can sense you have great, untapped power inside of you, and I believe that we should unlock it so that you may defend this land like we all wish to.” I nodded and asked when my training would begin. “Oh, soon enough. Soon, a trainer will come here and meet with you. Until then, go around camp and meet some of your peers. I wish you luck, and may you flourish and prosper.” Before I could blink, he was gone! When I left my room, two young men and a woman were waiting outside my door. I did not pay them much attention, but they seemed to follow me wherever I went. I met some of my fellow students, and returned home. I almost feared to sleep again, but knew that I was safe inside these walls. As I closed my eyes, all I could think about was my friends. I wondered if they were still safe.
-Xhaos Incarnate- · Thu Feb 22, 2007 @ 04:17am · 1 Comments |
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