Knight of Endrell Book One: The Red Empire

Chapters One and Two

Chapter 1

“Do not let the past dictate the future,” Kinai hears his father say, while walking along the rocky mile beyond the walls of the city of Endrell. He was a strong young man at nineteen years of age, standing six feet tall. He had long dark brown hair and pale skin with a long nose and green eyes. He wore a suit of chain mail armor unique to himself as no one else in Endrell had a suit of armor like it. A two-handed sword was strapped to his back by a low hanging sheath that covered about a quarter of the length of the sword from the blade tip up, while securing the hilt by two hooks beneath the arms of the crossguard. The sheath itself was attached to his armor from the inside, rather than wrapping across the chest. He could detach it at any time by unhooking a latch under his right pauldron, and reattach it by hooking the latch in again. In the world of the reader, he would by blood be a mixture of Italian and British; British on his mother's side, and Italian on his father's side. His split heritage could always be heard in his accent whenever he spoke; Italian for some parts of speech, and British for others. 

He was tired and his face and hands were dirtied from battle. He walked steadily upon broken trails of stone and grass leading into the forest westward beyond the city. He took a path that eventually brought him to a large cave that he’d found deep within the forest some years ago and used as a hideout and a home away from home when necessary. The entrance had a thick steel door that a nameless blacksmith who supported the knights built for Kinai at his request. A hidden shaft near the entrance was covered by a bed of rocks and leaves fastened to a wooden panel that served as the cover. Kinai opened the shaft cover and pulled out a torch from a stash as well as a piece of flint and steel from a small pouch inside where there was much more of it to go around. All the while he would look around making sure no one was following or watching him. When Kinai approached the door with the torch in hand, he pulled out a key from under his left pauldron and unlocked it. He put the key back in its place, lit the torch, and went in closing the door behind him.

Kinai took a moment to exhale, lit a fire in a big fire pit in the center of the cave and then went around checking all his wares to make sure everything was as it should be. The cave was sizable, about twenty square feet, set with a bed made of wool blankets on a wooden board at the far end of the cave opposite the door. There was also a long wooden table and chair, a large wooden basin in the ground for washing, and a water spring that poured into a pool. It circulated the water into a drain leading out to a stream that flowed about half a mile behind the cave, a process that kept the water fresh for drinking. Of course, there was also a large chest of supplies such as extra swords, clothes, and other things. 

When Kinai was ready to settle down, he unstrapped his sword, leaned it against the wall and sat down next to it. There were lanterns on the wall but he didn't bother to light them. He hung his head low and thought about his knights, his mother, his brothers, and finally his father. While thinking, he ran his right hand across his head, through his hair and down to the back of his neck. His face conveyed a sharp yet subtle vexation coupled with weariness from constant fighting. He looked at his hands, closing and opening them again; seeing how filthy and worn they were. He put his head back against the wall looking up and gasped, almost crying. 

He turned over and knelt down to the ground saying, “Father of life, whosoever you are, wherever you are...save us from this madness that has overcome our lands and our people. Take us away from this, this demon that calls himself king...Why did the people give in; what made them turn against one another? What made them throw away their children like diseased pigs? What made them think that slavery is better than community, than oneness? For those of us who remain at peace in our minds, I thank you, for whatever your participation in our existence and survival may be. Thank you for keeping my father on earth alive, despite the scar that has made him sick. Thank you for keeping my family and my friends alive after all that they have experienced. Please, Father of life, wherever you are, teach me. Please show me what I must do to bring Endrell back from death, and I will do it...and, meet me...commune with me. If it is at all important to know you or to know whether or not you are, Father; whatever source you are...please show me.” After that he let go his woes and carried on.