Snow swirled and swept into miniature tornadoes traveling across the landscape. A woman trudged through the snow, dressed in half-plate armor that contrasted the snow's bright white with its charcoal black. The woman's eyes were Gold like a dragon's horde, and they had the fire of such a creature burning in them. Over the ebony armor she wore a thick furred coat, white like the swirls of snow that traveled the land around her. A large black and gold bastard sword was strapped to her back along with a large backpack.
The woman stepped into a drift of snow deeper than the others and fell. She tumbled into a hidden cave, small drifts of snow following her. Growling, she slid her backpack and sword off, tossing them to the side. She mumbled quietly to herself, "Mother, thanks for the shelter. but dear creator, couldn't I have come upon it without falling over?"
She opened her backpack,dumping out the contents onto the sandy floor of the cave. She pulled a small stack of wood from the pile and threw it into the middle of the cave unceremoniously. There was a loud thunk! and a clink! as a small bag of coins fell from the middle of the wood. The woman glanced at it for a second before picking it up. What use would coins be to an exile? She opened the bag and emptied the contents into her palm.
Oh. Tears welled up in her eyes. The woman started crying and grabbed a teddy bear from the pile of stuff that had come out of her backpack. She set the teddy bear down. It was worn and old with a bright red bow around its neck, and had a large, happy smile, despite the dirt and grime on its plush exterior.
The woman set the coins down in rows next to the bear. They were all different shapes, sizes, and metals. All from different kingdoms. Different kingdoms the woman, who was once a great, powerful, and respected paladin, had saved. The bear was a gift from a child. The coins payment for her services. She only kept one of the coins she recieved from each kingdom, giving the rest to any poor she encountered.
Once, the woman had been known as Kinnii Shadowslayer, Great Paladin of a country called Nor'ment. She helped any who needed help, saved any who needed to be saved. She stopped waves of undead and shadow creatures from destroying the land. But when the threat was gone The High Lord of the country had turned on her, exiling her to the north.
One day, the tyrant would pay for exiling a demoness's daughter to the high north where nothing grew. He would pay because his subjects would revolt, the lower kingdoms would demand freedom. One day, Kinnii Shadowslayer would return to her position of great paladin of Nor'ment.
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old kingdom tales
FantasyShort stories with no plot. all based in a fantasy land called the old kingdom, or the land near to it.
