The Source: Moonlight's Heir

Chapter 1

The soft light danced across the stone walls, casting shadows that seemed to reach out and embrace the young imprisoned Knight. Not just any Knight, the Knight of the Obyss. The King's hand-picked guard. Its gentle touch offered a moment of solace amidst the pain that was radiating throughout his battered body.

The smell of sweat and iron filled his nostrils. The air around him was thick with the musky scent of damp stone and the metallic tang of blood. It was an intense reminder of his physical suffering and the fear that hung heavily in the small space.

To think that once upon a time, he was guarding these very cells preventing the Leserlies, those that magic ruined, from escaping.

He slumped against the wall, his wrists hurt from the rusted chains of iron wrapped around them. Chains that were designed to prevent the use of the Leserlie magic. His bloodied face was throbbing from the last punch he received that split his brow. A hot, sticky crimson ran down the left side of his jaw at an alarming rate. Jordan ground his teeth, tilting his head so the blood avoided his eyes as the King approached his cell.

"Guard, open the door to the traitor."

The King nodded towards the oxidized metal bars where the Guard inserted his key, opening them with a grimace, as the bars creaked with disuse. The King took a long-stride into the cell, grabbing Jordan's chin and forcing him to meet his eerie red gaze.

"You will not fail me again, Jordan, or should I call you by your official title, Knight of the Obyss... either way, I do not generally extend second chances, but since you're high-ranking and a member of my elite guard, I will let it slide this once. I do suggest you not fail me again or this will be your end. Nod if you understand. Do you understand?"

The young Knight nodded in response. His throat was scratchy from disuse. He needed water.

"You will answer your King when he speaks to you, Knight of the Obyss," The guard beside him spat as he kicked his ribs. The bloodied Knight clenched his jaw and doubled over as far as his restraints would let him.

"Yes, my King, I...I understand..." Jordan croaked as he glanced up through his swollen blood-shot eyes, meeting King Contello's intense crimson stare. They glowed like pools of molten lava. Their intensity was unyielding as they bored into the Knight's very soul emanating power, a true reflection of the king's cruelty and determination.

"I swear upon my life. I won't fail you again," the Knight promised, his voice barely above a whisper. The King's expression softened slightly, though the anger still simmered in his glare.

He huffed, " I did not hear you, Knight!"

Jordan gulped, " I will not fail you again, King Contello."

"See that you do not. It's time to formally announce your new task to the court before they decide to make me hang you in the courtyard from your toes," he motioned for the guard to loosen Jordan's restraints, with a soft chuckle as he turned to head towards his court.

Jordan held his breath as the restraints were unlocked. Then hesitantly watched as the guard and King made haste into the darkness of the stairwell, away from the horrid stench of the cells below.

The Knight couldn't see the door close from his location, but he heard the dungeon's heavy door close behind them. He massaged his tender wrists, daring to look around the dimly lit chamber. His eyes met those of a fellow knight imprisoned in a cell across from his own, although lower in rank.

He didn't look much better than the knight felt. His clothes were ratty, his peppered gray hair sticking in odd angles. Blood coated his skin as well as his scruffy unkempt beard. His weight sagged against the floor, his arms spread in a T-shape, held firm with the same restraints the knight had just been released from.