The Dragon Knight Prophecy

1-1 To Save an Empire

Carefully he hid his dull, leather pack in the crevice of the stone. The sun was still low in the morning sky; its orange glow barely visible over the mountains. He thought of the journey ahead of him and if he would be back before nightfall. He shook his head as he realized he was still concerned about having enough time to get back. He wasn't coming back.

He stood up, shifting in his armor, the metal plates polished to a glistening sheen. The shoulders were trimmed in gold, and a golden sunburst with two white diamonds decorated the right plate, a symbol of his rank and his burden. The red star of Astikar was emblazoned on the left of his breastplate. It was the symbol of his god, his order, and his shame.

He was a soldier and a commander, and he was here to do the impossible. A task made all the more difficult by the fact that he was now alone. Over a month ago he had set out with thirty men on a quest that would change the fate of a war and the despair of a people.

He had traveled east all that time. Covering as much ground as he could each day pushing men and horses to their limits. By the second week, they had crossed the common lands and entered the eastern provinces. This was a loose collection of petty kingdoms and territories with weak kings and rulers. He had pushed on through these lands driving further for the dense forests that lay beyond.

When they reached the vast forest known to the locals as the Greenwall his men had to slow down. These lands were sparsely populated, and the forest became dense and hilly.

The only humans who traveled into these lands were loggers. Several rare varieties of tree grew in the Greenwall. Some of them were ancient and highly prized by the lands further west. White knotted oaks, and the impossibly beautiful black onyx maple were found hidden in the dense woods. The logging paths were all they had to travel on now, and these were little more than overgrown, muddy trails.

If he had been further north, he could have taken the farm roads in and avoided the dense forest for another five days. He was coming from the west, however, and the most direct route was through the forest. There was no time to circle to the north.

A week into the forest he and his men had made camp on a hill in the center of a meadow. He posted guards as always since the woods were home to wild animals and beasts. He didn't expect any real trouble, not this far from the bloody battlefields.

They were over a month of hard riding away from the war. The enemy with any luck had no idea he was not present on the front lines. By the time they knew, it would be too late.

Late into the night, he was lying awake in his tent when the first howls split the air. His sense of disbelief only matched the feeling of fear and panic that gripped him as he raced to his feet.

They swarmed over his camp in a wave of flailing death. His men were not expecting a battle. Armor and weapons were stacked neatly outside the tents. Men struggled to grab sword and shield and stood in bare feet against the onrushing tide. They were scattered and out of formation, easy pickings for the dark forms that now raced around them. He reacted as only he could drawing his sword and charged into the fight in little more than his pants.

Despite being caught so off guard, he managed to gather a dozen of his men into a tight circle creating a perimeter in the center of the camp. Around him, he could hear men screaming in the darkness as they were ripped apart. He heard them calling his name, begging him to save them. He was their commander, and all of these men had volunteered to accompany him. All had jumped at the chance to follow the hero of the war on a daring mission. Their heads filled with dreams of fame and glory that would inevitably follow in his wake. Now they screamed like frightened children as they were slaughtered.