The Holy Knight

Chapter 6 : The Pyramid

Tanek and Coty were stuck inside Yakshit's mouth for what seemed like days. They felt movement but never seemed to know if they were actually moving or not. Fortunately Yakshit's breath didn't smell foul, and there was enough oxygen intake to keep them from suffocating inside.
"Yakshit has known these mountains for long enough. I'm sure he knows what he's doing." Coty said aloud.
"I never doubted him. Though I only wish we could see where we were traveling." Tanek mentioned.
Coty nodded and then tried to look at Tanek among the darkness. There was barely any light to shine through Yakshit's teeth when his lips weren't closed to completion. "Tanek. What did you remember?"
Tanek felt a shiver down his spine, "Everything. My name is Tanek, from the land known as Adalie. I was born under a yearning year, the crops were dying and the people too. I remember a man, I don't know if it was my Father or a master, but he fled the land hoping to find a cure. I was left alone and grew up in the shadows."
"Hm. That isn't right. Adalie isn't familiar, but the story you tell is of another. A Divine Being, I'm sure." Coty corrected. "I do not remember his name, but I do know of this story."
"Why am I receiving memories of a story?" Tanek wondered aloud, "The feeling was of my own. Who am I to guess the Flames?"
Coty's face lit up for a moment, but dimmed just as quick. Her memory served her right, "There was once a Divine Being known as 'Rednaxela'. He was a Great Warrior in the Fight of the Divine. If my memory serves me right, the Fight of the Divine was a battle between the Divine Beings and the Gods."
"Both the Gods and Divine Beings share a necessity for Divine Light." Tanek pieced together.
"Much so. What I do not understand is why they fought in the first place." Coty mentioned. "Though maybe there was not enough Light for them all."
Suddenly Yakshit opened his mouth and forced Tanek and Coty out of his mouth. They rolled off of his tongue, and bounced off of his tongue until they flew out of his mouth entirely. Tanek and Coty fell out of his mouth and into the clouds. Tanek spun and thrashed about hoping to land somewhere safe if they were to land at all.
Coty tried to reach for Tanek but they swerved away from each other. He felt his heart bouncing around inside of him. His mind focused on one thing, landing.
The two broke through the clouds and were revealed to a snowy mountain top. In the near distance Tanek could barely make out what seemed to be a Pyramid. But before he could truly confirm what he saw, they crashed into the ground.

Tanek opened his eyes to a dark night. The stars danced among the moon and swam around the skies. He sat up and saw Yakshit idly waiting nearby. Though he immediately took notice to Tanek's awakening. Coty was face first in the dirt, resting almost peacefully.
It was a dried marshland with strange trees surrounding them. The vines connected throughout each tree like a road between them. A soft fog settled among the dirt and an eerie groan could be heard every so often.
"Koj puas sim dheev?" Yakshit spoke.
Tanek sat up from the dirt, "Where have you taken us?"
"Ib qhov chaw uas cov Txiv Plig nyob." He answered.
"A place where priests live?" Tanek then noticed, "What are you doing here? What happened to The Shrine?"
"Thaum koj pib lub voj voog, lub thaj neeb tawg tag ces tsis muaj ntau tus neeg tsis txawj tuag tsis muaj qe. Tam sim no kuv yog koj tus phooj ywg nyob rau hauv cov lus no." Yakshit explained.
"The Shrine crumbled after I started the fire, and now you're my ally. But why?" Tanek felt his mind stutter with questions.
"Cov uas tau xaiv los ntawm Txoj Kev Teeb ntawm Divine tau pub rau kuv. Koj tsoo lub thaj thiab pib lub voj voog dua. Nws yog lub sijhawm kuv pab tus Immortal Ib hauv nws qhov kev tshawb nrhiav." Yakshit went on.
"So you'll help me then? Just because the Shrine broke, you think I'm deemed worthy enough for your help?" Tanek almost laughed. "You're a God. You can do whatever you want, why even think twice about helping me?"
"Kuv muaj sia yog pab koj." Yakshit said as he moved closer to Tanek.
Your existence is to help me? Tanek thought. He nodded at the God and then looked over at Coty. I wonder what help this God could give.
Coty mumbled and then sighed, "Well. I would not like if we did that again."
Tanek smiled and nodded, "Neither would I. Though did you spot that Pyramid up ahead?"
Coty picked herself from the ground, "I did not. I was too busy not trying to die."
"And how did that work out for you?" Tanek asked.
"Oh haha." She mocked him. "What is here anyway?"
"A place where Priests live as Yakshit mentioned." Tanek motioned towards the God. "Wait a minute."
Tanek looked to the sky. He noticed the dancing stars begin to fade from existence. The beautiful blue moon took to a grim red color. "What is this?"
Coty wondered the same, "Let's see if that Priest might know about it. If there are any left."
"I feel I killed the last one back in that cave." Tanek mentioned. He then noticed a Virgin Mary statue nearby. "Looks like the Divine are looking out for us.
"Why is Yakshit here? Wasn't he supposed to protect The Shrine?" Asked Coty.
"It's gone." Tanek said. "So he's here to help us."
"To help you." Coty mumbled.
Tanek heard what she said, but didn't bring it to attention. Tanek let out a sigh, "Let's head out."
Yakshit towered above them and kept a watchful eye. His presence made Tanek feel safer though not by much. It seemed that Yakshit wasn't bothered by his new fate, no longer tied to The Shrine. He was now free to traverse the Mountains that he could only stare at, though now tethered to The Immortal One.
Tanek kneeled in front of the Holy Statue, placing his hand softly among the ground in front of it. A very faint, but powerful Light emanated from the dirt. Tanek's determination was filled once again.
Yakshit let out a heavy sigh and then motioned with his head a path near the side of the Pyramid. Coty nodded and made it known to Tanek who had just finished his connection with the Divine Realm.
Coty stepped first towards the path but was quickly stopped, a woman passed into sight and then back into obscurity. The woman seemed to travel where Tanek and Coty were going. She left a ghostly white trail behind her that faded after a few feet. It was like a ghastly presence following the woman.
"Did you see that?" Coty asked.
Tanek shook his head, "No, what did you see?"
She rubbed her eyes and then looked at the ground, her eyesight getting gradually worse by the second. Her head bounced side to side and then a strange stillness came over her body and reviving her eyesight. "Nothing."
Tanek and Coty then stepped into the murky water, it sank up to their ankles in a sloshy texture. It wasn't lukewarm, but rather cold. Like the warmth from the mountain itself was desolate and their body temperatures were the only forms of heat.
Each step they took seemed to get harder and harder to move like the water was a gradual glue. Coty happened to notice another set of glowing eyes among the fog. She tried to focus on the pair of eyes, but to no success. Tanek also took notice of the set of eyes and he failed to focus as well. He took one blink and then stood before him a towering serpent woman. Her eyes glowing a very dense color, snakes crawling from her hair but they were attached. Her lower body being that of a serpent, and the top half human. She bore a strange corset, cut finely around the breasts, and wore a dark red lipstick attractive to the eyes. Her face was that of a soft yet dangerously sensual woman. Her voice soft, but sexy.  She let out a soft moan, and then a laughter.
Tanek quickly shifted his eyes from her.
"Don't you wanna look at me?" She hissed softly.
Tanek shook his head, "No, I don't think so."
He could hear her slithering around him, her tail wrapping finely around the base of Tanek's feet. Coty was not far from Tanek, but far enough to not be in the way. She could hear the woman close to Tanek and desperately searched among the thickening fog. She thrashed through the murky water until she found herself a dozen feet away, hidden.
"I could bring you home with me." The woman said in a deep, attractive tone. "Maybe if you're gonna be a good boy."
I know what you are, beast. You cannot capture my mind. Tanek thought.
Coty stood near, bow in hand. She took a quick glance around, though when she turned she met a stone soul. His face seemingly enraptured in lust and pleasure. Coty stepped around the man and towards a tree that had a vantage point. It was only a couple feet higher from the water, but sturdy and overlooked where Tanek was.
"I know your purpose, Medusa." Tanek said aggressively. "You will not succeed."
The woman winced back now furious, "How do you know my name, Knight."
"I know a lot about you. Now steer clear from my path." Tanek demanded. "Or would you prefer I kill you here?"
Medusa laughed heartily, "And how do you expect to do that, Knight. You can barely see for I should capture your image in stone!"
Tanek chuckled, "Like this!" With one hand hovering in front of his eyes, he could see the water by his feet. He spun round and slashed at the tail of the beast slashing deep across her bottom half. Blood now mixing with the murky waters.
Coty, from the tree, shot a storm of arrows upon Medusa striking her in the neck and torso.
Medusa raised her arms and then thrust them down, the snakes in her hair flailing about and her eyes now shining a blinding light upon Tanek. "You will DIE!"
Coty shot another couple of arrows, striking Medusa in the shoulder. Medusa turned her attention towards the tree where Coty would then vanish quickly.
Tanek noticing the distraction finally looked up to find Medusa was slithering away. He chased behind as quick as he could. Once he found Coty hiding behind another stone man, Tanek ran behind Medusa and jumped upon her back. He held on by one of the snakes in her head, tugging and pulling on it to drag her away from Coty.
"You come to my home and disrupt my land and then try to kill me?" Medusa yelled. She clawed at Tanek but couldn't reach him.  He pulled back his sword and with one heavy thrust he forced the blade into her torso. A pitch black presence, The Terror, seeped from her body like a plague slowly taking over the land.
"Run!" Coty yelled.
Tanek released himself from Medusa's body and darted away before she would eventually explode into a thin layer of Terror that mixed into the thick fog. "Coty, head towards the light! It should be where the Pyramid is!"

A couple of hours would pass before Tanek reached a small opening to a forest. Coty would sit there sitting next to a bonfire she had crafted. Her head hung low, and her eyes shrouded with tears.
"You alright?" Tanek said approaching her slowly.
Her face lit up, "I was scared that you were lost among the fog, lost among the swamp and I could do nothing to find you."
"Well fear no longer." Tanek sat down by the fire, hovering his hands above it. "We have much more ground to cover."
"Yes, yes you do." A voice came from within the forest.
Tanek knew the voice all too well, "Ptolemy?"
"Indeed, it is me!" Ptolemy let out a chuckle before sitting beside them and the fire. "I was wondering when I would meet the likes of you two."
"What happened to you?" Tanek noticing Ptolemy no longer having a real left arm.
Ptolemy nodded and then bowed his head down, "After the Mist settled in the Shrouded Valley, an arm reached out and grabbed me. I couldn't scream but I wished to. As I was pulled away it wasn't by an Ethereal Being. It was by a man. Much like the man that Coty had mentioned in the Memory Fragment. He wore a straw hat that covered his eyes. I didn't get much of a look at him."
"Does this lead into figuring out what happened to your arm?" Tanek yawned.
"Yes, It does. Now once he pulled me out of there he took me to this strange camp. He tied me down to a wooden pole sticking out of the ground next to about seven others. All sane folk. There were about twenty men with crossbows pointed directly at us. Somehow this ancient dragon, I believe it was Ceolburh herself, swooped down and stampeded the miniature army. She slashed down on the seven of us, killing about five. The other two, me and another poor soul, escaped but not without a sacrifice."
"How did you manage to escape a dragon?" Coty asked.
"Not too sure. It's still a blur to me. Not long after escaping her, I fell down a well that was boarded up. Inside of that well did I find none other than an Artist. None other than Eero. The Great Artist of the Illusory Era."
"The Illusory Era. Back when the Ethereal weren't so upset." Coty added.
"Before the Gods and Divine fought over the Light. There was peace among the Miran Mountains. Of course this was so long ago that Yakshit wasn't born. He's been around for a very long time." Ptolemy said.
"So this Artist, Eero, did what?" Tanek asked.
Ptolemy nodded, "Eero crafted me this arm. He used some form of Divine machinery to make it. I wouldn't know to be honest. Though it has many uses."
"I'm sure it does. Though we could use a rest. Do you mind taking first shift on watch?" Tanek took a look around the three of them.
"Of course not. Rest well, I'm sure you've been through Hell and back." Ptolemy said scratching the side of his face. He pulled a log nearby for a chair and sat atop of it. He took to notice Yakshit glaring upon the pair. He was frightened but not as much by Yakshit than he was of what could possibly be around them.
Tanek didn't take long to fall asleep, his body aching from falling and battling. Coty drifted slowly into a slumber but consistently woke up and fell back asleep as time passed.

Tanek felt his soul transcend. His body prepared to engage in a great battle. His mind determined more than ever to fulfill his destiny.
"What is it you seek?" Tanek asked.
"You know what I seek." An indistinguishable voice said. "I seek. . ."
"My freedom." Tanek gasped. "You mean. . ?"
"Hm. I do."

Tanek woke up to a brighter, yet still dark, sky. The clouds no longer in the sky. Coty was talking with Ptolemy over the still burning fire. They were laughing and seemingly having a good time. Tanek sat up with a smile before remembering the dream he had last night. He didn't really understand what it was, but something gave mysterious undertones.
"You look like you've seen a ghost." Coty chuckled at Tanek. Tanek then recognizing all of the things he has seen not sure whether or not he should be surprised if he has.
"That would have been much better." Tanek chuckled. "Anything new?"
"I did some scouting just around dawn. There's a well that leads directly into the Pyramid's Grounds. Nobody seems to be around." Ptolemy informed.
Tanek got up and dusted himself off. He turned to Yakshit and gave a nod before heading with Ptolemy and Coty through the forest. They followed a set of signs that had strange lettering on it. The signs were dirty and the words barely even recognizable.
It wasn't long before they were deep into the forest. Coty fell to the ground, groaning in pain. Tanek and Ptolemy quickly rushed by her side, Tanek picking her into his arms. They scanned her visible body for any damages, but nothing.
"Her eyes. . ." Tanek noticed them. Coty's eyes were cloudy, almost completely fogged. Her breathing was panicked, but her body didn't move. Ptolemy pressed his hand against his chin in thought. There was an eery silence between them for minutes on end.
"Check her stomach." Ptolemy said in fear of what they might find.
Tanek reached over her wool belt and untied it from around her waist opening her robes. She was heavily wrapped with a cloth from her chest down to just about her pelvis. Tanek reached between the cloth and slowly pulled it apart to reveal the midriff.
"Oh no." Tanek gasped. Pitch black veins pulsed within her body. "The Terror."