Swordborn

Chapter 11: Sky Knight

Day lies in her bed, arms outstretched, listening to the storm. She hears wind howling over the mountain, rain falling hard on her balcony, and the occasional roar of thunder, the sounds blending into an ambient symphony that makes her long for the unknown.

She never bothered to change out of her leather armor after Sky Knight training because it makes her feel like a warrior, a feeling she never wants to forget. She hears steel boots pounding the stone corridor, growing louder until a soldier rushes into her bedroom. He rests his arm on the door frame, breathing hard and sweating profusely.

"Hurry!" The soldier stammers. "We must... hurry!"

"What ever do you mean?" Day asks.

"I've... been sent... to find you!" The soldier says between gasps. "Come quick!"

Day doesn't remember rising, all of a sudden she's running alongside the soldier, swept away by the urgency of the moment.

"Where are we going?" Day shouts as they run down a stairway.

"Fallen!" The soldier calls back to her. "Fallen sent me! There's a monster... in Soldier City!"

"What kind of monster?" Day shouts, thoroughly intrigued.

"It's a ga..."

"A what??"

"A GARGOYLE!!"

"Oh, I see." Day replies thoughtfully. She's never heard of such a creature, and can't wait to see it. When they reach the pegasus stables they find a dozen knights saddling steeds. A line of mounted knights extends to the balcony, where they take turns galloping into the rain.

A squire passes Day the reins of a spirited black pegasus already equipped with a war saddle. On the right side of the saddle is a quiver of spears and a quiver of arrows, on the left side are two sheathed broadswords and a longbow. Day climbs onto her steed, then the squire leads her to the back of the line.

The rain on the balcony is deafening, and as she draws closer she feels wind blowing rain into the stables. She advances into the storm as the knight ahead of her gallops off the balcony. Her pegasus stomps and snorts as it prepares for battle, then rears up and whinnies.

"Keeyah!" Day cries.

The pegasus breaks into a sprint, hooves pounding the wet stone, then spreads its wings and rides the wind into the darkness. Rain falls hard on Day's head and shoulders, the droplets growing heavier as she ascends toward the line of Sky Knights. She follows the knights across dark fields, heart racing with anticipation. She flies over the catapult field, then over the ridge, the wind stronger now that she's out of the valley.

Up ahead she sees the torches of Soldier City through the rain. Day joins a swarm of knights circling a tall building, then looks down and sees hundreds of soldiers in the streets, their backs pressed against the buildings. The soldiers appear to be hiding, or waiting.

Day notices that each knight is holding a spear over their shoulder, ready to throw. She reaches back and grabs a spear from its holster, then sees a dark shape glide from behind the building, flying with startling speed. Lightning strikes a nearby peak, lighting the sky. In the flash Day sees that the monster is a gigantic gray humanoid, with grotesque muscled arms and thick sinewy wings.

The monster soars up into the circling knights, moving too fast for them to evade. The gargoyle slams into a pegasus, sending the rider tumbling through the rain onto the muddy street. Giant claws slash through the horse, tearing it apart. Day watches the pegasus fall, horrified. It lands beside its rider on the street, both motionless. This is the first time Day has seen a human die, until now she never considered that her life could end. She's saddened by the senseless loss of pegasus and knight, yet drawn to the beauty of their passing, and surprised by the duality of her reaction.