The War of the Roil: The Knight and the Warlock

Chapter 15: The Hand of Salvation

"Praise be to the Knight!"

The words echoed from nowhere, yet everywhere at once.

That was the Calling. A Champion's summons to their God's most holy site to claim their Stone of Power.

There was no denying it. He was the Knight. And the weapon in his hands was the real sword of legends: Shadowbane.

Edmund's eyes glanced back down to the saber in his hands. Yes. He saw it now. The golden embroidery, the pristine condition of a sword older than most civilizations.

Camilla and Pasco slowly lowered their guard around the skeleton, as it wasn't attacking anymore.

"Who are you?" Edmund asked the skeleton.

"My name is Nuth'gu, sir." The skeleton cordially bowed, "I am a Fallen One, an eternal guardian of the Ansam Empire. I was to watch over Shadowbane until its rightful owner came to claim it."

"Edmund...you're the Knight..." Pasco muttered, more to himself, "How?"

Edmund glanced at Camilla. She said nothing, but her eyes showed a sort of...sorrow in them.

He looked back to Fallen One, "What happened here?" Edmund demanded, "With the dead body of my sister outside."

"A few years ago, I was finally given a task by Master Caze: To guard Shadowbane. The one outside came to steal it away. Master Caze's Morgauls killed her."

"Who were these Morgauls?" Edmund said through gritted teeth.

"One of them was named Dregu, I believe." Nuth'gu rasped.

"Dregu?" Edmund muttered. The name sounded familiar. Where had he...the battlefield! The leader of that flanking horde. He'd come face to face with Kaitlyn's murderer and not even known. His grip around the saber tightened, his knuckles whitening.

"Edmund?" Camilla asked.

He sighed, "We should...we should go back. Answer the Calling before they start looking."

Camilla nodded, "Alright. But what about...him." She gestured to Nuth'gu.

Edmund turned to the skeleton, "What exactly do you do now that I have Shadowbane?"

"I simply return to my slumber until another of Ansami descent has a task for me." the skeleton said, "Please do not stop for my sake."

Edmund nodded before he, Camilla and Pasco left the room. They returned to the entrance of the facility and pressed the tile in the mound of dirt to return them to the surface with their horses.

The ride back was mostly silent, save for Pasco occasionally attempting to naively start a conversation.

Edmund found himself looking at nothing. His grip on his reigns was rigid and unmoving, eyes still stuck open wide. His mind was still fuzzy and he felt sick to his stomach. Yet also...euphoric?

His mind kept asking 'how' over and over again, receiving no satisfying answer.

He was the Knight.

He was. The Knight.

He. Was. The. Knight.

The Knight.

His face had stretched in a grimace as his mind repeated those words, trying to make them sound truer. But each time he stated that fact, he became more exhausted.

And then there was...Kaitlyn. Admittedly, he never had remembered her face well. In fact, he barely knew the real her. All he had was a nostalgia-poisoned fantasy of what he would've liked her to be like.