World Without Song

Chapter 1: Earn your plate

The stone cold marbled floors and lifeless pillars lined the throne-room of the Slash Emperor, at the very end of this room was of course, the throne itself. It was a horrific looking seat, adorned with spears upon which the flayed skin of the enemies the emperor had once killed is displayed.

Yhidawach was fifteen, and would turn sixteen in a week. While he was a young man, he was tall like the emperor himself and bore no innocent features. His black hair was kept at mid length and swept back.

His green eyes were fierce for someone so young... But that is to be expected of someone trained for knighthood since birth.

"Kneel." Said the Slash Emperor with a clear voice, he was barely in his thirties, but in this world, that is a rarity.

The Slash Emperor was the current leader of the Empire.

The Empire is one of far too many countries that are at constant war with each other.

He held his blood red sword flat across his lap, as he commanded the young man to kneel.

Yhidawach had wordlessly followed his commands and waited.

"Yhidawach... I name you Knight of the Empire; swear your oath on this sword... You will fight and defeat all of your enemies. You will bear the burden of those sins. And you will release those sins, lest you fall because of them."

"I swear that I will fight and defeat my enemies. I will bear the burden of any sin. I will release sin from myself, so that I may never fall under the weight."

"Well done. You are not a boy any longer. You are a man, and a Knight, hold your head high... But you must still earn your plate. Go and serve Lord General Eomeris on the western border. If he finds you worthy of plate, then you shall receive it." The Slash Emperor's long blue hair swayed in the wind from the drafty throne-room, his steel grey eyes piercing through the young man while his shark like teeth eagerly showed through his smile.

Yhidawach nodded and left the Slash Emperor to his devices.

Yhidawach walked with heavy steps towards the arsenal room.

To pick up his long-sword, his chain mail and quilted jacket.

The keeper of the arsenal was a woman, one that had given birth to a few soldiers herself, but she was allowed to work in the castle because men liked having a woman arm them.

She was tall, taller than the Slash Emperor, with long ginger hair and a freckled face; she had pure blue eyes and artificially accentuated her feminine features. She had removed a few of her ribs, stuffed her lips with some substance, and did the same to her breasts. To Yhidawach she looked more like a horse dressed up as a woman. Her name was Estelle.

"Oh Yhidawach, please come in! I'll have you equipped in a split second." She was kind to men, and very unkind to women.

For all its worth, she did a good job of arming the young knight.

"Oh before you go. Since you've been knighted, you get to take one of these with you." She clapped her hands and a set of naked women walked into the arsenal from the room next to it.

"Pick and choose whichever you like honey."

The women had dead, doll like expressions on their faces.

"What is this?"

"These women are barren, so they're useless, or at least they were... We give them to knights since you will be fighting more than a common soldier and won't always be able to relieve your sins with a normal woman. Take one and do whatever you want with her, you might not be able to impregnate them but you will release any sin you build up using them. Don't worry if you break one, I'll give you a replacement."