One Last Knight. A Series of Short Stories.

Hey hey, welcome back to the gates of Enverdolmal!

Happy Black History Month! -If you are in America- 

I hope that -as always- this newest chapter finds you well and in good health no matter where you are in the world.

One Last Knight just passed 11.78K views in English and 5.6K views over on the Spanish end!

Can you believe that!? Because I can't!

When I started this, it was just to help me get away from my own world. To be a sort of therapeutic thing you know?

And you know what?

It has worked very well!

Not only my stories, but YOU.

YOU keep me going. YOU taking your time to read my works gives me life and energy and motivation to write and post more.

I can't thank you all enough.

I won't keep you.

Especially not with more soft, squishy stuff like my feels lol.

I love you all dearly though. Never forget that fact.

I will see you all back here soon yeah?

I present to you:

"My path to travel. Part 1.5

Enjoy.

-------------------------

I lay on my back in the swaying lemon grass, shaded by the tree and the clouds that drifted by lazily overhead. The scent of the grass began to seep into the seams of my armor seemingly at the same pace at which the sun was warming it. My horse grazed just off to my left at the base of the tree which cast its shade on me. 

The day had been fine thus far.

Having finished my breakfast not so long ago, I thought it would suit me just fine to get a quick spot of rest in before Himora showed up.

Well, If he showed up today at all. 

It was strange that he hadn't been here as planned when I had arrived several hours ago, but alas, both sea and land travel could be so very unpredictable, and I knew for a fact that Himora had planned on undertaking quite the trip to get so far North where Garth Verlore was located from the Southern end of Lustria.

I supposed that I could both stand and afford to wait a day or so to compensate for any delays that he may have ran into. That was fine by me. To be up and away so soon after our rendezvous would have been a drag anyway. 

Himora was not one for sleeping much, thus we tended to rest very little while together, something that I always had to prepare myself for. Thus my current nap. From atop the hill that held myself and my horse I could see the Tower of Juriyalett way off in the distance, just three hundred miles or so -or several days journey- to my North and East. Closer still, just a half mile from my very feet, sat a small yet bustling dorpie. One of few that dotted the vast and mostly forested lands of Naeri. 

Several miles North-West of that dorpie was not only the sea, but the grand and ever-busy harbor town known as Port Nixa. Himora would have landed there and ventured here had he been on time as we had planed. This course would have taken him through the dorpie that I now had eyes on, so that would be my next logical stop before I too would venture to Port Nixa. I would stop there and confirm if he had been that way or not before making my way to Enverdolmal. 

It was my hope that if anything, he would be in Port Nixa with some tale as to why he hadn't shown up here. Such a tale would make the trip East to Enverdolmal that much more interesting. 

Back to my current situation.

The idea of civilization so near gave me a bit more comfort as I let myself relax more and more. I was sure that my loyal horse would inevitably wake me should any beasts or monsters wander too near. If not, most Humans and Humanoids alike tended to "announce" themselves long before their arrival to ears as trained as mine. As an added precaution, I sat my collapsible spear next to my head which was propped up on my shield. It wasn't the best "pillow" so to speak, but I'd used worse in my days upon the battlefields of past.

 As the sun rose higher into the sky, the warmth of its brilliant light began to have its way with my consciousness, luring me steadily into a light sleep. I would rest just for a short, an hour or so. I was a light sleeper, a habit that I had formed some time ago so that I could remain as vigilant as was possible even in my slumber.

With a sigh of resignation mixed with relaxation and one last warry glance about my surroundings, I let myself slip into a shallow siesta. 

Unfortunately It was not destined to last as long as I would have liked.

-------------------------

Yenoog woke from his hibernation with a start. 

The mighty Cyclops was confused...

Bright, intrusive sunlight poured into the dank hole that was the entrance to his burrow through several small cracks in the heavy door, stinging his weary and sleepy eye. The entrance was twenty feet above him and to his left, at the top of a particularly steep and sloping ramp of stone, gravel, and bones of many varied species. 

Sunlight? 

His mind felt not like his own...

Why was he awake? 

He had no real concept of time in the traditional sense, yet he knew for a fact that this was not right.

He slowly sat up on his pile of scraggy old beast furs and wrinkled monster skins, using one of his large, murky-green, three-figured hands to brush away the sleep crust that had accumulated at the edges of his massive, singular eye ball. His tall and muscled body felt sluggish and heavier than normal, partially due to having just awoke from a very deep and important sleep, the other part due to something else all together...

Something was pulling at the edges of his consciousness...

Although the muscle-bound brute could not possibly have had the words to describe this feeling, or even properly identify it, he knew at least that he did not care for it at all.

What was it?

Hunger?

It could not be...

Yenoog had swallowed three whole goats just days ago AND the tiny boy who had tended them...

This act had riled up the little village just a bit, yes. But as long as they didn't send for help from Port Nixa -which was located just a days trip North of this place- Yenoog was not worried. The people in the slowly growing dorpie were capable enough with the few swords and spears and bows that they had, he didn't care to tussle with armored Humans on horseback. 

Although horse meat was both a rarity and quite tasty, that was a whole different fight that even Yenoog was not foolish enough to invite at this time. The season was soon to turn, and not in his favor. His only real goal was to rest. To conserve as much of his stored energies as possible with the steadily approaching fall season well on its way to his neck of the woods.

Goats and tiny Humans went missing commonly enough out in the wilder woods of central Naeri that as long as the Cyclops didn't over do it, he would most likely live a long and relatively peaceful life of gluttonous solitude. With that thought in mind, Yenoog lay back down and closed his great and singular eye once again. 

And once again, the sudden pull at the rear of his mind...

It was much clearer this time around.

Suddenly Yenoog was on his fat and rounded feet, and very much awake. His head was just a foot short of the dirt ceiling above him as he stretched his arms out to either side with a great and deep yawn. Those arms -nearly five feet in length each- very nearly touched the walls to either side of his bulky frame.

Images of tiny boys and tiny girls roasting over an open fire with a spit impaling them through their stomachs and out of their backs filled his mind.

They never had enough meat on their little bones...but they did make for a lovely snack, and he did so love the little pop sound that came along with biting down on their tiny little hearts. Young hearts were a bit rubbery, but they hit the spot nonetheless. 

"Hungry... Yes! HUNGRY!!" 

He growled through clinched teeth.

Behind his eyelids little wooden houses were ablaze in the middle of the night, cooking alive -and to a perfect crisp- those trapped by fallen rubble. Adults torn in halves and quarters, their arms and legs stuffed into Yenoog's filthy and gore-stained hunting sack. 

His fangs and short tusk dripped saliva.

His lips curled back into a wide and wicked grin.

Kicking his sleeping pile aside, Yenoog took several lumbering steps towards the long, deep hole in his wall that he had dug out to use as a form of shelving. In here were his favorite weapons: 

A long and jagged cleaver-like blade which he had fashioned from the remains of a torn and twisted steel gate that once protected a long-sense fallen castle, and a knobby and ugly cudgel made from an aged, heavy tree trunk. 

He folded his dirty old sac under his frayed and equally dirty rope belt on the left hip, and tucked the large club under the same belt, but on his right. 

Raising the impossibly large cleaver to his left ear, he gave it a couple of solid thumps using the index finger and thumb of his right hand. The burrow was filled with a deep ringing sound as the "bladed" weapon vibrated. It was a long, wobbling, high-pitched and unpleasant note. Not unlike the sounds a Human made just before its arms or legs tore off when pulled at.

Yenoog was pleased.

"SMASH 'EM! 

BASH 'EM! 

CHOP 'EM INTO BITS!"

He sang to himself as he made his way up his makeshift ramp and towards the exit of the deep, dark burrow. He would eat well this night. He would eat well for the week!

"STEW 'EM UP AND CHEW 'EM UP OR MASH 'EM INTO GRITS!

He shouted more than sang as he climbed from the hole, shoving aside its great and cumbersome camouflaged door and dropping it back into place in a series of well practiced moves. 

The small dorpie was but a couple of miles away.

A distance that he could cover in a matter of minutes...

Yenoog was off to feast.

To hunt.

To raid...

He suddenly didn't care about the armored men. He didn't care about living a long and full life.

He had a new goal.

One that he could obtain this very night.

He wanted chaos...

Yenoog was indeed hungry.

-------------------------

Valerex sat crossed-legged on a massive bolder at the top of a hill just minutes from the small dorpie. 

His chosen spot was one of not just fancy, but strategy as well. 

He could see from here the entire settlement. He could see the people moving about in their normal, day-to-day lives, blissfully unaware of the chaos that was about to ensue. 

Valerex loved chaos. He loved danger and trouble and strife.

Valerex loved to make things more complicated than they had to be.

For others, mind you. Not particularly himself.

He was a Chaos Mage. 

His area of expertise?

 Aetheral Mind Projection. 

His ability was simple. 

He could climb into the mental space of nearly any living thing within five miles of himself and take control of its every thought and action. This was the ultimate way to do what he loved to do best, and he was very good at what he did. The only drawback he had ever encountered was heavier mental resistance from well-educated or more "studied" individuals. 

These types had a tendency to not only resist him, but some of them could even trace the mental link from themselves back to his hidden location with enough skill and time. That would never do, and it had almost gotten him caught and killed a half dozen times over in the past. 

He had learned both his lesson and his limits with time. He would stick to targets that he knew that he could handle. He would use them as pawns to do his bidding, to clean up loose ends where he could not, to cause more chaos when he needed it.

Chaos fueled his spells, more so even than his own Aether pool. He needed people to be afraid and paranoid. He needed them to question everything around them, and then burn down anything and everyone that they didn't trust. 

He needed things to spiral into a state of his choosing.

One could imagine what that state was. 

And so here he sat, his mind cast out and attached to his chosen target like the strings of a skilled puppeteer. His own body alone and vulnerable, but secluded and hidden for just that reason. He had enchanted his own body in a manner that would allow him to temporarily appear as a part of his immediate environment. Thus a second, smaller bolder sat atop the bolder that was his perch. To anyone who should happen to pass, he would appear as just that: an unattractive and unassuming stone. 

He was sure that no one would be able to reach his location regardless of the enchantment, as this place was nearly a thousand feet up and off of the ground. The hill he sat on was one of several that overlooked the secluded yet growing dorpie.

It was the perfect place to not only practice but hone his skills. 

For the better part of the morning, he had sat in silent and still meditation. He had been searching for his next victim. His next puppet.

He had mentally scanned the dorpie slowly and meticulously, seeking that "something" that he had always sought. 

The common and dangerous duo of power or rank, and simplicity. 

The two characteristics seemed to go hand-in-hand within some species. This included Humans at times. More frequently than most in fact...

But today would be his "lucky" day. He would stumble across something far more lucrative, far more useful to him just a handful of miles from the dorpie, and right at the edge, the very limit of where his mind could reach.

After not finding a Human strong enough to cause the level of chaos he needed within the dorpie, he was just about to give in and go do it himself when the edges of his consciousness tingled in the very slightest. 

A peculiar Aether signature. 

Faint, but still there.

He had stumbled across the lair of a sleeping Cyclops. 

He grinned a deep grin.

He focused his mind as if to thread it through the eye of a needle. 

He would need to be careful with this one... It was not only a brute, but one of the simplest that one could find. The only other problem that he had ever faced when using his ability was nearly exactly the opposite of his first problem. If the target was too ignorant, he could very well run the risk of falling victim to that very same ignorance. This would leave him trapped in the body and mind of said target, as his own mind would be lost in the process. 

This would never do. 

He would have to play this one smart.

He would have to make the thing believe that the thoughts that it was having was his and his alone. 

He mentally tested the water, slowly shifting through the monsters mind to find something that he could motivate it with. 

A few moments later, he had found it.

The lumbering beast sat up slowly and rubbed its giant eye.

The sunlight seemed to daze and disorient it. 

Valerex needed something to "guide" his new host with. Something that he could make the center of its attention so that he would have an easier time at the controls. 

the Cyclops mind was full indeed, but not of anything of any real use to him. The monster was a simple being, driven by nothing more than base animal instincts. This was an animal of much and many muscles and not much else.

This worked out in his favor just fine.

He kept it simple, relatable, and realistic: Hunger.

The monster processed a thought or two, then simply lay back down on its filthy pile with a heavy thud.

It had worked.

Temporarily, but it had worked. 

He would have his way with this one.

He grinned another, deeper grin.

Focusing a good portion of the Aether that he had left at his disposal, he pushed his mind forward and deeper still into that of the sleeping Cyclops.

Its mind resisted for just a bit. 

A wall of rage and hunger and fatigue assailed Valerex for a split second before it crumbled and fell away into a vast and deep nothingness. 

He was in.

He pushed his will forward and took "control" with a series of mental images that he could easily project and manipulate. Nothing to complicated with this one though, as he didn't care to inadvertently shatter the monsters delusion of being in control of its own actions. 

The monster stood suddenly and with little effort. So massive was its muscles and frame that it could scarcely fit within the den that it had dug itself. Yawning and stretching drove some of the weariness from the things bones, allowing Valerex just a bit more control as the monster began to come around fully to the land of the conscious. 

The monster was not hungry in the least, but Valerex's mental pushes had hit the mark, finding one of the very few things that could ever motivate a Cyclops, let along one who was asleep and well on its way to a deep hibernation. 

Valerex's puppet-Cyclops walked over to the thing that it called a shelf and drew forth three items, two that happen to be large and inhumane weapons.

Valerex had never had a favorite kind of weapon or weapons until this very point in his life.

He grinned again, this time the mouth of the monster twisted into a grin that would be his own for the next handful of hours.

He quickly shifted through the things memories and located the dorpie that "his" body was located near. It would be just under an hours hike to cover the several miles that were between the Cyclopes burrow and the dorpie. 

Valerex didn't care to waist any of the time he had with his latest toy. He would push the body to its limits, running all the way to the dorpie that very day.

He would acclimate himself to this new body before they arrived. It would be an interesting trip, and the people of that dorpie would never see him coming.

Madness would ensue.

Fear.

Panic.

Chaos.

He would drink fully and deeply from the destruction of the dorpie.

That chaos would be his and his alone.

-------------------------

Yenoog sprinted through the forest at nearly full speed.

Branches of trees that he pushed against on his way past simply snapped of and were thrown aside like twigs, and trees that got in his way were either smacked aside, snapping at their bases, or simply uprooted in whole.

His focus was full.

His mind was set.

He would not be slowed or stopped.

He would eat and eat and eat.

He would smash and smash and smash.

The little village would be laid waste by his appetite. His Rage.

Yenoog would have his chaos.

As the village grew closer and closer, Yenoog's hunger and rage swelled to greater heights, threatening to explode his very heart from the physical exertion. 

-Valerex eased up on his spell, he didn't want the vile thing to die before he got to have his fun. Before he got his chaos.-

Yenoog slowed himself a bit. The village would be there when he got there. No need to rush.

With several dozen more lengthy strides, the edge of the dorpie came into Yenoog's/Valerex's view. A lone man stood with his back to a tree, a lone guard mayhap.

It mattered little.

It was time to have a good time

-------------------------

The day was warm and a bit balmy.

The guardsmen stood his post just as he would have on any other day.

But alas...

This day would be like no other.

He stretched his arms above his head and looked up and into the clouds with a great yawn, the day had been quit and slow. Just as he liked it.

As he brought his head and field of view back down, he caught a flash of motion before him

 An impossibly fast glint of silver.

It was one of the last things that he would ever see.

Soaring through the air and heading right towards him was the largest "cleaver' that he had ever and would ever see.

It passed him so fast that he didn't have time to react, to reach for the rope that would let him wring the alarm bell to alert the people who relied on him.

The cleaver struck him dead center just above his belt, slicing the hapless man clean in half in the blink of an eyes.

The cleaver struck the tree behind him with a dull thud, sinking 3/4th of the way into the thick, round trunk.

So quick, so precise was the cut, that no a drop of blood tarnished the massive blade.

The guardsman had a moment to glance down before the life left him, he watched his own legs take a step forward, then another, before they flopped to the floor along with all of his intestines.

His world went black as a massive shadow rose up and over him heading in the direction of the village that he would never see again.

-------------------------

Valerex was impressed with the level of dexterity and control the Cyclops had exhibited with the cleaver of his.

The man had been sliced in half with so little effort that Valerex had been surprised that the tree behind him had help out. Of course he was glad that it hadn't, for its subsequent crashing would have undoubtedly alerted the people who had yet to see their dooms new form. 

That would have been no fun.

Surprise tends to cause more chaos.

He willed the monster forward and towards the meals that awaited it.

As they passed the tree, Yenoog yanked the large weapon from the trees base with ease, taking the half-man in his left hand as he did so, and shoving the mans head and shoulders unceremoniously into his massive mouth. 

He bit down and took the head and both shoulder from the body, tossing aside the torso as what remained of the arms flew off in random directions.

His stomach was nearly full, yet still his hunger boiled on.

More...

More. More. More.

He needed more food.

Valerex pushed the thought into this mind gently.

Yenoog moved on, his cleaver gauged a long, deep line in the packed trail as he drug it behind him in a reverse grip.

-------------------------

The music seemed to float around me as we twirled and spun, dancing to the melodies of the band that played from the small stage in the center of the dance hall.

The bass-filled beat of the drums. Thunder.

The booming blare of the trumpets. Wind.

The soft almost haunting twang of the koras. Water.

The rolling tap-tap-taping of the snares. Earth

The band was so good.

So skilled.

The melody was almost just as intoxicating as the reefer that I had a habit of smoking in order to tame my ever-shifting anxiety. 

Melonie beamed at me from my arms and pulled my head in for a soft kiss, her fingers interlocked behind my neck. 

My fingers were interlocked at the small of her back.

She wore an ankle-length, cherry-red dress that seemed to sparkle more and more with every passing moment.

Another kiss. This one more full, more inviting.

Her eyes seemed to be alite, showing as blue as the midday sky.

She closed them and I in turn closed mine.

Another kiss. Deep and unyielding.

Her hair -so blond that it was nearly white- danced about her soft shoulders, set gently aglow by the fae fire lanterns that lit the room around us.

I was captivated. 

I was hers.

And she was mine.

We turned in unison, her body and mine pressed firmly together, a dance of intensity and intimacy.

I couldn't have looked away had I wanted to.

A fourth kiss.

This time...way too wet. 

I pulled away just a bit and opened my eyes.

Her tongue flopped over my lips and then my chin and nose...

Something was wrong.

Her facial features began to shift and distort.

Her eyes bulged and swelled to four times their size.

Her lips stretched across her face and began to swell rapidly.

Her ears grew in length at the same rate as her lips, darkening as they did to an earthy brown.

As I recoiled in horror, desperately trying to distance myself from this sudden nightmare of a woman, I realized that not just her face had changed.

Looking down at her arms...

Well, they were no longer arms, but something more akin to a horse's legs.

My horror was complete.

And suddenly I was very much awake.

My eyes shot open, and above me stood my ever-loyal horse.

His tongue out and lapping over my now-soaked face!

"Blaaaaaaagh! GET! GET OFF OF ME NAG!" 

I shouted pushing gently at his snout, not out of anger, but more of annoyance.

And away he did get, but not before giving me a hard and urgent nudge.

"Okay! Okay, I am up! What's the big..."

My words faded away.

I could smell smoke. It was thick and it was near enough to burn my eyes and dry my throat.

I rolled to my left, scooping my spear up with my right hand as I did so. Scooping up my shield, I swung it over my shoulder in one motion, its magnetic underside clinging to my back immediately. 

Looking off into the distance, I could see the source of the smoke.

My heart sunk, falling with an audible splash into my stomach.

The dorpie just several hills away from me was ablaze. Thick, black, rolling smoke climbed into the sky and was carried to me on the Southern wind.

I had to move.

I had to get down there and see what the commotion was about.

With a huff and a flourish I was up and into the saddle, the seasoned war horse surged forward without a word just as soon as my rear had hit its back.

I was on my way.

The dorpie was not very far away at all, giving me little time to think and even less time to fully wake myself on my own terms. I shook my head to clear the sleep fog as adrenalin began to pump through my system. That would do it. I was suddenly feeling very much more awake.

The smoke began to thicken as I neared the village. I quickly flipped my helmet's visor down as the first of the burning homes came into view several hills away now. The helmets enate enchantments did well to not only filter the smoke from the air around me but also allow me to see better in the area of low visibility. 

I was never fond of magic, nor would I ever be, but when the Queen of Naeri had issued a new, very specific, and highly specialized suit of Knights armor to all of her knew recruits and seasoned Veterans alike, I was not about to complain about it.

At this point, I was even glad to have it. 

As adverse to magic and its oddities as I was, It had also saved my life more than a handful of times within my history of battles. This new armor was rather impressive in the range of "small yet troublesome inconveniences" that it could actively -and often subconsciously- negate. 

As the village grew closer I could head the screams.

There were people who needed my help, and I would do my best to not let them down.

The trees flew by on either side of the trail that my horse and I were on. Gravel flew to either side as we closed the gap between ourselves and what mystery was to come.

I rounded the last bend as the screams and smoke seemed to reach a crescendo, pulling on the reigns and skidding to a halt.

What I saw was enough to turn a mans legs to rubber.

The only good part about any of it was the fact that I was seated atop my horse at that moment.

Nearly the entire dorpie was ablaze. 

Every other home was alit like a candle, and those that were not, would soon be.

Many men ran to and fro, the majority of them seemed to be tending to the spreading fire, doing their best to toss buckets of well water upon the doors and walls and roofs of homes that ran parallel to those that burned. 

The rest -a group of maybe 12 armed men- were trying to encircle and wrangle some sort of hulking, muscular, towering monster with very little luck for their efforts.

I had seen many things in my life, many monsters even. But this one was new to me, and I could tell that It was clearly going to be as big of a problem as it weighed. 

I spurred my horse into motion once more.

I had to get to that thing and draw its attention from the man and what remained of the dorpie.

It would make for one hell of a story to share with Himora.

It would make for one hell of a lesson to tell my students.

But first I had to survive the battle that was about to ensue. 

-------------------------

I am sorry to leave you all on a cliffhanger, but the story has to line up with a couple of other chapters lol -one being Himora's story-

But worry not!

It will be worth the wait, I give you my word.

I hope that you are all safe and sound wherever you are. I don't know exactly where this story reaches outside of the U.S.A, or even within its borders honestly, but I hope that you are all as blessed as you can possibly be.

The world is in a perilous place right now... But if my stories help and can help someone escape, even just for a while, I hope that they can continue to do just that.

I am here to talk if anyone ever needs it. Seriously.

People need people.

Don't forget that or be to ashamed to speak up or reach out.

I may not know you, but I am just as human as you are.

Its OKAY.

I know that got a little deep...And you don't know me outside of these small talks, but I mean it: People NEED people. And it's okay to reach out. It doesn't make you weak or anything.

It makes you HUMAN.

I love you all. 

And I am here.

Till next we meet, here at the gates to Enverdolmal.

Stay safe.

 Stay healthy.

 Stay SANE.

 Stay vigilant.

-Redd.