LinkExchange Member

Free Home Pages at GeoCities

ÊÊÊ The hunter sprinted across the short distance, immediately drawing his sword and singling out the girl that he was sent to take. It was easy. The other girls ran for their lives and their summer dresses hampered their running. Grabbing the girl he wanted by the neck, he turned to see the guards advancing towards him out of the corner of his eye. Much too slow, they reached him with their blades drawn, only to have them shattered into little pieces as the hunter's sword crashed on top of theirs. Silently he tossed the girl over his shoulder and withdrew into the shadows of the forest whispering, "Do not try to follow, else you wish her to die." The hunter disappeared before the guards could pursue him.

. ÊÊÊ "What do you want from me?" ventured the girl, so scared that her voice came across as barely a whisper in the mumblings of the forest night.

ÊÊÊ "I want nothing of you, it is my master who wishes your audience," answered the hunter's cold rasping voice.

ÊÊÊ At night when she thought that he was asleep, she silently stole away and began to head back in the general direction of whence they came. She had not gone far from the camp before she was lost. She headed in the way which she thought was home, but at every step, she would disturb some night denizen of the forest. The girl kept going until her feet and back hurt and she absolutely had to lie down and rest. When she awoke, she heard the light beat of a horse approaching. Quickly she got up but the hunter had already sighted her.

ÊÊÊ "Why did you walk in circles all night?" he asked, "There is no use trying to escape when you do not know which way is home."

ÊÊÊ She tried to escape and hide two more nights, with no avail. He always found her. The rides were always filled with an unbreakable silence and the ominous oppression of the majestic trees. Within the fourteenth day, she caught sight of a large bleak castle, and immediately recognized the banner. Her heart filled with dread as they entered the keep. She was immediately chained hand and foot and then unceremoniously herded into what appeared to be a throne room.Ê The hunter, still keeping his face hidden beneath his hood, led her towards the man sitting on the throne. The man was lightly bearded with eyes that seemed to bore through her, as if trying to burn her with its fiery gaze. As he spoke, his voice sent chills down her spine.

ÊÊÊ "Do you know why you are here?" the man on the throne questioned with a leering grin.

ÊÊÊ "No, I do not," she said defiantly. The man threw his head back and cackled like a hyena.

ÊÊÊ "You do not know! How splendidly marvelous! Do you then know who I am?"

ÊÊÊ "You," she said, "are the dirt my father wouldn't even bother to pick from underneath his fingernails! You are the filth that horses leave and pigs roll in! You are the bug my father would not hesitate to step on!"

ÊÊÊ She watched the man on the throne stand and the color drain from his face. His hands shook with rage as he pointed his thin fingers at her.

ÊÊÊ "Know this then," he whispered quietly, "You will die, your father will die, your kingdom will die, and I shall relish in your screams as I hear you beg me to spare your life. Throw her in the dungeon!"

ÊÊÊ It seemed like an eternity with the rats that scurried past her feet before light fell again into her cell. The torch-bearer was the hunter. Silently he opened the door and unchained her. Then he whispered, "If you want to live then follow me."

ÊÊÊ Tired and confused, what else could she do? She followed him silently, and at times, he would stop and draw her in the confinements of the shadows, as if he did not wish to be seen. Finally, they reached their destination, the stables.

ÊÊÊ "This is my horse, Larius. He shall bring you home. Whatever happens, do not get off of his back until you see your home in walking distance. There are provisions within the saddle bags so you will not have to stop for food. Quickly leave before my master discovers your absence from the dungeons."

ÊÊÊ He was about to turn away when the princess called, "Why are you doing this? Why did you kidnap me only to set me free? Why should I believe you?"

ÊÊÊ He sighed and his shoulders slumped as if he were carrying an enormous weight. "You will believe me because you have no other choice. As I have said before, I want nothing from you. It is my master who wishes you and your father's demise." He turned around at this point, looking away from her. "They call me 'Death Knight,' 'Doom Giver,' 'Bringer of Destruction.' They say those who look upon my face shall burn in the deepest confinements of hell." With this he turned around and pulled off his hood, showing her his face. The only thing that seemed out of place was his dark green eyes that burned with a fiery purpose. "I do not wish to be any of these," he said.

"Then why do you stay?" she asked.

"Because I am bound," he said, turning his head to the side in a gesture of evasion submissal, "that is all I am allowed to say." Gently he took out from underneath his cloak a silver medallion and slipped it over her head. "This medallion shall bring you good luck. I wish you a safe journey, princess. Fare you well." Within the blink of an eye, he was gone.

ÊÊÊ For seven days and nights, she rode nonstop. By the time she arrived back home, she was so tired that she fell off the horse. Vaguely she remembered being carried and laid down on a bed. When she finally woke up, her father and the court magician were by her side.

"I am glad to see that you are finally awake, Princess. You have been asleep for a week," said the magician Valendian.

"What happened?" she asked.

"That is what we would like to know," said her father.

ÊÊÊ She related her story to them. She watched her father's face change from pale color to a crimson red as she mentioned the man on the throne.

ÊÊÊ "Darius, I should have known," said her father, "and that messenger that came just yesterday. That must have been the Death Knight who gave you the medallion."

"Messenger? What messenger?"
ÊÊÊ Her father stood up and sighed. Slowly he paced back and forth, his shoulders stooped bearing the weight of his kingdom. "The Knight who kidnapped you came yesterday to issue a challenge. We are not ready for a war with my brother, Darius. We have been too long in peace. Our kingdom has not the power to withstand a long siege. My brother plans to bring his army here two days from now."

ÊÊÊ "A war," she whispered. She turned to Valendian in sudden thought. "Do you know what his medallion is? The Knight didn't tell me."

ÊÊÊ Valendian reached over and picked up the medallion that had been lying by her side.Ê "I have seen this medallion before, a long time ago when I was still a novice in the arts of magic.Ê My mentor made me study many books.Ê One of them was the book of Paladin."

"Paladin?" she asked.

ÊÊÊ "They were an order of knights, dedicated to science and magic.Ê Some of the best Paladins were the retainers to the crown.Ê Others resided in their temples teaching young novices, and the remaining Paladins roamed the countryside, making sure that evil would not be able to seep into the towns.Ê At the prime of their order, an evil mage opened a gateway to he underworld, unleashing hordes of demons and even a demon king.Ê The mage knights were at the forefront of the battle.Ê They killed many of the demons, but not at a low cost.Ê All of the Paladins were killed save one.Ê This lone Paladin was a Geomancer, a Paladin of the Earth.Ê When he fought the evil mage, he barely won.Ê Being far too weak after the battle, the demon king appeared.Ê The Paladin, whom I think was named Alecan Greystone, called to Gaia for help.Ê Mother Earth took the life force of nearby plants and animals and fed it to the Paladin.Ê He then formed a magic barrier and encased the demon.Ê then he intertwined the demon into his own life force, trapping the demon and himself.Ê His life force tainted with the demon who was represented in a medallion which looks exactly like this one save some tarnish and wear.Ê The curious part was at the end, the book stated 'and only one who can see past the darkness can release the light.'Ê My mentor said it was part of a song that a bard made up.Ê The sad part of all of this is that the vast knowledge of the Paladins is lost forever."

ÊÊÊ Her father said, "We should let her rest now Valendian, she haas had a long journey."

"Very well then princess, rest well."
For the next two days she stayed in her room looking at the medallion.Ê Why did the knight give it to her?Ê What exactly did he want her to do?Ê At night, her dreams were filled with people dying.Ê She constantly heard their cries of despair, even when she was awake.Ê When the third night came, she went to the highest tower of the castle to look upon the city.Ê When she got there, she looked down, and to her horror, she saw a giant mass of people attacking the castle walls.Ê Clutching the medallion, she quickly ran down the stairs and headed for the throne room.Ê Everybody was runningÊ around in fear and gathering their personal belongings.Ê When she finally reached the throne room, she saw only the court magician there.

"Where is my father?" she asked anxiously.

ÊÊÊ Valendian sighed and shook his head.Ê "He wouldn't listen to me.Ê I told him not to go but the insisted.Ê He is out fighting his brother and the demon horde."

"Demons?Ê What demons?"
"You mean you didn't know?Ê Those are not men that are attacking our walls.Ê They are like the monsters the Paladins fought four hundred years ago."

ÊÊÊ She quickly turned around and ran out of the throne room, not hearing Valendians's voice telling her to stop.Ê She ran to the guard tower that was next to the outer walls of the castle.Ê The solders were so busy defending the walls that they didn't even notice her.Ê A giant vortex had been opened above the battlefield, and from it poured swarms of demons.Ê Searching further, she quickly found her father, and to her dread she saw him fighting the death knight.Ê As the Death Knight raised his sword, she remembered the phrase Valendian had told her: "and only one who can see past the darkness can release the light."Ê She pulled out the medallion and raised it above her head.

ÊÊÊ "Hear me Paladin of the Earth!Ê Hear me Alecan Greystone for I know thee!Ê I summon thee from your damnation and invoke thee."

ÊÊÊ The words spilled forth from her mouth without thought.Ê As her last word was spoken, the medallion flew from her hands, spinning in a radiant light.Ê It blinded her and scorched the demons as it found its path to the death knight.Ê When the burning light reached him, it exploded.Ê A giant figure was thrown from the explosion, one that emanated pure evil and burned the ground that he touched.Ê As the giant demon began to move, another figure walked out of the explosion.Ê His drawn sword was enveloped in green fire which licked hungrily at the darkness.Ê His hair was dark brown brown except for a lock of white, and around his neck rested the medallion.Ê Effortlessly he cleaved his way through the demons.Ê When they were touched by the green fire, their hideous screams of pain could be heard miles away.Ê As the lone Paladin worked his way through the demons, he eventually caught up with Darius.Ê As Darius tried to run, the Geomancer grabbed him by the collar and hurled him into the vortex.Ê As Alecan turned around, he recognized a rumbling voice calling him.

ÊÊÊ "Weak earthling!Ê You could not defeat me 400 years ago and you cannot defeat me now!Ê Tonight I shall reign supreme and no one will be able to stop me!Ê Not death, not Gaia, and certainly not you!"

ÊÊÊ She hardly saw the demon because of the dark nimbus that surrounded it.Ê The fighters converged at the middle of the battle field.Ê The lesser demons cleared out of their way and where the demon king walked, plants died.Ê The Paladin's sword grew brighter in the presence of the demon as if in recognition of a hated enemy.

ÊÊÊ They fought.Ê Magic was thrown back and forth, swords clashed and explosions rocked the earth.Ê The Paladin leaped and dodged and slashed, but inspite of all this, he was losing.Ê The demon seemed to grow stronger as they fought and threw greater magics at the mage-knight.Ê Finally, in a desperate attempt, Alecan jumped straight at the demon and with one single sweep, cut off its head.Ê Landing on his feet with demon blood burning off his sword.Ê As he turned around, he saw the demon pick up his head and put it back on his body.

ÊÊÊ "Fool!Ê did you really think you could stop me by killing me!?Ê I am death, and nothing that any fool can do will stop me!"

ÊÊÊ Alecan stepped back with uncertainty flickering in his eyes.Ê He was tired and battered and would not last another long bout with the demon.Ê If he didn't think fast, he would soon be dead, and at that moment, it hit him.Ê Life.Ê He took two more steps back and slowly spun his sword in a figure eight motion in front of him.Ê Finally, turning his sword upside-down, he called out, "Gaia!" and plunged his sword in the Earth.Ê Power flowed into the sword and the pommel channeled the energy into the Paladin.Ê Summoning all the inner strength in him he leapt into the air towards the demon.Ê The demon laughed at Alecan's feeble effort and leapt towards the Geomancer.Ê In midair, Alecan focused all his energy into his hands and when he was close enough to the demon, he shot all the energy into it.Ê He saw plainly the demon's stricken face when he hit him.Ê Then pain exploded in Alecan's chest as the demon's sword plunged into his body.Ê For a moment he started to lose consciousness, but then he increased his efforts to the point of forcing his own life energy into the demon and thereby winning the midair struggle.

ÊÊÊ The void above the battle began to go in reverse and sucked in the hordes of demons.Ê The demon king was bleeding life energy from both his eyes and his mouth as the vortex sucked him back into the underworld.Ê Alecan with his last efforts threw his sword and his medallion into the void, closing it forever.Ê As the last of his life flowed from beneath his hands, the sun rose from the eastern sky ending the night of nightmare. His eyes grew dim while the world began to spin about him crazily, and he could no longer stand so he lay down on his death bed.Ê He saw then that the eastern sky was staining red with the blood that flowed from his chest.Ê It was Gaia's way of saying good bye to the last of her children the mage-knights, a Paladin of the Earth.