Knighted

Prologue- Dust and ash The village burned to the ground in the middle of the night. Silhouettes of villagers trying hopelessly to put out the raging fire were cast on the walls. The biggest concern, however, was not the fire, but the safety of the king. A group of knights who’d been stationed at the front of the village rushed to Château de Foix (Foix Castle) as the fire continued to spread. It hadn't yet overrun the castle walls but was very close to reaching it. As the knights approached the castle, they swam through the sea of chaos, struggling to make their way to the King. There were people tending to the wounded and others doing what they could to subsidize the flames while the children ran around wailing, tears streaming down their faces. They watched as houses and stores collapsed, the flames getting closer with every passing second, wishing they could help. But they needed to complete the task that had been bestowed upon them when they’d been knighted. The King's guard continued fighting their way through the forest of debris and pushed anyone in their way to the side. “I'm sure the fire will stay in the village whilst we get to Foix!,” a knight named Jacques called to the others. The other knights disliked Jacques because he was overly optimistic, so no one paid attention to him. As they approached the castle, the Knights came across a two story house made of oak wood completely engulfed. The building began to crumble, and they fled from the falling rubble before any of them could get caught. They’d thought all of them had safely made it away but found that a commander was trapped under the flaming roof. Jacques turned around, exclaiming to nobody in particular. “Gentlemen, I believe that Monsieur-sorry what was your name sir?,” he asked the wounded knight. “Please take care of my family…tell them they will be missed,” the general managed to whisper before his body fell limp. “Well, gentlemen, it appears our late commander has perished in the great fire,” Jaques stated, oblivious to how shallow he appeared. No one answered and no one wanted to because no one liked Jacques. They paid their respects and said a prayer before departing towards the castle. Jacques continued muttering about how sorry he was that the commander had died and that perhaps the next would be even greater than the last. The knights headed towards a small lookout tower in front of the castle, where the moat keeper would open the moat for them. A knight stared at the castle for a moment and noticed something strange. “Does it not appar odd that the castle, so usually full of people even at these dark hours, is completely silent?,” he asked. Everyone thought about it for a while because it was disturbingly true. Their fear was amplified even more when they realized that it had Been more han five minutes and the moat keeper had yet to lower it. “Hail!,” someone said, “We have come to warn and escort the king to safety if he has not already and we would like for you to lower the moat so we may fulfill our duty.” A few moments later the moat had still not been lowered and there had been no response from the lookout tower. “Maybe everyone has already evacuated to safety,” said Jacques. For once everyone hoped that he would be right. “Well, we still have to cross just to make sure everything is right,” said a knight called Gaul. “I'll go check the tower just to see if everything is alright,” Gaul said and he headed toward the tower. He opened the oak door and grabbed a torch and disapeared to the darknes. “So would anybody like to play a game I made up called gun, sword, cannon? Gun beats sword, sword beats cannon, and cannon beats gun,” asked Jacques. No one paid attention to him even though Jacques had just invented an early version of a game that would forever be played. Meanwhile, Gaul climbed up the tower, searching for the moat keeper. On his way he checked the chamber pot room, the small bedroom, and the letter room but the keeper wall not found anywehere. After a long time of climbing stenps, Gaul finally came upon the door to the lookout room.He knocked on it and he waited for several moments for someone to answer but no one came. He knocked again and waited but once again no one answered. At this point he was getting worried and felt a growing paranoia that something grave had happened. Gaul gripped his sword tightly and pushed the door slightly to peek through the opening. He didn't see or hear anything that might suggest danger so he opened the door fully and entered the room. He didn't notice the moat keeper at first, but Gaul was still disturbed by the scene. There were clear signs of a struggle, with blood painting the walls and parchment littering the floor. A bloodied sword lay on the floor and beside it lay the moat keeper. Gaul ran to examine the his body. There were slashes on his face and there was a massive gash on his chest. There was a pool of blood surrounding him and Gaul wanted to leave immediately. He felt disturbed, as the last time he had encountered death had been back when he had still been a squire in battle. He had seen many horrible things and had developed a fear for loud noises, reminding him of the sound of cannons. He turned away from the moat keeper and decided to leave as soon as he lowered the moat. He headed towards the crank and lowered the moat to finally escape from the death filled tower. Outside, the knights saw the moat lowering and immediately crossed. “Golly, the moat keeper has answered our pleas! Oh, goodie! I'm starving and hopefully the king prepares a feast when we save him from the fire!,” hoped Jacques. “Jacques, how can you be worried about food when the whole village is burning to death out there? Start to make a little more sense, will you? You're a stupid little kid who can't tell reality from fiction,” a knight called Antoine told him. He hated that the village was being ravaged by a fire and they weren't sure if the royal family had made it to safety and Jacques was over here not caring a bit, worrying more about good stomach. “But, kind sir-” “Shut up for a moment Jacques, and I'm not playing around.” He glared at Jacques and then headed to the castle's entrance. At that moment, Gaul emerged from the tower. He looked dinner somber and distracted. “The moat keeper's dead,” he told the knights. “Wait, what do you mean dead? Are you sure that was even him? Are you sure he wasn't asleep or something?,” questioned Antoine. “Yes I'm sure. He was on the floor, with a huge bleeding gash on his chest and his sword lying nearby. And that makes me think-” “That we're being attacked?,”interrupted a knight. “Yes, that's what I'm thinking. Unless he did this to himself, I think that the village fire wasn't an accident and that it was a distraction from the king or something along those lines.” Everyone stupid there in silence, realizing how much this made sense. What better way to take the attention away from the king than by destroying the place where all the villagers lived? Not only that, but they realized that the silence of the castle might not be because everyone was sleeping. “Ok, let's hurry up so we can get the king to safety,” Gaul said, not knowing if there was still a king. They entered the main hall that led to the throne room. There were golden chandeliers dangling from the ceiling and enormous paintings framed in silver covering the walls. However, silence also filled the halls. Only the faint sound of the village could be heard and any step the knights took echoed through the castle. “Approach with caution. The castle might be held hostage or maybe this was all a trap to lure us away from the village,” warned Gaul. They went into the castle, attempting to avoid making any loud noises in case they missed something. They slowly approached the throne room, they're footsteps echoing throughout the massive hall. As they came to the colossal door they began to form a tactical block to be in a fighting position in case of danger. Gaul stood at the front, as was custom for commanders so the strongest could lead their troops to battle. “I wager that the king is perfectly well and everyone's busy hiding from the fire,” said Jacques. “Yes, you already said that like fifty times, get over it,” said Antoine. “Ready your swords and arms, gentlemen,” Gaul ordered them. They headed in inconspicuously, breathing slowly so they wouldn't miss a sound. Gaul stood in front of the door for a moment and then opened it slowly. Everyone stood horrified as their eyes drifted toward the king's throne. The usually gleaming gold lining of the throne was painted in a blanket of blood and governing it was an ostensibly slumped king. The king was sitting facing down, unmoving, and there was something on his back. Gaul went to investigate what it was and he was now further disturbed. A sword had entered through the king's back and through his chest, it's point stuck in the throne. Gaul mumbled, “wha…wha… who did this?” “Oh, I see you're admiring my work of art,” a voice coming from the entrance to the room said. “Did you do this? Are you the one who killed our lord?,” asked Antoine. “I didn't kill him. I sacrificed him for the greater good. What you see here… it's the first step to order.” “What order could there be? Everything was under control until you came here,” responded Gaul. “See, this isn't murder. It's something greater. You can't comprehend it yet, though. Not you. You're still bound by the mind that the king gave you. But this, this is a blessing. I'm giving you a chance to set everyone free from this chaos. You always see people fighting each other over a pig, you see wars, you see famine. I'm tired of it, and I believe you are too. All I want is to unite the world and give us a chance to redeem ourselves from the chaos. Once, I used to be a king. However, I didn't get to that position without difficulty. It made me do horrible things just to achieve power and in the end none of it mattered. I was stripped from my kingdom and the decades of work I had done was destroyed in mere days. But I learned a lesson. We as humans aren't made to be peaceful. We thrive in chaos and feed off confusion. But what if we could change that? What if we had a real system in place that didn't rely on us stealing from each other? We see this everyday don't we? Our friendly neighboring kingdom of Agramar has been at war with the Realm of Gilgamesh. I'm guessing you're aware that they're fighting over the lack of potatoes. Think about it for a moment. Potatoes. Who the hell fights each other over potatoes? I understand maybe their harvest didn't yield good enough to sustain the denizens of Agramar but are we really going to attempt an overthrow of a kingdom over potatoes? This just proves we search for an excuse to promote violence. I-""Alright buddy we get it, your bitter because your kingdom was usurped and now you want more control,” Jacques interrupted, “Now you want that power back and that's what you're after isn't it? You want to control your kingdom while you're the king and you'll get your power back. It's predictable to be honest.” The knights were confused, as this was the smartest thing Jacques had ever said. “Where did you learn that Jacques?,” asked one of the knights. “Learn what? I'm just saying what I think,” Jacques shrugged. “This one, is he your captain?,” the murderer asked, facing Jacques. “No, I am,” Gaul said, stepping forward, “This man is as far from a captain as you can go.” The murderer laughed. “Well well I see we've got a bit of rivalry or perhaps acrimony for each other.” “Sire, I suggest that you please leave and to disprove your point we will even let you go in peace. There is no need for any more death tonight,” Gaul attempted to compromise. “No, I don't think you understand,” the fallen king said smiling, “This, what I'm doing… This is what needs to be done. It's consequential to everything I have worked for. I built an army to help spread the gospel of order and nothing will make me cease my desire for a world with peace. Tonight is the night I start ""Well, ok, but think about it. Who is there left to conquer? To spread your message? By the time you finish there will be no one left and no one to make an example of. Do you not see your faulty logic? The irony of it? You are killing only for pleasure and all you desire is power. You don't desire a peaceful world, as you said. You just desire a justification for your bloodlust. You are a hypocrite and-,” the murderer pushed Gaul towards the wall. He pinned him against it and hit him in the face vigorously and with indulgence for the pain. “How sad it is to see such a seemingly bright mind go,” he contemplated, pushing Gaul to the ground and kicking his chest. “But sometimes, we have to sacrifice good people for the greater good. His death will merely be a bleep in my tapestry.” To finish his job, he unsheathed his sword, a blade with a gold handle with rubies lining the hilt of it and a blade delicately sharp. He brought it down on Gaul’s throat and the murderer drank in the sight. “I'm not justifying my need for violence, I'm just solving problems the way you would,” he told Gaul’s severed head. As he told this to him, the remaining knights looked taken aback. Antoine thought about the situation carefully. They were some of the dozens that had survived the attack thus far. He realized that even if they resisted, there was really, nothing or no one to fight for. “Sire, we surrender,” he told the fallen king. Jacques was taken aback. “Pardon me, Antoine, but should you not ask your fellow knights before you make such a rash decision?” “There's nothing left to fight for. We can either fend for ourselves or join this gentleman. But, no point in staying loyal if there's nothing to be loyal to.” “And when did I say you could join me, Antoine?,” the murderer asked, “And I'm not ‘the gentleman’, I have a name. And that name is King Durand.” Everyone besides Antoine questioned how King got in his title. “King Durand, I ask that we may join you in your quest for peace.” “You seem to be hasty in your decision to join me. Are you sure you want to join me so you can help me carry out my mission? Just know that I don't tend to like traitors.” “No sire, I assure you that I would not do that, for as you can see i have no position anymore and i have nothing to lose. No one to serve and nothing to look forward to. Our choice may seem arbitrary, but I assure you and all the other knights that this is what we are meant to do after this. To assure that Gaul did not die in vain I would like to continue delivering justice and peace, because is that not the purpose of a knight?” The knights collectively agreed that Antoine had a point. Why should they abandon the only thing they are meant to do if it will make them lose their purpose? Durand sighed. “Very well, I will teach you my ways. You seem eager and I agree, what purpose is there if the cause is gone? You want something to do and I shall give it to you. I need to grow my army anyways.” He led the knights to the most and they stared at the crimson city for what seemed hours. Finally, Durand spoke. “Another city was conquered, but as long as people resist we will have conquered only the ash that remains.”