Chapter 8: Knight Knight

Ok, time to get back to the story. I spent some time figuring out just how I wanted this bit to work, so hopefully it comes off how I want it to. New readers: Chapter one is here. If you're interested, please check it out, and give some critique. Cheers all.

Like statues, the iron clad knights didn't even shift at AEgon's appearance. They remain still.

AEgon wondered if they're still alive. If they were just empty suits of armour. He couldn't see anything inside the suits. Helmet meets gorget meets pauldron; pauldron seems fused to couters and couters to vembraces. Likewise pauldron joins faulds and tassets. Cuisses joined the impossibly impenetrable plates of armour that seemed to be the only body of the knights surrounding him. Each peice of the plate armour was an extension of the one before it, like a thick bony plating it was the body of the knights surrounding him in a way he couldn't fathom. There was no way there was anyone in that armour - they couldn't stand up in that armour, let alone put it all on.

Impossibly they rose as one. The former ring of statues became a threatening barrier of impenetrable steel.
Or so it would be for a normal human. AEgon just ran though the steel apparitions, heading towards his friends . . . who were just behind those knights there. He charged onwards, only to be confronted with the same armoured fence. Looking around, he had not moved. He was in the middle of the circle of knights - obviously some sort of magic was in effect. AEgon called to his comrades, but got no reply. "I must escape these inquisitors of the white order" he frantically thought. "There must be some way to escape this magic."

Suddenly a voice boomed from the universe, yet only came from inside his own head. "Be Calm", it commanded in a voice that was impossible to ignore. It commanded, and AEgon obeyed. He could only obey, he could not question, dissent or refusal was not an option. He obeyed.

The knights all stood in this circle, and waited.

After what seemed like an epoch, the voice boomed out again. "You are an agent of Morr." After a longer wait "You have a mighty destiny".

"You shall dim the unbearable light."


"You shall quote the scripture from Morr's book, and give balance to undeath."



"You shall administer the final mercies, and the mercy after those."




"You shall walk with the angels of death, dance with the reapers of Morr, and shall not survive, the end will see you not in the kingdom of undeath."





"You shall be Morr's vassal, the Spectral Knight, fighting for your liege. Protecting those who can not defend themselves, a shield to cast shadow from the harsh sun. An unliving sigil of the break in Ani's circle. To this end you shall have a company made from life, death, undeath and unlife. To achieve this you shall have these vassals under you. They will obey you in your hour of need, the captain of their lifeless, deathless, unliving and yet not undead company."

The voice stopped, and AEgon knew he would never hear it again. The circle of knights all kneeled as one, offering their swords before them. After a moment, AEgon heard another voice, coming from all the knights. It wasn't a group of voices, but one voice from many mouths. "Greetings AEgon. We are bound to you, Liege. Will you command us?" AEgon wondered how to respond. He decided to risk a command, "At ease, men." As one the knights returned to their seats around the circle." This second voice once more emerged form the mouths of the circle "Call your friends, we will take watch tonight. " Without speaking the circle of knights rose again, and like clockwork strode off into the darkness, presumably watching for intruders.

AEgon called to his friends, and they came into the circle. It was going to be a long night, a long explanation and so he began to pass on the tale of what just happened to him. The group huddled around the fire, avidly discussing and planning, questioning the odd knights, AEgon's voices and the consequences of this. Sleep didn't fall upon the camp until the moon was well above their heads - although the constricting canopy of the forrest made certain that the adventurers below never saw more then a glimmer of moonlight.

EDIT: Edited after Ravyn's comment. Fixed tense issues, and showed not told with the panic.

Want to keep reading? Chapter nine is here.