Heart of a Knight Wheel of Destiny — Morimens

When the Duke appointed him a knight, the boy had witnessed only seven cycles of the four seasons. Though the Duke's gesture was born of a whimsical tease, the court took the oath to heart. The veteran knights honed his skills in horseback archery, the attendants drilled him in the nuances of etiquette, and the Princess—above all others—placed her absolute trust in her young protector. While strolling across the wild highlands of Aequidan and into the deep gorge, the young knight led the Princess's horse by the reigns. She lay weakly across the saddle, a hidden darkness slowly devouring her body from within. "Princess, we can't go any further," he whispered. To cross the gorge and the river beyond was to abandon the very soil that nurtured them. Outside their borders, war raged; the enemy watched their fertile lands with a hungry, predatory gaze. Only the great chasm had preserved their peace, allowing this small fragment of the world to maintain the dignity of a "nation." From the safety of the cliffs, they had watched the downfall of those across the water. The pleas of the innocent drowned in the river, destined only to become the tragic meter of the victors' poetry. But no matter how great the nation, none can truly escape the currents of history. The enemy eventually came. They severed the knight's tender hands, ensuring he could never again raise spear or shield. They crushed his fragile knees, forcing him to watch in helpless agony as the cavalry smashed through the palace doors. Even then, the knight struggled, biting at the legs of the enemy's warhorses, a desperate and futile effort to halt their atrocities. Then, for the first time, he saw the "black plague" the Princess had warned of. A flood of dark liquid burst from the palace doors. It surged over the cavalry's greaves, yet the invaders did not falter. The "black plague" rose, filling the knight's mouth and nose and choking his lungs, yet he fought the urge to succumb. Then, a familiar voice—gentle and known—echoed in the chambers of his mind. "You've done enough... my most loyal knight." In the end, only a vast, silent blankness remained.