The Chronicles of Knight II: Rebuilding the Forsaken - Part Three

Shattered Wing

The day was warm, late-spring and full of life. Insects hummed in the fields. Buzzers flew around the many flowers of yellow and orange. Somewhere in the distance a bird cawed. The wind was slight, and it fingered through the grass and trees. Everything was bright in the middle of spring, greens, yellows, reds, oranges, blues all adding their color.

     One patch of darkness stood on a tall hill, overlooking the land. Crimson eyes did not look to the rainbow of color around him, but to another dark shape hanging far away in the sky. The eyes had watched the dark shape floating across the land, so focused on the hovering object that one might suspect he waited for something there, or that he wished to go there.

     Neither was quite true. He did not look for any sign, nor did he wish to travel there, at least not at the moment. Instead, the black creature was merely looking to the place that had once been his home, and still was, in part. The Citadel was his true-home, the place where he had been born. But Meridell was his new home, the place that he loved, the place that he also belonged to. He was a Darigan, a "demon" as some called his kind, and he was also something else, something most wouldn't suspect.

     He was a knight.

     He was also a demon, a Lupe. His appearance was stunning. He was large for his age, large for any age. He had a proud pose about him, one that told those around him that he was sure of himself, that he knew what he was doing. He was a strong Lupe, muscles rippling under his sleek black fur. And he had wings.

     At first, some might think that he was simply a Shadow Lupe, gifted with wings by some past event that they would never know. But when they saw his eyes that thought would change. For no Shadow Lupe had crimson eyes.

     Then they would know him to be a Darigan, a demon. But there was something in those eyes that one may have not suspected from Meridell's long foe. There was gentleness there, a soft area in the eyes that had once been made of stone. There was deep intelligence. This Lupe was not one to judge at first sight.

     And past those crimson eyes was something else, something that was there one instant and gone the next. It seemed a small silver light, glimmering in one part of his crimson eyes and disappearing, only to appear an instant later in some other spot. Those who knew him understood what that glimmer was: it was a mark placed on him when he had used severe and powerful magic to destroy the late king of the Citadel, Blake.

     There were some who hated him. He was a demon, and up until a little under a year before, they had been killed on sight. That had changed when Darigan had returned, Vladimir had come to the throne of Meridell, and two young Lupes had been knighted.

     He had been one of those two Lupes. It had come as a shock when Vladimir had told him that he was to be knighted, and not two minutes later do so. He had been knighted for saving Meridell and the Citadel, but also because had had the heart of a true knight, as did his best friend and fellow-knight, Avari.

     Nearly four months before, he and Avari had been knighted. He, Avari, and Vladimir were the only knights of Meridell currently, for Vladimir had cast away all the others. They had not been true knights. The truest of those castaway knights, Aleron, had been the one that had made Avari wait so long to become a knight, silently telling her that she would never become one. But Avari had, and so had Raatri.

     Raatri blinked several times, looking not to the Citadel anymore, but to a certain spot beneath it. A dark patch was moving towards him, though it was still to far away to be certain of what it was. He narrowed his eyes, trying to see it better. It was obvious that the stranger had already seen Raatri, for it had veered off the path and come straight for him. He could not tell if the creature was friend or foe, nor what its intentions towards him were. He watched the other draw closer, and began to draw up his magic. If the creature proved unfriendly, he'd be ready.

     It took several minutes for the creature to come closer. As it did, Raatri noticed that its movements seemed weak, and that it walked with a limp.

     He slowly walked toward the creature, which by now he could tell was a yellow Korbat. The limp, he now saw, was due to the Korbat's broken wing. The magic instantly faded away - there was no use for it here.

     Raatri hastened his steps, saying to the Korbat: "Sir, what happened to you?"

     The Korbat looked up and smiled slightly at him. Raatri noticed a long scar across his right eye, and various new wounds all over his body. "You are kind, to ask a stranger such. I am as alright as I can be. But I must speak with the king of Meridell."

     Raatri nodded, hearing the urgency and pain in the young Korbat's voice. "How fast do you need to get there?"

     Again the Korbat smiled, though the smile reflected the pain from his shattered wing. Even through that pain, his voice remained bravely strong. "As fast as I can. It is very urgent."

     Raatri smiled back. "Then I'll fly you."

     "Flight," the Korbat said. He seemed only now to notice the Lupe's set of wings. "I did not notice you had wings," he muttered. "Then again, I am…" His voice faltered. He swayed slightly. "Weak," he whispered faintly, and suddenly fell to the ground.

     Raatri stood wide-eyed, staring at the fallen Korbat. He had seemed fine, save for the wing, just a moment before! Taking care not to damage the Korbat any further, Raatri bent down and gently clasped his teeth over the other's nape.

     He flew low to the ground, wincing as he heard soft grinding sounds as the slight wind pushed against the Korbat's shattered wing. He did not know the Korbat, nor did he know of any yellow Korbat in those parts. The Korbat was a complete stranger with a broken wing that needed to be fixed.

     If it had been perhaps a year and a half prior, and Raatri had been any other "demon" than the Darigan Prince of Meridell, the Korbat would probably be dead right now, at the hands of the "demon". Not once would the minion think to take the injured creature to someplace where he could be healed, nor try to save him as Raatri now did. But Raatri was not like other minions: he was a knight.

     It took him quite a while to reach Meridell castle, though once inside he was met by shock and concern. Immediately several raced into the heart of the castle, off to retrieve a stretcher that would make carrying the Korbat easier. Raatri landed and set the Korbat down gently, waiting for those with arms and hands to handle the broken form.

     "Raatri, what have you here?" asked a familiar voice behind the black Lupe. Raatri grinned ruefully and turned around to face his best friend: Avari the royal-blue Lupe. Raatri had seen only one other Lupe with that same color pelt, and even then it had only been a painting. It was uncanny that the Lupe in the painting was none other than the greatest of all knights, Jeran.

     "I don't know his name," he replied quietly, ducking his head a little. "I was…"

     "Let me guess," she said, voice equally quiet. "You were looking back to the Citadel when Mr. Korbat here came up."

     "Good guess," Raatri said in mock astonishment. It was easy for the shadow Darigan to talk to the female knight, simply because they were close friends.

     Avari walked over, looking at the limp form of the Korbat. "Poor thing," she said. "What's this?" She knelt down and looked closely at the Korbat's shattered wing, looking to the shoulder joint. She sniffled, rising and looking the other in the eye.

     "What is it?" Raatri asked, looking from her puzzled yet strangely satisfied expression to the unconscious Korbat and back. "What did you find?"

     "How exactly did you find him?" she inquired.

     "I didn't. He found me. Once he did, though, he collapsed."

     "I see." She looked back to the Korbat and took a deep breath, eyes plainly showing her confusion and curiosity.

     "Well, if you're going to tell me, you might as well do it now," Raatri said, a little irritated.

     "This Korbat… was bitten. Bitten by a Techo assassin."

     "What!?" Raatri exclaimed, looking to the Korbat's shoulder. Now that he actually looked, he could see the two small marks as plainly as he could see Avari or the Korbat. "But…"

     "What I don't get, though," Avari continued as if he hadn't spoken. "Is how this Korbat managed to get from wherever he was bitten… to you."

To be continued...