It took a good hour and a half to reach the elevator shaft. The battle there had been no better than the one they'd already encountered. A contingent of the military that had broken off and formed its own rebellion, naming themselves the Goddesses' Chosen, had held it down. Lacking armor, a group of twenty-five of them put up the best fight they could—there were no priests among them as expected, so the fight went easier than they thought.
Well, aside from the fact that this particular group of soldiers had nothing to lose, they had the Knights two to one, and threw bodies at them.
Erec understood their tactics. These were traitors, unlike regular citizens on the street who were rebelling against the crown. Vowing themselves to the goddess and having already committed the act of treason by betraying the crown and waging this rebellion to begin with, there would be little mercy when all was said and done.
So the majority fought to the death—doing their damndest with the weapons they had to kill the Knights, and damaging a few of their numbers. And in turn, requiring themselves to be put down on the edge of swords and axes in a bloody affair that painted the entrance to the elevator shaft with crimson and death.
Erec was numb to it. His Talent thankfully burned away the emotions that came up as he was forced to battle other humans. That, and the memories—he'd had to kill before. And each time he pulled at his Mantle, he felt the weight of a Knight who’d had to kill much more than he over many lifetimes. Both his anger and callousness made it easy for his emotions to let go; he performed his duty remarkably, taking down the traitors and helping secure the elevator shaft with minimal casualties.
“Go up.” Dame Robin commanded a good five of their Knights—a couple of them wounded, as she broadcast over open channels that they had secured the fourth layer.
They were ready for reinforcements.
Erec watched from the sidelines, his axe hefted on his shoulder as he waited, now playing the part of a guard. Dame Juliana kept issuing orders to others, and he let them pass by through his ears, keeping his mind an empty slate. Any thoughts that came and lasted more than a few seconds were burned away. Not needed.
He understood conflicts like this better than most now, aside from perhaps the most seasoned veterans, though he hadn't tapped into his silver fire yet. The memories of before lingered. Nothing so far had been dangerous enough to make him tap upon it. But the bloody battlefield before him wasn’t anything new in those past lives—in fact, he’d seen even worse. Dim memories came of his older self walking around wielding powers that could ruin continents; the conflicts on this scale were a trifling battle.
It was a power. It allowed him to form a callousness, let it suppress the revulsion, and dwell only in the hate. Burning away his worries and insecurities.Erec’s eyes went to his friends as his heart began to calm.
None, thankfully, had been injured in the fighting. And in fact, Colin proved to be particularly adept at taking out enemy threats. He earned a spot on Dame Juliana’s side as a very capable Knight, just as Erec’s raw physical power dominated the battlefield. It was interesting to see themselves stacked up against proper military men and Knights… And to see that even amongst those, they still held an edge that could only be earned by the challenges they’d been through.
We’re fine. Erec tried to reinforce in his head. But the fire remained, a bright spot in his soul that flared even now, waiting for more enemies to come out of the city around them and attack. His friends… Well, not all were doing as well.
Garin shook near Olivia, and the two were whispering back and forth. She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and whispered in his ear. This was a different fight than any they’d had before, so this kind of reaction was to be expected.
Erec was ruined in that regard, especially as he combed through those silver-tinted memories, seeing many men and women losing their nerve after being confronted by the reality of war.
In contrast, Colin seemed stoically fine. His friend's face was hidden behind his helmet, and he stood still like a statue next to Erec. Erec breached his burning hate momentarily, reaching out since Colin didn't have someone like Olivia to help work him down from whatever might be hiding beneath the surface.
"Are you okay?" Erec said gruffly, unintentionally. The fire still burning in his chest influenced his voice and attitude. It was better to leave it lit than risk letting his guard slip when he needed it the most.
"This is our duty," Colin said, his head high. "We secured the elevator shaft, and now our people can come in and help prevent further death on this layer."
"Yes, but are you okay? If not, now is the time to declare so, before things worsen." Erec said, again repeating.
Colin shook his head. "We've seen battle before, Erec. Maybe not against our own people on this scale, but we've read historical textbooks. Our kingdom has been ruled for a long time, but hasn't been without its fair share of internal strife. If the priests are so brazen that they're willing to attack Knights and cause those amongst our Order to betray their vows and work for them, then this is a cleansing that needed to occur sooner rather than later. At the end of this, I think that our kingdom will be much less diseased and more able to go forward. And for that, I can find peace."
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Erec nodded, not fully believing his friend. There was still a bit of a quiver to his voice as he said some of those words, but it was enough. The resolve to do his duties would see him through what the day had still to bring. Garin, though, wasn’t as certain of.
The elevator shaft came down again, spilling out another contingent of knights, along with some soldiers who flooded into the fourth layer, and a Master Knight, Sir Boldwick, and a few familiar faces. Dame Morgana—Erec thought he saw Sir Matt, who appeared to be a mountain of a man in his Armor. Many more quickly filtered out into the layer or reinforced this chokepoint.
Boldwick didn’t waste any time and quickly strode up to Dame Juliana for a debrief.
Erec could tell by the way he moved the Master Knight was pissed; but if that wasn’t enough, when he lifted his visor his expression was marred by a permanent scowl. His eyes turned sad for a moment as they observed the fire, destruction, and bodies on the nearby streets. Some of it had been from their assault, but a good portion of it had existed before when the priests and traitorous military had taken it over.
There was no denying they’d paid the price, especially as they yanked away the survivors and brought them up the elevator. Later, they would pay for their crimes against the Kingdom. Erec watched them go with a cold expression.
They weren't the ones who deserved to be punished the most; out of all the ones he'd faced so far, there had been far too few of those red-robes that sparked this whole fire.
After a brief discussion, Boldwick broke off from Dame Juliana and approached his group of initiates. "You all did well, and I'm proud of you. You aren't aware yet, but Dame Robin was assaulted in a lower cavern. She made her way back up this morning through the fighting and is currently hospitalized. She told me that she was ambushed by red-chained men, which we had begun to see pop up in different parts of the city. That’s the main concern, is how many they number, and what sort of reinforcements they’re working with. Their combat ability is on a different level than that of the priests.”
"How?" Colin asked. "Outsiders weren't allowed down in the caverns."
"We have theories. Mostly thanks to Dame Robin’s survival. She was able to confirm that in her struggle, the priests had opened a small rift through which they spilled. This is a kind of magic we haven't seen before, and is either something new or something that's been kept secret from the king for goddess knows how long. Either way, they condense in the lowest caverns, consolidating their power. We’re to continue clearing down layers and preparing for a big assault on their main position after it has been determined; I and several other strike teams are going to wade thick into the enemy territory to determine just where their stronghold is so we can root them out by the source while this operation continues.” Sir Boldwick folded his arms as he spoke, his gaze flicking back to the Knights he had at his side. Sir Matt stood as a massive steel statue near the elevator.
Erec couldn’t imagine many people being able to stand up to a guy like that.
Boldwick looked at them and shook his head. "To think you'd see something like this in your initiate year. Still, we have a need for every troop at hand. I've been told that you perform remarkably. And I have seen your performance on the battlefield before. I’d be honored if you would join my company.”
With this, Erec and Colin saluted—Garin… He reacted slowly, hesitant to obey. From his sluggish response, Erec could tell his friend was afraid.
“Not you, Garin. You’ve done well, but you’re more useful not in the thick of the fighting. Head back up to the third floor and make use of your Talents. Send mice down below and begin to gather information about our enemies. That is much more useful than having you as another boot on the ground.” Boldwick gave the command, and instantly, Garin relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief.
The fighting had been too much for him. It took time for most to adapt to this kind of thing. A warm flush of relief for his friend ran through Erec’s guts. Garin saluted and then walked off to do exactly that.
"As for you two," he looked at Colin and Erec, "I've been told that you've been capable of going toe-to-toe with Knight Lieutenants and Knight Protectors. In this battle, we’ve seen a real comparison of your power, combined with the fact that I’ve personally taught you, trust you, and seen you in action… I can’t say how proud I am. That, more than anything, is why I would like you at my side as we dive into the depths and search out where our enemy is holding. You meet the criteria for my tight group of elite Knights, and I can trust you. Initiates forged in war grow much quicker than those forged in peace. For better and worse.”
With that, they bowed their heads. It was a mark of respect few deserved; fewer still as Initiates to have seen such an acknowledgment by a Master Knight. And then, as one, the rest of his ‘trusted Knights’ came forward. Dame Juliana joined them. Sir Matt. And, as a lean man in Armor raised his visor, Erec made out the wrinkled face of Sir Able, who shot a wink at Colin as he groaned. Dame Morgana hummed as she joined the ranks. There were two more that belonged to the Verdant Oak that Erec didn’t know. But in this company… He felt a sense of belonging.
Sir Able, of course, couldn’t resist another jab. “Ah, my trust student is considered strong enough to go along with this mission, huh? We’ll see if he can really sling spells… or if he’ll just sling excuses!
“…Quiet old man,” Colin said, and then shook his head, “This is scarcely a time for jokes.”
“A battlefield is the best time for jokes. You don’t know if you’ll get another chance to make them. So tell me, when is a better time to let the world know your humor than when you might never see it again?" Sir Able laughed to himself and was ignored by Colin, who shifted his attention back to Boldwick
"Where are the grandmasters? Will they be down there?" Colin asked.
"Subduing the tournament grounds," Boldwick replied. “The king has decreed that our guests must be protected, as their safety was guaranteed by us as they entered the Kingdom. To fail that duty is to risk our future. So he has sent our kingdom's best and brightest to the defense, along with the Arch-Magi, who have agreed to prevent damage there. The priests have made it a major target, and issues keep popping up there, so the situation has turned more complicated than we would wish.”
Colin nodded, satisfied by the answer as much as he could be, given that he had no real say over where the grandmasters were positioned. But Erec didn't mind anyway. That meant more traitors down below for them to deal with.
With his last issues ordered, Boldwick prepared them and marched them through the fourth layer, directly to a stairway which led further down. As a smaller, sleeker group of Knights, Boldwick ordered them to ignore the minor scuffles they witnessed, allowing the military and Knights spilling into the city to do the heavy lifting on bringing everything back in order.
Their job was more critical and would take place in the depths of the caverns.