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The Knight of Gielinor

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Slayer Lylax

Slayer Lylax

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On the edge of a swamp north of Falador, the Kinshra clashed with the White Knights. A column of several hundred of Falador's finest were set upon from the high ground, while a detachment of Orcis* mercenaries, a remnant of Bandos' army, moved to intercept anyone who fled south.

The battle began not long after dawn. The column had hoped to use the early morning mist as cover, and the Kinshra had much the same idea. Though outnumbered and outmanoeuvred, the Knights of Falador fought bravely, and they soon proved themselves able to inflict a heavy toll on their mortal foe.

Above the battle, Makar watched the vague shapes move in the mist below. A small group of elite knights waited with him, ready to surge forward and join the fighting if needed. Orderlies bearing brightly coloured flags signalled various sections of the army at Makar's command, ensuring any attempt at a breakout was countered.

A cry of alarm from the rear made Makar and his men turn sharply. In a moment every one of them had a blade, bow or staff readied for battle. Two scouts came running and fell to their knees before their leader.
“My lord! There's a Knight of Falador behind us!”
“Just the one?” Makar asked.
“Yes, lord! He... he asked for you.”
“I see. Then you should lead us to him.”

08-Jun-2015 23:34:35

Slayer Lylax

Slayer Lylax

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The Knight of Falador was indeed waiting for them nearby. Unlike most of his fellows, his armour was battle-worn, sporting numerous dents and scratches. Most of the white metal had been dulled back to a steel grey. His blue cloths were ripped and stained with blood, but his cloak remained in good condition. It was pure white, with an over-styled collar and two cloth tassels on the front. That alone gave Makar pause.
“A Questmaster? I wasn't aware one served the White Knights.”
“My membership is... honorary,” the knight replied. *I come here not as a warrior of Falador, but as World Guardian. I seek an artefact that I suspect is in your possession. The Wand of Imdannys. Hand it over, and I will be on my way.”
“World Guardian?” Makar noted how even his most experience warriors flinched at the title. “I think I know you. Your voice, your standing... you were once Darlor Farstrider, were you not?*
*I have gone by many names, but Darlor was one of them,” Darlor replied. *Do I know you, Black Knight?”
“Makar. I wore the Cape of Legend once.”
“I remember now. You were a good man. We rarely saw eye to eye, but I respected you.*
*As I you.”
Darlor nodded respectfully. “Then please, Makar, do not make this difficult for me. I need the Wand.”
“I do not have it. None of my men do.”
Slowly, and with deliberate care, Darlor drew his swords. One was a Fremennik blade, a longsword most men would have used two-handed. The other was an old sword, reminiscent of those used in ancient times, long before the God Wars. It looked plain, yet Makar sensed great power contained within.
“Darlor, stay your blades,” Makar said. With a gesture, he made his men lower their own weapons. “I do not have this Wand you speak of. The only wizards in my company are here, and you can see for yourself neither has your prize. Perhaps your information was inaccurate?”
“Perhaps...” Darlor turned south, and paused.

08-Jun-2015 23:35:00

Slayer Lylax

Slayer Lylax

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He ****** his head for a moment, and then removed his helmet so he could listen more clearly. Makar did the same, and imagined he could hear an unfamiliar shrieking sound.
Donning his helmet once more, Darlor said, “I believe I owe you an apology, Makar; it seems the Wand was in the hands of your enemy.”
“Then it would be my honour to help you retrieve it,” Makar answered.

As they reached the front lines, the shrieking sound became more distressing. The fog around them had become a discoloured mess of ruddy reds, muddy browns and eerie purple. There was also a distinct lack of Kinshra at the head of the column. As they drew near the shrieking resumed and a bolt of purple energy spat out of the fog, striking a black armoured archer in the chest. The man, equipment and all, turned to black ash and blew away.
“I think you should wait here,” Darlor said to his escort.
The World Guardian advanced alone through the fog until he came upon a last stand. Some eighty Knights stood in a circle, surrounded by the dead of friend and foe alike. There were less Kinshra dead than expected, but the air was quite thick with ash. At the centre of the circle, stood atop a tree stump, was a wizard armed with a shard of purple crystal.
“Hold there!* the wizard cried, aiming his crystal directly at Darlor. “Identify yourself!”
“You know me as World Guardian!” Darlor replied. “And I know your face, Richard of Aven! We fought side by side at Lumbridge!”
The wizard lowered his crystal. “Aha! And here you come again to save us! But as you see, we do not need saving!”
“Three hundred Kinshra stand ready to attack you from all sides,” Darlor called back, advancing slowly, calmly toward the ring of knights. “A single word from their commander would see you pierced with black arrows or cut down by Orcish blades. I can make sure that does not happen.*
*How?” Richard replied, his suspicion written across his wizened features.

08-Jun-2015 23:35:31

Slayer Lylax

Slayer Lylax

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*As World Guardian I am respected by many, including some within the Kinshra. That crystal you carry is a dangerous thing. It is my duty to claim it and take it to a place of safety, far from the reach of mortals. Give it to me, and the Kinshra will allow you to leave with your lives.”
“Hah! We do not need to make such bargains! This weapon is a gift from Saradomin himself, and with it we will destroy the Kinshra!”
Darlor shook his head. “I know little about your weapon, friend, but I know Saradomin never placed a hand upon it.”
Too late, Darlor realised Richard was not listening. “And you! You wear our armour, yet you bargain with our enemy! I fear that you have fallen, World Guardian! And Saradomin demands that those who fall pay the price!”
A bolt of purple energy flew from the crystal and struck the World Guardian in the chest. To the surprise of all, least of all Darlor himself, the energy did little to phase him.
A low chuckle escaped Darlor's lips. “I know what your weapon is now, Richard of Aven. You carry a piece of Zaros. Unfortunately for you, so do I...”
The wizard's lips curled back in disgust as Darlor raised a purple sliver of crystal out from beneath his armour. It was glowing brightly, but even as they watched the light faded and the crystal became dull once more. “Kill him!” Richard roared. “Kill the slave of Zaros who defiles our Order's name!*

As the White Knights began their charge, the Kinshra emerged from the fog behind the World Guardian. Darlor quickly stowed his crystal and drew his own blades as the Black Knights formed a shield wall in front of him and Makar dragged him backward.
“World Guardian! I take it you have found your prize?”
“I have, and I have protection from its magic!”
“Then my men and I will clear a path. Kinshra! The World Guardian must reach that wizard! In Zamorak's name, do me proud!”

08-Jun-2015 23:35:49

Slayer Lylax

Slayer Lylax

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The Kinshra held the charge, and through sheer strength of arms began to push the White Knights back. Darlor paced impatiently, his eyes fixed on the wizard who was watching his own men lose ground. At last, after what seemed an eternity, the White Knights began to ease off. Richard raised his crystal, but Darlor was ready.
“Break Ranks!” he roared at the warriors ahead of him, and charged headlong into the oncoming bolt. He took it on the chest as he vaulted a slain knight, and cannoned into one that was still very much alive, albeit temporarily. His Fremennik blade took the man's head from his shoulders, and his off-hand sword swung for a second warrior. The blow carved clean through the shield and the soldier as though they were nothing more than straw.
A spear was thrust into his face, yet somehow Darlor twitched aside and cut the warrior down. To Makar, watching from the Kinshra shield wall, the World Guardian seemed discoloured, as though wrapped in a shadow. It was a strange sensation, but it seemed that whenever a blade or an arrow came close to him it was slowed, allowing Darlor to turn it aside with his armour, or sidestep the strike altogether. The Black Knight captain shook off his momentary fascination, and with a primal roar led his men in a supporting charge.

Darlor felt a hammer blow strike him in the back and stumbled. He recovered quickly and threw himself aside as a second blow smashed the ground where he should have been. The attacker's hammer had become smothered in a thick, black smoke that scurried up the hilt and through the gaps in his mail. Moments later, the knight began to cough and splutter. He stumbled, delirious, into the path of a Black Knight, who promptly cut him down.
By then, Darlor had sliced through two Falador archers, and was now within striking distance of Richard of Aven.

08-Jun-2015 23:36:12

Slayer Lylax

Slayer Lylax

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The wizard's face was a mask of pure terror. “How? I saw you struck a dozen times! How can you still stand?”
Darlor sheathed his off-hand sword. Three Knights remained between him and his prize, yet by then he was radiating dark power. It oozed out of him; he looked to them like some terrible spectre, an undead mockery of their noble selves. A simple gaze was enough to make them back down.
“I have many allies, Richard of Aven,” Darlor said as he stepped forward and snatched the crystal from the man's unresisting hands. Without another word, he cut the wizard's head from his shoulders.

“Kinshra! Knights of Falador! Cease!” He raised his prize into the air and shot a bolt of energy into the sky. The sound of the discharge was louder than the most violent of thunder storms, and his order was obeyed. Both sides broke apart, glancing anxiously between their mortal enemies and the man who commanded the power of a God.
“Knights of Falador, your leader was carrying a dark relic!” Darlor said as the terrible shadows around him began to fade and he once more appeared to be something akin to human. “I have freed him from its power the only way he could be freed! You were misled, and this was unfortunate. But I offer you a chance to redeem yourselves. Return to Falador, tell them of how Richard of Aven was corrupted by darkness, and how I, the World Guardian, saved you from his tyranny!”
Makar stepped forward, pushing past friend and foe alike to reach the World Guardian. “Return to Falador? You want me to let these men go?”
“You have your victory,” Darlor said. “They have at best fifty men left, and a third of them will be lucky to survive the march home. More importantly, they have lost their new weapon. You can return home and tell them of how you destroyed this new terror before it could be unleashed on your kin.”
“Why not tell the truth? Why not say how the World Guardian stole my prize?*
*It was never your prize, Makar,” Darlor answered.

08-Jun-2015 23:36:37

Slayer Lylax

Slayer Lylax

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With a weary sigh, Makar lowered his sword. “I will spare these men, if you choose to escort them from the field. But hear me, World Guardian; the moment you leave their company my men will hunt them down!”
“Fair enough,” Darlor replied. “And thank you. I appreciate the sacrifices you made for me today.”
*Don't make me regret it,” Makar said as he turned away.



Some time later, far away from the battlefield, Darlor Farstrider strode across a cruel, volcanic landscape, bent double against a howling wind and flinching as lightning bolts as magma bombs struck the ground around him. His hellish trek brought him to a cave, and that cave to an ancient ruin long since forgotten. There, he found a shrine of sorts, built by a power that had long since fled.

With great care, he placed the crystal into an alcove between two very similar crystals. There was, for a brief moment, a flicker of light across the crystal, as though something formless had fled its prison and into the vaulted ceiling above.
Darlor looked up and smiled at the crumbling architecture. He took a moment to study the many other artefacts that filled the chamber; weapons, suits of armour, jewellery and a myriad of other trophies taken from innumerable battlefields. Every one, in some way, was linked to a God of some kind of another.
Satisfied that all was well in his secret sanctuary, Darlor braced the unholy storms again, and began the long trek back to Gielinor.

08-Jun-2015 23:36:58

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