through the fire and the flames we carry on
Prologue:
I ran. The nigh weightless black armor did not stay my feet as I did, but my fatigue was still pervasive, even in my seemingly undead state, for though they were but charred parchment, my lungs still drew breath, and were quickly tiring of doing so. But, alas, no matter how much I wanted to, I could not stop. The seraphim beings pursued me, their wing beats a reminder of that horrible fact. Bolts of magic and matter sped past me, missing my blackened armor by mere threadswidths. As i fled the many soldier vying for my capture, her command echoed in my mind; 'Capture him!' She had cried. 'Bring him to me.' She had ordered. She claimed to own me, that I was her knight, and hers alone. But her words were empty. She did not own me. She thought she did. This simply was her own madness at work. This world itself was madness. Though the world's inhabitants seemed human, save the deformities that marked them otherwise, like horns and wings, menfolk had no rights here. Men were paramount to slaves, the minority, outnumbered by women eight to one. Men were but toys to the dominant gender. However, I refused this mantle, forced upon me by the one who brought me here to begin with, no less. The sun beat down on me as I still ran through the rooftops, leaping from building to building in short, pained leaps, possible thanks to my inhuman agility. The city wall was fast approaching, and instantly, I leapt onto it's towering mass, clambering up as I gripped the stones jutting out for grip and support. In mid-climb, however, a magic bolt struck through my armor, forcing a guttural cry of pain from my charred throat. As the pain of the bolt faded, though, the poison of sleep coursed through my veins, filling me with a reasonable amount of dread. I quickly clambered up the battlements, to escape this wretched place once and for all, and I tiredly gazed down, the spell of sleep creeping through my body, but not having me while my mission was yet unfulfilled.
The clamoring of gilded armor made me look back, though. I was surrounded by these human like creatures, to short to be so, but by too little for one to idly notice. Armored men surrounded me, the playthings and indentured servants of the princesses themselves. However, as I drew my blade for a counterattack, they stopped their approach, suddenly. Then, like a recurring headache, She came forward. The crowd parted for her, like Mosses and the red sea. I, however, did not yield, and kept my sword drawn, hoping that the blackened blade's presence would stave off the princess that sought to claim me once more. But, alas, it did not. And so, with a commanding aura, She spoke to me, or rather, at me.
"You are coming with me." She said. Her tone was one of irritation, like when one's dog runs out the door, eager to escape the confines of its master's home. She looked down on me as if I were a toy come to life in rebellion against it's owner, even though I was at eye level with her without the battlements and standing upon them. But before I could further pride myself on that fact, the poison began to set in, causing my vision to fade as it crept through my veins. So, without much time to lose and without the energy to retort with a witty comment, I spoke quickly, conveying my message with but one word.
"Never." My voice sounded guttural and low, like a dying flame, and echoed as if within a cave from the depths of my oblong helmet. And without another thought, I finally leaped from my precarious perch on the battlements and into the lake below, letting the caress of the waves take me, and soften my fall enough to at least survive, as the poison finally took it's toll, and rendered me unconscious as I sank beneath the lake's surface, hopefully beyond the recovery of those who pursued me until now.
I awoke washed up on shore splayed out, face down, and my head in considerable pain, but still intact, save the little water in my lungs, which thankfully made them less... burnt. Still, coughing the offending liquid out of my body, I rose and stumbled towards a tree, hoping to use it as a rest as I got used to standing in my waterlogged armor, and regained my bearings. Thankfully, I had only but a moment to notice that, upon the tree, moss grew. And as all people know, moss commonly grows to the noth, for some odd reason. I initially denied this as truth in my past life, dismissing it as an old wife's tale. But, in the here and now, my situation required immediate movement. So, suppressing my judgment for now, I followed the moss, hoping that I could find sanctuary to the north... or, at least, wherever was in the direction I now headed. But first, as custom, I made a small inventory check to safely say that none of my few belongings were not lost or stolen. On my hip, as I thought, was my sword, trademark of the Black Knights. On my back, my shield, An ode to my armor and sword. They did little to weigh me down, as my strength and endurance was far beyond any human, and I still carried very little but my arms and armor. And so, with my conscience cleared at last, I began my trek. For many a day, I ran. For many a night, Her sister followed my motions, and the soldiers were never far behind either of them. I fled to the border of the empire in the north for many, many days, never stopping to keep track of them, since time was of little relevance to me, anyway. Thanks to my 'condition', time simply did not affect me, and I simply existed, without purpose, without meaning... that is, until She found me... Before I could lament on my state further, however, the weather turned cold as I neared the border. Finally, seeing my long journey near it's end, I stopped on a large outcropping of rock from a cliff, and pulled out my only other possession aside from my sword and shield: a weathered, oxidized pair of brass binoculars. Pulling them out of my satchel, I put them up to my helmets eye-slots to gaze through them, in order to scout the path ahead. Sure enough, to my dismay and expectations, a vast contingent of soldiers blocked further advance from the south all along my original route. Finally, after a moment of looking, I finally pulled the binoculars away from my eyes, and placed them back in my satchel, leaving in my hands my sword and shield. I slowed down and began my descent down the cliff face, and as I finally touched the ground, I approached them, confidence in my step, as I had nothing to fear from them. As I said; time meant nothing to me, and that included death. The commander of the battalion in gold approached when I entered their veiw, and on her command, I halted. However, I did not lower my guard. Once again, I had nothing to fear from these whelps. Their weapons were of divine alignment, not occult or dark, and had no advantage over myself, or my much-larger fire-based weapon. The officer before me told me to lay down my arms and surrender to her. But in response, I did nothing. The officer still demanded I submit to an unjust mantle once again, but I still did nothing. They warned me I had but one more chance after that, but I only mocked them with my silence. They could not scare me, nor could their princesses; I was beyond death, beyond time. Whatever they hoped to do with me, I would defy it nonetheless... And that is just what I did.
Finally, the one in charge, tired of my silence, ordered her troops to attack. And this time, in response, I lunged, my reaction now far from silent.
The masses charged at me upon that order, but I was still, and my blade was ready. As they came, I cut the puppets down without a twinge of pity or remorse, just like all the 'enemies' She made me kill. My mind was too far gone to feel any regret for cutting down fellow men, many of which I fought beside many times, and could pick their faces out of any crowd. But still, my colossal blade carved through the wall of flesh and armor that dared to oppose me, and the bodies bounced in the snow for a moment as they fell, then lay still as the rock surrounding us. The troops still charged, however, their mindless charge far from halted. The first in command then barked the next wave to march forth, despite the losses they suffered to my charred blade, so they did, though they still met the same fate as those that came before. The blood of the first line stained the snow a perverse crimson, only made deeper by the second, then the third, and every single line after them. Their shields all but shattered in the wake of my blade, and quickly I raised my shield to greet the next wave. As before, so after, like all my battles I ran through single-handedly. The ranks of the enemy crumpled from my every strike, and after many hours of ceaseless slaughter, The officer finally wised up, and soon called for a hasty retreat upon seeing the countless thousands now spread across the snow like a grim mosaic. The enemy, they who at first sought to overpower me, fled from me, now. I was tired, now, but my pride dictated that I did not show. So, I marched on, hoping to find shelter. I marched like this for days, on a road barely visible beneath winter's snow, but my stamina, though beyond any human, was only so great in spite of it. And so, after days of nonstop travel, I grew so tired. I heard something distant approaching. But it remained distant as I collapsed in the snow, splayed like a lizard in mid crawl, unable to go on...
I came to on a bed of discomfort to the sound of wheels on... Linoleum? Impossible. I could still feel the Soulsinge. Around me a male voice called for the immediate removal of my armor. I felt a force attempting to do so. An admirable feat, to be sure, but ultimately futile; no force could ever remove my fused armor apart. The voice complained about the armor and it's inability to be removed much as I expected, causing a slight chuckle to escape my almost non-existent lips. This, however silent I tried to keep it, did not go unnoticed by my captors.
"It's waking up!" A new voice exclaimed. I opened my eyes, allowing the fires that they have become to burn. I shielded my eyes from the harsh glare of the lights above, and I lurched forward and into an upright position in an attempt to get into a position from which I could fight off any hostiles. Upon achieving a sitting position, however, I received a cruel reminder of how much my armor truly weighed, and I grunted as the bed beneath me collapsed under my weight, causing a loud crash as my armored posterior was introduced to the hard, linoleum floor. Thankfully, at least the floor was warm compared to the ground outside. I lurched upward as not to startle those around me, and I took a knee after successfully removing the almost laughably undersized cot from around me. I looked up at the ones surrounding me. Strangely enough, most were men. A military figure approached me.
"Who are you? State your purpose!" He barked. He was clearly part of the brass. But, despite his harsh tone, I realized quickly that he meant me no harm, seeing as he ever-so-kindly brought me to a hospital to warm up, and his uniform was not that of Her army's. So, in as calm a voice as I could muster, I addressed the man before me with due respect, though my rather terrifying voice still retained its unsettling qualities.
"I am the black knight. I seek sanctuary from the princess to the south, The one who brought me to this land against my will." I explained, and not surprisingly, he seemed taken aback by my ghastly voice, his shock amplified even greater as I rose to my full height, towering over the poor soldier as I stood. Still, the soldier regained his posture, despite my terrifying height advantage, and proceeded to question me further.
"Are you a prisoner of war?" He inquired.
"No. I was dragged here, not from another land. But rather, another world. All the princess said was that my purpose here was to be her consort. Paramount to slavery if you ask me." I answered.
" So, it's getting worse." The regal lady beside the commander said, almost ashamedly.
"At this rate we'll have to secede to stop rebellion from tearing the kingdom apart." Her commander said. He then proceeded to reassure the woman that everything was going to be fine. As he did that, I looked around at my surroundings. I just then noticed that everything around me was made from crystals with the exception of the married couple. I burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" The commander asked.
"That it took me this long to notice I am surrounded by crystal!" I laughed. The commander chuckled.
"I guess that is kinda funny." The captain said after a moment of thought, though he did not seem as amused by the sudden realization as I was.
"Pray tell me, what are your names?" I finally asked, my mild laughter finally having subsided. And in response, the captain answered me, offering a small bow of respect as he spoke.
"I'm captain Shining Armor, and this is my wife, Princess Cadence. We rule over the Crystal Empire." Shining said. I smiled for the first time in a long while after hearing the name of the place I was now being held in, this 'Crystal Empire'. Since escaping the horned and winged witch, I had not genuinely smiled in a very long time. But now that the threat of legally binding agreements was not looming over me like death, and that I found something actually funny to react to, I finally could. And judging by the state of affairs, as said by the good captain himself, it seemed I would be staying here, in this funny place, for quite a while longer.
