Lineage

After plotting for a while, Svea and I came up with a plan. We both agreed that, without her magic, she was mostly unable to defend herself against the hordes of undead wandering the city. We hatched the plan to have myself traverse the city by rooftop and plot out a less-populated route for us to take to avoid as much confrontation as possible due to the danger the undead posed in large numbers.

I’d managed to parkour my way into what seemed like the city’s market district, spotting a large number of buildings with open walls and counters, as well as several empty stalls dotted around the area. The market district was surprisingly devoid of… well, I can’t really say life, so activity is a better word to use here. The architecture of the city seemed both extremely modern and yet extremely archaic at the same time, with the construction of the buildings possessing knowledge and skill of architecture far beyond the age this city would’ve thrived in; at the same time, the materials used to construct it seemed primitive and limited, old, shoddy stone barely clinging together as I scaled the buildings sculpted from it.

I leapt from a higher building onto a lower platform, the ancient stone groaning and cracking under my weight. The noise urged me to hurry, but the warning came too late. The stone roof gave way, crumbling loudly as I plummeted through the new hole in the roof, landing atop a harp pile of cobble and dust. I gritted my teeth in pain, the sensation of a several foot fall onto solid rock not being as pleasureable as I wanted it to be, but knowing that the noise would attract attention of the few that were around, I decided it was best to hurry up. Once climbing off the pile, my feet made contact with what felt like, surprisingly, wooden flooring. I looked down, barely able to make out the floor in the dark, but upon dropping to my knee and knocking on the floor, I soon confirmed my initial belief.

“Huh,” I said, placing the flat of my palm on the ancient oak floors, the wood being warm to the touch, even through the leather glove I wore. “Odd…” I stood up again, looking around in the darkness to try and pinpoint a door of some sort to exit through or, at the very least, a way of lighting the room. I waited for my eyesight to adjust to the darkness, being able to make out more and more of the room I was in, before deducing it was a master bedroom with a sizeable bed, a set of drawers, a desk, and a large chest at the western wall.

“Well,” I said, placing my hands on my hips and nodding. “At least Svea and I have a place to rest for tonight.” With that thought in mind, I decided it’d be a good idea to check the rest of the building out in case there were any of the undead shacking up as well. But first: ransacking the bedroom. I made my way over to the chest, dropping down onto my knees and opening the heavy lid, getting a strong scent of dust and years gone by as I peered at its contents: nothing. The chest was barren and empty, seemingly having its contents removed a very long time ago. The same was said of the drawers and the desk. They held no contents and evidence that the house had ever been inhabited, save for their initial presence. I turned my head to the large bed, also noting that it lacked any sheets or pillow casings of its own.

The bedroom was stripped bare of all possessions, yet the room had not been ransacked. It seemed as if the owners had packed up and moved. It could simply be that this was just an empty house before the Highmoore had disappeared… but it seemed too coincidental that the civilization rumoured to have packed up and disappeared seemed to have just packed up and disappeared. I decided I’d better check other houses to see if they shared the same quality as this one before coming to a conclusion myself, and even considered consulting Svea on it, just as a healthy bit of conversation upon my return. I rolled my shoulders, opening the bedroom door and stepping out into the hallway. There was a staircase to my right and another door across from me. I decided to check the upper floor first and was met with the same scene at the first room: picked clean living quarters. The downstairs shared the trait of the other rooms, nothing but barren accommodations with no furnishings of any sort.

“Right then,” I sighed, concluding my investigation and deciding to depart. “Back we go.” I went back up to the master bedroom and climbed out of the hole in the roof, taking more careful steps as I made my way through the city before coming to a section that caught my attention. It was a large circle in the middle of the city surrounded by high walls with three entrances in a triangular formation, well over a hundred yards in circumference with a large statue, about seven feet tall, sat in the middle. I decided that the statue was worth investigating, if not out of curiosity and for the fact the area was lacking in any and all undead. I scaled down the wall, my feet landing lightly as I dropped to one knee, keeping my ears trained on any foreign noises that might signal danger.

I slowly approached the statue, taking in the design of it, seeing features such as space in the helmet for pointed ears to rest in, a slender-yet-powerful-looking body of what I presumed was a depiction of a Highmoore warrior. The armour incorporated a lot of wave-like designs, with the joints of the armour being decorated with it, the helmet being tall and sleek, holes for eyes narrow and slanted to protect from arrows and blades getting through while at the same time keeping maximum visibility. The warrior was adorned with a large, flowing cape, a greatshield, and a thick sword, well over seven feet long and about a foot thick, clearly designed to cleave through armour with its great weight.

“Yeah,” I chuckled, admiring the statue as I walked closer to it. “Good luck blocking that attack.” I stood in front of the statue, seeing the towering figure at close range making me feel pity for all those that had to face him in combat, imagining the pure terror of having to stare down such a titan in a one-on-one-

Then one of the gates closed.

“What?” I said aloud, turning around to see the farthest gate locking itself down.

Then the other two did.

“Oh no,” I said in horror, realizing exactly what was happening.

And then the statue cracked.

“Oh fuck,” I growled, leaping back from the “statue” and tearing my sword from its sheath, gripping the leather-wrapped hilt hard enough to turn my knuckles white as I steeled myself for battle. Cracks and breaks spread all throughout the statue, chipping off in pieces before the entire stone layer shattered, revealing the pristine, well-armoured, and angry-looking Highmoore warrior. The monstrous fighter stepped down from the platform it had been positioned on, gripping its own sword tightly as a sinister white glow began to shine out from the eyeholes in its helmet. It then began to speak in a language I’d never heard of and one that bore no similarities to any of the tongues I’d heard in my life, it being a mix of softer-sounding speech patterns and rapidly-pronounced, longer words. I took a step back in preparation, only to have the thing move towards me at an inhumanly-fast speed, gripping my throat tightly and lifting me into the air. As it stared into my eyes, I felt a presence in my mind, implanting concepts into my head that my mind formed into words. First, came the name: Rinvae, Eternal Knight of the Highmoore. Secondly, came two other concepts: Duel and Test.

With that, Rinvae released me and stepped back, placing one hand behind his back and holding his sword vertically against his chest, bowing low before holding his hand out in a gesture to do the same. I followed his lead, mimicking the gesture before waiting to see what he did next. He then held his sword out in front of himself and pointed it forward at a slightly raised angle, wanting me to do the same again. I did so and he stepped forward, making me take a step back. He waved a finger at me and gestured for me to walk towards him. I was apprehensive at first, but after remembering he could’ve literally snapped my neck a moment ago, I decided he was honourable enough to not immediately kill me.

Therefore, I did as instructed, the two of us standing across from one another when Rinvae made a motion with his arms, placing them in an X pattern before pointing to his sword and holding it out. I presumed he wanted us to cross swords with one another, so I did as asked, holding my sword out in front of me and allowing him to place his blade alongside mine, followed by him nodding, stepping back several paces, and squaring his stance. I knew now that this was when the duel, the test, would start. But the test for what?

Before I even had a chance to ponder what was going on, Rinvae launched himself forward with a vicious stab, there being barely enough time for me to make the mistake I did: raising my shield. I caught the blow on the shield and not only did it knock me back over ten feet, it split the shield, the enchanted shield, down the middle. I slammed hard onto the ground, tucking and rolling onto my feet before staring at the split shield in horror.

Good luck blocking that.

“I’m a fucking moron,” I snarled, thinking back to what Luna had taught me about bigger fighters and greatswords. “‘Stick close, they can’t hit you with the sword at that distance because of how big and awkward it is.’”

But they can still punch me in the fucking mouth.

I shook my head, ignoring the ache in my back as I threw the useless shield aside, gripping my sword with both hands and wondering how my arm hadn’t been broken by catching that blow. I gritted my teeth and waited for his next attack, but instead he began to circle me, trying to get behind me. I began to copy his movements, slowly circling with him, minding my footwork and keeping an eye on the huge fighter. He made another move, placing his sword on the ground and dragging it behind him as he rushed over to me, executing a swing that would’ve cleaved me in half if it had connected, only missing by a hair’s breadth as I threw myself to the side, only to realize I’d put too much distance between myself and him to attack before he guarded himself with his greatshield.

It seemed that dive-dodging was out of the question, which meant the only option I had was quick-stepping, which may put me closer to him… but it also but me closer to that sword of his. Taking a deep breath to calm my pounding heart, I waited for him to make another attack. Instead, he charged forward with his shield outstretched, swinging the colossal piece of metal at me and slamming the hard steel into my entire body. The force of the impact sent me flying back, landing hard on my back and slamming my head into the stone floor, pain exploding all over my body as I tried to conscious from that concussive force of the impact.

It was happening again. I’d been stuck against an opponent that outclassed me in every way. It was like facing Zane, it was like facing Luna. Hell, I’d even had this experience with my Dad in the past. I was losing again. The vicious cycle of continuous defeat that never seemed to leave me alone, having victories against untrained opponents and grunts not even good enough to be assigned a name worth remembering. I was down and about to be out, yet again. The frustration built up again, followed by the sense of dread that consumed me as I realized he wasn’t going to sheath his sword. He wasn’t going to come over and offer me his hand. He wasn’t going to give me another shot.

He was going to kill me.

I was going to die here, in this dead city, before I’d even hit my second decade of life. I was going to be skinned like some common fucking deer and disgrace the honour of my entire race, the lowest piece of dirt on the alicorn family tree earning his title of worthless for the thousandth time in his short life, killed by a member of a race nobody knew existed on some stupid fucking treasure hunt.

I gritted my teeth once again, the fury boosting the pain, reminding me that I was still in the midst of defeat… no. The pain reminded me that I was alive. I was still in this fight and I wasn’t dead just yet. I snarled loudly, clenching my sword tightly in my hand as I forced myself to my feet. I was hurt, tired, and mad as hell. I refused to be snuffed out like this, like some worthless cunt being run over by a carriage in the forest. I was the last son of an ancient race of rulers. Of warriors.

And I’ll be fucked if I let some ghost of an ancient race kill me here. Not without a fight.

I twirled my sword around in my hand as I walked forward slowly, pain burning in my entire body that forced a rather sadistic laugh from my lungs, allowing the boost in pain to boost the anger, giving strength to the body that so desperately needed it. Rinvae was a monster, that was for sure. But I’d been trained to kill monsters like him. He wasn’t the harbinger of my death, he was just another fucking trophy waiting for me to hang on the wall.

“Alright then,” I snarled, spitting blood from a bust lip onto the floor. “Let’s see what you’ve really got, Rinvae.”

The ancient knight nodded, squaring his stance and preparing himself as I charged forwards, planning the move I’d use after I baited him into using his. He’d swing for me, without a doubt. It was too easy to not do it.

And he did.

He brought his sword behind his back, gripping it with both hands and swinging for me, the greatsword coming straight for me as I approached it. With a grin on my face, I dropped into a slide, skidding across the polished stone floor and underneath the swing, slashing my sword at the joint in the back of his knee, cleaving through the armour and cutting deep into his flesh, severing nerves and muscle that then caused him to drop to one knee. I slammed my hand onto the ground, forcing myself up onto my feet and skidding to a stop, pivoting and leaping into the air, unleashing a powerful spin attack with my sword cutting deep into Rinvae’s helmet. My momentum was killed by the impact and I dropped to my feet, having cut his leg and cut into his helmet being a good start before I followed it up by gripping the top of his greatshield, pulling it back and slicing my sword down between his arm and the shield itself, cutting through the thick leather that strapped it to his arm and causing it to drop loudly to the floor.

He then swiped at me with his arm, the attack connecting and sending me skidding back but not knocking me off my feet. I stood still for a moment, breathing heavily from the exertion as I stared excitedly at the newly-injured knight, seeing this titanic fighter now kneeling before me. I grinned savagely, a bloodlust I never knew I had urging me to finish him, to sever his head and be done with it, but I kept calm enough to show Rinvae the same honour he’d shown me. I waited for him to pick himself up, standing awkwardly on his knee before turning to face me. I then repeated the same bowing gesture we’d done at the beginning to the fight and he did the same. Both of us raised our weapons and prepared for another clash.

He proceeded to shuffle towards me, his injured leg now giving me a more than exploitable weak spot for the fight, before leaping forward with a plunging attack, only for me to throw myself into a forward roll, getting under the attack and getting to my feet at his back. He whirled around as fast as he could, swiping for me with his gauntlet again, only for me to duck under the attack once more, slashing my sword down the elbow joint of his arm before booting him in the knee, his armour rending loudly and a pained roar coming from his mouth as it presumably shattered his kneecap. He dropped again, allowing me to slam the hilt of my sword into his helmet, denting the metal severely before I cocked my hand back and punched him in the face as hard as I could, the leather glove providing little dampening against the solid metal and it fucking felt like it, but the blow was more than enough to knock Rinvae off his balance, dropping onto his elbow, before I brought my sword up and slashed it downwards, the blow cleaving through the knight’s gap in his armour, severing his head with a wet sound. His head dropped to the floor and rolled away, confusion filling my mind as white fog began to spill out of the knight’s neck stump instead of blood.

I backed away from the knight and his strange contents before I felt another set of concepts being pushed into my brain.The concepts formed into words: “Victory” and “Champion”, followed by a sentence that said “This part of the key is yours, use it to find your reward.”

With that, the body of Rinvae faded away into the white fog, leaving behind a thick, cylindrical piece of what looked like amber behind, the object having two pieces missing, judging by the shape it was cut into. I hesitated for a moment before picking up the object being fairly heavy and very old. With a sigh, I sheathed my sword and tucked it into the pouch on my belt, deciding to head back to Svea and see what she made of this whole ordeal.