1 A Knight to remember

The Rain poured heavily outside, The Queen shivered as her servants left her chambers for the night. During the winter in the Kingdom of Dolus it could rain like this for many days. The young girl only 20 years of age wiped fog from her window. The cold leaked in on to her silky skin, the hair on her arm stood in protest as daggers of ice cut away the warmth of a dying fire. She pulled away from the window unable to see past the tree outside her window. The storm began to pick up as she crawled into her bed. The white gown she wore looked fancy but did little to protect her from the cold in her room. Covering up in layers of the finest fur quilts, she sank into the mattress.

The wind outside pushed on the limbs of the tree sometimes knocking on her window. She tried to clear her mind but so much had happened in the last few days, she would find no ally in sleep this night. The thoughts of her father abandoning the kingdom of the war with the Demon hordes about to begin. As the new Ruler she has much responsibility. The fire meant to keep her warm began to flicker and die along side her consciousness. She rolled onto her side, she wonderd if there was anyone who could help her.

Far from the Border of the Human Kingdom of Dolus over mountains through dense forests across large lakes lay a cave entrance. There were many caves here, if you stood at the peak of mount Modeus and threw a stone it would likely land near a cave entrance. A small symbol barley recognizable peeked through moss on the stone entrance. Letting the leading witch know this was no mere cave. Light from a freshly lit torch lit up the cave entrance, She turned sharply as another figure entered the mouth. "Kiyara we've been traveling for 16 days straight can we please relax a while. Its freezing and raining and some of us dont have shoes." Kiyara slouched and rubbed her eyes, one of her many abilities was "Moon site" during sundown she could see as clear as day and could sense magic. So having a large source of light enter her line of sight was painful but she understood. The Familia had grown in the last few years from a mere six bodies to sixty. Once Magic users were protected by an ancient order of Knights who served the Human Queen of Frost. The First Ruler of Dolus, Historians have tried to pinpoint the origin of the Knights but could find no records their ancient fortress has been lost and no map current or hundreds of years old show its location. Once the magic purge began 800 years ago The Knights all but vanished and Kiyara's ancestors were the last known family under the protection of the Knights Paladin commander. upon his death he left to the family his seal, a necklace which could be used to guide and unlock the entrance to the legendary fortress. Kiyara rummaged through her bag and removed the locket, though the chain had broken years before her birth the Key still shined with ancient power. Her abilities allowed her to recognize magic but the color that emitted from this small peice of steel was no magic her vision had ever seen. She speculated that the Knights did not use magic but some other form of power. The symbol on the small coin like shape was the same as the one on the wall. Kiyara had researched many languages but none came close to the intricacy of the symbol. To a normal human it would appear as Snakes coiled around a tree but she knew that was a language all to its self. Pushing these thoughts aside she placed the locket against the symbol on the wall. Her patience and excitement yielded no results as nothing happened. As she kneeled there a pain in her chest began to build. Everything she'd done all the people waiting outside for a sanctuary she'd promised would be here, was all for nothing. Meetra the woman with the torch noticed tears running down Kiyara's cheeks. She did not need magic to know what it meant. Kiyara stood holding the locket in her hand the light that emitted from it her whole life seemed gone. She grabbed at her chest trying to make the pain stop. dropping the locket onto the cavern floor she looked at the dead end of the cave hoping for some sign that perhaps this was merely a marker for the true fortress entrance. Nothing, her magic since only saw her brothers and sisters freezing outside. she looked away turning towards the opening, rain bombarded her. The heavy Jacket she wore kept her mostly protected but the icy needles pierced her face. What was she supposed to say to everyone, she began to walk out and looked to Meetra. Kiyara wanted to drop and grovel and beg for her friends forgiveness. Before a word could leave her mouth a strong gust from behind blow out the torch. Kiyara looked at Meetra who was not looking at her but behind her. A pale blue light enveloped them, turning slowly the back of the cave was no where to be seen. A long downward shaft of stairs cut to perfectly from the stone is what she saw. Large columns of Lapis seemed to hold the passage up, blue light faintly radiated from them.

"Meetra get the others, we're home".

They huddled into the cave entrance all behind Kiyara as she stood at the first step down. The light from the lapis seemed to block her sight, she could not see a direct end to the stair well. Meetra pushed through the crowd of wet bodies to get back to the front. The Chatter of voices and teeth began to annoy her. She reached the front Where Kiyara seemed to be frozen. Meetra had known Kiyara for nearly 18 years. they had been great friends growing up, when the Inquisitors came to their village the 2 of them were playing in forest when Kiyara's parents were taken away for witchcraft. Months later Kiyara would show the first signs of her own magic. Meetra's parents who had taken her in knew that if the kingdom found her they would all burn. So they sent her away, Meetra needed no reason to run away with her friend. Magic or not She saw no difference between the two of them.

She tapped Kiyara on the shoulder and she let out a cute Yelp. Kiyara looked to Meetra flustered, Meetra slapped the air between them. "So are we going in, or are we all going to freeze to death here in the entrance to your little sanctuary". Kiyara wanted to be mad but couldn't, she simply looked back down the stairs. Meetra huffed, the voices began to get louder and Meetra became more annoyed. "Fine if you won't go in then I will". Stepping in front of Kiyara she swallowed and took a deep breath. Before Kiyara could protest, Meetra took the first step. It became unbelievably quiet as everyone tried to see. Kiyara followed, others won courage on an internal battle field or were simply to cold to stay in the elements. Some could control fire but with the storm it did little to help. Meetra descended slowly, clutching a small dagger on her hip. If you saw her in the wild she would appear to be a hunter. She Wore leather light armor that revealed no skin, it came attached with a small cloak and hood. Others might compare her to a bandit. Her long brown haird tied in a ponytail dangled on her left breast. She was fit physically she could match all the men of the group and even though she has no magic she is Kiyara's self proclaimed body gaurd. She stood 2 meters tall, clearly visible in the front. Though she has practiced with her dagger she has never used it on another person or even been in a real fight. She felt she was ready for anything even with her lack of experience. An hour or so passed and heavy breathing became the norm as no one wished to be left behind. Meetra gasped at the sight of what appeared to be an exit into a room. She picked up the pace taking one final step into a large room, the height of the room was unclear but it explained the long entrance. Larger statues of armored warriors lined the walls ten in total. Each equipped differently, the skill and number of workers it would take to carve these from the stone was unbelievable. There was another door way at the other side but Meetra would have to explore later making sure everyone was safe came first. Time passed and people sat around small encampments. Most of the fire wood they had brought with them was far to wet to burn even with magic. Some had fuel lamps they were using to warm up. Others simply huddled together, Meetra peered around the room taking in all the sites she could see. Lapis columns still populated the area and the faint light was enough to seen but having a relit torch helped. The walls and ceiling were stone but the floors were dirt. Meetra buried her dagger hilt deep into it. She could find no stone, it was strange the ground felt moist and healthy like farm land. other than the Familia and tents no other objects stood out on the open area. The room was quite large, she pictured it would be easy fitting hundreds of people in here comfortably. The air was also strange it smelled like an old forest full of life and though extremely week she could feel a breeze. Meetra noticed Kiyara approaching with the same curious look on her face. "Even with my magic since I cant figure this place out. Its oozing with something other than magic". The large room was layed out like a rectangle with four doors at the center of each side. The door ways on the left and right led into dark rooms, while the one straight across from the entrance was lit with what could only be described as faint sunlight. Which was impossible for many reasons including the fact it was still quit late. "We should get some rest before trying to explore this place". Meetra knew Kiyara barley believed the words she spoke but knew they held wisdom. Everyone was exhausted and couldn't run if they accidentally activated some sort of trap. The two of them turned back towards the group when a whisper caught their ears. "Find me". The two paused turning towards the room left of the stairwell. "You heard that right"? Kiyara answered in a low voice "yes and it freaked me out, let's get back to everyone fast". The two returned to the group agreeing they would investigate once they've eaten and gotten rest.

It became quite as everyone settled down, watch had been assigned and Meetra volunteered for first and second but Kiyara did not wish to sleep alone after hear the voice. She was no coward but it was clear to Meetra that she shouldn't be left alone. Both wore gowns, their clothes drying on a make shift line outside the tent. Kiyara thought to herself, "this could be paradise". Meetra stared into Kiyara's eyes, blue gems unrivaled by any jewel. She lowered her gaze to Kiyara's lips, they were a soft pink and appeared plump. she turned away blushing. Thinking to herself, "am I crushing on my friend but we're both women? no I cant be it's just admiration". Closing her eyes she drifted away.

Kiyara wonderd what was going on in her friends mind. She's normal and we're all witches or warlocks, we'll live far longer than any human. She paused on that thought. She's been with Meetra for most of her life, she can't imagine not having her by her side. She pushed the thoughts out and tried to sleep but a faint whisper same as the last startled her. "Find me"! Kiyara raised up peeking through the crack of the tint. Her Moon sight was working once more and she saw into the dark room or was it a tomb?