2 The Souls of Vrea

Roses and fresh bread.

He breathed in deeply, the two scents filling his nose.

"Eat your food, you little fool, or you won't grow into a mighty knight!" A woman's voice penetrated his foggy mind.

'A memory...?' He thought. He suddenly became energized, looking around.

He was standing behind a little boy, his face hidden from him. The boy sat beside a young woman at a heavy oak dining table. Her hair was glossy black like the boys, her features befitting a farm girl. On the table before him sat a slice of freshly baked bread slathered in butter, a bite already taken out of it.

'Is that me?' The knight tried to move but realized his feet were rooted to the ground.

The boy sighed and bit into the bread, the warmth filling his mouth. He could faintly taste a hint of rose.

The woman's brows furrowed. "Don't sigh like that. You know Edwin worked hard on that bread, and I put my all into that butter!"

A handsome young man walked into the room, dusting flour off his hands. "What, is he dissatisfied with my choice of herbs again?" He said with a smile. Bits of flour had gotten into his short hair.

The boy giggled as he took another bite.

Edwin chuckled. "I knew you liked it. You've got to become big and strong, like your dad and I!"

An identical young man walked in. "Hey, why didn't you include me?!" He had flour dusting around his mouth.

Edwin laughed as he was chased by his brother around the room.

"Hey!" The woman shouted. Her face seemed a little blurry. "Knock it off!"

The two brothers sighed and went to clean off the flour that now caked them both. They seemed blurry too.

The bread seemed far away, but it was right next to him.

"The boys acting up again?" A gruff voice said from another room. It seemed to echo strangely in his mind.

The dining table looked like it was swaying, and the details were impossible to make out.

"Of course, they are! Those two seriously need to find themselves wives."

The voice was fainter, and his head ached.

Suddenly, he was no longer sitting at the table.

The Sun Guard was outside, looking upon a burning building. He could see blood stains on the stone foundation and fire licking up the sides of the wood frame.

He watched the flames spread to the thatch roof and could hear the house creak under the torture. It seemed to almost be screaming.

He saw a rose bush withering away under the heat, the blood-red flowers burning away.

He was so close to the flame it burned, but he couldn't bring himself to look away. He realized the scream was real, not some illusion coming from the burning house. It was the kind one does when they know that no one can hear them yet hope that maybe someone will come.

The knight took a step forward, his heart leaping up into his throat. He knew that scream. He knew who was screaming. He had to stop them! He had to save them!

Golden chains emerged from his featureless stone mask, quickly wrapping around his head. His sight went blank, but that terrible scream didn't stop.

A moment later, the memory was purged from his mind.

...

[Outside the great walls of Redvale]

Two sentries dressed in light armor and armed with swords and shields scanned the gray and yellow horizon, searching diligently for intruders. The stone walls of Redvale were thick and tall and one of the only reasons they were somewhat untouched by the Upheaval.

One of the sentries unsheathed his sword and began dueling with an imaginary intruder. His partner immediately swiped him on the back of the head.

"Damn it, Mord, put your sword away and focus on the task!" He rebuked him.

"Man- leave me alone!" Mord said, begrudgingly sheathing his sword. He went back to lazily staring at the sun, hoping it would blind him. He shifted on his feet for a bit before turning to his companion again.

"No." He said, not even listening to whatever Mord was about to say.

Mord sighed and turned away again. A cold wind blew through his armor, giving him shivers.

"Hey, Rick. Want to play I, spy?" Mord turned towards his companion once more.

"No, Mord. I already said no once, why would I say yes to that? Keep watch and stop talking. You're starting to get on my nerves." Rick replied, unmoving.

"Alright. Actually, that reminds me of something. Are the stories about the Outerlands true? Also, how much longer is our shift?"

Rick sighed heavily. "Yes, Mord. They're all true, whatever you've heard. Our shift ends in three hours. Now shut it!"

Rick narrowed his eyes, the light of dusk reflecting off something shiny in the distance, blinding him for a second.

"Hey... can you see that?" He turned to Mord.

"See what?" He replied, shielding his eyes as he leaned forward.

Rick pointed towards the reflected light. "That."

Mord squinted, holding his eyes as if they were binoculars. After a few seconds, he inhaled sharply.

"What? You see something?" Rick asked.

"Nope."

"I hate you."

After a few minutes, a figure formed on the horizon, the light reflecting off his armor.

"Is that a soldier? Mord, you've got to see this, right?"

Mord rolled his eyes, looking in the direction of the shadow, before coming to attention stiffly.

"Definitely, that's armor. Hey, remember that a battle was taking place near here? What if this is the start of a crisis?"

"Inform the other sentries, and hurry back. We must not be embroiled in other Kingdoms' affairs!" Rick said quickly, his voice an octave higher than usual, most likely due to fear.

Mord might've laughed at another time, but now was not it. He sprinted back through the gates, shouting for the guards.

Rick was left by himself, shifting back and forth on his feet. The shadow slowly grew larger, and Mord had returned, breathless before long.

After taking a second to collect himself, he said: "Lord Colm should be informed soon. Cap gave us the order to protect the sanctity of our proud city by any means necessary! They are mobilizing the guard in case it's necessary."

Rick nodded, not trusting his voice. Redvale was one of the numerous independent city-states of the Four Kingdoms, far to the east of Vrea. The shadow could mean a single soldier looking for protection, a column of knights bent on conquest, or perhaps even worse, refugees.

The shadow grew larger until the shambling figure of a broken warrior was distinguishable from the grey-yellow horizon.

"Dude... What in the name of Asmodeus is that?" Mord asked. His knuckles were white as he gripped his sword.

The warrior looked like a porcupine, with a dozen arrows sticking out of every angle. The figure made its way closer and closer to the gates, and it looked to be dragging a spear behind it and what little remained of a shield in the other hand.

"I don't know, stay on guard. It could be some new type of eldritch."

They remained silent until Mord couldn't take it anymore.

"Rick, I think I recognize the colors of the Vrean Sun Guard. What if the Krodians and Adal are on their way here after destroying the Vreans?!"

"The Sun Guard? Are you kidding me? Do you think it's that easy to meet a warrior of the Sun God?! They may be legendary, but if the Krodian Empire and Adal Sultanate were coming here, a single guardsman wouldn't have lasted so long!"

'At least... I hope they aren't coming...' Rick thought, his squeaky voice betraying him.

As the figure closed in on the sentries, they drew their weapons without a word and began approaching the soldier.

However, before they could get to him, he suddenly stopped. He stood still, simply staring at them, the golden light flickering faintly through the eyeholes of his cracked mask-helm. They could not see his face, but his presence sent chills down their spines.

Neither guard dared to move. After a second, Mord nodded at the body and at Rick.

Rick frowned and cautiously made his way toward the soldier, who stood before them. He had his doubts, and the golden light was uncharacteristic of an eldritch, not that he'd ever seen one of those primordial behemoths.

After poking him a couple of times with his sword and getting no response, he slowly tried to remove the mask-helm of the soldier, and after lowering the cowl of his cloak, he tugged lightly, only for the helm to crumble like dust, leaving only the cracked mask.

The crumbling helmet revealed the warrior's ashy black hair to them, but no matter how hard he tried, the mask seemed to be glued to the soldier's face.

The golden light flared, but he remained motionless until closer inspection. His skeletal muscles twitched as if embroiled in endless battle, his hand firmly grasping his spear.

The two sentries looked up at the golden eyes as they flared, and a chill ran down both of their spines as they gazed at the killing machine before them, their feet rooted to the spot.

The right sentry took a deep breath and reached for the soldier's neck to check his pulse.

'By Asmodeus... this guy is unconscious! How long has he been walking?!'

"Quickly, go get help! The mask must be a security device, so I can't take it off, but he's still alive!"

Mord sprinted back to the guardhouse within the gates, and Rick could hear him screaming for the healers as he heard the numerous footsteps of the rest of the guards coming to assist him with the newcomer.

Rick stared at the broken sun knight standing before him, his face pale and his hand gripping his sword so hard his knuckles were white.

Before extinguishing, the golden eyes flickered for a moment, revealing two dark abysses to the sentry. His body buckled to the ground before the sentry caught him and laid him on the yellowed grass.

Word quickly spread through town that a soldier had collapsed at their gates. For a few days, it was all people could talk about. Some were curious, others wary. A strange soldier suddenly shows up in Redvale, what could it mean for them? Most thought it could only bring trouble.

...

Three figures stood around a small bed in a small, comfortable room. Two men and one woman. A fireplace crackled softly somewhere outside the room, and conversation and laughter echoed throughout the building.

"It's been asleep for over a month. Do you think it'll ever wake up?" Mord asked, and he'd been the left sentry and went to get help. He looked at the dark eyeholes of the man and shivered. It was like a black hole, and the mask was empty. He could see nothing behind it.

"That's rude. Just because he wears a mask doesn't mean he isn't human! And of course, he'll wake up soon, Mord. The healers did the best they could, and they gave him nutrients every day. You should've heard all the complaining they did about no mouth hole." Rick said.

Mord snorted. "You said that last week! I swear, Rick, if it- I mean, he doesn't wake up soon, Guyan might have to kick him out! We all know that Lord Colm already wants to!"

Rick interjected. "Have some respect for the Guard Captain, you can't call him by his name!"

Before Mord could retort, the young woman ignored Rick's remark and said, "Colm wouldn't do that, and you know it, Mord. A Sun Guard? The Krodians and Adal wiped the Vreans out, so he wants information on what happened. It's the people we have to worry about."

They remained silent for a moment, staring down at the masked man on the bed.

When they took his armor off, they'd found that blood completely soaked his body. Thirteen arrows were still lodged in his body, and he had taken injuries from almost every type of weapon one could think of. His hands were mangled from wielding his spear, and the blood on his hands almost didn't wash off.

A single thought permeated their minds.

'Just what happened to this guy?'