Black Knight - Awakening: Part One Read online

  Her body was surging with adrenaline. She had been waiting for this for twenty years and she wanted to savor it. She wanted to replace the memories of her childhood with the memories of the brutal murder of High Priest Korros in his own sanctuary. As she neared his twisted and bloodied body she snarled and stood over him. Once she could see his face, she knelt down and spit in his eyes.

  "Eliss could not move, Eliss could not protect himself." She grabbed a thick piece of the wooden pew and held it tightly in her hand. He fearfully looked up at her as she held the makeshift club for him to see.

  "Go to fucking Humann hell." She shouted, crashing the club into his face. Korros gasped, trying to scream, but instead choked on his own blood. He reached a trembling hand up to stop her but he could ultimately do nothing. She brought the club down again and he felt his nose crack and turn sideways. Again, and his forehead broke open with an audible popping sound... Sarasin brought the club down one final time and Korros felt his teeth break out of his gums. That was when she tossed the club aside and knelt down to look at him.

  "That's what Eliss felt." She said, placing her bloody splintered palm on his cracked forehead. "Goodbye." Before she could do anymore, Korros spoke.

  "S...see y...you... in your... dreams." Sarasin growled and released a blast from her palm that blew through his skull and into the floor beneath him.

  At long last, Korros was dead and all Sarasin could manage to do was cry. She fell backward and looked up at the ceiling. Tears streamed down each side of her face and she bitterly wept because it was finally over. She felt relief for the first time in twenty years, something she had yearned so deeply for. With her eyes closed, she held her temples with her hands and tried to breathe.

  As she laid on the floor her head began to ache like she was having a migraine and a blinding white light enveloped her senses. She saw an image of a being, a male pale skinned half blood with dark brown hair and a black vertical stripe tattoo on his lower lip. She groaned for a moment, concerned about what was happening and then as if they were her own thoughts, she heard a female voice speak inside her head.

  "Crinnan Jamiso, Demon. Terrorist conspirator under influence of the Lord of The Hells, Ashwraith. Wanted dead or alive. Last known location; Belhaasi Weald. Report whereabouts or deliver body to local inquisitors. Praise Dura'Ana. Praise Cidro."

  The white light and migraine feeling faded, leaving Sarasin behind laying next to Korros' mutilated body. She sat up, confused by what she had seen and concerned about what it meant.

  "Crinnan Jamiso..." she said to herself. She knew the name. "Demon..."

  Standing, Sarasin looked around and found that the little red haired girl was nowhere to be seen. She cursed and hurried to collect her cloak. She knew she had to get out of there before anyone showed up, she was sure someone had reported a disturbance by then. Quickly, she snatched up her cloak and hurried toward the backstage exit. Before she left though, she turned and looked at Korros' body one last time. She spit in his direction and walked out the door.

  Chapter 2: Part One

  22nd of Ramlia - 346 AG

  12:00 - Belhaasi Weald

  The deep, rolling sound of roaring, crackling fire filled their pointed ears. The wind created from the release of the immense power surging around them blew their hair in all directions. Everything was covered in an orange or yellow hue from the abundant soul-consuming flames yet they somehow found themselves standing calmly in the middle of it all, safe only because they had each other.

  Above them in the pure and absolute blackness of the Shroud a rift had opened, a blue gash in the nothingness that seemed to last forever. They felt the unknown force tugging at them, beckoning them into the rift. Their companion had already been sucked in, leaving them behind for one final goodbye.

  Both were clad in jet black shining metal armor, he stood a head above her and held her close with his dried-blood covered gauntlets. His chin rested upon the top of her blonde-haired head and she nuzzled her own head into his neck. The two stood in silence as the fires grew larger and larger around them.

  "I will find you." He said looking down at her. He clenched his teeth together and with all of his emotional strength, he let go of her,allowing the rift to pull her in. "I will find you!" He screamed as her body disappeared into the darkness above him.

  Crinnan jerked up in his bed and found himself panting and sweating once again. His breathing and the steady hum of the monitors to his right were all that he could hear in the dark room. The vivid dream lingered in his mind but was soon blotted out once again by his thoughts of reality. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he remembered where he was and he let out a long sigh.

  His feet found the cold concrete floor and he slowly and precisely made sure that he was able to stand before attempting to walk. He felt only a mild bit of wooziness, similar to what a hangover felt like in it's last hours; he had fought in battles with full hangovers before,what he was experiencing was naught more than a slight inconvenience. He took in a deep breath and walked across the room.

  Bright light filled the room as he flipped the switch beside the door. He once again shielded his eyes with his hand and allowed them ample time to adjust to the unwanted sensation before trying to open them.As he removed his hand and slowly opened his eyes he silently stood and looked at the room, from the monitors, to the bed and finally to the cabinet beside the sink where Sage had said his belongings were stored. He awkwardly turned his body toward the sink, still feeling a bit unbalanced, and hobbled over.

  Falling to one knee, Crinnan opened the cabinet door. The hinges whined with an aged cry for grease but Crinnan gave them no regard. A white bin sat inside the cupboard and he pulled it out, setting it on the floor before him giving himself room to examine its contents. He already felt dismayed at the size of the bin as it was by no means large enough to hold his broadsword or armor. As he removed the items inside he groaned to find that he was correct.

  Crinnan grabbed his underwear and quickly pulled them on. He recalled Sage pulling out his catheter earlier and cringed at the idea of being so vulnerable and dependent of the Elf. Shaking his head at the futility of thought, he slipped his legs into his brown cloth trousers and laced up his leather boots. When he unfolded his white tunic he could not help but let out a sigh..

  Though the tunic had been cleaned, a large brown and red stain covered the bottom half where he had bled through it and the fabric had been sewn back together with black thread. Crinnan thought back to the spear that had punctured his abdomen and fingered the pink scar on his stomach. How had he survived that? His belly twitched with pain and he groaned and sat up a bit straighter. Pushing the thoughts out of his mind, he pulled the tunic over his head and returned his attention to the bin before him.

  The last items in the bin were Crinnan's black leather pistol harness and ammunition belt. Sighing, he pulled the pistol belt out out of the bin and examined it. He immediately noticed that his revolvers were still fully loaded and clipped in their holsters. As his eyes moved to the ammunition belt he saw that not a bullet had been removed. He wrapped both belts around his waist and stood up.

  Crinnan wondered why Sage had allowed him free access to his weapons. If he had been in Sage's shoes he would have restrained his prisoner with a bit more than a catheter, especially if his prisoner was a soldier deemed "terrorist" by the Govian Empire. The fact that everything had been so simple left Crinnan feeling a bit uneasy, nervous even. He feared he may have been walking into a trap…

  As he rose from his kneeling position, Crinnan caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror that was hanging above the sink. He frowned and exhaled a sort of half snicker when he saw his tangled mess of hair. He briefly tossed it about with his fingers, hoping it would land in a satisfying manner. After a moment of messing with his hair, an act which he was not completely committed to, he looked away from the mirror and turned toward the door.

  Crinnan's journey from the sink to the door, though not a lon
g trek by any standard, was ample time for his mind to completely shift gears. He pondered over the situation he had found himself in. He thought of where he was, where he wanted to be and who he was with. The encounter with Sage, though a seemingly helpful individual, left a healthy residue of fear on Crinnan's mind. He worried over what Sage had waiting for him outside that room. His plan was to walk out the aged white door and find the exit from wherever he was as quickly as possible. He simply did not intend on staying long enough to allow Sage to kill him if the Elf planned such a thing.

  Crinnan's thoughts wandered to his squad; to those he would call his friends and family for lack of better words. He thought of how he had somehow been taken from them back at the Izla'Axi caverns and of what he had to do to return to them. Though he would never allow himself to consciously show it, they were all that he loved in the world and in that moment it was his greatest desire to be reunited with them.

  When he was but a seven year old boy, Crinnan was enrolled in the "Future Centurions" program sponsored by Black Knight Base 21's renowned Century Squad. Crinnan could remember his lord father, though not a harsh man, telling him that it would one day make him a great and respected warrior. Initially he did not invest much emotion in aspirations of learning how to fight or becoming famous as all members of Century Squad inevitably did. He was only worried about leaving behind the only person he up to that point had any real connection with; his twin brother.

  Century Squad was reserved for the best of Black Knight and each of its members were something of a celebrity among the army. Infamous to its enemies, Century was an elite multi purpose twenty-one being squad capable of everything from reconnaissance to combat and strategic engineering and demolitions. In times when they were needed, they were able to serve as reserve generals and were trained to lead and fight with great efficiency. Because of his father's influence within the army, Crinnan was among the first soldiers to be trained specifically to carry out the duties of a Centurion.

  Prior to the development of the Future Centurions program, prospective Centurions were recruited based on meritorious works only. Every Centurion before Crinnan had a story to tell about how they earned their place in the squad. Throughout his training, Crinnan was under the influence of some of the more famous Knights whom he eventually grew to fight alongside. They for all intents and purposes raised him. He grew up hearing stories of how Sir Mace survived a decrepit fortress full of crazed blood thirsty Vampre or how Sir Kavin thwarted a Govian attack on his academy in South Barus when he was merely a teen.

  Alongside his close friends and fellow children of influential families, Alec Flinn the Younger and Elia Sols, Crinnan finally graduated from the training program when he was nineteen years old. Crinnan felt proud that had earned his place in the elite squad but also felt a sense of dismay at the fact that he had no story like the Centurions that came before him.

  Crinnan reached his hand out and grabbed the tarnished brass doorknob in front of him. He turned it and the white door before him creaked open revealing a warmly lit hallway with stained slat wood floors and metal shElf-lined wooden walls. Cautiously, Crinnan unfastened the strap that secured the revolver that was hanging on his right hip in it's black leather holster. With his hand around the grip of the weapon, Crinnan eased out of the room and into the hallway. As he shut the door behind him, the aged wooden floor beneath him welcomed his presence with a deep groan.

  Quickly, Crinnan surveyed his surroundings. To his left at the end of the hallway was a curious rusted metal door with no visible handle. A keypad was mounted on the wall to the right of the door and above it were two light bulbs; one red and one green. At that time, the red one was lit. Crinnan for a brief moment wondered what such a door was doing in a place like the one he was in.

  Crinnan turned his head to the opposite side of the hallway where sounds of sizzling and the smell of bacon seemed to be coming from. He noticed what looked to him like a collection of old junk sitting upon the metal shelves that hung from the walls. Crinnan could not help but survey the antiques. Most of it seemed to be from a time before the one he lived in, before the empire or the church.

  Curiously, Crinnan reached out and grabbed a device that sat upon one of the shelves. It was a small plastic silver rectangle with a black screen embedded in it. Crinnan could feel a button on the side of it with his index finger and so he pressed it inward. The screen flashed white and then black again and finally the word "Scanning" appeared on it. Crinnan watched curiously and after a moment the screen changed and a message appeared "User 44-232-001-423-932 invalid. Shutting down." The screen went dark and Crinnan stared at the device for a moment more before returning it to the shElf from whence it came. "Strange." He muttered.

  Technology was not something that Crinnan was overly familiar with. In fact, most people had no idea what to do with a computer or datapad if they were to find one. Modern electronics were so expensive and so rare that the common person had very few opportunities to explore their uses. There were people in Black Knight and in Century Squad whom Crinnan knew that could operate some devices but very few had a level of mastery that was worth writing home about.

  Nearly all consumer technology had been commandeered by The Church when they had ascended to power a thousand years prior. They over that time eventually obtained absolute power over all manufacturing on any significant scale and controlled the development of new technologies. Working hand in hand with the Agra Triangle Corporation, one of the few corporations that was allowed to exist, the Govian Empire was able to produce and distribute a wide array of simple commodities that the populace was allowed to purchase.

  The Agra Triangle Corporation (depending on who you ask) was a very powerful corporation that served multiple purposes. On paper, the primary objective of the Agra Triangle Corporation was to reclaim, research and reintegrate technology from the ancient days into the modern world. The Empire of course kept the ever-watchful eye of the Emperor on the Corporation but they also kept a surprising distance away from their affairs, allowing them to operate as they saw fit.

  Over the years the Agra Triangle Corporation had succeeded in becoming the most powerful privately owned corporation on the planet. They were of course subject to the laws of the Empire and under the leadership of the late President Karna they were able to rise to great levels of power in many senses of the word. When President Karna mysteriously died that power was shattered into three different factions. These factions were commonly referred to as the points of the triangle.

  Presidents Deliing, Trabiaa and Cade disputed over who was to take the reigns after Karna died. Prior to her passing they all served as her Vice Presidents and each oversaw one of three divisions of the "Agra Triangle". When she died, her successor was to be voted in by the board of directors but they were all found dead the morning of the vote.

  The expected successor was the youngest of the three named Cade. He was head of the "Reclaim" point of the triangle and well liked among all his constituents. He was, however, quickly accused of murdering Karna and subsequently the board and thus sabotaging the company. Nothing was ever proven and investors ultimately decided that for the time it was best for the company to be run by all three Presidents rather than one.

  Over the course of four years the three divisions of the company developed very unique ways of operating. President Trabiaa's point of the triangle, "Reintegrate", was focused on production of goods and President Trabiaa became mostly interested in weapons and warfare. Trabiaa pushed for faster, more efficient methods of producing the weapons to satisfy the Empire's seemingly endless demand. On many occasions, the Empire turned a blind eye to many of Trabiaa's questionable actions as Trabiaa was able to keep a steady flow of weapons and ammunition headed to the front lines.

  President Deliing, head of the "Research" point of the triangle, was more interested in expanding the Agra Triangle Corporations retinue by creating new products for consumer use. Such products historically included communications
equipment, weapons and computers for the Empire and home appliances and automotive parts for the average consumer. The Empire kept a strict detail on all of President Deliing's operations to ensure that they were not in violation of any of the strict technology suppression laws.

  President Cade, the third and youngest of the three Presidents, was the most secretive of the three. Cade, who was president of the "Reclaim" side of the triangle, had invested nearly all his resources in his "guaranteed" rise to the presidency of the Agra Triangle Corporation. When he was accused of murdering President Karna and the Board he not only lost credibility with many of his investors but also most of the resources he put into his rise to power thus leaving the "Reclaim" point of the triangle crippled and limited in functionality.

  Crinnan continued onward down the wood-floored trinket-laden hallway, eventually coming to a halt where the wall opened up. As he stood in the opening he looked to his right where the hallway continued to a dead end and then he looked down two wooden steps in front of him that led to a concrete floored living space. The room was lined with log walls and humbly decorated with vintage furniture and like the rest of the house, it did not lack clutter. A grey sofa sat toward the middle of the room facing the front of the house where a fire burned in a fireplace. Above the fireplace hung an antique flat-screen television and against the far right wall sat a loveseat and lounge chair. On the opposite side of the room, to Crinnan's left, was a breakfast bar with two stools sitting in front of it. In front of the breakfast bar, about eight steps directly in front of Crinnan, sat a circular wooden table with a brass light hanging above it. Behind the breakfast bar was the kitchen, the source of the bacon smell and of course, Sage.