Forums-->Creative works-->
| Author | Biography of the Ruthless Knight, Aracnide. |
|---|
Biogrpahy of my newest employer released. I will take in no more biogrpahies, go to the discussions forum in off-topic for criticism and admirations.
This will be the first post, posts will come every day or two so dont be impatient. Do not post here, go to Biogrpahies discussion page in off topic. | The Ruthless Knight is here!
Aracnide was a name that was well known in Tentel, a village near the Kingdom Castle. Since childhood Aracnide had been a clever yet naughty. He had looted gold from nearly every shack in his village. He was loathed by many but some praised his talent as a thief. The Divine Elder Knights of the village predicted that he could well be the first successful member of the Thieves Guild from their village and could earn his name in the Empresses army for his skill and bravery. As the young boy grew, he started dreaming of becoming a knight like his father. He was determined and practiced with his wooden sword day and night without fail.
Once while chasing a bear for food, he ended up reaching the kingdom castle. He had always wanted to check on the huge fort which he could see from his own shack. He decided to enter the castle through the magnificent gates. As he was reaching them, he saw lush green gardens full of multi-colored flowers on all directions. The smell of fresh air and the sound of little insects enhanced the splendor of the grey castle walls which were shining in the sunlight. While he was marveling at the beauty of the palace, a swordsman hit him on his back with a shield. Aracnide tripped over and brushed against the stone path which was leading straight ahead to the gates.
“Why did you do that?” said a frustrated Aracnide who did not like being pushed around by others.
“You cannot enter the Kingdom Castle. It is forbidden for faction unmarked youths to even come near to the premises of this monument.” The swordsmen who seemed unhappy with the boldness of the stranger replied.
“And may I ask why so? Is there something important hidden inside the massive walls of this wonder?” Asked a curious Aracnide who loved poking around with elders, especially officials.
“None of your business kid.” Said a guardian who had arrived seeing his junior talking to a stranger. The guardian looked stronger and smarter than the swordsman who was surely a new worker. The guardian was in a hauberk with steel boots and a chain helmet and fielded a superb mithril longsword, much superior then the ordinary Reprisal Sword and Defender’s Shield of the Swordsman.
Aracnide, angered after being called a kid, withdrew his weak wooden sword from his leather armor. The guardian amazed by the bravery of this young warrior gave s cheeky smile and raised his sword high letting the sun brighten the blade into a magical gold. He then gestured with his other hand that the challenger should make the first attempt. Aracnide did not care that he was facing a knight of the royal army. He lashed his sword at the knight who calmly parried the blow with his huge shield with ease and smirked, this warrior had power he thought. For the next few minutes, Aracnide used all his sill and power to find an opening and get into the Senior knight’s armor. But the expirienced guardian effortlessly dodged and shielded himself from the mighty bows and did not break a sweat despite his solid defense which had by now reduced Aracnide’s stamina. Aracnide, who knew this well ecided to use a new tactic. Aracnide swiftly changed the direction of his attacks so that the guardian had to move backwards towards the swordsman who was just gaping at the skill of Arcanide and his leader. He had not noticed that his master was about to crash backwards into him. And when he did see this, it was too late and his master tripped over on him and both of them fell in a heap. Aracnide thought he had done enough and raised his sword into a powerful finisher but before he could get it through the guardians defence, the guardian had rolled over and was standing up. Aracnide couldn’t stop his attack and hit straight into the leather armour of the swordsman and the wooden sword cut through the armor injuring the swordsman badly. But the problem was that the wooden sword got stuck. Aracnide couldn’t pull it out.
The guardian smirked, “Game | The guardian smirked, “Game over, brave KID!” “I am afraid you fight well and had it been an ordinary knight, you would have defeated him. But, alas, you are fighting with Kozon, the chief of the guardians, the strongest and the most feared of them all.”
Aracnide was shocked. The tales of the mighty Kozon were famous in his village. It was said that Kozon, with his squad of guardians, had defended the village from the Green Dragons who ruled in the neighboring woods and could shoot fire that even water could not drown. Aracnide bowed and asked Kozon, “Why did you spare my head then, O brave warrior?”
“Frankly speaking, had I teached you the lesson you deserved, the empress would have lost one of her greatest warriors” said an impressed Kozon.
“Sir, I would like to beg you on this occasion, to allow me to become a Lord of the kingdom. You have the right to bestow me with the title. And I would be grateful if you do.” Aracnide was straight on the point.
“Sure young braveheart. I will inform her majesty. But…” said Kozon.
“Yes sir, you were saying some thing.” Aracnide said as he did not like the sudden silence and grim face of the mighty knight.
“You will have to leave your family and travel with me, to the empire capital, for a few months so I can get you trained and get you admitted to the Magic school from where you can begin your travels.” Kozon said in a low tone as he knew that it was tough for warriors to leave behind their loved ones to pursue a dangerous career in the royal army.
“Is that it, when do we leave, I would prefer today itself” said a relieved Aracnide.
“So you are coming, oh come on, spend some time with your family, we will leave on the full moon night.” The guardian laughed. He was happy to see a keen warrior.
“As you like it my lord, now, I would like to leave.” Aracnide replied.
“You may young warrior. Make sure you are on time on the full moon night, its best to start late and reach the royal court by the morning.”
“I promise I will be here sir. Good day to you.”
“Same for my young recruit” smiled back Kozon.
Aracnide immediately left for his home. He took the unconscious swordsman’s sword with him.
“I am a lord. YEAH!!!” he shouted on reaching his village.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
To be continued… | “We have reached, warrior.” Whispered Kozon as their caravan safely reached the Empire Capital.
“WOW!” Exclaimed Arcanide who was distracted by the beauty of this marvelous land.
“Truly the most beautiful place in the whole universe, I feel proud to have been serving this land since the past decade.” Kozon said.
“Sure you are sir, this land can make any soldier die to save its beauty,” Arcanide replied.
“Lets get to work, you will get a whole life to admire the beauty of this land but your training is more important at the moment. To begin with, I have got you the privileges of a knight. Take this chart and read it thouroughly, tomorrow morning, right here, you will meet the chief farmer, Forster, who will be your trainer for the first combat level.” Kozon said in a hurry as he handed Arcanide a parchment and a uniform.
“Sure sir, I will try my best to make you feel proud of me!” Arcanide’s happiness knew no bounds at that moment. He quickly walked away toward the cottages which were specially made for recruits.
That night Arcanide couldn’t sleep thinking about the next day. After turning on his rectangular wooden bed for a long time, he decided t go for a walk to tire himself out. He quickly put on his scouts cape and wooden sword so that he remained safe. He calmly inhaled the fresh scent of the gentle breeze which was soothing and was slowly making him sleepy. Just as he was about to yawn, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Arcanide quickly turned and changed his sword grip into a defensive stance.
The man who had made the gesture broke into a laugh, “you thought I am an attacker, no my friend, I am ever worse than that, I I am your trainer, Forster!” The Brute roared and then burst into a good laugh.
Arcanide understood who he was, he bowed and then asked the trainer, “Sir, why do you want to talk to me at this hour.”
“Well, its your first night, and… It wasn’t that I wanted to talk but you were out here so I decided I might as well have a chat.” He giggled, not being able to stop his laughter after Arcanide’s reaction on his friendly gesture.
“Oh Ok. So, what shall we talk about?” Arcanide asked. He wanted to make this quick as he was sleepy.
“First of all, any questions?” The trainer inquired.
“None so far!” Arcanide exclaimed.
“Ok so let me tell you what you are talented in, are you good with the bow, or the sword, or you prefer a peaceful life?” Inquired the trainer.
“I find peace only when I have practiced with my sword, so I would say I would prefer sword.” Arcanide went on firmly.
“Oh, then here are your options on the future. You will start off as a farmer for the first two combat levels, you will train with us and will learn how to earn a living as the farmers are the richest people in the knight faction. You will learn some basic war strategies and will take part in hunts. We farmers do not duel among ourselves so you will not get the chance to prove your might. I will be your military commander in hunts. Then, when you have crossed over to the third combat level, you shall be trained as a swordsman and that will be your dueling and fighting period, the third and fourth combat level. Ofcourse if you fancy the bow, you can train on archery instead of being a swordsman. But as you said, you will be a swordsman. Oh and here is the main part, at the fifth combat level, you will have to make a decision…” Forster finally paused, took a breath and continued, “You will either have to get yourself admitted to the Empresses army and you will be under Kozon’s leadership. Or you can become a lord yourself and fight it out on your own without being commanded by someone else, but that will be tough as you will be alone and will not have the support of the thousand guardians under Kozon. You will lead a small army of your own which can later increase in size. The good part will obviously be you can try out on multiple guilds and you can be independent…”
Before Forster could finish, | Before Forster could finish, Arcanide commented, “I will be an individual lord, and good night, I am sorry I wasted your time,”
“Oh you didn’t. Sleep Well” Forster was a little offended. He walked away.
Arcanide sighed, he was finally going to sleep. This farmer was a chatterbox, and he hated blabbering people.
The next morning, Arcanide reached the training grounds late. When he arrived, the lords were already listening to Forster’s instructions on Battle Stances and Positions. Arcanide knew this stuff well and he reckoned he could beat Forster in the knowledge of War Tactics. He calmly passed the theory sessions without paying much heed to the fact that Forster was trying his best to teach the recruits well though some were not bothered including Arcanide. At the end of the day, the recruits were handed a shovel and they were supposed to dig the ground till they found some ore as their trainer claimed that this was an ore-rich facility. Meanwhile, Forster the trainer went off for a nap. The recruits got frustrated with this and started making unnecessary sounds to wake him up but when they found that he had put grass balls in his ears to stop sounds from disturbing him, they went mad of rage. They decided to continue working. Arcanide silently chuckled, somebody who blabbered all day would have got tired naturally he thought. While Arcanide was digging, sounds like screeches started coming from the woods right ahead. All the young lords raised their head, so did Arcanide who left his shovel where he was digging and went straight to his shack.
Meanwhile, the recruits started hearing movement in the bushes. They started picking their shovels, ready to use them as weapons. Some, who were going to become farmers later on for sure, ran away. Some were picking stones, and hurling them at bushes. But this didn’t arouse the trainer. Finally, creatures started to emerge. They were raiding harpies, and they were in huge numbers. Some more farmers ran away but some brave youths stayed. They were ready to prove themselves.
“Attack!” Shouted Arcanide. He ran ahead his wooden sword raised.
When he got no response, he ordered, “Those who want to be bowmen, rush to the back and shoot them down. Those who want to be guardians, protect the bowmen or come with me. We can do this.” Arcanide’s words did bring about movement. Around fifty farmers went back. They were the bowmen. They picked up stones and even raised their shovels in a throwing stance. Some recruits rushed back with their shovels in a defensive stance to protect the recruits. The disappointment was that only twenty men were ready to take the offense with Arcanide in the lead. | The raiding harpies charged, they were approximately hundred. They tried to kick through the frontline but only a few managed to do so because some warriors were really good. Arcanide slashed with his sword and killed one and held on another neck to climb its back and kill many more of the beasts using the added height. But the harpies had broken through on the right wing and were outnumbering the warriors defending the bowmen. The bowmen on the other hand had started hurling shovels on the raiding harpies which came too near and the shovel did injure enough to make the raiding harpies retreat.
“MOVE BACKWARDS THOSE IN THE OFFENSIVE FRONT LINE. Lets help our friends.” Roared Arcanide. Adrenaline was rushing through his body.
Everybody moved according to him. They went straight back where the raiding harpies were now trampling the bowmen and farmers. The Offensive line shocked the raiding harpies by killing them with their shovels from behind. This tactic was successful and a lot of the raiding harpies fell victim to this. Arcanide ordered the remaining bowmen to throw stones at the raiding harpies who started fleeing except some who still continued to try their luck. But finally, the trainer forster came out of his slumber and blew a horn which scared the raiding harpies away.
“What a mess! These creatures don’t allow a busy man rest. But that’s good practice for you guys. I saw how some of you young men bravely fought the enemy down. Especially one brute. Arcanide! Arcanide, I grant you the title of Combat Level two for exceptional bravery and leadership qualities during this attack. A few more men will get this privilege and I allow you, Arcanide to choose them. No favourtism boy.”
“Thank you trainer. I think all those guardians you see have been with me in the frontline and have bravely fought those raiding harpies should be allowed to pass to Cou mbat Level two. It was they who made this possible, no matter if they killed no harpy, they had the courage to stand forward. Also to some bowmen who efficiently shot the enemy raiding harpies down to save themselves when our cowardly defensive guardians failed. That’s my opinion. It is your decision Sir Forster.”
“That is a good opinion. I will talk to the recruits you mentioned. You can keep your prize on getting promoted. Have a good night’s sleep gentleman, hardly do we see a warrior getting promoted on his very first day.” Said a glad Forster.
“Thank you.” Arcanide bowed and walked away with his sword on his shoulder.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
To be continued… | Arcanide was having a tough time since he became a grade 2 Lord. There were rarely fights and many days passed as Arcanide slowly became bored of laboring and going through pages of history. He used to spend the night in the forests hoping to find a beast to practice his skills on but his luck didn’t seem to want him fighting.
During one such theory lesson, Arcanide exited the class and packed his belongings and covered himself in a scouts cape and after he was sure that he was leaving nothing behind, he tucked his sword within the folds of his scabbard and walked out of the shack pacing towards the golden castle that vas visible above the dense forest. He was tired of his routine and the theory lessons were testing his patience. He cut through the wild bushes and left behind a clear trek through the forest. The golden castle was out of sight but Arcanide climbed on trees to check if he was on the right track and his instincts were taking him towards the Empress’s castle. He had soon cleared his way to reach the other end of the forest but the sun was setting and if Arcanide did not reach the palace before nightfall, he would have to stop as the palace gates would shut down and leave Arcanide vulnerable to attacks from the werewolves. Arcanide was considering all possible ways to convince the guardians of the gate to allow him a meeting with her majesty when somewhere behind the foliage ahead, there was a rustling of leaves. Arcanide stealthily unsheathed his blade. From nowhere an arrow whizzed past Arcanide’s head and pinned itself to a tree. Arcanide did not turn back. He concentrated all his senses towards the foliage as from there the arrow had been released. Without a sound Arcanide moved towards the foliage. He had his sword to the ready and his leather jackboots were making no sound on the dirt. Just as Arcanide thought he was near enough to strike, another arrow struck him straight on his cape. Arcanide gave out a cry and hearing the voice, a group of Elite Forest Keepers stormed in towards the scene. Arcanide who was injured despite the cape’s protection sensed that the keepers might have come to take him into custody after he fled from the camp. He quickly pulled out the arrow and with the sword in one hand, he swung his other punching one of the keepers who had made the mistake to bend and check on Arcanide’s wound. The forest keeper backed away and sensing the opportunity, Arcanide jumped to his feet and held his sword in a defensive stance. One of the forest keeper shouted a battle call and yet another arrow flew towards Arcanide’s face. This time Arcanide was ready and he crouched low and swung his blade disbalancing the elite keeper right in front of him and then Arcanide charged towards the foliage. He heard the elite forest keeper swearing and following him and just as another arrow came from the bushes, Arcanide dived straight through the wall of grass and fell face down between two elven bowmen. He took to his feet and was about to charge towards the helpless elven bowmen when suddenly two forest keepers pounced upon him from the trees. They pinned Arcanide to the ground while the remaining squad returned and soon they had Arcanide in-front of a fire with his hands and legs tied.
“What were you trying to do young lord.” Spoke up the keeper who looked like the chief.
“Let me go! I want to meet her majesty.” Arcanide roared!
“Calm young lad. We might allow you to leave tomorrow morning but the night is not safe for amateurs.”
“Don’t you dare call me an amateur! I can defeat you in a duel but you cheat! You go ten men on one. Iif you have the guts, fight me alone you coward.”
“Oh we have forever to fight. Right now, troops from the Knight training camp our going to arrive to interrogate you. So get ready to be humiliated kid.” Chortled the chief and his men as Arcanide fidgeted with his cuffs hopelessly.
He spent his time tracking a glowfly in the distance. Suddenly, the trodding of cav | He spent his time tracking a glowfly in the distance. Suddenly, the trodding of cavalry was clearly audible. The Forest Keepers took to their feet. They armed themselves and went out to greet the approaching Knight Army. The great Lord Koshtik was leading his men. The camp would have given him the quest of retrieving the recruit. The keepers bowed low to the renouned lord who was on top of a cavalry.
“Where is this naughty brat?” questioned Lord Koshtik.
“Bring him on men!” ordered the chief as two elite forest keepers went away to retrieve the prisoner.
Arcanide heard him and formulated a plan. He allowed the keepers to free him and escort him in front of Lord Koshtik. He saw the lord grinning and silently nodded towards him.
“I challenge your lordship.” Arcanide said shocking the army as well as the forest keepers. Everybody knew a lordship challenge was a one on one duel with equal arms on both the lords. They had to fight in a proper manner following all the codes. The first lord to be injured would have to forfeit.
“Kid, I allow you to take back those immature words you made.”
“But I wont.” Snapped Arcanide.
“Very well. Soldiers, grant this brat an equilibrium blade, we shall fight to show him sense.” Koshtik said.
“Excuse me but the challenger has the right to choose the conditions. Hence, I choose it to be a wooden sword fight.” Arcanide grinned. He knew the lord would not be used to a wooden blade.
“As you wish kid, you have to lose anyways.” Lord Koshtik snapped his fingers and his men brought him a wooden sword.
“So lets fight right now. Right here.”
“Let it begin” Said Lord Koshtik as he dismounted and raised his sword.
The two men circled each other till Arcanide found an opening and jumped to take advantage but Lord Koshtik was ready and he side stepped and slammed his sword onto the hilt of Arcanide’s sword but surprisingly, Lord Koshtik’s blow did not do much damage as the wooden sword wasn’t the kind which could do such tactics. Lord Koshtik was too used to an equilibrium blade. Understanding the situation, Arcanide quickly dropped his sword and punched Lord Koshtik on his chest making him squeal in agony as he dropped his sword too. Arcanide picked the two dropped swords and left Lord Koshtik helpless. But the battle did not end till some lord was injured so Arcanide calmly severed Lord Koshtik’s leg. The army as well as the keepers were shocked at the stunning display. Nobody noticed the Recruit master arriving. He too was in tears at the skill of this warrior. With nothing much to do. He bowed and allowed Arcanide to graduate to the next level. He escorted him to Kozon, who too was shocked of Arcanide’s antics and readily accepted him as his trainee, the swordsman!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
To be continued... |
Back to topics list
|
