Chapter Text
Upon the death of the King, one last epic battle between knights—a child forged by deceit—both killed in one fatal blow by enchanted swords, the Roundtable disbanded. The King's body lay upon the boat to sail through the river to Avalon, sailing into the light with her friends and allies looking upon her one last time. The court mage and dear friend disappeared as his duty was fulfilled.
The peace the King and the Roundtable fought for was finally achieved: the new Age of Peace. The Knights became Princes of the New Era, kings of their kingdoms but princes compared to the rightful and forever King of the realm.
Yet, the darkness found its way as peace made many of the retired knights complacent , the warning signs ignored by most. Your father did not ignore the signs. The northern kingdom had tried to warn the others, but your father was seen as a senile old fool whom the other knights believed unworthy of knighthood.
He was a Viking. After the king saved his village, he took the oath of the King; he did not turn away his Gods but followed an oath of honor and chivalry.
The once and future King believed all can be worthy of the Roundtable, no matter race or creed all can find purpose here.
Your father was alone, he was not discouraged as the king was alone at first when she pulled the sword out of the stone. Her wizard could only do so much, she endured her trials alone with her faith and hope.
Father will do the same as war spreads like the plague across the land, the peace broken by an old enemy. No one can stand before him, none for the divine King has long ago returned the sword to the guardian of the lake before her body was sent adrift into Avalon. The King's people once more in need can only pray for her return as foretold by her wizard.
Pray and hope to survive…
The northern kingdom, where winters are bitter and summers do not last, is a flame. Screams of civilians echo below as soldiers try to fend off the drake riders and their beasts. The cries of wyverns in the blackened skies rain fire upon the land, the army of fallen knights arisen by forbidden magic, and at the head of this is the betrayer knight who destroyed the Roundtable.
Your father was once a knight under the leadership of twelve knights of the inner circle of the Roundtable. There were thousands of other knights whom the once and future king commanded.
Upon her most divine's death, the knights scattered across the realms claiming territory and honoring the great king. Your father, though a lesser knight, returned home and raised it from a small village to a kingdom. Your mother was no princess used to raise status, no she was an average hard-working woman who your father loved until her time in this realm ended. Father often says you favor her appearance.
There were many difficulties, all overcome as the people united. None however could have foreseen the return not of the king but her killer, an old ally turned enemy returned from the depths of oblivion to rain terror upon her divine's land.
Three of the twelve Great kingdoms, created by three knights formerly a part of the inner circle, have fallen; there are only ashes that remain of them.
The fallen knight made sure to make his return known with blood and ash.
A missive brought by an undead footsoldier of a kingdom none know the crest of, it did not stop until the letter was given to your father. The silence in the room added to the seriousness of the situation. The court Seer has banished the creature back to oblivion and cleansed the throne room. The letter burned and was not spoken about while you were around. All conversations about the dark betrayers were held in the war room where your father no longer allowed you.
You took offense as you are the prince, you take your father's throne when dies in battle and the valkyries take his soul to his All-Father's hall to feast. Mother will not be with him as her God is different and has her slumber until the King's return. You try talking to your father but the Seer stops you, he tries to explain that the situation is delicate. The Seer is a good man and his wisdom is always sound, he is a mage you can trust. His council does not help soothe your worries, but he does assist in finding you a trainer for your combat studies.
It will be two years before the war finds its way beyond the northern wall. The Watchers' reports were a confirmation: the dark knight is coming.
You believed your father, a Viking at heart and knight of the order, could defeat this mad knight! You believe in your Seer and Kingsguard, you believe in yourself.
War is not like chess, it is not as clean; the Kingslayer cares not for who he kills, there is only death left in his wake.
In fire and thunderous roars, the Kingslayer approach with his undead army and enslaved dragons.
It is told that the dark knight has the backing of a dark Sorceress, the Seer can only tell stories about her. He told you stories have pieces of the truth, we must decipher it.
You were ready to die beside your father, ready to fight with honor— Instead, your father, a brave (or a fool) old man whose Viking’s blood will never allow him to flee, has ordered his most trusted Kingsguard to take you and run.
It broke your heart as he treated you like a fragile child, though you were many springs ago, you had hoped to prove yourself to him… His reasons are he has already lost your mother, he cannot lose the last piece of her in this world. So long as the prince lives, so does the kingdom's revival.
Through a secret tunnel, you are spirited away with the Seer and Kingsguard, unwillingly.
The battle is fierce but lost, the undead and drakes are not easy to put down even with enchanted swords. Looking up at the castle's battlements, you see the dark knight killing the guards.
He will find your father, he will kill your father, he will desecrate your father's corpse!
And you, like your father, foolishly escape the safety of guards and Seer to save your father, to hell with his pride as king or a warrior!