The First King

by Gael

Standing once more before the First King’s tomb, the weight of what we were about to do pressed heavily on our shoulders. Galiene’s fate hung in the balance and this was one of the last places where we might find the answers that we desperately needed. With one final breath, we turned the keys one by one.

The protective runes carved into the door flared briefly before fading away. Beyond lay a vast circular chamber. Its walls decorated with murals that chronicled the rise of Keralon and the tale of the first king. Several statues, like silent protectors, lined the walls. But our eyes were immediately drawn to the centre of the room.

Suspended above a seemingly bottomless pit hovered a massive crystal. Radiant and pulsing with light, which intensified as the light of our torches reached it. Heavy, rune-covered chains tethered it in place. Not to hold it aloft, but to prevent it from drifting away.

Curious, we stepped closer to examine it more closely. But before we could, the statues started to twitch.

A bull-shaped statue lunged forward, its molten-metal body crashing into both Liliana, Luke, and me. The searing heat of which burning through our armour and flesh as it pinned us down.

Despite the sudden attack, Alistan quickly rallied, raising a defensive line as Hayley teleported the bull deeper into the chamber. Liliana, while recovering, took to her brother’s side, joined by an earth elemental summoned by Luke.

The statues struck again and again, but their blows could not break their combined defences. From behind the safety of the line, the rest of us unleashed arrow, bolt, and spell to fell our attackers one by one.

Then the ground trembled. Another bull charged, hooves pounding like war drums. Head lowered, it thundered straight towards Alistan.

Bracing himself, Alistan planted his feet and raised his shield high. The beast slammed into him. For a moment, it seemed the beast would overpower him. Being driven back by the ferocity of its charge as his boots slid over the dust covered floor, leaving twin trails. But Alistan held.

Muscles straining, he roared and pivoted, driving forward with all his might. His shield gleaming with the light of past victories.

The bull stumbled, hooves scrabbling for purchase that wasn’t there. And with one final shove, Alistan hurled the beast into the pit. The sounds of crashing of metal echoing throughout the chamber, slowly fading into silence. Straightening his back, Alistan simple muttered, “Should have given the damn thing wings.”

With the guardians defeated, our attention returned to the crystal.

Luke surmised that the chains were actually dimensional shackles. Preventing the crystal from being moved, even by magic. As for the crystal itself, its aura radiated immense power, though from this distance its true nature was hard to grasp. To probe a bit further, Luke summoned his familiar, Pim.

A painful mistake.

The moment Pim touched the crystal, it pulsed once more and the poor Fey vanished.

We stood in stunned silence. Trying to come to terms with what just happened to our friend when the crystal flared once more. From its surface, a spectre emerged. As for who this was, there was no mistake. For his likeness was everywhere around us, etched into the murals and statues. We found ourselves standing in the presence of the First King of Keralon.

The king appeared surprised, yet relieved, to see loyal sons and daughters of Keralon before him. For to him it meant that the Silver City still stood strong. Humble we, or at least some of us, asked him for answers concerning the last tournament.
He explained that the tournament was created to settle a dispute between three major powers: the fiend Cas Raal, the fey lord Eldrin Sunchaser, and the god of death of old himself. Each of them had struck a bargain with the king during Keralon’s war for freedom. In exchange for their aid against the ancient empire, the would receive not just his own soul, but also those of his descendants.

I have already stated that I never much cared for pacts and deal that extended to future generations. But considering the fate of the De La Roost family and my own families hand in it, I have learned that these things usually involved a lot more grey than we would like to admit. And that as outsiders it was easy to judge when we simple asked “how could they?” instead of asking how bad things must have been to drove them towards such a deal. In this case not once, but three times.

Which raised the question. Each deal was binding, so which of the three held the rightfull claim to the prize? To resolve this, they decided to settle this matter through their chosen champions, the Nemesis knights. The last knight standing would secure the prize for their master. The curses ensuring that each faction would always have a champion until the victor was decided.

Until that day however, neither the king’s soul nor those of his descendants were allowed to move on. Instead being cursed to wander the streets of Keralon. until finally, future generations created the crystal in order to draw in these lost souls. A fate that also befell Pim.

Luke searched desperately for a way to free him from captivity. But none existed, short of shattering the crystal. An act that would release nearly 150 restless souls upon Keralon and its citizens. Not something we could risk. Forcing us to abandon Pim until we could find a better way.

Yet why, after all these years, had no victor emerged? At first, I thought they were simply waiting for more souls to gather. But Hayley and Luke reminded us that the royal line broke several generations ago. When the then prince died of disease. Causing a distant relative to be adopted in his stead. Meaning no new heirs had joined the crystal since.

Another possibility was that the knights themselves delayed. Waiting for a clear advantage to secure victory. But that seemed unlikely, especially after all this time. More probable was that something else was preventing them from settling things. A condition to the deal that was still unknown to us. For instance, maybe a direct heir needed to sit on the throne for the contract to hold. And claiming victory without that condition could forfeit the deal.

Or something similar like that.

As for how victory would be claimed, I had my suspicions. Though little evidence to prove it. For each time a Nemesis Knight was slain, their curse passed to their killer. Perhaps one must bear all three curses at once to announce themselves the victor.

Sadly, the king could not say for certain. As she curses arose after his death. Meaning that he also had no idea as to how they might be removed. Disappointing, but not a complete loss. For we now held the names of three entities we could seek out for answers.

As we were about to leave, a thought came to me. This was the first king. Meaning he was there watching over the city’s construction and more importantly its first secrets. So I asked him if he knew about the elemental towers. And when he confirmed this, Luke’s eyes immediately lit up.

The king explained that the towers were built to serve as a counter to the growing fey influence from the Lorewood, which had rapidly been spreading. Something that was happening again.

When Luke revealed he already was in possession of two elemental hearts, the king disclosed the locations of the remaining towers. Or at least one of them. For the Air Tower drifted high above the clouds and was constantly on the move. Making it difficult to find.

Yet the Water Temple was closer than we had thought. For it lay beneath the Lorerun River, right in the heart of Keralon.

We thanked the king once more as he returned to his crystal rest.

Leaving Pim behind weighed heavily. But we vowed to one day return and set him free.

For now however, the exhaustion of the day was starting to claim me. And all I wanted was to simple return to my bed in the keep.

Continue reading...

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The First King

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