The Red Knight (Entry 88)

by Hayley Thomas

Dear diary,

It took us five long days of travel to reach the path that winds through the Lorewood, the road that will lead us to Hillfield — our new home, or what we hope will become one. The days themselves passed quietly, almost eerily so after all that has happened. I spent them among the people, listening, comforting, helping where I could. There’s a strange strength in simply being present — a hand on a shoulder, a shared word of resolve.

For all that calm, only one thing truly stood out — a visit from Ileas. The little satyr approached me one evening and asked if we could speak in private. I’ll admit, I didn’t expect that. We’ve never been close; too many years of suspicion and mismatched tempers stood between us. Still, I agreed.

What he told me that night changed the way I see him. We are not as different as I once believed — and that realization sits heavy on my heart. He spoke of his family, and of the deal he struck with the being he calls his uncle — a name that carries too much shadow to belong to anything mortal. I can’t fault him for what he did. Desperation drives even the purest hearts into dark bargains. His tale was one of ruin, but also of yearning — for belonging, for purpose, for power enough to right what once went wrong.

I tried to tell him it wasn’t all his fault. I don’t know if he believed me. But I saw something shift in his eyes — not forgiveness, perhaps, but the first spark of wanting it.

In turn, I shared a little of my own story. I told him about my dreams, and the words Lady Rootskewer whispered to me there. We both carry chains forged by ancient powers — his by a cruel patron cloaked in the guise of kin, mine by forces older still, whispering through the roots of the world.

Maybe that’s why I felt the connection between us so strongly. I want to help him — to sever that bond that twists his fate and give him a chance at something better. Something free.

Our talk lasted far longer than I had expected. By the end, the old distance between us had softened, replaced by something like understanding. We parted not as rivals or reluctant allies, but as friends — two wanderers walking the same haunted road.

Whatever path you choose, little satyr, know this: you will not walk it alone.

Aside from that quiet conversation with Ileas, little else of note happened until we reached the path that would lead us through the Lorewood. The air there feels different — older, heavier somehow, like the forest remembers things it would rather forget. And on the very first night beneath its ancient canopy, things took an unexpected turn.

It was Gael’s watch when it happened. He noticed movement in the treeline — not the soft drift of leaves or the padding of woodland creatures, but the slow, deliberate shift of something watching. A rider. A knight. At first, he thought it just another bandit or scout. But then he saw the horse — its eyes glowing an unnatural, infernal red, like coals burning in the dark.

We had entered the territory of the Red Knight — the champion of the Abyss, and one of the fabled Knights Nemesis.

Gael, wise enough not to act rashly, woke the rest of us. We gathered quietly, the campfire flickering low between us and the figure at the edge of the trees. He made no move to attack, no sign of hostility — only watched, as if measuring something.
When he finally spoke, his voice carried the echo of battlefields long dead. He said he had come merely to see what we were doing there, for he had sensed the presence of the Black Knight among us.

There seemed little point in lying. We told him the truth — that the curse had been passed on, bound now to a dragon, and that it had not been our choice. He listened in silence, helm tilted slightly, and then nodded once. “That was not meant to happen,” he said. “It complicates the tournament.”

When we pressed him about this so-called tournament — whether it had begun or not, and what it truly meant — he gave us only riddles. “No bouts have been announced,” he said. “Therefore, it has not begun.”

The words hung in the cold forest air like a verdict waiting to fall.

So it seems the game is still being set, the pieces not yet in motion. But the board is there — and we, it seems, are already standing on it.

The way he said the tournament sent a chill through me. The capital-T kind. The kind spoken of in prophecies, not court gossip.

He asked to see Galienne. Alistan made him swear he would not harm her, and the Red Knight agreed — solemnly, bound by the rules of whatever dark code governs his order. Only then did he approach, studying her with a strange, detached curiosity, like a scholar examining a rare artifact.

After a brief inspection of Galienne, the Red Knight spoke with that measured calm that seems to carry more weight than shouting ever could. He said he could undo the curse — but doing so would return it to its previous bearer.
We all knew what that meant.

Alistan didn’t hesitate. Not even for a heartbeat. His jaw set, eyes steady — that quiet, desperate kind of resolve only love can forge. To save Galienne, even at the cost of his brother’s peace, he would risk it all again. I can’t imagine the torment of it: losing someone once is agony, but to lose them twice — and know a third loss is likely coming — it’s the kind of pain that hollows you out from within.

The Red Knight demanded payment, as all creatures bound by power do. I stepped forward before anyone else could speak and offered him the gilded flower still tucked in my satchel — a rare component I’d once bought for a spell that never came to be. He accepted it with a slow, deliberate nod, but added a condition: should the opportunity arise, we must begin the tournament.

A strange request — or perhaps a warning. Only the king of Keralon can call such a thing into being, and the idea of standing before him again feels like a faraway dream. Still, I agreed. What else could I do?

(And no, Alistan — if you’re reading this one day — I won’t allow you to repay me for the flower. Some things are simply given.)

The Red Knight stepped closer to Galienne. His gauntleted hand hovered above her brow, and then crimson light bloomed beneath it — soft at first, then searing, wild, alive. Galienne’s body arched violently as a scream tore through the night, the sound raw enough to make even the stars seem to hold their breath. The glow coursed through her, a burning river scouring away the curse, and when at last he withdrew, she fell limp once more.

I leapt onto the cart, heart pounding. To my relief, colour had returned to her cheeks — the faint blush of life where moments before there had been only pale stillness. Her breathing was steady, her sleep deep, but it was real.

“Remember your promise,” the Red Knight said, his voice echoing low through the trees. Then he turned, mounted his horse, and without another word, disappeared into the shadowed heart of the forest — the faint red of his steed’s eyes the last thing to fade from view.

Continue reading...

Entry one: The trials

Entry two: The bramble

Entry 3: Rosebloom

Entry 4: Hearts and Dreams

Entry 5: of ghosts and wolves

Entry 6: Hillfield and Deals with Fae

Entry 7: mysteries and pastries

Entry 8: The scarecrow ruse
6th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree

Entry 9: A betrayal of satyrs
7th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 10: The fate of twins
8th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 11: Cursed twins
10th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 12: Loss and despair
11th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Hayley's rules to being a Witch

Entry 13: the price of safety
12th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 14: A golden cage and fiery tower
13th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 15: A trial by fire
14th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 16: Keralon
15th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Letter to Luke 1

Letter to Luke 2

Letter to Luke 3

Letter to Luke 4

Letter to Luke 5

Letter to Luke 6

Entry 17: I shall wear midnight
1st of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 18: peace in our time
2nd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 19: Caern Fussil falls
3rd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 20: I see fire
4th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 21: Cultists twarted
10th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 22: Ravensfield
14th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 23: The Hollow Hill Horror
15th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 24: Burn your village
16th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 25: Ravensfield burns
17th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 26: There will be blood!
21st of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 27: A happy reunion
22nd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 28: The embassy ball
23rd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 29: The fate of Robert Talespinner
24th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 30: A royal summons
28th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 31: of Dogville and Geese
29th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 32: A boggle named Pim
30th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 33: A deal broken
1st of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 34: The cost of doing what is right
2nd of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 35: A dish best served cold
9th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

entry 36: Cornu returns?
10th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 37: A letter from Amarra
11th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 38: The case of the (not) missing villagers
14th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 39: A curse broken
15th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 40: Into the Lorewood
18th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 41: Cabin in the Woods
19th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 42: Myrdin and Anaya
20th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 43: Into the Immerglade
21st of Aran, 127 Era of the Tree

Entry 44: A tale as old as time
22nd of Aran, 127 Era of the Tree

Entry 45: The truth
23rd of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 46: Luke's Ordeal
24th of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 47: The festival
26th of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 48: Trouble at the Cathedral
2nd of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 49: Quinn's court
4th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 50: onwards to Latebra Velora
5th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 51: Where is my cow?
6th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 52: Here be dragons
7th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 53: Dragon hoard with a side of scarabs
8th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 54: Leave the basilisks alone
9th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 55: Return to Ravensfield
10th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 56: The needs of the many...
11th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 57: Dreams of Sister Willow
12th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 58: wetlands be wet
13th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 59: Baron Perenolde
14th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 60: Talebra Velora and the lady Morenthene
15th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 61: Cypria
16th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 62: Dragon takes Knight
17th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 63: Return to Talebra Velora
18th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 64: Your presence is “requested”
19th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 65: I stand alone
20th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 66: A day of normalcy
21th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 67: Into the Neverhold
22nd of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 68: The Warg King

Entry 69: Chased by birds

Entry 70: Whitewail

Entry 71: Nimmerhold

Entry 72: The menagerie
29th of Gobu, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 73: To the library!
30th of Gobu, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 74: The people's tournament
First of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 75: Nimmerhold party
First of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 76, The return home
Second of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 77: A week of peace
10th of Mannan

Entry 78: The tomb of the First King
11th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 79: I had a dream
12th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 80: The ritual for Sister Willow
14th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 81: Trouble at the Briar Ring
15th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 82: My day as a crocodile
21st of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

The return of the twins (Entry 83)
22nd of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Earth and Sky (Entry 84)
26th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Wolf's Rest betrayed (entry 85)
30th of Mannon

The end of a chapter (entry 86)
first of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

On the road (Entry 87)
second of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

The Red Knight (Entry 88)
7th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Dear uncle… (Entry 89)
8th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Cut the bridge (Entry 90)
10th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Home (Entry 91)
13th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

A tale of two shadows (Entry 92)
16th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

The Red Knight (Entry 88)

Continue reading...

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