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"Rise Sir Knights. You and your deeds have more than proven your worth, as have other members of the new Order. Your honourable actions and willingness to repent your sins is worthy of the Order of the Nine." |
Emboldened by our seemingly successful approach, several others stepped forward, Knight and commoner alike and not all were members of the current Order of the Nine. Men and women, young and old stepped forward to present themselves, some obviously hesitant but in front of us all they knelt before the original knights,... |
Not all were entirely selfless and the ghosts moved, using the same strange perception they had that allowed them to know I was a vampire within seconds of our first meeting to see who was truly repenting their sins and who was doing so out of fear or other reasons. Some quickly retreated, but there was one who didn’t ... |
The scrape of metal on stone was loud enough to cut through the rolling chatter like a knife through flesh, and all eyes were soon focussed on one man alone. |
"Enough! You may have tricked the Duke, but this charade ends here Sir Desin." While the Blade of Arkay may have been as sharp as Sunchild, there was no doubting the edge to Baron Jaseton’s voice as he stared us down with it in hand. "Your foul tricks are at an end, as is this failed coup." |
Surrounded by a handful of his most loyal knights, the Baron had managed to gather enough of his supporters to regain some semblance of authority and with the Duke having vanished as fast as his legs could take him he had seen an opportunity for himself. Where the Duke’s retainers and courtiers had also fled in the wak... |
"I knew that you were not to be trusted and now I have proof." He announced, his confidence boosted by the fact that the corrupted blade was grasped tightly in a fist and a dozen of his knights were standing at his back. Even a handful of his other supporters and servants were remaining with him, including a robed figu... |
"That’s it." Viconia snarled, her own annoyance finally growing too much for her to bare. "He’s mine." |
The tingle of magicka made itself felt in my teeth as she began summoning her powers, and while appearing somewhat nervous Alexi unhesitatingly began drawing his sword from his scabbard. Many others within the courtyard were also drawing their weapons, and those who were unarmed began shying away, pressing towards any ... |
We had debated at length the likelihood of the situation turning bloody in the days prior, and while most within the crowd were hesitant in drawing their weapons it was not going to take much at all for a battle to break out over the relics. While I was feeling all semblance of control slipping from my fingers, there w... |
"You may wield the Sword but you are not worthy of it, or the other relics. Also, the Title of commander of the Knights is not up to you to decide." |
"No. It is not." Using the sword to point and simultaneously provide a barrier for Amiel’s advance, Baron Jaseton held the weapon with both hands out in front of him as though its nature would ward off the spirits. "The title of the Order is decreed by the Elder Council, who’s might and authority outweighs a group of s... |
Ignoring him and the sword pointed at his chest, Sir Amiel stepped even closer and the other ghost were almost moving towards the increasingly paranoid Baron. "You have no authority, and no right to command these people. Wielding a tainted relic is no sign of authority or worth and your sins are yet to be repented." |
"Sins?" Baron Jaseton laughed in Sir Amiel’s face, twitching the point of the Sword between each of the ghosts as they slowly advanced on him. "What sins? My heart is pure, my soul unblemished!" |
"The sin of Pride," Growled Sir Ralvas. "runs deep within you, as does Greed." |
"I have committed no crimes." He confidently stated, almost boasting as the ghosts formed a semi-circle around him and his increasingly nervous knights who were trying their best not to shy away from the spectres. "My hands are clean." |
Sir Juncan, gazing upon the Baron with an unwavering expression despite the bloodied eye socket spoke with a voice almost as cold as his tomb. "Not as clean as you think." |
"Deeds undertaken by others at one’s behest does not lift the blame from them." Sir Henrick was a vision of horror with his gashed open throat as he too stared the Baron down. "It may not have been your hands, but it was your orders that resulted in so much death and pain." |
"Lies! Necromantic slander!" |
Ignoring the way that the sword was now wavering and trembling in their direction, and the way that Baron Jaseton was now appearing increasingly nervous, Sir Caius stepped closer until the chill of his ghostly flesh turned breath into mist. "How many have fallen to make the ladder of your success? You may not have done... |
Out of all the people within the courtyard watching the confrontation between the Knights of the Nine and Baron Jaseton, there were a handful of reactions that stood out. Viconia, Alexi and I all seemed to have the same dawning realisation flow through us at the ghost’s words. Baron Jaseton’s expression suddenly went p... |
From his position hidden towards the back of the attending Knights and Men-at-Arms of the current Order of the Nine, Detane had somehow managed to push his way forward and the expression he wore would have been enough to stop a Dremora in its tracks. There was a rage burning within him, a fire that could not be quenche... |
Even with the ghosts between the two men, Baron Jaseton wouldn’t help but notice the appearance of Detane and in that moment there was a flash of recognition, before horror, true horror consumed him and he panicked. It was in this moment that he turned and attempted to flee, the Sword of Arkay dropping low as he attemp... |
"It’s all lies!" he stammered, shouting at the coldly advancing Detane who was stepping ever closer and ignoring everything and everyone else to the exception of the Baron. "On my honour not a word of it is true!" |
So focussed on the suddenly sweating and trembling Baron, Detane simply stepped right through the ethereal forms of the Knights of the Nine, not even shivering or showing any kind of reaction to such a sensation. He didn’t stop until he was face to face with the Baron who had claimed his lands and title after his disgr... |
I wasn’t sure on who was more surprised when Detane simply slapped Baron Jaseton hard across the face, all of us witnessing or the Baron himself. The crack of flesh striking flesh silenced all other noises and all eyes were suddenly focussed on them. |
His face already blooming in red from the strike, Baron Jaseton did little more than have his mouth drop open in shock, holding the cheek that Detane stuck and staring into the expressionless visage of the other Breton standing within arm’s reach. Other than the slap there was no other action or reaction by the Breton ... |
"You... You struck me!" Slowly, the realisation of what had happened to him began to sink into the Baron’s overwhelmed mind and at that moment a tiny portion of his control and authority began to creep back in. "You... Struck me. You just signed your own death warrant peasant! You and all the others will hang for your ... |
"My lord, he is not a peasant." Alexi appeared to be struggling with his own growing amusement at the sight and for the moment I didn’t truly understand why he was acting in such a way in such a situation. "He is a Knight of the Nine." |
For the moment I didn’t truly understand the significant of Detane’s act but I did understand his reaction to the announcement of the ghosts regard the Baron. They had outright stated that he was responsible for Detane murdering his wife and children and the only thing I felt surprised about was the tempered reaction t... |
Beside me, Viconia was looking overwhelmingly smug, as her own opinion that despite Detane’s mannerisms and personality that he was incapable of consciously committing such an act had been publicly proven. |
"Who do you think you are to challenge me?" the growing indignation was overwhelming the Baron’s fear and uncertainty and his voice was threatening to crack under the strain. "You are nothing. You are disgraced and banished and without honour." |
"Yet I still challenged you." |
Even from where I stood I felt chills run down my spine at the tone in Detane’s voice. There were many, including the knights at Jaseton’s back who were now suddenly looking very unsure of what was occurring, and surreptitiously his attending knights took a handful of paces away from the two men. |
"Fine." Baron Jaseton practically spat the word into Detane’s uncompromising expression, not even eliciting a blink from the slightly shorter man in the worn armour. "Let all here bare witness that I, Denos Pierlon Jaseton, Baron of Norvulk answer the challenge of this disgrace of a... Knight. Et Novem vult!" |
The sword of Arkay, once held by shaking hands was lifted once more, the throbbing power within the blade seemingly yearning for blood and death as it fed on the emotions of the wielder. If there was any doubt of the relics taint, it was gone at the sight of the ethereal energies building within the metal and the way t... |
Detane on the other hand was a monument to calm, his face expressionless as the ghosts and those nearest to him and the Baron stepped back to provide them room. Alexi, Viconia and I soon found ourselves standing within the circle of onlookers at yet another unusual part of the day that they had found themselves in. The... |
"You should have been executed years ago." |
Detane remained still and silent, letting the Baron’s anger and words wash over him as he slowly, and precisely drew his rapier out of its scabbard. While a glorious weapon in its own right I suddenly had doubts of its ability to contend with the cursed relic wielded by Baron Jaseton. |
He remained standing where he was when Jaseton attacked, the Baron throwing himself into a wide swing with the powerful blade. I could immediately tell that the unusual weight and feel of the enchanted weapon was throwing off his ability, but the overwhelming power of the blade was more than enough to make up for it. T... |
Casually, almost insultingly Detane stepped back enough for the glowing blade to cut through the space where he had been standing, flicking out his rapier and slapping the baron across the face with the flat edge. With considerable speed despite the fact he had overbalanced, the baron was again grasping at his face wit... |
The two Bretons were locked in a combat that I had never seen the like of before and like the other spectators I watched with amazement as they traded blows of naked savagery. Baron Jaseton was infused with an anger that I had only seen in the likes of in werewolves and daedra and yet Detane was fighting cold, uncharac... |
With precise blows he deflected and turned Arkay’s sword aside without any effort at all, ensuring with an incredible skill that his rapier never caught the enchanted blade square on lest it be sliced into pieces. It was soon obvious to all with the possible exception of Baron Jaseton that Detane was playing with him, ... |
With every light cut, a tiny streak of blood appeared on Detane’s rapier and some exposed flesh gained an open smile of a cut. It began with portions of the Baron’s face, cutting into his cheeks in such a way that the wounds weren’t noticeable to begin with. Soon the exposed portions of his arms began to stain his expe... |
"You are nothing!" he snapped as Detane made one of his attacks appear as sloppy as a child’s. "Your wife and children are fodder for the daedra in Oblivion and you should have been put down like a rabid dog when we had the chance!" |
There was not even the slightest change in Detane’s expression but a new smile was opened in Jaeston’s shoulder, a light cut slicing through the chainmail that did little more than inflict some more pain onto the Baron. By now there were patches of red all over him, and yet the only blood that stained Detane was along ... |
Another strike was parried aside and Detane’s weapon flashed through the air in a movement that was too fast for me to truly see, but the effects were also highly noticeable. The grunted exclamation of pain from the Baron was more than enough to know that the blow had hurt even before he stepped back cradling his non-m... |
"You bastard!" Sloppily Jaseton flicked the heavier, bastard-sword like length of the Blade of Arkay into a thrust with resulted in little more than a faint ringing of steel as Detane parried it. |
The next motion of his weapon was so quick that it made the sound of ripping cloth and for a moment there was again no sign of what he had done but the Baron certainly felt it. Drenched and dripping with blood, his injured hand was lifted up to the side of his face where a fresh wound had appeared next to the handful o... |
"You are disgraced! Exiled! You have no home to go back to you whoreson!" |
Another wicked cut flickered between them and for a moment and I was left blinking at how I thought that Detane had managed to take an eye away. Instead, the Baron’s scream of pain was ripped through his throat as a thumb was severed neatly. So precise was the strike that despite how the hand was pressed to the side of... |
"Why are you doing this! You have won already!" |
The tremor of fear in Baron Jaeston’s voice was audible to all and while there were various hisses and wincing from the audience, not a single portion of emotion was visible on Detane face and he uttered no sound. He wasn’t even breathing heavily as he stepped away from another swing of the ancient relic that was fuell... |
"You want your title back? Is that it? I would give it back but it’s not up to me! I can’t change the laws!" |
With blood staining his clothing from the series of shallow cuts and missing digits off a hand, Baron Jaseton continued to fight on regardless, swinging with less and less skill as his pain and fear got the better of him. With one hand mutilated it was difficult to wield the Sword of Arkay in the two handed grip it see... |
"It was never my plan! It was my father’s! He desired your land but you refused to sell! It was never my intent for harm to come to you and your family." |
Detane’s face was still a mask, giving no clue to the emotions or feelings of the man as he circled the pain wracked baron like a wolf. "You gave the order." |
Looking up at the first words he had spoken, Baron Jaseton eye’s met Detane’s and he feverishly nodded, turning and trying to face the stalking chevalier. "I... I did. I’ll admit it! I ordered Mayvraud to use magicka to discredit you!" |
Off to the side of the ring, the handful of the Baron’s courtiers and Knights shuffled nervously and one of their number, the man dressed in the enchanted robes began to shuffle backwards. The expression on his face mirrored that of his lord with building panic but his attempt to escape ended when it came figuratively,... |
This obstacle was not as simple as a wall and personally I considered a stone or brick wall would have had proven to be less of an impediment. The illusionist Mayvraud, so focussed on the duel and his attempts to remove himself from the blame of what was being confessed had failed to notice the enormous presence moving... |
Despite all of his injuries and pain, Baron Jaseton continued to fight the increasingly one sided fight as though he still had a chance. By now it was less of a duel than a purposeful slaughter and all of us knew it, but Imperial Duelling law stated that until one side gave in or was rendered incapable of continuing no... |
"What do you want from me!" Warbled the Baron as Detane continued to stalk around him with the same cold, dead expression on his face. "I’ll confess! I’ll confess to everything!" |
The silence from his opponent was deafening and I could smell the overwhelming fear from the Baron as the seconds dragged on. More and more of his blood had permanently ruined his priceless clothes and by now his armour had fully felt the touch of blood for possibly the first time since its creation. It and the panicki... |
"I did it! It was my idea! I wanted your land! I wanted your title! I wanted everything you had and I ordered Mayvraud to use his magicka to remove you before your son was old enough to inherit! It was his magicka that had cursed you!" |
The words were flowing out of his mouth now without hindrance, without slowing as he did everything he could to stave off the end that had finally sunk into his mind. Detane had always been a ruthless, cold fighter but this was something different entirely. His heart and mind we so cold, so emotionless that only creatu... |
"It was his magicka that night! A frenzy enchantment on a few gifts supplied to you from members of your court. Is that want you wanted to hear? It wasn’t your fault! You weren’t responsible for what you did to your family. I’m... I’m sorry! Do you hear me? I’m sorry!" |
Still, there was no reaction from Detane, not even the slightest twitch of an eyebrow or movement from his waxed moustache. At that moment there could have been a Dwemer automaton walking around the bleeding and pleading noble in the centre of the duelling circle and it would have been showing more emotion to the torre... |
"Please, don’t kill me! I’m sorry! I repent everything!" Twisting in place, his eyes were filled with fear and pleading as he sought out the ghostly figures standing in the circle. "That’s what you all wanted to hear? You wanted me to repent? I’ve repented, my soul is saved! Please! Please save me! I don’t want to die!... |
"I’m not going to kill you." |
It wasn’t even directed at me and yet I felt my entire soul shudder and the hairs on the back of my neck go on end from Detane’s voice. There was no way to truly describe how cold it was, and yet despite the lack of emotion there was something under it all, a rage and fury the like that even my vampirism could never ho... |
"I’m not going to kill you." With a flick and a single smooth action, Detane flicked the blood off his rapier and slid it into its sheath. "Killing you won’t teach you anything and it certainly won’t make up for everything you have done. You will live, Denos Jaseton but only because you will remember this moment for th... |
"Thank you, you are most-" |
Despite his rapier being returned to its sheath, Detane struck far quicker than even the fastest of serpents. In the space of a blink of an eye he had drawn his weapon, slashed across the space separating the two of them and then slid it back into its sheath before anyone, including Baron Jaseton could realise what was... |
The screaming started shortly after, the detached wailing ripping out of the disgraced baron’s throat as he dropped to his knees clutching at the spurting stump of a hand which had once been holding the Sword of Arkay. Clattering loudly onto the bloodstained tiles, the priceless relic of Arkay lightly bounced once befo... |
Only now did the Baron’s knights rush forward to assist their liege who was no screaming and crying like a babe. None of them moved near the silent and still Detane staring off at sights that only he could see and their own eyes were focussed entirely on the man who they were trying their best to staunch the bleeding f... |
"The Order of the Nine protects and safeguards the relics," I called out over the pained cries of Jaseton in an attempt to regain control over the insanity that the situation had devolved into. "We do not claim the relics for our own. This is our duty and we will fulfil it. Dark forces are arraying against us, even now... |
There were a collection of "Et Novem vults!’ from the crowd and several I saw raised their hands in salute or otherwise agreed with my words but I knew that many would not remain here after this day’s events. The Host of the Horn especially were quietly and quickly fading away, leaving a large number of the original me... |
My eyes however were locked on one lone individual, standing in his decayed and heavily worn brigandine and his masterwork rapier attached at his hip. Detane was standing as still as a stone, ignoring everything and everyone around him as he slowly approached the Sword of Arkay laying on the bloodstained cobblestones. ... |
Moving over to him, I saw the way that he pulled the ring off, discarding the hand it had been attached to and dropping it into the palm of his hand. There was no doubting the expensive nature of such a ring, especially from the precious metals it was made from and the signet itself on the front. The coat of arms alone... |
"I suppose this means that you have been redeemed." I said simply, but carefully with soft tones as I tried to get a read on his emotions. "I also guess you outrank me now too." |
For the first time since it had all began I saw some emotion within his gaze, and for the very first time since meeting him there was a small smile on his face and tears beginning to well in the corners of his eyes. The smile that he gave me was faint, but it was there and it was an honest one, even if it did harden fo... |
"I’m not a Baron. Not anymore." He said simply, looking me in the eye with building resolve. There was one last glance at the ring in his palm before he simply dropped it, where it plinked into a puddle of blood. |
"I’m a Knight of the Nine." |
The sun was rising over the prior in yet another day of hard work, but for many of us we were waiting, watching for signs of movement within the forest. It had been late in the afternoon when the first sings from our scouts and hunters had been provided of an armed body of men approaching from the north, along what was... |
"You need to relax." Muttered Alexi at my side, dressed as he had for days in his armour. "If you look any more stiff, then the rod up your arse has just received a rod up its arse." |
"Don’t threaten him with a good time." Viconia added from my other side, her grin cracking and revealing flawless white teeth. "The only question that I have is how he managed to get a rod up his rear with how many people have been jostling for the privilege." |
"Enough. Can’t I just stand here and worry in peace?" |
Alexi’s grin grew larger and I tried to ignore the face he made, knowing full well that he knew I could see him in the corner of my eye. "Oh I’m sorry "My lord’. I didn’t appreciate how we were interrupting your brooding. Perhaps I shall go off and seek refreshments?" |
"Must you make a joke of everything?" |
His expression turned into one of playful hurt, clutching at his breast as though in the midst of the throes of heart attack. "Ah! You wound me so. After so many months together you haven’t realised that me making jokes of everything is the one thing that I excel at?" For a moment he paused, the smile on his face growi... |
"If your skills in the bedroom are considered the epitome of excellence, then I truly fear for the standards of surfacer women." Viconia teased in return. |
"Et tu Viconia?" he replied in Ancient Cyrodillic. |
"I personally don’t know how you can’t be nervous about this." I stated simply, trying my best to ignore the way that my stomach seemed to be dropping even further with every minute that passed. |
"Because my dear friend," Gracefully he cast his arms about himself at the various men and mer arrayed before us. "we are currently surrounded by the best the Empire has to offer. Who are also entirely at your beck and call, I might add." |
"If they are who I think they are... and are coming for the reasons that we think they might be... then we don’t have enough on our side." |
Alexi’s expression may have appeared jovial but I could see the steel of his own anxiety under the surface. We were currently standing in the midst of a pair of deep formations of infantry formed from the men-at-arms of the Order of the Nine and some of our knights were lingering further behind on their horses. While i... |
Horns echoed out from the depths of the forest, and the sinking feeling increased within my guts at the haunting notes. It was tempered by the fact that the particular sounds were not those of warning or of attack, but standard calls announcing friendly or neutral arrivals. |
The horns certainly didn’t reduce the unease of the men-at-arms as they seemed to tense just as much as I did, shifting their grips on their shields and many dropping their hands towards their sheathed weapons. Their presence was more of a precaution than anything, allowing an honour guard for a friendly arrival, or a ... |
At first the horns were all that revealed the presence of the group, but soon they began to appear through the thinned trees on the track to the north. There were a handful of outriders dressed in light mail slowly advancing towards us with their hands away from their weapons and shields strapped to their backs, and ev... |
There were dozens of them, many mounted on enormous horses and were a wide assortment of armed soldiers and unarmed civilians. Most were unarmed, and surprisingly enough I immediately noticed how most of those who initially appeared as soldiers were also unarmed, their weapons and armours being carried on their saddles... |
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