“There are many monsters that roam the wilds. But oftentimes, it is the monsters behind the walls which we must be most wary of. In war we see only the enemy beyond, rarely the enemy within.”

- Grand Duke Ulbrecht Platts, Carrdorian Statesman, Feldmarschall of Southern Carrador, - Speech to

Serjeant Hydegar knew something was off when he was brought in to assist with interrogating the witch. More than a few of the wretched Lionhunters had descended upon them like vultures to a corpse. Still, he couldn’t help but pity the piss covered child who looked like she had clambered out of some part of the forgotten hells themselves. His care only went so far however, and caution took hold when he assigned armsman Aiken to escort the child for a bath. She looked much like his own child, one whomst he hoped remained at the Arterian academy.

He smiled at the fond memory, remembering when High King Bran had specifically chosen his and a few other non noble families to also send their children to be educated. High King Edward however, seemed only intent on subjugating the Carradorians, and, though Hydegar understood the reasons, he knew they would face threats.

A small tap brought him out of his thoughts and he turned to find Captain Wulfric hurrying him along. Responding with a snappy salute, he urged the few men with him to hurry, pushing the rest of them into the tunnel. He knew there was something wrong with the witch, and, when he felt the wave of energy pulse through the castle, he just knew that the elf had done something. Damn me for pitying the poor waif, now look at what happened. Bloody idiot.

“Move it lads!” He hissed, keeping one eye behind them as they filtered into a seemingly dead end hallway.

Beyond the hallway, a faint click could be heard as stone walls on the other end parted, revealing a passageway away from the main castle, a singular royal guard gesturing them forward. Dank cobbled stone walls glistened with a hint of moisture, vines and other flora having snuck their way in over the years. An eerie silence rang loud from behind, the nervous soldiers and nobles quickly rushing into the passageway without a second thought. The quietness…does it mean everyone else…

“Serjeant, let’s go.” Wulfric ordered.

Hydegar obeyed, in spite of his desire to potentially save more people. Truthfully, if given a choice, he would’ve run anyway. He had seen how the phantoms tore at people’s soul, how armsman Aiken had just come to report the murder of Sister Brona when his body seemed to melt in front of Hydegar. Panicked, he remembered running, ahead of his own men, leaving the prisoners to their fate. Accursed witch, taking on the guise of a child to fool us all! May the Spirits curse you for all eternity! To bring such tragedy amongst the few who survived, a vile thing indeed.

A cry echoed from behind them and at once all the soldiers readied for battle. The capital guard might be a far cry in quality from the royal troops, but even here, every man knew that their brother in arms would stand their ground. Hearing the panicked whimpers of the few civilians around them, Hydegar knew what they must do.

“Form ranks! Shield wall!” He ordered.

“Yes Serjeant!” The men replied, falling into their hastily formed ranks.

Shieldbearers armed with short swords held the front, and the few guardsmen issued with spears crouched nervously behind their comrades, ready to strike. Seeing their almost instant reaction made Hydegar proud, Melton was a divided land, but here, they were united as one.

He shooed what civilians he could forward with the royal guard and fell in line, joining his men in the shield wall. His eyes peered over the shield, watching as an encroaching darkness snuffed out the few functioning sconces in the tunnels, leaving only the light behind them to guide their vision.

“Guardsmen, is the passageway sealed?” Hydegar yelled into the darkness.

The troops nervously waited with their weapons, but no response came. Shit, so much for hoping. Their original plan saw them simply pray nothing noticed the passageway, hoping that if the monsters storm the keep it would be through the warded front entrance where the Lionhunt’s troops awaited them. Here however, there were no such preparations. Be it through hubris or simply ignorance, the royal guard had not thought this passageway would be noticed. Thus it came down to the town guard to seal the entrance after opening it. And we’ve already failed.

“Steady! Steady men!”

His orders cut through the nervous whispers shared and at once they quieted.

“Serjeant what’s the hold up?” Captain Wulfric’s voice queried from further down the passage.

“I don’t think we sealed the entrance sir!”

“Accursed hells! Do you think you could seal it?”

“No sir, but we’ll do what we can.”

A silence gripped the passage as an eerie groan came from beyond the darkness. Soldiers grabbed their weapons tighter, their eyes seeing no more than a few paces into the darkness. From behind, Wulfric silently joined the line, giving Hydegar a small nod whilst two royal guardsmen and some stray town guards joined the defence. With bated breath they waited.

Fearsome shrieks echoed from the darkness, glowing red and yellow orbs now floating slowly closer. A chill settled across the passageway and Hydegar could hear a few of the soldiers unconsciously shiver, their armour jittering alongside the trembling weapons that shook in their hands. An ear piercing wail shot through the cavern, the shieldwall momentarily broken as everyone struggled to resist it. Deafening cries echoed throughout the passage and many turned to look behind, the walls themselves seemingly screaming out in agony.

At first Hydegar only noticed the first line acting strangely. The soldiers looked around, as if confused for a moment before peering into the darkness. Their allies behind tapped their shoulders and called their names only for the afflicted to stride into the dark, their valiant brothers trying their best to stop them. Then, as if crossing a threshold, the men of the second line stepped forth and looked equally confused, before setting out into the darkness.

“Steady up! What’s going on up there!?” Wulfric barked.

The two shared a glance, something was most definitely wrong.

“Hydegar this is your squadron, what the accursed hells are they doing?” Wulfric hissed.

“No idea sir.”

“Well get them under-”

“What seems to be the matter darling? You seem worried.” A soft, honey like voice spoke up.

Hydegar spun around and peered down the hallway, squinting for the source of the sound when a nervous looking maiden nervously inched forward towards him. Seeing him, she shyly nodded and he sucked in a breath, it can’t be.

“Hydegar! Hyde-” Wulfric’s voice vanished as Hydegar stared at the apparition of his wife.

“Come darling, there are better things than this dusty passage. And I…I’m so alone here. Our little daughter, she’s grown up now hasn’t she?” His wife asked.

“Y-yeah.” Hydegar whispered.

“She’ll do good. I know it.” His wife smiled, “I just wish I could’ve seen her grow up.”

“Mmm.”

“So come with me, won’t you? I’ve been so tired of being alone.”

“B-but you’re…I need to-”

“Perhaps there just comes a time for all of us to move on, and I just wish I could move on with you...please.”

“I-I…alright. Darling, I’m coming.”

“Take your time.” She smiled, and held out an outstretched hand.

Hydegar almost tripped on something but ignored it, grasping the hand with joy. With a small nod, the two shared a smile.

Sophie felt a pang of guilt as the Serjeant dropped to the ground, the man smiling even as he was reduced to just another set of bones to join the growing pile. Horror twisted within her at how almost two dozen soldiers had just laid down arms, the only one resisting being the officer from before. He screamed and slashed at the lemurach only for it to reach out, the gnarled hand shooting out a puff of icy frost and the officer died like the Lionhunter, drained of life.

With a victorious screech that almost burst her ear drums, the lemurach cried out. From the cracks and crevices in the walls and ground, Sophie watched with morbid fascination as the dark apparitions from before poured forth. A numberless army of shades crawled out of the darkness and forward down the passage. Truly the world should be thankful the Goddess protects us from such evils, mostly. The flood of shades brushed past the two, though Sophie could feel her hairs stand on end everytime one or more of the apparition faced just next to her, the ethereal feeling making her skin crawl.

Stepping over the corpses she uttered a small prayer to Tessadus, for the God of the earth to reclaim the souls back into the land they hailed from. Pushing through the swarm of shades, she found herself traveling through another hidden passageway until she emerged in a more decrepit looking hallway. Here the stone work looked ancient, no real refurbishment done besides the replacing of some stone brick flooring. I bet it must’ve look wondrous back then, perhaps even majestic from the outside during dawn, wish I could’ve seen it. Her mind wandered in their grisly trek through the castle, desperate to avoid the countless corpses that now decorated their halls. What few had escaped the carnage in the castle had simply fled to die in Goldenlight Keep instead.

A part of her sanity had been tested, her hallucinations taking her back to the barrows, a place she failed to wash from her memories. Guilt pulled at the fibers of her being, the thoughts swirling within her mind growing darker with each passing step. She had often thought of herself as some tragic heroine, torn away from her mistress. If the rumor of the Demon King rising were true, then to ultimately reunite with Eva and offer her unwavering support. But as her eyes caught onto each and every one of the fallen, a dozen more flashed within her mind to fill the spaces between.

She shrank back from the horror, hiding within the notion that she was just an innocent bystander, caught in plots far more complex than the mortal mind can handle. After all, she knew she was given a second chance through the grace of some unknown God of the Void. To be thrown in to combat some heretics was only another part of the theater. Whatever the methods may be, the actions might’ve been preordained or even influenced by the rivalry of the nascent God and the ancient one, so she had only but to play her part. But even then, she could not shake the sinking feeling that she had once again thrown others to the wolves to save herself. However snobby the nobles might be, born into good fortune and families with connections, she had sacrificed them all in the blink of an eye for some unspecified goal to tinker with the crystal. To have died for nothing…how ignoble, and for me to be the catalyst that brought this city’s last remaining breath to ruin, unforgivable.

She could tell many of those quartered here were high ranking officials of some sort or another. Dukes, Grand Dukes, or perhaps even a few royal councilors or whatever the Meltonian equivalent for these titles were. Regal robes, draped over skeletal remains; starving ghouls, covered in the torn shreds of finery to preserve what little dignity they had left; even the low born perished in the phantom assault, servants wrapped in each other’s bony arms in their last moments. It was only a twisted form of luck perhaps, that there were few macabre displays of violence, most of the bodies only drained and hollowed, the work of angry shades.

As they began climbing up the stairs towards the top of the Golden Tower, Sophie could feel the whirlwind of energy flowing around her, an intoxicating feeling even as the very stones of the keep seemed to wither. The lemurach quietly skittered forward. The cracking of its bones was now a familiar noise to ground Sophie’s mind in reality as she winced every time it moved.

They were about a third of the way up when the lemurach stopped, tensely staring at the door to a room. Wordlessly, Sophie inched forward and opened it to find a room with a barred prison window, two suitcases and a vanity table and bed. Taking tiny steps forward, the lemurach finally followed her and stretched its arms to open snatch a mirror off the vanity table. In that instant Sophie saw a flash of something, a beautiful but tired maiden, radiant blue eyes and silky hazel hair. The lemurach’s massive mouth twisted into a despondent smile before it frostily sighed and put the mirror away, turning back towards the corridor. Curious, Sophie stepped closer and looked through the table’s drawers, opening one to find a signet ring and seal. A frosty hand crept into her field of vision and Sophie jumped back in shock to find the lemurach looming over her.

“Looting does not befit thee…commoner.” The lemurach hissed, but Sophie could sense none of the venom behind its words, only a sadness that stretched across its monstrous visage.

“Sorry.” Sophie rasped, her voice barely audible to even herself, but it was enough.

The lemurach turned away from her, the chilling aura lessening ever so slightly before it seemed to sigh once more. “Keep them. Perhaps they will serve you well.”

Confused, Sophie carefully picked up the objects, looking over them to find the seal was crafted with a floral shape, the ring decorated with tiny signs of nature. Seeing her expression, the lemurach clumsily lifted its hand to point at the window behind them.

“Once I too had been free, that much, I remember now. My family held dominion over a verdant valley, lush with life and love. Now that is no more, they have gone, and my…existence…” It paused, and Sophie realized it was talking to her, putting the objects aside and following it’s gaze, “I...I wished to become a lady, refined and proud. My dreams are but a shattered memory, washed away in the blood of my people.”

Sophie nearly recoiled when it drew close, the lemurach now uncomfortably close. The frosty aura nearly froze her on the spot.

“But I sense a kindness in you, strange as it may be. To ally yourself with such a horror as I now am.” It chuckled darkly, “I have two wishes you see, to mete justice on the one who brought doom to my people, and to become a lady. One you have already helped more than enough in, your conscience forever stained I’m sure.” It cackled, amused at the struggle present on her face.

Sophie glumly nodded, terrified and unwilling to disagree lest it struck her down.

“My second…to be a lady means having dignity, pride, and purpose. But what it also means is having your own crest hanging proudly on a banner for the world to see. In lieu of that, a lady must also have a champion, a knight of her own.” The lemurach spoke, her voice now with no traces of Riza left, emulating a tone completely unique to itself, “As such I ask one last burden of you, strangely living yet dead compatriot of mine. Would you...be willing to accomplish my last wish, to be a knight of my very own in these final hours? Monster that I am.”

Sophie was disgusted and repulsed, the lemurach’s fanged maw stretched into a horrifying grin. Yet, a part of her knew that feeling, that longing for something she knew was out of her grasp. If she could fill that void, then duty meant that she should, swallowing her doubts, she nodded.

The lemurach pulled back, now choosing to merely tower above her at full height instead. Yet in its eyes Sophie saw a flash of joy, of wonder. It took stock of the situation, looking her up and down before lowering itself to her level, the hole in its chest looking more filled in than Sophie recalled.

“Then let me…me…” It paused, frowning as it searched for something, only to lift the mirror and hold it over her shoulder. “As Lady Lil-Lillian, the last Arlessa of House Rutley, grant you a title befitting for generations to come. For I name you as my faithful champion, my…” Its eyes frantically looked around before settling on Sophie’s ear, “My Lily Knight.”

There was a moment of silence as it awkwardly fumbled with the mirror, the already small object seeming even tinier in its malformed hands. But as the creature tried its best to emulate a knighting ceremony, Sophie felt her own childish excitement stir. A notion that she failed to dispel with rationality, a knight! I’m a knight! But a loud thunder crack outside brought her back to reality, dispelling any illusions she had of the situation at hand. With a somber smile of her own, she gave the wilting lily on her ear a soft stroke, taking in the petals on the flower before she met the lemurach’s gaze. The creature hesitated as they traded looks, pausing to consider something before it nodded in a sage-like manner.

“Come now, you must feel it too, the sinister energies unleashed atop the tower. I…I can feel my own powers waning, the rage, hatred, it…it is leaving. We must hurry now… my fair knight.” Lilian’s monstrous voice faded into one of more calm intonations, and Sophie found herself wondering about the other undead abominations she had met along the way. Are all of them…can some of them be like her?

With a renewed sense of duty, she felt less alone, however strange the creature was, it was now a companion as well. Resolute, the two shut the room door behind them, heading up to the darkness above.