From Knight to Demon (Closed for LadyFairy and I)

[RoneLith]

The night air sent a chill up his spine, wind and a thin sheet of mist blew at his face. The kind of mist that serves no other purpose than to get every bit of your body wet. His heavy mail armor seemed to pull him down with the weight of the water that had taken hold in the cracks of his suit. He was miserable, yet he trudged on through the woods to stop in these woods only meant trouble. These particular woods were haunted by a grotessque demon and on this miserable night even a servent warrior of the Gods had little chance against him.

He felt his pace begin to slow, his aching muscles refuseing to continue without some rest, all at once he fell to his knees and offered his hands to his God in prayer. He prayed for strength, he prayed for the night to begone and the glory of the sun to shine on his face once more. Most of all he prayed for the mist to dissapate so at least he could be dry again. Of all his prayers only his final was answered the mist which plagued him since he entered this cursed wood did subside and stopped its torment against him. However he felt something far more sinister approach his path, something he did not want to face, the demon had found him.

The demon stepped out of the woods and onto the path in front of him. Even though he appeared to be a hansome man, the evil he emmitted is what made him so sinister. He stood tall and proud at six and a half feet tall and could easily weigh two hundered a fifty pounds. He wore a mix of chain and plate mail the plates used as added protection against vital areas even in this low light he could see the armor had been painted a dark blue he seemed to blend into the night. If this demon so wished it he could be as hidden as any shadow. A foreign sword hung at his right side and a stragne shield seemed to float above his right arm. Of all his features the most strikeing was his face, it seemed to have been honed to the edge of a sword. As if a master of great skill carved his face out of other swords. The long black hair seemed only to accentuate the white skin and sharp features. His eyes truly betrayed him as a demon although every part of him looked human the eyes were most certainly not. The were as silver as the most highly polished steel floating in a pool of dull grey. Slowly its eyes shifted to him as if it were an insect daring to cross its path.

"To what God do you pray?" The demon asked its voice chilling him to his core.

He was shocked that he had not died at that moment he had never heared of the demon asking questions. "I...uh pray to..." he stuttered a moment before taking a very shallow breath and spoke again. "To Phoenix," he finally let it out his voice which had been so confident a moment before when he was praying now sounded frail and pathetic against such evil before him. He knew he should destroy this demon and bring the peace back to these woods, yet how could he his strength was tapped and lifting his sword was impossible.

"He stirrs," the demon said. "You must leave now, go back the way you came if you value life."

Again he was shocked, the demon was letting him go this demon that had slain so many men and women in its life was releaseing him.

"You do not have much time," He watched as the grey pools around his eyes began to darken. "I do not wish death to a man of the Phoenix, run now!"

Finally his muscels moved almost of their own freewill as he ran from the demon, he looked back to see the demons eyes flash an unholy black light. The aura grew ten times greater than it had been only a moment ago. He knew the truth now, that was no true demon he was a man possessed by one.

He never made it to tell anyone his knowledge the strange sheild on the demons right arm flew through the air and quickly broke through his neck before returning to its place. The demon devoured the soul of the warrior learning its name and all his secrets. Slowly he demon began to rest again haveing fed on a nearby soul it laughed softly before returning to its sleep. The demon walked back into the thick of the woods off of the path to the small grave marker it had placed here nearly a hundred years before. The day he had met the demon sword that had taken his will away from him. His life was a happy one then a loving wife expecting a child a beatiful home and peace had been gained in these lands finally after years of fighting.

*One hundred and Twenty five years ago*

The baby was born under Darious and Alahandra Walker and given the name Dorian. The Walkers were the family in charge of the Knights of the Phoenix and they now had two sons. Rain and Dorian and were given the nicknames POP standing for Princes of Phoenix. They were greatly loved and respected in the leigon of Knights and began their training as soon as they were able to lift a sword. Rain excelled in both sword and magic training becomeing a balence of both neither one skill stronger than the other. Dorian on the other hand could barely get a handle on the simplest of spells, but showed extreme skill in use of a sword. Throughout their lives as children they were close friends neither one jealous of the other for being better at any one skill, they were compettitve truly but it was always a healthy competition. The two children of Walker grew into fine young men and by age sixteen, Dorian already had the ladies of the Knights swooning over him. His long black hair and firece silver eyes along with his sharp features made more than one maiden blush with impure thoughts. Where Dorian had the look of his father, Rain was an altogether different matter. He had been born under Darious's first wife and had taken her flamming red hair and blue eyes. He was stronger in muscle than Dorian and his face had more of a chisled look to it. Rain was older and heir to their fathers throne, this had never concerned Dorian only interested it seemed in his continueing skill with the sword. He was constantly training and bettering his skill. Through this he had found a sense of peace in his soul he knew he could not be beaten and was about to prove it on his twenty first year.

The Knights of the Phoenix are not a traditional group Knights in that one must be of noble birth. The only requirement to join the ranks of Knights is a kind heart and skill with the sword or whichever weapon you choose. In return for your service you are given a weekly pay, food and a bed with a roof. The Knights main purpose is to protect a group of magi known as the Spiral Mages. These two groups protect the planet from both inside and outside threats the Knights being the sword and the Mages being the magic. Apart from their main duties the Knights lend their services to other kingdoms in need of protection from invadeing armies. They protect only those that are in fear of tryanny and never attack those that do not threaten the civility of their clients. So come and serve the Knights of the Phoenix, steady pay, free room and board and great training programs all are welcome.

***
It was the day before the Knights tournament and Dorian was still in the training hall practiceing his skill for the next day. Finally he would beable to show his Knights his skill. He could not be defeated just as his father had been able to do when he was his age. He would win and earn the rank of Talon proving to the whole world just how skillful he was.



((Read and enjoy all feel free to PM us with questions as such))

 

[LadyFairy]

Sharryn Lynn had been training with Dorian for as long as she could remember, but prefured the bow to the sword, and so never had achived the amount of skill with the blade that Dorian had, but could still hold her own if need be. She had come to the order of the Phoenix with her father at a young age and had followed in his footsteps to become a knight.

Sharryn shook her head each and everytime Dorian made a conquest with some maiden or another, but had always enjoyed spending time with both brother's Dorian and Rain. Tho truth be told at times she wondered if they even knew she was female for they never held anything back, or changed topic of conversation when she was around.

Today how ever was Dorian's day to prove himself to the Knights of the Pheniox and her instructior had given her permission to watch. Sharryn had sholder lenght brown hair, and dark blue eye's. She was dressed in legging's, boots and a white blouse with a leather tunic over the top. Her short sword at her side she had her hair pulled back as she went in serch of Dorian knowing that the best place to search for him would be the sparing grounds, and that Rain would be their also unless he was busy practicing his magic's as well.

To anyone looking Sharryn looked much as any other youth looking to become a knight all abit some what shorter than most as she stood around 5ft 4in, and weighed around 120lbs, the clothing she wore hidding most of her slender curves unless one bothered to look closer.

 

[RoneLith]

Dorian, his eyes closed, focused his whole being onto his sword, channeling every bit of strength and power he could summon into it. The effect was staggering, as more and more of his essence poured into the blade a soft blue glow emminated from the center of the sword. A sharp wind circled around his body although he stood indoors with no way for wind to enter, his long hair flew back with the movement of the wind and seemingly with a mind of its own stayed our of his eyes. To an onlooker who had no training it would seem as if he were casting a powerful spell, however if one had any magical knowledge it would be apparent that no magic came from him. The only magic you could detect would be from the sword which gave it a unique ability to increase the prowess of the weilder as a battle grew longer. Dorian had mastered all of his fathers techniques and now practiced to surpass him. The skill he was practiceing was called the Lightning Strike, by channeling your essence into the sword you could make one powerful nearly unbloackable stroke against your opponent. The draw back of the attack was the time it took to channel that energy, when it came time to unleash the attack the enemy had already cut you down. It was mostly used for show and intimidation, ever since Dorian had mastered the technique he had felt that there must be something beyond it. There had to be a faster way, it had been mastered by both son and father but not yet perfected. Dorian had managed to reduce the time nessacary to use it but it was still too slow, he needed to make it as fast as any of his sword strokes.

The room he was in was a training hall, everyone else had left to rest for the tourny leaving him alone each of them hoping to be named Talon. He stood before a large marble pillar, it was about two feet in diameter and stood about five and a half feet tall. Dorian himself had commisioned its forming everytime he practiced the Lightning strike. The main grounds to the Knights of the Phoenix was high on a large plateu, about two hundred feet tall a large stairway snaked its way up one side to the castle proper. At fifty foot intervals a large stone wall had been built into the rock, each had a heavy wood door about fifteen feet tall and a regular rotation of gaurds. Leading out from the castle were long heavy ropes stretching to each wall. These ropes layed loose until needed, they were then tightend and rasied about ten feet higher than the wall. Their use could be to bring supplies up to the castle using a large pully system or men could attach a pully harness and travle down the ropes in times of battle to instantly reinforce the wall or behind an attacker to cut off retreat. In the shadow of the platue was the city of Phoenix, it was a center of international trade and a shinning tribute to the God. The city itself was built to be a maze for invaders when streets ending before really getting you anywhere. Residents of the city had all learned which streets led to dead ends and where they needed to go. Behind the castle the plateu opened into a barren plain stretching to nearly half a mile, it was almost perfectly flat and was a perfect training ground for the Knights. Dorian would walk from the quarry located about a half a mile from the city, up the stairs and finally to the training hall with only a pair of tattered pants and the marble pillar on his back. The journay which used to take him nearly a week to complete now took him just under a day. Recently he had been practiceing the technique every day so for nearly a month before he did nothing but carry the stone up to the hall. All had been in preparation for tommorow.

A full three seconds had passed as Dorian opened his eyes and instantly unleashed the Lightning Strike. To any on looker it appeared as if Dorian had just teleported to the other side of the pillar. The only sound was a hard wind crashing into a wall only about ten times louder. Dorian stood with his sword stretched out at a perfect forty five degree angle to the ground. Slowly he released his hold on the power in his sword letting his soul return to his body before slowly returning the sword to its sheath. He took a step back and returned to a relaxed position. Finally he allowed himself a breath before he turned around to check what he knew to be done. The pillar had been cut at the perfect angle and had slid off the lower half to the ground. The cut was completely clean not a single chip of marble could be found. Still too slow was his only thought as he looked up and finally noticed Sharryn standing in the doorway. He smiled to her, it was a special smile one that showed his true feelings and deep carring for another, only his mother, brother, father and her had ever seen it. Sharryn had seen it many more times than his family combined.

"M'Lady," his voice echoed in the empty hall powerful and cool almost soothing but with a dangerous edge to it. It was like a sword tempting you to come closer and hold onto it but giving a warning of its anger. She looked in shock he realised this must have been the first time she had seen this technique, even his own brother did not know of his mastery of this skill only their father. He bowed to her before realising that he had only the tattered training pants on, formality never was one of Dorian's strong points.

 

[LadyFairy]

Quickly recovering from her shock Sharryn moved forward a silly smile on her face as she noticed his clothing. She was curious about the technique he had used but would not pry. She new if he wished to share it with her then he would in his own time.

She had noticed his smile as well the dangrious note he had added to his voice when he said M'Lady, and couldnt resist teasing him, as she tryed not to allow his smile to affect her. He didnt scare her as much as he did most others, and she suspected that very few ever recived such a smile from him.

He had enough conquest's to her way of thinking tho, and she didnt need to be added to them, she wanted more than that. She wanted love. Ahhh so you have noticed that i am a girl. I had wondered. Are you excited about today? I know you will do well and be accepted into the order of the phenox.

Looking from him around the room, and then back to him meeting his eyes. I am surprised Rain did not accompany you. He must be working on another spell. She said with a small smile waiting for him to reply.

 

[RoneLith]

OOC(Sorry I have been so long in the reply, didn't mean to be just happend.)

Dorian smiled at her jest, I have never forgotten, he thought. He almost spoke his thoughts but kept them inside now was not the time to be thinking of impure thoughts. He needed to remain focused on the task at hand, not to just be accepted into the Knights but to become the Talon and he was confident that he would be succesful in his task. "Rain has no knowledge of this skill only my father and now you know of it. Even my father doesn't know just how powerful I have become." He sighed and gathered his training shirt lying on the ground nearby. His sharp muscels glisented with sweat in the low light. "I won't be using it in the tourny if you were wondering." He smiled and glanced over her frame, she had grown into quite a fine young woman and she had taken hold of his heart many years ago. He could not quite remember how it happened but his heart seemed to be naturally drawn to her.

"Care to go a round?" he asked playfully, even if she had found more love for the bow than a sword he wondered if she could refuse.

 

[LadyFairy]

I wasnt wondering.. i know you to well for that, and i'll not tell your brother or anyone else of your secret, as for a round with you...... Always.. Sharryn said with a grin moving further into the room and slidding her sword free of its sheath.

Taking up her stance she prepared herself for his attack, blocking where she needed, and tho she wasnt as good as he was she still held her own better than most would have against him.

From the tower steel against steel could be heard as they practiced together. Blocking a qucik sucession of blows Sharryn smiled as they countiued and laughed as she was taken off guard as his foot caught behind her legs taking her down to the floor. Well i would say you are defenetly ready. Your father will be proud. I know i am.. Sharryn said looking up into his eyes with a smile as he helped her to her feet.

 

[RoneLith]

((Finally))



"You have improved some," Dorian said in his usual cool demeanor. "Your speed and timing still need some work." Ever the teacher Dorian could not help himself, offering criticism even if it was not asked for. Slowly he walked to the marble block he had just cut in half and placed his hand on the cut edge. It was perfectly smooth as if someone had shaped it and worked it with tools for hours. He leaned his weight on the stone and sighed, his muscles tiered from the long hours of training. He looked out the windows to the tournament ring set up, two rows of red ribbon ran parallel, spread about thirty feet wide from each other and fifty feet long. The tourney would house a jousting competition, an archery contest both for accuracy and speed, and climaxing to the one on one sword event. Healers would be on hand to save those from death, it was to be a true fight. Each knight and ever knight to be would fight for their life for honor and glory. The winner of this part of the two part one on one event would be given the honor of a higher rank when truly joining the Knights he would then go on to the second part of the event. The winner must then face every knight to be and every current knight non stop. Knights will come by singles, doubles and up to four Knights at a time. The more knights he defeats the higher his rank, should he live and defeat every Knight he shall be given the rank of Talon for life. As the Talon he commands the respect of the entire Core and will take command of the Core as soon as he is able. It is nearly impossible to become the Talon as such only one man has achieved this feat before, the man who founded the Knights of the Phoenix, Darious Walker. In the first tourney he defeated seven hundred Knights to earn the title of Talon. This year the victor of the first part of the event must defeat two thousand.

The sun began to sank lower in the sky and the land of the Phoenix began to live up to its name as the red, yellow and orange hues of fire started to burst out from behind the clouds and in-between the buildings. Dorian turned to Sharryn and that rare smile crept from his lips, "Would you join me for dinner, perhaps somewhere in the city?" Right now he wished simply to stay in her company being with her always calmed his nerves. "I would of course put on something a little more suitable." This went without saying, ever since they had known each other Dorian had always been perfectly dressed for the occasion.

 

[LadyFairy]

Sharryn stood and watched Dorian move over twords the window hearing him say that she improved truly was a complement and she enjoyed hearing what she needed to improve on. Still she prefered the bow, but never missed an oprotunity to spar with Dorian when she had the chance.

Moving up next to him she could see what he was looking at, but kept her silence, watching the sunset as well as the tournay. Sharryn had much faith in Dorians skill but she couldnt help being a little worried for Dorian facing two thousand men, but for now until it began just being near him was enough.

Seeing him turn and smile as he asked her to join him she couldnt help but smile back in return and offer her arm as she laughingly replyed. I would love to join you and i should hope you would change i cant begin to immagen the number of women you will have fall at your feet if they should see you thus. Knowing he would dress for the occasion Sharryn wondered if she should change as well. She didnt where dress's often. Thinking about it she decided she would do her some good to actually look like a girl for once. I will even dress also but you must promise not to laugh.

Sharryn left him at his chambers so that he could change and walked to her own asking him to meet her near the stables so that they could ride into the city together.

Once in her chambers Sharryn looked through her clothing she had but two dress's both of them plane. One a dark velvet green in color trimed in gold and the other a faded blue trimed with white lace. Choosing between the two she decided that the green would be the best and begain to change.

Combing out her hair she dressed it in a simple braid holding it in place with a green ribbon, and a small gold comb in her hair at the top where the braid begain.

Looking at herself in the mirror she wrinkled her nose and wondered what she was dressing for she hated dress's, but supposed she didnt look to bad. The green gown hugged her waist and breasts while the skirt flowed down around her ankels. Now where to put my weppons.. Looking at herself once again she shurgged there was no help for it.. she would only be able to carrie a dagger on her person, but sence she would be with Darian she decided she would be safe enough having only it with her.

Belting the dagger at her waist she opened the door and grabbed a cloak on the way out to hide the dress as she walked ignoring the looks she was receving from some of her other compangions.

 

[RoneLith]

Dorian stood in front of the stables preparing his horse, Fa'rong, a high spirited noble stallion who had been Dorian's horse ever since it had been born. Fa'rong had always been good natured and gentle for Dorian almost as if they shared a kindred spirit. Fa'rong was strong a powerful but could be quick and agile when he needed to be, Dorian had truly come to care for Fa'rong its black coat and mane matched Dorian's hair perfectly holding the same luster that Dorian's kept. Carefully he placed his saddle on Fa'rong's back and pulled the straps snug, since they were not riding far he chose a lighter saddle much to Fa'rong's delight. A light snicker escaped Fa'rong's throat.

Dorian cracked a smile and patted Fa'rong's neck before leading him out of the stable, he had arrived much earlier than Sharryn and has asked the boy to prepare her horse for her. It had not taken Dorian long to change opting to wear a very simple but elegant outfit for the night. Semi-hard boots made from blackened leather, black pants, a white shirt with a dark blue vest and finally a black over coat. He waited calmly against a wooden post that held the ceiling of the stable. Tonight would calm his nerves, she had always had that effect on him. A brief moment in time to forget about tomorrow is just the thing he needed. What better person to share it with then the woman he was determined one day, the snap of a twig brought him out of his thoughts. A stray dog had wondered into the area, the dog shared a look at Dorian before moving on its way. Looking past the dog Dorian could faintly see Sharryn walking to him, his breath caught in his lungs and his mouth nearly dropped as he for the first time gazed upon her as the woman he knew she was. Regal and strong with a presence that made him feel as if anything were possible, truly this was his destiny.


((Soon now I will be able to write more frequently))

 

[LadyFairy]

Sharryn stopped a few paces from Dorian she had never seen him look so handsome as he did at that moment and the odd look on his face caused her fidget slightly and turn to look behind her to see if mayhap some beauty had walked by to catch his attention. She had never seen his jaw drop at the sight of a woman before but one never knew.

Not seeing anyone she looked back to him and glanced behind him long enough to see that her horse was being lead from the stables behind him. When she looked back at him he had his composure undercontrol but there was something in his eyes that made her wonder what it was he was thinking about or even who. For it wasnt the tourny, or the Talons. You look handsome as always, I dont see how were going to get through all tho's women vieing for your attention, but i shall indever not to embarass you. Mayhaps i should go change back into my leggings and bring my short sword so that i can fend them off, my eating dagger may not be enough. she said with a grin teasing him as always glad to see that at least she could bring a smile to his lips if nothing else.

Turning to the stable lad she moved forward taking the regins of her mount from him and gave him a soft smile along with her thanks for the care of her horse. Her mount was a gray stallion with a white main and tail gifted to her after traing for 5yrs with the men at arms, and Dorian as well as his brother when he decided to join them. she had named the stallion Rhiska.

Patting the stallions main she knew he was ready for a run and glad to be out of the stables. Looking back at Dorian as she mounted she said. Ready to go when you are my lord. i am game for a race if you are?