Enders' Gate: End of a Golden Age

By E. K. Knight

Joshua III of House Tzipur, a crippled boy of noble lineage, lives upon the perilous edge of a mighty golden age.
A seemingly invincible wyrm stalks the skies above the Kingdom of Nebo, terrorizing everything in its path and demanding human and animal sacrifices in exchange for its civility. Perhaps only one weapon can defeat this wyrm, and that weapon is a giant golmech named Adramelech. This poses a serious problem, because Adramelech requires human blood and willpower to function and has rejected every single potential pilot to climb inside of his bloody torso for the past thousand or so years.
To complicate matters even further, representatives of a foreign Skylander kingdom have come to Nebo and are offering to slay the wyrm in exchange for a military alliance that will drag Nebo into an unwanted war against an ancient enemy. An enemy who has already broken the backs of the Skylanders once before.
Golmechs, demons, and alien insects loom upon the horizon, and Joshua III must fight them all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sapphire City
• Release date: Dec 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781386054405

E. K. Knight

E. K. Knight is the pen name for Kyle Bolton, aka Kasper' Ghost, who is also known as Kasper Knight. 

Book preview

End of a Golden Age

Book One of Enders’ Gate

E. K. Knight

End of a Golden Age

Copyright - E. K. Knight

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. For permission requests, please contact the publisher.

Formatting by Rik - Wild Seas Formatting

A boy of nobility becomes a page, a page becomes a squire, and a squire becomes a knight. Only then does a son of privileged blood become a man in the mountains of Nebo.

To become a page, a boy needs only to reach the tender age of eight. An inevitability. To become a squire, a page needs only to reach the age of twelve. An inevitability. To become a knight, a squire must endure four years of arduous training to condition both his body and soul in such a way that befits a professional warrior and pleases the Phoenix.

At the end of this training, the squire is put to the test. He must earn his knighthood by engaging in combat and killing at least one of his kingdom’s enemies. After completing this task as to which the outcome is most uncertain, only then can a squire become a knight.

Chapter 1

Joshua III of House Tzipur, fourth year squire and nephew of King Hezekiah, the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Nebo, lay belly down in a patch of high grass as he spied upon the ruins of an olden river village. Being that he was located at the edge of a cliff, the view he had was astounding. His best friend, Levi of House Saar, was hidden somewhere behind him, anxiously awaiting the slaughter that was to come.

Nestled between the ancient stone walls of a vale, the village was mostly a ramshackle collection of small to mid-sized huts with straw rooftops that cast dim shadows upon dirt roads. Stakes topped with jeweled dwebite skulls were scattered in a loose ring around the village, marking the place as enemy territory. Wooden palisades served as the village’s walls, rusty iron gates conjoining them where they were separated by a small blue river. At the heart of the settlement, a stone bridge spanned the river, northwest to southeast. A road led from the bridge to the granary in one direction, and all the way up into the mountains in the other. Gray dweba excrement covered the open space where a single main gate once served as an entryway into the village, blocking access.

As Joshua surveyed the village, his tired eyes began to droop. For far too long he had been wide awake and working hard. One moment he was staring at a skull-tipped stake and the next all he saw was total blackness.

Levi took note of his best friend’s careless nap and frowned, reached into his pocket, grabbed a small nugget of silver and –

Ouch! Joshua rolled over and grabbed the back of his red-haired head as he looked up at Levi who was perched in a tree.

If Master Samuel catches you sleeping, he’ll make you restart your training for this year and you won’t be a knight until the next. Then everyone will look down upon you. How can you be so thoughtless? Levi shook his head.

I –Joshua began.

Hush, grab your spyglass, and look there. Levi pointed. She’s come out of the granary at sun’s zenith to perform some type of ritual.

As the beat of his heart quickened, Joshua was forced to suppress a sigh. He sure as heck wasn’t looking forward to the fighting part of this mission. He was a near useless cripple, having been touched at the age of seven by a man whose palm bore a petrifying curse. Sword-arm rendered useless, he didn’t really want to be a knight because he could never truly live up to the reputation that such a title entailed.

I’ll never be fearsome in battle or capable of defending any lives aside from my own, he thought to himself sadly. Knight. Referring to me by that title is an absurdity. Too bad my father and uncle insist that I become one…

Despite these feelings, Joshua still wanted to see the dwebite queen. So he sat up, grabbed his spyglass with his good arm – the left one – and peeped through the eyepiece.

Wow, she’s an ugly one, he said almost immediately upon laying eyes on her.

Unlike the dweba workers and warriors who were vaguely humanoid, the dwebite queen resembled a mantis of sorts. She had eight legs on her abdomen and four arms on her currently upraised thorax. The back of her yellow body was covered in spikes and the front was decorated with large blue circular markings. She had three red eyes which formed a triangle on her oval-shaped head.

This dwebite queen is the ugliest monarch that I’ve ever seen. Even her antennae are ugly…

She’s definitely nastier than any of the pictures we’ve seen, Levi remarked.

Neither he nor Joshua had ever seen a living dwebite before. They had been shown a plethora of lifeless exoskeletons though. Whenever dweba died, their bones slowly turned white and their eyes turned into jewels. Seeing this giant abomination here, in full color and breathing, was incredible.

I can’t believe these things have a religion, Joshua stated. Do you think that they worship the Phoenix?

Maybe – Levi’s words were cut off before he could even begin to respond as the queen opened up her huge mandibles and roared loud enough to wake slumbering giants.

Her tone conveyed what might be pride.

Seconds later, her roar abruptly transitioned into a snarl of agony as a ballista bolt thumped into her thorax. Three more embedded themselves inside her body after that, sending the queen stumbling sideways before crashing to the ground.

Now, Joshua! It’s time! Levi shouted as he hopped down from the tree.

Joshua didn’t immediately get up as his friend dashed back towards the main trail and jumped into the saddle of the horse that they shared. Instead, he waited a moment longer to watch as the seemingly vacant village was overrun by hundreds of dweba as they spilled forth from every orifice of every building to protect their queen. In mere seconds, the dweba were scurrying about and ready to fight.

It’s like watching big, mean, bright ants swarm out of an anthill under attack…

Warrior dweba emerged from their nests to defend the walls. Joshua could identify them as warriors because of their taller height, posture, huge mandibles, and their lack of the two extra arms that worker dweba possessed.

Large balls of fire fell from the sky in arcs to land in various places about the village, destroying everything within their deadly radius. It was awesome to Joshua, to see buildings crumble into flames and dweba die. Not for the first time, he coveted the job of the men who operated the catapults.

Joshua, come on! Levi yelled over the new sound of thundering hooves.

Joshua threw the spyglass into his satchel bag. Then he got up, put on his helmet, and sprinted towards the horse. Master Samuel intercepted him before he could mount up behind Levi however, drawing his white unicorn to a stop between Joshua and his friend.

Decked out in the signature white and gold plate armor of a knight, Master Samuel would look to be a valiant hero in the eyes of a stranger. But Joshua was no stranger to this man. He knew Master Samuel to be harsh and unforgiving, and was unnerved at his presence.

Dozens of mounted knights and squires rode past them then, thundering down the slanting trail that would lead them into the vale, onto the road, and to the village.

Levi, go now! Master Samuel ordered. Your skills shouldn’t be wasted protecting Joshua in this battle. I expect the dwebite queen’s head from you!

Levi hesitated for a moment and began to say something but was cut off.

I said go! Master Samuel shouted. Once Levi started on his way down the trail, Master Samuel looked to Joshua, whose cheeks were now flushed and burning with anger. Get the hell up here on this horse, boy, and pray to the Phoenix that I can get you a kill!

Joshua complied. He swung his heavy right arm atop the steed and began trying to climb his way up. Unicorns bred for war were a good deal taller and more heavily muscled than normal warhorses. There were no extra stirrups for Joshua to use as leverage, and he was crippled besides. Suffice it to say, he could not mount the unicorn. Joshua tried in vain anyway, until Master Samuel lost whatever amusement he gained from watching him struggle, got off the horse, and forcibly grabbed Joshua.

Can’t you do anything? the weapons’ master grumbled as he thrust Joshua up.

Joshua didn’t respond as Master Samuel remounted the unicorn and spurred it forward. On they went down the trail, through a covering of trees tinged with the amber and scarlet leaves of autumn, past large boulders and murky puddles, and finally into the clearing of the vale.

That was when Master Samuel began to grace Joshua with his speech.

"These past four years, you’ve managed to scrape by in your training by clinging to the coattails of Levi like a leech, holding him back while you crawl your way forward. That’s going to change soon. You both are going to be knights. You both will head back to your separate estates. You will be separated from him. I know not what minor gifts your future may bestow, but his prospects are bright. He is to marry Ruby, one of the beautiful gems of House Periy, thus becoming the heir…"

Joshua stopped listening at this point. His eyes grew wet and his bottom lip began to quiver. He hated the fact that he needed to hug the Master with his good arm for support as they traveled, lest he fall from the back of the steed.

If I wasn’t a damn cripple…

If anyone is to pilot Adramelech, it is him, Master Samuel continued, oblivious to the fact that Joshua refused to listen. … shall be the bane of the Croceus dweba brood…

Joshua began to focus as they came before the wooden palisades, which were taller than he had perceived at a distance and covered in thick gray webbing – dweba excrement. The knights and squires in front of him and Master Samuel continued on at full speed towards the gate. Thick black smoke billowed in front of them, showing Joshua that the knight skirmishers had already burned a passage through the feces that clogged the entrance to the city.

The smell of acrid dweba droppings was strong enough to make Joshua grimace.

Right outside the gate, Master Samuel drew his unicorn to a stop beside an unconscious squire who lay sprawled next to his injured horse. The squire was as still as a corpse and his horse convulsed with spasms, both rendered immobile by wicked sleep-inducing stingers that had been shot forth from the mouths of dwebite warriors. The squire had been hit between the neck and shoulder, and the horse had been struck in several places across its chest. Two other horses slept next to them involuntarily upon the ground. Their riders were absent, most certainly hard at work fighting inside the village.

Glancing at the nasty venom-streaked stingers, Joshua was more than a little bit glad that he hadn’t been at the front of the charge.

Young Sampson… Master Samuel shook his head as they rode away from the limp squire. He won’t become a knight today. Better if it was you who had been poisoned than him.

It was at this point that Joshua gritted his teeth and swore he would kill at least two –

No, three dweba today. I’ll prove Master Samuel wrong, he told himself.

Immediately upon entering the gate, the unicorn trampled a wounded dwebite warrior, crushing its chest and head straight into the ground. In the midst of the fray, Master Samuel halted the steed and surveyed their surroundings.

Dark smoke wafted from burning buildings. Violet dweba blood painted the grass and cobblestones. Squires that wore red tunics and chainmail slaughtered dweba workers, while fully armored knights battled the warriors.

Joshua scanned the perimeter, searching for his prey. He saw two worker dweba advance upon a squire, but they were dispatched quickly, the short blade-like bones of their exoskeletons no match for the boy’s sword and shield. He saw a warrior dwebite drive a spear through the calf of a squire and latch onto his helmet with its pincers, trapping his head in a vice as dark blood spilled from the boy’s wound.

The dwebite twisted its own head, intending to snap the squire’s neck. Joshua knew he should go there to help, but then a knight chopped the dwebite’s head off with an axe, saving the squire from imminent death. Reddish purple blood began to spray everywhere as the warrior dwebite’s decapitated body fell to the ground.

Joshua continued his search and quickly spotted the dwebite he wanted to kill. It was a worker that stood atop a group of barrels that were stacked against the wall of an ancient shop that was not burning. The dwebite snarled and glared, but for some reason it did not join in the struggle.

Master Samuel! Joshua exclaimed as he pointed at the abomination. There!

Loose wet strands of saliva slopped forth from the dwebite’s awful mouth as it beat its chest with four clenched fists. This thing was clearly hindered in some way mentally and it seemed to have no intention of leaving its pedestal to join the fray. From horseback, Joshua could easily decapitate the creature if Master Samuel spurred his steed by it.

Perfect target, Joshua thought to himself as he fumbled to draw his sword from its sheath.

But the Master had something else in mind, much to Joshua’s dismay. He spurred the unicorn in the direction of the raving dwebite, but gave it a wide berth as his eyes were set upon a different target. A target that was a warrior. A target that was too deadly for Joshua to handle.

Unprepared for the sudden burst of speed because he was fumbling to draw his sword, Joshua fell from the rump of the unicorn and landed hard in a puddle of mud. The puddle was cold and wet and sticky.

More humiliation…

Joshua knew that he would be reminded of this later, during the post combat review when Master Samuel would make a point of pointing this mistake out to the rest of the class.

Joshua wasted no time in coming to his feet. He didn’t want to die and he didn’t want to shame his family by failing this test. He got up in just enough time to see Master Samuel sever the warrior’s left arm with his sword as he passed, causing it to drop the crude spiky spear that it held.

The warrior dwebite flinched from its wound. Master Samuel rounded his steed and locked eyes with Joshua. Now was the time. Joshua screamed as he charged.

Lord Malachi. Levi knew the man to be jovial, cheery faced, and bleary eyed. What he didn’t know the man to be was a complete savage upon the field of battle.

Violet blood spurted in the air as Lord Malachi severed dwebite limbs and torsos with a massive double-bladed axe, drenching himself in life fluid as he screamed in berserk exultation. Such was his fury that the press of little yellow dweba bodies began to give way and recede, falling back in fear of what looked to them to be a giant. This was surprising, because Levi never even knew that dweba were keen enough to know fear or that Lord Malachi was savage enough to instill the sense of it into them.

Lord Malachi brought down his axe, cleaving a dwebite worker into two separate vertical pieces, making Levi recall that the other teachers had always joked about the violence that Lord Malachi would bring to the fight. About how he would "bite the pincer off a dwebite."

Prior to this engagement, Levi just couldn’t envision such behavior from the man, but now that he saw it firsthand, Levi found it to be very funny. Very funny and very useful. Lord Malachi was clearing a path through the horde. A path that had already crossed the bridge and led straight to the queen. She was only several dozen feet away from Levi now.

Levi stepped on a dead warrior dwebite’s face as he readied his bow, notching an arrow to the string. Knights and squires ran past to assist Lord Malachi as Levi directed the ichor-soaked head of the arrow upward to touch the flames of a burning straw rooftop.

Perhaps sensing his intentions, the wounded dwebite queen looked straight at Levi as he aimed his bow at her. If her gaze could’ve tossed him backwards into the river at that moment, it would have. However a mean stare was powerless and a flaming arrow was something to fear. Levi fired the arrow. The queen screamed as she ignited into a mass of blistering orange flames.

Lord Malachi burst forward at the dweba who stood between the humans and the queen. Then he spun around forcefully and swiped his battle-axe low to the ground, using the momentum of his turn to separate dweba feet and shins from the rest of their legs. Levi ran past him then, heading straight into the throng of receding yellow bodies. His sword flashed left, right, and down as he advanced, cleanly robbing three sick creatures of their sick lives.

Three more kills makes ten. He had ten kills now, three warriors and seven workers. Their blood painted him, and the paint smelled sweet.

A significant increase in the pitch of the burning queen’s loud screams of agony heralded her crash to the ground. That was when the dweba began an all-out retreat back into their holes. Levi couldn’t blame them. There was no reason left to fight because their queen was now unsalvageable. It was better off for them to live today to infest another city tomorrow, spawn a new queen, and continue to blight the earth.

A ragged cheer began to sound as the battle-weary humans began to realize what had just happened, picking up in tempo as more and more voices added themselves to the chorus.

Levi hesitated for a moment as he approached the queen’s flaming carcass. He had to remove her big head, but he didn’t want to get burned. A strong hand fell upon his shoulder then and he almost jumped in surprise. Then he felt at ease when he realized that the hand belonged to Lord Malachi.

Good job, kid, Lord Malachi said. You make us all proud, all the time.

Lord Malachi stepped forward and swung his battle axe down, chopping off the queen’s head. Then he captured the head within one of the curves of his axe-blade and rolled it into a puddle. Steam wafted up as the burnt head cooled. Feeling triumphant, Levi smiled when Lord Malachi picked the charred head up by a pincer and gave it to him.

You earned this, hero, Lord Malachi said as he raised Levi’s arm, brandishing the queen’s head for all the assembled to see.

Bolstered by pride, the cheering grew louder and stronger. At least fifty of Levi’s brethren surrounded him, shouting their praise.

Suddenly a group of squires parted, and two were pushed to the side as another burst forth from the crowd and tripped over a dead dwebite exoskeleton. The squire tried his best not to fall, but fall he did, albeit he got right back up fast enough to pretend that his hands and knees had never spent more than two seconds on the ground.

Sami, twin brother of Sampson, Levi soon identified as the squire removed his helm.

Sami had a freckled face, buck teeth, and amber eyes. His hair was red like most of the Nebonites, but he kept it cut close enough to his scalp that it appeared to be brown. A large scar lived upon Sami’s left cheek. Levi had put it there a long time ago during a heated training session.

All of you must come quickly, Sami said. The battle is not yet over. A one-armed dwebite is fighting one-armed Joshua to the death even as I speak.

Sami’s voice was low and droning by nature. It always sounded as if his nose was stuffed. Levi wanted to spit in his face right now but he forced himself not to.

Where are they? Levi demanded.

When Sami pointed in the direction, Levi immediately raced towards the place where Joshua was said to be in trouble. As he moved, Levi prayed to the Phoenix that Joshua would be alright, for if anyone was to lose a fight to a one-armed dwebite, it would be him.

A silvery steel sword pitted against two, short, curving, blade-like bones that protruded from the top of a warrior dwebite’s wrist – Joshua was lucky that Master Samuel had chopped off the dwebite’s arm that had borne its crude bone-axe, and he was sure that the Master had done that unintentionally.

Even so, despite Joshua’s good luck, he was unlucky, because he was losing this fight. The dwebite warrior was incredibly tall for its kind, which meant that it was about three inches taller than Joshua. It was also fierce, fast, and desperate, attacking Joshua viciously with slashes and kicks and then backing away before he could strike back.

Sweat stung Joshua’s eyes, leaked from his armpits, and soaked his underclothes. He sensed that the surrounding battle was over and that everyone was watching him struggle. A few of the people who were his friends shouted their encouragement, but as time went on, their enthusiasm melted and their mouths closed.

Utter silence ensued. An awkward silence. An embarrassing silence.

Joshua knocked away another one of the dwebite’s strikes and failed yet again to counter. He and the dwebite began to circle each other and that was when he noticed Levi watching from the front of the crowd with a face that was tense with worry.

You can do it, Joshua! he shouted. Come on!

Maybe Joshua would’ve succeeded if he had felt boosted by his friend’s encouragement, but he felt irritated instead, growling as he launched a wild diagonal strike at his foe. The attack grazed the dwebite warrior as it moved aside to Joshua’s right.

Oh great…

Before he could regain a defensive posture, the creature began striking Joshua in the head with its blade-like protrusions.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Every time the claws struck his helmet it made that sound.

Joshua started to stumble backwards and sideways.

Come on, Joshua. Come on! People in the crowd began to shout. They sounded disappointed and exasperated, as if he was letting them down.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Joshua fell to his knees with his back turned towards the dwebite. It mounted him before he could regain his footing, latched its pincers onto his helmet and drove his face into a puddle of muddy water that was just deep enough to choke him. Pressed down by the creature’s weight, Joshua’s good arm was trapped beneath him and his bad arm was being held down by the dwebite warrior.

Come on, Joshua! Come on! he heard his so-called brethren shout.

Rage built up inside Joshua’s head as he listened to them rant while he suffocated.

Is anybody going to help me? he wondered. Or are they just going to let me die?

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Joshua managed to get up off the ground soon after he heard that sound. The dwebite was still behind him though. It tried to wrap its arm around his neck to choke him from behind, but he managed to fend off the limb with his left arm. Joshua rushed backwards as he struggled with the dwebite and then fell on top of it. As he did so, he caught a glimpse of Levi, and knew that his friend had hacked off one of the dwebite’s pincers.

Silent tears trickled down Joshua’s cheeks as he twisted around to mount the dwebite. Once he gained position, he began to slam his stone fist into the warrior’s face. Joshua struck the creature repeatedly, landing almost twenty blows and completely breaking its face before the beast stopped moving.

Exhausted and enraged, Joshua gasped in air, and soon managed to control his tears. Utter silence surrounded him. Hooves tromped the ground as a unicorn plodded up right behind him and whinnied.

Riding the coattails, he heard Master Samuel whisper softly, smugly. Soon that will change.

Never before had Joshua felt so ashamed.

Chapter 2

Igor sat within the saddle of his unicorn, surrounded by fellow Goathian soldiers and a few of the local Nebonites. Although Medinat, the capital city of Nebo, rested within plain view of the edge of the plateau that dropped steeply behind his back, Igor’s attention was focused upon the forest of red and gold leaves that beautified the landscape directly in front of him.

Several loud crashes called to the white sky as broken trees fell and limbs shattered. Birds of all colors flew forth from the canopy, heading east, away from the unseen conflict.

They were so close and so numerous that for a moment, Igor was forced to shield his face with his forearms as he felt the small scratches of talons and the beating of wings against his head and shoulders.

Another crash sounded and two frightened deer ran out of the woods. The animals didn’t get very far before being killed by arrows from the line of archers Igor had posted in front of himself.

Do you think that we should go into the forest, Igor? Perhaps they need help, Iga, one of his thirteen sisters, said from the side.

Igor shook his head.

That won’t be necessary, he replied. Ishmael and Ivy can handle themselves.

Against a wold? Baron Uzzi asked incredulously.

Yes, against a wold, Igor replied. You’ve witnessed the power of the golmechs. Ishmael and Ivy can summon them upon a whim and easily tear the wold into pieces if they want to. Besides, we need all the eyes we can have here to look out for the leopard cub. We can’t afford for that cat to slip past us.

Igor closed his eyes and prayed that the cat hadn’t already reached Medinat. If it did, they would all be in trouble.

Now it was the Baron’s turn to shake his head.

If you only knew what I knew, I think you would find King Hezekiah to be much of a disappointment, he said. He is a great talker, but very foolish, and cowardly enough to avoid another war with the Lowlanders. He lacks pragmatism where it matters, but is cautious when we need him to be bold. I believe that life is too short not to take chances –

Igor, we have it! Ishmael shouted as he came tromping forth from the woodline, pale blue hair stained red with blood. He held the cat up by the orange skin of its neck and clutched the hilt of his blade in the other. I found it hiding in the back of the wold’s hollow!

Baron, Iga, it’s time for us to move forward. Tezz, Igor said to his heavily armored bodyguard, bring the girl.

Tezz nodded his head. The captive girl was mounted in front of him on his horse. She wore a brown cowl with the hood lifted over her head to shadow her face as she quivered beneath it.

As Igor and his entourage came forward to meet Ishmael halfway, Goathian soldiers materialized from the woods to stand at the tree line.

I wonder how big the wold was, one of the Baron’s lords said as they trotted forward. I’ll bet it was a small one. I doubt that a big wold could’ve been brought down by less than twenty men.

It certainly would’ve taken more than that number, another lord agreed.

Ishmael, have you retrieved the letter? Igor inquired of his younger brother once he reached him.

Yes, I have, Ishmael replied as he reached into the front pocket of his purple cloak. Then he pulled the letter out and handed it up to Igor.

Igor read the letter, grinned quietly after perusing its contents, and then handed it to the Baron.

Enough was written there to cause a conflict, he said. Now why would you want to be a bad little girl and stir up so much trouble? Igor asked the girl.

She was a harpy. A little red-haired, red-winged harpy. A harpy who had overheard too much sensitive information and reacted upon it.

When a soldier had reported seeing her leave an unauthorized area within the vicinity of a secret meeting, it had caused suspicion. All message carrier flights from the Heralds’ Guildhouse had been inspected and all the rooms were searched.

Half an hour later, she had been spotted by a soldier on tower watch as she fled the fortress-city of Uriel with a little orange leopard by her side. When the knights caught her and the little leopard fled into the woods with a white envelope clenched between its jaws, her desperate actions had caused an uproar.

Well? I implore you to speak, Igor pressed as the harpy remained silent.

It soon became apparent that she wasn’t going to talk. The Baron whistled after he was done reading the letter and handed it to Iga.

Brother, may I have a word with the lady? Ishmael asked politely.

After a brief silence, Igor gave his consent.

You may, he said as he reached back to retrieve the contraband letter from Iga who was already finished reading it.

Ishmael set the cat down and ordered it to sit. Then he strode up to Tezz’s horse and extended his hand to the harpy.

Fair maiden, he said with a touch of chivalry.

Reluctantly, the harpy took his hand and allowed him to help her down from the horse. After getting situated on the ground, she didn’t protest as Ishmael gently drew back her hood, albeit she did lower her head quickly, hiding an adorable face.

My lady, Ishmael began as he reached down to hold one of her hands in his own. My brother has asked you a question, and we require an answer to that question. So please, enlighten us.

Tiny droplets of rain started to fall from the sky then. Igor welcomed them as a gift from the clouds. He loved the way the forest smelled after a good rain, or during a decent sprinkle.

The harpy chose to whimper instead of speak. After several moments of this, Ishmael let go of her hand and nodded his head, apparently coming to a conclusion of sorts. Something wicked hazed his red eyes then, and he smacked the harpy hard across the face, knocking her to the ground.

When the harpy got right back up instead of staying down, Igor was surprised.

Admirable, he thought to himself. She isn’t even rubbing her cheek…

If my brother asks you a question, you will answer him immediately, or I’ll hurt you! Ishmael shouted. Speak now before I strangle your leopard!

For the second time today, Igor was reminded of why he despised his younger brother.

Ishmael, stop it! Iga demanded.

The harpy’s cat began to growl, so Ishmael, unsheathing his blade, turned upon it.

Calm yourself, Ishmael, Igor told his younger brother with an unspoken warning wrapped within his voice. Regain your noble composure.

Nodding his head, Ishmael heeded that warning and returned his blade to its sheath. Then he looked back to the harpy.

I have a treat for you, he said as he took her hand into his own again. A treat that you might like. Then, turning towards the woodline, he said, Brother, sister, Baron, you all must see this.

Igor obliged by following his younger brother, although he already knew what the boy was going to show him. Surely the harpy knew as well, and dreaded it. Igor could see that her legs were moving slowly and she shivered, like the scared little girl that she was.

Upon entering the woods, a large, hulking shape could be seen some distance away, lying upon the ground, its details obscured by the trees. Goathian soldiers surrounded the shape, spears held at the ready.

The wold, Igor knew.

Ishmael smiled as the harpy jerked her arm away from his and dashed towards the wounded beast. Quietly, the soldiers blocking her path parted to let her inside of their defensive ring. Her legs grew wobbly as she reached the wold, then she sunk to the mat of fallen leaves and dirt with him. Wrapping her arms about his furry neck, she rested her head upon his cheek. Igor felt the faintest bit of sympathy for both the harpy and the barbaric creature when he saw her sob.

"I killed it, Igor. Me," Ishmael alleged as he strode forward.

Your brother deserves a trophy, Baron Uzzi said quietly. I wish my son was as deadly with the sword.

Noting that the wold’s huge tan body was feathered with numerous arrows, Igor had his doubts as to the veracity of Ishmael’s claim, bolstered by the fact that Ivy sat atop the peak of the wold’s hunched back while she cleaned her bloody blade with a white cloth.

Maybe Ishmael dealt the final blow, Igor reasoned. But credit for this kill goes to all the participants of this skirmish. This wold is huge. It would’ve killed Ishmael easily if he was alone and had to rely solely upon his own mortal strength.

Triumphantly, Ishmael planted his boot atop the wold’s furry head as soon as he came to it, like a flag upon a hill.

He called out your name as he died, Ishmael told the harpy sadistically as the sharp spurs of his boot dug into the humanoid creature’s skull. So I thought that he might want to see you, he said as he reached down and gripped one of the wold’s closed eyelids, and you him.

Ishmael pulled the eyelid open then, revealing a large gray feline iris and pupil that exhibited fright.

The harpy continued to cry. For a brief moment, the wold’s mouth began to move sluggishly, as if her tears were giving him back just enough life for him to say his final farewells. And then the mouth went still.

Patches of the wold’s skin were turning to stone by now, a result of being touched by the sunlight that crept through the autumn canopy.

Why does the skin of some creatures turn to stone? Igor had always found the process of petrification to be fascinating.

Ishmael smiled wickedly, relishing in the harpy’s grief. Igor thought to intervene but the Baron was speaking to him.

This won’t be good, he said. The villagers won’t be happy.

You know this beast? Igor asked, surprised.

"I know of him, the Baron replied. The people in the surrounding villages call him Rakwold. This creature comes to the towns on a regular basis to barter game he caught in the woods for fruit and vegetables. The common folk love him. Your brother could’ve easily picked a much less popular wold to kill."

Is that what this little wimp told you? Ivy asked suddenly. When her head shot up, her red eyes were filled with hot anger.

Imbued with such characteristics as loyalty, honor, integrity, and personal courage, Ivy was the bravest of all Igor’s sisters in traditional combat. She was also both beautiful and unique.

A flower of a different shade…

Looking at Ivy, Igor had always wondered why her hair was so much bluer than everyone else’s’ in the Ender family. He liked to think that it was because her spirit was much more alive.

"We killed the wold," Ivy stated flatly as she motioned towards the other soldiers.

"No, I killed the wold, Ishmael said through gritted teeth. It died after I cut open its scrotum. The blood of truth covers me now."

Igor closed his eyes momentarily before telling the Baron, These two never got along.

You cut open its scrotum after our soldiers showered it with arrows and I cut the tendon in its ankle, Ivy replied. "The wold bled out. We all contributed to its wounds, so credit for the kill goes to all of us."

Ishmael lost his temper then.

Ivy, shut-up! he blurted out. You always –

Silence! Igor demanded. Baron Uzzi, we will think of something to tell the villagers. Unprovoked wolds being violent are not a thing unheard of.

Just then, the harpy got up and slapped Ishmael across the face so hard that it caused his nose to bleed. Immediately after that, two of Igor’s soldiers stepped forward and restrained the harpy. When Ishmael came forward to retaliate, Ivy hopped down from the wold’s back to impede his path.

Restrain them as well as the harpy! Igor ordered as he motioned towards his siblings. Tezz, give me the whip.

Igor held his hand out expectantly as he watched his soldiers restrain Ivy and Ishmael.

Just then, the clip-clop of hooves could be heard, heralding a newcomer. Soon the horseman was spotted. He wore the red cross over golden crown emblem of the Kingdom of Nebo on his tabard.

Horsemen! he cried. Knights of the Duke!

This is one of Baron Uzzi’s men.

Dammit, Iga muttered as the Baron cursed much the same.

Igor knew he must dispose of the girl and the leopard. The deed would surely leave a sour taste within his mouth. Albeit it was worth it, to lose a small strand of honor, if the goals of House Ender could be met for it.

After all, the world depended upon them.

Chapter 3

Silence mocked Joshua better than words ever could. Since the battle with the dweba, no one had said anything demeaning or condescending to him. Master Samuel had not mentioned his plummet from the unicorn during the post combat review, when the teachers had congratulated those who would become new knights and talked of how the battle could’ve been fought better. During the honors, not a single soul pointed out the obvious fact that Joshua could not slay an enemy relying solely upon his own power, and during the ride back to Glorial castle, nobody had even hinted that Joshua did not deserve to become a knight.

Their eyes told the truth though, to those who could read them. Joshua could read them and that was why no one would hold his gaze.

Master Samuel, Lord Malachi, Lord Ramiel, Lord Cain, Levi, Judas, Peter, Simon, and all the rest…

He had known these people and lived with them for the past four years, yet now he felt as if he was a stranger in their company. Only the fact that Sampson had failed the test of battle and would not become a knight gave Joshua solace.

Technically I passed and he definitely failed. At least I’m not stuck at the bottom of the barrel like usual…

By the time that they reached the castletown of Glorial, the sun had set, giving way to the moons, allowing a faint chill to creep up from the ground like a dying man’s fumbling fingers.

Exhausted by the day’s exertions, everyone was more than happy to reach the inside of Glorial’s heavy gates, and twice overjoyed when Master Samuel decided not to keep them on duty for long.

Retire the horses to the stables and go to bed, he told the class. You may utilize the bathhouse, but do not stay up for long. We ride to Whitestone Keep in the morning and to Medinat from there. Wake up call is at five as the timepiece will tell it.

The Master took his leave after he spoke those words, spurring his mount away to the unicorn stables.

I say again, my boys, good job today, Lord Malachi congratulated. We suffered no casualties during the battle and the injuries reported were minute. You all fought well.

I second his statement, said Lord Ramiel. You fought as if strengthened by the fire of angels. It is our faith in the Phoenix that brings us Heaven’s many blessings.

Wretched dweba never saw us coming, Lord Cain said and then spat red juice from a sweetleaf onto the ground. I’ll have the queen’s skull sent to Whitestone Keep in the morning, and her head will grace your class’s standard by the time we get back.

And then those teachers were gone too, off towards the unicorn stables.

For each year of training, a teacher was assigned as the primary instructor for each class, Lord Cain being the first year instructor whose function seemed to be to break the new boys down into puddles of mush. Lord Malachi was the instructor for the second year and his mission was quite the opposite. He built the squires back up from puddles of mush into brave warriors. Lord Ramiel was the primary instructor for the third year. His goal was to transform the brave warriors created by Lord Malachi into disciplined soldiers. Master Samuel was in charge of the fourth year, and Joshua thought that Whitestone could do well without his services entirely.

The inevitable conversation that Joshua had been fearing finally decided to show its hideous face inside the stables. Joshua had just finished securing the horse they had shared within its stall, when Levi walked up to him and said, "So we are knights now, officially. We did it, Josh."

Joshua’s face grew taut with tension. It was only the beginning of this conversation and he already felt like screaming.

"No, we are not officially knights, he replied. We have not been promoted at the Ascension Ceremony in Medinat yet. And we didn’t do anything. You did."

Joshua removed his riding gauntlets and rubbed the horse’s white cheeks as she came to the edge of the stall and tipped her head over the gate for some affection.

Levi shook his head as if his feelings were hurt by what Joshua had just said.

I say again, he said. "We made it. We endured the training given to us by the teachers of Whitestone and we fought courageously in the vale. We earned our rank as knights."

No again, Joshua told him. "You carried me through the training and you fought courageously in the vale. I was weak and I failed, while you captured the head of the dwebite queen."

Joshua, look at me, Levi said, stepping closer.

Joshua continued to pet the horse. Tired, he rested his forehead on top of hers. Like a leaking dam, one more crack chiseled into the integrity of his ego would cause him to cry. Levi requested his gaze again but Joshua did not respond.

Joshua, Levi said as he rested a hand upon Joshua’s left shoulder. Remember the story in the Chronicles about the strong penitents who used half of their strength each day to chip away at the thick sheet of evil ice that trapped a family inside of their own home?

Yes, Joshua grumbled. He saw exactly where his friend was going with this.

In that story, the two strong penitents together removed nearly eighty percent of the ice, yet Ahavahla valued the weak penitent more because he invested all of his strength each day into the task of saving that family even though the actual amount of ice he removed was minimal compared to that of the others.

So I am the weak penitent? Joshua asked.

The exhaled warmth coming from the steed’s nostrils was comforting him somehow. He didn’t want to turn away from her to face the world ever again.

No, Josh, that is not what I’m saying, Levi replied. I’m saying that if our roles were to be reversed and I was given your misfortune, that I would be twice as inept as you and you would be almost as skilled as me.

Joshua didn’t budge from the horse. He wasn’t going to respond. Levi was at a loss for words. His last statement had come out all wrong and he didn’t know what to say next. Luckily for them both, their friends Judas, Peter, and Simon appeared at the other side of the stable.

Levi, Josh, come on! We’re heading for the bathhouse! Peter called out as he and the others walked past them.

Alright, we’re coming, Levi replied to their tall, brown-haired friend.

Joshua’s response was the complete opposite.

No thanks, fellows, he said. I’m going to go get some sleep. We have to be up early tomorrow and I don’t want to be tired on the ride back to Whitestone.

Wrong answer, Josh! Peter turned around and announced. You can’t go back inside our room clad in mud and blood. You’ll track filth all over the place. If you aren’t walking with us by the time we reach the stable door, we’re going to come back there and force you into the bathhouse.

As Simon and Judas bolstered