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Screw it. Doing it anyways. Continuing where I left off as usual.

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Dear Journal,

The attack on Vladychestvo started out differently from our regular attacks. Without Martina's breath weapon to handle the gates we had to resort to conventional siege weapons to breach the walls. Fortuitously Siegbert was able to supplement them with several alchemical aids. The battlefield was a sight to see as fires burned in the city, and eagles whirled in the sky battling the riding birds for supremacy. The smell of blood and alchemy tinged the air and the sounds of battle were everywhere. As we entered the city I could see the battle had taken its toll on both sides. I know I should have been concerned, but at the moment my thoughts were only with Martina. As we turned onto the main thoroughfare, we beheld the massive castle at the center of the city. Enormous Golden Saber banners hung from its walls. Zinoviy would be there, I knew it.

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>>46577833
>Let me know if you're reading or if I'm just wasting my time

We made our way into the caste with moderate ease. I followed the soldiers to the castle's throne room where the screams and sounds of battle indicated that Zinoviy was making a stand. The soldiers there were in disarray, dead, or losing. Calling them off I stepped forward into the room, drawing my sword.

Zinoviy nodded to me in acknowledgement as I approached, "Ah Sir Knight, I was wondering when you would show up. It's been… aggravating to say the least to watch you fight your way inch by inch across this land and not be able to face you myself if it weren't for your dragon, we could have had a rather splendid war."

"Where is Martina?" I demanded, my voice horse.

Zinoviy sighed, "As single-mindedly sanctimonious as ever, does it really hurt you so much to talk to me?"

He turned slightly and called out, "Faina? Would you come out for a moment?"

As the gold clad woman stepped out into view he continued, "Would you be as kind as to run along to Mt Kratos and tell Kuzma to launch the counter attack? Then inform Mr. Aldric that he is free to proceed with the ritual."

"What counterattack? What ritual?" I shouted, brandishing my sword.

Well. I'm here at least.

>>46577483
Yes. I'm gonna sleep now, so don't expect much. Thank you for finishing this though

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>>46577858
Zinoviy laughed, "Poor foolish Knight. Did you think that this would really be that easy? That I had no plan? Faina will reach the mountain within an hour, there she will alert Kuzma to take the bulk of our finest soldiers and return here to cut off your army. Furthermore, Mr. Aldric, I suppose I should say Isocrates now, will begin the ritualized murder of your dear Martina. By midnight tomorrow night, she'll be breathing her last."

Faina laughed as she ran off, "I'm afraid that this is the last you've seen of your dear dragoness!"

With a roar or rage I tried to stop her, but Zinoviy moved to black me, I suddenly found myself on the defensive, trying to use my shield to deflect blows that were too powerful to block outright.

Laughing, Zinoviy pressed his advantage, attacking with greater ferocity. I noted with dread that he was faster since our last battle, quicker to attack and block now that he was unencumbered by an unwilling prisoner.

Suddenly I saw an opening as Zinoviy came at me with a horizontal cut, I dodged to the side and thrust at the weak spot under the arm. While my blow landed and drew some blood, Zinovey must have added armor there since the last time we met. He quickly recovered and turned to face me. Suddenly a flash of red crossed my vision and I found myself staggering back from the force of the shield bash I'd just been subjected to. Barely blocking Zinoviy's follow up attacks I found myself desperate for a distraction. "Do you really think that this ritual of Isocrates' will help you?"

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>>46578135
Zinoviy sighed as he took another swing, "No. But it's not intended to. He put a lot of himself into that rod that you're carrying you know? He's just trying to get a little of it back, any way he can."

"Oh? And he needs to hide himself away on some mountain for that?"

"Yes and no. There's nothing special about the mountain itself apart from being a popular location with this land's nobility, what's important is his tower atop the mountain. Ha!"

Barely blocking Zinoviy's attack, I fell back and found myself by the large throne, sensing an opportunity I stepped towards Zinoviy's shield side and braced myself. Sure enough I was battered back with another solid blow, however this time I was ready and dodged the follow up attack, however the throne behind me wasn't so mobile and the blade cut into the ornate wood and stuck there. Unfortunately I wasn't able to do more than nick him again before he recovered his weapon and sent me flying. I got up just in time to block his follow through attack before it killed me.

"What does Isocrates want that keeps you supporting him? Why would you associate with him?"

Zinoviy somehow managed to shrug as he nearly hamstrung me, "I doubt he wants much more than power really. I suppose that's why we've worked together for so well for so long. We both just want the same thing really."

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>>46578168
"But why? What purpose would you put this power to that you couldn't get on your own?"

Zinoviy laughed, "Poor foolish Knight. You must come from some kinder lands than either of us. We're all products of our environment. You'll never know what it's like to be powerless in a land where power is needed. Whether its beneath dragons or your fellow man. You'll never know what it's like to sacrifice the things you hold dear to simply ensure that you won't be a victim again. Isocrates knows though, and so do I."

"So what? The point of power is just existence? Each day is only about surviving to the next? Don't you have anything else in your life? Nothing to protect? What about your daughter? You use your power over the Golden Saber to protect her, but if you didn't found it in the first place, she would be safe anyways! With the power that you had, you could have kept everyone in this land safe!"

"Do you think that no one ever tried? That you were the first one here to try to make this land better? There's a darkness here that batters down good men, time and time again. Then one day you get an offer, to have the darkness pass you over for a change. The only thing that you have to do is become part of it."

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>>46578191
"The same offer you make to all your men. Did Isocrates extend it to you? Were you spared?"

Zinoviy grew quiet, "No," he said simply, "But when it came, I didn't even care. I wish I could believe that you could make a difference, but the only way to stay safe from the darkness is to be part of it yourself."

He attacked again and I quickly found myself feeling overwhelmed once more. Suddenly I noticed that we were up against massive Golden Saber banners. Struck by an idea, I reached up and pulled them down on top of the two of us. Struggling to get out from under the cloth, I found myself suddenly on my back trying desperately to block another crushing blow of Zinoviy's. Sensing his advantage, the General pressed down with his blade, pushing my sword closer and closer to me. I had to drop my shield and brace against his blow with both hands. As Zinoviy pressed down on me he leaned in and asked, "Do you still think that you can stand against the darkness?"

I shook my head, "Not alone. But I'm not going to be alone again."

With that I suddenly ignited my blade's flames and with a twist of my arms, drove the tip of the b lade into the cloth of the banners beneath me. They caught fire quickly, but as before, the flames didn't affect me. To my horror, Zinoviy rose from the fire, he was in pain and obviously near death. I suppose a better man would have hesitated, but I could see the look of pure hate in his eyes and so I struck out, thrusting into the area below the helmet. My blow was rewarded with a gush of blood, and General Zinoviy finally fell.

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>>46578484
Turning I ran from the room only to be stopped by Colonel Peyton at the door, "Congratulations Sire! You've done it!" looking around he became more concerned, "Where is Martina?"

"Still in danger, I need you to get a fast horse for me and prepare for an attack on the city."

"What's this about sir? What kind of danger is - "

A sudden rumble and a shaking of the ground interrupted him. We both looked out the window to see an unearthly glow emanating from Mt Kratos. As clouds gathered above it and lightning flashed, Peyton turned to me gravely, "I'll get your horse, Sire."

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>>46578676
I made my way to the city gates where I found my path blocked.

"Where exactly did you think you were going?" Aimée said severely.

"You weren't going to run off into danger without us, were you?" Sieghild added.

I smiled even as I protested, "I didn't - "

"But we did, Master Knight," Felìcita said with a smile.

"The Princess is right," Veila added.

Rina nodded, "Like it or not, we're with you to the end."

Siegbert chuckled, "I asked to come with you, remember? I'm not giving up now."

"And I owe you for the boat," Boniface added.

Gaël looked around, "You're all crazy. I'd stay here if I could," he grinned to show he wasn't serious and continued, "but I suppose I should find out how this story ends."

"And you're a fool if you think I'll give up my vengeance for my guildmates," Nadja said snidely.

"And I'm coming too," said a voice behind me. I turned to see Eva there with a packhorse of her own.

"Eva," I began, but she cut me off.

"I know I'm not the adventurer that you are, but I do know the Mt Kratos area from when I was a child. I'm certain that I can lead you to Isocrates. There's an old ruined tower at the summit, I'm certain that Martina is there. It was always said to be his lair when he was alive."

I nodded, "Stick close to me then. I'll keep you safe." Turning to the rest of the group I continued, "Since none of you want to turn back, let me just say that any man alive would be lucky to have companions half as good as you. I truly consider myself blessed to have even known you. Thank you all."

With that said we headed off, racing towards the dark mountain and Isocrates.

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>>46578977
Dear Journal,

We arrived at Mt Kratos the next morning. Sure enough a large army of Golden Saber soldiers were marching out. Eva looked distressed at the sight of them, but Rina assured her that "as soon as we had rescued Martina we'd turn around and we'll stop them."

Avoiding the army we headed into the foothills of Mt Kratos. Eva lead the way, following paths older than any of us, until we reached the summit. Isocrates' tower was an impressive sight. Built of black stone, it jutted into the sky like a declaration of war on the heavens and all who dwell within.

"I… did not expect it to be so… massive…" Siegbert murmured.

I had to privately agree. The tower was enormous, I'd seen smaller fortresses.

"That thing has got to be full of danger. Eva, did you really come up here when you were younger?"

Eva nodded slowly, "the tower was in disrepair back then. It's apparently been refurbished since."

"And recently too," Siegbert noted, "This stone is freshly cut."

"Hmm. I wonder if magic was involved," Rina mused.

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>>46579001
"Well lets rescue Martina and ask her," I said in an effort to keep everyone on track. "Does anyone see the entrance?"

"Over here!" Gaël called out after a few minutes of searching.

The large double doors that served as the entrance to the tower stood there ominously. We lit torches and opened the door to venture into the tower.

My first impression was that of a catacomb, all alcoves and shadows with the scent of the long dead in the air. I wondered if this similarity might be more than a coincidence.

"Keep an eye out for trouble. We're not sure what else is in here with us."

As I said that the hells came loose, a shrieking howl broke out from the surrounding corridors. Bodies, in all stages of decay from fresh to barely more than bone, poured out at us. As the horde attacked us, I shouted in vain for everyone to stay together, but it was no use and the flow of combat separated us.

While the individual creatures were easy to kill, their numbers were unending. Ducking into an alcove, I sighed with relief as the horde passed me by. As they stormed off into the distance, the tower slowly grew as quiet as a tomb once again.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I heard Veila call out in the distance.

"I can hear you Veila, but I have no idea where you are."

"I can hear you both, but I'm lost." Eva called out.

"Alright, let's not panic. If you can, retrace your footsteps back to the entrance. "

I began to follow my own advice, tracing the path of undead that I cut down back, but soon came to an unfamiliar hallway. A cold wind came from one of the alcoves and I approached expecting trouble. To my shock, I saw a window and through it the mountain well below me. Somehow I had made my way to the higher floors of the tower! I called out again, "Hello? Anyone near me?"

Rina replied to me, "Sir Knight! I can hear you!"

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>>46579143
>Is anyone else here? Honestly, feedback keeps me going.

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>Still going. Just let me know if you're here. Seriously, feedback is the best motivator possible. It helps keep writers going.
>>46579143
"This may sound like a strange request, but can you look for an alcove with wind coming through it?"

A few moments later I heard a cry of alarm, "What is this? How did I…"

"I'm not sure either. I definitely didn't climb any stairs. Keep alert, magic is almost certainly involved."

I began to explore the tower. Despite the fact that I suspected it would do no good, I tried to keep track of my path and where I was. I kept going until I came across a strange sight, several desiccated warriors laying on the ground. Their armor was similar to that worn by Maximus and the other draconic guards I had seen, so I began to examine the bodies for clues. I found a journal on one of the bodies and began to peruse it.

"General Martinus' campaign has been successful so far, but this mission is madness. We're supposed to find some sort of collecting chamber for souls, but this tower deliberately confounds navigation. That kind who was assisting the Keeper of Prophecies, Regulus, was right. Without the Gladius we'll never find the chamber, but if we fail here, it'll only take one soul to bring the terror of Isocrates back into the world. We'll redouble our efforts, but I'm afraid that this Prophecy of Vengeance will come to pass."

>>46579175
I'm here reading along when I can during work breaks

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>>46579410
Looking at my sword carefully, I wondered what the Gladius Amore had to do with the chamber. I had no doubts that the Gladius the journal referred to was the Gladius Amore. Everything Regulus had said about the prophecy suggested it. So what did a sword of love have to do with this collection chamber? I was brainstorming ways that a soldier could use the sword to navigate, but then I realized that I was going about this the wrong way. Even if the dragon guards here had the Gladius Amore, they still would have failed. The sword and it's abilities weren't important, the prophecy of Regulus' was. It wasn't about them, it was about me., it couldn't have happened to then, it had to happen now. Almost by instinct, I reached out with my sword and began to turn around, sure enough the sword began to hum when pointed down one of the hallway , resonating off something. I followed the resonations through corridor after corridor, the view out the windows I passed came from higher and higher floors. I was heading in the right direction.

I was having dinner when you started the thread but I'm reading now.

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>>46577483
Thanks for finishing the story, always hoped you'd come back!

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Thanks everyone. I'll be back in just a minute.

>>46581754
See you soon, KotR

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>>46580585
Soon I could hear the sound of chanting. I kept going forward towards the source. I soon came to a heavy door, the chanting still sounded very distant so I carelessly opened the door. To my surprise I saw a woman wrapped in red and white silk and gauze before me.

"Miss? Are you -"

The woman suddenly turned and I caught a glimpse of eyes focused in rage before she let out a scream. This wasn't an ordinary scream, but rather a soul rending wail that ripped through me, causing me to stagger and brace myself against the wall as my vision faded at the edges. When I recovered, the woman was gone.

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>>46584542
"That's not a good sign…" I said to myself as I looked around the room. The chamber I was in was large and comprised of large square pillars arranged in such a way that they formed a labyrinth. A faint red glow emanated from the center of the maze. I entered slowly and tentatively, looking around for danger.

"Why you?" I heard a voice whisper behind me. I whirled around suddenly to see a ghostly arm grasping at me from within a pillar. I beat at it with my sword and was relieved to see the arm retract. I'd scarcely gone further when the voice returned, "Why not me?" this time the hands were nearly at my throat before I fended them off. As I traveled through the maze, the questions grew more probing and the hands more desperate in their attempt to grab me. I began running, guiding myself through the sword alone, as I ran the hands grew more and more numerous, coming out of the walls, ceiling, and floor, trying to claw at my armor and clothes to hold me back. "Why you? Why not me? Why not? Why were you chosen? Wasn't I enough? Why were you chosen instead of me?"

I kept following my sword towards the center of the maze. I was beginning to suspect that I knew what was hounding me. Sure enough as I entered the center of the maze I found the ghostly woman from before, she was broken down and crying. I sat down besides her and patted her on the shoulder and repeated some words that I had spoken ages before, "Princess Emile? I'm a Knight of the Realm. I'm here to help you."

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>>46584759
>Princess Emile? I'm a Knight of the Realm.

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>>46584759
The ghost looked at me sadly. "You... you're the one who..."

"Yes, I am."

"Why?"

It was an easy question, but it deserved and answer. "In your case... you spent more time projecting your desires on to your loved ones than accepting them for who they were. To put it mildly. Now tell me, what happened to you?"

The ghostly princess sat there quietly. Finally she spoke, "When you… killed me, I still had that rod in my hand. As everything faded to black, I could feel myself being pulled, pulled out of my body to here. I was dragged through this tower to the lair at its pinnacle. There I could feel parts of my soul stripped away, and as I died the corpse in the center of the room slowly came back to life." Looking at me sadly she finished, "I've been trapped here ever since."

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>>46584782
>Tell me about Zinovey. Why does he wear the armor?

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>>46584815
I immediately felt a wave of guilt wash through me. Despite the logical argument that I had no way of knowing what would happen to her, I still felt responsible for her predicament. After all, she wouldn’t be in this situation without me.

"Alright. I'll do what I can to free you, destroying this collecting chamber should help. However I need some help from you first. I have several friends lost throughout this tower. Can you find them and lead them to the right spot?"

The ghost nodded slowly, "I think I can do that."

"Good. I need them up here. I need to stop whatever Isocrates is doing in that chamber."

"He's draining her of life, it won't help him though."

"What?"

"He needs the rod. Without it he'll never be whole no matter how many lives he drains."

"Then can I leave the rod -"

The ghost shook her head, "No. The rod needs to be destroyed in that chamber, else Isocrates will never die. This has all been a plan to get the rod retuned to him. He intends to leave you with no choice but to bring it before him."

"Well, he succeeded. I can't let him hurt Martina."

I saw Emile flinch at Martina's name, but fortunately the ghost only nodded, "I… I'll go find your friends now…"

With that the ghost faded away leaving me to find my way through the now deathly quiet labyrinth.

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I'll be back in a few. Thank you for your patience.

>>46585077
Patience well rewarded, thank you for writing and entertaining us.

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I think I'm out for the night. Sorry. I'll finish up tomorrow if the thread is still up. Can someone archive it in case it does go down?

Thanks.

>>46585633
Bookmarked this. Seems interesting. Good on you for coming back after so long, far to many would just leave it be after a break.

>>46585633
holy shit, you're back.

Keep it up, anon.

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You have no idea how much I've missed this story, my friend.
What made you stop writing so suddenly? Did you get a serious case of writer's block or did you simply take a break? Either way, thank you for coming back.

>>46585633
Thanks for writing, see you tomorrow.

Been here since the first thread when everything started. Glad to see you back KotR

>>46585633

I was there in the first thread, I can't believe you are back. Time flies so fast.

>>46587691
yeah, it's fucking bizzare looking at the archive dates

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>>46585633
I'm back. I'll begin writing again soon. Thanks for the support everyone.

>>46585820
Yeah. The little winter festival arc really bogged down my writing progress. Before I knew it several months had passed. I always meant to come back and finish though.

>>46590910
nice to see this story back in action, Knight.

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>>46584918
I eventually found my way to a set of stairs of black stone leading upwards towards an opening alit with arcane light. As I slowly crept up the stairs towards the light the sound of chanting filled the air. Steeling my nerves, I ran the last few feet and charged into the space beyond.

I found myself on the roof of the tower, a flat plane with several rows of spires forming concentric circles from the center. The multiple rows of spires made getting a clear line of sight difficult, but I could see that the innermost ring was being used to hold Martina, in her draconic form, prisoner with chains fastened to her. I could see the cloaked figure I'd last met in Alberto Citta slowly circling her. As I watched he extended his hand and tendrils of darkness flowed towards Martina, I'd describe their touch as almost a caress, if it weren't for the roars of pain and fear that Martina let out as the touched her.

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>Already on page 5, /tg/ is a touch fast today

>>46591916
As I approached quietly, hoping to take Isocrates by surprise, I heard him speak, "Can you feel it? The life, and all the power that comes with it, leaving you? You dragons never truly appreciated the sheer power that was your birthright, and you never understood what it's like to be denied that power due to an accident of birth, to have to work and toil for every scrap of it you can grab. To lose both kith and kin for its lack. But you will learn that last part at least. I can sense that someone dear to you is near.

With that he turned and launched the dark tendrils towards me. I screamed in pain as they wrapped around me. I wasn't being crushed, it was far worse. It felt like I was being bled out and drugged to sleep at the same time. As the edges of my vision began to fade to black, I heard Aimée cry out "Stay away from him you bastard!" I heard Isocrates cry out in pain before whirling around to face the unexpected opponent, a dagger wound in his back. As Isocrates tired to turn his magic on her, I lunged forward attacking to keep his attention. While my sword struck him solidly several times, it had no effect. Remembering Emile's words I turned to Aimée and called out, "We need to find a way to destroy this rod! Did you see anything that seemed useful?"

Martina weakly rose her head, "Sir Knight! We need to - Augh!" she was cut off as arcane energy flowed from the spires down the chains to shock her.

"Aimée, try to get Martina free! I'll keep Isocrates busy!"

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>>46592257
Aimée nodded and as she ran off I launched a series of attacks. I initially thought they were working as I had pushed Isocrates back into one of the spires, but to my dismay he only laughed, "Did you think that would work" and dissolved into a cloud of dark smoke. I heard Aimée scream in pain and had to rush, weaving through the spires to try to save her. I saw Isocrates draining Aimée of life and I thought I was going to be too late but suddenly a flask came from out behind a spire, smashing into Isocrates' head and pouring liquid fire over him. He roared in rage and pain as he used his magic to rip the flames from his body and hurl them at me. As Siegbert came from behind the pillar, he called out to Aimée, "Get out of the way! I have bigger bombs to use!"

As Aimée scrambled to safety, Siegbert threw several other flasks at him, this time Isocrates was prepared and with a wave of his hand the flasks froze in midair. Siegbert and I had to duck behind a pillar to dodge as bombs began to launch themselves back at us. I was about to be killed with my own ally's bomb, when an armored dwarven woman stepped out from nowhere and battered Isocrates away with a shield bash. As the vial he was flinging at us crashed uselessly to the ground the dark figure roared "Why are there so damn many of you? How many more of you will pop up to try to stop me?"

Suddenly an arrow embedded itself in him. I saw Felìcita a good safe distance away call out "At least one more!"

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>"At least one more!"

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Be back in a few. Thanks again for your patience!

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>>46593981
Sorry this is taking so long. Just had some tax stuff that needed to get worked out.

>>46595268
Don't worry. I'm watching a movie in the meantime

Minor bump.

I must go now, my people need me.
But take this bump as a parting gift

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>>46595268
I'm back. I'll post more in a bit.

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>>46592772
As Isocrates launched bolts of energy at Felìcita, Aimée suddenly returned, nicking at him with her daggers. Isocrates moved faster than I thought possible, and with a strength that I didn't think was in him, he grabbed Aimée by the throat, "You fool! Did you really think that you could defeat me?"

Suddenly the clattering of a link of chain interrupted the battle. Aimée smiled weakly and choked out, "Not defeat you… distract you…"

With a snarl of rage, Isocrates slammed Aimée into a spire. I only had time to cry out "Aimée, no!" as she went limp with a horrible cracking sound and Isocrates disappeared into a cloud of smoke again.

Siegbert called out, "I'll take care of her Knight, just try to keep alive!"

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>>46599685
I nodded and charged off in Martina's direction, I arrived in time to Isocrates turning his wrath to Veila who was working on the chains. For a second I thought she would suffer Aimée's fate, but suddenly Rina was there, cutting at Isocrates with a quick series of strikes, giving Veila a chance to scramble away.

As Isocrates raised his hand to try to attack both of them, he suddenly found it pinned to a spire by a bodkin arrow. I turned to find the source of the shot, and saw Gaël flash me a smile as he drew another arrow.

Isocrates again turned to smoke and rematerialized to attack Gaël, but before he could do so, he found himself flanked by Boniface and Nadja. "Did you bring an army?" he roared as he dodged their twin attacks.

>>46599782

So this is still going, eh?

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>>46599832
Yes. I said I was going to finish the story and I will.

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>>46599782
And suddenly the battle was in our favor. Isocrates found himself surrounded on all sides, even Eva was there, supporting an injured Aimée with Siegbert.

"Give up an accept death gracefully Isocrates," I said with conviction, "You're fighting the inevitable."

Eva chimed in, "You're alone Isocrates. There's no one for you to live for. Why keep fighting?"

Isocrates chucked, "If solitude was any deterrence, I would have quit long ago. I lost my friends and family long ago. But in their place, I GAINED POWER!" With those words, he again launched dark tendrils at Martina. As the connected, I could see them pulsing… as though they were drawing something from her. He reached out with his other hand and suddenly I found a dark pressure bearing down on my head, trying to burrow its way inside my thoughts. From the looks on the faces of my companions, I could tell that they were in similar straits.

As I kneeled over clutching my head, Isocrates raised his hand and another burst of dark energy engulfed me. I collapsed to the ground, too weak to stand. Isocrates stalked over towards me, "Now Knight, give me the rod."

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>>46600409
I watched helplessly as my body moved of its own volition, I reached down, removed the rod from my belt and slowly handed it over to Isocrates. He took it from my hand triumphantly and shouted, "See what your defiance has brought you? Nothing! Now you were trying to free your dragon? Yes… now is a fine time to unleash her." With a wave of his hand the chains that bound Martina fell to the ground. As the rod began to glow a dull red, Isocrates continued, "Now dragon, show this Knight what your kind does to his. Kill him. Knight, there's a dangerous monster in front of you. You'd better slay it."

I got up and started to face down Martina. For a long terrible moment it seemed that all that had come to pass between our first meeting and that moment had never happened, and was just a dream. Martina was a dangerous dragon and I was a Knight out to slay her. And then our eyes met, and I recognized the warmth and caring in them. A pulse of energy emanated from deep within my chest, I felt it stretch down my arms and into the sword I was holding. From the sword, the energy spread out and suddenly the pressure in my head was repelled. I turned to Isocrates, "If you think all the power in the world will get me to turn on the people I love, you should get used to disappointment."

Martina turned and stood by my side, "Don't worry, it won't last too long for you," she snarled.

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>>46601415
Isocrates growled, "I said kill each other! Fight damn you!" As he spoke, the pressure returned to my head, but this time the energy from before acted as a shield, and with another pulse the pressure was repelled again. As I watched, small spider web cracks seemed to appear in the rod, but Isocrates was too focused on us to notice.

"How can you challenge my power? I've ruled the wills of greater beings that either of you!" With that Isocrates tried to dominate us again, and again he was rebuffed.

As more cracks appeared in the rod I spoke, "I have no doubt that alone I couldn't, but I'm not alone, am I Isocrates? I have people who care about me and that I care about in turn and I get strength from all of them. You, for all your hired mercenaries and ensorcelled servants, you are alone. You'll never have a purpose for your power and power without purpose is an empty thing, hollow and easily shattered!" with those words I swung my sword and struck the rod in Isocrates' hand, shattering it into uncountable fragments.

"No! No! You can't!" As we watched, Isocrates' body began to dissolve into smoke. This was different from the teleportation of before, it was uncontrolled, the result of something held together only by force and will finally breaking apart.

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>>46601857
With one final roar of rage, Isocrates died. I turned to Martina and ran to her, embracing her even before she returned to her human form. "I'm sorry. I shouldn’t have let you get captured - "

"Hush, love. You didn't 'let' anyone do anything. You saved me."

With Isocrates dead, my other companions began to regain their full faculties. Aimée ran over to us and gave Martina a hug almost as strong as mine. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

Rina walked up to us, "Likewise," turning to me she continued, "So what now, Sir Knight?"

I nodded slowly, "Well we do have a capital city to save from the Golden Saber and a dragon they don't expect to see again. Anyone up for a surprise rescue?"

And with that we departed, flying off into the early dawn sun, our hopes high and our futures bright.

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>>46602704
[The following pages have been inserted into the journal after being removed from a popular history book of the region]

The surprise raid on the Golden Saber siege of the capital was an unsurpassed success. The furious fires of Lady Martina broke the mercenary army and won the day. While many of the commanders lived to fight another day, they were only able to take small bands of soldiers with them. While some of these warbands became notorious in their own right, none of them were ever able to reach the infamy and power of the unified Golden Saber.

The Knight who led the raid soon found himself busy running between the Realm, Hammerburg, Albero Citta, and Omrachena Zemli due to his… close connections to major parties and royal families in each territory. Thus few were surprised when the Convocation of Vladychestvo reorganized the lands into the Imperial Realm, with the Knight vaulted into the position of King. While the unusual nature of the Royal Family caused some gossip amongst the nobility, the combination of wise rule, personal charisma, public popularity, and on rare occasion combat skills and dragonfire, kept the Imperial Realm stable to this day.

[The End]

>>46603174
It's been a long trip, but it has come to an end. Well done, Knight of the Realm.

Will we be seeing you again on some other fantastical journey?

>>46603174
Its been a long ride, but a fun one. I was here at the beginning, and I'm thrilled to be here at the end.
Damn good job.

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First I wanted to say thank you all for reading.

>>46603258
I do have a few ideas for a sequel. It won't be the same crew though.

>>46603265
Thank you for sticking with it! I'm glad you enjoyed the story.

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>>46603380
>>46603258
If you're interested in more, I'll probably update my twitter with the information.

https://twitter.com/Knight_of_TG

>>46603380
>>46603452
well, that's nice to hear.

>>46603380
>>46603452
but would it still involve harem shenanigans?

Also, would you be interested in turning the sequel into a quest?

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>>46603554
Yes it would.

And I remember that you were interested in a quest. I'd have to do some prep work for it, but I'd be willing to run one.

>>46603670
cool, man. Hope to see it soon.

>>46603670
Thanks for a great adventure, hope to see more soon.

>>46603670
Thank you for this story, hopefully i won't join late if you make a quest

Just caught up after work, thanks for the adventure KotR, its been a fun trip reading along.

I'll probably have an update on the sequel/quest later today. I'll keep you posted. If the thread is dead I'll just put it on twitter though.

>>46610677
link for the twitter then if you please.

>>46610937
https://twitter.com/Knight_of_TG

Sage as to not bump the thread unduely