The Last Knight

I enjoy writing stories with epic and mysterious characters, so I had a lot of fun with this fantasy story.

• Fantasy
• Fiction
• Short story
• Action and Adventure

								
 
It was the fifth day of the midsummer festival when a travel-worn messenger arrived. He was covered in dust, and looked as if he hadn’t slept for a few days at least. His eyes had dark circles underneath, and his hair was wildly windswept. Shoving his way through crowds of celebrating peasants, merchants, and nobles, the messenger shouted to a group of guards standing at the entrance to the King’s castle.
“I have an urgent message for the King,” he commanded. The guards standing at the entrance to the central palace looked to see if the man wore the badge of the kingdom’s messengers, and then nodded to each other and opened the heavy gate. Pacing nervously, the messenger at last reached the King’s throne. It was perhaps the most decorated and venerated part of the palace, covered in large gems and detailed carvings. Raised up above everyone else in his palace sat the King himself. He nodded his approval as the messenger bowed quickly.
“State your message, and be concise,” commanded the King, who was a rather tall man with a neatly trimmed beard and flowing hair, as he gestured toward the messenger. His deep and stately voice echoed throughout the halls.
“My lord, the dragon of the Dead Forest has been sighted outside of its cave. We have not heard any news from the Dragon Guard, only that he did not notice the dragon escaping from the main entrance. We can only assume that it has created some alternate exit from the cave. Lord, without assistance from your Knights, the destruction that will commence from an escaped dragon will be immense. Your fields, villages, and cities will all burn when the dragon finds them.” As soon as he said those words, the courtroom became silent, except for the messenger’s heavy breathing. All of the men looked shocked, and wondered what the King would do in the face of this unexpected disaster.
 “I will send my last remaining knight as soon as possible. The others are currently fighting on the west border, as the neighboring kingdom has been threatening us by crossing into the River Marsh. My Knight is, fortunately, somewhat experienced in dragon warfare. He will bring his longbow to take down the dragon from a distance. That way, he will not be burned by the wounded dragon.”
“Thank you, my lord,” the messenger replied. “I will ride back to spread the news.” He bowed again, and spun around toward the door. But the guards had shifted to block him.
“You will say nothing about this to the people!” the King responded forcefully. “I do not want news to spread to the other kingdoms that our army is spread thin. My Knights are the most valuable warriors in the kingdom. You will ride back to your village, and resume your duties there. But do not mention my Knight.”
“Yes, my lord,” the messenger said. The guards moved to allow him out, and then shut the heavy palace doors with a bang. Glancing at the king, one of the robed Advisors that sat near the throne quickly got up, turned toward one of the halls and slipped out cautiously.

The last Knight had been engrossed in a conversation with one of the elder warriors when the Advisor approached him.
“Sir, I have something that might interest you,” the Advisor said to the Knight.
“Perhaps another time would be easier?” the Knight glanced over. He was a scarred but still somewhat handsome man, with dark, trimmed hair.
“It’s very important,” the Advisor said firmly. Nodding his head, the Knight stood up and followed the advisor into one of the more private halls. Stooping behind some old and dusty crates in a storage area, the Advisor picked up a long, thin object. Then he carefully dusted it off and handed it to the knight.
“You might not be aware, but I was once a King’s Knight. This dagger was gifted to me before I rode out to fight the Northern Kingdom. I have decided that you may need it to succeed in your mission, which you have not been told about yet. Receive it now, but take care, as it is not as ordinary as a simple dagger.” The Knight looked sharply at the long dagger which he now held, and then fastened it to his belt. He was not the sort of man to be slow to obey orders, and for this reason he had become one of the King’s Knights.
“Thank you, Advisor. I am sure this dagger will serve me well, whatever task is ahead of me.” The Advisor bowed quickly, and then disappeared around a corner in the corridor.

Well experienced in battle, the Knight quickly and methodically strapped on his sword, armor, and shield. The night before he had been informed of the circumstances that the Kingdom was under, and he had been commanded to set off as soon as possible toward the Dead Forest. The now fully-armored Knight grasped his longbow, climbed onto his sturdy horse, and promptly galloped into the castle streets. All of the villagers and animals that stood in his path quickly backed away to avoid the horses' powerful hooves. After a few hours of galloping along the Kingdom’s roads, the Knight finally reached the edge of the Dead Forest. A sickly smell came from the dark foliage that lay to the side of the road, the very smell that gave the horribly twisted trees their name. His horse plunged against the reins, seemingly out of fear of the dark trees. Thinking quickly, the Knight decided that traveling through the dense forest would be easier without his horse. He calmed the horse down, and then rode it a few miles to a small inn, which gladly kept the Knight’s horse in their stables. Once he had arrived back at the edge of the Dead forest, the Knight pulled out a detailed map to find the path he would take to get to the Dragon Cave. To his dismay, it was nearly on the other side of the forest, and he knew that it would take him more than a day of walking through the decaying forest to get there. His muscles were already burning from the weight of his armor, and he knew they would be much worse when he arrived at the cave.

After a full day of traveling, the Knight was exhausted. The terrain inside of the Forest was very rough and wild, so it had taken him even longer than he had expected. The Dragon Cave was only a few mile’s stretch, so he found a small clearing to camp for the night. The light was already fading, so he quickly gathered as much firewood as he could. He lit a small fire for a bit of warmth during the night, and then set up a cotton blanket on the ground to sleep on. Out of his bag he took a few pieces of dried fruit and meat, and ate those by the fire before laying down and trying to get some sleep. As soon as he slowed down his breathing, he noticed that the forest was filled with strange sounds. Nearby a small creature clacked its wings, and in another spot he could hear a low, strange humming. Closing his mind off from the noises, he faded into a deep sleep.
As soon as the morning light shone its beams through the twisted branches of the Dead Forest, the Knight arose and moved quickly. Within a few minutes the cotton blanket was carefully stashed in his pack, the extra firewood had been thrown into the woods, and the ashes of his fire were spread about and covered. He did not want to leave evidence that a human or some more unpleasant creature could discover. After checking the level of the sun, the Knight looked at his map and headed off in the direction of the cave. The terrain which he crossed had somewhat lessened in difficulty, so that he was able to make better time than he had planned for.

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