The Kingdom of Talarius - The Dark Knight's Redemption

The Kingdom of Talarius is part of the world of Edillion which I have been creating and in which many of my miniatures are set.  The upcoming Kickstarter for the Kingdom or Talarius tabletop army is a part of this world and is set after the events of the story below.  The story will be continued daily throughout the course of the Kickstarter campaign, introducing new characters and units.

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And now on to the story...

Cedric walked with purpose towards the doors of the throne room. The Guards who stood before him lowered their halberds, simultaneously stepping to the side, saluting the man known as the Dark Knight. He stopped for a second, to compose himself. Nodding in acknowledgement at the two soldiers, he took a deep breath and proceeded to greet the King.

King Adelric sat atop an intricately carved golden throne depicting both great battles of the past and ferocious dragons. He was an elderly man, wrinkled of skin and hunched of body. Those who had known him as the mighty warrior of his youth whispered it was a shame to see the once fair and just ruler like this. He seemed different now, like his spirit had twisted with age, and he was concerned no longer for the wellbeing of his people and the prosperity of his kingdom.

"Do you have it?" croaked the ancient monarch.

Cedric reached into a pouch and retrieved a beautiful green faceted crystal which exuded an eerie glow. "The soul of Tiamat, my Lord. But…"

"BUT NOTHING! Do you dare to doubt the orders of your King?! You have done well today. Hand over the crystal and leave me."

Stepping up to the throne bearing the crystal in his outstretched hand, the Dark Knight handed the jewel to his King.  He bowed his head, turned away and left.

As the great carved doors of the throne room closed behind him, he stood for a minute in quiet contemplation over his actions of the last few days. How many had they slaughtered? Dozens at least. They had barely even put up a fight. Such a seemingly peaceful people, and yet King Adelric's orders had been very explicit – Kill any that stand in your way, let them know and fear the might of Talarius!

Cedric retired to his chambers, overcome with regret and remorse. He had followed the Kings orders, yet his actions were in stark contrast to his morals. He KNEW that what he was doing was wrong, and yet he did it anyway. Was he a bad person? His thoughts stayed with him through a sleepless night.

The next day on entering the Throne Room, Cedric was greeted by a visibly changed Adelric. He seemed much fuller of life than just the day before when Cedric had handed over the Soul of Tiamat.

"Enter, Dark Knight," the King said, an unusual crackle to his voice. "I have another mission for you. Do not disappoint me, and DO NOT question my orders again".

As he was speaking, Cedric looked and saw a yellow flash across the Kings eyes. It was only for a fraction of a second, but he knew that something was amiss.

"My King, I will gladly carry out your orders, but I will never again slaughter innocents."

The King's voice rose, and the crackle grew more pronounced, "YOU WILL KILL ANYONE THAT I COMMAND YOU TO! I am your King. HOW DARE YOU question ME!" Adelric rose from his throne, stepped towards Cedric and stuck him. The heavily armoured Dark Knight flew at least 5ft backwards and hit the floor with a crash. He looked shocked but drew himself to a fighting kneel, wiping blood from his mouth with the leather palm of his gauntlet.

"How long have you worn his skin demon?" said Cedric to the now enraged King.

Adelric began breathing heavily, growing with each breath. In the space of no more than five heartbeats of seemingly violent metamorphosis, his robes tore, his limbs stretched and swelled, and his skin split open, revealing a muscular and hairy form. His face elongated and his maw protruded and huge tusk-like teeth burst from his bottom jaw. A 9ft tall wolf-like demon took shape in front of him. "A Barghest?" questioned Cedric to himself. Before he could rise to his feet, the beast was bearing down on him at speed! A huge razor clawed hand swiped at the Knights head, but Cedric was no novice in combat, and his warrior instincts saw him clear of the danger, diving into a roll and finishing on his feet, drawing his sword as he exited the manoeuvre.

The Demon turned to face him again, roared and ran, teeth bared and light glinting off the razor-sharp claws. Unable to react due to the ferocious beast's speed, Cedric braced for impact, using his sword to deflect the blows. With his colossal claw, the Demon forced the blade to the floor, but Cedric's grip remained firm. The Demon leaned forward to bite at Cedric's face, but just an inch or so away from sinking in his teeth, the fiend recoiled, screaming in pain. Cedric had hauled his sword upwards, cutting through his attacker's hand severing fingers, and slicing into its bicep and chest.

From what seemed like nowhere a halberd pierced the beast's shoulder, and another swiped at its head, missing. Reeling from the pain, the Barghest grabbed at the weapon in its shoulder and reached out with its good hand for the wielder. Seeing her comrade's throat torn out by this monster forced the remaining guard to back off, keeping the Demon at length with her weapon between them.

Steadying his stance, he took a deep breath and began to summon his inner darkness. The tattoo beneath his armoured Pauldron began to itch and burn, and a purple mist began to build over his skin and travelled to his hand. He adjusted his grip on his sword, and the purple swirls travelled over the surface of the blade, forming briefly into demonic shapes. The purple glow grew in intensity with sinister hisses emanating from the blade. Cedric's eyes glowed with the same purple hue, and he stared into the soul of the Barghest, whose wounds were beginning to heal already!  The Dark Knight swung his blade in an arc, sending a purple razor-like light across the room, cleaving the Demon almost in two.

As the darkness faded, Cedric returned to his normal state. The remaining guard began to walk toward the demonic body on the floor, but the Demon started to screech and squirm as she approached. The Barghest, holding itself together with it's arms, leapt to it's feet snatching the shocked guard in it's teeth as she was adjusting her grip to strike a finishing blow. With the now rag doll-like victim in its mouth still weakly fighting back at her tormentor, the creature ran across the room and dived out of a huge stained-glass window.

Cedric was running after the fiend as it headed for the window and then it was gone! The throne room was four stories up; indeed, the fiend could not possibly survive that fall, not in its current state! Running across the room to lean out of the window, he expected to see the beast's body on the cobblestones of the training yard below.  But there was no body to be seen, just a small trail of blood leading to the courtyard wall.

Turning, he threw open the massive throne room doors to an assembly of guards preparing to enter the chamber.

"Have my mount readied! No one is to enter this throne room until I return!"