Private Tales The Knight meets the Dawn

[Methuselah]

It had been a long time since he'd been at this spot. There were times when he thought back to being a youth, of how unfair he'd thought the world was and the little moments that made it possible to believe in a brighter future. Karnie, the smallest crow that he fed perched not far from him on the edge of the Lookout. He could see for miles, and the splash of light that bathed the Vale made it seem more magical than it normally did.

How had he denied himself this little pleasure for so long? He sat on what felt like the edge of the world, as his eyes scanned the countryside with an almost religious awe. The tragedy that had brought him here, had given him some kind of family. Life never promised an even trade, but he did feel fortunate for the lot that he'd landed on.

Karnie made a soft sound like he was startled before he took to flight. It was only then, that the Knight looked behind him to see someone else had followed the little path up to the top of the lookout. He wasn't surprised that someone had followed him up here, but he was surprised by who it was.

"Captain," He called to her, "Come, have a seat."

His gauntleted hand patted the stone beside him. He a notion that this little venture might be seen to some as adolescent, but he felt as though Helena would understand. Sometimes, the darkest moments create the most dynamic contrast to the light.

Those little moments were so often lost to the chaos of the world, that he clung to each one he could find and when the moments were hard, he would think back to this moment. To the cool touch of the stone, and know that the promise of warmth had just begun to peak its way above the horizon. All he had to do was wait a little longer.

 

[Helena]

"Methuselah," Helana bowed her head, ever so toward the Knight Pursuant and then, face a mask of calm that soon gave way to warm smile. "You need not call me Captain, old friend," she stepped toward him and the precipice by which he rest, and sat beside him, tucking her armored skirts beneath her as she did. "Especially not when there are no squires to be found."

The Vale stretched out before them, painted cool blues and purples and pinks, as the first golden rays of day strayed out from behind the world's distant edge. Traced the thin clouds that sailed on far with golds and orange that slowly caught fire with light.

"Beautiful as always," she said softly as the dark gave way to the light. Her face curled and curved with warmth as they welcomed the new day. "To think, such a sight goes on, with or without us here to see it," she closed her eyes and let her lungs fill with cool dawn air, and eased it out gentle and slow. Her eyes opened anew. "But I am thankful that we can see it, still to this day."

 

[Methuselah]

"Very well, Helena."

With the dawn came the promise of new challenges. The crisp, cool air on the tongue and fresh dew awaiting the sun's warmth to rise again. There was never a better time than the present to make something of the day, and Methuselah had found his plate surprisingly clean.

"Quite the day, indeed. I wish I could watch the sun rise every morning, but I am glad to see it today."

With a nod, he took in one last deep breath and looked over at his Captain. "Did you have a purpose to finding me, or was it good fortune that found you here?"

He knew that Helena was often times a busy person, so he didn't want to keep her waiting for too long if she'd brought an important task. In spite of his day being relatively free, it would still be unwise to tarry here too long. There were always things that he could do. Although, if the Captain did have a task in mind that would be all the better.

 

[Helena]

"None whatsoever," Helena replied, a playful lilt in her voice as she let her feet dangle from the edge of the Lookout, so high above the monastery. "But if you are offering, I could have you balance the budgets, or perhaps go over the review for supply requests put in from the knights readying for their next quests, check in with the forgemaster to see how the iron stock is doing..." she counted each task off on her fingers. "Oh, I heard Selene was out on one of her strolls again, this one has been for three days, if I am to believe Syr Edelbert, so maybe you'd like to act as Captain of Dusk for a day?" She side eyed him, and waggled her brows in invitation.

She smiled to herself, and shook her head as she let out a long sigh. "No, Syr Methuselah, I have no task for you this morning, I only wished to escape the doldrum of responsibility," she smirked. "Not very Captain like of me, I suppose."

She noted that one of his crow friends made their return. Black wings beat against the air as it reached out its talons to touch down on the cool stone. "Is that, Karnie?" she asked. "My, he's gotten bigger since we found him fallen from the nest, hasn't he?" How long ago had that been? She certainly was not Captain then. Pursuant, maybe. She reached a hand out to the crow, and wondered if he would come to her. "Are you itching to fly, Methuselah?" she asked, some small hint of sadness there in her voice.

 

[Methuselah]

"He has grown a lot," He mused quietly as he gave Karnie a little scratch on the head. As Helena stretched out her hand, the bird took a curious hop towards it, "He might not be the biggest among the flock, but he has grown quite cunning and resourceful. Perhaps not so cunning as to help with your duties, unfortunately."

He turned his head and offered a smile to Helena. It was obscured by his helm, but hopefully his voice conveyed the sentiment, "Perhaps I will work on a spell to conjure you an army of understudies. Maybe then you can take a day off with impunity."

Methuselah had never been very good at administrative duties, so he sincerely doubted that she actually wanted him to help her. It would probably just lead to a greater task to fix all of the mistakes that he'd make along the way. It was hard for him to focus on small details when he worked on pen and paper. That didn't mean that he wouldn't try, but there was also something a little comical about seeing him at a small desk trying to fit a pen in his hand.

"I remember that day very well. I'm still surprised that the Captain didn't make us clean out the latrines for a few weeks.' He laughed remembering back. He adopted a more stern stance and changed his voice to mimic their former Captain as he mimed, "'We have a duty to protect people. To fulfill our oaths, and you stopped for a bloody bird?'"

He let his mimicry fall off as he shot Karnie a warm smile, "Ended up having a soft spot for ya, though. No one can resist that charm."

 

[Helena]

She was glad to see Karnie take to her offered perch, if only to investigate it. She let out some swirled mana of the Wyld to coax the little corvid, so grown up since she had last seen him.

"If only there were a way to combat the smell," she said with a soft laugh, thinking of the army of undead that would crowd her office and lumber down the halls. Dead eyed, mouth agape as they carried back reports too and fro. Though, with Methuselah's talents, she was sure more than one or two of them would be highly capable of thought, speech, maybe even accounting.

Karnie hopped over onto her hand, adjusted his dapper wings, head cocked one side, then the other. She raised her hand up gently as Methuselah complimented their finely feathered friend.

"A bird," she recalled the re-animator saying to the captain, her voice in its own mimicry, to capture the cadence of her friend's speech. "Is of those souls whom we protect, Captain Siersemzi," Karnie cawed, as if in agreement, hopped, and flew off into the wind. "She was so mad at you in that moment," Helena went on, voice dreamy as it recounted the memory. "But she knew you were right,"

How like a knight of Dusk, to be a source of quiet comfort, even as the dawn rose, and the darkness of the night was quickly burned away.

"Do you ever wonder why she left?" Helena asked, her eyes downcast. She knew why. At least, she had a strong idea as to why. Many were the knights who became errant once their other was lost. Few carried on. Palm without Blade. Flame without Healer. How much worse it must have been to lose the one you loved. "I oft wonder where she is... and if she should ever return to us," her voice was heavy, laden with a sense of guilt, her eyes looked down at the world below. At the verdant wilds that were their home, and then up at the great tree which was their guardian.

 

[Methuselah]

"Perhaps she had too much paperwork?" The jest didn't hold any charm, but he offered it as a warp to the somber subject.

He tracked Karnie's flight through the air, and sometimes he wished he could take flight. To cast off the tethers of this earthly plane and live like a bird that drifted weightlessly on the breeze. He assumed it were not so simple as that, but there was no doubt that his affinity for birds could be attributed to the fantasy of a burden-less existence. As such, it was but a fantasy.

The former Captain of the Dawn was someone that he'd always admired and respected. Thoughts of her brought back other memories, ones that were not so pleasant. Speculation around her departure was not baseless, but it tarried in wake of a time he'd like to forget. The former Captains of the Order had almost been parents to him, and their loss had been a lesson in mortality that he'd not been truly prepared for. It had been easier to hide his pain and accept the change of guard in high spirits, rather than dwell on those feelings. He wasn't always sure if it had been the best thing, though.

"I choose to believe that it was for the best." Methuselah gave a nod as if he needed to convince himself of the fact. "Perhaps it was best for her. Perhaps for the order. Perhaps she's saving the very fibers of the Eldyr Tree. Regardless, there is no best so small as to be underserving of pursuit."

Some part of him believed that, but it was hard to know if it was hopeful optimism or stolid belief. He supposed that to chose to believe something was stronger than to base belief. Instinct was easy and often wrong. It could be very hard to change a thought once it has been rooted.

"And in some form or fashion, I know that I'll see her again." He turned to look at Helena more fully as he continued, "Even now, I see a lot of her sitting right next to me."

 

[Helena]

Helena's eyes widened upon his last remark, her cheeks felt warm as they flushed with blood. "You jest," she laughed it off with a nervous titter. "I, I am nothing like the captain," she dare not look at Methuselah. "She was always so sure, wise and knowing, I" she smiled bitterly. "I still can't understand why they chose me," her mind saw the silver flame burn bright before her.

The masters gathered around, all Pursuants and Sworn there too. Selene. The Commander.

They looked to her. And she felt the pang of fear strike through her like a flash of lightning.

A breeze, cold and crisp, swept past them, set her cloak to stir and she could see the crows ride the gust as they did their tricks. The expanse of the Vale, the distant shape of the Eldyr tree, so high above the horizon. "It probably was the paperwork," she said with a sad smile and a small laugh. "With all that out there, how long could a soul really resist?" her eyes turned toward the Dusker. "I just!" she said with a hint of fire there in her voice, and cast her eyes down, her stare hard. "I just wish I could be out there, Methusalah, afield," she huffed. Her expression baring a more childlike foulness. "Where my sword can do some good!" she pouted.

"Here, I am just a glorified paper pusher," she frowned. "Reading report after report, balancing the supplies, sending my sworn kin out into danger," she growled, then shouted out.

Some squires far below stopped whatever it was they were doing and gawked up confused.