The sound of heavy crunching earth and metallic clanging against worked grass was approaching, and from the misty morning fog the silhouettes of figures could be made out, growing in shape and opacity.<br/><br/>Soldiers, armored and armed with swords, polearms and the like road on horses, walked along the poorly maintained road that was lining the grasslands of central Soluunar. In the front of this squadron of individuals a darkly armored steel Knight walked a good distance away from the rest of them, a burgundy cloak draping over his shoulders and wavering on behind his steps. His face and head was covered by the sleek line-opened helmet that he wore, the horsetail of ornamental navy hair falling behind his back.<br/><br/>"Sir Morigan..." A young male voice called on from behind the solitary individual, his steps hurrying up that he may catch up with the long and consistent strides of the Knight.<br/><br/>"Surely you should ride upon your steed, you have been walking for the past three hours.." The lad spoke humbly and warily to him, motioning back to the black horse that was being led by his squire. The dark helm turned to gaze down at the shorter young man, the hidden eyes due to the shade of the metal roaming over his person.<br/><br/>As typical, all the soldiers were dressed in the colors of Lebidan: Red, gold and white. Their armor was not nearly as full or fancy as an official Knight of the King and Military, but still held their prestigious shine and strength without question.<br/><br/>After what seemed to be thirty seconds of long observation, the Knight finally spoke out to his assigned soldier; His voice strong, clear and concise, but with a monotone, cold touch to its rhythm and accents.<br/><br/><span style="color: #BF0000">"No. I would rather walk."</span><br/><br/>As quickly as his words started, they seemed to end. A pause between the pair occurred, Morigan having already turned his gaze back and to the front of his lone march while the soldier continued to look on over to him, as if expecting something more to come from their lead and subject of their escort. When it was apparent that the Knight was not going to reply any further about the topic, he soldier slowed his strides to fall back in line with the others, albeit awkwardly and with a slightly hung head.<br/><br/>Morigan had an amazing ability to squish the confidence of his companions interactions with him.<br/><br/>After another hours walk, the view of the camp came into place - The few armored gatherings of guardsmen and soldiers alike scattered about the area, a few turning their shapes to salute at the arrival of their comrades. Morigan paid them almost no mind, instead lifting a gauntlet to motion off at someone behind him with expectation.<br/><br/><span style="color: #BF0000">"Squire. My blade."</span>The words came out flatly, and with a rushing motion the young lad that led his horse scrambled about the equipment tied to the saddle, taking down the wide and long, sheathed blade with some effort. His steps followed on in a trot before he stopped near his Master.<br/><br/>"My Lord..." He spoke eagerly, lifting up the blade obediently before Morigans hand gripped the handle, a single swift motion of repetitive habit making it all it took for him to extend the leather wrapping around his chest and shoulder, the blade now pressed against the cloak along his back.<br/><br/>With that, the dark steel body made his way on further, his intentions now locked on the gathering of fellow Lordly Knights at the side, though he himself did not bother to approach too closely or mingle. Instead, he was paused near the edge of their group, turning off to stare outwards in silence at whatever it was that met his fancy.<br/><br/>He had only one purpose here, and that was war. Anything else was either a chore that needed to be done, or an accessory to his duty.<br/><br/>__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br/><br/><br/>At the boundaries of a small run down village, a mother and her maiden of a daughter walked side by side in the twilight of the evening. The skies were painted a darkening blue, the diamonds of star light shining away consistently among the threads of whispering clouds, a light breeze flowing through the treetops and sending trickling leaves upon their person.<br/><br/>In the daughters hands, wrappings of fabric and cloth were held tightly against her chest, keeping close the variety of herbs and twigs that she had gathered through the woods. Her Mother herself held a similar assortment, though in a basket and with much more ample quantity.<br/><br/>"I think Rollaine will be very greedy about what we found today, don't you think Ma?" He girl spoke out eagerly, a wide smile upon her freckled features and ringlets of brown hair.<br/><br/>"She is always so outrageous when we find her medicines and such, gets right on to cleanin' them up and storing them away for sale... Hey, Ma, do you think that man is going to return with the coin he promised? It's been a whole two nights since he visited the shop."<br/><br/>"I think she will be quite pleased, yes. As for the man, I do not know. He needed the extracts a great deal however, and I do not see the harm in the occasional charity." The older female replied, smiling off at her child as her cotton dress moved slowly with her steps.<br/><br/>"Charity, huh... Don't we already donate some of our stock to the temple? I think that's charity enough, don't you think?" The girl said with a bit of disappointment, rolling her eyes as she began to scan the growing lights of the village.<br/><br/>"Now now, dear. That is no way to think at all, that man could have been any of us. These coming days are harsh, it is important to help one another around these parts." The woman slightly scolded, giving her daughter a look before her gaze caught something off in the bushes.<br/><br/>The pair of women stopped to stare with a bit of concern, the leaves and twigs shambling about at the side as a few groans and whimpers of pain could be heard. Immediately, the Mother stepped forward with a bit of a hurry, the daughter hesitantly following along as her guardian's voice called out to the shrubs.<br/><br/>"Hello? Is anyone there? Are you hurt?" The older woman asked, her body shifting as she tried to get a better view of who was in the plant-life. "Ma... Maybe it's an animal, come on.." The girl commented off, but her suggestions were ignored blatantly by her Mother's further approach.<br/><br/>"H-help... I've been wounded.." A male voice, weak and desperate, squeaked out of the leaves and grasses, his shape becoming more and more noticeable as his movements became stronger. He appeared to be in his early thirties, unshaven for the past few days and scriggily brown hair falling along his features.<br/><br/>"Oh, come then! Let's get you up, we can help you off to the doctor and see what we can do.." The girl's Mother reassured him, moving forward to take hold of his arm and try to bring him to his feet.<br/><br/>With a swift and quick movement, the man shot up in aggression; His arm clinging about the female's throat as he gave a growl and forced a ramming motion on her frame, pinning her against a tree trunk as his forearm shifted against her collar.<br/><br/>"Stupid wench! Where is your coin?!" He spat out at her, ignoring the daugher's loud screams and call for help, but<span style="font-style: italic">not</span>ignoring the sudden hits of her fists against his back. His feet moved off to the side, his hand grabbing at her hair as his fingers came into a locking position along the many curled locks, pulling her scalp as the girl cried out in pain.<br/><br/>"I'll kill the both of ya' and let your snapped necks drain out into the ground!" He cracked out angrily, pulling about and pressing against the Mother's chest bone to distance himself from her clawing, screaming attempts at his face.<br/><br/>Their cries and angered groans were interrupted by the flash of a brilliant white light, the criminal's eyes blinking off in pain as he tried to focus upon the source of the sound, staggering away from the Mother as he dragged on the young girl by her head. The women gasped out in alarm, blinking with pain as they tried to focus on the what appeared to be a figure coming into view ahead of them, somehow floating in the threads of the air.<br/><br/>Glimmering, silver armor was the first thing that they saw, and gentle moon-like light bathed the edge of the forest as if the very stars themselves had fallen down from the heavens above. Black and pristine feathers of varying lengths and widths wavered gently in the serene and indiscriminate breeze, gathered long around the hips of the divine figure that had arrived among their shadows.<br/><br/>It was as if the sky itself had given birth to a Knight, for the figure stood perfectly balanced in a hovering stance above the ground, ornamental armor that revealed no skin or clear features creating a powerful presence, and a long and wide-bladed spear of a weapon pointed down non-aggressively to the earth. A helm of a face was staring at the triad of folk directly, the human-like but unnatural, sharp metallic front of the helmet holding an expression of peace, despite the two pairs of curving horns and variety of staggered plates that flowed back from it.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40FFFF">"What business have you, dark figure, with these pair of women on this night?"</span>A smooth, noble voice of a man rang out from the being, devoid of cruelty or anger, though questioning and firm with its inquiry. As he spoke, his grieves met the grassy ground and began to slowly walk forward, pausing after two steps as the shining, unnatural figure awaited the attacking man's reply.<br/><br/>The man immediately let loose the hair of the girl, falling to his knees as his expression held that of pure fear and desperation - His eyes were wide with pleading terror, his shaking and dirty hands rising up to grip together in the form of a prayer.<br/><br/>"R-rune's mercy, the God of the very Stars has come to place judgement on me!" He screamed out in alarm, shivering away in the light of being who gazed down at him in silence. "S-spare me, great lord! I beg of thee, do not slay my life this night!" He wailed on wards, the mans fear causing watery driblets of tears to peep down his cheeks. The women behind him had gathered up in their own awe and fear, the Mother clutching onto her daughter as their large, brown eyes looked up at the figure in shock.<br/><br/>The Knight did not answer, the collar of gathered feathers about his shoulders moving about in the moving air as he seemed to contemplate the groveling man before him, the slits for sight not revealing any irises, nor humanity. Finally, the voice returned, the spear being lifted upwards to point off to the woods.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40FFFF">"Flee this place. I do not wish to see you grovel."</span>He spoke, perhaps demanded, but the softness of his voice hinted towards it being an offer. The man complied with a rush of his feet, sprinting off with a tripping movement as he bolted through the woods and shrubs, vanishing into the dark that the God did not touch with his light.<br/><br/>His helm continued to stare off in the direction the man had run, though eventually it did return to the pair of women that gripped each other in his presence. As if the reality of the situation had finally settled in for the Mother, she bit her lip and swallowed harshly, finally speaking with a croaked and nervous voice. "Thank you, Lord of Starlight... Your blessing of protection will not be forgotten, as you have never been." She managed to make out, her daughter still staring at him with a bit of softened awe, in a way that a girl might spy a heavenly Prince.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40FFFF">"Tis little I have done, My Lady, though your thanks will be held dearly in my heart."</span>The shining Knight replied, a gauntlet rising to touch his chest plate with a bow of his upper half - as if bidding a noble woman farewell - before his shape turned and his attention moved off to the sky. The long, brown and rich braid of hair that followed along him swung slightly with his movement, his knees bending in the slight before pushing off in an elegant jump; Another great flash of light filled the forest, and the eyes of the women closed to spare them of being blinded once more before they opened wide in following, gazing off at the great trail of shimmering light the Elder God had made, leaving them in the tail of a shooting star.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>Akryanus landed among the gardens of the Hall of the Circle, those beautiful curvings of flowers, fountains and trimmed hedges that held a serene life among the Upper Regions that could not be touched by grief or strife. The God's grieves hovered a moment before they touched the pathways of stone, a light click of the metal meeting rock being heard as the horned helm faced off in constant stares at its surroundings. Rolyn was here, the God could tell. He had arrived nearby, the movement of blue robes catching the sightlines of the Knight before the soft clicks of his movement brought him closer to his Lord, stopping short of his tall presence before an armored knee dropped to the ground, the feathered skirt folding along his legs as his hand was brought across his chest.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40FFFF">"My Lord..."</span>He began, the devout tones of the Knight present as he stayed lowered before his raiser, teacher and father-figure. Finally he would rise, tilting his head upwards that he may address the silver-haired God of Time that stood much taller than his own person.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40FFFF">"You are here, which means you are displeased."</span>