157 Tale of Tales (2/2)
\”Y-yeah,\” I replied with a sheepish grin of my own. \”Besides that.\”
\”Well, it all harkens back to the empty throne and the story of the lost monarch and his five sense knights, protectors and keepers of the five keys,\” Chris Pint began in a voice that reminiscent of old movie narrators.
Chris Pint explained that the story of the lost monarch and his sense knights was scattered in bits and pieces throughout the Fayne. No single clan had the complete set, but conquer enough cities and you'd get to collect more facts about the time before the warring states period.
During his early days as the Lord of Stars, Chris Pint was obsessed with the legend, and he scoured the Starfall clan's repository of knowledge for whatever information he could find.
\”The sense knights were humans handpicked by the lost monarch to serve two purposes,\” Chris revealed. \”Their overwhelming strength earned them a place as his royal guard as well as the keepers of the five keys.\”
\”Overwhelming strength… the royal guard,\” I repeated.
\”Keepers of the five keys…\” Luca said again.
\”Don't mistake me, Dean,\” Chris Pint warned. \”These five knights didn't gain overwhelming strength from their gifts. According to the legend, they were incredible already. That's why they were chosen. The five sense gifts only made their individual talents shine out more. So the story goes.\”
\”What are the five keys?\” Luca asked.
\”That's where the tale gets a little wonky,\” Chris Pint sighed.
He went on to tell us that the five keys were special keys that could open doors to places beyond the Fayne. What those places were, where these doors could be found, and what happened to these keys, Chris Pint couldn't tell us as that information was lost to time.
\”All I can tell you was that these keys were such important relics that each knight was sworn to protect them and keep them apart. In fact, each knight was given an army of tens of thousands to ensure these relics would never be brought together,\” he revealed.
\”Why?\” My eyes were glued to him.
\”Apparently, if all five keys were in the same place, it would herald the coming of Ragnarok,\” he answered in an ominous tone.
\”Ragna… rok?\” Luca repeated the word that was foreign to his tongue.
\”It's the Norse word for the end of days,\” I answered, once more bringing my knowledge of random things to the forefront of our conversation. \”There are some similarities to Norse myths and fairy lore… I mean, they even call their golden moon Idunn, which is also the name of the Norse goddess of Spring.\”
\”My god… you are a nerd,\” Chris Pint joked.
\”Told you,\” Luca added.
After they finished laughing at my expense—the two of them were really hitting it off—Chris Pint continued with his tale.
When the lost monarch vanished from his throne, he took his five sense knights with him, and with them went all knowledge of these secret keys and their purposes. Hundreds of years later, the first human to wield a sense gift was born among the slaves of the Moon clan. This meant that at least the sense knight of touch was dead.
The rise of a new sense knight brought about the fracturing of the Moon clan and the rising of the Scarlet Moon. That was part of the reason why so many living fairies both feared and revered the powers of those who wielded sense gifts.
\”Within the last thirty years, the three of us who wield the gift of senses managed to do some pretty amazing stuff,\” he boasted. \”The old man's now the most feared creature in the entire Fayne. No one even wants to speak his name aloud. I rule one of the wealthiest clans in the south. And that girl who came before you was recently elevated to the rank of Inquisitor by that nosy group of Justiciars.\”
Chris Pint took another puff of his pipe and then let out a cloud of blue smoke from his nostrils.
\”You've got a lot to live up to, kiddo,\” he finished.
---
Later that night, after our conversation with the Lord of Stars was over and I'd gathered my troops at the southern edge of his camp standing by a wagon he'd sold us. I found myself lost in thought, wondering just what kind of legacy fate had pushed me into.
I wondered inwardly if I would I be as successful as those who came before me. Or would I fail to live up to the expectations that Chris Pint shoved onto my shoulders?
As I pondered these questions in my head, Aura stood watch over me. Of course, I'd told her everything Chris Pint had shared with me, even the part about my mom. I didn't blame her though as I knew she was trying her best on that front.
Aura hadn't said anything about the sense knights. It was possibly because she didn't know about them, or if she did, she wasn't willing to tell me right then and there. I suspected it was the latter as she seemed nervous throughout my telling as if I'd stumbled onto a secret she didn't think I was ready to hear. But I didn't press her for answers. I trusted she would tell me once she thought I should know more.
Minutes of rumination later, and the convoy we'd been waiting for had finally arrived.
Azuma, along with several centaur riders from Xanthor's unit had arrived to escort us out of the Westersand Desert.
And as we readied to depart, I glanced behind me one last time and found the Lord of Stars standing in front of the last tent. He waved his hand at me in farewell, his face almost sad as if he thought that we would never see each other again.