Unto the Fearful Ocean

The village stunk of fear… or was it the villagers themselves? The crowd stared in awe as the knight and his squire moved past, both ahorse, and surely the most impressive sight they had seen for ages. Everett had been a squire for almost a year, and this was the first time he had accompanied the knight on a king’s errand.

Wisper Village was the most remote settlement in all the realm, but they paid their taxes and produced food for nobler tables than their own; so, the King’s justice would be upheld, even here. “A sorry sight better left out of mind,” the knight told him on approach.

Sir Aeron, the Strong Arm of Wilburforce, rode a huge chestnut warhorse which made Everett’s garron look much like a pony beside. The knight wore plate armor from shoulder to shin, choosing not to wear his helm until battle, allowing his hair to cascade down as clean and golden as a sunbeam. His armor was dark polished steel, dyed midnight blue and banded with bronze and silver striping. A magnificent sight, and even his warhorse shared in the glory, wearing a matching set of steel barding that made the animal look as if it was made of metal.

Everett, however, wore a simple leather doublet over chainmail, both as brown and dull as his own hair. His garb was not nearly as protective as the knight’s armor, but it allowed him to move quickly out of harm’s way. Harm’s way, the squire thought, exactly where we’re headed. They continued through the clutch of humble houses, when the villagers began to grow restless. Suddenly, voices started to cry out.

“Save us, brave sir knight!”

“It’s the devil’s work!” shouted an old hag.

“No, witchcraft!”

Sir Aeron stopped his mount and held up a gauntlet, “Good people, I bid thee disperse.” Speaking as gallantly as he could manage, “We have been sent to rid you of the criminal scourge! Now, where –”

“Monster it was! A terrible beast!”

“No, some sorcerer put a spell on us!”

Sir Aeron once again held up his hand. “Silence! I will not answer to a mob. Who speaks for this village? I would hear one voice, not many.”

They seemed confused at first, until a man stepped forward through the rabble. He was older than Sir Aeron, his beard turned to salt and pepper, but he still looked strong and vital.

“I will speak for us,” he said. “I am Oswell.”

“Good,” Sir Aeron said, “Tell me of these bandits. I was told that some of your people have been taken. Have you received ransom demands?”

The man bristled and looked at the others in the crowd, unsure how to respond.

“Speak!” The knight barked. “I would have this over quickly. Tell me, how many people are missing?”

“None.” He said and Sir Aeron looked dumbstruck. Oswell cleared his throat and continued, “Some were taken, that’s true… but they came back.”

“Then what’s the problem?” The squire heard himself say, only to feel Sir Aeron’s sharp eyes on him. Everett looked down and away from his gaze, “Sorry, Sir.”

“No,” Sir Aeron said and looked back to Oswell, “My squire speaks true. If your village has been restored, why petition the king? Why waste my time and worse yet, the king’s?”

“Their bodies have returned,” the old hag said, “But not their souls!”

Sir Aeron raised an eyebrow, and Oswell stepped forward, “What she means to say, is something’s been done to them.” He beckoned someone over and the crowd parted to reveal a man and his wife. The woman held the man by his elbow and guided him to where Oswell stood. The man's face was vacant of all expression, and his eyes were milky white where once they might have been blue.

“This is Hynek,” Oswell said, “He was the first to be taken. We found him wandering out of The Old Forest a week later… And there are five more just like him!”

“So,” Sir Aeron started, “they blinded him?”

“Worse than that,” The woman said, “He’s not himself. He—”

“The mouth does not speak, yet the ears can hear,” Hynek said to no one. “The eyes reveal nothing but see everything!” He then turned his milky eyes toward the knight, “I looked into the darkness and saw infinity.”

“He speaks in riddles.” Sir Aeron said.

“What does it mean?” Everett asked, his curiosity once again getting the better of him. This time, Sir Aeron looked genuinely disgusted.

“An evil spirit haunts us!” cried a villager.

Once again, the crowd erupted in a froth of terrified pleas and heated arguments. They’ve gone mad, Everett thought and looked to his master. When Sir Aeron had enough of the tumult, he spurred his warhorse forward.

The villagers moved out of his path, but that did not stop them from following. Shouting continued, but the knight ignored them, his square jaw tight and his head held high. Finally, he brought his horse to gallop and was soon out of the village and away from the mob. Everett kicked a heel into his garron and followed.

“What happened to that man?” He asked once he had caught up with the knight, who had now slowed to a canter.

“It’s obvious,” he replied simply, “He has been drugged. I’ve seen it before. Some herbs of the south can cause a man to lose his wits and his senses. Whoever these bandits are, they are well-versed.”

“But why?”

“My guess is they start by terrorizing the village, only to show up later with a cure. A simple remedy mixed with lemon and oil sold for a tidy profit... Then they move on to the next.”

“What will we do?”

“We will confront these charlatans and put an end to this,” the knight declared.

“But we don’t know who or where they are.”

Sir Aeron let out a laugh, “Maybe if you would stop speaking out of turn you would hear a thing or two… We know exactly where they are.”

Everett racked his mind for the answer. The villagers didn’t know, so why should they? After a time, he gave in. “Where?”

“The Old Forest, of course.”

Wisper Village was situated within sight of a great forest, known for its incredible size and its immeasurable age. The knight directed them toward a wall of trees that grew like waking giants upon their approach. The Old Forest was the subject of hundreds of stories and old wives’ tales. And not one with a happy ending, the squire thought. If even one were true, we should be headed in the other direction.

“Have you ever been in the Old Forest, Sir Aeron?” Everett asked.

“Never.”

“Have you heard the stories? The tales of the forest?”

“Of course I’ve heard them.” The knight replied, then looked at Everett with an odd twinkle in his eye. “The question you want to ask is… do I believe them?”

“Well, do you?”

He laughed, “Poppycock! The lot of them. Nonsense like that made victims of that village. Generations of simple minds led to believe the shadows under their bed were a threat, while turning their back to their real enemies.” Sir Aeron then stopped his mount and gave his squire a hard look. “You must cast aside this peasant mentality if you are ever to become a true knight.”

With that, he rode ahead. The trees continued to grow taller as they went, just as the day grew darker around them. When they arrived at the forest, Everett hopped from his horse.

“What are you doing?” Sir Aeron asked, turning his mount back to face him.

Everett laughed nervously, “Aren’t we going to make camp?”

The knight cocked his head. “What makes you think that?”

“Surely you don’t mean to search for the bandits in the dark?”

“I surely do.”

“But that's mad—er, I mean, how can we find something we cannot see?”

“By using our eyes, my good Everett. Once again, you are thinking like prey. We are the predators here. The forest is far too vast to find anything in the light of day, but by nightfall, we shall be guided by the light of our enemies.” But that did not make sense to Everett, and Sir Aeron shook his head. “These bandits hide in the woods, that much I am certain. When night comes, they will light a fire to keep them warm. Thus…”

Everett sighed grudgingly, “Leading us straight to them.”

“Precisely,” the knight said with a smile.

Everett looked into the darkening wood. Suddenly, the stories from his youth and the words of the villagers didn’t seem so far-fetched. What if Sir Aeron was wrong?

“You are afraid.” The knight said suddenly.

“Yes,” He admitted, there was no use in denying it.

“It's only natural.” Sir Aeron said and gave him a searching look, almost kind. “Even the river trembles before it enters the sea, but it must do it all the same. So, unto the fearful ocean we go... because we have no other choice.” And with that, he turned his horse to face the forest and started forward.

Indeed, the night darkened to pitch all around them. The only thing keeping them from striking the trees was the thin silver gleam of the moon above, passing through the canopy like white ribbons falling from the sky. They did not speak for much of their journey into the dark forest, only the occasional hushed word.

After a time, Sir Aeron stopped. He didn’t say a thing but pointed ahead. Sure enough, there was a light. It was small but the glow was sharp and well-defined, like a star twinkling in the night sky. It didn't look like any firelight that Everett had ever seen. They moved toward it until it was just beyond a crop of pine and brush, but there was no sound of men in the glade. Sir Aeron dismounted and held out his hand.

“My helm.”

Everett reached into his saddlebag and produced the helmet from within. The midnight blue of the steel looked almost black in the low light. Sir Aeron put on the headpiece, keeping the visor up for the moment. “Stay with the horses,” He whispered, “but stay alert.”

The knight started toward the white light behind the tree cover and disappeared beyond the brush. There was silence. Everett stayed with the horses, feeling as full of dread as he’d ever known. Something didn’t feel right. Surely, they would have heard something by now.

But there was nothing.

Finally, Sir Aeron broke the silence. “What... are you?” Then the sound of a sword being pulled from its scabbard. Everett could take it no more. He lashed the horses to a nearby tree and raced to the clearing. Once through the brush, he was struck still.

In the glade were only two things. The knight with his sword held aloft, and towering before him, a huge metallic beast, unnaturally smooth and reflective like liquid steel. It was shaped like a gigantic crab, with its bulbus body standing upon huge legs. It shimmered in the light, yet there was no fire. A crisp white glow filled the glade, whiter than the moon and warmer than sunlight, though no source could be seen.

“This abomination does not scare me!” Sir Aeron shouted through his helm, now fully closed. “Reveal yourselves!”

Finally, there was movement. The mouth of the creature opened and from the blackness of its throat, a long tongue sprouted from the depths. But the tongue was rigid and moved slowly to the ground creating what could have been a ramp.

“A ruse!” cried the knight.

Then came an even stranger sight. Three pale beings with black eyes, long limbed and human-like, appeared on the metal tongue. They stood in triangle formation, and an eerie silence took over the glade once again. Everett looked to Sir Aeron, until finally a voice spoke as if it came from inside his own head. It was his father’s voice, but he had been dead these many years. Still, the voice spoke as true as if he was right beside him.

"Greetings. We apologize for causing alarm." It was his father’s voice, but the words were from the creatures, though from which one he could not say. The mouth does not speak, yet the ears can hear.

“Who are you?” Sir Aeron asked.

One of the strange men stepped forward.

"We are travelers. We come in peace."

"How is it you speak without moving your lips?” The knight asked, “And why do I hear mine own sire's voice?"

The second stranger stepped forward. "We thought it would bring comfort. We can use another if it would please you better."

Sir Aeron laughed. "You speak of comfort, peace... Yet, you arrive without permission in our land, steal men from their homes, drive them mad. These are not acts of good will."

The two strangers parted to allow the final member to step forward, as if he was the leader, but nothing in his appearance was distinguished or exalted from the others. "We regret the pain we caused, but it was necessary."

"Necessary?" Sir Aeron said, anger in his voice.

"Necessary for our mission. You would not understand."

Sir Aeron held his sword aloft but raised it higher still. "You take me for a fool? You stand unarmed, unarmored. Yet, you mock me?"

"Our time here has come to an end. We will be leaving. You can go."

"I would not turn my back on you by a word. You must answer for your crimes!"

"We will not return until long after your lifecycle has passed and your people have more to offer us."

"Is that a threat? I should slay you where you stand."

"We grow tired of your minds and no longer wish to continue this encounter."

With that, the three turned and proceeded back into the mouth of the metal beast. As they did, Sir Aeron ran forward to pursue them up the ramp. "I did not grant you leave! I demand justice! I demand answers!”

The leader of the strangers stopped moving, while his brothers disappeared into the darkness. He waited there until Sir Aeron stood before him, longsword gripped tightly in his hands. At last, the stranger spoke.

"Answers? Is that what you truly seek?"

"I seek the truth!" Sir Aeron said, looking everything like a knight in his gleaming blue armor.

The stranger stared at him with cold black eyes. The eyes reveal nothing but see everything. Sir Aeron wavered in his stance, but only for a moment. The calm demeanor of the stranger would have been unlike anything he had seen on any battlefield. Then, as if in a trance, the knight moved his sword to one side and dropped it to the ground with a clunk.

"Sir?” Everett said, “What are you doing?"

The knight did not answer, he was now fully transfixed by the stranger. He then raised his hands and removed his helm, dropping it carelessly to the ground beside the sword. Everett rushed forward. "Sir! Don’t!”

"Stay where you are, Everett." The knight said, his voice low and calm.

Everett stayed his ground, feeling his feet fight him as they twisted into the earth, but a squire obeys his knight. Then, in one swift motion, the stranger brought his pale hand to Sir Aeron's forehead and pressed a long fingertip into his skin. The knight let out a groan and fell to his knees.

Everett could obey his master no longer. He ran up the ramp and grabbed Sir Aeron’s arm and pulled as hard as he could, but he couldn’t break the knight free. As he pulled, he felt the stranger's ill effect bleeding through the knight's armor, pulling at his mind. The shock of it caused him to let go and fall backwards off the ramp.

He landed hard and looked up from his back, helpless as the stranger finished his heinous deed. Finally, Sir Aeron crumpled, landing in a heap beside his squire. Everett looked to the stranger, but he had disappeared back into the metal beast with the others.

Suddenly, the monster's tongue and legs pulled inside itself, and the steel beast seemed to float on the air like a duck on water. Then without warning or sound, it rose rapidly into the sky. At once, the light in the glade went out and bathed them both in darkness, while the strange vessel disappeared among the countless stars above. Sir Aeron lay beside him looking up at the night sky, eyes milky white and gleaming.

“At last,” he said, smiling. “Infinity.”