The Calamity: Chapter 4

The hallway was lit with chandeliers from the ceiling and torches along the walls. The floor of the castle was covered down the middle with red carpet, smoothed by one of the many servants that lived there. She passed a window and the sky was dark outside. She couldn’t even see the stars from this angle which was unfortunate.

Morrigan continued her walk glancing at the walls. Portraits hand painted of nobles, the head of their houses, or of the knights that served them. Some had stern faces, others smiled with kindness or arrogance in their eyes. All of them shared a certain familial resemblance. Not all family but something in the eyes they all shared.

The torch light flickered as she moved with it and a mixture of anticipation and anxiety filled her veins. It always happened whenever she was due to stand before her. The hallway ended in a large pair of doors. Two fully armored guards stood with long lances in hand. They saw her approaching a long way off and were in the process of opening the doors.

“Morrigan, knight of house Cerise.” One stated and she nodded.

A warm light poured out of it with large torches along the walls but high above them, way out of range for someone to light without assistance. Scroll racks came down from the ceiling with the symbol of a five petalled flower with a bullet in the center. Between the sheets of cloth on a raised platform was a throne. A simple hand carved wooden chair with red cushions and gold accents.

The woman who sat in the center looked almost bored. She wore a floor length black dress, white frills at the sleeves. The dress was open at the shoulders revealing dusky skin. She had long nails painted the same dark as her dress. She wore a wide brimmed hat with a dark black veil that shrouded her face.

Morrigan stood at the doors staring ahead when the Queen raised her finger. She beckoned for her to approach which she did with measured steps. Her boots were muted on the carpet but the swishing of her dress and coat were not. When she stopped at the foot of the stairs, she kneeled immediately removing her hat, setting it on the ground, and bowing her head. Her raven hair spilled to once side, the flames highlighting the dark brown of her skin warmly.

Silence stretched between them the Queen not speaking and Morrigan refusing to speak until spoken to. It was a sort of test and a game that the Queen liked to play. To see how long her knights would wait before showing signs of impatience. However, Morrigan was one of her most faithful knights. She knew that no amount of waiting would crack her.

“You’ve returned to me my knight.” She said slowly, a warmth in her tone that could have been from one lover to another but protective as if she were her child. An affection that went back and forth. “Raise your head and speak. I assume you were successful in your endeavors.”

She raised her head her glasses tucked away in her sleeve. Her eyes were emeralds of adoration as she stared at her Queen. “Yes, my Queen. House Drano has pledged their allegiance to you. An envoy of their family will be coming within the new few days.”

“Good. They’re a proud and stubborn family. I hope you didn’t have to remind them too aggressively.”

Morrigan allowed herself a chuckle. “No, my Queen. I was most civil in your demands.”

“And what did you tell them?”

“I simply told them that if they did not honor their agreement then there house’s line would be ending here.”

That brought a laugh from the Queen’s throat. A musical sound that filled the room. She raised a hand to her mouth covering it and ended in a soft chuckle. “And what of our colony to the south.”

“Managing with little trouble. They have avoided the gaze of the Sanctum and are growing. The most recent convoy arrived without incident.”

“Very good my knight. You serve your Queen well. Not born of noble stock and one of the youngest in comparison, yet you are more than I could have hoped for in any of my subjects. An example for others to follow in.”

Despite the darkness of her skin her cheeks were rosy. She quickly lowered her head and shook her head. “My Queen I am not worthy of such praise. I am a humble servant. An extension of your arm. Your blade in the darkness. To compliment a tool such as myself is too much for-“

“Do you meant to tell your Queen that she is wrong?” All warmth was gone from the Queen and her words cut like an icy wind. As if she struck, she dipped her head lower and shut her eyes.

“No, my Queen.”

“Do you mean to imply that I am foolish to praise you.”

“Never my Queen.”

“Then take the praise that I have laid upon your shoulders. You are not some dog of Luthagen. You are one of my knights. Take my praise with pride. Raise your head high.” Her voice came out like thunder, commanding her.

She did as she was commanded and raised her head to meet her Queens gaze. What was presented to her was shocking. Her Queen was holding a sword and scabbard, holding it out to her. This wasn’t the first time her Queen had offered her a blade. Her eyes shifted back and forth between the Queen and the blade but she wasn’t going to be scolded twice in one night.

She reached for the blade. Taking it by the sheathed she looked at the hilt first. A cloth with a crisscrossing pattern ending in a bronze pommel. She glanced at her Queen who nodded at the unseen question. She took a step back and pulled the blade out. A single edged katana that gleamed in the torchlight. She turned the blade slowly feeling the balance and weight in her hand. She took several steps back swinging the blade at the air and hearing it slice it open.

“How does the blade feel?”

“Perfect. It is unlike my own in so many ways but comfortable. A beautiful weapons,” she said. “You’ve rewarded me with not one, but two beautiful works of art. I couldn’t be happier with these.”

She paused mid swing when pain struck her arm. She jerked almost dropping the blade. Stumbling forward the weapon fell from her hand embedding itself deep into the floor. Shocked she stared at her hand and watched the blood trickle down her palm.

“Be careful my knight. That blade has a bit of a bite to it.”

Morrigan stared at the blade as her blood ran down the hilt and into the grooves of the blade. Rather than drip of the edge it stayed within the blade then looked as if it were absorbed into the edge. “What is this blade?”

“That blade is the blade of a Sanguiknight.”

“A Sanguiknight? One of your elite knights. I thought they were but legend.”

“Oh yes. They are real. Very few remain now and even fewer are close at hand. But I am planning to increase their number.”

She turned to face the Queen shocked beyond words would allow her to say. She stared at the sword embedded in the ground and then at her. She walked toward the sword and grasped it tightly. She almost immediately felt the jolt of pain. As if fangs sank into her palm to drink her blood slowly. She could even feel the pull of the blade even the few seconds she touched it.

Turning the blade quickly she slid it into is scabbard and walked back to the Queen before kneeling before her. “Though I thought myself unworthy, my Queens word is law. If she believes in my abilities than I shall follow it as I follow everything else, she deems. Thank you, my Queen, for this gift.”

“Don’t thank me yet my new Sanguiknight. For this new title carries with it weight of responsibility along with its power.”

“I shall take it gratefully. Tell me and I shall accomplish it.”

“You may rethink that,” She chuckled again though this time it was lighter, a softer sound that was more resigned. “The task that I will set upon your shoulders is a cruel one but one that needs to be accomplished. And I entrust it to you. I want you to help me stop the Calamity.”

The mention of the event that would lay waste to their world caused the freshly christened Sanguiknight to stiffen. She glared at the ground as if she would set the ground aflame if she could. When she looked at her Queen her face was neutral but the pain in her eyes was not gone.

“I do not take pleasure in bringing up your past traumas Morrigan. But this is a time sensitive concern. What all do you know of the event?”

“Nothing more than what is casual knowledge my Queen. A strike from the heavens destroys a location, eradicating all life within it and unleashing monstrous creatures into our world. The strikes come at random and without warning. There are rarely survivors of the events.” She concluded quietly.

“Allow me then to enlighten you my Sanguiknight. The places struck are not random for starters. There are ways to predict where a calamity will happen. Though not exact, a rough estimate is possible. The calamity has struck my castle more than once in my time here.”

“What? How is it still standing? My Queen how did you live through it?”

“I protected my castle and my subjects. Those outside of the castle unfortunately lost their lives but those who took sanctuary here were safe from its affects.”

Morrigan stared at her still perplexed, still confused. “But how. What magic could deflect such a thing?”

“That I cannot divulge. Not yet my Sanguiknight. But know that the Sanctum and Norians are able to employ similar tactics to protect themselves. Those not living in their cities are lost to the Calamities as they strike. But the Calamity is not the act of nature or some wrathful God. I know not what it is entirely but I know that it is something more material. And I want you to find the source of it.”

“To what end my Queen? I do not understand what I could accomplish.”

“Your goal my Sanguiknight is to find the source of the Calamity and to kill it.”

“Kill it?”

“Yes. Whatever causes the Calamity is no more immortal than I am.”

It was such a strange sentence to hear that Morrigan needed a moment as she stared at her. “My Queen you are the first of the line. The progenitor. You’ve seen the rise of this continent.”

“Old beyond my years and sustained by those that I have brought under my line. Yes.” She said looking at her hand. “But the calamity is not an enemy that I could fight forever. The toll of protecting my kingdom is beginning to show.”

Morrigan was at a loss for words. So much information to be given in one go. The mortality of her Queen and the biggest threat to their world could be stopped. And she was the one tasked with finding the end of all of these things. She placed a hand against the floor to steady herself as she looked at her Queen.

“When I slay whatever it is that causes the Calamity my Queen, I will return to your side as soon as possible.”

She laughed again. “I appreciate your zeal my Sanguiknight. But it will not be easy nor will it be quick. You will need allies and not those within my bloodline. You will need outside help.”

She fought the urge to scoff at the notion which did not go unnoticed by the Queen. When asked to speak her mind she frowned but said, “I find it hard to trust them. The denizens of the Sanctum, of Norian, or even of the Free City. They fight their meaningless wars. They’ve done it for generations. They cannot see beyond their own spite.”

“Be that as it may you would be surprised by their usefulness. Though your skills are formidable they are not enough on their own. Having allies, even friends, can provide benefits you now cannot even fathom.”

She would not argue farther with her. She simply lowered her head further and nodded. “My Queen, I will go on your behalf. I will do everything in my power to prevent this threat.”

Her Queen nodded and waved her hand away. “Go my new Sanguiknight. I wish you good fortune. You are going to need it in your quest.”

Morrigan stood slowly and bowed at the waist. She fastened her new blade to her hip against her other blade. She turned around and started back toward the doors. She would not return home until her task was complete.