Adventure to the North

It had been one month since Badurad's fight with John. Since then he had been lying in bed. The doctor that had saved him in Ebonheart had attempted to cure him but he still had to rest. He had suffered broken bones and burns across his body. Although in contrast to usual he had not lost much blood. He had some minor head wounds and a few bruises. Both the Doctor and John had joined his household as promised. He had been awarded rank nine for defeating a holy knight. And now he was sitting in front of the most terrifying man he had met, Ririam. His smile lit up the room as he walked towards the chair in the corner of the room. He sat down leaving his sword to lean on the wall. "Well who would've thought you'd still be alive let alone perceived as one of the most powerful knights in Dedenford. And for this reason I have selected you and your household for a very special and important mission. You see, the king of Westeria wants to expand his territory to the north. Therefore he wants us knights to advance about ten kilometers to the North and clear it of all monsters. You will make up one of eight teams and you will all be clearing out goblin dens, Wyvern nests, and camps of orks. Really anything you come across. Except from dragons or mountain giants. Now you're lucky I am even giving you this. After that display you put on during your match with Sir Eirasmund. Most people think you are some sort of demon or monster and the Church is most unhappy about the use of magic inside this sacred citadel. Well I'll be off now as soon as you are cured report to the desk at the knights council building and they will give you a map of the area you and your friends will cover. Any questions? No, I'll be off then." Ririam picked up his sword and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him and leaving badurad to his thoughts.

A few hours after Ririam left Badurad closed his eyes and slept. When he opened them again he was in the same area that he had been many times before. Before him was Zel. He had grown up and was still the same height as him. They looked like the contrasted image of each other. Where Badurad had blue eyes, Zel had red. Where Badurad had black hair, Zel had white. "Hey if it isn't the blue eyed butcherer. What are you doing visiting little old me?" Zel talked with a hint of mockery in his voice but also genuine happiness. "I lost control again." said Badurad with concern in his voice. "I saw, quite the display you put on, that face you made gave me a little fright. I thought you might be genuinely lost for a minute there. So is that all?" said Zel with a plain expression. "Well this is your power right? How do I control it? How do I stop it from going berserk again?" Badurad said with an earnest expression on his face. "Years of practise and hard work my boy, that's all. I suppose you need to get stronger and then my flames will obey you as they do me." He then stuck out his hand where a fox formed out of the flames with such intricate detail that in spite of the colouring you could have mistaken it for the real thing. It then jumped out of his hand landing on the floor. It ran around multiplying into ten exact copies jumping and flipping through the air until all of them jumped high into the sky and exploded in a great bang making sparks and flakes of flame fall around them until Zel snapped his fingers and all of them disappeared in the instant his fingers connected. The display shocked Badurad into silence. The control of the flames seemed impossible. It was like they were their own being dancing around and flaunting their grace and excellence. And with that he woke up. The last image he saw was Zel's smile.

A week later the group assembled in the courtyard of the knights floor. There was Hiro who was tall and had a sword in his right hand and a reinforced gauntlet on his left. There was Koto who had two daggers in sheaths on his legs. There was Remy who had a long bow slung over her shoulder. And a few hundred arrows packed tightly into a quiver that hung around her waist. There was John who was standing in a suit of plate armour with straps covering his body filled with throwing knives and his chained blades hanging off of his back in a cross sheath. Badurad had a one bladed sword hanging from his belt. They were all wearing black cloaks over their armour and covering their heads. Remy had a map stuffed in a pouch with about five square kilometers all divided into boxes that they had to tick off. They then walked down the floors and into a cart. They all sat in the back of the cart as the sleipnir thundered down another dirt track, This time on the way to the ruined nation of the north. Koto broke the silence by asking questions. "Hey, why is it called the ruin of the north? And why can't the Holy knights clear it out?" John cleared his throat and sighed like he was about to perform a huge task. "Once upon a time there was a prosperous nation in the north that rivaled westeria in both trade and military might its name was Grishold. However back then there were eight elemental dragons. At one point the strongest knight in Grishold decided to challenge the dragon plaguing nearby villages. The dragon's name was Efrosteel of the eternal ice. As his name suggested he controlled ice and their battle was so great that the entire country was enveloped in an eternal winter killing all of the inhabitants and rendering the area inhabitable for normal humans. As for why the holy knight's don't just clear it out is because apart from Ririam and the solo annihilator holy knights aren't especially strong we are just from high standing families and about rank twenty I would say. Our only saving grace is the miracles that are bestowed upon us that allow us a power boost." Hiro looked confused for a second and then asked. "Who is the solo annihilator. I've never heard of him?" John rolled his eyes "he is only the most powerful knight in Westeria they say he's even on par with the king of the eastern federation. They say he grew up fighting Ririam and there are even some rumours that he started as a commoner and that's why they started the prodigy program to attempt to make another one like him!" John's eyes sparkled like a fan boy talking about his hero. Then with an abrupt halt the cart stopped. They had arrived.