The Knights of Black Steel

*Two weeks have passed since our young king had discovered the mystical force known as Aura. The relief food from king Thron has arrived and life has returned to some semblance of normality. Our king's friend and retainer Derrick has been teaching him not only to use Aura but how to control it, lets check on his progress*

"Stay focused Leon, threats will approach you from all angles, you must be able to feel the world around you, your eyes and ears can only tell you so much." *Leon stood there in complete silence his Aura pulsing around him* "Use your Aura to project a field around you, this field will allow you to perceive any threat that comes inside of it, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that this will not only make it so you never fight blind but also that you can fight multiple assailants at once."

*Sweat dripped down Leon's face, every muscle in his body and in his mind was focusing on exerting his Aura around him* "Derrick, I understand how this will come in handy, but don't you think it's a bit flawed? I mean, in battle I won't be standing still and doing this makes me so tired I won't even be able to fight anyone." *Suddenly a wooden stick comes and hits Leon in the side of the head which makes him fall to the floor with Derrick stranding over him* "That's because your still in training, overtime your Aura will naturally grow, you will gain more control and this will become natural." *Derrick offers Leon a hand and Leon takes it getting back on his feet* "If you say so."

*The backdoor to Derricks house opens up and Lana walks up to them* "Excuse me for interrupting boys but there is someone here to see Leon, he said he is a messenger from Thron." *Derrick and Leon look at each other before getting cleaned up and walking to the front door where a strong looking Dwarf awaits them* "Hello their gentlemen, my name is Kuvok I'm the captain of his majesty Thron royal guard." *Leon shakes the dwarfs hand* "Pleasure to meet you Kuvok, this is Derrick my general and most trusted adviser, to what do we owe the pleasure?" *Kuvok sighs and crosses his arms* "His majesty wished to come himself but his hands are quite tied at the moment, a few days ago we received a visitor of our own, a nun from the capital city was sent to give us a message. You see the church has decide that this issue of monsters has gone on long enough, they have called in their own counter measures." *Derricks eyes go wide and his voice falters for a moment* "You can't possibly mean…" *Kuvok nods slowly* "Aye, the Knights of Black Steel."

*Leon looks at both of them with a confused expression* "The Knights of Black Steel? Who are they?" *Kuvok looks at Leon* "The Knights of Black Steel are an elite group of warriors who work directly under the church. They are only called upon in times of a national emergency, they are often a last resort, and apparently the church has decided that this situation calls for them." *Derrick shakes his head and sits down on a nearby bench* "They can't possibly believe that this is the right call…" *Leon looks at Derrick and sits beside him* "I don't understand, isn't having an elite group of knights on our side a good thing?" *Derrick looks up* "Normally…yes…But these people…they're not human." *Leon tilts his head* "What do you mean they're not human, are they like orcs or something?" *Derrick shakes his head* "No, I mean they're demons." *Leon is shocked into silence for a moment* "D-Demons? What do you mean Demons? I thought they work for the church why would they have dealings with demons?" *Kuvok looks at Leon* "They are not actually demons boy, but if you saw them work you would be inclined to believe that they are, I have only seen them one time. It was a couple decades ago before you or your father was even conceived. There was a town, Greenfield it was called, they were a farming town that supplied food to the nearby villages. One day the food stopped coming, the local lord sent his men to investigate, when they arrived they found out the reason."

"The town had been beset by a plague, when the lord's men returned they had brought the plague with them, suddenly we had an epidemic on our hands. Two of the largest trading towns in the nation had been put out of service, and the plague could only get worse, what would we do everyone asked? Well the church had an answer, they called upon these demons so to speak. A few weeks later the problem was gone and life started to continue." *Leon was listening closely to Kuvok's story* "But how is that possible?" *Kuvok looked Leon in the eyes* "They burned everyone and everything." *Leon's eyes filled with fear* "They came in the night, told the townspeople they had a cure and to gather at the church to receive it. They surrounded the people and murdered them one by one, happy faces filled with hope soon turned to faces of fear filled with confusion. Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, all murdered before their family's very eyes. After the killing was done the knights piled the bodies and burned them and the town to ashes, the nation was none the wiser, they saw the church as saviors and the massacre only bolstered their faith in the cross."

*Leon put his head in his hands* "What about the people who had friends and family in those cities? They must have asked questions, wondered if they were alright." *Kuvok nods and sighs* "Indeed they did, but they were told that not everyone could be saved, and those who kept asking were silenced." *Leon stood up and paced back and forth* "You mean to tell me that this group of warriors murdered two towns full of people and burned down their homes? Not only that but the church supports this and even commands them to do such heinous acts?!" *Kuvok chuckles* "The world is not a nice place boy, there are many things in it that you will not agree with, but those who are weak do not get to choose how the world works." *Leon sits and hangs his head* "But I actually did not come here only to give you this news, king Thron requests that you come to his castle immediately, he said that he has something that he needs you to do."

*Derricks looks up* "What does he need?" *Kuvok shrugs* "I am simply a messenger, my message has been delivered so my work here is done." *Kuvok bows slightly and turns leaving Derrick and Leon with their thoughts* "Leon, what do you make of all this?" *Leon stands and sighs* "King Thron has given us a lot, we must answer his call and at the very least listen to what he has to say, but these Knights of Black Steel, they worry me greatly Derrick, they even scare me if I'm being honest." *Derrick nods* "What should we do your majesty?" *Leon looks at Derrick* "For now we play along, we don't have the strength to stop them no matter how much we want to, but they cannot be allowed to repeat the kind of methods they've shown in the past." *Derrick bows* "I agree my lord, whatever your plan, my sword is yours to command." *Leon smiles and places his hand on Derricks shoulder* "I know my friend, thank you."