Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 21

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 21

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Sivantic.

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I didn’t recognize what sort of creature I looked upon. Much like one of the prisoners, the Knight of the Crown had long ears and sharp features. However, that was where the similarities ended. Her skin was alabaster and her eyes a deep, blood red, while her hair looked more like a flowing mane of white than the follicles I would expect of a human.

Some would call the Knight of Crown beautiful, but it was the same beauty that one would expect of a lion or similar, dangerous predator.

I wondered, idly, if it was some sort of monster itself… but my questions were answered as Erucic arrived with his bull helm upon his head alongside all his knights.

The man armored in black plates took note of my inquisitive stare at the head of the congregation and answered my question.

“The Knight you look upon is of the Crown’s branch family. A lineage dedicated to creating the finest of warriors through breeding, training, and consumption of monsters.”

My brow furrowed at his words.

“If the consumption of monsters is done by a branch family of royalty, why did so few of your people consume it?”

Erucic let loose a low chuckle.

“They consume the flesh of wyverns and dragons, physician. The one monster known to be a delicacy and they have it for every meal, so that they could aspire to greater heights.” The leading Knight managed to rise with pride at Erucic’s words and soon enough walked towards me. The lingering effects of her power were fast fading from me, but she remained disturbed by my own. “None in the frontier, or even outside the capital itself, could hope to consume the same flesh.”

The explanation was simple, but it seemed fair enough.

The Knight of the Crown reached us.

“I am Averi of the House Palter… and you are the Physician from the Great Desert who came to our lands by the request of one of our honored Knight.”

“I am.” I nodded and vague memories of the woman I’d met in the Great Desert from the airship came to mind. Her pleas to help her kingdom had swayed me to move with her, after disavowing myself from the As’Kari as they went on the warpath. I had wondered what became of her. It seems that she did her utmost to be heard by one of the more influential houses of the land.  “Why are you here?”

The woman’s scarlet-red eyes, her pupils much like a lizard’s instead of a human’s, drifted over the settlement walls that I have established. The knights escorting her looked upon me with fear, but held fast, even as their gazes looked over the Order of the Bull at my back.

A sight left her lips.

“I was sent here to conquer your settlement and demand a tithe. Perhaps yourself, if I could somehow defeat someone as mighty as some from the main lineage.” Averi spoke truthfully and her accompanying Knights looked at her with shock, until she levelled her glare at them. That silenced them completely. “But that seems impossible.”

The honesty was refreshing and Erucic laughed at her words with a nod.

“Aye, your lineage is mighty, but this lad here is beyond strength.” Erucic placed a gauntleted hand on my shoulder. “Test his patience and all we be lost. I am grateful that someone reasonable was sent here.”

The two Knights accompanying Averi stirred at his words, but settled down with a raised hand.

The white-haired, nearly inhuman Knight pondered the matter a long time and gazed towards the keep in the distance.

“The Knight who reported of your existence told us you refused to come to our aid, because of our decision to leave behind many. Is that still true?” Her gaze was upon the village. She was asking whether the settlement was my way of helping them, and if I was no longer against helping them.

That wasn’t the case.

“No. The decision to abandon people, after taking away all that they have, was an act of mass murder.” The Crown hadn’t simply refused to let them into the defensive line. They took their manpower, their tools, and their talented craftsmen. All of those with worth and ability were taken, and they were heavily taxed for more foodstuffs and material to mount the defense. “How could I come to the aid of a people who would not even allow their own to protect themselves?”

Erucic stirred at my words and came forward.

“The feelings in the fishing village behind me are the same. Everyone knows what happened now, Lady Palter. The Kingdom and the Crown have no friends here.” The veteran’s voice was low and filled with pain, but he uttered the words nonetheless. His men stirred at his words, remembering the day they went forth to save all that were abandoned and losing all they knew in the process. “If you want to take anything from here, you best be ready for a fight against everyone here, including me and mine… and the physician.”

A laugh left the scarlet-eyed woman’s lips.

“The physician would be more than enough.” Averi shook her head and then turned her gaze on me. I met it with the same caution as I would give any of the As’Kari elite, but not the same as its greatest warriors. The woman was dangerous and capable. I would be a fool not to acknowledge that. “I will be return from this excursion then, but first: what can be done to convince you to join your power with our own?”

The question was impudent, but I said not a word against it.

“I have no interest in fighting for your Crown. The wayward, the sick, and all the others your kingdom stole from and abandoned are under my care. I will protect them and see them prosper.” I declared my intentions with as little obfuscation as possible. However, I had something to add that was the crux of the matter. “However, I am not your foe. Some amongst those I protect and care for would lash out against you, but that is their own prerogative, while I desire peace.”

I recalled the anger that I felt at the idea, but over the weeks spent caring for these people and setting up the small town, it faded away. In the face of the horde of monsters, of the odds stacked against the people of this land, I understood the path their rulers chose. I did not condone it, and I still condemned it, but the raging flame of hate that swelled up that day were embers now.

“I will save all that I can. It would be a waste to spend my time fighting against you and your country. It will lead only to more deaths.” Erucic, surprisingly, nodded at my words. Despite his closeness with Gale, the older Knight approved of my words. “Go forth and tell whomever you serve that I am neutral in the conflict to come. If you believe that I will act with these people in the future, should they chose to fight against you, recall that I am an exile of the As’Kari and I left them when they desired to wage war.”

The white-haired Knight nodded at my words and gestured towards the treeline. More Knights came forth, until two dozen were present. It was a grand show of force, but if they had the straight of a Warrior of the As’Kari each, I would still be able to fight against them and win handily.

Averi noticed my lack of surprise and fear at the sight and chuckled wryly.

“That is good. In these desperate times, it is the best that my people can ask for.” Averi stepped back and a sigh left her lips. She gazed once more at the settlement, then at Erucic and his knights, and then finally at me. The near-inhuman individual looked at me with deep regret, but a sorrowful smile formed on her face. “Farewell. I hope that your desire for peace is allowed in these trying times.”

As she turned away to leave, I almost did as well.

Until I felt a surge of power from her, and as her body moved beyond the limits of normal humans, As’Kari Warriors did in battle. Turning and drawing her blade at the same time, she aimed to suddenly charge forward at me with her sword.

Perhaps, my words weren’t enough to convince her that I was not a threat.

Perhaps, whoever she served couldn’t stand someone of my power in their lands.

Perhaps, if I spoke better, this could’ve been avoided.

But none of that mattered as her actions had the Knights beside her move as well, and they all moved to attack us.

“Fools.”

But in, the end, they were too slow.

Especially in a battlefield that I’d readied to face the endless hordes of monsters that surged towards the town in the eternal night. The threads I laced into the ground arose and ensnared them wholesale, stopping them all from drawing their swords, and holding them fast in restraints stronger than steel.

Erucic reacted, almost drawing his weapon from his back, but by the time that he did… it was done.

Fourteen Knights and their vaunted leader were all ensnared and shocked silent, while I gazed upon them all. Their duplicity would’ve been considered betrayal in the Great Desert. To trust them after their actions would be considered foolish. Even in my previous world, to pretend to act in good faith and attack was unseemly and the very height of desperation. Still, even lacking in pity as I was with these people, I did not kill them.

But their actions would have consequences.

“Take their weapons and give them spare spears. Take whatever supplies they have and their saddles. Spare them half their horses and we’ll take the rest.” I spoke and Erucic heeded my words, giving barked orders to his men. They moved past me, some gazing at me with astonishment, and others fear. Erucic’s own gaze was on my chest and brow. He stiffened when he found my breathing steady and my brow unstained by sweat.

Then, he moved to lead his men, while I approached the defeated leader of the group.

The defeat on the young woman’s face was obvious, but beyond that there was a deeper resignation.

Out of hearing range of both her men and my own, I spoke to her.

“There is a rebellion is there not? There are tribes entire that have raised their banner against the cruelty of the crown?” The hatred of my settlement was the norm amongst all survivors. Though many noble houses benefitted from being saved by the crown, I was sure just as many found their lands and citizenry harshly culled by the actions. How many of those people looked upon their rightful lands despoiled and decided to act? “How dire are the circumstances of your people that you find yourself willing to risk your own honor to not allow me the peace I desire?”

Averi’s widened eyes at my words, the trembling of her lip, as she was held fast mid-draw and charge of her sword told me all that I needed to know.

Yet, she still answered.

“We are hated by all. Everything that we have done to save all we could and ensure we have a future is called a crime. The north and west both cry out against us and threaten to secede. The east is embroiled in conflict between loyalists and those who rebel, and you are here in the south.” Tears filled scarlet eyes. Her teeth ground against one another, as she forced herself to speak. Anger, sorrow, and despair filled her eyes. “We did everything that we could to create the tree of light, and built a foundation for a country that can grow stronger in the eternal darkness, but everything is falling apart!”

A hiss left her lips, as she tried to escape my bonds and found it fruitless, and she hung her head.

“Now… now everyone will die, even though we made ourselves tyrants and sacrificed so many. Our unity is gone, we are surrounded by threats, and the armies we needed to raise will never be.” A sordid chuckle left her lips and she gave into her despair. The anger in her eyes faded, as she acknowledged all the lives they sacrificed to save their lands, only to be hated. “All the horrors we wrought were for naught. If we had done nothing, then maybe we would have fared better.”

A people’s revolution, orchestrated by the nobility that lost land and people due to the actions of the crown, was taking place. After finding living in the Great Desert for so long, where rebellion against the head of the tribe was unthinkable, the thought that had not occurred to me. The culture was different here, the environment less deadly, and the lands far more fertile.

Rebellion did not mean risking the very existence of a society surrounded by threats.

It was a result of improper rule.

As was the case now.

I considered the news with great care, before coming a simple conclusion.

“I have no interest in waging war against your people, and I will continue to protect this settlement. To do that, you will become my hostage against your people.” I lifted her up completely and took her weapon from her side. From the information she gave, I knew that her people will do their best to secure the south, while the other portions of their territory remained filled with foes. They will come for this place, with so few enemies, because they had to. Just like the Knight I now captured. “Nothing else matters.”

Averi was quiet for a long time at my words, before a broken laugh left her lips at my words.

“Of course, you wouldn’t try to save us. We don’t deserve it, do it?”

I let my silence answer that question.

I am not arrogant enough to believe that I could save everyone.

So, first, I shall save those who have been hurt, who do not have the luxury of whole armies at their beck and call, and who have not condemned others to death.