Knights Apocalyptica

“They roam through the wasteland, kicking up dust with their rag-tag old-world tech. You’d think the wheels and gas would runnem down.

Fuck no it dont. If anything it makesem leaner. The tech they use is crazy shit, and I don’t think they half know what their crap is, honest. They just jam it on another, cut some wires, and fucking curse at that sky bitch til it works.

Madness.

Never meet a group as out-there. Never met anyone willing to throw it down just to watch a monster bleed either.

Other then being conked out of their head, yeah, worth what they’re askn for.”

- Hickory, Message to Louie, (3rd Era, 301)

“You kept it under control?” Boldwick leaned on his desk and yawned, a rudimentary summary of Erec’s report. “Was wondering when you’d finally break out and try it on your own.”

“You’re not angry?” Erec asked.

“Not particularly. I did pick you to take under my wing; more surprising that you lasted months before breaking the seal.” Ah, Boldwick always focused on the results. It made it a little easier, and the Master Knight had been a bit more put together than he’d been recently—since the loss of Alister.

Still, he hadn’t spoken of the loss after the day he gathered them all together, even if it weighed on his shoulders.

“It didn’t feel like how I thought it would,” Erec admitted, he’d expected that pulling it off would be a constant strain, and it was. But he’d thought that ‘conquering’ the Talent and making it his own would solve his problems and worries, but it hadn’t. Using Fury, throwing himself at a battlefield, not knowing if something horrible might come out. Pushing himself to the point where he killed himself didn’t seem viable.

Relying on such a wild ability in a more extended expedition can and did put danger on himself and those around him. He was lucky before that the burden had been distributed among a much larger group, but soon it wouldn’t be.

At the same time, the unnatural feeling left him with a distinct impression that it was cutting off something important. Ending a thing he couldn’t quite place, he was on the verge of. But what if that was only Fury’s temptation speaking?

“Alarming,” Boldwick shook his head. “That’s the thing about Divine Talents; you can’t always predict how to work with them. It’s best to go with your instincts regarding these abilities. Especially one like yours, which will completely inform how you perform in a fight. It’ll show you how to grow.”

“Wait, so all of that training was pointless?” Erec expected him to push him towards using the half-step more; that control was better.

“Not pointless. Discipline is important, and you should keep trying whatever new thing you or I can think of. You don’t know it’s not the solution until you try, and you still have some time to experiment before we go. Though, less than we expected.”

“We’re leaving sooner?”

Boldwick nodded. “I thought it’d be towards the end of your first year—but thanks to our new backing from our ‘friends’ in the palace, and their increasing issues with the church, our timeline got sped up. Three to four months; then we hit the road.”

“…Damn,” Erec let out a sigh.

A flush of relief and anxiety ran through him. It was an escape from the mounting pressures of this Academy and his responsibility. The letters from his steward Lionel had only been growing about his estate.

He couldn’t escape the idea of messing that up, so each one left him second-guessing his future. Therefore, being away from choices… Well, he’d have no choice but to go and be free of those pesky things outside of the steel walls. Out there, it didn’t matter who he was. To be outside and roam the dusty old-world roads was freedom.

“I’ve had some thoughts about who we’re taking and concluded something that might make you upset,” Boldwick said with a weird inflection.

Erec shot up and squinted at the Master Knight, but trying to read him was impossible.

“To speak bluntly, Garin isn’t someone I can teach. I pried into his history and even scouted him a bit, but there isn’t much I can do to help him on his path. Not with my time eaten up by you and Gwen—my priorities.”

“…So he’s not coming,” Erec said bitterly. He’d asked for his best friend’s sake and his own sanity. On such a long road, with Olivia there, he’d act as a nice buffer to keep things amicable, like he normally did. But picturing such a trip without him, even as dangerous as it was… It was kind of depressing.

Boldwick already had three initiates to worry about. However, Erec had to admit he couldn’t be considered the same as the other two. Whether or not he was more or less of a liability was questionable, though.

“I didn’t say that. Just that he isn’t someone, I can teach.” Boldwick leaned back and rolled his eyes. “All doom and gloom sometimes. But I’m not saying that I’m sure he can come along. One of the people I want along on this trip has agreed to take a look at him. I offered them the chance to see if they want him to squire for them—that’s what it’s called when we take lesser Knights along on expeditions like this. To her, that means she’d also take him on as an apprentice. Technically, you’ll be squiring for Dame Robin and Gwen for me… But that hardly matters.”

“Who is she?”

“Dame Morgana. She’s agreed to er… Test him, and see if he fits.”

That was sparse on the details. Talking about her made Boldwick uncomfortable, too; Erec saw a strange weak point he didn’t know how to press. “…And she’s in the Verdant Oak?" He flailed to fish for more information but couldn’t think of anything else.

“She is… But, uh, not exactly someone you’d find giving commands, despite what her rank would imply, as a Knight Commander. She’s something of a peculiarity; nominally a mysticism expert, but her magic isn’t based on glyphs.”

“That makes no sense.”

Boldwick cleared his throat. “Common practice is that glyphs are the only way to perform magic; for most people, that’s all that’s worth the time to learn. It’s easier to grasp, more powerful, and overall better. But ultimately, glyphs are only a systemic way to approach Mysticism. For some, monsters included, there are alternative ways to use magic without glyphs, as you saw with the Stag. She has a certain Divine Talent that made it… make more sense to take her own approach.”

This whole thing was weird. Of course. Erec rubbed his forehead. Garin didn’t show any particular aptitude for magic, unlike Colin, who could work through glyph designs on a higher level. What about him could this woman find interesting if her specialty was in strange magic?

Come to think of it, Garin didn’t have any outstanding abilities. He was pretty endurant in a battle but wasn’t especially quick on his feet, not strong. Everything he relied on his friend for… was off the field.

By the second, Erec realized this was a long shot, especially with Boldwick dancing around the topic.

“I’m an awful friend,” Erec admitted. “…I’ve been worried about him getting left behind but haven’t done anything to help. Should I have done more?”

“Don’t think of it that way. He would've trained like you if he was inclined to fight like you. From what I’ve picked up, he’s not sure what he should do; he has no clear direction. A lot of people your age are like that. Olivia was trained to be what she is from a young girl, as was Colin by his father. That isn’t the most common situation. The truth is that people like Garin are typical students. Someone who joined our Academy but had yet to start finding their path. The Academy is meant to let them explore and find their skill set and provide tools to discover it. Morgana was coming along anyway, and I figured this wouldn’t hurt. Even if she is unpredictable.”

“Guess I can only hope for the best and try to help now” Erec leaned back in his chair and tried not to worry too much. He’d tell Garin, of course, and offer some sparring sessions, but who knew what this Dame Morgana might think.

Knowing his friend, he wouldn’t want Olivia and Erec to head outside without him.

Colin might be perfectly content to have their dorm to himself if they all left, but with Alexandra… He might not get the peace he desired.

All of the pieces were coming together, or it seemed like it. Soon, he’d be free of this place.

Erec couldn’t wait.

“Now, about your Courtly Mannerisms.” Boldwick’s tone took a serious edge. “That instructor is terrible. I’ll admit it. After only a brief conversation, it's obvious I saw your problem, so leaving you there is not a solution.” The Master Knight leaned back and frowned at Erec. “But you leaving the way you did will make it a pain to argue for a schedule change. He’ll argue it’s favoritism, and we’re treating you as a special case, and we are. He wants to punish you; forcing you to be in his class for the rest of the semester ensures that.”

“Fuck him. I won’t attend his lectures—what’s the worst that can happen?”

“Expulsion or refusal to allow you to become a Knight Errant since you’d never technically graduate without gaining the knowledge a Knight should. Fancy yourself a regular army man? No, I didn’t think so.” Boldwick gave a lazy smile. “But, as much as that instructor hates to admit it, you are a special case.”

“…I’m not special.” Erec immediately retorted; bad enough, other people were throwing the hero label on him. The last thing he wanted was for Boldwick to treat him that way, too. It’d be too much to bear.

“Bah, you’re a snot-nosed brat like the rest. I know that you know that. But thanks to the King—you’re also a Count. Not just an heir to a title but the head of your House. Normally, our Knights don’t take on the responsibility of their houses until later in their career so they can juggle their time better. But there have been cases in the past of unfortunate nobles having to assume their positions earlier than expected due to circumstances. There’s a precedent of working with that arrangement.”

Erec got a distinct impression that he wouldn’t like what came next.

“Knowing you and how you train… I’d say we cut out that special Talent refining program—if we were to say, also get rid of Courtly Mannerisms to actually participate in court affairs—that should free you up and make the argument easy for me to push. So what do you say?”

There was that feeling in his gut. So, there it was. He could get the class removed. But the catch was clear. To do so, he’d have to go from learning how to act as noble to actively doing so in the real world—no safety net.

It was reckless.

But this class wasn’t teaching him a damn thing. “I’m screwed, then.”

“Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. You’re the type to get your hands dirty; otherwise, you won’t learn anyway.”

“…I agree.”

With that, Boldwick dismissed him. Erec got up and stretched, his head already aching at the thought of what was to come. For months, he’d been dipping his toes into what being a Count would be like.

Yet responsibility had a way of digging its claws into him and making him comply; skirting one obligation only led to heavier ones.

Goddess, help him.

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