The Dread Knight's Rage

Things were hectic in Eirbane.

For the first time in over 200 years, elves were populating the land of the humans.

Because they had no place to go, and most barely spoke the language, they crowded the rift landing area aimlessly.

Not to mention, the knight order was rushing all over the place, searching for anyone and everyone who might have been descended from the king.

Solomon arrived in the realm just as night had begun to fall.

When he appeared, he was not wearing his human face, but rather, the outer dark mantle awakened by his mother.

The hood over his head did very little to cover his skull-like face. His horns and glowing eyes drew silent, panicked stares from the elves and soldiers nearby.

The only reason Solomon didn’t cause a mass panic was his companion.

A large black hound with three heads loomed behind him, with three proud heads raised high and her tail wagging proudly.

The screams of terror that arose as a result of her appearance only seemed to make her happier, as if she had finally started getting the respect she deserved from the world.

"Big." All three heads said at once.

"Yes, sweetheart, you’re very big." Solomon looked around as he rubbed her side.

"Cute?"

"Yes, you’re still very cute. Now, do you want to go find your mother and show her your little growth spurt?"

Bansha began sniffing the air repeatedly.

She ignored any traces of outsiders and focused solely on finding Jiaoying.

With numerous smells to separate from hers, the entire process took more than three minutes.

But once Bansha picked up the scent, the hound was nigh unstoppable.

"Found!"

"Well, go get her then."

Bansha bounded down the street, an excitable mass of black fur and fangs.

-

Jiaoying was roughly thirty minutes away from the landing pad when a large creature descended on her from seemingly out of nowhere.

"MOMMYYYY!!"

As Jiaoying was knocked onto the ground, Canari released a very un-princess-like cry.

Tavian started to draw his weapon before he heard the sound of his mother giggling.

"Well, what is this?? Since when is my girl so big??"

An unfair feeling of jealousy arose in Liora. "...I was here first, you know."

"Yes, my doll, I know."

Xu’s ex-husband gritted his teeth in concern. "What in god’s name is a cerberus of all things doing here...? And why can it talk!?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

Jiaoying looked past Bansha towards the sky, where Solomon could be seen descending from the air.

Again, Canari had a very volatile reaction.

"IT’S A DEMON!! EVERYONE, GET BACK!!"

"Idiot." Solomon landed on the ground and pulled back his hood. The shifting glimmer of his skin caught the attention of Lia almost instantly.

"Woahhhhhh... Is that you, Solomon? What are you made of? Is it combustible? Conductive? Can I eat it??"

Even though Solomon’s face couldn’t display it, beneath his visage, he was smiling. He had heard tales of Lia’s relentless curiosity, but this was a bit more than what he was expecting.

"Uhm... I’m not sure about any of that, actually. But you know my brother Everett? He is nearly the same as I in every way. Perhaps you two could discover those secrets together. I’m sure he’d be willing to devote himself to the cause."

Lia’s eyes sparkled. "You’re sure?? Great! I’ll ask him as soon as we get there!!"

Solomon slowly reverted to his human appearance. He laced his hand on Lia’s shoulder like an older brother.

"You know... I think you are going to be a wonderful big sister, Lia."

"Eh?"

Jiaoying wiggled from underneath the large dog."Bear! I hadn’t told them yet!"

"Shit."

"What is he talking about?" Tavian folded his arms.

"I-I’m going to be a big sister?!" Lia squealed.

"WHY did Solomon look like that!?" Canari pointed.

"W-We don’t have time for any of this. I’m getting you all out of here." Solomon started to sprout wings from his back. Suddenly, he paused to stare at Xu’s ex-husband.

"Most of you."

Kinarth sneered. "Do you think I need your permission to follow my children, beast?"

"You do to keep your head."

The rumble that arose from Bansha’s throat was reminiscent of thunder. Behind her heads, flames sparked to life that were bright enough to turn night into day.

That was Solomon’s initial estimate. Until he realized that Bansha’s flame wasn’t nearly that powerful.

’...Wait.’

He looked around, but it was as he feared. Everyone was frozen in place.

"Solomon? Well, isn’t this a pleasant little surprise... Fate must be smiling on us with her beautiful visage."

Solomon slowly turned his head towards a nearby roof.

Redeemer stared down at him, with Kinslayer, Gorgon, and Alchemist all at his back. Solomon couldn’t help but feel his entire body tense up.

"I’m surprised you recognized him! He looks different from before!" Kinslayer leapt down from the roof, cracking the ground beneath him as he landed.

"How many years has it been? Ten?? Twenty?? Must have been hard down here for you if all of your hair is already gray!" The warrior cackled.

Solomon swallowed back his fear as Kinslayer patted him hard on the shoulder as if they were old friends.

’It’s alright... They haven’t figured anything out yet... Stay calm. Composed.’ He breathed.

Resuming his normal posture, Solomon brushed Kinslayer away and stared directly at Redeemer.

"What do you want? I hope this isn’t a social visit."

Redeemer’s flames almost seemed to flicker with disappointment.

"No... Truth be told, we are here on business. Our meeting was little more than a coincidence."

Redeemer began to float off his feet and drift toward Solomon.

"But take comfort in our reunion, my brother. I understand there was a bit of unpleasant business with Gorgon last time. You can be assured that won’t happen again-"

"Do not come any closer."

Solomon stood warily in front of Jiaoying, Bansha, and the children.

Redeemer heeded his wishes and paused.

"... I do not wish to cause you or your friends harm, brother. You need not harbor any fear of me."

Redeemer glanced into the distance. In the direction of the castle.

"The rest of us were just out for a bit of a stroll... I would be most pleased if you would join us."