Username: Divantae
Name: Pride
Rumor:
The blackened, sooty streets of the most desperate districts of Feuillesête are lined with beggars and matched with street lamps that have once burned brightly under less pressing times. Cobblestone skips haphazardly to the flats, which each beckon away to the next. These were the stones which were pressed by a petite Pride's paw steps after the sky's salty tears. Here and there some of the collapsed Kalons recognize that Pride was their last hope.
For each star that surfaces in the midnight sky, there is a shifting, then a slashing as the star is stolen once again, as mindless as cutting corn as the farming districts know. Farmers or factory workers, they all were just as wary and well-versed on the troubles plaguing the Holy Knights.
It all started when the paperboys pelted down the streets nary forty or so years ago, shouting showers of praise to the townspeople. Even the most down-on-their-luck Kalons clutched a copy and eyed it with suspicion. "There will be seven newly recruited Holy Knights," it exclaimed, "two from each district and one royal-borne."
Then came the boom of babies, a year where there had been an influx of Kalons being born. Each with one hope: to have a child that would one day qualify to become a Knight. That is how Pride came to be known.
It's quite ironic, really, when Pride's history is taken into account: her parents were poor, they took odd jobs constantly for extra money, but the odd part is that she was not born with the intent to make her a Knight. For years her parents tried to conceive, but each time ended with tragedy and her mother resented her curse. That was until Pride, who her parents immediately fell in love with, having been their only child to survive to adolescence.
Since she was enrolled in the shack they selected as school, everyone could see through to her magic capabilities. Without so much as murmuring a word, she could lift and carry books with her mind, but better yet: she could hurt with it. Many Kalons' hopes were dashed as Pride was suddenly recognized as a Holy Knight, along with another of her hometown, and together they were sent off to train for years before the ripe fruits of adulthood.
Once Pride turned eighteen, she was peeled from her past, along with her fellow Holy Knights. In an instant they vanished, leaving the barren boroughs dry of their champions. Her parents were the most devastated of the depression that afflicted the districts, having been very proud of their little Pride for being theirs, plus her talents, but for them her magic abilities were always second place to the love they felt for her when she was born. That was all torn from them with no repair. For years, they were hysterically in denial.
Most Kalons were so solemn that they were permanently trapped in this haze, but some dared to question the authority that had stolen their children. What had become of these "Holy Knights" anyways? A select few excused the Queen's order with a quick wave that the Knights were not allowed to disclose anything of their new lives now that they were grown.
However, others demanded to know where they went, accusing the Queen of killing her own Knights with sadistic pleasure. Rumors arose that the royal family was more of a gang or mafia that employed these Knights to do their dirty work. With every vanished Knight, there lies a great distrust of the kingdom and the wealthy, but even the most rich aristocrats did not have answers on the disappearance of the Knights.
Less honorable rumors of Pride surfaced with the seemingly defeated state of her parents. Accusations that they knew of her fate were presented to them, but they were not entertained. Even the homeless of the streets would not resort to such tactics.
For twenty years after their disappearances, the Kalons of Feuillesête were in the dark, leaving only tales of intrigue.
[671 words]
What actually happened:
To leave them all behind... To provide a better life for them.
A sigh escaped from her as she eyed the curves of the faucet, the floral patterns that infected each bathroom of the Queen's estate yet eluded the plain and aged furniture of her old home. The magnificent marble of the mansion did not compare to the coal-colored overhangs back home, to the withering towers that supported hundreds of Kalons. Despite its ruinous condition, she felt much more at home there than here.
In her room, she had hung haphazardly her belongings from home, notably not much but still worthy all the same - a worn plaid blanket from her youth and the blouse she wore here eight years ago - with additions of her own, majestic midnight silks that her family could never afford. She supposed she should be proud of her achievements like her parents were, but the changes did not sit well in her stomach. If anything, she felt like she did not deserve any of this and more than anything she wanted to retire home permanently.
Musky clouds eased her of her troubles, perfuming from numerous incense burners. Her heart swelled a bit. Maybe she should be proud after all, not of her past, but of her future: soon she would secretly abandon her world to seek another, named Sabonde. Each Knight had their own to explore, which could be accessed by a sealed tree in the wood that housed a twisting portal. They were to report back after speaking with the leaders of the respective realms.
As a child, she was blind to the existence of the other worlds. Most were as well, except for the royal family, which sought to expand their territory and gain allies. Then, perhaps, her hometown's conditions may be improved. That was the promise she fought for. That was the promise she needed to fulfill.
Soon enough, the Knights gathered in the main hall and set out to trek through the foggy forest ridden with morning dew. Everyone brandished a blade, except for Pride, who squeezed a stick of oak, not that she needed it. She only used it to concentrate her powers.
Individually, the Knights were sucked into the portal after an elderly guard unlocked the tree by planting his sword into an engraving of a sun. Each time, he set the destination by tapping notches in the bark, a rhythm Pride detested. It seemed like he took forever. Finally, she got her chance. Her stomach fluttered and her eyes widened, wondering what Sabonde would look like. The Queen wasn't ever too keen on details.
Travelling through a portal is not as bad as the other Knights make it out to be, she thinks. If anything, it feels exhilarating - the rush of wind gusts against her fur, the frigid splash of reality taking shape, the colors deprived at home - although it ended with a stomachache and a pounding heart.
Complete darkness met her amber eyes. Stumbling, she blew flames out of her nose, lighting some rope ablaze. Much of the place was still littered in shadow, but now she could recognize yellowing sand beneath her paws and decaying walls with murals of beetles, though not the kind she's ever seen. Her breathing was frantic as clouds of dust were uplifted as she padded about, examining her cage of concrete.
Tapping the ground with her cane, she felt a lump, which she habitually blew aflame. It caught fire rapidly, though even in light Pride was unsure of what it was. Whatever it was, she did not care, as she spotted a doorway and took it, taking precaution to not trip over anything.
Suddenly, she felt some grains land on her hair. Sand was slowly cracking and raining down from the ceiling. "Alright," she thought begrudgingly, "let's get out of here. I'm done already." There's nothing more annoying than sand.
Her flames were more frequent now and her steps more heavy as she jogged through the hallways. At times, it felt like she was looping around, but she kept on, as she was determined to not be defeated in some maze. She didn't train all of her life just to fail.
Sunlight met her eyes as she emerged into another room, hung with cobwebs. Battling the sticky threads, she reached the entrance, where dust storms raged outside and the sun beat down into the orange sand. Exhaling, Pride stepped outside and she swelled up with newfound assurance.
...Until she heard a buzzing. Whipping around, a tiny sandy creature met her amber eyes, its wings fluttering so rapidly that it buzzed. Its movements were erratic, but she caught a glance of some plumage and fur, like it was a miniature Kalon with wings, except with a mane. Enraptured by its appearance, she thought naught of anything else.
Suddenly, it let out an uneasy hiss and shot out some sort of acid into her right eye, which burnt into her skull. Shrieking, she collapsed into a heap, trying to tear it out of her eye, but it was stuck. In a few seconds, she passed out, collapsing into the soft sand.
---
She wasn't sure how she was alive, but the Kalon who saved her claimed he extracted the venom before it turned fatal. However, she was now stuck with an eye of midnight, of shadow like the tombs she navigated. He explained that faeries are common and she must have disturbed a nest of them by lighting things ablaze. Before letting her go from his office, he caught on that Pride was not from Sabonde, but she quickly excused herself and sought out the Emperor.
For twenty years, she was ignored and mocked by the Kalons of Sabonde, even the Emperor, who eventually convened with her. At one point, she gave up entirely, feeling like a tremendous disappointment to her family and her Queen. However, a new Knight named Charity eventually led her back home, since she knew how to work all the portals.
[1000/1000 words]
Rumor (continued):
Now of thirty-eight years, Pride was worn and wary, but still youthful to the Kalons of her town, to which she returned. Her royal armor was exchanged for cloth, and despite being much wealthier than before, she remained with her father, her last remaining kin. Despite her failure, her father will always be proud of her.
Her story never let out to the public and she only ever whispered it to Charity and her father, but the old gossipers were entertained by her mysterious blind and blackened eye.
Some claimed she was imprisoned and lost her eyesight by being locked up in a dingy solitary confinement cell for long, others say that she was doing a hit job on a big criminal when he shot her in the eye. They call her "bullet-eye." Her father is not impressed.
If she was honest, though, she wouldn't have it any other way. Some school girl gossip was nothing compared to the loneliness she suffered in Sabonde. She's learned to be thankful that she still has half of her vision and to count her blessings.
For now, she can't help but swell with pride by her past, all of the hardships she endured and her skill proves her worthiness as a Knight.
[209/329 words]
[880/1000 words in total for the rumor]