Into the Deep 1
#39 of Tik Tik's Tower
Gavit has served the Paladins of Love for all of his life, together with his lover Patrol, but the trials of the Wildlands proved to be too much for the two kobold lovers. Now, Gavit must find a purpose in his life amidst the uncaring universe.
This is part of a series I do with kobold dell'arte, who provided the characters and cover!
Posted using PostyBirb
"My beloved, remember, we serve love, so all we do, let it be for love."
Those words flash through the kobold's mind, even when he finds himself broken and stumbling through the wilderness, holding the stump where he had once grasped his blade. His armor was designed to protect the limbs while keeping his heart exposed for all to see his peaceful intentions. However, it proved to be useless against the sadistic whims of the beast of the Wildlands.
The rain falls upon his mangled body, but he doesn't care, for all he can think about are those words and the memory of the one who had spoken them.
Patrol, his senior knight, was his beloved. He was the first to notice that communications with the seemingly human woman had broken down. He was impaled through and through by the transformed creature. Its arm became nothing but a serrated monstrosity that punctured through him and spread out wide, shredding the skewered body through her grasp. His was the shock that seared itself into Gavit's eyes as the life drained from them, never again to hold him and never again to spread the message of love.
It didn't matter that he heard the call of the divine in his mind, hearkening him to some grand Tournament in some distant land. It doesn't matter that he is devoted to a cause that requires him to return to ask for the aid of others should one of his brethren fall. His eyes clouded with purpose, his growl rising, his hand clenching the broken blade as he makes his stalks his prey as he has been all this far-too-long time.
"A sword isn't a normal weapon for a Knight of Love," a traveler once noted of this weapon.
"It is a symbol of protection, used when necessary. I only draw it when no other option is available."
He looks to the blade now, seeing his damaged face reflected upon the steel, but he spies more than that in the reflection.
He spins around, slicing at the beast that reappeared behind him. She catches his sword in her claws, hissing as she leans in. "Stupid creature. You little kobolds need to know your place!" She yanks the blade away, causing Gavit to stumble forward. That's when her tail lashes at his unprotected torso.
He's sent flying back, groaning, warmth pooling at his stomach. He still has some of his magic left and presses the palm of his hand onto the gash, soothing the pain and stitching the damage.
But it isn't enough, and he doesn't have enough. There is not enough faith left in him.
She slithers up towards him, perverse glee in her eyes. "I haven't had this much fun since the True Dark Queen ruled these woods."
She readies her hand to strike, to skewer him just like Patrol.
Patrol...
He didn't deserve to die the way he did, and he didn't deserve to be left exposed. He should have known this blasted human was a monster at heart. He shouldn't have been so blinded to the fact that some creatures are rotten! That some beings aren't redeemable or worthy of love, only destruction.
The serpentine creature thrusts forward but rears back, clutching at her face, which sizzles and pops and burns.
She writhes upon the ground, screaming in pure agony.
Gavit scrambles up to his feet, whirling around, looking up, and up, and up.
He sees a majestic dragon of green and purple scales, tongue running across her mouth and staring past his small kobold form and down at the writhing monster underneath.
"I am the Dark Queen here," the dragon bellows, stomping past him, pressing a clawed foot upon the creature's body, ignoring the sharp implements. The groan of metal and the crack of bone fill the glade. Her glowing eyes stare a disinterested annoyance at the monster. "Worms like you should know that."
"I... I serve Estrasa!" The creature bellows, pulling hands away from what used to be a face and stabbing at the dragon's wrist. "I saw her. She was at the Tournament, just like you were, pretender, usurper!"
The dragon grabs the snake, squeezing, lifting, and bringing the blind monster to her face. "She's not here, and if she were, she would have the same fate as you."
She opens her maw with little more than a thought, spewing forth a gout of acid that consumes all. The glob of meat and metal left falls through the magnificent creature's features and lands on the corroded floor with sick plops.
She bellows, spreading her wings and flying out above the canopy. Her terrifying form disappears off towards the east--off towards the Tower of Darkness.
Gavit falls to his knees, quaking at the display of power and her mercilessness. She gave the monster no quarter. She crushed her enemy, and, without even knowing Gavit was there, she avenged Patrol's death.
He had no more purpose after that bloody affair. There was nothing for him. There is nothing to him. He's been denied his justice, and he's lost his faith at the last possible second. His weakness and the weakness of the order led to every pain that now courses through his body. Is there nothing else for him?
Death would not, could not, have him. That is never an option. So, slowly, he stands to his feet and marches in his uneven, broken gait. The sight of his bloodied scales terrifies any creature that comes his way. Regardless, he continues on the course, both aimless and directed--east, towards the tower, whose doors stand open, perhaps even for him. He doesn't know, nor does he care. Maybe the dragon will destroy him with her breath? Perhaps he would slay her as a proxy for his justice? Or perhaps he would collapse at the last second?
His armor clanks and rattles through the dark hall when he steps through the threshold. In the end, he sees a familiar shape looking down upon him from a higher elevation.
"Dragon," he calls out, holding out his sword. "I saw your might, and I have come here to discover my destiny."