The Lord of Evermont
Written by: Richard Ring
Art by: Rael

Prologue

.....The winters were harsh in Northern Solamnia. The seasons began to change and the    great plains were gradually covered in frost. The acreage failed to yield crops for the third year in a row, since the great cataclysm that shook the world. The terrible trials of mankind were just beginning, as the horrors of hunger and plague struck the land in full force. Few could be held responsible for the atrocities that struck the common farmer’s stomach. However, there was one order in which the people could easily place the blame. The Knights of Solamnia.


Chapter 1: Rebellion

.....“Sssssssh!” Thorton hissed across the table. “Be quiet you fool!”
.....Quickly lowering his voice Ivan leaned forward, “When do you want attack?”
.....“How long will it take to inform the others?”
.....“Perhaps two, three days tops” grinned Ivan as he leaned back into his chair.
.....“Perfect, alert the others that we will meet in the foothills south of the castle.”
.....“What about the guards?”
.....“They’re probably hungrier then we are…” pondered Thorton, “I’ll bet you they’ll turn on their masters before we even have to ask.”
.....“Then it’s settled, in three days we feast!”
.....“In three days…” smirked Thorton as he downed the last of his ale. Slamming the tankard down he whipped away the froth from his long mustache with his gauntleted hand.

.....Sir Craltean of the Crown, was not a particularly loyal knight. His present commander had deemed him unworthy of the nightly patrols in which he had recently been a member of. After striking a Knight of the Sword while in a drunken stupor, the young man was restricted to guard duty for an indefinite period of time. To make matters worse, the knight was given the south entrance to guard…at night.
.....To help pass the time, the knight had taken to the habit of bringing a small flask of whine with him. It was absurd, why should a knight of his prestige be degraded to simple guard duty. No one would bother in attacking a heavily armed Solamnic castle, even despite the plague and hunger. It was known quite well throughout the north lands that several groups of knights had banded together at the Evermont Castle. Desperate to defend themselves after several of the nearby castles had fallen to rioting peasants, the knights had decided that safety could only be guaranteed in greater numbers.
.....Grinning to himself, Craltean could not help but scoff at the knights who had fallen to a raving horde of peasants. It was unimaginable that a Solamnic Knight would fall to a bunch of filthy peasants with pitch forks. They were too highly trained for such a fate, a fate befitting only a fool.
.....Peering into the fog the young knight blinked away the haze from his eyes. Shaking his head slightly in order to clear his vision the knight couldn’t believe what he saw before him. Far into the distance there appeared to be dozens of bright orange balls coming toward him.
.....The balls of light soon began to take form as the objects carrying them were presented before the drunk guard. Several tall men wrapped in dirty cloakes were walking proudly toward the stuttering knight, who fumbled for his weapon. He finally withdrew it as a gruff looking man with a long flowing mustache approached him ahead of the group.
.....“Who goes there!” called out the nervous young man.
.....“Hold your weapon!” replied the leader.
.....Glaring at the group in front of him, the young knight tried to discern their purpose, lowering the tip of his blade he glared past the cloaked figures. To his shock a small army of farmers followed the mysterious assemblage.
.....Rather then wait for slaughter, or attempt to warn the rest of the castle, rhe drunken knight lunged at the leader with his sword. The polished weapon clanged against the chest of the leader who laughed at the drunk.
.....“To think, the Solamnic Order has degraded itself to allowing imbeciles like you into the knighthood!” roared the leader as he withdrew his own weapon.
.....Stumbling back in fear, Sir Craltean of the Crown could not comprehend where such peasants came across polished steel blades. Try as he might, he was unable to move out of the way as the swift moving blade came cleanly across the neck of a very bewildered young knight.

.....“Too hungry to fight” scoffed Ivan as he jabbed Thorton in the ribs.
.....“Shutup!” growled the elder blademaster as he cleaned his weapon.
.....Turning around to face the small group of cloaked peasants the leader sheathed his weapon. Staring each into each mans eyes, Thorton could see the anxiety in his men.
.....“These are no longer your masters. Your fate is your own!” roared their leader, caring not if the guards within heard their cheers. “Let us feast on the arrogant bastards whine!”
.....A large cheer arose as the farmers heard the last statement. Swelling past the group of cloaked figures the peasants stormed the iron gates which barred the southern entrance. Prepared for the obstacle, several of the farmers threw make-shift grappling hooks up the battlements of the castle. Shimmying up the walls, the strongest farmers took to the ramparts and began to descend the other side. Searching for the latch to release the gate, the crowd of waiting farmers fidgeted in anticipation. This is the moment they had been waiting for. Their informal leader, Thorton, hadn’t lied to them, this was really the night!
.....As the gates withdrew into the darkened courtyard of the castle, the peasants swarmed into the protected confines of stone and steel. Following a short distance behind the peasant army strode in the confident group of cloaked figures. As the group strode into the courtyard each member could not help but remember. Remember the time when they were once the defenders, rather then the invaders.
.....An urgent cry erupted from the north. More torches were lit as the peasants began looting the store-houses. Several advanced to the northern reaches of the rear courtyard. A small group of heavily armed knights engaged those who ventured too far from the pack. Quickly cut down in the path of the knights, the peasants were not given the respect and dignity the knighthood had been famous for several years ago.
.....“It would appear that our welcoming committee has arrived boys!” cried out Ivan as he withdrew his steel blade. Throwing his cloak off he revealed the stained armor of a Knight of the Sword.
.....The other cloaked figures similarly threw their cowls off as they withdrew their weapons. Each and every member of the group wore of the armor of a knight. While their leader wore the impressive royal armor of the Order of the Rose, most of the knights wore the simple soldier uniforms given to Knights of the Crown.
.....Stepping forward to meet the trio of guards advancing toward the renegade knights, Thorton saluted his opponents in the long forgotten tradition of battle. Quickly kicking the lead knight back with his heavy iron-shod boots, the renegades swarmed over the remaining two guardsmen.
.....Slamming his steel blade against his opponents, Thorton couldn’t help but feel pity for the lowly knight that faced the former Lord of Suthland. Grinning in delight, he played with his foe. Pretending to barely dodge an attack while making sloppy parries and hasty finishing blows, the lead knight quickly grew bored and finished the small duel with a quick parry and clean stab to the weakest point in low-class Solamnic armor.


.....The heavy ironwood doors of the throne-room were thrown open with such a force as to slam them against the inner walls, resulting in a booming echo.  Through these doors came the fully armored officer. The heavy steel which encased his body clanked loudly in the empty chamber as the man strode toward the small office behind the throne.
.....“My lord!!” cried out Sir Chester Benthren of the Order of the Sword, “My lord! Are you here!?”
.....Opening the door to the small room, the armored knight stopped short with a gasp. Standing with his back to the intruder was the Lord of Evermont. Clad in full plate mail the imposing figure gripped his helmet with gauntleted hands as he stared out the small window of the room which overlooked the ravaged courtyard.
.....“The bastards will pay…” murmured the furious lord.
.....“Y-yes, m’lord” stumbled Chester, forgetting his place. Quickly he dropped to his knee while taking his helmet off. “My lord, the peasants are revolting!”
.....“Obviously” sneered Chester’s master, “Let us be done with this, have you recalled the patrol?
.....“Of course, my lord”
.....“Good man, let us make haste to the battle.”
.....“As you wish, my lord” quickly responded Chester as he stood up replacing his helmet while falling into step behind his lord.
.....The duo was an impressive sight, standing both nearly six feet tall dressed entirely in shining steel. They rushed toward the front entrance to the castle. Four knights of the sword fell into step behind the regal pair as they left the confines of the inner castle. Stopping a moment before moving forward, the Lord of Evermont murmured a small prayer on behalf of his men and his opponents.
.....“My Kiri-Jolith guide our blades as we bring justice to these heathens,” whispered the royal knight as he withdrew a long sword which required both hands to wield. “Be ready my faithful servants!”
.....Standing once again the small group of defending knights began to work their way to the heart of the uprising. Nearing the southern courtyard they were required to dispose of several peasants who apparently forgot their low-rank in life and decided to oppose the will of the Evermont family.

.....Having dealt with the small forward guard the renegade knights quickly searched the corpses for anything of value, one even replacing his helmet with that of his murdered victim. Continuing to travel north the half-dozen mercenaries quickly spotted a shining armored group which seemed destined to collide with the self-employed knights.
.....“Oh my, it looks as if we’ve woken the lord of this little keep” grinned Thorton as he pointed his sword tip at the tall figure in the lead.
.....“Why hello there, are you here to give us the tour?” mocked Ivan as he pranced in front of Thorton and swiped his sword lazily in the air before the halted group of defenders.
.....The lead knight whose armor shined brighter then those who followed stepped forward and saluted the dirty group of renegades. “I bid you good faith as you slip into the afterlife” sneered the mighty lord.
.....Growling in anger Ivan charged the arrogant knight with his sword held like a club. Swinging the massive blade Ivan never made contact with the body of his target. The knight standing directly behind the arrogant bastard stepped forward and deflected the blow from his lord, who was currently staring intently at Thorton.
.....The rest of the knights engaged each other while Thorton glared intently at the Lord of Evermont.
.....“It would appear that you have fallen from grace, brother” growled the mighty lord.
.....“And it would appear that you are living in the past, brother” sneered Thorton.
.....“It is a sad day, who would have ever thought that Sir Thorton Evermont of Suthland would degrade himself to simple thievery.”
.....“It is you who has degraded himself, by living in the past!” withstanding the verbal assault no longer Thorton clasped his helmet on and charged his brother in simple rage.
.....Prepared for the attack the shining knight parried the blow easily planting his boot on the backside of his brother.
.....“It seems you’ve gotten sloppy, brother” growled the angry lord.
.....“We’ll see who becomes sloppy, as I spill your blood on our home!”
.....Withdrawing a small dagger from his hip, the renegade knight charged forward swinging wildly with his long sword and thrusting quickly with his stubby knife. His sword was easily deflected, however the small blade thrust into the thigh plate which protected his opponent leg.
.....Howling in pain the Lord of Evermont jumped back taking the lodged dagger with him. Spitting forward at his brother in disdain the injured knight glared down at his stained leggings.
.....“It seems I underestimated how low you would sink!”
.....“Only as low as life requires,” grinned Thorton.
.....Dragging the tip of his blade in the dirt, Thorton charged his injured opponent while bringing his blade forward and stabbed in with all his weight. Prepared for the attack, Lord Evermont sidestepped his brother and brought his own sword down on his backside.
.....As the blade sank into the fleshy calf of his opponent, the royal knight withdrew his sword and swung it horizontally across his brothers midsection. Ignoring the screams of pain which echoed around him, Lord Evermont grinned with a demonic sense of pleasure while withdrawing his bloodied blade from the body of his brother.
.....“It seems that fate has determined I should have the last laugh, brother” spat Lord Evermont. “I’ll see you burn in hell!”
.....Without waiting for a reply the Royal Knight drew his sword high while gripping the handle in a reverse position and drove the blade into the spine of his fallen brother. Gasping with death in his eyes the renegade knight stared at his brother as his body was pulled off the arrogant knights sword.