KoC ~ Knights of Concordia (Ch. 1-3)

PROLOGUE: The Land Called Mana

In the year 1094 S.E, there was once a peaceful green and rich land called Mana. In this land there resided humans and magical creatures living together in peace. In one kingdom in particular because of their bond with the spirits, people throughout the land respected the citizens of Spiritus. The people worked and lived respecting these spirits that dwelled in their land as Gods. 


"Hey! Luzius, aren't those the clergymen from Sanctus Kingdom? I hear they live in an isolated area of Mana apart from any other nations."

"Ya, since the beginning of the new century, those religious bastards been suddenly dispatching their clergymen to different nations and kingdoms in order to introduce their religion to the land. At first people were skeptical, but now it's slowly growing through out the land like wildfire. Humph."

"Ha ha ha, well this kingdom was one of the first places that allowed their religion to be practiced freely.

"The King gladly invited these clergymen to our nation, what a fool!"

"Shhh... keep your voice down or it'll be your head. The King just openly believes in new knowledge and change, that's why he built the church in the center of the kingdom, where people can gather and worship together. Also it has become available to all classes of people, where even the poor, like us have access to it, it has brought the nation and land together even more than before. People have become more happier and united in the land, Luzius."

"You and the King are naive, Pulites! These clergy, they are not what they seem."

During the new year, the clergy requested an audience with the King.

"Your Majesty, in order to spread our religion to the world, we must build a bigger church in the center of the kingdom and build more near the country sides, the people must attend our church every Sunday to create a more united and happier kingdom. My Lord!"

With much debate, the King agreed. The King built a larger church in the center of the kingdom and placed smaller churches around the kingdom. He then personally announced a new law to the entire kingdom;

"By here on forth; All citizens of Spiritus must attend church every Sunday." the King announced.

The kingdom started to take a large hit. The kingdom's resources; food and money were getting scarce, their fields were being overused and most of the money the kingdom had was used to promote and build the churches. In the beginning of year 2001 S.E, the kingdom was getting even weaker because of the economy, neighboring nations took this chance to start an attack and take over the kingdom. The kingdom assembled their army and sent them out to the battlefield but they were easily overpowered because they were weak, starved, exhausted and out numbered. So the clergy requested another audience with the King.

"Your Majesty, in order to protect our land, we need more power... we need the powers of the spirits... my Lord..."

"My King, stop! I am Luzius, you must stop this madness. The clergy are slowly but surely taking over. Please be reasonable, this religion is a farce! The kingdom is suffering, your people are suffering. Money is being wasted on these clergy. They are sucking us dry. Now they want to use the spirits, who we've worshiped as tools of war for their own gain." said Luzius, as he barged in with a group of rioting citizens.

The King struck with confusion and anguish was unable to answer back.

"Your Majesty. Have faith in our religion, our god."

"My King! Think of your people."

Suddenly the doors of the throne room were thrown open. The commander of the Knights appeared, walking forward, he bowed down in front the King.

"My Lord, the enemies have broken our lines, they have made their way to this kingdom as we speak. We can hold them no more. Your orders."

The King with much inner conflict agreed with the clergy, if the battle dragged any longer the enemy would overturn his army and invade the castle. The King went to the spirits and asked for their aid.

"Dear Holy Spirits, our almighty gods... we need your power... our kingdom is in peril... our people need you!" The King pleaded.

The spirits where torn because they did not want to get involved in wars between humans. They have always kept a neutral stance. But the kingdom was in danger and so they agreed to join them this once. The spirits joined the Knights of Spiritus in battle. They pushed back the enemy forces in a matter of days. The whole kingdom was overjoyed, because of the spirits the kingdom was finally safe. But then the clergy requested another audience with the King.

"Your Majesty, in order to heal our land, we need more resources or our land is ruined... we must acquire new land... my Lord..."

The King pressured by the situation and with the kingdom's poor economy and the outcries of the people, hastily agreed. The King again went to the spirits asking for their aid to acquire new land from the enemy nations. But they rejected him. The church pressured the King to ask them again. The King went up to the spirits and asked once more.

"Dear Holy Spirits, our almighty gods... our land is weak... our people are starving... we need your strength!"

Again, the spirits pressured and cornered to prove their loyalty to the kingdom responded a few days later, agreeing to join the kingdom's army. They marched south and took over the surrounding lands, they continued using the spirits in the front lines of battle until most of the southern lands of Mana were conquered by the Kingdom of Spiritus, with almost no casualties on their side. They easily conquered many lands and strengthened their economy, more so than they ever have before.

"Your Majesty, our land has been save because of your leadership! We conquered the lands of the south! With the powers of the spirits we can continue to other areas of Mana... my Lord..." said the Clergyman.

"No! The only reason we have started this battle was to save our land... we are not in search of needless conflict." The King said with a malicious look on his face.

"Sire! With our power... we can rule the land... my Lord, you can lead this world into a new Er..."

"THAT'S ENOUGH! I'm done with you, leave now!"

"Yes, Sire! Please forgive my rudeness..." said the Clergyman, pleading for forgiveness.

The clergymen were denied anymore audiences with the King and things returned to normal in the Kingdom, but behind the shadows, there was something unveiling itself under the depths of the kingdom. Something that will change Spiritus forever.

CHAPTER 1: Slumming Around

During a sunny day in the Slums, even with the dark clouds of dirt in the air, the sun shone brightly. It glistened the sky and raising the tensions of the people. Their hearts were lifted as they progressed through the day, working hard and honestly in the quiet streets.

When suddenly a shattering and crashing noise erupts from a store next to the market. A boy is knocked through the windows of a store, shattering the glass and crashing into a bunch crates.

"OUCH!!! What the hell, Rey." shouted the boy as he got up.

"What are you complaining about now, Trist. Are you mad that I kicked your ass?" Reyna remarked as she looked down at him smirking.

He fixed his black gold-plated headband, which was covered in dirt. It was a special present given to him by his father. She watched him, feeling sorry for him, he was such a mess, she always made fun of his lack of appearance from his short dark red hair, which only reached to the back of his neck, to his tanned skin. He was even shorter than the rest of the boys his age. The only thing he had going for him was that he was a bit muscular and strong. Compared to herself, who had fair skin, and she was tall and very thin. She also had large purple eyes and long hair, always in a pretty ponytail, which flowed all the way down her back, it made her stand out a lot. She pitied him, but mostly she pitied herself since she was wearing the same outfit, as the boy. A worn out, light brown shirt and dark brown shorts with worn out dark brown shoes. She thought, sighing with disappointment.

Triston stared back at Rey with his bright yellow eyes, glaring at her.

"What kind of Knight uses kicks in a battle. Knights are warriors and masters of the sword." he shouted angrily.

"Whatever, listen the only important thing about being a Knight is victory." she lectured him. Flickering around with her long feathered gold earrings, a memento from her grandmother, which was passed down to her mother and then her.

They stared at each other with built up rage and anger, they slowly approached each other with their wooden swords up in the air. Both ready to strike the other, patiently waiting for the other to make the first move.

"WHAT! The bloody hell is going on." A voice shouted from outside the shop, they both turned around instantly. There stood the owner Felix Ivory at the door. He was a large, hairy, balding old man, with a messy and dirty beard. He always reeked of alcohol and sweat. He held his hammer in both of his hands about to snap it in two, his face became so flushed that is was if steam would blow out of his ears and mouth and he would erupt at any second.

"Triston and Reyna! You... two... again! My shop..."

"Let's scram," not wasting a second, they jumped through the window and hopped on their Sol Gliders. Gliders were thin magic circular tablet that uses the spirit energy from the land and energy from the sun to power it. Stepping on the surface, they activated the Sol Glider, making it glow blue. The two jetted down the street, as they peeked over their shoulders, Felix shouted at them as he ran after them. He was close on their tail raising his hammer in the air, swinging it in the air like a barbarian and smashing everything and all most anything in his sight. Carts, food stands and other objects were smashed and thrown left and right, people dived out of the mad man's way.

"Bloody hell!" they both shouted. They increased their speed, using their weight to maneuver the Sol Gliders through the street. They dived on the ground and started crouching and crawling, camouflaging themselves in the crowd. They continued their pace, heading in the direction of their home. When they noticed that Felix unleashed his Spirit Wolves, which were used by the Knights to track down enemies. Felix must have kept two from his Knight days, they thought.

"Trist, did we lose them?" Reyna asked out of breath.

"I... I think so..." he replied, his heart-pounding so hard with fear that it felt as if it would explode.

They looked up at the sky, attempting to calm themselves. Feeling relaxed after hearing only the chattering and marching of the crowd. When the sky suddenly went dark, as if an eclipse was occurring.

"What's happening!? Why is it so dark?" said Triston, still jumpy.

An object appeared in the sky, quickly descending like a lightning bolt, in the middle of the intersection. It crashed down on the ground, so hard it split the ground and created a crater in the middle of the street blowing the crowd away onto the ground. Smoke, dust and dirt rose in the air that it was almost impossible to see, the two couldn't even open their eyes because of the dust in the air around them. When the dust started to clear they opened their eyes, realizing below them that they were in the center of the crater created by the object. They looked up to see what could have caused the damage but the dust was still too thick, they couldn't make out what it was.

"What the bloody hell happened?" Reyna asked still in shock.

Suddenly it popped it's head out of the dust cloud, right in between both Triston and Reyna's face. Their faces turned pale, their hearts stopped, at that moment, they knew, they knew that it was the end.

"I... found... you. Ankle Biters..." It said with a sadistic grin on it's face.

CHAPTER 2: Tolling Bells

"OLD MAN, FELIX!" they both screamed out.

"You little brats! I'm gonna grind your bones."

Felix grabbed Triston and Reyna from the collar, dragging them back to the market, like dirty dogs that ran away from their owner.

"Damn, it." Triston shouted.

"Let's us go, old man." shouted Reyna.

"You little brats are gonna pay for what you did to my shop."

Felix dragged them back to his shop, throwing them onto the floor, forcing them to repair all the damages they made. They spent all day fixing the windows, walls, door and crates they broke as well as helping with deliveries for Felix's shop using their Sol Gliders to deliver to the various areas in the Slum, with ease.

"Alright, you little snot faces. Your done for today." Felix said loudly.

"You bastard, have you no shame working kids to the bone..." Reyna complained.

"Have you brats got no respect for other people's property!"

"Now, now, Rey. It's our fault, we have to make up for it." Triston said with a smile.

"Idiot..." Reyna replied unable to argue with Triston's point.

After their long day of sweat and labor. The two decided to head home and help out with their father's work. So they headed towards Reyna's house, where they bumped into both of their dads.

“Papa, we came to help.” Reyna shouted.

“Oh, really, but it's fine we don't have much work today, how about you go and play with Triston.” her father replied.

“Are you, sure? Pops.” Triston asked.

“Ya, you two kids have fun, don't come home late though.” his father replied.

“Alright!” they shouted in unison.

The two headed towards the outskirts of the Slum, a clear space with nothing but scraps of wood, garbage and dry dirt but it was the perfect place to train.

“How about we continue our match?” Triston said.

“Humph, don't complain, if I beat you again.” Reyna replied.

“Bring it on, Rey!”

The two shift into their battle stance, when suddenly a siren sounded throughout the whole kingdom. The bells of the church started echoed in the tight air.

“What's going on, Trist?”

“I don't know?” he replied.

“ATTENTION! All citizens, the kingdom is under attack by the SRG. All Knights head towards the Royal Sector for your orders. All citizens head home and stay indoors!” the announcement ended.

“REY! Let's get home quick.”

They jumped on their Sol Gliders and flew above the kingdom back to the heart of the Slums. Suddenly a large explosion erupted near the Slums marketplace, blasting away the buildings and walls. It created massive shock waves throughout the area, almost knocking them off their gliders.

“The walls...”

“Rey, let's go!”

Triston and Reyna glided frantically back down towards the Slums streets, oblivious of what the explosion was from or what was going on. When suddenly Knights appeared gliding and marching out of the gates connecting the Slums and Middle Sector.

“Hey, you kids. Head home, the streets are closed and contained. Move it. Men move out!” shouted the Captain.

The two could hear the screams of beasts from afar and the screeching of people being slaughtered. When another explosion erupted but this time it was even closer, and so much louder that it ruptured their ears. The two turned around, deciding to leave the dangerous area and glided quickly towards their homes.

“Mum, Pops! Are you home?” Triston yelled.

Reyna sprints into her house. “Mama, Papa!”

Both finding their houses empty, as if their parents just disappeared into thin air. It was just dead silent, not a sound, not only inside but outside as well. Heading back into the streets, there was no one, not their parents, not their neighbors.

“They aren't home, Trist. They're all gone!” Reyna wept.

CHAPTER 3: Protecting What's Important I

“Calm down, Rey. I'm sure they're fine.”

“Triston, Reyna!!”

They turned around and there stood in the open road, their parents, heavily panting and breathing from searching for the two. Triston and Reyna, with tears in their eyes, dived straight into their mother's chest.

“Thank god, you two are safe.” said their mothers in unison.

“Let's head home, it's safe there.” Triston's father said.

“ATTENTION! All Slum citizens, gather in the church!” the announcement ended.

“The church? In the Middle Sector?"

"Let's go everyone.” said Reyna's father.

The six of them headed towards the church, passing the gates, Triston noticed the clerymen setting up a Deus Barrier at the gate and Holy Seals, marked on the walls.

"They are planning to trap the spirits in the lower level."

"But our homes, they'll be destroyed in the conflict." Reyna replied.

They headed inside, where the rest of the surviving Slum citizens have gathered. After a few minutes, a clergyman appeared from the front.

“Dear, citizens, our kingdom is endanger. We do not have enough knights or soldiers to fend off these beasts. That's why you have been chosen to aid us in this holy fight. You have been summoned here to fight by our King! May Deus guide you!”

A knight appeared from the back and walked to the front. “All capable men and women arm yourselves! And prepare yourselves for battle!”

But the citizens immediately protested. “There's no way we are strong enough to fight these spirits, even you knights are being pushed back.” said one person. “Why doesn't the King ask for the help of the spirits from our kingdom, just like before?”

“The spirits of Spiritus will no longer aid us, they have abandoned us long ago. They are no different from the SRG! We must fight for ourselves. For Kingdom, For King, For Deus!” the clergyman replied.

“Pops? Mum? Your not going, right?” Triston asked.

“Mama, Papa?” Reyna whispered, as she looked up at them, fearing they would leave their side.

“We have to go, to protect our kingdom and our family,” they replied.

“Children will stay here in the church, those vile spirits will never reach this deep into the kingdom. They have concentrated all their attacks on the south end – the Slums, and are closing in here - the Middle Sector. Listen citizens, we must push them back to the lower level. Move out!” the knight ordered.

The adults started arming themselves with weapons, after a few hours, they left and headed towards battle. While the children were left in the underground chambers of the church.

“Rey, it's going to be alright, right?” Triston asked.

“Yeah, I'm sure they'll be alright, they are our Mama and Papa. They would never leave us alone, never...” Reyna replied. “But it's been a few hours, now.”

“Bloody hell! Rey, I can't just wait here any longer. I have to know what's going on out there.”

“You right, let's go take a peek.”

Triston and Reyna sneak up the stairs and open the door, making sure the clergymen didn't spot them, they stealthy moved around the hallways, with their back to the walls, careful walking as to not make any noise. When finally they reached the alter. Where they spotted the knight that ordered their parents to fight and the clergyman who gave the speech in the center, talking. They couldn't move any further.

“So, how the plan?” the clergyman asked.

“Everything is set,” the knight replied solemnly.

“What's going on?” Triston whispered.

“Hey, Trist, somethings been bothering me?” Reyna whispered back.

“What?”

“Well this is the Middle Sector, but where are all the Middle Sector children, I mean shouldn't they have been sheltered in the church as well?”

“Maybe they have a shelter in the north end of the Middle Sector, and they give us Slum citizens the closest shelter to the fighting... It sounds like something those rich bastards would do.”

“Also how come, we've only seen one knight here in the church and why is he still here, while Mum and Papa are fighting.”

“Hmmm... Shh... someone is coming.”

Another knight appeared in the church and walked towards the two. “Everything is ready, the Slum citizens have pushed all the SRG forces away from the Middle Sector, we can finally close the gate to the Middle Sector and the Slums. The Deus Barrier has been activated and Holy Seals in place around all four walls, they are trapped within, they won't even be able to fly out of the area. We can now continue with the plan of flooding the Slums with anti-spiritual acid specially made for dealing with these spirits, thanks to the clergy. We'll be able to finish off the spirits.”

“Alright, let's begin the operation,” the other knight replied.

The knights and clergyman left the church.

“TRISTON! They... they are using everyone as sacrifices, they'll all die!”

“Damn, Damn. Why!? Why are they... let's go! We have to STOP THEM!”