I Will Be the Greatest Knight

The sun was beating down on the travelers enough that one might think their path had been easy and they hadn’t been nearly buried in the snow the night before. It was so sunny, in fact, that the surface all around them sparkled. Both knights had to squint as they greeted the day and began to move around.

The risk of snowblindness was real as they both shielded their eyes as they tried to adjust. They would have to be careful on days like that.

The snow underneath them had certainly melted as the two got off the leather that had supported them in the night. They found themselves in small depressions that they had to step out of as they got to cleaning up their tent. Once everything was rolled up tightly and they stepped towards their horses, it felt heavy to walk. The top layer was certainly wetter than either one of them had experienced on the trip so far.

Luckily, there was no need to pull scarves over their faces since the sun felt surprisingly warm.

"I’m eager to get on the other side of this by the end of the day," Irene admitted as she crouched next to the fire, saving what was left of the embers so they could have something to eat. "Once the sun sets, it’s going to freeze. It will be extremely difficult to walk through after this. What’s next for us are more rocky areas."

"Ice and rocky areas," Henry uttered with a sigh. "At what point will the environment stop trying to kill us and it will be monsters instead?"

"The only monster I saw last time was a wyrm," she admitted. "Seems this time will be no different."

"Even a goblin wouldn’t like it in the piercing cold," Henry realized with a light laugh. "They truly are so similar to humans in that way."

As Irene got water melted in the pot, she ruminated over this for a moment as Henry put their tent supplies away on his horse. When he returned to her side, she said, "Actually, there was a Sunstoian writer who suggested that goblins were the souls damned to hell after committing horrible acts. It made it a little bit harder after reading that, but I grew to choose not to believe that."

"Your people have an answer for everything," Henry responded. "Since you’ve been so forthcoming with yourself and your people, shall I gift you a secret as well?"

Irene’s hands were occupied with preparing the food, but her expression was obviously interested as her eyebrows rose.

"Don’t hold back," she insisted.

"The very first time I killed a goblin, it was mostly by accident," he admitted. "One was running through the peasant village, and I swung a sword a knight had left behind in the stables. After that, I threw up in front of so many people. I couldn’t stomach how repulsive they were or the smell that followed when their blood spilled."

"You?" she asked in disbelief, her eyes finally finding his.

For some reason, she had believed his strength came from being a peasant and having to fend off monsters all the time. She couldn’t picture him as anything but the man he was before her. If anything, a strong boy when he was able to call himself one.

Henry’s eyes lit up. He threw his head back to laugh.

"Me," he confirmed. "Nowadays I must weigh nearly three times what I did then despite only being a bit taller. I didn’t have a muscle to speak of. My hip bones and ribs poked out of my skin like a neglected farm animal. Except I looked like everyone else in the village at that time."

Irene’s hands had completely paused by then as she stared up at her husband, who was so dear to her. For some reason, picturing him in a starving state made a lump form in her throat. In another lifetime, she would have rushed to the peasant village as quickly as she could and pulled him out of that nightmare. And now he wanted to rescue all the people from that place. She would support his every endeavor.

"I don’t like thinking of you being so hungry," she admitted. "Nor your sweet mother or any of the other people dear to you."

He got onto his knees and kissed her cheek. She was sad while he was elated that such a strong woman could be so caring as well. He wouldn’t voice it out loud, but what a wonderful mother she would be. He knew his children would never starve if they ever went down that path together.

"Every day I am a step closer to making their reality far less grim," he responded. "I rest well knowing at least my aunt and mother are in the hands of capable men who won’t allow them the harsh realities they were faced with before."

"I believe you will," she agreed. "Now, let’s eat since we don’t have to starve."

The two of them were becoming quite efficient in their morning routines on the trail. Each morning looked the same, but it wasn’t to say at all that it was mundane.

First, the tent. Then Henry packed. Irene made breakfast, and finally, they cleaned up the last few things together, including putting snow on the fire, before setting off. Having fallen into roles, they were able to get back to traveling and use the limited daylight to its fullest.

This day, they had a firm goal, and that was to reach the edge of the plateau and have their first glimpse into the true Sunstoian North.

They made haste despite the heavy upper layer of snow they were dealing with. That was all due to the pedigree of their horses, who had long hair around their hooves that acted somewhat as snowshoes as they easily broke through, not seeming to be slowed by the ever-present obstacle that each step carried.

They only allowed themselves one quick break to make sure the horses were watered and fed because otherwise they could have jerky from horseback and it would make no difference to the two of them who were racing against time. Both hoped they might be able to see if there was wyrm movement that evening. It would help them decide the next steps to the journey, whatever it may be.

However, as the sun started to dip and they finally got to the edge, Henry wasn’t expecting his breath to be taken away so soon after it was when they saw the northern lights dancing for them after such an awful storm.

In all of its glory, the glacier-covered Sunstoian North stood before them. Despite being all an intimidating whitish blue that only got darker with each passing moment, it was unbelievably beautiful. Unlike anything Henry had ever seen before.

Irene couldn’t help her heart fluttering as she took in the sight as well. She remembered what it was like to first lay her eyes on it. It was a sense of accomplishment that few in Chemois or Peroda as a whole had ever felt.

"We’ll camp here for the night," Irene directed.

Henry nodded. He supposed he should get back to work. There would be plenty of time to gawk at the view. Who knows how long the two of them would be in the north?