Chapter 13: The Order

  Raiden woke up to see light streaming through a series of windows. His brain couldn’t quite comprehend exactly what was going on. He didn’t recognize this place. It wasn’t his room, and this definitely wasn’t his house. He glanced around groggily to see a series of other beds lying in the room, all of which were empty. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head as if to wake himself from a dream. The dream didn’t end, and Raiden realized that he wasn’t dreaming at all.

  Where was he?

  As thoughts whirred around in his head, memories came to the forefront—his class and the God Splinter. His journey through the dark dungeon of the Maw came back to him in a rush. He looked down at his body to see what the damage from the millipedes looked like. He was clothed in a dark gray tunic. As he checked himself over, he realized that he was perfectly fine. And somehow, he had most definitely not died. Because if he had, his current experience would have been much different. He would be materializing at a respawn stone somewhere in the city.

  How did I survive?

  He was about to get up when he heard footsteps approaching. He sat up, a little bit on edge, but waited there patiently for whoever it was. There was a brief knock at the door, and an old, grizzled man entered the room.

  Mortimer?

  Raiden gawked in surprise and made to stand up, but Mortimer raised his hand for him to stay where he was.

  Raiden quickly fumbled out words.

  “Chapter Commander Mortimer.”

  But the old man quickly cut him off.

  “I see you’re hale. I’m glad that you made it back among the living, Raiden. I wasn’t sure you were going to make it.”

  Raiden nodded.

  “I thought I was going to die. What happened?”

  The chapter commander looked at him.

  “Raiden, I was hoping that you could tell me that. Before we get into your tale, I’ve already taken the liberty of sending a messenger to let your mother, Kate, and your little sister, Amberly, to let them know that you’re alive and recovering.”

  Raiden nodded.

  “Thank you, I really appreciate that. I’m sure they were worried sick. And to answer your question, I think I can tell you what happened, at least to the best of my ability. But how’d you find me?”

  The old man just smiled.

  “I have my ways, Raiden. I have my ways.”

  Raiden took that to mean that the chapter commander wasn’t going to tell him anything, and so Raiden began his story. He started the tale with his experience in the Gauntlet. He had gotten part of the way through describing his first encounters with the rats when Mortimer cut in.

  “What? The rats looked like what?”

  “They were fast and vicious, and those black spikes were a real pain. They reminded me of chitin.”

  Raiden had just finished his tale of fighting the boss rat and earning his class when Mortimer held up his hand for him to pause.

  “Raiden, I’m glad you earned your class. You will officially become a full member of the Order. But the rats you fought were not the normal denizens of the Gauntlet. For all intents and purposes, the rats of the Gauntlet should just be large rats, not whatever mutations you fought.”

  Raiden looked at him quizzically.

  “I had my suspicions that something in the dungeon was off. You mean the rats aren’t supposed to look like that?”

  “No, Raiden. They are not. It is not common to see mutations like that in a dungeon such as the Gauntlet. The rats that you fought were far, far more dangerous than you had any right to face alone. Raiden, frankly, I’m amazed that you beat that section of the dungeon.”

  Raiden took a few moments to soak that in.

  “Enough about that, Raiden. Continue. What happened after you fought the giant rat?”

  Raiden went on to explain how the dungeon had rewarded him with a loot chest and how he had found a health potion, which had restored him to full strength. Mortimer nodded and then gestured for him to go on.

  “Yes, Raiden. But where did you go after that? I entered the dungeon after you failed to return. The bodies of the rats had already dematerialized at that point, and I didn’t find your body or any sign of what happened to you.”

  Raiden hesitated, unsure of what to say. He thought about the God Splinter and his conversation with Arovis. For all intents and purposes, the gods had supposedly abandoned this world, and it had been millennia since they had made contact. Stories of the gods were just myths and legends. Not only that, but the gods themselves were considered very taboo. Few people still had religious beliefs that traced back to the gods. Raiden thought it would be best to keep the God Splinter a secret, at least until he could find out more about it. So instead of talking about the amulet, Raiden took a slightly different approach and mentioned that he had seen a tunnel open up for him. Then the tunnel collapsed. He continued relating his story about his fall into the underground lake, his battles with the millipedes, finding the fallen knight, and his rifle.

  “So, Raiden, you’re telling me that certain sections of the dungeon just activated for you?”

  Raiden paused awkwardly, not wanting to mention the amulet or soul key that now resided in his soul space. He suspected many sections of the dungeon only activated because he had the soul key.

  “So,” Raiden shrugged and said, “Yeah. They just activated. Is that not normal?”

  Mortimer stood there studying him, and Raiden felt himself sweat nervously. Still, Mortimer didn’t challenge him on that point and let him continue with the story. He finished up with his fight with the millipedes and how he had been hunted by the giant millipede, eventually killing it. Raiden completely skipped any mention of the temple or the God Splinter.

  Mortimer kept staring at him as if waiting for him to go on, to reveal something, almost as if he knew there was more to the story that Raiden wasn’t telling him. Raiden finally finished his tale about how he had found the device that took him back to the surface and asked Mortimer about the device.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “Yes. That device is called a levitation disc. They exist in many of the ancient ruins throughout the world. How did you find that one?”

  Raiden just fumbled his way through some nonsense about how he had stumbled upon it while he was injured, and it had taken him back up to the surface, where Mortimer had found him.

  “Raiden,” said Mortimer, finally ending his interrogation and smiling at Raiden warmly. “Let’s go for a walk.”

  Raiden and Mortimer walked out of the room and made their way down the hallway. There were paintings that lined both sides of the hallway, and ornate furniture and decorations hung on the walls. The building that housed the chapter was a castle, and a fine one at that. The materials were all exquisite, and the marble floor was polished to a sheen.

  Mortimer took them down a flight of stairs. They continued on through another hallway until they came to a large room. Raiden recognized it as the main hall, which he had seen once before as a child, when his father had taken him there.

  Black and silver banners hung from the ceiling. These were the chapter’s colors. On the black banners, a silver sun was resplendent.

  “As you know, Raiden, this is the chapter of the Silver Sun, the chapter your father once belonged to. I have no doubt that if he were still alive, he’d be proud to see you standing here.

  “Much of what I’m about to tell you, I’m sure you already know. But for propriety’s sake, let’s go over a brief history of the chapter and its purpose.”

  Mortimer began to walk slowly down the grand hall. There were statues and paintings spread throughout, and Raiden looked at them as he glanced about, slowly following next to Mortimer.

  “The Chapter of the Silver Sun is but one of many chapters of arcane knights throughout the kingdom of Hallgram. Just a few others to name within the capital are the Chapter of the Griffin, the Chapter of the Lion, the Chapter of the Grey Dawn, and so forth.

  “As you know, our kingdom is surrounded by danger. Each chapter is a smaller organization of a much larger whole. The Order of Arcane Knights has many of these chapters, as we just discussed, and they operate independently until called upon by the kingdom should danger arise.

  “I am the Chapter Commander of the Silver Sun. I like to let the squads within our chapter operate independently and do as they see fit, so long as they adhere to the chapter rules. That is, of course, unless we are called upon by the king to fight. In that case, we are under the king’s command.”

  “Most of the squads within the chapter operate with about half a dozen members, sometimes more, sometimes less. When you become a knight, Raiden, you’ll be assigned to a squad of fellow knights. Our kingdom is surrounded by danger, Raiden. And so the orders were created at the inception of our kingdom as a way to combat those dangers when they arise. Dugardia is to the north, an ancient enemy far past the wilds. Not far beyond them to the east are the dead lands. The orcs harass us from the west, in the mountains. Far to the east, past our neighboring kingdom of Aldan, is the Dark Forest. To the south are yet more wilds full of powerful beasts, and beyond them to the southwest are the demon lairs. Hallgram finds itself in major conflict every few decades with these forces. Our kingdom has advanced much, selected for its proximity to ancient ruins such as the Maw. It has allowed our society to progress with magical technology to a great degree, but it comes at a cost.”

  “The orders throughout the kingdom are made up of teams of adventurers that group together to run dungeons and face other threats that arise. In our kingdom, the orders tend to be specialized. This means that many of the orders have members who all share the same or a similar class, which makes it easier for the kingdom to facilitate large scale military operations. When our kingdom was founded, all citizens were required to join an order that related to their class, but that changed a few hundred years ago, and it is no longer the case. However, many people still choose to join an order as they provide stability and access to team members who can help them grow. Being around people who share your same class provides some advantages, as you can hone skills together. ”

  “The Order of Arcane Knights is not the only order throughout the kingdom. There are other orders as well, though they are mostly fewer in number: the Order of Duelists, who also fight with blade and gun. They specialize more in speed and dexterity and do not make use of as much armor as we do. There’s the Order of Mages, the Order of Arcanatech Artificers who develop magical constructs and machinery, the Order of Crafters, the Order of Arcane Marksmen who specialize only in the use of mana guns, and so forth. Many of the orders specialize in the use of magical technology, but not all. Some orders have members that are made up of mixed classes. The Order of Adventurers and the Order of Dungeon Delvers are two examples. Those orders came about when the requirement for all citizens to join an Order of the same class was done away with, and they are the two fastest growing Orders in the kingdom. In those orders, you may see a team that has a mage, an arcane knight, a hunter, and so forth, all on one team. Teams like that are potent and do have a lot of versatility.”

  Mortimer had a gleam in his eye as he looked at Raiden.

  “However, there’s a reason the Order of Arcane Knights is still popular. In direct combat, a team of arcane knights will almost always wallop a team of mixed classes.”

  “Now, I’m not going to be going over all the chapter rules with you, Raiden, and so I’ll just sum it up with this: get stronger, protect the kingdom, stand at the ready in case we should be called to fight for the king, and stay out of trouble.”

  The old man looked at him seriously.

  “I will, sir,” Raiden said.

  “Very good. Now, we’ll be needing to get you down to the practice yards. Let’s be on our way,” finished Mortimer.

  Raiden and Mortimer left the main hall and began their journey to the back of the castle. Raiden assumed that was where the practice yards were.

  “Sir?”

  “Yes, Raiden,” said Mortimer.

  “I just wanted to thank you for saving my life.”

  “Think nothing of it. Now tell me, how are your mother and younger sister doing?”

  “Well, they’re okay, but it’s been difficult since…my father died,” said Raiden.

  “Yes, he was a good knight. Truly a shame that he died on assignment fighting the orcs all those years ago. Raiden, I’m sure you’re wondering why I would bother coming to see your test for your entrance into the knights. Why would I have come looking for you after you got trapped in the Maw? Perhaps you are wondering why I am not generally cold towards you, like I imagine so many others have been throughout your life.”

  “Raiden, I don’t know the entire history of your family line or what led to its downfall all those centuries ago when they were cast out of the nobility. Even after all this time, there is still a lingering stigma. Rumors and doubts often cling far longer than they should. Your family was the only one in all the kingdom’s history to have its status as nobility revoked. That isn’t something that just goes away. The politics of the kingdom can at times be complex, and I can’t be seen showing favoritism to anyone within my chapter. However, Raiden, I will see you treated fairly.”

  Raiden heard the clash of weapons up ahead. Before they arrived at the set of double doors that led outside, Mortimer stopped at a room and gestured inside.

  “Your gear’s in there.”

  Raiden, taking the hint, stepped inside the room and saw a staging area for fitting equipment. His gear had been laid out on the table. There was a gray uniform with a pair of pristine boots waiting for him. His old metal breastplate was nowhere to be found, but a new one sat there waiting for him. There were also a pair of metal gauntlets and a pair of metal shin guards that went with the setup. His three weapons were lying on the table as well and had been cleaned and oiled. He pulled his simple short sword out of its scabbard just enough to see that the blade had been sharpened. His mana pistol and the mana rifle had been cleaned as well. The light that he had used throughout his time in the dungeon was also there, as well as his belt pack.

  He grabbed all of his gear and headed over to one of the changing stalls, where he quickly put it on, surprised that the fit was perfect for him. After putting on all of his gear, he left his silver moccasins and his tunic on the table and stepped out of the room.

  Mortimer was waiting for him.

  “You look like a proper knight. Come on, Raiden. It’s time to get knighted.”

  Raiden’s eyes widened.

  “What? You mean now?”

  “Yes. Now, Raiden. No pomp or formality. Since you were gone, lost somewhere down in the depths of the Maw, you missed the knight ceremony last evening. A few other knights were also inducted into the order. A word of caution, Raiden: you’ll have to earn the respect of your fellow knights. Our chapter is an honorable one; however, that doesn’t mean that every knight will immediately accept you. You’ll need to earn that on your own terms.”

  Mortimer then walked through one of the doors, and Raiden followed him outside. There was a small stage that sat close to the castle. Mortimer walked up to it and stood waiting at attention. Raiden didn’t exactly know what to do with himself, so he decided to follow the man up onto the stage and stand next to him.

  Mortimer didn’t interrupt the sparring sessions that were underway; the man waited until the training knights had finished their sparring rounds or exercises. However, no one failed to notice the entrance of the chapter commander. One by one, the groups training out in the field quieted down and made their way over to the stage to stand at attention until hundreds of knights had gathered around the small stage. They were all staring at Raiden.