Steem Monsters Common Card Fantasy Story Contest! Week 14...The Silvershield Knight
Hello everyone. This is my entry to the Steem Monsters Common Card Fantasy Story Contest! organized by @steemmonsters.
Short Version / Flavor Text
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The Silvershield Knight
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://i.imgur.com/sNyKWB0.jpg)
The Silvershield Knight became famous a year ago, when it saved a wealthy family from a robbery that would end in tragedy on the outskirts of town. From that moment on he was in the mouths of all the locals and neighboring towns. Some dared to say that he did not exist, that he was a legend, or a ghost knight accompanied by his faithful horse, but no. Here I am, without armor and without my partner, in the middle of the crowd choosing the freshest apple that the seller can offer me.
Being the Silvershield Knight is not easy but I enjoy it. I face the dangers that plague my people, from thieves to beasts that deviate from their path and sow terror.
"Sura" my mother's voice and her hand on my shoulder took me out of my thoughts. My emerald eyes shine when I see my precious little sister in my mother's arms and smile more strongly. I fight against evil to keep them safe. To my little sister, my mother and the twins who were running around, my other two brothers.
The real problem lies in my long scarlet hair, my pink lips, and other attributes, which leave me in evidence as a beautiful woman. And it is that everyone feels safe if a noble gentleman takes care of them, nobody believed that a lady could do it. In fact, my life could end if they discover me. The horde of people feeling cheated and insulted would take me to the gallows without hesitation. That's why I am cautious, without contact with anyone while wearing armor and I retire as soon as I finish my work.
"Daughter, it's time to go" my mother pulled me by the arm and nodding I start to walk beside her. The bustle of the people was decreasing as we moved away. The days lately are relaxed, without bad news or unexpected disasters. That's why I was surprised to see a sign in the main square with the portrait of the Silvershield Knight. I observe it with dissimulation and continue walking as if nothing.
In the evening, before I began my shift as manager of the tavern, I approached the poster. The king was summoning the best knights to an emergency meeting that would be held within two days, and the mayor of the town decided to send him, to the Silvershield Knight. Since then, restlessness settled inside my chest and it has not left me all night.
I've been thinking about the idea since I came to my home. Now I try to fall asleep and the poster does not leave my mind. The correct thing is not to attend that meeting; however the curiosity is being stronger. Something inside me screams at me that I should attend, maybe it's something important ... "It's time to make a decision" I say to myself.
I do not know at what time I gave up before the dream. But the sun has risen and it is time to collect the food for the trip.
I arrived in the royal city on the day of the meeting. When I arrived at the king's castle, it was enough to only show the sign that was in the main square of my town so that they would open the way for me.
In the place were gathered hundreds of knights, all waiting for the king. I try not to interact with anyone. I move away from the crowd and lean my body of a column while I admire the beautiful room, until the king appears and a sepulchral silence invades the place.
"Thank you very much for coming" began to speak the king "I will be brief because the situation warrants it. The war has gotten out of our hands. “A collective murmur was heard.
War? What war? Everyone lives peacefully today. My mind is in chaos with the words of the king.
"The rebels try to dethrone me at any cost. And for that they have used forbidden magic "the man paused while some gentlemen spoke" They have managed to take control of magical creatures. They managed to subdue orcs and dragons. The elves are still faithful to my mandate, but they are under attack. That's why I brought them here. The best knights of the nearby towns next to my royal army will attack this very night. "
The noise in the room became deafening and I cannot process the information. The kingdom is about to fall and I barely notice it. If they manage to dominate the elves, one of the clans with the most powerful magic among the magical creatures, they would win the war without thinking. It would be a complete chaos and it would be a matter of time before they began to destroy the nearby villages. My mother and my brothers will be in danger if I do not fight.
My breathing accelerates more and more as I mount my horse at full speed next to the squadron of the royal army. We are about to enter the battlefield and my hands tremble without stopping. I had not left my village until yesterday, and now I'm traveling to one of the strongest creature clans in the middle of a war.
The fire begins to visualize while the night falls, the forest was burning. But no matter what, my squad goes into the woods and I follow them closely. Soon they found where the real battle was being fought and my eyes were opened by the impression. Everything was chaos around me. Orcs and humans, the rebels, versus the elves, fighting to the death. The place was full of blood and bodies.
Suddenly, an orc approached me at great speed with the intention of hurting me. For a second I felt fear paralyze my body, but the adrenaline of feeling threatened forced me to move and stop the attack with my sword, even on my steed. The blow between the weapons made me remember when my father still lived and taught me the basic movements of defense and attack with the sword, which I perfected over the years. Now I defend myself with mastery and my attacks are strong despite being a woman.
I hurt the orc to the point of immobilizing him, but I am not able to end his life. That is not my mission.
I continue riding and fighting trying to make my way. My squadron has been entrusted to find the elves' chief and keep him safe, so I try to get to the center of the village and start the search from there. I had not reached my goal when a knight approached me and shouted that the elf chief was protecting the clan sanctuary. Without knowing where the place is, I decide to follow that gentleman. While we were advancing, a small troop of five knights joined us on the way to the sanctuary.
At the end of the corridor, in front of the spring, was the one who seemed to be the chief of the elves.
The blow sent me flying a few meters. When I managed to get up, I realized that the helmet and its protection had moved away from me. But thanks to the strong blow, my senses of survival woke up, and I did not worry about my tousled hair and my revealed identity.
The animal was restless and roared loudly as a light enveloped him. I approached without knowing what to do.
"It's too strong!" The elf chief shouted "They have to immobilize him" he told me and a gentleman who was a couple of meters away. I quickly approach the dragon and with trembling hands I nail the sword to his thigh. A scream came from the animal and seconds later the gentleman did the same on the other thigh. Shortly after the spell began to take effect and the dragon was calming and, surprisingly, decreasing in size.
"A man?" I cannot help asking the question as the silhouette of the dragon disappeared and a man appeared in its place.
"Some in the dragon clan have the ability to take the human form," the elf explained as he silently detailed me. "Everyone is under the control of powerful magic. They have to give me more time in the sanctuary, only that way I will be able to counteract the spell "explained the man while returning under the tree and began to mutter unintelligible words. I turned my attention away from the elf and watched the dragon, now a man, begin to regain consciousness.
"I'm sorry" was the only thing I could think to say while helping him to get up. At that time some orcs entered the sanctuary and the battle began again.
"You should not be here," the knight, who was still conscious, shouted at me, while he counterattacked an orc.
"It's too late to say it, do not you think?" I answer arrogantly as I take my sword hard and make sure no orc passes to where the elf chief was.
While fighting, I could see the dragon emerge completely from the lethargy. I am surprised when I notice that the wounds on his legs almost healed, but my concentration returned to the front when I received a surprise attack. The orcs are wild and strong, it is difficult for me to fight against them without hurting them too much.
The fatigue began to make me slow, I managed to dodge the blows with great difficulty. My arms are heavy and I start to miss my breath. I dodge a blow with effort; I see the second attack coming directly to my abdomen when a voracious fire drove the orc away from me. I turn and I can see again the dragon's figure behind me, back to its animal form, which took flight to get ahead and kill the orcs who were entering the sanctuary. Calm runs through my body.
But the joy that invaded me was interrupted when I watch an orc come out of nowhere and run directly towards the elf boss. Reacting as fast as I can, I manage to stop it before I can cross the bridge, barely. But immediately I realize what happened, my sword has pierced the heart of this. My eyes are clouded by the accumulated tears, without believing what has just happened through my hand. Tears run down my cheeks as I draw the sword from the limp body and see the blood flow.
Due to the consternation I do not notice another orc that is nearby, that just before being consumed by the fire of the dragon launched an arrow in my direction that manages to pierce my chest before it reacts.
"Divine justice," I whisper bitterly, still feeling guilty for stealing a life. Little by little the pain takes over my body, i losing balance without being able to avoid it. I try to react but it's too late, I'm on the edge of the bridge and I just wait for the blow against the water.
I fall into the water without anything avoiding it. I feel useless for not having achieved my mission, for having been neglected and leaving my mother and my brothers alone. My eyesight begins to darken despite the clarity of the water. The last thing my eyes saw before the air in my lungs was finished, was an intense light on the surface.
At that moment I knew, the elf leader had achieved it. I cannot help smiling.
I manage to open my eyes slowly. The sunlight blinded me so I cover my face with my hand as I try to sit up.
"Do not force yourself, my daughter" the voice of an old woman catches my attention. When I manage to focus I see the silhouette of an old woman with a cane for a few meters. My strangeness and surprise is increasing when I observe my surroundings, where I had remained unconscious, i do not know how long, there were numerous flowers growing from the earth. I turn my gaze to the old woman when laughs out loud "Now you have the gift of life" still did not understand anything but once again the old woman spoke "My name is Svoke, I will help you move forward".
THE END
Thanks everyone for reading. Maybe the story looks a little strange. This is because I do not handle English very well, my native language is Spanish. Even so I wanted to participate in the contest; I hope to be taken into account.
If you handle the Spanish, I invite you to go through the story in its original language and leave your vote and comments.
For those who do not know the character Svoke, you cannot miss the winning story of @tristancarax, which was in accordance with the use of the character in this story. That way they will understand a little better the end of my story. Read here.
Awesome story, the tension build up was there, character motivation, and a defined conflict. The end tied it well with the rest of the lore and it opens up for another continuation to the story. Perhaps some old English idioms or expressions might add spice to the character's personality or lore of the story. Good job all in for this one :D
Thank you very much for your suggestions, I will take them into account for a future. I'm glad you enjoyed the story.
Very good story, I wish you much success in the contest. I liked the fact that I was a woman, so I imagined it when I saw it hahaha.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your good wishes.
Your story was fun and entertaining. It kept me going the whole way through.
It was cool to see the main character as a woman knight.
I like how you tied in my character into your story there at the end.
@laykenia Congrats on your @curie upvote!
Out of the stories I’ve read, I think your story and mine will be battling for the top positions. Stiff competition this card brought out. 😀
Thank you very much for taking the time to read my story. I'm glad you liked it. I did not know you were participating, right away I'm going to read your post. And once again, thank you very much for allowing me to use your character. The best of luck for you too in the contest
I didn't want to say anything because I was right in the middle of writing my story. I, also, had the thought to bring Svoke into my story. As you saw, it didn't work out that way.
As soon as I published my story, I went to read yours. I was pleasantly surprised when I read a high caliber story such as yours with a character of mine in it. First for me! Very awesome.
@laykenia. Wow just wow. I have read few entries of this contest. Each of you have a different story line. And this round, the Shilvershield knight was a lady. It is not easy for a female to write a knight story. You need to know how knight behave in order can write it well. And i like the images as well. It compliment the story well. I enjoyed your story very much. All the best in your contest. Your story doesn't look strange and you have a very good english writing skill.
Thank you very much for your comment, it makes me very happy. This letter brought to light many interesting stories and I am glad that mine has been to your liking.
I didn't find the story strange. I thought it was well written and entertaining. I like the basis of the female knight as there aren't many stories with a strong female lead character. The pictures add to the story and i honestly wouldn't have known that english wasn't your first language from reading it.
Thank you very much for your comment, it relieves me a lot. And I'm glad you liked the story, I wanted to do it with a different touch because everything is mostly male. I hope it is well received.
It's always good to put a different spin on stories. There can be so many similar ones out there especially when covering a topic like this where there are multiple people doing the same thing. So standing out can only help. I think it will be well recieved.
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Thanks for the support!
This particular card has inspired great stories. This is another great piece @laykenia. The sense of suspense was thrilling. Our girl sure is courageous and not at all afraid to fight even when faced with death. I was so engrossed, I read it without missing a single word. Thank you for this interesting story. You are very creative.
I'm glad you enjoyed reading the story. Certainly, this letter brought to light very good stories and I enjoyed writing it.
A very beautiful story, it made me remember Merlin and Auther of Camelot. The best thing about this story is that it had a medieval setting and magic as well as knighthood.
I love your descriptive ability. The way you were able to explain the details of the fight, the action was just so present and the way you narrated in first person point of view, it made it possible to picture and mirror the action from a reader's point of view, well done, this is awesome
You have no idea how much I'm glad you liked it, thanks for letting me know. I have always liked the medieval era and tried to describe it as best I could.
A great fantasy story!
So much thrills and excitements. Most especially the ending.
Was that life after death Laykenia?
Not quite. It is the moment of transformation. She overcame death after sacrificing himself for a greater good and received the gift of life, his element. Which creates life where there is none and recovers what is lost. Svoke, a character from a past history of the same element, will be in charge of training her in the arts of life, such as healing and the birth of nature. Be one with everything that has life.
That's exciting!
And the story thus continues, right?
Do you plan continuing the story in your next blog/post?
It would be much more of excitements and thrills.
I'll be watching it!
For now I have no plans to continue it. But who knows ... maybe at some point it does. Thanks for the support!
You're very much welcome!
Possibilities are endless spite of our limitation.
As long as we're still breathing, opportunities are always there waiting for us.
You're still new on Steemit, you have a long and wide way to go.
Great things are coming and will go after you, be prepared.
Its my prediction. It will happen or will not happen. But my feeling is strong that it will happen.
Thank you. You give me a lot of encouragement!
You're very much welcome!
And thank you for your precious time, sharing your time to respond to my comments. I appreciate it very much. To be with someone even without words adds life and hope, much more if you talk to that person. I'm very grateful talking to people like you.
The comments make me very happy, so it's something I enjoy answering. I hope you do not hesitate to comment your doubts or opinions in any of my post.
Hi laykenia,
Visit curiesteem.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.
Thank you very much for taking me into account, it's an honor. Happy day for you too.
It's incredible the great movement that is being generated with Steem Monster through stories like these, I love the whole universe that was recreated, the end is raw and strong, but great, I congratulate you, I feel the effort you have given to this passion, really.
My best wishes to you.
Thank you very much for commenting. I really tried to write the story as best I could, I'm glad you liked it.