The Fires of Apollyon

The Blackstone Legion

When I had joined the ranks of the Black Priors, I saw what a true warrior was.  They were strong, brutal, and unrelenting.  I left the day our leader, Vortiguer, joined with the Dark Warden, Apollyon.  After that, I became a mercenary.  A skilled blade, but a mercenary regardless.  I was soon hired by a local warlord by the name of Hervis Daubeny.  That was when I was introduced to the Blackstone Legion...

Daubeny ran atop the walls of his castle, rerouting troops to vital areas.  He saw down in the enemy ranks a warrior in black armor.  Holden Cross, commander of the Blackstone vanguard.  Cross wanted the castle for its strategic value, but Daubeny would die first.  As he called defenders to the wall, a soldier in chainmail and leather armor left the barracks.

Lukas, once a member of the militant order known as the Black Priors, understood the battle could be won through fear if used correctly.  He slid his (for lack of a better description) "Punisher" steel helmet on and drew his sword and slung on his steel kite shield.  He ran up the stairs and stopped as Blackstone soldiers swarmed the walls.  Charging shield first, he quickly knocked over enemies, kicking a few of the walls to their deaths.  A Blackstone officer charged, but was stunned and fell on Lukas's shield.  He crouched and dragged his blade over the officer's throat, dropping the corpse away and began his defense of the wall.  He bashed his shield's edge through a soldier's helmet, killing him and knocking over a nearby soldier.  As he fought his way to the courtyard, the gates started to shake.  The gates flew open as the battering ram was pulled away.  Holden Cross walked in and swung his pike-axe, slinging soldiers right and left.  As the line advanced, he yelled.

"STOP!" Holden shouted, stopping the soldiers in their tracks.  "Daubeny!  Daubeny!  Show yourself!" He shouted as Daubeny reached the front.  Holden looked him over.  "Trial by combat.  Right now!"

Daubeny, either a coward or wise, responded.  "What?  Fight you?  That's not a trial.  That's an execution," the man said.

Holden gestured towards his second, a man in black armor.  His second was once a Warden, a swordsman who was a master of combat with a longsword, knowing how to turn even the handguard into a vicious weapon.  "Then fight my second," Holden said.

Daubeny looked at Lukas.  "You.  You will be my second," Daubeny said as Lukas raised his sword and kite shield.

"Wardens are a fierce opponent, but because of their weapon size, they become fairly predictable," Lukas thought as the Warden charged.  Lukas crouched and caught his opponent on his shield and flung him overhead.  When the Warden landed on his chest and tried to get up, Lukas kicked him in the head and put a leg over either side of his enemy.  Slamming his shield down, he pierced the armor at the lower back, where it's weakest.  Finally, he stabbed his sword in the Warden's neck, killing him instantly.  Lukas looked up and saw everyone watching.

Holden walked over to where Daubeny was and reached for his sword, which Daubeny held on to.  "It will not do for a knight of the Blackstone Legion to be defeated by a common mercenary," Holden stated as he tore the sword from Daubeny's hands.  He turned to Lukas as he took his helmet off and held the sword at his side.  "Kneel," he said as Lukas kneeled.  Tapping each of Lukas's shoulders, he bestowed the title of Knight of the Blackstone Legion on him.  Lukas stood up and looked at Holden, then Daubeny.  Holden gestured for him to follow him as the Blackstone Legion withdrew.

"And that was how I joined the Blackstone Legion.  Afterwards, we went to one of Holden's outposts, where he had a suit of armor with Blackstone colors made.  I liked it, but I wouldn't be honest if I said I wasn't skeptical about joining the Legion.  They swore to fight to bring peace and order to the shattered kingdom, but I have yet to meet our Warlord.  I pray that they seem true to what I am apparently fighting for.  I am a warrior, but even I've got morals and a code to follow.  And I do not break my oaths easily...