The Tarnished Night: Respite

The Dawn broke with an ominous fury that morning...

The Knight sluggishly raised His head, and peered into the rising Sun with disdain, and slowly... painfully, lifted Himself from the ground. Sleep had done little to renew Him, and His dreams still lingered in His mind, sinking their talons into His spirit...

In those demon dreams, He saw what His waking mind had refused to acknowledge: His greatest enemy was not on some battlefield that lay in front of Him... But inside His own chest. For all the demons He had slain, every foe vanquished... He had never conquered His wretched heart...

For years, The Knight had drawn steel at every challenge He encountered... He had been the victor many times, been bested many others, yet... He never let his Honor, and Valiance waiver... He tried to take the Glory of His victories to heart, to fill him with a purpose, with meaning... Yet, no matter how great the battle had been... It had never been enough.

Each day, The Knight felt a piece of His soul die, as He tortured His soul with hatred an loathing... blaming some ill-gotten fate for his miserable solitude, his longing for that which he had never known...

... Love...

He could still hear Her faint voice, carried on the wind... Declaring His hidden inner strength... His true worth...

His time with The Angel had given Him many reasons to believe Himself to be worthy... But, without Her there... Whispering that might into existance... He was broken...

He finally saw, for the first time in His life... The truth...

There was no fault from The Heavens... He had not been cursed to be this wretched shell....

It was not The Angel who was to blame for his weakness... She did not abandon Him...

..... It was The Knight who bore the blame for his condition...

........... It was He... Who had truly tarnished His soul....

Through the valley below Him... He heard a sound He had heard many times before... The sound of Battle...

Gripping His sword tightly... The Knight turned to leave... Heading towards what conflict lay below... Then stopped...

He knew... There was only one right thing to do...

..... He sank His sword into the earth below Him...

......... Turned His back to the sound...

............. And walked away...

If He could not slay the dark demon within His own heart... How could He ever dare draw steel against another foe...

How could He ever claim one ounce of Honor, if all that resided within Him was Shadow and Despair...

Though He was unsure if He could ever muster the will to free Himself from this sick state.... He knew He must try...

.... If He would ever again... Earn the right... to call Himself...

.......... A Knight

- A Piece by Kenny G.