My Trilogy... Plus 2...

It's been a while since I wrote anything I was truly proud of....

I'm proud now.... So I want all three (Edit: Now four) (2nd Edit: Now Five) (3rd Edit: Now Six.... The Story continues...) links in one handy place....

The Tarnished Knight

The Tarnished Knight - Revelations

The Tarnished Knight - Respite

The Tarnished Knight - Requiem

The Tarnished Knight - Reformations

The Tarnished Knight - Redemption

Let me know what you think.

- Kenny G.

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.

The Tarnished Knight - Revelations

Though the sunrises He had seen, since The Angel had left His side, had been but a numbered few, The Knight's hollow soul had taken Him through what felt like an eternity of sorrow.

Each struggle He had come to know since, had taken more than flesh and steel to overcome. His muscles ached now in ways they never had before. Each blow to His armor tore away more and more, leaving His beleaguered self more exposed each day.

The Knight had always questioned the worth of battle, and often felt that His role in the world was one without value, without honor. But, standing now, a gaping maw in His chest where His heart once belonged, His doubts and fears raged against Him, stronger and more insurmountable than He ever believed they could become.

He once again had found a suitable steed to carry Him onward, but the weight of His battered patchwork armor, shoddy leather sitting where sterling metal once existed, burdened Him terribly.

Yet, He claimed himself to be a Knight, and that meager oath held enough power to pull Him forward each day, to stand as a warrior against the evils of this land....

As His mount came to rest one day, for a few hours rest before the next test of his might arose, The Knight's eyes glanced across the field around Him, and the image before Him brought Him to His knees...

Around His feet, lay the aftermath of a fierce and epic conflict. The broken bodies of many demons, many enemies, were strewn across the scene, the work of a truly mighty Champion. The Knight's thoughts raced back to the days, when His own might, His own will, would have readily faced a challenge of this scope, and would have been all He needed to win the day...

But... That was His past. He was broken now, emptied and crippled by His sorrows, His weakness, and His longing. His days as a warrior of this calibre were long buried. He was now, but a lone vagabond, drawing His steel against far less powerful foes, far lest ghastly monsters.

It was then, that He saw it... Felt it carried on the breeze... That feeling, That aura.... That Grace...

She had been here... The Angel He once had dared to call His own... He would never forget that presence... The presence that had once stood by His side, lending Him strength without limits... She was ingrained into His soul...

And with this revelation, The Knight wept...

... For He knew, She had found another, one truly worthy of Her... A Champion strong enough to face each day with courage and honor... Not fear and despair, as were The Knight's only ways...

...... And through those tears, The Knight prayed... Praying to the Heavens he had long ago turned away from... He prayed, for Her... And for this new Champion...

.........He prayed that She would fill The Champion with the same faith, and strength, She had given to The Knight... And that The Champion would do what The Knight never could... Heal Her scars...

........... And with a simple Amen... The Knight lifted his flask to his lips... Let the harsh taste of warm ale wash over his tongue... Laid his head to the ground... And drifted away...

.............. For though, He now wished only to slip away, fading to the shadows forever...

................... He had sworn an oath the always be.... Her Knight.

- A Piece by Kenny G.

Out, Out Damned Heart... Out I Say...

What can I say, my heart makes me a pathetic...

I let the fact that I actually "Feel" things be as immobilizing as being a quadruple amputee...

For some odd reason, the more I feel things are spiraling out of control, the less I do to try and take the reigns of my own destiny. I let the fear, sadness, and hopelessness that arises control, and ultimately, completely neutralize any inner strength, talent, intelligence, and passion that resides in me.

I had a very simple plan to take myself over to see Steve this weekend, knock out a bit of truck maintenance, and hopefully shoot a short little video for Funny Or Die. I should have gone out and did a little grocery shopping, get gas, and other such necessary errands... I had some paperwork to do for work...

... And not one God-Forsaken thing got done....

In the end... I guess the only thing I'm really motivated to do... is feel miserable....

Yes Ladies, this "Winner" is still single... ;-)

Needless to say... There's a few songs I really should not listen to... ever again... Because I've invested so much emotion behind them... they will never be songs that fill me with joy again...

- "Broken" by Seether W/ Amy Lee

- "Angel Eyes" by Jeff Healy

- "You And Me" by Lifehouse

...... But you all know me.... they won't leave my playlist....

............. And you wonder why I drink...

- Kenny G.