Knights Apocalyptica

Erec adjusted his collar. The dorm's common room wasn’t exactly quiet—not with Garin nearby, humming a tune to himself as he pieced together his suit. That small measure of music was interrupted whenever he turned a critical eye to Colin and Erec’s outfits as they prepared for the Gala.

As for Enide and Olivia, both were sectioned off in Olivia’s room, as promised, and they’d picked dresses together. However, Olivia said that Enide’s would be a surprise.

What shocked Erec more than anything was that although he’d said he’d foot the bill for anything Enide needed in the Kingdom, Olivia covered the cost of the dress with her own savings. Another gesture of goodwill, on top of that, she’d gone out of her way to invite Enide out on several little trips together.

Enide was still suspicious of the other girl, but she was starting to warm a bit now that the former maid no longer presented an iced-over front of hostility.

For his part, Erec didn’t know what to think. Maybe it was a lingering doubt in him, but he couldn’t forget her weird nature when they first met, nor her ties to house Luculentus or the overall odd impression he’d had from the daughter of that house—Lyotte—whom he hadn’t seen for quite some time. But past warning her, Enide would make her own decisions on what she wanted to think about Olivia.

The thoughts roamed by as he stared at himself in a mirror. His red hair was growing a touch longer—he’d need a haircut soon.

So much had changed since he’d first become a Knight. Looks aside, he could see he was bigger. Stronger. His face hardened with the conflicts he’d seen.

But that wasn’t the only thing that differed from when he was an Initiate. Numbly, Erec pulled up his Virtues.

Name: Erec of House Audax

Health: 100% | Mana: 100% | Stamina: 100%

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Virtues:

Strength: [Rank C] | [Tier 7]

Vigor: [Rank D] | [Tier 8]

Agility: [Rank D] | [Tier 6]

Perception: [Rank E] | [Tier 7]

Cognition: [Rank E] | [Tier 6]

Psyche: [Rank D] | [Tier 1]

Mysticism: [Rank F] | [Tier 4]

Soul (Aspect: Fire): [Rank C] | [Tier 1]

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Divine Talents:

Fury

There were significant changes there. His hardships had brought two of his Virtues into the C Rank, though he knew full well those were deceptive. The truth was that with Fury and his advancing Soul’s rank, it would be folly to consider them the absolute power he could wield. Somewhere above that lie what he was capable of.

But those quantifiable differences did him no justice. In the same way, they didn’t reflect his changes as a person.

Erec let the Blessings vanish and once more fiddled with his collar. To kill time, if nothing else.

“Still can’t get it right, huh?” Garin tittered as he finished his outfit—much more elaborate and stylish than Colin or Erec. Embroidered vines made for an eye-catching pattern on the suit; Erec had opted for plain black with a simple, understated white dress shirt beneath. A classic look, if understated.

Yet, neither of them came close to the overall price point that Colin was wearing. On the surface, his suit didn’t differ much from Erec’s. But the difference lay in the details—the fine material, the lined thread of what was likely gold. Including a couple of rings on his fingers that Erec never swore he’d seen Colin wear before since the boy wasn’t much one for jewelry. Then again, most of what Erec had seen was Colin on the road.

Garin cut between Erec and the mirror, fixing the collar and patting his friend on the shoulder. “Just don’t touch it anymore, alright? Let’s go over it once more; we walk into the gala and then…”

“I offer to get Enide drinks, then mingle,” Erec said, rolling his eyes.

“Mhmm, after that?”

“I will dance and accept the conversations of whoever approaches us, and I will do my best not to punch any haughty merchants in the gut again.”

“Yeah… That part is pretty important, but make sure you’re seen. I need you to make an impression tonight. But, there’s one thing you need to keep in mind.” Garin paused as he glanced at Colin, who was scowling at the door of the women’s room. He’d been done first, well used to putting himself together for these and not seeing much of a need for style aside from throwing on his fine clothing. “…You need to think of yourself as a mentor. Whether or not you like these kinds of events, you’re the reason Enide is being dragged into them. She’s capable and, for better or worse, is as reckless as you, but don’t forget: this is out of her depth. A couple of courtly gatherings attended with the rest of her family is an entirely different situation than being on the arm and presented to the nobility as the date of a Count with the title of a hero.”

Erec stopped himself from immediately responding by saying that he thought Enide could handle herself well enough, probably better than he could in such an event, and instead, went with a different question. One which he’d been wondering since Garin first proposed this. “Why push so hard for both of us to attend if you’re worried about her?” Erec asked. Given time, he was sure Garin could’ve given her a few lessons on approaching this kind of thing.

“You love her, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Erec said simply.

“And I know you, since she feels the same, this isn’t going to end soon. Rumors have already spread, and it’s better to control the narrative and make the impact you want than to let them spiral out around you without a say.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Erec’s first instinct was to brush off the words. But instead, he set that aside, turning them over in his mind. Garin had a point. If she were going to be part of his life, she’d have to adapt to this. He’d have to make her existence and their relationship come into the public eye. This—showing up to a gathering for a Duchess’ event—was the exact type of brash move that appeared natural to what he’d been presenting to the court since coming back.

In another circumstance, the nobles would squirm, whisper, and try to find a way to exploit his connection to an outsider. But by taking it into their own hands, they arrived confidently and put others on the back foot. Too slowly, the logic came to him, and his eyebrow raised as he considered his friend. He still felt like he was missing the complete picture, but now, he could’ve sworn he saw a part of it. His following words were chosen carefully. “I’ll be doing my best, but it’s clear that I’m not the only social bridge she’ll need to cross this gap. You and Olivia will help us, right?”

Garin looked surprised, then fixed his expression. “Well, that was a given, man. Listen, don’t stress too much about it, alright? These kinda things flow more smoothly when you’re relaxed. As much as I’m sure to be keeping an eye on you and Enide… There is another couple we’ll be attending with that has the potential to cause even more trouble.” He gave a knowing look at Colin, who caught it. Like a monster, Colin turned from Olivia’s door to provide them with both a scowl.

“I can hear you speak of me, and I am more than capable of handling myself. Though this house is also a Duchy, they do not have the renown of the Nitidus name to them. They will, without a doubt, prostrate themselves before my glory.” Colin said.

“That attitude and the fact you’re heading in with the daughter of House Doctus… Yeah, I think even you can see why I might want to keep an eye on you,” Garin offered.

Before Colin could fire another rant or quip at Garin, there was a knock on the door to the common room. Colin’s scowl transformed into a practiced neutral expression, and Olivia called out softly from her room, asking them to take care of the guests and that she and Enide would be out in just a few more minutes. Gathering himself and sure that at least Garin had approved his outfit, Erec took the lead and went to the door.

On the other side, Colin's betrothed was the first person to greet him, who gave him a casual thumbs-up and brushed past into the room. Out of everyone, her attire was the most off-putting of all. Despite her status as the daughter of Duchey, she’d chosen to wear her Academy formals. It was not necessarily frowned on. At times, military people wore their formals to gatherings—so similarly, Knight attire was accepted. But it was scarce that people went in ranked formals at events of this status. In a way, even for someone like Erec, he immediately flagged at either a slight or complete lack of decorum towards the Luculentus household.

Garin watched her enter, his jaw dropping, a hand going right to his face as Alexandra Doctus gave Colin a goofy grin and strode right over to him.

Unlike Alexandra… The other two people waited on the other side of the door to enter. Bedwyr stood there, hands stuffed in his pockets, looking anywhere but at Erec, also dressed in the same type of restrained and ruffled collar black suit that his brother wore. Gwen, at his side, opted for a casual light pink gown—none spoke of wealth or much style, but none could argue they weren’t dressed nicely.

Erec invited them in as Garin had already set to smoothing things out between Colin and Alexandra, as the former had already started to pick a fight with his date. Alexandra seemed bemused by him but was interested in conflict, as always.

Thankfully, they only were trapped in the small room for a couple of minutes longer until Olivia’s door opened, and the last two to join their party were ready—Enide clad in a tight-fitted light red dress with a slit up one side. It wasn’t too far off from what he’d seen her in, within Vega, but certainly within the more stylistic and refined style of the Kingdom high courts. Not that Olivia reigned back her outfit—a similarly show-stopper light blue dress ending in long sleeves with a back cut out.

It was all Erec could do not to drop his jaw at Enide and want to abandon this entire thing entirely for a more romantic evening down in the caverns below—but before he could put the pieces of that half-baked plan together, Garin pulled them out of their room and outside of the Academy—to a carriage, which would take them to the gala.

With Garin and Olivia herding them off like a bunch of wild cats, they headed to the gala.

— - ☢ - — - ☼ - — - ☢ - —

“Your Kingdom sure likes to show off,” Enide muttered as she stared at the manor outside the carriage— a large structure. And, on the surface. Unlike House Nitidus, House Luculentus was not shy about abandoning their ancestral home in the caverns. The moment the Kingdom reclaimed the surface and secured it with the massive steel walls, this Duchy made their home above.

“Great houses are meant to show the height of what wealth and prestige can get you. Being earned or not isn’t their point,” Alexandra Doctus said, her arms stretched out on the cozy backrest of the carriage’s interior, draped not so subtly behind Colin. Erec’s friend was straight-backed and more on edge than Erec had ever seen him in the midst of a fight.

“A noble acts with their station and has much power invested in them,” Colin replied.

Alexandra gave him a lazy grin and leaned in closer.

If Colin were a cat, Erec swore he would’ve seen all the hairs on him rise, and his ears shoot up as she effortlessly raised his hackles—as it was, his friend did his best not to meet the eyes of his betrothed.

“We are born with our titles to live up to them in the name of the Kingdom. It’s not for show but a trust that we deserve through virtue of our station.” Colin continued, trying to pretend he didn’t see her.

“And… What have you done for your house, my sweet Colin?” When she called him her ‘sweet,’ Colin’s face turned red.

As tempted as he was to let her continue her odd way of shattering through Colin’s outer shell, Erec felt compelled to correct Alexandra on one account. Since Colin couldn’t find his tongue to speak directly to her now, “Colin has done right by his house. First and foremost, which I don’t think anyone will disagree with, is the part he had to play in taking down the White Stag. Without him, we wouldn’t have been able to track it down as fast.” Erec said.

Alexandra’s eyes never left Colin’s face, even as she listened. “Of course. I didn’t forget that; I know this one has quite a lot under the surface. I intend to peel him back and see every little bit underneath.” She set a finger on Colin’s neck and trailed downward, tugging at the shirt.

Garin laughed awkwardly and stood up, throwing the door to their carriage open. “Well! Time is wasting; let’s get on with it.” He waited for Olivia to follow, who was just as eager to get out of the suddenly too-cramped carriage. She let him help her down, not that she needed it.

Still, they got out one by one, cutting the conversation short.

Erec offered an arm to Enide, who took it. They pulled behind the rest of the group, letting Garin and Olivia lead the way into the social Warfield, hand-in-hand—behind them was Alexandra, pulling along Colin, who seemed determined with every step to drag his heels, if nothing else than not to show the woman he might marry that he did not embrace this event, nor her teasing.

Though Erec began to suspect, based on Colin’s stubbornness to hang on to their betrothal, something about this appealed to him.

Gwen and Bedwyr even passed by Erec and Enide as they slowed, firm, but both seemed intimidated by the sight of the Duchess’ home in front of them. It was shocking to Erec that even Bedwyr looked intimidated at the sight of the grand manor. A crack in the facade of what he saw his brother as growing up. But, understandable. All of them, including Erec, grew up so low on the nobility scale that something like this was always out of grasp. Gwen hadn’t even been a landless noble.

Now, Erec was more adjusted; he could’ve sworn he felt more at ease with the situation than his brother looked to him. Though, those tells were only perceptible since they grew up together.

Slowly, Enide and Erec fell to the back of their group. She was pressed at his side, her eyes never leaving the sight ahead. It was one of the few times he saw her wear a forced expression, a brave face to deal with a situation that scared her. She wore the same sort of mask when seeing the Vortex Industries facility.

Erec leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“Shall we burn up the courts together?”

She snorted.

“Dramatic. But if you wanna play that game, sure. How about this hero: you pick the biggest, meanest son of a bitch there and start slugging. Then, when you get him nice and distracted, I’ll hit him in the back of the head from behind. If we go full scorched Earth on this thing, best to go in with the right game plan.”

“Pick the guy, give me the cue, then I’ll start it off,” Erec promised, and a smile slid on her face, replacing the worry.

He wasn’t like Garin or Robin. Even if he worked on court skills, his way of dealing with these events and his life would never be the same. But no matter what happened, he would do his best to keep her feeling secure at his side if he had to drag her to this part of his life. She gave him Strength, so it was only natural that he should give her Strength, too.

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