The War Of Gemstone: Owl & Flower
The Moon among the Rain

A fate line extends far forward, thin as a thread. A destiny line that no one can avoid. Is this the end? He lay there waiting for the end of the line to be seen. A beautiful hum rang out from within the dark forest ahead, waking him up. The end of the destiny line is invisible. This is not the end for the knight. Hope came back to him. The man woke up with a heavy breath. He looked around, but could not find the man in the red coat. It seems the impact of the landing is still felt. He tried to get up with trembling legs. He took his sword not far from him. His body seemed to move by itself to the source of the sound.

The heavy rain that hit him still did not stop. He was limping with wounds all over his body. Falling repeatedly in the mud and waking up repeatedly. “I will not lose by rain, I will not lose by storm.” He continued to say that phrase at every step of the way without stopping.

Blood stains and mud mixed and attached to each other to make the shiny silver color fade to jet black. The knight tried to wipe him, but to no avail, as if fused with his protective suit. The nickname Silver Knight no longer applies to him, he now bears the name of the Black Knight, a knight whose entire armor and sword are black.

The knight walked slowly into the forest. A White Owl flew in front of him. The man followed the bird while holding on to the trees. As, the deeper he entered the forest, all the wounds all over his body slowly disappeared. He could move his body freely without feeling pain like a newborn.

Even though the wounds on his body were gone, the knight continued to walk like spirits wandering the world aimlessly. The White Ghost Bird he followed perched on a tree branch, he then sheathed his sword. Just then, the knight saw a girl standing in front of him where the forest ceiling was open, the rain soaked her black robe. The girl continued to stare at the sky, even though water was flowing down her beautiful face with eyes as blue as the night sky. The girl looked towards him. A sweet smile was engraved on the face of the girl who released the knight's anger and sadness.

The knight fell silent, his gaze fixated on the figure. He who was often in the field of battle throughout his journey knew that the figure had a strong but beautiful and calming aura. His soul says that he has reached the end of his life goal, an existence that surpassed anyone even the arrogant kingdoms that had expelled him and left him in the expanse of helplessness was only accompanied by a Black Sword full of fury and blood. He believed the figure would be able to guide him into a new future. Leaving traces of his past on the corpses that were falling along the way. The knight also made up his mind. He decided to give up all of himself, his soul, his sword even his loyalty which used to belong to his king to continue serving the figure. He tried to counter the aura that filled the forest and enveloped him, breaking the silence of midnight, a sentence came out of his lips. “B-can I know your name?”

The figure fell silent, his eyes glanced at a powerful and familiar energy in the knight sword, then he smiled faintly. “Faye.”

Suddenly a swarm of Forest Wolves that smelled the smell of blood from the knight ambushed from the bushes. The girl named Faye waved her hand in the air and in an instant the Forest Wolves were thrown away with her magic energy to make the wolves run away in fear back to the nest.

The knight was too focused on looking at the girl, he did not dwell at all when the wolves appeared, if the girl did not protect him, he might have become the hungry wolf's meal. But, one thing the knight realized when the girl used her magic. “You can use magic with your hands?”

The girl raised her hand and looked at her little fingers. “Of course I can. It's easy.”

The Black Knight had never before seen a magician cast magic without the aid of tools. However, at such a young age being able to reach such a stage was an incredible thing. The figure of the girl was a special and rare existence. The Black Knight did not realize his existence in this world was a small dust that could only be swept away by the wind. The world is so vast and still untouched, many other extraordinary things beyond human ability are waiting to be discovered.

“You're here?” Another girl appeared from behind the trees. He approached Faye who was drenched in rain. “What's Faye?” The girl was stunned when she saw a knight covered in blood and mud in front of her.

“I've smiled like you said, Rynn.”

Rynn jumps up and hugs Faye happily. Although the rain drenched the two girls, Rynn's bright face seemed very clear. “Alright, let's warm up first.” The girl pulled Faye's arm. “You too, uhh... Mr. Knight.”

They both walked home. The knight sheathed his sword and followed them at a considerable distance with them behind. The moment Rynn opened the door, the figure of a young man in a luxurious blue suit greeted them inside. A room with tables, chairs and a fireplace provides warmth on a cold day.

“Why are you even raining?” The man gave a towel to the girls.

Rynn wiped her wet hair with a towel. He then pulled the chair to the right of the table by the fireplace and sat down. While Faye uses her magic to dry her wet body and clothes and Rynn's clothes as well. He sat down next to Rynn. Near the door, the knight who joined them, stood looking at Faye who was using her magic in awe.

Rynn brought her hands closer to the fireplace to warm herself up. “Archie we have guests.” The girl screamed.

Archie returned from the kitchen with a tray with 4 cups of hot chamomile tea on top. He put the cup on the table. Archie pulls the empty seat, “Please sir..”

From the scent of the man's perfume, the knight knew that the man was Aruindale's noble. He placed his right hand on his left chest and bowed. “I don't have a name, so you can call me Knight Black.”

Archie nodded and smiled. “Alright Mr. Black Knight, please sit-”

Faye unceremoniously nodded while sipping tea.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Archie circled around the table, brought himself closer to Faye and whispered, “You sure, Faye?”

Faye glanced at the knight's sword hanging on his waist, then unceremoniously nodded again and still sipped tea. Rynn looked at Faye's behavior as she continued to cast strange glances while raising the side of the cup with both hands close to her, then blowing it to make it colder to drink.

“Alright, how did you end up here?” Archie sat on the chair and leaned his body against the backrest.

The knight stood up. “Before I was a knight of the Kingdom of Aramor. However, the kingdom I serve.. was defeated by the enemy, and my king is gone.” He held the end of his sword. “This sword is the only relic of the king. And I will guard it until my hand cannot lift the sword again.”

“Aramor?” Archie covered his mouth with his hand, he twisted his body facing the knight standing upright next to him. “Isn't this a serious problem? Then who attacked?”

“From their banner, it was the Kingdom of Tenebrum that attacked us. On the way here, I was confronted by one of their members wearing a red coat claiming to be the Red Knight. He also said he had killed my king.”

Rynn who continuously narrowed his eyes at Faye while drinking tea, was shocked when he saw Faye was shocked.

“But why did Tenebrum attack Aramor?” ask Archie to the Black Knight.

“They seem to be eyeing the royal heirloom that is this sword.”

Faye turned to the knight, he choked. “Red coat?”

Archie immediately asked when he saw Faye's face, “What is Faye? You know something?”

Faye lowered her head, putting the cup on the table. “Those who killed my mother.”

“Your album?”

Everyone except Faye in the room had the same confusion. All curiosity and questions seemed to fill the room. Archie, Rynn is waiting for the same answer, even the Black Knight himself is curious about the origin of the girl.

Archie tried to clear his mind by sipping a little of his chamomile tea. He then placed his cup on the table and looked at Faye seriously. “I know maybe this is not the right time. Even though I'm only here for 3 days, it's time to tell your story, Faye. I feel like you're not just an ordinary person. You're a mysterious person. You never told me everything.”

Faye looked at Archie and then at Rynn. “Alright, if that's what you want.”

“Wait.” Rynn stood up from his chair. “What about Mr Knight, if the Kingdom of Tenebrum knows we're hiding it here, their troops will come here right? I don't want this place to be a battlefield,” said Rynn.

Faye stood facing the knight. “Black Knights, now you can stay here, rest in peace and release your burden, because..” Faye put on a serious face. “As long as there is me. They won't be able to touch you here.”