The Knights Of Khadaz
by Ikajo
Chapter I: The Strangers
This story takes place shortly after the incident where The Son of God of War tried to marry the princess of The Kingdom of Forgotten Sound.
There was a hushed silence in the great hall. The hall was packed with nobles, they were fidgeting nervously. Some of them were glancing in my direction. I was standing alongside The Twelve Holy Knights close to the throne where the fake pig, His Majesty the king, where sitting tapping his fingers anxiously. A few days before a very polite letter had arrived to the Holy Temple, inviting the Twelve Holy Knights to the audience with foreign dignitaries. Normally I would have refused such boring event but just recently I had caused the king a lot of troubles and felt I should accept this time around.
So, here I was, standing beside Judgment Knight, silently waiting for the kings guests. Behind Storm was having a whispering conversation with Leaf, no doubt trying to avoid going blind from winking too much. I studied the fake pig, for such levelheaded man it was unusual to see him so anxious and nervous. What kind of guests has arrived this time around? The king noticed that I was looking at him so I flashed a Sun Knight trademark smile, making him furrow his brows suspiciously. He opened his mouth as to say something when the doors swung open at the end of the hall. All heads swung around, focusing on the gap between the doors.
A young man walked in through the door, followed by six other men. I blinked surprised. The young man hade deep red hair, not fiery like Blaze, but rather the color of good grape wine of maybe a ruby. The hair was wavy with a few soft curls. It most had some silky quality, the way it sparkled in the light. His eyes were brown with a red hint to them. His skin had the color of bronze; it was a deep and rich color. Even though I’ve seen Pink’s weird skin color, this was more profoundly different from what I’d seen before. That wasn’t what surprised me though.
The forehead was enclosed with a wide band of gold, almost like a tiara, leaving only a sliver of exposed forehead. In its middle a large stone were fixed, its color almost exactly the same as the young man’s eyes. I tore my eyes away from the jewel to study his companions. All of them had the same bronze colored skin. Their hair colors differed greatly from black to golden blond on par with my own. Each and one of them had a wide band of gold enclosing their foreheads, fixed in the middle a large stone almost the same color as their eyes. Their clothes looked like a knight’s uniform, each the same color as the jewel they wore on their head.
They kneeled in front of the fake pig king in a sharp V fanning out from the man in the front. Their eyes were intent on the king, ignoring all the rest. I whispered softly to Judgement standing next to me.
“Do you have any idea who they might be?” I asked. He shook his head slightly. “I know as much as you do.” He looked sternly at the seven men in front of us, his word barely a whisper. Though he glanced at me like asking me if I knew more than I’ve told before glaring even harder at the strangers.
The king watched the men nervously, waiting for them to speak. Then the jewel on the red haired young man in the front suddenly sparkled, lightening up. A sparkle appeared on a blue jewel belonging to a man with azure blue eyes and dark brown hair. The man rose to his feet and approached the throne. Kneeling again his voice rang out in the hall.
“Greeting to the King of the land that belongs to the God of Light,” he said. I furrowed my brows; he had greeted the king of the land that belongs to the God of Light, not the king of the Land of Forgotten Sound. Others in the hall were whispering softly, upset or surprised, I didn’t know.
The man spoke up again when the susurration stilled. “We have traveled far over the width of the ocean, crossing from the land beyond sea.” That certainly were far, maybe that’s why he had referred to our kingdom’s religion rather than its name. “We are the Knights of Khadaz, bearers of the seven stones of wisdom.”
The fake pig king looked slightly taken aback but he had long experience for unusual appearances. Knight of an unknown religion was quite normal in comparison. He obviously relaxed and looked at the knight in front of him.
“Why have you come to the Kingdom of Forgotten Sound?” apparently the lack of name had hit a sore spot.
“We seek the Twelve that dwells under the Light and look upon the Sun so they may bear us guidance in our pursuit.” The knight answered. The king looked confused; the nobles looked at each other, everyone trying to figure out the meaning of the words. I tried to decipher them in my head, this sure looked like trouble.
“Doesn’t it almost sound like the Twelve Holy Knights?” Earths voice drifted from behind. “We are the Twelve Holy Knight of the Church of the God of Light and our leader is the Sun Knight.” I turned to look at Earth, he had an imploring look on his face, and the other Knights had also turned at the sound of his voice. We looked at each other, it seemed reasonably.But how could they’ve heard of us? They from the other side of the ocean!
The fake pig king coughed loudly, brining silence to the audience hall. Apparently he had come to the same conclusion as us. He looked at me questioning, obviously he wanted me to take care of this. As I had brought him trouble just a week before I decided it was best to comply, so I nodded my approval.
“I think the gentlemen you seek might be the Twelve Holy Knights of our Church. I sure Sun Knight will provide you with everything you need.” He said. Before I had the chance to open my mouth the young redheaded man rose to his feet’s. Looking directly at me. Nodding.
The seven men introduced themselves, or rather, six men introduced themselves and the seventh was introduced, not uttering a word himself. The young man with red head was called Elisila, introduced by a black haired man with eyes dark blue as the night sky. He was called Sylvance.
We were walking leisurely towards the Holy Temple, giving Storm and Cloud time to prepare for our guest. Both of them had seemed reveled by the chance to leave, Storms eyes had been kind of puffy. The seven men were looking around with interest. The golden haired Inian chattered non-stop with Leaf and Blaze.
“We are not the Knights of wisdom; we are the Knights of Khadaz. It’s our stones that are called the stones of Wisdom.” His melodious voice pitched a tune when he talked.
“Why are they called that?” Leaf asked with interest, as the good guy he was he didn’t even mind listening to the chatter-box.
“Well, half of its tradition. Wisdom is the biggest virtue among the people. The stones are supposed to represent the seven virtues of wisdom. The bearer is supposed to be immersed with the virtue he represents.” Inian answered.
“So Khadaz is the name of your country?” Blaze asked, eyes shimmering with anticipation.
“No, our country is not really a kingdom after all, so there is no country to be named after.”
“You don’t have kingdoms?” Leaf asked shocked.
Wyn, the Knight who had talked with the king answered. “Most of the people of our land are nomads, traveling around. They keep herds of cattle, sheep or horses. Even the few lords are nomads. They are following to two virtues of travelling and nature.”
“Then why are you called the Knights of Khadaz?!” Blaze erupted. “It makes no sense!”
Again a faint sparkle flickered in the stone set on Wyn’s forehead, he zoned out just for a second before answering Blaze question.
“Khadaz are the monumental temple in the center of the only city existing in our land. It’s the only real center of power, the monks of virtue teach the people about the good and the bad virtues. As its knights our duty is to carry the teachings to those who need it as well as being the virtue in itself. The stones you on our foreheads are stones of power, they were the ones to choose us, not other way around.” He massages his jaw shooting a tired look at their leader who was walking next to me. Elisila was watching me with interest as I waved and smiled at the people cheering and greeting us. I was definitely getting a bit nervous from the way he was watching. Sometimes he glanced at Judgment who was walking on my other side. Still he didn’t say anything. Allowing me to stay silent and not talk, something I appreciated.
Finally we arrived at the Holy Temple and the Sanctuary of Light, waiting for us at the huge doors was the Pope. Hidden behind his veil, his youthful face. He greeted our guests with a few mumbled words.
Elisila bowed slightly to the Pope, smiling apologizing and followed his subordinates inside. The Twelve Holy Knights followed them. Just as I passed the Pope with a brilliant smile and a bow he grabbed my arm and beckoned me to lean closer.
“Don’t underestimate their leader, he is far more powerful than you think he is.” He whispered softly, letting go of my arm. Slowly returning to the Sanctuary of Light he left me standing dumbfounded. What kind of people had just arrived to Leaf Bud City?
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