AN: This is just an excuse to write a story about an OP knight killing everything. This may be one-shot, or it may go longer. Who cares?
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A man in his senior years knocked on the door to the house. Well, rather than a house, it looked more like a museum. There were many windows on the house, and even from the outside a person could see the tens of displays inside. These displays included weapons, armor, medals, and photos. After looking at these displays for a few moments, the man was surprised by the sudden opening of the door. Inside the home was an old lady. Her eyes were yellow and slanted at their edges, giving her an aura of ferocity even at her old age. The lady used a depowered Voltedge as a cane. Despite her appearance, the smile she gave the man was still warm enough to make him smile back.
"Long time no see, Jorin," the lady said. "Thirty years, right?"
Jorin said, "More or less, General Desna, sir."
Desna let out a laugh. She said, "You don't need to be so serious! Come on in." Jorin followed Desna into the house. They strolled through the home, and Desna asked, "So, Jorin, how long have you been a ghostwriter for?"
Jorin answered, "Basically ever since we escaped Cradle. Thirty years ago."
"I see. Now those days were the real deal, I tell you! I still remember them like yesterday. The way I rose up through the ranks, the way we slaughtered everything we come across, the way I led the Recon Rangers, and the way I eventually became a general. You can't be like that anymore, though."
Jorin adjusted his glasses. He said, "Yeah. Well, I'm glad to see you again after all this time, but we can catch up later, this weekend maybe. I have other clients to meet today."
Desna stopped by a display that held a Proto Sword. "I know. Don't worry, we can begin right now."
"So, what do you want it to be about?"
Desna blankly gazed at the Proto Sword. She answered, "Well, I want it to be called, 'What Really Happened,' and it will be about my time on Cradle."
"Now that's an interesting title. Why?"
"You know Jorin, for such an excellent knight, you are such a dunce! I always thought that out of everyone in the Hall of Heroes, you were by far the best knight. But you were such an idiot, you actually took the role of Cobalt Knight! Oh God, I think even Daxen was more popular than you, and he was a prick. No knight in their right mind would ever want to become a Cobalt Knight, especially when everything about wearing Skolver was better than-!"
"Desna, sir, please."
"Sorry, I'll get on with it. You see, Jorin, most of what people know about me is propaganda. The truth is, I wasn't exactly the battle-hardened veteran people claimed I was. Rather than being a veteran, I was just a recruit at the time of the crash."
"A recruit?!"
Desna opened up the case with the Proto Sword, then grasped it firmly in her hands. On the wall beside the Proto Sword, there was a plaque that read, "My first weapon. Only used on my first mission."
Desna said, "But I was a damn good recruit. I could probably take on defenders, no joke."
Jorin said, "Even knowing how powerful you were on Cradle, I find it hard to believe that a recruit could be that strong."
"Jorin. As with all of the other knights, I was afraid when the crash happened. But that fear didn't last long. I soon realized that this was just like all the other times in history, where the Spiral Order would conquer and ravage the land for profit. Not many other knights flipped this switch. The idea of being a conqueror, of being an unstoppable force, clicked in me."
"So you're saying it's mindset."
"Yup. We were not the ones trapped on Cradle. It was the Gremlins who were trapped with us. Emberlight was not a safe haven. It was slavery. The gremlins there knew, if they did not help us, they would die by our hands. I still find it hilarious how the knights back then didn't realize this for themselves."
"I'm not writing that down."
"But it will be self-evident when you write about my first mission in the Aurora Isles. We descended at the end of the first week of the crash. The snipes were chirping, the wind was blowing, and the blood was just waiting to flow."
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"Desna, get over here!"
Rhendon was shouting for Desna to follow him. Rhendon was many ranks above Desna, but random teams resulted in this pairing anyway. They were in the Aurora Isles, with the long grass and blue skies creating a sense of peace. However, day and night cycles worked strangely on Cradle, so they would have to set up camp soon. According to Spiral HQ, a massive land chunk would be a depth above them in less than thirty minutes, effectively resulting in nighttime.
Desna worked diligently to set up the tent. With a swift motion, she took the tent out of the bag. A few strokes later, the pegs were stuck inside the ground and the tent was set. Rhendon, meanwhile, was setting up a campfire. Rhendon said, "Feel free to take your armour off. I'll keep watch first."
Desna shook her head. She wore a Tailed Helm and a Flak Jacket. Desna said, "It's not uncomfortable at all. I want to be ready at all times."
"Suit yourself," Rhendon said as he sat by the campfire. The skies were becoming steadily darker, and before they knew it, everything outside the radius of the campfire was pitch black.
About a hour went by before the silence of the night was interrupted. Rhendon heard some footsteps, and in the distance he saw two pairs of eyes shining in the darkness. Rhendon walked into the tent and nudged Desna. She was already awake, so she followed Rhendon out. Rhendon said, "Gremlins."
Desna nodded. Then, the gremlins were close enough so that they were visible in the light. Rhendon held his arm across Desna. He recognized the size of the gremlins and understood the situation immediately. He shouted, "Ironclaw Thwackers, here?! Desna, this is too much for you, I'll handle this."
Unfortunately, little did they know that a third thwacker managed to sneak behind them. Desna heard the footsteps a moment before the thwacker struck, so she was instinctively ducked. Rhendon was not so lucky, and the hammer landed on his shoulder, knocking him down. Desna grabbed the Thwack Hammer, then threw the gremlin by it over her shoulder and slammed the gremlin onto the ground.
Desna was face-to-face with all three attackers. She held her Proto Sword in her hand and cautiously thought of her approach. From what she knew, Ironclaw Thwackers were supposed to appear in the third stratum, but here they were in the first. Her Proto Sword would do little to no damage, but she had to try. "Come at me," Desna said. "I won't go down easily."
One of the gremlins motioned for the others to attack. Another gremlin charged at Desna, Thwack Hammer held high over his head. Too easy, Desna thought. She side-stepped the hammer, then slashed at the gremlin's heel. She then stabbed the heel, and the gremlin fell over.
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Jorin said, "Wait, what? I thought Proto Swords couldn't do that much damage."
Desna said, "A Proto Sword is still a sword. A good stab can work wonders. Remember, gremlins are still living things. They're not tanks."
"I understand. Please continue."
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Another gremlin was approaching Desna. It dragged the Thwack Hammer across the ground. Desna jumped over the hammer as it swung, and she dived at the gremlin. She took her Proto Sword and stabbed it into the gremlin's mouth. Blood flowed out of the gremlin's mouth, and the gremlin began to choke on the sword. Desna tried to pull the sword out, but it was stuck inside.
There was one more gremlin left. It was significantly taller than the others. This gremlin charged with a surprising amount of ferocity. Instead of using its hammer, it grabbed Desna by the leg. The gremlin lifted Desna into the air, and then slammed her down. Hard. Desna let out a gasp and rolled off to the side. The gremlin immediately followed up with a hammer strike, leaving Desna barely enough time to shield up. Unfortunately, the Proto Shield was too weak, and the blow was only slightly cushioned. As a result, Desna was sent flying, almost to the edge of the platform.
As she landed, Desna broke her arm and let go of her shield. She heard the gremlin approaching, the hammer dragging across the ground, becoming louder and louder. She saw the gremlin lift the hammer up over her head, and this is when she took an opportunity. By staying on the ground, she made the gremlin's next move incredibly easy to read. She rolled to the side as the hammer swung down, and then uppercut the gremlin with her good arm. She scratched the gremlin across the eye. The gremlin cried out in pain. Desna then unfastened her helmet, bashed the gremlin several times with it, and bit the gremlin's throat. She dug in furiously, soon hitting a critical artery. The bloody spouted out, and Desna knew that it was as good as dead.
Her face covered in blood, Desna turned to the gremlin that had her sword in its mouth. She walked over to the gremlin and tried to yank the Proto Sword out, but it was rather difficult with only one arm. She went back to the gremlin that had just bled to death and dragged its Thwack Hammer across the ground towards the other gremlin. The gremlin, in extreme pain with the Proto Sword stuck in its mouth, could hear the Thwack Hammer's dragging become louder and louder. Desna lifted the hammer and bashed the gremlin in the head. This wasn't enough to kill. She lifted the hammer again, and brought it down. Still the gremlin did not die.
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"Desna..." Jorin said.
Desna replied, "What?"
"Thats...horrible. I didn't know you were like that."
"Gremlins, Jorin. They would do the same to me."
"Are you sure about that? Besides, that doesn't make it right. There's a limit to brutality."
Desna let out a laugh. Jorin cocked his head to the side, raising his eyebrows. Desna said, "Rhendon told me the same thing later. We never talked much after that."
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About a full two minutes later, the gremlin's head was turned to mush. Desna grasped her Proto Sword, the dead gremlin's mouth finally giving away. Meanwhile, the last gremlin was watching in horror. It tried desperately to crawl away. It didn't dare look back as it heard Desna's footsteps approaching from behind.
Rhendon watched Desna from behind as she turned the gremlin onto its back and jabbed its face repeatedly. The Proto Sword may as well have been a wooden stick with how long it took.
Desna, when she was done, walked to the side of the campfire. She looked around at her work. One gremlin with a pool of blood by its throat, another gremlin with no head, and a final gremlin with a hole carved in its skull. Desna went into the tent. Inside, Desna asked, "Rhendon, where are the loot bags?"
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Jorin adjusted his glasses. He said, "Well, that was fascinating. I admit, I always thought you were a bit strange."
Desna said, "I was a warrior, Jorin. I lived for battle. I understand that not many people feel the same way, but it is how it is."
Desna put her Proto Sword back into the display. Its blunted edge from all those years ago still had a gremlin hair on it.
Jorin smiled. He said, "At the very least, I enjoyed seeing you again. Coffee shop, tomorrow at 11. Okay?"
Desna smiled back. She said, "Sure thing, Cobalt boy. Regarding the story, I think Monday at the same time would do great."
"Roger that, sir."
As Jorin waved to Desna from outside her home, he wondered about why he was friends with the woman back on Cradle. Desna fought for herself, with purpose, which everyone admired her for. When she wasn't talking about war, she was funny and charismatic. She was also crazy, and everyone knew it. But that craziness allowed them to escape from the hell that was Cradle. The brutality from back then...
"Does it make you a hero?"
I like how you wrote about our Leader, Desna.
Yet, there is one thing that should be known about her. If you read the information of the Iron/Gold Wolf/Dragon costumes, it says she was part of these squadrons (It's a bit vague, since it doesn't say if she WAS in this group), the Iron/Gold Wolves and Dragons were a group that targets the high-profile Morai threats, so you see, Desna, was never a recruit in the ranks, but in the higher ranks. One thing I know you would capture properly, was her personality. At close confrontation with her, she is quite laid back, and lively, yet is no push over when it comes to combat, she can also be quite charismatic. Her main weapon, is the Javolec, a heavy sword that can freeze the target, and crush them in an instant. I can truly say, she is a dominator, amongst all the Recon Rangers, and deserving to be our leader.