The Middle Ages: The Knight's Last Ember

The eight virtues of a knight: mercy, humility, honor, sacrifice, reverence for God, loyalty, courage, and showing ladies the utmost kindness and courtesy. "What is a knight's duty? To protect the Church, oppose rebellion, show reverence for the clergy, seek justice for the poor, keep the peace in the realm, bleed for one's brothers, and, if necessary, give up one's own life." When the lords, bishops, and nobles across the continent all believed in Emric's flawless oath, no one knew he had spent five whole years swinging a hammer in a blacksmith's shop on the frontier. Emric memorized the oath with the utmost piety. And so the lords saw him as their most obedient hound, the Church praised him as a darling of the Holy Light, and noble ladies high above him treated him like a lowborn knight they could order around at will. Until one day, the lord's body was found beneath the gallows, and the bishop's ill-gotten silver was dug out from a compartment in the altar. Emric merely wiped the blood from his blade with his mud-stained cloak, removed his gleaming helmet, and bowed humbly to the horrified crowd. In this Middle Ages, where the gods remain silent, the embers of Anvil Keep are quietly catching fire again.