The mind of a Knight

The archbishop was furious.

The Legion had pushed our forces back to the city.

There weren't enough of us, we would use the city as cover.

...

...

...

I am strong.

I deliver divine retribution.

One, I blast a hole into a grunt.

One dozen, I crush the armor of a proelia.

Two dozen, I wrestle with a legionary.

Thirty, I crush the skull of a soldier.

Too many to count.

...

We are losing.

The Legion overwhelms us.

My brothers and sisters fall.

I watch as they scream when the red death seeps through their armor.

...

..!

The Great One..!

It's majesty...

A storm brews.

It destroys many of their creatures.

We rejoice.

I am rejuvenated.

I fight with a newfound strength.

...

One, I punch a hole into a soldier.

Two dozen, I decapitate a large one.

Three-

!!!

A great boom, and the great one staggers.

It screams.

The sound.. hurts...

I fall to my knees.

My face hits the soil.

Everything goes dark.

...

.........

.....?

My eyes flutter open for a second.

I cannot move.

I watch my comrades fall as they attempt to escape.

My eyes close once more...

...

.........

.....

.............

......

....?

.....??

........!

I am awoken from my rest.

My body aches.

A giant carries me.

I am put into a vehicle.

Thrown in a pile of my comrades.

Everything goes black again.

...

.......

..............

.......

I wake again.

I am finally back to my senses.

I am chained to a wall?

Cold.

Everything is cold.

Cold and dark.

They have stripped me of my armor.

...

I wait.

...

Did we lose?

...

All is not lost.

...

Not yet.

...

...

...

A giant steps into the room.

The same one that took me.

It speaks.

It is revolting.

It tells me that it has killed dozens of my friends.

My family.

It introduces itself as the warden of this dungeon.

It says it will break me.

...

I will not be broken.

...

...

It sifts through a large toolbox...

!!!

PAIN

SUFFERING

I CAN'T

THINK

WHY

NOT THE EYES

AGONY
AGONY

AGONY

IT LAUGHS

HATRED

HATRED

...

It finally relents.

I am left alone.

....

Time passes.

...

All is lost.

...

....

.......

I am taken from my prison.

They drag me through the halls.

My blood forms a trail behind us.

They put me in a new room.

One with weapons.

They instruct me to pick one.

I take a rusty spear.

I know how to use this.

They shove me out of the room.

The gate slams behind me.

!

This is an arena.

The crowd is composed of greyskins.

They are cheering.

I spot my opponent.

I ready my spear.

...

He readies his sword with the splitter stance.

Only knights know the splitter stance.

This is one of my brothers.

...

I salute him.

His eyes widen.

I stab my spear into the ground.

He charges at me.

!!

I grab my spear once more.

He swings with ferocity.

I block his first strike with the handle of my spear.

It splits my spear in half.

I don't want to kill him.

He swings again.

I duck below his decapitation strike.

He punches me in the gut.

He is strong, I cannot breathe.

I am knocked to the ground.

...

I will not die here.

I kick him in the jaw.

I hear a crunch.

He is staggered.

I stand up.

I grab the blade of my spear.

He is still dazed.

He raises his sword weakly.

I faint an attack.

He tries to parry.

I shift to the side and jab the blade through his chest.

He looks at me with shock.

He falls to the ground.

The crowd is cheering.

I am covered in the blood of one of my brothers.

...

They grab me and bring me back to my cell.

I am chained to the wall once more.

Left to wallow in my regrets.

...

I am visited by the warden once more.

He congratulates me.

He sifts through his toolbox once more...

PAIN

AGONY

HATRED

HATE

HATE

HATE

I lash out.

I try to strike him.

My chained limbs thrash around uselessly.

He stops.

Silence.

He puts his devices back into that toolbox.

He leaves.

...

...........

Time passes.

......

I wake to the sound of them unchaining me.

They drag me back to the weapon room.

I see my broken spear.

And his sword...

I pick up two knives.

I step into the arena.

The crowd cheers once more.

My opponent has a mace.

I close the gap.

I jab at him.

He weaves away from my slashes.

I make contact with a few glancing strikes.

No direct hits yet.

I go for a stab to the gut.

He dodges and swings for my arm.

!!??

My arm.

I can't feel my arm anymore.

It is contorted and broken.

I scream with rage.

I stab him through the bottom of his jaw.

His eyes roll back.

He falls to the ground.

The crowd cheers once more.

...

I am chained in my cell once more.

I am visited by the warden.

HATE

HATE

HATE

...

I wake.

They drag me to the weapon room.

I cannot use my left arm.

I take a short sword covered in blood.

My opponent is using knives.

They charge at me.

They attempt to strike.

I sidestep.

I cut one of their arms off.

They cut my leg.

I decapitate them.

The crowd cheers once more.

...

I am chained in my cell once more.

I am visited by the warden.

HATE.

...

I wake.

My leg is hurt.

I cannot move quickly.

I cannot use my arm.

I take the bladed half of a broken spear.

I know how to use this.

...

My opponent is using a longsword.

I limp towards them.

HATE

I slash at them.

They step away quickly.

HATE

I try to dash at them to strike again.

My leg gives out and I fall to the ground.

HATE

They watch as I stand up.

HATE

I charge again.

HATE

They stab me through the chest.

HATE?

I fall to the ground.

...

The crowd cheers once more.