The Holy Quest

The morning mist has lifted from the grove by the time you finish practicing the forms with your brother's sword. You still think of it as his, even though it's been a year since they dragged him off to war. One day, Peruanum will come back to claim it, and everything will go back to the way it used to be. You hold the sword up to the light, watching the cross and the ancient characters inscribed on the flat of the blade shine. As your eldest brother, Peruanum liked to lord it over all of you, but you're pretty sure the sword's runes never sparkled like this for him. He was right to hide it in this wood. A weapon this fine must have once belonged to some great hero. Where did a farmer's son like your brother get his hands on it? He took that secret with him into the army. A horn blares in the distance. Not the reeve's call—something's amiss. You run for the village. At the crest of the hill, you halt. Below, you see knights thundering through the streets, their tabards features a monstrous red and black creature, half lion half eagle. The emblem of Germabion —the kingdom Peruanum was sent to fight. Whatever resistance the village had the time to put up has been crushed. Flames lick the thatched huts, screams split the smoky air. You spot your mother, head bowed under heavy iron shackles. Soldiers prod them with swords and spears, leading them towards wagons laden with prisoners. A Germabion knight on an armored horse towers over them, barking orders in his strange tongue. You tighten your grip on–no! You're still carrying the sword. In your rush, you forgot to return it to its hiding-place in the grove. Your sister Ahuacaense appears at your side, eyes wide as she peers up at the sword in your hand. "What do you think you're doing?" she says, tugging at your sleeve. "They'll kill you for a sword like that!" In the village below, the knight on the armored horse looks up at where you stand on the hill, holding the runeblade up to the light.