Eu-Knight is the fourth installment in the VayneLine Chronicles.   Given the nature of the story this section will have a bit more spoilers than other sections so be warned.  A majority of the story takes place in a world where science has largely disappeared, and things like space are not known, merely ‘holes in the sky’.

Eu-Knight follows the story of two knights, Dirx and Railith, under Princess Higarth.  The kingdom has been decimated by repeated attacks that have killed most of the knights.  The knights are trained in combat and fight with powerful ‘holy weapons’ that put the regular Renaissance-era weapons to shame.  They range from long range rifles, to swords that can break enemy ‘spirit shields’.

Dirx is a loyal but flirtatious knight.  He is very skilled at short-range combat but can use long range holy weapons but leaves that to his partner Railith.  He rates women on a ‘maiden scale’ of their attraction and how likely he would go on a quest for them.  Railith is a foil to Dirx in many ways of being calm, collected and careful in her speech and acts.  She has a secret crush on Dirx but does not take his flirts serious given he talks that way to everyone.

Princess Higarth commands the two remaining knights to go investigate the adjacent kingdom to stop the attacks.  They prepare to leave when Dirx is stopped by an innocent young woman who seems to know more than she lets on.  They go their former head knight’s home to find it contains a secret basement full of holy weapons and a strange letter.

They head out and find the lush mountainous kingdom is now a desolate desert.  When they meet Princess Giland she tells them so disturbing information.  Among them, that the holy weapons they fight with are nothing special, she herself is a skilled combatant, and that the Princess the serve is in fact evil.  They do not believe it, but head back with doubt in their hearts.  When they return a confrontation is awaiting as the city is under attack from the sky, and Dirx has a showdown with Higarth – a woman incapable of defeat as she can read her opponent’s mind.

 

Eu-Knight Characters:

Dirx – One of the two remaining knights.  Skilled in melee combat.  A flirt.

Railith – One of the two remaining knights.  Skilled sniper.  Careful in speech/conduct.

Princess Higarth – ruler of the prosperous kingdom that is under constant attack.

Princess Giland – ruler of a desolate nation, claims to know the truth about the planet.

Pilko – An elder Knight that the two others looked up to but was recently killed.

 

Trivia:

 

Dirx does not know he is using advanced technology as assumes his technology blade is powered by magic, regardless he is skilled in melee combat.

Railith is a good cook, and prefers spicy food but Dirx does not like that.

Dirx likes simple food, and though Railith would like cooking for him, it leaves her skills underutilized.

Railith is chaste.

Railith has the longest hair out of all the major VayneLine Chronicle characters.

 

Eu-Knight is currently available on Amazon here.

 

 

Synopsis:

 

 

**Spoiler alert:

Warning what follows is an explanation of all events in the story which is meant to be read only after finishing the story in case of confusion**

 

The story starts off with a group discussing ‘CAOs’ (Condensed Axl Object – a term prevalent in VayneLine) and how on a planet with reverted technology there is one there.

It then starts with the main character Dirx in a tavern flirting with a young maiden when he is attacked by an ‘enemy mage’ who wields a vibroblade.  He defeats him and with flair puts a chair on him.  His female friend and fellow knight Railith hauls him out.

They talk a little where he mentions his ‘Maiden scale’ on how he rates women, and it shows their friendship where Railith shakes her head at his antics but still likes him.   She mentions their mentor knight Pilko mentioned that the ‘holes in the sky’ were actually what we know as stars, he died soon after.

They are attacked from the shadows, where Dirx’s ‘aura’ deflects a railgun aimed at him.  They do not understand advanced concepts of science, and merely have the technology, such as his shield.  Railith shoots him, but he also has a shield, Dirx closes with his ionic-inducing blade and kills him.

The next day they are summoned to the castle where they meet the beautiful Higarth, the long-lived Princess of their kingdom.  As the only two remaining Knights alive, she reluctantly sends them to take out her sister, Princess Giland as the source of the enemy mages.

As they leave, Dirx is confronted by a young woman that mysteriously tells him if ‘he delays in his devotion for a moment he will be slain’ and is unsure what she means.  Railith takes him to Pilko’s house, where in a secret passage he has a room full of advanced technology including a S.S.A.W. (Spreading Squad Assault Weapon – a high powered energy shotgun)

They leave and the mountainous kingdom they expect to find is in fact a long endless desert.  They spend a long time walking through the desert, conserving water and sleeping under the sand.  They are puzzled because this is supposed to be lush.  At one point they try the weapon’s from Pilko and are amazed at the power.

At the new kingdom they are shocked by how ruined it looks.  They are eventually taken to the Princess, who though emaciated Dirx is surprised how hot she is.  Giland tells them are hard tale that Higarth is evil and took a energy crystal from her, which is why the kingdom is falling apart.  She explains how there is no ‘holy weapon mage’ and that they magic weapons are nothing more than advanced technology, of which she has her own copies.  She makes references to crafting this world with ‘romantic elements’.

Giland decides to show her power by fighting Dirx, stabbing at him with a knife which he shield deflects, she moves quickly and eventually puts a choke hold on him.  She let’s him go and takes them down to show the missing energy crystal.  Also mentioning that Pilko was a Slayer (an advanced special forces unit that serves Star Priestesses) and only Higarth could have killed him.

She shows them where they found it (for clarity sake, this is a C.A.O. or Axl Artifact – a life energy crystal – exactly like AilAid and Mirrored Sky in terms of ‘Life/Line Springs’.)  She says that these crystals is what made the area very lush, and that naturally it would be desert.  She also says the other Knights, as well as her own, were slowly killed off by ‘star travelers’ after the Axl Artifacts.

They morosely realize Giland might be telling the truth, and without killing her, they will be traitors to Higarth when they return.  After fighting back through the desert, they are attacked by their own people, Railith kills them by shooting through the sand dunes.

They are then attacked from space as the city is being orbitally bombed, Dirx is knocked out.  When he awakens the city is in flames, including combat drones flying around.  He meets the earlier maiden who makes a reference to having a devotion to truth before pulling out a energy rifle of some sort to shoot down a drone – clearly much more than just a innocent civilian and indicative of other groups in place on this planet.

Inside the castle he battles a group of fighters from space who talk in a language he can’t understand (no nanite translation protocols) and they are surprised because he fights with modern technology, the surprise allows him to kill them.

He then fights an android clone of his own body, winning again due to surprise of having such advanced technology compared to the other guards of the castle.  Dirx sees Higarth easily defeat a group of them, commenting that bombing the object could have caused a huge detonation.

She has a moment of austere reflection before calling Dirx in, hostile for a moment as she expected him dead.  He asks to see their kingdom’s crystal, but she refuses, his undying hope in her is lost in this moment.  He chides her that he was raised with ‘Truth’ as the virtue to always pursue and that she was not following her own teaching.

She tells him, she will kill him to keep it secret, and he cries softly as his idol is being destroyed in front of his eyes. He readies to fight her, when Railith and another android clone of her emerge.  They fight, and when given a chance at who to shoot, he flirts with them, and the one who was angry/dismissively at his compliment was the real one, shooting the android with the S.S.A.W., cleaving the body apart.

Before anything else, Higarth dashes at Railith and takes her out with her Render (a high speed small chainsaw).  With only the two of them left, a final battle is about underway.  As a Star Priestess (both Giland and Higarth are Star Priestesses who defected along with others to hide on this world, living a fantasy.) would be easily able to take out the non-nanited Dirx – especially that she can read his mind for hostile intentions.

Dirx throws the S.S.A.W. at Higarth, saying its unbecoming to not know a weapons name, and that the battle is already over.  She thinks he is a fool, and prepares to catch it and kill him.  While she is preparing to catch it, Dirx drops to kneeling, and fires Railith’s Fan-Faili, as the railgun rips her lower body apart.

Higarth dies with heavy regret as she had lost both her Star Priestess virtue, and even the dream Giland had shared with her, brought low by her own corruption.  It was Dirx’s pure heart that did not have hostility towards her that she could not sense it.

The final section is a regal looking Railith looking different with elfish features as well as beautiful crystal wings giving a report about the C.A.O.s and requesting to stay assigned to the task of guarding them from other races.  It is never fully revealed but implied that Railith is an Angelian (a secretive race in VayneLine).  Railith thinks the girl who Dirx had a few run ins with was likely an Aelisha agent in disguise.  It ends with her being given control of the planet.

She talks with Dirx who is amazed about how little he knows, everything from aliens to space.  They decide to rebuild the kingdom based on their virtues they were raised with.  He gives Railith the first perfect 10 on his maiden scale.