Regaleon: The Forgotten Knight

SLAP!

The sound echoed across the great hall like the crack of thunder upon a dying battlefield.

Then it was followed by a bellow. "You are a disgrace to this House!"

Lord Valdric Valehart stood towering before Regaleon, rage twisting his weathered features into something monstrous. The veins beneath his skin bulged while his golden eyes blazed with unconcealed fury.

The force of the strike turned Regaleon’s head sideways. A thin line of blood slipped from the corner of his lips. Yet he did not cry out.

This wasn’t the first time something like this would happen. Infact, this is the third time he was slapped in the face with the other two being the times he failed to awaken twice...

Therefore, he merely lowered his head in silence as he awaits the fury of his father...

The Hall Of Knights was vast and suffocatingly grand, built from pale marble and silver stone with towering pillars shaped like kneeling knights stretching toward the vaulted ceiling high above.

Between those pillars hung enormous banners bearing the crest of House Valehart.

The valiant Knight. It was a symbol of glory and recognition. But also a symbol that Regaleon no longer deserved to carry...

At the far end of the Hall stood the Knight Throne, forged from black steel and decorated with silver engravings of countless battles fought by their ancestors.

It overlooked the chamber like the judgement seat of a god...

And beneath it... Regaleon stood alone. Condemned like a criminal who did something grievous.

Around him sat the Elders of House Leonhart with expressions colder than winter frost as they watched the scene playing before them.

None of them deigned to intervene. None spoke in his defense as they watched. To them, this was justice...

At Valdric’s side stood the perfect, radiant and beloved son of House Valehart. Cedric.

His golden hair shone beneath the crystal chandeliers while his expensive white coat draped elegantly over his shoulders. A faint smile tugged at the edge of his lips as he watched their father vent on Regaleon.

There was no sympathy in his gaze. There was never sympathy. Only mockery... And satisfaction.

"You humiliated me before the other Great Houses..." Valdric growled. Then his expression twisted violently, "...Before the king himself!"

SLAAP!

Another slap came; this time harder...

Regaleon staggered backward before crashing onto the cold marble floor. Years of knightly training had made him endurable that a mere slap would not even sting. Yet he still have to display the image of a filial son to his father...

The thud rang through the chamber as he fell. Still, no on moved. No servant dared rush to help him stand...

The Elders watched on indifferently, like nobles observing the execution of a heinous criminal.

Regaleon slowly pushed himself upward. His silver hair hung messily over his eyes now while blood stained the corner of his mouth.

Yet even standing there...

There was something stubbornly unbroken about him. Something that refused to bend completely. Something he had cultivated through seventeen years of his life...

Behind Cedric stood Lady Seraphina Valehart, Lord’s Valdric wife and mother to the golden boy, Cedric.

She was supposed to be beautiful, elegant and noble. But standing there, watching Regaleon’s torment, there was something cruel about her visage...

Her crimson lips curved slightly as she looked down upon Regaleon while satisfaction flickered openly within her deep green eyes...

For years she had despised the boy. Not merely because of his status as an unawakened, but because his existence reminded her husband of another woman.

A dead woman. The woman who had given birth to Regaleon. A maid Valdric once loved before duty and politics forced him elsewhere.

And now... The son of that woman had become the greatest shame of House Valehart.

How fitting. The son of a maid turned out to be trash himself.

"Father, calm yourself!"

Suddenly, Cedric stepped forward while placing a hand upon Valdric’s shoulder like a dutiful son concerned for his father’s health.

"Please do not let him anger you further." He pleaded. His voice was gentle and respectful; perfectly performed to fit the image of an ideal heir.

And it worked. Because the Elders began nodding approvingly at the sight...

Meanwhile, Valdric’s expression softened slightly as he looked at Cedric with pride flickering in his gaze. This was the son worthy of House Valehart and not the failure that stood before him.

It seems that the Aetherium had merely tested him with Regaleon before rewarding him with Cedric.

Because unlike Regaleon mismatched awakening, Cedric had awakened a King Tier Armour and Greatsword at the tender age of fifteen...

He was a miracle; a prodigy that remained unseen in over a century. The kingdom had praised him while those in the academy worshipped him.

Even the royal family had shown interest in him. He was destined to become one of Valoria’s greatest knights...

And beside such brilliance, Regaleon, the son of a maid looked even more pitiful.

Valdric exhaled heavily before turning away.The long crimson cape behind him swept across the marble floor as he ascended the steps leading towards the Knight Throne.

Each step carried unbearable pressure, authority, power and judgement.

When he seated himself upon the Throne, it was as though the entire Hall bowed beneath his will...

Cedric took his place at the right side of the Throne immediately while Lady Seraphina sat gracefully beside Lord Valdric. Like a queen next to her king.

They were a perfect family. The ideal one as they sat there...

And below them, Regaleon stood alone before the court of his own blood...

"Hear my decree..." Lord Valdric began. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Silence fell instantly and even the servants along the walls lowered their heads...

"I, Valdric Valehart, Lord of House Valehart, hereby disown Regaleon Valehart." He continued, his golden eyes locking onto the lonely figure of Regaleon.

The words struck the Hall like execution bells. One servant gasped softly while an Elder closed his eyes in satisfaction.

’It was damn time already’ Another sneered in his heart.

"From this moment onward, he shall possess no ties to House Valehart..." Lord Valdric continued. "He shall bear neither our name nor our protection and he shall no longer be recognized as blood of the Knight!"

The Elders immediately voiced their support.

"A wise decision, My Lord!"

"The honour of the House must not be tarnished by filth."

"A rotten branch must be cut away to preserve the dignity of this house!"

Hearing those words, Cedric looked downward at Regaleon with poorly hidden amusement. He expected to see rage, begging or despair on his face but what he saw unsettled him slightly...

Regaleon stood there silently. He was cold and still. Like an unsheathed sword in a storm. The blood on his lips only made his expression seem sharper and colder...

There was no pleading in his eyes. No heartbreak and no despair. There was only indifference. As though the thing being severed had long since died already.

And perhaps it had...

Perhaps House Valehart had stopped being home to him years ago...

Meanwhile, Valdric’s brow furrowed faintly. He was also expecting some sort of reaction but there was nothing...

’Even now, this boy refused to break. Why? Why would he not kneel properly? Why would he not cry? Why would he still stand proudly after everything?’

The thought irritated him. No... It infuriated him as his face darkened...

"You dare still hold your head high?" Valdric asked, almost gritting his teeth in anger.

Regaleon slowly lifted his gaze and for the first time that afternoon, father and son truly looked at one another...

One sat upon a throne...

The other stood below it...

"You might have stripped me of everything already..." Regaleon said softly. His voice was calm despite the blood staining his lips.

"But my spine is the only thing that would never bend."

The chamber froze as several elders narrowed their eyes.

How dare he speak so boldly?

Cedric’s expression darkened slightly but a very faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips...

However, Valdric let out a very cold laugh. One that contained fury and unconcealed anger. Then his eyes sharpened like a blade,

"You still dare speak of an unbroken spine..." He started, his voice deep and hoarse. "You were born weak! You awakened weak! You shamed this House due to your weakness! And you still dare speak of dignity!"

Then he let out a breathe, "You should be grateful I allow you to leave alive but instead you insulted that gift..."

Valdric leaned back upon his throne then his voice became absolute. "For that reason and as punishment of the disgrace you have brought upon House Valehart... You, Regaleon, are hereby sentenced to the Nether Lands!"

The Hall seem to quiet down at the mention of that name. Even some Elders looked slightly uneasy as they understood the implications....

The Nether Lands. The cursed wasteland feared through the Aetherium. It was a place where disgraced nobles, criminals, and unwanted awakeners are abandoned to die.

No kingdom ruled there. No laws existed there. There were only monsters and... Death.

To be sent there was worse than execution. Because execution at least offered peace. But the Nether Lands offered only suffering...

Regaleon said nothing, but deep within him something twisted. It was not grief nor hatred but something colder. Like a wound frozen for so many years that it no longer bled...

"You shall remain there for the rest of your life," Valdric continued coldly. "And spend your days repenting for the shame you brought upon us."

Regaleon’s gaze suddenly shifted toward Valdric as he let out a low laugh, "You speak of shame, Lord..." For the first time, Regaleon no longer called him father.

"...but one day you may learn that the greatest shame of House Valehart was never me."

The temperature within the hall dropped instantly. Cedric stepped forward furiously, "How dare you-!"

"Enough!" Valdric raised a hand. His face was utterly emotionless now. It was as cold as carved stone. Then he turned towards some knights,

"Take him away."

Two armoured knights immediately approached Regaleon, yet he did not resist. He merely turned once more toward the massive banners hanging overhead...

The valiant Knight of Valehart stared down at his proudly while he stared back...

How ironic!

A House devoted to knighthood had cast aside one of its own...

Cedric watched as Regaleon was taken away in chains like a prisoner. He narrowed his eyes because for some reason, a strange discomfort lingered deep inside him...

Despite losing everything and cast away, Regaleon never once begged or cried. He was not broken. Rather he was taken away with his back still straight. Like a commander returning back to the battlefield...

And somehow... That was what unsettled him more than any hatred ever could.