Black Knight

The Black Knight straddles the line between myth and reality, an archetypal figure who has been part of the social fabric of Kaerok for generations. Such a span means that the current Black Knight is surely no longer the original person to bear that title, but a successor of some sort. Indeed, many see it as more a title and a role than a single individual. Elsewise, the Black Knight is unnaturally long-lived and perhaps something other than Human, but this a minority and controversial opinion. Whoever or whatever they are, they are anonymous and go about only in full plate harness and greathelm, concealing their appearance. The common folk hold that the Black Knight serves no master, perhaps not even the Goddess herself, but is some primordial wanderer, a being out of time, cursed with endless restlessness. Their activities are best summarized by an ancient rhyme known to children across Kaerok: ‘Where wise and sane folk fear to tread / there goes the Black Knight in their stead / where stalk foul things of Dark and dread / there goes the Knight to make them dead.’ The Knight is a relentless foe of monsters and mutants, the nightmare Undead, the Knights Revenant, and all other forms of supernatural evil that dwell in the depths of Teleria. When all hope is lost and no strength can prevail, the Black Knight appears, striking down the terrors and shielding the weak from harm. When corruption festers unseen in some corner of the world or under the noses of the innocent, the Black Knight wades fearlessly into the foulest dens where it sneaks and crawls. When the Banner Lords are busy with their politicking, their wars of honor upon each other, their pageantry and pomp, and their squabbles with other nations, the Black Knight remains on constant vigil. Opinions among scholars and pundits differ as to what this strange crusader truly is. Some theorize he is a Lightbringer, one of the rare Firstborn of creation still extant in the modern age. Others believe this knighthood is an openly secret position that is filled as needed: behind closed doors the Lords gather and appoint a warrior to don the horned black armor and assume the role of full-time guardian of the people. If so, where do the Lords find candidates? The Knight’s indomitable stamina and skill at wielding his steel-clad warclub are certainly exceptional, so replacements would have to be drawn from the finest soldiers of Kaerok. Would any given Lord willingly part with their strongest fighter, to continue a tradition of a folk hero who scorns all wealth and fame and never reveals their face? Most deem it unlikely. To explain the Black Knight’s battle prowess and seemingly everlasting nature, some have posited that their essence resides in the armor itself. When donned, they say, the strength and skill of the Black Knight fills the person wearing it, yet that person’s mind becomes dulled and desensitized, their free will submerged, their limbs numb and unfeeling, all controlled by the armor’s will. Thus the Knight can persist beyond old age and violent death, for as long as the armor endures, another may don it. Certain adherents of this theory also believe the replacement is chosen by the Banner Lords, who offer an unskilled peon as a sacrifice to whatever strange intelligence guides the magical armor whenever it is necessary to renew the Knight. Others say the Knight and the armor are unguided by any Lord or any worldly force known. Finally, there is the cynic’s point of view. The more sharply class-conscious among thinkers say the Black Knight represents everything the haughty knights of Kaerok claim to be, yet are not. They say that the Knight is mostly a comforting fantasy for those plagued every day by encroaching darkness, and that if the Lords truly cared, they would do more than send some lone vigilante to do their duty. Others say that is precisely the point of this enigmatic figure: to do the work too dangerous for any knight with name and standing to wish to be associated with, to plunge into the depths of evil lairs without fear of emerging tainted. One thing is certain, however: even the most cynical critic of the Black Knight, when faced with the slavering maw of some abyss-born horror, would gladly accept their aid.