on
The Waning Moon Knights
Part 1
Lyon woke up to a terrible headache. The weather was getting chilly and the cold breeze left his sinuses stuffed and inflamed. From his bed, he could see the Palace dome in the distance. Hmm, he smiled, appreciating the finer details of the dome he could distinguish even from this distance.
Lyon slowly pulled out of his bed walked over to the window, outside, the shopkeepers and cart owners coaxed the passerbys to buy a fresh fruit or a herbal tea. Are they really fresh? Is that really herbal tea? Lyon knew the secrets better than anyone else in the city, he partially owned a merchantile business. He closed the window to drown out the noise from the street and walked out of his bedroom.
Lyon had fallen asleep earlier than usual and had skipped his supper, How long did I really sleep? he thought, Most men, who’ve seen endless wars, have hard time sleeping. He quietly wore a tunic and left his apartment. Descending down the stairs he was greeted by a young woman, “Good Morning General Lyon!” she said with a smile.
“Good Morning.” Lyon had taken a liking to this young girl, almost half his age.
“Mother is cooking some chicken for lunch,” she said with a little spring in her feet, “Would you like to eat some?”
Lyon, folded his hand behind his back and thought for a moment, his eyes moved up and down the young girl, She would make a fine wife. he thought to himself, “Yes. I was just going out to grab a meal.”
“I’ll get some for you.” she said with a smile.
Lyon turned around and went back to his apartment upstairs and paced his room. His stomach growled, Layla, he found himself thinking about her, I should marry her. A few moments later Layla, the young girl from downstairs returned with a plate filled with chicken legs. General Lyon smiled and pointed towards a small table by the window.
“Would you like some company General?” she asked with a sweet voice.
“I’d” Lyon methodically began eating the chicken legs, carefully chewing each morsel. “They taste delicious.”
“Yes,” Mother cooks the best chicken, “Her secret ingrident is a seasoning of parsley.”
Lyon chewed with his mouth closed and thought about marrying this young girl, who smiled sweetly at him and played with her hair, Should I ask her? he thought as he smiled at her, Maybe some other time?
A hard knock at his door pulled him out from his thought, “I’ll get that, General.” Layla said quickly crossing the room to reach the doors.
“General Lyon!” a man wearing the red and gold uniform of Dawn walked into the room, shoving layla aside.
“Careful how you treat that girl, Lieutenant Soros.” Lyon said calmly.
“I apologize, General.” Soros bowed his head, “I apologize, Miss.”
“What brings you here, Lieutenant?” Lyon said, carefully placing the plate back on the table. Layla stood in the corner lost in her own thoughts.
“Sir,” Soros said with a solemn face, “Lieutenant Lisandro has been caught.”
Lyon clasped his hands together and sighed, “What did he do this time?”
“Sir,” Soros said, “He got drunk and killed the husband of his ex-wife.”
Lyon sighed, “I’ll take care of it.” Soros nooded but didn’t turn to leave. Lyon raised and eyebrow, “What else?”
“Sir,” Soros said, “The Emperor is throwing a banquet in his palace for his most decorated soldiers and you are cordially invited.” Soros handed him the invitation, a small silver coin stamped with today’s date and King’s seal.
Lyon took the fancy silver coin and nodded, “Thank you Soros.” Soros saluted to General and gave a small bow to Layla and left.
“A banquet in the palace?” Layla asked with excitement, “Can I come with you, General? I always wanted to look inside the Palace of the Sun.”
Lyon thought for a moment, Does she want me to court her? he slowly nodded and Layla clapped her hands together with excitement. “Do you have a dress?”
“No.” she pouted.
Lyon produced a gold coin from his pocket and tossed it towards Layla, “Get a good dress for yourself, will you?” Layla nodded and dashed out of his apartment, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
The sunset allowed Mane to shine brightly against the night sky. Lyon waited patiently by the window, allowing his mind to drift back to some of the bloody battles he had survived. Diana was something else entirely, she climbed the ladder quickly and became a General at a just 20.
A knock on the door stopped Lyon’s train of thought and he clasped his hand behind his back and went to the door. He was wearing his uniform and a decorative sword on his hip.
“Good Evening General.” Layla tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ears and smiled.
“Good Evening, Layla.” he looked at her, “You look…” he thought for the right word, “fabulous.”
Layla spinned in her spot, “Thank you, General.”
General Lyon exited his apartment and offered Layla his hand, which she graciously took, “Shall we?”
Together the walked out of the building where an ornate carriage waited for them. Lyon helped Layla get into the carriage and followed behind her.
“Do you think, I’ll be able to talk to the Emperor?” Layla asked resting her hand on his legs.
“Stick close to me and you should get the opportunity.” Lyon said without looking back at her, “Careful though, Emperor Wylhem is quick to anger, I’d want you to be extremely cautious around him.”
Layla nodded in agreement, “I want to thank him for the peace.”
Wylhem never brought peace to Dawn. Lyon thought, It was Diana’s brutal conquest. Lyon found himself thinking about the battle of Solaris where Diana’s brutality brought the Kingdom of Solaris to its knees. She may be brutal, but she’s fair. Without her, Solaris wouldn’t have enjoyed the autonomy they do today. Had it been upto General Titus…
“General?” Layla called out.
“Yes, Layla.” Layla leaned in and kissed his lips and Lyon blushed red.
“I know,” Layla said in a soothing voice, “You feel lonely, but please know, you aren’t. I’ll always be there for you.”
General Lyon, felt his heart beat faster, blood rushed through him and he nodded with a blush, “Thank you Layla.”
A few minutes later, the carriage, that wound through the narrow streets of Dawn pulled to a stop just outside the Palace gates and the driver jumped to open the door.
General Lyon, offered his hand and helped Layla get down from the carriage. He wrapped his hand around Layla’s waist and the two gracefully walked towards the door.
“Invitaton?” A soldier swallowed as he knew who General Lyon was but had been ordered by King’s Guard to ask everyone for the invitation token.
“Relax son.” General Lyon, “I know you are just carrying out orders.” Lyon fished into his pocket and pulled out the silver coin and handed it to the Soldier.
The guard examined the token quickly and returned it back to the General, “Thank you, Sir.” the soldier gave a crisp salute.
Lyon nodded and produced a gold coin from his pocket and tossed it to the soldier, “For your courage.” The soldier smiled and pocketed the coin before reaching up to the next invitee.
Lyon and Layla walked through the palace grounds and reached a flight of stairs to the main entrance, “Layla,” Lyon said, carefully weighing his words, “I’m glad to have met you.”
“So am I, general.” Layla said sweetly.
A man should have a family, Lyon. Diana’s words echoed through her mind, A man without a family is a savage.
“Will you marry me?” Lyon said, without stopping or looking at Layla.
“Sir,” Layla said sweetly, “Do you think it is a good idea? Will the society accept this matrimony?”
“I’m the General of Dawn Empire, Layla.” Lyon stopped to face her, “I’ve served this Empire with blood, I don’t have to worry what the society thinks. Your station doesn’t matter to me.” He leaned in and kissed Layla, “So what do you think?”
“Yes.” Layla blushed red, “I’ll marry you.”
Lyon, wrapped his arms around Layla and listened patiently to some of the dignitaries, “The army has fallen from grace, Lyon!” Lord Reich said in a solemn voice.
“I disagree, Lord Reich.” Lyon said shaking his head, “We are still the very best in the world. Our weapons are superior, our tactics are dynamic and our soldiers are loyal and disciplined.”
Lord Reich burst into laughter, “Disciplined you say?” Lord Reich took sip from his glass and smirked, “The soldiers don’t wear proper uniforms. They cause a rukus after getting drunk to their bones. Some visit brothel and get beaten up by the prostitutes.
“General Lyon, your soldiers are living on the streets and spend there time at the bottom of a glass of whiskey. The glory days of Dawnite Army has long gone.”
The King had joined in the conversation and he looked red with anger, “Lord Reich, I agree, the glory days of Dawnite Army is over.” he clicked his glass and a hushed silence filled the room, “My father and I have worked hard to bring peace to Dawn. Era of conquest is over and the need for a large standing army has passed.
“I’m here to annouce that we’ll be cutting our yearly budget on army by half. General Lyon, I thank you for the service you did to the empire. The empire no longer needs a general skilled at war, we need a general who can help us run the empire smoothly. As of today, the army will fall under General Fiona of The Vigiles.” King Wylhem patted General Lyon on his back and left the group discussing about the implications.
“General,” Layla said, “What is going to happen now?”
Lyon remained quiet, allowing the announcement to sink in, Dawn no longer needs me? It no longer needs Army? Lyon clutched his fingers into a fist, Are you barking mad, Wylhem?
“General?” Layla said with a worried look.
The enemy… the enemy has not been defeated… Lyon stared at Wylhem who was laughing in the middle of the hall, Fuck this shit… he grabbed Layla by her wrist and left the ballroom, infuriated by the announcement.
“General?” Layla called out again once they were inside the carriage. Lyon pulled his medals free from his uniform and stared at them, “Are you alright General?”
Lyon burst into laughter and flung the medal out of the window. An impish smile settled on his face and he looked at Layla absent mindedly.
“General?” Layla tucked a loose strand behind her ear, “What are you going to do?”
“I’m no longer a General, Layla.” he smiled, “What am I going to do? Tell me, do you think we really have peace in our time?”
“Yes.”
“You think we’ve destroyed our enemies?”
“Yes.”
Lyon smiled, I’m going to make them all pay. My men, gave their lives for the Empire. My men lost friends, sons, fathers for the safety of the Empire, for Glory of the Empire. he thought holding Layla’s hands, The king only wants one thing, wealth. He’s robbing my men of their wealth and filling his pockets. I’m… I’m going to take every last penny back.
Part 2
General Lyon of Dawn Empire stood in his room, his hands clasped behind his back, No, not a general anymore. Lyon turned towards the window and found Layla sitting by the window sill, fiddling with the wedding band. Layla… he thought with joy in his heart.
Lyon heard footsteps climb up the fleet of stairs and turned to face the door. Layla had walked up to stand next to him, her hand wrapped around his elbows, “General.” she said in a sweet voice, “I’ll always stand by your side.”
Someone knocked at the door and Lyon straightend his uniform and took a deep breath, Let it begin. “Come in.”
10 men filtered in the room and stood in a semi circle with Lyon in the center. they gave him a crisp salute, “General Lyon.”
“Just Lyon,” he said in a flat tone, “At ease soldiers.” The men eased and looked at each other not sure what was about to happen.
“Sir,” a man in crisp red and gold uniform said, nervous about addressing his superior, “Umm… Umm… Why are we… why are we here?”
“At ease soldier,” Lyon said, “I’m not a general anymore, you can relax.”
“Sir.” he nodded and gave him a Dawnite salute.
“As you’ve all heard about the recent developments,” Lyon said, his voice echoed in his room, “We’ve been disavowed… disbanded. The Dawnite army will be merged with the Vigiles as the era of conquest is over and peace has settled.
“We’ve all fought for the Empire. We’ve all fought the enemy in the west and we all know in our hearts the enemy has not been defeated, but backed into a corner.
“The King and his council said they are reducing the army size to focus on development of the Empire… But…” I’m falling in your footsteps, Diana… “We all know that is a lie. The King and his council want to line their pockets, indulge themselves with their desires and rob the Empire.
“I, as a loyal servant of the empire cannot let the Nobles rob the people of the Empire.” Lyon said as he paused to take a deep breath and let his words sink in, “We have to stand up against them.”
“Sir,” a soldier said, “How are we going to stand up to the King?”
Lyon nodded and smiled, “We are going to rob every noble, merchant, General and citizens who aren’t loyal to the Empire. We’ll rebel against every law, every rule, every discriminatory practices of the Empire and we’ll take the King down.”
“Sir,” the soldier swallowed, “That is… That is treason.”
“No son,” Lyon placed a hand on his soldier, “Robbing the Empire, not being able to defend the Land of the Sun and prioritizing desires above the nneds of the Empire is treason. Neglecting the soldiers who laid their life for the empire is treason.
“We are going to stop this, we are going to usher in true peace.”
“But sir…” Lyon raised his hand and cut the soldier off.
“I’ve summoned you here, because you are my most trusted men. I know it in my heart that you are Loyal to the Land of the Sun and above all you want to protect the Empire.
“Sleep on it soldiers,” Lyon said grabbing Layla’s hands, “We’ve suffered enough for our kings, we have lost friends, family to protect the land and it’s people. Our enemies are numerous and powerful, but we mustn’t give in.”
“Sir.” A soldier on his right said, “I don’t need to sleep on it. I’ll follow you till death. You have my sword and my loyalty.” the soldier knelt offering his sword.
“Sir.” another soldier knelt, “You have my sword and my loyalty. I’m a loyal servant of the Empire of the Sun.”
One by one 7 soldiers knelt and pledged their loyalty to him and his mission. Lyon smile to himself, I didn’t expect seven to join my cause. He turned to face the men who stood with hard expressions, “Soldiers, don’t worry, I won’t harm you, even if you don’t want to join our cause. As your general consider this as my final order. Please keep this meeting secret.”
“Sir,” the three men gave him a crisp Dawnite Salute and left his apartment.
“Sir,” one of the seven soldiers Lyon recruited asked, “What are we going to do now?”
Lyon answered with a smile, * Lennard, Ray, Soros, Olli, Stefan, Tobias, Mykel and Rayko that’s eight in total. That’s a good start.* “Soros, my dear, we are going to pay Lord Reich a visit.”
Lyon paced the underground tunnel as he waited for his men to gather. Would’ve done this Diana? he thought, trying to put himself in her shoes, You just surrendered and left the Empire, at the mercy of our these traitors. He had worshipped her.
“Sir,” Soros, his lieutenant walked up to him, “The preparations are done.”
You should’ve taken control of the Empire that day. You had it all, Diana. But you left… Lyon nodded to Soros and got in behind him as Soros led him to the long passage around the corner.
“Attention.” Soros barked and everyone fall into a straight line, there face hard and unreadable. Lyon inspected them one by one. Thirty Men. he thought to himself, Soros and others have done a great job.
“Soldiers,” Lyon barked, “We may not be in army, we may not be fighting for the King, but we’ll always be loyal to our Motherland.” It was your Home, Diana. “We must make these traitors, who suck the life out of our Empire, pay and by the mercy of the all powerful, all knowing, Sun God, we’ll.
“You know what needs to be done, you know how it needs to be done. Go and make the Empire proud.”
Thirty men, covered from head to toe in black marched out of the corridor and climbed up through the tunnel stairwell. Lyon, along with Soros, remained behind. The two of them had carefully planned the mission and now all that remained was to see if his men were capable enough.
“Sir,” Soros said standing beside him, “Do you think we’ll be able to pull this off?”
“Soros, son,” Lyon said turning towards him, “Our soldiers have fought a bloody war all their lives, stealing from a rich lord will be a piece of cake.”
“We should have started small and target the merchants first.”
“Sometimes we need a headstart, son.”
“But sir, targetting all the Nobles at the same time across the city…”
“The worst that can happen is Vigiles will capture our men and hang them in the public square.”
“Isn’t that bad?”
“Not at all,” Lyon smiled, “They’ll have given their life for Dawn. And I’m confident my men will not fail.”
“Sir,” Soros came running up the flight of stairs, “We did it.”
“Good.” Lyon held Layla by her waist, “Good job son!”
“Sir,” Soros said, “The vigiles, the people have given us a name…” he smiled ear to ear.
“And what are we called?”
“Moon knights.” Soros smiled, “We struck fear in their hearts General, we will make the Empire Proud.”
Moon knights. Lyon smiled, That’s an interesting choice. I wonder if I can terrify them further?
“Sir,” Soros kept rambling on about the mission, “The soldiers were able to steal a lot from the Nobles, Especially Lord Reich. One of them reported how he…”
Moon Knights. Lyon kept thinking as a idea began to take shape in the back of his head, If we can counter Moon Knights, we’ll be able to steal even more from them.
“Soros,” Lyon raised his hand, cutting him mid sentence, “I’ve an idea.”
“Sir.” he nodded curtly.
“Do you think we can create more trouble across the city?”
“Trouble?” Soros raised his eyebrows, confused.
“Hmm.” Lyon paced his room and Layla went to the kitchen to get something to drink, “Kidnapping, stealing, arson, any crime that you can think of…”
“Sir,” Soros swallowed, “Isn’t that a bit extreme?”
Lyon smiled and continued to pace his as his idea was starting to take shape, “We need to apply more pressure on the Vigiles. Start riots, rob merchants shops, loot the people, every devious crime that you can think of… except rape. I’ll not tolerate that.”
“Sir,” Soros swallowed, “My apologies, but I don’t think our men would be willing to do this. They swore an oath to protect the Empire…”
“Soros,” Lyon said gently with a smile on his face, “Can we do this or can we not?”
“Ummm…” Soros thought for a brief moment, “Sir, it’ll be hard to convince the Soldiers.”
“Leave that to me, son.” Lyon squeezed his shoulder with one hand, “Gather the Moon Knights.”
“Sir.” Soros gave him a crisp salute and left.
Lyon sat on his throne-like chair and rested his head on his right knuckles as he waited for the Moon Knights to assemble. You out did yourself Soros Lyon thought as he felt the smooth wooden armrest of the chair.
“Attention.” Soros barked and everyone fell quiet and stood statuesque.
“Soldiers,” Lyon pushed himself up to his feet, Always give words of encouragement to your soldiers, Lyon. Diana’s soft voice echoed in the back of his head, “You’ve done an excellent job and I couldn’t be more proud. You’ve made the traitors pay for their sins against the Empire.
“But we mustn’t celebrate small victories in small battles. Our war is long and hard and we must fight till our last breath. The Enemy is still strong and we must push them to their very edge.” Lyon paused and looked across the room, holding their eyes in turn.
“Today,” Lyon said solemnly, “I’m hear to push you on to your next mission.” he waited allowing his words to sink in.
“The Vigiles are integral part of the Dawn Empire, but over time the institution has decayed to it’s core. The Corrupt Generals of the vigiles have lined their pockets and have indulged themselves. The only way to take back the Empire is to bring the Vigiles to their bloody knees.” Lyon paused for effect, when he saw an arm go up.
“Yes, Rayko.”
“How are we going to bring them to their knees?” he said, “Vigiles have a huge coffer and they employ our brothers and sisters in arms.”
Lyon smiled, “We are going to push the Dawn to the very edge of collapse.”
“And how are we going to do it sir?”
“Rayko,” Lyon said, keeping his cool for being asked one too many question, “Son, we will riot across the city. We’ll burn this city. We’ll kidnap the nobles and hold them for ransom. We’ll loot our merchants and we’ll beat up ordinary citizens.”
The room shuffled nervously, “I know you don’t agree to my methods… But it is necessary for us to defeat our enemies.”
“Sir,” Rayko said bending his knees, “You have my loyalty, sir.”
“Good.” Lyon nodded slowly.
One by one his thirty soldiers, covered in the black uniform of Moon knights knelt and said in a unanimous voice, “For the Land of the Sun.”
Lyon nodded, pleased with himself, “Soros,” Lyon waved his finger calling him closer, “I’ll tell you my plans and you’ll make sure they are executed with precision. There’s only one boundary we shall not cross, rape.”
“Sir,” Soros gave him a crisp Dawnite salute.
“Son,” Lyon said, “You are a Moon Knight now, you need to learn the Moon Knight’s salute.” Lyon demostrated the new salute by raising his hand to his heart and placing it flat on his chest.
“Sir.” Soros repeated the salute and left to talk the Moon Knights.
You see, Diana, that’s how you do it. Lyon smiled to himself, I’ll take everything from Wylhem, Diana.
Lyon, you’ve always been ambitious. But you know ambition bring deep dispair. Diana’s soft voice echoed in his head.
I’ll take down Wylhem and I’ll bring you back… The true empress of the Dawn.
Lyon lay on his bed, too weak to get up, to weak to move. He had amassed wealth and his Moon Knights were dreaded across the Empire. Where did I fail, Diana? he thought in his death bed.
Moon Knights… he thought as he coughed. Layla sat by his side, her eyes were red, Moon Knights lost their direction… I lost my direction… he thought with sorrow.
“General,” Layla said in her ever sweet voice, “Please you need to rest.”
Why didn’t I take control over the Throne… I created the Moon Knights to rebel against the Empire… I created the Moon Knights to take the throne… Lyon coughed again, his cheeks had hollowed out, But all I did was amass wealth for my men and myself. I lied to myself, I lied to Layla and I lied to you Diana…
“General,” Layla caressed his cheeks, “I’m here. I’ll always be here.”
“Layla,” his voice was weak, “I failed. I failed her.”
“You didn’t fail General. You may not be the king, but you control the City. A leaf cannot fall off the tree without your permission.”
“Layla,” Lyon said with tears welling up in his eyes, “I failed her. I wanted to follow her footsteps. I wanted to make this Empire something better…”
“General,” Layla said running her fingers through his thin, gray hair, “You’ve done great. You are the defacto lord of the city. Moon Knights control everything in this city. Sun Crusaders, the elite team you created, put the Vigiles and the Dawnite army to shame.”
“Layla,” General pushed himself up, “I lost my direction and turned Moon Knights into bandits. I tried to correct my mistakes by creating Sun Crusaders but I failed there too. I made them into mercenaries.
“All I ever wanted was to take the throne from the King and pass it on to Diana… Diana… I don’t even know if she’s alive… Maybe she’s dead.”
“General.”Layla caressed his hair, “It’ll be alright.”
“Maybe my time has come.”