Story Eco|Knight

[Autumn McJavabean]

Eco Knight

• Autumn McJavabean
• Dec 18, 2017

Summery

After an extremely priceless and dangerous item is stolen from the capital, the Eco Knights, a force of magic users that use a source called pneuma, deploy their elite team to track down the items thieves and bring it back. However, things turn for the worst as what is assumed to be a short mission ends up beings a dangerous mission going farther than expected.

 

[Autumn McJavabean]

Introduction

Introduction About the Eco Knight Universe

The Victorian-style city of Brothwelhm has remained the capital for the humans for generations, having grew strong in its defensive capability due to outside threats from demonic beasts known as Akamas.

The military of the city is the Eco Knights, elite fighters who possess the power of the Pneuma (new-ma), a spiritual power that embodies and resides in all things. It’s one of the foundations of all life in the cosmos. Its origins and true capability is still unknown, but is believed to have been the cause of the universe's creation, or at least part of it. There are two main categories for pneuma and what is and isn't or what qualifies as what and how they work.

First there is “structured pneuma”, a physical matter, the essence that makes up swords, grass, bark or water. Then there is “non-structured pneuma”, which is the exact opposite and is the main thing floating across the vast emptiness of space. This is the rawest form of pneuma. It floats around, not bound to anything, like air, and can be drawn for use.

In the capital, there lies a massive castle-esque building on the top of the hill, overseeing the entire capital. This is Ravenboar Academy, the school that teaches citizens from all levels of society how to use and control pneuma.

There are different classes in which a student can study, able to continue even after graduation as a scholar. There are the five elements, there is light and shadow, metal, body, spirit, nature and mind.
These schools allows the use of conjuration, illusion, alteration, destructive and defensive capabilities.
Ravenboar takes students in and teaches them how to utilize this technique to combat threats to humanity, such as abominations, demons, angels, and anything else that might pose a threat that is of supernatural origins that humans alone cannot normally handle without the aid of pneuma.

When a living creature dies, such as a human, their physical body begins to turn into non-structured pneuma over time, some becoming structured by processes that turn it into essence for the food or planets. The spiritual element of the human body, however, becomes free non-structured. When someone dies, it is possible to take their entire physical body as non-structured pneuma, but this must be done the moment they die, with their spiritual pneuma.

The capital runs its energy off a small and powerful artifact that generates large amount of raw pneuma. A heavily guarded artifact due to its raw capabilities, it is one of the few in existence. It is said to have come from the heavens itself.

 

[Autumn McJavabean]

Chapter One

It was a bright day in the capital as the gates opened and in came a squad of elite Eco Knights, clad in heavy gear with fur covering the armor and masks blocking their faces out. These were one of the two elite divisions of Eco Knights; Seeker.

Unlike their counterparts, the Hunters, Seekers lives a life with the only excitement being the things that kill them in nature. They were explorers, trekking miles upon miles into new land. A single deployment could last up to a year or more.

They staggered in looking worn from exhaustion, their faces not needing to be seen to know that. Even though they were glorified explorers, these men were still highly skilled fighters. They had to be in their field of work.

Their armour was far from the only thing they wore; Large backpacks strapped onto their backs from their rears to the top of their heads, massive weapons and large gauntlets for pneuma. These gantlets were called “eco-devices”.

An eco-device was a specially made piece of technology that allowed one to draw pneuma from the air as well as control their own inner pneuma. They were the most practical piece of equipment any soldier in the Eco Knights or any sensible use of pneuma would have. There were exceptions, however. Very few have been written into the books of legends as having the skill and willpower to control pneuma without the use of an eco-device, one such person was a professor at the academy: Professor Eldirch Mannahorne.

Among these knights was Johan Frenchio, a five-year veteran on the force. He was a man of average height and weighed in at 210, being a physically strong man. He had sky-blue eyes and shaggy red hair with fair skin. His gear was thick with five vertical openings for his masked helmet. A large crossbow was situated on his back, almost as tall as himself, and an eco-device on his right arm and boots with fur on the top and metal claws out the bottom, used for ice or wall climbing.

“I hear we were called back early,” said Jefferson Gecko, an Eco Knight within the Seekers who stood next to Johan. He was a six-foot tall man, but rather thin, even for the division. He was both the tallest and skinniest of the entire 10-man group walking in. “What’cha think we be called for?”

Jefferson didn’t have the most profound vernacular, but he was a skilled scout and at survivability in some of the harshest winter weather in the north.

“Who knows,” Johan replied. His mind lay elsewhere, primarily where they would go next. At least he hoped to get a good meal before leaving again, the Seekers never truly stayed long in the capital, so any moment he could spend would be for the best. After a while you get used to eating game meat and sleeping on rocky surfaces, but to pamper oneself from time to time was highly recommended in his book.

“I heard the guards mumbling about the Hunters also being recalled to the High Council,” said another knight.

The High Council, the closest to a democracy the capital had aside from the royal family, but with shred politics, they had hardly any power left.

“Ah, they gossip about everything,” Jefferson laughed. “Maybe I can get laid while I’m here. I could use a woman’s body after being gone for six months.”

Johan couldn’t possible care less about what Jefferson did on his free time, so he simply rolled his eyes.

They had made their way towards the capitals center where they entered a large building with high ceilings and fancy arts, white and gold walls and banners in red and gold with an odd creature that had the head of a bird and the body and tusks of a boar. No doubt the sigil of Ravenboar academy, since the land was founded, and structure brought to order by Brandel Ravenboar himself, an expert user of pneuma. So powerful it was said he could move mountains with ease, but of course those were only rumours.

Here they were, before the High Council. A line of 10 old men in over-the-top robes, staring down at them. The silence was the hardest part, a truly intimidating factor.

An elder man with large eyebrows was the first to speak up. “You have been called back today because you’re needed for a far more for a task that involves the entire safety of all who live within Brothwelhm,” the bushy-eyebrowed man said.

“An ancient artifact was stolen from its chambers and is the source for all our power and defense capabilities. You may have not noticed at first, but we’re running on a supply of workers who are doing nothing but pneuma focusing. Better to not make a catastrophe and chaos with the people the better,” said another man with a long and well-groomed beard. His grey eyes staring into the souls of those in the room. “But they can not do it for very long. When Our defenses will be down, and we will have all the eco knights on high alert status.”

“Which is why we’re sending a select few of you out on a mission to retrieve it,” said Malgum, another one of the High Council members. “This special mission requires hunting down the thief, which could take some time. We do not know how it was stolen, perhaps by a rare or unheard of pneumatic spell, but due to how long it may take this requires a mix of the Hunters and Seekers.”

“You’re dismissed,” said the one with the bushy-eyebrowed Councilor. “If you were chosen, you will know.”

With the summon quickly held and adjourned, Johan walked out as he removed his mask and held it under his right arm. His messy red hair and blue eyes were brightened by the glorious lighting in the High Council chamber. But to think there were those working to keep those powered for the time being. It was an arduous task without a doubt.

On his way down the stairs he was stopped by Commander Barreck, who oversaw the elite divisions of the Eco Knights. Johan had a flashback to the day he graduated Ravenboar academy and was approached by Commander Barreck personally, requesting he join the elite force of the Eco Knights, but originally as a Hunter. He had only stayed within the Hunter ranks for two years before leaving for personal reasons.

When he was asked to join he unquestionably said yes.

Commander Barreck was leaning against the large marble pillar that held the cover up and smiled at Johan. He had tan skin as if he spent years in the sun and blue eyes that seemed to glow with a wrinkled face, but wore armour that Johan would wear. Go a man in his 60’s, he was very much in shape.

“Johan, I see you’ve returned. In good health I see,” Barreck chuckled.

“I suppose this is regarding the mission?” Johan asked.

Barreck’s face turned from a smile to a serious look. “Yes. And it’s considered an S-Class mission, which means it’s essentially a suicidal mission, but of the utmost important. I need you on that mission. You are one of the best when it comes to surviving in the wild in many conditions and a Jack-of-all-Trades is better than a master of one, considering this is a tracking mission.”

Johan nodded. He wasn’t exactly happy to be sent off right away, but this artifact is talked about as if it was the cities life itself, and yet it was so easily stolen. Why? “Right,” Johan replied. “When do we leave?”

“Today. Meet me at the barracks near the front gate and you’ll greet the other members,” said Barreck.
“How many?” asked Johan. Surely there would be many members.

“I’m not going to say now, just be there by sundown.”

Johan nodded and walked off to his apartment, where he would wait until the sun settled in the west. For now, he would at least catch-up on his sleep.

 

[Autumn McJavabean]

Chapter Two

Johan

An alarm went off as I opened my eyes to a dark room with the sunset bleeding through the blinds. Stack of weights and a barbell on the ground in the corner and clothes scattered across the ground. Dishes in the kitchen sink were stacked and unwashed. Everything was just as I left it over six months ago.

I rose from my bed and kicked my sheets off, having laid in just a pair of white sweatpants and a grey t-shirt. I got out of bed and walked over to my equipment, set and ready to go. It was dusk, I had better get going. My nerves were going wild about the mission. I had to be honest, I was a little scared, but I always am. Things that live out in the world outside the capital are dangerous and most want to fest on your corpse.

I put on a fresh set of clothes, grabbed my gear and headed out. Locking the door before turning to see the sun set in the distance. I lived on a hill, so I got to see a little over the main walls and into the distance. The pine trees and open plains, mountains and large cliffs. It was a beautiful site, though the location was not cheap for a studio apartment, but my salary as an elite Eco Knight is enough to pay for it. Besides, I’m never home to use anything like utilities.

The walk took me around 25 minutes, but I got there in the end. Before me stood six people. Three of them were clearly hunters as they were thinner than myself, lots of smaller weapons, like daggers and throwing knives, that hung on their backpacks. They were supposed to be lighter. Chances are their gear consisted only of their uniform, weapons and some minor survival equipment, like a carving knife, a pneumatic compass, matches, etc. If I had to guess, their backpacks likely weighed around 15 pounds in total.

“So, you’re Johan?” asked one of the Hunters. I nodded. Commander Barreck was also here and seemed to lead us just outside the gates. The large metal and stone doors sliding open and into the walls on each side. The gate stood about 250 feet tall and 50 feet wide. The walls of the capital were about 500 feet tall and 300 feet thick. Of course, that was because of equipment and barracks stationed throughout it. A tram to move from end to end, so the thickness was moot by the fact it was hollow on the inside.

Guards stood at their posts on both ends. They too had to be slightly above average for the job, but not elite level. However, everyone who is an Eco Knight had to attend the Ravenboar academy, which only allows a select few to be admitted. This depends on how sensitive to pneuma they are and potential.

Some uproar has occurred because people feel anyone can learn and that they’re too selective, but even I do not know the academies reason behind their selective nature.

“You took your sweet time, Johan, but now that you’re here we may begin,” Commander Barreck began. “As you learned, a special artifact was stolen and is integral to our society. The only reason our tech works as well as it does is because it generates pneuma in the rawest form for us and allows for easy transmutation of pneuma from non-structured to structured.”

Barreck looked at all over us as he explained the situation. First, the item was stolen. Second, it was important for our society. Third, we know hardly anything on the thief, but we can track the essence via our eco-devices, since they were made specifically to work with the artifact.

“Without this artifact, we’re defenseless to the forces outside. Our weapons will not work. Our energy supply is heavily limited and only able to currently work by the brave souls who are transferring pneuma for us in the artifacts place,” said Barreck.

“This shit’s pretty important, isn’t it?” asked one of the members with a smirk.

“Absolutely. And there is no chance you will come back alive, and from what we know, the target is far to the northwest. You’ll have to trek the forests, grasslands, and of course, the mountain ridges, which might be the hardest for you,” said Barreck, “but I trust the Seekers here to help you Hunters with that. Two of you are capable in the icy terrain, so teamwork is essential.”

“Seekers need the Hunters for tracking and killing, and the Hunters need the Seekers for surviving and navigating,” said Barreck.

Luckily, I had prior experience within the Hunter corp., so I knew how to fight, but I prefer not to do so. He was right though, we need the Hunters for combat and taking down this thief who somehow was able to steal this grandiose artifact from under the capitals nose. On the same token, the Hunters needed us Seekers because Hunters never venture out past 100 miles from the capital. They don’t go on long and arduous tours, so this would be a rare exception for them.

Commander Barreck stood straight and slammed his left fist over his chest and his right behind his back, a salute of the Eco Knights. “Good luck to you boys, you’ll need it. And remember, especially you Hunters here, you will have no communication with us while you’re out, so you’re all on your own. Live, eat and breath in the wild and become the animal. Now, head out!”

The lot of us preformed the same salute at the same time and began to march out. The next thing to do was introduce ourselves. As we began to walk, it didn’t take long for Jefferson to speak up. He began to simply chat-up a storm with the Hunters, trying to get to know them.

Hunters hardly spoke to one another on missions, as tracking was their job, and that includes having to be silent, waiting, and tracking your prey. It was very much like hunting for game, but for humans or monsters. It was partially why I am not as talkative as the other Seekers, because I adopted that trait of the Hunters.

One of the Hunters approached me personally. “Names Zero, but I’m sure you want my real name,” he said. Hunters used code-names, as it was easier. It also made deaths less emotional, as they wore masks, becoming faceless bodies that hunted at the command of the High Council.

“Johan,” I answered, “and I don’t need your name. Not yet anyways. I know how the system works with code-names.”

“Family member was a Hunter?” he asked.

“No, I used to be one for about two years,” I replied. I never went into detail or truly thought about the reason I left, but there was a simply catalyst that made me chose to leave. It just wasn’t for me, but I’d lie if I said there wasn’t a deeper meaning for as why I left.

“I see,” he commented under his breath. “So, this Seeker business: Is it hard? Surviving out there in the wild?”

“Yes. While combat isn’t as important, we do use it for hunting and making sure our camp is in a safe location is never easy” I said. “I have to say, though, the land you get to see is beautiful. You’ll see how stunning it is.”

I’ve traveled far in my years as a Seeker, having been to the mountains, deep in the forests and ventured in murky swamps. But hunting was always a fun pastime, as it took skill. And setting camp up? That too was fun, as odd as that sounds.

“Yea,” he Zero began,” I just hope I don’t get to see too much.”

It was obvious he was out of his comfort-zone. I couldn’t blame him, it was not easy. Now the Seekers and Hunters had to work together, something that almost never happens, and become a sort of hybrid. They’d all learn something from one another.

We walked for about 3 hours when the sun went down completely. “Let’s set up camp,” shouted one of the Seekers. I knew of him. He was one of the best. Kylith was his name and he was acting as out commander for this. A 30-something man who had been a Seeker for 14 years; an early graduate of Ravenboar academy, too.

The Hunters were swiftly ordered to collect twigs and other light, yet burnable material while Kylith had the rest of us Seekers set camp up. The whole process took about 30 minutes before it was finished, and we used the wood gathered to start a small fire.

“So,” began Jefferson, “Shall we get to know one another? If I must work with Hunters, I want to know I can trust them. I want to know the team I’m working with.”

“You have a point,” I said in response. I sat down on a rock as we gathered around the fire, some eating food they brought with them, the Seekers who had some, such as myself, ate some of what was left from our left tour, since we did just get back, thus had a few left to spare.

“Boy…” Jefferson said looking at the decent quality food the Hunters had, “Ya’ll best enjoy that while it last, because soon you’ll be eating pigs butt and wolf eye.” He began to chuckle as did one of the other Seekers, not counting Kylith who simply appeared apathetic.

“Why? Surely this won’t take but a few days. I have enough to last a week,” said one of the Hunters. Zero remained silent.

“Listen up,” Jefferson started, “there is a reason you’re with us. It will take much longer than a damn week to find this guy and bring back the artifact. We don’t even know how big this thing is, so hunting is something you’ll be getting used too, maybe skinning and tanning fur and leather. You’re here to survive and with us to take down this guy who is a possible threat.”

What Jefferson said wasn’t untrue at all. We don’t know exactly where he’s at let alone what he’s capable of.

“It appears to be one guy, surely the thing doesn’t weigh that much,” Zero chimed in.

“You guys hunt rogues and creatures that we normally avoid, for reasons like threatening an encampment or the capital. You should know people can be a complete mystery in how they use pneuma,” said one of the Seekers. I have not met him before. “The fact this guy managed to break-in, steal the artifact, which I can only assume to have been under tight security, and escape with it by himself shows he must be a highly skilled person. For all we know this guy doesn’t use eco-devices.”

If that was true, that would be bad for us. I was considered skillful, but I don’t think I could compete with someone who was able to manipulate and use pneuma without the use of some device like the eco-device. The very reason it exists was to make pneuma more accessible and easier to use. Those who are rumored to wield pneuma without one are said to be very powerful. The only ones I knew are both the founder of the academy, and the capital altogether, Brandel Ravenboar and the current research and pneumologist, Professor Eldirch Mannahorne at the academy. No one else is said to be able to do it. Hell, we don’t even know much about the outside world, having lived as a nation that is in isolation from everything, focusing more on our defense than exploration.

Prior to the founding of the capital and academy, people lived in tribes, scattered and were often killed off. To combat this, Brandel Ravenboar had seemed to become an expert in the art of pneumatic use and became a scholar of it, bringing together the tribes and getting people to work with one another to build a singular city where we could live in peace, fighting threats off together.

“I guess I’ll kick things off then,” Jefferson said. “Name’s Jefferson. Member of the Seeker elite Eco Knight division. Been in it for about two years. I’m better in cold climates, but that’s besides the point right now. I also studied the school of fire. So, I can make fire with pneuma, if you need a torch or a campfire.”

Next to go was the other Seeker who stood up. “Toyoki Mitsuoshi. Seeker for eight years, 29 years old. I’m a good hunter, scavenger and archer. My element is mind.”

I then stood up myself. “My name is Johan Frenchio. Jack-of-all-trades. My element is earth.”

This continued with Kylith introducing himself as the oldest and longest serving knight and the element of body. Zero saying his element was shadow and water and a young commander for a Hunter unit, much like Kylith is, save not being old. Following up was Mavis, also called “One”, who we learned was a female, element of body and mind, and 25. Finally, “Six”, who was the quite one of them all. More so than myself.

I quickly grew tired after the formal introduction and promptly made my way to the nearest tree. These trees are rather large, one branch easily able to hold a single body, as wide as a bed itself, but not as comfortable. I climbed up, settling on a large branch. I tied a rope around my waist and then the tree and branch itself and closed my eyes. The morning to come would be the start of our adventure and long mission ahead.