[b]Kalaya[/b]

"wha- what? I ... I don't. I didn't." you sputter, blinking water out of eyes that struggle to focus.

But you did.

It hurts, doesn't it Kalaya? And I don't mean just the stinging in your face from Petony's gauntlet. This hurts deeper down, beneath your armour, beneath skin and bone. Peel away the layers and follow the hurt down to your very soul. You know that feeling don't you? That oily sickness. The bitter taint. It's [i]betrayal[/i]. And this time, the first betrayal is yours ...

"I-I didn't mean to! It ... It ... it wasn't me!" you cry and some small part of you calls out the lie. 

You did mean it. You were the one who struck home and you can't deny how right it felt. To take direct action against the very thing that is poisoning the Kingdoms - to strike down that hatred. To protect your home. Your love. This is the second betrayal - You know your body, your heart. Some small part of you [i]wanted [/i]this, otherwise you wouldn't have done it at all - whatever affected your senses just now, it can't create that want from nothing. It had to have a seed to work with. 

"I-it was some kind of ... [i]spell[/i]."

Your eyes fall on your sword. You don't know what it was exactly but you're not [i]completely [/i]inexperienced in the ways of magic. You recognise some kind of charm struck you the moment your hand grasped its hilt. Something ensnared your senses, tangled you inside, fogged things up. Where or who from you can't know. You might never know. All you [i]do[/i] know is that, right now? That sword is [i]poison[/i].

What does a sword mean to its knight? You know what it's [i]meant [/i]to be - it's [i]meant [/i]to be your loyal companion. The one thing that will always be at your side; come rain, snow or drought. Against beast, monster or man, it's meant to be the [i]one [/i]thing you can count on when all others around you fail. 'As long as you have your sword and hope in your heart, you can do anything.' Who was it who said that? Malee of the Golden Hills? Those words ring bitter now, don't they?

Reflexively, you kick it away from you - sending the old jian spinning across the rain-slicked deck, spraying water. Did a scream escape your lips as you did it? Or a whimper? You can't tell. You don't care. Just get it away, get it [i]away, far away, [b]not.[/b] [b]here.[/b][/i]

As if simple distance can make this third betrayal any less real.

Your eyes track its path across the ground as you cling to the Tiger Knight like one whose legs have stopped working. Truth told, they have - you couldn't run if you wanted to.

Your eyes track up from your sword, a pair of feet, robes and a familiar face.

[i]Giriel.[/i] You spot the witch and your breath catches. She's upset and ... pointing? Did she do this? What is she doing [i]now?[/i] Something boiling and black is coming from Ushua and she's ... sending it at you?

Why, Giriel. Why?

I thought we were friends. I thought we had trust?

I'm sorry Kalaya, in the end - whatever the two of you had - it wasn't enough to stop this.

I'm also sorry, because you won't have time to properly process this fourth betrayal. You have to focus on the curse now bearing down on you. You can't know this either, but this may well be the fifth betrayal for you tonight. 

The curse is old, it draws deep on the magic of the kingdoms. A time before people, a time before Knights. It is as primal a piece of the land as life itself. It's [i]your home[/i], Kalaya. One of only two things you hold closest to your heart. And its anger, its wrath, is now bearing down on you in a nightmare tide.

Will the land reject you too?

Will you be truly alone?

I'm sure it will be okay, little Knight. You've been alone before - for almost all your life. It's always been just you against the world. The people. The Gods. Why should things be any different now?