After decades atop a hill, a colossal knight stomped down. He towered over peasants; his every step caused tremors. His sword could cut rivers, his shield could block a stampede, and his armour could stop everything except time. Everything he owned was intricately handcrafted and ornate.
He had fought in twenty wars, defending whoever bid highest. He stamped out armies and crumpled castles, while shielding cavalries and saving lives indiscriminately. When the wars had ceased for good, his armour was chipped and misshapen, yet no less strong. Now, with no purpose, the knight roamed endlessly, trying to make up for the wrong he caused during the wars, never resting. After walking the earth multiple times, he was approached by a lumberjack.
“Excuse me, I don’t normally ask for favours, but my axe is no longer capable. Please help me cut down a mighty tree that has troubled me for years.”
The knight nodded and followed the man to the tree. He unsheathed his sword and plunged it into the ground, then began to walk off. The man called after him:
“I am grateful for this gesture, but I am not strong enough to wield your sword.”
The knight said, “Train until you can.”
Years passed as the knight continued to wander over hills, across valleys, and through plains. Then it was winter, and all was snow. Three boys sat atop a small hill, looking around for something to do. They saw the knight and called out:
“Hey, Mr. Knight! Come play with us!”
The knight stopped to look at the boys. After a pause, he lumbered his way up the hill, leaving tracks in the snow. The boys looked at him in awe as he placed his colossal shield down on the snow.
“Get in,”
The boys hopped into the gigantic shield one by one while the knight held it steady. They all counted down from three together, and the boys were sent flying down the hill, screaming for joy. When they reached the bottom, they turned back to the knight and called out:
“Again, again!”
By evening, the boys were too tired to keep playing, so they went home after saying goodbye and thanking the knight. The knight left to continue wandering, but he laid his shield atop the hill so the boys could use it again the next day.
The knight roamed almost every inch of the Earth. One day, his wanderings were interrupted by a woman, who yelled up at him:
“Do you wear that because you don’t like your face?”
The knight stopped to look down at her.
“You must be hiding something if you wear that helmet all the time. Let me see your face,” she demanded.
So the knight took off his helmet and pulled in the first breath of fresh air he’d taken in what felt like a millennium.
“Let me get a closer look,” the woman said.
The knight lifted her up in the palm of his hand and brought her up to his face.
“Closer….”
So he brought her closer.
“You’re a very handsome man,” she said, and kissed him on the cheek.
The knight smiled and put the lady down.
“Nice to meet you, lonely knight.”
The knight shared supper outside with the woman that evening. He ate her tiny food, sipped barrels of her tea, and they laughed. He enjoyed their time together, but he had to leave before morning to continue roaming the land. As a token of their evening, the knight left her his helmet.
After many years, the knight felt he had made up for what he had done. Now the only thing he had left was his kind spirit. His armour, dented, dull, and crooked, was of no use anymore, so he shed it, leaving pieces in various villages all throughout the land.
The giant, finally free, found a field and lay naked in the grass. Now old and weak, he settled down to rest. Forever he slept, and his body slowly merged with the land he had wandered for so long.
As time passed, the memory of a giant knight who had slaughtered armies and saved thousands slowly disappeared. Most of what he left behind was either scrapped or repurposed. The only thing that remains is a colossal sword standing alone in the forest.
Aiden Vaillant is just living and creating.