Music Inspired Short Tales - A Knight to Remember
Overlooking knight stood trees as tall as the tallest towers and flowers and foliage more colorful and vibrant than the jewels adorning the king's crown back home. Mounted atop a mighty horse of absent color, the knight gazed ahead, making a slow and steady trail through the forest. Inward there lies a lake as blue as an aquamarine and as beautiful as the fairest maiden, yet the true treasure lay within the lake itself as the whispers of men tells of blessings found with its waters. Many a person has traveled through the forest in search of the lake, yet none have succeeded. Some return forever convinced it could never be found, others never returned at all.
Rumors thereafter began to rise of a beast or monster or guardian that may watch over the lake and its wonders, and as more and more people attempted the hunt, less and less could garner the motivation to follow suit. The prospect of losing their lives for a treasure that may not even exist was too risky.
This man, however, did not falter in his determination to find the lake. Not so to gain power or treasure or even a blessed life, but to prove or disprove its existence and put many a mind at ease. His horse galloped between the trees, avoiding the forests natural beauty from being marred. As the hours passed from his slow search, a light bloomed beyond the trees, drawing him in.
There it be, the lake of rumor and myth. It's beauty was indeed a sight, gleaming brightly as if to spite the dark of night. Not even the darkest shadow of the trees blocking out the moonlight could diminish the gemlike beauty of the lake. The man dismounted and approached the waters, pulling out a bottle from his satchel. In order to prove the lakes existence and prove it can be found, he intended to draw from the lakes bright waters.
As he kneeled to draw from the lake, a gentle hand wrapped around his wrist, holding the bottle back. "Tis not the water that glows so brilliantly, noble knight." A woman of outstanding beauty to challenge the lake itself stood before him, locks of light chestnut and eyes as fine as silver looked upon him with favor. "You come not to take what is not yours, but to set the minds of others at ease. A very selfless act, given the rumors flying around."
Taking a moment to clear his head of the woman's splendor, he asks if she be the guardian of the lake and what happened to the men who never returned. "There is some truth to that notion, knight. As for those who failed to arrive, the ones who never returned were struck in the night by savage wolves. I do not dictate their actions, so I could not stop them myself." Then who is she, the knight asked then. "I am she who watches over the lake and keeps it hidden from those unworthy of bearing what the lake holds. That is, I was."
The lake shined brighter than ever until something rose from the depths, leaving the lake just as it was. Hovering just above the surface, shining spirits from beyond, was a golden sword of incredible craft. "This blade lay dormant under the calm waters of the lake with I as its watcher until the day a man not motivated by greed or malice could come to claim it. And now, he has come."
She took the blade by the hilt and gently exchanged it to the knight. The blade fitting very well into his hand, quite perfectly in fact. As if the sword was made for his hands, or perhaps his hands were made for this sword. The man swung the sword lightly through the air, a light hum resonating through the air. After which he thanked the maiden and prepared to be on his way.
"Remember this, knight. Now that you have taken up this blade, it is yours alone. Only you may wield it and none else. Use it not for selfish gain or the greed of others, but as much for your fellow men as you have now."
Bowing his head and vowing to use the blade only for the good of his country, his kingdom, and his people, the knight mounted his steed and turned round, journeying back through the forest. A legend beginning.
Mattashi 
