Chapter Text
Light poured down through the leaves of the trees, speckling the ground. It was hard for the giant to navigate through the trunks, but Yhorm pushed forward. It would have been a beautiful day, if he didn’t have to leave the Capital to investigate reports of a group of strange, armed men on the border of the surface area that the Capital controlled. He had left the other soldiers behind, he could move quicker alone. And, truth be told, he didn’t want them to see him in the position he was in.
Pushing through narrow openings between trees and wading through leaves was the last thing he wanted to be doing, and he was pretty sure anybody ahead could see him coming. And the constant tripping over roots and fallen trunks was almost unbearable. Wading and stumbling, the perfect combination to not look like a fool. He liked having things under control and in order, this was neither. But if it was what needed to be done, as the lord of the Profaned Capital and a soldier, he would do it. But that didn’t mean he had to be happy about it. It really didn’t mean he had to be happy about it.
The report came in late the night before, and he had set out early that morning. It was noon, so he knew that he was going to be approaching the group soon. Yhorm looked ahead, giving a relieved sigh when he saw a break in the trees, he was getting tired of stumbling his way through the forest. He could finally get back to moving as quickly as he would have liked. Stepping out into the field, he looked around, yellow flowers blanketed the place. There were some hills, but otherwise, it was flat. It was beautiful, but he was focused on finding the possible invaders. Breaking off into a sprint, Yhorm noticed a tree in the middle of the field, it distracted him for only a moment. But a moment was all it took.
Running from the other side of the field, was a man in large, rounded armor. Yhorm recognized it immediately, he was from, or at least had armor from, Catarina. He sped up his pace, assuming a low, almost crouch like stance as he neared the warrior. Yhorm began to pull his machete from where it was strapped to his back, he had no need for his shield if he was only fighting a single human. As he approached, the man started doing something strange. He was waving his arms in an almost comical manner as he ran. Yhorm pulled his machete to his side as he was nearing the other. As he raised the blade above his head to strike, the man in Catarina armor started shouting.
“Woah, woah!” the knight yelled, causing Yhorm to pause almost mid swing. The knight still had his arms up. “Let’s calm down!”
“What?” Yhorm asked, baffled. He was caught completely off guard by the man’s actions.
The knight did something even stranger, he pointed towards the ground where the giant was standing. One of his arms was still up, as if to halt him or to shield himself.
“This field is quite pretty, we wouldn’t want to trample any more flowers, now would we!” The knight was out of breath, but he kept his hands up. His weapon was still strapped to his back.
For a while, the only sound to be heard was the rustling of the wind through the flowers and grass and the chirping of birds. The tense silence between them was almost painfully heavy, but Yhorm was still thinking of what he could say in response to the man’s strange words. He wasn’t sure if the knight was trying to stall him for an ambush or if he was genuinely that idiotic.
“Who are you?” Yhorm questioned, starting to lower his machete. The knight, in turn, started to lower his arms. It was the only question he could think to ask in that moment.
“I am Siegward, of the knights of Catarina,” he began, “and I thank you for not hitting me with that.” The knight pointed to the giant’s blade.
“That doesn’t mean I’m not going to,” the giant threatened, remembering the reason he came to the field, eliciting a frightened exclamation from Siegward. “Why are you here? Where are the others?”
Siegward gave an astonished gasp, startling Yhorm, who almost dropped his machete.
“What? Why are you doing that?” the giant demanded.
“Are you Lord Yhorm, of the Profaned Capital?” the knight asked.
“Yes, but y-” the giant was cut off.
“Deepest apologies,” Siegward said, as he dropped down onto one knee. “If I’d known it was you…”
How? What?!? Last Yhorm checked, he was the only machete wielding, giant vanguard from the Capital. How could he not know it was him? If the knight’s strategy was to annoy, startle, or confuse him to death, it was going swimmingly. He sighed, trying to keep his composure.
“Please stop that,” the giant asked. “Can you tell me why you’re here, and where your friends are?” Yhorm tried a softer tone with the man, but he almost had to press his teeth together to maintain his composure.
“Ahh, yes,” the knight replied, perking up. He was still facing down, which made hearing him difficult for the giant.
“Also, could you do something for me?”
“Anything,” Siegward responded.
“Stand up and look towards me,” Yhorm requested. Siegward rose to his feet, meeting the giant’s gaze. The man’s grey eyes were the first thing he noticed, even if he couldn’t see much else of his face. The two looked at each other for a moment before Siegward began again with a start.
“Oh, pardon me, where was I?” the knight began. “Yes, why I’m here. I’m from Catarina, as you could have guessed,” he paused to give his armor a pat on the stomach. “The party I was in got lost on our way back to Catarina from a mission, and, strangely enough, we were followed by a group of men last night. We tried to avoid them, but just ended more lost than before, I’m afraid.”
“But where are the other men now?” Yhorm asked.
Siegward raised his hand, but before he could reply, the giant was surrounded. The knights’ swords were drawn, ready to strike. Siegward’s eyes met Yhorm’s, he could tell the knight was more startled by their sudden intrusion than he was. The knight hadn’t planned for this.
“Stop! He-” Siegward’s panicked shout was cut off by another group moving in.
The patrol that Yhorm had previously left behind had just arrived, and didn’t appear to be all too happy with the situation the giant lord was in. Taking up a position behind the knights, Yhorm knew that if he didn’t say something quick, they would have a full scale skirmish on their hands.
“Stop,” the two yelled in unison with each other.
“We’ve got to use our heads and think,” Siegward started, the group stood in a tense silence, as if frozen in time. “We are not going to kill each other over a misunderstanding such as this!”
“Stand down,” Yhorm commanded, and the soldiers listened. “Siegward explained to me his situation and I’ve heard enough. Take these men back to Catarina, and see that no further harm comes to them. I do not want to have any angry letters from any noble of Catarina, do you understand? We’ve done enough.”
“Yes, we understand,” the soldiers responded.
“Thank you, Lord Yhorm,” Siegward said, stepping forward. “It’s just a shame we couldn’t have met under better circumstances. Farewell, and long may the sun shine!”
“Goodbye, Siegward,” the giant stated. “The same goes for you.”
The giant watched the group, the chrome armor of the knights of Catarina and the silver and white armor of his soldiers as they walked together. He only turned away when they disappeared into the trees, but his thoughts still lingered on that knight. What a strange man, Yhorm thought.