The First Knight

The legend of the **first knight**is a popular Kartheman  tale spoken in and out of theKingdom of Yadra. While the name of the famous protagonist of this story has been lost to time after more than a hundred re-tellings and minor changes, the first knight is still known by all Karthemas, young and old.

While there is some proof of the knight's existance, the constant "improvements" made to its legend has made it nearly impossible to distinguish fact from fiction.

## The Legend

   As it happens with most Karthemas legends, the main protagonist of this tale is not introduced at the start of the story. Instead, all versions begin with a brief introduction to the situation and conflict ravageing the world of Yadrani, as two heirs of the royal house fought for dominance over the kingdom.

*The red prince and the black, one bad the other worse, cared little for the lives of their sworn Karthemas. Thousands died, not only warriors, but servants as well. New weapons of fire and smoke scorched the land and even more starved. There was still no end in sight"*

The weapons of "fire and smoke" might refer to primitive blackpowder weapons. Researchers of this tale have come to an unanimous conclusion that the events detailed in the text took place during the Karthemas slow transition towards the industrial age. Instead of knights or levies, the texts speaks of "warriors", showing how the concept of "Banner " and knighthood still had not been developed by the royal family.

*Son and daughter, the squabbling princes continued their war for many moons until the world itself, enraged by the chaos and destruction this senseless conflict was creating, brought forth a new foe to end the war once and for all. Pale and of bottomless, dark eyes, this creature rallied the starved and homeless to her banner, falling first on the red prince and annihilating his petty realm and army in two days.*

Due to the nearly-sacred nature of their homeworld, Karthemas tales often speak of Yadrani as an almost sentient thing, able to intercede for the good and punish the evil. The pale Karthemas was, of course, not a creation of the world itself, but probably a disgrunted noble or high-ranking peasant who sparked a revolt against the princes. Being a cast-based society were promotion is nearly impossible, the villain of this story is given many supernatural traits as a way to make it as less as a Karthemas as possible.

*The white drake, as this new pretender called herself, executed both princess and hunted down their families until only a young son remained. Hunted down by a band of the white drake's bewitched troops, he was cornered against the dark mountains of the Ebony spine. With cruel smiles on their faces, the hunters closed in, only to then become the hunted as a grey warrior clad in elaborate steel fell on them from where they least expected it, cutting them all down without shading a single drop of war. By the time he was done, his blade and lance were covered in dark blood, yet, even if exhausted, he still bowed to his prince.*

Here we are introduced to two important characters, one being the noble protagonist of our story, the other one of the future legendary kings who would rebuild the Kingdom of Yadra. The knight himself here displays two important values expected of all knights in the Kingdom: Obedience to their lord the king and great skill at arms.

The rest of the poem, for the most part, has been changed so many times it is impossible to find a "real" version. In some, the knight rallies other warriors of the mountain and forms the first knightly order before marching forth to fight and beat the white drake in battle. The villain of this story either allows herself to be defeated and returns to the world, satisfied by the knight's strenght and honor, or dies in an epic duel between herself and our protagonist.

Another version has the knight march alone and challenge the white drake to a single duel. The villain either agrees and is defeated by the far more skilled knight, or refuses and is shown as a coward. Either way, the "spell" which had bound her army to her will is broken and the now freed warriors plead their loyalty to the knight. Humble and unwilling to rise beyond his station, the knight insists that they should instead make their vows to the young prince.

The end of every version, without exception, has the knight refusing the royal crown. Some see him work as the young prince's guide and advisor, but always several steps away from the throne. Under the guid of a new, wiser ruler, the land heals and Karthemas enjoy nearly two centuries of peace. The knight only sees ten of these however as, once the king reaches an age where he can rule on his own, he takes his weapons and armor and leaves the kingdom to search for new adventures in the badlands.

While there are a few more songs and short stories about his quests there, the story of the first knight oficially ends here.