Knightmare

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> I held my breath as I waited. Where was he? The shadows around us moved and snaked about, finally coalescing into an inky object. It twisted upward and created an ebony suit of heavy plate armor with a sword—gauntlets, sollerets, a chest piece, tassets to protect the legs and hips—complete with a black cape lined in red. Even if I wanted to breathe, I couldn’t. It was only after seeing Luthair that I remembered I had read passages in William’s books about knightmares—walking suits of armor made from shadows and terror, or so the tales said. They were rare and their numbers dwindling, but here stood Luthair. While I continued to stare, I took in more details. Luthair appeared cracked and scuffed. His cape was tattered at the end and littered with holes. The sword scabbard hanging at the waist seemed thin and worn.
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> -Knightmare Arcanist
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### Knightmare

**Description:** A knightmare is a hollow suit of armor made of shadows. The style of armor can vary from knightmare to knightmare, with some taking the appearance of plate mail, others of leather armor, and in theory, some could take on a more modern style of tactical combat gear. Knightmares have a cape, or scarf, or other loose piece to their body stained red with the blood of the person who caused their birth. As knightmares grow older, they form a weapon from shadows and specialize in wielding it.

**Trial of Worth:** Demonstrating one’s virtue and conviction, often in the form of saving someone’s life at the potential of losing your own.

**Tier:** 3

**Reproduction:** Fable—knightmares are born when the sole ruler of a land is assassinated or killed via betrayal.

**Evocation:** Terrors—knightmare and their arcanists create hallucinations sent straight to the mind of the target.

**Manipulation:** Shadows—knightmares and their arcanists can move shadows and harden them into solid objects. These objects are easily destroyed by light.

**Augmentation:** When augmenting others, knightmares and their arcanists can grant other people the ability to see through the thickest of shadows. When augmenting themselves, knightmares and their arcanists gain the ability shadow-step through darkness, moving as though they were a shadow.

**Imbuing:** Improving weapons and armor—knightmare magic greatly improves the effectiveness or weapons and armor, along with imbuing equipment with knightmare innate abilities (such as shadow-stepping).

**Aura:** Eclipse—knightmare arcanist creates a shadow that blots out the sun or moon, blanketing the area in artificial darkness. This darkness empowers knightmares and all shadow-based magic and trickery.

**Innate Abilities:** Knightmares can merge with their arcanist, see in the darkest of conditions, have immunity to most forms of fear, and have increased strength in shadows.

**True Form Type:** Virtue—a knightmare arcanist must embody the full nobility of knight, and be willing to risk one's life for others, or for a grand ideal.

**True Form Ability:** No falsehoods—the knightmare arcanist gains the ability to detect lies.

**True Form Appearance:** The cape or scarf of the knightmare forms into wings, and the armor of the knightmare is enhanced to becoming deadly (gauntlets form claws, feet become dexterous), and the knightmare may shift around their body with ease. Lastly, the blood red of the knightmares becomes a dazzling night sky.

**In-World Lore:** Knightmares are extremely rare, but often associated with rigid followers of justice. Most knightmare arcanists don’t tolerate evil or wrongdoings, and will go out of their way to solve problems, even if they aren’t asked. Because of this, knightmare arcanists are often seen as inquisitors who will meddle in the business of others. Pirates fear them, as do anyone up to no good.

**Real-World Inspiration:** Knightmares are based on tales of ghost soldiers from Okinawa. Throughout history, there are always myths centered around soldiers who die on the battlefield, but the ghosts of Okinawa are quite famous (and thoroughly documented) as lingering around the military outposts. Anything from ghostly US soldiers to specter samurai have supposedly been seen there, and many say the ghosts need to fulfill goals before they can depart. Additionally, the place is so haunted, several suicides were reported, and many of the military housing was condemned because of it. These stories greatly influenced the creation of the knightmare, with the ability to merge with their arcanist stemming from the idea of ghosts possessing people.

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> “Oh,” the nervous man responded. “Queen Velleta’s knightmare is finally forming.”
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> I jerked my head to the side and stared at her corpse. Sure enough, the shadow around her body writhed and twisted and eventually rose into a form of clothing, coalescing into solid material. It was a cape that looked like a pair of dragon wings and a partial set of thin—and somewhat alluring—armor. It wasn’t complete, though. Like Lucian’s knightmare. It was young. Newly born.
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> The shadows created an empty cowl, much like Luthair’s empty helmet. The neonate knightmare stood over the body of the queen, “looking” without a face at the carnage, and then glanced up at Rishan.
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> “I am Layshl the knightmare,” she said, her voice dark but clearly feminine. “Born of betrayal—a seeker of justice.”
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> Rishan sneered. “Kill it,” he commanded. “My new empire has no need for knightmares.”
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> - Coliseum Arcanist
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