A strong wind blew down out of the mountain pass from the north, bringing a brisk chill to the morning. A lone figure stood beside a magnificent stallion on the crest of a hill overlooking the lush green valley. He was dressed in armor the color of onyx, a lavender plume adorning his helmet, his visor of burnished gold, and a long and a short sword at his side. His steed was a full eighteen hands tall at the shoulders, his coat a shiny black that matched his rider. The two stood in the shadows of an ancient oak as the rider surveyed the countryside ahead. Suddenly, there was a rush of air and the flapping of wings, and a powerful Gyrfalcon swooped down out of the sky and came to perch on the outstretched and gloved fist of the dark rider. “Hmmm,” murmured the Black Knight. “Hmmm,” added ShadowFax.

“What say you?” asked the Black Knight, “is it clear through the valley?”

“It is clear,” said Rogue, preening himself, “and, it is very quiet.”

“What of Twilight,” asked the Black Knight.

“I saw no signs of his comings or goings,” replied Rogue, “but he is there – I felt his presence.”

“Good,” said the Black Knight.

ShadowFax stamped his fore hoof, and the muscles across his neck rippled as he champed at his bit. “I don’t like it, Maq,” he whispered. “Something is afoot.”

Rogue added that he had heard nothing unusual, nor had he seen anything out of the ordinary as he flew his course over the valley.

The Black Knight was thoughtful as he looked beyond the river. “I hold your same caution, ShadowFax,” said the Black Knight to his trusty companion, “but I don’t believe he has returned.”

“Perhaps, but clearly there is fear across the realm,” said Rogue. The Black Knight nodded, adding there was just cause to be fearful – Count Tanner, the Count of Darkness, has engaged the services of the evil Wizard, Haliburton, to cast spells over much of the western reaches. Dark days indeed face the realm of King Fissure of Embaline.

Maq the Knight had been summoned by King Fissure on a matter of dire urgency – his daughter, Princess Tara, had been kidnapped by Count Tanner, and was being held captive deep in the Sanguine Mountains far to the north. The gateway to the dark mountains was guarded by a fierce dragon, whose keeper was known merely as Jhae the Gnome. The dragon was said to possess terrible powers that preyed especially on the souls of innocents.

Storm clouds hung in the skies, dark and with foreboding, wherever the dragon and his keeper went. Jhae the Gnome had not a heart, and his disposition was darker than the shadow side of the moon. King Fissure feared for the soul of his daughter, with just cause, and her tender age of 13 gave him no end to worry.

The Black Knight thrust out his fist, and Rogue spread his wings and lifted easily into the morning air. “Find Twilight, stay, and come at my bidding,” called out the Black Knight.

Rogue circled thrice, and wheeling, flew like the wind out over the valley. The Black Knight mounted ShadowFax, and the two started down into the peaceful looking valley. The winding trail led through open meadows and past stands of trees, but the travelers encountered no one along the way. They crossed the river and passed ancient homes along the river’s edge, and still they saw no one.

The Black Knight took note, but it was ShadowFax who commented, “Dark forces are present; I fear he has returned.”

“Hmmm,” said the Black Knight.

ShadowFax trotted past fields of grain, and on to the road leading to the castle. The silence was palpable, hanging heavily on the air. The two travelers approached and stopped in front of the castle moat.

Calling out, the Black Knight asked entrance. Silence. The Black Knight called out a second time, but still there was only silence.

ShadowFax snorted, and stamped his hoof, the hoof beat resounding off the castle walls. The Black Knight could feel his friend beneath him tense his muscles, as both their eyes surveyed the castle and its surroundings. The Black Knight waited; then, there came a response.

From the towering turret beside the massive gate, through a window slit hiding the speaker, came a whispered welcome. Then, with the creaking of ancient chains and a low rumble, the drawbridge slowly swung down dropping into place.

ShadowFax pranced across the wooden bridge and through the iron gate, his hoof beats echoing off the hardened wood of the bridge.

The Black Knight surveyed the courtyard from astride ShadowFax. Out of the corner of his eye he caught movement, and turned and beheld a stately figure of a man standing at the railing of a balcony. The man nodded, and disappeared through velvet curtains.

The Black Knight dismounted, and walked up the steps into the castle. There he was met by the same man, who led him through long cold corridors to a study high in the northern wing. There he asked the Black Knight to wait. The Black Knight nodded, and as the man left the room removed his helmet. He walked to the window overlooking the outer moat, and gazed beyond the distant foothills to the sinister mountains beyond. There in a narrow pass was the gateway to the Sanguine Mountains. There, with his keeper, the daemon dragon stood guard. There, was the Princess Tara held, and the Black Knight whispered a prayer for her well-being until his arrival.

The Black Knight gave no sign that he heard the King enter behind him, but before the King could speak, said, “I am here at your command.”

King Fissure was startled, then gathering himself said, “My daughter is held in a dark cave beyond those mountains. Return her safely, and whatever you ask is yours.”

The Black Knight turned and looked into the eyes of the King. “I will do what I can,” he said, a cold fire burning behind his steel-grey eyes.

“What need you to aid you in your quest?” asked the King.

“I have naught but two ancient swords, a crossbow, my trusty steed, and the presence of two spirits of the night world. I need nothing else,” said the Black Knight. “Until my return,” he whispered. And with that, he turned and left the King looking out over his kingdom to the northern horizon beyond.

The King watched as the Black Knight mounted his horse in the courtyard, and with a salute of his gloved fist, rode out the gate, across the moat, and toward the gateway to the misty Sanguine Mountains.

ShadowFax set a steady pace, and the countryside and time passed in due course. The Black Knight’s sharp eyes caught a dark speck against the clouds above the distant ridge, and brought it to ShadowFax’s attention.

“I have been observing it for the past half hour,” said ShadowFax; “Rogue is on the wing.” The two moved silently along, watching the dark wheeling speck grow as they approached the foothills. “Jhae the Gnome will know of our approach,” said ShadowFax, picking up his pace slightly.

“He knew of it the moment we left the castle,” said the Black Knight.

“Hmmm,” said ShadowFax, “That accounts for the gathering storm clouds over the pass.”

The sun had long passed its zenith, and was on its westering journey to the horizon when the two travelers came to a narrow hanging bridge over the Rhue Gorge, the northern-most boundary of the realm of King Fissure. ShadowFax started across the bridge, and as they approached the half-way mark, a lone dark figure moved out of the shadows on the far side, taking a place near the stanchion of the bridge. The figure raised a twin-bladed ax and took one full swing at the massive hemp ropes of the bridge, sending a sickening vibration along the wooden causeway and under the feet of horse and rider.

Before the figure could raise the ax for a second blow, and before the Black Knight could align a bolt in his crossbow, a winged creature swooped out of the darkening skies and with one swift movement, slashed at the figure wielding the ax. The dark figure recoiled, and turning in one deft movement, aimed the ax at Rogue’s breast. In mid swing, a blur of steel-grey leaped out of the shadows and grasped the burly assailant by the throat.

The struggle was brief, and then there was silence. ShadowFax stamped on the bridge, sending a shudder back along the causeway. The Black Knight spurred ShadowFax on, and reaching the cliffs, found Rogue sitting on the massive hemp ties of the bridge alongside the fallen figure. Next to Rogue sat a great grey northern wolf.

“Greetings, Twilight,” said the Black Knight. “You timed your arrival quite nicely.”

“We have watched you since you left the castle,” replied Twilight.

“As has Jhae the Gnome,” interjected Rogue; “We’d best get out of the light, lest his eyes in the wilderness catch further glimpses of our ragged band.”

Once in the shadows of the cliffs beyond the Rhue Gorge, Rogue reported that Jhae the Gnome was close-by, the assailant being his point-guard, which meant that the dragon was not far off. Twilight said he had picked up the dragon’s scent less than one kilometer to the northeast, and it was fresh. Rogue added that he had seen neither, a tribute to their powers, but he, too, sensed their presence.

“How far to the lair of the dragon where the princess is held?” asked the Black Knight.

“Two leagues beyond the pass, and the way difficult,” responded Rogue.

The Black Knight nodded. As the sun set, and shadows deepened and the Sanguine Mountains took on the mantle of the realm of darkness, the band of four moved cautiously in a direct line north.

Coming around a corner of a low-hanging rock, Twilight stiffened momentarily, but with lightning speed lunged forward. Rogue swept down with talons bared, and together the stalwart pair cornered another of Jhae’s forward guards.

ShadowFax placed his hoof on the foot of the snarling guard, and looked him squarely in the eyes. The Black Knight asked his name, then in a moment of recognition, whispered, “You are the one known as Jhae the Gnome.”

The figure struggled, but ShadowFax’s hoof firmly pinned him to the ground. The Gnome looked into the steel-grey eyes of his captor; “The dragon is near, and you are all but dead!”

Twilight snarled near the Gnome’s ear, his warm breath raising the hair on the back of the captive’s neck. Beads of sweat formed on his brow, and a trickle ran down his back. Then, a low rumble was heard, perhaps initially only felt, and the ground began to move.

Rogue lifted swiftly into the night air, and Twilight slipped into the surrounding darkness. ShadowFax kept his captive’s foot pinned to the ground, as the rumbling and shaking increased.

The Black Knight strung a bolt to his crossbow and drawing his long sword moved out of the shadows into the clearing. Beyond the curtain of darkness, the Black Knight could see a fiery light approaching in his direction. He could hear the underbrush crumble under the weight of some mighty creature, and brush fires sprang up where the creature passed.

Suddenly, he was there in front of the Black Knight, towering 20 feet above him, all muscle and teeth, breathing blue-green fires out of both nostrils. Twilight appeared out of the darkness from the left, and lunged at the creature’s midsection. Rogue swooped out of the midnight heavens, and ripped at the dragon’s fierce eyes. As the dragon feigned to its left, the Black Knight let fly a single bolt, true to his aim, striking the dragon squarely between the eyes, crushing its skull. The dragon stood for a moment, its eyes disbelieving, and then with a low moan, fell as a giant tree in the forest, taking a full dozen trees down with him. Then, there was silence.

Jhae the Gnome screamed and threw himself against ShadowFax’s leg, writhing in anger. ShadowFax increased the pressure on the captive’s foot, adding to his pain.

The Black Knight directed the Gnome to lead the way to the hidden cave wherein the Princess Tara was held. The Gnome scowled, and spat on the ground: “The way is hidden, and you shall never discover it in time!”

ShadowFax applied the full weight of his 86 stones to the Gnome’s foot, raising the price of his refusal. The Gnome screamed and slipped into unconsciousness. The Black Knight grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and lifting him off the ground, held him close to his face. As the Gnome opened his eyes, he was looking down the throat of the Black Knight’s crossbow. His eyes widened, the barbed black arrowhead pricking his forehead, drawing blood. “The cave is behind a floating rock that moves on command,” stammered the Gnome. “It is at the end of Sorrow Canyon, north of the Dark Crystal River.”

“Take us to her,” whispered the Black Knight through set teeth, setting the Gnome down.

The moon traveled but a quarter of the night sky by the time the band arrived in front of the hillside and approached the cave. The Black Knight prodded the Gnome, and he stumbled forward. He looked back at the Black Knight, who held his gaze with steel-hard eyes.

“Ixtyl marshtyg,” whispered the Gnome before the massive stone. Nothing. The Black Knight prodded him again, but before he could utter the words again, the stone moved, then slid to the side with nary a sound.

The Black Knight removed his helmet, and stepped to the mouth of the cave. As his eyes became accustomed to the darkness within, he sensed a presence off to the side of the cave. There, cowering in the darkness, was Princess Tara. “Be still,” he whispered, his voice soft. “Are you well?” he asked.

“I am well,” came the reply; “Who are you?”

“I am one sent by your Father to return you home,” said the Black Knight; “Are you able to travel?”

“I am,” came the reply.

Princess Tara held the arm of the Black Knight as the two emerged into the growing light of morning. There, Jhae the Gnome cowered and whimpered under the watchful eyes of ShadowFax. The Black Knight nodded, and ShadowFax stepped back. The Black Knight pointed to the east: “Go and n’er darken the realm of King Fissure again, lest you forfeit your life.” And with that Jhae the Gnome scampered into the underbrush, muttering under his breath.

The Black Knight lifted the Princess onto ShadowFax in front of him, and thus they began the return journey.

Rogue circled above, maintaining a watchful eye, as Twilight slipped into the shadow side of daylight, and he, too, kept watch.

Princess Tara nestled between the Black Knight’s arms, and rested easy as the countryside and time passed in due course. Toward dusk, as eventide settled over the land, they approached the hanging bridge over the Rhue Gorge, and as the setting sun touched the mountain pass with fingers of gold and amber, Princess Tara caught a glimpse through the pass of the Valley of Embaline – she was home…