As soon as the vindicated knight opened the book everything went blank for a moment.
They were shot into a void that was both piercingly bright and excruciatingly dark.
The silence was deafening and all of their senses seemed to conflict.
They could feel everything and nothing, a million hands and the lonliness of an entirely empty world.
In the distance they could feel something begin to stabilize.
A regular temperature amongst a place of constant freezing heat.
But the knight couldn't reach it, not in this state.
As if on cue of this thought a pain shot through the knight's body.
It was like a dull blade forcing itself straight down their shoulders.
Muscles and bones would rip through searing gashes on their back, and nerves would sprout from those growths.
It wasn't long before the stunned knight was able to desperately flap their way over to their desired location.
"You made it."
Every word made the knight's head spin.
The King of Ichor would detail strange and enigmatic visions.
Visions of the future and secrets of the universe and the stars. Things that the knight had never known of their family tree. He would tell of creatures lurking beyond the Golden Veil, creatures that thrived on knowledge. Once you became aware of them you could not escape. In fact, the King of Ichor was one and the same.
"What will you offer me so that you shall live, fair knight?"
Hands shaking they would pull out their copper coin, and the King would wail a horrible laugh in return.
He would accept this, but of course at a price.
He told the cowering knight that their kingdom would fall, everyone they love reduced to ashen rot.
And, as proof the knight had survived an encounter with The King of Ichor, their ear was nicked, and they were sent on their way.
proceed?
