“Luke, hurry up or we will be late to the funeral!” yelled Mick Crossbone, Luke's dad. A few days ago King Mason announced that the great warrior, The Crimson Knight, had been slain by a mysterious enemy, and that his sword was missing. Today was the funeral for the great man. “I'm coming! Is August ready?”  His brother August yelled up “Yes I’m down here! Now move your butt or we’ll be late!”
 

August was three years younger than Luke.  He was studying to be a mage, he wanted to be as powerful as Merlin, but he had a way to go.  Luke, at 13 was training to be a knight. As Luke placed on his boots his sister Abby, August’s twin, came in.” Are you still getting ready?” she said.  

Abby had her mother's looks. Abby like her mom had short blond hair and was white as snow. She had yet to decide what she would study.  She liked to keep her options open. She always wore a flower in here hair, and like her mom and older brother was as skinny as a pencil and she had dark blue eyes. As for August he had green emerald eyes.

Luke looked like his father with big, strong arms.  He had dark brown hair with two white spots on left side of his head. He had olive skin with white spots throughout his body, where pigment should have been.

“You know, if mom were here she would grab you by the ear and bring you outside!” said Abby with a bit of pain in her voice. Their Mother had been killed by zombies during a blood moon.  She had been protecting the children. The twins were just babies at the time. He thought about this as he finally finished getting ready, and the family walked out the door.

                                                           ***

“Finally we’re here.” said Mick with a sigh of relief. Just then the gates to the cemetery opened. It was a dark and dull place which was void of any life other than the crowd of people gathered around a stone alter.  All of the villagers were there. Luke and his family found a spot at the back of the large crowd.

”Today is a dark day.” Said King Mason.  His voice was powerful and carried through the hushed crowd.  King Mason had dark skin and wore a golden helmet and robes with a golden staff.  His face, like always, was concealed by his helmet.

” A few days ago we lost our last line of defense in all of Terraria … Sir Venom!   He was the last of the Crimson Guard the defense against all things dark.” Luke could see the worried faces of the people gathered for this funeral.  Small cries could be heard as the King seemed to extinguish all hope. The King hearing this, held up his arms, “There is still hope.” Gasps escaped from the crowd, looking at each other with wonder.  What hope could there be, thought Luke. The Crimson Guard was all that separated them from the forces of evil: zombies, mummies, Minotaurs, demons and of course the Moon Lord. Several villagers pushed to the front of the crowd, and with glazed eyes and an unworldly voices the asked in unison “What hope is there?”

Luke grabbed his father and whispered “Something is wrong.  Something bad is happening.” His siblings and father looked worried and confused.

“I am so glad you asked that question,” said the King as he removed his golden helmet and revealed that he had the head of a bull.  He was an imposter…a Minotaur. “Your only hope… is to surrender!”

Take the women and children! Kill the men! Tonight we feast upon their bones!!!” yelled the Minotaur in King Mason’s robes. Just then an enormous floating eye came from behind the Minotaur and circled around the group of villagers. “Demon eye!” yelled a man before he was cut in half by the magic of the demon eye.

As the villagers tried to run, a hundred zombies came out of the graves around the cemetery. A bloody battle began.  ”Fight back!” yelled Mick as he cut off the head of a zombie and ran into the raging battle. Luke lost sight of his father.

“For Terraria!!” yelled the men as the fight continued to gain momentum.” Get them all!” yelled the Minotaur.  A villager sliced down the demon eye directly in front of Luke. Luke backed up, knocking over August.

“We have to go.” August said desperately as he crawled away from the bloody battle. “Where's Abby?” screamed Luke over the noise of the fight. The fight continued on for what seemed like hours.  They looked for their sister. Dodging the fight. Avoiding the zombies. They hid behind grave stones. Making their way slowly to the altar. The boys were sure they would find their little sister there.

Exhausted and discouraged Luke crouched down.   Then he heard ”Found her.” August stood pointing to a gravestone not far from them. His voice was sickly and his hand shook. Luke’s blood ran cold.

What Luke saw first was his little sister, clothes torn and in a pool of her own blood.  She was obviously dead. A creature was gnawing on her lifeless corpse. Anger reared in Luke.  He ran towards the hideous zombie that had killed his beautiful sister. As he approached, his brain could barely make sense of it all.  It wasn’t a hideous monster…it was his beloved father! In a matter of minutes the zombies had turned him into one of their own. His skin was grey and his eyes no longer held any humanity.  Luke stopped in his tracks. Feeling as if he would surely go mad.

.”I’m going to be sick!” cried August. This brought Luke back.  Anger welled up in him. He had lost everyone to this cruel world…except August. He had to protect his little brother.  He was desperate for a weapon, or a way out for them both. As he searched his environment, he cried out “For Merlin’s sake I need help!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth then he noticed a glimmering in front of him.  At first he thought that he had indeed gone mad. But the glimmering became a solid object, a beautiful curved crimson sword.  Before Luke could grab it he heard “Grab the sword you fools!” from the Minotaur.

The zombies within earshot turned and began to run toward Luke and the sword.  Luke instinctively grabbed the sword with his right hand. At that instant Luke felt a hot wave encase him.  He heard his brother yelling for him, but he could not yet move. He took a breath and looked around helplessly.  Then he looked down at his arm. It was covered in red armor. He could suddenly move, and he realized that he was dressed in an unworldly armor.  Crimson armor.

“Luke!?” Screamed August, rousing Luke from his astonishment.  His brother was pointing desperately to an oncoming zombie. Luke made sure he had a good grip on the sword and sliced upward, removing the head of that zombie neatly.  Other zombies came at him, and he moved quickly dispatching each of them to the hell they came from. He had a strength and speed he had never before known.

Over the noise of the battle the Minotaur screamed “I am King Minos!  I am leader of this Horde. That sword is rightfully mine!” Luke was far too busy with this horde to argue with him.

He could sense the tide of the battle was now turning.  He continued to slash out at the zombies until there were no more.  He saw villagers standing over their own kills, or tending their dead and wounded.  He saw August near his twin’s corpse. A rock in his hands. He had smashed the head of their father to stop the horror.  Tears streamed down his face.

Luke turned to see the Minotaur.  He looked astonished. Emboldened by his new found power Luke screamed “You are done now!  Your horde is gone!” “Done?” Screamed the Minotaur. “I have barely begun!” The man-bull then turned and ran.  His otherworldly speed and power preventing chase.

“I have barely begun!”  The man-bull then turned and ran.  His otherworldly speed and power preventing chase.  Luke sat straight up in his bed.  The scenes from the day before would not leave him, even in his sleep.  He and August had lost everyone they cared about that day. Their village suffered many losses.  Lives would never be the same.

After the Minotaur had run away the crimson armor had seemingly disappeared, leaving only a red bracelet around Luke’s right arm.  He could not remove it, no matter how hard he tried. He still held the bloodied sword in his hand.

Shocked villagers swarmed him asking him what their next move should be.  He was stunned. How could a 13 year old boy know that? “My liege,” one villager said, “as the Crimson Knight you must tell us…Do we fortify our defenses or run to the capital?”  Luke replied “I’m just a boy! I’m not the Crimson Knight!”

One of the oldest women in the village touched his left arm, “The sword has chosen you.  You cannot refuse this honor.”

Luke and August then tore themselves away from the villagers.  Plans for a mass funeral pyre were being made. The boys could not stand to watch Abby or their father burn.  They made their way home. Numb and exhausted.

As soon as the boys entered their home, August turned to his brother. “What are we going to do?”  Tears began streaming down his face. Luke, overwhelmed by the responsibility and the events, replied, “I am too tired to think.  I am going to rest. We will figure this all out.” He sounded more hopeful than he felt. He turned his back on his brother, and went upstairs to his room.

***

Luke came downstairs to find August sitting quietly at the table.  “We should eat,” said Luke. He grabbed the bread that was on the counter, and slathered it with butter and jam.  Placing a cup of apple cider and a slice of bread in front of his brother, he sat down.

“Luke, we have to find him.  He has to pay!” August looked like he had barely slept.  “You are the Crimson Knight now. You must protect the kingdom!”  Luke knew that he would not be able to go back to his normal life again.  He was afraid, confused and angry. He knew his brother was right. They would never be safe until the Minotaur was dead.

“Yes.  You are right.  But I am 13. The villagers expect me to tell them what to do.  I am not prepared for this!” “But someone thinks you are,” replied August.  The sword chose YOU!”

Luke sat silently.  He knew he had to get help to figure out their next step.  He knew that the Summoners, the nomadic people who had connections to the great beyond and all things mystical could help guide them.  That’s who they would have to find.

“We have to go to the Summoner's for help.”  Said Luke. “To the desert? How can we go there and survive?” August asked.  “We’ll go there, because we have to. We will find a way.” Said Luke. “We will pack what we can, and head out tonight.  We can’t stay here, the Minotaur will be back.”

August looked at his brother, took a deep breath and said “A quest it is, then!”

The boys ate their breakfasts.  They cleaned up, and set about preparing for the journey.  They gathered up food and skins for water. They went through their belongings. “We have to travel light.” Said Luke.  “Leave your alchemy set behind.” August smiled. He knew his brother was struggling to act normal.

Luke found his father’s travelling pack.  A beautiful leather pack. He took the Crimson sword and cut a small hole in the bottom of the pack.  When the pack was full, it enabled him to put the sword in the pack with the hilt resting at his neck when the pack was worn.

He saw August sitting on Abby’s bed.  How odd it must feel to not have his twin.  They had never spent so much as a night apart.  Now he was alone. Luke missed his sister and his father.  But August looked lost. It hardly seemed real.

They gathered the few items of value that their family had.  Their mother’s wedding ring, an old necklace, the book of the Mages, and some coinage.  They put their traveling clothes on. As night fell, they finished their preparations.

The boys each took a moment to say goodbye to their home.  They did not know whether they would see it again. As they left, they closed the door to their home, and on their childhood.

End of Part 1