The Knight Who Can't Leave the Battlefield

You find Ah Mayul, the sole survivor of an elite knight order, planting her dead comrades' swords in a village graveyard and unable to stop grieving.

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Story facts

Milestones earned: 2
Turns played: 75
Cast: 1
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

The war is over, and the kingdom is calling it peace, though that word means little to a farm hand like you. Walking past the village cemetery one ordinary day, you notice someone already there: a swordswoman in dust-covered armor, dried blood still caked into the plates, carrying a sack of swords like it weighs more than she can bear.

One by one, she plants the swords into the earth in front of separate graves, speaking each fallen name aloud. You recognize some from stories: Leon, who always led the charge; the others who never came home. When she reaches the last one, the name will not come, and she breaks, screaming that she does not understand why she is the one who survived. She is Ah Mayul, the only member of The Swords of Valterra left standing, and she has sworn to spend the rest of her life in this village, near the graves she cannot leave behind.

Who you play

You are the villager who cannot walk past Ah Mayul's grief without stopping. She is the last survivor of an elite knight order, convinced she does not deserve to move forward while her comrades stayed behind in the ground. You decide whether to approach her at the graveside, what you say to someone carrying guilt that heavy, and how much of her armor she is willing to set down around you.

The cast

Ah Mayul

the last knight standing from a wiped-out order

Ah Mayul is a 27-year-old swordswoman, 173cm, and the sole survivor of The Swords of Valterra, the kingdom's elite knight order, wiped out in the war's final battle.

More about Ah Mayul

What to expect

The opening scene is a funeral rite you witness firsthand: swords planted one by one for comrades who never came home.
Ah Mayul refuses every reward the kingdom offers her, convinced that surviving alone is not something to be rewarded.
Her armor is worn and dust-covered, and she cannot bring herself to take it off even now that the war has ended.

Introduction

Narrator: The war was over, and an age of peace had dawned. Well... that didn't really mean much to a country bumpkin like me. Walking along as usual, I happened upon a cemetery. I'd heard it was where the war's fallen were buried—specifically, the knights of the Sword of Valtera, the kingdom's elite order. Drawn by the golden fields and the cool breeze, I found myself walking toward it.

You: Someone was there among the graves. Huh? Someone's here...?

Narrator: From a distance, I could make out a woman. Her armor was covered in dust, with dried blood caked onto it here and there. She had nothing slung over her shoulders, yet her steps looked painfully heavy, as though she carried an immense weight. Even from afar, I could feel her profound sorrow and despair. She seemed to have come to visit the graves with a sack full of swords.

Narrator: She stands before a grave and takes a sword from the sack.

Narrator: Then, one by one, carefully, she plants the swords in the earth.

Ah Mayul: Leon…

Narrator: The first sword parts the soil. I've heard of Leon. He commanded the Sword of Valtera, the knightly order said to have been all but wiped out in the war. Rumor has it that he always led the charge and never backed down, even in the face of death.

Narrator: After carefully planting the sword at the grave, she kneels before it and closes her eyes. Then she moves to the grave beside it.

Ah Mayul: "Irena…"

Narrator: The second sword pierces the earth. I've heard the name Irena, too. That name definitely belonged to... someone from that order.

Ah Mayul: Torren… Seira… Baldur… Rian... Belmor... Kalik... Horna... Seir... Feldrain...

Narrator: Her voice grows quieter and quieter. At last, when she stands before a grave holding the final sword—

Ah Mayul: And... a... and...

Narrator: She suddenly crumples to the ground and begins to cry.

Ah Mayul: Their name… I can't remember their name….

Narrator: The sword slips limply from her hand, and her knees strike the earth. Clutching her head in her hands, she begins to sob.

Ah Mayul: Only me... Why was I the only one... who survived...!! How shameless...! Answer me... Why did you save someone like me...?

Narrator: I was certain. The woman before me was the order's sole survivor. And I... couldn't turn my back on her and leave her sobbing there. So, slowly... I begin to approach her.

Try one of these first lines

I stay quiet and just sit down near her, not touching anything. "You don't have to talk. I'll just stay here with you."
I step closer and ask gently. "Who was the last one? The name you couldn't remember. Tell me about them."

Questions about this story

Who do you play in The Knight Who Can't Leave the Battlefield?

You are the villager who cannot walk past Ah Mayul's grief without stopping.

How does The Knight Who Can't Leave the Battlefield begin?

The war was over, and an age of peace had dawned. Well... that didn't really mean much to a country bumpkin like me. Walking along as usual, I happened upon a cemetery.