#hydal bartis

Hydal Bartis

Hydal Bartis was born in medieval times, growing up in a particular kingdom, easily having the dream like most boys back then to become a knight, a protector, a warrior for one's King, one's people. Even as a kid he showed clear talent for fighting and was straight away put into squireship when he hit the right age. Every duty, every requirement thrown at him, he performed, valiantly, perfectly, without fault. Clearly, he was truly knight material, in every single way, in skill, in demeanor, in attitude, he learned it all, understanding what was expected of him in his role, serving with utmost diligence.

At first he was serving his kingdom, protecting the central castle and it's monarch. He was very quick to foil every assassination attempt, even if there were only one or two he ever experienced. He had also served on the front lines, where his skills really came into play. No doubt a Legend had been created, with a lone, blonde knight, taking on immense armies, all on his own... and winning. Such earned him many accolades.. and for a long period of time, served directly under the King, protecting such, as well as the Queen and Royal Family, from anything that came at them.

Of course, in due time, that King would die, so would the Queen, new people step in and take power, Hydal would serve under them as well. People wonder how he stayed so young, still fresh, with unrivalled ability. He too, did not know until his own death. However, it would come to serving under a later King, that would test his loyalty to the Kingdom. His first King was kind, generous, benevolent, everyone loved him. There were Kings that were firmer, but fair.. and Hydal would be told of decisions made.. and why. He understood.. and from that, he grew, coming to learn about what was truly best for the people, even if some things might seem inconvenient.

But then came one King, his last King, that really put his judgement, his loyalty, to the test. Self serving, arrogant, corrupt, only in it for himself. Hydal had a job to protect such a figure, such a monarch, but he did not become a Knight, purely to serve a King. He did it to serve people, the populace. If it meant serving under a King who made their lives peaceful and happy, then he was doing his job, but now it came to the point where such a position was counteractive. He was torn. Loyalty to his King, or the people? A true knight did as they were told, not to question any decision the King made.. but why... why was it meant to be that way?

There were choices. Keep serving the King, like the loyal servant he was. Kill the King, for the good of the people, but forever tarnish his reputation... or do something else. He had an idea, a vision, what if he could protect more than just his Kingdom? There were people in other Kingdoms that needed protecting, saving, from whatever adversity came to them. In the end he decided to leave his old Kingdom behind, with a group of comrades.. and start a troupe. A group of travelling Knights, a legion that would protect everyone... protect the world.

He did not ever go as far as to liberate Kingdoms, but in a realm full of magic, there were plenty of adversaries to face. Witches and warlocks who wielded immense power, brainwashing, causing chaos, armies of skeletons and trees. Even, it seemed, the moonlight stars were turned against him, but every thing that was thrown at him, he overcame, even if, in the more extreme cases, on his own. Popularity spread as far as it could go. Hydal Bartis, the Knight of all the Lands.. but soon a new name would be found, from one of his more memorable encounters. Hydal Bartis: The Star Fighter. A title that was associated with him, both for fighting the stars... and fighting like the stars were always on his side.

His final fight was of dramatic consequence, a tyrant, an emperor with magic worse than any wizard, warlock or witch, sought to dominate everything. Someone who might have known too much, who tapped into the deepest corners of the world.. and found something truly horrific, that he would channel for his own goals... as well as the goals of another, the goals of a new partner, a new comrade, for further conquest, beyond the lands, beyond the world. Armies rose from the ground, unnatural, inhuman, a seemingly endless force to flood every Kingdom, every town, to consume anything and everything. The one thing standing in the way.. was Hydal.

While it seemed like he was fighting more fiercely, he still managed to vanquish those armies, with ever growing ability and power. The sight of such impressive feats was beyond comprehension. Everything they threw at him, he dispelled, inching closer and closer to bringing them down for good, but they had one last trick up their sleeve.

The emperor and his comrade combined their powers, their energy, their spirits... creating an abomination of a nightmarish scale. A humongous dragon, bigger than anything, than any castle, than any mountain, had been born... and it would seek to annihilate the one Knight that stood in their way.

It was a vicious battle, truly a case of light vs dark. Everything was thrown at eachother, Hydal himself would use his own abilities, his energy, method after method, attack after attack, to ward off the dragon's abhorrent attacks, to wear it down more and more, an exercise that seemed hopeless, impossible, beyond comprehension. But.. something was on Hydal's side, more than energy, more than light, more than the people.

It was like someone was talking to him, saying something to him, without words. Call upon the power of the stars, they said. Bring the sky down.. and engulf the beast with all the lights of the night.

It was like nothing he had done before. Sure, he had used the stars to his advantage, but not on this level. He even wondered if he could even do it at all, but he tried. In a battle stance he stood, sword raised, eyes open and glowing, brighter than ever before. Concentrate, focus it all on the stars.. and give it hell. Suddenly, it was like the stars in the sky began to fall, bright lights coming down at a speed faster than light, raining down upon the dragon. At first it was bit by bit, the first blows clearly enough to make the dragon writhe in agony, to knock it off it's feet, but the man wasn't done yet. He was taking it level be level, always going the next step.. and before he knew it, the entirety of the stars would fall, raining down on the dragon, like an endless shower of immense light energy, of torture. The dragon might have had a skin thicker than what sword could pierce, but the sheer energy of those stars alone, without their physical form, brought shockwaves of pain, suffering and damage to the dragon.

By the end of such a shower, the dragon lay, but clearly not done yet. It was trying, oh so trying to get up, to shake all of this off, despite the pain it was carrying. The light was toxic to the dragon, an anti to a being of sheer darkness, but it was ever resilient, even as it struggled to move, to stand, to fight. Hydal knew, as well, that he wasn't done.. and while such a dragon was down, he would use his last move, to finish it off for good.

Again did he focus, little stars now, coming from the sky, but not as raining meteors of energy, bur they came down, to surround the beast. It was like the stars in the night sky were not enough.. and the man, while straining in energy, called upon the stars of everywhere, anywhere. It was like the multiverse had heard him.. and obliged. Those stars slowly came round the dragon, enveloping it in light. When the dragon was engulfed, the light would begin to brighten.. and brighten.. as if the energy was intensifying by the second, like the stars were multiplying, over and over. The ground even shook, upon such immense power, that only one man, the knight himself, was controlling, even as his energy was being used up. Controlling stars on this extreme, to this extent.. and to what he was being used for, was taking everything out of him, but he knew, this had to be done, this, was going to do it.

And in the crucial moment, as the light blinded everything and anything, he raised one hand... and snapped his fingers once.

It was an explosion that would not be seen again for centuries. It was on a scale grander than an atomic bomb. Open fields, trees, anything around the field he had brought it to, devastated, annihilated, along with the creation of quite the open crater, as if a comet had struck the planet. There was only one thing that would remain after the light had cleared, the smoke lifting... the knight, right in the middle of that crater, still physically there, but no doubt in the worst state he had ever been, like everything had been taken out of him. He might not have been taken in the explosion, but with using so much of his own energy in extinguishing the dragon, the blast had taken what was left... and left him in a deteriorating state of paralysis.

He couldn't get up, he could hardly move, the pain he was carrying was dull, from a fading mind, a fading soul. He was only just able to see the dark clouds dissipate, the sun coming out, brightening the world once more, just that blue sky... his last sight, before he was taken from the land of the living.

Hydal Bartis is one of the few Atomites that achieved above and beyond the scale of his country, maybe even his world. He did not even know until after his death about the underlying factors that birthed that dragon, how a darkness, seemingly Multiversal, had risen from ashes, finding a like minded individual.. and wreaking havoc. It is speculative that he may have achieved a feat of Multiversal importance, maybe even on more than one occasion.

Throughout his life, Hydal was of the utmost loyalty, first to a King, then to a Kingdom, then to the world. He is, on the outside, a knight through and through, fully committed to his servitude, always looking into what might be a threat in the future and seeking every possible measure to stop it, even if it meant dealing with it himself. He was always polite towards his comrades, as well as the people. He may seem stern, but such was the behavior he was expected to become, someone who had to make tough decisions in the shortest amount of time. While he was still learning a lot, he was also always, always on the hunt for whatever might threaten the people next, usually with as little rest as possible.

However, despite his tough shell, there was a side to him that did not surface until after his death, when he made it to the afterlife, along with the other Atomites. With the loss of purpose, the inability to protect the people he cared for, came a side of regret. Throughout his whole life, he had spent it all on servitude, protecting the world from everything that jeopardised it. In doing so, he missed out on the finer things in life.. in fact.. he never really had a life. No fun, no games... no companionship.. not even the spark of love. What had developed then, inside that shell, was a side of loneliness. Maybe there just wasn't any time to do any of those things. Maybe he just didn't think to stop for a while. All he knows is, his ship sailed a long, long time ago... and in this peace, he'll never get it back.

It is then, that he can be described on the outside as touch, stern, but polite in that regard. Even now he still has that exterior. If he's put to something, he'll see it through to the end. But, if you talk to him long enough, chip away at the armour, the sword, one just might find that lonely man, who wants that chance to love... to really live... to have the life he never really had in the first place, or would have had, if he wanted to do anything different. As much as he is an expert at hiding his emotions nearly all the time, sometimes it just takes a bit of one on one, to see the inside. He is also clearly kind towards civilians, people, the very thing he serves to protect. As much as he may be doing a job, if he has the chance, he may take a small part out of his day, just to help with something, if it can be done quickly, so that he can return to his job as quickly as possible.