Tiberius, though, wasn't like some of the others who grew up in Veyalton, and he certainly wasn't like his father. He wasn't born with magic skills, nor was he interested in them. He wasn't born with raw, untapped strength or psychic abilities or anything out of the norm. Rather, Tiberius Walker was simply put: average.
Or, at least, he was.
War plagued his home of Veyalton as he grew older. Words of the deeds done by some of Veyalton's battle-hardened reached the town. Heroes like Sir Dimetius the Brave, the greatest and highest-ranking soldier within the ranks of the Tradewind army, had returned from a bloody crusade with the head of the lieutenant of the opposing army. Sight of this created a fair buzz around Dimetius, and it created curiosity within Tiberius that he, too, could be just like this great soldier some day.
A group of traveling merchants ventured towards Veyalton, as they did once a month, during the peace time known as The Great Calm. However, unlike their usual visits, tragedy struck. As they entered the bustling trade city, a monsterous black blob eminating from the sky and shot down to the ground. This black entity, with purple lightning bolts flashing around it, silently and swiftly slew these merry merchants with little to no effort. The denizens of Veyalton watched in utter horror as these friendly salesmen were slaughtered before their eyes. Over the course of the next few months, word spread of various people, both of importance and distinction as well as the commonfolk, being slain in the same mysterious, vicious way, by the same black monstrosity. Having heard enough of this, Tiberius decided one night, he would face this 'thing', knowing that Dimetius and the rest of the Tradewind army were thousands of miles away in the port city of Hux, trying to gather trade routes for the castle. Tiberius snuck into his father's workstation and, remembering his father's teachings, tirelessly forged himself a weapon to combat his mystery foe out of the rare sky-blue diamonds known as the Hibernium Diamonds. These diamonds, unlike the normal ones, gave off a vivid energy that seems to make them hum. After many painstaking hours, Tiberius finished his product: a Hibernium Diamond-encrusted sword that he dubbed 'Vindiction'. Weilding this aptly-named blade, Tiberius then entered the adjacent barn where the family had raised steeds for traveling means. The lone chestnut mare, Tiberius's favorite steed of the four his family owned, neighed lightly as he entered. She knew what he was here for, even if she didn't know why. This mare, named Mercury, bowed her head as Tiberius mounted her. With a slight snap of the reins, they were off.
Tiberius searched the wilds and the forests; the plains and the mountains. No sign of the mystery killing machine. Until, that is, he reached the summit of Deadman's Hanger, a stretch of plain that led to a four hundred-foot drop filled with jagged rocks and various debris. Tiberius heard a moan, as if from a woman in distress, and turned around to meet the giant black mystery matter. Tiberius unsheathed his sword, narrowed his eyes and waited. Mercury snuffed in anger. Man and beast were on the same page. The two were going to fight this thing as one, no matter the consequence. The fight was, indeed, on...
Tiberius Walker, a valiant and selfless man, perhaps even a future soldier in the Tradewind army, much like his hero Dimitius, was determined to fight the thing that was picking off innocents one by one, died that night, along with his trusty steed. However, he did not remain so. No one knows how nor why, but he was reborn that very same night; a manifestation of all those who were senselessly slaughtered by the apparition of horror. He was brought back as a knight of right, a justicar of justice, a guardian of good. He was dubbed 'the Walking Knightmare' by those who closely studied exactly what had happened and learned of it; a man whose thirst for a fight were never truly quenched.
They say, sometimes, on the night of a full moon, when the winds are at their absolute calmest, you can hear the clanging of his sword, the grunts of a fierce battle being waged and the defiant whinnies of Mercury. From beyond, whether you believe in it or not, he still rides, searching for that which cost him everything -- family, friends and even his own life. And he always will.
"I was dead once, but death couldn't stop me from quenching my thirst for righting the wrongs of the world." -- Tiberius Walker
