“Does anyone else think there a worthy man in the room to lead us?” The King was getting a bit anxious seeing Braydon and Ethan muttering amongst themselves whilst not actually nominating someone. Being the King, he would prefer if it was one of his allies that lead the army than one of the less reliable northeastern lords. It was not to say that they were not as skilled but their loyalty was a lot more suspect. And that had just been proven by Viscount Sharpe’s disappearing act.

“I have someone in mind though he is not in the room.” Ethan finally spoke up, much to the relief of the King. Which was immediately turned into concern when he heard the words not in the room. Everyone knew that Cinar was a bit indisposed to be taking up other roles.

“If you are going to nominate Marquess Burgess, while I am sure that everyone would agree that he is a good choice, he is not able to take up the role.” When they heard that, many of the lords in the room nodded and made sounds of approval. Cinar was the one man who was probably best qualified based on experience and rank and loyalty to the crown. The last of which made the northeastern lords nervous about having him as the commander. Their opinion of the man personally was another matter, but that was a deal breaker. The same with any lord of the royal faction.

“Do not worry, I have considered that before making my choice. Being well aware that Cinar is not an available option, I believe I have thought of the next best man.” Ethan said with conviction. After having heard who Braydon suggested to be the leader, he too was in agreement on the matter. If Braydon had not mentioned the man, he would probably have forgotten to even consider him; after all, he was not a conventional pick.

“Oh? Then who could match up to Marquess Burgess in your view?” The King was genuinely curious, there were not many men in the kingdom who could claim to have as much experience on the battlefield as Cinar. And of those who could there were even fewer that had the same level of skill and remain in fighting shape.

Braydon’s father had been one. Despite owning a rich fief in a relatively peaceful part of Fiveria, Isaac Fiton had personally taken part in every war since he inherited his title and some before then too. Not to mention he had taken part in a number of factional skirmishes as a part of Duke Oakley’s faction. He had earned himself a reputation as a great warrior and was equally known for being battle-hungry. There was no way that Duke Oakley would have used him so frequently in conflict otherwise.

It was part of the reason why Braydon had never grown a large reputation as his father’s son, he had simply been overshadowed. And with George there to take the rest of the attention away, he and Sam had been mostly overlooked by the neighbouring lords. That worked for Sam. For Braydon it was a bit more annoying.

“I think the best choice is Sir Rhydian Kelly.” When Ethan made his choice, it took everyone but Braydon in the room by surprise. He had quite clearly said Sir. That meant a knight. So far every person nominated had been at least a Viscount, Barons had been overlooked for their lack of experience leading anything more than a few scores of men. While Knights very often lead armies in place of their lords, it had rarely been the case that they were chosen in favour of a lord.

“Wait, a knight?” Earl Dawn could not help but ask. He had thought that his fellow contender would be some lord that everyone had forgotten to think about or even Braydon. But a knight had taken him from out of left field.

“Not ‘a knight’ but ‘a specific knight’. I am sure that you have heard of Sir Kelly’s reputation.” Ethan corrected. And when he repeated Rhydian’s name, it finally dawned on the people in the room who had just been nominated. They had been so focused on the fact that a knight had been nominated that they had ignored who had actually been nominated. And the man in question had a large reputation alright.

“He certainly does have a large reputation.” King Aled nodded and smiled, he agreed that Rhydian was a good choice. While it had been a while since he had made any great exploits, having taken a lot of time away from the battlefield to train Braydon, everyone knew of his name as much if not more than Isaac Fiton. And for largely similar reasons.

If there was ever a conversation about Isaac’s battlefield exploits, Rhydian’s name was almost certainly going to be mentioned as a central part of it. That he used a greatsword was enough to at least stand out among the crowd but it was the skill with which he wielded it that truly stood head and shoulders above the rest. There was rarely a charge that Rhydian had led that he had not won. And those that he lost were pyrrhic at best for the opponent. If one thought that he was a mere dumb brute, they would also soon find themself proven wrong. Rhydian had often turned around battles with on the spot thinking and tactics. It could be said that half of Isaac Fiton’s success could be attributed to him.

“But was he not Earl Fiton’s knight? How could we possibly get him to fight for us?” Another one of the nominees questioned, getting nods from several others. It was well known that Viscount Fiton was one of Duke Oakley’s allies, so he should have either died or joined Duke Ryder.

“That is where I would have to correct your assumptions.” Braydon joined the discussion. On the topic of his knights he was very well aware of who had pledged loyalty to him and who had not. That was not something that any lord took lightly, hence his conflict with the missing in action Viscount Sharpe.

“Sir Kelly is one of my knights. If you wish me to prove it to you, I can have him brought here at this moment.” Braydon might not have seen much of Rhydian in recent weeks but that meant that there was nothing going awry with his men. At the very least Corban had not had to arbitrate a dispute between Braydon’s men and somebody else yet.

“...”

As soon as Braydon said that there were no more disputes. If anyone were to question if Rhydian were a worthy candidate to lead an army, his mental faculties would have to be questioned. This was a man who had almost no equal on the battlefield, and those who could be considered one were most definitely rare among the men of Fiveria.