Lady Andromeda Valq was honestly shocked, it has to be a dream. In front of her stood a man, not any man. But a great knight, and he is asking to enter her service. The Valq family only had one great knight, and that was her uncle, the military leader of the city.

And now it seems that she will get another one in her service. Her fiance was not in the city currently, he mentioned something about recruiting more people for his new organisation. She really loved the man, he was good and even though he was a magus apprentice he still treated her with respect.

She wanted to accept this Rhax, but she had to be sure that his handsome face doesn’t hide another: “So, Ser Rhax, where were you before you came to Valaq. By the accent you are showing it seems that you are from Firebird city, so do tell, why would a great knight from the Firebird city do in Valaq? A city that almost takes a month to travel by horse.”

The knight smiled, his smile didn’t leave his face from the moment he entered the palace: “ Well, I won’t lie to you milady. I’m from Firebird city, but I haven't been in the city for almost 10 years now. I thought about going there at first, but then I heard of the death of the Saloman family at the hands of a criminal organisation, then Lady Veronica’s marriage to a rank 3 magus apprentice from the Raven Academy. And I thought that they don’t need me, and honestly, I don’t think I’m ready to go back there. A lot of bad memories live there.” He lost his smile and there was sadness writing all over his face when he talked about his memories.

Andromeda heard about the whole thing, she was actually jealous of Veronica Saloman. She got a city that is bigger than Valaq and now a rank 3 magus apprentice husband, and if the rumors are true, a baby on the way. In her opinion that was too much power in one hand, her child would probably be a magus, she has a city that has over 1,5 million souls and a powerful husband that is rumored to be The Dark Eyed Demon. The infamous magus apprentice that the Raven Academy tries too hard to make him as mysterious as possible.

She didn’t know his name, but only his nickname. It was said that he got it after the yearly exam the Academy does, it was said he killed tens of students. The reason for the dark eyed part was said because his eyes don't have a white part, they were all black. Like his mentor Magus Croft, who is infamous for being one of the deadliest poison masters in the five regions around the Raven Academy.

She hoped she wouldn't meet the man in her life, because something told her that he had a hand in the death of the Saloman family. And from what she heard from the nobles that escaped from the Firebird city, they said that he was extremely violent and didn’t have any second thoughts about killing mortals, whether innocent or not.

Such men were dangerous to the whole world, not only to mortals. She hoped that he was not the person that accepted the mission on her Love’s head from the Raven Academy.

They got the news a few days ago, it was well known by now that there are some academies who put a hit on Syral’s head. In their eyes Syral was a traitor to the magus and their culture, she saw it differently. She saw him as a hero, he was teaching mortals how to become magus. This was good, because if the knowledge is not scarce then they won’t fear the magus anymore.

‘Isn’t that the reason they want him dead? If mortals don’t fear them and got the power to match them then it would be the end of their rule.’

She was not a hateful person, she didn’t have any beef with the magus. But it always made her angry that the magus considered them mortals lesser than ants.

She hates to be downgraded and the magus just existing were downgrading her and her family. But she knew why, they were not the people that conquered worlds, they were not the people that could bend space and time to their advantage.

They were just mortals, they lived and died as average humans. Maybe some were smart, some were strong.

But no matter how strong or smart they were they were still lesser than a magus. A magus can kill them with a wave of his hand.

She broke her line of thoughts and focused more on Ser Rhax: “Ser, why did you come to Valaq? You are a great knight, and I would bet that you could find a job in any big city.”

The knight looked at her in the eyes, yellow met green. His emerald green eyes held such intensity that she only saw in veteran warriors: ‘Eyes of a killer.’ She remembered her father’s saying.

“It is easy milady, Valaq is a small city, no offence. And I’m sure that not a lot of wars or anything happens here, well except for the normal crimes of course. As for large cities, they are filled with crime and are ready to go to war at any second. And I’m really tired of war, I have spent almost 5 years as a sellsword. And believe me when I say, I’m tired of war and politics. I only want to serve a good ruler and live a boring life, and maybe start a family in the future. If I can’t find it here then I will go to the next city and repeat the offer, I will do it until I find my boring quiet place. War already took too much of my life, I won’t let it take my future too.” At the end, Rhax was tearing. She could see the pain he bears with him, she reckoned that he lost someone dear to him in war. Maybe a lover or a family member.

She was honestly heart broken for this man, it was not easy living after seeing war. Her father once told her that the brave ones are the ones that continue living after the horrors they saw at war.

And she felt like she could trust this man, this 20 something year old veteran, so she spoke: “I can guarantee to you, Ser Rhax. You will find peace here. Welcome into my household.”