Moving into my room, I came face to face with a boy, not much older than Alessia, who had a frantic expression on his face.

Seeing me, He cried out, “Honorable Faustus. What outfit would you like to wear for the Accolade?” and then he pointed out at the dresser where various expensive-looking and fancy outfits lay.

Eyes widening at the sight of them, I turned to the boy, Ares - my personal attendant - and said, “None of them! I’ll be wearing the same clothes I usually do! If you could lay them out while I bathe, that would be fantastic!” and then I turned to the bathtub, only to wince as an anguished voice sounded out.

“But, But, Honorable Faustus!”

“No buts,” I said firmly, as I removed my clothes and sank gratefully into the hot water with a sigh of relief.

Dejectedly, Ares soon had an outfit ready for me and he stood there with a miserable expression before I clambered out and got ready.

Then we heard a knock on the door, and Ares went to open it to find Alessia standing outside with concern on her face as she stared at Are’s expression.

“What happened to you,” I heard her ask.

As though Ares had found an outlet, he let out a stream of words saying, “I laid out the formal attire for honorable Faustus, but he took one look at it, said no, and changed into his usual black outfit.”

And right at that moment, I greeted Alessia -wearing said black outfit and looking quite good - if I do say so myself.

Blinking her eyes at me, I could almost hear Alessia think of what mother would say if she saw me like this.

Then Ares suddenly gasped and ran off to get something, and Alessia and I came face to face with each other as we stepped out of Ares’s way.

Embarrassed, we leaped apart - laughing as we looked at each other.

Looking critically at myself, I mentally checked off the items - a black tunic with matching trousers, and a dark blue cloak over my shoulders.

Nodding in satisfaction, I was about to exit the room when from behind me, Ares came running back, crying out, “Honorable, you forgot the family badge!”

Exasperated, I looked at him and said, “How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that! Call me Faustus!”

“Honorable Faustus,” Ares answered.

“No, I mean... never mind…” I trailed off as I stared at the ceiling.

“Honorable Faustus,” I heard again.

“You can really stop it now,” I grumbled.

“But Honorable Faustus, you still haven’t taken the badge!” Ares cried out.

“Oh, right. Give it here,” and taking the badge, I pinned it on my breast above my heart. The badge itself was sapphire blue with a black dragon breathing flames onto a spear. It was the symbol of the House of Drayke, my House, and it was one with a rich legacy going as far back as the founding of The Kingdom of Leon.

It was us, the people of House Drayke, that were at the forefront of every war! It was us who fought and bled all over the future Kingdom of Leon until our forces reached the area which would be enfeoffed to us as Draconis City and more. It is we who still stand guard against the neighboring empire of Hagaria and its ferocious armies. It is we who are beloved as the heroes of the Kingdom.

The House of Drayke.

Legend says that the founder of our House was a dragon who transformed into a human and melted a giant gem into a spear with which he forged what would become House Drayke.

Looking reverently at the badge for a moment, I looked at Alessia, who examined me and quipped, “I can see that you’ve really taken some effort to get ready.”

Preening and laughing, I replied, “if I didn’t, mother would have had me for dinner.”

Rolling her eyes at me, Alessia said, “You know I was joking, right?”

“What,” I said, caught off guard.

“Lady Courtesy is really going to have you for dinner,” Alessia muttered, and putting her hands behind her back, she strolled away.

Calling out from behind her, I asked, “Wait, don’t you have to change?”

Turning around, Alessia proudly said, “No, I am a warrior and my armor is my dress.”

“Shame,” I murmured underneath my breath.

“What did you say?” Asked Alessia suspiciously.

“Nothing, absolutely nothing,” I hastily replied, and waving goodbye to Ares, we made our way to the Accolade.

Moving through the courtyard where the preliminary festivities of the Accolade would begin, we found our seats before the dueling grounds meant to show the prowess of the various Knights gathered here.

This was to show how important a knight was and how important by extension, his accolade or the Knighthood ceremony was.

Sitting, I noticed that there were four stages set up, and each had a different colored pennant hanging above them.

Motioning to them, I asked Alessia, “Sia, what are those pennants for?”

Looking at them, she turned back to face me and said, “Those are the colors denoting the warforce ranks.”

Looking at my puzzled expression, she asked, “Short version or long version?”

I quickly answered, “long please!”

Taking a moment to settle herself, she then said, “Sir Leonidas taught all this to me, and there is a lot that he hasn’t taught me yet. But basically, it’s like this-”