Behr Wulfgard sat at a large wooden desk in the Firebrand Knights main office. The holo-viewer in front of him displayed the faces of each new recruit. At the top was Lady Antha-lyn Agrior and below hers were Glaed Balaston, Eolas Verfina, Quezyl Ohuani, Faust Neffiet, Indago Raiwé, and Lark Larendel. These were the seven squires chosen to succeed the knights that they had lost in previous years.

Behr sighed. But what if they're not strong enough? He was lost in thought about what was to come over the days following the knighting ceremony. Doubt filled his mind when he thought about the new technology that would be tested on these fledgling knights. Faust and Indago, who were the oldest of the squires, had waited six months to be fitted with their armor and therefore, had more time to train. They could possibly handle the pressure. The burly man sighed again. That did little to ease his nerves. His thoughts turned to the princess, to whom the king would willingly allow to be tested upon. What will he do if she doesn't survive the experiment?

He tried to banish these dark musings; of course they could handle it. They each demonstrated what they were capable of at their proving tournaments. He stood up from his rolling desk chair and walked over to a large picture of a man on the wall.

"I hope they know what they're doing, Glan." He stared at the portrait of his friend and former captain. Glanduil looked down his slightly pointed nose off into the distance with piercing blue eyes, seemingly hanging onto Behr's every word.

"I know he's your son, captain. But I fear he's not yet ready." The captain paced to the opposite wall. "If only I could have six more months of training with him." Behr took Glanduil's dying request to heart and felt overprotective of his captain's son. "He's my responsibility. If anything were to happen to him, I would never forgive myself."

The doubt continued to grow with every thought about Glaed being harmed. The Firebrand captain shook his head and stepped back to his desk. He looked down at the other squires and eyed the tallest of them. Eolas Verfina had short, dark-brown hair and wore a pair of glass spectacles. His pointed ears were mildly rounded and his brown eyes were intelligent and full of wonder.

When Behr had met Eolas, whose hometown was Berboham in southern Hulluven, during one of the previous proving tournaments, he noted that the young squire was already very proficient with his energy bow. It had been passed down to him from his father Lando Verfina, who had been a Highwind Knight chosen to serve as an Aelia Castle guard, before his retirement to the Hulluven countryside.

"Eolas has shown quite a bit of promise and I'm glad to have him join Firebrand..." Behr waved his hand over the images on his holo-viewer. They scattered around the room, stopped, and then floated in mid-air in front of his desk. "I have little doubt about him-" The profile of another squire stopped across the room. "Or Lark Larendel, for that matter."

Behr about-faced and continued perusing the now airborne holos. Behr's eyes lingered on Eolas a moment more before switching to the squire with long, slightly burgundy hair that he wore in a topknot. Lark was a prodigy from a noble family in Treley, Hulluven who had intense eyes and was never seen without his haughty smirk. His skills with firearms was more than impressive and it could be argued that he exuded arrogance because of these skills.

The next two squires were other stories, however. Quezyl Ohuani, who was quite short in stature and had dark, almost black eyes, was a very taciturn individual who had a hard time communicating openly. Although his performance with acrobatic knife throwing at his proving tournament was exceptional, Behr had reservations about his ability to carry out orders as well as his fellow knights. Actions speak louder than words, I hope, he thought to himself. The large man turned his head and sighed.

"Neffiet..." Behr looked at the image of a blonde haired boy with gray eyes. "The spitting image of your father." He grab a large cup of tea and sipped slowly. "Do you want to bring honor back to your family, I wonder?" He was thinking out loud about Fuast Neffiet. He was the son of Hakai Neffiet, the deserter. The morning before the attack on the wall of Hulluven, Hakai abandoned his post and fled. Later, after he was imprisoned for desertion, he claimed that he had received death threats against his family from an anonymous imperial agent. However, it was never proven and Hakai eventually took his own life, leaving dishonor smeared on the faces of the entire Neffiet family.

Faust was a sincere boy, who seemed to want nothing to do with the memories of his father. He wanted to prove the rest of his family proud, but the eyes of the nation were on his back, waiting for him to turn tail and run.

Faust is nothing like his father. Behr reminisced about the cowardly fellow who had served in his battalion. He recollected the look in the young Neffiet's eyes and recognized the fire burning within him. That was the fire of a Firebrand Knight. He knew that wasn't the look of a coward.

Suddenly, there was a sharp knock at the door to Behr's office and he was jolted from his pondering. It was late in the evening and he wondered who could be visiting at such a late hour. "Please come in," he said, ushering the holos back to the screen.

The door creaked open and Mythanor Evindol stepped over the threshold. "I'm terribly sorry for the intrusion sir, but we seem to have a situation."

Behr looked confused and sighed, "What kind of situation, Sir Evindol?"

"It's Indago." Mythanor paused and stared blankly at his captain. "He's going to the overnight lock-up."

"What?!" Behr shouted so loud that Mythanor jumped. "Why? What happened?"

"Apparently..." The young knight composed himself and continued, "He was involved in some kind of bar fight somewhere in downtown Saesha."

The Firebrand captain put his hand on his chin and pulled his beard in frustration. "Let me guess, he told a joke the other guy didn't much care for?" Mythanor shrugged slightly and Behr sighed. "I always knew that boy's mouth would get him into trouble."

He turned back to his desk and glared at the wide-eyed squire with the large, toothy grin. His black hair was unkempt and windblown, probably because he had been late for his holo-pic appointment. "Why is he still in Saesha? I thought I dismissed the squires to their families until the ceremony?"

"Indago doesn't have any family, sir..." Behr slumped down into his chair and sighed again, as his enormous fingers rubbed against his temples. He had forgotten that Indago came to Saesha with nothing but his name and a cheerful disposition.

"You're right, I wasn't thinking." It was late and it was obvious Behr needed to sleep. "Please contact the detention facility and tell them we'll have him serve the sentence." The Firebrand Knights weren't above the law and maybe this would teach Indago when to hold his tongue.

"Right away, captain." Mythanor saluted, turned to leave, and closed the door behind him.

Behr breathed deeply and stood once again. "I swear, these kids will be the death of me." He debated following Mythanor out and heading back to his apartment, but he decided to burn the midnight oil a little longer. Besides, he had yet to prepare for the commencement ceremony. The Firebrand captain sat back down and began to type a long report to the king.



The morning of the knighting ceremony went by without much incident. Kelphine prepared the girls for travel while Brayder and Glaed waited outside beside an auto-taxi they had ordered, kicking the rubber ball back and forth. After awhile, Glaed started to grow impatient, as he barely had any sleep and needed to be back early enough to prepare. What is taking so long? They had reserved five seats on the next shuttle to the capital and it was taking longer than usual to get the girls ready.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Elmyra popped her head out, "Sorry, Glaed. Twilley's throwing a fit." She disappeared and spoke incoherently to their mother.

A few minutes later, it was Kelphine's turn to appear and she spoke apologetically. "She couldn't find the stuffed animal you brought for her and we were trying to find it." She wiped her forehead and sighed. "Luckily, we found it wrapped up in the girls' blankets. Now I only need to get Twilley dressed and we can head to the station."

Their mother flashed a thumbs up at them before disappearing back behind the door. Glaed sighed and slumped onto the steps in front of their family duplex. He placed his face in his hands and closed his eyes. Brayder seemed to notice his older brother's frustration and sat down beside him. "Hey Glaed, are you okay? You seem off this morning."

"Oh..." Glaed lifted his head and looked at his sibling. "I'm just a little nervous, I guess. And it also doesn't help that I didn't sleep very well last night."

Brayder tossed the rubber ball into the air, then went to catch it. The wind caught the ball and it landed out of his reach a few feet away. He jumped up to retrieve it as he continued the conversation. "I know it's nerve-wracking, bro, but it'll be alright." Brayder's goofy grin made Glaed chuckle. "You'll make a great knight, just like da."

"Thanks, little bro." Glaed stood back up and remembered the nightmare from the night before. "Speaking of da, I went to his monument after everyone went to bed last night."

"Oh, that's good. I'm glad you got a chance to see him before you left."

"Yeah, I had a pretty strange dream and couldn't fall back to sleep." He recalled the faceless apparitions and shuddered. "So I decided to pay him a visit."

The door to the apartment opened once more and Glaed's sisters and mother walked out, holding a few bags. "Boys, can you help with the luggage?" They each nodded and ran inside at their mother's behest to haul their suitcases to the back of the auto-taxi.

The taxi flight through the city was filled with a fair amount of commotion. Twilley and Elmyra would not stop fighting each other for space on the hard plexi-leather seat. Mama, she keeps touching me! Was screamed every few minutes until they finally reached the shuttle bus station. The entire flight over, Glaed leaned his head on the window and stared at the buildings flying by as he tried to ignore the incessant bickering. He was feeling the effects of sleep deprivation already, and it was barely mid-day.

After filling out the proper paperwork and waiting another hour, the shuttle to the capital finally arrived. The station attendants began to load the passengers' luggage onto the bus while the occupants took their seats. Kelphine made sure to sit the two young sisters away from each other to avoid another fiasco like on the taxi.

Once all the preparations were complete, the shuttle roared to life and slowly rose to leave the station. Glaed brought one of his smaller bags onto the shuttle this time, in hopes that he could take a quick nap before their layover in Saesha. Once they landed there, Behr, Mythanor, and Indago would be joining them, and they would be off once more.

The tired squire glanced out the window right as they were leaving the Darensville skyline and stared up towards the stars. The sun of Aél was high in the sky and the glare off the clear window blinded him for just a moment. "Gosh, it sure is bright out there this afternoon, wouldn't you say, Glaed?" His brother had seen his reaction and was grinning.

"Yep." Glaed laughed back and yawned. He looked back towards the field outside of the town and noticed some trees far in the distance that he fixated on. They were westevea trees, which bore very poisonous fruit. The way they swayed in the wind hypnotized the weary knight. He laid his head on the bag he brought with him and closed his eyes. The creaking of the vehicle and low hum of the engines soothed his mind and slowly lulled him into a soft slumber.



Behr Wulfgard stood at the entrance of the Saesha shuttle bus station while he waited on Mythanor to return with Indago. At this point it would be easier to just discharge him, he chuckled to himself. The report Behr wrote the night before included information about Indago, to whom the king offered clemency due to extenuating circumstances.

However, during his overnight in lock-up, he somehow managed to enrage two guards and assault them. It was against his better judgment that Behr requested more leniency, stating that Indago's life as a knight would whip him into shape.

The shuttle from Darensville would soon be arriving and they would be off to the capital. After a few minutes, Mythanor finally appeared in the distance, followed closely by Indago, who was pushing a cart with both of their luggage. A fitting punishment, Behr thought as the two of them came closer.

"Captain." Mythanor saluted. "We're ready to head out, at last."

Indago copied the salute and began to speak, before being interrupted by his commanding officer. "You'll explain everything on the shuttle," Behr held up his hand, "For now, the both of you fill out your paperwork. I can see the shuttle preparing to land."



Kelphine leaned over the back of her son's nano-fiber seat and gently shook Glaed awake. She smiled softly when he opened his eyes. "Good morning sleepy-head. It looks like someone didn't sleep much last night."

Glaed felt refreshed as he lifted his head and looked around. "Oh, yeah. I was feeling nervous and couldn't sleep." He didn't want to worry her with his cryptic dream. "Are we almost there?"

His mother nodded and pointed out the window. "We're about to land now."

Glaed turned and saw the chrome metal skyline of Saesha and the shuttle bus station in the distance. "The buildings are so big!" Twilley squealed in the seat beside Glaed. She stood and tried to push passed him to get closer to the window.

"Twilley, please sit back in your chair." Kelphine pointed at the empty chair sternly. "We're landing. You could fall and get hurt."

The youngest Balaston pouted and sat back down as the bus lowered itself down into the station. Once the vehicle was completely secure, Kelphine stood again and spoke to her children. "If anyone needs a potty break, now is the time." The flight to the capital would be significantly longer than this one and there would be no bathroom breaks. The passengers each stood and waited for the doors to open. Once opened, they flocked towards the bathrooms and snack machines that lined the station walls.

After Glaed finished his business, he walked out into the foyer of the station and noticed Mythanor and Indago standing in line to complete their paperwork. Everything was digital nowadays, so the line was quick. "Heya, guys." Mythanor turned and acknowledged him before stepping forward to use his implant to fill out his travel papers. "Sir Balaston, how are you?"

"I'm good, thanks Myth." He faced Indago, who was very quiet, which was odd for him. "How's it going, Indago?"

Indago shook his head and looked away. "It's been better," was his solemn response.

"He's not on the Captain's good list right now." Mythanor glared at Indago.

"I tried to explain myself, but Behr won't listen to me."

A large hand appeared on Indago's shoulder and Behr's booming voice sounded behind him. "I told you to explain once we're on the shuttle." He sighed. "As you can see, you're still coming with us. So I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt."

Indago smirked and saluted his captain. "Yes, sir."

Behr greeted Glaed with a handshake as Kelphine walked out of the bathroom with her daughters and saw her son standing with the other knights. "Behr." She was visibly perturbed at seeing her husband's former second-in-command. "You look well."

"Yes, m-ma'am," he stammered, "Y-you are looking as lovely as ever." He bowed to her and she looked away. The tension between them was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. It was obvious she hadn't fully forgiven the large man for Glanduil's death.

An announcement came over the loud speaker that the shuttle to the capital would be leaving soon and Kelphine turned to get her younger children. "Kids, we need to return to our seats."

Back on the shuttle, the older knights were joined by Glaed towards the back. The final passengers heading to Berboham and on towards the capital filed onto the ship and it began its lift-off.

Once the flight began, Glaed turned to Indago. "So, what happened to get on Behr's bad list?" Behr turned towards him and spoke as well. "Yes, Indago, please do tell us what happened."

Indago sighed. "Well, it all started with the guy outside of the bar," he began, "I was passing by and I heard him getting rowdy and yelling at someone."

As the knight began to recount the previous night's events, a far-off storm began to rumble. Glaed stared out the shuttle window and watched the clouds in the distance. "It turns out, the man was heckling a young woman that had just walked out of the bar and I stopped to see if she needed any help."

"So this all started because of a damsel in distress?" Behr sounded relieved. "I was thinking you had one too many..."

"Oh no, captain. My body is a temple," Indago joked.

They all shared a laugh about how well Indago could hold his liquor. Glaed scanned the cabin, which was packed full of travelers. This storm came out of nowhere, he thought as thunder rolled high above them and raindrops began to pelt down on the exterior of the bus. The wind outside blew hard and the vehicle shuttered with a bit of turbulence. Indago continued his story. "Anyway, it may have started that way, but it turns out the woman was actually the man's wife."

"So it was none of your business, is what you're trying to say." Mythanor mused.

"I guess so," he shrugged. "But no woman should be treated the way he was treating her. Anyway, he didn't think so highly of my intentions, and he took a swing at me." Indago pointed at the beginnings of a black eye developing on his face and chuckled. "What he didn't know is I used to live on the streets of Stans, so I know how to hold my own in a fight." He held up his bruised knuckles.

Glaed reeled when he heard this. "Stans? As in the border town on the outskirts of Sangréal?" Glaed's exclamation shocked his fellow knights.

"Yep," he replied, unapologetically, "Ada isha donowé?" Indago spoke in Sangréalan. "I hope it doesn't bother you, having a Sangréalan join the Firebrand Knights."

Glaed stood, looking bewildered. He never noticed before, but now he could hear a slight Sangréalan accent whenever Indago spoke. He turned his head towards Behr, who nodded, signaling that he already knew.

"He bares no loyalty to the empire, young one. He is one of us." Glaed hesitated, then nodded and sat back down in his nano-fiber seat, visibly shaken. Behr continued, "Okay then, Indago. Then tell us about what really happened in lock-up."

"Uh... That one's a bit more embarrassing..." Indago brushed his fingers through his unkempt hair nervously. "The lock-up guards saw my uniform and insulted the only person that has ever given two shits about me."

"And who would that be?" Behr asked.

"You, sir."

Behr laughed and wrapped his arm around the unruly knight. "It's not necessary to defend my honor, son. But, it's not unappreciated."

"It's just so disrespectful..."

"I know," He sighed. "Thank you, my boy."

Indago grinned and waved it off. "Not a big deal at all, captain."

The conversation lingered for a few hours longer as the skies began to clear. They spoke of Behr's first mission as a fledgling knight and the bravery of Glaed's father, to whom Indago bore significant respect for. At last, the sun began to peak through the clouds down onto the soggy ground and out into the world.

Glaed chortled at a joke told by Indago as the bus sped passed some old world ruins. Dilapidated buildings and burnt out ground vehicles littered the scene, revealing just how ancient the land of Aelia truly was. He spotted an ancient railway line that ran through what obviously used to be a busy city, reclaimed by nature many years ago.

Glaed shuttered at the chilling sight. He found it hard to believe that his ancestors could have traveled as efficiently as they do now, on those rickety pieces of steel.

After awhile, the outline of an extravagant city came into view. Aélia's capital was protected by high steel walls that surrounded the inner castle on all sides. Many of King Grigory's predecessors were paranoid of an immanent Sangréalan invasion and had them constructed over many years as a precaution.

The shuttle finally made its way into the capital's shuttle station and released its tired occupants out into daylight. Having run a little behind schedule due to inclement weather, they only had one hour to prepare. The station attendants informed the knights that their luggage would be taken care of as per the request of King Agrior. Glaed bade farewell to his family so they could find their seats inside the the royal auditorium and followed Behr into the capital's large maintenance garage. When they arrived, they were greeted by the other new recruits who had been chatting with the king. Antha turned as they came in and caught Glaed's eye. She wore the Firebrand uniform and she had her bouncy brown hair tied up in a fancy braid. Wow, was all Glaed could manage. The princess smiled at him and pointed towards the back wall of the facility with a look of wonder on her face.

Two large, metal suits of armor, displaying the Firebrand Knight's orange and white colors, stood at the opposite end of the room. Glaed was awestruck. This is really happening, was his thought as Behr saluted King Agrior and began to shout orders.

"Mythanor, suit up!" Behr let out a hearty laugh. "It's time to show our new recruits what they are here for."

"Aye, captain!"

The commanding officer ran towards the larger of the two sets of armor, built specifically for the hefty Aélian. It held up Behr's large hammer-axe, which could create a gravity anomaly when activated and had a blade running down one side of the shaft that he could detach, for added security.

Behr stopped just short of the armor and turned around to face the group. He was grinning from ear to ear when he stepped back into the metal suit. The two front halves folded down around him as he placed his arms into position and clasped the control module built into the hands.

The protective gear powered to life as Behr took control. He reached for the hammer-axe and held it over his head. It crashed down in front of him as he let out another guttural laugh.

Mythanor's slightly smaller armor also powered on and lifted a sizable shield in his left hand, as well as a large energy-mace in his right. He walked up beside Behr and their helmets opened, revealing their faces. "This is actually the first time we're trying on this new armor," Behr mentioned, "How do you like it, Myth?"

"The fit it very nice, captain. And the movement is very fluid." Behr nodded and turned to the king.

"Thank you for your generosity, your majesty."

"It's not me you should be thanking, Sir Wulfgard. Your friend in the Aélian Science Division is responsible for the many upgrades our knights shall be receiving over the next few months."

The king motioned towards the new recruits, seemingly hinting something to the commanding officer. "The Firebrand Knight's own Chronus Tyrune is actually heading up some very exciting technology for the squires here today." Glaed had never met Chronus before, but he knew that he had been a friend and rival of his father's. The king grinned as he looked down at his left arm, where his digital implant was, and continued. "It is nearly time for the ceremony. Please brief your knights and proceed to your positions."

The two older knights saluted as their liege passed and headed out the tall double-doors of the facility. Behr immediately followed the order by going over seating arrangements and, whenever they were called to kneel before the throne together, the order in which they would receive the king's blessing. It wasn't at all as difficult as Glaed had envisioned. He had imagined they would all be called up, one at a time, and be sworn in after a lengthy speech from Grigory. Their way was much less time-consuming, and appeared much more elegant.

Eventually, Glaed and his peers were ushered by the two men in armor out of the prep building and into a long corridor. Being too large to fit their armored bodies, Behr and Mythanor went around to begin their final preparations. Glaed looked down the hallway, aware of a very strong, musty aroma, presumably from many years of wear, or maybe more from neglect. This elongated room ran directly behind the Aélian auditorium and connected to several other rooms that now lay dusty and dormant. These chambers were once used as meeting places for many of Aélia's delegates. However, with the advent of face-to-face video conferencing technologies, such as the holo-viewer, they were now obsolete.

A low hum resonated throughout the walls, no doubt from the many cheers from the crowd that had gathered to watch the accolades. The knights paced around nervously, waiting for their captain to signal their readiness. Glaed stared blankly at the antique paneling on the wall, wondering when the ceremony would finally start.

"Are you nervous, Glaed?" Antha asked, suddenly. She stood up against the opposite wall, watching his anxious fidgeting.

"Oh," he said, shocked. "No, I'm just feeling a bit claustrophobic. This hallway is so small." It also didn't help the hallway was extremely humid, which caused his skin to perspire excessively.

"I'm so excited to start our first mission, not to mention, see what kind of armor I'm going to be fitted with." She pushed off the wall and paced back and forth. "I heard a rumor that the armor selection process has changed drastically this year. I can't wait to see it."

Glaed remembered hearing about the original armoring process from his father, which was a very scientific ordeal. A large machine was wrapped around the knight's head and a mental scan read the very psyche of the person, revealing exactly what kind of abilities their mind was actually capable of. It rendered a three-dimensional outline of their mind, showing synapses firing and gave a clear depiction of their strengths and weaknesses. It only fell short of being able to completely read their thoughts.

The process was relatively painless, but it had a few inherent flaws. The biggest of which was that the armor could be piloted by anyone, given the interloper used some of the owner's DNA and be roughly the same size as the original pilot. That meant Aélia's technology could be used against them, which had happened on one too many occasions since his father's death.

After a long moment the doors to the corridor finally opened and revealed a long, red carpet. Behr knelt down in his armor and looked at the fledglings, his helmet folded down behind his head. "It is time, my friends."

The sun was nearly gone by the time they were led out, into the open-roofed auditorium. The stadium style seats around the ceremonial chamber were packed full of Aélians from around the kingdom. The monstrous applause when they finally appeared was overwhelming and the sight of so many people made Glaed's anxiety sky-rocket.

Behr led them to the front row of the ground level seats, which were filled with the king's guests of honor-- mostly dignitaries and members of the Aélian royal cabinet. Members of several noble families were also scattered amongst them, as well as the families of the recruits that were to be knighted.

The seven greenhorns took their seats while they waited for the king to address the plethora of people that were seated in the auditorium.

Antha looked around and spied her mother positioned on her throne to the left of her father. She surveyed the auditorium and noticed her sisters, Tena-lyn and Freya-lyn, seated next to the weasel, Denarveld Helekas. He glanced up at her and curled his lips around his slimy, disgusting teeth to form a smile. He waved sarcastically, before turning back to the king as he stood up to his podium to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for joining me here today as we commemorate these amazing young squires." The king grinned proudly at the group. "I have had the privilege to watch and get to know them as they have grown to be the mighty chevaliers seated here before you. I ask you know, please rise and give your future Firebrand Knights another round of applause."

The stadium roared to life. Glaed blushed as he looked around at all the smiling faces. He spotted his family, seated in the honored guest section behind him, and the look on his mother's face filled his eyes with tears. She was beaming with pride with tears streaming down her face. Today was the day her little boy became a man; a fully-fledged knight.

He wiped away the moisture on his eyes as the crowd quieted to a dull murmur. The king of Aélia continued. "Thank you very much. You may be seated. Now, I know everyone is anxious to see how well our friends here can protect Aélia. So, without further ado, I present you all with the Firebrand Knights!"

With that, Behr began shouting orders. "Attention!" They were told to stand single file in front of the king's throne and the boisterous captain began presenting each knight, one by one. As each knight was presented, the king lifted his antique, golden sword and asked them to kneel. First, was Eolas, whom the king praised for his skill with his father's energy bow.

Next was Faust. King Grigory grinned and mentioned bringing honor back to the Neffiet name, to which some in the crowd booed. Faust flinch at the sound, but accepted his accolade with dignity, without showing any sign of anger. The king continued.

Glaed was next. He heard his brother and sisters screaming in the audience, which was a difficult thing, because the entire auditorium was now cheering loudly for the son of the Hero of Hulluven. He couldn't help but feel pride. "Glaed, my boy," the king started, as he placed his ceremonial weapon on his shoulder, "I know your father is watching you right now and he is tremendously proud."

Glaed beamed as he knelt, tears rolling uncontrollably. "Thank you, your majesty." Grigory's eyes twinkled as he smiled, then continued onto Quezyl.

Quezyl stood quietly, with a stoic look on his face. The king grinned and leaned into his ear as he knighted him. Whatever was whispered made the usually taciturn squire grin from ear to ear. I wonder what he could have said, Glaed thought.

Fifth was Lark, to whom he praised as being very adept with his set of handguns and possible leadership material in the coming future. Glaed barely knew Lark, but he knew that would inflate his ego more than it already was. Then it was Indago's turn. "Sir Raiwé, I heard about your time in lock-up, and the reasons behind it." The unruly squire bowed his head, ashamed that the ruler of Aelia already knew. "It was very honorable to defend your captain's good name, the way you did. You should be proud." Indago's mouth hung open as the king laid the sword on his shoulders and shook his hand, a sign of great respect within Aélian culture.

"I-I don't deser-" Grigory held his hand up as an interjection.

"You deserve more than you know." With that, the monarch moved on to the final squire.

Finally, it was Antha's turn to receive the accolade. "Oh my daughter, how I love you so." King Grigory Agrior of Aélia beamed down at his daughter as she smiled back up at him. "I am so proud to bestow the rank of knight to the princess of Aélia, Antha-lyn Hannita Agrior." The entire throne room erupted into cheers. It was much louder than any before.

"Thank you, father," Antha's voice shook. Glaed tried to get a glimpse of the tough princess crying, but she hid it well.

The king held up his arms to quiet the tumultuous multitude. "I give you, the protectors of Hulluven! The strongest in all of Aélia! The Firebrand Knights!"

The booming horde began once again as the king signaled them to stand. They turned to face the crowd, obliviously aware of the hardships ahead. Glaed and the rest of the newly donned knights stood with pride towards the setting sun.

They would soon start their new journey; together, as Firebrand Knights.