The sun was scorching, but in a good way.

  Its heat pressed against Zain’s skin as he moved forward, steady and unhurried, his thoughts drifting even as his body kept pace. If only he had the armor by now. Proper armor. Something that would dull the sun’s bite instead of letting it soak straight through cloth and fur.

  His boots struck the stone in firm, ringing steps. Light, but sure. The sound carried, matched by the muted knock of his sheathed sword against his hip, each step and strike falling into a rhythm that followed him down the street.

  Black dominated his attire, layers of it. A mixture of warrior’s gear and everyday wear. A light breastplate hugged his torso beneath a long fur coat that hung heavy over his shoulders. His right hand was gloved, flexible and bare of metal. His left was encased in a fur-lined gauntlet, steel hidden beneath warmth and weight. Beneath it all, against his chest, a golden necklace rested unseen, for the most part. A sliver of it caught the light as he moved, peeking from the folds of his clothing before disappearing again.

  He stepped out from the shadow of the Knights’ District and into the quieter stretch of the South Gate District, where the air felt different. Less crowded, less severe. The stone beneath his feet seemed to swallow sound rather than throw it back.

  Further down the road, he spotted them.

  The entourage.

  He was assigned to it.

  Well, he was assigned to a knight amongst them, but potato potAto, same thing.

  Now, whether the mission itself was following or guarding was still unclear. Likely following. That was how these things usually went.

  After all, who would be foolish enough to strike at the East Duke’s entourage?

  The Duke himself wasn’t present, true, but his only daughter was. And the Duke was not a man known for taking risks where she was concerned.

  The group was led by the Red Crow Knight, flanked by two others who were also sworn directly to the Duke’s service. And just among them, he could spot the shining bald head of the one he was meant to serve. The Aero Knight.

  Knight Redington, a well decorated battlefield Knight, unlike those three noble collectibles standing about him.

  Why someone of such a status would be assigned to such a task was beyond him.

  Ultimately though, he was not really bothered. In fact he was quite happy right now. This would be his last mission as a squire.

  Once the little duke princess steps foot in her father's palace, he would be officially eligible to be sworn in as a knight.

  A hint of life briefly appeared in his pair of dead eyes. Just briefly as he took a deep breath in and picked up his pace.

  “Let's go…”

  …

  Cera adjusted her clothing for the nth time in the same hour. Even with the lack of comfort that the squire clothing provided, a smile still lingered on her face.

  Her eyes flickered to the beast by her side, a Wein. Supposedly, they were mutated descendants of the extinct animal called a horse. Overlooking the spike in aggression and untamable habits present in the Weins, they were incomparable to horses in terms of usefulness.

  The specific information about the Weins scaling was lost in her stuffed up brain, but the little that could be gleamed says that they were just at another level compared to the horses of old.

  Reminiscing about the beast did not take up her full attention as that was for another to steal.

  And here he comes…

  She looked up to see the quiet but firm presence approaching the entourage.

  Quite handsome, she noted as the approaching presence’s facial figure became more clear.

  He doesn't look to be from around here though… Also, why is he dressed as such?

  After her initial evaluation, she moved on to important evaluation, one she had conducted on every single newcomer to the entourage.

  Her eyes drifted through his neck area in search of something, to which she promptly found in the subtle golden gleam peeking out of his top.

  ‘Oh, it is him.’

  A relieved smile crept up her face. If she was to be stuck with someone for a while, then it better be someone quite good looking.

  She paid him close attention, watching as he paid his respect to the four knights on the scene.

  The Aero Knight came first, from this she could already tell that he respected battlefield Knights more than the normal Knights.

  After all, even though Aero was his Knight, custom dictated he greeted the commander of the entourage first.

  In quick succession, he greeted the other three Knights. Red Crow, Six Sight and lastly, Withering Flower.

  The knights returned the greetings with a nod of acknowledgement.

  That is not how meeting a common squire is meant to go. So, I guess he IS the one.

  After paying his respects, he turned and headed towards her direction.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  He is coming?

  Confusion spread through Cera’s face before it was dissolved by realization.

  His Wein is right by side.

  She turned to look at the other Wein beast idly standing nearby. It was decorated with the insignia of the Aero Knight.

  Strangely though, she could see that the insignia was not really prominent as with hers that represented the Crow Knight.

  Hmm, preferential treatment.

  She scoffed. At the same moment, she turned to look at the approaching person, but discovered he was already standing right in front of her.

  He was looking at her with a scrutinizing gaze, that he so did not bother to hide.

  “Who are you?” He asked.

  “Me?” She stuttered at the sudden interaction.

  “Yea, you.” He nodded and even raised his hand to point at her.

  “Me… I am Cera. My name is Cera and I am the squire of the Red Crow Knight…” she started her long introduction. “But, I am also a noble…”

  “Hmm, yea, I can tell.” He interrupted her, giving her a look of pity.

  He turned and left her. He approached his Wein beast and mounted it in a single fluid motion.

  “Just stay close.” He said to her, the look of pity still lingering.

  “What do you mean you can tell?” She asked with a frown.

  “White hair and lashes, a figure that belonged in a gown and not in common clothing. Not to talk of armor. Then to top it all off, starry eyes tinged with a bit of red.” He said with a bored look. “If I couldn't tell, I might as well just kill myself. I won't be able to survive in this world either way.”

  Cera was stunned by the sudden change at the end but then her shock slowly turned into silent agreement.

  A beat of silence lingered. Then.

  “Tch.” She pouted. “What is your name then, observant stranger?”

  “Zain. My lady…” he said, then leaned closer. “You don't have to remember it, you would know it sooner or later.” He gave her a cheeky smile.

  “That came out of nowhere.” She blurted out.

  “It doesn't match my appearance?” Zain tilted his head.

  “Yea, pompous arrogance does, but not the cheeky version.” Cera replied.

  Zain shrugged. “Take what you get, don’t complain.”

  She could not help but let out a little laugh at his reply.

  “Okay, my future Knight.” She said absentmindedly.

  Her laughter made her miss the moment he turned to stare at her with intrigue.

  After recovering from her laughter she looked up at him, “so, you are the Aero Knight’s squire, right?”

  Zain’s stare lingered on her a bit before he answered the question. “Yes.”

  “Thought as much, both of you are the new faces amongst us.” She stated.

  “But there is another.” Zain disagreed, he nudged his head towards the front of the Entourage.

  Cera’s gaze followed his direction landing on a young handsome man. He looked older than them, seeming to be in his late twenties, he was also way more pretentious too. He was decked out in jewelery and she could even catch a hint of makeup on his face.

  “Oh, the Power Holder assigned by the King, I totally forgot about him.” She said as soon as she recognized who the man was.

  “You know him?” She turned to ask Zain.

  “Kinda.” Zain nodded. “He was once assigned as the Crowd Controller of the same army I was.”

  “Wait, you mean you served in the recent War?” Cera was taken back.

  “Fought. Not served.” Zain corrected.

  “Why do you sound so nonchalant about it?” She stared at Zain like he was an enigma.

  “How else am I meant to sound?” Zain asked, seemingly genuinely confused at the question.

  “With a bit more vigor at least.” Cera shook her head at him. “I know noble heirs who are much older than you that can barely hold up their ego. And they barely even served in the war, not to talk of actually fighting.”

  Zain did not respond.

  “It seems it truly is no big deal to you.” Cera was fully fascinated.

  Just as she was about to continue with the conversation, she heard approaching footsteps. Not human, too loud and strong for that.

  She turned and the saying: speak of the devil and he will appear filled up in her mind.

  The greatly distinguished, and equally pretentious, Power Holder was closing in on them on his decorated Wein.

  She noticed that he was staring hard at Zain as if trying to place his face. The closer he got, the more sure he appeared to be of who he thought Zain was.

  In no time, he had already reached them.

  “Greetings, Power Jonah.” Cera did a slight curtsey.

  “Oh, greetings, Lady…” Jonah paused.

  “Cera.” Cera completed. “You seem to have forgotten about me so soon, Power Jonah.” She mustered up all her power to spit out the words in a polite manner.

  “Do not be offended Lady Cera, I have much occupying my mind concerning the safety of her High Lady.” Jonah replied without missing a beat.

  “Oh, then if it is for such a reason, I have no choice but to forgive you, Power Jonah. The High Lady's safety is of the most importance.” At that moment, she offered the fakest smile known to man.

  “Yea, yea.” Jonah mustered up his voice and gave all he could. Then, without missing a bit, he switched up the topic. “And you must be Zain right?”

  “I guess.” Zain shrugged.

  “I see.” Jonah stoked his completely hairless chin. “Did you by chance volunteer?” He asked carefully.

  “No. I was assigned by…” Zain paused, contemplating whether to continue or not.

  “The Knight Commander?” Jonah raised a brow.

  “Technically.” Zain replied with another shrug.

  “I see.” Jonah nodded and without saying farewell he turned and left.

  “What was that?” Cera asked, watching the Power Holder leave.

  “Who knows?” Zain shook his head.

  “You do.” Cera shot back.

  “Yes, I do.” Zain nodded. “Correct, keep up the good work.” He gave her a thumbs up.

  Cera stood stunned. Unable to come up with words to retort, she simply pouted and mounted her Wein. Without saying another word to him she rode off.

  “Hey, stay close.” Zain called out following her.

  “Leave me…” A few seconds pause was needed for her to drift through her head for an insult. “... filthy commoner.”

  A pause.

  Everyone in the earshot area went still.

  The culprit who could not believe they were capable of such included.

  Only the victim was unaffected.

  “That was… pathetic.” He rode to her front and shook his head in disapproval. “It didn't just lack weight and tone. But also the intent.”

  At those words, those around continued with their individual activities. He was right, that was pathetic compared to the norm.

  “Considering its pathetic state, I would forget that ever happened.” Zain said seeing that Cera was still shocked at her own words.

  “Okay.” She slowly recovered and nodded.

  “Hmm.” Zain signed. He took his attention off her and scanned the entourage briefly.

  “Fifteen Mounted Weins, including ours.” Cera said, seeing that he was evaluating the entourage.

  “Eight for both the knights and their Squires. Two for Power Holders. And the rest for high warriors.” Zain broke it down.

  “Yes, and there are six Carriages.” She continued. “Two for both the warriors and helpers. Two for the luggages and essentials. One for the important personnels and the last for the High Lady.”

  “Cool.” Zain commented.

  “You are not impressed.” Cera noted.

  “It is hard to impress someone who has seen armies in the thousands, milady.” Zain replied.

  “Hear My Words… Take The Positions Assigned To You… We Move Out Now.”

  At that moment, the Red Crow Knight voice boomed through.

  ( End Of Chapter. )

  Character Cards:

  *Sub level progression: Weak -> Strong -> Super.

  Aero Knight:

  Name: Redington Brym.

  Species: Human.

  Age: Thirty-seven (37).

  Affiliation: Royal Throne - Commander Knight (The Dwarf Wolf).

  Status: Blessed | Named Knight - Aero.

  Talent: Lance Mastery (Master), Combat Mastery (Master), Aerial Combat (Master), Wein Riding (Master).

  Ability(s):

  Spectral Energy (Weak).

  Triple Jump: Capable of performing up to two jumps mid air.

  Superhuman Body (Strong).

  Armor Ability(s):

  Charge (Passive): Absorbs a fraction of damage dealt to the wearer, transforms it into Ambient Power and stores it.

  Flight (Active): Defeat gravity and take to the sky. *Requires full charge.

  Strength Evaluation: Grand (Super).

  Red Crow Knight:

  Name: Myer Crow.

  Species: Human.

  Age: Thirty-Three (33).

  Affiliation: East Duke (Duke Star)

  Status: Blessed | Named Knight - Red Crow.

  Talent: Sword Mastery (Master), Spear Mastery (Master), Combat Mastery (Master), Dagger Mastery (Master), Wein Riding (Master).

  Ability(s):

  Spectral Energy (Strong) - Fire Attribute.

  Enhanced eyesight.

  Night vision.

  Crow Construct: Can create crows from spectral energy. The created crows are used for both spying and fighting.

  Superhuman Body (Weak).

  Armor Ability(s):

  Durable: Imbued with enough Ambient Power in its creation, this armor is three times more protective and durable than normal armor.

  Strength Evaluation: Grand (Strong).

  Word building note:

  The Amna Kingdom abruptly declared war on their three neighboring Kingdoms in the year 6135.

  In the year 6138, the Amna kingdom emerged as the winner of the three year bloody war.

  Instead of outright annexation, it expanded its territory by a third and chose yearly tributes from the conquered neighbors.