Chapter 186: The Men Who Chose the Banner
The oath changed the training yard before anyone had sworn it.
Kael noticed that the next morning.
Nobody had announced the final wording. No ceremony had taken place. Damien Ravenmoor and Leon Ashford were still only candidates awaiting the Imperial Knight Examination.
Yet word had spread.
Of course it had.
Blackwood contained fifty soldiers, an unfinished Adventure Guild, several dozen builders, merchants, refugees, farmers, servants, and Iris Hollow.
Secrets had poor survival rates.
When Kael entered the training yard, Victor Ravenshade was reading a copied version of the oath over Marcus Wintermere’s shoulder.
Marcus noticed Kael first.
My lord.
Victor turned too quickly.
The parchment disappeared behind his back.
Kael stopped.
What are you hiding?
Nothing.
Marcus looked at Victor.
Victor looked at Marcus.
Kael held out his hand.
Victor sighed and surrendered the page.
The handwriting was terrible.
Kael read the opening line.
I swear to defend House Kael, the lands entrusted to it, and the people placed beneath its protection.
He looked up.
Where did you get this?
Victor pointed toward Leon.
Leon, standing near the weapon rack, immediately objected.
I did not give him that.
Marcus pointed toward Julian Valcrest.
Julian frowned.
Why me?
Because you copy everything.
I keep notes.
Exactly.
Kael looked at Julian.
The soldier hesitated.
Captain Roland had a copy.
Across the yard, Captain Roland suddenly became very interested in inspecting a shield.
Kael stared at him.
Roland.
My lord.
Did you give Julian the oath?
I allowed him to read it.
That’s different from copying it?
Technically.
Kael closed his eyes.
Sir Darius’s voice came from behind him.
You expected soldiers not to discuss an oath they may eventually swear?
Kael turned.
Darius walked into the yard wearing plain training clothes, his sword at his hip.
Sir Corren Valehart came beside him.
His squire, Tomas Pell, followed carrying two wooden practice swords and a writing case.
Kael handed the copied oath back to Victor.
Fine.
Read it.
Victor blinked.
My lord?
All of you.
If you’re considering knighthood under my banner, you should know what you’re considering.
Sir Corren nodded.
Correct.
Kael glanced at him.
You don’t have to sound surprised.
I wasn’t.
Your face—
Sir Darius interrupted.
Enough.
Kael looked between the two older knights.
I preferred it when only one of you corrected me.
Sir Corren smiled.
You invited neither of us.
That was unfortunately true.
Darius called the seven original candidates forward.
Damien Ravenmoor.
Leon Ashford.
Victor Ravenshade.
Marcus Wintermere.
Elias Thorn.
Julian Valcrest.
Hugo Stone.
Hugo came from the forge still wearing a leather apron.
Darius looked at him.
You withdrew.
I did, Sir.
Then why are you here?
Kael invited everyone who originally requested consideration.
Darius looked toward Kael.
Kael shrugged.
He wanted the title once. He should still hear what it means.
Darius accepted that.
Sir Corren stood several paces away with Tomas.
No weapons had been placed in the yard.
No candles.
No targets.
That made Victor visibly nervous.
Are we training?
Darius looked at him.
Yes.
Victor looked around.
With what?
Your judgment.
Victor sighed.
Worse.
Darius ignored him.
Sir Corren stepped forward.
There is something all of you need to understand before this goes any further.
He looked along the line.
Passing an Imperial Knight Examination does not make you property of House Kael.
Marcus frowned.
Sir?
The Empire recognizes knighthood.
Your oath determines service.
Sir Corren pointed toward Damien.
If Damien passes, he may choose to swear to House Kael.
He may also decline.
Damien looked toward Kael.
Kael said nothing.
Corren continued.
He could seek service with the Crown.
Another Imperial house.
A provincial lord.
A knightly order willing to accept him.
Or, depending on his circumstances, remain a knight without permanent household allegiance.
Victor raised his hand.
Sir.
Corren looked at it.
You’re not in school.
Victor lowered his hand.
What happens if someone passes and then doesn’t swear to Lord Kael?
Nothing.
Victor looked surprised.
Nothing?
Sir Corren’s expression hardened slightly.
What did you expect? Execution?
Victor wisely said nothing.
Corren continued.
Household oaths must be voluntary.
A lord who forces knighthood into personal bondage has misunderstood what a knight is.
Kael listened carefully.
That mattered beyond today’s candidates.
If Black Dragon Knights grew into a recognized institution, Kael did not want men believing the Imperial Examination automatically chained them to him.
Sir Corren looked toward Kael.
And a lord receiving an oath may refuse it.
Damien’s expression changed.
Kael’s did too.
I can refuse a knight who passes?
Of course.
Why would I?
Because ability is not character.
Corren looked toward Marcus.
Because a man may be strong enough to pass the Imperial examination and still be someone you do not trust near your family, treasury, prisoners, or secrets.
Marcus looked mildly offended.
Sir Corren noticed.
That was an example, Wintermere.
Marcus relaxed.
Slightly.
Darius spoke.
The examination decides whether the Empire recognizes you as a knight.
House Kael decides whether you become a Black Dragon Knight.
Those are separate judgments.
Now the distinction was clear.
Kael liked it.
It gave Black Dragon Knight more meaning than simply passing someone else’s examination.
Darius took out the original oath.
Not a copy.
Kael recognized his own handwriting.
Darius held it toward the candidates.
You have all heard pieces.
Today you hear the whole thing.
He handed it to Damien.
Read.
Damien looked surprised.
Aloud?
Yes.
Damien unfolded the parchment.
His voice carried across the yard.
I swear to defend House Kael, the lands entrusted to it, and the people placed beneath its protection.
The soldiers outside the candidate line gradually stopped what they were doing.
Nobody had ordered them to.
Damien continued.
I will protect the helpless, honor surrender, and bring judgment where vengeance would make me dishonorable.
His voice slowed at the next line.
I will not sell my loyalty, command, or trust for coin, title, or land.
Marcus glanced toward Damien.
Victor no longer looked amused.
I will not deny the protection of House Kael because of blood, race, birth, or poverty.
Grom Ironfang had entered the yard without Kael noticing.
The old goblin stood near the barracks entrance.
He said nothing.
Damien continued.
I will obey the lawful commands of House Kael unless obedience would require deliberate dishonor, cruelty against the innocent, or betrayal of those I am sworn to protect.
He reached the final portion.
My sword belongs to my oath before it belongs to my pride.
And House Kael, through the lord who receives this oath, shall owe protection, fair judgment, worthy command, and remembrance to the knight who gives it.
Damien lowered the parchment.
Silence remained.
Sir Corren let it sit.
So did Darius.
Kael had learned from him.
Not every silence needed filling.
Eventually Julian spoke.
My lord.
Kael looked at him.
What does remembrance mean?
Kael could have given a grand answer.
He did not.
Your name is kept.
Julian waited.
Kael continued.
If you die in service, House Kael records where, why, and under whose command.
Your family is informed.
Your service isn’t reduced to one number in a casualty report.
Julian’s expression changed.
And if we don’t have family?
Then Blackwood remembers.
Grom finally spoke.
Dead men care very little.
Several soldiers turned.
The goblin walked closer.
But living men care greatly about whether their dead disappear.
Kael looked at him.
Grom’s expression was different from usual.
No smile.
No joke.
He planted his spear beside him.
Eastern Clans remembered warriors by name for three generations.
Some human lord burned the record hall before I was born.
Half those names are gone now.
He shrugged.
Dead still dead.
But something was stolen.
Nobody argued.
Kael looked at the oath.
Then we keep two records.
Darius’s eyes moved toward him.
Two?
One at Blackwood Manor.
One with the Black Dragon itself.
Captain Roland nodded slowly.
If one is lost, the other survives.
Kael pointed toward him.
Do it.
Roland bowed.
Yes, my lord.
Sir Corren watched that exchange.
He wrote something in his notebook.
Kael noticed.
What?
Corren looked up.
Inspection.
That tells me nothing.
It isn’t supposed to.
Kael disliked the Registry more each day.
Darius took the oath back.
Now decide.
Victor frowned.
Decide what?
Whether you still want knighthood under this banner.
Marcus looked toward Kael.
Now?
Now.
Julian’s eyebrows rose.
We’re supposed to decide our entire future in the training yard?
Darius looked at him.
You asked to begin the path before understanding the oath.
That was your decision.
Now you understand more.
Make another.
Nobody moved.
Sir Corren spoke.
There is no shame in saying no.
Victor looked skeptical.
Corren caught it.
You believe that?
A little.
Then learn quickly.
He pointed toward Tomas.
My first squire left after nine months.
Tomas looked surprised.
You never told me that.
You never asked.
Why did he leave?
He wanted cavalry service.
He disliked the obligations of household knighthood.
Sir Corren looked back toward the Black Dragon candidates.
He became an excellent mounted sergeant.
No Sir before his name.
No shame either.
That quieted some of them.
Kael looked toward Hugo.
Hugo had already made his choice days ago.
Darius addressed him first.
Hugo Stone.
Hugo straightened.
Sir.
Do you seek reinstatement as a candidate?
No.
Immediate answer.
Why?
Hugo looked toward the forge smoke rising beyond the wall.
Because I want to build the weapons the knights carry.
Sir Corren glanced at Kael.
Kael did not react.
Darius asked.
Never?
Hugo considered.
I don’t know.
But not now.
Good.
Darius stepped past him.
No disappointment.
No attempt to persuade him.
Hugo returned to the side of the yard.
Somehow the decision made his posture lighter.
One path closed.
Another became clearer.
Julian Valcrest was next.
Darius looked at him.
Julian.
The younger man took longer.
I want to continue training.
That wasn’t the question.
Julian swallowed.
No, Sir.
Not now.
Victor looked over.
Julian ignored him.
Darius waited.
Why?
Julian glanced toward Kael before answering.
The oath.
Which part?
House Kael owes remembrance.
Darius’s brow tightened slightly.
Julian continued.
My father is ill.
My mother has my two sisters.
They live outside Blackwood.
If I become a household knight...
He stopped.
Kael understood before he finished.
You don’t know whether you want your future tied here permanently.
Julian looked uncomfortable.
Yes, my lord.
That was not betrayal.
It was life.
Kael nodded.
Then don’t swear anything yet.
Julian looked surprised.
My lord?
Serve as Black Dragon.
Train.
Help your family.
If you decide later that you want the Knight Examination, ask again.
Julian’s shoulders dropped.
Thank you, my lord.
Darius corrected him.
Do not thank him for allowing you to make your own decision.
Julian almost smiled.
Yes, Sir.
He joined Hugo.
Five remained.
Elias Thorn did not hesitate.
Continue.
Darius looked at him.
Why?
Elias’s answer was typical Elias.
I want the responsibility.
Victor stared.
That’s it?
Elias looked toward him.
You wanted a speech?
Victor shrugged.
A little.
Elias ignored him.
Darius nodded.
Continue.
Marcus Wintermere went next.
He had been unusually quiet.
Kael expected something proud.
Instead Marcus looked toward the oath in Darius’s hand.
Continue.
Why?
Marcus exhaled.
Because I still care too much about being recognized.
Darius raised an eyebrow.
That sounds like a reason to withdraw.
Maybe.
Marcus looked toward the training circle where he had failed again and again to control his Aura.
Then toward Leon and Damien.
But I know it now.
Before, I wanted Sir because I thought people would treat me differently.
He gave Victor a sideways look.
Victor looked innocent.
Marcus continued.
Now I want to find out whether I can become someone who deserves it.
Darius’s face revealed nothing.
But Kael saw Sir Corren write again.
Continue.
Marcus nodded.
Yes, Sir.
Victor came next.
Darius did not ask.
Victor spoke first.
Continue.
Darius waited.
Victor sighed.
You’re going to make me explain.
Yes.
Victor rubbed the back of his neck.
I still want the title.
Darius said nothing.
Victor frowned.
But I know that’s not enough.
Still nothing.
I want to prove I can stop being the man who chases the enemy and forgets the people behind him.
Darius’s eyes sharpened.
That sounded dangerously close to a lesson learned.
Victor looked offended.
I occasionally have those.
Iris spoke from the fence.
Rarely.
Victor turned.
Nobody asked you.
Darius.
Victor faced front immediately.
Continue?
Darius finally asked.
Continue.
Leon Ashford stepped forward before his name was called.
Continue.
Darius looked at him.
Reason?
Leon thought.
Because I already behave like I belong to this place.
Kael’s attention sharpened.
Leon continued.
When Redpine happened, I didn’t think about whether Galahad was a mercenary or Mara was an adventurer.
They were under the same mission.
Jory needed to come home.
He looked toward Kael.
The oath puts words to something I think I’ve already chosen.
House Kael.
Blackwood.
The people here.
Darius gave a small nod.
Continue.
Damien remained.
Everyone expected his answer.
That did not mean Darius let him skip it.
Damien Ravenmoor.
Damien stepped forward.
Continue.
Why?
Damien looked toward the Black Dragon Banner.
Because one day I want to command more than six men.
Kael remembered the System evaluation.
General Candidate.
Damien did not know that.
He continued.
If that happens, I want the men beneath me to know what I serve before I ask them to follow.
Sir Corren stopped writing.
Darius’s gaze remained fixed on Damien.
And what do you serve?
Damien looked at Kael.
Then Grom.
Then the soldiers.
Blackwood first.
House Kael because Lord Kael carries responsibility for it.
The people because without them the House is only a name.
Kael did not expect that answer.
Neither did Darius.
Damien finished.
And the Black Dragon because those are the people I expect to stand beside when the rest becomes difficult.
Silence.
Darius nodded once.
Continue.
Damien returned to the line.
Five remained.
Damien.
Leon.
Victor.
Marcus.
Elias.
Two had already received preliminary endorsement.
Three still had work ahead.
But now Kael knew something more important.
They understood what they were asking for.
Or were beginning to.
Sir Corren spent the afternoon ruining Damien’s day.
Not with combat.
With law.
Kael discovered this when he entered one of the manor’s smaller meeting rooms and found Damien seated at a table with six parchment cases around him.
Sir Corren stood at the opposite side.
Tomas Pell sat nearby, writing.
Damien looked at Kael as though rescue had arrived.
My lord.
Kael looked at the parchments.
What happened here?
Sir Corren answered.
Knight preparation.
Damien said.
Imperial agricultural boundary law.
Kael blinked.
Why?
Corren opened another scroll.
Because knights spend considerably more time dealing with disputes than young soldiers imagine.
Damien looked wounded.
I use a spear.
A peasant doesn’t care how well you use a spear when his neighbor moves a boundary stone six feet during winter.
Kael sat.
This is excellent.
Damien stared at him.
My lord.
Continue.
Sir Corren looked almost pleased.
He pushed a scenario across the table.
A village under House Kael reports that a noble’s hunting party entered their farmland and killed two cattle. The noble refuses compensation and claims Imperial privilege. What do you do?
Damien answered.
Detain him.
Sir Corren’s eyebrow rose.
Kael leaned back.
This is going well.
Damien corrected himself.
Question him.
Better.
Then report to Lord Kael.
What about the farmer?
Compensation.
From whom?
The noble.
And if he refuses?
Damien hesitated.
Sir Corren waited.
Tomas stopped writing.
Damien thought.
House Kael compensates the farmer immediately, then seeks repayment from the noble afterward.
Kael’s eyebrows rose.
Corren nodded.
Good.
Why?
Damien answered.
Because the farmer shouldn’t wait six months for nobles to argue.
Sir Corren glanced at Kael.
Keep him.
Damien looked relieved.
Then Corren opened another parchment.
You are patrolling a road and find a merchant beating a contracted laborer—
Damien’s relief died.
Kael smiled.
I’ll leave you to it.
Damien looked betrayed.
My lord.
Kael closed the door behind him.
Knighthood suddenly seemed much less glamorous.
That was probably healthy.
Leon was somewhere worse.
Darius had him teaching.
Kael found him in the training yard with six younger Black Dragon soldiers.
No sword in his hand.
No shield.
Just six men repeatedly performing the same defensive step.
Again.
One soldier groaned.
We’ve done this fifty times.
Leon looked at him.
Then the fifty-first should be excellent.
Kael stopped at the edge of the yard.
Darius stood beside him.
You did this.
Yes.
Why?
Leon already knows how to perform the movement.
Can he teach it?
Kael watched.
Leon corrected one soldier’s shoulder.
Another man’s rear foot.
Then demonstrated the movement slowly.
The third attempt from the group was noticeably better.
Darius spoke quietly.
A household knight eventually receives squires.
Soldiers.
Perhaps a patrol or small command.
Being excellent alone is not enough.
Kael looked toward Tomas, who had returned from Corren’s law lesson carrying training gear.
How does a knight choose a squire?
Depends.
Family connections.
Recommendations.
Promising children of retainers.
Military candidates.
Some noble houses send sons specifically to seek placement.
Can girls become squires?
Of course.
Kael looked at him.
You said children.
I did.
Fair.
Darius continued.
Some houses restrict tradition more than others.
The Empire itself does not forbid women from knighthood.
Kael thought of the future.
If House Kael eventually had Black Dragon Knights, then squires could become another path for young people who wanted martial service.
But he remembered Corren’s lesson.
No institution should exist merely because it looked impressive.
Later.
Darius glanced at him.
What?
Nothing.
Good.
Kael frowned.
Why good?
Because when you say later, fewer buildings appear unexpectedly.
Kael looked toward the unfinished Guild roof.
That happened once.
Darius said nothing.
Kael decided silence could be insulting too.
Near sunset, Tavian Merrow sent for Kael.
This time the message had six words.
Bring Bram. Do not bring everyone.
Kael read it twice.
Lily stood beside his desk.
Are you going?
Apparently.
Are you bringing everyone?
No.
She looked suspicious.
Good.
Kael pointed at her.
I can learn.
Slowly.
Everyone had become Darius.
The southern experimental field smelled of wet earth.
Bram stood ankle-deep in soil.
Tavian stood several yards away holding his brass mana instrument.
Hugo Stone had driven four stakes around one patch of crops.
Kael arrived with Darius anyway.
Tavian looked at him.
I said do not bring everyone.
I brought one person.
You brought Sir Darius Valen.
He counts as several people during military planning.
Darius ignored them.
Bram waved Kael over.
My lord.
Kael stepped between the crop rows.
These were the Earth-infused plants.
Their stalks had grown thicker than neighboring crops. Roots reached deeper. Leaves held a faint dark-green sheen despite the recent rain.
Tavian pointed toward the soil.
We were wrong.
Kael frowned.
About contamination?
About the dormant channels.
Hugo crouched beside one of the markers.
This line isn’t dormant.
Kael looked at Tavian.
Your instrument said it was.
My instrument was designed to read mana movement.
This isn’t moving mana in the ordinary sense.
Darius folded his arms.
Then what is it moving?
Tavian looked irritated.
I knew you would ask that.
It is an excellent question.
It is an unfinished answer.
Bram handed Kael a root.
Look.
The crop had small crystalline grains clinging to it.
Earth mana.
Kael could feel it.
Not much.
Enough.
Bram pointed toward the field.
Those crops aren’t just absorbing Earth mana from the soil.
Something below is replenishing it.
Kael looked toward Tavian.
The ancient network.
Possibly.
You were doing well.
Tavian sighed.
Yes.
Kael looked across the field.
One underground branch poisoned wolves and wells.
Another appeared to enrich soil.
That changed something fundamental.
The network itself wasn’t necessarily corrupted.
Parts of it were.
Darius reached the conclusion aloud.
If some branches still perform their original function, destroying the network would be a mistake.
Exactly.
Tavian looked almost happy that someone understood.
Hugo added.
And if we can figure out why this branch is clean—
Kael finished.
Maybe we can learn how the others were supposed to work.
Bram looked toward his crops.
Or how to fix them.
Kael crouched and pressed his fingers into the soil.
He did not activate Frost Sense.
Did not pour Light into the ground.
For once he simply felt dirt.
Cool.
Wet.
Alive.
Blackwood had spent weeks treating everything beneath it as a threat.
Now the same buried system might be responsible for something valuable.
Kael stood.
Nobody harvests these yet.
Bram frowned.
Why?
Testing.
He looked offended.
They’re crops.
They are crops growing above an ancient magical structure we don’t understand.
Bram considered.
Fair.
Tavian pointed toward Kael.
Write down the date.
Hugo looked confused.
Why?
He used caution voluntarily.
Kael stared.
I hate all of you.
Bram laughed.
Darius almost did.
The discovery went no farther that evening.
Kael ordered the field quietly marked.
No public announcement.
No dramatic proclamation about magical farming.
Not until they knew whether eating the crop caused people to grow horns, glow, or die.
Bram objected to all three possibilities on agricultural grounds.
Tavian promised testing.
Hugo began planning a way to expose a small section of the underground channel without damaging it.
Darius prohibited excavation until a support plan existed.
For once, everyone argued about how not to destroy something.
Kael considered that progress.
He returned to Blackwood Manor after dark.
The Black Dragon Banner was barely visible beyond the courtyard lanterns.
Inside his study, five names had been written beneath the draft oath.
Damien Ravenmoor
Leon Ashford
Victor Ravenshade
Marcus Wintermere
Elias Thorn
Not knights.
Not yet.
Hugo Stone had chosen the forge.
Julian Valcrest had chosen time.
Neither decision made them lesser members of the Black Dragon.
That mattered too.
Kael sat at the desk.
Below the names waited the oath.
The Imperial Knight Examination was still weeks away.
Some candidates might fail.
Some might pass later.
Some might never unlock true Aura Control.
Some might never become High Knights.
That did not determine whether they could become good men under his banner.
Kael had once thought building an army meant finding stronger soldiers.
Darius had taught him otherwise.
It meant deciding what kind of people you wanted standing beside you when strength stopped being enough.
Outside, the training yard was empty.
The forge was not.
Hammer blows continued into the night.
Hugo had made his choice.
And tomorrow, Victor would probably complain about Iris again.
Marcus would fight another candle.
Leon would teach.
Damien would discover that Imperial law contained far too many pages.
Elias would watch everything and say almost nothing.
Names.
Choices.
People.
The Black Dragon was still fifty soldiers.
But slowly, it was becoming something a number could not describe.