[Shh]: 58.A Nymerian Knight Story-line. Kay Letheglof

   Every muscle in his body ached. He was so tired, he wanted to sleep, but the pain and his sheer exhaustion kept him awake. He slowly turned over in his cot, resting his head on his arm, and stared into the darkness of the room he shared with two others. They were both sleeping, their loud breathing filling the room and making him even more restless.

   He sighed, closing his tired eyes, and tried to ignore the dull ache in his head. He really had overdone himself on the training grounds. Perhaps he should have exercised a little more caution. Perhaps he should have stopped before he was forced off the grounds.

   The memory brought a smile to his lips. He had battled a knight, a true Knight of the Rose, for most of the afternoon, and he had actually been close to winning several times before the exhaustion of his morning training settled into his aching limbs. Even then, he had managed to hold off the attacks, until the knight had declared a draw and ordered him to rest.

   He didn’t know who the knight had been, but the very fact that he was a Knight of the Rose made him a man of great skill. To be able to hold his own against such a one! It was a moment he had dreamed of for years now. He was good. All those hours of training were finally paying off.

   With that satisfaction, he slowly drifted off to sleep.



* * * * *



   When he awoke the next morning, he was sore all over and much less pleased with himself. He stretched in his small cot, trying to ease his aching muscles, and, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he got to his feet. A short glance to the small window confirmed what he already knew. Despite his pain and exhaustion, he’d still managed to rise before the bell rang; the sun was rising.

   He smiled grimly, slowly dressing himself in the green and black of the Felaerian City Guard. Yesterday had been a free day, but today he had work to do, duties to take on. Perhaps he would still have some time to practice before the morning meal, he thought absently as he buckled on his sword belt. At that moment, the bell rang, signaling the nearing end of the night shift. He had half an hour left before it rang again and the shifts changed.

   He shrugged wearily, and, nodding greetings to his awakening room-mates, slipped out of the room and headed for the common lavatory.


* * * * *


   The boy approached the barracks, wide-eyed and fearful. A loud bell had just rung and even though at first he’d thought it was an alarm of some kind, the easy stance of the few soldiers wandering about the courtyard soon put his fears to rest. He slipped towards the main building, unsure of where he had to go and afraid to ask a passing soldier for directions. Perhaps they would stop him from entering. He had to get in; he had to find his brother.

   He slipped through the large doors and into a wide, deserted hall. He sighed in relief, his heart pounding in apprehension. At any moment, he would be discovered, a shout would ring out, perhaps they would chase him. Imprison him maybe! His mind raced with fearful thoughts.

   Suddenly, a heavy hand fell on his shoulder from behind and easily turned him around. His heart sinking to his very toes, the boy gazed up in awe at the tall armored soldier in front of him. The man glared down at him, his dark eyes hard and reproachful. “What are you doing here, boy?” he asked roughly.

   “I need to find my brother,” the boy stammered immediately, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

   The soldier glared down at him for a moment longer and then his face softened into a smile. “Does he have a name?” he asked amusedly.


* * * * *


   “Kay Letheglof!”

   Kay turned around, plate in hand. A young, red-haired man was hurrying towards him through the crowded cafeteria. Kay didn’t recognize him, but the man obviously knew him.

   “The commander wants to see you,” the man said as he finally caught up with Kay. His impossibly-freckled face split into a wide, friendly grin. “He seemed in a good-enough temper! You should be all right.”

   Kay returned the smile, already finding himself liking the young Guard. “Thanks,” he said, gazing down at his plate rather sadly. He was hungry and his shift was about to begin, he would probably not be able to eat again before the midday meal, but the commander’s summons could not be ignored. He looked around for a place to set down the plate.

   “Here, let me take it,” the red-haired man said, taking it from him. He handed him a large piece of bread, his green eyes sparkling mischievously. “I nicked it from the kitchens,” he said. “I figured you’d be hungry.”

   Surprised, Kay accepted the bread. “Thank you,” he repeated gratefully.

   The man shrugged. “No problem.” He turned to leave, but suddenly spun about, another grin on his face. “Oh, I saw you fighting the Knight yesterday. Man, you were good! You nearly had him beaten. Congratulations!”

   Kay grinned, surprised. The battle had drawn quite a crowd yesterday, but he had never thought anyone would actually remember him. The red-haired man nodded genially and disappeared back into the crowd. Kay shrugged in amusement and headed for the commander’s quarters, eating the bread as he walked and wondering why he had been summoned. Had he done something wrong?

   He was still wondering when he reached the commander’s door. By that time, however, he’d finished his piece of bread. He took a deep breath, brushed the front of his uniform free from any crumbs that might have fallen, and knocked on the stout wooden door.

   “Kay Letheglof, sir,” he said loudly.

   “Enter,” a deep voice immediately called back from within the room.

   Feeling rather nervous, Kay pushed open the door and stepped inside. Commander Spenglar, a tall, aging man with steely eyes, was sitting behind his desk in a regal armchair. Another man was sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk, his back to the door.

   The commander bade him approach with a wave of his hand. Kay approached the desk, straight-backed and expressionless. He glanced at the man in the chair beside him out of the corner of his eye and with a start recognized the knight he had faced the day before. Confusion swirled through him.

   “Letheglof,” the commander began, leaning back in his chair, “Sir Regor has requested that you be released from your military duties to start training as a Knight of the Rose.”

   Kay gaped, his self-control slipping. Sir Regor rose and faced him. “Naturally, the choice is yours,” he said calmly. “There is great honour in either choice. Being a Knight is not for everyone. Our lives are in service of the people and the land. We live and die to protect them. We live dangerous lives and even in death, we are bound to the land. You must be ready to accept that.”

   The commander nodded. “If you choose to refuse Sir Regor’s offer, the City Guard would be honoured to have you. You’re a good man, Letheglof; strong, determined and loyal. Any man would be proud to count you part of his regiment.”

   Dazed, Kay swallowed with difficulty, his mouth suddenly very dry. His mind racing, he looked from one man to the other, the armored Knight, the Red Rose of Nymeria proudly displayed on his breastplate, and the tall commander, straight-backed in his impeccable uniform. They were watching him, waiting for him to speak. 

   He was stunned. He, Kay Letheglof, a Knight of the Rose. It was impossible, ridiculous; he knew he could never live up to such a title. He was nobody, he was unimportant, he could never be a Knight of the Rose. But it was his mother’s dream, her dearest wish. Her parents had both been Knights, he was her eldest child. She wanted someone to carry on the family legacy, to honour her parents’ memory. He wanted to bring light back into her life, he wanted to see her smile again. If it meant giving his life and soul to Nymeria, so be it.

   He ran his tongue over dry lips, his heart sinking horribly. “I would be honoured to join the knighthood,” he said, feeling terribly like an impostor. Surely they had to be mistaken.

   The Knight and the Commander smiled. “Then I shall take you to the Hall,” Sir Regor said.

   “Now?” Kay stammered.

   The Knight nodded. “Yes, but do not worry if you have not fully recovered from yesterday’s strenuous activities, you will be fully healed before you begin the test.”

   “Very well, then,” Commander Spenglar exclaimed. “I’m sorry to see you go, Letheglof, but I’m sure you’ll be of as great service to Nymeria this way.” He picked up a folded paper from his desk and handed it to Kay. “These are your discharge papers. If you change your mind, or if the Knights do not accept you, you may return them to me and we’ll forget this ever happened.”

   “Thank you, sir,” Kay said, folding the precious paper into the small pouch at his hip. “I will.”

   “Good luck, son,” the commander said, rising and firmly shaking hands with Kay.

   “Thank you, sir,” Kay repeated, pleasantly surprised by the warmth in the older man’s tone. He had never thought the commander held him in such high esteem. This was proving to be a most surprising day—and it had only just begun. Slightly dazed, Kay turned to the Knight. The man held open the door. “Let us go.”

   Kay nodded, feeling as though he were in a dream, and followed the Knight out. They walked in silence for many long minutes, until they were well out of the soldiers’ quarters and deep into the streets of Felaer. Then and only then did the Knight address him. “Are you frightened, boy?” he asked, not unkindly.

   Kay frowned but shook his head. “No, confused.”

   “Why?”

   They were on a wide, crowded street, one of the main streets of Felaer that led straight to the heart of the city, to the Hall of the Rose. He’d never thought he’d be going there so soon. He’d never even truly believed he was ever going to go there. The Knights of the Rose were the stuff of stories, of legend. How could he, Kay Letheglof, ever be part of them? He sighed, rubbing his still tired eyes. He bumped into a pretty girl, all dimples and smiles, and hurriedly mumbled an apology, stunned by the sudden contact with warm, live flesh. She smiled, by all appearances far from angry to have been run into, and he hurried to catch up with Sir Regor.

   “Well?” the Knight asked. “What confuses you?”

   Kay shook his head violently. “This, everything,” he exclaimed, with a sweeping helpless gesture of the hand. “Why me? Why now? It’s all so…fast. This morning I woke up Kay Letheglof, City Guard, and now you want to make a Knight of the Rose out of me. Why?”

   The Knight laughed. “I see,” he said. “I would say I’m sorry, but I’m not. I saw no point in delaying. You’re skilled. You could have beaten me yesterday if you hadn’t been so tired, and that is no small feat. We Knights have need of such skill as you possess. With the proper training you could be one of us. You have the skill and potential to become a Knight of the Rose, boy, now we have to see if you have the heart.”

   “How?” Kay asked. Countless were the tales of Nymerian Knights his mother had regaled him with as a child, tales passed on from her own parents, but never had she spoken of the test required to join the knighthood except to say that it was a secret only the Knights were privy to.

   “A test,” Sir Regor replied without hesitation. “We must all pass it in order to be knighted. There are no exceptions.”

   “When will I pass this test? How long will it take?” Kay asked anxiously.

   “Today, now. It shouldn’t take long. One way or another, your fate will be decided by the time the sun sets. You will be one of us, or you will not. It’s simple.”

   “What manner of test is it?”

   “Hush, boy, all will be answered in good time,” the Knight replied. Then, seeing the worry on Kay’s face, he relented. “There are three stages: the first is all talk, the second is action, and the third, well the third you will know about if you pass the first two. At any time during the first and second stage, you may walk away freely and without dishonour. Just remember this, boy: Keep a cool head, and trust yourself. Follow your heart.”

   Kay nodded, his emotions disappearing behind a blank mask. He had to do this, for his mother. They were approaching a large irregular building, built straight in the heart of the city. It was at two floors high, and perfectly white under the bright sun, with several large windows on both floors and a single set of tall wooden doors facing them. He knew it at once, he’d seen it often enough: The Hall of the Rose, official residence of the Nymerian Knights and the Lady of Felaer, High Lady of Nymeria and Ruler of the Knights of the Rose. The mask slipped. He could not believe he was actually going to set foot in there.

   Noticing the sudden awe-struck look on the young man’s face, Sir Regor chuckled. “Come on,” he said, pushing open one of the heavy doors. “Step in.”

   Wordlessly, Kay obeyed and found himself in large, illuminated hall, empty but for a dark wooden table in the middle of the room on which was set a big crystal vase filled with red roses in full bloom. Their scent filled the room, oddly soothing and undeniably pleasant. He breathed in deeply, relaxing, and suddenly found himself much less tired than he had been. He smiled. Sir Rgeor came to stand beside him, his gaze on the roses. “Beautiful, aren’t they?”

   Kay nodded, utterly enchanted. The Knight chuckled and, wordlessly led him to one of the doors that lined the walls of the hall. They stepped through into a much smaller room, but this time they were not alone. Two women who bore striking resemblances and one man reclined in leather sofas by an unlit fireplace. They were all unarmored but armed, and they all bore their weapons with ease. And, Kay noticed with a weird twist of the gut, they all wore red rose amulets in prominent display around their necks.

   He stopped near the doorway, unsure of what to do. Sir Regor took a seat by one of the two women and signaled for Kay to do the same. Uneasily, Kay approached them. The sofas, each built for two people at most, had been arranged around a low table in a cozy, familiar way. Kay slipped in between two of them and settled in the empty one, suddenly feeling surrounded and boxed-in. He swallowed back his instinctive urge to flee and coldly nodded greetings to the Knights.

   They stared back at him, silently. Just as he was certain that they weren’t going to reply, the younger of the two women, a tall, lean, dark-haired woman in her early thirties, spoke up. “Welcome, Kay Letheglof,” she said, her voice low and deep and surprisingly kind. “We are glad to see that you chose to attempt to join us.” She stopped, and watched him expectantly.

   “Thank you,” Kay replied, not knowing what else to say and feeling extremely foolish for it.

   She smiled, a warm, friendly smile, and Kay found himself relaxing. She was beautiful. “I am Kessel Lasglow.” She gestured to the man and woman seated in the sofa facing her. “This is Rafnor Ingled and my sister, Mayla Lasglow.” She paused for a moment as though to gather her thoughts. “We are Knights of the Rose. You have undoubtedly heard of our Order, but do you know what we are? Do you know what we stand for? Are you willing to accept our ways? Are you willing to accept the responsibilities we must bear? Are you willing to accept the consequences of joining us?”

   Kay frowned. “I’m not sure,” he said honestly. “I’ve heard tales, passed down from my mother’s parents, who were Knights, through my mother; and I’ve heard legends. I don’t know how much is true. I’m not sure what you mean.”

   The woman nodded understandingly. “If your grand-parents truly were Knights, then the tales passed down from them should be mostly true, unless your mother altered them. As for the legends…most have been greatly embellished, but they still contain grains of truth.”

   It was Rafnor who spoke. “We are sworn to do what is right, to protect the innocent, to protect life. We are sworn to uphold justice, and truth. No matter the cost to ourselves. Our lives are dedicated to this, to the service of what is good and right, and we are willing to die for it. To be a Knight of the Rose, you must be willing to give your life to protect, you must be willing to die for what is right.”

   Kay nodded, somewhat hesitantly. This he already knew. Still, to hear it said out loud in the Hall of the Rose, and so seriously by a true Knight, it was unnerving. He did not want to die, not at all. But to give his life to protect an innocent, to protect a child, to protect another—that didn’t seem so bad.

   “You must understand though,” Mayla added, and her voice was as smooth and deep as her sister’s, “we are bound to this land. The magic that binds us together also binds us to Nymeria. Nymeria is a land of beauty, of wonder, of magic. It is a precious jewel on this world, a remnant of something pure and wild and beautiful. It must be protected at all costs. Even in death, we are bound to this land. We are sworn to protect Nymeria, and even in death our oaths stand.”

   “So the tales are true then—of Knights rising from the grave,” Kay asked more than stated.

   Mayla smiled, and again she was much like her sister. “It depends on what you mean by that. We do not become foul undead. Our bodies die, but out spirits are preserved by the magic of Nymeria. I am not sure what happens then, for I have never experienced the state myself, but some say that the spirits remain in another plane of existence, while others claim we join with the land, with the magic, but are slightly more aware than other spirits. Whatever happens, in times of great need, the land, the magic summons us forth to protect it once again.”

   “Whatever happens, you must be willing to accept that your death might hold eternal unrest,” Rafnor added.

   Kay smiled slightly. “That isn’t so hard to accept, is it? We don’t know what true death holds in any case.”