Dest
The Sane One
- Group
- Nation Building
- Off-site
Screams could be heard echoing in the distance, the light of flames flickering across the faces of the gathered men and women as they fought. With a final swing of his sword a man felled the enemy in front of him, giving him a moment to breath and take in the rest of the battle around him. At a glance he was not encouraged by what he saw, the dead bodies of his allies almost outnumbering those of his enemies with more being added at a rapid rate. Even as he watched another of his brothers fall, he charged back into the battle and allowed the haze of battle to fall over his mind once more. He did not know how long he fought, nor how many he killed. The only thing that he knew was that he was alive and still able to fight whoever challenged him. As the night wore on the screams lessened until there was naught but silence upon the field of battle.
"Kaiden! Get over here!" the call of one of the members of his Sword snapped him out of his haze, his eyes being drawn to the waving form of Gideon Aurel. Kaiden staggered toward his friend, stopping in shock as he got closer and saw what the other man wanted him to see. The fallen form of their grandmaster was surrounded by the vast majority of the remaining high command, swords still in hands. The smaller man shook it off and moved forward quickly, moving to check each of the men in turn to check if any of them still lived.
"Kaiden, Gideon, come to me..." both men's eyes snapped to the voice, their grandmaster forcing the words out with great difficulty. Kaiden was the first to reach him, propping the injured man up against his leg. "You must... live... on... I name you High Champion Kaiden. Lead... Lead with pride."
"I will Lord Arian, now rest my lord," as the older man closed his eyes Kaiden lowered him back to the ground, taking up his sword and turning back to his friend once more. "Come Gideon, we must find out what happened to Alice, Walsh, and Maiya. I fear that we may have lost them with the rest, but we have to hope."
"Aye, now let us go, High Champion."
"Kaiden! Get over here!" the call of one of the members of his Sword snapped him out of his haze, his eyes being drawn to the waving form of Gideon Aurel. Kaiden staggered toward his friend, stopping in shock as he got closer and saw what the other man wanted him to see. The fallen form of their grandmaster was surrounded by the vast majority of the remaining high command, swords still in hands. The smaller man shook it off and moved forward quickly, moving to check each of the men in turn to check if any of them still lived.
"Kaiden, Gideon, come to me..." both men's eyes snapped to the voice, their grandmaster forcing the words out with great difficulty. Kaiden was the first to reach him, propping the injured man up against his leg. "You must... live... on... I name you High Champion Kaiden. Lead... Lead with pride."
"I will Lord Arian, now rest my lord," as the older man closed his eyes Kaiden lowered him back to the ground, taking up his sword and turning back to his friend once more. "Come Gideon, we must find out what happened to Alice, Walsh, and Maiya. I fear that we may have lost them with the rest, but we have to hope."
"Aye, now let us go, High Champion."
Kaiden stared down at the sword in his lap, his now single eye taking in the symbols engraved upon it for the thousandth time. With a deep sigh he reached up and felt the patch that covered his eye, the new accessory something that he was still struggling to get used to.
"Kaiden, come to bed," the spellsword jumped, shocked out of his memories, and looked up, taking in the sight of his wife with a smile. "You've been staring at your sword for far too long now."
"I know Vivian, I just lost myself in my thoughts," he stood and sheathed the sword, putting it down on the table before he approached and drew her into a brief kiss. "I wonder, does Lord Arian regret his choice? Does he believe that I made the wrong choice?"
"I don't know my love, but I know you have at least partially achieved your goal," Vivan smiled at her husband, leaning into his arms. "You, Gideon, and Alice are no longer the only true members of the order. You are well on your way to restoring the family that saved you to glory."
"Perhaps, or perhaps I've doomed us all to the pits of hell with my rash decision," Kaiden drew her against his chest and breathed in her scent, truly relaxing for the first time in what felt like months.
"Believe in hope love, for hope will never abandon you so long as you believe in it."
"I will have to trust in hope then my love, for I fear without it we will drown in despair."
"Kaiden, come to bed," the spellsword jumped, shocked out of his memories, and looked up, taking in the sight of his wife with a smile. "You've been staring at your sword for far too long now."
"I know Vivian, I just lost myself in my thoughts," he stood and sheathed the sword, putting it down on the table before he approached and drew her into a brief kiss. "I wonder, does Lord Arian regret his choice? Does he believe that I made the wrong choice?"
"I don't know my love, but I know you have at least partially achieved your goal," Vivan smiled at her husband, leaning into his arms. "You, Gideon, and Alice are no longer the only true members of the order. You are well on your way to restoring the family that saved you to glory."
"Perhaps, or perhaps I've doomed us all to the pits of hell with my rash decision," Kaiden drew her against his chest and breathed in her scent, truly relaxing for the first time in what felt like months.
"Believe in hope love, for hope will never abandon you so long as you believe in it."
"I will have to trust in hope then my love, for I fear without it we will drown in despair."
"Welcome, honored squires of the Order of Silver. Today is the day which some of you have long awaited, the day which you are truly accepted into the order," Kaiden stood atop a makeshift stage, little more than a wooden box, and looked upon the group of squires in front of him. "I will not lie to any of you, normally you would be squires for far longer than you have been. I'm sure all of you have heard rumors or drawn your own conclusions as to why you are all suddenly stronger and have skills you did not have before. This is due to a deal I made with what we believe to be a Djinn, a kind of magical creature who makes deals with individuals at a price. I understand how some of you may feel about this, but I do not regret my decision nor the loss of my eye. Are there any questions before we proceed with the ceremony?"
"High Commander! What of our promotion, is it not a requirement to be able to use magic to become a Knight of Silver?" Townley stepped forward, the tallest among the squires voicing the question that many of them had.
"You are not being promoted to knights, but instead you will become Sergeants of Silver. This is one rank below Knights of Silver but otherwise will have no bearing on how any of you will be treated, as you are all achieving your ranks at the same time there will be no division among any of you," Kaiden nodded to the younger man, allowing him to step back in line.
"What about me and Dave? We never asked to be no 'Silver Sergeants' or whatever the hell you're trying to make us!" the former bandit Shawn was the next one to step forward, glaring at the man who had forced him into service.
"You will not be expected to do any more than you already have begun to do and will have an increase in your pay, I'd think you would be happy with that," the High Champion glared the bandit back into line, still not quite having forgiven him for stabbing his shoulder. "Any more questions? No? Then we shall begin. Each of you raise your left hand."
As the fifteen men and women followed Kaiden's instructions, Alice and Gideon stepped forwards from beside him and produced a small pile of silver rings each. They began walking down the line and handing each squire a ring that would fit them as best as possible from the fairly limited choices.
"These rings you are receiving are one of the two marks of the order, the other being a tabard which you will be given later, and are relics of members long passed," Kaiden raised his own left hand, showing the silver ring that gleamed on his finger. "You will wear these rings at all times, and should you be able to call upon any of the strands of magic the ring will act as your focus. Gavron, Arietta, Forgrin, Shawn, and Godiva, you will be known as Sword Sentinel. Aurem, Dolf, Eliza, Rodrick, and Kirsten, you will be known as Sword Justice. Dave, Halley, Patric, Townley, and Marvelle, you will be known as Sword Liberty. Each of you will work with your Sword, live with your Sword, and, should the need arise, die with your Sword on the field of battle. As you all gain experience a leader will be chosen for your Sword, they will be in charge of commanding the Sword when a senior Knight is unable to and will report directly to us. The remaining four members of each Sword will be assigned sixteen members of the militia. Each of you will be in charge of training your assigned members and commanding them should battle occur."
"Sir! What of the remaining six militia members?" Kirsten steps forward, drawing an appreciative glance from Kaiden at her quickly done math.
"The six most promising members will be offered the opportunity to join us as squires, should they refuse the next in line will be offered the same until we have six squires in total," the older spellsword closed his eye for a moment. "Each of you remember, you are now all true members of the Order of Silver. You are dismissed."
"High Commander! What of our promotion, is it not a requirement to be able to use magic to become a Knight of Silver?" Townley stepped forward, the tallest among the squires voicing the question that many of them had.
"You are not being promoted to knights, but instead you will become Sergeants of Silver. This is one rank below Knights of Silver but otherwise will have no bearing on how any of you will be treated, as you are all achieving your ranks at the same time there will be no division among any of you," Kaiden nodded to the younger man, allowing him to step back in line.
"What about me and Dave? We never asked to be no 'Silver Sergeants' or whatever the hell you're trying to make us!" the former bandit Shawn was the next one to step forward, glaring at the man who had forced him into service.
"You will not be expected to do any more than you already have begun to do and will have an increase in your pay, I'd think you would be happy with that," the High Champion glared the bandit back into line, still not quite having forgiven him for stabbing his shoulder. "Any more questions? No? Then we shall begin. Each of you raise your left hand."
As the fifteen men and women followed Kaiden's instructions, Alice and Gideon stepped forwards from beside him and produced a small pile of silver rings each. They began walking down the line and handing each squire a ring that would fit them as best as possible from the fairly limited choices.
"These rings you are receiving are one of the two marks of the order, the other being a tabard which you will be given later, and are relics of members long passed," Kaiden raised his own left hand, showing the silver ring that gleamed on his finger. "You will wear these rings at all times, and should you be able to call upon any of the strands of magic the ring will act as your focus. Gavron, Arietta, Forgrin, Shawn, and Godiva, you will be known as Sword Sentinel. Aurem, Dolf, Eliza, Rodrick, and Kirsten, you will be known as Sword Justice. Dave, Halley, Patric, Townley, and Marvelle, you will be known as Sword Liberty. Each of you will work with your Sword, live with your Sword, and, should the need arise, die with your Sword on the field of battle. As you all gain experience a leader will be chosen for your Sword, they will be in charge of commanding the Sword when a senior Knight is unable to and will report directly to us. The remaining four members of each Sword will be assigned sixteen members of the militia. Each of you will be in charge of training your assigned members and commanding them should battle occur."
"Sir! What of the remaining six militia members?" Kirsten steps forward, drawing an appreciative glance from Kaiden at her quickly done math.
"The six most promising members will be offered the opportunity to join us as squires, should they refuse the next in line will be offered the same until we have six squires in total," the older spellsword closed his eye for a moment. "Each of you remember, you are now all true members of the Order of Silver. You are dismissed."
Alice scanned the report in front of her and nodded, signing off on the release of 160 extra gold to go to the walls project in order to have more workers start on it.
Actions
1. Attempt to discover if any members of the village or sergeants has a connection to any of the strands of magic
2. Begin crafting of homemade spears (Goal of forty)
Current Projects
100 [80 gold used so far, estimated final cost will be 400 gold] for Wooden Walls [20%]
Completed Projects
Training Field
Village Population
429
Taxation
50%
Terrain
Hills
1. Attempt to discover if any members of the village or sergeants has a connection to any of the strands of magic
2. Begin crafting of homemade spears (Goal of forty)
Current Projects
100 [80 gold used so far, estimated final cost will be 400 gold] for Wooden Walls [20%]
Completed Projects
Training Field
Village Population
429
50/50 men and women
%15 Elderly
%25 Children
%60 Adults
80% Human/20% Other [Dwarves/Halflings/Other]
%15 Elderly
%25 Children
%60 Adults
80% Human/20% Other [Dwarves/Halflings/Other]
Taxation
50%
Aether-Kissed Marble
Terrain
Hills
517 Gold, 6 Silvers
9 Unused Swords/Axes/Maces
8 suits of gamberson
6 crossbows
3 suits of chainmail
Very heavy and cumbersome armor, built for an Orc. Will get -20% agility for any non-orc that wears it [-10 for an orc] counts as Armor Point 4.
A very large, but well made, axe. This axe may only be used by someone with a Strength of at least 40%. The user will have -5% agility, but have +1 Damage. This has Slow and Impact.
8 suits of gamberson
6 crossbows
3 suits of chainmail
Medium armor, [Armor Point 3], seems to be a masterwork and you can't fathom who'd leave it behind. As a masterwork, it will not hurt your agility.
15 Sergeants
Chip
17 Hunters
[Similar to militia only they have hunting bows already are a bit more trained)
198 Untrained Militia
Gavron, Arietta, Forgrin, Shawn, and Godiva
Aurem, Dolf, Eliza, Rodrick, and Kirsten
Dave, Halley, Patric, Townley, and Marvelle
17 Hunters
[Similar to militia only they have hunting bows already are a bit more trained)
198 Untrained Militia