Flashback To be a Squire

[Alevadra Druva]

Winter 15th, 498AV Alevadra had not slept well the night prior to the 15th. She was excited and nervous, today was the day she would move up from being a page to being a squire. She would move into the Squire housing, she would be on her own, an adult. The young woman wasn't sure what to expect of this day. She had ideas of what would happen, but beyond that, she was unsure. It was dawn when Ale rolled out of bed, her bare feet hitting the cold wooden floor. Her room was chilled and the page found herself rushing to put more clothing on. Ale took care of her appearance, it was a big day, her parents would be there, the other Pages, it was an important day in this young woman's life, she wanted to look the best she could. Unfortunately for Ale, she was at that awkward stage for women. Parts of her were growing that made clothing awkward, her face was a mixture of oil and strange bumps. And continuing to be unfortunate, Ale had not hit another growth spurt for a long time, she was still short, even for her age, she looked like a child around the other Pages at 4 feet even. The Druva dressed, she'd learned the importance of wrapping ones chest, she wrapped herself from the bottom of her ribs up to just under her arm pits. The linen was wrapped tightly against herself and tied off against her stomach. Alevadra then dressed herself in a nice, clean pair of leather breeches, black, clean leather boots. She put on a thin off white shirt, with a dark brown over tunic. On her chest she pinned a small brooch with the Druva clan embossed on it. Around her waist was wrapped a long black leather belt. Next was her hair, her long, messy blond hair. Her hair hadn't been cut in years, and now it reached down to her waist in long wavy strands. Ale set to work braiding her hair into one long braid which hung down her back. By the time Ale had finished getting dressed and ready, the sun was cresting over the buildings. The ceremony would be happening soon, her parents would be waiting for her in Stormhold Citadel. Ale tried not to waste anymore time, hurrying herself to the citadel. It was a quiet morning, the streets were just beginning to wake when the clean page walked through the streets, her walk was one of importance, after all, it was an important day. Her mind wandered to her eventual knight trial, how proud she would be! How proud her mother and father would be! This was the first step, she would get there, she would overcome whatever was thrown at her! Alevadra was proud, perhaps that was a flaw. The woman reached the Citadel, it was already a buzz with pages and family members. Brown eyes searched the crowd looking for Victor and Jasme` Druva, her parents. She didn't seem them yet, but with any luck, they would enter through the door she had just passed through soon enough. The Ceremony was due to begin within the next bell, and Ale was worried, what if her parents did not come? The Druva twisted her hands together, waiting impatiently. At a quarter till, Ale watched as her parents, Victor and Jasme` walked in through the doors, Patrick following behind the two knights. The page excitedly greeted them, hugging each of them. “Are you excited, Alevadra?” Asked Victor with a soft smile. The page nodded, she was. Jasme` laugh quietly and touched the top of her daughters head. “Go stand with the other pages, things will start up soon.”

[Alevadra Druva]

Winter 15th, 498AV The short woman scampered off, her pale blonde hair glinting in the light. Jasme and Victor watched their only child as she stood among seven other Pages—all who were becoming squires. Oh, it was quite the scene, parents and patrons watching the youths take their first great step into adulthood… Ale was nearly exploding in excitement and anticipation. She was not quite sure who she would be serving as Squire, there were several options as her eyes looked among the knights present. Her father and mother were not about to take a squire, they were busy with their own duties, squires were not their taste… And it would be considered highly unfair in the eyes of the other squires were Ale to be placed with her birth parents. Bright eyes moved about the crowd, easily picking out the knights, a few she recognized—after all, there was always talk in the stables, so Ale knew a thing or two about most of them. One knight, however, stood out. That knight was Ser Patrick Frent. Now, Patrick wasn’t some renowned knight with a dozen quests under his belt… No, Patrick was Victors very last Squire. Patrick was an interesting man, in his mid-twenties with dark, shaggy hair and deep blue eyes. Alevadra was used to seeing him around, he was more like a brother or uncle than her father’s Squire. Of course, he was no longer a squire. Her attention lingered on him and Patrick took note of her attention, turning his face towards hers and smiling. A slight nod was giving which startled the young girl—after all, she wasn’t supposed to stare. A smile was given to him as well as a curt nod before her attention moved away. It was starting, everyone was hushing in anticipation of being placed with their knights. There was some chatter, a speech, by all Ale could hear was her own heart pounding in her ears. A glance was giving to the monster of a boy next to her. Surely he was almost six feet tall with massive arms. Her eyes looked down at her mousey form as a small frown tugged at her lips. Surely all the knights were hoping he would be selected for their squire. Her eyes lifted, looking to her parents, who were both intently listening to the speech so her attention moved until—Patrick. He was watching her, a secret smile on his lips as he mouth the words. ‘You’re fine.’ He could tell she was nervous. Could everyone? Ale became painfully self-conscious so she decided to focus on the end bit of the speech. “…And so, I present to you, Sylira’s newest squires.” There was clapping and all the former pages were gleaming—except Ale, she was still reeling from the realization that her nerves had taken the best of her. “Now, Squires,” All the youths looked to the elder man at front, apprehensive and obedient. “Knights, come forward, approach your Squires.” Eight knights stepped forward and stood in a line for a moment before breaking apart to move before a squire each. Alevadra stood at the end of the line, watching as one knight at a time fell free from the line and stopped before a squire. She watched as one knight at a time broke away, the group dwindling as the two finally knights approached Ale and the monster next to him. One knight had an old, wise and hardened face and the other… Well, the other was Patrick. Ale found herself praying. If there’s any mercy in this world, Patrick will be my knight. She closed her eyes for a moment as the sound of heavy soles crunched the ground beside her. Upon opening them, she saw Patrick, grinning down at her. This was both a blessing and a curse. “Hey, kiddo.” Patrick knew Ale, and he was one of the best picks to train her… Because unlike the other knights, he knew exactly how to get under her skin.

[Danough Trema]

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Danough Trema 15th of Winter, 498 AV Syliras. To be a Squire While Alevadra might not have slept well the night before, she had probably gotten some sleep once the excitement had worn off. In contrast, the night before had been plagued by nightmares for young Danough Trema. Genuine spine-tinging nightmares that had him suddenly bolt upright, sweating in his bed and looking all around his room in complete confusion that he was not falling off a cliff in Wind Reach, or being chased by Svefra pirates in the south Suvan Seas. Nysel himself could not have done more to vex the dreams Danough had that night. Much could be blamed on the fact that he had stayed up late and eaten too many cookies for bed-- his mother knew this would be his last day as a page and had given him a box of treats the day before to celebrate his accomplishment-- but some part of it was simply the fact that Danough was not excited about becoming a squire. No, he was dreading it. His older brother was now a squire and whenever the two of them ran into each other, he would tell Danough about all the bad parts of his day. Perhaps he was just blowing off steam the way some teenagers do, and maybe he himself would forget all about what he went through the moment he vented to Danough and got it all off his chest, but the younger Trema had been left with the impression that his nights would be constantly spent doing the most tedious chores over and over again, and would be spending his days in an endless series of marches and drills and combat lessons that would sprain his ankles and hurt his wrists and otherwise get him constantly bruised and banged up. And then he'd be off polishing armor or mopping a floor or cleaning up after a horse-- he rather hoped his brother was kidding about what was involved with that, especially the part about the shovel-- and it would all keep going on like that for year after year after year. The day before, he had seen a brave yet kindly knight walking with several squires to the Temple of All Gods. He had thought of how handsome and strong the man looked, and he seriously doubted that 15 years from now he'd be anything like that. It was simply a known fact that certain Tremas were here out of hereditary obligation more than anything else and that they would have been better off being minters or architects or some such desk-bound profession. What if he was one of those Tremas? Not everyone could become a Sergeant Major. And that was the problem. Secretly, deep inside, he really wanted to be a big strong knight. He wanted to go on great adventures. He wanted to train various squires and pages. He wanted to make a positive impact in the lives of the people of Mizahar. Even without training of his own, from a very little age he had heard tales from his cousins and aunts and uncles about what it meant to grow up in Stormhold Castle and what it meant to be in the order of Syliran Knights. He wanted to be one of those who helped spread the era of peace and prosperity, to be a chink in the great chain of knights and squires spreading back to the Valterrian itself. He wanted so much! But he was just a small boy, weaker and less athletic than most. He really would have made a good architect. Maybe some sort of merchant or porter. But his dreams were so far from his reality... and so his actual dreams turned into nightmares. Unable to sleep any more, Danough resigned himself to the inevitable and went to the small silver stand next to his bed. He fumbled around for a bit and then lit a tiny candle. He cupped it carefully so that no one else could see it (he hoped) and then unrolled the parchment he had tucked onto the stand. Taking a quill and dipping it into the recessed inkstand, Danough spent a few chimes writing down his thoughts and feelings. He knew he might be teased a bit if someone else found out what he was doing-- and might be teased worse if his thoughts ended up read aloud-- but he was an honest lad and it was a way he could genuinely express himself in an individual way while the rest of him was molded into the perfect image of a Syliran Knight. And should he become such a knight, he wanted a chronicle of his journey so that he would always remember how he started out. He knew that those in Stormhold frowned on someone becoming brash and arrogant, and this way, this would keep him humble And so he wrote out all his dreams and nightmares, his hopes and wishes, and he put in some prayers to Tyveth, Eyris and Yahal that Alevadra and all the other young pages tomorrow would grow to become good and decent squires. He added a few extra lines to Yahal that his father had taught him upon his return from his pilgrimage to Yaheba, and then Danough was finally tired enough to blow out the candle and go to bed.

[Danough Trema]

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Danough Trema 15th of Winter, 498 AV Syliras. The ceremony. The next day Danough woke up late. He was fortunate that there were others around to make sure he made it to the ceremony because if he'd been left to his own devices, he'd have crawled back into bed and been late to his own debut. As with all things where thinking about them was worse than having them happen, some sleep and a good breakfast made his worries of the night before seem silly and childish. He washed and dressed and combed his hair, and let himself be escorted along with the other pages to the correct spot. Considering that there were thousands of knights, they were a small group of potential squires but that was because this ceremony was specifically for those families of the First Wing; he was not friends with everyone here but he knew most of them by face and he knew them all by name. At least by last name. Some names would pop up over and over again at these ceremonies: Brock, Druva, Nigroso, Braklin, Stalinsa and Trema. Someone like Alevadra Druva over there might be his 3rd cousin on one side and his second cousin once removed on the other. Perhaps a bit more distant than that, but Danough subscribed to the philosophy that all here were cousins to him in one way or another and thus they were just colleagues and friends but also family. And that gave him comfort because he knew that as long as he really tried, as long as he really did his best, they would accept him as one of them. His parents came in, greeted him and took their positions. His brother the squire had been given leave by his own Patron to attend, and there were quite a few other faces in the crowd that he knew. One of the Knights he recognized as a friend of his fathers, a Ser Zebediah Nigroso, who had ridden to Yaheba with his father on their pilgrimage to the temple of Yahal. Thanks to them he spoke some Shiber and had memorized some of the prayers and chants to Yahal that had been composed in that strange desert language. Ser Nigroso was not normally found in Stormhold; he had a big heart and a taste for adventure and was almost always out patrolling the Kabrin road. When it was time for the Knights to approach their potential Squires, he stood before Danough, leading him through the kneeling ceremony and through the oath of fealty. He took out a longsword consecrated at the Temple of All Gods, and placed the hilt on Danough's shoulders, then bade him take it and swear that he would use all he learned as a squire for only good and noble purposes, always following the tenets of the order of the Syliran Knights.

[Alevadra Druva]

Kneel, Ser Frent stated, drawing his sword as the young Alevadra Druva kneeled, head bowed. Her knight spoke, Ale being taken through her portion of the rites to becoming a squire. The oath was one Ale had known since childhood, it was common knowledge among her family, her parents taught it to her as a young girl. She recited and vowed without hesitation, swearing by her life that she would uphold all she would learn for the benefit of the world; that she would follow the code of the Sylrian knights without hesitation. The cold steel of Ser Frent’s sword tapped Ale’s shoulder, she could feel the edge against her neck. Perhaps this was supposed to encourage trust—after all, most of these knights could easily decapitate their squire in this moment with a simple flick of the wrist. But, knights were to trust one another, and not with just anything, with their lives, with their honor. Brown eyes flicked up to look at the knight before her as he spoke again. “Stand, Alevadra Druva, my squire.” She stood and looked up to the man, towering over her. There was a little more talk, a little more congradulations and then the ceremony dissolved. Victor and Jasme` rushed up to their daughter, the knights hugging her and expressing how proud they were while Patrick Frent stood nearby. Alright, Ale, I have some things to tend to. But I’ll see you at dinner.” The man kissed the blonde hair of his daughter before kidding his wife and dismissing himself, offering Patrick a curt nod. “I’m sure Ser Frent has much he’d like to discuss with you, Ale, come home as soon as you’re done for the day, alright?” As her father had, Ale’s mother also kissed her head and dismissed herself, offering Ser Frent a smile and a squeeze of his hand before vanishing back into the castle. Ale’s attention turned to Ser Frent, expectant. “Well, I didn’t plan on anything. Not like I’ve had a squire before.” Patrick grinned, moving to stand next to Ale and looking out over the pages and knights. “You see those around you? Those that became Squires with you? They are as important to you as anything else. Come on, you best be friends with them, or at least get their respect.” With a nudge, Ale moved forward through the small clusters of people. “Ah! Ser Nigroso! I hadn’t thought you’d have a squire.” Patrick’s cheerful green eyes moved to look at Danough as Alevadra popped into the little group. “Danough,” Ale bowed her head slightly. “Congratulations.” Ale didn’t know much of Ser Nigroso—after all, with so many knights, it was hard to know everyone. But from looks alone, it appeared that Danough Trema was in good hands. “So, you plan on taking your squire with on some adventures?” Ser Frent was known as a homebody, the furthest he cared to get from Stormhold was a short patrol through the Bronze Wood. “I suppose we won’t be going on an adventure will we, Ser Frent,” Patrick’s attention moved to his squire. “Don’t count on it.” The young knight’s eyes moved to the other squire. “Do you wish for adventure and travels, Danough?”

[Danough Trema]

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Danough Trema 1st of Winter, 513 AV Syliras. The Thread is titled. Danough nodded his head vigorously. With an honesty Tyveth would have been proud of and a strengh of conviction Yahal might admire, he replied in the affirmative. "Absolutely! A chance for glory and adventure, a chance to see the world, and a chance to tame the world around us and bring peace and civilization to the land!" Words many of his peers had spoken in one form or other, but he was sincere. It was clear that Danough Trema had not just internalized the beliefs of the Syliran Knights, but he truly believed them. "And while it may not be possible, I have a dream-- a goal of where I want to be." He glanced down at the ground, looking very young and bashful. He dug at the grass with the toe of his boot. He spoke softly, almost a whisper, fearful that his words might sound arrogant to one such as the grumpy old knight standing next to the gangly squire that was nearly a head taller than him. But he would not find favor with Yahal if he let his fears conquer him so he took a deep breath and looked Ser Trent directly in the eye, just enough to be respectful without being rude. "I want to be in the 1st Wing of the Black Company." There were many companies of course, and even many companies color-coded black. But all who were listening knew that Danough could only be referring to the company of Stewart Knight Amber Brock. Even among those present here this day, joining the Black Company was not a birth-right, for one still had to show an elite display of physical strength and moral character. The young squire looked sheepishly at the ground. "Of course, I understand my desires must take a rear seat in a wagon to the wishes of Ser Nigroso." This last comment made that self-same knight nod approvingly. "As it should be," he chuckled. Ser Nigroso would have been a hunter if he had come from a different family or a different town; his manners indicated that he politely tolerated this sort of ceremony but that he personally found it some much pomp and circumstance. Where Ser Trent might have been a homebody, Ser Nigroso was the husband who always worked late, the father always out with his friends while leaving the family to his wife's care. In many ways Alevadra was getting the better end of the deal. Ser Trent would be around to tutor and instruct her, but Ser Nigroso would often leave Danough in the tutelage of another squire. An omen of things to come was shown when he went off to greet some fellow knights he had not seen in a while, leaving Danough standing next to Ale and Patrick.

[Alevadra Druva]

“Ah! Now that’s the response a Syliran knight would make!” Patrick responded with a wide smile. “Take some notes, Ale,” The young woman frowned and looked to the ground, silently wishing the Tyveth would save some of her dignity from Ser Frent. “You have a perfect patron knight, Danough, Ser Nigroso is well traveled and lived. He’s quite the wealth of knowledge—be sure you remember that.” Patrick was not traveled beyond the patrols, and as such, Alevadra would be left in the dark about grander schemes, quests and adventures. Of course, she could always ask others, read some of the documents and historical scrolls. There were always ways to learn about the world, but Patrick was not one of them. Danough continued to speak, moving on to his ultimate goal. An ultimate life goal was not something Ale had particularly given much thought. She wanted to be a knight but… Then what? Would she even have the slightest ability to assume her fathers role once he stepped down? Suddenly, she became ever so aware of the uncertainty of the future and the lack of preparation she had done. “1st wing of Black Company, eh?” The knight crossed his arms over his chest and nodded slowly. “That’s a high goal, Danough.” Ser Frent’s normally playful and cheery demeanor seemed to dissolve and the face of a dedicated knight came out. The shift in Ser Frent’s demeanor was a little startling to Ale, after all, she wasn’t use to the knightly side of Patrick, most of the memories she had of him from childhood involved playing and running around Stormhold. Her attention shifted from Patrick to Danough. “You have a bright one, Ser Nigroso, I imagine great things will come of him under your tutelage.” Ser Nigroso soon after the comment moved from the little cluster to speak with some other knights, leaving the three alone. “Well, Danough,” A rough hand was placed on the squires shoulder as Ser Frent spoke. “You have your eyes on the moon, just never lose sight of her, and you’ll be 1st wing of black company.” His hand left Danough’s shoulder, green eyes moving to look at his own, little squire. “I need to speak with a few others who are here, Alevadra. Your first duty as my squire is one you’ll get use to. Clean out my horses stable, wash him and see to it that the saddle is oiled so the leather doesn’t crack. I’ll see you in the stables tomorrow morning, two bells after sunrise.” His tone was serious, as was his face. It melted as a smile crossed his lips and he nodded to the two squires. “Congratulations, you two.” And with that, Patrick stepped away, disappearing into the throngs of people. Ale turned to look at Danough. “First wing of black company? Why black company?” Victor Druva, Ale’s father was 2nd Wing Black Company, a position that Ale was unsure if she would ever fit into let alone want. Her eyes went to the ground with a frown. “I honestly haven’t thought about anything beyond knighthood, and here you are planning your future.” She sighed, self doubt leaking into her mind. “Anyways… Congratulations, Danough, I think you’ll be a wonderful squire to Ser Nigroso and an even better knight once the time comes. I should probably get to clean that paddock…” Alevadra didn’t mind the stables, she quite enjoyed them, actually, spending time with horses was pleasant, and that was likely just because of her Druva roots. “Are you going to wait for your knight?” Ale tried to spot Ser Nigroso between all the other men and woman who towered over her. “I wouldn’t protest to some company.” Try and make friends. That was what Patrick wanted Alevadra to do. After all, she would be working with those around her, putting her life in their hands and they would her theirs in hers. “Otherwise I’m sure I’ll see you in the training grounds.” A smile and a wave, and Alevadra began to squeeze through people, heading to the stables.

[Danough Trema]

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Danough Trema Danough exits. Danough had no idea who Ale's father was-- well, after today he might know him by name or by face, but he had no idea of his rank and position, squad and regiment-- and so he simply looked at her and told her straight: "My grandfather always told me to aim high. He said there was no shame in having ambitious goals yet failing to meet them, so long as you weren't arrogant about it and did your best. No talking about it and no bragging: just do your best. If I end up in the 23rd wing of the Purple Company of the 57th regiment, that's okay. I trust the Stewart Knights to sort me by where I belong. But to answer your question directly, my grandfather was in the Black Company, and he often regaled both my father and myself with many tales of heroism and adventure." When she went off to the stables, he wished her well and waved goodbye. Then he went to find Ser Negriso, who was regaling two other nights with a tale involving a pair of Inarta twin sisters, a tale the point of which went directly over Danough's head. But Ser Negriso blushed when he saw his squire there, and asked after Patrick and Ale. He stopped his story abruptly, and thought quickly. "Oh no, Squire Danough, you can't stay here. As Tyveth is my witness, you can't stay here. You can't just talk about wanting to be a rich and famous knight. Here's my first lesson to you: the first rule of any squire wanting to be a knight is to obey the rule of chivalry." "Ser?" Negriso shook his head, and he pointed at Danough. "You're not a page anymore. You can't allow a pretty little thing like that to go muck out some stables by herself. Go change, then grab a shovel and help her out. If she's fine, then help out another. But this is your assignment: go to the stables and help." The other knights nodded their heads at him, though all congratulated him on becoming a squire before wishing him godspeed on his first quest of chivalry.

[Orion Michaels]

Ale
+2 Observation
+1 Socialization

Lore :

My Patron, Ser Patrick Frent
Pledging Yourself to Syliras
Squire Danough Temna, Fellow Squire
Danough Wants to Be in the 1st Wing, Black Company

Lt. Dan
+1 Observation
+1 Socialization
+1 Rhetoric

Lore :

The Expectations of a Trema
My Patron, Ser Zebediah Nigroso
Ser Nigroso’s first lesson: Chivalry is key

Danough Notes
Just another reminder that there are no Sergeant Majors in the Syliran Knights. I can’t help but think of this every time I see that rank, though… Also, make sure you let your thread post rather than firing off multiple replies of your own in a row, unless you two discussed that, in which case, don’t mind me.

Final Notes
I really liked this thread you two. It was short and simple, but I loved how well you both portrayed your characters going through an extremely important step in their lives. I’m looking forward to seeing more of the tales of Squire Druva and Squire Trema!

Don't forget to edit your grade request to reflect it's been graded and PM me with any questions or concerns!