3/2 The Rose Pendant

After the ceremony, Vinon and Carlem were sent to the training hall where they await the arrival of their commander. Like every other cadets that have finished their training as a solider, they will be assigned to the armies of the Number Knights. When a certain Number Knight has arrived to accept the new recruits, he will hand a steward a scroll containing the names of the cadets that will be assigned to his army. The steward will read out the name of the cadet that will be assigned and he will fall in at a designed stop in front of the Number Knight. Each cadet do not know who they will be assigned to but it provided a sense of excitement to every cadet.

The first to arrive was the Third Commander, Kiltsa Ulcar. Kiltsa was an imposing figure. He stood over six feet tall and wore a suit of silver battle armor. Under his left arm, he held his helmet and in his right gauntlet, he held the scroll. There was a huge scar across his face and with one look, one could tell Kiltsa was a battle veteran. He was bald and had no hair but he had a grey moustache that covered most of the lower part of his face. The most impressive sight was his sword which was sheathed on his back. Vinon looked carefully and noticed that the sword sheath was a part of his armor. The sword was about half a meter in width and two metres in length. It was the largest sword he had ever seen in his life. Kiltsa carried the sword as if it was weightless at an angle of about forty-five degrees to the ground. Overall, Kiltsa Ulcar was an impressive looking man.

After Kiltsa handed the scroll to the steward, the steward began reading the scroll. Vinon and Carlem were both relieved that they were not allocated in the army of Kiltsa as he was said to be a tormentor of his own troops. Kiltsa did not move as he waited for the steward to finish reading. However, when the steward was done, he did look in the direction of Vinon himself. The two exchanged glares for about a second before Kiltsa left with his new recruits.

The next commander arrived almost immediately after Kiltsa left. It was the Fifth Commander, Finskar Caldon. This was the same person who rescued Vinon and Carlem ten years ago and brought them to Talesgard. Finskar, as always, was wearing a black cloak over his grey armor. He was over six feet tall and as his side, a massive two-handed sword lay sheathed. Unlike Kiltsa, he had long flowing black hair. However, they could not mask the elven features that he had. He had sharp blue eyes and pointed ears. Finskar was almost twice the size of any normal elf and he was in command of the special magic unit of the Talestrial army.

The fifth unit was made up of elves that had left Reachlands and found a new life under Rinas and humans warriors. This unit once consisted of only elves but Finskar in recent years also welcomed human fighters. His claim was that despite the fifth unit being a magical unit, it also needed human fighting prowess when fighting in close combat. These humans will protect the spell-castors and prevented their spells from interruption and maximized their effects.

Vinon and Carlem were delighted when the steward read out their names from a scroll which Finskar handed to him. They hurriedly and excitedly joined the Fifth Commander’s army along with several others too. Vinon and Carlem were happy for their own reasons. Carlem was delighted like several others as they heard that Finskar treated his army very well. Vinon, on the other hand, was happy that he will be able to hone his magical abilities under the guidance of Finskar. Moreover, the man was someone they both knew.

For the past ten years, he had learned and studied under Finskar and the king, Rinas. Rinas taught him about swordsmanship and leadership abilities, in hope that one day, Vinon will succeed him as the ruler of the Talestrial States. However, a man’s strength is only limited. Rinas was no magic user, unlike Finskar, who was an elf. He learned very simple magical spells as well as how to enhance their power and the speed of which it is cast.

He was also able to discover a new spell through his years in training and studying. It was a haste spell that enables his body to move at increased speeds. However, he can only maintain for only a short while as it required a large amount of spiritual power. He did not tell anyone about this as he only discovered it not long ago, just before the graduation ceremony. He also preferred to keep it to himself so that others will not steal the spell from him. Not even Carlem knew about it.

Carlem, on the other hand, studied and learned from the same mentor as Vinon, but she was never gifted in the use of magical abilities. Finskar noted that Carlem was a complete human and had no magical abilities like Vinon, despite them coming from the same parents. However, she too enjoyed great potential in becoming a Number Knight one day, as King Rinas once remarked.

After the names of the recruits being sent to the fifth unit were read, Finskar brought all of them to a courtyard where the rest of his army had gathered. The new recruits were asked to join up with the army for a major briefing. There were mostly male human and elves and only a handful of female ones. But all of them were here for a special purpose.

“Tonight we feast.” Finskar shouted to his army. At once, his army gave a loud cheer. Finskar then continued. “Tomorrow we shall begin our march to the border town of Kewil, where the Desert Border Alliance had occupied our town just days ago.” This sentence was followed by some soft murmurings. Finskar continued his speech, “A lot of you must be asking why the king is sending his most inexperienced unit into the battlefront. Let me tell you why. This is because the third army cannot break the defense of the Desert Border Alliance and we can.” This was followed by more cheers.

Vinon smiled to himself. Soon he will get his chance at gaining valuable battle experience and he will show Finskar what he can do.