New From The Messenger

The next morning, Henry and Trenton weren't required to do their daily tasks because Sir Roland requested to see both of them.

The moment they made it to his barrack where he had received healing from a mage overnight, they could tell he was in higher spirits and his complexion looked much better than the previous evening.

However, they couldn't help but notice the stump where his foot used to be.

As Sir Roland noticed Henry glance at his leg, he nodded and his expression became serious.

"It's alright," Roland said. "I still have a life to live even if I can no longer be a knight thanks to you both. After seeing the future of the Knights of Hydrogia, I don't have to worry that they are in good hands."

The man was approaching his 40s and would have a good chunk of wealth from his long career as a knight. It made Henry feel less bad for the fact that he wouldn't be a knight until the day he died.

"I'm going to leave Lilly behind," the knight explained. "Regular life wouldn't suit her. She's meant to be on the battlefield."

"Your horse, sir?" Henry asked.

"I never had an apprentice, so I guess you'll have to do the honor since you saved me," Sir Roland said with a smile. "If Sir Trenton is okay with it."

"Of course," Trenton said. "Axe is too old to take into battle. You only got Lilly recently and she has the personality of a war horse."

Henry felt like he was too lucky - like something had to go wrong soon to balance all the kindness he had experienced from knights he used to be afraid of as a child.

"Thank you, sir," Henry said in a serious tone, but he had to look down out of shock.

Soon Henry was pushed out of the room by knights with somber expressions on their faces telling him that the old knight needed to rest, but he knew something was amiss.

Despite leaving the interaction with Sir Roland on a positive note, Henry couldn't help but notice the seriousness of the knights around him for the rest of the day.

There was already a foreboding feeling of heaviness considering half the men usually there were caught up in battle, but something else had been added on top of the tension.

Since he had missed being able to run the horses in the morning, he decided to go into the stable and give them sweet oats to make up for it. The previous evening, they had done a good job of riding steady and allowing them to get the fallen knight back to Hydrogia in almost one piece.

He decided he would even try to get on the good side of Sir Roland's horse to see if she would respond to him.

Henry realized he was most at ease with animals and wondered if others had noticed it too. Whenever he was around the horses he would talk to them freely, but around other peasants or knights, he would shut down and speak as little as possible.

Horses liked when he talked, but they also didn't mind when he went quiet as he digested what was happening in his new life.

He still couldn't believe he had faced an ogre and was able to take it down with Sir Trenton. There was doubt under the surface that he would ever be able to stomach the sight of so much monster blood.

As much as the experience scared the hell out of him, he couldn't help but be curious and look forward to the next time something like that happened. All he wanted to do was sharpen his skills and gain the experience needed to become a knight. He couldn't do that without having faced the battlefield at least once.

And it didn't seem like that was going to be too far away.

While he was lost in thought, trying to gain the favor of Sir Roland's horse, a knight he recognized, but didn't know the name of asked him to go inside the fortress and join Sir Trenton in the great hall.

Henry dusted himself off and made sure there wasn't hay covering him anywhere. There was no other choice but to do as he was told and go into the fortress. He couldn't help wondering what it was about.

The day was cold, but he had on the thick, grey tunic and a light brown quilted jacket with leather straps keeping it closed on the front. As he entered the hall, he removed the leather gloves he wore and put them in his pocket so he could warm his hands by the fire inside.

Sir Trenton joined him a few minutes later, and the knight wore a serious expression that wasn't normal for him.

"Henry, have you heard?" the knight asked.

"I haven't heard anything, I've been dealing with the horses," Henry responded.

"We'll wait for the commander then. Take a seat."

After having been working as an apprentice for a little while now, Henry knew that the great hall was only for meetings since the commander refused to spend money on any kind of social events despite how well they could benefit his social life.

Long tables and benches that could be easily put away in case of a party, remained permanently out and lining the room. A metal chandelier hung from the ceiling, but dust gathered on it. A large fireplace was set ablaze and let off a comforting warmth. There were no decorations to be found.

It was unlike the finely decorated receiving room where they had met Earl Burien before Henry was officially an apprentice.

Sir Trenton and Henry sat at one of the long tables towards the front and didn't stand up until they heard the commander and other knights and apprentices start to fill the room.

Before he knew it, the room was full and the commander had leaned against a table at the front with his muscular arms crossed over his broad chest. He waited for silence to begin speaking.

"As most of the knights know by now," he said. "Sir Roland came to us with news regarding the front lines in Chemois." His deep voice was loud enough to reverberate through the hall and bounce off of the walls. "With such a high rate of casualties, we have no choice but to send the rest of our men in order to restore the duke's tower to its former glory and get the monsters away from common people who live in the area. Only a couple of older knights will stay behind and guard the land. The Royal Knights of Peroda will also be joining us on this journey so do try to remain respectful."

Commander Lothian finished the last sentence with a sneer. Henry wasn't aware of the tension between the royal knights and the Knights of Hydrogia. However, he did remember the knight called Arin who constantly bothered him when he was working at the stables in the peasant village. It was the same knight whose father owned the land Henry's father worked on.

Henry couldn't help but glance at Sir Trenton who had a look of worry on his face, but he got rid of it when he saw his apprentice glancing at him.

"I'm sure Alix and Maximus have made it out fine," Trenton said. "Alix is too stubborn to let something like that happen to him," he tried to joke.

Henry appreciated the knight trying to put him at ease, but he didn't like the sound of going to a place where there were a lot of casualties.

The commander allowed the knights to speak amongst themselves for a moment before he continued.

"In one week, we will leave," the commander said. "It will be enough time to make preparations. Don't worry about drills or physical training for the time being. The journey there will be physically demanding enough." He then added, "Say goodbye to family if they live within Hydrogia."

The last sentence stung Henry's heart because he knew the commander to be an orphan and didn't have time to ever get a wife.

Seeing the commander show a little bit of heart caused Henry to understand further why so many respected him.

He was an example of someone who was cold and had gone through hell in life but still hadn't lost their humanity.