7 - Expedition I

Watching Emilia leave with the butler Erik had a very satisfactory smile on his face. He was impressed by how direct Emilia was about her desire to destroy the seiteme but what intrigued him was how she didn't immediately comply to joining them even going for to state her own conditions.

'Emilia Virago. You have the makings of a great person, I can't wait to see what you will become.'

***

In the days leading up to the expedition march towards Teutoberg Emilia had to learn a lot about how to best cooperate with Erik Steinem.

She had only asked to be exempted from fights not involving the seiteme and really focused more on getting better treatment for Avaram, Annika, and Clove. The conditions for Avaram, Annika and Clove were easy since they could just make them guests for as long as she collaborated with Erik, what was more complicated was her specific participation in the expedition.

Emilia couldn't defend herself so Brynner was appointed her personal guard because of their familiarity. She also had to meet the rest of the participants working with Erik Steinem, a large group of knights , made of about forty to forty five knights of different ranks. She didn't get much of the details since she was a commoner and she couldn't speak the elvish that all the Lonthorians, Aryan or Half Elf, seemed to all speak.

On the particular first day of her introduction to the band of knights under Erik Steinem it was in at the gate of the citadel, in front of a caravan of carriages meant to transport them to back to the Friestros Teutoberg border were they would rally with other bands of knights.

Reaching the caravan where a lot of other knights were already gathered Emilia was astounded by the sight of three different knight orders collaborating, even though she had already been told about it seeing the red and black armors of the Lonthorians alongside the blue and gold armor of the Teuts and even the Silver amour of the Friestros knights was a bit unbelievable.

However the atmosphere in the caravan was very typical, the knights were very hostile to each other and it was only the sight of Lukas's black armor that calmed them down. Emilia had come with Brynner and Lukas since Erik had to bring a "special guest".

He would meet them at the border with the said special guest so if they were to travel with the knights a senior knight had to be present which was the reason for Lukas's presence.

There wasn't a long wait and the journey was quickly underway and for Emilia the experience was very different from the journey to Streifzug, the travel was fast even though the caravan was very visible with four large vehicles and there were no unexpected turn of events where bandits would attack them. And because of Emilia's position with Brynner and Lukas nobody really bothered her further than long hard looks.

Until a few bold looking Lonthorian knights found an opportunity during one of the stops before they arrived at the Friestros border.

"Brynner, Who's the girl?"

"Why is she joining us?"

"Does Sir Erik even know you've brought a commoner with you?"

They kept asking questions at once and would even allow Brynner to start explaining before asking another question. Emilia of course didn't understand elvish so couldn't tell what was going on but with the way they had surrounded her and Brynner she could tell something was off.

"Enough!!! Aren't you all knights? Stop acting like an uncultured mob."

"Brynner it can't be helped though, we're all very curious."

"Yeah, Brynner you should understand our feelings. As knights directly under the charge of your father we can't not be curious about something like a commoner being protected by you and Sir Lukas Stroheim."

Brynner could understand them, the other knights with them were just there because of the expedition but these were the knights his father always commanded on a normal day. They were too used to how Erik did things and so they had to know why a commoner would be brought to the battlefield, one look at Emilia and that slight distortion of air always around proper knights couldn't be seen on her. It was too easy easy to tell she wasn't one of them even though at that moment she was wearing red armor like them.

"She's father's guest, that's all I can say. A very important guest at that."

***

When they finally reached the meet up point with the other bands of knights they found that an atmosphere had already been created. The early arriving groups had already been engaged in combat, they didn't even stop at the original border point, instead they drove more in land to territory conquered by the other earlier arriving bands of knights.

The fighting hadn't ended already but most of the knights were no longer in combat. Although they came late at the encampment set up for the knights to rally in it didn't look like they were expected to have come earlier.

Their caravan only carried knights and supplies but the other bands of knights had marched there with thousands of ordinary soldiers. It looked more like a proper war when they saw the countless corpses laid across the conquered territory and the hundreds of ordinary soldiers still fighting.

Their small band of forty something or so knights wasn't even worth mentioning. But much of those details didn't linger on Emilia's mind. She had realized that the territory they drove into was the very same one she was from and that all of what remained of her village was burnt destroyed houses and corpses.

"Emilia what's wrong?" Brynner asked when he noticed Emilia crying as they neared the encampment. But she couldn't give a straight answer, that's when he remembered that she wasn't still used to corpses and more even that these territories were the places she had been born.

"Brynner, your father said we were going to be fighting the seiteme. What is all this?"

"Little girl haven't you ever about collateral damage? all these deaths have to happen for justice to come. You really shouldn't be here if you think there's a magical solution to everything where everyone has a happy ending." a knight close to them answered to her questioning.

Deep down inside of her she knew there was no need for all that bloodshed but she didn't argue back, she only wiped her tears and stopped crying.

***

At the encampment made especially for knights Erik Steinem and a few other people came to greet Lukas and Emilia.

There were eight knights and four other people excluding Erik and the lower ranking knights that stood around them.

Lukas was well adjusted to the way they were greeting and bowing, only restricting himself to gently nodding and a few handshakes or sometimes hugs.

Emilia on the hand, was completely overwhelmed. These were all important and powerful people yet they were treating her as if she was of high importance. She who was a commoner didn't know how to react to it.

"Sir Erik she is really as you said, are you sure we can rely on her?" a young man looking around her age with messy dark hair and heavy eyebags under his eyes remarked when he saw how confused Emilia looked.

"Your majesty I can assure you that she will be the turning point in this battle."

The other people had stopped trying to interact with Emilia when they noticed her confusion and only talked to Erik about her.

Of course they did so as they led Lukas and Emilia to a large tent, it was the same large tent they had all come out to greet Emilia and Lukas from and it wasn't any ordinary tent. The insides were filled very modern looking furniture but everything was organized around a large table at the center with a large map laid on top of it.

The other people in the room of course just went back on their sits and continued to have their conversation.

Emilia couldn't follow along, she had been thoroughly overwhelmed. Everything from when she met Erik to now happened too quickly. Even the drive to where she was sitting now was a new experience. Now she was sitting with some of the most important people in the world and was supposed to be one of them.

Noticing that Emilia wasn't following along that same messy haired young man from earlier complained about her absent mindedness to Erik again. So Erik and Brynner had to walk her out for a small talk.

"Emilia I can understand if all of this is a new experience for you but you have to calm yourself down. You are very important right now so it wouldn't be a good look if you keep acting like this, how about you show them the Emilia you showed when you said you were ready to collaborate?"

'Father she's only a child though and a commoner at that, this is clearly too much for her' Brynner didn't voice his thoughts though.

He just kept watching as Erik kept telling Emilia that she was important. Which eventually led to her calming down and being invited back into the tent.

But this time Erik proposed that they all introduced themselves properly to Emilia before they continued to discuss, as a way of making things easier for her.

The messy black haired youth went first.

"I am the second crowned prince of Teutoberg, Fredrik Von Waltraud. And these three with me are from my father's court."

The nobles in question mentioned their names after the second prince finished speaking.

"Heidi Faramund" said a fair woman in the uniform of a well decorated soldier, After her was Oberon Fritzi a large muscular man dressed in similar fashion and las was Porche Berengar, the only one apart from Fredrik in the room dressed in the normal nobles attire. He was a blond like her.

The other people on the table began to introduce themselves after the nobles finished with their introductions. First of the knights was another large and muscular man who wore the strangest looking knights armor, he had a helmet with a face on so she couldn't tell what he looked like but the rest of the armor was just a few metal plates over his thighs and the regular full arm pieces. He showed a lot of skin even living out his muscular torso on full display but more importantly his armor, what parts of it that were, was silver. The only one in that color in the tent.

"I am Kasper Maxi of the Knights Order Of Anarchia"

Two identical looking knights in the same black and red armor as Erik and Lukas, both young men and outstandingly attractive blond men were the next to speak.

"I am Nihilus Hegel and this is my brother Anka. We're both members of the Seven Virtuous Knights." the one with a shaved said as he pointed his brother with longer more effeminate hair.

After them a half elf woman with dark skin and white hair like Erik was the next to introduce herself. She wore red armor with black designs, the inverse of what Erik and the other present members of the seven virtuous knights were wearing.

"Olga Adelgarde, Order of Knight Siege."

Another man in the same red and black armor spoke after, although his appearance was difficult to decipher too as he had on the same faceless mask over the top half of his face like Avaram and Lukas and his body was completely concealed under his armor. "I am, Erwin Reinald. Also from the Order Of Knight Siege."

The last four wear wearing the same blue armor that had golden outlines, they were knights of Teutoberg.

Jakob Faramund a man only physically smaller than Erik and Kasper.

Dora Alaric a woman who looked very frail and fair.

Erika Fritzi another woman who was just as muscular and burly as Jakob.

Manfred Berengar a rather unremarkable looking person.

When they finished the introducing themselves they all gave Emilia an expectant look, She had been barely able to remember their names and was still slightly distracted by the distinctness of the different knight orders and the fact that the second prince of Teutoberg was sitting on the same table with but when everyone's gaze was focused on her she realized she wasn't exempted from the introduction and carefully spoke out.

"I am Emilia Virago, a diviner."