Chapter One

Tales of Humeia

Choosing My Trainees

There was a knock at the decorative door.

Leo opened his eyes slowly and lifted his head from the desk. He looked down at the papers he had fallen asleep on before yawning, quickly straightening the papers and organizing himself. He had accidentally fallen asleep on while reading about the people who would be trying out for his new Humeian Knight Brigade, the Richka Jarivse. In recent times there had been high demand for new knights due to the predicted uprising of the faery creatures.

"Come in," he called sleepily. The door creaked open and the third floor steward stepped inside, quickly bowing.

"Lord Leonardo, sir, I'm afraid you've overslept. The trials will begin in ten minutes."

Leo shot up from the chair in a panic, cursing loudly. He quickly looked around, briefly unsure of what to do, before the steward stepped in once again.

"Your clothes are on your bed, sir."

"You were already in here today?" Leo demanded, ripping off his armor from his knight uniform.

"Yes, sir, I came in about two hours ago to drop off your clothes and armor."

"Well why the hell didn't you wake me?" he cried, dressing as quickly as he could. The steward didn't answer, he just rushed from the room. Leo managed to finish dressing quite quickly, checking to make sure it was all correct before running from his room in a hurry.

Hearing and seeing Leo jumping down the steps, the guard pushed the door open as he ran past. He speed-walked through the waiting room, getting strange looks from all the contestants who were waiting eagerly for the trials to start. Three of the 36 men and women who were sitting in the room would be his new squad soon. He hurried through the door from the waiting from into the coliseum, up the steps, and to the others. The general of the knights, the supervisor of the knights, and the Low King Lindan were sitting there, present for the trials. He all looked at him as he approached them. He bowed deeply.

"Please forgive my tardiness, my Lords…I dozed off," he said apologetically before rising. The Low King nodded.

"You are excused."

"Thank you, Your Highness," he said, taking his seat. After a few moments, an older man walked in from the waiting room, followed by all the contestants, who were walking in a line. They stretched all the way across the coliseum; some looked shaky and nervous, while others were looking up at them with confidence. Leo noticed there was also one contestant who wasn't even looking up at them, his head was down with his eyes closed and he was perfectly still and silent.

"Low King Lindan, Lord Kriegah, Sir Dykar, Sir Leonardo, thank you for attending our trainee trials, as usual. Today we have a total of 36 contestants, which will be split into 3 different classes: gifted, skilled, and beginner, with 12 in each section. We have decided to accept these three skill areas to further expand the skills that people possess in the knights. In the end there will be 3 winners, one from each section, and these 3 will form the new generation of the Richka Jarivse, the training brigade, and possibly go on to higher brigades after passing the trainee level. Contestants, the 3 of you who win will be placed under the command of Sir Leonardo Lincaerdro, who kindly stepping down from his position as leader of the Lichen Rondo Brigade to serve as the recruit trainer. Further rules of the brigade will be explained with the trials are completed. Our first trial is between Krinde Lowel and Jecka Rontono. Please step forward; everyone else, please take your seats in the waiting room and wait patiently."

Everyone turned and left the Coliseum but two, a woman and a young man, who stepped forward.

"Select your weapons, contestants," the man said, gesturing to the carts with one of each weapon offered by the knights, all of which were wooden: a single-handed sword, a double-handed sword, a spear, an axe, and leather mage gloves, all of which were basic, known as "Trainee Weapons." Krinde, the young man, picked up the single-handed sword, and Jecka grabbed a spear.

"You must achieve a knock out to win the trial. Begin!" the man exclaimed. The two charged toward each other. These two were from the beginner area, and it showed. Both just hacked and slashed at each other. After some five minutes, Jecka managed to whack Krinde upside the head, knocking him out cold. "Winner!"

Jecka jumped up and down happily. Two guards ran over and picked Krinde up, quickly carrying him from the coliseum while Jecka followed triumphantly.

"That was pathetic," Dykar commented. Leo stifled a laugh. "Who the hell decided to have a beginner class in the knights? Someone like that in a Knight brigade, dear Humaery, the rain elves will wipe us out so quickly…"

"It was the High King's decision, Dykar," Lindan stated. Dykar bowed his head.

"Forgive me."

"He wants to add one beginner-class trainee to each brigade because they're easy to train. They could be trained in any area, whereas someone from the gifted class could have already been training to be a fighter for years and years. It will be hard to change their minds and train them for something else," the Low King explained. "That is why."

Leo sighed as the next two contestants walked out.

"This is going to take a while."

"My Lords," the man started, as the three winners walked out from the waiting room. "I am sure you are tired from the past five and a half hours of trials. But the winners have finally surfaced."

Dykar shook Leo awake.

"Leonardo, why are you so tired today?" he whispered sternly as Leo sat up, wiping his eyes.

"Forgive me, I was up very late last night due to the problem in the dungeons…I cannot help but fall asleep. I am trying not to, honestly," he explained quietly, followed by a yawn.

"Do not fall asleep again."

"I am sorry, sir."

"Please welcome the new knight trainees: from the beginner class, Aleksandar Grimwood; from the skilled class, Rebella Helliond; and from the gifted class, Dierre Kjell," the man stated. The three of them bowed deeply before the four of them, who stood and bowed lightly back. Dykar and Leonardo walked down the steps and onto the dirt, over to the three trainees and beside the announcer. Leo noticed the gifted winner, Dierre, was the one who had been standing still and silent at the beginning. He had fallen asleep right after his trial; he was skilled in magic. "This is Sir Dykar and Sir Leonardo. Sir Dykar is the general and commands the knight brigades, but is under the command of Lord Kriegah, who was up there, the supervisor of the knights. You have many superiors for the moment, and you have a maximum of three counts of insubordination that we will endure before disbanding you. All three of you seem to have good manners, however, so I trust you will do well. I will hand you over to them, now. Thank you for attending and good luck."

The man turned and exited the coliseum quietly.

"Well, I believe our announcer covered most of the important information," Dykar stated. "As he said, I am Dykar, general of the knights. This is your brigade leader, Leonardo. I look forward to working with you. I have duties I must attend to at the moment, so good luck."

Dykar turned and left as well. Leo also noticed the Low King and Kriegah had left, as well, leaving only him. He turned and faced his new trainees.

"Welcome to the Humeia Knights. The first thing I'm supposed to address is discipline. You will show respect to the Kings and their Queens, the princes, the princess, the supervisor, the general, superior knights, including me, as well as each other. I will explain more on battle tactics later. Your rooms have each been prepared; you're all on level B1, which is the first level of the basement, this level. All trainee rooms are on the basement levels, and as you rise to higher ranks, your room can move up as high as the fourth floor. The training room is down the hallway to the right when you exit the coliseum. We will train there with each other when we have time. When missions are given to us we must all meet up at predetermined areas on time. If you fail to meet any expectation, such as showing up out of uniform, late, insubordination, and other such things, you will receive a demerit. Demerits add up over time and bring consequences, but can be removed through good deeds, extra time, and the completion of missions. Them, there is the opposite of demerits; stars. You will receive a star whenever you show good knowledge or skill, etcetera. They also come with completion of missions if you have no demerits. That is all for now. The basement steward is waiting outside and will show each of you to your rooms. There are four other trainee brigades on this level, 12 other trainees, and you will bunk with the three who are in their own rooms. None of you are in a room together. You will be given your trainee uniforms by the steward. I ask that the three of you please report to the fourth floor meeting room at eight o'clock tonight, in uniform, to discuss further rules and expectations. Are there any questions?"

Aleksandar raised his hand.

"Yes, Aleksandar?"

"When is the first training session?" he asked excitedly.

"Tomorrow unless there is a delay or emergency."

Rebella raised her hand.

"What are the areas we will be trained in?"

"For now, basic fighting and battle tactics. As you get better and more accustomed to how we do things in the knights we will move on to faery training. You will receive training then that teaches you how to properly fight each of the faery races with the highest chance of winning, or at least survival. Any more questions?"

Aleksandar raised his hand again.

"Yes, Aleksandar?"

"My dad was a knight a few years ago, and he said trainees are presented to the High King upon selection. Do the knights still do that?"

"That will take place at eight-thirty tonight, after our meeting. That is why you must show up in uniform. I can answer more questions tonight at our meeting. You will exit through that door over there, not the one from which you entered," Leo said, falling silent. Aleksandar and Rebella turned to leave, but Dierre didn't move, silently watching Leo with bright blue eyes. "Dierre?"

"You did not dismiss us," Dierre said quietly. Leo smiled.

"Aleksandar, Rebella," he called. They looked back, almost to the door. "You both have one demerit."

"What?" Aleksandar cried. He and Rebella ran back over.

"Dierre, you have your first star. Next time, trainees, wait until I dismiss you. Dismissed."

Aleksandar and Rebella skulked from the coliseum, while Dierre quietly left without a sound. Leo smiled again before walking up the steps and exiting from that door.

Leo looked up as a knock rang through the meeting room. "Come in."

Dierre, in full trainee uniform, quietly stepping inside. "Welcome, Dierre, you may sit. You're early."

"Better to be early than late," he said quietly, swiftly moving to one of the three open seats. Leo smiled once again; he liked Dierre.

"So, since we have a few moments, might I ask why you were interested in becoming a knight?"

"My father has been training me all my life to be a knight."

"I see. You did show exceptional skill in magic. Did you attend the Mageoa Institute?"

"No, sir, my father trained me. My grandfather attended, however. He trained my dad outside of the institute, and he's training me."

"I know it's a little early to be getting personal, but may I ask why you are so quiet?"

"I have a hard time trusting people. I feel like I can trust you, though, and that's why I'm talking this much."

"I feel honored."

The door burst open as Aleksandar and Rebella ran inside. Leo looked up at the clock on the wall: 8:04.

"Two demerits, both of you."

"What, what?" Aleksandar cried. Rebella's head just lowered in shame.

"One for being late, and one for barging in without knocking. Unless it is a very important emergency, you must always knock. I suggest the two of you be more careful; the both of you already have three demerits and you've only been trainees for four hours."

Aleksandar slowly started toward a chair.

"I didn't tell you to sit!" Leo cried with a laugh. Aleksandar immediately jumped away from the chair, and Leo laughed some more. "I love trainees like you! You may sit."

The two of them sat down in the remaining seats. Rebella smoothed her twisted skirt before sitting.

"Well, as Aleksandar pointed out earlier today, we will be meeting the High King in half an hour. But we will be leaving at eight-twenty to ensure we are not late. Afterwards, the three of you will start your first assignment."

Aleksandar practically jumped in his chair, squealing. "What is it?"

"For the first week while you are trainees, from nine at night to one in the morning, the three of you are on first level dungeon patrol."

Aleksandar's mouth dropped.

"Dungeon patrol?" he cried. "They'll kill us!"

"There are knights, as well as 12 other trainees there. To add to it, all the prisoners are in cells. Be they actually dangerous or not, there is little chance that they will escape, let alone harm you. And it's only first level; the more dangerous prisoners are in lower levels. The majority on level one are just whiners. 'Let me out,' and 'I didn't do it!' Then tomorrow is our first training session. I would imagine that our skilled and gifted trainees will do quite well. You, Aleksandar, I fear, may need extra help. All you did was hack and slash. And until you have the proper skills, we will stick with trainee weapons. In other words, wood. When you are ready you will be issued knight weapons. When you move up from trainee, depending on your new captain, you may or may not be able to use your own weapons," Leo explained. "Understood?"

The three nodded.

"Now, for further explaining. The coliseum and training room are on the first floor of the basement. The cafeteria is on the first floor. Breakfast is served at seven a.m. and goes until ten. From eleven to one is lunch, and dinner is six to eight. You can go any time during those hours for that meal. The infirmary and library are on the second floor. The official knight meeting room is on the third floor; this is the large meeting room that we use when all of the knights are required to be there. The meeting rooms we will be using, as well as my room, are on this floor, the fourth floor. You may come and speak to me during free time if you have questions, but I'm not always there. The supervisor and general's rooms are on the fifth floor, but don't disturb them unless I tell you to or it's an emergency. The sixth floor is the royal floor, don't ever go there just because, always have permission, and it is preferred that you are accompanied by either me, the general, or the supervisor. Then the seventh floor consists of only the audience chamber. Don't ever go there unless you are directly told you are summoned by either me or whoever your captain is, the general, the supervisor, or one of the royal representatives, who are similar to stewards. Never if just another knight, trainee, or captain tells you. And finally, you are not allowed to leave the castle without permission. Understood?"

The three nodded again.

"Good. That's all for the castle I have for you for now. Feel free to ask about the castle up until you've memorized it. It took me a while to get it all down, myself. There are, of course, other rooms on each of the floors other than the seventh. You may occasionally need to visit other knights on higher floors than the trainees,' so feel free to ask where their rooms are if they don't tell you. I'll try to answer any questions you have. And one more thing: while you're on dungeon patrol, there will be, as I said, higher-ranked knights. Consult them if there are any problems. But if they say: 'alert a higher rank,' come straight to me before anyone else."

They nodded again.

"Great. One more area to discuss; working with factions. There are, as I assume you know, five factions in the city; Hall Heliosa, Mageoa Institute, Healedde Monastery, the Thefasa Underground, and the Faery Mediators. We will sometimes enlist the help of these five factions, and they may sometimes request assistance from the knights. Whenever we have commissioned their help, they have to listen to you, and when they ask for our help, we have to listen to them. There will be times when I appoint one of you specifically to be in charge of the person helping us, but those times are rare. During the assignments where you are in charge, that is your time to demonstrate all that you've learned from me up until then. Well, we have about ten minutes left…let's get to know each other better. Aleksandar, you start. Where did you live before coming here?"

"Um…" he started. "I come from the Rochor Village in the Rochor Region."

"That's very close to Aqua Valley. Did you ever see any water goblins?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, a few. But the villagers always scared them away."

"How long have you wanted to be a knight?"

"Since I was a kid when a knight saved our village from a goblin raid all by himself."

"Sir Leira!" Leo said. Aleksandar nodded. "How about you Rebella?"

"I live in the Helios Streets."

"Oh, you live in the city. Were you in Hall Heliosa before coming here?"

"Yes, sir, I was. Rank five."

"Good for your age." He finally looked to Dierre. "How about you, Dierre?"

"I lived in Ranah Village," he said quietly, making sure to keep his head down.

"The Reptor Region is very small. Did you enjoy growing up there?"

"No."

"Oh…well, Dierre explained to me earlier that he's been trained to be a knight his whole life, which would easily explain why he was in the gifted class," Leo said. "Now for me. I lived in the Sycamore Region in Fort Hunne with my father, who was the last general of the knights. And that also explains why I am a knight, I believe. It's time to leave!"

He stood up and waved at his trainees, making them quickly stand up. He led them all out of the waiting room. "We will go up to the audience chamber and meet the High King. He likes to meet the new knight trainees."

They climbed the rest of the steps. Leo smiled at the sound of his trainees panting; he found it funny. They'd get used to it eventually. Leo quickly bowed when he saw a crown. He could only hope his trainees did the same, as he could not move from that stance until the princess acknowledged him.

"Your Highness," he said.

"Sir Leonardo," she replied. Straightening out, he quickly glanced back. Much to his happiness and relief, all three trainees were straightening up from their bow. He knew Dierre would bow, but he wasn't sure about the other two. "Going to present your new trainees to my father, are you?"

"Yes, princess, I am."

"Well, I wouldn't want to keep you waiting," she said, stepping to the side. "Please, do continue on."

"Thank you, princess."

Leo continued over to the center door, opening it and holding it for his three trainees. At the end of the hallway they had entered there was another flight of steps. There was a huge decorative door at the top, leading to the audience chamber, and outside stood two guards and an announcer. Leo led his brigade to and up the steps, stopping in front of the door before the three men.

"Leonardo Lincaerdro and the Richka Jarivse, here on time for the knight trainee presentation," he stated. The announcer nodded and the two guards opened the door. They followed the announcer inside. There were four big thrones, and three small thrones, but only the High King and High Queen were present.

"Sir Leonardo Lincaerdro and the Richka Jarivse present themselves before the High King Ellendale and the High Queen Wendell," the announcer declared before exiting the chamber. Leonardo bowed deeply, and once again hoped Aleksandar and Rebella would do the same…he knew Dierre would.

"Welcome, new knight trainees. I am Ellendale, King of Humeia, and this is my queen, Wendell. We welcome you into the Humeian family. You may rise."

Leo straightened out and stepped aside, motioning for the trainees to step forward to where he had been. They stepped forward and Dierre immediately bowed again, briefly. The other two followed, much to Leo's relief. They were supposed to bow again.

"Introduce yourselves," the king said.

"I am Aleksandar Grimwood!" Aleksandar exclaimed. The king nodded and shifted his gaze to Rebella.

"I am Rebella Helliond, Your Highness."

"A fine young lady," the queen commented with a smile. The king looked to Dierre, who was silent for a moment.

"I am Dierre Kjell," he said, just barely loud enough for the king to hear.

"You are awfully quiet. Leonardo, see if you can't get him to open up a bit enough to speak audibly."

"I will, Your Highness," Leonardo said with a nod. "He is just very quiet."

"It is very nice to meet all of you. I look forward to seeing you again when you fly through the ranks. I have faith in you," the king said. The queen nodded. Leonardo bowed once more and span on his heel and made for the door; his three trainees noticed and followed, bowing, as well. Once they were out of the audience chamber, down the steps, and back out in the main hallway, Leo looked to the trainees.

"Nice job," he said. Dierre's head was down again. "Dierre?"

He glanced up.

"Is something wrong?" Leo asked. Dierre shook his head but didn't speak. "I do have to work on your trust issues. You can trust the king of all people, you know."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"It's fine. If that's who you are I won't try to change it. Just know you can trust him. Well, you have twenty minutes until you're on dungeon patrol. I'll meet you down there today, but after today you'll have to go there on your own. If you're late I will find out about it. Feel free to do whatever until then on floors one through three, but make sure you're in the dungeon at nine. It's down the hall from your rooms and down the steps. It's not very hard to find. I'll see you there. Dismissed.

Leo pounded the iron door with his fist, scaring the whining prisoner inside the cell. "Shut up, I'm not here to listen to your whining."

"But I didn't do it! Please, sir, you must let me out!" the man cried.

"Be quiet!" Leo demanded. The man didn't speak again but whimpered and cried silently. Leo looked to the steps when he heard the echoing of footsteps. It was Dierre. "Hello, Dierre."

Dierre nodded.

"You! You! Let me out of here! I didn't do it!" the man cried, starting up again. Leo frowned and kicked the door.

"Be quiet!" he shouted. "He's not here to let you out or listen to your complaints, either!"

Aleksandar and Rebella came down the steps.

"Ah you're all here. And no, they are not here to let you out!"

He heard a whimper.

"Your superior for the night is just down the hall and around the corner. He'll come and reposition you every so often. Spread out along down the hallway here and stay there until he comes and moves you. You are allowed to talk but keep it quiet. If a prisoner gets on your nerves, like this one, kick the door and tell them to shut up. It works most of the time but some of them just don't get the point. Hear that, grandpa? Don't bug my trainees!" He tapped the door. He heard the man mumble something but didn't understand. He looked back to the three. "Once it's one in the morning the knight will release you and you are to return back to your rooms. There is no wandering around in the castle after midnight unless it is an emergency. There are castle patrols and you will be reported if you are caught wandering around and it isn't important or without permission. Understood?"

They nodded.

"Good. Be awake at seven in the morning tomorrow, and come on to the training room at nine. We'll start training and go until noon. Then you're free for the day, excluding dungeon patrol. See you tomorrow."

He went up the stairs and left the leaky dungeons, shivering from the cold temperatures, remembering how much he hated dungeon patrol when he was trainee.