Lin is still sleeping and I plan to let her sleep as long as she wants, but I don't join the kids. Instead of going to play, I sit down to meditate and start working on my core. That is just one of the things that I want to do during this break from adventuring.

However, before I can really get to work on my core, the door opens and Brightfire walks in. She looks like she is about to say something, but she just stands there with her mouth open. It seems that the many changes to the cabin have caught her by surprise.

Brightfire says "What is that?!"

"A play area for the kids."

Brightfire says "What's with all the changes?"

"Just making it more like a home. Something I should have done a while ago. So, did you need something?"

Brightfire says "Oh, yeah. I received a quest from the goddesses and wanted your advice."

"Sure thing. What is the quest?"

Brightfire says "The goddesses want me to build an order of knights from the elven warriors."

"Wait, weren't you one of the scouts, not the warriors?"

Brightfire says "Yes, but I accepted the quest anyway. I am now a knight as well as a scout."

"Well, then my first advice would be to recruit Silverleaf first. She was the leader of the warriors if I remember right."

Brightfire says "Yes, she was before she was captured. I don't know if she will be interested though. She didn't really want to go back to being the leader of the warriors."

"It is your quest, so you will be the leader of the knights. You should recruit her to be your second in command. By now she is probably bored and searching for a purpose. The knights could be just what she needs. Not to mention that she knows all of the warriors and would be helpful in recruiting them."

Brightfire says "That's true. Alright, I will talk to her. Any other advice?"

"Yes. There was an elf I saved recently, I think his name was Strongrock. While he was a slave he went through a lot of torture, yet it didn't break him. That kind of willpower is rare and I think he would make a great knight. By the way, how much do you know about knights?"

Brightfire says "Honestly, nothing. To me knights are just humans in shiny armor. I figured the goddesses would tell me when I need to know."

"You are supposed to be a knight already. Meaning that you need to know now. Come, sit down. This is going to take a while."

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Once Brightfire is comfortable, I start telling her stories I remember about knights. Luckily for her, there were plenty of movies and anime about knights and I remember most of them. So, I have a lot of information that I can pass on to her to help her figure out what she needs to do.

Of course, when the kids realize that I am telling stories they end their play and come over to listen. It seems that even the new cat tree can't trump stories in the minds of the kids. I have been telling stories for about an hour when Lin finally emerges from the bedroom.

Once she sits down next to me I hand her some food for her breakfast, but I don't stop my story. Throughout all of the stories I focus on the importance of honor and how arrogance is a knight's downfall. Those are the two most important points that I want Brightfire to take away from all of this.

As long as she can incorporate that into her knightly order, she should do just fine. I am not going to worry about the combat skills, the elven warriors should have plenty of those. Instead, I focus on the whole becoming a squire and then earning knighthood.

Only a few people should jump straight to being a knight, mainly the commanders. Brightfire needs to set up a good framework, because once we reach the peninsula there will be a lot of recruits. I imagine that a lot of the beastmen will find the idea of knights appealing.

"Are you expecting this to only be for the elves?"

Brightfire says "No. The goddesses already told me they want me to add beastmen and humans later."

"Okay, good. You need to make sure you plan for the different races from the start. Otherwise you will have a lot more trouble later."

Brightfire says "I understand. This is a much bigger task than I thought it would be when I accepted the quest."

"You will probably spend the rest of your life leading the knight's order for the goddesses. But there will be plenty of rewards along the way. The goddesses are good about showing their gratitude."

Brightfire says "I don't even want to think about the future right now. I have more than enough on my plate as is."

Albion says "Dad, could I be a knight?"

"Sure, I don't see why not. You can be anything you want."

Brightfire says "I would have to ask, but I doubt the goddesses would deny one of your kids."

Albion says "Nala wants to be a knight as well."

It is obvious from the way that Nala is bouncing up and down that he is right. Brightfire nods and then closes her eyes, she is attempting to talk with the goddesses. I could talk to them easily, but it is Brightfire's job and I think it is better for her to talk to them.

Brightfire says "The goddesses say that any creature that is intelligent and can uphold the honor of a knight can join the order. Albion, Nala, you can join, but you need to understand that this is not a game. This is a serious commitment for the rest of your lives. I think you should take some time and think it over seriously before you decide."

Albion says "Alright. We will think it over."

Brightfire says "I also have a lot to think about. Ash, thank you for the advice and the stories, I will keep all of it in mind. Is it okay if I ask you any questions I come up with?"

"Of course. Although, I can't guarantee I will have answers to everything."

Brightfire says "Thank you."

Then she gets up and leaves with a very pensive look on her face, I may have given her too much to think about. However, as the future leader of the knightly order, she is going to have to get used to this kind of thing. She is going to have to deal with all sorts of issues as well as learn to be a leader.

Luckily, she has a good example to follow in her father, Stillwater is a great leader. If she can learn leadership from him, then she will have no trouble leading the knights. She has the potential to be a great knight, but she is going to need to mature a bit.