Mael is leading a procession of knights. There are four of them, each captain of their platoon, strong and experienced.

They stop before the door, a big and grand door, more akin to a gate. A gate carved with pictures of clashing bulls and dragons.

Before Mael could open it one of his knights voices his doubts.

"Is it really acceptable for us to enter this place your excellency?" asks one of the knights, his armor gleams in the sunlight. His face is marred with scars mirroring the nicks on his axe.

"Are you afraid Casey?" the youngest of them, Marcus says. He is smirking as he teases his colleague, he is keeping his hands are on his belt, stroking his axe. His head is almost shaved off, but he kept rare locks of blond hair on his sides, he styled his hair in little braids with horsehair weaved into them.

"This is the place where countless heroes honed their craft, I would be honored to enter this hall," the other knight says. The armored visor on his face is open, revealing a painted head of the red bull. He points his spear upwards matching horns on his helmet.

"I will crush all your bones if whine any more," the last knight remarks, his hammer strikes on the floor cracking stone. He is almost as tall as Mael and bigger almost twofold. His armor makes them look even bigger as he hides his face behind his helmet, making his voice muffled but even more threatening.

Mael pays no mind to their bickering and opens the doors of a training hall. Sunlight reveals rays of dust as it has not seen it in months.

Mael turns around, his subjects stand in place, afraid to enter the hall. He shakes his head and says, "Come in, we will be here for most of the morning."

The sound of clashing steel echoes in the hall, knights sparring against their liege. He is armed with only a spear, not even wearing his armor, just a plain shirt and pants. Knights circle around him, trying to score a single hit.

It's been a minute since the spar started they already surrounded him.

The long spear jabs at him, the bull knight tries to pin him in place, forcing Mael to block or dodge his attacks while others begin their advance. The axe knights attack from the sides, cowering behind their round shields as they charge forward.

A hammer flies from his back, it's painfully slow as Mael dives under it. The hammer misses and strikes the ground. The bull knight takes a step back as ground shatters from the impact, creating the mist of dust and stone. The mist hides the duke as knights halt their advance.

Using this distraction Mael looks at the giant knight. His armor protects almost all his body but joints. Mael jumps up into the air. He lands at the shoulders of the knight as his spear shaft falls down on the knight's helmet. The loud thunk echoed in the hall as a giant knight falls to the ground.

The axe knights resume their charge as Mael spins his spear and it looks like they finally caught him. The bull knight is advancing as axe knights grow closer to their liege. There is a foot distance before they clash, but Mael already moved. He rolls backward as charging knights manage to stop before they clash with each other but the opening is here.

And he uses it, two quick jabs as iron spear slashes into their armour. A light scratch on their breastplates shows their defeat. Marcus curses loudly as he throws his axe onto the ground, while Casey shakes his head and punches Marcus. He smirks and accepts the punch, to his colleague's disappointment. They shake their hands and go towards their fallen comrade.

Only one remains.

The bull knight smiles as he dashes forward, his body set low, a snake jumping from the ground. His spear becomes a blur as he focuses all his strength on a single strike.

The strike misses its target by a margin, as Mael takes a step aside letting the spear go past his cheek, almost touching his hair. Frowning he dashes forward and punches his opponent in the chest.

The strength of the punch is enough to pull bull knight back as he falls to the ground. He groans quietly as his horned helmet nabs forward and conceals his vision.

Mael shakes his head as he sees the sorry state of his knights. The giant seems to be fine as Marcus strips off his round helmet. The duke is surprised to see that the giant knight is a woman. He can hear her joyous laughter as she listens to Marcus jape.

But still, he expected a challenge, some excitement to get his blood boiling. Maybe next time he will get more knights.

Mael frowns as hears someone in the corridor, the loud sound of running armored boots.

The door opens forward, revealing distressed Ser Donal. His armor is in utter disarray, a missing piece of the shoulder pad, his helmet is crooked and the sheath on his belt is empty.

"Your excellency! Ser Conal asks your presence in the war room, there was a report of a border attack!" the young knight shouts, his voice kills all laughter in the room as all knight-captains look at him.

Seems like the excitement arrived, just like he wanted. But Mael can't help but feel uneasy.

The war room was located on the second floor of the main tower, just past the armory. Mael is walking there alone. He listens to the ambient noise but seems like no one is around. The main tower feels even more deserted than usual.

He would be glad to run into the war room, to demand information about the attack immediately. But he is not a young boy anymore, he is the Duke of Galicia. So he quells down the low curiosity and wonder of what happened. He knows it's not good news, judging by the state of Ser Donal armor. Mael left a young knight in the training hall, ordering him to fix his attire. Poor knight almost fainted when he noticed the state of his armor.

Mael reaches the second floor and frowns as he sees the guards before the war room. He recognizes them somewhat, a pair of old knights that served with knight-commander. They salute with their halberds as their armor croaks at the sudden movement.

"Your excellency, Ser Conal, and lord regent are in there, along with your brother and the messenger."

Mael nods as they open the door before him.

The most important thing in the room is a big table with a paper map pinned on it. And there was Ser Conal with lord castellan, they are bent over the map and having a heated argument.

"We need to reinforce the border with the knights from other forts, this attack went past our patrols and watchtowers unnoticed. I want another set of defenses and a new fort built right there," the knight-commander says as he points at the map, his armored finger almost piercing the old paper.

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Patrick scoffs at hearing that order, "The defenses worked for centuries! I would better believe it was a traitor who led them through."

Ser Conal stands straight hearing that. Nostrils flaring as his right hand rests on his sword, "What are you implying lord castellan? Are you saying that warriors of Galicia have a traitor amidst its ranks?"

Patrick stands up too, locking eyes with the old knight as he starts a tirade with conviction, "Isn't it strange how that attack went through without anyone noticing? How they attacked a village and razed it and then left with captives? And amidst all of it, patrols and watchtowers didn't even notice the invaders."

The old knight takes a step back, clenches his teeth, and continues, "It could be a new path we didn't discover!"

Patrick chuckles, seeing weakness before him "Ha! A new path in a steppe? Where all it visible for anyone with sharp eyes? I call a lie and corruption dear commander? Corruption from within!"

"Would you personally vouch for every knight in the border knight-commander? If there was even a single traitor we must purge them off," says Lorcan who is leaning against the wall. His leather armor fits him quite well, as does a dashing cape of pure red.

"Enough," one word is all it takes to silence the whole room.

Mael approaches the map and takes a look at the marked point. As expected the border attack came from the Kingdom of Fiemma, the only steppe kingdom on the continent. He looks at the red point on the map and the village mark crossed out.

"How many," he asks with closed eyes, he clenches his fists as he waits for the answer.

"By our estimations around one hundred captured, and two hundred dead," Ser Conal replies as he strokes the hilt of his sword.

"I see," Mael opens his eyes and focuses on the map with alarming intensity. He calculates the distance and terrain as he mumbles under his nose.

"Your excellency?" Patrick asks, he exchanges glances with Ser Conal and goes near his liege.

"How many knights we have in the castle right now?" Mael asks as he takes his eyes from the map and looks at the old knight.

"Around four hundred, we can get more if we recall knights from towns and forts," knight-commander replies with a dawning expression. The excitement and dread fill the room as they question the sudden change of atmosphere.

"Three hundred will suffice, they'll gather before the gates. Only horsemen, we will ride today," Mael declares as he finishes the argument.

"You don't mean to-" Patrick tries to protest but young Duke silences him with a piercing glance, "It is my duty to protect my people is it not?"

"It is but-" the castellan tries to reason but Mael interrupts him again, "Then there will be no discussion, I will lead my knights and save my people"

"Are there any bordering forts or places where they could keep them?" Mael says looking at the map.

"There is a fort near the border, but your excellency, this could mean war, are you certain you want to do this?" Ser Conal asks, but he knows the answer already, "Frankly, this attack was not important and we will lose nothing if we don't do anything"

Mael shakes his head and discards that reason, "We will show weakness by not retaliating outright," he slams the table "Damn me but I will not let any attack on my people slide!"

The old knight smiles hearing that as he bows to his liege, "Then allow me to send orders to the platoons,"

"There is no need, I already ordered captains to gather their subordinates before the gates," Mael replies to the old knight. Then he looks at his brother, who was silent the whole time, "Lorcan!"

The young boy perks up as he hears his name, an instinct from old times, "Yes, your excellency!"

"Protect the castle in my absence," Mael says, then addresses his advisors, "Ser Conal, lord castellan, help my brother rule in my stead."

They both bow and accepts their roles, "Yes, your excellency!"

Nodding to himself Mael asks one last thing, "Come with me Lorcan, I will need your help in one more matter."

Brothers leave the war room, with their heads high and proud bearing. This is their nature, to strive in war and lead their people into the fray.

The armory is filled with curious things, the armors of their ancestors, all kinds of weapons, from spears to mauls, and their trophies. Mael notices curved swords from Dalomia, short bows from Fiemma, long spears from Mezolaria.

But he is not here to stare at wonders his ancestors amassed. He came here to chose his armor and take Gae Bolg with him. His brother is standing beside him, his gaze travels through the wonders with the same marvel. Mael knows what sort of armor he wants, it's put on the display, on the wooden mannequin with a name engraved in stone under it.

Fergus, son of Fionn.

The armor of his grandfather, he died in battle before Mael was born. The plate armor that was made in Grannia, even after Fergus's death it's still shining and clean. As if it didn't saw years of conflict. Mael approaches it and bows before it, asking permission to use it from his ancestor. After a moment of silence, he takes the armor off the pedestal. His brother helps him take it off the mannequin and put it on himself.

It feels like a second skin like it was made specifically for him instead of his grandfather. Steel plates that weigh like ordinary leather, he jumps and moves a little, testing its flexibility. As expected, it bends and moves without an issue it doesn't even croak like the bulky armor of his knights. His brother looks at him with envy in his eyes, but he hides it under a polite smile. Then he looks at the last piece of armor he needs to wear. A helmet with bull horns that left open his face and back of his neck, letting space for his hair flow. Then he takes the Gae Bolg in his hand, the spear sends a wave of emotions at him, displeasure mixed with wonder. The red light encompasses him for a moment, recognizing the armor he wears. It sends another wave of emotions, nostalgia mixed with approval.

Mael looks at Lorcan who was silent through the whole ordeal, his heart still filled with envy.

"I am glad that you remember the promise you made," Lorcan says to break an awkward silence that took place, his eyes lock with his brother.

"I will always remember it," Mael says and puts his armored hand on his brother's shoulder. Lorcan closes the distance and hugs Mael. His voice trembles but his eyes are dry, "Send them to Morgana brother."

"I will brother."

The knight captains are waiting for their liege in the courtyard, each of them on horseback and ready to ride. Mael is surprised to see them here, he expected them to be with their forces in the field.

"Your excellency! We thought you decided to stay behind for a moment here!" Marcus says, smiling, but no one laughed at his jape.

Mael approaches the bull knight who struggled to rein a big red-coated horse, it moved sporadically without care as its unruly eyes catch the sight of Mael. Suddenly it stops still and falls silent. Mael frowns and climbs atop of the horse, its weird obedience doesn't stop him. He asks a question to his captains, "Are knights ready to set off?

Ser Casey replies, his grey hair hidden by his helmet, "Yes your excellency, they are waiting for us at the field before the gate."

Mael hears them, a commotion created by the army, his army. A sound of armor creaking, horses stepping on their feet, conversations they having. But he can't drag out the inevitable. He shakes his head and declares, "Well, then let us go out and meet them."

The sea of blades and spears greets them. Four columns of knights are standing on the field, all of them are wearing different armor and carrying different weapons but all of them are on horseback. Mael feels all eyes lay on him, a young Duke that will lead them to battle. Some are focused on a weapon he carries, where others are eyeing his armor.

Dead silence takes place in the field, no one dares to move or make a noise as knights look at their liege.

Then a single noise breaks the silence.

bum! bum! bum!

One knight in the front row starts to beat his sword into his shield. Then one knight near him joins in, then another, and then another. Soon all front row beats the same rhythm.

Bum! Bum! Bum! Bum!

Hearing that noise more and more knights join in, the sound they make seems to startle horses but they rein them in and continue.

BUM! BUM! BUM! BUM! BUM!

Finally, all knights join in and beat one rhythm as one.

BUM! BUM! BUM! BUM! BUM! BUM! BUM! BUM! BUM!

This sound captures all attention, the uproar that awakens primal instinct in a man. Many knights start to hum, odd memories awakening, songs of war and past surfacing in their heads.

Hearing this Mael feels a weird feeling in his chest, pride perhaps? He couldn't describe it clearly for it was something that predated him and all his bloodline. Something that slept inside every human from the dawn of time. He feels Gae Bolg glow with red light as it grows stronger with each second. Soon the red light grows so bright it captures attention from every knight in the field.

Smiling, Mael raises Gae Bolg in his hands and points his spear to the sky. Then the red light explodes forward as it seems to pierce the sky itself. Seeing this, knights stop their ancient ritual and look at their liege. Their faces filled with wonder and pride, reminding them of the old oath their ancestors took and the oaths they have taken.

"KNIGHTS, MOVE OUT!"