The thundering of hooves shook Franco from his slumber. As he sat up in bed, he glanced out of the window of his family’s cottage and saw the source of the disturbance. A company of the Duke’s Eagle Knights rode through the little village of Bronan. Located in the Duchy of Vontel, Bronan was a border village, situated just a dozen miles or so on the Empire’s side of the border between The Empire of Narun and the loose collection of city-states, minor kingdoms, and self-styled noblemen simply known as “The Confederation”. Being a border village, Bronan’s inhabitants were no strangers to the thunderous pounding of horses and men whenever one of the multitudinous semi-independent entities across the border got too ambitious. However, this time was different. These knights lacked the heavy lances and steel-braced shields indicative of a force that rode to battle. Instead, each carried only a broadsword with the duchy’s crest, a diving eagle, upon the pommel. At the front rode a knight captain, and the following knights trotted in single file, with every fifth knight carrying a banner upon which was also present the duchy’s crest. As the knights reached the village center, the knights stopped, and the commander drew a trumpet from within his saddle bag and blew into it, producing a sound that ran throughout the village. Seeing this, Franco wasted no time in donning a plain tunic and homespun trousers and then ran to the square. Ahead of him were other boys who had also heard the trumpeting and had gleefully run to the square. Among them was Franco’s best friend, Alex.
“Hark,” cried the knight commander, “the Duke seeks young men who would answer his call and take up arms against the enemies of the Empire, and perhaps join the ranks of the Eagle Knights or another knightage in the future. Who here will answer his call?”
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There were many orders of knights in the Empire, and to be accepted into any was an honor that the young knight would carry with him for the rest of his days. The Eagle Knights of the Duchy of Vontel were marked by wings that jutted out from each side of their helmet, while the royal family’s knights, the Lion Knights, had helmets that resembled a lion’s head, to name a few. The knights of each order also indicated rank differently. It was the size and hue of an Eagle Knight's wings that marked him as a knight, knight captain, knight commander, knight master, or Grandmaster of the order. While there could be many knight masters, there could be only one Grandmaster, a title only granted to the seniormost knight of each order.
In response to the question raised by the knight captain, a sea of hands was raised, and was followed by a chorus of “I will!”.
“Ha!” laughed the knight captain, “Only those who I judge fit shall be granted the honor of serving. Those who wish to be tested shall meet at first light tomorrow at the fields twenty minutes walk from here. Now run off back to your parents!” And with that, he and his entourage rode off.
“Hey!” came a cry, and Franco turned to see Alex hurrying towards him, “What do you make of this?”
With a glint in his eye, France replied “I don’t know, but I know that I’ll be a knight someday, and that day is soon.”