“A lone man cannot make a difference, only through working together can we shape the world.”

- Alpha Knight-Captain Magnus Skaldson

Eadric felt a chill as he realized the truth of Vandos’ Order. Now that the shorter man stood in the brighter light of the tavern, he could see the insignia on his jacket, that of the last of the Twelve Orders and the most feared: The Order of the Badger.

Each of the Twelve Orders had a principle that guided it. That principle was chosen specifically by the Founders and tended to embody the overall philosophy and battle-doctrine of each Order.

The Twelfth Order’s principle was Ferocity, something they all took to heart, fighting with incredible bloodthirst and rage, at least so the stories went. That alone would not be enough to make the other Orders fear and revile them, after all, everyone fought fiercely against the monsters of the White Hill, just making it their principle wouldn’t have given them such a reputation.

No, the true stigma came from the fact that Aesira Mordas, the Founder of the Order of the Badger, had been the one Founder to ever unleash their power upon a civilian population.

Ten years ago, when Aesira had just been granted her powers and was being trained by Alexei and Artorius, assassins from a kingdom called Rundall, a rival to Kanlin, nearly killed the children of Artorius, who had still been king at the time. They did succeed in killing his wife, Queen Alaria. Many conflicting theories crossed on why exactly Aesira had done what she did next. Some said it was because she was the King’s bastard child or the Queen’s or perhaps was even in love with one of the two monarchs, but all the rumors and stories agreed on what happened after the Queen’s death: Aesira had gone to Rundall’s capital city and destroyed it, leaving nothing but a ruin in her wake and signaling the death of that kingdom as rival powers snapped up their remaining territories.

It had been known by all of course that Beast Knights were dangerous and powerful, but after that demonstration, people began to truly appreciate that the Orders and the Founders especially, had no desire for conquest.

The incident had been forgiven, to an extent, seeing as one could not cast aside a weapon as powerful as a Founder and her entire Order, but the Order of the Badger had always been looked upon with fear since then and several of the other Founders had publicly condemned the act, doing as little as possible to cooperate with the Twelfth Order.

For their part the Badger Knights seemed to delight in their fearsome reputation, fighting and killing hordes of monsters alone and fiercely defending their Founder if so much as a quiet whisper against her was heard within their presence. It didn’t do much for their good name, but they all seemed to shrug it off. They had been the smallest Order, but also the deadliest.

Now, one such Badger Knight stood in front of Eadric, his Bond on display for all to see, about to get in a fist fight with four members of the Second Order. Eadric felt indecision, knowing that Vandos had clearly been wronged, but also ill at ease with escalating an already tense situation.

Fortunately he was not forced to choose: The owner of the tavern did it for him. The previously affable man slammed his fist onto the bar loudly several times, making all eyes turn towards him.

“Vandos,” he said warningly, eyes darkening a shade, the beginning of a transformation of some sort. “Not in my place, please. And Delan: You know better than to start this kind of rhut. Out, now.”

The Lion novitiate sneered and spat a gob of blood to the side, but the changes of his Bond faded and he stalked out with his posse in tow.

“Hexing son of a bastard.” Vandos grumbled, Bond fading as well. He sat back down and glanced at the stunned Eadric. “Sorry, didn’t get a chance to correct you before we were interrupted. I understand if you don’t want to drink with a filthy Badger like me.” He said the words with a friendly enough tone, but there was a definite edge of anger and bitterness to them.

Eadric considered all that he’d heard as well as what his own Founder had taught him. The principle of the Third Order of the Wolf was that of Unity. That applied not just within the Order, but while working with other Orders as well. Magnus had disdained the bloodshed that had occurred at Rundall, which Eadric agreed with, but he also had stated firmly that Aesira had been little more than a child at the time. She had just been given immense powers and seen a massive wrong done against someone she greatly admired, of course her first course of action would be to seek vengeance. Eadric was less sure of that, perhaps things were different in southern Phechios, but in the north, one had to grow up fast and learn to take accountability for their own actions. Youth was not a shield for long in those harsh lands.

On the other hand, one lesson you learned in the north and as a Wolf Knight, was the importance of working together. Yes, Aesira had committed a great crime, but her Order was not responsible for her actions, they had not yet even been properly formed at the time. Didn’t they deserve the benefit of the doubt?

“The Order of the Badger is still one of the Twelve and your actions and your Founders are entirely separate.” Eadric decided, then raised his tankard in salute. “Forgotten gods know that Magnus isn’t a saint either, as much as I respect him.”

Vandos’ smile became more genuine and he knocked his tankard against Eadric’s. “I’ll drink to that. I wish more Knights were like you.”

Eadric shrugged lightly. “We’re fellow Knights, we’ll have to fight together someday, may as well get along with everyone.”

“Idealistic, if foolish.” Vandos chuckled bitterly, finishing his drink and digging into his stew. “People are people and we’ll always squabble and find reasons to hate one another.”

“We’re not just any people though, we’re the Beast Knights, we’re supposed to be better, to stand for something.” Eadric pointed out.

“Tell that to that rhuthead, Delan.” Vandos scoffed with a shake of his head. “Lion Knights and their ‘Nobility’. Artorius is a model of it and most of his Order do their best to live up to his example, but you have outliers like that guy who think it’s just an excuse to act self righteous, like you’re superior to everyone or something.”

“Ah, using his position as an excuse and a crutch, rather than treating it as a responsibility.” Eadric nodded in understanding. “Magnus spoke of such things once, to my batch of novices.”

“If only more listened.” Vandos said. “Well, it doesn't matter.” He raised his tankard. “To the Twelve Orders. May we ever stand in the defense of the world.”

“To the Twelve Orders. May the day come that we are no longer needed.” Eadric raised his own drink in salute.

Vandos let out a harsh bark of laughter and they both drank deeply.

---

Eadric woke up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and biting back a groan at the sharp headache already pounding through his skull. He'd had his share of good northern beer and then Vandos had suggested sampling some of the fine liquors that had been shipped in from Panthalassa. That had been… a mistake.

Still, he was looking forward to finally meeting more of his fellow novitiates, though he prayed to the forgotten gods that they weren’t all dicks like Delan and his cronies. He dressed and then tapped into the First Bond, allowing a few minor changes to wash over him, like blackened gums and changed eyes, but also sharpening his senses, most notably his sense of smell. He used it to easily make his way to the kitchens and fall upon a platter of bread and cheese with a ravenous appetite, eager to banish the hangover as quickly as possible.

After that was taken care of, Eadric left the castle, the city still quiet, though hints of activity as hearths were lit and people began to prepare for their days was still there. Outside the gates of the city, he found where the novitiates must have gathered, based on the already large number already assembled. There was no sense of true order or purpose, they seemed to clump in groups of three to as many as a dozen. A stable, a large shed, several sand pits, and a massive wooden board completed the scene. It made Eadric’s skin itch, not having good stone walls around such a vulnerable, but important place. He supposed that anyone foolish enough to attack here would have to get close enough to Kanlin’s walls to be crushed by their army, not to mention the dozens, perhaps hundreds of novitiates. While many were untested and undertrained, they were still Beast Knights and more than a match for simple bandits or the smaller creatures of the White Hill that had escaped destruction.

Amidst the milling crowd of novices, Eadric noticed Vandos and began to approach, but was stopped when a short figure seemed to materialize from nowhere and tug sharply on his arm. “Hey, Eadric, right?” Thalia, the Hellbender Knight asked with a small smile. Now that he could get a good look at her in the light, he noticed that she was really quite short, barely over five feet tall. “Nice to see you again. Wanna come meet the crew?”

Eadric glanced over at Vandos who was perusing the bounty board with a thoughtful eye. “I was actually going to go talk to that fellow over there…”

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“The Badger Knight?” Thalia scoffed slightly and shook her head. “Don’t bother. Guy likes to work alone, says others just get in his way. C’mon, you should meet everyone else, we could use a tracker like you.”

“Well I suppose…” Eadric said nervously and allowed the shorter girl to pull him along to where her group was already assembled.

There were currently three of them, the tall and dark skinned Hestia whom he had already met, a man with strange slitted eyes that stood only a couple of inches shorter than Eadric, and a distinctly older man, probably in his third decade, taller than Eadric by a good margin, but far lankier.

The lanky man noticed Thalia pulling him along and marched over. “You!”

“Me?” Eadric asked, pointing to himself with a nervous smile. “Have we met?”

“No, but I heard that a certain bastard was peeping on my girls in the bath last night.” The man growled dangerously, seeming to loom over Eadric. “Do you have any last words?”

Eadric nervously opened his mouth to defend himself when Hestia stepped up and slapped the older man on the back of head. “We aren’t your kids, Miles, so stop acting like our father. We already told you it wasn’t like that, it was an honest mistake and he acted like a perfect gentleman.”

Miles rubbed the back of his head where he’d been struck and gave Hestia a small smirk. “Just giving the lad a hard time, Hestia.” He shot Eadric a wink and then shot out a hand. “Miles Khydan, Fourth Order, at your service.” Eadric accepted the hand and winced as Miles began tapping into the First Bond of his Order, increasing his strength. Chitin grew at the edges of the man’s neck, his eyes became a bit beady, and the stubs of antennae began to appear on his forehead. “Hestia’s a big girl, she can look after herself, but screw with Thalia and by Kezo’s bones, I’ll have your head.” He grinned sharply. “And not the one with your brain, you hear?”

“Just a cultural accident, won’t happen again.” Eadric promised, trying in vain to wriggle his hand out of Miles’ grip.

The tall man nodded and the bond faded. “Then we’re good. Nice to meetcha, now excuse me, I gotta do some work on Hestia’s weapon before we go hunting today.” He walked off while whistling a tune under his breath.

“Forgive Miles, the man is as protective as a mother bear sometimes.” Hestia sighed. Eadric was struck by how tall she actually was, just a hair shorter than him. Her arms were heavy with muscle and Eadric noted the quiver on her back. An archer of some sort then. She turned her golden eyes over to where Thalia was fussing over the final member of their group, the strange foreign man and what appeared to be a large cut on his arm. A streak of purple cut through her otherwise black hair, a sign of wealth perhaps? “Zium, come meet the new kid!”

The man loped over to Eadric and gave him an oddly formal bow, his hands clasped together in a strange way. “Zium Weing, it is nice to meet you.” The man said with the strangest accent Eadric had ever heard. “Thalia tells me that you are a Wolf Knight, correct? I hope we are able to work well together.”

“Ah, nice to meet you as well, Zium. If you don’t mind me asking, where are you from? I’ve never heard that accent before. Or seen anyone with your…” He waved a general hand across his hand. “Features.”

“Of course, I am from the Empire of the Twin Heavens.” Zium said with a cheerful smile, as if that explained everything.

“Ah yes, that place…” Eadric said with a sage nod. “I’ve definitely heard of it before.”

“He’s talking about Sarnorum.” Thalia threw in helpfully. “That’s the full name of the Empire over there.”

“Calling it simply ‘The Empire’ is like calling Kanlin, ‘The Kingdom.’” Zium complained. “It is the Empire of the Twin Heavens for a reason, please show some respect.”

“Except it still works to call it ‘The Empire’ because there is no other Empire like it out there.” Hestia pointed out.

“That is not my point.” Zium sighed. “Regardless, I am pleased to be a member of the Ninth Order, a Squid Knight.”

The Ninth Order was guided by the principle of Adaptability, their tactics and arms being unusual compared to the more direct thinking that other Orders espoused. Some took it personally, while others rolled with it and just did their best to work with the odd Order. Eadric had recalled mixed feelings amongst his fellow Wolf Knights, though overall positive.

“Seems you’ve formed a solid group here.” Eadric said, feeling rather self conscious at that moment. The others had such strong powers while his really needed other Wolf Knights to shine properly…

“We have, so don’t go messing it up.” A somewhat familiar voice broke in.

Eadric glanced over to see the blonde woman with an eyepatch approaching. The other novitiates of his new group greeted her enthusiastically. “You’re Aella, right? Thalia mentioned you when she was telling me about this little squad.”

Aella nodded, the mark on her jacket denoting her as a member of the First Order, a Dragon Knight. “Yeah, Thalia and Hestia mentioned some bumbling northerner who accidentally invaded the women’s baths.” She smirked slightly, taking away whatever bite might have been in her words. “Aella Veltaan, Dragon Knight. Nice to meet you.”

“Eadric Bjornsson, Wolf Knight. To you as well. So this is all of you, eh?” He glanced at the small team, including Miles who was handing a monstrosity of a bow over to Hestia.

“I don’t always work with these guys.” Aella explained, looking fondly at them as Miles put Zium into a headlock. “Dragon Knights don’t do the whole ‘team player’ thing well. But when I do need some back up, well…” She cleared her throat and then narrowed her eye at Eadric. “You on the other hand, I don’t know. So let me be clear: You do anything to hurt or endanger them out in the field and I’ll put you in the ground myself, we clear?”

Eadric felt taken aback by the sudden shift in her demeanor, but nodded in agreement.

“Good. Now arm up, I want to see what you can do.” She glanced at his shield and small axe and shook her head. “I know Wolf Knights typically use a spear, where’s yours?”

“Lost it on the way here.” Eadric admitted sheepishly. “Rogue creature was on the loose. A ghoul.”

The creatures of the White Hill were nearly endless in their variety, but some had a tendency to show up more often, one of those being ‘ghouls’, twisted mockeries of humans with paper white skin and twisted, spindly limbs. One on one, they were one of the easier monsters to kill, but they usually traveled in packs. Eadric had been lucky to score the kill, but his spear hadn’t survived the effort.

“And you lost your main weapon fighting against just one?” Aella asked with some bemusement. “You won’t survive long if you struggle against a single ghoul.”

“It caught me off guard and I was barely trained how to hold a spear, even then it was group formations.” Eadric defended himself, feeling a bit of ire rise in his blood. “I was only a novice for a month before the March.”

Aella stared at him assessingly before finally nodding. “Well then we’ll have to get you prepped. Miles! I’m gonna spar with the new kid, you find us a bounty.” The older man saluted and herded the squad in that direction while Aella pulled him along to one of the many sand pits that were arranged near the large shed. “That’s our armory. Go grab yourself a spear and meet me in the pits.”

Eadric obeyed, noting the massive amount of weapons, both familiar and exotic, but ultimately taking up a simple spear, its haft made of a solid, but flexible wood, the head of forged steel. It was basically of the same design as his old spear, but made sturdier. Once he stepped out into the arena where Aella awaited, he grimaced as he saw her weapons. A longsword (atypical of most Dragon Knights who preferred more precise blades such as the rapier) and a larger shield than what most Dragon Knights typically wielded.

“You’re armed more like a Lion Knight than a Dragon.” Eadric said while walking into the pit of sand.

“I’m stronger than I look. My mentor says it’s because my father was a Lion Knight when I was conceived.” She smiled dangerously.

Her father…

“Say, Veltaan, that wouldn’t happen to be the same Veltaan as old Artorius, would it…?” Eadric asked nervously, hoping that it was either a coincidence or perhaps a cadet branch.

“That would be my old man.”

Hex my life.

Eadric allowed the First Bond to rush over him, the familiar alterations to his appearance taking over as he raised his shield and lowered his spear. “Well then I’m in for a beating, aren’t I?”

“I’ll be gentle.” Aella promised.

Her own Bond changed her, giving her bits of chitin across her body and changing her visible eye to that of a faceted dragonfly’s. Then she pointed her sword at him in salute and charged.

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