The Journey towards Igbal was scheduled to take a month. Usually, it would only take 10 days but with Marcus entire company of soldiers, they needed enough time to rest and restock on supplies. Marcus platoon was specifically headed towards the Northern Wall while Captain Alec was tasked with accompanying Khal towards Elheim. Elheim was the largest city in Igbal, famous for its near-impenetrable structure and home to one of the behemoths of the north, House Dor.
It was already 1 week since Khal left Sydenham Town but he was already homesick. He had tried his best to spend the one week he had with his father before the man had to go into hiding. How his grandfather managed to twist the truth without anyone asking any questions remained a mystery to him but he was grateful nonetheless. After the first 2 days of traveling, General Dor had requested his presence for lunch to get properly acquainted with Khal.
Khal had entered the General's tent expecting to see fine wine and meat but to his surprise, the General was eating the same meals as his soldiers. Khal's respect for the man increased two-folds instantly. Before Khal had even sat down to partake in the meal, Ser Dor had given him a 'small' task to finish. He was supposed to achieve the initiate stage of cladding before they made it towards Crystal Late. Should he fail he would have to walk the rest of the way to Elheim.
Now, 5 days later and Khal had yet to understand how to convert world energy. Why's the secret? Surely there must be a trick to it, Khal thought to himself. Sitting by himself in his own tent, Khal began to meditate. He quickly began to guide his spirit energy towards his hands before trying to connect to the world energy. Slowly, world energy began to gather around his fist before forming a glove. Khal thought back to the way he saw Bryce using his cladding. He imagined the orange substance coating Bryce's fist. He could feel the energy sticking to his fist as it coagulated.
Khal opened his eyes to see a pale-orange coat on his fist. The energy felt like a snuggly fitted stocking. He felt as though he could control the energy to do whatever he wanted. Khal turned towards some equipment lying around him. He quickly grabbed his newly acquired sword with the cladded hand. To Khal's surprise, his cladding covered the sword completely. So that's the trick. Rather than force the world energy to convert, it's better to imagine it.
A smile crept its way towards Khal's face. He had finally achieved it. He thought it would be impossible given his limited time but he did it. There were just 3 more days before they made it to Crystal Lake and Khal dreaded having to walk. The young horse given to him by Captain Alec was both strong and intelligent. He already felt a small connection between the horse and himself and would hate to be separated.
Khal practiced some more with his cladding before he finally got the hang of it. It was easy to clad his sword while meditating but Khal was sure that he would have to practice a lot more before he could use it in combat. If the first and second step in cladding is convocation and conversion, what's the purpose of concentration? Khal scratched his head as he questioned himself. Let's go over it, convocation is to gather the world energy, conversion is to change it into this substance then concentration......Oh! Concentration must be the amount of world energy that can be converted! That must be why there is a color difference every time the cladding class goes up. Khal felt like he finally understood it. Now that he knew he felt silly that it took him so long.
Later that day, Khal packed up his tent and food supply before strapping them to his horse. He hadn't decided a name for his travel companion yet because he wasn't sure he could keep him. Khal had brought most of his belongings from the manor. He brought the 3 outfits he had along with some of his father's story books. Most importantly, he brought his mother's letters with him. The reason he hadn't read either of the two remaining letters was that he felt like he was disobeying his mother's wishes. His father hadn't even asked why it was that he took the letters before time.
Khal stared at the folded letters a little before he placed them in his inner shirt. He was sure he would learn a lot more about his mother by being with his grandfather. Khal had always wanted to learn more about his family. Lord Tommel was a great mentor but nothing beats having your own family. At least that's what Khal felt. "You've been quiet since you receive the General's task Khal, did you have any luck today?" Alec asked as he rode beside Khal.
"I'm almost there Captain, I should be fine before we reach the lake," Khal explained. Captain Alec's mouth was wide open in shock. Is it true? Did this young boy really learn cladding already? I thought the stories were grossly exaggerated. Alec fixed the glasses on his face before he responded to Khal, "ri..right, make sure you work hard. And please, I've already told you this before, just call me Alec." Khal rubbed the side of his horse as he looked towards Alec, "we're technically on a mission back to Igbal, it would be proper protocol to address you by your proper rank Captain. I dare not overstep my station."
Alec was impressed by the boy's response. He had never considered him a soldier, to begin with. The youngest soldier he knew was usually 10-12 years old and those were still only a few in numbers. The majority would attend the military school before they ever step foot on a battlefield at 15. Alec had to remind himself that this boy was the same one who snuck out from home and Killed a Senior Knight to regain his father's honor. "Right you are Squire. I'll leave you to your training then."
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Khal looked at Alex curiously, there was little he knew of the man. Besides being a neat freak and his bad habits of micromanaging every detail of the trip, all Khal knew was that Alec was a distant cousin of his from one of the branch families of House Dor. For him to be a Captain and second in command to his grandfather would mean that he has some ability.
Khal was amazed when he first watched the Calvary leaving Sydenham Town. Their discipline and cohesiveness were on an entirely different level from the local soldiers that he saw on a daily basis. It was a culture shock to Khal to see the soldiers less individualized. He was too accustomed to the lazy behavior seen by Sergeant Kane and his men. Unlike the late Sergeant Kane, Alec had the complete respect and reverence from his men, allowing him to properly control their movements. Khal wasn't sure if the quality of soldiers was different because they were from a martial family or because they were a real army. All he knew was that they adherence to strict military commands had cause Sergeant Micahel's first rule to resound in his mind.
The hierarchy of these northern martial families was not new to Khal. Lord Tommel had drilled it into his head since he was young. The northern martial families were developed by the King during the last invasion by Gusto more than a century ago. They were the greatest houses capable of fighting the Gusto Empire. The first Knight King, who united all of Katar, had granted those houses the honor of becoming the first nobles of the north. Eight great houses in Seabo were granted that privilege. Of the five districts, two of the great house were in Gontu while three occupied Igbal alone. The other houses each occupied Telemer, Braxton, and Irene respectively.
While the Great House of Milon had declined over the years, the Rhodes House grew in strength. They were the only great house that focused on trade as opposed to military might. They were able to stabilize their section of the Northern Wall in Gontu by hiring mercenaries. The great houses in Igbal were Dor, Stigs, and Calum. Dor and Calum controlled the majority of Igbal and were known as the behemoths of the north. Their military power alone rivaled all the other great houses combined. Their military power was enough to repel any attacks from the Gusto Empire along their section of the Northern Wall without the help of the imperial army.
Most of the great houses either respected each other or stayed out of each other's way. Dor and Calum didn't follow this pattern, however. From the climax of the Great War 200 years ago, just after the inception of the great houses, the Lord of House Calum had started a blood feud with House Dor. The reason surrounding the situation was left out of the history book leaving much to be speculated about.
It could be said that there was just that one straw remaining before the two broke out in war. A war those in the north hoped never came to past. A war between the two could cause a major destabilization of the Northern Wall since both houses were critical in its defense against the Gusto Empire. To prevent this, this Court passed a decreed that states that the imperial army would intervene and destroy the House that instigated the war. From man to child would be killed, destroying any possible bloodlines. This had greatly reduced the active aggression the two houses showed each other but nothing could stop whatever took place in the dark.
Khal felt a wave of sadness overcome him as he remembered Lord Tommel and his teachings. He couldn't help himself from reminiscing. From what his grandfather was saying, he would only be allowed to attend Skystead Academy in the final year if he managed to pass all his training in time. He had mentioned his trick to attend the academy two years earlier but his grandfather completely shut it down stating, 'stronger castles need wider foundation.' Erik had convinced Khal of his grandfather's merits and promised him that he would see him during the final year.
Erik was already scheduled to attend the academy in four years and Khal wasn't sure if he could reach the level his grandfather required in time. Although the old General would teach Khal everything he knew, Khal was both upset and happy at the same time. Upset that he wouldn't be able to see Erik unless his completed his training and happy because the strongest man in the north was going to be his teacher. Khal tried his best to suppress how much he missed everyone, he knew he would see them again, he just hoped they could remain safe until then.
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"Oh, he's already accomplished cladding?" Marcus rubbed his chin as he made some quick calculation in his head. "Given all the information I received from Lord Tommel and Bryce, I thought I had a good grasp on Khal's talent. Hmm maybe he's really a Vulcan as I suspected. Which begs the question, why didn't Sagdel take the boy when he had the chance?"
"I believe you don't give yourself enough credit milord. Not many in the north can lay claim to anyone from House Dor, not with you still around. It'd be too much to oppose you just for a possibility. No matter how talented Khal is, he is but a child. Even that sly old man, Tommel, couldn't stop you from taking the boy. No matter how much trouble Tommel has from the capital, there is no way he can use the boy as a shield. Not after Mal-El exposed himself." Alec adjusted his glasses as he offered advice to Marcus.
"Hmmm, maybe you're right. Have you found any leads as to why Tommel's only boy was kidnapped?" Marcus asked lazily as he reclined in the chair. "Nothing yet. There have been whispers of a group in Seabo though. Does the name Raven Council mean anything to you?" Marcus stared at Alec with one eyebrow raised, "I may have come across the name once or twice. Why? Are they connected?"
Alec shrugged before getting up and adjusting his clothes. "Not sure, it was the last message our spies sent before they went silent more than a week ago." Marcus looked pensively at the documents in front of his before saying, "let me know when they find something else of interest." Alec noticed that the man's interest was piqued, just who were the Raven Council?