Life was difficult after I descended from the ruins of my mountain home. The peoples of Solitas held no need of a coin-less orphan boy in times of plenty, much less in times of great tension. The kingdoms of Solitas seemed as though they were balanced upon a knife's edge, as the two greatest powers of that time seemed poised to destroy one another. On one side was the Kingdom of Atlas, a young upstart whose lands were taken by conquest and valor. On the other was the Kingdom of Mantle, one of the oldest kingdoms of Remnant, emerging almost immediately after the Before Times ended. This conflict was to be the vehicle of my ascension, but I was yet young and other trials were more immediate.
My devotion to my Quest was being tested, I knew, and the Truth of Remnant wished to see the strength of it's chosen champion. The first obstacle I faced was a hedge knight by the name of Ser Lloyd, a wandering sell-sword who lacked a squire. I was not a strong youth, my constitution still a child's, despite the fire that I held in my breast. Trickery would serve as my sword, and guile my shield. Truth revealed to me my path: a drunkard knight in the employ of a noble, one Knight Albrecht of the Kingdom of Atlas.
The knight had been simple, the strength of his brew making the taste of the herbs the forest had gifted me. The drunkard fell into a deep slumber, and his squire drug the knight to his quarters. There, it was a matter of pulling a knife from the knight's belongings and slitting his throat, a simple maneuver even a child of my young age could perform. I left the scabbard in the squire's bags, before finding Ser Lloyd's camp. My lie was a simple one: the knight had asked for Ser Lloyd, whom I was to bring at once. The hedge knight believed me, as why would an obedient boy lie to his betters?
The quarters were as I left it, the bed stained with the results of my work, the dagger still placed next to the corpse. I appeared suitably horrified, and Ser Lloyd called for the guards before I had stumbled more than the steps back. The sheath was discovered and the squire approached. He was surprised, standing when he saw the guards approach. Believing the act to be preparation to run, the guards loosened their swords, steel emerging from the scabbard. In cleat danger, the squire ran, a move that cost him his life when the guard executed the murderer for running. The heinous crime of murder was not tolerated, and dangerous criminals of such a king were often put to death without trial, for doing so would simply waste the nobility's time.
With the knight and his squire dead, Albrecht was in need of fighting men. I ensured I was present on Ser Lloyd's employment, and when he was ordered to take a squire, I was chosen. Ser Lloyd's first lesson was how to take a clout on the ear, a lesson he frequently repeated. I accepted the teachings without complaint.
No longer was I an orphan boy, Now I was a hedge knight's squire on the eve of a great conflict. Truth's message was clear, I was to prepare and rise so that I could spread Truth to the people of Remnant. With both the Kingdom of Mantle and the Kingdom of Atlas hungering for the Black Castle, I was in the perfect position to rise.
