".....Is he.....are you sure?
"....breathing.....look threatening."
Quick little snippets of conversation filled the waking youths ears as he slowly gained consciousness, the dark world around him slowly coming into light as he opened his eyes. The voices surrounding him became more pronounced every second that passed by up until the point where he could make out each and every person by the mere sound of their breathing and the slight shift of their weight against the snow-ridden ground. Neon blue hues opened up, greeting the surroundings with emotion riddled depths as the young man with pure white hair shifted slightly on the ground.
"We can't just leave him here," the young boy heard one of the men mutter, a deep voice filled with concern. "He'll freeze to death."
"True, but we could also be putting the village in serious risk," a much younger voice rebuttaled, bringing up something the child could only identity as polite logic with hostile undertones. "If he's a spy for anyone, be it bandits or something worse, then we may as well just ignore the boy. Logically, wouldn't it be better to just leave him?"
"Hold your tongue, lest it be cut out and fed to the wolves." another, more mature voice responded, easily drowning out the others. "Is that any way for a Knight to talk? Especially about a mere child?"
The prostrated youth kept on listening to the back and forth arguments, his body tensing up from all the emotions that were hitting him at once. He couldn't recall a single thing about his past nor where he was, his memories completely wiped with him unable to remember anything. He was cold and afraid, unsure of anything happening around him or who those surrounding him were.
He was completely in the dark. It made him want to just close his eyes and go back to the pitch black void he had been floating through some moments prior.
However, despite his immense terror, the boy eventually opted to get off the powdery ground, deciding that he would rather die standing up, especially when he had only just regained consciousness. His head hurt and was ever so murky, but his mind seemed more then capable of running diagnostics about multiple concepts at once without trouble despite his current predicament. The ground was unbelievably cold as the youth pushed himself to his feet but that only cleared his mind further as he let out a small breath, hot air appearing before him in a small cloud.
The first thing the white haired child did was scan his surroundings, his guard raised as he soaked in everything. From the group of nine grey armored warriors with swords and spears attached to their waists and backs to the snow riddled trees that surrounded him, the small youth made sure to take everything in, leaving nothing out. Every small detail down to the footprints left by the warriors before him was taken into account as the child clutched the hilt of the dagger tucked into the black sheath wrapped around his waist.
He hadn't even known he possessed one and most likely would've continued to he oblivious to it if it wasn't for the fact that his body moved towards it on its own. His fingers wrapped around the large hilt almost like clockwork, drawing it out halfway before the youth even noticed.
The moment the small youth had picked himself off of the ground, the others had already taken notice and readied themselves. The majority of them didn't appear to be very much affected by the boys presence, nonchalantly standing upright in a sort of relaxed pose, and those few that DID take hostile stances were much shorter then the others, just a bit taller then the boy himself. Most of them had metallic headpieces that covered their faces but the youth had no real need to see the expressions of the men to sense that almost all of them, aside from the smaller ones, held no hostile intent.
(("Where.....am I?")) The boy muttered internally as he let go of his daggers hilt, his hand relaxing whilst his body shivered violently in the cold. (("Who are.....these guy?"))
The child wanted to ask the strangers some questions about his own whereabouts, already aware that they knew nothing about who he was personally based off their previous back and forth conversations. However, before he could manage to initiate any sort of dialogue, one of the taller warriors positioned near the front stepped forward, moving and kneeling down in front of the small youth onto a single knee. Grabbing the sides of his or her helmet, the figure pulled it off before tucking it beneath his left armpit, holding it there as he locked gazes with the small boy.
"Hello there, small one," the man said politely, soft brown eyes filled with curiosity. "You could be injured or worse so try not to move too much. Its pretty cold out here, especially for someone as young as you. My name is Allastir. Might I have your own?"
The small youth chose to keep quiet as he gazed over the man's facial features. A weathered face, brown eyes, slightly long salt and pepper hair, and a strong jawline with a distinct lack of facial hair. While none of what he observed helped the boy learn anything, he still committed the man's visage to memory as he tilted his head, neon blue hues staring blankly back at Allastir. A full minute passed without either side saying a word, most of them waiting patiently for the small youth to speak up.
"My.....name." The youth finally said, his first words spoken aloud since he had awoken. His voice sounded distorted and choppy, as if he had been punched repeatedly in throat before having all the liquid in his mouth dried up. It was a disturbing sound that grated against the boys own ears. "I....don't know."
"That so." Allastir glanced back briefly at his fellow warriors before shifting his attention back to the boy. "Do you know where you are or how you got here? Anything?"
"....No."
"Do you know anything at all about who you are? Anything at all?"
".....No."
Allastir nodded slowly at the youths response, as if he had already suspected as much. Rising to his feet, the older gentleman patted the small amnesiac over the head before walking back towards the group, strolling over to the rear where a large makeshift backpack was being carried by one of the shorter warriors. After a few moments of some rummaging, the elder man made his way back, this time carrying a thick coat in his hands, one made with grey and white fur lining the insides as well as the outside.
"Here," Allastir said with a smile as he threw it over the boys head. "Put that on. It'll trap what's left of your body heat and warm you right up."
The small youth almost fell over as the coat was unceremoniously draped over his head, it being far heavier then it had initially looked. After some fierce struggling and nearly tumbling into the snow, the child was eventually able to get the coat on correctly, slipping his arms through the sleeves.
"There you go. Doesn't that feel much better?" One of the other warriors asked, laughter evident in his tone. "It's a bit big but it should be much better then nothing."
(("It's....warm.")) The boy noted as he unconsciously tightened the coat around himself. (("Comfy."))
"Now that you have that, how would you like to come with us?" Allastir asked as he walked back towards his group, placing the helmet back on his head. "We were headed home anyways. I'm sure no one would mind you tagging along."
From the way it had been phrased, the white haired youth had clearly been given a choice, either to go with them or go off alone. Of course, there was only one right answer, one that was plainly obvious to see, even for one as uncertain as the youth was.
Even if he was still slightly afraid of the large groups, the child realized his predicament far too well.
Going off on his own without the slightest idea as to where he was, or who he was, was basically suicide as he knew not of the terrain or any basic survival methods. Even without memories, he knew he needed to eat to live, to drink to live, to have a proper shelter to protect from the environment. He instinctively knew what needed to be done in order to stay alive and that going off on his own was asking for death. The ones in front of him had clothing, as well as possibly possessing food and water and most likely shelter from the way they had been talking earlier. The only option was to follow them even if it had meant tailing them.
"I...wish to go....with you," The boy answered, his scruffy, childish voice somewhat clearing up as his body began to finally restore its lost heat. "But...who are.....you guys?"
"Well, that's something I'll happily tell you about," Allastir said as he notably raised his chest, pride in his voice. "We're Knights."
---------------------------
"What's a..... Knight?" The young boy asked, pulling himself upright on the older gentleman's back. With hands clutching the the shoulders of the silver armor that the warrior was wearing, the small youth wiggled himself into a comfortable and stable position as the group trekked forward.
Not a lot of time had passed since Allastir and the other Knights had found the child, only around five minutes or so, and it was only now that the youngling had posed the question he had wanted to know. From his spot on Allastir's back, the same one who had insisted he not move in case of the youngster being injured in any way, the boy inquired about what the other had said earlier before setting out. Due to the youth not fully understanding, he wanted to gather as much information as possible on the particular area in hopes of ridding his own ignorance.
"Well. You may not know it but that question actually packs a lot behind it," Allastir let out a little laugh, which sounded muffled and possessed a slight echo quality due to the helmet. "I'll be happy to teach more about it later. For now though, I'll just give you a summarized version."
"Summarized?" The boy asked.
"Yup." Allastir hefted the fledgling up a little higher up on his back, making sure he didn't fall off. "To put it simply, Knights are warriors with a strict code of honor, a code that only dies when we ourselves do. We live our lives with rectitude and courage, benevolence and respect, honesty and loyalty, character and self-control. We protect those who are unable to protect themselves and bring justice to those who dare bring dishonor upon which we've sworn to preserve. We seek to bring peace, arriving with patience and mercy, living a life-"
"Ahem!!"
The loud, overbearing sound of a man clearing his throat cut through Allastir's speech, of which had become firmer with each passing word, gaining more and more passion. The others seemed to have been aware of the long monologue that the older gentleman had been close to spewing as they had quickly shut him down. From the embarrassed chuckle emitted by Allastir and the laughter of the others, the small youth reasoned that this wasn't the first time the man had done this. That being said, the boy found the explanation from the elder Knight to be vastly inadequate as he found himself with more questions than solid answers. He didn't know anything about himself but he was aware of his own dissatisfaction with his lack of knowledge.
"You really know how to preach, eh Allastir?" one of the taller Knights asked with a smirk. "Always diving head on into the way of the Knights"
"Yeah," another, much shorter Knight continued without missing a beat. "Even a simple summary becomes a lesson. You really are something Sir Allastir."
Laughter filled the air as the other Knights trekked on by with an increased pace, either ruffling the child's hair or slapping Allastir on the shoulder as they went on ahead. Lively chatter and even more jokes reached the boys ears as he watched the others gradually gain some distance, the atmosphere lightening up despite the fierce wind and freezing temperatures. None of it seemed to bother them in the slightest as they put some space between Allastir and the small youth. From what the youngling could see, they were far too used to the environment to let it affect their moods.
"What is....Rectitude," the child asked after a moment of silence. "And the...code of honor? I still want to...know."
Allastir cleared his own throat, a small chuckle escaping through the helmet. "Ahem
.....well, you see, that's what I meant when I said it packed some weight behind it. There isn't any way to explain it in just one sitting, let alone explaining it here and now. However, that being said, we ARE about to reach the village so maybe when everything gets settled we can set up a chat. Of course, that's after we get you checked up at the health center for any potential injuries."
The small youth fell silent as the two of them continued their journey forward, making their way through the ankle deep snow. The boy kept an eye on his surroundings, blue eyes shifting in every direction as if he was some sort of watchdog.
Eventually, after some time, the young man saw something in the distance, two giant mountains shaped like an uppercase V.
"Do you see that kid?" One of the Knight asked from beside him, the group having stopped to let Allastir catch up. "Those giant mountains up ahead.
"....Yes."
"Those are known as the Dual Titans. It's a very distinctive landmark for those traversing around here. It's a way to say, Welcome To Oradiona, the furthermost edge of the great country of AshNall."