Mikael Stones - 7 a.m. - Vigil - Borges Barony - Sentinel's Passage.
The sun brought the morning warmth in contrast to the lingering cold of the night. The winds from the horizon arrived warmer, carrying the heat along with the touch of light on the skin. The air, exhaled warmer from the lungs, created small curtains of smoke with each breath.
My mother's gentle voice reached my ears amidst the grunts and shouts that filled the area. "How many have we gathered this year? Three hundred?"
Soon, I looked at her; her long, coal-black hair and skin that once was pale now bore the marks of the sunlight, displaying shades of light brown like bronze.
The administrative routine of the port that I delegated to her seemed to have added another touch to her beauty.
After a brief pause, I replied, "Four hundred and twelve. We'll likely form four groups for the afternoon war exercises."
My brother, Alexander, he had just turned 16 and was almost at my height, reminiscent of my father. His red hair and skin, already darker than my mother's due to daily training, adorned a suit of tanned leather resembling that of a hunter but bearing the emblem of our small house on her chest. A knight with a lance and a round shield, standing between two mountains. chimed in, "Four knights, eight squires, and four hundred enlisted for the militia. Considering last year, when we had to maintain three hundred knights, it's a good start!"
I playfully wrapped my arm around his neck and gave him a light punch. "Ha! We had three hundred knights, and now we have four hundred amateurs. You think it's a good trade. You don't know how hard it was to convince our father to send the 300 knights elsewhere in exchange for some serfs to cultivate. I had to at least assure him that we could maintain the village's security."
Alexander eagerly turned to me and said, "What name will you give to the Militia? Warriors of Iron Blood? Or Stone Golems? Or will you give it a name worthy of royal knights, like the Golden Guard?"
I looked at him with a smug expression. "Ha, I've thought about it a lot. It will be a name known throughout the Iron Kingdom. The name of our militia shall be the Sons of the Sentinel!"
Natasha, my mother, sighed. "Your sense for names is so shallow."
She then embraced Alexander. "My son, promise me you'll strive not to have a taste as poor as your brother's. At least when it comes to giving me grandchildren, I can only trust you to give them a decent name."
She took out a handkerchief to wipe the corners of her eyes, as if she were crying, though there were clearly no tears.
Alexander hugged my mother and said, "Don't worry, oh my mother, your grandchildren will have grand names like Arthur, Carlos Magno, César, Augusto."
My face twitched. 'What is this, my own mother and brother conspiring to bully me?'
I then let out a long sigh and refocused on the soldiers' training. Before long, everyone had set up their tents, and it was already noon. I gathered with the Four Knights and their squires in the main tent, discussing matters of the war games.
The Four Knights were Dayne, Olavo, Marques, and Elso.
Naturally, I hadn't decided to dispatch the three hundred knights stationed at the Fort of Departure on a whim. None of them had sworn loyalty to me; they all belonged to the Borges house.
Any of my brothers could claim one or another knight, potentially taking what was rightfully given to me by my father. Hence, I chose to let go of the knights, not only to save money but also to reinvest in training the locals and rice cultivation, providing minimal sustainability to the region.
With the four knights, childhood friends who swore allegiance to me as their lord, I could offer a sense of freedom and dignity to win over the people of Vigil.
I was studying the passage map, observing the representations of the four flags symbolizing the four companies divided into two teams.
The war games were a simple capture-the-flag scenario where two companies on each side were employed. One was a shock company consisting of melee soldiers tasked with holding the mountain pass, and the other was a hunter company that would navigate around, protecting the smaller passages.
Olavo, my right hand man, He is in the prime of his twenties. Without his helmet, one could see his tousled brown hair and golden eyes like gold. Despite wearing a tunic over his leather armor, it was evident that he had a physique above the norm, especially for a Ninth Class knight. He examined the board with the map and spoke, "My Lord Mikael, Dayne and I will represent the offensive team first. Dayne will be in charge of the shock company, and I'll handle the hunter company. There are two ways to cross the mountain, but the main point for the hunters is to dominate the higher path."
He explained while marking path C on the board. "The path is quicker for the defenders, but I believe we can set up an ambush if we climb this wall. However, we'll have to endure some casualties while exchanging arrows to distract the enemies."
Then, he looked at Elso. "Climbing from your side of the peak is much more challenging, so your defending side has two choices: either advance in force and break the offensive line or form a defensive line on the second, smaller peak to complicate the path."
As they discussed the optimal scenario for the war games, a fifth knight entered the tent.
He bore the emblem of my father's house, House Borges, on his armor, and then his squire entered the tent, promptly opening a scroll:
"In the name of César Borges, Baron of House Borges, summons to his war council Lord Mikael Stone to deliver the standard of House Borges for the mission bestowed upon him.
As soon as the autumn leaves fall and the harvest is complete, the ships must set sail from Vigil and eradicate all pirates from the Isle of Pink Leaves in the Archipelago of Purge."