TODAY IS A very special day for the Ciltara Kingdom. It was because, on this day, the knighthood ceremony that is held every year will take place. That's why all the houses, especially the ones with a person who will take an oath of knighthood, have been very busy since early in the morning to prepare for the celebration.
Although a special celebration headed by the royal family was also prepared after the ceremony, each family must be eager to prepare a little celebration for themselves at night. Even the other houses that have no knights-to-be in their family will prepare some celebratory food to join the fun.
And at the moment, thirty-two young men wearing their kingdom's signature knight uniform kneeled down on one knee in front of Ciltara's newly crowned king—King Cadmus Augustus Ciltara—as they spoke the oath of knighthood in chorus and with loyalty and honor.
"We, the Knights of Ciltara, swear our undying loyalty and devotion to the king and shall be the protectors of the people of Ciltara until our last breath. We swear to never betray the king and the kingdom and to bend all of our power and strength to complete our duties as well as the tasks and missions given to us as our main priority. We solemnly pledge to defend and obey the king, upholding honor, glory, and justice for the kingdom of Ciltara. With this, we vow, in the name of the goddess Aurora."
Despite having so many people around, the whole place maintains silence, even after the knight's oath is taken. This just shows how important this celebration is for the people.
It was because in every kingdom in Auraxia, aside from the holy priests in the Temple of Auraxia, all the knights who had taken their knighthood oath-taking ceremony were deemed the most majestic and, at the same time, the most coveted job.
It was because, a millennium ago, Auraxia was still a small, divided group of civilizations. The living situation was already better because a normal family can hunt beasts as a food source.
But it didn't take long before this peace was disrupted by a big tide. Many people died, and almost all the civilizations were destroyed. Because they didn't know that there were gods, they didn't know what to do but despair.
It was only then that the goddess Aurora, who was said to be the goddess of light, showed compassion towards the people and with the goddess' bestowed blessings, some of the remaining men were blessed with strength and power to be able to withstand the beast tide and altogether, these blessed men were able to kill all the beasts in the beast tide.
Since then, these men soon were called the knights who could fight with beasts without the need for armor or weapons and were purely based on physical strength.
Unfortunately, because of the long hierarchy, the pure blood of the first knights was diluted and their extraordinary strength was also lessened in the long run. Although a knight was stronger than a normal person, they could not kill a beast without being assisted by weapons.
And now, if a knight doesn't take his oath, despite his mastery of weapons, one cannot kill a beast without getting injured. It was because only through this oath-taking can a knight receive a blessing from the goddess, which is like a debuff and will give them additional strength.
Going back, the people waited for the king to start officiating the ceremony by acknowledging the to-be knights' oath but the king didn't move. He remained sitting in his high chair, looking down at the still-kneeling knights-to-be.
Then the silence was interrupted when a low gasp was heard, followed by another gasp, and another, then silence.
The only sound that could be heard was the sound of the soles of leather boots hitting the cemented ground in an orderly manner.
Looking up was a pair of black trousers with fitted white long sleeves. Then an intricate design of another black long sleeve with an overlapping front on top and buttoned-up lower parts. To make it more complicated but in a fashionable sense, a black long-sleeve robe was added, with its fine golden lines showing the wearer's perfect body.
Then, lastly, the knight cape with the same black color as the long-sleeve robe, as well as the golden lines. Then the only difference is the emblem of the kingdom in golden color, as well as the hood.
Speaking of the hood, since the person wearing it didn't put on the hood, the wearer's face was openly displayed, which was probably the reason for the surrounding people's surprised gasps.
Who wouldn't, when, unlike the manly features and body structures of the kneeling knights-to-be, the face of this newcomer couldn't be described as manly? If not for the obvious body of a man and the aura of a manly man, no one might recognize him as a man.
That small face contains a beautiful set of obsidian irises tailored in an almond shape with straight eyebrows. A small yet perfectly straight nose and those thin kissable lips that have an enticing small heart-shaped mole just between the philtrum and the center of the cupid's bow area.
Anyone would be tempted to kiss those lips once you stared closely at that mole like a little enchantress.
And since the hood wasn't covering the head, his shoulder-length, long, layered black hair looked so shiny and soft. When you look at those shorter hair strands in front that want to cover those beautiful eyes, you feel an itch to tuck them away with your hands.
It was definitely a beauty that could bring down all the female beauties around with envy but because the owner of this beautiful face is a man, females couldn't feel any envy but felt enchanted instead. Seeing a beautiful female is normal but a beautiful male? That's once in a lifetime!
So both males and females watch this so-called beauty as he steps forward and stands in the very front of all the knights-to-be until he is standing just a meter away from the stairs towards the stage where the king is taking his seat.
With a serious look, Prince Calleous Ambrosia Ciltara stared at his elder brother, the king. The two stared at each other before Prince Calleous slowly kneeled like the other kneeling knights. He laid his right hand on top of his inclined knee as he folded the sleeves until a part of his wrist was shown.
Then, using his left hand, he took the hidden small knife at the back of his waist and removed it from the scabbard. After that, he holds the knife and looks up again at his royal brother.
"I, Prince Calleous Ambrosia Ciltara, do solemnly swear and pledge in the name of the goddess Aurora, mother of the holy knights and protector of the people of Auraxia, that I will serve my loyalty and devotion to the king and my king alone. I will offer my life just to protect the king with all my might. Anyone who dares to harm my king will be killed without mercy. I will solely surrender my life to my king. With that, I made this vow through my blood; this oath must be fulfilled. May the goddess bless me."
The tone of the speaker was gentle and slightly provocative but the content of the oath was full of solemnity and heaviness. Even the way he slowly slit a small wound on his wrist, enough for blood to flow, was too much. He let some drops of blood fall on the ground before he took a white strip of cloth and used it to bandage the small wound.
When he finished all those actions, he once again looked up to the king before releasing a bright smile that could topple kingdoms. Then he also quickly bowed his head like the other knights.
And another silence was issued. Despite the shock of personally seeing the famous prince and his exceptional beauty, the people were able to maintain their silence.
However, if there is one who can hear the inner thoughts of everyone, they might end up deaf because all the guests receive a double shock caused by the one and only prince.
It was because Prince Calleous was harder to meet in person than the king himself. According to the people working inside the palace, the prince loves to shut himself in the library when he decides to study. And when he decided to come out, it was only to practice his skills so he would go in person to the only wild forest within Ciltara Kingdom that is, the Wispwood Forest, just to kill beasts.
Sometimes, Prince Calleous would go outside the kingdom and no one would know when or where exactly he went. They will only know that he actually went out when he comes back to the palace with bruises and dirty clothes.
In short, even the people in the palace stated that they would only have a chance to be graced with the prince's outstanding beauty once in a while and that they could only see it less than when they had a chance encounter with the king.
Aside from that, the other reason that made the expectants excited was because of the different oath that the prince had taken. If the thirty-two first-degree knights had taken the oath of fealty, what Prince Calleous did was take a royal degree knighthood oath in which he used his blood as a stake.
And this royal degree knighthood is not similar to any first-degree knights, and not even the highest degree, which is for grand masters, is a match.
It was not because it was a life oath that uses blood, nor because the blood used was purely royal blood—it was because royal degree knights, which were also called blood knights, were full-pledge knights that were under the control of the king. Or, in other people's words, it was a puppet knight that the king used.
Once the oath was acknowledged by the goddess, the blood knight could no longer go against the king and his orders. Whatever the king says, the knight will do it without any hesitation.
It was because of this uncontrollability that this kind of oath was almost forgotten. Because the oath for blood knights is the most solemn, the more the knight becomes stronger and more powerful. Since the goddess gives more blessings to knights who have taken a higher degree of knighthood oath, of course, more blessings equate to a lot more strength and power the knight may become.
This puts a risk since the monarch may fall into greed because of the powerful knights besides them. Although it wasn't banned, for the last three centuries, there was no record of a knight taking a royal-degree oath.
So it was no wonder why the people got excited and shocked because they actually had witnessed in person a history in the making. The first ever blood knight after three centuries.
Everyone felt both excited and worried because this blood knight actually came from their kingdom, and it was none other than their prince.
With expectant eyes, the people waited patiently for the king to start his job as the ceremony knight master by offering the oaths taken by the future knights to the goddess.
Finally, after a long wait, King Cadmus stood up from his seat, took a few steps in front, and took the holy sword from its box. He once again stepped forward, bypassing the table with the empty box. The holy sword was held by his hands as he stood at the center of the stage.
With a serious face, he slowly unsheathed the holy sword from its scabbard. He lifted it up with both hands holding the hilt and when the knights saw that, they also bowed their heads.
"I, Cadmus Augustus Ciltara, the king of Ciltara Kingdom, lift up this holy sword, the symbol of the holy knights of Auraxia, to the goddess, together with the names of these squires and their solemn vows to earn their required degree of knighthood. I support all these squires in the values they had chosen to uphold the values that the kingdom and the holy knights of Auraxia affirmed."
The king took a pause and slowly put down the sword. Instead of pointing it to the heavens, King Cadmus takes the holy sword and taps it from left to right in front of the kneeling knights-to-be.
"I dub thee, all of these squires, to be received by the goddess. I welcome you all and be part of the holy knights. Receive now these robes and weapons of your mastery as your suitable armors, and the blessings of the goddess as the symbol of your station. May the goddess bless thee."
When the holy sword released a powerful light that could blind anyone who looked directly at it, the crowd finally erupted as they watched the newly proclaimed knights of their kingdom.