Chapter One: Part One
Day Unknown
I embarked on a sojourn to find the fabled Stronghold of the Knights of the Green Room today. For my journey, I had taken along with me the following:
1. My five sets of robes - my black silken hunting robes, my white and gold silken formal robes, and three sets of my casual cotton robes, these being indigo, emerald and teal.
2. My lantern made of crystallised moonlight.
3. My yew longbow and my two deerskin quivers, one filled with ash arrows (fletched with owl feathers for silent flight) and one with oaken arrows (fletched with northern goshawk feathers for quick flight).
4. The supplies, such as food, blankets and a tent, I shall require.
I am willing to search for as long as is necessary, but I'm hoping to find the Order before too much time passes, nonetheless.
Day 1
I finally discovered the Order of the Knights of the Green Room... What an amazing sight it was!
I had decided to follow the river Candidus Aquae back to its source, as all of the legends I have heard about the Order have said that it is located either in the mountains or beside a forest - some even mention a swamp and a plain. I have deduced that the Stronghold of the Knights has mountains to its north, marhses to its east, a forest to its south and a plain and ocean to its west.
Unfortunately, the river had a very long and meandering route, and if I had guessed wrongly, months of travelling would have been wasted, though I suppose with all the sights I've seen, one cannot truthfully complain. But my journey was not in vain; weatherbeaten and completely exhausted, I was just about ready to collapse and not move again for a week, when between the trees I saw it: a magnificent fortress, shining a brilliant white as it basked in the sun's radiance. My exhaustion was suddenly non-existent.
I was not able to linger though; my arrival was timed poorly, for some Review Day was in progress, which consumed everyone's attention. I shall hunt for more information on the topic and perhaps join in the action myself...
In the meantime, I shall compose a brief poem in which I shall write of my arduous trekking. This poem I shall then present to whomever I must and wait for a response.Upon a finemorningmorrow in the Season of Spring,
A young knight followed a river meandering -
Or rather a knight he wished to be, but was not
And had embarked on a journey to change his lot.
Throughfowlfoul weather he trudged, be it wind, snow or rain,
As he scouredeveryev'ry mountain and valley and plain
For the subject of many a tale he'd been told:
The Stronghold of the Knights of the Green Room of old.
Then there! On the horizon! What was it he saw?
Why, t'was that Castle of Myth, he realised in awe.
He sprinted and his will no obstacle could remove;
He would his valour, honour and loyalty prove.
He strode with confidence and entered, filled with pride -
Pride thenobliterateddashed to pieces as the hall opened wide.
Suddenly much humbled, he then made his request.
But would it be granted, or answered with a jest?
The above is just a rough draft, of course, for my final draft must be far more presentable. Nevertheless, I hope it is received without too much contempt...
Day 2
After discovering that a Review Day was a tournament in which two teams - consisting of the most valiant knights in all the realms - participated to see who could earn the most honour by slaying Reviews, I hastened to join the fray. The blue soldiers, who called themselves the Royal Navy, were to compete against the red team, dubbed the Reviewlution. I joined the rebels.
Come to think of it, I recall partaking in a similar battle some summers ago. In both cases I had the good fortune of being on the red team, as well as serving with such knights as Warrior Priestess Ignisia and the Imperial Messenger. It is legendary knights such as these who secured the victory each time.
After the battle was won (I was included among the Top Twenty Rebels!), I had pinned my poem up on the notice boards of both the Stronghold's Great Hall and the Squire's Dormitory. I am as of yet still waiting to be accepted as a squire (after which I may reside in said dormitory, rather than camp outside, as I must now), but I have at least been presented with a scroll which contained my instructions on how to prepare for the Trial of Knighthood: "A Squire may be promoted to the Rank of Knight only upon the presentation of proof-of-death of ten Reviews slain in the dreaded Green Room." (The Green Room is that realm of malice and secrecy against which the Order battles.) It is therefore good that I had had the sense to keep the heads of all the Reviews I had encountered and subsequently slain when I had to pass through there on my way here.
Day 4
According to many, patience is a virtue, and I count myself among that number: I have finally been admitted as a Squire!
While I was scrutinising the Squire's Roll, I noticed that some of the listed squires had titles differing from their actual names. I then sorted through these squires' initial admission requests and discovered that one could appeal to the Order to be enlisted by a name of one's own choosing. I then consulted ancient texts of a foreign language in the Stronghold's library and chose for myself the name Patronus, which translates from said language as "Protector".
Another thing I discovered was that the ten Reviews one must slay to become a Knight, one must slay after one has been enrolled as a Squire. Slaying a Review never had a negative consequence though, as it furthers one's progress in earning more Review Stars, which are indicators of one's skill in slaying Reviews. I already have one Golden Star and I am working towards my second.
Nevertheless, it can but only cause a slight delay. Soon I shall have slain enough Reviews again and then I shall present my trophies to the Order.
End of Chapter One: Part One
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