Da Irene
A new Duke has been chosen by His Majesty. I regret having to inform you in such a way, but I had no choice except to move quickly.
On short notice, I have taken Sir Sven and Sir Gunnar south to Hydrogia to greet who is to beco our new leader. We will have barely made it in ti for the ducal enthronent, which I hesitate to acknowledge as completely and totally intentional.
I am not sure if you rember who was deed the hero of war and was given a Passing of Honor from Commander Lothian. Sir Henry Mattson did a lot for our people by turning the tide of the war, but has passed the King’s tests and has been chosen for us.
I do hope that, despite his lack of experience, he becos what the north needs.
If you are reading this, I know that you have only just gotten back, but you will need to gather a band of knights to take through the duchy and announce that there is a new Duke. I will summon you again when it’s ti to return and greet the Duke. Until then, spread word as far and as wide as you can. Underneath this letter is the announcent directly from His Majesty to legitimize the ssage you will be giving to the duchy.
There will also be mages coming to the tower to finish the job of fully cleansing the barracks of all the residual poison, the way that they had done for the Duke’s Tower in the past. We need to prepare to move our knights back into their proper rooms so that the Duke adjusts easily upon his return.
That is what I’m considering it, a return, rather than his first arrival. He has been here before, working alongside us as if it were his own ho.
Please destroy this after reading it, for obvious reasons.
Sir Felix
The tone of Felix’s letter was evident through each paragraph. Irene could tell, the further she read, that he was irritated with the King.
Not only had the announcent co late enough that the three knights might arrive later than the ducal enthronent—which would undoubtedly offend whoever was being given that title—Chemois was also being given a man who lacked experience. He had been a knight for as long as she had, since he was only knighted after the war.
She also took note that this man was lacking experience in the ways of nobility as well. It wasn’t because he was a commoner, but a peasant. That rumor had persisted through Chemois and it led Irene to believe that there must be truth to it. Many had sung his praises after all he did for them, but they always had to find sothing to pick apart. She considered that it was likely because a lot of northerners were uncomfortable with the fact that their hero hadn’t co from one of their own.
Thoughts compounded. She tried to find a silver lining in all of this.
Despite Commander Lothian’s lowborn status, Irene grew to admire the man throughout the war. He was so incredibly active with his order and willing to lay down his life for all of his brothers. Was that an inherent trait in peasants?
Sir Henry wasn’t old, so perhaps he would be active as well.
Irene’s eyebrows were lowered in disbelief, and she could only stare at the words on the page until her eyes were blurry. There was a heaviness at being burdened with this all of a sudden, but she should have expected as much, considering the unpredictable nature of knighthood.
For a long ti, she had hoped that the King would co around to giving the position to soone more familiar with Chemois, but this was the cards they were dealt and it was ti to figure out how to use it to their advantage.
After a few monts more, Irene opened the top drawer of the desk once more and saw the announcent of the enthronent. It even had the royal seal on it to verify its legitimacy. For now, she would leave it there until it was ti to go.
With a huff, the girl stood up and she imdiately went forward with the letter in her hands.
She stalked down the long hallway until she t the bend where the largest tower stood, and she continued down the northwest wing until she was at the dining hall. There she walked through and went all the way to the kitchen.
A few maids were shocked to see her so suddenly since most knights didn’t go all the way to the kitchen. One even stood before her, trying to block her from making a disturbance.
"Is there sothing I can do for you, da?" she asked politely, wringing her hands together as she looked up nervously at the knight.
"I simply needed a fire," Irene explained and stepped around the shorter woman.
With no other purpose than burning the letter as Felix had requested from her, she crouched in front of the fire where a massive pot was cooking stew. There she dropped the letter into the fire and only stood up again when it was completely ash.
"Thank you, ladies," Irene said to the maids before she excused herself from the kitchen.
Since it was late in the evening and supper had already passed, Irene opted for a small al of her own. She greeted a few of the knights as she went through the Duke’s Tower after that, overseeing what sort of schedules they had gotten up to.
She even waited to see who was on night duty because those were the knights and apprentices she would likely leave behind. In that season, most monsters attacked at night anyway, since they seed sensitive to the heat as they were sensitive to the cold.
There was nothing more to do in that mont, so Irene returned to the guest room where she had placed her saddlebags and much of her items still waited for her. Despite being tired, she found herself tossing and turning a few tis as she tired to accept the changes that were thrust upon them so suddenly.
She knew it was hypocritical to wish the King was quick with his decision and then criticize the decision he made. Only when she concluded that all they could do was make the best of it, she was able to settle down and get so rest.
The following morning, Irene was offered a shallow basin of water to bathe herself, and then she brushed and tied her hair in a braid as she had been doing since going to the north and needing a way to ta it.
It was still early enough that the apprentices hadn’t yet gone out for their practice so she decided she would get herself together and go to them.
The knight ward up her shoulders by swinging her blade, but she soon traded it out for practice swords, which she took out for all the apprentices likely to be there for morning drills.
Soon enough, they slowly filtered out to the yard and William was the first to perk up.
"Lady Irene!" he shouted. "We haven’t had soone leading practices since Sir Felix left."
"Now I’m here and I’m going to remind you what it’s like to work hard," she promised with a grin.
Despite the heaviness she had been experiencing, seeing apprentices so determined to practice inspired her to be better.
By the ti drills were over, the apprentices knew she was serious about showing them a difficult ti. Nonetheless, it didn’t deter them at all. The group they had then were particularly determined to prove themselves. After all, the last knighted were legends on the battlefield during the war.
By the end of their sparring, there was a bloody nose and a couple of scratches, but otherwise spirits were high.
"It’s about ti we joined the others in the dining hall for breakfast," she directed. "I have an announcent to make."
Before she could eat, she went to the hall and her eyes crushed across the room. Every ti a knight went to the door, she stopped them, saying she had an announcent from Sir Felix.
She did quick math realizing three knights and two apprentices weren’t there because of night watch. Four were gone to the South, and there were three more going across the duchy to check on the status of monsters.
That ant there should be seven knights and four apprentices there to listen.
When everyone seed to be finished and ready to listen, she began.
"As most of you already are aware, Sir Felix and the others have gone south to bring back the man who is ant to be our Duke and Commander as appointed by His Majesty."
A bit of grumbling but mostly listening.
"It is now our turn to ensure the duchy is ready for his arrival. Mages have been sent to finish what is left in the barracks while the maids will take over the internal preparations of the tower. The rest of us will take to the trail and let the people know of the major changes. Let us give this Duke the best possible chance to succeed here."
Soone not entirely unexpected spoke up first. A knight older than even Gunnar and a bit of a traditionalist.
"Why are we ant to let an outsider preside over us? He will not understand the struggles we have endured simply because we are northerners."
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