529. Strangers On The Road IV

529. Strangers On The Road IV

“Did you know?” Adam asked, biting into the magical chicken which he had flavoured with his magic.

“Yes,” Jurot replied, simply.

“How?”

“They are Watchers.”

“Thanks, Jurot.”

Jurot nodded. He knew the Watchers were going to find out about Lucy and Mara, and he knew how they would react. There was a delicate balance Jurot had to maintain as an Iyrman, and as Adam’s brother. He knew Sir Dunnock’s penchant for fighting, and had to consider she was only slightly weaker than the greatest Watcher. However, Sir Dunnock was a member of the Order of Wings, and with Jurot backing up Adam, he understood the chance of them fighting was low.

The Watchers had settled themselves in one corner, while the Demons retreated to the opposite corner, where they could sleep in peace within the tower Adam had summoned.

“The Order of Wings is well known in Aswadasad,” Rose said, eyeing them from afar. “Was it wise to start a fight with them?”

“Jurot, let’s kill Zishan,” Adam said, standing up, reaching for his axe.

“Okay,” Jurot replied, standing up and reaching for Phantom.

Rose stepped back, turning her body slightly. “What are you doing?”

“Zishan is wicked, a threat to this world, so I must kill him,” Adam said, donning his shield. “My Oaths compel me.”

Rose raised her fists, which began to heat up, her eyes darting between the Iyrman and the Half Elf.

“Do you see this, Jurot?” Adam asked, gasping. He placed Wraith away, and Jurot did the same. “I can’t believe it. We saved your lives, invited you into our party, we paid for your fees and your stay within the towns. Do you think it’s wise to start a fight with us?”

“Why do you have go so far to prove your point?” Rose asked, cautiously placing her fists down, though her body remained tense.

“I think I already warned you once for saying something stupid in front of me, so you can’t blame me when you didn’t learn the first time,” Adam replied, simply.

“You should be careful of your words, for they are filled with venom, and misunderstandings can arise.”

“Then tell me, what kind of tone of voice and words should I use when someone threatens to kill my friend for existing?” Adam asked.

“I meant when you speak with me.”

“Oh, excuse me.” Adam cleared his throat, doing his best to keep his voice clear and neutral. “Tell me, what kind of tone of voice should I use for someone who thinks it’s wrong of me to defend my friend when she’s threatened to be killed for existing?”

“Never mind.”

“I thought so. Don’t say stupid shit, and I won’t treat you like a fucking idiot.” Adam glared at the woman, before turning and leaving, marching away.

“You should be careful with what you say,” Jurot said to Rose.

“Would you allow him to speak with you in that way?”

“Yes. If I said something so foolish, I expect Adam to reprimand me.”

“Would you have really killed the heir?” Rose asked.

“Yes. We Iyrmen may say foolish things, but we do not lie.”

Rose slowly bowed her head, swallowing her nerves. She wondered what kind of group she had joined. She originally thought the group would allow her to travel peacefully through Aldland, but considering how they were willing to kill members of an order, she thought she may have made a grave mistake.

Sir Dunnock bowed her head in response, before she rode out. She had expected Adam to do much more than to threaten her with the God of Death’s name. They rode away for a short while, becoming tiny ants on the horizon.

“Do not suffer the wickedness of Fiends, or those who barter with their wickedness,” her oldest companion quoted.

Sir Dunnock remained silent for a long while as they rode, before she slowed her warhorse with her thoughts, until they were moving at a snail’s pace. “Do you know how many secrets the Iyr and the Iyrmen hold?”

“No.”

“No one does,” Sir Dunnock stated. “We know things the Iyr does not, and the Iyr knows things we do not. When we swear our oaths, they are based on our knowledge, and the knowledge of our predecessors. Even you, who have sworn your oaths from the Right Hands and Left Hands of previous Dunnocks, know things I do not. And I, who have sworn the same Oaths the previous Dunnocks have sworn, inheriting their memories and duties, know things you do not.”

Her Right Hand thought about her words. His eyes fell down to the magical steed, which would have disappeared with the rest of her powers if she had truly broken her oath.

Sir Dunnock motioned with a hand, allowing her Right Hand to ride up towards her right, and she reached out to her heir, rubbing his back. “Do you know how many orders have come and gone? Once, the entire north knew of an order. The White Dragon Knights.”

“One of the first orders,” the Right Hand replied. “It had stood for over a thousand years.”

“A member of it’s order could have started their journey with no coin, no armour or weapons, and even no clothing. From the very north of North Aldland, all the way down to Central Aldland. By the time they would have reached Central Aldland, they would have been adorned in full plate mail, wielding their pick of all manner of weapons, some magical, with more gold than they could carry in all their clothes and pouches.”

“They were destroyed by Queen Silvari’s mother a few hundred years ago,” the Right Hand said.

“It still lives in some ways,” Sir Dunnock said. “The descendants of such an order still work hard in the orders of North Aldland, and some within the orders of other regions. Yet, none of the orders today, not even the Order of the King could match up to the heights the White Dragon Knights had managed to reach. Three hundred years, and barely anyone recalls them, save for some within the north. They speak of the orders which exist today, some of which existed at the same time, and yet even they may have forgotten.”

“The Order of the Thousand Hunts hasn’t forgotten,” the Right Hand said.

“Perhaps not.” Sir Dunnock smiled, spurring her steed to move a little quicker. “The order did not fall because it failed to heed the Iyr’s warnings, nor it was because it lost the Iyr’s favour. It was formed to deal with Wiseraith, perhaps the greatest of the north’s enemies. He harassed the land for a thousand years, and the White Dragon Knights pushed him back, again and again, until the Demonic Devastation.”

“Then he disappeared, never to be seen again,” Harry said, finally speaking up. He had to study the history of the land in order to become the next Sir Dunnock, and he recalled the tale of the nearly forgotten order.

Sir Dunnock smiled. “It would be difficult to train a new heir when you’re already so smart.”

Harry blinked, taken aback by his mentor’s words.

“Some say he died, but we know better than to assume such things,” Sir Dunnock said. “In the same way that we know better to assume that the Demons are no longer a threat to our world. The White Dragon Knights had spent hundreds of years fighting against different threats, and their powers extended further. They became so influential, they held defacto rule over certain regions of the north. Some say they were responsible for the death of the Blackheart family, but even we do not know the truth.”

“It was all but confirmed,” the Left Hand said.

“All but confirmed,” Sir Dunnock agreed, “but not confirmed. The White Dragon Knights believed themselves too big to fail. They began to push for more and more, moving outside of their initial goal to protect the north. The Grandmasters ruled their land like they were Kings and Queens, and every time the White Dragon Knights began to lose their influence, they would bare their blades towards a new threat. The Tribesfolk. Drakken. Giants.”

“Then they pointed their blade towards Antalia the Silver.”

“Antalia the Silver.” Sir Dunnock smiled. “She was less active during the time Wiseraith was. She was a small bother to the Iyr when it was so much smaller and weaker than it was now. She was a greater bother to Aldland, when it had barely began to stretch its wings. The White Dragon Knights fought Wiseraith often, but then he disappeared. Hundreds of years later, they decided to face Antalia. Antalia, who had grown quiet for over a thousand years. Do you know what happens to Dragons when they grow to over a thousand years old?”

“They become Ancient,” Harry replied, though it wasn’t special knowledge. Even a farmer’s boy knew that Dragons grew in various stages, and a thousand years old was a great milestone.

“Yes,” Sir Dunnock said, nodding her head. “The Dragon was a match for the great Golden Dragon, she who has guarded the capital for over two thousand years. So the White Dragon Knights pointed their blade against a foe who could match even Lady Jaeryael. Who knows truly why. Was it practise to see how they would fair against Lady Jaeryael? Was it because they wanted to unite the entire north against a common foe to push their own ideals? All I know is that the war which claimed Antalia’s life, completely destroyed the White Dragon Knights, and had changed the landscape and history of North Aldland for generations to come.”

“Some say that the Iyr was involved,” Harry said, thinking of how many times the Aldishmen tried to blame the Iyr for things which happened to them.

“Who knows?” Sir Dunnock replied, smirking under her helmet. “The order did not fall because it failed to heed the Iyr’s warnings. Nor did it fall because it lost the Iyr’s favour. It fell because it decided to point its sword against something they shouldn’t have. Yes, they did eventually kill her, but at what cost?”

“A Whitely victory,” Harry said. The White Dragon Knights had indeed eventually slain Antalia, and had forced away many of her allies, but the White Dragon Knights did not last much longer. The term was now used to describe a victory which inflicted such a great toll to the victor that it was essentially a loss.

“We cannot die,” Sir Dunnock stressed. “We are the Watchers, the Order of Wings. Though the Iyr may not, this land will forget us, and great enemies which threaten to invade our world, our home. The Iyr protects this land due to its duty for its people. We protect this land because it is our duty for all people. If two Demons who have not sinned may traverse this land freely for us to complete our duty, then it must be so, no matter how much I wish to face a brat who has such a wonderful story and brother.”

The fight would have been so cool, though.