The wandering knight Alexander Atreides was not nearly as well found as many of the others within the list given to the messenger. The man was on the outskirts of the civilized lands, parlaying with some of the darker things of the wild woods. They had been getting restless, causing problems with the members of Silvercliff that called these borderlands their home. These Ancient Woods were indeed an unwelcome place to many, even the beastfolk within often times wisely moving about, moving under the blessing of Vine and as her whimsy demanded. Few others had ever found hospice in that place, his family included, but that was neither here nor there. Right now one such beastman was taking offense to the current farmers and their, albeit hostile, approaches to attempting to clear out the woods that had grown out into their property. This was a classic problem he saw often, the wilds growing into civilized borders, and their current denizens taking offense to what they saw as a natural course of things taking their deserved place. And, long story short, this beastman would settle for no diplomacy, so it was settled the old way.

Steel and skill. Single combat, if you will. Atreides, standing for the farmer and his kin. The beastman, for his and the forest. The two had crossed paths before, granted they had not been on opposing sides. But fate was whimsical indeed, and as he blocked a downward stroke from the creature's axe, he twisted and spun, throwing the beast off balance and planting a plated foot into its midriff, sending it skidding back several paces. His old grandblade came to rest on his shoulder, shadow billowing from its intricacies as his cowl seemed to hide his visage in inky black as well. The two would reclash several times over before blood was leaking from the chest of the beastman, a shallow blow that ended the contest. Rising from his half crouched position, Atreides settled the blade back into a resting position on his shoulder, pulling the armored cowl back. [b]"First blood is mine, Huntsman. Today, the wild withdraws to the property lines as agreed upon."[/b]

The beastman huffed, wrapping a loose cloth around its chest to bind its wound. A few inches more leeway and he would have a corpse, not a bested foe, but the knight was not interested in needless slaughter. But an agreement was an agreement, and the woods withdrew from the farmer's land as agreed upon for the time being. Sliding the blade onto his back, where it came to rest in a sheath, he turned to face the farmers as they approached, thankful but anxious around the shadowy knight. He denied any payment beyond enough food to get him back to his homestead in the woods when a courier caught his attention. The lad rode up, hauling himself off his horse. Atreides recognized the symbol of the Order on his uniform, and walked over as the lad unrolled a scroll. [i]"Knight Atreides, Grandmaster Edward demands your presence posthaste!"[/i]

Atreides looked down and took the document from his hands, reading over the contents and nodded slowly, returning the document to the boy. [b]"So it is, Courier. Be on your way, then, I shall away to Silvercliff and see what our esteemed Grandmaster needs of me this time."[/b] Atreides had no horse, for he walked wherever he may be needed, but in times of need he knew the hidden paths around the land, part of how he had survived growing up was knowing the hidden ways around. So he covered as much ground as a man on horseback might, but it was indeed later in the day when he arrived at the capitol of the Kingdom of Silvercliff. A fine place, far too bustling and civilized for his tastes but a fine place none the less. And within was his destination, well and easy to pick out from a ways away. The Arcane Bastion, grandiose name, but fitting. Striding into its corridors, he ignored the singing and made his way towards where Edward would be no doubt waiting and bowed his head briefly to the Grandmaster. [b]"You called and I answer, Grandmaster. What need have you of a Knight Wanderer?"[/b]