When Kal was awakened the next morning by Reindolous the sun had yet to rise over the edge of the horizon. Seeing that none of the other men had been woken up he gave the grizzled old knight a questioning look.

[color=f26522]"The men won't wake for another hour. They need their sleep if they're to be ready for today."[/color]

Kal gave a lazy grin [color=f7941d]"And we don't?"[/color]

To Kal's surprise, Reindolous didn't return the grin, but rather returned with a stern, appraising look.

[color=f26522]"Those in command rarely have such luxuries"[/color] 

From his earliest childhood he had rarely seen Reindolous not smiling. The man had always been quick to laugh and share a bawdy joke whenever the Queen wasn't around. Seeing him now, Kal could almost believe he was looking at a totally different man. There was a tension to his stance that put Kal in mind of a hunting cat, and the dim light shadowed the angles of his face, making him look gaunt and serious. The over all impression was that of a blade, one which despite having seen years of use and more than a bit of blood, had not lost a bit of it's sharpness. 

[color=f26522]"Kallain, we're most likely going to be seeing battle today. Do you know what that means?"[/color]

"[color=f7941d]"Of course, We're going to show these scraggly bandits why it's a poor idea to target villages under our protection. So we'll show them a bit of steel and send them running for the hil-" [/color]

[color=f26522]"Wrong. It means that the moment after you pull that sword from it's sheath you're accepting the fact that you might have to kill someone before you put it back"[/color]

[color=f7941d]"Come now, Reindolous, I hardly think that-[/color]

[color=f26522]"I wasn't finished. Kill or be killed, that's the lot of any simple soldier, but you are more than that. You see all the men sleeping here? You are their leader, their commanding officer, their Prince. They look to you for guidance and it's up to you to provide it. I know that you've been trained well, and I'll be doing every thing I can to assist you, but when it comes down to it your are responsible not only for your own skin, but for the lives of everyone in this unit, and eventually, everyone in this Kingdom. Do you understand?" [/color]

As Reindolous had spoken the smile had gone from Kal's face. He'd listened to the older Knight's words and had effected him greatly. This was to be his first test as a commander. He had trained many hours and was reckoned by many who'd seen him to be a great warrior in the making, but he'd never killed a man, and certainly never been responsible for keeping others alive. Would he be able to handle this responsibility?    

Kal looked up at Reindolous [color=f7941d]"I understand."[/color]

A fierce grin appeared on Reindolous's face.[color=f26522] "I'm sure you'll do your father proud. Now let's go show those poor Turnip Bastards why you don't mess with the Royal Army."[/color]