[b]Sir Kherun Zeydria[/b]

The snow haired young man barrelled down the muddy road on his faithful steed Wedge. With staff in hand, Kherun looked down the road, hoping that he was going the right way. The fort, his destination, was somewhere he had never been before. Truth be told Kherun hadn’t been much of anywhere besides the royal castle and the surrounding town, as that was where he grew up. It was there that he had decided that he would become a knight of the Iron Rose as a child. Now as an adult, he finally fulfilled that dream, here heading out toward his first assignment as a knight.

Kherun had technically only been a member of the knightly order for a few weeks, but he was chomping at the bit to do something as a knight. Sure there was the pageantry in court and the higher station, but Kherun wanted to do some heroics. He had dreamt of saving villagers and fighting off brigands, but his blade had remained in its sheath. That was until he had received his orders, sending him to this distant fort.

Kherun had been ordered by an agent of the court to assist his fellow knights at a distress call at the fort. Finally it seemed like Kherun was being acknowledged as he was to join his fellow knights on this assignment. So he had strapped on his armour and weapons, and mounted Wedge. The grey skinned warhorse had made quick time from the castle, as Kherun led him in the rough direction of the fort. So far he had only had to stop at one village for directions, and was now pretty sure he was nearing his destination.

This was confirmed as Kherun heard a familiar hoot. Looking up from the road he saw the form of Watcher, his owl familiar, swoop down to his arm. Watcher hooted a few times before staring at Kherun. Thanks to his druidic ancestry, Kherun was able to get a rough meaning out of the hoots. Watcher was telling him that he had seen the fort and that there were already other people there.

“Thanks buddy,” said Kherun as he patted Watcher on the head.

The great horned owl then lifted back up in the sky, becoming an extra set of eyes for his master. Kherun commanded his horse to rush down the road, wishing to meet up with his fellow knights. But as Kherun neared the end of the road, he began to hear some kind of commotion. The white haired knight brought his horse to a stop and dismounted it. He then walked a few feet, peering from behind a tree.

Indeed he had arrived at the fort, but like Watcher had said he wasn’t alone. There was a large gathering of what seemed to be mercenaries surrounding the fort. Behind them at the fort was several individuals, some of them who Kherun recognized, like Knight-Captain Fanilly Danbalion. It seemed that his fellow knights were in a predicament, one that puzzled Kherun.

While he wished to reunite with his order, Kherun wasn’t sure how to pass through the wall of soldiers. As he crouched and watched them, Kherun unconsciously put a hand on the ground. Immediately the roots of the trees around him began to speak in his mind. They offered their services for a trusted druid, which gave Kherun an idea.

He would run back to Wedge, mount him again, and slowly ride over to the trees. Lowering his staff so that it touched the ground, Kherun began to commune with the trees. They seemed to listen him as they raised their roots out of the ground, attempting to knock over the mercenaries. Taking advantage of the confusion caused among the warriors, Kherun charged his horse from behind them. With a mighty yell, the combination of Kherun’s staff and Wedge’s gallop knocked over several mercenaries. The grey horse would then gallop over to the other knights.

“I am Kherun Zeydria, newly knighted of the Order of the Iron Rose. I have been dispatched to assist you,” Kherun stated with as much bravado as possible, “But now I suggest we use the confusion I created.”

Kherun then turned Wedge around to face the mercenaries, some of them already rising to their feet after being tripped by the roots. As Kherun awaited his fellow knights’ actions, he saw that Watcher was circling over the mercenaries, awaiting Kherun’s command.