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[h3]--The 13th Squadron of the Eastern House--[/h3]

[@Mcmolly]

Not a moment too soon, the four Knight-Commanders arrived, Ser Gilbert Tervellan of the Eastern House, Prince Manegold Aelious Grayle of the Western House, Ser Rubeus Valentin of the Southern House, and Ser Caius Ward of the Northern House; all accomplished figures in their own right. As far as Liese was concerned, at the very least, these men deserved their current positions and all the privileges and responsibilities carried within.

The Brendorn's [i]rightful[/i] heir kept standing at attention, one of the few who actually listened to what the Heralds had to say for once he achieved his life's goals, he'd be tearing the government of this rotten kingdom from the ground up, dismantle the old corrupt institutions and rebuild them anew. One of the many things he'd do was to see if this knighthood acceptance speech needed amendments. Soon enough, the herald concluded the formalities and began announcing the names of those who qualified one by one. 

All throughout the roll call, Liese never let his attention wander. He wasn't selected for the Southern, Western, nor Northern house either, so it must be the Eastern House then. No, he wasn't superstitious enough to think that just because his name just so happened to be listed toward the tail-end of the scroll meant something more than pure coincidence. In fact, it flattered him that he'd be among those selected based on their performance, not his heritage, not his gender, but skills, [i]good[/i].

[color=fb3a81][i]But of course.[/i][/color]

Liese wasn't surprised that he'd make the cut, twas' a foregone conclusion given his skills and talents; as much as these patriarchal stooges wished otherwise, even [i]they[/i] wouldn't pass up the chance of having an Absolute as one of their own. Therefore, it was a reasonable presumption that Knight-Commander Tervellan pulled some strings to be able to have a royal prince and - not one, but [i]two[/i] - Aurists, and an Absolute in the same squadron. [i]However[/i], on the other hand, he wasn't surprised either that despite all of his aptitude for knighthood, he wasn't chosen as one of the squad leaders. 

Rossweine was a given since the slothful brat is royalty, undeservingly so, but the rest of the three? Aurists they might be, but one was a supposedly skilled fighter yet blundered his debut spar against a mere scrawny commoner, falling for an underhanded trick as simple as a pocket sand. What? Did he expect commoners to fight 'honorably'? Did he expect that when melee began in the battlefield that everyone would fight with tact and decorum in a clash of life and death? Naive fool. The other, the blue-haired one, did Liese really need to say more? Some wildling orphan that Ser Kyner Sauvage found in the woods, bereft of even basic human decency, manners worse than even the most unwashed peasant, to think the gods wasted the gift of Aura on this simpleton. And last but not least, all three of them were boys. In fact, Liese wouldn't be surprised if him not having the same sex as them was enough of a reason by itself to bar him from leadership.

[color=fb3a81][i]What else is new?[/i][/color] The female-sexed boy rolled his eyes, mentally and physically.

Ser Tervellan then gave a concise welcome speech. That's right, they were all soldiers now, the elite of the elites, and those who couldn't shape up to be among the best should stand down lest they dilute the ranks. In the battlefield, sentiments meant nothing, having dedication and willpower yet failing to give concrete results also meant nothing. Although the knighthood still had obvious sentimental biases in its roots, Liese could appreciate that it strove to be as meritocratic as possible. [color=fb3a81][i]What is it I can do for Grayle?[/i][/color] He'd scrub off all of the taint of primogeniture and nepotism from this kingdom, starting from the Sentinel Knights.

Just as Ser Trevellan was a commoner, yet impressed the Marshal enough to be elevated to Knight-Commander position. The nobles hate him, but of course they would, an upstart threatening to disrupt their nepotistic regime, this man had done something right, he had proven that being born noble and male wasn’t the be all end all path to power.

Now then, before he'd depart for the Eastern Barracks, Liese noticed a certain name among those assigned in the 13th Squadron, the one who sparked quite the gossip amongst the Lord Council, an exile from Alexandria, apparently an illegitimate daughter of her mother, sired by someone from Grayle, a stain on royal honor. Furthermore, out of all the 'he's' here, [i]she[/i] was notable to Liese for obvious reasons.

With his hands crisply clasped behind his back, he strode over to Dot, steps confident and measured, approaching her from the front, making his presence clear. [color=fb3a81][b]"Lady Auferrum,"[/b][/color] Liese greeted her, extending a right hand for a shake, [color=fb3a81][b]"I am Liese Victoire of House Brendorn, pleased to meet you."[/b][/color] Whether Dot took it or not, the taller blue-eyed blonde of the squad would continue, [color=fb3a81][b]"I admire your bravery in joining the knighthood despite your circumstances. I will not lie to you by saying that the path ahead won't be difficult, but as your squadmate, I will do all in my power to make sure that we succeed together. Show these fat, indolent so-called highborns just how little do they worth."[/b][/color]