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[h3]--Strange Squadmates--[/h3]

Liese's proud, ambitious smile didn't falter as Dot seemed to be emboldened by his words, very good; even though the dark-haired candidate didn't feel as strongly about her gender as Liese did, with each female proving their worth in the knighthood, it paved the way for the order to eventually accept all candidates based on their worth as a knight alone, certainly culling those who could only use their family's prestige to assert their position, such as the squadron's assigned leader here. 

[color=fb3a81][b]"Tis’ not mere hope, for it's a guaranteed eventuality, Sir Auferrum, and you're welcome."[/b][/color]

Then as if on cue, one of the squad's vice-leaders arrived to inform the pair that the group would be departing for the eastern barracks shortly. Ah, it's Nathaniel Lothwren, one of the few nobles whom Liese genuinely respected. Though he lost his debut spar due to naivety, the fact remained that Sir Lothwren owned up to the privileges given to him, his auspicious birth, his noble house, and his talents; the slightly younger boy put the work into his martial and arcane boons, being one of the rare aura users in this generation, he certainly didn't squander any of it. Liese certainly remembered visiting the Lothwren household years ago and watched the brunette training hard. 

Thus, he's a [i]worthy[/i] noble and one that Liese must treat properly, befitting of his earned station in life, [color=fb3a81][b]"Greetings, Sir Lothwren, the honor is mutual, we shall achieve greatness together."[/b][/color] The blonde did a small respectful bow, from one knight-to-be to another, [color=fb3a81][b]"Of course, I shall do so immediately, Sir."[/b][/color] Without a fuss, he stepped forward together with Dot, rendezvousing with the rest of the squad.

Speaking of the person Nathaniel mentioned though, now this supposed squad 'leader' was the direct opposite of the brunette, and sadly his ilk was more typical in Grayle than the other. An indolent sloth who was called 'prince' simply because he was born into royalty, 'Prince' Rossweine did absolutely nothing to show that he deserved the title, much unlike his older brother, Prince and Knight-Commander Manegold. They said that the apple didn't fall far from the tree, what a load of horseshit as the saying couldn't be further from the truth in regards to Rossweine. Liese didn't need to say anything to him, an insignificant factor in his destiny, and at the end of the day, Rossweine would simply be one of the many who'd be stripped, disgraced, and exiled from the new Grayle.

Liese absolutely had no confidence that the squad would get anywhere if they followed Rossweine's leadership, or specifically, the lack thereof, but thankfully, the vice-captains were more deserving of their roles, yes, even the wild child. Speaking of which, one was Nathaniel, and the other was Kaiser Underwall of House Sauvage, a curious wildling that Ser Sauvage literally found in the wild and adopted. Much could be said about his manners and etiquette, really his behavior as a... person in general. Befitting the rumors of Kai being raised by wolves, the blue-haired boy emulated canine behaviors to some degree, including the jumpy friendliness and eager obedience. Nevertheless, he was willing to work and though his fighting style was unorthodox, it was proven to be effective; the boy clearly had talent in both martial and arcane just like Nathaniel, but considering his lack of civility, could he control the fickle art of aura manipulation? Only time could tell.

The next two squad members both shared a distinctive trait, they both hailed from the lands of Valefor, a sovereign nation for their craftsmanship, which meant they were foreigners and Liese didn't know much about them other than what he had observed so far. [color=fb3a81][i]Signar Wayland and Zenshin Ferros...[/i][/color] Both of these boys possessed a darker complexion than Graylians as befitting their sun-scorched arid nation, but the former certainly was extraordinarily gifted by the God of Strength. He stood at least a full head - and even several heads for some - taller than the rest of the squad, and upon first glance at his torso and limbs alone, one could imagine how terrifying it'd be to face a fully-armed [i]trained[/i] knight with such a stature. 

As for Zenshin, though he was on the taller side too, he was sadly outmatched by his fellow Valeforian, perhaps Signar's presence had the unfortunate effect of making him appear smaller and thinner than he actually was, but at least, from what limited knowledge Liese had about him, the smaller Valeforian was quite talented at magic, let's see how he'd turn out in the future. 

Nevertheless, Liese could respect the tenacity and ambition of these two young men, to brave the journeys of traveling to another country and try their hands at one of the most difficult academies to study in. They were foreigners, which implied whatever heritage they had back in their homeland meant little here and they still qualified despite that so it should mean [i]something[/i].

And finally, the unknown and unlikely commoner only known as Julian Baker, hailing from a family of breadmakers it seemed; a petite and wiry boy who won his debut spar by a fluke, taking advantage of Nathaniel's expectancy of honorable conduct, something that would work only once and never again. Liese had zero expectations for the shorter blue-eyed blonde, he was sure that this Baker boy would give up within the first month of arduous training, and without the backing of a noble house behind him (unlike Rossweine), he would be dropped without hesitation. The only thing worth an iota of notice was the amusing fact that Julian could pass off as Liese's younger brother considering his looks, but that was it, otherwise, a commoner in way over his head, a non-factor in the grand scheme of things.

All of these students together composed what's known as the 13th Squadron of the Eastern House, and he couldn't stand only one of them, a fortunate occurrence all things considered. Liese was more than willing to work together with them so their squad could be the cream of the crop, the pride of the academy, but make no mistake, should any of them prove detrimental to that goal, then he'd have no hesitation in shoving them aside. Graduates would be employed in Grayle's most elite fighting force and those who caved into mere training should never be trusted to be in a real field of battle.

[color=fb3a81][b]"Greetings, squad, I am Liese Victoire of House Brendorn, ready to depart."[/b][/color]