How many times? How many times had a knight of higher rank been assigned the dark elf to command and died? Surely, it had never been more than five...or had it? It wasn't as if Kaathe was keeping count. It was more of a thought that had drifted into his head. He had been in the Order as a Templar for quite some time, and saw his share of deaths. He had been placed under the command of several higher ranking knights, most of which ended up dead or injured to the point of never battling again.
He had to admit that he saw it coming every time. Most of them were in over their heads, thinking that they were ready for any monster that came their way. Yes, they were experienced enough to earn their ranks, strong enough to be capable warriors, and skilled enough to be considered powerful mages. However, experience meant nothing if they had no experience fighting the more uncommon monsters. Strength and skill are useless if you don't know how to apply it correctly against that which you are fighting. They were destined to go into those situations.
Kaathe sighed to allow the thoughts of such a subject to fade away. The dark elf took in his surroundings and found himself quite a ways from most of the other knights. He had heard that some of the more mentionable knights were among them and active this time around. Kaathe certainly heard a lot of rumors floating around about them. Interesting things here and there, but nothing he could really care about. He never did like being around the other knights anyway. They always gave off a confident aura that made it seem as if they thought that they would make it through the next battle.
Kaathe knew they wouldn't. It was simply the way fate works. There are always more dangerous monsters just waiting for a bunch of overconfident knights to show up. In any case, he'd rather not stick around a bunch like that for long. Let alone an entire encampment.
Kaathe found himself a nice, secluded spot away from them all. He would decide to rest in this spot for a while. Placing his spear on the ground beside him, he sat down and closed his eyes...After a while, he had heard some footsteps getting louder. He raised his head and opened his eyes to see who it was.
It was a fair maiden by the looks of it. Most others of Kaathe's gender would probably stare at her rather rudely, but Kaathe was one of those who knew better. Still, by the look of her, he could tell that she was part of the Order. An Initiate, from the first glance alone.
"Well, what have we here? An Initiate? What is one such as you doing, wandering about? Searching for a quiet spot?"
