The wagon came to a halt after Axel heard the Storm Drakes, and he could see Jareth reining in the Pollux. Axel then moved up the wagon to see what was going on and saw several Storm Drakes landing in an open clearing. There were three Storm Drakes on the ground, and Axel could tell one was much stronger than the other two as it was much larger, likely one that was at the Adept potency, each with a Vortan in heavy armor.

  Looking at the knights in front of the wagon, Axel’s conversations with Roran appeared in his mind as the knight on the larger Storm Drake walked to Axel’s group.

  ----

  “Roran, I am curious,” Axel turned to Roran while doing maintenance on his gear and saw that Roran was working over a set of half plate as the water in the air lately was starting to cause rust to appear on the edges of his armor. “I have met other Drake Knights, but most preferred lighter leather armor. When we arrived in your village, many wore armor much like yours.”

  “The ones you meet are likely what are called free knights,” Roran put down his work and looked at Axel. “There are two kinds of knights: free and house knights. The biggest difference between them is the resources and breeding of their drakes. Free knights tend to get their drakes from the training academies, and the house knights get theirs from their families who have century-long breeding programs.”

  “Take Star, for example,” Roran pointed at his chest before continuing. “Star was bred from two of the strongest alpha Storm Drakes that my family had ever had. Other things like size, strength, and speed come from this that allows a younger drake to carry someone in heavy armor.”

  “How many houses are there?” Aria then chimed in from another side of the camp.

  “There are currently around six large houses and another twenty smaller ones,” Roran replied with a weary sigh. “Take my house, which is currently a large house but is in decline. Since the loss of my parents and several high-ranking knights, it will likely in a few decades be counted as a minor house unless we gather more strength.”

  “How are houses ranked?” Lyra, who had been listening in, asked out of curiosity.

  “To be counted as a major house, you need at least one Grand Master tier knight, but that would make you the lowest-ranked house. The more Master and Grand Master or higher tier personnel, the higher your house will be held in the Orders. The current highest house is even ruled by the solo Transcendent tier knight in all the city-states.”

  “Orders?” Aria brought up in a confused voice. “Don’t all Drake Knights join the Storm?”

  “As everyone is a member of the Storm, yes, they are, but to organize and keep everything in check, several knight orders have arisen,” Roran stated like it was common knowledge to the others. “Orders came about because of tension between free and house knights so that gathered resources and political marriages could better be completed.”

  “Your people do political marriages?” Axel asked in confusion now.

  “Yes, how else could you avoid inbreeding Storm Drakes or keep a stable bloodline for a house?” Roran asked, confused by the question.

  “What if someone, let's say, wanted to be the mate with one of the other people?” Aria asked and moved over to sit in Axel’s lap, seeming to want to make a point.

  “If you are a house knight and want to do that, you must give up your house and become a free knight, but it is allowed under the laws,” Roran explained and seemed to want to leave the conversation. “I need to get this maintenance done, so can we talk more about this later?”

  Aria just nodded and let the matter be, thus letting everyone get back to their original tasks. Aria then kissed Axel before she went to complete her chores as they had another day of scouting ahead.

  ---

  Axel left the memory as Roran and Star moved to the front of the wagon and Aria landed behind him. The largest of the Storm Drakes knelt down and allowed its rider to slide off, only for them to sink to their ankles in the mud as neither twin had removed the water that far in the path yet. With wet sucking noises, the knight walked forward until he was before the wagon and on the dry ground that was being set ahead of it.

  “I am Sir Loran, knight of the order of the Rising Suns, and I am here to capture Squire Roran for the theft of a Storm Drake, Star of the Northern Skies,” the Vortan stated loudly and placed his mailed hand lightly on his sword.

  “I am Roran,” Roran said proudly from his seat atop Star. “I completed my training and am a Free Knight not beholden to my uncle's Order. Star is legally my charge based on my parents' will, and under the Order's law, you have no right to her.”

  “Roran, I am here on orders, and you will obey!” the knight Loran stated coldly and drew a couple of inches of steel from his scabbard.

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  Roran also reached for his sword when another voice from one of the smaller drakes called out in a commanding tone, laced with power that even stopped Axel as he was about to leap from the wagon to help his new friend. “HALT!”

  Axel could not move his body for about a second, which scared him. If this was used in combat, it would be very deadly. The smaller drake moved forward, and a female Vortan removed her helmet and looked over Roran, Axel, and everyone else before turning her full attention back to Sir Loran.

  “Sir Loran, you are escalating a situation that does not need it,” she said in a calm melodic voice. “Roran, your uncle has claimed you have not completed your rites and have taken Star without the proper protocols being followed. He has ordered your return and to have you imprisoned for your transgressions against your family.”

  Roran, upon freeing himself from the command, jumped off his mount and knelt before the woman on her drake. As Axel was freed from the hold that the command had held, he took a good look over this female knight. She was in immaculate silvered armor that had tiny runes along the seams of the armor and the collar. Axel guessed she was rather tall, much like every one of her species, though it was hard to guess as she sat securely on her mount. Her helmet was sculpted to look like a Storm Drake's fierce expression, and there was a long single plume that came from the top of the helmet to her mid-back.

  “My lady Siloe,” Roran said and bowed his head from his kneeled position. “I have completed my rites as is proper for my station. I sat my vigil and I claimed my blood right of Star of the Northern Sky. If you allow, I will hand you the papers from the knight who confirmed my vigil and the principal.”

  “You may rise and present your proof,” she said, and her drake allowed her down as she landed gracefully beside it. As Roran moved to the wagon and asked Sky to hand him his bag, Axel took a better look at Lady Siloe. She did give Axel a feeling of presence and power in just the way she was standing and staring down the knight, who, based on what little Axel knew, outranked her based on each of their liveries.

  Knights, according to Roran, have stages of seniority from Squire followed by Knight Companion to Knight, followed by either Knight Lancer or Knight Scout. The leadership ranks came after that with Knight Commander and Knight Captain, with only the Master of the Order being higher than the Knight Captains. The head of all the orders was named Knight General, which was held by the solo Transcendent Knight, who was the current holder of this title.

  Axel knew that from what he saw, Lady Siloe was a Knight Companion, but with the way she was looking at the full knight, their ranks would be reversed. Axel already had a guess on who this lady was related to but kept his mouth shut and decided to let things play out for now.

  Roran arrived before Lady Siloe and bowed as he handed her a pair of scrolls. She took them gently, unfurling them to read what was listed. As the Lady read the scroll, Sir Loran had returned his sword fully to its scabbard and was resting his off-hand on the hilt, tapping his fingers. After a few minutes, the Lady rerolled the scroll and handed it back to Roran, then looked around once again to see Axel’s group still standing ready for something to happen.

  “Sir Roran,” Lady Siloe said in a solemn tone now, and Axel could feel it laced with power, making a statement, “I bear witness and acknowledge you as a Free Knight Companion. You shall bear your name alone but with pride. You are free of family obligation and bear all consequences therein.”

  Lady Siloe then drew her curved blade and gave a crisp salute before returning it with a swift movement. She then looked over to Sir Loran and said, “You can return to your house and inform its lord.”

  The man looked like he wanted to refute but stopped himself and nodded, leaving without a second glance at Roran, trudging back through the mud to remount. Once he remounted, the other rider that was on the ground with them lifted off with the knight flying north. This left the drakes in the air to land in the now open spots, seeming to wait for Lady Siloe and watching the jungle for dangers.

  “Now that the ceremony is over, it is good to see you well, Roran,” Lady Siloe said in a husky tone and pulled off her helmet to reveal a beautiful woman underneath. “I am glad that I tagged along with the search party as I felt something was off with how your uncle was pushing the Suns to look for you.”

  “Lady…” Roran started to only have a single mailed finger to seal his lips.

  “Don’t Lady me when we are not in official settings,” Lady Siloe said and laughed while adding, “You have been my fiancée since we were two, Roran. I have sparred with you since we were six, and you will be the father of the child we sired on the day we gained our powers. I may outrank you socially, but you are still the storm that protects my heart.”

  Axel had never seen Roran blush before, but his skin changed colors so rapidly that Axel could not keep up with the changes. Lady Siloe then held out her hand to Star, who smelled her and then rubbed her head into her hand.

  “Star is looking much better,” Lady Siloe remarked as she looked the drake over with a professional eye.

  “We had found she was poisoned, and healer Lyra helped remove it,” Roran said while trying to get himself under control.

  “Then you have my thanks, healer Lyra, as even the most professional doctors of her clan could not find what was wrong with Star,” Lady Siloe said and gave a deep bow to Lyra, much to murmurs from the landed riders, which stopped when the lady snapped to stare them down.

  “The goddess guided my hands,” Lyra said and bowed back to the knight.

  “Then blessed be that she guided you to save Star,” Lady Siloe said, then turned to Roran. “You should not return to the village as your uncle seems to be up to something. I will await the day you return and cast aside your current shield and complete the Trial of Homecoming to reclaim your family and marry me as is our duty.”

  “I vow that as long as I have breath in this body, I will return to you, my Lady,” Roran said and drew his blade and knelt again to Lady Siloe.

  Lady Siloe kissed the top of Roran’s head and whispered something, then returned to her Storm Drake. She then returned her helmet and lifted off to quickly vanish into the sky with her escort. No one said anything for some time as Roran stared after Lady Siloe’s ever-shrinking speck with a focused expression on his face.

  When the speck was no longer able to be seen, Roran turned to everyone and only said, “Let's move out,” before remounting and taking his place at the rear of the wagon.