❝ Hmm… ❞ 

A raspy voice parts dry lips as long bony fingers stroked a beard of straggly grey hair. A set of sunken grey eyes peered down to the courtyard below as the old Paladin watched the group of knights train. Solf was an old man with the generic face an old warlock would have, topping it off with the large pointy hat and dark robes, save for the fact that the sleeves were removed to show off a set of large heavily tattooed arms. A not so typical mage, though what offset him the most from the garden variety magic user was the presence of two large swords resting on his back and side. After all, he was none other than Adon Solf Sigurd, The Magick Knight and Paladin of Baria, and often the right hand to the Knight King himself. Being one who has served not one, but four generations of Knight King’s, Solf was a very wise individual, but oddly one who was a traditionalist through and through when it came to politics and even more so the traditions and religion of his nation. Though when it came to fighting, not so much. He was, after all referred to as the Magick Knight, which should give some indication to his not-so cookie-cutter nature. 

Solf stood before the wooden railing, narrowing his eyes as he observed one particular young female knight fight against a group of five. Their movements were swift, easily sidestepping the larger opponents and using their wooden sword to strike them in their weakest points whilst not breaking a sweat. The young knight seemed pleased with themselves, happily jumping up and down while gloating to the kneeling knights. Though the old Paladin, Solf was far from amused. He sighed, holding the bridge of his nose as he tapped the head of his wooden cane against the railing, getting the attention of the young knight who just now removed his helmet.  

❝ Wrong. Do it again. And stop wearing that armour. It’s becoming of a young man like you. ❞ 

Solf spoke in a booming voice as the young knight looked up to him. Holding their helmet under their arm, long blue locks of hair fell over an adolescent face of pale skin and golden eyes. Despite wearing a set of woman’s armour, it seemed that there was a young male beneath the iron shell. The young male frowned as he looked up at Solf, his teacher. Erenn was only fifteen years old going on sixteen, and despite his age had already achieved the high rank of Holy Knight, and now aimed for the rank of Templar before finally reaching his goal of Paladin. As he was raised to become a knight since he was young, Erenn had been trained in swordplay, hand to hand combat and a myriad of glyph in magicks and his signature ice and water magic. As he was taken in by Phinnease at a young age, Erenn had been given all the freedoms he could ask for, and all of the training too. He had one goal to achieve, and he would reach it no matter what it took. 

❝ But! I did that perfectly! There were no mistakes at all! And besides, Sir Finn told you not to refer to me like that~ ❞ Erenn protested, sticking his tongue out at Solf in his usual childish manner before he proceeded to help the winded knights get up on their feet. The adolescent didn’t seem to care much for the old man, as it was commonplace for the two to butt heads over the most trivial of things.  

❝ Tch. You were too hesitant, if this were a real fight you would be dead. And so full of yourself too, It’s absurd. Just because you can’t figure out what gender you are doesn’t mean I need to refer to you as anything but what you are, a boy- ❞ 

Solf was more often than not, a stern, bitter old man. Being heavily religious and traditional, such ideologies that the young Erenn spoke of was beyond him. He was born a male, so would be referred to as such. It didn’t matter if he could change his gender on a whim, the mere thought made the old Paladin sick. Just as Solf was about to speak once more and tell them to go another round, whilst raising his cane up his attention was drawn to the presence of another individual walking through the large doors of the courtyard. The knights who were training all looked to the gate and immediately knelt down before the imposing man who made his way over to Solf. 

❝ Hm? Well, what brings you here, Knight King Phinnease? ❞ 

The old Paladin looked to the Beage male who stood at a mere five feet tall, just a littler taller than Erenn. Sir Phinnease Caravaughn, the 230th Knight King of Baria was a halfbreed Beage, so only had a minor difference in size to most who were usually only four foot tall at best. Phinnease had short cut blonde hair and deep blue eyes, and more often than not wore a black tunic with golden trims and a pair of white trousers, with a larger blue and gold coat over his shoulders. Phinnease is a highly revered man, being the head of the Paladins of Baria and the grand sword of ARK, the half-Beage male has a rather large stature despite his size. Being the son of the great innovator and Saint, Aryeth, Phinnease is known to be an extremely calculating, charismatic and meticulous individual. The only thing that outshined his intellect was his kindness. The blonde male sighed as he looked up at the taller Paladin, then over to Erenn who was already removing his armour and making his way over to them with a wide grin.  

❝ I figured I would drop by and see how Erenn was doing. ❞ 

Erenn made his way up the large set of stairs after carefully placing his armour on the rack and putting his sword away for the next person to train. Despite him being a kid at heart, he was well mannered and held the etiquette of a noble. Though he was more often than not prone to his childish tendencies, Erenn made sure to keep himself well presented and did his best to quell his often hot temper and even more often haphazard nature. Being one who was bought up to be polite to everyone he meets, Erenn adopted a rather stoic yet polite demeanour, but still retained his youthful passions and oft tended to show his childish side to those he knew well. Albeit this, Erenn is also an extremely focused and methodical individual when the situation calls for it, much like his adoptive father, Phinnease. Just don’t comment on his small size, or the fact that he is still a child.  

❝ Finn! ❞ 

Erenn grinned widely as he almost hurled himself at the blonde male who was barely taller than he was. Chuckling, Finn caught him and spun him around before setting him down and ruffling his hair. Though the two could pass off as the same age, Phinnease was already in his mid fourties’ though looked much younger, and shorter than he should. Part of the Beage bloodline, or so he often chalked it up as. Though he did adopt Erenn, he was never the type to hide things from him, and gave Erenn all the freedoms he wanted, as well as the choice to do as he pleased. That, and the truth of his family. Though Erenn learned this at a young age, he understood it and not only that, resolved himself to finding her, his older sister Elizabeth.  

❝ Hey Blueberry! Go take a shower, you stink~ ❞ Finn chuckled before Erenn broke away from the hug and looked down at his sweat covered tunic, before getting flustered and running off indoors to go shower and change. Phinnease sighed, shaking his head as he walked over to the railing and gestured the knights to go back to doing their training. He did not look over to Solf, but knew exactly what the old Paladin was thinking. Phinnease had a knack for reading people, one that Erenn had picked up at a young age which often made it hard for him to pinpoint what the kid was thinking. But, they all knew what Erenn wanted, and knew the day would soon come. The blonde knight sighed, looking up to the open skies above as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

❝ You can’t keep coddling him forever. Especially with all the chaos going on in the kingdom ❞ 

Solf spoke in a rather harsh tone, walking slowly to stand alongside Phinnease as the two looked down to the courtyard below. The old Paladin raised a brow and looked over to the blonde knight as he stroked his beard, as he often did when conversing with people. Phinnease seemed distant, and it took a moment for him to register what Solf had actually said. The half-Beage male sighed and merely shrugged it off with a nonchalant  

chuckle. Though, Solf was right. Phinnease was just too cautious to put Erenn in any danger, and with the current unrest throughout Agrovia from the disappearance of the Captain Commander, a Saint and a fellow Paladin and a dear friend of Phinnease’s, he was reluctant to let him venture out on his own just yet. Despite the fact that he almost beat his record of being the youngest Holy Knight, which did make Phinnease sweat a little albeit being proud of his achievements.  

❝ I know. But just a little longer won’t hurt, right? Besides…He’s going to need all the training he needs for his journey ahead.❞ Phinnease drew a long breath, knowing that Solf, as his advisor would surely scold him, but also as a dear friend, would warn him not to be too brash. But, the old Paladin did not speak in response to his words, merely gave him a gentle nod before he too, longingly looked up to the skies. 

❝ A war is coming, ❞