Rajiana Pendragon (Recruitment Armory, Firth, Helies Province)
"Uggh... I haven't eaten in two days... wait, who is he?" "He seems to be the new recruit they mentioned." "Hm, finely clothed too." "He is worth three silver they said, which is a humble price for any decent guard." "Hold your tongue, he might hear you." Voices rang faintly in his ear, his vision was pitch black. He stretched and looked around, and saw a few recruits, three men and two women, dressed in light armor and sweaty. "Took a nap, eh?" Said one of the men as he removed his helmet and hung it on the rack. Rajiana looked with a disdainful and aloof stare at them. They were too occupied stripping off armor and signing checklists to bother with him. When they were all done and had their casual garbs back on, one of the recruits reached his hand out to Rajiana. Rajiana grabbed the hand and helped himself up. "My name is Julius." The black haired man said, and swilled a bottle of ale halfway. One of the girls took the bottle and drank it empty after him. "Training was a hassle today... I am in for hell if I can't find that letter soon." Said Julius to the recruits. "You should have been more careful in the first place." Said one of the girls as she sits on her bed. Rajiana walks to the door and leaves without a word. He hears a priest in a nearby room preaching about the pits of hell for sinners, and the disciplines of blasphemy. Rajiana covers his ears, he heard these one sided sermons his whole life. If you stole bread, you will be sent to oblivion. He did not want these dismal thoughts in his head, and he seeks to ask directions to the Blacksmith. He finds a man leaning against the hallway wall, muttering to himself. Rajiana walks up to the man, leaving straw specks from his unclean boots on the silk carpets. "Do you know where the blacksmith resides?" He asked in a less than welcoming tone. The man glances at him, and points to the other end of the hall. "The forge is sector seven, that door at the end is the quickest way from here." The man tells him. Rajiana walks down the hallway, towards the grimy door.
He opens the rusty door, it squeaked loudly as the metal ground against the stone floors. The smell of smoke was strong, and the air was almost acidic from the melting steel and various chemicals in the pots. A prime aged man, looking in his 20's, with thick blonde hair, was sitting on the bench polishing armor pieces, and engraving the finishing details of the royal army. Rajiana walks forward, and the man gestures him to sit on a bench. Rajiana sits hesitantly, but the warm oak seat was almost comfortable. He took a second to admire the forge itself. The firepit was at least ten feet in radius. The crucible had molten metal inside of it, likely melted pewter for cheap arrows. The room had weapon and armor racks, covered in anything from leather caps to steel plated Jousting sets. "I take it you feel better, sir blacksmith." Rajiana said as a jestful injoke. The blacksmith laughed faintly, "I work anyways, even the plague doesn't halt the demand for equipment." The man says, and stands up. Rajiana instinctively stands as well, and walks toward the smith. He hands the recruit his remaining armor, and a razor sharp bastard sword. "Normally, you would have wooden sticks to practice with. But these are not times for training. The next skirmish is expected next week. Besides, your teacher claims you have combat competence." Said the blacksmith, and pats him on the back. Rajiana nods and leaves with his issued equipment. He never knew there was a fight occurring lately, or how much his loyalty would be tested.
He returns to the dorm without any additional visits, and sees his roommates sleeping peacefully. One of the girls was halfway on his bed, so he gently repositioned the tired recruit back onto their pad of straw. He hangs his armor, and sits on the straw. He reaches under the breastplate, and pulls out two letters. One was the recruitment letter, with a broken seal. The other was unfamiliar, with a rose emblem wax seal. He broke the seal and read the title. "Dear Rajiana Pendragon, a Skirmish Notice from Imperious Rex Lycanthae". He read the letter... and it became obvious why he was bought for three silver.
