Knights Apocalyptica

Chapter 188: Higher Education

“The Rank of Knight Errant is a peculiar one within the orders.

On one hand, you are no longer a student charged with learning with courses within the Academy—and seen as a viable Knight who can act independently of others. Some might use this role to learn leadership, teaching skills, or a slew of other essential, more field-work-oriented tasks that are only touched upon in the Academy’s curriculum.

The education one receives with this rank has far more variety than what the Academy offers, both in the nature of what can be learned and the quality.

Therefore, it is vital that an Initiate pick their mentor carefully upon graduation and that they have plenty to learn from the Knight they serve under. Not only does it form the foundation of their education in a practical application, but the morals and values of this relationship often have far-reaching effects on the type of Knight they become as they grow.

Still, there is no shortage of Knights willing to offer their services in this role—if nothing else, then because it signals to the Orders their responsibility and may grant them opportunities to advance.”

- Dame Nova, Summation Of The Ranks (295, 3rd Era)

Silver fire danced on Erec’s fingertips. His eyes flared red while taking in his brother—the remains of the broken wooden sword decorating his wrecked training hall. Taking this further would be easy. So easy. He may have declared his victory, but he hadn’t had his chance to show his brother what truly was beneath the surface.

Erec took in a deep breath. With considerable effort, he stepped back from that edge, fingers starting to shake as he let Fury burn off. Exhaustion came in place of the rage. Might things have been different if it were a real battle? If he’d had his Armor? Maybe if he’d pulled the trigger with his silver fire quicker?

But it wasn’t a real battle. Those details—trying to kill Bedwyr would never be part of a fight with his brother. Those were all mights, maybes, and excuses. Erec tossed them aside.

[Ooof. That loss has to sting, but don’t sweat it, Buckeroo. You’ll get him next time.]

As Erec steadied, he took in more of the training hall. Bedwyr hadn’t held back. Thanks to his brother's magic, the place had been wrecked in the short spar. Holes in the wall, torn wooden floors, and fire damage made the place a mess. If anything, they were lucky it hadn’t spread.

…Maybe anger issues ran in the family?

It would all need repairs. But, for now, he didn’t have the spare money in his treasury to waste on something like this.

That would have to be fine. They mostly trained in the Academy, to begin with. Until he became a Knight Errant, things would survive left this way. It wasn’t like visitors to his manor needed to see the training how.

“You won,” Erec admitted, throwing away the excuses. “But we both know it isn’t long off until that is no longer the case.”

Bedwyr stared at his brother with a deep frown. “And when that day comes, then you can be in charge. Until then, I am.”

“Don’t get it confused. I’ve long stepped out of your shadow, and I do not answer to you. But I still love you. You’re my only brother, and when I say that our mother is out of our lives—that it was her choice, even if I cannot tell you why you should trust that I have your interest in heart… If I learned anything from that journey, it is that the family I have—you, Garin…. They are what matter. Not a woman from the past who no longer is the same person.”

His brother wasn’t happy with that; Erec could see it on his face. But at the very least, this spat had quelled the part of Bedwyr that refused to accept such an answer.

Perhaps, even if it had been a loss, there might be some small victory to take from it.

“…We should look towards the future. Together. Neither of us is a ‘head’ of the family as brothers. Ones that can rely on each other… Because I’m going to need people to rely on. This Kingdom will. Sooner than you might imagine.” Erec continued as his brother glared.

Bedwyr tilted his head at that. “Erec, you always could call on me if you need me.”

Those words would have filled Erec with annoyance and anger a year ago. He’d buck at that thought he’d ever need to rely on Bedwyr…. Now, though, they provided a small measure of peace. Even if Bedwyr didn’t see him eye to eye on this now, it was only temporary.

Once he could, he’d share the truth with his brother. He swore he would even if he didn’t think it’d do any good.

“In the spirit of pulling together what family we have left, how about this: there’s a Gala I’m attending. A Luculentus event—I know you and Father aren’t directly in my house anymore, but I think I could swing an invitation. I don’t know what exactly is planned for this thing, but Garin made it sound important. I could use more allies in such an unwelcome battlefield.” Erec confessed.

Oddly, Bedwyr shifted his position—a note of uncertainty in his eyes. “Listen, I don’t know what you’ve heard… But I’m not exactly proficient at these sorts of things, and regardless of my standing in the second year, we’re still a landless House. Are you sure you want me to come along?”

For a second, Erec was on the back foot. Growing up, he’d seen his brother at the same courtly affairs—though Bedwyr always looked at home in those hellish social gatherings. Far more than himself.

He saw it there, that same trepidation and fear of public gatherings hidden away deep, in contrast to Erec, who wore it on his chest.

“Yes, and don’t worry, you’ll be in good company.” Erec gave his brother a firm pat on the shoulder, even if he couldn’t manage a smile. Whatever hostility had been there before worked itself out in their fight—which was better. The two of them had found a common ground to work out their emotions—a fact he would tuck away for later when the next inevitable conflict arose between them.

Maybe it wasn’t the healthiest way, but if it worked for them, then who could judge it?

Bedwyr pulled back to leave the training room, and Erec noticed the blinking in the corner of his vision. He pulled up the notification, surprised that a Virtue had improved—the first since returning from the expedition.

Agility: Rank D - Tier 5 → Rank D - Tier 6

A small smile played out on his face. Perhaps more training with his older brother was in order for the future. Looking at the wrecked hall all around him, he resolved to keep said training above ground. Far away from anything he’d have to pay for when it inevitably got wrecked. Neither of them held back when it came to a fight.

— - ☢ - — - ☼ - — - ☢ - —

The next couple of days managed to fly by without another serious fight with his brother. Yet, there was only so much he could do. The mundane part of his plans was proving simple to sort—now that the merchants understood their new relationship, he found them much more cooperative to get what he needed.

There was still much to do, and after three weeks from their return, the Kingdom had begun to settle into a new normal.

Among the Initiates, outsiders and rumors of Vega were all that left their lips. Erec could only imagine what people were talking about.

But he still had no clear view of the Church’s path.

This lack of knowledge and not seeing how the wind blew had set Erec on edge. Whenever he sat too long in one place, he needed to move. So it was he found himself striding through the verdant and overgrown hallways of his Order’s Academy building; sunlight spewed in and hosted a stunning amount of plants. But not even the beautiful vines and variety of life here eased his soul. No. He had a destination in mind.

With quick steps, he headed directly for Boldwick’s office.

He passed by unaware Initiates as they talked in the hall—careless. They were also careless; they weren’t cursed with the knowledge that the Kingdom and the Church were like powderkegs set to go off. As far as he’d heard, the Church hadn’t made a move… But then, where would he have heard anything at all? From Boldwick? The Master Knight already had far too much on his plate to debrief an initiate.

If he were in the priest’s position—Erec would’ve started his attack when people entered the Kingdom with guests from outside. But they hadn’t.

Tomorrow, Enide would be back at his side. The Pendragon would return to the Kingdom. Yet she and her family would be walking in blind to the situation, and he could do nothing to help stung. The truth was that Erec had no idea when the fight would come to a head. And maybe that was understandable. This was his first year in the Academy, still. However, it would draw to a close sooner than later and, by far, hadn’t been a ‘typical’ experience of a Knight Initiate.

And that was, he had to admit, as much as he hated it, a blatant dark spot.

One that he couldn’t entirely blame on a lack of ‘courtly affairs,’ though it stung to admit that was part of it. But with a closer examination of the issue, the lack of decorum wasn’t exactly what was missing. Polite society didn’t agree with his temperament, but his interactions with the Merchants revealed he could leverage his own way of dealing with that as an advantage.

Only there was still a piece missing. And today, he was determined to take his education into his own hands.

Erec’s knuckles rapped on Boldwick’s door, and the Master Knight ushered him in with a gruff acknowledgment.

“Didn’t expect you until next week,” Boldwick said, leaning back in his chair, rubbing at his eyes, a couple of books open on his table, marked with notes in the margins.

“Why would I be by next week?” Erec asked, momentarily caught off guard.

Boldwick waved it away and gestured towards the chair. “I’ll let that be a small mystery for now. With the Pendragons back in tomorrow, I’m sure you’ll have your fill of events to take up your attention until then. That’s what you here about? Want time off to spend with them? Because even if I’m lenient with my students, don’t think you’d get that kind of special treatment. The fieldwork has hardened you, but the knowledge you can get at the Academy is vital. You’ve missed plenty enough for the actual work, and the lessons will still serve you well in the future.”

“That’s why I came—education. I’ve realized I’m missing something and want to correct it.”

“You want another course?” This time, it was Boldwick’s time to look surprised.

“No. Well. Maybe. I’m… Sick of being a piece on the board, Boldwick. Since I’ve come back, I’ve sat in my room thinking of how things will go with the Church—well aware that other people, people with great power, are sitting there, making their plans and moving about, preparing for what’s to come. And I don’t have the barest idea of what they’re thinking or might happen.”

Boldwick sighed and rubbed his temple. “You’re an initiate Knight.”

“One that has slain a Cataclysm-level threat achieved the rank of Count, not to mention that monster in Muerte—one that, as we both know, has no choice but to be an enemy of the Church who is plotting in the dark. I need to learn to be more, not just to be a piece of others’ games. If I’m going to get strong, I can’t just be a puppet whose strings are pulled by others. I need to learn how to use myself best and see what’s happening around me.” Erec said, the words coming out from him in a stream.

Boldwick let that statement hang in the air as he leaned down and pulled out a drawer in his desk. He brought out an amber bottle of brandy with a clang, setting it on the table. Next came the glass. He poured one out for himself, then nursed the drink, letting Erec squirm in front of him.

Just when Erec thought he had nothing more to say, Boldwick spoke.

“In another world, I’d have assigned you to a Knight and given you the rank of Knight Errant. Your usefulness and capability have made it obvious that you deserve such a rank. That said, the Academy can still impart lessons to you that if we’d skipped that part of your education, you’d be missing. It has a way of rounding you out and giving you tools inside and outside of combat that would be useful. However, you don’t need the help inside of combat. Outside of combat, the tools you will get should prove useful, but… Your intuition is right; you wouldn’t learn what you want there. It’s the type of thing you might learn from a senior Knight when operating, and also a weakness of yours I’ve seen for a long time. To be frank, this is the type of thing that some might learn as a Knight Errant if that’s their inclination, and they had the right guide.”

“So you’re saying I have to wait years?” Erec deflated.

“No, I didn’t say that. I said it’s what you might learn from a senior Knight when operating. The type of thing you might learn as a Knight Errant. But I have a question. Before I give you an answer for what we can do, Why do you want to go this route, Erec? You have raw power and potential for it in spades. It isn’t magic, but the type of power that could form the crux of everything you need. You’ve shown that it’s the kind of power that could carry you through almost any challenge you encounter. Paired with the right team, you’d be capable of meeting any situation without going through what is sure to be a very challenging path for someone like you.” Boldwick settled back down, swirling his glass, a dark interest in his eyes as he considered his student.

Even before joining the Academy, Erec felt his mentor had been prodding him. Piecing together all the bits that made Erec what he was, trying to figure out the best way to sculpt him. Until now, Boldwick had guided him and picked the parts of his education to focus on. He adapted to what Erec displayed and did his best to guide him.

This was that style of teaching once over again, figuring out where Erec’s natural inclinations went to try to guide the boy he’d taken under his wing to the best possible future.

Erec thought about the question deeply and then answered only once he was sure.

“On a battlefield, I’m powerful. I’m only going to get more powerful. We’ve both seen that, but that power has consequences. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the King moved right away to take that power and position it where he wanted—others will do the same. I can be powerful on the battlefield, but if I’m not the one to know which battlefield to wield that power, to pick where I need to be strong, then that power will be wasted or used by others. Worse case, it could be used against me. The best way to protect what I care about is to be aware of what’s happening before I lose it during a fight and it’s too late.”

Boldwick nodded slowly. “That makes sense. If you were a different person and were still the version of you before, scared of society and conflicted with how you act towards others, I doubt you’d have seen this so clearly. You’re right. People want to use you. That isn’t always bad as a Knight, but with so much power, it could be dangerous not to take some of it into your own hands… Maybe not the direction I’d have thought you might look to grow further. Yet if you’re interested, then it could end up being a good thing.” He took a single breath and then shook his head. “But there’s a downside.”

“What is it?”

“With power and knowledge comes the call to action. For someone like you, if you don’t think it all through before acting after learning things you wouldn’t have otherwise, then you can cause some real damage. And even then, you’ll have to learn—you’re just one person. Stuff like this doesn’t come naturally to you, so it will be challenging; some might be impossible.”

“I can do a lot with just me.”

Boldwick slowly finished the rest of his glass, setting it down on his desk with a clink; his instructor cracked his neck and exhaled deeply.

“Guess we’ll see. I’ll contact Dame Robin… If this is the route you want to go down, then maybe it’s time to start taking a bit more of a look at the domestic side of information gathering. Our Order may serve as the eyes trained outside the Kingdom, but perceptive eyes are always useful inside and out.” Boldwick said, a bit of amusement as he poured himself another glass, this time pulling free a second for Erec.