Once the grain was distributed, the beastmen finished packing their camp and we immediately set out. As was appropriate to my new position, I rode with Falyn, which also meant riding with Andrian, Vargas, and the generals who accompanied them at the Palace. 

It felt strange not riding with the other knights, but it wasn't a bad kind of strange. It was simply different. 

In fact, it wasn't just the company that was different. Everything around me was different and new. But just like my riding arrangements, it wasn't a bad thing.   

I was unusually quiet during the ride, far too busy trying to take in the sights of the forest. I’d never personally seen a forest before, and it was far better than the paintings had led me to believe. The thickets of trees, the sun shining through the canopy of multicolored leaves above us, the sounds of the forest critters; all of it was so vivid and colorful.

I did my best to look like a proper knight, stoic, composed, and disinterested, but I probably looked like a kid in a candy shop.

Well... a noble kid in a candy shop.

Those poor kids in the slums...

I shook my head, fighting off a wave of melancholy. There was nothing I could do about it now. I just had to have faith in Elantro. He couldn’t ignore such a great injustice, now that he had seen it in person. There was no way he would let it continue. I knew in my heart that he was a better man than his father.  

Saying goodbye to Elantro had been far harder than saying it to my family. Father, brother, friend; to me, he was all those things and more. I didn’t want to imagine how hopeless my life would have been had he not come into it. 

As for how the future King became my closest mentionable relation, our first meeting was actually an accident. Personally, I like to think that fate had a hand in it too.

I was only five at the time and my father had brought me with him to the Palace for some reason or another. Probably to give my mother a break. From what I've been told, I was a handful as a child, full of curiosity and lacking in self control. Which was why, when my father told me to wait patiently for him while he conducted his business, I ran off to explore instead.

As one might expect, I quickly got myself lost. So, while most of the Knights of the Golden Palace were out searching for me, I was off having a grand adventure, aimlessly wandering and delighted by the prospect of not knowing where I was. It never occurred to me to be scared, because I knew the Palace was safe. Being lost was exciting, like exploring an unknown world. To this day, I have no idea how I managed to make it so far without being caught. 

It was Elantro who found me, happily rummaging through his old play room in a secluded wing that only the direct Royal line should have had access to. He’d heard there was a missing child and checked the room on a whim. I think he was as surprised as I was when he walked in and caught me playing with his old toys.

Rather than turning me in, Elantro spent the whole day playing with me, as if trying to make up for the childhood he never really got to have. Later, when the bewildered, stressed out guards finally found us, he took the blame, claiming he’d invited me to play and we’d simply lost track of time. My father still scolded me a bit, but there wasn’t much he could say when his future King had absolved me of responsibility.

As a result, I became instantly attached to my older cousin, who was seventeen years my senior. And for some reason, he seemed to like me too. I like to think we got along so well because we were both a little odd, by Royal standards at least. He was gentle, not at all like his father, the King, and he accepted me for me, despite my wild ideas and endless curiosity.

After that day, Elantro often sent invitations for me to come to the Palace and play. Hidden in his old playroom, away from prying eyes, we became the closest of friends, despite the large gap in our ages. While my family struggled with my energy, Elantro played an active role in my “shenanigans,” as my father called it. He was also the one who encouraged me to become a Knight of the Golden Palace when I turned eighteen. At the time, he said it would get me out of the inner city and teach me some much needed discipline. 

Watching the knights riding up ahead of me, I realized that the three years I’d spent as a Palace knight had been the best three years of my life, and not just because it got me out of the inner city. Even if they were stuffy and implacable, I was going to miss those guys a lot. Especially Sir Gentry. He was like everyone’s grandfather, always looking out for us. Naturally, he was some sort of distant cousin to me, but the knights didn’t worry about such things. As far as they were concerned, we were all brothers.

Falyn and the beast generals talked amongst themselves, leaving me to my own devices as we rode. I couldn’t say for certain in regards to the beastmen, but I was quite certain that Falyn was leaving me alone on purpose, as if he knew I’d want some time to quietly observe the outside world. Which, by the way, was amazing. How could I have ever thought that a painting could do justice to the real thing?

First, we had passed through the farmland that surrounded the capital, where endless fields filled with livestock and grain extended in every direction. Even the air was different, cleaner than the air in Luz Dorada, laced with the scents of grass and hay. Farmers working in the fields had paused their labor as we passed, watching our unique procession ride by.

The farmland soon transitioned forest, where the towering trees reached up to the sky. The changing trees were already losing their leaves, decorating the path in shades of red, yellow, and brown, while the evergreen trees stood proud, impervious to the changing of the seasons. Ripe berry bushes lined the trail and filled the air with an unmistakable sweetness.

After riding for half a day, evening began to fall, and we stopped to make camp for the night. The location for the new camp was a giant clearing, with only a few trees scattered here and there, perfect for such a large group to rest.

I watched the beastmen setting up camp, impressed by their discipline—or rather, by how efficient they were despite their perceived lack of it. Everyone did what they needed to without a commanding officer barking orders at them. It gave the impression of everyone doing as they pleased, but if you paid attention, there was clear cooperation between the groups.

The tents were pitched, the fires were built, and the food was cooked without a single command being issued. The generals simply worked alongside the soldiers, even allowing their subordinates to take charge as needed.

Seeing a command structure that focused on skill sets over rank made me curious about how they would handle things in battle. I could see why Elantro wanted our knights to train under such conditions. It wasn't just battle skills that the beastmen could teach us.

Once the food was ready, everyone was served a bowl from the common pots, sometimes two or three, along with a constant supply of a dense, unleavened bread that Falyn warned me I should get used to eating daily.

And then came the alcohol. As soon as the pots were emptied, they were washed and filled with cider to be heated over the fires. Dozens of small fires began popping up as the beastmen split into smaller groups to drink and celebrate their departure.

I heard the older mages from House Brighton muttering something about proper behaviour before disappearing into their tents as soon as their food was finished. The rest of the magic users followed quickly behind them. Typical nobles, if you ask me. After standing guard at more than a dozen Palace banquets, I’d learned that most nobles were far worse than Royals when it came to having sticks up their asses. No fun at all.

The other knights, at least, were more open to enjoying themselves. They stripped off their armor and eagerly downed whatever drinks came their way. As it was one of the few leisure activities available to us, most knights were very proficient at drinking. They set up their own fire, a little ways away from the beastmen groups, but they were friendly enough to anyone who wandered by.

At first, I sat with Falyn and some of the cat generals at the main fire, drinking my fair share of their cider. However, there was far too much going on around me to just sit still. I wanted to move, to explore. I quickly grew too restless to ignore and excused myself. 

After informing Falyn of my intentions, I began wandering through the camp with a freshly refilled mug of cider in hand, watching the beastmen from a distance. 

They really weren’t all that different from us when I thought about it. Just like the commoners in the outer city, they were simply people doing people things, no better or worse than those of higher birth. The only real difference between us was the beastmen could choose what form they did things in. 

Toward the edge of the small camp, I found a small fire with four figures gathered around it. Since I’d already explored as much as I could, I decided I would take my chances and try to join them.

I'd been warned to steer clear of the wolves to avoid trouble, but I really couldn’t tell which beastmen were wolves. Some animal traits were really obvious, like the beastmen that turned into snakes or birds, but wolves weren’t all that remarkable when compared to foxes or other canine shifters. 

So, throwing caution to the wind, I walked over to the small group and their cozy-looking fire.

“What the fuck do you want?” the only male in the group snapped as soon as I drew close. His dark, almond-shaped eyes narrowed sharply, piercing through my confidence and slowing my approach.

Apparently, I had picked the wrong fire.