Novel Full Chapter 616: Knights Errant
Chapter 616: Knights Errant
A few of the nearby Knights thumped armoured fists on their chest plates, greeting Dominic with a military salute as he finished his speech.
But most of them were more interested in coming over to speak with him directly.
“Duke Dominic, it’s an honour to meet you. I am Charles Whitbury, Knight of the cloth, hailing from Cygnia City. This is a wonderful arena that you have set up here.
Was this always present? I don’t recall Wistover ever being on the tournament circuit.”
Sir Charles was a tall blonde Knight, looking every bit the part of the Noble jousting champion with his strong chin, sharp jaw and slightly weathered features, showing the mark of having spent decades on the road chasing tournament money for a living.
It was a respectable enough pursuit for a Knight of the cloth, a Knight who held a title but no lands.
“Welcome to Wistover. No, there was no jousting arena here until now.
In the past, Wistover was more of a quiet border retreat, for when the members of the Earl’s family wanted some seclusion and privacy. Eventually, it became his full-time home, but even then, there weren’t more than a few thousand people in town.
Nearly everything you see in the city now has been built in the last year, to accommodate the massive influx of people who have arrived.”
The Knight nodded at Dominic’s words, and pulled over a dark-haired Knight.
“I would like you to meet Sir Nallon of Shersdonia. Generally considered a quiet sort, he’s the favourite to win today.
He’s been on a hot streak all season, with three wins in five tournaments. That sort of record is difficult to argue with, and as you can see, he’s still a young man.”
The other Knight looked vaguely annoyed, but nodded politely at Dominic, the not quite bow that foreign Knights would use to show respect to a higher Noble without anyone questioning their loyalty to their home nation.
“It’s not that I’m quiet, Your Grace. It’s that Sir Charles is quite loud.
His record speaks for itself, over fifty wins in twenty years, and he has one of the largest merchandise operations of any of the Knights Errant. I’m quite certain that you will see his flags and possibly even shirts in the crowd when the event starts.”
“The advantages of having grown up in the capital, I suppose.” Dominic joked.
“Indeed. You should meet Sir Morton of Bostoveria as well. His chances of taking the prize this time are not small.” Sir Charles added.
He called over a younger blonde Knight, who looked quite excited to meet Dominic.
“Duke Dominic, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I have heard much about your work here, and your contributions to Cygnia.”
“Really? Bostoveria is some distance from Cygnia, I hadn’t expected that the word had spread that far.”
The Knight laughed and shook his head. “I’m from Bostoveria, but like these others, I am a Knight Errant, chasing the tournament circuit and glory. The Knights of the Cygnian Nobility have been spreading all sorts of interesting tales lately, especially about the monster siege of Cygnia City.
I was there for a joust only days ago, and your name is still on everyone’s lips.”
That sounded like flattery to Dominic, but the other Knights were all in agreement. The Duke of Wistover was something of a legend among the soldiers and Knights of Cygnia City.
They told tales of him rescuing not just one but two Princesses from danger, of him sending out uncommon grade spears by the hundred for the common soldiers on the line, and of how he went from a weapons forge smith to a Royal Advisor to a Duke in the course of one war.
It was the ultimate rags to riches story for every soldier with a bit of Noble blood to qualify them for the title.
Seeing him in person made it clear just what sort of “noble blood” Dominic had. There wouldn’t be any Noblemen except from Wavemates who would be acknowledged with a pair of golden horns on their head.
Still, they said he was from Stansia Province, and now that land was part of Cygnia. He had fought for his home, and done it on behalf of the King of Cygnia, so it was oddly fitting that his new title let him govern the Province that he was born in.
“It seems that we have a rather impressive turnout today. I have only had the opportunity to see a few tournaments in my day, but neither exceeded a dozen contestants.” Dominic informed them, which made the Knights laugh.
“Ah, the small town secondary circuits. They might not pay well, but they are always fun to watch.
That’s an argument that many have made against the formal circuit many times. You see, when everyone is a trained professional, and everyone knows everyone, there is a chance that the fighting spirit can be lost.
It begins to feel like a formal ritual, and not nearly enough like an actual battle.” Sir Charles explained.
Dominic laughed. “Well, in that case, perhaps I will have to add a little something special to the prize pool.”
Sir Nallon smiled at him. “I wouldn’t object. Five hundred Cygnian Gold Crowns is a mighty fine prize already, but it’s the little keepsakes that make the memories.”
Sir Morton rolled his eyes. “You say that as if you’ve already won. I won’t be letting you off so easily when there are five hundred crowns on the line.”
More of the Knights came over as they heard the verbal sparring match.
“Duke Dominic, don’t let them fool you, they’re not so far ahead of us in skill as they believe. Just wait and see once the roster is announced, they might not even make it through the round robin.” One of the young men insisted.
Sir Charles laughed at the young Knight’s confidence. “We will see about that. I haven’t been knocked out in the first round in many years, and I’m not about to start now.”