Side Story: Son of a Knight

Side story: the son of a knight

Ander Howse

The sun over the village of redwood was burning hot on a fine cloudless summer day. The marketplace was a busy hive of noise and activity, small merchants shouting in competition to peddle their goods upon townsfolk walking through. A handcart is pulled through the centre of town with the dirt crunching and kicking up dust as it rolls over. On top of the cart, five chests sit one next to the other with heavy padlocks keeping them shut. Next to the heavy chests is a pile of large cloth bags filled and sealed tight.

"Step aside, step aside," rings the calm warning as the tax collector and a few swordsmen escorting the cart walk through the people, cleaving a wide path for the strong-looking ox of a man who pulled the cart along. Aside from this monthly collection run, the small village sees very little change.

The tax collector happens to also be the knight of a small manor on the outskirts of Redwood. Before the land was tithed to the grandson of lord Tarth himself, the manor was the seat of a local noble who answered directly to the lord and had relatively free reign over the village and surrounding areas. Now the power lies with Sir Galladon, lord of the castle of Morne, and the Manor serves as the holding of shire reeve(tax collector) who still descends from the original lords of the manor.

You are the son of this family, subjects to Sir Galladon of Mourne. My family was poor and had little influence in the court of Sir Galladon and even less so after his reforms, which greatly lowered the power of minor lords and knights under him leaving them trying to adjust to the new way of things. Even though we are poor, my family history runs back to a long line of loyal and powerful knights who were mighty on the battlefield, just in their rule, and formidable in the courts of the realm.

As I grew up to be an active youth, my father hired tutors for me to learn from, It was a drain on my family and it soon became clear that you as the only child were the future of the family in all meanings of the word. Your parents did not coddle you, but they made sure that you were always safe and learned from everything that you experienced, well at least my mother did my father was too busy drowning in sorrow of his lost power. You had fond memories of studying maps, history, and combat with a veteran swordsman my family hired, learning philosophy and mathematics from your tutor, learning how to speak and behave in a court from my mother, and every week my family and I go to the closest sept you could journey to which was in the new town of Sapphire port.

I grew up hearing of the great adventures of Sir Galladon of him winning tournament after tournaments, protecting the people from bandits wherever he goes. Saving noble ladies, upholding the king's law, protecting the Island of Tarth from Pirates and bringing great wealth and trade to its people, showing everyone what it means to be a knight all the children in Tarth have heard songs being sung about him by traveling troubadours. All boys want to be him and all girls want to be with him.

My father did not think the same way I did,

my father says the stories and songs are made-up fantasies paid for by a spoiled lordling to have people sing his praises, and that he is a better warrior and leader than Sir Galladon. Of course, I never believed my father he was always bitter about his position in life, he never had songs praising his glory and when he did have power over the village of Redwood he did nothing to improve the lives of the people he was meant to protect, instead, he gave them scorn for the simple fact of them being born smallfolk, thinking them as nothing but workers.

So you grew and learned from the experiences of your childhood. You became a young man molded by the stories of Sir Galladon the Golden Eagle. That was the name the people of Tarth called him for the prosperity he brought to them, he was loved by the people of Morne for the simple reason of him giving the people food, shelter, security, and justice for not just the nobles but for the smallfolk as well. To show a bit of their gratitude a lot of people started naming their sons after Sir Galladon.

As for me the only special honor granted to me was that my father, a knight in his own right had taken me as a page when I was only seven. Of course, he rarely let people forget his title

On the day after my 12th birthday, my father called me into his small study on the top floor of the manor. Although I spent time there with my father, him calling me in such a manner was odd and quite distinctive. As I knocked and opened the thick wooden door, I could see two men sitting at my father's desk with your father standing by the large windows that opened up to the manor courtyard.

"Ah! Here is your boy then? A future knight of Tarth?" A loud and boisterous voice called out and my father turned around to see me with a smile. You had seen the man before many times, discussing things such as new farming techniques and new ways of tax collection with my father but rarely has he shown any notice to you. He was Sir Galladon, the lord of Morne and the man who owned the lands you lived on and to whom your father was beholden to as a knight.

As you closed the door behind you bowed in greeting to the lord and stepped forth to the middle of the study, my father walked to the desk and spoke on my behalf.

"Indeed. As I told you, my lord, he is very promising so far, but he has not seen the world and this worries me. My lord, once we rode side-by-side into battle against the Pirates who dared to invade Tarth. Your word would mean much to any knight who would take him as a squire. I have done my best in having him as my page, but a father is unlikely to train his son right in the ways of courting and war."

"Hah!" The lord barked and stood up, striding over to me as you bowed your head in respect. He grabbed your chin and pulled it back up, forcing you to look into his eyes. "He is young and strong. I will take him as a squire of my own and I will finish his time as a page as well! He leaves with me."

You could feel your legs grow weak as the Lord of Morne said he would take you as his squire. It took every effort in your body not to slump to the floor.

I wasn't stupid I knew my father didn't care for me and was just putting on a show and was trying to use me to gain favor and influence with the lord but I didn't care for his reasons, for I was going to be a squire to the great Galladon Tarth.

A few hours later you found yourself packing the most essential things with you. Your mother was not making things any easier, moving in circles around your room, picking up things and placing them back down nervously as she tried hiding her pride and sorrow over you leaving the manor.

The next morning you dressed yourself with a very basic sword hung at your side and your clothes were only a little fancier than the clothes of the common merchants. Afterward, you aided the lord in putting on his armor before mounting a horse lent to you by him. For the ride back to the castle you would bear the eagle banner of lord galladon. Thus began your life as a young squire to a great knight.