A New Idea

In order to not think about Elswyth too much, Heron threw himself quite busily into any work he could. Thankfully he did have quite a bit of work he could do. There was so much that his direct attention to would help go smoothly.

For instance, the new laws on magic were finally seeing some fruit. Some sorcerers had come forward and asked for some protection as they became more visible. They at first were always awkward, as if admitting to wrongdoing but as he talked with them Heron always let his own goodwill towards them be shown so they slowly warmed up.

Their addresses he gave to the young knights who then made sure to occasionally patrol around there – with no real time or date that was predictable. This helped to keep the knights from being spread thin as more and more spellcasters started seeking protection while at the same time serving to deter any would be vigilantes who didn't like the fact that magic was becoming acceptable from actually targeting them as there was no saying if a knight might not happen by.

It had been a few weeks after Elswyth had confessed her intentions towards him when while he was going over some papers on some agricultural difficulties in the southern part of the kingdom – nothing surprising as Amriel had problems with droughts – that Luth came into his office.

The young man seemed to have something to say but stood at the doorway for a bit as if unsure how to proceed. Finally Heron gestured him in and asked, though a bit preoccupied, what it was that had brought him here.

"I want to learn magic." It came out as a bit of a blurt. "In order to wield it for the kingdom. Wouldn't it be good to have a section within the knights that are magic wielders rather than straight up sword wielders?"

"I did have plans to get one going." Heron said. "You don't have any natural magic right?"

"I would like permission to learn wizardry." He said.

"Alright." Heron nodded. "I will procure books for you and any other knights who might be interested in joining a special magic guard."

"The rules for this magic division should be slightly different." Luth said slowly, as if thinking hard. "Some rules wouldn't make as much sense with different requirements."

"What were you thinking?"

"Well, less rigorous requirements for strength and ability with the sword, more focus on what the knight can do with magic. Oh, probably a different kind of armor since flexibility is a must from what I've heard." He paused then added, "And it should probably be open to females as well."

"Some good points, if the knights figure out any other changes that should be for this special regiment please write it up along with those other things."

Luth grinned brightly. "Thank you."

"May I ask though why you wanted to join this regiment?"

"Ah. Some personal and professional reasons. I'm not as strong as many of the other knights, but I feel like I could polish myself better under some different requirements."

"I see." Heron nodded. It made sense. The young knight wished to prove himself by pushing past physical limitations. Heron could understand that.

Luth left and a couple hours later Heron was given an official proposal for the start up of the new division. He immediately approved it. After he stopped working he stopped by the old tower and stole some of the books which he then sent to the knight's quarters for whoever was interested.

He probably should open the tower up, turn it into a workspace for people wanting to learn magic. That would be a job for another day though.