White Ravens: Advent of War

The Young Lion's Pride

It didn't take long for Gust and Zeke to arrive at Wisteria's capital. The sun was already up, and the cold breeze of Loveria city seeped into their skins. They rode towards the gates, calmly, as if nothing significant had happened in the past 24 hours.

The soldiers stationed at the gates saluted them in deference to their positions as rune knights. Shortly after entering the town, Zeke said to Gust, "You go on ahead, I need to speak with my father first. Find Commander Liana, and brief her in on the situation."

Gust nodded listlessly and rode away, leaving Zeke standing beside his steed.

"Father, what am I supposed to do?" Zeke muttered to himself.

Soon, Gust arrived at the castle, leaving his steed in the care of the soldiers stationed outside. He hurried into the Knight's Parlor, and there, he saw Liana speaking to a rune knight squad through the glass window. The Black Hawks squad had made a name for themselves in the past year, and their prowess was only second to the royal knights.

Truthfully, Gust had a personal dispute with the Black Hawks' vice captain, Mormont, so he'd rather steer clear of him. But the urgency of this matter needed to be settled with Liana at once, so Gust stormed into the room, and all eyes fell on him.

"Gust? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Mirea?" Liana asked tentatively.

Gust did the knight's salute, and spoke openly. "I need to speak to you in private, commander!"

Liana glanced at the Black Hawks' captain and then they nodded at each other. Shortly afterwards, the Black Hawks left the room. Mormont walked past Gust, towering over the latter.

"It seems that the wayward runt is still up to no good," Mormont remarked.

Gust clicked his tongue, restrained his anger, and said nothing.

Once he and Liana were alone in the room, she invited him to sit down and didn't beat around the bush anymore.

"What happened in Mirea?" Liana asked frankly.

"Commander, you were right, Rune and Sigil will be a beneficial to our cause," said Gust.

Liana's eyes glinted as a smile formed on her lips.

Meanwhile, Zeke had just arrived in the Lionheart household in Loveria. The servants welcomed him upon his return, and then he saw his sister at the foot of the stairs. The little girl's eyes lit up the moment she saw Zeke.

"Brother!" she shouted while running towards him.

"Zena, my dear!" Zeke greeted her as she picked her up and twirled her around. "Listen, dear sister, where is our father?"

"He's in the back garden training himself," Zena responded. "But why are you in such a hurry, Zeke? Can't you play with me for a little bit?"

Zeke ruffled her hair and chuckled softly. "This is important, Zena. I need to speak to Father." He then put the little girl down and combed her blonde hair back. "We'll play later, okay? Go have breakfast first!"

Zena nodded before running off into the dining room.

Moments later, Zeke willed himself to meet his father. In the back garden, a hale elderly man was training with a wooden sword. Sweat was running down his body, highlighting his well-toned muscles. The man's hair was greying out, but his movements and skill with the blade was still leagues above an ordinary knight. This man was Scion Lionheart, the man they call Wisteria's Lion.

"Father," Zeke greeted.

Scion just glanced at Zeke, but he continued with his training. His stern gaze focused only on his sword, and it seemed that he was practicing as if he was the only man in the area.

It had been a few minutes since Zeke last called his attention, and he could no longer wait. "Father, this matter is urgent."

Scion suddenly stopped swinging his sword and looked at Zeke. A servant came over to hand him a towel, which Scion used to wipe his sweat.

"Speak, boy," he said to Zeke.

"I... I need your advice, Father. Something happened at Mirea, and I am not sure if I did the right thing. As heir of house Lionheart, it is my duty to bear our flag and avoid sullying its name. But it worries me that I might have done something that would bring shame to the Lionheart name," Zeke answered.

Scion was surprised at how lengthy his son spoke. He had never heard him speak this much, even during the boy's childhood. "Did you do the right thing?" Scion asked sternly.

Hesitation swept through Zeke's face, but in the end, he nodded and smiled. "I believe it was the right thing, but I don't know if the crown will see it that way. My colleagues—friends had done something that can never be undone, but I do not feel ashamed to be called their ally."

Scion put his hands on Zeke's shoulder, and said seriously, "Do you remember the pillars of house Lionheart?"

Zeke nodded and recited, "Compassion, Camaraderie, Chivalry, and Courage."

Scion smiled at Zeke and patted his back. "As long as you uphold those four pillars, you shall never sully house Lionheart's name. You are the pride and joy of this household, Zeke. Before you even graduated, you've been sent to the frontlines, and you've made a name for yourself, albeit a little infamous, but it is a name nonetheless."

Zeke chuckled at his father's last remark; a tear, falling from his eyes. "Thank you, dad. As heir of house Lionheart, I will see this matter to the end!"

Later on, Zeke went to the Knight's Parlor and saw Liana and Gust there. They weren't surprised of his arrival, since they had been expecting him. Liana's eyes locked on Zeke, seemingly wary of the younger knight.

Zeke saluted at Liana and said, "Zeke Lionheart reporting for duty, commander!" 

Liana nodded and gestured for him to sit down. Once he was seated, she crossed her arms and said, "Gust has briefed me in on Rune's actions at Mirea. I needed to wait for you to arrive because I wanted to hear your thoughts on this before I say my own, Zeke." Liana paused while glancing at Zeke before she said, "Tell me, what do you think of Rune?"

"I don't understand the question, commander," Zeke replied.

"As a person, a knight, a colleague, or whatever you see him as," Liana replied flatly.

"Personally, he's a failure as a human being. He's too laidback on most occasions, and he rarely takes things seriously. But..." Zeke trailed off as he lowered his head while holding his hands together tightly.

"But I think out of everyone of us in the squad, he's the one who deserves to be called a knight. He did not let his position, duty, or title as a noble hold him back from doing the right thing. After thinking about it on the ride home, I now realized what I truly lack as a knight, and I now understand why I can never measure up to him," Zeke continued.

"And what is that?" Gust chimed in.

"He may not be as dutiful as Sigil, but he's a knight through and through. His loyalties does not lie in Queen Rosetta alone, but also her people. He has the courage to do what is right, and I didn't have enough of that courage. That's why, if the crown will make an enemy of him, as heir of house Lionheart, I will carry our banner under his name and protect him!" Zeke declared with pride.

Liana was delighted to hear him say that. "It seems my plan is falling into place," she thought.

"Very well, Zeke. If that is what you've decided upon, I will respect your decision," she said to him.

A moment of silence befell the room before Liana finally told them, "Frankly, what Rune has done is a crime. There's a very likely chance that he'll be hunted down by the Royal Knights and other rune knight squads, and then he'll be tried for high treason."

Zeke's eyes widened in shock, but Gust seemed unfazed.

"But that means..." Zeke got cut off before being able to finish his sentence.

"Yes, we cannot allow him to enter the city. He'll be captured at a moment's notice. Before the two of you arrived, I've already received a letter from the vice commander of the soldiers of Mirea about the incident. I've assigned the Black Hawks to hunt Rune down, and anyone who's accompanying him. That means Sigil, Tatiana, and Yelena are also in danger," Liana said bluntly.

Zeke froze, uncertain of what to say. But it didn't take long for him to regain his composure. "Since you're telling me this, I'm sure you don't share the sentiments of the crown. What do you want me to do, commander?"

Gust stood from his seat, and reached his hand out to Zeke. "Let's go save Rune and the others, shall we?"