Adia - part 1

A large detachment of Crown soldiers, dressed in golden uniforms, slowly retreated south. The steady clatter of boots echoed in all directions as the men-at-arms marched along the road toward Raven Line, located on the other side of the Kingdom. Most of the men's faces were grim. One war had barely ended, and another was about to begin, the soldiers thought.

Far behind, a single, twenty-man cavalry company still stood before the gates of the capital castle. The cavalrymen, though already somewhat bored, waited patiently, watching the scene unfold before them. None of the warriors said a word to hurry their commander. In fact, it would have done nothing, except cause unnecessary tensions within the company. Besides, they had all known each other for a long time, so they more or less understood Sir Erynkrist's situation.

The knight knelt on one knee, looking into the eyes of the small figure standing before him. The wind gently ruffled the captain's navy blue cape, as did the loose hair of the girl standing before him. The seven-year-old cradled a rag rabbit in both arms, clutching it to her chest. The child's olive eyes glistened with tears as she gazed into the calm eyes of her father. A short, serene man stood just behind the girl.

"Adia... I really have to go," Erynkrist said. "You know Dad's a soldier, I have responsibilities."

The little girl continued to stare at her father silently. She began to tremble slightly, and tears slowly welled up in her eyes.

"I'll be back before you know it. I promise, little girl," he said tenderly and calmly. "It's only six months. Until then, listen to Darrel."

Adia began to sob quietly, tears streaming down her face. She stepped forward and threw her arms around the knight's neck, hugging him tightly. Erynkrist gently returned her embrace, careful not to hurt her with his plate gloves.

"Daddy, don't go... please..." she whispered through her tears, her voice breaking. "Don't leave me here alone."

The knight looked at his daughter once more, his eyes full of pain.

"I'm sorry, Adia. I have to," he said, and gently removed the girl's hands from around his neck and pulled her back enough to stand.

The footman grabbed the girl's hand, reassuring her.

"I'll be back soon. I promise."

Erynkrist turned and had barely mounted his horse when something tugged at his leg.

"Don't go! Daddy!" the girl screamed through her tears, clutching the warrior's foot. "Don't go!"

Darrel quickly grabbed Adia and pulled her back, preventing her from breaking free.

At Erynkrist's signal, the company turned and set off down the road to catch up with the rest. The knight gave his daughter one last look and sadly said, "Farewell.

"

"Darrel! Can you bring me that new dress from Daddy?" she exclaimed to the butler below. "I'll be late for class!"

Adia carefully arranged her hair in front of an old mirror, eagerly awaiting her guardian's arrival. She smiled at the butler as he brought a wooden hanger with an elegant cotton dress on it.

"Thank you, I can handle the rest."

Darrel nodded slightly and returned to cleaning the large house.

Once she finished with her hair, she put on the dress the servant had brought. The green dress was one of the most beautiful gifts her father had given her. This particular one had been delivered by a messenger a few days earlier, as a New Year's gift. It was only the beginning of December, but the knight wanted to make sure his daughter received it on time.

It had been almost seven years since Erynkrist first set out for the Line. The situation in the south had not improved, but the knight returned home every six months, as promised. He spent the summer and autumn with his daughter in Ravenna, and before the first snows, he set off with his men back to the Line.

Adia threw a fashionable hooded cape over her shoulders and ran down the stairs, bidding farewell to the butler on the way.

"Darrell, I'm going to the dance, I'll be back for dinner!" she said briskly, slamming the front door behind her.

The butler only sighed, returning to dusting off an old swamp troll trophy, brought back several years ago by the master of the house.

The girl headed down the cobblestone street straight to the Collegium in the city center. At this school, with her father's money, she received a wide range of knowledge – Erynkrist insisted she study protocol, dancing, poetry, science, and theology. Studying all these subjects was often beyond Adia's capabilities, but she refused to disappoint her father. So she studied diligently, not squandering the knight's trust or the money she risked her life to earn.

Despite the cold and falling snow, the streets of Ravenna were crowded. Street vendors shouted the prices of their wares, praising them above all else. Crown guards with halberds patrolled the streets in groups of three or four, and craftsmen worked tirelessly.

Along the way, Adia greeted people she knew who lived near her home. The girl was well-known to most of the local townspeople for her beauty, her unique social standing, and her past. It was no secret that she had lived alone in the large house for many years, without her family, ever since the war in the south began. Recently, she had also begun appearing at court, when her father took her to the palace in early autumn, introducing his daughter to important figures in the kingdom.

The common folk who knew her were primarily motivated by jealousy—though well-concealed. Adia's peers, in particular, envied the expensive gifts she received from her knightly father, and the fact that she didn't have to work, studying instead at the Collegium alongside children of well-known families of the lower nobility.

The girl passed the Two Candles Inn, greeting Tionarl, the innkeeper for whom she had worked until the age of ten. When Darrel first sent her to work at the Two Candles, Adia was decidedly dissatisfied. She only began to devote herself to cleaning the inn at her father's insistence.

She walked another fifteen minutes before reaching the city's main square. This was where the government offices, the guild halls, and the Collegium were located. In the center of the square stood a large statue depicting a man, a woman, and a dog. The carved figures were dressed in traveler's garb, the man carrying a large bundle on his back, from which various tools protruded. Surrounding the Monument to the Pioneers were a multitude of stalls selling valuable goods. Cloth, weapons, jewelry, and spices, arriving from faraway places, lured the wealthier sections of Ravenna, who had been gathering at the market since dawn.

Adia entered the university courtyard through the main gate and entered the massive doors for her dancing lessons. The New Year was approaching, and so was the ball at the palace. Erynkrist had promised her that she could attend if the teachers deemed her dancing skills adequate. Hence, the girl applied herself diligently, determined to impress the instructors as best she could. Smiling, she entered the large hall, where she was bombarded with somewhat hostile glances from her classmates, who were never happy with the company of the relatively low-born Adia.

* * *

Two crossbowmen strolled through the fortifications of Raven's Line, wrapped in warm, navy blue cloaks. It was already night, and small raindrops softly pelted their helmets.

The situation to the south was precarious – attacks came only from disorganized groups of monsters. This had happened before, but never so intensely. Swarms of goblinoids, ogres, and sometimes even trolls mindlessly attacked the ancient, several-hundred-meter-high wall. It was obvious they stood no chance without siege engines or even a modicum of organization. The only problem plaguing the soldiers and their commanders on the Line was their rapidly dwindling supplies. Arrows and bolts were dwindling, and boiling oil was almost depleted – hence the commanders along almost the entire length of the Line forbidding its use until the next, already delayed, delivery.

The defenders of the fortified border suffered no casualties, though there were some wounded – occasionally an orc arrow would strike one of the archers behind the battlements. The cavalry, patrolling no man's land, was a different story. Small squads of cavalrymen were sent out to scout – the king ordered the commanders of the Line to be cautious and not to underestimate the enemy. Barbarian tribes of monsters could be dangerous in large numbers, especially if they emerged as leaders.

A pair of crossbowmen passed a warrior in officer's uniform, whistling a cheerful tune. He was heading for the watchtower – along the entire length of the Line, there were several such strongholds, serving as barracks and warehouses for the border troops.

When the distance between the pair of archers and the knight became sufficiently great, one of them spoke up:

"To the one so cheerful? Sir Erynkrist, I mean?" "The short-haired blond, probably from the vicinity of the Citadel—a fortress city located at the northern tip of the Kingdom—corrected after a moment.

"It's almost May. He'll be back soon." The soldier sighed. "The knights and their companies rotate every six months. I still have four months left to serve. You have eleven.

" "I thought everyone served a year before furlough," the younger soldier muttered, a little irritated. "I wouldn't say it was fair.

" "Fair? Certainly. It's the law," the red-haired rifleman replied firmly. "They say officers work harder, hence they get furlough more often." He said, adjusting his belt, which held a quiver half-full of bolts.

They walked in silence for a while, the rain and wind intensifying. They stopped at one of the small, roofed outposts recently added to the walls. The room was sheltered from the wind, and inside stood a long table and two benches. At the table, two soldiers were playing dice for entertainment – there was no pot in sight.

"I've heard Sir Erynkrist is from Ravenna? Is that true?" the blond asked uncertainly.

His companion only nodded. He was growing tired of the topic.

"That he wants to travel such a long way from here..." the younger rifleman muttered as if to himself.

"I don't blame him. In fact, I pity him."

The soldier from the north looked questioningly at his older colleague, demanding with his eyes that he continue.

"He's a widower and left a daughter in the capital. Apparently, he sends all his pay to her, but maybe that's just a rumor. He's a bit of an oddball, but as I said – I pity him," he added after a moment and sighed, sitting down on the bench and greeting the other soldiers.