"It's Brother Amadis! Lower the drawbridge!"
A knight on the watchtower suddenly shouted, breaking the afternoon's tranquility.
At the edge of the dense forest, a squad of ten knights was making their way towards Ulch village.
These were elite knights of the Order, highly experienced in hunting Great Beats.
Each knight wore pitch-black armour. Sunlight filtering through the canopy gave it a cold, metallic sheen.
The lead knight was particularly striking, wearing a white hooded surcoat symbolising honour, with an emblem of a downward-pointing sword embroidered on his chest.
He was Amadis, a legend of the Order.
His heroic deeds were widely celebrated on Caliban, inspiring countless youths to join the Order.
As the Order's public face, his every appearance was inspiring.
Sarrientus hurried to meet him. "Brother Amadis, you've worked hard."
"Your journey must have been a fierce battle. I've ordered hot water and food prepared. Would you like to eat first, or bathe and change?"
Amadis removed his blood-stained helmet, revealing a weary, wry smile. "Brother Sarrientus, your praise shames me. We found nothing."
Sarrientus found it hard to believe. "How can that be?"
Amadis shook his head. "We couldn't find the cause of the Great Beats' abnormal behaviour. We didn't even encounter any Great Beat."
The other squads had only five men. Only their squad had ten.
Because their mission was the most dangerous. The other squads only needed to defend their villages, using the terrain and with other squads at standby.
But Amadis's squad had to go deep into the forest alone, with no possibility of reinforcement from the Order.
Yet when the beast-tide ended, their squad had the fewest losses.
Amadis said, "We went deep into the Great Beats' territory. But their numbers weren't at their peak. The ecology there wasn't saturated either. It was similar to predictions from previous years."
"This shouldn't have triggered a large-scale beast-tide. Yet it happened. It's as if those Great Beat didn't come from the forest."
Nemiel frowned deeply. "If they didn't come from the forest, could they have appeared out of thin air?"
Amadis remained silent. Though he also found it hard to believe, he had no other explanation.
Sarrientus said, "Regardless, at least you all returned safely. Let your horses drink some water first."
As they walked into the village, they encountered a father and son. Sarrientus immediately introduced them. "Brother Amadis, this is Caelan Claudius, and this is his son, Lion El'Jonson."
"If not for their help, Ulch and Chisano villages would likely have been overrun by the beast-tide."
This introduction was itself a hint. If they were of ill intent, he wouldn't be so forthright in recommending them.
Amadis understood immediately, smiling and nodding at the pair.
Sarrientus took the opportunity to ask: "Where are you two headed?"
Caelan replied, "We're leaving Ulch to attend to some private matters."
Sarrientus didn't pry, only glancing at the darkening sky. "Better not be too long. We're heading back to the Order tomorrow morning."
"We should be back by morning."
"Good. Safe travels."
Amadis watched the pair leave the village, then suddenly asked: "They appeared during the beast-tide?"
Sarrientus's brow furrowed instantly. "You suspect them? That's baseless! No one has ever tamed the Great Beats. If they were connected to the beast-tide, why would they have saved us?"
"Was your situation that dangerous?"
"Without them, we would have been dead. No chance."
Ramil said, "Same for me. Though the beast-tide was small, our squad alone couldn't have held it off."
Sarrientus sensed something wrong. "Brother Amadis, did you find something in the forest?"
Amadis avoided the question. "I'll report in detail to the Inner Circle when we return to Aldurukh."
He was clearly hiding something. The investigation hadn't been fruitless, and it involved people.
Sarrientus could guess some reasons, but he still believed Caelan was not a bad man.
Sarrientus said, "They have close ties to the Watchers."
Amadis's expression changed. "Are you serious?"
"I saw it myself."
Amadis's suspicions towards Caelan lessened slightly. Anyone connected to the Watchers couldn't be bad.
...
Lion said, "His eyes were full of caution. He doesn't trust us."
"Two strangers of unknown origin suddenly wanting to join the Order at a sensitive time, anyone would be suspicious."
"But an innocent man has nothing to fear. As long as they don't fabricate evidence, we don't need to waste time explaining."
"What if they deliberately frame us?"
"Then there's even less need to explain. Those who accuse you know better than you how wronged you are."
Lion agreed.
The weapon of criticism cannot replace the criticism of weapons. How can quarrels compare to sharp blades?
But the Order acted fairly, was loved and supported by the people, and wouldn't falsely accuse their saviours.
Lion wasn't a reckless savage either. He wouldn't show anger at someone's caution.
Amadis's suspicion was reasonable. He hadn't spoken rudely or drawn his sword. Overreacting would only make him look guilty.
They were civilised men.
Caelan and Lion were outsiders with no roots on Caliban, no private matters to attend to.
Their reason for leaving Ulch at this time was solely for the sword in the stone.
Lion couldn't pull it out yet. He was well aware.
He wasn't a king. He wasn't even human.
But he wanted to become human.
Caelan was teaching him. He was learning, rapidly.
But he still wasn't human.
He didn't understand the human heart.
He was still learning, clumsily imitating Caelan, but unable to grasp the true meaning.
He had to feel it for himself.
Emotions take time to cultivate. Worldviews take time to develop.
The principles aren't hard to understand. The hard part is putting them into practice.
Lion was still a child. He had time to learn how to become human.
But he couldn't leave the sword in the stone there. Lion wanted to take it with him.
But he couldn't pull it out. So he would have to ask Caelan for help.
Caelan couldn't pull it out either. But he was a psyker. He could move the stone. If he couldn't move the stone, he could move the mountain.
There was always a way for Lion to take the sword.
If all else failed, he could break the stone. How deep could a sword be embedded in stone?
Even a Primarch's sword was only two or three metres long.
How hard could it be to break off a piece of stone?
Even without Caelan, Lion could smash the stone with his bare hands.
But that would be cheating. It would defeat the purpose of the trial.
Caelan wouldn't encourage Lion to take shortcuts, because shortcuts often hide traps.
Lion had his own principles. He had to pull the sword himself.
.....
When the father and son returned to Ulch village, all the knights were amazed to see the boulder floating in mid-air.
Caliban's population was too small. They lacked understanding of psykers.
Unlike worlds destroyed by psykers, Calibanites' enemies were the Great Beats. They hadn't developed a tradition of witch-hunting.
But even when psykers were occasionally born, their weakness meant they faded into obscurity.
But Caelan had used his powers to show the knights what a psyker could do. Just by throwing boulders, he could easily kill large numbers of Great Beats!
Sending such a person as a spy would be a colossal waste of talent.
"Amadis! Amadis!"
As the knights returned to Aldurukh, they were greeted by cheering crowds, fervently shouting Amadis's name, as if he alone had held back the beast-tide.
Though that wasn't the case, the people needed a hero.
Only a hero could give them hope, a torch in the darkness to guide them.
Amadis's heroic deeds also matched his honour.
There had once been a band of renegade knights called the Blood Knights, who often attacked civilian villages.
But when they attacked Endryagor, within the Order's territory, Amadis defeated the Blood Knights' leader in single combat, ending the renegades' threat.
His character was impeccable in every way. He was beloved within the Order. Everyone believed he would become Grand Master.
Lion said resolutely, "I will surpass him."
His voice held neither admiration nor anticipation, nor any contempt or arrogance.
He was simply stating a fact.
He was a Primarch. His power was truth.
Eighty percent of Primarchs believed themselves far superior to eighty percent of their brothers. The remaining twenty percent believed themselves superior to all.
If this was how they treated other Primarchs, then showing no contempt towards mortals could already be called humility.
Of course.
If he were to show contempt for Amadis, it wouldn't be arrogance, but childishness.
Not even a three-year-old would try to compete with an ant. It's just too childish.
Caelan said, "What you need to ask isn't 'if', but 'why'."
Lion thought.
He was a Primarch. Of course, he would surpass Amadis.
But what, specifically, would he surpass him in?
His power far exceeded Amadis's. Even Amadis couldn't face dozens of Great Beats at once.
Lion not only could, but could slaughter them like pigs.
But anyone with experience slaughtering pigs knows they aren't easy to kill.
Three or five grown men might struggle to hold down one pig.
He was a minor, still a child. Amadis was in his prime. The gap between them would only grow.
Since he was already stronger than Amadis, why did he need to surpass him? What did he need to surpass Amadis in?
Lion's gaze swept over the crowd. Their eyes held burning reverence.
He understood.
What he needed to surpass Amadis in wasn't power, but fame.
Amadis was the Order's hero, an undeniable torch.
And Lion wanted to take that spotlight, to seize the crown upon his head.
And then?
Amadis was a hero, and a torch.
The hero lights the torch. The torch guides the people.
If he cannot guide the people, he is not a hero, merely a brave warrior.
A hero is a leader, a king who guides the people.
A brave warrior is a general, charging into battle.
He was born with the mission to become king. He would not be content as an ordinary warrior.
Lion looked up at Caelan. His adoptive father had told him he was capable of more.
"Teach me, Father. How do I become a king?"
"I can't teach you."
"Why?"
"Because I am not a king. I cannot teach you what I don't know."
"Then who can teach me?"
"Anyone can teach you. But only you can learn."
"What about my brothers?"
"They are learning too."
"Even now?"
"The sea of learning has no shore."
"No shore in sight?"
"That shore is the carrot dangled before the donkey. You can see it, but you can't touch it. Perseverance lets you approach it, but you'll never reach it."
"That's for mortals. I am capable of more."
"If you truly reach that shore, wouldn't you lose your direction?"
"Even if I reach one shore, I can keep going, looking for a new one."
"But first, you need to find your shore."
"I don't have a direction yet."
"Then learn. Use your eyes to see. Use your ears to hear."
"To see what kind of king the people need?"
"You are a Primarch. You shouldn't be at the mercy of others. Not what the people need, but what you should be."
Caelan didn't know whether to praise Lion's quick thinking or his thirst for knowledge.
He was more persistent than any other Primarch, always wanting to get to the bottom of things.
That was his nature: either completely indifferent, or wanting to understand everything.
He had a stronger need for control than other Primarchs, second only to Horus in being a 'father's boy'.
If he couldn't control something, he would destroy it mercilessly, to avoid future trouble.
The truth was, Lion wasn't suited to be king. He was a knight, a warrior, a soldier, a general, but not an emperor or a warmaster.
Yet he insisted on being Warmaster.
Lion frowned. "I don't understand."
"Why can't you just give me some advice?"
"I can tell you a story."
"I'm listening."
Caelan began "The Emperor asked: 'How many troops can I command?'"
"'Han Xin replied: 'Your Majesty can command no more than one hundred thousand.'"
"'The Emperor asked: 'And what about you?'"
"'Han Xin said: 'The more, the better for me.'"
"'The Emperor laughed and said: 'If you want more and more, why was I able to capture you?'"
"'Han Xin said: 'Your Majesty may not be good at commanding soldiers, but you are good at commanding generals.'"
Lion murmured, "Commanding generals? How do you command generals?"
He turned to look at Amadis. The knight had removed his helmet upon entering the city and was waving frequently to the people on both sides.
The hero's approachable image was deeply ingrained, which was why he was so beloved.
The moment their eyes met, Lion understood that he could never become a person like that.
Amadis was a born knight: humble, honest, merciful, brave, just, self-sacrificing, honourable, spiritual, he possessed all these qualities.
But Lion did not. He couldn't become Amadis.
He was himself.
Blind imitation would only be a crude copy. He needed to light his own torch.
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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