Luther stood in the crowd, gently holding his daughter in his arms, leaning close to his wife's ear and lowering his voice.
"That's Caelan. The young man next to him is his adopted son, Lion El'Jonson."
A flicker of surprise passed through Fiona's eyes. "That's the knight who saved us? He looks younger than you."
Luther said, "He says he's eighteen."
"You're eighteen too, but you look several years older…" Fiona realized her mistake and lowered her voice. "Sorry, dear, I didn't mean it like that."
"It's alright. I do look older."
How could Luther blame his wife?
But he did look somewhat aged.
When he was eight, his birth parents were killed by Great Beasts.
At nine, he joined the Order in winter, becoming a full knight in just six years.
At sixteen, he married his wife. Now, he was in his fourth year as a knight.
A fifteen-year-old knight, anyone would call him promising.
But before Caelan and Lion, he felt like a raw recruit.
If they were merely powerful, Luther wouldn't feel so complex.
But they had saved his life, not to mention his wife and daughter owed their safety to Caelan.
Caelan's kindness was so immense Luther didn't know how to repay it.
Even giving his own life would be too light.
His wife whispered, "Is that knight named Lion really as powerful as you say?"
Luther nodded, "Though he is young, his skill surpasses any knight I have seen. Even Brother Amadis pales before him."
Luther had told Fiona many times over the past few days about Lion's legendary battle against dozens of Great Beasts. She always found those thrilling scenes hard to believe.
How could an eight-year-old child be superhumanly powerful?
If these stories didn't come from her husband, she would never believe such a powerful knight existed on Caliban.
Fiona's voice held a hint of melancholy. "It's a pity our child isn't a boy…"
Luther gently embraced his insecure wife, kissing her forehead. "Our child is a gift from heaven. Whether boy or girl, she is our child."
"Even if she cannot become a knight, I will strive to have her marry a knight worthy of her, someone like Lion."
Somehow, Luther felt an inexplicable desire to become Lion's father.
If not an adoptive father, then a father-in-law.
But he knew in his heart that Lion would only grow stronger and likely would not look twice at his daughter.
He could only try to keep up with Lion. The more honours he won in battle, the more dowry he could accumulate for his daughter.
His daughter was just born, fourteen years from adulthood.
In fourteen years, Lion would be twenty-two, in his prime.
There might still be a chance.
"And little Nina?" Fiona gently held the hand of a seven or eight-year-old girl, the daughter her husband had arbitrarily adopted.
She gently stroked the girl's soft brown hair, her eyes full of affection.
She and her husband were both orphans, their parents killed by Great Beasts. This shared experience made her deeply pity Nina, who had suffered the same fate.
Luther gently put his arm around his wife. "Little Nina will also marry a powerful knight."
Fiona lowered her gaze, her voice soft. "I'd rather they live peaceful lives."
Marrying a knight was an honour for Calibanite women. But whenever her husband went on campaign, she worried constantly, unable to sleep.
What would they do if he were killed?
Lion El'Jonson might become a powerful knight, but Fiona would rather her daughter marry a scholar like his father.
Scholars stayed in the city, were safer, and had a respectable position in the Order.
....
Amadis said, "Lord Cypher invites you to the Chapter House."
Caelan was slightly surprised. "Us as well? We are not members of the Order."
Amadis smiled slightly. "Brother Sarrientus had Luther submit an application to Lord Cypher, which has been approved. From this moment, you are also knights of the Order."
Caelan turned to look at Sarrientus, who met his gaze calmly, showing no guilt whatsoever, clearly having planned this.
Though Caelan and Lion's origins were mysterious, Lion's superhuman strength in killing Great Beasts and Caelan's unexplained connection to the Watchers proved they were not spies.
Any hesitation on his part in inviting them to join the Order would be a crime!
Besides, Caelan had already verbally agreed. He was just going with the flow.
Caelan looked at Lion. "Lion, you decide."
Lion was decisive. "Then let's go."
He also wanted to see if the Order's other knights were like Luther or Amadis.
The Chapter House could hold hundreds, but this meeting was clearly different.
Only a dozen or so people were privileged to attend.
Sarrientus said, "We are all Inner Circle knights."
"What is an Inner Circle knight?"
"Any knight with more than twenty years of service and outstanding honour may join the Inner Circle."
Time represented seniority, honour represented ability.
Both were indispensable.
Banners hung from the Chapter House's vaulted ceiling. Lion gazed at them, reading the images depicting the Order's history of honour, valour, and battle, to better understand them.
An old man walked slowly to the centre of the hall, wearing a ceremonial robe embroidered with the Order's emblem. His face was stern yet kind.
He gave Caelan a friendly look and announced in a loud voice:
"Today, following the Order's ancient tradition, we welcome two new brothers, Caelan Octavian and Lion El'Jonson."
"In the battles of Chisano and Ulch, they displayed courage and strength beyond the ordinary."
"Lion single-handedly slew over a hundred Great Beasts. Caelan's foresight also saved the lives of several of our knight-brothers."
"As their sponsors, Brother Sarrientus vouches for them with his knightly honour."
"After careful consideration by the Inner Circle, we will make an exception and accept them into the Order!"
There was no applause. The knights watched them silently, showing their approval with their eyes and small nods.
Lord Cypher's words were just nice platitudes for outsiders.
Everyone present knew the real reason was their connection to the Watchers.
The little green-robed dwarf was right there in the corner of the hall, watching them!
The Watchers had never attended a council meeting before. This was clearly a show of support for Caelan and Lion.
Lord Cypher said, "Brother Amadis, tell us what you found."
Amadis replied, "You all know me. I don't like long speeches."
He threw his bundle onto the long table with a clatter. The linen unwrapped as it rolled across the table, revealing a bloodstained winged helmet.
The helmet was completely filled inside. Its surface was cracked and lacked repairs. Its right wing was broken off at the root, the left side also dilapidated, but the emblem etched at the base of the wings was still recognisable.
Sarrientus's expression changed dramatically. "The Crimson Saint Order? But they were destroyed long ago!"
Amadis asked, "Brother Sarrientus, are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"Forty years ago, the day the Crimson Saint Order attacked Aldurukh, I was there!"
Sarrientus was one of the Order's most senior knights, comparable only to a very few like Lord Cypher.
Back then, he had just been promoted from squire to probationary knight. His relatives had all died in the Crimson Saint massacre. He had also witnessed the Order's rebirth from the ashes.
He had personally executed several Crimson Saint knights in battle. He could not be mistaken!
Lord Cypher confirmed, "Brother Sarrientus is not mistaken. That is indeed the emblem of the Crimson Saint Order."
Amadis narrowed his eyes. This was strange. If the Crimson Saint Order was truly extinct, how could this helmet exist?
Lord Cypher asked, "Brother Amadis, where did you obtain this helmet?"
Amadis answered, "We followed the beasts' tracks deep into the forest. We found the ecology there far from saturated. Just as we were about to expand our search, a knight in crimson armour attacked us."
"He used a horn to control dozens of Great Beasts. If I hadn't risked beheading him, many brothers would have died."
The council chamber erupted. "Have they truly mastered the art of taming Great Beasts?"
"If that's true, our territory is in danger!"
Though Great Beasts were powerful, untamed, they were just beasts following hunting instincts.
But once tamed, they could be directed to use tactics, bypassing outer outposts to attack the heartland, or using diversionary tactics, concentrating attacks on weak defences, gradually disintegrating the Order's defences built over decades.
If true, the Order would be exhausted.
They trusted Amadis wouldn't speak without evidence. The helmet proved his story. But controlling Great Beasts was simply too shocking.
They couldn't believe it, but they had to.
Lord Cypher asked, "Just him alone?"
"We were on high alert the whole way back, worried about an ambush."
"But aside from the first knight we encountered, we met no one else, nor any Great Beasts."
"When we encountered him, he seemed surprised too."
The other orders' first reaction to a beast-tide was defence. Only the Order was bold enough to send men deep into the forest. It likely caught the enemy off guard.
Lord Cypher looked at the silent knights, who were frowning and saying nothing.
His gaze fell on the two new knights. "Sir Octavian, what do you think?"
"Sir?"
"On Caliban, all full knights are addressed as 'Sir'."
"Has there ever been a case of taming Great Beasts in Caliban's history?"
"None recorded. All orders unanimously agree Great Beasts cannot be tamed."
Caelan said, "That means the method is a closely guarded secret. Anyone who masters it would become a target."
"If it were me, unless I had tens of thousands of Great Beasts, enough to crush all orders, I would never let it leak."
Amadis frowned: "But they exposed themselves early."
Caelan said, "Probably an accident. The enemy likely just wanted to secretly test the Great Beasts' combat abilities, never expecting to run into you."
"To keep the secret, he took the risk of trying to silence you. He didn't expect to be the one to die."
The mastermind's plan had a single flaw, and he happened to run into Amadis.
He was too weak, Amadis too strong. Otherwise, the outcome would have been different.
Lord Cypher said, "I agree with Sir Octavian's analysis. It was likely an accident."
Sarrientus nodded, "If so, it's a good thing. At least we're prepared now."
Amadis's voice was low. "But we must find the mastermind quickly. We might not be so lucky next time."
Lion asked, "Do you have any other leads?"
Amadis shook his head. They only had the helmet. And the helmet belonged to a supposedly extinct order. No way to verify.
How could they investigate?
Lion said, "Then there are only two choices. Either share this intelligence with all orders, using their help to investigate. Whether they want to master the taming technology or share our concerns, they won't sit idly by."
"Or give up."
Amadis frowned, "Give up? Just wait to die?"
Lion replied, "If you don't give up, how will you investigate? We don't even know who the enemy is. Searching for them in Caliban's forests is like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"Better to just kill the Great Beasts. If we kill them all, what will they tame?"
Amadis was stunned. Lion's suggestion was simple and crude, but it was an epiphany.
If you can't catch a fish in water, just drain the water!
Heaven sent him?
But killing all the Great Beasts on Caliban was incredibly difficult!
If they had the power to exterminate the Great Beasts, why would humans suffer under the beast-tides?
The Great Beasts driven from the forest were the weak ones. Caliban's forests held far more powerful Great Beasts.
Legend spoke of Great Beasts that had lived for millennia, with intelligence matching mortals.
For millennia, Calibanites and Great Beasts had maintained a delicate balance.
Powerful Great Beasts didn't lightly leave the forest. It seemed to be a sacred place for their cultivation.
Calibanites didn't dare enter the forest rashly, fearing disaster.
Amadis hated Great Beasts and was a radical within the Order. But even he found Lion's suggestion too radical.
Lord Cypher coughed. "Let's discuss this further. We'll need to consider it at length."
He glanced secretly at the corner. The Watcher was quietly watching Caelan.
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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