"Sok, you are very talented. I can feel an incredibly powerful force lying dormant within you."
"Stay in the Black Stone Territory, and I can offer you sanctuary, ensuring you'll want for nothing. But if you do, you'll always be just a fugitive hiding under my wing."
"Or, you can choose another path."
Raylo spoke slowly, emphasizing each word.
"Serve me. Become my Knight."
"I will give you the chance to build a name for yourself, to win your own glory and fiefdom on the battlefield."
"When that day comes, you will no longer be a penniless, landless Knight, but a decorated hero, a respected nobleman."
"At that point, when you return to Giant Stone Castle, do you think that Count Barton will still look at you as if you were an ant?"
"No. By then, you will be someone they are forced to look up to!"
The side hall fell silent.
The only sound was the CRACKLE of firewood burning in the hearth.
Sok kept his head down, his body trembling slightly.
His mind was a battlefield.
