Victor was on his seat in the grand hall of Castle Talonclaw, fire crackling as it slowly devoured a sizeable log resting in the fireplace, a glass of blue Lachance in his hand, slowly twirling the prized wine before taking a sip
"You look pensive, my liege" a voice uttered quietly, pulling the Duke back from the depths of his mind, grey eyes inquiring around to find the source of that
It was Sjuttje, one of the oldest member of the Talonguard, his tabard and hauberk new and shiny, but his naturalness in wearing them betrayed the experience of the knight, impeccable in almost any regard if not for the aventail he left hanging on a side, as to not cover his mouth whilst speaking with the Duke
"Do I now, old friend?" Victor replied "Then maybe I am, these are some strange times"
"Times are always strange for those living in them, my liege" the old mortal replied with simplicity "it's those who come after that decide whether they have been uneventful, good old times or bad times"
That elicited a smile on Victor's lips, as he chuckled quietly "I wish things looked this simple for me as they seem to look for you, Sjuttje"
"I'm not a First One, nor the Duke of Falconreach my liege, I only have to keep you safe, or be sure to be the last man standing when you point me at your enemies, that simplifies things a lot, my liege" Sjuttje replied, adjusting his right glove as he clenched his fist rythmically to have the thing fit just right
"And you're quite good at both, I should have you promoted to a Knight of the Inner Circle, old friend" Victor mused, taking another sip of his blue wine
"I have sworn an oath as a Knight of the Talonguard, my liege, and I don't need no fancy suit of plate to do my duties, I'm too used to this proud hauberk to change my ways right now" the knight replied not without pride in a low, almost grumbling tone
"So have the Knights of the Inner Circle, they are part of my personal guard as is the Talonguard, don't you think a suit of plates would allow you to last longer in a pitched fight were you to be among the ranks of the Inner Circle instead of those of the Talonguard?"
"I could carve three or four of those Inner Circle like a holiday roast before they could even hope to stop me, my liege, plate armor or not" Sjuttje boasted confidently, two of said knights standing guard nearby glaring daggers at the man at that slight, but not a single one of them dared utter a rebuttal
Victor cracked up momentarily, shaking his head "Maybe you could indeed, old friend, but you do know I could just order you to do so, don't you?" he asked amusedly
"I know you won't, for you're a good man, my liege" the old knight replied with disarming simplicity and unquestionable trust in his voice
Victor's laughter dimmed into a quiet chuckle before dying out completely at those words "I wonder about that, old friend, am I truly a good man? I know many would define me as a quarrelsome, brash individual, far from the refined diplomat like my granduncle Lord Brand Talonclaw, neither a legendary warrior and a mountain of a man like my grandfather Lord Bard Talonclaw, they've built this Duchy wresting it from the wilderness, facing mighty foes like the Hawks and The Lowlands, I was simply handed reign of this place liberated with the sacrifice of heroes such as Sir Elric the Relentless and Sir Owin Fortescue, and yet much of the corelands of my forefathers lay in foreign hands, even worse in those of the ones who waged a bloody crusade upon these lands in their times of weakness, how could I even compare to them?"
"With all due respect, my liege" the old knight started, Victor canting his head as usually those words were the prologue of something that lacked every trace of the aforementioned due respect "who is asking you to compare to them? I was but a kid when the late brothers Talonclaw reigned as Dukes, one after the other, I have served under Lord Lyonell Vintroth as a young squire, went in exile when the Reach fell, and answered the call of the hero of Arescod Sir Owin Fortescue when he rallied the Reclaimers, and one thing I know for sure, that they all gave their lives gladly for the sake of seeing a Talonclaw once more as a warden of the Reach, so do not try to compare to them, you should try your best to prove them right, if only for respect of their memory"
Victor blinked, he expected some coarse remark as it was usual from that aged mortal, but his words now were truly some food for thoughts, and the Duke spent a long moment mulling over them
"Should I expect a visit to the gallows, my liege?" the old knight said rather abruptly in a completely deadpan tone, which only added to the delivery of such an outrageous line
"Oh yes, and a flogging untill the skin fell off your back three times over, you old devil" Victor smirked, taking another sip of wine before continuing in a more serious tone "Still what you said has some merits, what would you do in my stead? War rages in the north, the Asrani and Rathgari are bleeding eachother following the claims of that raid on Maximara, the King of Caorran has been killed whilst in chains, we've been asked to help by the very same people that up untill now have done their best to antagonize us, only for our terms to be spat upon once more, these are some strange times"
"Good for me that I'm but a knight of the Talonguard and not the Duke I'm honorbound to protect then" Sjuttje replied with a sardonic laughter, before continuing "I'm only a mortal, my time is limited compared to the opportunities you First Ones have, my liege, and my view of things is limited by the shackles my nature impose me, still if that pompous ass of an emperor is so keen on making enemies left, right and center, then a pox upon him and good riddance....I'd spit on the floor if that wouldn't soil the rug we're standing on, my liege"
"You know, for all the vain bravado and self-aggrandizement, I can't fault Asran completely, he has to keep such a huge empire made of completely different people together, and more than once his vassals have seemed, if not proved, to be nigh uncontrollable, I guess that'd drive any sane man mad, in the long run" Victor mused, drinking the last of his wine
"If you're quarrelsome, that other one is belligerent at best, or a raving lunatic at worst, always looking for someone weaker to bully into submission, untill that comes back to bite him right in the buttocks like it did with the Rathgari, besides his men did end up raiding Enselion, by his own standards we should be marching on his capital to pluck him off his marble throne and administer his pompous ass the spanking of the century, isn't that so?" Sjuttje considered in a dead serious tone, although the glint of malice in his eyes was more than noticeable
"Oh, that'd be quite the spectacle to behold" Victor cracked up once more, setting the empty glass aside as he stood up "but enough with your quips old devil, make yourself useful and go fetch me my scribe, I have some letters to write"
"At once my liege" the old knight saluted, as he strode toward the door