After five hours of travel, the six knights arrived back at the keep. As the approached the gates, which slowly opened to them, a handful of people came out to greet them, and waited in silence until the Knights dismounted.
Two of them were women,Patryg's and Samael's Wives, while the other four were adjutants and assistants of the other four knights.
The Knights of the Holy Rose, what most people of as one order, were actually four orders that made up the whole. At the bottom of the rankings were the Knights of the Crown which formed the ranks of the aspirants and learners. Next in rank were the Knights of the Grail, which made up the historians and educators of all things, both spiritual and temporal. Above them were the Knights of the Shroud, which were the Healers and physicians. These were the keepers of the ancient arts, both esoteric and mundane. The members of the fourth order were the Knights of the Covenant. It was to this order that Patryg and Samael belonged and it's membership was very exclusive. Knights of the Covenant had to display virtues of each of the sub-orders, and they had to be a blood kin of the founding members of the Holy Rose.
While most members of the Knighthood could move easily between the Crown, Grail, and Shroud Knights, based on ability and education, very few could claim to belong to the uppermost order, and in time, Patryg and Samael could see this order disappearing altogether. And, belonging to the Covenant didn't automatically guarantee that a supplicant would become a Knight at all. In fact, most of the members of the Covenant had a dream of opening the Knighthood to everyone who wanted to live a live of contemplation and discipline.
The two wives waited until their husbands had both feet on the ground and then came in close. Paatryg's wife, sensing his disappointment, slipped her arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder. Her nose crinkled at the smell of oiled iron and horse musk. “I've missed you, my heart. How did your trip go?”
The Grand Master rested his head against hers and took a deep breath. “About as well as expected.” He gently caressed her back. “Kalyb wants the keep as his own, and wants us gone.” He sighed. “You were right, Eva, he doesn't trust us.”
Eva nuzzled into Patryg's chest, then looked up. “I hate being right. But I knew something wasn't right when he started making all those new laws.” She took a step back and looked up at him. “Larena and I knew that it would only be a matter of time before he would try to take our children, and when it came to be, we knew the signs.”
Patryg nodded as he recalled the night, almost a month ago, when Eva and Larena came to his office and made their case that the new King wasn't honoring the creative spirit, but was in fact, worshiping at the altar of death.
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