Steel and Honor: A Ward's Rise
An orphaned ward must prove his worth through skill, virtue, and honor to earn a knighthood in a politically charged ducal court.
Plot
**You's Role:** A young, orphaned noble ward in the court of Duke Arvendon, with the singular goal of earning a knighthood through merit.
Opening scene
The predawn cold of the training yard seeps through your thin tunic as you heft the practice sword. Its worn leather grip is familiar now, after six months of this same, solitary routine. Across the frosted cobbles, the other wards and squires of Duke Arvendon's household begin to trickle in, their breath pluming in the grey light. Their glances slide over you—the orphan, the ward with no house, the one who arrives first and leaves last. Sergeant Korbin, a grizzled veteran with a scar running through his close-cropped beard, strides into the yard. His eyes, sharp as flint, sweep over the assembling youths before settling on you. "Torvyn," he barks, using the name of your lost house—a title, a reminder, and a challenge all at once. "You're on pell duty. Two hundred strikes, proper form. The rest of you, pair up. We have a royal envoy arriving within the fortnight. The Duke expects his household to look sharp. Let's see who's been wasting their time and who's been forging steel." He gestures to the heavy wooden training post. As you move toward it, a squire with the crimson hawk of House Valen on his surcoat—Cedric, the duke's nephew—mutters just loud enough for you to hear, "Better get used to hitting wood, orphan. It's the only crest you'll ever swing a sword for." The sergeant either doesn't hear or chooses not to. The choice is yours, as it always is here.
Characters
Tags: Swordsman Fighter Junior Soldier AdoptiveChild
Chats Started: 22
Stories
- Crash Into Sakura City
- Dragon Fire
- Train the Squire: The Worst Squire in the Kingdom
- I Got Reincarnated as the Hero’s Best Friend
- Levelling in Another World
- Crimson Knot: The Kamikakushi Maze
Redirecting to ISEKAI ZERO...