Whatever it Takes (Intro, Open)

There were very few things that drained Serilda quite like meetings with the Council did. As a noble she had, of course, grown up in the world of politics and learning the tricks and traps of the trade. She could navigate the tedious flow of government with the best of them, but that didn’t mean she cared for it. It was exhausting work, and that was even before the fallout of everything with Bellum and Pergrande. There were quite a few members of the Council that felt they could push her around simply because she was the head of the Rune Knights, and the Rune Knights were supposed to be the right hand of the Council. Unfortunately for many of them, she was not as easily manipulated – or bought – as many other nobles in her position of power might have been.

It was always a relief to return to the headquarters, where she felt like she could breathe. The Field Marshal strode through the hallway into the entry foyer at a relaxed pace. She was dressed with all the pedigree of her station, in a crisp white dress uniform that had nary a wrinkle or loose thread to diminish her regality.  Many of the Knights that passed her gave her a respectful nod, or a quick “ma’am” of acknowledgement, which she’d return with a professional nod of her own. Trotting faithfully beside her was a sight familiar to nearly everyone within the Rune Knight halls: Her large wolf companion, with thick and shaggy black fur that looked like it was coated in gold stardust. Her intention was to make her way to the upper floor where her office was so she could decompress before moving on with her agenda for the rest of the day. Mythal was likely out training with some of the recruits, something her fiance much preferred to do over any kind of paperwork. It was unlikely she’d bump into him until it was time to go home for the day.

Instead, she wound up more or less bumping into a complete stranger as she passed through the entry foyer on her way further into the compound. The young man asked who he should speak to to see about joining up with the Knights. Not the type to consider herself above the task of interacting with a potential recruit, she stopped to give him some guidance. “If you make your way over to the front desk over there and speak with Valery, she can get you…” As she turned in the direction of the desk, a hand lifting to gesture in the direction she had planned to point him in, her voice trailed off with a slight frown. There was a lot more activity at the front desk than usual, and all it took was a glance to see that Valery, and the rest of the Knights that typically helped with filing reports from the visiting public, was quite busy. The young man would be waiting for some time for assistance.

After a moment of thought, she straightened herself back out and returned her attention to him with a small, polite smile. “Actually, I can help you. Why don’t you join me in one of the processing rooms? It will be a little less noisy.” The white haired woman led the way past the front desk into a smaller room that looked as though it was typically used for report taking, furnished with a table, a few chairs, and little else. “Please, have a seat,” she told him, gesturing to one of the chairs as she closed the door behind them, greatly reducing the din from the front room.

Opening one of the drawers in the cabinet, she withdrew a blank application form and a pen before approaching the table Before she sat down across from him, she extended a hand for him to shake and introduced herself. “I’m Serilda, the Field Marshal.” The noblewoman would pause long enough for him to return the favor, slipping into the free chair on the other side of the table and setting the application and pen down between them. “Why don’t we start with you telling me a bit about yourself, and your interest in joining up with the Knights?”