It's strange what a person can think about in the dead of night. I don't know if I ever told you how boring and lonely the life of a guard in the King's palace is?
From afar, to the ordinary world I've lived with all my life, it looks like a wish come true. To be surrounded by silk and velvet, always at the center of events and surrounded by the most important and famous people in the entire kingdom. From afar, it looked like that to me also when I signed the application form for the Royal Guard, now more than 5 years ago. My head was full of some dreams about knightly tournaments, hunting with the king at a distance and famous hunting grounds. I'm not going to lie, I also dreamed of young loves with noblemen's daughters. The truth was far more boring. In fact, in five years of service, only once I was in a delegation with the King and his entourage, and the girls were not interested in ordinary citizens, even if they were members of the guard. There was no mistake in the fact that I was present at all the big and important events, but it did not bring any great joy because at the end of the day I was just an ordinary observer anyway.
I was also an observer of many things that the participants thought no one was observing. I guess it's also some strange curse of this job, I stand around those corridors for so long following and guarding the king and his family members that all those courtiers think I'm part of the castle's inventory, often without even noticing me. That is one of the reasons why I have more than once seen secrets that should have remained hidden. And only I knew them.
I was tired of it, the plots, conspiracies and intrigues. There was all of that in unlimited quantities even though the kingdom has been at peace with its neighbors for decades and has not been attacked by foreign invaders for a century. I guess the nobles instill that in the education they are so proud of, so they can't live without it.
While I was present at another in a series of ceremonies, the front door of the hall suddenly opened and the royal messenger fell breathless on the marble tiles of the reception hall. In retrospect, that was the turning point in my life, that moment. Then we found out about the invasion in the north, two army garrisons completely wiped out by some foreign force, so far unknown. None of the reports that reached our command were able to explain more closely what happened. Neither is there only armed force or magical rituals are also involved, nothing but hundreds of dead soldiers, lost sons, fathers and brothers.
The recruitment started the next day, and I think everyone, especially my colleagues from the Guard, were surprised when I volunteered to go to the front. The King was absolutely disgusted that I wanted to leave the comforts of his home for, as he said, a quick and unpleasant death. However, I was sure of that decision.
Three months later, my garrison arrived at the border of the central and northern provinces, a barracks called Paleer.
