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A brief slice of time from my game Ad Lucem, before the game's proper beginning. A confrontation between the first knight and the king who's effectively raised him.

"Sir Marion?"

Gregory could not hold back a gulp at the sharp tone in King Anselm's voice. Even when angered, Anselm took great pains to control the sharpness of his tone, even if he did not take the same pains to control the volume of his words. He'd never before heard his king's voice sound so cold.

"Sir Marion."

He took a few steps forward, an emotion quite foreign to him since childhood dripping down to his very marrow. He felt his limbs quivering beneath his armor, nearly causing the heavy plate to knock together. Thankfully, he was spared that humiliation as he realized what he was feeling was fear. He stepped forward, and took a knee before his lord, keeping his eyes upon the ground as he asked, "Yes, Sire?"

There were a few tense moments of silence before the middle-aged king heaved a sigh, and said, "Rise. I want to look you in the eye as I say this."

Gregory blinked, confused, before doing as he was bade. He took several moments to find the strength to look his king in the eyes, and found, rather than anger, an emotion he couldn't read. Even though he couldn't recognize it, it made the pit of his stomach drop a solid inch and something like a rock begin sitting in his heart.

Anselm sighed once more, and asked, "Have you looked over the reports from the last battle on Desirel soil?"

Gregory nodded. "I have, Your Majesty. The battle was a success. We repelled the heretics from the western approach, and then retreated to our homeland to regroup."

Anselm's fingers noticeably tightened their grip on his throne. Gregory shifted in place. "Is that all you have to report?"

Gregory thought, for a moment, then coolly continued his report. "No, Sire. There were a total of one thousand casualties from that one battle alone, nearly twice the amount lost over the course of this entire campaign into Desirel."

"As a result of what?"

Gregory gulped as he began to suspect the reason for this summons. "As a result of a full out assault upon the heretics which I took it upon myself to lead."

"Against the orders of whom?"

There it was. The true purpose of this summons. "Against... against your orders, sire."

A thrill of mortal fear shuddered its way through Gregory's body. He'd defied the direct orders of the king. Such a sin could only have one punishment. They both knew what it was.

"Your head should become my prize for what you have done." the king stated as Gregory quailed under his gaze. "One thousand men and women died. Hundreds of families were rent asunder. All because you, for stubborn pride, refused to obey my orders of a tactical retreat, and chose instead to charge forward. You have permanently severed our ability to give this war the decisive conclusion it requires, not to mention lead to a wave of grief across our country and nearly lead to me having a brush with death!"

Gregory staggered back. "Th-Those thousand were all soldiers. They knew that their duty was to die for their country. Their families should have expected such a result."

Anselm laid his head in his hands. The tone coming from his king was one Gregory absolutely could not understand, as, for a moment, it sounded like the king was about to cry. "Is that truly all you see, Gregory? Soldiers lost on the field of battle?"

Gregory took a long moment to consider his response before he nodded. If he died, he was going to die honestly.

King Anselm didn't look up to see his response. He didn't need to. "I see." He sighed. "Gregory... I will not kill you. Consider it my greatest gift to you that you retain your life after this day." He straightened in his throne, and gazed imperiously down upon his knight. "However. That does not mean you are without punishment. There are many things you've yet to learn. Therefore, I am assigning you an apprentice."

Gregory blinked in utter confusion. "What?"

"You know much about the ways of the knight in combat and law, but you have yet to learn about the values of the knight as they apply to other people. You need to learn how to interact with others. So, henceforth, you shall be training an apprentice. One who, while he has sought to be a knight for many years, by our old laws would no longer be eligible by age."

"But sire-!"

"Silence! You will train this boy as soon as he has recovered from injuries he sustained from the charge that you ordered. Or else my mercy will expire and you will either be killed or exiled."

The world "exile" rang in Gregory's mind. The castle had been the only home he'd ever known. If he were to be exiled, where would he go? What could he do? He sighed, and took a knee once more. "Yes, m'lord."