Chapter 4:
Scholars and Ceremonies
PRIESTS HAD FORMED a long queue in front of a small tower. It was a rather inconspicuous lookout tower west of Dragonjaw Gate, only around seven meters high and maybe six meters in diameter. And yet, priest after priest after priest continued to be swallowed up within.
“That’s incredible. Where do these people disappear to?” Meg asked, eyes wide. So far, she had seen more than a thousand priests climb those stairs, and not one of them had reappeared.
I explained, “The magic circle is underground, but the entrance to the chamber is inside that tower.”
Inside the tower was a bizarre statue. Lifting it away would reveal a secret stairway to a subterranean chamber containing a massive magic circle—the room in which I’d first opened my eyes to when I’d been summoned to the world.
“I see…so they purposely chose this high spot to hide a passage underground,” she said, impressed.
The dragon rider who’d arrived the other day had been, as expected, a messenger from His Majesty. Preparations to restore Dragonjaw Gate’s barrier, which had fallen due to orc bombardment, had been completed. As I was in charge of the nation’s military, it was my job to oversee the ceremony.
It was that responsibility that had brought me here, but why was Meg here as well? After hearing the rider’s message with me, she had obstinately insisted that she witness the ceremony too. It just sounded like an annoyance to me, so of course I refused. Initially.
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“I’m the only one he called for,” I told her. “I’ll go alone.”
But Meg was not so easily dissuaded, and she insisted that she would come along as my attendant. She argued, “The nation’s esteemed field marshal should not be seen going about without a single attendant!”
“You think so? I see Rigel out and about on his own all the time.”
Rigel occasionally took dragon keepers with him when he flew, but dragon keepers were dragon keepers, not attendants. They always remained with the dragons.
Meg countered, “Dragon riders are different. Many of them are commoners by birth, and they use dragons to get around, so they’re rarely in danger. But you, with your status, should be accompanied by an attendant or two.”
“I get around by dragon too. I should be fine.”
“It’s no good! You’re the field marshal! The representative of His Majesty! This isn’t like your last trip, where you were just listening to a treaty!”
“But it would be a pain to have to travel by horse just to accommodate an attendant.”
“That’s where I come in! I ride dragons, and I served the princess, so I have perfected the proper etiquette of a knight’s attendant. There are dragon keepers permanently stationed at Dragonjaw Gate, so you don’t have to bring one yourself. You have space for one rider, and that could be me. What do you say?” She proudly stuck out her chest, and seeing its splendor did sway me ever so slightly.
“You’re currently Lord Proxy. You’re not in a position to act as a mere attendant.”
“Not true at all. When they travel, important figures usually bring along subordinates with high positions. Why, my father always bragged how he was expected to serve the previous king his wine.”
She sulked, cried, laughed, smiled, flailed her arms, and did everything in her power to make my life difficult. Eventually, wearied but not seduced, I gave in to her persistence and agreed to let her ride behind me. With the utmost reluctance, I must add.