I set out at dawn one fine day in search of becoming a knight of the king. My name is Salefrok, and I have held the title of Lord here in the kingdom of Kharvhär since I was 18. Like all young people, from the age of 16, we are called upon to decide our future. Some become mages, others warriors, others defenders of the kingdom; I chose to become a knight.

There is a dark cavern far from the kingdom's dwellings. Knight apprentices are sent there to master the art of meditation and test their mental and physical strength. It's very humid there, and I slipped more than once on mossy rocks near crystal pools. It is said that this place was once the scene of sordid events. Rituals in the name of an evil deity named Rhâkh'r'vah. But no proof of this has been provided, at least not to my knowledge. However, there reigns a mysterious and decidedly unsettling atmosphere. My meditations were interrupted by sounds of unknown origin that tried to make me flee.

The ordeal lasted five days. It's an old tradition whose origins may differ depending on who tells it. According to the king, the five days represent the five fingers of the severed hand of a bronze statue deep within the cave. It was built in honor of a powerful left-handed knight who was not universally popular. Here in Kharvhär, he is recognized and worshipped. His statue stood in the kingdom's central square, surrounded by flowers and memorial stones. But the sight of this statue did not please visitors from other lands.

About fifteen years ago, during the night, some people cut off the statue's left hand as a sign of protest. Indeed, this hand, which had defeated many enemies, was a symbol for the kingdom. Following this incident, the statue was moved to the back of the cavern so that it could guide and reassure the new knights. The severed hand was never found, so these five days of trials would prove that one is worthy to carry the sword like this knight. But as I said, there are several explanations for these 5 days. It's also the number of days he spent alone in a snowstorm, where he supposedly hardened his mind. The number 5 is often found in stories about this knight. In fact, his name is lost; some call him the hero of Kharvhär, but his first name, surprisingly, has not survived the passage of time. The stories are vague; in our country, he is considered a true hero who repelled troops from the Kingdom of Vözh who were attempting to invade Kharvhär. But in a handful of lands, including Vözh, he is hated. He is said to have committed grave crimes there, which previous kings would have covered up and censured here. I don't know what to think about it personally, I hope that in my quest, I will one day be able to get to the truth about this case. It's difficult to turn your back on what you've been taught since you were young, but if he is a criminal, the truth must be reestablished.

I had to sleep in the cave. It's important to be able to manage on your own and adapt to any situation. I only brought the bare minimum of equipment: a blanket and water. I was able to make a fire with some rather dry wood that was lying around. I tried to conserve the water I had brought, but I underestimated the amount I would have needed. I had to find small pools of pure water in the bowels of the cave. There wasn't much to eat, just a few edible mushrooms and some harmless bugs.

But on the 5th day, about 6 hours before completing the test, I fell into a trap of a giant snake while returning to the water source. This snake spoke my language, and introduced itself as the "Serpent King", it directly attacked me and cast basic poison spells, but still too powerful compared to my level of resistance to them. I ran to the top of the cave where I had set up my camp. I kicked the ashes of my wood fire which scattered. Luckily the snake took them in the eyes, I took the opportunity to take some wooden sticks that I had carved beforehand and I used a very weak fire spell to heat the pointed end. Being exhausted and very bad at casting spells, the stick did not even catch fire, so I resigned myself to throwing the 3 or 4 small spears at it hoping that it would scare it away. Luckily, it worked. Seeing nothing and feeling cornered, the snake turned around and went back the way it came from. But the victory was short-lived; an hour later, it came back with two minions. I was exhausted and hadn't slept much in the last two days, so I decided to play it strategic and hide as much as possible until the King's Trial was over.

I heard the bell ring at the entrance of the cave, signaling the end of the test... However, it rang 1 day later. At least that's what I thought, it seems that time didn't pass as quickly as I thought. So I had to hide from the snake longer than I thought. But this ringing sound was a lifesaver, I collected my things and headed towards the exit of the cave. The snake having returned to its lair, I was able to go there with peace of mind.

Back in the kingdom, the king gave me "the sword" and officially made me a knight. My training was therefore complete, I could finally begin my adventure that I had dreamed of since childhood. My 3 friends also passed their respective tests, Jenoväh became a mage, she succeeded with the congratulations of the head of the academy himself, having had the best results of the year out of 200 other apprentice mages. Voltahk, was taken in a team of 4 people carrying out missions in the surrounding kingdoms. He is in charge of diplomacy and negotiation. And finally Lyren became a warrior. It was very close, but her skills as an archer helped her pass the test. However, her abilities being too weak for the moment, she must continue to refine her techniques within the kingdom. She is not allowed to leave it for the moment. I hope that we can all go on an adventure together in a few years. For now, I will wander the kingdom before going far away.

To come soon...

. . .