Animus Wardens

"Those are the Animus Wardens? Wow... that armor is seriously cool..."

Paci stood beside Alessia and I, joining us in staring at the five extremely dangerous looking warriors that had come to aid us on this yearly raid, and they overshadowed the other two squads that came from Qingrad as well, though they too were staring at the five in awe like the rest of us.

Armored from head to toe in dark emerald green metal, the Animus Wardens were all tall, lithe figures that was at slight odds with the sheer strength they radiated simply by existing; Victor was a strong, large man, but compared to them, he felt like just a toddler parading around as a soldier, something that made me wonder just what level these warriors were.

Those emerald green plates were engraved with a dark silver set of runes, the edges of their armor telling a story whilst various iconography adorned the center of those plates, depicting various animals and monsters that might act as achievements for each Warden..?

Not an inch of skin was allowed to be seen, and the matching green leather that they wore beneath the metal plate ensured that; when the leather hoods were added, and the flowing overcoats adorned with the intricate silver circle that contained a giant tree and its vast roots, symbolizing the thing that they were meant to guard: life.

Each of the five were pulsing with mana and carrying around matching staves and swords, their armor protecting them from attacks whilst their twin weapons were meant for magic and physical attacks respectively.

"It isn't just the armor either, Paci... Each one, tried and proven veterans of hundreds, thousands of battlefields, against all sorts of foes. Adept with magic, deadly with a blade, utterly devoted to keeping the Kingdom safe... Animus Wardens are the cream of the crop for the entire Kingdom, and even our beloved Duke Zagrina barely managed to qualify for their position back in the day. Five is quite the force to have with us... which only makes me worried."

Learning a bit more about these strong, awesome looking warriors only made me frown, the last part of Alessia's observations setting off alarm bells in my mind as I asked "You think that the Duke knows something we don't? About Yngrave Forest?"

The golden Dogkin pursed her lips and remained quiet, staring at the Animus Wardens from afar for a few moments more as she watched the Young Master approach with his entourage, going to greet the vaunted warriors that everyone else was staring at in admiration.

"I don't want to say that, but it sure seems like it. Might be nothing, might be precaution, might be some jaded view of what they represent since the last time I saw them, a simple skirmish against some equally talented soldiers turned into a full on battle when dozens of higher ranked enemies came crashing down into us. Again, I just don't know, but it does make me worried. Be careful now, alright? More so than before..."

Giving them one last look, Alessia turned and walked away, heading back to her tent and grabbing her gear, getting started on their maintenance after a long day of fighting and walking; when I made my way over and joined her, the Dogkin glanced at me briefly and said "You can keep looking at them with Paci if you want."

I just snorted as I undid the buckles of my bracers, taking a look at the leather and frowning for a moment as I appraised the various cracks and the singular cut that needed to be desperately mended soon, lest it continue to damage the integrity of the armor.

"I'm not a child, Alessia. They're nice to look at, but it's not like I can do much else, right? I don't really know much about them, don't really care about them..."

That made the Dogkin snort too as she looked up from her claymore and gestured towards the various soldiers, who were all standing around and watching as the Wardens made their way into the camp, listening to the Young Master and not saying much at all... or anything, but we couldn't hear them anyways considering how far away they were.

"It's not childish, not to us soldiers anyways. They represent the pinnacle of what we can become. Maybe one day, if you apply yourself enough, train hard enough, hone yourself as best you can, maybe, just maybe you'll receive a letter to join their ranks. Fame, prestige, honor, wealth... all of it awaits you if you become a Warden. Land, coin, security... after a few years, you'd have more than enough to retire as a newly appointed Baron or Baroness, find yourself a partner and live the rest of your life comfortably. That's what most of us want..."

Looking back down at her claymore, the Dogkin began to drag her whetstone over the edge, honing it back into the lethal, razor sharp edge that she wanted it to be in, only pausing for a moment as I quietly asked "But not you?"

The sound of her whetstone grinding against the metal filled the silence between us, and I bit my cheek after a few seconds, looking down at my leather armor instead as I began to rub in the leather filler and mend the armor, giving the Dogkin some space.

As the crack was gradually filled, I left it to dry before looking up at Alessia as she quietly said "No, not me. I don't want to settle down. Don't want to ever be left in the quiet, by myself. I'll be a soldier, a fighter, until my bones are too old to lift this blade of mine, or until I inevitably find my demise on a battlefield. I never wanted to be a Warden, nor anything more than a Talonmaster. Just isn't for me..."

She didn't look at me at all, and I just remained quiet as I looked her over one more time before returning to my own maintenance, the two of us working silently beside one another and not speaking about anything else.