It’s funny the things that you learn, not just about yourself, but in general when you get into a new environment. Looking back it’s been something else. I’ve been in Lithmore for three months. It’s been seven months since I got the notice from my mother and left the front. I never expected my life to be like this at all.
Friendships. I never thought I would be able to find the friends that I have here, it’s been surprising to me. Not that I didn’t expect to find people I could relate to, but I’ve always been living closely with those that I befriended, we work together, we fight together… it builds a level of camaraderie that you just don’t get usually. It is natural to get close to them, something I don’t find here. Yet here I am in Lithmore with new friends and acquaintances.
Katarina was perhaps the first person I began to get close to. She’s helped me so much, I owe her in more ways than I can count. I am fond of her, she engages me on so many different levels. I am lucky to have met her. I wish I could do more for her to repay the kindness that she has shown me. Though I really cannot complain when I get the small presents from her that I have been getting. I need to think of something to get her for Yule.
Ariel, perhaps the biggest surprise of them all. He was a Regency candidate and really we didn’t have much in common really. He is a very politically savvy person, I have the political savvy of a rock, or at least I thought so. he even admitted to me that at first he just saw me as a titled noble, someone valuable to get the support of for the Regency. Yet somehow it has become something more; a fast friendship. It is unexpected to say the least, but it is enjoyable. I feel it bringing out my youth a lot more, something I haven’t done in a long time. For heaves sake he’s got me thinking of ways to pull pranks now. It’s not a bad thing, it’s nice actually, relaxing.
Karrina is an interesting one. A companion much more in line with what I am used to, just without the fighting alongside each other yet bit at least. She’s hard to read sometimes, as I can be at times I suppose. I’m not sure if I’m bothering her ot not, though recently we had a nice long talk. We discussed our pasts and it was nice, it was good. I am not sure if it is a real friendship yet, but it seems to be on its way there.
In general there are a lot of people that I have met that have been great. The Grand Master is great, though I haven’t spent much time with them. Master dul Cavallari seems a good sort, though I haven’t seen much of him. I worry that he might resent that I forgot to tell him I was a Count at first. Master ab Broderick, the owner of the Bluebird is a good sort, though I feel reminded of being a nobleman all the more when speaking with him. The Earl Marshall is very hard to read, I am still uncertain there. I haven’t spoken to Lady de Versin in a while… and now I am just rambling, more and more people… it’s not nearly the nest of vipers that I had been warned of. I know there are dangers, I still need to be careful, but it isn’t so bad.
That said, it could well get a lot more complicated and dangerous. I am not your standard noble. I joined the knights at nine, I’ve been a soldier, not a politician. I didn’t expect to inherit, I wasn’t meant to be count. I’ve been the Count for seven months and Ariel… the new Regent, he wants me to be his High Steward. It’s stunning to say the least. I have wanted to help raise the profile of my family, but never expected to do it in such a way. The problem is, I just joined the Knights once more. If I become High Steward, I have to take a leave from the Knights once more. I don’t want to burn those bridges, the Knights are a part of me and I wish to return to it after the period as High Steward ends. I need to hear from the Earl Marshall and Grand Master first, before I decide. The letters have been sent, now I just wait anxiously. I don’t know what they will say…
Do I have what it takes?