“From Krakchus, King of Lothania, To his well-beloved friend and ally, Our most venerable and exalted Emperor of the Allmanii, Lord of Baria, Chezh and Sawia, King of Svyezc, Archduke of Tryr and Achenia, Fredrych Hornaxtaulen, blessed be his name and health by the Lord. I write to you on this year of the Phoenix, 1358, Olivefall 27th, to inform you and all of your vassals, well-renowned and sung of, of the start of the 5th Dragon Hunt. I ask you to hurriedly set your scribes to rewrite this letter and hang it on the cathedrals of Axtsburg and Hornersburg, Mienz and Nostremburg, Hansien and Komringdeburg, and to ask the lords and councils of these cities to spread the letter to others until all of Evea has heard the news.

Let it be known to all in Evea, that any man-at-arms, knight, legionman, mercenary or traveller is called to arms by the King of Lothania to once again ride out and do battle with dragons, which have been found once again roosting in the White Swamps. Let it be known that any man or woman, who have steeled themselves and are, Lord willing, intent to accept this call, are now under my direct protection and must make haste and travel to Smoniazdo, where I and my vassals will be awaiting their arrival with the utmost urgency. Let it be known that anyone, who has painted a red dragon on anywhere on his person is to be considered my direct subordinate and is granted my full support and protection. Let it be known that all are welcome, until the year of the Phoenix 1360, Olivefall 1st, when I and my great host will ride forth from Smoniazdo, travelling deep into the White Swamps to root out the vile wyrms, to join and present themselves before me and my retainers. I ask anyone willing to heed this call to ride hard and quick, for the threat is dire and time is of the essence. I ask them to pass word of this to others willing to aid in our help against the great beasts of the north. Let it be known that anyone who appears ready to join my host will be immediately honoured by having their names written down in the Book of the Lovci Smokov and will be rewarded with a pay of 10 gold laurels. Let it also be known, that anyone who uses these privileges to do harm or cause mayhem may be hailed as the greatest of traitors and will be hunted down by the Knights of the Roost.

I thank you for your attentiveness and now excuse myself from your attention.

By the decree of the Lord, King of Lothania, Lord of Gdasg and Prince of Smoniazdo, Krakchus Jagollion the Elder.”

--

Jan hurriedly ran up the large flight of stairs, cursing silently. ‘I swear by the Lord, if I miss this because of that wench, I will never visit a whorehouse again!’ he thought, huffing in his black and gold armour. Out of all the days he had decided to have some fun, it had to be today. Still, the sun had barely risen above the high towers and red-tiled roofs of the city of Smoniazdo. The tightly packed houses, their chimneys already puffing out black smoke from breakfast hearths, bathed in the morning rays. The winding cobbled streets and alleys were slowly being filled with people, ready to see off the heroes of the Hunt.

Finally, reaching the end of the stairs and quickly showing the guards the red and white badge on his belt, he stumbled, seeing the backs of hundreds of knights. They all stood in a great plaza, its stone benches and garden walls used by some as steps to see better. In front of the plaza was a great cathedral, its high walls stretching up to the clouds, its gates separated from the plaza by a great chasm. The dark green doors of the cathedral, depicting scenes of battles against dragons, stood shut and still. Janan sighed in relief. It had yet to start.

Looking around, he couldn’t help but marvel at the sight. The plaza was jam-packed with men and women of high calibre. Mercenaries, legionmen, story seekers, knightly orders... It made his heart race seeing so many gathered here. Looking around, he could see the engraved conical helmets of the Sunset Order, the red plumes and stone-like steel helmets of the Drake slayer order, the silver armets of the Lionheart Order. He could even see members of the Syward Order in their onion helms, taking up twice the space a normal man would and the colourful horned helmets of the Moare Order, their strange swords’ handles sticking from their shoulders. He could see representatives from legionmen battalions, each man and woman wearing that distinct black plate armour, their helmets taking the shape of their legions animal, complete with a wide, broom-like plume. Of course, there were also men like him. Orderless knights, rough-looking mercenaries, smiling story-seekers, dodgy sellswords. He even picked out a few qasqariams in the crowd. Some, especially the orderless knights, wore beautifully detailed armour that shone in the sun, while others looked like they belonged more on the street than in this great plaza, with their armour crude and even rusted in places. Some were completely covered in great cloaks, seemingly defenceless.

A fluttering of flags made Janan turn from the myriad of knights and towards the sky. The plaza itself was surrounded by great towers, which were connected by walls to the cathedral and in turn the great Roost castle. The soldiers in the towers, dressed in plate armour and wearing hot red capes were the fabled Dragonriders, knights of the kingdom of Lothania. Behind them, atop a great pole, fluttered the kingdom's banner – a lothanian sword, flanked by two dragons in a field of red. The edges of the flag were beautifully embroidered with gold, the same colour as the sword and dragons. Looking at it made Jan’s heart skip a beat. He could hardly believe he was to fight side by side with such legends. As he watched them, Jan felt a smile cross his face. He remembered why he had come here. Why all of these men and women were here. To take part in the Great Dragon Hunt. To find a dragon nest in the White swamplands and maybe even slay one! Thinking about it, Jan remembered the stories of King Orlian of Galfria, or Great Duke Hube, or even Sir Joslan Bladehand. ‘I will enter into their fold, just you wait.’ Thought Jan, as he felt for his curved greatsword, hanging on his back.

As he held the weapon's long handle for comfort, trying to calm himself, the great cathedral doors suddenly creaked, the sound of gears turning to echo throughout the plaza and beyond. Slowly, a great stone bridge connected the plaza to the cathedral, setting itself into place by a loud click. With that, every warrior who stood in the plaza slowly started walking towards the stone bridge. Every single one of them is ready to take the Dragon Oath to hunt dragons throughout the spring. Or die trying.