Ever since they had entered Daein it had been all snow all the time. Kieran, Crimean Royal Knight Fifth Platoon Captain, had never seen so much snow in his life. Crimea never got this much snow, but Daein was completely blanketed in the stuff. In some places it was up to the waists of the children with them. Fortunately for the children, the army had trampled the snow down to the point that that was a non-issue. The cold was unbearable, or would be if Kieran were not a knight of Crimea. His position gave him strength. Or at least that's what he called it.
Kieran observed the army. They were an odd bunch. In the distance two women were weaving their way through the camp. One was a purple haired Swordmaster. Kieran only vaguely knew her as Mia. She had joined up with the Greil Mercenaries shortly before they had rescued Kieran from that prison. Soren rarely put them in the same part of the battle field. The other woman he hadn't met. All he knew about her was she had joined the mercenary troupe the same time as Mia. The woman he didn't know pushed Mia to the ground. She paused to shrug and apologize before running away. He then saw one of the youngest members of the army, a Fire Sage named Tormod, tap her. He couldn't hear what, but Mia jumped to her feet and yelled something, a threat judging by her friend's hasty retreat, at her friend before taking off after her.
Closer were two of the people he had been incarcerated with. Brom, the cowardly farmer who he had shared a cell with, and a blue clad Halberdier. He didn't know her name. Brom wasn't cut out for war. He was poorly trained, and knew his way around a dinner plate better than his way around a battle field. Despite this, Kieran admired him. Brom spent most of his time in the jail cell being petrified. He knew he wouldn't be a good soldier, but he had joined the army anyway. He had done it to keep his family safe, and that was something that Kieran could respect. The blue haired girl, she didn't talk much. Well, to any of the city dwellers at least. Word had it that she was embarrassed by her accent. They appeared to be having a good chat. Brom called out to a passing Silver haired Swordmaster.
The Swordmaster, Zihark if Kieran remembered correctly, was being tailed by a petite Thunder Sage. Every man in the camp knew her name. Ilyana was infamous among the men. She used her cute face, and frail frame to weasel food out of the soldiers. It looked like Zihark was her next target. It also looked like Zihark barely noticed she was there. She was just standing there, staring at him. If Zihark didn't give her food soon things could go bad. He remembered when Mia had the misfortune to be too close to the sage when her hunger became too much for her. Leather boots cannot taste that good.
Muarim and Lethe were walking together. Mordecai wasn't too far off. Lethe was completely dwarfed by the two tigers. Kieran didn't understand how the little cat could rank above both of them. The ways of the laguz were completely alien to him. Crimea was so closely allied with Gallia that it would be embarrassing to the queen if Kieran did not understand the culture better. Kieran made a note to make sure he learned as much about them as he could before the war was over.
From somewhere behind him, he could hear music. It was a fast paced piece; he could hear some people clapping along. So the two bards were at it again. Somewhere along the way they had joined up with the army. Nobody was really sure why, but listening to them play was a good way to pass time. Mostly they played ditties from the country side. People would dance together around a campfire. From what Kieran understood, it was great fun. He never joined in with them. He had to take care of his horse, named Ezra after Kieran's father. Before a battle they would play the Crimean national anthem to fire up the troops. It was a good morale boost.
In one of the larger tents the General and his advisors were strategizing. Kieran was amazed by the young general. He did not appear to be the sort that could lead an army. Princess Elincia was in there with them. Since his defeat and capture by the Daein troops he hadn't gotten much time to talk to his future queen. He was always training, and she was always doing whatever it was she did. When they weren't in complete opposite sides of the camp, Kieran was in battle.
He saw the young tactician emerge from the tent first. That meant the meeting was over. The grumpy child immediately set to work on other things. The general was next. Even at that distance, Kieran could tell that the meeting had not been an interesting one. Ike was a fighter, not a planner. Managing the troops wasn't his strong suit. Elincia and another former knight of Crimea emerged together. Next came the two members of the bird tribe. They flew off to scout the area ahead no doubt.
He spotted his rival, ex-rival Kieran had to get used to that, parading through the camp. He was not clad in his green armor today. He had been injured in the last fight. Rhys had a talk with their extremely grumpy tactician about not sending Oscar into battle until his leg healed. The sage had not been happy, but then Soren was never happy. Today he was wearing what appeared to be his entire non-armored wardrobe. Kieran began to wonder if his ex-rival really was cut out for the Crimean Knights, if he couldn't handle a little cold.
He thought back on all the times Oscar had bested Kieran. Oscar was just better at everything. Despite using a lance, he still won over Kieran's lance every time they sparred. He was a better rider than Kieran. No matter how fast Ezra ran, he could never best Oscar's horse. If he had stayed with the knights Oscar would be the platoon captain. This infuriated Kieran. When Oscar had been around there had been a goal to meet. Without Oscar serving as the bar, Kieran had to set his sights lower. The other knights didn't challenge Kieran the way Oscar did.
"OSCAR!" Kieran bellowed. The green knight turned reluctantly. Clearly he was intimidated by Kieran's rank. Kieran had that effect on people.
"You're not here to ask me to rejoin the Crimean Knights again are you? I thought we talked about this." Oscar asked.
"Yes. Well, no. Maybe later." Kieran said. He knitted his eyebrows in concentration. They stood in an awkward silence.
"Aren't you cold?" Oscar asked.
"Ha! Things like the cold mean nothing for a knight of Crimea such as myself." Kieran boasted. The silence returned. Since their last talk, Kieran had done his best to put aside the rivalry. It was clear that Oscar wanted no part of it, but now that they were not rivals what was left? Before Kieran got the chance to ponder this fully, a very irritated looking Bishop stormed over to them.
"What did I tell you about walking on your injured leg like that? You shouldn't be out of bed right now. If you're not careful you can damage it beyond my capabilities to heal it, and then where will you be? Who will defend your brothers on the battle field? Not you, because you'll be too crippled to make any sort of contribution in battle. You'll end up being left to guard the caravan with Soothe and Mist. Now march right back into your tent and rest. If I see you walking around again, I'll tell Kieran to guard your tent. He can alternate shifts with Mia." Rhys half scolded and half threatened. He took his patients health very seriously. Kieran felt he should be offended by the threat. Rhys was normally a meek and soft spoken fellow. It appeared his training sessions with Mia were at the very least, putting some steel in his spine. Kieran had received his share of lectures from the healer.
"Ah, but the General-" Oscar tried to argue in vain.
"When it comes to the care of my patients I outrank even General Ike." There was no arguing with Rhys once he got into "Healer Mode". Oscar knew that better than anyone, and quietly walked back in his tent. With no patient to scold, Rhys turned to Kieran, "And you. Have you been training properly? No injuries?"
"There is nobody more careful in their training than Kieran Captain of the Fifth Platoon of the Knights of Crimea!" Kieran shouted to the sky. Kieran didn't notice everyone in earshot roll their eyes.
Author's Note: I wrote this as a challenge from this guild on Gaia. I wanted to make Rhys' rant longer, but I couldn't. Anything longer just didn't feel natural. So, wow it's only been forever since I posted anything right? Well, I'm working on this new series. Kieran is a fun character, but he's annoying to use on the battle field. He tends to die, besides Titania kicks his ass. Haha maybe the Soothe and Mist comment was a little harsh, but did anyone actually use them in battle? I didn't.