Chapter 420: Sworn In.

Chapter 420: Chapter 420: Sworn In.

​By Drogger’s count, Binny Sun is the first.

The request itself had come as no real shock; where servants typically went out of their way to escape notice, in a short span of time Binny had garnered himself a fair measure of attention amongst the soldiers.

Earned himself a bit of a reputation, even. And, it would seem, a modicum of respect.

​Who the request had come from, however, had been somewhat of a surprise.

​At the time Drogger had not been overly thrilled to find Vogrid Vector in his office so soon after having submitted a formal complaint about one of his men.

The man wasn’t the type to make social calls, after all, but to his relief he wasn’t there because of Gandy.

​He was there because of Rogard. More specifically; he was there because of his appointment to the castle guard.

​Drogger’s not proud to say that he’d gotten a little defensive ; informing him that if he had a problem with the decision to take it up with Bongo since he was the one who had recommended Rogard in the first place.

And perhaps that wasn’t his most professional response, but he had already heard a number of complaints regarding such a decision –both to his face, and when they thought he wasn’t listening –and he had not been in the mood to hear another.

​But that wasn’t why Vogrid had come to him. He’d come to him because he had a recommendation of his own.

​Drogger hadn’t asked him why he’d come forward. He hadn’t asked him why Binny Sun. He never asked, because men were always so quick to sing the praises of their friends, family, and loved ones.

Such songs were worthless if the men themselves had yet to demonstrate such qualities to their superiors.

No, it was up to those whose names had been put forward to prove themselves; to show him why. And not just with a blade. Because there’s more to protecting a kingdom than being able to swing a sword.

In an ideal world, the ones serving the crown most closely don’t need to just be good soldiers.

They need to be good men. And Drogger has spent quite some time observing Binny; watching him forge bonds with men who don’t trust easily.

​That Vogrid Vector is here vouching for him is testimony to that fact.

​So Drogger had been more than happy to present his name to the other Captains.

​Once upon a time, it would have been unthinkable for a servant to be considered for the castle guard, let alone accepted .

In this kingdom, in this castle, blood defines a man, as it defines his children and his prospects.

But Drogger is Captain a commoner by birth, and Bongo is the one who saw past that and granted him the opportunity to rise above his station.

And Loac had never seen things the way the castle wanted him to see things. He’d been a brat as a kid and is likely one of the reasons Drogger’s going grey, but he’s probably one of the few noblemen in the kingdom who never cared who his father was.

​He’d been annoyed to be summoned –Loac is always annoyed at being summoned –but for once he’d come when called, and when Drogger had told him why , the irritation had melted away and he’d cracked a smile .

It had thrown him off so much that Drogger had told Rogard about it later on –no details, obviously, just that it had happened –and Rogard had smiled too, and told him that he’d actually been doing that a lot, lately.

Bongo usually asks Drogger’s thoughts before passing judgement of his own, but for once he hadn’t needed to.

​It’s easily the fastest decision they’ve ever made.

​As he was leaving, Loac had offhandedly inquired who had recommended him, and when Drogger had told him, he was the only one of the three of them who hadn’t seemed surprised.

​It’s not a particularly dramatic change, really. When he had first started frequenting the training grounds Binny had spent the odd day here and there amongst the soldiers; somehow juggling his duties as a servant with tying Drogger’s men up in knots, and at a passing glance no one would have been able to single him out as any different than the rest of them.

Upon closer inspection even the keenest of eyes probably would have struggled to make out the servant’s tunic underneath his armour; dressing a servant like a soldier had been an unpopular decision but Drogger was a firm believer that safety was paramount regardless of status.

​He looks much the same today, but the difference lies in how he carries himself.

​Like he belongs there.

​(Perhaps Drogger needn’t have worried.)

​Binny’s usual compatriots are surprisingly well-behaved today; probably by and large due to Ynoro’s presence among them.

Drogger has found himself in a somewhat unusual situation in that usually someone who joined the castle guard would have been a soldier first, and would have received training as such from quite a young age.

As it so happens, Binny has received no such training, and appears to have gotten by on instinct, keen eyes and sharp reflexes, and a measure of natural talent.

He knows his way around a blade as well as any other soldier –perhaps even better –however a soldier’s training is not limited to what he can accomplish with a sword, and Drogger needs to know just where exactly these gaps lie so that they can be filled, as well as any bad habits that need to be polished away.

Binny’s prowess is largely isolated to the sparring ring with little time spent at drills, so he’s bound to need some extra assistance.

​Hence, Ynoro.

It can be hard to believe sometimes but the man knows what he’s doing, and he’ll be the one working most closely with Binny to get him up to speed where he’s lacking.

Because Drogger knows what men can be like, he spends the day with half an eye trained on Binny.

But he really needn’t have worried; Binny’s obviously been spending a lot of time observing the men at their drills and cottons on pretty quickly.

He’s definitely a weak point in his company’s shield wall, but that’s somewhat to be expected. It’s also obvious that some of the soldiers are rougher with him strictly necessary or appropriate –it’s disappointing how some men insist on clinging to their beliefs at times –but Drogger notes that anyone who goes out of their way to bloody him gets bloodied back just as violently.

​A couple wind up getting carted off to the infirmary, and that largely puts an end to that.

​You’d think they would know better. Binny keeps terrifying company, after all. Even the training ground’s worst troublemakers don’t mess around when it comes to Jaga.

Drogger’s seen him bodily crack Khobi’s back over his knee like kindling. Even when the man pulls his punches he’s capable of breaking jaws, so it’s lucky that he did.

​Safe to say, the sorry sods he sent off to the infirmary probably aren’t feeling all that lucky. Their ears will be ringing into next week.

​"Relax, Noog," Ynoro chuckles, when he catches Drogger glancing over Binny’s way during dinner.

Without the servant tunic there’s really no telling him apart from any of the other men, and whilst there’s a measure of anxiety to the way he hovers tableside, the spot between Montrel and Khobi opens up without prompting and they welcome him like he’s always been one of them.

No one at their table questions his being there, and anyone who might’ve –having seen what happens to those who do –thinks better of it when they see who they’ll have to contend with.

​There’s something reassuring too, in the way Montrel glances his way.

​"They’re good men."

​Drogger lets out a small chuckle himself. Ynoro’s right, obviously.

Things have changed since he first took up a sword. And while his king is going to pretend to be annoyed that he’s gone and created such a stir, Drogger’s been serving Gurdet long enough to know that he actually quite enjoys it when the nobility gets themselves in a flap.

​"He’ll be just fine."