The World Dragon's Heir - Chapter 724: History Of The Guard

Chapter 724: History Of The Guard

“So, your Academy, and the surrounding city, are full of a wide variety of ancient and magically powerful nonhumans?” Alexis asked, looking for clarification.

Benedict shrugged. “I don’t know if I would call it a wide variety. It’s mostly dragonkin, Elves and Trolls. There are some Dwarves and other magic users, but they’re a small minority group.

The Dwarves and the Dragons have issues getting along.

They’re more alike than they would like to admit, and it leads to constant arguments between them. So, the Dwarves don’t usually go to dragon run worlds.”

Alexis nodded. “That’s a lot to take in. An entire retirement planet for old magic users, just tucked away and waiting for more people to get old and come to them. Only, I suppose there haven’t been any for a while, since so many were killed in the invasion.”

Benedict nodded. “Indeed. I only know of the event from classwork, as I was a teacher.

But it didn’t directly affect us, we weren’t even in the same world. The only ones that took a real hit were the new graduates who were hoping for a posting in the Royal Guard, and then found out that it was temporarily disbanded.

At one point, there were ten thousand of them, you see.

That many guards cycles through a huge number of elite graduates every year, far more than our small Academy can provide. But we have the best training, and the best skilled Battlemages.

So, it was fairly common for them to get a posting on the Royal Family’s personal retinue at some point during their career.

I was led to believe that the Cygnian Royal Family is also quite close to their Royal guards, and often has the same set for the Guard’s entire career, never wavering from their assigned post.”

Alexis smiled. “I have had one replacement since I was a child. The original Commander of my team retired and passed the spot to Colonel Wilkes, while Ella was promoted out of the Royal Order to my personal Guard.”

“It’s good to see that there is a woman on your retinue. I was a bit concerned that we had two of them in our unit, and no information on how you personally felt about ladies in combat.

Now that I’ve met you, I can see that concern is unfounded.

You see, when it is noted that a Royal Family member is an officer of a militant order, it usually doesn’t mean that they are part of the order, just that they hold the title. So, I didn’t know for certain that you were a Paladin.

I did know that you greatly enjoyed reading as a youth.

That was recorded before the fall of Wavemates, but the last entry was when you were nine years old, and preferred fantasy novel reading with your second brother to anything except chocolate cake.”

Alexis was again left stunned by the random information that other nations collected.

“You knew that I was a bookworm, and that I love chocolate cake, but not that I was a Paladin? Did nobody do any research before sending you here?”

Benedict shrugged. “I’m certain that they did. When I asked about the proper gift for your wedding, they had a clear and detailed list of likely choices. However, my unit was to be assigned to the Duke, and they didn’t see fit to inform us of your hobbies.

I do know that you greatly dislike being flirted with.

But that was never going to happen, as you’re a married woman, and I’m not that sort of fellow.”

“What sort?”

“Suicidal? But I was referring to the sort of gentleman like in that second book from the left on the top shelf on your side of the bed. The sort of Noble Knight who, ever so graciously, ’assists’ his Lady when her husband is out of town.

Now, I daresay that Duke Dominic is not the same sort of husband that the protagonist in that novel is. But you know the sort I mean.”

Alexis laughed. “I do, and I’m thoroughly shocked that you know the book.”

Benedict shrugged. “Once upon a time, I thought that reading ladies romance would help me understand the fairer sex.

It did not.”

Dominic snickered, and Alexis rolled her eyes. “You were looking in a very wrong direction if you were hoping to understand the core essence of a woman’s personality by her choice of erotic literature.”

“Well, I know that now. However, being that I am the strapping and handsome Knight archetype, despite technically being a Battlemage, one can hold out hope.”

Dominic smiled at him. “I see that we have a hopeless romantic here. Though, if your taste in books matches my wife’s I’m not entirely certain that Romance is the word that I should be using for it.”

“That reminds me, I have books for you. Not of the fictional sort, I brought a number of mage training tomes, basic spell books and other educational materials that I am informed were mostly lost years ago in this region.”

Alexis smiled as the books were brought out and stacked high on the end table in the room.

“That is wonderful. We have two mage sects in town who are running academies based on their own specialties, but I know that both are missing large portions of the knowledge that they would like to be teaching.

I don’t suppose that you were informed of the reason that this region is missing so much historical and magical knowledge, were you?”

Benedict shrugged. “I had assumed it was due to the more or less constant warfare. When cities get sacked, records get lost and rare tomes vanish, either for safekeeping or in fires.”

“Well, that is moderately true. Your Headmaster Asmodain burned or looted a huge amount of the continent’s history before he left.

So much, in fact, that he’s still on multiple nations’ most wanted list centuries later.”

“That definitely sounds like something that he would do. Old Dragons have their pride, and despise being questioned.”