Free Knights



The Free Knights are a feudally-based, somewhat mobile group of peacekeepers with wide-ranging power. They serve as the face of the local government, and the backbone of defensive forces.

Characters

 * Warrick: A friendly head knight in Linton. When Jeriel returns, he defends him, obtains the boy a spot in the knights, and trains him. From there, as the series progresses, he is proud to serve beneath him, eventually becoming General over all the Free Kingdoms Forces. He is a fatherly figure, who treats the army like his family.
 * Dayne: A brutal but famous lieutenant at Linton. He is extremely bigoted, openly stating that the people of the Free Kingdoms no longer respect authority. He bullies Zenzo merchants, including a brief bout with Vittore, where Jeriel enters to save the merchant. He can't be fired or removed because he has personally conquered over a dozen draca. He is, however, put off the beat onto tax-collecting work.
 * Stirling: A cocky arch-rival to Jeriel, who shows off and challenges him to a duel. It turns out, however, that he wants to get out of his father's shadow, and feels helpless to do so. (Father is Tarrin).

History
The Free Knights were established first by the King Wencelas, with the following charter:

"To find wrongs and right them, to find injustice and bring it to justice. To help the women, children, sick, and defenceless find safety. To defend the land, to pain, sweat, injury, loss, or death if need be. Whether needed at the front of the battle, or sweating in the fields, or alone in the breach, I swear to give nothing less than myself. May I die if I give any other."

While this charter of being a selfless group is still held up and idealized by many, it is ignored by equal numbers, who regard it as a job and nothing more. Sometimes, these less altruistic Free Knights have believed that the people of the Free Kingdoms are actually the enemy, often causing riots or disturbances. This is very true of late.

Training
Free Knights' training is rigorous, as youths must work hard in order to be ready for their initiation at 15. Before 15, they can train however they like, but the actual entrance test is so intense that training is considered to begin far earlier.

Initiation
Initiation is when all of the Knight trainees must strip down to their under-tunic, and then climb one of the nearby mountains and retrieve a flag placed inside the cave of a dragon. The initiates must find, enter, and escape the cave, before making the grueling trek back down the mountain. Some do not survive, though elder Knights usually fly above the stragglers to make sure that casualties mostly involve pride, instead of limbs.

Preparation
The next roughly 3 years are spent in combat training, as the Knight-initiates (affectionately termed boot-muck or mucker, because they are supposed to never be underfoot) prepare for their quest. This is the roughest time, and often, boot-muckers slip away at night, change fiefs, and live the quieter life they were better meant for.

Quest
Whenever a draca is sighted or rumored in the area of that fief, the eldest mucker is given sword, shield, and horse to ride after it. He must vanquish the draca in single combat, or never return to that fief. If the initiate manages to defeat the dragon without killing it, he places it in a saddle, and heads to the fief's castle. There, presenting his tamed dragon, he is knighted by the ruler in need. This was traditionally done because the Free Knights were to see themselves as subject to the people in need, but this is sometimes ignored traditionally.

Story Note: This is how Jeriel obtains Scrappy and enters the Free Knights. He accidentally vanquishes Scrappy, and is knighted by the local Duke, believing him to be a Free Knight. However, having been knighted, he technically becomes one, and is entitled to training.

Tactics
Free Knight styles are basically "hack that thing until it dies", or "trip it and beat the ever-living sandsnot out of it." Tripping is a significant part of their style because it is very hard for the large and weighed-down Free Knights soldiers to avoid it. However, it also involves a lot more skill, meaning that only smaller, lighter soldiers tend to attempt it. Jeriel would have a rudimentary knowledge of this before he meets Warrick.

Mounted Free Knights usually carry massive broadswords or greatswords, often as wide as 6 inches across, or more. When about to charge, the Free Knights draw these blades, placing them out in front of them, blades flat against the sun. This reflects the light in the direction of any unfortunate who happens to be the target of their next charge. While this tactic tends to be less than subtle, the combination of intimidation and blinding usually works out towards their favor.

At the end of First Book Plot Overview, when the Lone Swords charge to defend Realmhold, they take their various swords, which, despite being smaller and very diverse, cast a similar effect, and people from the walls believe them to be Free Knights.

Significance
Free Knights are a sort of commentary on modern police; some are good, some bad. Some fantastic, fatherly (like Warick), and others are cruel, more monster than men (like Dayne). There should definitely be scenes of their brutality and kindness, with the idea that they need to work more closely with civilians, as that helps keep them honest.

There's some irony in their names, as they're called "Free Knights", but they often serve to keep the system in place, and hold down poverty. Dayne, for example, being a tax collector, is able to ensure income gaps stay in place, especially with the Zenzo merchants in town.