Vincent stood at attention in full armor, which he always wore when on duty, as the lord steward addressed the gathered men and women of the court. He had always hated these audiences. They were too formal for his liking. He would rather be walking the streets or training or in the mess hall, enjoying a late lunch or early dinner while he and the men and women of the guard swapped stories and jokes. He was on the verge of yawning until the lord steward stated something he had never thought he would hear: there seemed to be a living heir to the Royal Rune.

As the courtiers filed out of the hall, Vincent felt his excitement building as he resisted the urge to grin. Even before he became a commander, Vincent had given up on ever receiving a minor rune. He had been fine with it. After all, the king died way back when Vincent was just starting out fighting off bandits and wild animals, well before he ever met Sir Lanza. As such, he never gave it any thought and simply carried out his duties with his natural skills. Now that the possibility had resurfaced, however, Vincent's mind raced with the possible gifts he could receive from a minor rune. [i][color=orange]Maybe I'll be able to make weapons out of fire?[/color][/i] he thought. [i][color=orange]Ooh! Or maybe I'll get to fly![/color][/i]

He was brought back to reality as Lord Steward Geraint continued, now that all but the commanders, Champion-Apparent, and professor remained with him. Vincent's eyes widened slightly when he heard they would be going to Greypeak Watch, of all places. [color=orange][i]This just gets better and better,[/i][/color] he thought, having to make a conscious effort to not vibrate with excitement, lest his armor were to start rattling. It had been a while since he was last at home and there were so many things he missed: the stew at his favorite tavern, the smell of the crisp mountain air...

Elara.

The thought of her brought a grin to his face, which he hid by coughing into his hand. He cleared his throat and said, [color=orange]"I'll make sure I'm ready to leave as soon as possible. I grew up out that way, so I know the area. We'll be able to get out there and back pretty quickly, I think."[/color]