The wide dry plains, with few trees scattered around them, had been the view of the ten-year-old boy in his journey. He was inside a carriage that only noblemen can ride on, resting his chin on his palm while looking at the scenery, which he described — boring. Wearing a frowning face, he tried looking at the man across him for once to ask something.

"Are we there yet?" The boy asked in his impatience. Obviously, with the empty surrounding, the answer to his question was no. The man even confirmed it by shaking his head.

"A few more turns and we're about to meet your grandfather." He sighed in response, nodding.

On the brighter side, the long trip would be paid off once he saw the reason for this. It's been two years since the last time he visited his grandfather but he could still remember the stories the old man was telling him. They were inspiring and with the mystical things happening in them, he did not know if they were real or not.

"My Prince, we're here." He did not realise he fell asleep in the middle of reminiscing about the past. He excitedly came out of the carriage without waiting for the servant along him to give him permission.

The place was like a smaller version of their palace, walls painted in red and roofs in black. He ran to a spot where he knew his grandfather would be like with the last time they met. In the center of the garden, he found an old man with white long hair, tied neatly to his back. The young boy knew that was the person he was looking for.

"Grandpa!" The child elatedly called the old man, who faced him with his intimidating expression. The boy became nervous but when the latter smiled at him, it faded away.

"TaiLong." He hurriedly walked closer to his grandfather and hugged him.

The mighty Ruler with a golden heart was what the old man before him was famous for.

"You must be tired from the journey you had." The boy, who pressed his head on the elder's abdomen, looked upon his grandfather's face and nodded.

The old man finished his work in the garden before entertaining his grandson. He maintained its grooming and it was pretty that it captured the attention of anyone who paid their visit. They had a cup of tea and the child’s drink made sweeter just like his young tongue wanted. The boy told things happening to their kingdom, especially his newly born sister. The old man wished to see the rest of Tailong’s family if his son would not be so busy with his duty.

“Why don’t you try to visit us, Grandpa?” It was night and they were having dinner, both sitting at each end of the long table.

The old man chuckled. “I can’t leave this place with this old body I have.” The boy frowned. “Anyway, having you here time by time is enough.”

After dinner, the boy looked through the window and watched the clear sky. The moon shone brightly, captivating the young soul.

“Pretty, right?” Tailong turned his head, seeing his grandfather sitting near the fire pit. He joined the old man by taking the empty seat beside him. The old man gave him a kind smile. “I know you want to hear some good old story, child.”

“Is that about the White Knights again?” He said, sounding tired of his old man’s story.

“Well, yes.” Tailong sighed and his grandfather could only laugh. “I doubt you could still remember the last one I told you since that’s two years ago.”

“Of course, I can!” The boy insisted. “Don’t forget I’m a kid and my memories are as sharp as a sword.” The grandfather heartily laughed once more which made him a little annoyed. “The adventures and battle, the handsome White Knights had, are still in my mind. They fought hundreds, thousands, and hundreds of thousands of men.”

“You absolutely can remember. That was great, Tailong.” The boy nodded proudly. “But, I haven’t told you how they were formed, have I?” The boy reluctantly shook his head. “If that’s the case, I should tell you.”

~*1*~

Once upon a time, in the age of the Great War, there was a boy living in somewhat a peaceful village in the west. He was born in a different and poorer country. When his father died, they moved to where he was now since his mother found them a better living.

As he grew up, he made a lot of sparring and was known as a prodigy in terms of battle; however, he was not old enough to fight in a real one.

There was news spreading all over Wēngēhuá that a mighty kingdom from the east needed young men as Knights. He did not draw any hesitation to take this chance of joining after learning they were looking for boys around his age. He was thirteen.

The kingdom was called Phoenix, some thought its existence was a mere myth. They said it was beside his mother country.

He wanted to show his skill to the recruiters, but they were more interested in knowing what one’s aspiration was. The boy told them, “I wanted to be known by my people as a great knight.”

The recruiters looked at each other before one of them approached him and held his face, looking at it meticulously. They turned his head left and right then gave their verdict.

“By your appearance and aura, for sure you’ll be what you wanted.”

And then, the boy was taken along with several children in the village. Before his departure, he paid his farewell to his mother, who was always supportive of his decision. It was emotional. There was a chance that he would never see her again since he agreed to the terms and conditions given by those people.

It was a long journey. Taken by a huge carriage, the boy was bent sitting on the floor along with his fellow aspirant squire. Yes, because it was not official yet, that all of them would be included in the knights’ line-up. If they were not chosen, they could stay in the kingdom or return to where they belonged but the latter would mark them as outsiders. Their memories would be taken away if that was the choice they made.

He was silent for the entire travel and simply listened to his colleagues’ conversations. The Phoenix Kingdom was their main topic, its history, and the reason why the country was legendary. The boy had heard before that people there used magic. It was unbelievable that was why he wanted to know if it was true.

With 60 days of travel in lands and oceans, they arrived at last, an afternoon of fall. They were welcomed by a gigantic brick wall and solid metal gate. A tall man with a strong build was waiting for them. He was General Kang and he guided them inside while telling them what should they expect during their stay there. As the boy was mesmerized by radiant coloured buildings and flowery paths, as if he was inside a fairyland, he listened as well to General Kang’s words.

“The kingdom is in its 9th generation, led by Red Queen Hee.” General Kang was introducing the current throne. “She is married to her twin brother and the former ruler, White King Teuk. He may still be alive, but his wife needed to take the throne from him. He was doing well with his administration until some troubles came in the middle of it. The Red Queen was known for her venturesome decision and she sometimes put the kingdom in danger due to it.

Each generation of kings and queens has his or her respective group of knights. The couple called theirs Blue Knights. They protected the kingdom well but like I mentioned, troubles came in. One of them was the departure of the knight called Han. The whole country was shaken. People started dividing. Some kept with their devotion to the kingdom some were questioning it. Although a quarter of the population stopped believing in the current ruler, it was huge enough to weaken the King. Sadness could be the reason for a leader to lose his power.

A civil war occurred and the King was not eligible to be in his spot anymore. He was forced to give up his throne and should be given it to his cousin. But the people had lesser faith in them so instead, Queen Hee took it. The Blue Knights remained strong although there were a few arguments within their circle. With aid from King Teuk and the remaining faithful Knights, Queen Hee was able to revive the country to normal. She gave birth to a girl who everyone believes the reincarnation of the Great Phoenix and she would soon be crowned as Queen.”

“Excuse me, sir.” One of the squires raised his hand. “With the colour of your armour, are you perhaps one of the Blue Knights?”

General Kang smiled widely nodding. “Indeed, my child. It was great to serve the King and Queen and I’m glad to keep my loyalty to them. They are an amazing pair of people. I’m sure with their guidance, the Crown Princess could also do the same with her new generation. I am telling you this because you are one of the vital elements to make her an astounding leader. Please keep being faithful once you are chosen.”

“By the way, who would do the selection?” Another had asked.

“The crown princess herself.”

The children stayed in the training quarters on top of a hill and the white palace could be viewed from there. The boy spent learning different things, not just some fighting techniques, but also some academic lessons. He learned literature and the one, which became his favourite — learning another language. He wanted to meet people from different parts of the world and this education was essential for this kind of situation. The training quarters were a good place to practice his newly obtained communication skill. Some are like him, foreigners, but most are just Phoenix Kingdom natives.

As a year passed, he met several young people like him and some of them gave up because they found the training difficult, and some stayed. One of them was Luhan, a boy who has the same age as him, from the capital of his mother country. He thought Luhan was a girl at first but he confirmed he wasn’t after he received a blow from the shorter boy. He had a bright smile but every word he said was disturbing, must be due to his exposure to the war in their country. He had seen several deaths from either execution or some sort of. The boy could not help to suspect that Luhan must have been the reason why his fellow squires left.

Months later, thirteen-year-old Yixing joined the training. He was talkative and loved to blabber randomly. If he would know a secret of anyone, he would tell it to his fellows. He was obviously one of the reasons the other children quit the training. The boy became his victim too but not enough to make him leave.

One morning, he was awakened by squeals from his fellows. He washed his face and then joined the circle that was formed outside his tent. His colleagues started congratulating the ten-year-old boy named Jongin. He was popular before the boy from Wēngēhuá came there. He was a skilled warrior and charismatic at a young age, which paid off as the crown princess assigned him as her first knight.

“Greetings,” Yixing started reading the parcel in his hand and for sure he had done it before because they were praising Jongin already. The piece of paper had an official seal and was signed by the Crown Princess herself. Written there was, of course, him being a knight, also mentioning him given a new name ‘Kai’ and announce her warriors' name would be called White Knights.

Jongin, who was now Kai, was also known for being humble and he showed it with his response to his fellows. He stopped the talkative Yixing from embarrassing him more, snatching the paper from him, bowed at the squiers, and prepared to leave the quarter.

Looking at him from afar, the boy knew Kai would be a general someday.

~*End*~

“What was the name of the boy from Wēngēhuá, Grandpa?” Tailong asked. His grandfather stood up, approaching him to pet his head. “You will know soon. But for now, you should sleep.” The old man kissed his forehead.

A/N

I'm so sleepy. I need to go and rest. Chapters 2 and 3 will be up tomorrow.