Courage, Temperance, Liberality, Magnificence,

Pride, Honor, Good Temper, Friendliness,

Truthfulness, Wit, Friendship, Justice,

The twelve virtues of being a knight,

These are the virtues that we have forgotten.

Or at least we have put aside,

In lieu of ourselves,

 

In a land far from here,

Men still strive to be knights,

Still strive to be more than what they claim,

Strive to serve the rest,

To be knights of oath and order.

 

Young men often volunteer to be this honor,

They are given a small wooden shield to start with, 

This shield represents their chosen path,

For it will break, crack, and splinter,

Much the same as its wielder,

But the boy that either repairs it or replaces it on his own, 

Is to be shunned for a time,

For it is truly the responsibility of his mentor to make sure that his ward,

Is taken care of, 

For this is yet another trial for the older knight.

 

The shield knights are given a promotion after one year,

They are provided with a slingshot,

Still a boy’s weapon but no less vital, 

A cause for distraction, 

He is taught to hunt and gather,

For most knights must live on the road for days or weeks at a time, 

Traps are made,

Holes are dug,

And the first battles tasted.

 

Two years later,

A bow and quiver are given,

A leather jerkin,

As well as a small dagger,

For the first time in three years,

Trust is also given, 

For the older knight will start to give more complex orders,

The young will learn proper scouting,

Learn to feign innocent, 

Perhaps they will learn to kill and when not to.

 

Getting into teenage years, 

These are the years when the lord demands blood be spilled, 

And a family be won, 

For the boy will be called a child no longer,

For after his adolescence has passed,

His warding is gone.

 

A ceremony for his sword is given,

For the sword is the most precious weapon of any knight,

For in any war the sword presents a flash of steel, 

A genuine threat,

For men can live or die by the swords that they wield,

The ceremony is conducted with twelve full knights,

Each to represent the virtues of the knights,

The soon-to-be knight is given a wooden shield once again,

And told to defend himself from the twelve attacks,

To hold his shield above his head and survive the blows.

 

The first three strikes hit the shield,

Forcing the ward down,

For every strike remains on the shield,

Adding the weight of the swords to the shield,

The next five strikes, 

Force the ward to his knees,

The shield begins to crack and creak,

The next push the endurance for the man to an almost breaking limit,

He can feel his own arm starting to break under the strain,

The last strike finally shatters the shield,

Breaks the arm and forces him to the floor,

For this was the last strike from the knights,

But the king or lord still remains a thirteenth strike must determine if the ward is a knight.

 

The king approaches the circle of knights,

And with his two-handed great sword,

He swings a mighty downward blow,

And the knights,

All in sync turned their swords to the left,

And created an impenetrable shield of virtue,

For the knights that may seem to work for the king,

All have chosen to protect the people and each other above their lord,

For a man that betrays his oath to the people,

Has little worth as a knight,

Much less as a man.