The Lioness Knight

Her title, the Lioness Knight, is a matter of some debate. There are times in her story that some claim she literally turned into a lioness, and that she is a shape-changer. However, the royal chroniclers of Arkathorne dissuade that theory, though they may not be the most objective witnesses. If one does not know why they would wish to keep such a secret, it shall become clear as we proceed.

In days not so long ago, the kingdom of Lidor and the kingdom of Arkathorne battled one another on the fields of Bloduunar. In that field is the Ridge of Kings, which marks the border between them. Yet the humans of Arkathorne and the madorns of Lidor went over that ridge daily, sending skirmishers, foragers, and cavalry. On the edges of this green field were villages on both sides, and there the tale begins.
                 A fortress was overrun by Lidorids, and the lord of the fortress was killed. His young son managed to escape the onslaught, guarded by five knights, and came to the village of Jiunar to hide. Lidorid warriors came after them, thinking to capture the lord’s son and hold him for ransom, and demanded the village give up the young boy. The villagers were too afraid of these warriors to protest, all their strong men being in the army rather than in their homes, but they made it clear to the invaders that they would not aid in the capture either for fear of the knights. So the Lidorids came to the inn to take custody of the young lord over the corpses of the knights.
                 The knights battled them in the doorway, and held them off for three hours without losing a man. Valiantly and mercilessly they fought, for the Lidorids only wanted one prisoner and the knights could not take any. At the end of those three hours, a knight was felled from a thrown spear, yet that was their undoing.
                 Inside the inn were some people who did not know of the coming of the Lidorids, and so were trapped inside, and among them were women of great note. Mailil the farmwife was there, coming to visit her friend Nirel the innkeeper’s wife, yet put to shame they were by the third. Igonle, a woman who before had but served food and drink to travelers at the inn, now took up the heavy spear that had pierced the knight and joined in the inn’s defense. Inspired was Nirel, and she convinced Mailil to take up the knight’s sword while she took up the bludgeon behind the bar. The three of them joined in the battle, which lasted another eight hours.
                 Reports from wounded Lidorid warriors were strange, that though they had wounded some of the knights, it seemed that many more fought there than they originally guessed. Some said that the knights had donned women’s garb to confuse them, yet others contradicted that. But after the eleven-hour battle, into the deep of night, they stopped. No knights still stood, either being wounded or dead, and the Lidorid’s party had too few warriors to consider the battle. So the Lidorids retreated from two village goodwives and a barmaid.
                 It was not long though that the Lidorids sent another force across the ridge, believing that they could not recover so quickly. And this is where confusion and conjecture begin, for it is said that Igonle hunted them like a lioness. She and other witnesses said that she took a warhorse with yellow coat and golden mane that had belonged to a knight, while the Lidorid survivors said she took the form of a lioness. In either case, Igonle stalked the Lidorids at night and slew many, but whether she did it with sword or claw, spear or fang, is unknown. By morning, the Lidorids retreated back towards the ridge, and Igonle returned to the village of Jiunar to rest from her hunt.
                 When the threat had passed, the young lord, named Lord Gelin, with the remaining knights said that they would provide witness to the nobility of the three women and ensure they would become knights. Nirel said that she couldn’t leave her husband and business, while Mailil admitted that she had no taste for battle nor wished to gain one. Yet Igonle was excited by the idea and accepted their offer.
                 Igonle was brought to the camp of Arkathorne’s army and presented to the king as worthy of knighthood. Now as one might know, it was unheard of at the time for a woman of Arkathorne to join in the bloody trade of knights. Lidor accepted women into knighthood, but they did not go to war, defending the home and only fighting if their household had enemies in it. While she had passed a test of valor, the king judged that she should be tested additionally.
                 So they brought forth tests befitting a trained knight. She fought against a swordsman and jousted a lancer. Every trial of arms they put her through she failed. So she was brought before they king again, and he declared, “Such courage to be put to shame. How could you fail at such tests that even the average squire could pass? Tell me why.”
                 Igonle did not straighten her neck but remained bowed as she gave the king her response. “The average squire has been given his trade, learned the sword, lance, and horse. Any one of your men-at-arms could have passed these tests, but I am not a man-at-arms. I am a village woman, whose greatest physical trial, apart from the recent battles, has been getting a new keg of ale from the cellar when one runs dry. I have never needed such skills, so I have never cultivated them. Yet there is a great difference between a knight and a man-at-arms; I displayed that difference when I joined for no reward in the protection of Lord Gelin, and when I allowed the Lidorids to flee from my hunt. If I need name it, then I would see that being a knight in your service is no honor, and I shall go back to cleaning mugs and serving roast mutton at harvest.”
                 The king smiled and took up his sword. He tapped Igonle’s shoulders with the flat of the sword, and said, “You are now Dame Igonle, knight errant of Arkathorne. Now rise and claim your arms.”
                 So Igonle was fitted with armor and taught the sword. In battle she joined, her surcoat displaying a lioness’s muzzle upon it. The Lidorids were pushed back across the Ridge of Kings and into their own territory. Yet all was not well.
                 The king of Arkathorne was slain in combat, and the crown prince, Prince Talsairn, was captured and held for ransom by the Lidorids. The king’s brother, Prince Volith, declared his brother lost and would not pay the ransom, naming himself king of Arkathorne. It was a terrible time, but it did not last.
                 Dame Igonle rode out on her yellow horse to rescue Prince Talsairn. The fortress he was held in was great and powerful, yet Igonle was brave and prepared her attack. Though the Lidorids, being madorns which are of greater size and strength than humans, guarded well, they were not prepared for so aggressive an opponent. Though not well experienced or trained, Igonle stormed the drawbridge and slew many in the bailey and keep as she searched for Prince Talsairn. Yet she fell to a spear in her side, wounded but not slain, and was taken prisoner with Prince Talsairn. It should be quickly noted that the Lidorids believe that she stormed the castle as a lioness, and only turned back into human form when she was felled, yet that and other things would be inconsistent with how most shape-changers—apart from the Ildyana—function.
                 As prisoners, Dame Igonle and Prince Talsairn were allowed to speak with one another. Prince Talsairn admitted that he had an escape planned, but the presence of another prisoner required things to change. So together they planned an escape.
                 Prince Talsairn convinced his guards to leave early to get some ale, and they assumed that he couldn’t or wouldn’t escape in the middle of the day. He then made his way to the armory stealthily, and took up his own captured arms and armor, putting Dame Igonle’s in a bundle and carrying them out. Prince Talsairn then came to Dame Igonle’s quarters and dispatched the guards before entering and giving her the armor and weapons she’d come there with. So they made their way a stealthily as they could with chainmail on, having to slay many guards who heard or spotted them. Eventually the alarm was raised, and it became more difficult.
                 Dame Igonle and Prince Talsairn then made their way to the wall to escape. There was a moat, so one at a time they removed their armor and prepared to jump. Dame Igonle was first to change, so Prince Talsairn would not have to hold off enemies without armor, a risk she was willing to take for the royal. Together they tossed their armor and weapons towards the shore and then leapt in themselves, swimming to shore and then retrieving their gear, which would have made them sink otherwise. They escaped into the woods then, and after a harrowing chase, Dame Igonle and Prince Talsairn evaded their pursuers.
                 Many leagues they walked, and there they could not retain their roles. Dame Igonle, as a knight, was sworn to serve Prince Talsairn, but he himself was also a knight and could not help but be courteous to a lady. As such, they had arguments about everything they did, from whether one or the other should set up camp to who should carry their gear. Inevitably, they decided to discard such pretenses for they sake of their fellow escapee, and each shouldered their share of responsibilities.
                 Acting as equals, they began to speak as equals, and learned much of each other. Dame Igonle learned that Prince Talsairn was not all that royalty claims to be, just as he learned of the woman behind the deeds which are now being written. It was then that they began to feel affection for one another, yet they were not sure if they should.
                 When the two returned to Arkathorne, they discovered that Prince Volith, now called king, ruled terribly. When Prince Talsairn confronted him and demanded his throne back as older son and named successor, his plea was ignored. Then Prince Talsairn took off his glove to reveal the Oliand of Arkathorne, and spoke of how with his last breath their father gave it to him. Prince Volith demanded the ring, but Prince Talsairn wouldn’t give it up. So it came to blows, and Prince Talsairn was wounded. Dame Igonle retrieved the true king and fled.
                 They escaped to Cithur, and there they prepared for Prince Volith’s downfall. Yet other matters soon concerned them, matters of marriage. They were married, the true king of Arkathorne marrying the first woman knight of Arkathorne, and one of their most noble knights as well. Though perhaps it was sorrowful to lose the kingdom, they were too happy to know it.
                 Five years were spent in exile, until Prince Volith was slain by his own wife. Then Prince Talsairn and Dame Igonle, with their two children, one of whom was yet unborn, returned to Arkathorne. Prince Talsairn was named king of Arkathorne without a struggle, and Dame Igonle was his queen. Such began the rule of King Talsairn, a fair rule where peace and plenty abounded.
                 In the closing years of King Talsairn’s reign, a fear spread over the court. King Talsairn and Queen Igonle had never had sons, only daughters, so a male heir might only be found among cousins. Yet King Talsairn named Benewil, their firstborn daughter, born in Cithur, his heir, for she was fierce yet kind. Much controversy arose in their court because of this, for they had never had a woman as a ruling queen. Yet when they remembered Queen Igonle’s title as dame, their defenders said that if Princess Benewil had inherited half of her mother’s spirit, Oliand or not, she would rule all of Camadorn if she wished. So it would come to pass that the daughter of the first female knight of Arkathorne became the first ruling queen of Arkathorne, and she was a good and chivalrous queen such as her line, both past and future, might be proud.

The First Knight - Tales of Camadorn

To understand chivalry and the origins of knighthood, one must understand Jolend of Camadorn, and to understand what nurtured that idea one must understand his family. His grandfather was a nobleman of Mradune who married a young woman, and within their first years of marriage she died in childbirth to his firstborn son, Kelend. Afterwards, he remarried and from his second wife came two children, and older boy named Boril and a younger girl named Ekthaine. From these unlikely players come the first act of the story.
                 Kelend never felt brotherhood with Boril, and so would often make fun and bully him. Therefore, Boril avoided such pursuits that would cause his path to cross with Kelend. Boril often found that his only friend was Ekthaine, who Kelend also did not care for. Therefore, Kelend learned to be of great martial prowess, one of the great warriors of his time, while Boril observed culture and art, as well as the importance of human speech. They were two very different men.
                 As was tradition, Kelend inherited their father’s estates upon his death as the older brother. While at first he wished nothing to do with Boril or Ekthaine, he knew that there would be a great problem with that plan. Kelend was more far-sighted than most thought him to be, and he knew that his wife would never bear him children. Therefore, his half-siblings would inherit if their children didn’t immediately. Kelend had an idea of how his estates should be run, and he couldn’t bear the thought of Boril or Ektahine mismanaging their father’s estates. He decided then that he should influence their children so that they would be something he could approve of.
                 Thus, Jolend enters the story. He was Boril’s oldest son, so Kelend did his best to teach him how to be a hard man of war. Yet Boril also taught him the importance of well-chosen words, to be polite and to consume culture. Jolend had a hard time reconciling the two, for Boril was a coward when it came to arms, yet he saw his uncle’s cruelties often. Kelend said that the only reason nobles ruled over other was because of strength, and without that strength then even the king would not be safe, whether from outside or inside their borders. Yet Boril would say that nobles were appointed so that they would be raised to be wise and knowledgeable, so that their trade would be leadership. It was quite difficult to reconcile the two for some time, yet it would come eventually.
                 Jolend himself proved strong at arms, wiser than most, and a natural leader of men. It was in war that this was proven, when they the kingdom of Mradune invaded the deserts of Cithur. They took many border posts, though all their attempts to enter the interior were frustrated. The Cithurans attacked and swept up against the fortress Jolend defended, and he slew every one that drew sword or spear against him. Though when it came time for prisoners, Jolend said that they should be released with food and water to make it to the nearest Cithuran held settlement, as the war had gone on long enough and this was the best opening for peace.
                 Thus, another player enters the game. Ilunmai was a noblewoman of great convictions in Cithur and would often think of things none would give ear to so she would write them down instead. Her father was one of the men released by Jolend, and his tale of the man who inspired both admiration and fear in the same act was stirring to her. Ilunmai had often thought that Cithur needed men who were worthy of praise for both their kindness and courage, and Jolend was such a man. She decided that she needed to meet that man.
                 Yet it was not simple, as while a peace envoy was going to meet with the men of Mradune, they were not likely to accept the daughter of a lesser nobleman into it. She disguised herself as a servant but was quickly found out when she accidentally spilled food on a man. Next to him was a distant cousin who knew her on sight, and she was clapped in irons. Her cousin both defended her and gave evidence for condemnation, as while noting her inability to do this made mention that her values were quite strong. Many thought her an assassin, though whether to be for peace beyond wisdom or against it was unknown. While they wanted to kill her and be done, her cousin insisted that she be spared for now and brought with them. This did not heighten either of them in the ambassador’s mind by the time they arrived at the meeting place in the city of Zult.
                 Jolend was sent to be one of the negotiators, as despite his youth he was a balance of strength and tact they needed for these proceedings. Yet these proceedings were a fraud in the minds of some, as proven when one of the men from Mradune drew his sword to slay the Cithuran ambassador. Jolend swiped the sword aside and slew the assassin right there. This endeared the Cithurans further to Jolend, but made him some enemies in Mradune.
                 It also caused the subject of conversation to turn towards Ilunmai, and when Jolend heard of this he wondered if she truly was an assassin. So, while observed by one of the Cithuran guards, Jolend interrogated Ilunmai. He was not harsh, but he did discover much, including her intention to meet him, though she was yet to know she had accomplished it nor did she give a specific reason why she wanted to meet. So Jolend reported his findings to the Cithurans, and while they were hesitant to trust him, at least knew that Ilunmai had no intentions of killing anyone so let her go.
                 Ilunmai would then spend much of the time during the negotiations trying to gain an audience with Jolend. He wasn’t sure if it was important, so focused all his energy towards the negotiations. Finally, once the negotiations were done and the war between Mradune and Cithur was over, that was when Jolend finally relented. Thus the meeting between Jolend and Ilunmai at Zult, which many speak of, began.
                 Ilunmai was at first offended that Jolend had deceived her, and he admitted that perhaps he hadn’t done the right thing. At the same time, he noted to Ilunmai that her own tight-lipped nature had delayed the meeting. She was taken aback by this, not because it was a correction but that he took no pleasure in doing it nor did he seem defensive. It was genuine, and she knew then that she’d found the right man.
                 At length, Ilunmai spoke of a need to make things right in the world. Much had been made wrong in the world because those with power did not use it with responsibility or compassion. Yet those who felt either of those things had an inability to wield power so that it was useless in their hands. It required someone with both a courageous and kind heart, and she put forward that Jolend was such a man.
                 Though Jolend was not sure the point of that. Even if one man could be like this, how would it change the world? How would the lands become better because of one man who would never hold great lordship? He doubted her, yet there was something about her that made him want to believe that there was something he could do to make things better. And there would be, yet it was not obvious yet.
                 With the peace treaty in place, the armies of Mradune and Cithur returned to their homes or made new ones, yet not among either were Jolend and Ilunmail. They stayed on the border of Mradune and Cithur, in the city of Zult, discussing ways to bring about this change Ilunmai spoke of. Yet sometimes they didn’t speak of this, and instead spoke of other things. They met in public places, as if a man and woman as they were courting, yet this perception slowly became reality. As time passed, they spoke little of the idea of change and instead turned the subject to life and eventually marriage.
                 Jolend and Ilunmai were married three years after they first met, and they made their home in Zult for the time being. After the first year of their marriage, Jolend was recalled home as a plague had struck down much of his family, including his father and uncle. He brought Ilunmai to live with him and be lady of the estates of which he was lord. It was not long after returning that their commission began.
 It began as a dream, one of splendor and hope. There outline was a society, and its guardians were of noble birth. A baby boy would be born and given both a crown of gold and armor of steel. Such boys grew to be men who followed the virtues of faith, hope, charity, justice, strength, moderation, and loyalty. Though peace everlasting was not there, it was instead a land of nobility and grace, where there was a chance for goodness to thrive instead of when might made right; instead it was might for right. So late in the morning, Jolend and Ilunmai awoke, telling each other of their dreams which were the same, and they realized it was no dream but a vision, one that they would give their lives for if need be. The dream showed them chivalry and the concept of knighthood, and so their great quest began.
                 Jolend and Ilunmai set out together, leaving the managing of his estates to a trusted steward and his aunt Ekthaine. They had no children at this time, and so traveled light with only a few guards. On the way, Jolend taught these men the essence of chivalry, and while they were men-at-arms before, being nobles who fought on horse with lance and shield, it was on that journey that they became the first knights. Jolend was called the first knight, though he himself was not knighted. They rode to the king of Mradune to appeal for the idea of chivalry to be adopted among the nobility, and the institution of knighthood be created.
                 The king of Mradune thought it a fool’s idea, and said that he would remove Jolend’s lands from him if he thought it would do any good. So Jolend and Ilunmai left the king’s presence, disappointed but not disheartened. Unbeknownst to them, the crown prince overheard the meeting and was touched by their ideas, trying his best to decipher what they might mean to his life. Yet Jolend and Ilunmai rode on to find another patron for this ideal.
                 They went to the king of Cithur, for Jolend was known among Cithurans and Ilunmai was of the nobility. They proposed this idea, and while it took three years, the king of Cithur finally put forth the Proclamation of the Horse. This was a public statement, the first referencing knighthood in any way, and called together men-at-arms and other nobles to teach them chivalry. It would be another half year before Jolend and Ilunmai had taught all they could, written all they could on the matter and ensured copies were made before they departed.
                 With Cithur, one of the great kingdoms, aligned with their beliefs, they decided to travel to other lands and speak to their kings of these matters. They traveled to Nalorne and the king there was receptive to their ideas. The king of Lidor then invaded, and it was there the first test of knighthood began.
                 Jolend himself rode into battle with the original four knights and all of Nalorne’s knights. While they slew many, the carnage was small for they did not strike at fleeing foes nor civilians. They respected their enemies, and so their enemies came to respect them. After the first year of conflict, the king of Lidor requested and audience with the king of Nalorne and Jolend, where he asked, “How are your men so effective? Mine are little more than brigands while yours are winning over my own people. My people cringe at my army’s approach, but to yours they cry gladly. Why?”
                 “For we are men worthy of honor as we do not seek it,” Jolend replied. “We seek no glory or riches. Instead, we seek to make right what is wrong, to defend the weak however we can. If they give us supplies, so be it. If they need supplies given to them, so be it. We fear much but show none of it. We respect those who oppose us for we would want the same done to us. Are your men like that?”
                 It was not long before peace came between the two nations, and Lidor adopted the ideal of chivalry was well. They were soon called back to Mradune to teach the newly crowned king of their ideal. Hirajorg asked for teachers, and were given them from Cithur, Nalorne, and Lidor. Lesser nations were also given the opportunity of learning, and there was a time of peace.
                 Yet Jolend and Ilunmai were growing in years, and the commission had been much of their life’s work. While they were in their thirties, their minds went to simpler things than teachings and nobility. They wished to have children, but they had not been able to all their lives, and it seemed such a possibility was fading. But then, it was discovered when Jolend was thirty-six and Ilunmai was thirty-four that she was pregnant. They would have but one child in their entire lives, but it would be a son named Noil, meaning deep love, for that was what they felt for him. The good-hearted wanderers could finally rest.
                 Yet within Jolend and Ilunmai’s lifetime, they saw that their gift had not stopped wrongness. Not all followed the chivalry code though they swore by it, and while those miscreants were mostly punished, they weren’t always. It was never in their power to recreate the world into something flawless, but they had brought something good to the world: the ability to hope for some earthly rescue from the times. Good people were raised in this, and it was not just the nobility that followed this trend. They had not started it, not truly, but they were essential to bring the dream to the world. They lived to be a ripe age and died together in their sleep, content that now there could be heroes in the world to combat the villains. And that is the origin of chivalry, and how Jolend and Ilunmai came to be some of the few to be called “of Camadorn” as few can claim to be of all peoples of this continent of Camadorn.