Physically, Menekod is an impressive castle, no less so from within than from without. Before dawn, in the first light of day, soldiers selected from each unit mount the walls, each to lower the banner of their Ûnir. These large tapestries unfurl, their weight making them taut, and stare grimly down on the courtyard. Before them and to them, when the sun rises above the horizon, the assembled Meken chant their prayers in the dawn service.
Later the courtyard is busy once more, as the noble Melana check their weapons and gear, before mounting the horses that will carry them into the field, and into battle. Squires and grooms mill about, while over all commotion is the constant clang of the blacksmith's iron on the forge. No one is at rest, for night has not yet fallen; a night that will see men on the walls, sleepless, and villagers in their beds, safe.
And always, under the nearby trees, the soulless bones of the dead watch over those who guard - the tattered remnants of the bloodstain on the white honour of the Order of the Checkered Shield.
The year is 1320 SA, according to the Peonian Calendar, on the first Yselde in the month of Adferon. It is mid-Spring, and the Peonian Restoration Festival is here.All within Menekod know this; some know also that it is "The Dawn of Perennol the Unlearner, Bare-footed Leader at the Skirmish of the Riven Mountains of the Battle Beneath Storm Clouds in the Siege of Balgashang, in the Campaign that Brings the Sundering of Souls." Fewer still know what the portents are for this day, and what meaning lies hidden in the holy text.
Menekod is more than just a castle, and those who serve there are more than just soldiers. For behind everything is the One for whom they fight; the One to whom they pray; the One who receives their souls. A man may serve many masters, but the One is above them all; a woman may make many choices, but the One asks only this: