his hand. The only thing missing were their rectangular shields.
The legionnaires practically raced down the gangway and lined up in two rows opposite the jarl’s family. Now even Einar placed his hand on the pommel of his sword. A commotion broke out on deck and everyone looked in that direction.
The crowd of sailors suddenly parted to the sides and froze. Three men emerged from among them. The first was dressed much like the legionaries, though instead of a bronze breastplate he wore steel half-armour with the legion’s eagle embossed on his chest, a symbol of a flame with two horizontal bars on his left shoulder and an eagle with a sword on his right. He was also distinguished by a red coat worn beneath his armour, a helmet with a long, blood-red plume, a bastard sword at his belt, and a black cloak fluttering behind him. The other two soldiers behind him were clad in full armour and carried two-handed swords.
It was immediately clear that none of the three were ordinary legionaries. The two fully armoured men were knights, which indicated that they had trained at the Othil Academy and that they were exceptionally well-trained and capable of using certain magical abilities. Generally speaking, knights were not capable of casting spells in the same way as mages, but they used their magical energy to strengthen their bodies, making them superhumanly strong and fast, and endowing them with reflexes that surpassed even those of the Toinen.
The officer at the head must also have graduated from the same academy, for that was the only place where mages were trained, and the symbol of a flame with two beams signified that he was a master of fire magic. Furthermore, the insignia on his right shoulder was a military distinction.
‘On behalf of Emperor Inthil IV, I, Arkali Xives, legate of the Forty-Fourth Legion of the XuinDo Empire, greet you, Jarl of Starion.’ The officer saluted, striking his clenched fist against his chest. Einar flinched slightly when he saw that in the fist with which he had saluted, he was
