Ariana tried her best to keep her mood light as she walked the hallways of Autumn Harvest for the last time. She knew she would be on the road for a long time in her quest to become a true knight and she needed to say her goodbyes. She passed a large window that overlooked the courtyard of the fortress, in the courtyard she saw her younger sister standing near the stables. She knew that Faylin was waiting to talk to her, so it was time to make one last goodbye. The last conversation she had with her father was weighing on her mind as she approached the sables.
"Your horse is prepared Lady Kavey, along with the travel pack, just as you ordered." The soldier nodded toward the warhorse and continued, "Are you certain you don't want a squad of men-at-arms along with you."
Ariana nodded to him, "I am quite sure Tomas, I want to earn this as I should. The Oath and the Measure require a Knight's Quest to be a solo and personal adventure. I must do this alone."
Tomas bowed and said, "Your sister awaits you inside milady."
Inside Ariana saw that Fay was calmly stroking the large warhorse; the horse was so large that her 12 year old sister had to stand on a stool she found nearby.
"Did father talk you out of this?"
"He tried Fay, he tried, but I must do this," she smiled, "this is a calling for me and I must do this for our family and for all of Solamnia."
"You take on far too much for one so young my sister. Solamnia will continue, the Knighthood will survive, the Oath and the Measure will always exist no matter what we do. Why must you be the one to save it?"
Her sister's intelligence was truly unnerving. She was only 12 and yet possessed an understanding and intellect of someone 30 years older. In response Ariana only smiled and said, "Such things you say; here let us not fight. Come give your elder sister a hug and wish me a fair journey."
They said no more about the journey and only spent a brief time saying their goodbyes before Ariana lead her warhorse out of the fortress, her family's ancestral home, and began her long journey south.
The road to Caergoth was long in both miles and contemplation for Ariana Kavey.