Welcome to Gaia! ::

Wilson shifted awkwardly as the new Great Knight gestured for everyone to sit. She was so young, younger than him probably, but already she had so much to hold on her small shoulders. He closed his eyes, wishing he could rewind everything to the past. He couldn’t remember what life had been like back then, but he had a feeling it was so much better than this.

His gaze shifted nervously to the others before he decided to sit down in the sand, his legs sprawled out with his upper body leaning forward slightly. He reached up to pull his cloak closer to himself, and his gaze never left the sand as he listened to Estel.

His thoughts swirled together as he listened—about how she spoke with a confidence that he sorely lacked, about how he could no longer remember why he had pledged his loyalty to Lancelot and the Stallion, to the Great King. He could not remember anything and it threw him into a loop of loss and confusion.

Many of us feel unworthy…

He closed his eyes.

(Because it was true.)

You are all important to me. None of you are worthless.

He kept his eyes closed.

(He almost buried his face in his hands, almost let the tears fall.)

Unlike the silence of the lake, this one was heavy, filled with nervous energy. Was it because the end was near?

Wilson opened his eyes, casually wiping away the water pooling in the corner of his eyes before he summoned the courage to begin, but his gaze remained downcast. “Um. I’m. Wilson. Wilson—“ He tried to say a family name, but realized that had been cast into the box with the rest of his memories. “—Just. Wilson. I use a bow. I’m. Not too good with fights. But. I’ll. Back everyone up the. Best I can.” He nervously cast his gaze to the side, looking to see if someone else would speak up and cast the attention away from him.

Looking at the new great knight made Poke feel very uneasy, knowing the heavy burden she would have to bear. She was just barely a adult, had a full life to live, but now she had a mere fraction of that time left. And yet she showed no sign of fear or nervousness, speaking to them in such high regard. It was humbling to be within this young women's presence, and she could see why she was chosen as the great knight.

She watched as two others spoke before her, One of them hanging their head on the ground, and just watching him she could almost be sure he was crying. The other seemed to fair much better, though either didn't appear to be confident fighters.

Once they had spoken, she stepped forward, and in a show of loyalty she dropped to one knee in front of Estel just like she did when offering her life.

"My name is Pokerus, and I am honored to be serving one as kind and courageous as you." Looking up, she grinned at the great knight and stood back, taking out her weapon. "I use a big a** sword, and while I can't say how good I am, I have been fighting plenty of shadows and dragons to have at least half a idea. So feel free to put me in front, I'll keep the shadows busy while everyone else can help to save the wounded."

She then sat down next to Wilson, frowning in thought before placing a hand on the guys shoulder, showing him a warm smile. She didn't know how to cheer him up, but dammit she wanted to try.

Nkosazana was still wiping her eyes when she sat down as directed.

While she wished she knew why she was crying, the truth was, there was a great many things to cry about at the moment. Camelot was corrupted. The Great King was dead, along with most of his Great Knights. Seven had doomed thenselves, and perhaps more than that were destined to be doomed by the end of the fight. Everything seemed quite futile and pointless.

But if it wasn't for their sacrifices, there would be no future. And Lady Estel was right. They were kind, sincere, and open to all. Of all the Orders, they were the most inclined to self-sacrifice, and perhaps, that would let them be the future of humanity. They were there to support the other knights and... Each other.

Interesting.

For someone who appeared so young, Lady Estel appeared to possess quite the level of maturity. Nkosazana had seen her kindness when she met her in the dungeons, but this was perhaps more impressive.

Were they really all that important, though? It would seem the overall fate of humanity was more important.

She kept silent as others introduced themselves, not saying anything as several people offered their names and loyalty to Estel. She was already proving herself worthy of it, but it had to be such a big responsibility on such small shoulders. Nkosazana felt bad.

The pessimism emitted from one of them, Ruth, failed to surprise her, either. She felt it, too. "Sincerity takes many forms, even if the truth is negative," she murmured, mostly directed to the blonde nearby, before she cleared her throat and attempted to offer her own words. "I'm Nkosazana." There was a soft chuckle as she added, "Zana is fine. I have a Shepherd's Crook, Unathi," she lifted this to show it off, chains and all, "and it is best for defending. Support suits me well, I think. With Sir Gawain, rest in peace, I helped gather supplies and heal many in the Great Hall."

That was about all she had done well, but she would leave that out.

"I hope that we can secure the future."

It was all they had left. ... Well. For some of them.

Pokerus's kneeling to her took her a bit off-guard. She bowed her head in return. She hadn't expected anybody to treat her like that, but maybe she should have.

"It does feel a bit like a lost cause, doesn't it?" Estel asked, nodding to Ruth. She recognized the woman from the War Room. She wasn't unsettled by her tone - they were probably all feeling let down. "I don't think it is. Not yet. We're coming at this from a severe disadvantage, and don't get me wrong, I'm as terrified as any of you are. But we're still going to try. We have a chance to succeed."

She took a deep breath. "It's nice to meet you, Wilson, Yuki, Pokerus, Trisha. Good to see you again, Ruth, Nkosazana. I see so far we've got a mixture of ranged and close-range fighters. That's good to hear. Ah... I'd like one or two volunteers to coordinate with the green brigade, our medical team, please? If you're not confident in combat, or you know basic first-aid..."

Not that confident in combat? That certainly sounded like her.

Nkosazana raised her hand like she was attempting to get the attention of an elder. When Estel looked at her, she would lower her arm. "Ah, I am not very good at battling." Which was to really say she was absolutely awful at it, but beggars couldn't be choosers. "But what I can do is heal." Her work with Gawain had proved that much.

She grasped her Shepherd's Crook tightly. "Perhaps I can be of use there?"

Poke frowned at the complete pessimism Ruth radiated, and although she swore to do whatever she could, it didn't sit right with her that she felt they were all screwed.

"It's only a lost cause if we give up. As long as we keep fighting there is still hope." And she sure as hell wasn't gonna stop fighting.

When it came to suggestions and questions, she tapped her chin in thought. "Umm...Maybe we should make it a priority to secure the infirmary in the castle? That way we get supplies from there and have a safe place to keep the wounded."

Johan didn't know how to feel. When Lancelot had made his announcement, there'd been relief, guilt, anger, horror, pride, even jealousy. He couldn't fault Lancelot for his choice, Estel had been the example of what a White Knight should be from the start. From his spot on the grass, Johan lifted a hand to the shoulder she'd bandaged up after Shun and he had held that sparring session in the Courtyard on the first day.

He wanted to mourn her loss, but it seemed unfair to do that to her. Even though she was meant to be sacrificed, in these last hours, she was alive, and she wasn't spending them wallowing in self-pity. It would be petty and callous to add to her burden with his insecurities.

Eyes closed, Johan took several steadying deep breaths, and nodded to himself when he felt he'd found a point of balance.

"I am Johan, and this is Tempest." he said, reaching up to place a hand around the haft of his glaive. "I don't really have any talents as a Healer, I'm afraid. How do you propose the rest of our Order approach handling rescues in Camelot? We may need to carry some Knights to safety, so I don't think sending us in separately would be a good idea. If there are enough of the enemy about, we'd end up needing rescue ourselves."