The entire town was bustling with excitement. Papers were plastered on walls, shopkeepers were putting up extra stalls, and it was the main talk in the public houses; the royal knights were coming through the village, and staying for a couple days on their way back home. It was the most exciting thing that could happen in this town. However, Nikolai Gogol was stuck inside, working at his parent’s blacksmith shop.

The ‘exciting’ day comes and passes. Nikolai could barely hear the trotting of the horses over the loud commotion of people cheering and screaming, and the windows were blocked by various armor displays. He slumps over on the counter, looking at the boxes of nails and screws against the wall. There were no customers, so he was left to sit there and sulk. Then suddenly—

$Ring!$

—the door to the shop opens, and a young knight steps inside. The handsome, calm, and mysterious looking man scans the wall of swords on display, not saying a word.