To play as per the mastermind's rules isn't a manner of submission. Rather, it is a means for adaptation with the purpose of getting the upper hand in this joke of a game one day. So was the belief Phaínon had in his mind against all odds, right after going through the tragic destruction of his dearest Aedes Elysiae, his family, his people. The cries of those who were his friends still ring in his ears in his dreams, never failing to wake him in the dead of the night. Being in what feels like another world by means he doesn't understand yet did nothing to soothe any of it.
In order to find a way back, he has to be on the constant move. To have the freedom to come and go as he pleases while having the authority of doing so in an acceptable way. That is the reason why he underwent through whatever tests the Order of the Deep imposed on him at the earliest notice that they are looking for young men with the talent to become a holy knight and act as the Blessed Maiden's protector. All of these words he didn't quite understand until he asked more about it, whatever scorn he was met with countered with the prospect that he hails from a very modest town where grand matters like these do not reach— which is true on one side, yet not quite on the other.
Despite his youth, all his passion for swordsmanship since he was very little led him to the acceptance within the Order with the condition of undergoing rigorous training to do better with one warning: one mistake and he will be out.
His work should be relatively easy while allowing him to do the investigations he needs. The Holy Maiden is to travel various parts of this nation to give her blessings and listen to her people while spreading the gospel of the Sentinel they worship. As one would expect from such a distinguished individual, she is not to step outside of Avinoleum without proper protection— something he believes he can do well.
When he was chosen to become the aspirant holy knight, he was instructed to go pay her a visit for a formal introduction of one another and so he did. The door of the room he was told she would be in was half open, and so he almost stepped inside until something rooted him on the spot. She's a girl not much younger than him with golden locks similar to the precious antiques he used to enjoy analyzing. For how dear and loved everyone made her to be, something about seeing her lonely in that room made his heart clench. Ray of lights invite themselves into the room through the pale curtains as she dances barefoot in the middle of it, her expression solemn, perhaps even sad despite the crowning ceremony that occurred earlier on the same day. Before he knew it, a greatsword enters his eye vision. An enormous knight echo makes its presence be known and Phaínon can't help but remain paralyzed on the spot.
