"Oh, that spotty incident," Merradin said, sighing with exasperation.
"I let the Adelans capture me. Not that I made it easy for them, but ultimately, I entered their ranks because I wanted to," he said, placing a hand on his chest.
"I wanted to know what it was like to have a human rider. However, I wasn't quite cut out for the military life. It was... too constricting for me," he said. He took another sip of wine.
"So I decided to leave. The Adelans disagreed with my point of view, quite ready to throw some chains on me so I could be disciplined. Having reached an impasse, I had to--"
He cleared his throat.
"Assert myself."