@Siron:
Honor chuckles. “Well, I guess that’s the difference between me and Blood. That woman’s anger does not inhibit her… it fuels her. I was never able to attune myself to Combat Tactics. Besides, don’t let Blood fool you; she may seem unapproachable and unable to tolerate others, yet she has one of the biggest hearts in Avalon. Her anger is a defense. It prevents people from getting too close.”
“As for my desire to join the Archon’s guard, I know that Commander Fierce would make the recommendation if I asked him, yet, he has done so much for me I would feel bad to even ask it of him. He has respectfully made me his second-in-command, a title which is not lightly given. Yet, I truly desire to serve the holy father, the great Divine, for all he has gifted to me.”
Honor gazes into the fire again, his expression conflicted. “I don’t think Lurien was ever separate from Honor. Lurien was always Honor. However, the Honor you see before you wasn’t always of this demeanor. There was a time my hate and need for vengeance clouded my sight.”
“As a mortal, I was a peasant, not a noble. My father was a farmer and my mother a washwoman. In the kingdom where I lived, only nobles could be knights. Still, every time I watched the tournaments, I knew it was my greatest dream. I used to practice my swordplay in the fields, and my father, noting my enthusiasm, even fashioned a lance for me. I would practice on straw dummies for hours, from the time I finished my chores in the wee hours of the morning, until I evening when I could scarcely see two inches from my face.”
“Whenever it was time for the tournament jousts, my father would take me to watch. Those were some of the best times of my life. There was one, I was about 15 or so at the time, and I was so thrilled by what I had seen I immediately ran home to practice again. I knew the rules would never change; I would never be a true knight, but I fancied I had the heart of one.”
“Well, it so happened our farm was not far off from one of the main roads into town, and that evening, while I was practicing, I saw a carriage coming down the road. I thought nothing of it. It wasn’t illegal to run straw dummies through with a lance, and carriages came down our road all the time. Nothing seemed out of sort, until the carriage stopped in front of our home. Well, the next thing I know, my father comes charging into the field. He’s totally out of breath and he’s doubled over trying to suck in enough air to speak. He’s grinning ear to ear. Says Prince Eadmar has arrived and he has asked to see me. I was flummoxed as to why he would want to see me. We had never met, though I had seen him from afar at tournaments.”
“So I went in, and Prince Eadmar proceeds to tell me that he is feeling very put upon. His father wants him to become a proper warrior. Thinks he should start jousting. But Eadmar… he’s what you would call… Well, he was pretty soft for lack of better terms. He weighed about as much as my left leg and rumor around the kingdom had it he had been rather sickly as a child. He was about the thinnest young man you’d ever see. Practically disappeared if he turned sideways, but he was tall for his age, about as tall as me.”
“He had seen me practicing in the fields and came up with a grand plan to benefit us both. I would pose as him for the tournaments. In exchange, he would pay my family a weekly sum of gold. It seemed a decent arrangement, I would get to participate in the tournaments, and he would receive the honor that came from winning. In addition, he told me that when he became king, he would see to it that I was properly knighted. ‘Rules be damned, Lurien!’ he told me. ‘When I am king you can do as you please!’ It seemed a mighty fine idea."
“Well, I kept my word, and Eadmar was true to his. Every week, without fail, he would send a large sum of money to my family. The more I won, the bigger the sum would be, and over time, my family enjoyed a very comfortable life. Turns out I was a very adept knight, and brought Eadmar more glory than he could handle. He started to get a bit big-headed and became quite a braggart regarding his wins at the tournaments.”
Honor shakes his head sadly. “But… as with all good things, our arrangement would come to an abrupt end. Eadmar had no business taking that gold, and soon he became reckless. Well, his father’s accountants took notice. Two people were hung, accused of thievery, before they were able to track it to Eadmar. He was young… and foolish. When they accused him of taking the funds, he said he didn’t do it… But he knew who did. A farmer who lived not far from the castle. Eadmar claimed he had even seen the farmer break into the castle to take it, but he dared not tell for the farmer threatened his life should he ever tell the truth.”
Honor shakes his head. “The king’s guards arrived at our home the next day. They took my father away. They interrogated him. They tortured him. But my father knew, just as I knew, that impersonating a noble was a form of treason, and if the king learned the skilled son he had watched and cheered at the jousts was a farmer’s child, he would turn his ire to me.”
“Thievery was one thing, but threatening the king’s son was another charge entirely. It was treason, and punishable by extreme means. As my father was taken to the platform where he would meet his end, I yelled and screamed at the top of my lungs, telling the truth to the jeering crowd. But no one would hear me, and my father’s final words to me were to beg my silence and save myself. I watched as my father was drawn, quartered, and finally decapitated. His screams haunted me, as they did my mother, who soon after, took her own life.”
“As for Eadmar, soon after, he was forced to fight his own joust for once. Needless to say, he was obliterated by his competition. A lance punctured his armor and struck him in the left arm, rendering the limb practically unusable. His father declared a national day of mourning as his skilled son would never be able to joust again.”
“My world was torn asunder, and I was left alone. I swore that Eadmar would suffer for his crimes, but I knew my revenge must be carefully planned. For several years, I planned the nature of my revenge. I knew Eadmar would be affected by his guilt over my parents’ deaths. He would want to make amends. It was about ten years later when the old king died, and I received my summons to the castle. Eadmar had been true to his word, he invited me to be knighted. When I met with him in private, I pretended to accept his apologies. I do not doubt the sincerity of his words; he admitted he had been a foolish child, frightened of his own father, and he had given into his fear. Again and again he begged my forgiveness, even weeping upon his knees at my feet. I humored him. I told him he had brought me great pain, but all would be forgiven since he was keeping his word to me. When the night finally arrived for the joining ceremony, I smiled and carried on as if I was pleased and honored to serve such a great king.”
“I knelt before him, and when he placed the flat of the blade upon my shoulder, I seized it in my gauntleted hand. He had not grown in strength over the years, and I easily wrested the blade from his grasp. I turned the blade upon him, stabbing him through the heart and killing him instantly. It was a far more merciful death than my father had endured.”
“I had succeeded in my revenge, and as a result, thrown the entire country into turmoil. Within my new home in the dungeons of the castle, I could hear the sounds of battle echoing through the castle walls. By killing the new king, I had incited a revolution. Eadmar’s uncle, Claudius, was summoned from his lands, and when he took power, his first act as king was to make a public display of me. The last sound I heard was the executioner’s axe slicing through the air, then suddenly, excruciating pain on the back of my neck.” Honor gestures to a long, jagged scar on the back of his neck.
“But despite the executioner’s strength, the axe would not make it through the rest of my neck, and it was then the Archon himself arrived in the town square. Blood poured from my wound and I could scarcely see as he approached. I felt strong arms lifting me up and bearing me away, and when I came to, I found myself in Avalon.”
“Even though I had achieved my revenge, for a long time, I struggled with the anger and hate that had left me bitter and miserable. Unlike Blood, I could not harness my rage for any productive means. I joined the Blood-Wardens, but could not control my emotions enough to use their Combat Tactics. It was around that time Commander Fierce came to visit General Fury. He had intently been watching my lack of progress in the Blood-Wardens, and asked that I be given leave to join my company. He was able to teach me how to use my anger in battle, a debt I shall never be able to repay to him.”
@Sig:
Blood's hands are clasped in her lap. "I don't know... I don't know where we go from here, Sig. With... with us. If you haven't noticed, relationships are not really my forte. Getting close to people is not in my nature." She rises to her feet. "I think it best we forget about what happened. We write it off as a few drunken moments of pleasure, and thereby avoid what could be a great deal of pain later on." She takes her leave of her place by the fire, standing vigilant and alone on the outer area of the camp.
