The Union 190 The Seafarer Knigh

The horse darted. The rider pointed his lance forward. With a breaking sound the lance hit a small wooden target hung by a chain. The rider left the stuck lance on the target and the wood wobbled, swinging like a pendulum.

The rider made a turn, slower than the charge earlier. He galloped over a small stone and pulled the horse to a stop just in front of Henry.

"How was it? Not bad?" Stan asked while removing his helm. His dark brown hair ruffled in the wind.

"Your control is good and the accuracy is excellent" Henry said, pausing a bit to separate praise from critique "But you are still standing on the stirrups when charging"

"Little things"

"Little things could lead to big things and big things could break your leg. The force of a charge shouldn't be ignored Stan. One mistake and you'll be crippled"

"But it makes me feel one with the wind"

Stan climbed off his horse. He led the animal by the reins.

"The final examination is near. I am anxious. I like to put pressure on my legs whenever I'm anxious" said Stan.

"Well I can't blame you. Years of squiring has led us to this. If we fail, although there is monetary compensation, our dream of becoming knights will crumble"

There was a small smile on Stan's face. He lifted his head and took a deep breath.

"To tell you honestly Henry, being a knight is not my dream"

"What a shame. Your skills and your faith are outstanding. But pa.s.sion can't be chosen as much as talent, I do understand. So what is your dream?"

"I want to be a seafarer. I want to sail the wide oceans and battle pirates like in the stories"

Henry's strides slowed. Open-mouthed, he turned his head towards Stan. "You do realize that Tulosa is landlocked right?

"Castonia is a nation of stubborn and quick-tempered brutes but I bet the number of Castonian who dreamt of becoming a monk is more than nothing" Stan jested. And with face turning serious he continued "Of course I am still a devout believer of the Omniscient. His grace befalls all of us. Being a knight would be an honor. Protecting the innocents and being the light in this dark world is a privilege. But if I fail the final examination, I will spend the compensation and go to either Vanadis or Lutan. I will join a group of merchants in their trading expeditions. I heard that the sea is so large that it spans the horizon. I heard that it is salty. Now that would be a good life Henry"

"Good for you. I don't have a plan in case I fail. Back to the gheto I guess"

"I've never heard a jest so preposterous. You, failing? You are the champion of the Squire's Championship five years in a row. n.o.body has ever done that. You are the squire of the Grand Master himself. You will not fail. You will become a Master someday or even the Grand Master. I can see it Henry. You are a person to follow"

"If G.o.d wills it Stan"

Stan pushed the huge door of the stables. The wood creaked and the familiar odor of horse urine and feces met Henry's nostrils. Stan paused, his hand still on the door, and looked at Henry.

"The Omniscient wills it Henry. I think you are destined to become a Grand Master. When that happens, seafarer or a knight, I'll be there to cheer for you"

**********

Battle of Mesali, four years ago

"The Prefect has fallen!" the chilling cry resounded.

Henry breathed heavily under his helm. His shaking hands and s.m.u.tted armor was testament to the intensity of the battle.

Their earlier charge was met with hidden spikes and caltrops. Hidden enemies also attacked them. The three cohorts of knights were driven into a rout and all the leading Prefects were killed. Several Centuries were now leaderless.

"Centurion Henry" Centurion Stan called beside "King Brice's left flank has also fallen. The rebels are pressing against the center. We should flee. All is lost"

Henry clenched his hands. Years of civil war had led to this single battle. Now that the knights are finally supporting a side, he thought that the end to this b.l.o.o.d.y chapter is in sight. But if they lose here now, the civil war would continue.

"No we should reform"

"Henry" Stan looked at him with a frown "All our Prefects are dead. We don't have a leader"

"Then we should just make a leader. I will lead"

"You will..."

"G.o.d wills it Centurion Stan. We will put an end to the civil war right here right now"

Henry grabbed the flag of the Order of Knights from a shaken knight and waved it high.

"On me!" He shouted "On me brothers! On me! One last time, I implore. One last time!"

Henry pulled the reins. His steed turned around and darted back to the enemies.

At first he was alone- a single, battered, foolish knight charging back into the enemy lines.

But soon several trots followed. The knights, old and young, turned their mounts around and followed him. The three cohorts of routing knights found cohesion under him.

Henry halted his steed. He waited for the others to catch up. Centurion Stan was the first to arrive.

The knights formed in a huge wedge with Henry at the very front. He raised the flag once more.

"To arms!"

The knights charged. Their steeds spew dust and grit behind. Their armor shone under the sun.

Centurion Stan was next to Henry, stern and focused. They maneuvered around the enemies and targeted the back lines.

With spear in one hand and the flag on the other, Henry led the charge. The wind brushed against his face. The day was good.

**********

The spring wind brushed against Henry's face. With him were the knights he had chosen for this attack. It was dark and humid-the night wasn't good.

On his back hung a golden brown cape with the symbol of a broken crown in front of a rising sun. It was the cloak of a Grand Master and the symbol was the personal insignia of the Grand Master of knights. The rising sun symbolizes the light of the Omniscient amidst this dark and violent world. The broken crown symbolizes that Grand Master's purpose is to serve and not to be served. The mixture of the gold and brown hues in the cape details that although knights were wealthy, their wealth should be used for the benefit of many.

Henry fixed his gaze forward. The Coar river was on the left and a wide gra.s.sland was on the right. A dozen league to the front is the city of Vuono.

"We are near Grand Master" informed one of the knights.

Henry already knew this. He had traveled in this road many times before.

"Any sightings of the enemy?"

"No sire. The road is clear"

"Maintain silence in our approach. In about a league we will ride away from the road and hide"

"As you command Grand Master"

After riding for a league, they separated from the main road. The paved road under the hooves of their mounts turned into the hilly gra.s.sland. Few pockets of trees line the gra.s.sland- small forests enough to hide his host from sight.

But Henry didn't mind the forests. There was no time to hide. There was barely even time to plan. His knights must not fall into the evil ritual.

They halted and dismounted just outside the walls of Vuono. Uncleared vegetation resulting from decades of neglect hid him and his knights.

Henry crouched on the bush. His eyes were fixed on the city.

**********

The city of Vuono wasn't the biggest. It also wasn't the most populous. There was nothing special about the city save for the huge statue of the Omniscient on its city Center.

The Omniscient doesn't have a physical form. Divinity cannot be represented in mere statues. But Cerwin the Pious, the seventh Grand Master, saw it fit to construct a statue here.

Stan argued differently. As he was hauled in a cart inside the city, he couldn't help but feel sad for the representation they had for the Omniscient. The statue was shaped like the sun, a large sphere with its rays. As if the sun's illumination was enough to scale the Omniscient's light, Stan thought.

But the reason why the statue was built in the first place was more concerning. Once a large statue of the Great Rider stood here and believers of the Great Rider would make their pilgrimage to Vuono. Cerwin the Pious, in his blind piousness, saw it fit to destroy the statue of the Great Rider and build the not-needed statue of the Omniscient of top of it. The act resulted to a small religious war but the knights prevailed in the end. The believers of the Great Rider cannot do a thing.

In a long line of battered soldiers, the remnant of Tobias and King Brice's army entered the city. The people on the sides were neither cheering nor have joviality in them. The mood was more sour than Lutani vinegar.

"We have arrived heretic" The same Punisher said.

"I do recognize your voice. Even if you hide your face under that ugly helm, I know who you are. You are Charlie right? We both squired for Tobias"

"Charlie is gone- an old and impious name. Charlie was a man of weak faith. I am Punisher number Forty-six. I am reborn through fire and brimstone"

Stan shook his head, amused and disappointed by Charlie's change. He just fixed his eyes on the sphere statue once again. Oh how ugly it was.