The Union

My father is a believer of righteousness and loyalty and goodness. A good man, they call him. But for me? No. My father and the millions of Tulosans who believe that righteousness is strength are fools. Strength is strength. Nothing more. The world belongs to the strong. Fear is what keeps men in line, not the thing they call loyalty.

But I must admit. I was once like them. A fool who believed that being good, being kind, being fair will give me strength. I once believed in chivalry-that disgusting code of Knights.

That was why I joined the Knights of Tulosa. My father is a n.o.ble you see. An Earl. But the Knights didn"t give me special treatment. I worked and trained hard to become a Knight. Eight years I tell you. I trained for eight years just to have this brand on my arm.

During my times in the academy, I met her. Cecile was her name. She was not a beauty to be honest. Just a normal girl with a bright smile. Ah, her smile was so radiant. I could still feel the warmth of her smile even now. Cecile and I fell in love and married a few years after I became a knight.

We had two children. Two boys. Marco and Veni. The three of them were the most precious people in my life. I was also doing good as a Knight. I even became a Prefect. I was the second youngest Prefect in history, only behind that weakling Henry. Life was good. No. Perfect was a better word. I wanted to go back to those times.

But things changed when the King suddenly announced an invasion of Castonia. He told us that it was because some Tulosan merchants were jailed in Castonia. But we Knights all knew that the King was just looking for a victory that will cement his shaky rule. Some Knights agreed to join the invasion. But me? No. I remained. I abhorred violence that time. For me, the King was in the wrong for invading a Kingdom just to maintain his grip on the throne.

You know what happened next. General Kingston was defeated at Knightsend. The Tulosan Civil War followed. A foolish war by foolish n.o.bles who were fighting for the crown. Tulosa was engulfed in chaos.

The Order of the Knights remained neutral in the conflict. The Order only supported civilians and punished n.o.bles who had committed crimes against the people. Naturally I was one of the punishers. I commanded my cohort to defend the people. They started calling me Rickard the Good. A funny name I tell you.

But one day the Grand Master received reports that civilians were being levied forcefully in the fief of Baron Rex Trunt. The Grand Master commanded me and my cohort to rescue the civilians and bring Baron Rex into justice. We went to the fief and a Baron Rex was unwise enough to attack us. Attacking Knights with militias. It was a stupid move. We slaughtered them of course. And I... I killed Baron Rex"s brother. The Baron was furious. He fought me with the strength of vengeance on his arms. He stabbed, slashed and even tried to bite me. In the end, my training prevailed. I disarmed Baron Rex. He was laying on the ground with my sword pointed at his throat.

He pleaded. He pleaded like the swine that he is.

"Prefect Rickard spare me!" he shouted, with tear coming from his eyes.

I didn"t remove my sword immediately. It was because I saw that he was still furious at me for killing his brother. But his next words truly moved me.

"I will change" he cried with face in an ugly grimace "From now on I will treat my subjects fairly. The Omniscient knows that I can change! Please don"t hurt me"

My sword hand weakened. I felt pity for the Baron. He could change. That"s right- we are all brothers in the eyes of the Omniscient. It was my duty as a Knight to grant a chance of redemption to others. I lowered my sword and embraced the Baron. After checking for the civilians and witnessing Baron Rex take an oath to change, we went back to the headquarters at Bivon.

Months pa.s.sed and life went on. Even though we were at war, I still felt that life was perfect. I was only able to come home once every week. But Cecile, Marco and Veni were always waiting for me at home. We bought a little house no more than a league away from Bivon. I also bought a small plot of land. That way I could farm when I"m old without being a subject to a n.o.ble.

Cecile was not good at cooking. She was clumsy and her soup was always salty. Nevertheless I loved it. Marco and Veni had also grown into strong boys. They were tough just like me. I had hope for them to become Knights one day, to follow the steps of their father.

But one day when I came home, I noticed that something wasn"t right. Marco and Veni who would usually run towards me as I approach our house, were nowhere to be found. I shrugged and thought that they were just asleep. It was almost dark anyway.

With my heavy armor clinking, I continued my walk towards our house. I looked at the fields and saw that the potato were almost ripe for harvest. We were not actually short on money but a little but of extra would be nice.

But when I turned my head towards our fence, my heart raced. The fence was broken. The house was also damaged.

And then I saw it. Cecile and my boys were near the door. Their bodies were dipped in pools of dried blood. I ran towards them and embraced their bodies. Cold. They were already cold. Dead. Yes, they were dead.

At first I couldn"t believe it. I just noticed a single drop of tear from my eye. And then it hit me. My family was dead. My precious boys were dead. Cecile, my beloved, was no more. Multiple stab wounds line their back.

I screamed. I let out a deafening scream of agony. It was painful. Too painful to describe.

But what made it worse was a note tied on Cecile"s neck.

"Now we"re equal"

I then realized the ident.i.ty of the monster who did it- Baron Rex. It was my fault. My family died because I was too weak to kill Baron Rex. I knew that he was going to get revenge on me but I still let him go- because I"m weak. I felt pity towards him and spared his life. I killed my family by sparing that monster.

I then buried Cecile, Marco and Veni. I couldn"t even look at their faces. You know why!? Because It was my fault they died. I realized that mercy is for the weak. Honor is for the fools. And Forgiveness...forgiveness is a sin.

I took my cohort and attacked Baron Rex. He was waiting with more than a thousand mercenaries and militias. There were also traps hidden. But we prevailed. I again defeated and disarmed the swine. And again he pleaded. He pleaded to me. You know what I did? I buried my sword into his filthy mouth while he was pleading. If I have done that when we first met, Cecile and my boys would still be alive. Marco and Veni would have already been Knights by now. Cecile and I would have been resting on our farm while our boys play with swords. We would have grandchildren. But I spared Baron Rex"s life and my family are all dead.

That was when I realized that everything the Order of the Knights taught me were lies. Deceits of old weak men. The Book of the Knights was a garbage that should be burned. Righteousness? Honor? Chivalry? These things are dangerous. Only power and strength could make a person happy.

And now you condemn me for killing Marquis Benedict. I tell you, if he lived he would have become the banner where my enemies would gather. He would have killed me like how Baron Rex killed Cecile and Veni and Marco.

Chivalry is a mistake that must be purged from the earth. It"s kill or be killed. Take or be taken from.

**********

Rickard finished his story with a sneer towards the seven Knights he caught defecting to Henry. They were on his tent, with tied hands and knees on the floor while he was telling his story from his chair.

"You say that I am a fake Knight? I am not. I am the truest Knight amongst us"

The defectors still refused to lower their heads. They even had the guts to look at Rickard with pity on their eyes.

"We are sorry for your loss General. We truly are. But what we are doing is wrong. Marquis Benedict is not Baron Rex. Righteousness is still relevant in this world."

Rickard"s punched on the table beside him. The crack of the impact made the defectors flinch.

"My wife and my children died because I was righteous! Never again. Never" he shook his head.

"General" One of the defectors called, unmoved by Rickard"s anger "You have become evil"

Rickard rose and walked towards the defectors. He grabbed the man"s hair and forced an eye contact with him.

"I am evil and I will continue to be evil. I regret nothing. Nothing I tell you. My beliefs will remain unchanged."

"May the Omniscient have mercy on you General for you are beyond salvation."
the defector shot back.

Rickard laughed. He doesn"t need salvation. If he could destroy the idea of chivalry- the idea that killed his family- then he would be satisfied. It was his mission to erase chivalry from the knights. He will avenge his family by destroying an idea.

But before he could mock the defector, a voice rang through his ears.

"General Rickard we have a problem" Luther said who entered his tent in haste. Luther eyed the defectors before looking again at Rickard.

"So what is it? Who won, Timothy or Leopold?"
Rickard asked, removing his grip from the defector"s hair.

Luther frowned. His breathing was heavy.

"Both General"