The Union 195 The Grand Master

Tobias looked up to the floating sphere. The brightness emanating was blinding. He tried not to squint in fear that the action would cause disrespect.

"Tobias" The sphere spoke. The voice tingled his ears. Tobias knelt. He bowed so low that his forehead was kissing the ground. As he thought about it, his meetings with the Omniscient never had a semblance of familiar places. He would just see a bright light that would speak to him. Everything else was clouded in a bright light. But now they were in a wide plain that spread as far as his eyes could see. There was a cool wind blowing and there a bright moon above. Stars in constellations unknown filled the sky.

"Omniscient I am your loyal servant. I will always obey your commands. But I don't understand what is happening. Henry the unrighteous, who broke your rules and killed your loyal Punishers, is winning. Not to press my knowledge for I know that my mind is nothing compared to your omniscience, but I think I will lose soon enough. The citizens joined him. Those lowly heretics dared to question your word. And King Brice... he lacked faith to keep fighting until the end. Your loyal servant is confused. What am I to do?"

"You have spent a long time struggling and you have lost your way. Rest Tobias. Your time has come"

Tobias felt tears fall from his eyes. He sounded a long grunt. A combination of sadness and anger enveloped his being.

"What have I done to disappoint you!? I did everything I could to please you. I am Tobias your loyal servant!"

"Rest" The Omniscient spoke again. The light was more intense than before. It exploded before his eyes. Everything was white.

**********

Henry removed his helm and wiped the blood from his cheek. An earlier lucky strike hit his helm and tore the skin of his left cheek.

"Are you one of them? I have met a man named Shadow and another whose name is Helios" he asked the squire

"I am one of us" The squire said "I am named terror for I bring bad dreams with my dust"

"And Master Tobias?"

"He met his G.o.d"

"A crafted G.o.d you mean?"

This time, the squire smiled. There was deepness in the smile. "Does it matter?"

Henry eyed Tobias. The old man still had his eyes rolled up "It does because you just killed many people bringing your false dreams"

"True, I had some hand in it" The squire nodded "But all I did is show him of his G.o.d and he believed. You humans have some dark things hidden in your heart. I myself was terrified upon seeing Tobias' darkness. Imagine that, my name is terror and I was terrified? He did this to himself. He is a weak man and a wicked one"

Henry felt a tinge of of disgust. "You will die for your sins. You will both die"

"I know" The Squire said

Tobias awakened from his sleep. Shaking his head, he eyed Henry. A scream of pain followed. Tobias wailed and cried in the most unsettling way possible "He hates me!" Tobias was ripping his hair from the scalp "He hates me despite my efforts!"

Henry knelt near Tobias. He pointed his steel towards the fanatic's chest. "He hates you for you are wicked"

Tobias looked at the blade. He laughed like a madman. His old but white teeth showed a certain emotion. As for what emotion, Henry could only guess.

Henry leaned close to Tobias' ear. He whispered, "I am Henry, twenty-fourth Grand Master of the Order of Knights of Tulosa. For your sacrilege and misuse of the power vested by the Omniscient, I sentence you to death. I shall not give you the privilege of having your last words as you don't merit such honor. May the Omniscient forgive both of us for our sins"

Henry pressed the sword. Tobias' white robe turned red on his chest. The old man struggled for a while until he closed his eyes. The fanatic was no more.

Henry rose with his armor clanking. He turned his head towards the squire.

"That was cruel. Making him dream that he lost the Omniscient's favor is cruel"

"He deserves it. He is a cruel man and he needs to be reminded of his sins. As for me, you don't have to wet your hands with my blood Grand Master Henry" The Squire said. He produced an empty vial as tall as a thumb and drank from it "They say it's painless. I do hope that's the case. Nevertheless you have won. For my kind, a death by one's own hands is the most disgraceful act. This is my gift to you as a sign of my respect"

The squire's body soon slid from the corner. His breathing slowed. Soon, he died.

Henry looked down on the squire named Jason. He patted the body and soon he found the medallion hung on Jason's neck. The medallion was nothing special but the red stone in the middle was something that could be of use to them. Henry took it into his pocket.

**********

The dawn gave a grey illumination to the city. Bodies still in armor piled on the streets where the Punishers made their last stand. Dead horses also lined the streets. Some still bleeding while some were already stiff.

On Henry's back was the statue of the Omniscient- a wooden heresy shaped like the sun. It was crackling and burning like how it should have been the moment it was made. Black smoke rose to the sky, swaying to wherever the wind was blowing.

Henry said his goodbyes to Stan and the other knights who lost their lives. They had fought against the unrighteous and paid for it with their lives.

Stan was dressed in a knight's armor and his white cape. Many would say that it is a waste wasting a good armor to a dead knight. Henry didn't feel that it was. A knight should welcome death like how he welcomed birth through knighthood. Armors can be made in days. But a person's memory will last forever.

"Bury the bodies outside. Separate those of ours from the fanatics"

"We should just leave the Punishers to rot in the woods sire" Suggested a knight

"No. The Book of Knights says that knights, filthy in works or not, should have a proper burial. Bury them in their armor. We can't use those ugly things anyway"

Henry stood up. Only after the battle did he remember that his thigh was still wounded by that arrow he got from Bivon. He stepped towards the platform where the sacrifices were lined last night.

His steps were crooked. His body felt heavy. The melancholic sun cast over the sky didn't help. The wind blew again, soft and gentle like the touch of Freya's hand. The sweetness of the morning air alleviated the pain on his body.

It took him the death of Stan to finally realize that going against the rules was sometimes the right thing to do. Rules are made to guide and not to shackle. He lost a friend just to realize that and he was foolish. He will not be foolish again. He will not lose anyone again and he will get s.h.i.+rley and his mother back. He will put an end to this nonsense war between Tulosans.

Henry eyed the people in the crowd. Most of them were citizens who rose against the King and Tobias last night. Many of them wore bloodied clothes with huge spots of blood in them. Others sported injuries. If not for them, his knights wouldn't have succeeded. If not for these people, who were not trained in fighting, they would have lost to the Punishers.

His knights and the citizens stood in combination. The false statue of the Omniscient still crackled behind. The dead still lay in the streets and in the walls and inside the homes.

Henry presented himself as gallant as he could be. His face reeks of youth. He had made mistakes before. He wasn't perfect like Grand Master Nelson. He doesn't even know if he could fill the shoes of his mentor. All he knew is that he is the key to end this violent chapter.

"I am Grand Master Henry Molt" His voice echoed, reverberating and sounding clear amidst the silent crowd "Last night, violence reigned in Vuono. At least a hundred of my knights lay dead and a few hundred of yours didn't get to see the dawn. But the violence of last night will not be the last nor will it be the worst. Violence will continue and violence will prevail. But after the violence we will rebuild again" He pointed at the burning statue "Let the old be burned and the new stand on top of it"

Henry stepped forward, maintaining his stern look all the while. "As my first act as Grand Master, I hereby excommunicate King Brice and Master Balian for their sins against the citizens of Tulosa. Let all citizens, believers of the Great Rider or believers of the Omniscient alike, know that I, Grand Master Henry Molt, calls for a crusade against the two blasphemer who are committing crimes against Tulosa. We shall vanquish them"

Henry tilted a bit towards the rising sun. His cape swung like a flag flied high.

"For G.o.d wills it and the people demands!"