White Ravens: Advent of War

A Knight's Oath

Before the sun came down, Sigil, Tatiana, and Rune finally returned to Mirea. The gates were wide open, and they could hear the soldiers celebrating from a farsang away.

The grass outside the town smelled of smoke, piss, and s**t. Before they came to this town, they had never seen what becomes of a battlefield after both sides clash. And based on the look on their faces, none of them were prepared to see something this horrific.

Flies were buzzing everywhere, and they could still hear some of the soldiers crying for their fallen comrades. Some looked as though this scene was nothing out of the norm, and were even looting the corpses of both comrade and adversary. They were taking everything, down to the boots of the men that had fallen in battle.

"Rotten. All of them," Tatiana remarked. "I can't believe such immoral acts are being done by the queen's soldiers."

Sigil glanced at her and put his index finger before his lips in an attempt to hush her. "Steady yourself, Tatiana. We cannot say such candid remarks. We're not in the academy anymore."

Tatiana looked down, her eyes, laden with sadness. "I understand," she replied.

Soon, they arrived at the gates of the town and found the soldiers celebrating. Amidst the cheering crowd, they saw Zeke's towering figure. His large armor dwarfed the men around him, and it looked like he was back to his usual timid nature. As a matter of fact, it looked like he was just about tapped out for social gatherings.

Sitting beside a pillar and looking exhausted was Yelena. She still had her usual passive expression, but it didn't seem like she wanted to speak right now, so the three of them walked past her. Fortunately, Yelena got up and followed them.

When Zeke noticed the rest of the squad on their way to a quieter area, he bowed to the other soldiers and followed Sigil.

At this time, Gust emerged from the shadows. "Captain, I need to speak to you," he said. The look on his face implied that this was of grave importance. "But we can't talk here. Let's go somewhere more private."

Minutes later, Gust led the rest of the squad into the town's park. The sun had gone down, and it was getting darker and darker by every passing minute. There weren't many people around, and even the ones that were there along with them were sitting far enough not to hear them.

Zeke, Tatiana, and Yelena sat beneath the tree, while Rune was standing a few paces from the rest of the group. As for Sigil and Gust, they were in the center, so that everyone could hear what Gust needed to say.

"What do you have to report, Gust?" Sigil asked, not wanting to beat around the bush.

"Right after the battle ended, I went around the town, helping wounded soldiers. After that, I went to check on the civilians to ask if they needed my help..." The way Gust spoke was foreboding of an omen.

"It didn't seem like they wanted my help. Frankly, they didn't look very happy with the outcome of this battle."

Just then, Yelena got up and chimed in. "That makes sense. Mirea isn't originally a part of the Queendom. Up until six years ago, this used to be Regalian territory, but three years later, it was agreed declared as neutral territory. Regalia agreed to cease military operations in this town, in exchange for Wisteria's agreement that they will not attack this town under any circumstances."

"Wait, how did something like that come to pass? Our countries have been in war for generations, and I doubt anyone from Regalia nor from Wisteria concede to such a peaceful agreement," Tatiana remarked.

Sigil cleared his throat to catch everyone's attention. "There was a man who used to lead this town, and his diplomatic prowess was second to none. It was Lord Reinbach Schwarze, third of his name. Six years ago, he became the lord of this town, and under his leadership, the town began to prosper. Trade and commerce was booming, and Rune's knowledge of Mirea's tunnels proves that Lord Reinbach used those tunnels to his advantage."

Sigil glanced at Rune and noticed that he didn't seem to be listening. He realized that his friend hadn't spoken in a while, but he needed to continue his story.

"Up until now, I had no idea how such an unluckily misplaced town became a center of trade and commerce, but now that I've seen the tunnels for myself, I understand how Mirea became so rich. The town's rise to prosperity also skyrocketed Lord Reinbach's popularity among its people, and his use of diplomacy has helped him fend off any advances from Wisteria," Sigil continued.

Zeke stood in attention and decided to join the discussion. "Actually, I've been to Mirea before when I was still a fledgling of the academy. Three years ago, I was assigned to guard a caravan, and the employer of the mission was a man with the initials "R. S.". It must've been Lord Reinbach."

"Your assumption is correct, Zeke," Gust noted. "Lord Reinbach has been a friend of Wisteria for a while now. Us, senior knights, frequently received missions from him, and it all involved escort jobs. Sometimes we would guard caravans, and sometimes, Lord Reinbach, himself."

This time, Rune finally approached the rest of the squad. "Lord Reinbach was a good man. My father had always admired him, so I held a certain degree of respect for him."

"Wait, was?" Tatiana asked abruptly. "What do you mean?"

"Two years ago, he died of natural causes." When Rune said those words, he was grief-stricken.

After a brief silence, Rune noticed that everyone was looking at him, so he continued to speak. "My father believed he was assassinated, but it was never proven, so the case was open and shut. Months after the tragedy, we all know what happened..."

"The Queendom of Wisteria attacked Mirea and colonized it." Sigil was the one to connect the dots of Rune's narration.

Everyone fell silent silent again. They all stared into space, and gradually figured out why the townspeople refused to accept aid from Gust.

But while they were pondering at a park, the other soldiers were in every bar and tavern in town, drinking and eating in joyful merriment. It was as if to them, there was no more tomorrow, and all that mattered was to celebrate.

Rune began to walk away from the squad, and when Yelena saw him, she followed suit.

"Hey, hold on," she called out, catching his attention. When she saw the look in his eyes, she couldn't bring herself to speak to him. But instead of leaving him alone, Yelena decided to walk along with him.

Sigil combed his shoulder-length, brown hair back, and sighed. "I think it's best that we retire for the night."

He tossed his wallet to Tatiana and said, "Take Zeke with you and find us some accommodations. It's best that all six of us remain in two rooms. One for the women, and the rest for us guys. Gust and I will scout the town's perimeter for any stragglers. We can't afford to drop our guards just because we've won one battle."

Tatiana and Zeke nodded and they went on their way at once.

Meanwhile, Rune and Yelena were walking along the commercial street of Mirea. In the past, Rune remembered how he and Sigil followed his father along into Lord Reinbach's estate. But before they went there, they would pass by this street to buy food and other interesting items sold by the stall owners.

Now, it looked empty. There were still some stalls in sight, but they were rundown and unkempt. It was as if this place was never bustling in the first place.

This morning, Rune had mentally prepared himself for anything. But he didn't realize that his emotions would still affect him. "I may be a knight by name, but my emotions still get the better of me," he said to himself.

He turned to Yelena and noticed that she had been staring at him. "What?" he asked.

She immediately looked away, and silently continued walking.

For the next few minutes, they just walked along the empty street in silence, until finally, Rune broke the silence.

"Do you think we did the right thing?" he asked.

Yelena was surprised to hear something so poignant from Rune. "I don't know," she answered.

"What I do know is that we swore an oath to the queen. We are her sword and shield, and we cannot disobey an order," she added.

"I see," Rune responded, looking a bit disappointed.

Yelena stopped walking, and it made Rune stop as well. They were standing beneath a tree, and some of its leaves were slowly falling to the ground. She could see the sadness in his eyes, and she could tell that he didn't have the courage to speak so openly about it.

"But if I'm being honest, Rune, I don't think there's a right and wrong side in a war," she said to him.

"Why is that?"

"I became a rune knight because I'm bound by my family's duty to the crown, but I have no love of war and fighting. Back there, in the battlefield, it was the first time I've ever used my abilities to take another person's life, but I didn't hesitate..." Yelena paused for a moment to sit on a bench, and invited Rune to sit with her.

"We were taught not to hesitate, weren't we?" she asked while looking at him directly. "Because the second we hesitate means the death of another. It may not be us, but it could be our comrades, or maybe even our families and friends."

"What's your point?" Rune asked bluntly.

"What I'm trying to say is that you upheld your duty to your country. You may not be proud of your methods, but I'm sure you saved more lives than you can imagine," Yelena answered.

Once again, they returned into silence.

"Tatiana told me what you've been assigned to do. Did you really m******e an entire retinue of soldiers in their supply camp?" she asked.

Rune shook his head. "No, I didn't. After I burnt down their tents, and incapacitated a few of them, I heard them scream and curse as if the world was ending. And before I knew it, I had ran away." 

He chuckled to himself while covering his face with his hands. It looked like he was holding back his tears. "I went back to the clearing to reflect on my actions, and I thought I'd let everyone in the squad down. You all did your jobs, and I abandoned mine halfway."

Rune stared into Yelena's eyes and tears started falling from his eyes. "When I saw how much they feared me, I thought to myself, "What the hell am I doing? This is nothing short of murder!". I told myself that this wasn't the oath I swore upon. We're rune knights, damn it! It's in my name and in my blood! We're supposed to prevent war from happening, not ignite it even further!"

Yelena could see how torn he was. Her heart ached for him. She could no longer maintain her stoicism at this point.

But before she could try to comfort him, he said, "I may be the queen's sword, but I'm still human! I don't think I can this anymore..."