The legend of the Demonic monk

The first rays of sunlight came from the east, rising slowly over the trees surrounding the village. Maybe that was the signal that the animals were waiting for, because they started their usual routine with chickens clucking and dogs barking, pigs squealing and horses neighing in their enclosures. The people started to get busy around the house, feeding them and preparing themselves for a new day of work in the fields. Good thing is that the next day would be a day of leisure being Sunday. All of a sudden the church bells started to ring drawing the people to the edge of the forest, where the church was situated. Everyone let go of everything they were doing at the moment and hurried there to find out what happened. It wasn't often that the church summoned the people. Only if something out of the ordinary happened. The bells kept ringing as the villagers started to amass in front of the church, starting to whisper among themselves about what could have happened. After a quarter of an hour the bells stopped and the large wooden doors opened with a squeak. A man in his forties with strands of gray hair in his large beard and bald head came out. He was the priest, a man who the villagers learned to fear since he came to serve at their church. Opposite to what the faith preached, to love and care for your neighbor, he was more inclined to serve his own purpose. He took a moment to look around and see how many people were present and the crowd seemed to make him content with the attendance. He cleared his throat and the people stopped chatting among themselves trying to get every word coming out of his mouth. "Good morning everyone, although by what I am about to say, I doubt that it will keep being a good one! I just got grievous news from the Holy Seat in the Capital. A monster appeared in the midst of people there who defied the laws of both men and God. The son of the South General rose in rebellion and is threatening our families and nation with war." The people started chattering at the news. "How can it be? Isn't he of noble birth?... His father is a marquis and is in the top ten most powerful people in the nation! Why would he rebel?... Doesn't he know the price for that?... His entire family line is going to be extinguished!... I heard he's about to get married in a few months!...It doesn't make sense!" The priest cleared his throat again and the silence returned slowly among the crowd. "Silence! Who do you think you are, people? Do you take the throne as a joke? What reason do you think there could be to spread such news if they weren't true? Or you might want to be the ones to judge if the news I received late last night is true? Let me tell you! You have no such rights! The only right you have is to listen to the news and then go back to get ready for the battle that's about to happen! Don't forget that we're on the road leading from the south to the Capital! The rebels could be here any moment!" The people started to panic. "Your holiness is it really true? When did it start? Wasn't the South General's son in the Capital? Why would the rebels come from the south when he's already in the Capital?" The priest pursed his lips while frowning. "From what I know, he was indeed in the Capital, but had with him only fifty men as honor guard. The army was still in the south guarding the border. But he lost his mind and attacked the Crown Prince and threatened with rebellion if his demands were not answered and for that he was imprisoned and from his guard there were a few who escaped. There's no doubt about the end result. Everybody knows that the marquis is proud and would not accept his heir to be treated like that and would march his army north. This happened five days ago, so considering the speed of the horses, they should be passing here in at most two days." Everyone nodded and started cursing the young man for dragging them all into another war. Nobody noticed a few men at the back of the crowd slowly leaving. They were frowning and kept quiet as they retreated. Their knuckles of their fingers resting on the handles of the swords hanging at their hips were white due to how hard they were holding them. The village was left behind them, but as the one seemingly in charge of the rest was about to leave the village premises turned his head and spit on the ground. "Let's go! There's no need to be merciful with anyone here. Fools lead by the nose who know nothing about the truth should disappear from this world!" Five horses were guarded by an armored man a little away from the village to the south in the forest. Seeing the four men approaching he stood at attention. "Your highness, how is it? Any news?" The one in charge shook his head. He approached one of the horses, jumped in the saddle with agility without touching the stirrups. Even if he was a man in the forties, he was still strong enough to put to shame many men half his age. "Let's return to the camp! There is no point in getting squeamish now. Since the crown forces my hand, I will play with them. There's no reason to keep anyone alive on the road to the Capital!" The man in armor turned his eyes to the three who accompanied the lord to get some answers, but all of them shook their heads and mouthed "Don't ask!" as they took their horses and joined their leader. The man in armor sighed as he rose in the saddle. "The world will burn!" was what he thought as the five rode in almost complete silence. Only the horses were snorting and the swords' sheaths were clinking as they hit the saddles. The armor seemed to tighten around the man's torso, making it difficult for him to breathe. He finally realized there was no way back. He hoped against hope that everything could still go well in the end. But apparently not, by the way the lord acted. Soon, he thought. One more sin. He was going to turn into a monster due to his loyalty and his oath. He raised his head trying to see the sky but all he could see were the tree branches and the leaves starting to turn yellow due to the lack of rain. He sighed again and closed his eyes. A last tear started falling from the corner of his eyes. He wiped it away. Opening his eyes, he stared at his moist finger and they started to turn cold. Any remaining warmth faded from his eyes.