A Tale of Blades & Blood-Chapter 17: Mercy to All Men

[Mareste's Point of View]

A knight is nothing without swords and whores. That was something the common folk used to say. Many of them- those working men –would take knighthood as a joke, a fool's job, and a contradicting profession. Those men don't know our struggles, I thought to myself, a knight is more than his sword and armor- even whores.

We marched along, my men and I, deeper into the western side of the city. Lord Loreys, the man my brother calls "Bastard Lord," commanded the main infantry that secured and scouted the outer skirts. My brothers, Maerys and Magrae, moved to the north and east, securing every last inch of the urban city.

"Keep moving!" I exclaimed to my men as they marched, my hands holding the reins of my horse, and my hair flowing down to my shoulders, brown and long. Soon, we would arrive in front of a large structure, its walls decorated with art made of white stone, and its roof was layered with blue tiles.

"Ser, what shall we do with this building?" one of the men asked, seemingly astonished at the fact the structure still stood, not having been hit by the falling boulders or having been set on fire by our men.

I admire it. What a beautiful place, I thought. "Do not take it down..." I ordered, "...but do enter. Take every person that you see inside here. Take their gold and emeralds if you can." I finished, circling the entrance and analyzing the statues and engravings that were there.

"DRO IN NAI DARGRIOR-ES!" the man exclaimed, in the language of the free folk. Can't some of these men speak common tongue? I wondered. Why must they only speak Cainian, Tudoran, Abelonian, or High Melinia?

"You!" I called, pointing at a soldier. "Help me down my horse. I must see what is inside this... structure." I ordered, thinking about what could be hiding inside as the other men infiltrated it.

"As the lord commands." he replied. At least most of them know common tongue, I thankfully said in my head. The soldier held the horse in its place and guided me down it. My feet almost sank to the soil as it reached it. The dirt had turned to mud from all the blood. Disgusting, I thought.

I made my way into the building, through the crowds of soldiers in iron clad. Inside, there was a large rod hanging off the stone and wood ceiling, branching out and having mirrors as big as can be attached to its sides and tips. Even though it was near sundown, the inside was lit well as the sun from above came off of the mirrors, as if plenty of suns were inside the very quarter. What kind of library is this? I thought. Why must it be so... luxurious?

The place was littered with books, even though plenty of bookshelves, short and tall, were there. Two more levels were above us, each made of stone, and having barriers made of marble, yet they did not cover the entire area above us, but instead they accommodated space for the large source of light. This was not all that was inside the structure, but there was also a pathway that led to at least ten doors that was placed at the far end of the large library.

"Quite large for a library." a voice remarked.

I did not need to turn around. I already knew who it was: My brother, Maserr, or what Magrae calls him- Massy. "Wouldn't you like one, smarty?" I asked with a chuckle.

"I have plenty of books and scrolls to read..." he remarked, "...more than you could ever have." he finished, hitting me playfully on my arm.

"I was never a fan of books." I explained. I was never the boy that read stories of knights and princesses. I never saw the value in fiction, so I made it real. "Lord Loreys sent you here, didn't he?" I asked to clarify.

"He let me go." he said with pride. "I went to see if you found anything of interest..." he began, "...and of course, I came to see what the fuss was about."

He let you go? I wished to ask. "You lucky bastard..." I told him, "...Lord Loreys never lets me do anything." I explained, which was true. Ever since I was a weak boy, Lord Loreys would always nag on my neck and follow me everywhere. I never could've done shit, and I couldn't do shit now.

"He has his reasons, brother..." he explained as he began to wander the library, admiring every book and every speck of dust he could see. "Don't mistake this for luck, I've had my times-"

"He favors you the best, Maserr." I interrupted. "Let's face it, you'll always be the favorite one of us brothers and I'll always be an underdog in the eyes of people-"

"You're a great fighter..." he said, cutting me off. "That should be of some importance." he remarked, his hand now resting on the handle of his sword as he admired a red and blue book with his Abberan green eyes.

"I'm a fighter who delves into the world of whores and killing..." I told him with a stern tone and a straight face. "In this world, the shit of a pig is all the better than my honor-"

"You mistake your honor for something less than shit." he said, coming to a stop and facing me. With a straight look and a half-made smile, he spoke a gentle tone. "You're more than what Lord Loreys says you are. A soldier has many whores, brother. It's war, and a soldier needs something to cool himself off from all his duties."

"What duties have I done, brother?" I asked him. None, I thought to myself, I did nothing. "I killed men, women, and children. What honor does that give me-"

"Soldiers!" he exclaimed. "You kill soldiers!" he repeated another time, his hands on my shoulders. "War kills the innocent, not the soldier who only kills soldiers..." he began, "...if anyone was to blame, it's the one who made the order." he finished, his smile gone, and his eyes larger.

He speaks of Loreys, I thought to myself. He was the one that ordered the charge and the destruction of the skirts, I said in my head. "What is my honor if not shit then?" I asked him, brushing his hands off of me.

He gave it a moment of thought, trying to think of the right word. "Your honor is one just as valuable as the gold in the jewelries of nobles." he replied confidently.

"Why is that?" I asked him.

"You go through so many things..." he began, "...yet most overlook your efforts and call you ordinary, but you are gold, brother. Gold, I tell you!" he exclaimed, his smile returning with his teeth showing.

"Let's get back to exploring this... library-"

"It's a school, brother..." he told me. "I've read of this one, quite famous actually. They call it 'The Hall of Ravens,' where the Ravenmen scholars, advisors to kings and lords alike, study." he explained.

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"You mean to tell me that this is a school... for men?" I asked, dumbfounded at the thought. What kind of men are these southern folk? I asked myself. Grown men should be at farms- at the market even, I thought to myself. Not here.

"For grown men, yes..." my brother began as we started to move around the large library towards the pathway to more doors. "They give up their house's name, their lands, their wives, and their children to study here and become advisors to lords." he said as if it were an honor. That's no honor, I thought to myself.

"They're nothing but pets for soft cunts." I told him sternly. "They give everything up to advise some mere lords of towns and castles who can't even take care of themselves..." I began, letting out a chuckle, "...nobles are a joke." I remarked.

He laughed lightly at the thought. Soon enough, we had reached the doors, but a group of three men had arrived, carrying an old man wearing a robe who did not resist at all. "My lord..." one of them spoke, "...we brought this man who calls himself Ryene the Ravenman." he remarked, shoving him forward as he fell on his knees.

"Are there any others?" I asked, observing the old man as he stood up, struggling and groaning.

"There are some students at the dining halls, but there should be none else." the old man, Ryene, remarked. "Your soldiers should already be there-"

"Don't speak unless said to, you dumb, old cunt!" my soldier exclaimed as he moved forward to strike the old man at his back with a blunt end of a spear.

"Don't you lay a hand on him, you reckless idiot..." I ordered, "...you burst too much. This man's no threat. Perhaps bed a whore before you bite off your own tongue out of spite." I told him, taking the old man aside. "Go find the others!" I exclaimed.

"As the lord commands." they all replied, and went to the door they came from in search of the "students" the old man spoke of.

"Don't mind our men..." I told him, "...they're all retarded cunts- all of them." I remarked, looking at my brother with a smirk on my face, hoping that he'd laugh or at least chuckle lightly.

"Apologies for my brother's ill humor." he stated with a straight face. Ill humor? I asked myself; all soldiers have ill humor!

"You mistake great jokes and insults for 'ill humor'?" I asked in disbelief, a smile on my face. "Stop being serious all the time, will you?"

"What is your name?" Maserr asked to the old man, ignoring my question. Rude, I thought.

The old man looked at him and smiled wide, his fingers were bone and skin, with his right finger bearing a stone ring. "My name is Ryene..." he stated, "...a Ravenman of the Hall of Ravens and advisor to House Ravenhan-"

"Better not tell anyone else that if you want to live." I told him. "House Ravenhan's probably dead by now..." I began, crossing my arms and resting on one leg. "They're scattered, and their head lord is with us at the camp, captured. Turns out they were never fond of cake- except the old lady." I finished, much to the despair of the Ravenman.

"I have nobody left to serve but my students, then." he said, looking into my eyes with a sorrowful gaze. I'm sorry, old man, I thought. I always have a soft part for old men, I said to myself; most of them are gentle and good, and few are the yelling men like Lord Loreys.

"You will serve our lord." my brother told him. "Let us take you to the camp..." he began, resting his heavy hand on the man's light shoulder, "...there you will serve as advisor to Lord Loreys of Tiberrun." he finished his offer. Ridiculous, I thought to myself. You ought to send him to his doom.

Eventually, the soldiers arrived once more, each one holding a man in robes. The students of the old man, I thought. There was at least a hundred, but the number of the men I commanded sufficed for that. I had more than a thousand men at my hands. "What do we do with these, my lord?" they asked.

"Leave them here." I commanded. "They are of no threat. Who knows, maybe they'll grow up and advise your cunt lords one day, yes?" I remarked. The soldier squinted his eyes, as if he had not heard it right.

"You wish to let them stay, my lord?" he asked.

"You deaf, too?" I asked, my smile gone and me hands resting on the handle of my sword. "Go and leave them before I cut your ears off and make you deaf!" I exclaimed.

"As the lord commands." he replied, walking away and telling the same to his men. Soon, the students were released from their shackles, and each one embraced another, thankful for the mercy I gave. Rare mercy, I know, I thought to myself. Perhaps this is the honor I should seek, I said in my head, not the kind that kills, but the one that gives... mercy.

"We must get going, then." Maserr remarked as he began to make his way out of the castle. I quickly followed behind him, with the Ravenman in front of me, limping like an old man as his joints clicked and popped each time he took a step.

"Need a cane, old man?" I asked, my voice lingering with concern for him.

"No need, my lord..." he began, "...I can walk on my own." he replied, a smile on his face. Dang, I thought to myself, old men always have the nicest smiles.

The battle was already over at that time. Much of the Ravenhan forces were dead and laying on the ground, and my brothers, Magrae, Maerys, and Madester, along with Lord Lorey's private army, secured the keep. Then again, it was already secured before we had arrived. The men Lord Loreys sent inside was enough to take all of the guards in the keep. The impregnable fortress... I thought, raped in a single fucking day.