With each step, Ash thought about the day before. The countless faces of the bandits didn’t bother him. The only part of the battle that bothered him was when Den killed the young sleeping woman, but even that was only a passing pain. What really bothered Ash was that he was not bothered by the piles of bodies? He could still remember the feel of the cold bodies as he pulled them away from the center of the camp and into the edge to be burned. The smell of the burning flesh still made his stomach clench but even that was more to do with the simple smell than the fact that it was from bodies that he had killed.
It was true that it was not Ash’s first battle, nor his first time killing another human. He could still remember the first human killed by his hands. He still thought about it from time to time but it was not something that kept him awake at night. It was just one battle in the mist of many others.
Ash started to think back to his life ever since he had been reborn. It seemed like it could be told by one battle after another. Then he took a closer look. It was true he had spent most of his time fighting but it was the brief moments between those battles that had truly been important. Meeting Emelia in the back of a carriage after he had been injured. Buying Yuki and then her mother Shina. Those few moments of peace seemed short when he tried to remember them, but they were what truly shined. His life before had been relatively peaceful, but it had also been lonely and dark. Now, only when he was in a world filled with danger did he fell as if he was truly living. As Ash thought that, he remembered the knight’s code that Den had told him the day before.
Just as Den said, the knight’s code was a simple yet oddly complex thing. The more he thought about the code, the more he remembered that the knights in the middle ages had their own codes. No matter what time period, it seemed that all fighting forces had their own code of valor and honor. As he thought about it Ash thought that he should come up with his own code but no matter how he thought about it, coming up with a code was no simple thing so he decided to just take it one day at a time.
The cold tension hung above the group way into the night and carried on into the next day with little being said. The first person to seem to break free of the melancholy was Maria who grew excited when Marilyn started to draw late the night before.
Maria’s energetic attitude started to carry over to the others and by midday everyone seemed to be back to how they were during the beginning of the trip. When they reached the place where the horses had been tethered and hid, they were all laughing and joking about the battle that had happened only a few days before. Thanks to the heavy load, no one rode and they all walked while the horses carried the extra weight. Thanks to that it would still be two days before they reached the city, but with the lightened mood the slowed pace didn’t seem to bother anyone.
As they walked once again, Den walked next to Ash though little was said. Ash found it slightly odd that Marilyn was his go between, it was Den that he spent his time with during the journey. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Marilyn, but that he had so few male friends and didn’t want another female in his life. He had enough trouble dealing with Shina and the others and the last thing he wanted was another headache.
“Do you mind if I ask you a question?” Den asked as they walked.
“Go ahead,” Ash said without hesitation.
“What are you planning with the fort?” Den asked. “I can see the use, but even though the Hawkwing duchy is large, it doesn’t border any enemy nations. Even if it did, you have placed the fort near the duchy capital instead of near the duchy borders. I just don’t understand why expend so much coin and work just for the sake of a fort that will most likely never see use in your lifetime or your kids.”
“I don’t know why I thought about it, but it just seemed like a place where the duchy’s forces can gather and train. I know they need to be out and about to guard the roads and towns, but seeing that a war might be coming the duchy needs a large force, but it needs to train. Once the war is over, it will have to keep those knights and having a place they can live will reduce the overall strain on the duchy. It might not seem prudent now, but I think it will be of great benefit in the long run.”
“I can’t say that I see it, but you are the lord and I am just the sword,” Den said with a thin smile. “That said, you are pretty good with your own sword. I don’t think that any of the knights could easily take you on. Do you plan to train with the knights once the fort is finished?”
“I don’t know, that is still long into the future,” Ash said trying to imagine it. He had to admit, part of him dreamed of a large group of knights training like one would see in the movies, but he knew that reality would be far different. There were no true heroes that shine like a star in the night. All there are people trying their best to live while protecting what they believe in.
“For what it is worth, I think you would make a fine knight,” Den said slapping Ash hard on the back. “Too bad you become a gambler, but I guess even luck has its place in the world. My teacher always said nothing in the world could beat a lucky man…though he only said that after he came back from the bar after a night of tossing dice,” Den added with a hearty laugh.
“You talked about the knight’s code last night,” Ash said. “I have been thinking about it since. I don’t think I would make a good knight since I hate to follow orders. I think being a gambler is a little more fun.”
“All life is a gamble so maybe gamblers have a one up on the rest of us,” Den said without faltering. “But since you are the lord, then the only person you would have to listen to would be your wife and I think that you already have to do that.”
“You are right there,” Ash said laughing along with Den.
After talking with Den again, once again Ash started to think that he needed his own set of rules to live by. It was simple to say that he would just do what was needed, but that was it made it too easy for him to go along the wrong path. The longer he thought about it, the more problems he ran into. If he made the rules too strict, then he might find himself breaking them time after time but if he made them too lax, then they wouldn’t serve their purpose. In the end, he came to the same answer, that it was best just to leave it day to day. As long as he didn’t do something he would regret, he would be happy. That was the moment it hit him. That was the meaning behind a code it was something so complex that the only way to put it into words was to keep it simple and since it was a personal code, there was no reason to put it into words.
Even though Ash had settled his own thoughts on the code, his mind still argued about the meaning behind it. It wasn’t so much that he was questioning his own code, but if all humans had their own unspoken code that they lived by, whether they knew about it or not. That line of thought was what was on his mind as he was carried off to sleep.
The next morning everyone was in high spirits as they were expected to reach the city by nightfall. Though the knights were used to spending their time outside of the city, each time they had the chance to enter one they were happy about it. The knowledge that they would get to eat something other than travel rations and stale bread was always welcomed.
As they walked, Ash couldn’t help but listen to the knights talk about their plans once they reached the city. Since they had taken out a large band of thieves they would get a small portion of the spoils and they all were planning how they would spend it. Listening to them Ash was sure that within two days their purses would be empty once again.
7-4
When they arrived back at the city, the knights headed for the inn while Ash headed toward the church district. Ever since the battle with the thieves, Ash had been bothered by the goddesses blessing. There were just too many questions that he didn’t have answers for.
As Ash entered the church he once again say the door guarded by a robed young man. Ash bowed lightly to the man and took out three gold coins and placed them in the small basket for donations. As soon as the gold coins fell from his hands the young priest eyes widened.
“Young master how can we help you today?”
“I wish to talk with priestess Rina if she is available,” Ash said as he remembered the old priestess he had met on his last trip.
“This was young lord,” the young man said bowing to Ash again before leading him down the same path he walked last time. After walking through a set of large double doors, Ash noticed Rina sitting on an old rocking chair while reading to a number of small children. When the young priest started to interrupt Rina, Ash quickly moved his hand and signaled for him to hold back.
Ash sat on the ground behind the children while the priest just shrugged his shoulder and left to return to his post. Every so often Rina would look up from the book and act out the voices of the story. When she noticed Ash she just gave him a warm smile but continued reading.
After she finished the story, Rina sat the book down on a small wooden table while the children clamored for her to read another. “Later children, for now don’t you all have a few chores to do.”
The children let out a collective groan as they all started to move off each in a different direction. As the children started to leave, Ash got to his feet as Rina walked toward him. “Lord Ash, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Rina asked.
“Can we talk in private?” Ash asked as he looked around at many of the smaller children who were still milling about.
“Sure,” Rina said with a warm smile as she lifted up her arm.
Ash was momentarily confused by Rina’s action but quickly began to understand as he took her arm. Ash was taken to a small room near the back of the church that had a few old uncomfortable looking chairs. Ash first helped Rina sit down and noticed that she let out a slight grunt of pain as she lowered herself into the seat. “Now what has brought you to us today?” Rina asked as Ash took his own seat.
“I was tasked to go with a group of knights recently to subjugate a group of bandits,” Ash said hesitantly. As he words came out of his mouth Rina face took on an understanding mixed with an air of pity. “I was forced to kill a number of people who were…Marked. I was just wondering more about the goddess and her blessing.”
“I figured that you would be back,” Rina said, bending over and taking Ash’s hands in her own. “I never thought I would meet a reaper during my life.” Rina’s voice carried more than a hint of sadness.
“Why?”
“As I told you there are a number of blessings the goddess bestows. The more common ones make people slightly stronger. Every god and goddess are the same in the kinds of blessings they give. Each one has their warriors and each has their assassins as you would call them. The church keeps close tabs on the warriors and at any given time there are more than ten thousand of them, but the assassins are different.”
“Are you saying that I am an assassin for the goddess?” Ash asked slightly taken aback.
At his question, Rina let out a heavy sigh. “Assassin might be the wrong word for it, but it is the best I can think of to describe it. Some call them avengers, but the truth is that they are the hidden blade of the goddess. Unlike the warriors who often hold great prestige, the assassins are kept secret, even from the main church. When a reaper is chosen, we report it to the church heads, but all we tell them is that one has been chosen, everything else is kept hidden. From what I know, at any one time in all the kingdoms combined, there are never more than five reapers and I believe it is the same for the other churches as well.”
“But what are the reapers for?”
“That will take some time to explain, but from watching you earlier, it looks like you enjoy a good story,” Rina said with a slight laugh though it sounded forced. “You can place the blessings into five main categories. First you have the common blessings, this is the one that varies the most among the churches. For us, it is most commonly given to farmers. The second is the blessing that is given mostly to those who become priests and priestess’. The most common among them is the ability to heal. The third is the warrior blessings, and as I told you, it is given to those who the goddess has chosen to fight for her. The church itself does not keep a large fighting force, but instead our warriors are spread throughout the world. Some are adventurers while others might be knights. The fourth is rare and is given to those who have been chosen by the goddess to be her voice and that is the oracle blessing. The last and kept the most secret is that of the assassins or the hidden blade of the goddess.”
“But why have reapers if the goddess has its own warriors? I don’t understand why they need to have reapers.”
“The warriors are meant to fight against the open enemies of the church. The reapers on the other hand are like the hidden monster under the bed that parents tell their kids about. Every god and goddess has a few rules and as soon as they are broken, then the person is marked.”
“But why can’t the warriors kill them…Why the need for reapers?”
“Let us say that a king breaks the law of one of the gods. Like I said warriors of the gods and goddess are often open and their relation to the church are clearly defined. If one of them were to kill a king, then it would cause a war between the church and the kingdom. Not only kings, there are many people that the church can’t openly fight. That is where the reapers truly come into play. Reapers are the hidden enforcers of the gods.”
“What would someone have to do to get a reaper called on them?”
“Depends on the god, but for the goddess Altina breaking any of the five cardinal sins would earn you a mark,” As Rina spoke, she pulled a thin book from a shelf that contained a number of the same. “I think you should read this. It will tell you more about Altina. Since she has marked your soul, it might help if you knew a bit more about her.”
“What do you mean she marked my soul?” Ash asked in a slightly worried voice.
“When a person is blessed by a god, it leaves a mark on their soul. When you die, it will be the goddess that presides over you.”
Ash took the book then bowed to Rina and she gave him a warm smile and led him out. When they reached the outer door to the church, Rina held onto Ash’s arm, forcing him to turn and look at her. “The burden the goddess has placed on you is far greater than should be placed on anyone, but it is a needed evil. If you ever find yourself in trouble due to your mission, then you can find any church of Altina and they will hide you. Other than that, if you ever need to talk, I will be more than welcome to sit with you and listen.”
“Thank you,” Ash said honestly.
Ash first thought about heading to Emelia’s, but instead decided to return to his own house first. It had been more than a few days and he knew that Yuki and the others tended to overly worry. While Ash walked toward his home, he didn’t pay much attention to his surroundings instead he started to read through the thin book that Rina had given him.
In his previous world, Ash had went to church a number of times and had even read a little of the bible, but he never believed that there truly was a god. Now it was less about faith and more about proof. After everything that had happened, it was impossible for him to deny the existence that there was something more powerful out there in the world.
The book started much the way he expected but Ash still found it interesting.
In the beginning, a great god banished the chaos of the emptiness and replaced it with order. Chaos is the foundation of everything, but only though order can life flourish. To keep the fragile balance of the universe, thirty-two gods were born. Each god was given dominion over one aspect of chaos so that life could flourish.
The goddess Altina was one of the three greater gods. Harien was given dominion over creation, Jarol was given dominion over destruction while Altina was given dominion over the cycle of life and more commonly became known as the goddess of the harvest. From birth to death all things were in the domain of Altina.
The book continued to talk about many of the other gods and the first days of the world. It was slightly interesting but mostly irrelevant to Ash and seemed to be the standard. Alti
na seemed to be rather laid back and didn’t really seem to care much about what people did while they lived. There were many small rules, but five large ones stood out amongst the others and were called the five cardinal sins.
All life is scared from a lowest blade of grass to dragons, yet all life must end. Altina wishes all creatures in her domain to live long lives, but understands there can be no life without death. She governs all things living under the sky and these are her five holiest of commandments.
1.) All death must serve a purpose. To kill a living being without meaning is the truest sin.
2.) No wantonly wasting of the earth’s bounty.
3.) No one shall purposely cause the fields to go barren.
4.) No life should be given to those that have already left the embrace of the earth.
5.) The life of an innocent soul shall never be taken by the hand of the wicked.
The five laws were a little odd, but the more Ash read the more he understood the hidden meaning behind the words. The first law seemed the most ambiguous as Altina left a lot of room as to what it meant to kill without meaning. In the end the only sure fire way to break the law was to kill someone or something for no other reason than it was breathing.
The second law was a lot easier to break, but it also had a lot of leeway. Thankfully there were a lot of small proverbs that helped Ash understand what was meant. Just not eating the food on your plate wouldn’t cause the wrath of a god, but let say you had a silo full of grain and could not sell it yet refused to let the poor eat and instead let it rot then you would gain the goddess ire.
Law number three had to do with what people in his last world called the scorched earth tactic. It didn’t just mean the fields either, but also humans and animals. It was ok to kill, but if you were to purposely cause a woman to no longer be able to bare children then you would break one of the sacred laws.
Reborn: Knight's Code Page 3