Das Leben Hat Verraten
The vows a knight makes are unbreakable, forever stable, and eternally binding. Even in the face of death, neither a knight’s spirit nor will can ever be broken by sword or words. Before no temptation of mouth or flesh can shake a true knight’s sincerity to kingdom, knighthood, or fellow warrior in arms. Though Death may take a knight from this mortal earth, not even the hands of God or Hades can wretch the everlasting Oath from a true knight’s soul. A knight is the manifestation of honor, morality, and guidance in a world of uncertainty.
So why…why do I lay here, my skin and the earth beneath me caressed in my own blood? My breath comes short…fading…failing…yet here I lay alone, broken in body and breaking in spirit. Why…why am I devoid of comrades while my enemies, my kingdom’s enemies…the eternal enemy standing above me in malice triumph?
“I do solemnly swear, that I will never disobey an order by my superior or abandon my duties as a Knight of God.”
But Commander…you…you were prepared to wave the shameful flag of surrender! My fellows stood with you…all dishonoring our reputation, our knighthood, and our names! You bade them turn tail and run, and I alone cried nay! To do my duty as a knight, to march forth and confront the enemy with honor to protect all those to weak to raise a sword themselves, I was forced to go against that first part of my vow…
But Comrades, you refused to honor your duties and your fellow knight! You threw your honor away, your pride, your duty, to spare your own lives and condemn this world to naught but a graveyard before ash. To hell with thee! I shall go to the gates of my home, my kingdom, and my sanctuary and give my life to defend it. I shan’t cower behind the flag of cowards; I shall fight with the swords of my father for all I am worth! If my blood must be spilled to earn my keep as a warrior of goodness and light, then god of war take all of my being!
“I do solemnly swear, that this life God hath bestowed upon me shall never live nor die in vain. Honor and justice will rule my life and soul.”
Nay…my life lost, my life sacrificed alone on a battlefield will not be a waste. If it takes one life sacrificed to rekindle the hearts of my kin, my fellow knights, my comrades then so be it! It shames me and breaks my heart far worse then my soul to see such cowardice wearing the emblems of my beloved Knighthood…death is preferable to such disgrace. Honor? Nay…thou hast no pride, you whipped dogs…you frightened sheep before the slaughter…you gutless swine! I will rise to the challenge of darkness and stand tall and proud beneath the only witness to my final glory; the sun above.
I walked from that sacred camber of council…my back at my spineless commanders and comrades, my face solid and unyielding before the doors I step through for the last time, the wind pushing back at my face as golden hair is haloed against my only ally above. The sun has not forsaken me, the battlefield has not forsaken me, God has not forsaken me…and I have not forsaken my duty. But you…all of you…you all have forsaken everything we all stood for, and I alone still stand for.
The physical pain…the pain of steel in flesh and claws drenched in blood are nothing compared to my sobbing soul. My senses all are failing me, but my sense of purpose remains: let my broken body and unyielding determination stand as a testament to what the Knighthood once was…and can be no more. The dust is choking, but my own crimson life filling my lungs is drowning out the taste of sand, dust, and ashes…Ashes…Ashes are a magnificent blessing. I am no fool…I know my last stand here and alone only took so many enemies with me…I know the rest march forth towards my beloved home now…and not enough souls will rise up to defend it. But perhaps…when my beloved city burns, it will be reborn again someday from the ashes of its defeat…from the shame of its spineless defenders…someone…someday…somewhere will ignite that precious fire lost this day.
I can only hope…it is not when fate deems it too late.
My breath is gone, my time short…but I can still see his lips…the lips of the one who wretched the dooming blade from my chest moving…yet I can hear no sound but the last beats of my shattered heart.
“…Go forth and leave this place, Knight of Honor. Let not your heart give one more pulse before the death of the dishonorable cowards yonder…they…do not deserve to die with you this day.”
Kind words…honorable words…he stands above me not with a smirk of triumph, but a solemn face of loss. But what has he lost? A worth opponent? A rival of the opposing element? A prize? A grander victory over one so highly acclaimed in the Halls of his enemies? …No…even now as the world fades to eternal blackness, I know this not to be true. He grieves for me…he grieves for the loss of my honor, my standing, and my prowess as a fellow Knight who took Vows of Duty…and held to them truly and purely until the end. A respect among foes…a tear shed in humility and not joy…a hatred for those who caste aside one so noble for the sake of their own lives.
My last thought before I leave this world:
“My enemy…is the only one who will shed tears for me…this day.”
The vows a knight makes are unbreakable, forever stable, and eternally binding. Even in the face of death, neither a knight’s spirit nor will can ever be broken by sword or words. Before no temptation of mouth or flesh can shake a true knight’s sincerity to kingdom, knighthood, or fellow warrior in arms. Though Death may take a knight from this mortal earth, not even the hands of God or Hades can wretch the everlasting Oath from a true knight’s soul. A knight is the manifestation of honor, morality, and guidance in a world of uncertainty.
So why…why do I lay here, my skin and the earth beneath me caressed in my own blood? My breath comes short…fading…failing…yet here I lay alone, broken in body and breaking in spirit. Why…why am I devoid of comrades while my enemies, my kingdom’s enemies…the eternal enemy standing above me in malice triumph?
“I do solemnly swear, that I will never disobey an order by my superior or abandon my duties as a Knight of God.”
But Commander…you…you were prepared to wave the shameful flag of surrender! My fellows stood with you…all dishonoring our reputation, our knighthood, and our names! You bade them turn tail and run, and I alone cried nay! To do my duty as a knight, to march forth and confront the enemy with honor to protect all those to weak to raise a sword themselves, I was forced to go against that first part of my vow…
But Comrades, you refused to honor your duties and your fellow knight! You threw your honor away, your pride, your duty, to spare your own lives and condemn this world to naught but a graveyard before ash. To hell with thee! I shall go to the gates of my home, my kingdom, and my sanctuary and give my life to defend it. I shan’t cower behind the flag of cowards; I shall fight with the swords of my father for all I am worth! If my blood must be spilled to earn my keep as a warrior of goodness and light, then god of war take all of my being!
“I do solemnly swear, that this life God hath bestowed upon me shall never live nor die in vain. Honor and justice will rule my life and soul.”
Nay…my life lost, my life sacrificed alone on a battlefield will not be a waste. If it takes one life sacrificed to rekindle the hearts of my kin, my fellow knights, my comrades then so be it! It shames me and breaks my heart far worse then my soul to see such cowardice wearing the emblems of my beloved Knighthood…death is preferable to such disgrace. Honor? Nay…thou hast no pride, you whipped dogs…you frightened sheep before the slaughter…you gutless swine! I will rise to the challenge of darkness and stand tall and proud beneath the only witness to my final glory; the sun above.
I walked from that sacred camber of council…my back at my spineless commanders and comrades, my face solid and unyielding before the doors I step through for the last time, the wind pushing back at my face as golden hair is haloed against my only ally above. The sun has not forsaken me, the battlefield has not forsaken me, God has not forsaken me…and I have not forsaken my duty. But you…all of you…you all have forsaken everything we all stood for, and I alone still stand for.
The physical pain…the pain of steel in flesh and claws drenched in blood are nothing compared to my sobbing soul. My senses all are failing me, but my sense of purpose remains: let my broken body and unyielding determination stand as a testament to what the Knighthood once was…and can be no more. The dust is choking, but my own crimson life filling my lungs is drowning out the taste of sand, dust, and ashes…Ashes…Ashes are a magnificent blessing. I am no fool…I know my last stand here and alone only took so many enemies with me…I know the rest march forth towards my beloved home now…and not enough souls will rise up to defend it. But perhaps…when my beloved city burns, it will be reborn again someday from the ashes of its defeat…from the shame of its spineless defenders…someone…someday…somewhere will ignite that precious fire lost this day.
I can only hope…it is not when fate deems it too late.
My breath is gone, my time short…but I can still see his lips…the lips of the one who wretched the dooming blade from my chest moving…yet I can hear no sound but the last beats of my shattered heart.
“…Go forth and leave this place, Knight of Honor. Let not your heart give one more pulse before the death of the dishonorable cowards yonder…they…do not deserve to die with you this day.”
Kind words…honorable words…he stands above me not with a smirk of triumph, but a solemn face of loss. But what has he lost? A worth opponent? A rival of the opposing element? A prize? A grander victory over one so highly acclaimed in the Halls of his enemies? …No…even now as the world fades to eternal blackness, I know this not to be true. He grieves for me…he grieves for the loss of my honor, my standing, and my prowess as a fellow Knight who took Vows of Duty…and held to them truly and purely until the end. A respect among foes…a tear shed in humility and not joy…a hatred for those who caste aside one so noble for the sake of their own lives.
My last thought before I leave this world:
“My enemy…is the only one who will shed tears for me…this day.”
