Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-25038310-20160405011238/@comment-5824038-20160513150727

Jericho's confession, if it had been true and not just an excuse to enrage Aelwin, was somewhat shocking to Glorfindel. He knew that he had encountered this plague once or twice, a few lives ago perhaps, but he neither cared nor remembered much about it. But the effect on Aelwin was most intriguing.

He slowly and quietly stood up from the gravestone and walked over to where Hawksly was sitting, ignoring the comments from the others about rage, and Jericho's breakdown. They were meaningless right now.

He reached Aelwin and, without saying a word, sat down next to him and put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

_________

''Crimson's face was dark, angry, and determined. While every other soldier was here with only their orders in mind, he was most definitely out for revenge. After all, this same unit had caused the death of his brother.''

''The Brass Knight stood in front of the 5th Halberdiers and, as he was accustomed to doing, made a half-hearted rallying speech. His men didn't need one, and he didn't really want to give one, but it had become something of a long-running joke now, that their captain would always make a speech before any fight.''

''When he was done, the soldiers filed off in an orderly fashion. He waited for Crimson, who was at the back, to pass by, and went to march alongside him.''

'''Whatever you say, captain,' the lad began, 'You can't stop me from doing whatever it takes to put him to rest. He needs peace of mind.' Crimson didn't even look at Glorfindel as he said this, he just kept on marching.''

'''Are you sure about that?' the Brass Knight asked. 'Are yo giving him peace of mind, or yourself? Because I am not going to have any more dead soldiers.' A hail of arrows fell in the ground a few dozen feet in front of the marching line. The battle had already started, by the looks of it.''

''Crimson flared up in anger and whipped round to face his captain. 'Who are you to say that? What did you do when you lost your brother? But wait, you never had that experience, did you?'''

''The Brass Knight ignored the outburst, and continued speaking. 'If you go off on your own, none of us will stop you. It is your choice to make. But killing those men will not bring back your brother, nor will it satisfy your vengeance. You have no way of telling if you even killed the same soldiers that killed your brother. All we know is that they are soldiers from the same unit that killed him. So, by all means, go out there and butcher every damn one of them you see, but it still might not be the right one.'''

''Crimson's expression darkened, and he did not say anything more. But as they appraoched the scenes of fighting he detached from the others, and went off in his own direction, across the dangerous battlefield to find his prey. Glorfindel took his place in the line. Some of the other soldiers looked over questioningly, but none of them said anything.''

''The battle went smoothly, just as the generals had planned it. The 5th Halberdiers came in from the mountain pass, flanking the enemy on the left, while the heavy cavalry smashed into the front. It was a few hours before Glorfindel saw Crimson again.''

''He was surrounded by three jeering enemy soldiers, they looked like standard infantry, who were dancing around him, yelling insults and occasionally making to attack him. The Brass Knight ran in their direction, hoping to reach Crimson in time. As he got closer, he could hear that the enemy soldiers were boasting about killing another man wearing the same uniform, who was also from the supposedly indestrucitble 5th Halberdiers. It seemed as though, by chance or dedicated searching, Crimson had found the very same men that had killed his brother.''

''It looked like he was losing the fight. They had him surrounded, and were clever enough to be extremely cautious of the long deadly reach of his halberd.''

'Bet you quirm and scream even more than he does!' yelled out one.

'He was a right pathetic little thing, he was, crying out in misery for us to leave him along!' came another.

'''He begged, you know. Went down on his knees and begged. Like a dog.' This last voice was deeper and harsher than the others.''

''Crimson looked up at whoever had said it. He crouched low, and then leapt at them, howling in rage and hatred. His halberd swung with unnatural speed, spinning its arc of death all over the place, seemingly in five places at once. The other soldiers weren't expecting it, and were all cut to pieces. The man who had enraged Crimson so much was ready, however, and retreated across the ground, deflecting and dodging the sloppy movements. Even so, he was losing, as Crimson was slowly gaining ground on him, and each swing became harder to defend from.''

''Glorfindel charged at the enemy, yelling out a cry of anger, and tackled him to the ground. Crimoson looked incredibly suprised to see his captain, and immediately stopped swinging. 'Capatin?' he asked in a stunned voice. 'Wh-what are you doing here?'''

''The Brass Knight punched the enemy soldier, dazing him for the moment. 'You might have won that fight, but I wasn't risking losing another man. It would have been so easy to slip up, to move at the wrong time, to let your guard open, and he could have taken advantage of that. He was thinking, you weren't.'''

''Crimson finally overcame his confusion, and his expression darkened once again. 'Captain,' he said in a threatening voice, 'Get away from that man. Let me kill him.'''

''Glorfindel paused. 'Are you sure you are doing this for the fight reasons?' He did not get off the enemy.''

'Get away from him, now!' yelled Crimson, his patience running low.

''Glorfindel nodded, and got off the soldier. He was lying there in the dirt, looking up at Crimson.''

'Are you going to kill me now?' he asked in a small voice.

'Yes.' Crimson stepped forwards and unsheathed his small dagger.

'You know why I killed him?' the soldier asked.

'No.' Then he knelt down and prepared to end it.

'''Because just a month back, we were fighting you lot, the 5th Halberdiers. It were you lot that killed my brother. He was everything to me. And I just wanted to make things right.' The soldier sighed and laid his head down on the ground, ready for what was coming.''

''Crimson's face froze in twisted horror. He made no more movements, just sat there, petrified. Eventually he swallowed, and dropped the knife. 'What?' he asked in a tiny voice, so soft that Glorfindel could barely hear it.''

''The soldier looking up into Crimson's eyes, and in that instant knew exactly what was going through his head. Crimson was an open book of tortured misery and pity. The two of them sat there in silence, looking into each other's eyes.''

''The Brass Knight lightly touched Crimson's shoulder and then walked off, leaving him with his brother's killer. An Aldmeri flag was being raised. The battle was over.''

''The 5th Halberdiers returned to their camp. Crimson was not with them. A few soldiers asked Glorfindel where he was, but he simply told them that he would be along soon.''

''And, at around nightfall, a solitary figure walked up to the camp. His face was haunted and devoid of happiness.''

'What happened?' the Brass Knight asked.

''Crimson looked up at him, and said nothing. He just walked into the camp and went straight to the guard tower. It was the most isolated place within the confines of the camp.''

''Glorfindel nodded to himself. Whichever answer Crimson gave, whatever he did, it would seem like the wrong thing to do. Either option made him a monster.''

_________

A moment of peaceful silence had been shared between Aelwin and Glorfindel. But the Brass Knight disrupted it by asking 'If Jericho was telling the truth, do you regret not killing him?'