To Sir Eckhart, Grand Hospitaller of the Knight of the Holy Order of Hospitalers
I am writing you this because I made the most difficult decision I ever had to do. I had to kill my friend Bale Hammerhand. We were approaching a small village after we left the lost city of Tranghold. As we grew closer to the village we could tell that it was under attack. The buildings were casting an omniscient glow in the approaching twilight.
We neared the city splitting up as we went around a barn on the outside of the village square. I was torn from my saddle by a Nightwing and swept into the night. I had to fight while being held in the creature’s cavernous maw. It took me smiting that fowl beast to whence it came till it let me become free again.
I made my way to the village square only to find that the worst was still to come. Fighting next to the fountain was An Ah-Lam, Master of the Adamantine Order. She was overcome by the great evil gaze of a Nightwalker. I approached the Nightwalker and An Ah-Lam quickly rallied and helped me in defense of the village.
The village square was also being overrun by shadows attacking the defenseless villagers, and twisting their poor souls into the shadows that are their killers. Bale Hammerhand was valiantly defending the villagers and slaying the shadows. The shadows took a toll on Bale Hammerhand, weakening his mighty strength. Bale Hammerhand fought on with an inner reserve of strength, but sadly it would not last forever.
After a titanic struggle between me and the Nightwalker, I emerged victorious. Bale Hammerhand and An Ah-Lam fought off the remaining shadows. The weakened Bale HammerHand could not even stand, overburdened by his masterfully crafted armor. I knew that I had only moments to make my fateful decision. I could tell that Bale Hammerhand and his inner reserve of strength was the only thing keeping him from leaving this world and becoming a shadow.
I weighed my choices, hoping that Bale Hammerhand could hold on until I could cast a restoration spell upon him and hoping that it would be enough to hold off transformation that was facing him, or to mercifully take his life so that he would not rise to the evil shadows. In that moment I raised the ancient mace that I found along our journey and put it to its appointed task once again. With my vision being blurred by the tears of what my actions would lead to, I took Bale Hammerhands life so that he would not become the shadow that attacked these poor villagers.
In the aftermath of the battle, we also learned Feng Hau, Scion of the Shen Dynasty, third in line to the Jade Throne was killed sometime while battling the Nightwalker. His mystical skill of becoming unseen to all eyes held his life’s ending.
An Ah-Lam and I had a long journey ahead. We took the bodies of our friends and went to Sister Shines chapel so we could guide Bale Hammerhand and Feng Hau back to the world of the living.
In the safety of Sister Shines chapel, I used a cutting from a tree of life that we found in the lost city of Tranghold. The branch had the power to heal and I hoped that it also had the power of life. It took a full day and night, but the branch took root within Bale Hammerhand and restored his body to life.
The time leading up to the resurrection of Bale Hammerhand was hard upon me. My faith was shaken to the core, I could not get a minute of sleep and no food had any appeal. I rested soon after Bale Hammerhand was returned to the living for a full day. After waking, I talked to Bale Hammerhand and we talked about what happened. He understood what I did, but we were not acting our usual selves near each other.
I have a great guilt for what I did to Bale. This is why I am writing to you. I know that I can talk to you about this. You are a great guidance in my life, training me in the ways of Knighthood and in the ways of a Hospitaler. I hope I can forgive myself for what I had done. Taking a friends life is so mentally draining, even if I know on an intellectual level that my actions were understandable. I fear that I never have to make a decision like that again, but I know deep down that I will have to make a chose that will lead to the death of a friend.
I hope that you and your family are well.
Prince Elistar Galathan Crown Prince of Avalon, Senior Knight of the Holy Order of Hospitalers
Moderator: adam
Elistar's letter
Out there somewhere there is a Tarrasque eating delicious epic corn waiting to start a journey...
Prince Elistar, my loyal student and trusted friend,
I know not when this letter will reach you, for your travels carry you beyond the realms of mortal men and into the legends themselves. I hope, however, that it does find you. We live in terrible times, and it is an unkind fate that would see you face the challenges ahead with a heavy heart.
My dear Elistar, you are so like the boy I knew. Rightly so, for it has been but a handful of years since you were that boy. Choices always weighed heavily upon you, especially those where harm was a certain outcome. I would be surprised to find that the situation you described did not shake you to your very core. This is appropriate, for a man of honor must acknowledge the gravitas of his choices, and bear the burdens of his decisions. Were you to feel differently, you would not be worthy of the titles you bear, or the trust placed in you.
That said, you are more than an honorable man. You are a healer, a general, and a prince. Your responsibility is to choose who lives and dies, whether in the surgeon's tent, at the head of a charge, or sitting upon a throne. Contrary to your worries, in taking your friends life before he could be claimed by the shadow, you did not lose your honor; you proved yourself worthy of your honor, and the responsibilities laid upon you.
Your friend, if he is as noble a warrior as you claim, would never wish to become a horrible monster and killer of innocents. While it is normal for him to be unsure around you, the memory of the mace coming toward him fresh in his mind, he knows the rightness of your action.
But remember this last lesson my friend and student: such a choice should never be easy. Though you were right in your actions, you will be faced with even greater challenges should you survive to rule. The balance between right action and evil, between necessity and expedience, between the needs of the many and the rights of the few... The balance is thin as a knifes edge, an edge that will surely cut to your heart if you do not respect the choices you make.
Elistar, wherever you are, remember always that you are a good man. Remain vigilant, provide succor to the needy, and reclaim this world from the darkness that threatens it.
Good journey,
Eckhart
(sealed with the crest of the Grand Hospitaller)
---
Great post Adam, sorry I didn't see it earlier. When I visit the site I don't always log in, so I sometimes miss new posts.
I know not when this letter will reach you, for your travels carry you beyond the realms of mortal men and into the legends themselves. I hope, however, that it does find you. We live in terrible times, and it is an unkind fate that would see you face the challenges ahead with a heavy heart.
My dear Elistar, you are so like the boy I knew. Rightly so, for it has been but a handful of years since you were that boy. Choices always weighed heavily upon you, especially those where harm was a certain outcome. I would be surprised to find that the situation you described did not shake you to your very core. This is appropriate, for a man of honor must acknowledge the gravitas of his choices, and bear the burdens of his decisions. Were you to feel differently, you would not be worthy of the titles you bear, or the trust placed in you.
That said, you are more than an honorable man. You are a healer, a general, and a prince. Your responsibility is to choose who lives and dies, whether in the surgeon's tent, at the head of a charge, or sitting upon a throne. Contrary to your worries, in taking your friends life before he could be claimed by the shadow, you did not lose your honor; you proved yourself worthy of your honor, and the responsibilities laid upon you.
Your friend, if he is as noble a warrior as you claim, would never wish to become a horrible monster and killer of innocents. While it is normal for him to be unsure around you, the memory of the mace coming toward him fresh in his mind, he knows the rightness of your action.
But remember this last lesson my friend and student: such a choice should never be easy. Though you were right in your actions, you will be faced with even greater challenges should you survive to rule. The balance between right action and evil, between necessity and expedience, between the needs of the many and the rights of the few... The balance is thin as a knifes edge, an edge that will surely cut to your heart if you do not respect the choices you make.
Elistar, wherever you are, remember always that you are a good man. Remain vigilant, provide succor to the needy, and reclaim this world from the darkness that threatens it.
Good journey,
Eckhart
(sealed with the crest of the Grand Hospitaller)
---
Great post Adam, sorry I didn't see it earlier. When I visit the site I don't always log in, so I sometimes miss new posts.
Threading the Gerbil since 1982
