Intermission 2

From the Journal of Keldon Marsh.

Shadow of Dimension ICpE

Short memoir used for teaching at the Academy of the ******, Dimension *****

Wars of Pride

As I walk down my humble village’s streets, I must turn my head at the swollen sights of the nobles. How it disgusts me! These Men and Lady have no shame of what they do. They strut down our streets, in garments as colorful as the exotic birds brought from the plains, as swollen as the bloated cows I have seen on countless battlefields. They do only that which pleases them. Their Vanity consumes them. Their Pride propels them down this path of greed.

A good friend of mine once told me, “Honor is how people see you, it can lead to fame and fortune, to countless rewards and loving friends. Pride is how you see yourself, and can make you make rash decisions and lose your honor.”

I watch these nobles, bloated with their pride. They pass the poor beggars on the sides of the road. They see it as beneath them to help the ‘peasants’. They lavish their parties with the best of everything, and then throw it away carelessly.

My stomach clenches at the thought of walking in their path any longer. I turn away and see two young men amount to a duel, “For my Honor!”, they yell, clashing blades. I sprint forward and separate them, swiftly disarming them. “Fools! You know not what you say! You duel over such trifles, for your Honor? No! You fight for your Pride! There is no honor in this, you fight for yourselves and so lose your honor!”

“Think and understand! Do not fight ‘lest you shame yourselves!”

I see in their eyes that understanding has dawned upon them. Then, in the shadows, I see him. The man who’d pride demanded that he slaughter all of his foe’s subjects.

He enters a building and I signal my men to follow. Our two factions clash and I soon have him against the wall, dagger presses into his belly. I look into his eyes and the flames of Fury, and the fuel of his corruption with power. The fury that fueled his pride, causing him to send the mass execution order in my name.

“Ghost!” he rasps.

I smile all of my hatred and disgust held in my burning gaze. He would not escape me! He would pay for all of the lives that he had ruined. For all the men he forced me to kill in order to defend myself against his false charges.

My smile widens as I drive my dagger home, “Pride is a terrible thing, isn’t it?”, my voice full of loathing. I withdraw the dagger and allow his body to sink to the floor. My men have subdued the rest of his men, and we leave them tied up for the royal guards to find them. We leave the information which would condemn these criminals to a public execution. Justice would be served, but revenge offers no condolence for the friends that we have lost.

With our current charges, simply being seen would warrant our immediate execution. We would have to remain in the shadows of this land. We have seen the true evil that lurks, pulling the puppet’s strings. We would become the darkness that would chase the shadow. We would become the shadows that would make this evil cringe in fear of the dark. We will find them, we will expose them, and we Will kill them.

Then we shall disappear and only return when another evil seeks to return to the handles of the world. No one will control the masses. People deserve the right to choose how to live their lives. They should not be subject to the power of others who would oppress them.