For Honor

Chapter 1: Family Ties

My name is Rurik. I no longer have a family name since I was disowned at a young age. I got taken in by the Lawbringers, who raised and trained me, they took me in when no one would. It was their tough love that forged me into the person I am. I wondered how my life would have been different had such events never come to pass. Perhaps I would be living happily with my family on a farm, never having a care in the world. I still was deep in thought when there was a knock on the door to my room. I got up and opened it to see a servant girl, looking slightly frightened as she gave me her announcement.

"Arin wishes to speak with you." She stammered out, with fear in her eyes.

"Tell him I'll meet him when I can." I coldly responded, I had to look down to see her face, a side effect of being 6 feet 7 inches tall. I turned away to go back to my work, before she spoke up.

"He says it's an emergency." She started to get a bit of her courage back before I turned to look at her again.

I gave her a short look over, she was wearing a simple cloth dress, with shoddy sandals. She looked like every other servant girl, except she had a golden locket around her neck. I gently grabbed it and opened it, one side had a small note, while the other had a drawing of a smiling man.

"Someone close?" I asked, gesturing with the locket.

"He was my husband before he died from fever, I took up servant work to keep up enough money to pay for our house." She was saddened by the memory, and tears started forming in her eyes.

I closed the locket and pushed it to her heart. "Keep it close, it may save your life one day." I said, letting it go and walking off in the direction of Arin's study.

I arrived shortly, before opening the door and walking inside. The first thing I noticed was the woman from the Myre, she had the same features, brown, almond shaped eyes with pale skin and jet-black hair. The next thing was that she wasn't in chains.

"I'm sure you've seen why I've called you here." Arin said, with a touch of nobility of to his tone, and a matter-of-fact look on his face.

I simply crossed my arms and looked at him. "What's this about?"

"Always to the point, this woman's village was attacked, and she was looking for someone to help her village."

"Why doesn't she ask a samurai?" I ask skeptically

"The people who attacked her village are notorious criminals of Ashfeld, she thought it would be a job for you."

I look at her before asking in her native language, "Where is your village?"

She seems surprised that someone besides a samurai was speaking Japanese, but she tells me. "It's on an island in a lake near the border between our lands."

I nod and leave to gather traveling supplies. On the way, I see the servant girl from earlier, I walk over to talk to her. As I approach, she gets up and bows lowly to me.

"Don't bow, it makes me feel strange." I say, with a wave of my hand.

"I'm sorry, was there something you needed of me?" She said, straightening herself quickly.

"One, don't be sorry it's a simple mistake. Two, I need the guard to know I'm leaving for a bit." I say plainly, as she turns to alert the guard.

I walk back to my room. Once I arrive, I get started straight away, checking my poleaxe to make sure it's ready, as well as taking a pack and filling it with salted meats, bread, and some cheese. Finally, I grab a water skin and leave the room before locking it and making my way to the front gate. As I walk through the maze of halls, I think about what the Japanese woman said. If these bandits were notorious criminals, it was my duty to bring them to justice, by whatever means necessary. I near the open courtyard, so I bring my attention back to the world. I walk to the now open gate, with a quick nod to the servant girl, and the gatekeeper. With that nod I live the castle Arin has been allowing me to live in, and plunge into the unknown.