The sun rises early this time of year in the Askr Empire. Many people are still asleep, even a majority of the Order of Heroes have not even considered waking up yet. But two of the Order wake together every day, before even the sun rises. They've done so for a time now, since that first time they happened upon each other one morning, naturally before sunrise then as well. Both men put on their armor, set their weapons in place, and mount their steeds. These two have never found enemy spies on their early rides, nor wild creatures threatening the safety of villagers. At this point, however, the ride has become more about the comradery than it has duty or safety.
"So you would follow your Liege's orders, even if you knew those orders to be wrong?" Xander inquired, carrying on with what was now an hour long topic. Somehow the topic had turned from their team's performance over the weeks to this philosophical debate, not that either man minded.
"Yes. I've done it several times, in fact." Camus replied, steering his mount away from a pothole in the dirt road. "The loyalty of a soldier is, first and foremost, to his king and his nation. It is not my place to think on such matters."
"That is what I'm leading to, though. You do have a choice in the matter." Xander spoke as he waved to farmers working in their field. The two rode in silence for a while, either in anticipation or thought. Then it was Camus who pressed the questions.
"What would you know of servitude, Xander?" The prince turned with a startled, inquiring look before the general continued. "As a Prince, you make the commands servants like I must follow. You may fight with men like me, on the front lines with them as you have said before. But in regards to knowing the life of your troops…"
"Hold yourself, Camus!" Nohr's Ruler spurred his horse in front of Camus, forcing the Sable Knight's horse to heel abruptly. "You think you know what you speak of, but that is not true! You know that I am the King of my land, but you don't know what I, or my family, have gone through to get me there. And my family is beyond blood. It includes my retainers, the commanders who trust me, and yes, even the lowest soldier I think of as my own." Xander and Camus locked eyes for what felt like minutes. Though they were friends, both men were on edge like most in the Order were; away from their homes and many of the people they know and love. "And if any of those men questioned the orders I gave them, or had doubts about my planning, I would always want to hear them. Unlike my father before me." It was clear to both men that the conversation was getting too hot. They rode again in silence for a while, the sun rising in the sky higher as they went. "What do you think of Titania, Camus?"
"What of her?" The other responded, still cowed slightly by the outburst earlier. A look from Xander urged him to take the question as open. "I think she's a fierce warrior, and has potential to be a great leader among horsemen."
"Then your opinion of her isn't marred by her military record? That she left service not in death, but in paperwork?" Camus was silent, not wanting to talk himself into contradiction. "I'm not discrediting your loyalty to a liege, or a cause. However, I'm just trying to remind you that you're a person. You have the ability to choose right from wrong, regardless of who gives you the order."
This ended the conversation for the morning. The rest of the patrol was short and in silence. The two reached the walls of the city, before Camus broke the silence one final time. "Comman-...Xander. I apologize for speaking out of turn. It was wrong of me to assume, especially after the recent months."
"Camus, please. It never happened. We're moving on." Xander smiled as they dismounted. "Your former Lords were miseries. I understand your predisposition. If half my commanders had the loyalty you had, I'd feel blessed." Camus had already stabled his mount, and bent just enough at the waist for it to be taken as a bow. Xander had learned at this point iit was the closest he would get to a smile from him. "Come on, Reinhart and Titania probably waited for us to get to breakfast.
Hey everyone! thanks for ready so far. This is my attempts to get back into fanfiction writing after about a year of life commanding my attention. This is jusr me taking a list of 100 themes and going through one a day. It's all from mind to print almost directly, so there may be a lot of mistakes. I've been having a lot of fun so far, Heroes is a really great platform for this kind of 's Theme is "Dark" and I think that one's going to be a fun one to work with, too. There's certainly going to be themes I don't want to do coming up, so if you have a (one word) theme recommendation, lemme know with a message or a comment. Thanks!