Author's Note I sincerely apologize for leaving this fic untouched for so long when I was normally updating several times a week. You see, my family was right in the way of hurricane Katrina so...yeah...I didn't lose much..but other peeps that are near and dear did...so.. been dealing with all that. gosh, I hope no one's fogot about this fic >.
Chapter 13 – Cayenne – Sons of Honor
What is justice without honor? I have a feeling that for the next several years I shall grapple with this moral dilemma. If there ever was a hell, I have been there. The true question is not whether hell exists. The true question is whether or not one is better off staying and rotting within hell's gruesome boundaries. I have lived through it all and am now on a new path. My trail is contains nothing familiar and dear to me. All that I held proudly has been ripped away like a genocidal plague doing its god created purpose.
I remember this morning, I stood proudly atop Doma Castle which I've risked my life time and time again to protect. The current king of Doma well protected within the heart of the castle. The honor I represent flooded my senses almost like an attempt to take my thoughts away from the cruel realities. For, as I was standing at the top of the castle with a life long friend, Doma's Sentry leader Sir Jarynn, we could see an Empirial base just outside of our domain. We knew that this day could end Doma's history. We also knew that the destruction left in the wake of the Empire's rage would be of our own volition.
I notice that my two comrades have fallen asleep so I suppose telling the details of Doma's history wouldn't do any harm. Along with the other tales within this journal I shall add my own. Sir Mash Figaro sama has told me that he is a member of the Returners and wishes to reach Narche, which is where his friends are headed as well. It is quite coincidental that I met such a man today. You see, the Empire has been trying to thwart Doma for quite some time for our collaboration with the Returners. At first, the Returners were nothing more than a radical group of few. Then one day some years ago we were paid a visit by a very…..unique man. His name was Sir Lock Cole. He came to tell us about his association with that very group and earned our support. Doma has seen evil within the Empire for many years. The King and Sir Jarynn believed that through the Returners we could keep the Empire's dangerously growing power in check while still keeping ourselves safe. I seemed to be the only man apposed to such collaboration. The first night Sir Cole spent in Doma I had many horrific sensations during my meditation sessions. In fact, I had images like those that I saw today. I suppose it truly was a premonition. I imagine it's nothing that can be changed now. Sir Cole is not a bad man by any means. My understanding was that any decent sized domain, like the Empire, would have better eyes and ears than we would expect. In fact, word of such an alliance threatening the Empire probably reached the Empire before it reached back to the Returners. The word going around the world now is that Doma created the Returners. I suppose there's some validity and some propaganda to that statement. For one, we were able to literally multiply their power and influence fifty fold. They didn't need as many men as we expected them to ask for. Partly that was do to their plan to keep low profiles, and partly do to their growing numbers from Figaro in recent years and Empire drop-outs. My only thoughts removed from this is, how good can your "empire" be when your own men switch sides even when you're winning? Doma men are known to fight until there is nothing left to fight with. I'm sure that a sizable number of men from the Returners could easily make some kind of influence on the Empire.
Sir Cole told us that the beginnings of the Returners began with Master Duncan and Sir Bannon. Although Sir Duncan was not a official member of the Returners he did share the vision of such a group with Sir Bannon, along with some of his fighting techniques. There is connection to Doma in that statement as well. Master Duncan was born and raised in Doma. Although most of our men are trained in the ways of the Samurai, Sir Duncan was always discontent with such traditions. The Samurai way is based on honor, and Sir Duncan was perhaps the most honorable man I've ever had the pleasure to encounter in all my years. He was the most skilled in combat that I'd ever witnessed as well. We had the privilege to grow up together as friends, partners, and men of honor. It was always Sir Duncan and I who stood out from the rest of the soldiers in training. So when we reached our prime ages we took up the code of honor and swore absolute allegiance to Doma and its protection for all time. For the last thirty years I have defended Doma, the king, and the sentry from evils. While Sir Duncan and I were at the top of Doma's defense, Sir Jarynn was the leader of the sentry and ambassador for all of Doma. He fulfilled his position very well, being an excellent orator for the world's oldest existing domain. You could say minus the king we three ruled Doma. We were proud of our positions and took the two fairest brides in the land for our wives. Sir Duncan didn't take a wife. He was the leader of Doma's defenses, he even outranked me, and yet he was terribly troubled at heart. We believed Sir Duncan to be psychically connected to the gods so we took his every word to be truth. Sir Duncan felt that his purpose was not going to ever be fulfilled within the lands of Doma. He felt that his purpose was not to protect one land, but to protect many. In his dreams he described being in the castle lookout, witnessing a dark cloud formation far off in the horizon. It wasn't just a storm cloud; instead it was the sign of destruction. Off in the distance he could see houses being crushed and vegetation dieing under the clouds. He believed it to be Armageddon destroying the entire world. Sir Duncan said that to him the dream symbolized an evil force that will one day threaten the world and he wants to prepare the world to defend itself. He believed that if the entire world were destroyed and Doma were spared, there'd still be no point to live. He felt that the castle itself wasn't a means of protection, but instead a means of prevention. It prevented him from helping those he felt needed help. So, he informed everyone in Doma of the situation and decided to leave Doma to become a wanderer. I remember the king and citizens begging him not to depart. Meanwhile, Sir Jarynn and I were supportive of decision. So, with that, Sir Duncan made his peace with Doma, broke his oath of protection, the first person and only person ever to do so, and left with little to nothing to his name. I never informed anyone about this, but I received letters from Sir Duncan once every couple of months. They detailed his trials and accomplishments. I'm quite proud to know such a man. The strongest man any living person has ever seen, and instead of defending a domain he leaves to teach others his ways. He's truly a remarkable and honorable man. We've all read stories about such great heroes who had unbound strength and defeated evil. The question always remained for people like me, "what did people do without him?" Well, in this case, the world won't have to do without him when he's gone. Hopefully, this will lead to a stronger tomorrow.
Author's Note Mash Figaro is Mash's (Sabin's) first and last name if you don't remember. His full name is Mash (Sabin) Rene Figaro (his name is taken after his mother). Lock (Locke) Cole is Lock's full name also. The name Jarynn for the clergy guy in Doma, I added that myself.