Even So, I am The Hero: 2/4

Even So, I am The Hero: 2/4

…

I could have not asked for a better miracle than the one I received now.

“All done here, lady Hannah!”

“Thank you so much, young man. Thank you for your help!” I wiped the sweat off my brow, felt the breeze on my skin, and the ache in my legs. Nothing hurt. Moving did not break apart my thin scars and force me to bandage myself every day. Breathing did not fill me with pain. The ache in my muscles did were already fading. “Here, please. Have this!”

The smile I couldn’t take off my face could only widen, as another luxury I thought long lost was given to me.

A freshly baked bun of bread.

The scent of freshly baked wheat made my mouth fill with saliva. Ever since I could taste and smell again, everything tasted magnificent. I feared that I made myself a glutton now, as I could simply not resist food any longer. When I had been purged of the other divines’ powers, I lost both thanks to heated implements. Now that I regained them, though, I feared that I would have to fret about becoming too large!

I accepted the baked bun with a smile.

“Thank you very much. The prize for my aid has been fully paid!” I bit into it and did all that I could to enjoy it in the view of the elderly woman. Her eyes came alight, a smile formed on her face, and she even clapped lightly to herself for a job well done. Meanwhile, the bun’s insides were fluffy, the crust was thin and crunchy, and there was a small hunk of melted cheese in the middle! I had nothing to hide. It was beyond words. “Amazing!”

“Oh, you flatter me dearie. After all that hard work, I wish that I can give you more. But I must sell the rest.” I was tempted to buy the rest of the basket she carried by her waist, but I resisted. Though I had far more coin than I ever recalled having, my purse was still light and will remain that way. I stayed away from the gaze of the priests and priestesses of the divines, along with the any of the nobility. To gain the materials needed to forge my equipment would take years and labor… but I had both to spare. “Maybe, you can stay tomorrow and help me with my stall for the winter festival?”

I wished to say yes, but I shook my head no.

Festivals had attendants from both the nobility and the clergy.

I could not risk it.

“I’m afraid not, lady Hannah. I must be on my way. There’s someone I must reach.” I did not technically lie. The Demon Lord was out there, presumably in his own body, and he has been far more cautious with his second life. There was no battering of the walls that held his realm at bay. Instead, monsters were being spurred up in every nation, and his people were donning disguises to masquerade as bandits. “But, please, let me buy one from you.”

I will work against his current plans, stop the grand battles he would wage in the future, and gather strength.

For now, though, I could spend time helping others.

Lady Hannah tried to give me the bread for free, but I insisted, and soon I was out of the town and out of sight.

I made doubly sure that none followed my wake, before whispering a prayer and sending the bread off to my goddess.

Thank you, Lady Thera, for this wonderful chance.

…

Interlude: Marianne

…

The cloister of the Lady of Tranquility was austere. There were no columns of marble, no stained glass, no statues, and no paintings. The sisters dressed completely in black and covered all their skin. Even their faces were obscured by shadowy veils. The convent itself was carved into the side of a hill, and it was surrounded by terraces of crops, which were attended to by the nuns. What they could not grow, they traded for, and so at the base of the hill… was the Fortress City of Serenity.

A fortress city on the path of war.

Knights in black armor with yellow livery rode on armored warhorses. Men-at-arms armed with pike and shot followed them in regimented columns. Arcane siege engines followed them by the dozen. Great stone golems lumbered after them, carrying whole warehouses on their backs, and finally immense ravens flew above the army in a sharp formation. The armies marched at a leisurely pace, but they stretched into the horizon on every road that they tread.

The goddess of the underworld, who reigned over death and rebirth, called for her followers and they answered.

They marched to give their lives in exchange for assurances on their eternal souls.

For what could truly matter more than that?

More normally-secluded fortress cities are coming alive all over the continent. Their walls opened and thThere were even rumors of black ships plying ancient routes near ports. Mercenary unions were told that they were contacted and offered payments of gemstones and gold. Lesser lords and ladies near the cities were visited as well, and whatever was shared with them, had them move to refurbish ancient defenses and expanding farmland.

Without a semblance of a doubt, a great calamity was coming, and the Goddess of Death moved to answer it.

But even though I was the Chosen Saintess, the Goddess of Death would not answer my pleas.

So, I stood in a stone hall and waited to pray at the innermost sanctum of the cloister of the Fortress City of Serenity.

I watched as the endless column marched and marched from the towering, walled city that sprawled across the land, whilst surrounded by farms and fields that stretched from horizon to horizon.

I wondered what I have done to earn the disfavor of one of the most powerful of goddesses when stone doors opened.

A veiled figure clad in black greeted me with a bow.

“Saintess Marianne, please, follow me to the altar.” It was the head of the nunnery. I did not know her name, but the symbol of the goddess she wore around her neck was of polished bronze instead of wood like all the others. Beyond that, there was no sign nor mention of her station from the rest. “How was your journey? Without perils, I hope.”

“May the gods of light be praised, there were none to be found.” How could there be perils? Holy warriors of the goddess of death cleansed the region and surrounding region of monsters and banditry. Not even the humblest of monsters were spared the subjugation. They were put to the torch with such efficacy and speed that many mercenary and adventurer companies did not have time to put forward complaints. “The work of the followers of the Lady Tranquility is unmatched.”

“Indeed. We have been blessed by her through new commandments and the appearance of a Paladin blessed by her.” I nearly stopped at her words. Paladins were the greatest holy warriors. Only short of the Chosen Champion of all the gods. A Paladin of the Goddess of Death… none were known to history. The other gods had many, every generation, but the Goddess of Death had not one. Not until this era. And, I had not been deemed worthy of proclaiming the miracle. Why? What have I done to wrong the Goddess of Death? “The one who eschews paradise to save both innocents and sinners hath come.”

“The existence of such a being is a true miracle.” The Goddess of Death had the fiercest demand of her Paladin. The only one worthy of her blessing, the only one who shall stand by her side, was one worthy of apotheosis. A pure soul that no longer needed to return to mortality to be further refined. Someone worthy of paradise and blissful contentment but who eschewed that to help others. I could not even consider such a path, yet someone lived now who did. “May I ask where the Paladin is now? Perhaps in which direction he moved after coming here?”

I wished to meet them.

A shake of the head behind the veil answered me.

“His works are to be in secret and in the shadows. He pursued what the forces of the righteous cannot, in the depths of darkness, whilst guided by her lantern light. Where he treads, only those chosen by the Goddess may follow.” Not you. Those were the words I heard. I trembled and nearly missed my step. What have I done to wrong one of the gods of light? Why have I been not chosen to stand beside an avatar of divine will? Especially now, when the armies of Death march out in a holy war with praises for their oncoming salvation on their lips? “We have arrived, Saintess. Behind these gates lies the altar of our convent.”

The doors opened.

Inside it was a long and dark hall where a long pool of dark water ran.

In the middle of the long pool was a single lantern and once the door closed that would be the only source of light.

“I pray that your midday prayers go well, Saintess. I shall leave you to your duties.”

With those words, the doors began to close, and as the light from the outside narrowed into a thin beam into the vast hall… for a split second I saw a figure standing atop the flowing waters with a hand placed on the lantern.

My breath seized as that hooded figure looked my way and spoke a single phrase in an ancient tongue that I still, somehow knew.

One hundred days of penance, fasting, and prayer.

As the doors closed, I took hold of that offering and knelt in the darkness for forgiveness.

I knew not what sin I committed, but the Goddess of Death always stood on the side of righteousness.

If she demanded penance demanded of me, then I would endure that penance.

No matter the cost.

…

I awoke, bereft of strength and might, beneath a stone roof and to the rays of a sunset peering through the distance.

The veiled head of the convent sat at my bedside, and she reached out to push me back onto the stone slab where I had laid.

“It has been fifteen days since we last spoke. You have done well to endure your penance, young Saintess.” There was a note of kindness and warmth in her voice that had not been there when we first met. As I laid on the scold stone, I noticed that the rest of the beds in the small room were beds with clean mattresses and sheets. “It is as you see. Your penance persists, still. You reached the limit of your body, mind, and soul; thus, we intervened. Fret not, you may recover and return to your penance with only the remaining days.”

I nodded, my voice refusing to leave my throat, and suddenly I was beset.

I became aware of the sores on my body from my constant kneeling. The noise of steps walking outside assaulted my ears. The light shining faintly through the window sent dagger-like pains through my skull. The breeze on my body felt harsh. Then, finally, I was aware of my own weakness. I could barely try to raise myself up once again without the burst of fear that awakened me, and that was because of my own actions.

When my magic began to run out, I sacrificed my health to persist, and a simple glance towards my hand showed the outcome of my work.

Skin clung onto bone and muscle barely remained.

Without magic, I would forever be a crippled.

Summoning all my strength, I managed to speak.

“Has this… been endured before?”

The matron’s shook her head and veil to and fro.

“No. You are the first to be asked this great of a penance.” The matron shook her head. “Do you know why this has been asked of you, Saintess?”

“I do not, but the Lady of Tranquility has always been just. If this is my penance, then it shall be done. I would only wish to know my wrongs, if it were possible to make them again.” I admitted my fear. There was only one reason for me to ask. But since the question was unanswered, her fairness and resolute nature led me to a singular idea: that I could not commit that wrong again. “I believe that since she won’t speak of it, then there is no chance of it occurring again. With that, I am content. I will perform my penance, then I hope that I will be able to convey her will to the conclave, as is my duty.”

The matron’s silence lasted longer than I expected, but eventually she dipped her head and placed her hands together in prayer.

“Oh, young soul. May you endure the difficulties of your journey, and reach the end with a pure heart worthy of paradise.”

It was a blessing, and I allowed myself to smile and accept it.

“Thank you, Matron.”

With that, I focused on resting and healing my body, before I returned to the abyss with only a single, solitary light.

…

A year passed before I completed my penance.

Days spent awake and praying in darkness, followed by days of recovery, before returning to the abyss. The penance asked of me was immense, but by the end of it all, I was able to once again interpret the will of the Goddess of Death.

A great evil was working against us. The Dark Gods returned with a champion of their own, and that is why she marshalled her forces against them.

Not only that, but the Paladin she chose was to be the champion of the Light.

However, for now, she guided him to oppose the machinations of the Demon Lord, while training him to becoming a perfect vessel for the blessings of the rest of the pantheon. Right now, he not only evaded their attempts to find him, but he also undid their work in the shadows. Without praise, without the aid of the conclave or even the rulers of the land, he did his duty for the sake of us all.

As I rode away from the monastery in a darkened carriage, every noise and every smattering of light still too much for me to bear… I wondered if I could join him and help him.

At those thoughts, the Goddess of Death made her intentions clear, and I did away with the idea completely.

My place was with the conclave, to help guide it and the forces of all the other temples and churches, against the coming threat.

Not to join the Chosen Champion as all previous Saintesses did.

Just as a new Demon Lord arose, so must a new Hero to oppose him.