A FALLEN HONOR

[alienescence 1415]

 

 

A STORY COMPOSED BY

 

MOTHER JOSEFINA

 

 

In the year of our Lord, 2009

 

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ONCE STOOD A PROUD KNIGHT,  SIR HARIWALD. Those who knew of the proud Knight described him as nothing short of a leader after his successful campaign, where he had defended a neighboring village from a raid of bandits. 

 

His orders rang through the other knight's ears, each spear, each sword clashing with every bandit's own. Sir Hariwald cut down the bandit’s leader and dug a spear into another; he and his knights raised their spears in triumph.

 

“Oh, Sir Hariwald, your spear strikes true, and your words were spoken with truth!”

 

The familiar voices of many women praised him as his steed rode him back into the Duchy, where his eyes searched the crowd. 

“Sir Hariwald!” A boy of thirteen winters, most notably Sir Hariwald’s squire, waved from the crowd where he was accompanied by his two armored companions, who were close to him in age. He stood with a small shield and shortsword in hand, his visor lifted.

 

“Ansegar, squire of mine, gather my sword.”

 

Sir Hariwald held his sword hilt-first toward Ansegar as he sat proudly atop his steed. Meanwhile, the boy said farewell to his companions, sheathed his sword, strapped his shield to his back, and ran to where his knight waited. Once Ansegar collected the Longsword, he saluted to his knight out of respect. Sir Hariwald offered a nod of acknowledgment as he hopped down from his steed, hitching the honorable horse at a nearby post. 

 

“Are you going to just stand there? Polish my sword.” His cold gaze turned to Ansegar as he spoke, the squire quickly obliging the order. “When do you plan to make something of yourself, Ansegar? When I was thirteen, I had already hunted a bear and won many sparrings against the squires my age.” Sir Hariwald spat, taking his sword from Ansegar once it had been polished, and sheathed it.

 

“Well, do you task me with hunting a bear?” Ansegar held uncertainty in his voice, but he only wished to please Sir Hariwald. A nod was given to the squire, 

 

“Yes, you will hunt a bear,” Another nod was given to the squire, “but surely, you do not need my assistance. Hunting a bear is nothing new for me; I’ve grown bored of babysitting you.”

 

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THE LIGHT OF DAWN CREPT OVER THE DUCHY, and both the knight and squire were already seated atop their steeds. Sir Hariwald bid a harsh glance to Ansegar. 

 

“Are you ready, boy? This will be far from easy – for you, at least.” Ansegar slowly nodded and set off to ride to the mountainside with his knight. 

 

The duo camped all day until a bear made itself known by the river, where the beast feasted on a fish. Ansegar, desperate for praise and full of ambition, charged at the bear with a spear almost as big as himself. Ignoring Sir Hariwald’s warnings, he attempts to thrust the spear forward, and at the bear, but the beast’s massive claws swat the spear off to the side, which knocks Ansegar down in the process. The squire struggles under the bear’s weight, and the bear’s claws tear at the boy’s limbs and finally, deliver a fatal blow to his neck.

 

Sir Hariwald’s selfishness caused him to fire his crossbow too late, striking the bear’s heart and watching it drop dead, but just too late. Ansegar lay upon the dirt with his fatal neck wound and other injuries to accompany it; he was dead before the bear hit the ground.

 

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As Sir Hariwald returned in the late evening with Ansegar’s corpse in tow, scowls were given to the knight. The cries of the boy’s mother rang through the air as she sprinted towards the steed and removed her child from it, holding him in her arms.

 

“You never cared to be cautious. As long as you had the squire you dreamed of, that was all that mattered to you!”

 

Ansegar's mother shouted towards Sir Hariwald as she carried the boy away, likely to a place where his body would be prepared for a funeral. Sir Hariwald was stripped of his knighthood the next day and left to sit in a cell, where he would be buried in his shame. The once inspirational knight was frowned upon by all who knew him and heard his story.

 

The tragic story of Sir Hariwald illustrates the knight’s struggle to balance ambition and caution. His pride caused him to not lend an ear to reasons or risks, which costed the life of another. 

 

 

THE END.

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