It was a busy day in the small temple just on the outskirts of the capital. The courtyard was full of various visitors of all statures and origins who came to give their prayers to the Crimson Comet. However, it was entirely too quiet, and the rain and gray sky made it all quite dreary. People mowed about the marble building with slow steps and measured movements, all with expressions of utter dismay on their faces. A man had died, a very important one, but Berthold did not know his name.
Berthold was tending to the books in the small library at the time, dressed in the long white robes of the various priests and researchers attending the Temple of Landing at all times. Sitting in one of the chairs, he spent his time reading, ignoring the wide arches and white and yellow stone that made up the building. The book he was reading had nothing to do with this kingdom. In fact, it told about the history of the Crimson Comet, or what the church knew of it.
'The church was established in the year of the comet 1001, after the various conflicts and wars soon following The Landing, usually referred to as The Wars of Gathering, ended with the Truce of Unity. It was in that year where the founder of the church came into prominence with his famed prophecy, the Prophecy of Destiny. Telling of the potential of the humans blessed by the power of the Comet, he-’ he read to himself sarcastically, ‘I’ve read this book too many times, can’t be bothered anymore,’ he threw it back onto one of the shelves with a chuckle.
“The problem is you’ve read every book in this library!” A sallow young man in similar robes entered Berthold's line of sight beyond the tall wooden bookshelves cutting the room into various aisles.
“Johannes! It is good to see you!” the two neared each other. The stocky, black haired Berthold contrasting heavily with the much taller but white haired friend of his. They both extended their hands and shook them lightly, Johannes’ grip was firm and unmoving, while Berthold’s was quite the opposite.
“What are you even doing here Berthold? The ceremony is about to begin! You know what Francis will do to you if you don’t show up for your first reading.”
“Yes, yes, I know. I will go at once, I just wanted some rest from the crowds outside before I went there,” with a quick nod, he sprinted off, heading to the main part of the temple.
Once he reached the courtyards connecting the small library offshoot and the main hall, his progress was halted by the crowds present there. They all stood silently, their hands clasped and their faces looking to the sky. Quitely, Berthold pushed his way through the people in the back of the courtyard. There, the clothes of the people were filled with obvious wear and tear and their faces similarly showed the effects of age and hardship far more than the front. They were not quite as densely packed, however, so he managed to pass through without much issue until he reached about halfway into the courtyard. He then suddenly bumped into one of the people there. It was a middle aged man of unusual ashen black hair.
“What are you doing!” he said, his voice sharp, while stumbling back a little.
“Sorry!” Berthold continued passing through the crowds, it was an accident but there was no use delaying there to apologize more for it.
He soon entered the main building, the entrance was decorated with beautiful paintings of the skies and depictions of the Comet were everywhere. All made of blues, purples, and crimsons. Even though the building itself was small, the luxury could be felt everywhere. The carvings and decorations were filled with golden trimmings and gemstones. He walked forward, exiting the small crevice of the exit into the courtyard and entering the hall itself. Its ceiling was filled with art of every kind, but most of it depicted the stars. The hall itself was a round building, built like a ring of different rows around a central altar, which featured a display of a bluish metal.
‘The Comet bless us!’ Berthold thought to himself as soon as he saw it, ‘I suppose Francis is not there for a reason today,’ he noted, ‘today that is my role…’ a sense of fear and anxiety overtook him in a second, ‘all these people, came to pray here for that man’s safety, and I’m supposed to lead them? What a waste…’ he sunk into thoughts before being interrupted by a light tap on his shoulder.
An older man with bright white hair and crimson eyes had joined him in watching those people. His robes were of the same crimson and blue colors as the decorations and painting.
“Francis, I’m sorry, I got here as soon as Johannes told me.”
“It’s alright my child, but this is a momentous day for you. This place has simply been here for your training, this is your time to find a good noble or famed priest to sponsor your service. You must not falter,” he chuckled lightly, “I suppose I’ve told you this too many times to forget so easily, but still, you are far more interested in lore than our teachings.”
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“It is who I am,” he never apologized for that.
“And in spite of that, or perhaps because of it, I know you have a great destiny to fulfill. That’s why you must go up there now, the ceremony should be starting soon.”
Berthold took a few deep breaths and nodded, “I will.”
All eyes were on him soon enough, as he walked towards the podium of the altar. There were three aisles branching off the altar, one slightly to the right of the entrance, one near to it and one to its left. Berthold chose the middle and took cautious steps with his posture as upright as he could make it so he would seem at least a slight bit elegant.
As soon as he reached the center of the hall, there was utter silence. His tongue dropped to his throat, his mouth went dry, and his breathing accelerated. But he stood at that podium and spoke nonetheless.
“It is a sad day under the Comet’s protection… A good man died, a man we are all here to mourn. His death was under the most unfortunate of circumstances, but that is not what I wish to talk about today,” a small coffin was slowly being brought into the hall by three priests Berthold recognized, “in these times of strife and sorrow it is more vital than ever that we put faith into the principles guiding us all. Our duty to our king and the Comet, our duty to the people around us and our communities, and our duty to our families and friends. That is what he died doing, serving the king’s and Comet’s will, that is why he will become a cherished hero in our memories and why so many of you came here to mourn him today. That is what we must remember, a great man died doing his duty, as we all should do, if that is to be our fate,” the coffin was now heading down the aisle to the podium.
Berthold quickly looked at the wooden box containing a man’s body with some sense of irony, ‘Sir Edward… I remember that name now... ‘ then it struck him, ‘he was the captain of the king’s guard. Ironic that I would bury him,’ Berthold chuckled in his mind, ‘no matter, I must bless his coffin and encourage the people here, regardless of my personal relation.’
“Our fate is decided only by our own actions, but the noblest among them is dying for our duty, as Sir Edward did. Protecting the king is a high honor we all should strive for,” Berthold quickly walked down a little to meet the priests carrying Edward’s body, “all of us here pray to the Comet that you will find rest in your next life. Far beyond the stars,”
Suddenly, everyone spoke up in unison, “may you follow in the Comet’s trail,” the atmosphere was clearly heavy after that, the room quieted and the coffin exited back to the courtyard where it would soon be buried. That was not a ceremony Berthold needed to hold, but he still had to finish this one.
“May we all follow in the Comet’s trail, and may our fates be as noble as his,” with that, he walked off the podium again, his pace slow but his mind racing with anxiousness, ‘could have done that better… Hope it was enough,’ that was all that passed through his mind as his body mechanically moved as far away as it could take him. That route passed where Francis was standing, watching him.
“You did well! I'm sure there are those who appreciated your frankness. Now you should go rest, I'll handle the burial ceremony as planned."
"Thank you," that's all Berthold had to say.
'Now that I finally stopped avoiding it… I'm not sure what to think. I suppose it went well, but the results are what matters,' he absently wondered to himself as he returned to the library, the courtyard was now completely empty, 'they must have gone to the ceremony,' it was a strange sight, but not too notable. Stranger still was that Johannes and the other priests who were in the library had disappeared. Once again, however, Berthold was not surprised by it and instead decided on heading to the records room hidden deep in the back of the small library.
‘I want to know who he was exactly, if I remember the name of a king’s guard he must have been someone important,’ he thought to himself, ignoring the why of it beyond pure curiosity.
He opened the wooden door leading into the records room. Dust rubbed off on his hand the moment he touched the handle, and the wood creaked from lack of use. The inside of the chamber was filled to the brim with various simple shelves and books therein. Cobwebs filled every corner and the air was filled with a nasty smell.
‘Rotten eggs? No, must be the dust messing with my nose,’ Berthold thought to himself, entering it slowly and looking around for any markings on the shelves. He first ran a finger on the shelf on his right. It was placed on the yellow colored wall. Though that tinge was probably from wear and age.
‘Here it is!’ he found a small carving in the wood, ‘looks to be an A... I’ll need to find whatever shelf K is on, that should have information on who he is.’
Minutes later, he finally found the shelf, it was in the northeastern corner of the room, and he had moved half the books just to get there. He opened dusty old tome after dusty old tome before finding anything. It was a fairly new book in relation to the rest, but it was still caked with dust. Its title was “Captains of the king’s guard through the ages”
'I’m surprised I didn’t recognize the name at first, he’s probably been here before when the king visited. Maybe I should look inside?’ he was already reading Edward’s section of the book by the time he pondered if he ought to. Most of it was utter fluff, but a few things were of note. It ended a few years prior to that day, with a campaign he led in the latest war. It also told of his time at the castle of Lightwatcher. Berthold knew that name well, ‘that house’s history in this room is probably longer than any other... ‘ the house used to be a member of the church, and they held high positions during many periods of the kingdom’s history...
Suddenly, the door opened once more, Berthold had no idea how much time had passed since he entered.
“Berthold! The king and the Lightwatcher’s heir are here!” it was Johannes again.