Fantasy The tragic hero (Hylius/AprilBaby)

[Hylius]

"O Goddess, hear my prayer..."

Ares was doing something that he does at least three times every day: praying to the goddess that he worshiped ever since he was just a small child. Having been taught the faith by his parents since he was just a mere boy of three years old, he became a devout believer very soon and has been wanting to serve her ever since then. Seven years ago, when Ares was nineteen years old, he moved to the capital. When he first entered the church, the Archbishop, Petrus, accepted him with open arms. He was a kind and accepting man, understanding everyone's beliefs and never forcing his way on others. That was what the goddess wanted, after all. His teachings were just what Ares hoped it to be and he gladly served him as his knight.

Ares was a hero in his country. Not only was he a devout believer, he also was an incredibly talented swordsman. He has practiced the way of the sword before he could even write his own name, at around the same time where his parents taught him about the faith. He had to learn to be strong as well if the village he was born in would ever be under attack. It quickly became apparent that he was quite talented at swinging a sword around, already being at the same level of some adults in the village while he was only ten years old. Once he left the village to join the church in the capital, he also joined the knights that were in service of the church. He quickly established himself there with his talents, becoming a brave swordsman who vanquished evil doers in the country. From mere bandits to foreign country spies trying to provoke war, he fought them all and won them all. Thanks to him, the normal citizens felt safe under his protection.

Lately, however, the church has started to change...


One day, the Archbishop mysteriously disappeared, along with some other bishops and priests. After they went missing for over a month, the church decided to appoint a new Archbishop: Julius. This was a unanimous decision amongst the remaining priests and bishops, who all seemed to agree that Julius was the best fit for the spot. Julius was a bishop in the western church of the country, but he gladly moved to the capital to fulfill his new task. Whereas Archbishop Petrus was a kind, caring man who accepted everyone, even those who didn't believe in the faith, Archbishop Julius was not as accepting and forgiving. He wanted to spread the faith across all the world and wanted everyone to believe in the goddess. It started off innocently. At first, he tasked the knights to spread propaganda of the church, trying to convince non-believers into converting to the faith. However, once the Archbishop realized that the propaganda did not work and did not bring any good results, he started to take more drastic measures...

At first, he wanted the church to have more power than it already had. At first, the church didn't demand anything from the citizens. The Archbishop wanted to bring change into that. He asked the king if the church could demand taxes from the citizens, as the church was "in dire need of money". The king accepted his proposal, as the king was a devout believer himself. And so, the church now was allowed to ask for money from the citizens, with the knights functioning as the tax collectors. Ares did not like it one bit, but he didn't go against the archbishop's wish as he didn't want to oppose the goddess. As the years progressed, the methods used to get money were getting extremer each day... At first there was no real punishment, but eventually the people who didn't pay taxes were imprisoned, or even killed depending on how much they resisted. Even the poor, the people who simply couldn't afford to pay taxes, were shown no mercy.

After having gained more power, the Archbishop went on to his second part of the plan: eliminate anyone who did not want to convert to the faith. He would hold speeches every day outside of the church, speaking about "How great the goddess is", that "Everyone must join them if they want salvation" and that "Anyone who did not join the church would be cursed and punished by the goddess herself", even though the goddess was known as a forgiving deity. It did not make sense to Ares why he would give these speeches.
But that was only part of the plan. There was a much darker side to it. He wanted to eliminate anyone who did not want to convert, after all... quite literally. If he thought that a person was not willing to convert to the church, even if that simply was not true, he would order the knights to capture that person and imprison them in the dungeon of the church. He would then execute them himself. This was done in secret, not even the royal family knew of it. Sometimes, if he did not deem the subject "worthy of his salvation", he would make the knights do it instead.


Ares is now twenty six years old. He just returned from a few of those missions. His first mission today was to look for a man called Emile, who allegedly hadn't paid for his taxes because "he hates the goddess". Ares knew the truth, though... Emile was too poor. He simply could not afford paying the church. He barely had enough money for food and water... But Ares had to capture him anyway. With two other knights, he captured the man and handed him over. Archbishop Julius would take care of the rest. The knights needed to move on to their second mission, which was to execute a shopkeeper who apparently sold "an amulet of the demons" in her shop. Of course, it was just a baseless rumor and it was not true whatsoever, but he had to do it.

Why does Ares abide to the will of the new Archbishop? Why would he, who knew the teachings of the goddess so well, do as told by Julius, an obviously evil man? He had two reasons to do so. One of them is that he would feel like he would betray the church, and thus the goddess, if he openly opposed the Archbishop. It would be a sin that he could not afford to make, because his entire life he was guided by her teachings. He did not want to oppose the goddess.

But there was a far more cruel reason why he was not opposing him.

Truth is, he actually did question the Archbishop about his ways. After having executed so many people for seemingly false and pointless reasons, he approached the archbishop and asked him why he was doing it. The archbishop gave him a smile, and answered him... "You must not question the way of the faith, Ares. Not even you." After trying to actually get a proper answer from him, Julius then revealed that he had captured his little brother, Orion. He said that if he questioned the church one more time, he would execute him. Of course, Ares was left in shock. Not wanting his little brother to die, he continued to obey the evil Archbishop, even though he did not agree with his ways.

After the church had become completely corrupted under Julius's leadership, Ares's reputation started to lower as well. While he was once a beloved hero by everyone, slowly but surely the people started to turn against him for still "blindly following the church like a lapdog". Ares did not blame them, they were right after all... But it did hit him hard that he was hated. His personality started to change. He was once a calm, kind and warm person, someone anyone would want to be around. But now, he was a curt, impatient, and sometimes even mean lone wolf. The only one who he continued to treat the same was the goddess, who he still prayed to every day. He was a broken man.

The knights were divided too. One half of the knights fully supported the Archbishop and his ways, happily fulfilling every task that they were assigned to. The other half, Ares included, were against his ways, but they were unable to do anything about it because the Archbishop would obviously have them executed if they were to oppose him. It caused disarray within the knights. Teamwork was at an all-time low, morale within the group that were against the Archbishop's way was non-existent and the cruel acts had completely changed knights completely as people. It was amazing that there wasn't an internal war among the knights and that they still were standing.


And thus, Ares was praying today, as he was kneeling in the church. "O Goddess, hear my prayer... Forgive my cruel acts, and bless the innocent with a peaceful rest. Continue to protect me from danger and bless the country with your salvation. In your glorious name, blessed be." He lowered his head as he finished his prayer, obviously in grief.

AprilBaby

 

[AprilBaby]

Amarra entered the church when she was 17. She was born into a fairly wealthy family whose members were all devotees of the Goddess. She could still remember that day , when she entered the church for the first time, like yesterday. The Archbishop, Petrus was very happy to have her in the church. He was always glad to see young people following and teaching the Goddess's values. She always loved Petrus like a family member.
Life was good towards her for a long time. Then everything went from good to worse in a matter of days. Archbishop Petrus disappeared and Julius became the new Archbishop. Amarra hated Julius from the day she met him. He had a bad aura around him. She wasn't happy with the way he treated the people in the church from day one.
Julius then turned out to be the most cruel human being she ever encountered.
The church changed its ways.
Amarra was in the midst of the biggest dilemma she ever had to face, whether to remain in the church as a priestess or to leave.
From a young age Amarra used to have some weird dreams. A very beautiful woman ( the Goddess) came to her in her dreams and spoke of a divine purpose Amarra had to fulfill. She wasn't very clear about the mission. But Amarra knew that it had something to do with the church. Because in her dreams she always met the woman in the church. She was also sure that there were other people that the woman wanted to embed in this journey. Amarra had to find them, integrate all the clues and find out what her purpose is.
She became a Priestess, so that she could fulfill this divine purpose and help the people of this realm. She wont be able to do that if she leaves the church. She also wont be able to help the people using her position as the Priestess, without Julius's knowledge, if she give up her position. People may Judge her now, but she and the Goddess both knows that she is innocent . She wanted to help anyone and all in any way she can. She was sure that questioning the Archbishop right now would do more harm than good. So she kept silent and also kept helping people in any way she can, without letting anyone know about it.

 

[Hylius]

After finishing his prayers, Ares was not certain about what he should do next. He had already finished his duties today, so there was not much else he could do. He did not feel like leaving the church yet, even though the place felt more cursed every second he remained in there. Despite the church having grown this corrupt, it was still the only place where he felt like his prayers would still reach the goddess, if they even reached her at all. It still served as his place of safety, even if his feelings regarding it have been twisted heftily.

He decided to sit down on one of the benches and close his eyes. The sun was already setting, shining through the leadlight window facing west, which illuminated the massive statue of the goddess at the center of the main altar. The statue has been there for a very long time, long before any of the people currently present in the church were born. It presumably was a gift from Raldrich, the first king of Lumen, to Lorathian, the first Archbishop. The royal family and the church had a very strong bond in the past, with Raldrich and Lorathian being great friends, but ever since Julius ascended to the position of Archbishop, the relationship between the royal family and the church has been strained. Most of the royal family is now estranged to the church, the sole exception being the king himself, who seemed to strangely be acceptant of Julius's actions. The king has not shown his face to the public lately, which also is a little suspicious. Rumors say that he is very ill and thus he took some time to himself, other rumors say that heh is dead and the royal family are trying to keep it a secret until Lorian, the second born son of the royal family, is to ascend to the throne. However, none of these rumors have been confirmed to be true, so all the public can do is speculate.

Ares wanted to give his head some peace of mind, but soon he would find out that that would be impossible in here. He could feel them... The vile gazes the people were giving him. Gazes of fear. Gazes of contempt. Gazes of hatred, disgust, disdain. Such is how the public viewed him, even those who were part of the church. And who could blame them? In their eyes, he was the villain. A valiant hero turned into an executioner of the innocent with a thirst for blood. Ares shook his head and got up, ready to leave.

 

[AprilBaby]

Amarra was wandering the halls of the church, these days she didn't feel like attending the mass prayers, which was filled with the Archbishops followers. She did her prayers alone. No one seemed to mind that too much. Then suddenly she felt like something was calling her, something was telling her to the main hall. She followed that instinct. In the main hall in one of the benches she saw him, Ares.
Ares always confused her. He used to be a very calm and genuine person. But these days she could see only a shell of the old Ares. He looked completely devastated sometimes. Like he was tired of everything around him.
Ares then got up, ready to leave. That's when she saw his face, he looked haunted. She didnt knew why someone like him was blindly following the church. She could see that there was more to it than what's seen in the surface. Ares saw her. But didnt seemed like he wanted to acknowledge her presence. But she wasn't one to give up, something inside her mind told her that, she bought here to meet him.
" Hello Ares, Did you finish your prayers?" She said. She didn't want to leave him without even getting clue on what changed. She wanted to know what happened to the valiant hero inside him. " If you did finish, would you mind helping me? ". Amarra said.

 

[Hylius]

"..." Before he got to leave, he was interrupted in his path by one of the priestesses.

Amarra Argyros... She had joined the church around a year before Ares did. They did not interact much in the seven years that Ares had been a member, but Ares did know of her name, at the very least. Ares didn't seem too pleased that she approached him, though. Though he never was pleased if anyone approached him, for that matter.

"...What do you want?" Ares scowled at her, suspicious of her every action. Was she about to ridicule him like everyone else did? Was she about to tell him to learn his place, like all the higher-ups did? What were her intentions? What would she try to make his life a living hell even further? He didn't even consider that she was only about to ask him a favor and that she had no hostile intentions whatsoever, after all why would someone waste their time with a washed-up hero like him? It wouldn't make sense.

"...What could you possibly need me for? Watering the plants? Surely not something so tough that you need a knight to help you. Or what, do you need protection as you continue to spout the church's lies?" Ares said, now not facing Amarra anymore, instead looking at the ground as his eyebags from lack of sleep were clearly visible. "I refuse. Go look for someone else."

 

[AprilBaby]

Amarra was taken aback by Ares's answer. She wasn't expecting him to dismiss her so bluntly.

She knew Ares was having a tough time. He was getting worse day by day. She have heard a lot about him from the late Archbishop. Petrus sounded very proud whenever he talked about Ares. He always told her that she and Ares were the ones he always counted on. That no matter what, he was sure, that they both would stand by the Goddess. This Ares right in front of her wasn't anything like the one described by Petrus. This one's eyes was hard, with a shadow of guilt and sorrow. This one looked haunted and tired at the same time. Amarra knew that the old Ares would have have helped without asking twice. Now standing in front of the Goddess with Ares in front of her, something whispered to her that the old Ares, the one who never gave up, could help her on her mission. He will help her fulfill her destiny, which also seemed to be intertwined with his. They both share the burden of this divine purpose.

Amarra knew at that moment no matter how much he denies, at the end they both will share the same journey. It was a matter of time, patience and healing. " Well , it's alright. I think I can handle it on my own now. But please do remember that I am not your enemy, and if you need anything or anyone to talk to. I will always be here."

 

[Hylius]

"How ridiculous..." Ares said, as he then left the church. He needed to get out as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, on his way home, there was a man that approached him personally, to give him a piece of his mind...

The man was at least one head taller than Ares, and also very muscular. He was either doing physical labor or was a mercenary. "You... How long do you think you can keep up this madness?!" He obviously was unhappy by Ares's presence. Ares decided to ignore it, because he was certain to lose it if he went ahead and answered back. He did not want to do anything stupid right now, so he did his best to contain himself.

The man, however, did not appreciate that. "Giving me the cold shoulder now, huh? I should have expected as much from a lackey of the church!" He punched a wall in anger. The other people who happened to pass by were gasping in fear, not because of the fact that the man punched a wall in anger, but because they were afraid of what Ares would do. Nobody dared to interfere the two, however. Listen up here, scrawny pants! We hard-working citizens are working our asses off to help each other, and you guys ruin that simply just by existing! You cause so much suffering it's as if you guys are hell itself, while that should be the opposite of what a church should be! But we will never give in to your tyranny... We will not submit under your will!"

Ares still did not respond, which only seemed to anger the man even more. "...Say something, you bastard! Don't just stand there like the inhuman creep you are! Didn't your mother teach you any manners?!" Hearing that statement started to anger Ares. However he still kept quiet, he did not want to cause trouble still. But the man continued... "Oh wait, I bet your mother is just another whore who serves that fraud of a goddess too, huh? Yeah, that's right! Your mother is just a whore and your father fell for only her loo-"

Now Ares has lost it. He drew his sword and put it on his throat, shoving him into a wall. He was not scared of this man despite his size and wouldn't hesitate to cut him down if he kept running his mouth like that. "Look, mister... I've had a very long, exhausting day and I've got a headache that has been haunting me for weeks. I really do not want my headache to get worse, you see, so shut up or I'll cut your head off. Understood?" The man was frightened by his gaze, which looked like it could kill by just looking at someone. Despite the fact that the man was a lot taller and more muscular than him, everyone knew that Ares's skill with the sword was second to none, and so nobody should dare fight him. The man ran away in fear, as Ares's scowl remained. He spit on the ground and then continued walking back home.

 

[AprilBaby]

After Ares left her, Ammara went to her room lighted the candles and started meditating. Again she received some visions. She tried to concentrate on them. There was both her and Ares in the vision. They were at the great prayer hall. In front of the Goddess. Ares sword was in his hands blood was dripping from it. Her hands were also covered in blood. Both of their clothes were also covered in blood. They both were panicking. Ammara suddenly opened her eyes. She was sweating now. Her hands were shaking. She was terrified of what the future held for both her and Ares.

She wanted to distract herself from going down that path of anxiety and fear. Si she decided to visit some poor families near the church, with whom she shared many grains and some money which was given tk her by the church. She did this behind everyone else's back. She wanted tk use her position to do good for the people.

On her way she saw Ares again. He was being berated by a man much bigger than him. Then Ares said something back and the guy ran away. She was sure that Ares didnt mean what he said. She could see it in his eyes after the guy ran away. He was scowling with his face but his eyes gave away the hurt he felt through those words. She saw him walk away with it.

After giving the families her share, Ammara went to meet an old woman who lived near by the markets. She used to be a priestess until she fell in love with a guard and decided to start a life with him outside the church. She was Ammara's only loyal friend in this place. She was the only one who knew about her visions. Her name was Kali. Ammara was here to tell her about her visions about Ares.

"Are you sure it was Ares who was in your visions?" Kali asked her. " Yes, I dont doubt it a bit Ammara answered. " Then you are in for a very tough journey my girl, because he is no shape to trust even a single person around him." Kali said to her. " He will have to heal himself first before starting the journey with you. Nobody else but he himself can only do that."