Hylius
Hesitation is defeat
"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
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