Morgan Rice - A Clash of Honor

Forg swallowed hard.

“Please, my lords, have mercy!”

“Thor,” Kendrick said, turning to him. “It falls on you to pronounce a death sentence on Forg. It is you whom he betrayed.”

The entire hall grew silent, as everyone turned to Thor.

Thor’s heart pounded as he watched the man before him, waiting to be killed. A great fury washed over him, as he considered how this man had endangered his Legion brothers.

Yet at the same time, to Thor’s surprise, he felt compassion for him, too. After all, it seemed that Forg had once been a good knight; he had simply been unable to stand up to tyranny, to do the right thing when the time came, in the heat of the moment. Thor hated the idea of his being executed-and especially at his own expense.

Thor stepped forward and cleared his throat.

“It is true,” Thor called out, “Forg is deserving of death for what he did. But I would ask you all to have mercy on him.”

A surprised gasp spread through the room.

“Mercy?” Kolk asked. “Why?”

“He may be deserving of death,” Thor said. “But that does not mean we should give it to him. He made a mistake. Gareth is the evil one behind all of this. I would rather not have this knight’s blood shed on my behalf. He made a mistake. And we survived, after all. Most of us, anyway.”

“Thorgrinson,” Kendrick said, “our law prohibits us from allowing a traitor to stay within our ranks. Something must be done with him.”

“Then banish him,” Thor said. “Send him away from your hall. Let him join Gareth’s men, or let him leave the Ring. But don’t kill him.”

Kendrick looked long and hard at Thor, and finally he nodded.

“I can see that you hold much wisdom, despite your young age.”

Kendrick turned to Forg, grabbed him by the chest, and scowled into his eyes.

“You are very lucky on this day,” Kendrick said. “If I see your face before me again, I will kill you myself.”

Kendrick reached over, tore the army’s pin from Forg’s vest, spun him around and kicked him hard, sending him stumbling through the hall. Forg hurried through the room and Atme opened the door, let him out, and slammed the door behind him.

Slowly, the room burst back into life, and as it did, Brom stepped forward.

“We still have not addressed the most important issue here today,” he boomed.

The room fell silent as all turned to him.

“The gods be willing, one day, sooner or later, Gareth will be ousted. When that day comes, we will be left with no ruler of the Ring. Which MacGil shall succeed him? Kendrick, you are firstborn, legitimate or not. The men look up to you. Is it a role you will accept?”

Kendrick shook his head adamantly.

“My father’s dying wish was that Gwendolyn should rule. We all witnessed it.”

A gasp spread throughout the room.

“A woman?” one of the knights called out.

“It is true!” Reece said.

“It is!” Godfrey called out, too. “We were all at that meeting. It was our father’s wish. He skipped over all of us and chose her. As her siblings, we accept it. In fact, we all approve of the choice.”

“If you all honor MacGil,” Kendrick said, “then you will honor his final wish. You will institute and defend Gwen as ruler of this kingdom.”

All the soldiers in the room turned and looked at Gwen, and a heavy silence filled the room.

Thor looked over at her, and saw her lower her head in humility.

“If it was good enough for MacGil, then it’s good enough for me,” Brom boomed, breaking the stunned silence.

“And I!” Kolk added.

“And I!” echoed all the soldiers in the room.

“But Gwendolyn, would you accept?” Kendrick asked her.

An expectant silence followed, as she lowered her head. Several moments of silence followed.

“I know that you would be a fair and wise ruler,” Kendrick added. “Much better than Gareth.”

“You are what our father wanted,” Godfrey added, “and you are what the Ring needs.”

Finally, Gwen cleared her throat.

“It is not something I wish for, or something that I seek, my Lords,” she said. “It is true, when father pressed me, I did agree to him that I would accept it. But I did so grudgingly. I would much rather that one of you rule in my stead.”

Kendrick shook his head.

“We do not always get what we wish,” he said. “Sometimes you must do what is best for the kingdom. And with every ounce of who I am, I know that it is you who should rule.”

“Aye!” called out several soldiers, in agreement.

The room was thick with silence, as they awaited Gwen’s response.

“Gwen, say yes,” Godfrey urged, as she wavered. “The people need someone to rally around. The nobles, the Lords, everyone in all the provinces-they need to know that someone is in place, someone they can get behind, when Gareth should fall. For the kingdom’s sake, say yes.”

Gwen looked down to the ground, feeling her father’s spirit with her strongly, then finally looked back up.

“I will agree,” she said, finally.

The room erupted into a cheer, and Thor could hear how happy and relieved everyone was to have an alternate to Gareth. He felt elated himself, and beyond proud of her.

Before the cheer had even died down, before he’d had a chance to congratulate her, suddenly, the door to the hall burst open again, and in rushed a messenger, frantic.

“My Lord!” he said bowing in Kendrick’s direction. “Outside this hall waits a contingent of men-a hundred men strong, fierce warriors all of them. Nevaruns! They say they have come to take their bride away!”

“Bride?” Kendrick called out.

“They say they have come to claim Gwendolyn!” the messenger said.

The hall burst out in an outraged gasp.

“Gwendolyn, is this true?” Kendrick asked her.

She frowned.

“It is but another devious plot set into place by our brother. He did not succeed in assassinating me, so now he thinks he can marry me off, to get me out of his hair. He has no right. He is not my father.”

Thor suddenly drew his sword, and began marching out the hall.

“Whether he has a legal right or not, I don’t care,” Thor said. “There is only one right that I will heed, and that is the right of swords. If these men want to take Gwendolyn away, they will have to go through me!”

“And me!” Reece yelled, drawing his sword.

There came the sound of hundreds of swords being drawn in the hall, as all the soldiers got behind Thor.

Thor led the way, across the hall, out the open door, hundreds of soldiers following as they went outside to greet the contingent.

Before them, waiting, were a hundred of the fiercest warriors Thor had ever laid eyes upon, mounted on horseback, their leader on the ground, standing before his horse. He was twice as tall and as broad as any man Thor had ever seen. He had bright red skin, and scowled, with two long fangs protruding from his mouth, like tusks, and several rows of sharp, rotted teeth. The skin on his face was red, his eyes were hardly bigger than slits, a dark yellow, and his bald head was shaped in a point. He and his men all wore yellow and green armor.

“I have come to claim my bride,” he growled down at Thor. It sounded like the snarl of an animal.

Krohn, standing beside Thor, snarled, the hair on his back standing, ready to pounce at the man.

“You are mistaken,” Thor answered back, bravely, trying to use his most confident voice. “There is no bride for you here. Gwendolyn does not wish to leave, and she will not leave this kingdom without the spilled blood of all our men.”

The man scowled down at Thor, his fist tightening on the hilt of his sword, his face turning even redder.