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Heimrich's tunic gently waved in the warm evening perched on one of the lower manor spires he stared into the night, there had been few a times he'd sat here watching the stars.
He could never do this during the day when other people could see him, for an assortment of reasons. One of the most prominent ones being he looked like a pole dancer as he wrapped his body from the heights. Another being the fear of having his mother seeing him when he occasionally performed the 'human flag'.
He wondered if he should have felt thankful. Or should he be annoyed he wound up here after trying to get away from the trouble of it all. The burden of relationships.
Though not for too long, he had known Skaadi was enamored with him. But for the same reason he made sure to strain his relationship with his parents. He also ignored her desire and sent her elsewhere for the same effect. Tomorrow, the day he had been anticipating for almost as long as he was born once more would come.
By then, he would change everything including himself. He feared that he'd unsettle his parents a bit but no matter what version of him, he was sure they'd come to accept him once again.
For people other than his parents...He was aware there was every chance that he would forever break their perception of him.
After all the years of sacrifice he was about to reap the fruits of his bitter labour. What he was about to start was minuscule infront of it's yields.
All the materials were ready. The eclipse would begin tomorrow at dawn and every being would face the brunt of change like no other.
...
An hour or so into his musings Heimrich noticed sporadic movements from the corner of his vision. Turning his gaze to the area, he noticed nothing.
Not a soul moved on the castle ramparts, he thought he'd overcome his midnight thoughts—"Wait! Where's the manor patrol?!!" With glaring eyes, Heimrich rigorously peered into the ominously silent night.
All of a sudden he could the clang of metal drifted to his ears along with hurried foot falls and burdened groans.
"Mother, father...I've got to help evacuate them." Springing off and sliding down the spire he latched onto a window ledge. The shock from his palms coaxed a groan out of him but there was no stopping his mad dash.
With swift movements he repositioned his grip at the corner of the ledge. His soles drew axis with the stone wall. Using his limbs he swung his torso right onto a slanting roof. Adjusting midair, his landing touch was the beginning of a feather heavy sprint.
Even with all his efforts the roof almost gave way to his opening steps.
As he neared the end of the roof, the din of metal became clearer, soon his sight caught up to an light armored intruder making short of a one of the patrol guards.
Heimrich's tunnel vision zeroed in on the attacker and his body followed. A hand lashed out to his left, pushing off the top of the roof as he slid down with the momentum of his short sprint, by the time the skilled enemy noticed him, Heimrich was already where he needed to be.
Pivoting against his momentum, he swung his legs back, kicking off a helmeted head. A sickening crunch resounded below him followed by a hollow thud as the body hit the ground. Less than half a second later Heimrich followed tumbling along the ground rolling to reduce the impact.
"My lord—," the guard called out.
Heimrich ignored the man and ran with large strides. Even after the precautions he took, his ankles were tingling from the shock. It would take upwards of a 40 seconds before he could spring off them and get into a full on sprint.
After almost 4 minutes he came to the fringes of the ducal house. An orange glow lit the night farther back. But Heimrich chased the dark thoughts away as soon as they outlined.
Infront of him a melee was going down and from the bodies of a couple of patrol guards he could see, a team of intruders had gotten by...likely headed for his parents. He only hoped that they hadn't gotten far enouh.
He schooled his foot steps in a bid to keep the maximum momentum without being noticed by the forward facing enemies. When he came within striking distance he leapt off the ground planting his right foot in the small of an intruders back.
The guard having noticed him sidestepped the falling man, bringing his halberd down onto the felled man's neck after Heimrich stepped away from him.
Another intruder kicked away his opponent and swung his long sword at the unarmed Heimrich.
With an unflinching ferocity, Heimrich grabbed the lower end of the halberd held in the dazed guard's hands bringing it between himself and the weapon. As the weapons clashed his arm shook under the weight of the overhead strike but otherwise remained steadfast.
Abruptly, Heimrich kicked the armored enemy back and into the sword of the returning guard.
Leaving the concluding melee, Heimrich resumed his sprint towards the Ducal domicile. Fires assailed the upper floors, floors where his parents would be.
Heimrich knelt in shock. Within the crushing sense of defeat that assailed him was a chilling sense of despair. He couldn't reach them. He had failed them.
What was the use living another life if the reason for his living were but naught?
What a cruel hand he'd been played.
Now he was just as good as a pitiful bastard.
He felt so obsolete that even rage failed him.
So he laughed at the comedy his tragic life was. The one fear he had, he could never have stopped. All those arguments, the planning, tthe effort. It was like whatever force brought him here wanted him to witness the futility that marred his being.
"Haahahaha, hahahahaha, hahahahahahahahahahahaha."
The crescendo of his laughter peaked after the second pause. By the time the remaining guards got to him he had quieted down.
"Spear... "
Silence followed after his words the patrol unsure of what to make of it.
"Get me a spear!!!"
Dozens of grown men bristled and three broke off to retrieve a spear.
The first came back quickly after bringing back a spear belonging to a dead intruder.
"U-um sire, a spear as requested."
The sniveling man presenting it towards the kneeling Heimrich.
The weapon didn't changed hands.
"Where were you when the manor was infiltrated. Answer carefully, you only have one chance." The cold air begat a sticky dread with Heimrich's hoarse voice.
"S-s-s-sire I was i-in the g-g-g-guards quaters."
"Well what were you doing in the guard's quaters whilst still on duty? It couldn't have anything to do with your breath could it now Winston?" Heimrich's asked in a monotone voice.
A deep squelching sound was followed by a slight grating. The guard fell dead with the spear lodged in his eye, blood leaking through the gaps of his helm.
He couldn't bear the fear and chose to end his life before a worse fate could chance upon him.
Slowly standing up, Heimrich payed the dead man's corpse no attention.
"My parents must have been surrounded by idiots to have admitted someone as daft as you into the patrol guards." With an ever so slightly staggering gait Heimrich stepped over his corpse, "Handing me the weapon of the party that immolated them? If I weren't so weary I'd have saw to your torture before executing your family right infront of you."
A ways away he found a broken, charred body. He recognized her haunting hair or at least what remained of it, Ranliff. Oddly wearing what seemed to be the burnt remains of an article of his clothing.
"Peace be with you dearest friend."Muttering under his breath he extolled a parting word.
"Move, take her body to the ancestral hall and set the premises ablaze." Clutching his throbbing skull, he motioned toward Ranliff. A group of boots shuffled over to her and took her away.
She had likely realised what was happening and had let herself burn till she had only enough strength to throw herself down acting as a decoy.
Giving him a chance at...hmmh.
If he knew her, she did this for her sister as much as if not more than for him.
But he would sooner geld himself than let those worthless, craven maggots get away.
"The quickest of you, get my horse and some more for the rest of you lot," at his words a taller guard took off even though it felt torturous in his stuffy armor.
Now something over 40 guards remained.
Another one returned, he had the sense to fetch something from the manors armory.
He came carry a rather heavy pole arm case.
"Huff, huff, huff. Sire I didn't know *huff* which one *huff* which one would be appropriate so I brought a case from the armory." With his hands on his knees the exhausted guard addressed Heimrich.
Heimrich was content to ignore the guard and undo the clasps of the mobile chest inside the wax sealed, oil stained box rested an assortment of spears halberd, great hammers and staffs.
Picking out a halberd Heimrich straightened, hefting the weight weapon before waving it with his wrist in casual motions.
"I think this will do," Heimrich stated, seemingly addressing the man.
"I aim to serve, mi'lord." Stairing at his compatriot on the floor the guard let out a relieved breath.
Do you? Do you aim to serve? Did you serve my parents, by letting them burn to their deaths?" Though he spoke softly Heimrich's deadly stare did not go unnoticed
"You lot were paid, sworn in! All for what? A single purpose! To protect your master and keep the peace. Could you have not raced and escorted the resting squad to their aid at the first sign of danger. Why was the security around the Ducal house so pathetically lax." Now his words boomed in their ears with more force than thunder.
"As lenient and docile as my parents are they never ordered a decrease in your numbers or workload. Ignorance, Folly and Ineptitude are not excuses 'vailable to you lot." Growing uninterested while passing judgment his tone eased into extreme apathy.
"To any of you who live past tonight, you are dishonorably discharged. Do not ever speak of the Edeltroud house again. Two of you will stay behind and make sure everything in the estate is burned. You will catch up after that armed with a shield and a weapon from this very chest."
"Catch." Heimrich carelessly tossed the halberd to a suspiciously trembling guard.
It fumbled in his miserable effort to grip it out of the air till it it fell to the ground.
When he looked up again after retrieving the halberd, a war hammer had found it's way into Heimrich's masterful grasp.
"Wield your weapon one last time, so at least your death will be void of the shame that stains you in life." With that Heimrich's body went taut...