Sakuramoria

… -- And so I burst into the enemy camp and showed all those miserable excuse-for-warriors, Irki's followers, what our righteous wrath is! Fortis, are you listening?
-- Yes, yes, you showed them, Grandpa, -- Fortis was looking out the window and not really listening to the speech, but he knew how to react to such sudden questions.
-- Exactly! Because I follow the path of virtue! Faith! Courage! Come on, what are the other five?
-- Hope, justice, love, temperance, prudence.
-- That's right! Remember, or you'll grow up a failure like your father… And what if war comes tomorrow?!
-- Yes, indeed. What if war comes…

"And I'm tired," Fortis finished to himself, slipping out the door. All he'd been asked to do was bring the old man a pitcher of water, and it ended with yet another lecture on virtues and stories about grandpa's wars. Fortis had been hearing these tales since childhood, but unlike the soul-saving sermons, always the same, they got more fascinating each time: in his memories, the old man either held the line alone against superior forces, or slew hordes of non-humans with a single swing of his sword, or was a secret agent behind enemy lines… At seven, it all seemed incredibly cool, but Fortis was almost seventeen now, and he'd rather listen to his uncle's stories about what was actually happening in the world.

No sooner had he left grandpa's room than Fortis heard his parents arguing from the living room.

-- You know, sometimes I feel like this house is his, and we're his servants, not his family. And our children don't seem like ours, but his, the way he raises them. No gratitude at all, -- his mother ranted at the top of her voice, barely pausing for breath.
-- Mara, I can't just abandon my own father. Yes, he has a difficult character, but show him some respect, -- Indis Vir answered calmly, drawing out his words as if teaching a slow child, not arguing with his wife.
-- Why not suggest your dear brother take care of the old man? At least we'd get a year's rest… Why does it have to be you looking after your dad, and why do I have to put up with it?
-- Well, look, my brother is a busy man, he has his service. I don't want to burden him with caring for Dad on top of that.
-- Oh, really? Maybe I should talk to him myself when he comes? Maybe then our saintly-impeccable-successful little knight will have a conscience? How much pay does he get anyway? And we're here practically living hand to mouth, with three children!
-- Oh, come on, we have one of the best plots and richest houses in the village. Others don't even have that.
-- In the village, do you hear yourself?! – the woman almost howled. – You know, the old man's right about one thing. You're not just a failure, you're an idiot too.

Dad needed saving. Deliberately making the floorboards creak, Fortis entered the living room, and his parents froze in awkward silence.

-- When did Uncle Silantis say he'd come? – the young man asked at random, uncomfortable standing silently under the adults' gaze.
-- Oh, he promised to be here around noon, -- Indis perked up immediately. -- Mara, is everything ready for the guests?
-- This and that, a couple of things still to do in the kitchen…
-- Well, go and do them then, in case he arrives early. Meanwhile, my son and I will go clean the stable and bring some oats from the barn.

-- Silantis will probably stay for about a week, we'll go hunting. Are you coming with us, just in case?
-- You bet.
-- Good, you need to get out. Why so gloomy, did the old man lecture you about life again?
-- Uh-huh.
-- Well, he doesn't teach bad things, that's true. But hearing it again and again… Yeah, I remember it well. And what a heavy hand he had! When I left the Order, he thrashed me so hard I couldn't get out of bed for a week. He's calmed down now. Ah, old age, even the strongest can't escape it…

"He talks as if he's remembering the best moments of his life. Though – strength is strength, it deserves respect in any form," Custolus thought to himself.

-- Dad, so why didn't you stay in the Order after all?
-- Well, at one point I just realized – it wasn't for me, my heart wasn't in it. And when you feel something isn't yours – why do it? I just got up and left.
-- But isn't it a bad thing?
-- And is working the land a bad thing? A good thing – you feel it in your gut, whether you're living right or not. There are many paths to righteousness – the Order's mantle and readiness to cut down pagans day and night aren't the only way to become a worthy man, and that's probably the only thing your grandpa is truly wrong about. Or were you thinking of joining the Order yourself?
-- I don't know.
-- You should know by now. It's your life. Well, Silantis will come – you'll talk.

"It's my life, but I don't know any other – just plowing the field and pounding oats. Maybe this is it. But looking at those two… no matter what grandpa says, I often feel my father has achieved much more in life. He somehow manages to live the way he wants, while still living up to every conceivable virtue."

 

Silantis arrived exactly at noon, and the whole family, except Fortis's younger brother and sister, gathered at the table. His uncle had changed a lot in the few years since their last meeting – he had grown thinner, his hair was turning grey, and his former stately bearing was gone. He seemed to have aged a whole decade and now looked older than Indis, though in reality it was the opposite.

-- Well, brother, go on, tell us how life is.
-- Life… -- the old man mimicked. – Let him first report to his father how the service is going, how the Order is faring. What about it, will there be war?
-- The service goes on as usual, and the Order is as it should be. And the war against the pagans, Father, is always ongoing, we're just not fighting openly right now.
-- That's good! That means we're always on combat alert, that's right! Alright, you can continue talking about your lives…
-- So, um… I was in Sakurumoria for the last two months. As a private individual, -- Silantis hastened to add in response to his brother's surprised look. – I wanted to see old Orion.
-- And?
-- I'd say, "quite impressive," and that wouldn't explain even a hundredth of it. A shame I'm not a silver-tongue or a poet, but I'll tell it as best I can.

 

--… But I wasn't only in Orion, I was also in the capital. And there's a very interesting piece of news, I'd even say an opportunity, for your eldest.

Fortis choked.

-- Take a look, brother, -- Silantis handed Indis a crumpled newspaper. – Where it says about NAILS.
-- Well, well… A military academy… quotas for foreigners… You know, I like it.
-- Let me see, -- Mara tried to snatch the newspaper from her husband, but only tore it. – Where exactly are you two planning to send our son?
-- We, Mara, aren't planning to send anyone anywhere. It's him who might go or not.
-- If he passes the exam, of course.
-- Oh, so I don't need to worry?
-- His grades were excellent.
-- By the standards of our backwater?
-- Hey, hey, -- the grandfather joined the conversation. – Send my grandson… Where? To that den of pagans? Silantis, I was hoping at least one of my sons wasn't a fool…
-- A very prestigious institution, and a military one at that, Father.
-- The Order is the only prestigious military organization for a thinking man.

They argued for a long time, with Fortis himself sitting silently, not quite understanding the issue, until his father banged on the table and shouted:

-- Shut up, all of you! Fortis!
-- Sir! – the young man even jumped in his chair from surprise.
-- Will you go study abroad at a military academy?
-- I will.
-- Decision made, -- sighing, Indis sank into his chair and handed his son the newspaper. – We should have started with that. Silantis, can you get another couple of months off if needed? Help him there, with the paperwork, the money, or Risha knows with the Sakurumorian bureaucrats…

 

Reaching his hand out for the ball flying towards him, Fortis misjudged his balance and fell to the ground.

-- What's this ballet, Fortis?
-- Ah, just tired today. One thing after another piled on, -- Fortis dusted himself off and sat down on an old log lying near the field, which had served as a bench for the village boys playing ball there for years. – Break time.
-- Alright, let's sit.

Fortis's three friends: Remus, Ramus, and Custolus, sat down to rest.

-- My uncle came today. And long story short… he suggested sending me to a military academy in Sakurumoria.
-- Cool… -- Ramus said uncertainly. – And where is that exactly?
-- Well, and you? – asked Remus.
-- I agreed. If everything goes well, they'll send me there for two years.
-- And after that? Like, you'll be a Sakurumorian officer or something?
-- Risha knows. I think there's no oath required or anything like that.
-- Well, we've got to celebrate this! – Custolus, the oldest of the group, started rummaging in his bag. – As it happens, I had something here…

He brought out a hefty pitcher.

-- What's that?
-- Beer, -- the owner replied, as if it were perfectly obvious.
-- Have you lost your mind, that's forbidden!
-- It's not forbidden, just a bit restricted… And anyway, meat and wine do no harm as long as faith is strong in your heart. – It was said so earnestly and with such a pious expression that Custolus's friends burst out laughing.
-- I don't recall that quote from any sermons…
-- Of course you don't, Remus, you're always asleep during them.
-- Actually, there is such a quote. Only it's from some novel, not the scripture.
-- See, listen to Fortis, he's the learned one. When will we get together like this again?
-- I'm not leaving today or tomorrow, you know.
-- Still, it's a big event in our friend's life, worth having a little drink for. Let's head to the river, sit around, do some fishing.
-- Let's go, the weather's good today! – Fortis was delighted with the idea. He always felt awkward announcing news, and it was good Custolus came up with a way to unwind. – Got the gear?
-- Do me a favor, -- Custolus pulled a large coil of fishing line with hooks from his pocket.
-- It's getting late. I'm going home, -- Ramus declared.
-- Well, go then! Remus, at least you're not ditching us?
-- I won't, I won't.

Remus frowned, staring at the small fire the three had lit by the riverbank. They hadn't managed to catch anything, and the evening was warm and windless, but they'd lit the fire anyway, out of habit. His two friends sat motionless, taking small sips of the brew straight from the pitcher, and only he couldn't settle down, fidgeting, constantly tossing small sticks into the flames, asking Fortis a mountain of questions, and now decided the time had come for the most important one.

-- Listen, Fortis, are you sure about this? Maybe forget Sakurumoria? They say people are constantly getting shot in the streets there, crime, immorality, corruption. And they oppress Orionists, they say, and anyway…
-- Why are you bringing me down? – Fortis got angry. – Even if I was wrong to decide so hastily, it's already decided. And it's not about what's best, it's about principle. Said – then it shall be done.
-- I actually think a person isn't master of his own fate at all, -- Custolus declared decisively. – Whether here, in Sakurumoria, or anywhere else – everything happens beyond your will, and you're only responsible for your own soul, to not do anything against divine law.
-- Don't give this one any more beer, or he'll talk himself into a lifelong sentence in a cell.
-- I'm just saying you need to be a person, whether in Selene or Sakurumoria.
-- Well, exactly, come what may. Why hesitate? You took it – went abroad, took it – went after a boar with a spear, took it – had a drink with the guys instead of heading home, for heaven's sake. Courage is when you don't stress, you just have that feeling that it's right, and you do it. That's what I think.
-- If I had the chance, I'd go too… But the last money went to buying a cow…

The group fell silent. It wasn't the best topic, and they spent another half hour in silence, only the crackling of the fire breaking the stillness of the autumn evening.

-- Come on, it's all just dreams, Rem, -- Custolus broke the silence after another gulp. – If any of us can get into the academy, it's Fortis. We wouldn't pass the exams, and what for? No matter how you look at it, we're a different breed. Simple folk.
-- Don't talk nonsense.
-- What, is it not true? You have a father with money, and a brother and sister growing up, but what about us? Remus is the only son in his family, I have no one but my grandmother, who's on her last legs, and I have to run the whole farm alone. What future do we have, what prospects?
-- Better pass the beer.
-- It's finished, -- Custolus grumbled, tipping the remaining contents of the pitcher into his mouth.
-- Well, let's head home then, it's pitch dark already.