Knights Blessed by Moonlight: Chapter 2 – The Value of a Fool

Chapter 2 – The Value of a Fool

Memories of getting into fights and failing to defend myself blur together. From getting into fights at bars to fights during training seem all the same to me because they all end the same with me being helpless on the ground and Umberto, Irsuto, or both having to defend and pick me up. Certain memories stick out such as the one where Umberto is sticking up for me to my parents for my dumb prank and one where Irsuto is talking up my skills and personality to the instructors so I don’t get kicked out of the army before I become a knight because of how I keep failing tests and evaluations.

A kick to my side wakes me up from my dream and I see Umberto standing above me. Around me are other soldiers and citizens who are being woken up by their friends and family members as the hotel we’re in is being cleaned up.

“Come on, Ludovico. We’re going to be moving out soon,” Umberto says before giving me a hand.

“Thanks, Umberto. I didn’t do anything too embarrassing last night, did I?” I ask.

“Thankfully, you didn’t this time.”

“I call that a good night then.”

After getting my things together, we say our final goodbyes to the citizens of the city before heading out. As I keep walking with the group, I can’t help but think about the dream I had last night even though I shouldn’t. They were the same thoughts and memories that tempted me during the battle yesterday to think of myself as lesser than and a burden to everyone else. That’s not true. I still serve a purpose here even though I’m not as great a knight as Umberto or Irsuto. Still, the thought bothers me through the two-day journey to our next destination. I try to keep the thought outside of my head by joking around with the guys, playing card games, and sharing our experiences, but the memories continue to nag me in the back of my head.

Finally, we reach a village near the sea. Here, the artificial sun of the heretics shines from the sky aided by their crosses. Again, the Pope gives one of his speeches, but all I care about is getting into the action and getting this over with. That bartender I have my sights on isn’t going to stay single forever. Once the battle cries are let out, we charge towards our target. Black fog conjured by those who can use it mask our advance and just as our forces are about to clash with theirs, I am seemingly teleported to a light gold and white void with nothing and nobody around me. Umberto and a few others told me that this happened to them the other day so I stand guard with my short shield and sword raised.

In addition, I start silently reciting prayers to keep my mind clear. I then begin to wonder why this happened to me of all people. Sure, this spell seemed to have affected random people and those who fell prey to it turned on their own, so I assume they’re just targeting me randomly hoping they got a sucker in their grasp. Well, jokes on them. I may not be the best soldier or a saint in the least bit, but I won’t fall easily for their tricks.

“This isn’t intended to be a trick. It’s meant for us to talk to one another without anyone getting in the way,” I hear a feminine voice say.

“You may as well give up now because you’re wasting your time on a guy like me, so unless you’re going to admit your love for me, I say we get this fight over with,” I say.

“Ludovico, is it?”

“You know my name?”

“I can read your mind and see your memories.”

“What are you some kind of mage from Polypus?”

“No, but we use similar magic to them. What I am is a friend to you because I know what it means to be a loser, a good-for-nothing, and a burden to others.”

Again, they’re trying to get to me by mentioning that. The area around me changes and I see that I’m back at school. I remember this scene. I had to stay at school for extra lessons because I was failing my classes. Ahead of me, I see a girl getting picked on, so without thinking, I leap at the bullies and start throwing punches and then get swiftly beaten afterward until Irsuto steps in and gets the bullies to back off. He’d stay after school, the teacher’s pet, to help out for extra credit, and today he’s supposed to help tutor me. Once the bullies leave, he looks at me with that stoic look of his and turns away. Even the girl walked away without saying thank you and didn’t end up going out with me when I asked her later.

“Irsuto, a man above other men in terms of intelligence and strength whose heights of success you’ll never reach,” the woman says.

“I’d rather not be like him anyways, otherwise, I’d be full of myself and pride is the root of all sins after all,” I respond.

The scene around me changes. This time I’m back at training camp sparring with another soldier. He’s been a jerk to me so I’ve been trying to beat him at everything I could ranging from drinking to card games to fighting. Today, I’ve managed to get the better of him, but during the fight, I let my anger get the better of me and beat him a bit too much leading to us having to be separated.

Umberto takes me aside and then says, “You must really want to quit the army if you keep causing trouble like this.”

“What can I say? It follows me wherever I go,” I say only to be met with a slap in the face.

“Be serious for once! Irsuto says you’re a razor’s edge from being kicked out and never being allowed in the army again so you’d better clean up your act.”

At Umberto’s words, I can only stare down in shame.

“Look, we both want what’s best for you. Don’t you still remember our dream of being knights and fighting for God, the Church, and our families?”

“I do.”

“Then don’t let us down. Irsuto and I know you can be better. I’m sure he’s told you already.”

“He has.”

“Then come on. Wipe off that dumb expression off your face and try to be better this next.”

“Umberto, a simple man, but a man with seemingly no flaws. He’s better than he gives himself credit for. When he falls, he picks himself up. When he wants something, he gets it. Oh, and he has a wife too. He’s probably expecting a child soon,” the woman says.

“I figured,” I say. “Still, still! It’s better to be unique no matter how awful I am at being that.”

“Come, sit with me.”

Yet again, the scene changes, this time I see a woman sitting on a bench near a water fountain. She seems to be friendly so I sit with her and once I do, she takes my hands.

“I was never good at anything either,” she says. “I’m not a good merchant, farmer, or merchant. I mess up constantly and my family only keeps me around in the hopes of one day marrying me off or sending me away to be a consecrated virgin or a nun someplace far away. From your memories, I can see that your parents scolded you a lot as well. You think that they did so because they love you, but when they constantly compare you to others and say that you never change, they’re hurting you more than they think.”

“So…what do you think I should do?” I ask.

“Exit the darkness and enter the light with me, and together, we can give other bottom-feeders like us a chance at a happy life where they can be the best people they can.”

I can feel my mind begin to lighten even more as I can't but think of a better life where I’m a man of actual worth. Where my friends don’t need to constantly pick up for me and I don’t disappoint them every other day. It’s then that I remember their words of encouragement that hit me like the loving and correcting chastisement of a parent.

Getting up from the park bench, I say, “Sorry, babe, but I don’t need this false light of yours to make the world into becoming what I want it to be and be who I want to be. I have my friends for that.”

“So be it. I’ll be here if you need me and you will need me sooner than you think,” the woman says as she fades away.

Everything around me clears and before I know it, I’m in some marketplace facing down some knight from Leo who is wearing their signature greyish armor, skull helmet, and wielding a hammer and shield.

“What’s a knight from Leo doing here?” I ask while slightly lowering my shield.

“Huh? Oh, you’ve finally come to your senses,” the man behind the armor says.

“What do you mean?”

“I thought you knights of Noctua were tougher. You were fighting me presumably because you were under the influence of the artificial sun like some of the others I’ve faced who’ve acted strangely.”

I really fell for them, didn’t I? No, no! There’s no time to feel bad about it.

“I’m sorry. My friends always call me an idiot. My name is Ludovico.”

“Oliver is mine.”

“It’s good to meet you, Oliver. So, now that I’m back in my right mind, I’ll help you retake this town. Let’s get a move on.”

“Okay, but if you turn on me, I won’t hesitate to put you down.”

It’d be a good thing if you did. My hands still feel the touch of the woman I talked to and her voice feels like it’s in my head like that of a particularly bad dream.

“So, what’s a knight from Leo like you doing here?” I ask again.

“Noctua isn’t the only place that’s being affected by the Cult of the Sun and since the Pope is here on the frontlines, we’d thought we lend a hand and maybe show you guys up,” Oliver says.

“Well, I better step up my game then.”

“That’s right, especially since I’ve never seen a knight like you before. You look more like a squire. I thought knights of Noctua wear heavier armor and don’t fall to temptations so easily.”

“This chainmail and leather armor allow me to move faster and fight better since that’s what I’m good at. Also, others from Noctua have turned on us too because of the temptations of this artificial light and the false promises whispered by its spellcasters. Don’t you feel it?”

“I do, but all that’s done to me so far is teleport me away from my fellow knights of Leo. Besides, that I only feel an increasing haze in my head that I assume will go away once that artificial sun is gone.”

“Then we better get rid of its source soon. I bet I’ll take down more soldiers than you and get to it faster than you can. It should be where the light shines the brightest since that’s where it was at the last place we faced the cult.”

“You’re on, Squire.”

Oliver and I charge ahead towards the light as it retreats to a center point, a good sign that we’re winning this battle. We take down soldier after soldier and whoever raises a weapon against us while counting aloud after every kill or knockout. While getting closer, we come across ratmen and beastmen who we say count for two and three points respectively. Right now, I’ve scored twenty while he’s at twenty-two.

“Come on, Squire of Noctua. I thought you were supposed to be an elite knight better than most others,” Oliver says.

“I’m not that far behind you! Whoever takes down the most at the center gets the win and the loser has to dance in his underwear and provide the winner all the drinks and food he wants for the rest of the day,” I say.

“Get ready your dancing shoes because I’m winning this competition for all of Leo!”

“Don’t speak too soon because I’m right behind you!”

Above us, I can see that the light from the sun is retreating. This leads us to a large gathering hall that is the last place that the artificial light is shining on, however, as soon as we enter it, I find myself surrounded by the same light gold and white void as before. In it, the woman I saw appears with tears in her eyes and her arms wide open while approaching me.

“Why must you destroy this opportunity for a better life for everyone?” she asks.

“Because you’re forcing everyone into it,” I say.

“Is there something truly wrong with that if it means that everyone is happier as a result?” The woman hugs me. “Listen. I’ll gladly marry and live the rest of my life with you if you help. We both share a lot in common, being the fools and most useless in society. Don’t you want to be more than a burden to those you love?”

As the woman holds me, I see her life flash before my eyes and understand her pain. I see a life of attempts at trying to be better that only end in failure, being looked down on, and feeling as if it’d be better if I was dead.

“Our prayers are the ones never answered,” she continues, “No matter how much we try, we make very little progress in becoming better people. I’ve always been a nuisance to others. There was never a role I had that wouldn’t have been better filled by someone else. Anyone else. The artificial sun has given me a role that I can fill and never mess up in and can create a life where I’m happy and can make others happy. Please, help me make this better world filled with light a reality.”

I’m just realizing that I’ve been crying and holding the woman close to me. I quickly let her go and my vision shifts back to reality where I see that I’m about to stab Oliver as he lies wounded on the floor.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” I say.

“You’re finally back to your senses, but it doesn’t matter now, Squire. There’s no point in apologizing,” Oliver says as he points to the horde of soldiers heading towards us.

This is it. I’ve messed up bad for the last time and there’s nothing I can do to make it up. I’m sorry Umberto and Irsuto for never being worthy of the friend you thought I was. Before the horde descends upon me, they are driven back by the Pope, Irsuto, Umberto, and other soldiers of Leo.

Looking over at me, Pope Tramonto the Fifth says, “Do not let your fears freeze you! Keep fighting, knight of Noctua!”

That’s right! I’m a knight of Noctua! I fight until my body is beyond broken and keep trying to fight past that! As I join in the fight, my friends and fellow knights manage to overwhelm our enemies and the mages that have been keeping the artificial sun going. Soon after, victory is ours. Once that’s done, I get Oliver help, and sit down and think about what to do next. I make my decision and head over to where the Pope is. Kneeling before his holiness, I offer my sword in both hands.

“I am not worthy of being called a knight of Noctua. I have let the enemy get to my mind and a brother knight of Leo was hurt because of it,” I say with my head bowed.

A few seconds pass by before I feel the Pope’s presence above me staring me down. I then feel him push the sword back at me so that I’m now holding it close to me.

“We have all fallen to sin and made grievous mistakes. Only a true knight can admit his mistakes and say he is unworthy of the honor he is given, but still fight on because that is his God-given role and you are one of them,” Pope Tramonto says.

I can’t help but cry at this and give him a big hug.

“Ah!” I say as I back off. “I’m sorry, Your Holiness.”

Irsuto looks at me and shakes his head.

“It’s quite alright. Ludovico, is it? Your friend Irsuto speaks highly of you and Umberto.”

Speaking of which, Umberto makes it to where we are and approaches us.

“What are you up to now, Ludovico?” Umberto asks.

“He said a bunch of stupid stuff and hugged the Pope,” Irsuto says.

“Tch. I’m sorry, Your Holiness.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Ludovico here reminds me a lot of myself when I was a mere knight. It was refreshing to see that there are humble knights such as him in our ranks,” Pope Tramonto says.

“He is a…special one, to say the least,” Irsuto says.

“Our special one,” Umberto says. “Come on, the town is holding a feast for us as thanks and I’m sure you want a part in that.”

“I definitely do!” I say.

“Do you mind if I join you?” Pope Tramonto says to our surprise.

“Uh. You don’t need to ask. It would be an honor,” Irsuto says.

As we head to where the party is, we come across Oliver who is bandaged up.

“Squire!” Oliver says as he approaches us before seeing the Pope. “Ah, your holiness!”

“Be at ease. I am merely joining these men in the celebration,” Pope Tramonto says.

“Yes, of course.”

“I’m sorry what I did to you, Oliver. I’ll try to make it up to you somehow,” I say.

“You don’t have to bother. I know you couldn’t control yourself while under that spell so there’s nothing to apologize for, but I will take whatever reparations you have in mind.”

“Pfft. If you say, I don’t need to bother then I won’t. Also, I have to say that I won our competition based on the fact that I beat you in combat.”

“That was because you were possessed.”

“Then how about a rematch? At the party, we’ll see who can drink more.”

“You’re on!”

“Mind if I join that competition?” Pope Tramonto asks.

Man, this guy is full of surprises. Of course, we accept, and of course, I am the first to lose in the competition and the Pope manages to win. While everyone celebrates and cheers for the Pope, I lay happily on the ground as a loser. I’m fine with being this way as long as those I care about are happy and I’ll keep getting up so that I can become the man God made me to be. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even be the future Pope.