The Giant's Revenge

The church was closed for the time they would be traveling to the capital. The people of Telda and the regulars for the church gave them a farewell as they helped them pack the carriage and cheered. It was strange to be cheered for, even now, after all that Ro'tov had done for them, he never felt he deserved such a treatment. However, the people of the village believed that he did so he accepted it.

They rode through towns, villages and then a few cities. People were always curious of what they were doing and then once told, curious as to if that could even be done. Accusing a lord or a lady was normally something other lords or ladies did, not what commoners did, however the crime committed against the priest had motivated him and Ro'tov to seek for the higher judgment, "If it were up to god, this world would be a peaceful place," Ro'tov commented.

"It would be a dull place, Ro'tov," Father Gregory chuckled, "I choose not to sin, and there are those who wish not to sin, however there are those who do not follow the same path as I do and are living their life the way they want to."

"Is that not wrong?"

"No, not necessarily, we are all the children of god, there are those who are good children and then there are bad children and everything in between," Ro'tov nodded as the carriage continued, "We have passed Juvila, we should be arriving tonight or tomorrow in the capital."

The two men walked into the King's throne room, having been given an audience with his highness in person and not with one of his servants, "Your highness, many thanks for receiving us, we have come from Telda to request this audience with you," The king looked at them with a confused look, "I am but a simple priest, Gregory Jiti and this is Ro'tov Jiti," The king's servant leaned over and whispered into his ear, "We have been the victims of an aggression towards my being and my practice directly orchestrated by one of the lords of your lands, my lord."

"Which lord do you speak of? It is a serious accusation."

"Lady Gildheart," The king sighed, it must've not been the first time he had heard a grievance against the cruel lady, "4 of her men attempted to torture me."

"And did they?" The priest shook his head, "I assume Ro'tov, was it?" The servant nodded, "Did something about it?"

"Yes, your highness, he did," The king turned to his servant.

"Your brother is a fierce warrior."

"Our dad was a brawling servant, your highness," Ro'tov's little brother replied, "We get it from there," The smaller brother turned to his older brother, "Good day, Ro'tov."

"Good day, Il'tov," The large man nodded as a way of acknowledging their greetings, "I killed the four men with my hands, your highness, and I compared the markings on their clothing and they matched the branding that Lady Gildheart had put on me when she acquired me."

"Accusing a Lady of my lands is only solvable in one method," The king announced, "There will be a judgment by combat, between the champions of Gregory Jiti and Lady Gildheart, is this what you wish?"

"Yes, your highness," The priest replied, "As much as it goes against my views of the world, it is how it works and an action of such cruelty must not be left unchallenged."

"Very well," Another servant stepped forwards, "Make sure that an envoy is sent to the town of Yivdi and that the arena be allowed for a judgment by combat."

"Yes, my lord," The servant quickly hurried out of the room. It was organized, it was planned, Ro'tov would have a shot at defending the honor of his new master and the people of Telda as well as end the brutal reign of the cruel Lady Gildheart.

Ro'tov's battle was greeted with cheers and encouragement from the people of Telda and they went to work helping him prepare while Father Gregory still held church but with a few less benches until they were replaced. The blacksmith had contacted his older brother and the two men worked long into the night to provide Ro'tov with the armor that he would use for the battle. However, a few days after the announcement of the trial, a man rode into the town on a perfect stallion and wore decorated armor and seemed like an important person, "I am looking for Ro'tov, have any of you see him?" Ro'tov stepped out of the blacksmith's workshop and spotted the man he had bested before being injured and discarded by Lady Gildheart.

"Lord Telot," The older man grinned and walked towards him as someone offered to hold his horse, "What are you doing here, in the middle of nowhere, in Telda?"

"I am here to train you, I have been hearing all the disgusting crimes Lady Gildheart has committed and made her servants commit," He replied, "I, the defender of the people, cannot let someone terrorize them like that."

"You are here to train me?" Ro'tov asked, slightly confused, "I have a shield and a sword ready."

"Scrap the shield, or have it on your back, you are best fit as an aggressive fighter, make him another blade," He called out, "I'll pay for it."

"Two swords?"

"Two swords, Ro'tov," The lord replied, "Come with me, we have but a little over a week to train you, where can we get a flat space to train?"

"The town square?" A man blurted out both an unsure answer and a slightly confused question.

"Perfect, that works for me, let's begin."

Rain fell from the sky as the arena was filed to the brim with people, it was the first time that several lords, including the king himself had come to assist a judgment by combat. Lord Telot, Lady Gildheart and the king sat in attendance as commoners filled up all the free spaces, "This battle will decided whether or not Lady Gildheart is fit to govern her lands in the manner that she does and, if found that she is not fit to rule the lands, she will be replaced by another lord," The king's spokesperson spoke, "The champions of Lady Gildheart and Gregory Jiti will fight until the winner is announced, to the death or otherwise to the limit the king places on this fight!" He shouted to be heard through the rain.

"Hello old man," The Gildheart servant spoke up, "I am Yi'kil, the last man you will ever fight," He had a battle axe in one hand and a shield in the other. Ro'tov didn't say a word as they stared each other down, shield strapped to his back and two straight swords in his hands, a new style of combat that Telot had drilled into him. Rain pelted his armor, providing a natural source of war drums for them to fight under. Telot had taught him how to fight a shielded opponent, and it wouldn't be easy to overcome his growing age and his worn body in order to triumph over the younger, more aggressive and cocky opponent.

"Let the combat," The spokesperson shouted, "Begin!" Yi'kil leaped forwards, shield up and axe up to strike at the unshielded opponent before a parry and a kick made him stagger and stop his attack. The crowd cheered with every attack and movement that impressed the commoners. With his swords placed high and low, Ro'tov moved around his shielded opponent to never let his body by a target. A pattern was death, a stationary attack was death and many things could clip the feathers of the two-sword technique. The younger man lunged forwards before Ro'tov's boot lifted and shoved him back before dodging the retreating axe attack. Il'tov watched carefully as his brother controlled the pacing and the positioning of the fight, it was a masterpiece that Lord Telot had created.

Both blades clashed against the shield, sending sparks into the rainy air before the iron helmet on Ro'tov's head lunged forwards and clanged into Yi'kil's and he staggered back and nearly tripped. Ro'tov, instead of pursuing the attack, swung a testing attack at the exposed axe hand before stepping back. With a shield, like against Lord Telot, he would've charged in, without, he would just leave himself open to a bigger attack that could possibly kill him. The ground was wet, the clothes in his armor was getting wet and heavy, the grind would be in his favor as the shield arm of Yi'kil would get tired and could possibly reveal cracks to attack. The younger fighter roared forwards and with one blade drawing the shield's protection, the second blade struck the axe and a fist clattered the attacking man's helmet. He hit the floor as Ro'tov stepped back, the crowd cheered once more. Yi'kil stood up and readjusted his helmet as he breathed heavily, his armor was the heavy armor that would protect him from most strikes but weighed enough to drag him down to the depths of a river no matter his strength. Ro'tov's armor was lighter, thinner but more mobile and not something to allow open, flat strikes against but still something to protect him from glancing blows.

The fight was longer than both men could've expected as they both began to fatigue. The crowd's cheers did not however as the younger rman was able to get rid of one of the blades in Ro'tov's hands, "Your luck's run out, old man," He said mockingly before another attack. Ro'tov used his free hand to grab the axe handle and with the remaining sword's hilt, threw punches at the helmet of Yi'kil, bending it and deforming the face covering before a kick to his knee pushed him back. Ro'tov's luck had yet to run out as a second attack led to both men clashing but the older man losing his second blade as they traded positions, however, Yi'kil had his back to the older man who still had one last chance at a weapon.

The edge of his shield slammed into the servant's head, ringing his bell as a second hit brought him to his knees then a third to his stomach and a fourth stopped his movements, a fifth broke the helmet and a sixth shattered it. The king didn't have him stop as Lady Gildheart watched her former servant pummel her newest champion to death with a shield. The still alive man twitched with the eighth, ninth and tenth strike before nothing happened with the eleventh and the twelfth. Ro'tov leaned back once more and, with two hands on the shield, brought it down and it cut into his head, "Ah!" He shouted as he pulled his bloody shield from the dead fighter's head, "I won!" The king stood up and began applauding as Lady Gildheart sank in her seat, her eyes wide, completely revealing her shock.

"The winner of the fight is the champion of Gregory Jiti!" The spokesperson announced as the large man dragged his body to in front of the king and knelt before him, "Lady Gildheart is to be stripped of her lands and condemned to the multiple sentences that her actions, including the ones that have caused his judgment, are to entail," Ro'tov had won, he had stopped the tyrant he used to call his master. It was over and he was glad it was done in such a way.

"Your highness, may I ask for a change in her sentence?" Ro'tov spoke before the king nodded, interrupting his spokesperson, "I would want Lady Gildheart to feel the pain she had brought upon those who she owned," He began, "For those who she had killed, beaten or intimidated, death is too simple of a punishment, that will be when the lord above chooses it to be, I ask you to change her to be a simple servant, like me, your highness."

"Is that even possible, your highness? She is not of servant blood," The king turned to his spokesperson and nodded, "What do you want to announce?"

"Have it happen, she will repay for her sins," The king turned to Ro'tov, "As that is not possible in our kingdom, Ro'tov, she will be demoted from lady to commoner to servant for the duration of 2 years at the end of which she will be imprisoned for her crimes."

"Thank you, your highness," Revenge wasn't something the lord above would appreciate, but it was justice for the man she had thrown into combat against Ro'tov and for his and his predecessor's actions. Justice was in fact something the lord above wanted.

Ro'tov returned to Telda a hero, a famous figure but he also returned a changed man. All his life he had simply served until he met the kind hearted master that he now had, Father Gregory, who treated him as a free man, a commoner, not a servant and opened his eyes to the wasted potential in his life. He had protected the man who regave him his life and avenged those who had been harmed by Lady Gildheart and himself as well. This was the life he wanted, no longer a monster, no longer a bully that listened to a lord and sinned in their place but a protector, a caring giant who would use the gifts the lord above had given him in order to help, protect and defend those who were unable to do so.

This was his story, this was Ro'tov story, even if it was just a servant's story.