Chapter 4 - Green? Really?

'Shit! Green? Really? Green? As if being chosen wasn't enough, I'm green?' Thought Pan.

 "Green… And… Quite rare and very special, congratulations boy," said Leopold trying to cheer Pan up, but the pity in his words betrayed his thoughts.

 Was it known to anyone who had read about the crusaders that green was the same as white, but far rarer and far worse, their focus was on healing using nature's literal green and what the fallen did best? They distorted nature. Not that the green couldn't do more, but there were so few in history that the range of information about them was poor at best.

 Pan looked at the stone with such genuine indignation that if looks had power it would have turned to dust. But no amount of indignation in the world could save him now. Once chosen, there was no turning back, refusing, or trying to flee was a foolish act, usually punishable by a lifetime in some dungeon, or death.

 But Pan's indignation was replaced by surprise, as there was a blue glow shortly after he was placed with the other crusader apprentices. The blue glow itself was not the reason for the surprise, although it was rare, there were some at the ceremony. No, Pan's surprise was because she was Ava of all people and the blue glow seemed to be much more intense than the others.

 "A blue one! and a powerful one! my congratulations young lady!" Declared Leopoldo with undisguised excitement in his voice.

 'Great, he's a fanatic.' Pan thought about how the man went from zero to a hundred in seconds when it came to the Order.

 Ava, meanwhile, turned pale as she looked at her mother, Ana, who was equally pale in the crowd. All her dreams and life goals, now shattered by the glint of a rock.

 Ava was placed next to Pan shortly after, but barely noticed the same. She just stared into space with a blank expression.

 'At least you're blue.' Pan thought bitterly, as he looked at Ava.

 "These are today's selected, we will continue with the ceremony tomorrow and those who did not have aptitude in the test do not need to return," said Leopoldo from the platform.

 A few days later, when the ceremony finally ended, there were a total of one hundred and three chosen. There were so many that they barely fit on the platform.

 'One hundred and three out of seven thousand, what glory for the Order.' Thought Leopold.

 The other Crusaders had happy looks on their faces at having so many new recruits. But there was a hint of pity in their eyes, for they knew that most of these one hundred and three young men would eventually perish to the terrors of the night.

 "The ceremony is over, those chosen will have three days to spend with their family and friends before departure," Leopoldo told the youth, making many feel sad at the prospect of being separated from their family and everything they know.  "Don't worry, after graduation you will be able to visit them again," he declared with confidence in his voice to lighten the mood.

 'That and if we survive graduation.' Thought Pan as he walked back to the house.

 After being chosen as green, Pan, of course, abandoned his job on the docks, thinking it was the only good thing about this whole situation. His routine now is to go from the ceremony to the house and from the house to the ceremony. Which wasn't necessary, after all, the Order would let you know when it was all over. But he had nothing better to do anyway. All of his relatives were dead and because he started working so early, he never had the time, or inclination, to make friends, with Ava being the closest person to what you could call a friend, not that Pan was in the mood to visit anyway. .

 There were more important things to do.

 Having no friends, Pan ended up spending most of the money he received at the docks on books and good food and then enjoying them in front of the fire. Nanna used to say that he was an old soul trapped in the body of a young man, who only knew how to eat, sleep and read.

 The same books he was avidly reading these days, no longer for the pleasure of reading itself, but to find some way, any way to survive graduation.

 Arriving home, Pan once again sat at the table, a pile of books was beside him, historical, geographical, fantasy, romance and horror books. Normally a dock boy wouldn't have that many books, paper is expensive, but it's no more expensive than having friends, and since Pan never made one, the money was always left over.

 "I haven't found anything yet.' Thought Pan, putting the last of his books aside.

 'Hm? I forgot that one.' There was a thick, dusty book on the shelf, he remembered Nanna used to read to him when he was younger. It was a compilation of popular stories and fantasies, ancient and recent. However, already tired of hearing the stories as a boy, he never gave it a second look after growing up.

  'Let's see, green, green, green.' Pan thought, as he leafed through the book looking for the word green, or essence. There were too many books to read in so few days, so he would have to focus on the root of her problem.

  'The beauty of the night… no, the king… no, black as… no, light that… either, art of… no, little imp… no, furious sun… no, sir… no heavens either, the green ruin… Got It! Pan screamed inwardly, excited to have found something, even if only a fable.

 Once upon a time, there was a gentleman of the green essence whom everyone called the "Green Walker" because wherever this gentleman walked, the green was born beautiful and prosperous, his simple walk transformed entire lands into paradises of lush green full of vitality and prosperity. Which in turn made the name "Green Walker" known throughout the continent of Lazark and soon the stories of its miracles reached the ears of the "Big Sun" of the desert, west of the continent of Lazark.The "Big Sun" thinking he could settle the disputes over oases in his generation and bring prosperity to the desert went personally to meet the revered "Green Walker" but he refused his pleas again and again, saying that it was not his duty to interfere in the desert. But "Sun"' will for peace and prosperity was such that he abandoned his pride as a sovereign and followed the walker wherever he went and begged him day after day to go to the desert, until finally, already tired of hearing the pleas of the "Big Sun", the "Green Walker" gave in to help and from that help a genuine friendship was born. And for a while the desert saw prosperity, the dunes turned into rivers and the sand turned to a green of flowers and trees, what was once called the "desert of death" was now the "land of life". But human ambition knew no bounds, no longer having to worry about hunger and thirst, what were once small battles for the possession of oases, became intense wars for politics and power, the rivers were stained with blood, the grass filled with bones and trees were set on fire to make sieges, the "Big Sun" of the desert was then betrayed and killed. As for the "Green Walker", he had his heart darkened by the death of the Great Sun and collected the boons once given, making the green turn to sand again, then he built a new oasis and infused his essence into it, it was a tomb for the "Sun" of the desert, a tomb in which he isolated himself. And for the fools who approached the oasis to enjoy its green, only death awaited them, their bodies became the food of the eternal tomb of the "Sun" and in time the beautiful and untouched oasis began to be called "The green ruin.'