Call Of Justice (in progress)

Chapter One

I think you and I might need to get some things straight.

Are you looking for an epic story about a perfect hero who saves damsels in distress and fights armies bare handed without a scratch? Leave.

Are you looking for a savior in times of great need who brings peace and prosperity to the world? Leave.

Are you looking for a heartwarming love story with two perfect characters who totally unexpectedly fall in love with each other? Leave. And don't look back.

Still here? Then I might just have found the right person to share my story with.

***

My life has been... rough from the beginning, to put it mildly. My mother was a laundress. My father was an empty void of unknown. I never met him, though Mother used to say I have his eyes and that way of lifting just one eyebrow when I was amused. This was the most she'd ever told me about him. There was a time when I'd joke that my father's name was Gone. It's sort of tragic how the most important secrets in one's life only reveal themselves when it is too late.

Anyhow, my early years were spent mainly helping Mother and picking pockets. Both Mother and I knew it was a wrong thing to do, but neither of us complained when we had the money to buy a nearly decent meal. Of course, I only stole from the wealthy. If you had the money to buy carriages of jewelry that you will only wear once (if ever), then you had the money to buy me half a dinner. I bet most never noticed the few coppers I slipped out of their coin purses.

When I neared the age of eleven, my world went all of a sudden straight to the nine Hells. I'm not going to detail this any further because I'm fairly certain you're not here for my childhood. You are probably familiar with how I got to live in the heart of the Empire in the house of a very important man. Aren't you? Oh, well. Remember Legate Larend? Good. That day when all diplomatic relationships between the Council of the Carrans and the Empire rolled off a cliff was the day I received a new home. Legate Larend offered me to leave with him and train to enroll in the Imperial Army. I was a young boy, and thoughts of heroic deeds were spinning in my naive mind as I accepted the offer.

Now, a couple of things regarding the Army.

If you can stay away from it, consider yourself immensely fortunate. If you can shoe horses or bake bread or grow crops all your life, bless your fate. I envy you the choice to say no to the Army. Hells, I'd give my right hand to be a gardener. I mean it. Yeah, sure, the army is necessary, but make sure your reason for enrolling spins around patriotism. Don't run headfirst into the Army, aiming for the promises of wealth and prosperity that come after your service. Do you know why they offer you so many privileges? Because there are so few who survive the twenty-five years of enrollment that it won't hurt anyone's pockets to bless those with a fortune to last the rest of their days. Even if you manage to survive the wars, there are many undersides to the superiors' schemes.

Also if you meet a man asking you if you have plans for the future, for your sake, answer yes. It doesn't matter if it's a lie, just say it with all your conviction. He's going to drag you to some legion if you reply otherwise. Trust me, I've heard plenty of stories.

I talk too much, don't I? Ha! You should have seen me in my youth!

Ah, my youth... If now I am annoying, then back then I must have been impossible. My apologies, then.

I was twenty when Larend tossed me among the newest recruits in the castrum which housed Legion XII. But it's not like the life in the castrum was much different from my life spent in Legate Larend's house.

I had no idea what that man was to me. He never treated me the way he treated the recruits, but neither was he overly affectionate. Not quite my superior, not quite my father. There were those moments when he actually seemed to try to act like a proper father, but he failed. He never married, though he did tell me once or twice about some woman who had caught his eye and poked at his heart. Sadly, most women wouldn't even so much as glance the Legate's way. Mostly because of fear. Indeed, Larend was one Hell of an impressive man. His years of service had turned him into a massive, muscular and bulky thing, so tall that even I had to crank my neck to look at him, even after I had reached the fullness of my height. And he was ugly. Yep. There's no denying that. His face bore some very painful-looking battle scars and his too many fists in the face during his early years had misshapen his nose. He was not a ladies' man. But he had a heart as huge as himself, if not even bigger. One could see it in the way he trained the recruits. He guided them with a steady, autoritary voice, and yes, he did drop the occasional swear word. But there was always a big smile on his face when the boys understood what was asked of them. He was a great man, built from hard work, honor, loyalty and cranky jokes. And whoever wouldn't see that was simply stupid.