Theodor Haygard lived in the ancestral home that passed to him after his father's death. His father had been a warrior like him, but, unfortunately, lost his life in a foreign war between kingdoms, where their clan had been sent by the baron.
His father did not go blindly obeying orders. He believed his experience and skill could save the young fighters who had entrusted their lives to him.
Theodor had known how to hold a sword since childhood; his father had instilled the warrior's craft in him with his mother's milk.
A couple of days ago, Theodor returned from another tour of duty on the border. In his absence, his friend Shenny looked after the house and the horses. The girl was overjoyed at his return and believed that a man like him would not come to harm.
The great wars were a thing of the past, but their ghost still roamed the forests in the form of small but cruel bands of robbers and feral barbarians. It was against them that Haygard fought, shoulder to shoulder with the other warriors of his squad. He guarded the border, and thus the peace of the settlement, protecting it from rare but bloody raids.
He ran his household with the same harsh discipline as his military service. There wasn't a single servant in his house. Not for cooking, not for cleaning, not for chopping firewood. Everything, from stoking the stove to cleaning his weapons, he did with his own hands.
Time passed at a leisurely pace, and the man was gradually regaining his lost peace, piece by piece.
But peace in these parts was a fragile gift. Everything in this world has its end...
The war for which the baron had sent his fighters had long been over. Foreign kings had signed peace treaties, foreign generals had counted their trophies, but for this settlement, the war had not ended. Theodor's acquaintances learned of his return and hurried to visit the man.
One day, an old woman who was left with her granddaughter in her care came to him and complained about the hard life on the outskirts. That year, crop failure had struck, and food had become catastrophically scarce. Local merchants had jacked up their prices. For an elderly woman with a child, it was an impossible burden.
She asked Theodor to speak to the baron.
Theodor was beside himself with rage when he learned that the people for whom his family and friends had fallen lived no better at all. The whole politics and the baron's high-handedness infuriated him, but the only thing he could do now was to try to bring word of the dire plight of the common folk to the ruler.
The man managed to catch the baron in the assembly house and get a hearing. He was courteous, speaking briefly and to the point.
Theodor came as the voice of those who till these lands and whose sons lie in the earth so that a foreign war would not reach the baron's chambers. He spoke of the dire state of the outlying farms and asked for aid to be given to the needy families.
But as he spoke, the ruler's face flushed crimson with anger. The baron did not heed the plea, did not listen to the arguments and objections, but only curtly stated that he had no intention of changing anything. He made excuses about a grain shortage, shaky diplomacy with the neighboring kingdoms, and, full of rage, drove Theodor from the hall, refusing to hear any more about the poor and their troubles.
The humiliation he had suffered before the baron burned inside him. Theodor ordered the strongest brew in the tavern to quell the storm in his soul alone. He feared his anger would break loose and fall upon the innocent.
Soon, a young woman who had seen and heard his speech approached the man. She was amazed that the baron had not sent Theodor's head to the block simply because he was a skilled warrior.
But the man was in no mood for conversation. He was deeply distressed that he had failed to get through to the baron.
Shenny did not support the baron's rule either. Many in the settlement were discontent, but their hands and mouths were bound by fear, which the baron skillfully wielded. And in the course of their conversation, Shenny hinted to her friend that Theodor could lead the people. Such thoughts made the man feel suffocated and sick. He could not simply betray his liege lord, for he had sworn an oath of fealty.
In the end, all roads in Theodor's mind led to one thing—rebellion. But in his soul, forged from honor and duty, a last, stubborn spark of hope still smoldered. To go against authority, to break his oath—that was the final line, beyond which there was no return. And before taking that step, he decided to give the baron one last chance...
Haygard stood before the baron once again. This time during a chance audience at a summer festival. He tried once more to reason with the ruler, but the man was immovable and excessively irritated by his warrior's zeal to help the poor. The baron threatened to send him to the block if Haygard ever dared to approach him with this matter again.
In Theodor's soul, the last spark of hope for a peaceful resolution was finally extinguished. Now only one path remained. The path of open confrontation...
He shared his decision with Shenny. She, in turn, promised to gather rumors, sound out the mood in the settlement, and be a hidden figure among the common people.
