The Soul And The Sword

Epilogue

The night after Ruther prepares her a funeral by himself. In his back yard he has built a large fire pit with a stack wooden planks neatly arranged in a rectangular pattern. Mallory's body lies ontop of the stack of wood with a bouquet of tulips clutched in her hand, which is her favorite flower. In Ruther's left hand he holds a tall lit torch and wears his finest set of armor he has while he holds his helmet to his right side. He sticks the torch in the ground, kneels down towards Mallory, sets his helmet infront of him, and sticks his sword in the ground straight down as he holds the hilt with both hands.
He bows his head and speaks,"Mallory. We had been through thick and thin together, like two brothers in war. We have fought against many things, but have battled it as one. You were more than just a wife to me; you were a friend and a fellow soldier in war. I have always loved you, even in times I may have gotten angry at you. We have had our debates, but it has never ended in corruption and damage, but has ended in an agreement. You were as much of a warrior as I. You may have not been good with a sword, but you had the heart of a knight. I will miss you my dear, but I will continue to remain strong even in hard times like these. I will keep going for you and will never forget you Mallory. And when the time comes I will join you in the heavens and be with you again. But until then I will never stop fighting and will always remain the true knight I have learned to be over this journey. I must always remain strong in heart, body, and mind or I will crumble and fall. Goodbye Mallory."
Ruther stands back up and lights the bottom of the stack with the torch. He remains standing as he watches the fire burn the corpse of his wife. After a while the fire ceases as it leaves behind a pile of ashes. Ruther then opens an urn he had brought outside and puts some of the ash in it. He closes the top of the urn and brings it inside. It is set ontop of a podium that has a gold label on the front of it. Engraved in the gold are the words,"In memory of Harold, Carlos, and Mallory. The three people who made me the soldier I am today."

A few days later Ruther ran across Phillip in town. The two hugged eachother and caught up on each others lives. Ruther told him that he completed his quest and how it ended. Phillip felt his pain, but respected that Ruther took it as a lesson and a reminder. Phillip had fit right in with the people in town and was living a good and happy life, but Phillip had no actual home and was living in an inn.
Ruther asked him why to which Phillip replied,"I was waiting for your return and was going to ask if I could move in."
Ruther said yes to his request and allowed him to live with him at his home. Ruther told him of how he built this home all by hand along with some other friends helping and some memories. He showed him his personal forge and his training grounds outside.
"What is mine is your's," said Ruther to Phillip,"You are now a part of my family."
"Thank you so much for this," replied Phillip,"I still have never forgotten the day you saved me and gave me another shot at life."
"I wouldn't have done something like that before my journey, but it changed my heart, mind, and body, it made me caring and thoughtful to others. It opened my eyes to how other people can struggle, and put me in the shoes of the suffering. And it strengthened me as a whole and has made me truly understand what it means to be a real soldier both in life and in battle."
Phillip speaks,"Yeah I have changed as well. After that day and you talking to me in my dark times I learned to not let horrible and dark things hold onto me. I know now that I cannot hold onto everything and live in the past. I must move on from it and must see the good in everything. My family is gone, but I know they are in a better place than what is here. Plus if it hadn't been for that siege and me getting trapped under that wood I would have never gotten the chance to meet you and would have never been able to live a better life than I had."
Ruther pats Phillip on the back and puts his arm around his shoulder as he looks out at his backyard where the training equipment is.
"Hey Phillip," says Ruther.
"What is it," replies Phillip.
"How would you like to be trained in the ways of a knight and possibly become one someday, fighting alongside me as brethren in war and in family?"
"That would be wonderful. Are you sure you want to Ruther?"
"I am sure. I think with me learning what it means to truly be a warrior and going from the best times to the complete opposite, I have enough experience and skill to build you up in the same way."
The two go down to the training space as Ruther hands him a wooden sword and wields one himself.
"Now then," says Ruther,"Just like my father said to me in the past whenever we started training 'Show me what you got."
Phillip came at Ruther as the two fought for several minutes. Phillip was eventually able to get a really good hit on Ruther.
"I am impressed," says Ruther,"I think you will make a fine knight some day."