Burn with Dignity

Shien did not push the crowd's fervor any higher.

He tempered his voice at the right moment, letting the scorching heat of their emotions cool in the night wind.

"Of course, hot blood alone won't stop the claws beneath the Blood Moon." His voice grew level again, and he raised a hand for silence.

"From tonight on, Blackpine Fief will put an end to disorder. To survive—and to leave our names in the record of merit—we need new rules.

"First: military supplies will be accounted for openly. From this moment on, every sack of grain brought into storage and every fragment of Holy Silver must be recorded. Anyone who dares steal from our supplies will share his fate."

With that, he nudged the finance officer Gri's head, not yet cold, with his foot.

The crowd fell silent at once. Several clerks in particular lowered their heads, their faces pale.

"Second: fixed patrol shifts." He took the patrol roster from an attendant. "Knights will lead the patrols. No one may abandon his post. Under Sacred Flame Law, even a quarter-hour's absence is punishable by death."

The knights and warriors below were hardened old hands, accustomed to pride and lax discipline. Even a lord's orders would not normally make them bow their heads so easily.

But tonight, the moment they met Shien's cool gaze, every one of them swallowed his objection. Silence settled over the crowd.

Shien did not wait for a response. His gaze had already moved to the low-ranking knights whose armor bore the worst wear.

"Third: deeds in battle will be recorded by name. Every Aberrant slain, every comrade rescued—the clerks will record it on the spot. No one may withhold or claim another's achievements. The record of military merit will be open to all, at any time."

At that moment, nearly a hundred knights of humble birth snapped their heads up. The patches of gray-white above them rapidly darkened, and green climbed higher bit by bit.

"Fourth: a work-point system for the Convicts." Shien turned toward the outermost ring. "Until now, you've had only crimes, not names.

"From now on, work earns rations, and merit reduces your sentence. Your work points will be recorded each day. Earn one thousand points, and your names will be restored. You will be registered as free citizens."

When Shien finished speaking, the Convicts huddled in the shadows still stood motionless, like livestock frozen stiff.

Years of whipping and hunger had emptied their faces of expression. All that remained was a reflexive response to orders.

Three full heartbeats passed before a faint ripple moved through their ranks.

Heads that had hung low rose stiffly. In eyes as hollow as dry wells, bewilderment appeared first, then a glimmer of disbelief.

But Fabien interrupted. "My lord, this violates established practice. The souls of the Convicts have been corrupted by the Blood Moon. To grant them names and dignity... there is no precedent for it in the Sacred Tradition."

Shien turned his head slightly and assumed an expression of deep compassion.

"Cleric Fabien, could it be... that you haven't read the Sacred Flame Proverbs in too long?

"Chapter eighty-one says: The Sacred Flame shines upon all things and asks nothing of their birth. Slave or free, man or woman, all stand beneath its light."

Fabien froze. His mind raced.

The Sacred Flame Proverbs? Chapter eighty-one? What was that chapter about?

He searched his memory, but could not place the passage. Shien sounded so certain that Fabien began to doubt himself. The less he could recall, the more he suspected he had overlooked it.

The Sacred Canon was vast. Even Fabien, a low-ranking knight, could not possibly have read it all.

Shines upon all things... asks nothing of their birth... Fabien turned the words over and over in his mind.

They sounded lofty enough to have come from a Sage.

More importantly, they fit his own beliefs perfectly. The words struck straight at Fabien's fervent heart.

Shien added one final blow. "If the Sacred Flame asks nothing of birth, then those who stand beneath its light can surely wash away old sins and reclaim their names."

Fabien lowered his head in shame. "I... I've neglected my studies. My lord, your learning and mercy put me to shame."

Shien's face remained composed, but inwardly he let out a long breath. He even wanted to give his improvisation full marks.

The Sacred Flame Proverbs? Chapter eighty-one? He had cobbled that saying together on the spot from scraps of scripture he remembered from his previous life. At least it had fooled Fabien.

Shien composed himself and looked toward the Convicts in the outermost ring.

Their gray-white values were rising little by little. At first they wavered only faintly, but then several suddenly leaped, closing in on emerald green.

One of the first Convicts to kneel raised his head. His eyes still held fear, but they were no longer empty.

His voice was hoarse, yet he forced the words out. "Great lord... may the Sacred Flame bear witness to you. Please remember our names."

This time, no one rebuked him.

More voices followed, still humble in tone but unable to hide the fervor beneath.

"Great lord, may the Sacred Flame protect you!"

"We'll keep watch through the night and build walls for the Sacred Flame!"

Prayers and vows rose from among the Convicts. Perhaps out of habit, their voices remained restrained and subdued, but a fierce emotion burned within them.

In Shien's sight, the whole expanse of gray-white began to surge. The values no longer hesitated. Scores rose together, and a few of the strongest briefly touched emerald green before settling.

Shien had added the work-point system almost as an afterthought.

He had only meant to secure the common people's basic support. He had not expected such a powerful response.

"You can save your cheers for when you've reclaimed your names. Listen to me now."

Shien did not bask in their cheers. He raised his hand, pressed his palm toward the ground, and gradually quieted the uproar before it could run out of control.

He continued in a solemn voice. "The Sacred Flame may show us the way toward the light, but carving out a path to survival will take your own flesh and blood.

"So I offer you a choice. Will you hide beneath broken walls, trembling whenever the Blood Moon rises, hoping the Dark Creatures will spare you once they've eaten their fill? Will you cling to life like livestock in the mud?"

Shien stepped forward. His silver hair whipped wildly in the night wind, lending him an air of sanctity.

"Or will you lift Stone Blocks and grip your swords, raise walls in the wilderness and draw blades amid the ruins!

"Hold fast through the first night! Let the reinforcements from the Holy City see that Blackpine Fief's flame has not gone out! Let your names stand not for shame, but for glory!

"If we must turn to ashes in the end, then, all of you...

"Rather than cling to life, let us burn with dignity!"

Shien's words faded. Deathly silence fell over the camp. Only the Sacred Flame roared in the fierce wind.

Fabien moved first. His eyes reddened as he dropped to one knee, his knee guard striking the ground with a dull thud.

To a religious zealot like him, Shien's words had struck straight to the heart.

He pressed a hand to the Holy Emblem on his chest, looked directly at Shien, and let out the first roar: "We do not ask to merely survive! We ask only to burn!"

The next instant, forty Church members knelt as one, like falling dominoes. "We do not ask to merely survive! We ask only to burn!"

Then more than two hundred secular knights and warriors followed their lead, dropping to one knee and taking up the cry: "We do not ask to merely survive! We ask only to burn!"

The craftsmen and clerks joined them. Souls that had trembled with fear found something to hold on to in that shared fervor. "We do not ask to merely survive! We ask only to burn!"

Last came the one hundred and twenty-nine Convicts.

They raised their filthy hands with trembling arms, and their voices joined in a thunderous roar: "We do not ask to merely survive! We ask only to burn!"

Shien stood still above them, looking down over the kneeling figures that surged like a sea.

Through the Canon of Grace and Righteousness, he saw Grace Value rising like a tide.

Pale green spread in swathes, while deeper greens flickered like stars kindling across the dark wasteland.

He knew he had passed the first test.