Chapter 3 The Hand of God

This is Chapter three so enjoy

Chapter 3

The Hand of God

     At daybreak the Hawks were all slumped over around the smoldering ashes of the bonfires they had the previous night. Gut’s however was back at the top of the wall sitting on it while staring at the rising sun. “Hey you’re up early!” called out Judeau breaking Guts out of his trance like state. “Still talking to those birds are you?” he joked but seeing Guts was in no mood to laugh he turned and hoisted himself up onto the battlement beside him. “So Guts what ya think of our group?” he asked flashing a smile. “What do you mean?” “Well do you like it here?” Guts turned his head and looked out towards the horizon, “I don’t know yet. It’s different here. In most mercenary bands everybody’s the same. It’s easy to see that their ranks are made up of hoodlums and men with shady pasts. But I think something is different here.” Judeau cocked his head and said, “Huh, do ya think so? I never thought about that.” He then turned and grinned at Guts once more and continued, “I’d have to say it’s because of Griffith.” At the mention of Griffith’s name Guts turned and stared at Judeau intently. “Everyone admires him. We all expect great rewards to come from staying with Griffith. But to be honest, we’re probably all gathered here because of his charisma. Of course it’s kill or be killed. We all fight in bloody battles every day but as strange as it sounds, we can still live like normal people as long as we stay in this band.” “What kind of guy is Griffith?” “Hmmm….” Judeau thought looking down and rubbing his chin, “I can’t really say.” Guts didn’t even try to hide his confusion. “What?” “Now, now, listen. I can’t really describe it but I think Griffith really believes in something beyond battle and beyond victory. Now it’s probably something he won’t realize in his lifetime but something drives him. It’s something ordinary people like us can never understand.” Guts now looked hard at Judeau and said, “A belief in something. In what?” Judeau now beamed, the early morning sun glistening off of his blond hair pulled into a ponytail and his still boyish face and freckles, “In everything.” He said his voice now smooth and deeper than usual. Guts seemed to contemplate this for a moment until a loud voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “Hey hero! Griffith summoned you.” Casca yelled up not bothering to hide her distaste for him. “See ya.” Guts said as he then turned and stepped down from his seat on the wall. He then sheathed his sword across his back and began to descend towards the courtyard below. “Guts!” called out Judeau. Guts turned and looked at him. He was now leaning forward legs crossed with his chin resting on his open palm. “I have a funny feeling you’ll fit in with the Band of the Hawk just fine.” Guts then turned and walked down the stairs.

     He walked through the courtyard steeping over some of the still drunken men lying asleep. He then walked through a narrow corridor and saw Griffith standing naked, except for a red beherit strung around his neck, in front of a well. He was dumping bucket after bucket of water on his head and body apparently taking an improvised bath. Griffith sighed contently and then turned to Guts. “Ah! Would you care to join me? This is the best way to wake up!” “No thanks!” Guts said none too nicely. “Come on join me.” Griffith coaxed. “Stop it we’re not kids!” He shouted but stopped when he was splashed in the face by a bucket full of water. Guts saw Griffith had hurled the water at him and sighed while Griffith laughed and said sarcastically, “Oh no! Now I’ve done it.” Guts then ran and grabbed a bucket and dipped it into a nearby barrel full of water and tossed the water at Griffith. Griffith bobbed to the left laughing and said, “You missed me!” He was then drenched by another bucketful of water. He looked and saw Guts holding a bucket in each hand grinning. “Ha! Now we’re even.” Griffith then grabbed one of the buckets from Guts and proceeded to dip it into another water barrel and toss the water at Guts. Guts responded by doing the same. They continued doing that for several minutes while unbeknownst to them Judeau was looking down from a perch atop the nearby wall. He chuckled and thought, “It’s still a little early but things are looking up.”

     Several minutes later Guts and Griffith were both leaning against the well panting. Griffith looked up and said, “That was one heck of an exercise!” He then was drenched once again by another bucketful by Guts, Who then stuffed it onto Griffith’s head, covering his face. “Guts.” Griffith groaned struggling to get his head free. “Now we’re even.” Guts said wiping his mouth and sneering. Griffith then began to laugh once more. “Ha ha! I surrender! You’ve won the day!” he added clutching his stomach from laughter. “You my friend are stubborn.” Griffith stated looking at Guts. Guts meanwhile hadn’t been paying much attention to Griffith. He was entranced by the beherit that Griffith wore. It was red and in the shape of an egg, about two inches in diameter. What fixated him the most though was that on its surface there were the parts of a face but they were scattered all around its surface. So much so that he only could see an eye and nose. Griffith noticed his fascination and said, “Oh this? Well I got this from an old fortune teller woman a long time ago. It’s a beherit. She called it the egg of the king; for once you possess this you are destined to rule the world. In exchange for your flesh and blood.”  Guts looked at Griffith disbelievingly. “Rule the world?” He asked half jokingly. “Here, catch!” he said tossing Guts the beherit. Guts caught it and looked at it intently. The beherit was blood red and it mildly creeped him out. Then the eye nearest his thumb shot open and glared at him. Guts gasped and tossed it back to Griffith while backing a few feet away from him. Griffith then looked at the beherit thinking something was wrong but after seeing everything was normal he placed it around his neck once more. “The only problem is I don’t know how it’s supposed to work. Looks like its alive though, doesn’t it?” “It’s creepy.” Guts answered. Griffith then looked at it and held it up to his face grinning while saying in mock horror, “Be afraid!” Guts suddenly grew serious, “You still haven’t given me an answer since yesterday.” Griffith tilted his head questioningly. “Why did you come back for me? I wouldn’t have.” “I wasn’t about to lose a warrior of your caliber in such an insignificant battle. Especially after I put so much work into acquiring you.” He added with a chuckle. Now standing Griffith looked up towards the rising sun and continued, “Guts you must believe. We have only just taken the first step. The Band of the Hawk, victory in several battles. It is the dawn. Just the beginning. The real fun for us has yet to come. We will risk our lives for it.” Griffith then turned and stared down at Guts. Guts couldn’t tell whether he squinted from the sun or the brilliance of Griffith and his words but Griffith continued, “I will have my own kingdom. You must fight for me, because you belong to me and I will choose the place where you will die for me.”

     A few days later Guts was mounted once more on a horse. He was in his armor and helmet once more and was surrounded by the rest of the Hawks. They were all mounted and facing towards Griffith who had his back to them surveying the dry and rocky field in front of an imposing castle. “Have his own kingdom? He isn’t royalty or a noble. He’s not even a knight. He’s just the leader of a mercenary band and yet the way he stated it, as if it were his right.” Griffith turned and called back to the Hawks, “The enemies’ number is about one thousand. The first unit leads while the second and third unit cover the flanks. First unit charge!” He called pointing his arm forward. Around him several horsemen surged past him Guts making his way to their front. Guts’ mind however wasn’t on the battle it was still dwelling on his conversation with Griffith. “What have I really been doing these past four years?!” He suddenly recalled his past and remembered being on a battlefield like this once before.

     He remembered being very young, not much older than eight years. He recalled being a page to a mercenary named Gambino. Suddenly the memories came back and he was lost in them. “Give me that spear!” Gambino called out to Guts. Guts gave it to him his arms shaking. Gambino then raised the spear and buried it deep into an oncoming horseman’s chest. The horseman rolled off his horse and landed right in front of Guts’ feet. Guts fell over in terror seeing the man’s eyes glazed over and blood trickling from the man’s mouth. Gambino slammed the butt of his spear into Guts’ head and shouted, “Don’t be so freaking slow! Do you want to get me killed boy?”

     Guts then returned to the present and drew his blade cutting an enemies head off in the process. He urged his horse on and his horse surged onwards surpassing all the others in the Band of the Hawk. “Gambino!” Guts remembered the name and it only brought him anger he once again remembered serving under that man.
   

     He recalled after the battle that day how Gambino hadn’t let him even take a break, and had forced him to train. Guts had swung his sword at Gambino time and again only to have it blocked then to be shoved to the ground. His sword was larger than he was and yet Gambino still forced him to use it. Gambino chuckled and sneered, “Come on! What are ya doing?!” One of the spectators had called out, “Hey Guts! Why don’t you use a smaller sword? One that’s right for your size!” Guts turned the man’s jibe into blind anger and began to attack Gambino once more raising the sword over his head he swing it down at Gambino’s thick chest. Gambino however blocked his blow without any effort. The spectator then called out again, “Fine! Suit yourself ya thick headed little brat!” Guts pressed his weight against his blade but Gambino merely sidestepped and when Guts stumbled forward he kneed him in the stomach. As Guts fell to the ground gasping for breath Gambino turned and scowled down at him, “We don’t carry any baby sized swords for kids here anyway.” Guts was clutching his stomach and still gasping for air as he struggled to stand once more. One of the onlookers muttered to another, “Hey is it really true that kid was born from a corpse?” “Yeah Gambino’s wife Shisu found him.” “She was cursed the moment she picked him up! If she hadn’t she’d probably still be here.” Guts had heard every word the onlookers had said but had bit his lip to keep from saying anything he’d be beaten for and only gripped his sword tighter as he stood and rushed Gambino, tears streaming from his eyes. 

     Guts once more was drawn from his memories by the battle raging around him. As he cut through an enemy’s sword to cleave his head in two he thought, “Every time I used to swing a sword I didn’t need to think about anything else.” Once more he recalled his past and being surrounded by his fellow mercenaries. It was his first battle and now he was twelve and was wielding a larger sword than he had when Gambino had first begun training him. He was crouched down with the other mercenaries listening to the orders of their leader Gambino, “To the victor go the spoils! And Guts it’s your first real battle so work hard!” They then rushed towards the enemy’s castle and engaged the grunts on the battlefield. Guts slashed at his opponent but was blocked every time. Finally his opponent stabbed at Guts’ head but only succeeded in knocking his helmet off. Guts fell to the ground but stabbed upwards and pierced the enemy’s throat. Guts watched in excitement as he saw his opponent’s blood seeping down his blade. As he drew his sword from the man’s neck he didn’t notice an enemy had snuck up behind him. He only realized this once he was struck by the man’s flail in his back. As he fell forward the man stepped on his back and dug in his heel. He chuckled and was about ready to strike a final blow to Guts but suddenly a blade shot through his chest and he fell over dead. As the man fell, Guts saw Gambino standing behind him and was relieved. Gambino however sneered at Guts and said, “Watch your a*s! This isn’t a swordplay lesson! Don’t act like an idiot just because you got one!” Later that day Guts was standing in front of a table full of papers and purses of money. “Next!” called out the man sitting at the table. “Here you go. Good work.” He said giving Guts a small coin purse with a few coins in it but Guts rushed to Gambino eagerly to show him. “Gambino!” Guts called out and having found him he gave him his earnings saying, “Look!” Gambino opened the pouch and looked around in it picking up a large gold piece he tossed it to Guts saying, “Here! Keep up the good work!” A few years later Guts was on a battlefield with Gambino once more and just as Gambino had sounded the final charge the enemy fired a cannon towards him. The cannonball exploded a few feet from where Gambino stood but Gambino was hurled back from the force of the blast. “Gambino, NO!!” Guts cried out but he was too late to do anything. Later that day Gambino was sitting in a chair at the edge of the camp, a crutch leaning against the chair’s arm, his left leg in a splint and his ribs wrapped in bandages. He was petting a greyhound that was anxiously licking his hand. Guts was running to meet him and called out, “Gambino look at this! I got the enemy commander and I got the entire reward.” He said proudly holding up a large pouch full of coins. Gambino wasn’t paying attention but was rather scowling and gritting his teeth. “The meat. Where’s the meat to feed my dog?” Gambino asked. Guts looked at him quizzically. “What are you looking at?! Bring me that meat!! Bring it to me now!!!” he screamed smacking Guts in the face with his crutch. Guts wiped the blood from his lip and said, “I’m sorry. I’ll go fetch it now.” Gambino leaned his head back, his teeth still gritted, and stared at the sky. He then heard to men talking nearby and he turned and looked at them. “He’s got it good, our mister Gambino.” “Yeah, we should all follow his example!” At this Gambino lost his temper and burst out, “What did you say about me?! What the hell did you just say!!!” The two men stumbled back and one of them raised his arms saying, “Nothing! It was just a joke!” Gambino seethed with anger gritting his teeth and struggling not to cry out. Later that night it rained and as lighting cracked across the night sky Guts lay in his tent trying to sleep. Then a bolt of lightning lit up the entrance to his tent and he saw Gambino leaning on his crutch with an eerie grin on his face and in his left hand he held a sword. Guts sat up and looked at him rubbing his eyes “Gambino?” Gambino raised his sword and swung it down at Guts but Guts dodged it, rolling out of his blanket and sanding up. Gambino’s sword had pierced Guts’ pillow and now as he pulled his sword free he looked at Guts once more with that same eerie grin. “Gambino what’s wrong?!” Guts asked but Gambino seemed to pay him no heed. “It’s not usually like me to be this careless. I expected you to drop dead a long time ago. You should be dead you little b*****d but instead Shisu, who found you, died in your place. Now I’m in this miserable condition. This is like a joke!” Gambino’s eyes were now bloodshot and sweat was beginning to fall down his face. And as he raised his blade once more he continued, “What have I done to deserve this?! I take you in and you curse me!” Guts could hardly believe what he was hearing, “Gambino why are you-“, but he was cut off by Gambino’s sword tip suddenly pressing near his throat. “You are a son of the devil! A doomed child condemned by fate. You were the one who should have died. On that day eleven years ago, beneath your dead mother’s body. You should have died!!” With that he slashed down at Guts but missed and ended up ripping through his tent. Guts had dodged but couldn’t bring himself to attack Gambino and merely stood looking at him, dazed and confused by what was happening. Gambino saw this and slashed once more at Guts and cut him deeply across the bridge of his nose stopping just short of his eyes.  Blood streaming down his face, Guts glanced towards his sword that was propped up by a crate beside his bed and reached for it. Gambino struck at him just as he grabbed hold of its hilt. Guts was only just able to defend himself from Gambino’s strike but wasn’t able to keep his footing and fell on his back. Gambino looked down at him and said, “You were never any more than a pest. I hated you! Following me around like a dog after you killed Shisu. You should have died! You killed her!!” with this Gambino stabbed down at Gus’ chest but Guts twisted slightly and stabbed Gambino through his chest before his sword could reach him. Gambino still enraged said through gritted teeth, “You killed her! Shisu!” and with his last utterance Gambino’s eyes rolled back and he fell on top of Guts his blade knocking over the nearby lantern. “G…G…Gambino?” Guts stammered pulling himself out from under Gambino’s body. Guts saw Gambino’s face and he then realized what he had done and began to sob. Suddenly several men burst through the tents flaps and shouted, “What is it?” “What happened in here?” “Is it a raid?”  One of the men stepped forward and said, “Guts what’s going on here? Don’t tell me you did this!” Guts, however, was unable to bring himself to speak. “Answer me boy!” the man shouted pressing his blade against Guts’ throat. Guts smacked the man’s sword away and then slashed at his arm with his blade. The man dropped his sword and grabbed his bicep blood already streaming down his arm. “What have you done?!” said one of the other men drawing his sword. “Wait a minute this is not-“but, once more, he was cut off. “You will pay for this! Get him!!!” Yelled one of the other men. Guts ran through the rip Gambino had made earlier and sprinted for the horses’ makeshift stable. He untied one of the stallions and was only able to put on the reigns before the men caught up with him, so he quickly mounted and as the stallion reared he rode off into the raining night. Meanwhile the camp was in chaos as they tried to put out the tent that had caught fire from the overturned lantern one of the men cried out, “What happened?” “Guts just killed Gambino!” called out another. “You must be mistaken” “No, it’s true. Gambino was a father to him for twelve years and Guts killed him in his sleep!” Guts meanwhile was unable to make sense of anything. As the rain streamed down his face and hair he thought, “Why is this happening!?” Suddenly he heard horses approaching and when he turned he saw the rest of the mercenaries following after him. “Where do you think you’re going?! You can’t outrun us!” One of them called up towards Guts. Then he heard crossbow bolts whistling past him and just as he was about to urge his horse on, he was struck in his back. Immediately he sat up stiff as a board and then as his eyes closed he fell off his horse down the steep rocky hill into the river below. “Did we get him?” “Doesn’t matter, no one can survive that fall!” “Either way, Gambino can rest now. Along with Shisu.”  Guts however, was lying on his back as much as he could tell. He couldn’t open his eyes and as he lay there he thought, “I can’t move. My body is frozen! Will I die here? Will I?” Finally he opened his eyes and saw the full moon and the stars. He lay in the shallows of the river and was bleeding. The arrow had exited near his right shoulder and now he had a broken shaft sticking out. He didn’t seem to feel the pain though; rather he was transfixed by the pale moon’s glow. Finally he was able to muster himself to stand once more and he bent down to grab his sword and began to walk. He was barely able to walk and ragged himself along by using his sword as a makeshift walking stick but as he walked he looked up at the sky and wondered, “Where am I going? If I had just collapsed back there I would have been better off. If I were dead back there that would be nothing. Now there’s only bad.” He continued on for a few minutes and then he heard a snarl and then a much louder growl. He looked up and saw a large white wolf looking down at him from its perch atop a boulder, with its fangs bared. He then looked around him and he saw its entire pack. There were ten of them and he reasoned they had been attracted by the scent of his blood. He smiled and thought, “This is it.” As the wolves charged down at him he waited calmly until the leader leaped down at him. Guts then raised his sword and pierced its chest. He then fell on his back from the sudden weight on his blade and as he struggled to stand once more he howled in pain for all that he had just experienced.

     Guts snapped back into the present and struck down and enemy horse man and as he rode towards the others he thought, “I haven’t changed at all from what I was. Just killing enemies. Only to survive. Where do I want to go? Where?” He then charged headlong into the thick of the enemy’s ranks. Later that day the battle field was littered with enemy corpses. Griffith was walking about looking to find Guts and when he found him he asked, “Are you alive?” “Yeah.” Guts mumbled shoving an enemy’s body off of himself. Griffith smiled and knelt down to offer him a hand saying, “You have the devil’s own luck my friend. Now come on.” Guts grasped hold of Griffith’s hand and hoisted himself up. Together they walked towards a cliff overlooking the castle they had just defeated and Griffith turned to Guts and said, “On the battlefield a soldier’s life is worth little more than a silver coin. As if it were nothing. Most men’s lives are controlled by a handful of nobles for the convenience of royalty. Well Even a king should be unable to live life as he pleases. We all are swept by this tide know as fate. Until we eventually leave this world. We will run out of time and the tide of life will recede before we know who we really are. In this world there must be one man whose preordained course of life is the key to ruling the world. Regardless of his existing social position or class. That man could be part of this world’s true privileged class. That man could have the absolute power of a god. I know there’s something more for me.” He then smiled at Guts and continued, “It’s funny. I’ve never told this to anyone before, just you.” Guts just looked at him then turned and walked back to the castle.  

     Guts was standing on a small deck over the castle’s moat. It was only about 4 feet long and 3 feet wide, while he was looking out at the moat beneath and was lost in what Griffith had told him. He then heard a muffled voice coming from behind the door leading from the deck to the castle’s courtyard. He strained his ears to hear the voice and he heard Ricket’s voice calling for him, “Guts? Guts where are you?” Guts turned around but was knocked into the moat when Ricket burst through the door. Ricket looked down at Guts and then realized what he had done and started to chuckle. Guts however was quite angry and shouted up to him, “What’s the matter with you!” Ricket got down on his hands and knees and then said, “I just wanted to congratulate you. I heard you were promoted to the commander of the raiders! It’s amazing! You only have two weeks of experience with the Hawks!” “It’s nothing really.” Ricket looked at him in shock, “It’s a big deal! You became a member of the Hawks and a leader. Congratulations commander!” he added smiling and extending his hand to help Guts out of the moat. Guts reached for it and said, “Call me Guts.” Ricket grinned broadly and as he struggled to hoist Guts out of the moat Pippin crawled through the open door and bumped into Ricket’s back causing him to lose his balance and fall into the moat alongside Guts. Ricket bobbed up and spitting out a stream of water he groaned, “Pippin what wrong with you?!” Guts however was now even more annoyed, “I want out of this damn moat!!” Unbeknownst to them Casca was looking down at them from the ramparts above and shook her head.

 

Author's Note

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