Epilogue

 

They stood outside the small but bustling village. Five years had passed since Gareth had left these refugees and this church. In that time, a new High Bishop had been appointed, and new doctrines enacted through the Faith— one of which was the final dissolution of the Knight Crusaders.

When they'd arrived unseen by the many people they had passed today, Gareth had barely recognized the little village where it had all begun. Where there had only been four houses and a makeshift stable outside the church, now there was a lane with a row of several new houses on each side, and where the population had been mostly women and children, there were just as many men about. Small children ran giggling between buildings. Gareth passed a familiar face, Mary, as she called after a boy, cradling a baby in her arms.

Beside him, Fydelis, in his human disguise squeezed his hand. "You did this," he said, smiling up at Gareth. Although anyone who may have seen them would not remember them, Gareth understood that Fydelis preferred to look as human as he could, especially when they were coming to see to an old friend.

Gareth smiled down at his companion. "As I remember, none of this could have been done had I not called out for a specific guardian."

"Speaking of which." Fydelis tugged Gareth's hand towards the church gardens. "We've got a few minutes. Let's go see how we look."

They went under the newly constructed archway to the church gardens. The lilacs had all been groomed and beside them now were bushes full of white roses. Prayer benches and braziers lined the graveled path, and at the end, underneath a tree that had grown several feet since Gareth had last seen it, stood a statue. Young Kelvin, the child who had been sent to study with the Faith, had apparently had a vision of a new representation of Fidelity come to him in prayer; one the Church eagerly embraced. Two figures stood side by side; one in the form of a demon, but with a face too androgynous to offer it a sex; the other, a handsome knight. They stood together behind a shield, one side of it made of dark stone, the other lighter, and in the center, a circle with each half in reverse. The figures both held the hilt of one sword; their hands clasped together and wrists bound by a ribbon.

Gareth walked up to the statue and smiled. "It looks nothing like us."

"No." Fydelis sniffed. "I'm much better looking."

Gareth leaned down and kissed his forehead. "That you are."

Fydelis turned towards him, lacing his fingers together at the back of Gareth's neck and pulling him down for a proper kiss.

"It's time," Gareth said, as he slowly broke the contact.

"Later then," Fydelis reassured and together they left the garden.

Outside the stables, sat Yeol Havram. His breathing was severely labored, and his eyes, two years scarred and blinded by cataracts, struggled to open as the two men approached.

"Oh my. Is that… you, Father Gareth?"

Gareth smiled kindly, his heart aching for the circumstance of seeing his old friend. "Yes, Yeol, although my title has somewhat changed."

The milky eyes moved to Fydelis and he offered him a weak smile. "And you too. Ah, now I see. The likeness is not so good, but your idol is in the garden." He looked between them. "Fidelity is it? Come to weigh my soul?"

Fydelis waved his hand, then examined his nails. "I've little to measure here. You've almost no regrets worth considering."

"I've lived a very long and very good life." He smiled up at Gareth, the lines around his eyes deepening. "I must thank you again. Both of you, for that."

"You're welcome, Yeol. Are you ready?" Gareth asked softly.

The old man wheezed trough a deep breath and blinked, his hands tightening on the burled knob of his walking stick as he looked around the town. "Going to miss the horses, but Wellen is doing a good job with them. All right, I'm ready."

Gareth reached out and touched Yeol's forehead. The man took a stuttering, last gasp of air, then the body relaxed, and he died. A pale, yellow glow gathered around Gareth's fingers as he coaxed Yeol's soul out of his body and released it, sparkling and rising into the light.

He and Fydelis stood by, silently watching it rise until it vanished into the light of the sun.

Gareth sighed and turned away. "That was… difficult."

Fydelis put an arm around him, resting his temple against Gareth's shoulder. "You did well; and so did he. Onto the next."

They left the village as silently as they'd arrived, going about their task as Fidelity; helping guide the souls of the ever-faithful, from regret to attainment, and sending them back home.

 

 

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