Project: TheirWorld - Chapter 032 - Part 1

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Victim

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TheirWorld

“Jormund…” Mrs Noin voiced, but Jormund did not react. His eyes locked on to Guins, and fear began to creep into her heart.

“Everyday,” Jormund continued. “Everyday I pray to the Lady, asking her ‘Why? Why have you done all of this to me? Who am I to deserve such a test?’ But no answer comes. Not from her. Not from her - from them. They have always spoken to me…” His voice trailed off, and his eyes broke away. “As a child, I was always afraid. And that fear consumed me. Fear of the Church. Fear of the spirits. Fear of my mother. Fear of the Lady. And then I met Master Rew.

“I had been tricked into going into the woods one day. A spirit in the shape of a puppy had led me astray into the woods. When it revealed itself and attacked me… I was so tired… I wanted it to kill me,” he said, his voice shaking. “But Master Rew saved me. He just hit it on the head, gave it a good scolding, and it just ran off with its tail between its legs. How many times did he save me and laugh it off? I don’t remember,” Jormund chuckled. “He helped me. I know, Guin, that the spirits… there are spirits out there that are genuinely kind, but there are also those whose kindness is false. You must never forget that.”

“I won't…” Guin murmured, thinking of what it must have been like for him.

“Once my fear lessened, he began to teach me. His grandson - Euen - and I became fast friends - the first I had ever really had. He worshipped the ground Master Rew walked on and loved his stories, but I was the reason those stories were told to us. I was the reason that Master Rew taught us the ways of the forest,” Jormund said.

“He was training you,” Guin realized. “He wanted you to take his place as the Servant of the Dragon King.”

Jormund nodded, and looked into the fire in the fireplace. “There has always been guilt in my heart, toward Euen. He wanted so desperately to see into Master Rew’s world. Would that I could give my eyes to him that he could,” he said. “At the same time, though, I was happy.I felt it was my answer. ‘Ah. So this is what the Lady intended for me.’ I had found my place. Until Mother found out.”

“The Paladin…” Guin looked into her tea cup. Of course…

“I had no choice…” Jormund choked.

Alta Noin knelt beside the pastor and stroked his hair. “Oh my boy,” she said. “You were only a child…”

“It didn’t matter,” he said bitterly. “Time passed, and and I gave it up. I never told anyone again - I was so careful! Even my wife never knew about any of it,” his voice cracked as more tears fell down his face. “Things would have been so different… Euen is right. He always was. If I wasn’t such a liar…” He doubled over, sobbing, with Mrs Noin cooing at him softly, bringing him into her lap.

It seems that everything is coming together, she though, watching him cry. Jormund the Celestial Paladin. Jormund the Pale. Perhaps, Jormund, Servant of the Dragon King, was his third outcome. Guin ran a finger around the lip of her cup.

One felt redeemed and forgiven for his sins, finding peace in the Lady whom he loved. Perhaps this was an outcome that was common for people seeking to become healers or other such holy classes.

The more common outcome was the ignored, left to be eaten by the madness that buried deep in his mind; corrupted by a sin he shouldered the burden for all on his own. Alone...

Guin shot up in her seat and stared at him. What was it that Dawl had told her? “The Corruption, you see, is a spirit itself, created by the malice of other spirits - a malice so strong that it has gained the power to influence the thoughts and minds of souls, and drag them into its own power. The more souls it gathers into itself, the stronger it becomes… But it is not darkness, girl, nor is it anger. It is very depth of sadness.”

Gripping the arm of the chair tightly, she felt sick to her stomach.

“I-I am sorry,” Jormund started again. “I-I did not call you here for this. A story. Yes,” he said, clearing his throat. “There has been corruption here in my lifetime before. My wife… She always believed in the good hearts of the spirits, and sought a Che-bound spirit to grant a wish of hers. Silly girl,” he laughed. “She was a good, wise woman - but her childish nature often led her to dream of the impossible. She had asked me to meet her at the crossroads, that day,” his voice went soft. “But I… I didn’t. I didn’t want to go into the woods. I didn’t want to see the spirits. And because of that, I lost her.” Guin and Mrs Noin sat quietly as Jormund regained composure. “By the time we found her, the Corruption had already taken hold. The Spirit Stag she had caught took only a day to become a malevolent spirit. She was kept conscious - just barely - by the power of the spirit. I could only go to her. Hold her. Her heart had stopped long before we got there. Master Rew called the Dragon King, and made a bargain: Master Rew’s life for the forest’s.”

“So,” Mrs Noin broke in. “That was what happened. I suspected when Euen told me but…”

“I am sorry,” Jormund apologized to her, but she shook her head. Turning to Guin, he said, “My point it, Guin, even Master Rew could not prevent what happened. Not even the Dragon King.”

Licking her lips, Guin considered. She could only guess what sorrow caused the Spirit Stag to change so quickly. Tik-Tak’s mother seemed as if she would have accepted her death were it not for the corruption that was already in place. Indeed - she seemed to resist it quite strongly. Because she’s angry, not sad, Guin thought to herself. The fox spirit was angry, but her love for her cub seemed to be stronger than that hate. Perhaps it’s Jormund’s faith that keeps him from turning… Looking Jormund over, she wondered what the inevitable catalyst for his own corruption would be. The loss of faith.

“While I understand now, your reprehension,” Guin began, deciding her path. “My resolution remains firm. There is nothing you can say or do that will change my mind.”

To her surprise, Pastor Jormund chuckled and sighed...