Horatio of The Damned

Once in a time very much like our own but not without its subtle differences lived a lazy man. Words are abstruse. For you see it was not that this man was lazy in the true sense of the word. He performed all tasks required of him but at his own pace.

Blind as the majority can be, the other villagers did not see a man working in tune to himself rather they saw a lazy man that never hurried but spent time dragging out his work.

"Look at him, he never hurries." They said while they scorned him. The man stood untouched by their mockery and scorn but rather kept on with his daily pace.

A day came when war was declared in the Capital Kingdom. All able-bodied men from the sub-divisions or villages were summoned to enlist. The lazy man did not particularly want to go (as would no one in their right senses) but he knew it was his duty so he set off for the enlisting camp.

On his way there, he stumbled into a boar trap. His left leg caught in its snares and was severely damaged. He crawled till he could lay himself up against a tree. He struggled to catch his breath through the pain. Soon enough the flies and other creatures of the woods gathered around at the smell of blood. He fought them away but they proved to great for him and settled on his flesh. He feared he would be eaten alive.

A damned spirit happened to be passing by at the time and heard the moans of the lazy man. The damned spirit came forth. The flies and creatures of the wood fled at the sight of it.

"Help me." The lazy man began weakly. The damned spirit looked upon the lazy man and saw that he bore the mark of the village of Jer, a village ravaged by constant famine. But the hands and skin of the man looked smooth and untouched by hardship. The spirit looked down on the lazy man with contempt.

"Who are you that I should give you aid?" The damned spirit inquired mockingly.

"I have no name, I was born of no one. One should always give one's name when asking for the name of another."

"Of what use is my name to a dying man who has no name since he was born of no one?"

"I am not a dying man, I simply wish to know the name of my helper"

"Helper? surely tis not I you speak of. I have done you no help nor do I intend to do so"

"Your presence has chased away the dwellers that feasted on mine flesh, you have done me a great help merely by coming here"

"Surely you must be mad, I am a damned spirit. I can do you no good."

"I never said I want good. You have called me a dying man. So then who am I to discriminate good and bad. If you wish to do me good, you can drive a knife through mine heart so that my passing may be swift.

But if you wish to shroud your evil in falsities', you can nurse my wounds so that I may heal and be as a cripple but forever indebted to you."

The damned spirit stole a closer look at the lazy man. It saw the determined set of his jaw, the fire in his eyes. The smooth yet strong muscles that he possessed. The damned spirit realized with a repentant sympathy. This was not a lazy man but simply a man that worked in tune to his body.

"Like I said before, I am a damned spirit. I can do you no good... nor can I drive a knife through your heart."

"For me good and death are the same."

"But truly if you seek it. I can grant you two curses. One disguised as a blessing that will eventually become a curse and a curse that will always be a curse. You can choose your blessing and your curse."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said. Do not be daft, hurry up and choose the blessing I shall curse you with." The damned spirit turned away. The lazy man thought for a while. He thought of his village and the life he lived there. He thought of the war and how if he managed to survive the ghastly wound to his leg, he would still go on to die in the war. The damned spirit left to return in an hour's time. The forest dwellers immediately set to work on the lazy ma's wounds the moment the spirit left.

The damned spirit returned on the hour. The lazy man was at death's door. The forest dwellers had eaten deep into his flesh. He would not last much longer. Yet the lazy still looked full of life despite the gravity of his wounds. He smiled at the damned spirit.

"You are peculiar man to smile in the face of death and in the presence of a damned spirit."

"One does not greet one's savior with a scowl on his face. It is impolite."

"Foolishness... have you chosen the blessings I shall curse you with or have you resigned to your fate."

The lazy man laughed loud and long in spite of his wounds. He coughed up blood and spat it out on the earthen floor of the forest.

"I have indeed. Although I do not know which is a blessing and which is a curse."

"Whatever do you mean?" The damned spirit inquired perplexed.

"For one I wish for you to bestow upon me the magic of speedy recovery always and for the other I wish for you to bestow upon me your name and the destiny that comes with it. As for which is which. That I do not know."

The damned spirit stared at the man in horror. Surely this man must be mad? The pain of his wounds have made him delirious and he does not know that which he speaks.

"No I am not mad and truly the pain has made me dizzy but I am still with my wits. I know what I ask for" The damned spirit stared now in stunned silence. Had the man somehow read its thoughts. The lazy man smiled a smile filled with the pain of his wounds.

"I did not read your mind. Rather I knew what you were thinking."

"But surely you must be mad?" The damned spirit snapped at the lazy man. "Why else would you want the name and destiny of a damned spirit? Do you not know what misfortune it entails?"

"I am a man with no name as I was born to no one. I have no destiny as the Morai have no ties to me. The Chaos does not see me. Hence I am already damned."

"But taking my name? That is simply madness." The spirit exploded in exasperation.

"What truly is madness? You are damned, I am to be damned. I do not know the course of my destiny. I only know its end. But you my friend have seen yours to its completion. I ask of you now, give me your destiny so that I may do great things with it. For I am a damned man on a damned path. I have no choice but to be blessed."

The damned spirit saw that the lazy man was not joking. This man hopes to take a damned destiny and make it into something profoundly blessed. Foolishness.

The lazy man groaned from the pain of his wounds and spat out more blood. Hastily the damned spirit drew out his hand.

"Very well. I bestow upon you, the magic of speedy recovery always." The lazy man was healed at once. All his wounds sealed shut and the color returned to his cheeks. At once he sprung to his feet making the damned spirit step back and watch him warily.

"And the destiny?' The lazy man inquired.

"I am not sure. I have already given you a would-be curse, you are to be damned. Why would I curse you more with a damned destiny. What is to come of that much negativity?"

The lazy man looked at the damned spirit as though it were the funniest thing in the world. He laughed loudly and without the pain of his wounds it was a sound hearty laugh. He clapped the damned spirit on its back. The damned spirit startled and jumped in surprise but the lazy man was unperturbed instead he smiled broadly.

"What would come of that much negativity? Why something positive of course. Do not worry about me. I can handle whatever comes my way."

"Surely you can not."

"We shall see. Now come on, there's not a moment to waste. Hurry up and give me your destiny so I can do great things with it." The lazy man held out his hand as if to collect the destiny in his palm.

"You are truly a peculiar man." The damned spirit shook its head as it spoke but nonetheless placed its palm in the hand of the lazy man. The touch was death and fire that burned like ice but neither man nor spirit flinched or wavered. There was a humming an a buzz and then he felt it like a cold stream seeping into his soul to settle like a dead weight at the very core of his being. He shivered from the coldness of his but stood firm.

After a few more moments, the spirit stepped away from it. Without its destiny, the spirit was no longer damned and now free to roam all the realms as a free being. Once it realized what the lazy man had done for it. It wept.

"Promise me, son of no one. When the burden of the damned becomes too much to bear, call on me and I shall take back my load." The lazy man laughed again at the words of the spirit.

"One does not burden one's savior. I do not take gifts whether they be curses or not. I have simply repaid a right done to me. But I pray thee before you go. Tell me what is your name? So I may know whose destiny it is I now bear."

"Very well. I am Horatio, son of the sun and moon. Giver of stars. Nothing can hide from my eyes. I see the secrets buried in the day and those shrouded in the night because I am rather I was all that was left of those who watched."

"Then farewell Horatio. Night and day may have been lost to your eyes but I will see them for you. I will conquer the stars you could never reach and do so in your name. In the event that your destiny is returned to you, it will be as warm and bright as the sun by day and as peaceful and tranquil as the moon by night. Never again will you be damned. This is an oath by Horatio son of the stars to Horatio, the one who is no longer damned."

With that the lazy man now named Horatio set off on his journey to the enlisting camp. The bright burning flame of his determination contrasted sharply with the cold gripping ice of the damned destiny. At his core they mixed doused and burned to become a soft enveloping warmth. This warmth was all the spirit who was once Horatio could see as the lazy man made his way into the distance.