Oathbreaker, Book 1: The Knight's Tale - Colin McComb

“She will be taught of duty, honor, and necessity. As for the new ruler . . . I cannot say.
The Birdsnest Wars brought us King Fannon, and this coup seemed likely to be less bloody in the
short term, and that was my focus when I joined them.” He struck himself in the leg, reprovingly.
“Fool that I was! Yet I think it unlikely that Athedon’s policies will benefit the Empire greatly.
Looking back now, I think he sought power for power, not for duty. His hunger for power will
weigh too greatly on the wheel of the state, and he will veer too far to protect himself. His policy
of distrust has already caused one defection, at least—who knows how many more will flee once
he has entrenched himself?
“Regardless,” he continued, “their strength has grown too great for me to fight alone.
Better to retreat now and return when the time is right, when they have driven the populace into
terror. I believe the old way to have been strict but just, and—”
I scoffed. “Just? You think the Empire is just? Friend, you’ve got a lot to learn. Now that
you’re out of Terona, maybe you’ll see how just the Empire is on your own.”
“I do not believe I will have that opportunity. I intend to disappear entirely.”
“I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me where.”
A faint smile appeared on his lips as answer.
“I’d bet I’m one of the few alive who knows even this much. If my life weren’t forfeit
before . . . I don’t dare set foot in the Empire under my own name again, do I? You’ve taken all
that away.” A sadness began to well up in me, but I’d be damned if I’d let him see my tears.
Besides, it was mixed with more than a share of a rage that would do me no good to show. “My
shift is starting, Sir Knight, and I’d suggest you get below-decks as well. There’s a storm coming
from the west.” I turned and left the rail. And then I stopped and turned, and spat, “I want to wish
you the best of luck, but I want you to remember that you have destroyed all our lives. We’re not
just pieces in a game. Believe it or not, the subjects of the Empire have dreams, too. It's not all
bowing to our betters and looking for ways to make their lives easier. Damn you, we just want to
be left alone! Why in Hell would you do this to us?”
He had the grace to look abashed, and he said, “You have my apologies, sailor. I have
been unfair. I only wanted my tale to be told. I wanted the truth spread before my reputation in
history is slandered. I wanted… I wanted someone to absolve me.”
“Then look to an ecclesiast,” I said. “What I am is a sailor.”
“But have I done the right thing?” he asked, almost plaintive, and I saw then the youth in
his face, and I knew that he'd been pushed for too long, without a chance to be himself, and I was
momentarily ashamed. But that vanished like a spray of mist against a sail: like it or not, we had
taken a side.
Colin McComb Oathbreaker, Book 1: The Knight's Tale
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