Tyranny of Steel

It was roughly three years after the death of Berengar's parents that he received a call from an old friend. The mighty Austrian General who was paramount to Berengar's early success in the field of battle, and a current King of Prussia, Eckhard von Marienburg, was on his death's bed.

Age had finally caught up with the man, and while the reaper was near, his family gathered by his side. But it was neither his sons, nor wives, who he wanted to speak to in his final hour. But a man who he had helped build the world's Greatest Empire.

After receiving the call from Eckhard, Berengar took his private jet and flew all the way to Marienburg, where he entered the medieval fortress, and found his old friend lying in bed. The years had finally caught up to Eckhard, and he was even older, and frailer than that time when he and Berengar were playing a game of chess in the royal gardens.

Eckhard was practically skin and bones, and Berengar barely recognized the man. Yet the moment Berengar entered the room, the man chuckled, as weak as a man possibly could, before voicing his thoughts to Berengar, whose hair was now as silver as a fox.

"You got old...."

Berengar took one look at Eckhard and gazed at the man with an expression that said "Look Who's Talking?" causing them both to break out into laughter. That is until Eckhard began to cough hysterically, which his nurse immediately helped by giving him a sip of water.

With this brief exchange, Eckhard finally felt the need to continue the conversation, which he was quick to do so.

"It's good that you came. I was beginning to worry that you had forgotten about me..."

Berengar wore a bitter smile as he shook his head, before assuring Eckhard that such a thing simply wasn't possible.

"Forget about my oldest friend? What have you been smoking?"

This remark caused Eckhard to weakly chuckle once more before returning to his wheezing state. It was difficult even for the man to speak, but he used every ounce of his strength to speak the words that needed to be said.

"I have a lot of regrets in this life, and there are things I have wanted to say to you for some time now... But never had the courage to do so. Now that I'm a dead man, I feel it is time to confess my thoughts."

Berengar sort of suspected this would be the case when he got the call, and thus, he had planned to listen to Eckhard's dying words the moment he decided to make the journey to Prussia. He gently grabbed hold of the man's bony hand while reassuring him that no matter what he said, he would understand.

"I figured as much, go ahead Eckhard, I give you to permission to speak freely...."

It took Eckhard several moments to gather his thoughts before he began to speak of those words he had wanted to say for years.

"When I look around at how the world has changed, all because of your actions. I am truly astonished. I grew up in an age of knights and feudalism, and within fifty years, it has all changed into something I can't even recognize.

Truly, you have single-handedly ushered in a new era of peace and prosperity for the German people. And I know I myself have played my small role in it. But I can't help but think back upon what was needed to remake the world into what it is today....

How many cities did you bury, along with all of their inhabitants? How many women and children have you slain in pursuit of this goal? I wonder if God will judge me as favorably as our people look upon me. Because all I can think of is the overwhelming amount of death and suffering we have caused to those who are not our own.

Entire civilizations have been wiped out because they incurred your wrath for one reason or another. And though their lives were snuffed out by your actions, I know that you would not have been able to do so if I did not help you gain your power over Germany in the first place.

Berengar, I must ask you, and I want you to answer me this honestly. Are we the villains in this story of our lives?"

Berengar's expression was completely stoic. Not a single ounce of emotion could be seen on it. And Eckhard had known Berengar long enough to understand what that meant. He was currently in an internal debate with himself. Finally, after a long and awkward silence, Berengar sighed, before wearing a bitter smile before giving voice to his thoughts on the matter.

"You only did what your Lord commanded of you. You are not a villain, my friend... But I am. History will either remember me as the greatest man to ever walk the Earth, or the most wicked. This is something I have thought about for some time, and it is a cross that I must bear alone. You are not responsible for anything that I have commanded you to do, or any that I have done long after I freed you from my service. I alone am to blame for the deaths that have occurred during my conquests. So go forth, and face your creator, with a heart free of guilt."

Tears fell from Eckhard's eyes as he heard these words spoken by his Kaiser. His wheezing intensified as they crashed around him. There was a look of pain, and confliction deep within Eckhard's haggard eyes, as he voice his next thoughts aloud.

"And... What if God judges me differently?"

To this, Berengar simply scoffed, and shook his head with a conceited smile on his face, before saying words that were so arrogant that only the man who had conquered the world could possibly say with a straight face.

"Then I will march my armies into hell itself to liberate you from such an unjust sentence. Rest easy Eckhard, for eternal paradise awaits you!"

Berengar didn't have the heart to tell a man on his deathbed that his religion was a lie, and that he would be spirited off to a pagan afterlife based upon the virtues he followed in life. Instead, he could only comfort the man with such an absurd statement.

And it worked, because the tears dried from Eckhard's eyes, and a wide smile was formed. He then began to cough once more, which lasted only a few seconds, before the old man said his final words.

"Goodbye my old friend... If you should find yourself forgiven in the eyes of the Lord, I would enjoy meeting you again in paradise."

After saying this, the light faded from Eckhard's eyes. And along with it, the old man breathed his last breath. Berengar then stared at the fresh corpse of one of his oldest friends in silence for several seconds before speaking his final thoughts about the matter.

"Goodbye Eckhard..."

After saying this, Berengar stood up from his seat and approached the family of a man who had been among the closest of his friends. Where he made a generous offer, one that they were not expecting.

"You do not need to worry about his burial. The State shall pay for it. Eckhard shall be honored as one of our people's greatest heroes, and I will have a grand monument built in his memory. You have my word."

Berengar did not wait for a response after saying this, instead he left the castle of Marienburg behind, and flew back to his home. Where he would remain entirely silent for the next three days, not even speaking a word to his many lovers.