Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [144]
“Thus do we all wear the band of the firewyrm,” Kutz said, raising her left hand and showing him the red leather strap on her wrist. “It is the sign of membership, and also, a warning.”
Should a Highlander forget his calling and fall into disgrace, dirtying his hands with evil, then it was said that the band of the firewyrm would blaze and sear his flesh.
“These are yours,” Kutz said, handing out two red wristbands. “Place them on your left wrist, and stand straight. Then put your left hand upon your chest, raise your right, and swear after me.”
Everyone formed a circle. Kutz’s voice was loud and clear in the silence.
“Goddess Creator, we are those who receive the will of the firewyrm, protectors of the code, hunters of the truth. We who come before you now bow at your feet, Goddess, give to you our souls, and swear a solemn oath. To despise that which is evil, to save that which is weak, to drive back the chaos, and stand true as steel, until our bodies fall to dust, we will walk hand in hand, following always the star of righteousness.”
When Wataru and Kee Keema had finished repeating the oath, Kutz smiled. “Welcome to the family!”
For several days after that, Wataru joined Trone on walks around the town of Gasara, learning the duties of the patrol and searching for information about the gemstones and the Mirror of Truth. Kee Keema, hearing about some wounded gimblewolves escaping from the Knights of Stengel, set out on a hunt with the other members.
“I’ll see what I can find out from other Highlanders,” he promised.
As he walked around town, Wataru was impressed with the sheer number of people who came through the place every day. Yet no matter how many people he asked, he never received any information that seemed relevant to his quest. “No need to be in such a hurry,” Trone laughed, consoling him. But Wataru couldn’t help but feel that his time was limited. Now that plans were laid for his journey across Vision, he thought even more about his mother. Is she okay? What did she think when I went missing? Maybe they all think I disappeared like Kenji and his gang did.
He knew she would be worried. He just hoped she hadn’t given up.
Word came that the wounded gimblewolves were roaming together in one large pack, and Kee Keema and the others didn’t come back for some time. Kutz, left behind at the branch to continue the interrogation of the brothers, wanted nothing more than to join them on the hunt. She spent her days in a foul mood, muttering about how the Knights of Stengel weren’t fit to round up a coop of chickens, let alone a pack of feral gimblewolves.
“Kutz is a dyed-in-the-wool Highlander, you see. She doesn’t place much faith in this knightly order the United Southern Nations cooked up.” So Trone had told Wataru in a quiet voice that evening while writing the day’s patrol report. “You see, the Knights of Stengel are under the direct control of the Senate, and compared to us Highlanders, they’re newcomers. Nor are they all warriors as their title would make one think. Some of them are scholars too. Why, their captains are also senators in the Union.”
Sitting back, Trone pushed up his glasses and folded his thick arms in front of his chest. “Of course, they did that on purpose, to ensure the Knights would remain loyal to the Senate…but most senators are decrepit old politicians—certainly not what you’d expect for the captain of a knightly order. In other words, were something big to happen, it’s not likely the captain would pick up a sword and go to battle. It’s an honorary post, you might say. And Kutz, well, she’s a pragmatist. She won’t stand for decorative posts and titles without substance, if you know what I mean.
“Within the Knights of Stengel,” Trone continued, “there is a special division of peacekeepers, much like us Highlanders, called the Lancers. Each region has two units responsible for it, but because their jurisdiction ranges over the entire southern