Chapter 1: The Irreversible Decision
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	"Back, back, I say," cried the black robed monk, gesturing wildly
with his hands.  "We must retreat for today, but we shall return.  The word
of heaven will NOT be denied!"  Three guards immediately swept in to
surround the monk, forming a protective circle around his figure.  Lyrix
hesitated for a moment, seeing his friend, Toroy, battling three villagers
near a house.  His moment of hesitation cost him, and a sword sliced across
his ribs. 	
	His chain armor deflected the blade, but the impact pushed the air
out of his lungs with a grunt.  His detatchment from the battle quickly
turned to irritation, and he dispatched his opponent with a vicious double
stroke, spilling the man's guts on the ground, and then reversing the
direction of the stroke to remove the villager's head.
	He turned around and hurried after the dark monk, Shamel.  Once at
his side, he joined the defensive circle and then, after making sure that
no one was stupid enough to be trying to attack them, turned to Shamel.
"What about Toroy?" he asked.  "May I help him?"
	"Do not be stupider than you already are," was the reply.  "His
life can be used to cover our escape; do not endanger us more than we
already are by foolishly trying to save him.  This village is stronger
than we expected."
	"But he's my friend, I can't -"
	Lyrix was cut off in midsentence by the harsh voice of the monk.
"You do not have 'friends' here, boy!  You are a soldier, here to do the
work of the chapter, and nothing else!  Friendship is idiocy, since it can
never last.  Rather be glad that Toroy is going to go to a better place,
and be envious of his fate.  But DO NOT try to stop that which fate has
ordained!"
	Lyrix didn't know what to do.  His mind was in turmoil. He _knew_
that what the monk said was right, but at the same time, there was
something inside of him screaming, 'This is wrong.  He is your friend.  You
must save him.'  He hesitated, unsure what to do, when suddenly he heard
Toroy's voice cry, "Help me. Help!"  He spun around and started towards
Toroy, reasoning that at worst he would leave the monk with only four
guards... what damage could that do?  None of the villagers would dare to
follow, and if he could save Toroy, then surely the worst that would happen
would be a reprimand, and a flogging.
	A bony hand grabbed his arm as he moved past the monk, and he was
wrenched off balance.  "Do not try to leave me," hissed the monk, pushing
his cowled face close to Lyrix's.  "If you do, then..."  He never finished
the sentence.  Lyrix swung his other hand, the one holding the short sword,
at the monk's head.  He felt the hilt connect, and the grip on his arm
weakened and then dropped away completely as the monk flopped to the
ground.
	Horror hammered at his brain, even as he ran towards his friend.
He could see two villagers running away, and two bodies lying on the
ground.  "No." he sobbed. Toroy lay face down on the bloody grass, his hand
still clutching at the pitchfork that protruded through his chest, the
handle sticking obscenely in the air above him.  "Noooooo!" he screamed at
the sky.  He gently reached down and turned Toroy's head so that he could
see his face.  It was contorted in agony, and there was a hint of something
else there.  His hand turned chill all of a sudden, as he recognized it.
It was the look of betrayal.  He pulled his hand away as if stung, and
wiped it against his cloak.
	Helplessly, his mind numb, he turned around to walk back to the
group of guards.  He could see the monk, supported by two guards, pointing
at him with one hand as the other was held to his forehead.  At first
Shamel's words didn't register, and then he realized what the monk was
saying.  "Kill him. He has dared to lay hands on my person."  He stared
directly into Lyrix's eyes.  "You shall never reach heaven when I have you
in my hands, I can promise you that!" he ranted.  "Your soul will float
forever in oblivion, and you will never know the peace of what we bring to
the villagers. For you...."  He gasped, and then collapsed against the two
guards holding him.  They milled about confusedly, then turned towards
Lyrix and began to stalk towards him, their faces masks of pure hatred.
	He began to back away slowly, knowing that he wasn't good enough
a fighter to be able to beat them all, and also knowing that now there
was no return for him to the chapter.  Only death awaited him there, and
so he turned and fled into the surrounding darkness, his dark cloak
flapping behind him, until he melted into the forest as if he had never
been.