Guard Story
Matthew Ryan Fischer
The men in the Guard all wore a mask as part of their standard
issue equipment. Their masks were the same from man to man, or woman to woman –
no one was exactly sure of the gender of the entire membership of the Guard.
They were anonymous soldiers, united in a brotherhood, willing to kill or die
as needed. They were liberated by the uniformity of the masks. The masks
separated them from the public. The masks made them into a unit, into a new
tribe. Their identities were secret. They could not be held accountable for
their actions. They could not be blamed or hated as an individual. No one could
exact revenge upon them for atrocities committed. The Guard was more powerful
than anyone short of the king. The Guard was his fiercest and most loyal
soldiers. They would do anything he asked. Anything that needed done. Anything.
They murdered and stole and pillaged. Sometimes the king’s enemies abroad,
sometimes the ones at home. The Guard didn’t care. They were freed from
identity and identification. As long as they wore the mask, they could do
whatever they wanted.
As the oppressions and tortures continued, the people grew weary.
Revolution was in the air and bloodlust retribution was on their lips. The
Guard was powerful, but they were only human and there were only so many of
them. They bled and died like everyone else. The people tasted revenge and they
wanted more.
The king was well known. There were statues and paintings of his
likeness. His name was attached to buildings and honors and temples. When the
mob came, they would know who they were looking for. The king begged the leader
of the Guard to smuggle him from the castle and to freedom.
The leader of the Guard was as anonymous as all the other members
of the Guard. All he had to do was take his mask off and he could be anyone. If
he timed things right, he could join the mob that was ransacking the castle and
he would become just another angry soul, looking for justice and retribution.
The leader of the Guard understood his position of power compared
to the king, so he offered a proposition. He would take off his mask and the
king would put it on. The leader of the Guard would become a captor and the
king would become a captured member of the guard. He would cage the king and
parade him right past the angry mobs. He would tell the people that this was an
especially heinous Guard and that he was being taken away to pay for his sins
through unspeakable acts of torture.
The king agreed. He saw no other way to sneak out of his own
castle. His face was too well known.
So the leader of the Guard took off his mask and the king put it
on. The king was shackled. The former leader of the Guard found some of his
most trusted men and they too took their masks off. They all gathered as much
of the king’s riches as possible and began to haul them away as well. When the
king wondered what they were doing, the former leader of the Guard explained
they would need these spoils of former war and conquest in order to start a new
life somewhere. And besides, if they didn’t take it now, certainly some other
member of the angry mob would.
The king agreed. He saw no other way to retain any of his wealth,
and he had grown quite accustomed to living a wealthy life.
The former leader of the Guard and his close and trusted former
members of the Guard took their prisoner and their riches and began to leave.
They made their way from the castle with little incident. They made their way
through the town with little incident. Eventually they were stopped. There were
roving bands of men and roaming mobs and there were many many types of
punishments being exacted.
The former leader of the Guard lied and explained to this
miniature militia that he and his friends had been near the castle and captured
the leader of the Guard trying to sneak away into the night. They took it upon
themselves as their civic duty to capture him and bind him and eventually exact
the justice he so richly deserved.
The king heard these lies and didn’t like the direction the
conversation was going. The miniature militia offered to help punish the
prisoner. The former members of the Guard all nodded and agreed that this might
be for the best.
The king began to scream and plead and beg for his life. He
explained that he was not the Leader of the Guard and that one of these plain
clothed men really was. He claimed he was innocent and should be freed.
The former leader of the Guard suggested they remove their
prisoner’s mask and reveal his identity, as a way to prove his innocence or
guilt. This shut the king up. He knew his face would be his death. That was one
revelation he didn’t need.
The former leader of the Guard turned to the miniature militia and
spoke as if he was sharing a secret bond. “You know what these men did. Don’t
listen to a word he says. He’d say anything to try and save his life now.”
The miniature militia understood and agreed. They knew what was
being done was more wrath than justice. If these men were taking this member of
the Guard for their own amusement, so be it. This was not the moment to judge
their fellow man. This was the moment to turn a blind eye.
The former leader of the Guard decided that he and his companions would
leave their prisoner in the capable hands of this militia. He said they looked
like reasonable and upstanding individuals and would do the right thing.
The former leader of the Guard was able to slip away. His face was
a common and ordinary face. Whereas once he had used his mask for anonymity,
now his face could serve the same role. It was a kind face that no one would
recognize. He could blend right in and fade away. He and his friends quickly sneaked
off, their treasure in tow. They were once again free to do what they pleased.
The king was not so lucky. He was left defenseless, with only the mask
to hide his true identity. He begged for a fair trial and had to hope that the
people would be kinder to a member of the Guard than to the man that founded
and funded them in the first place.
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