"We will have our vengance," the men declared. "We will repay the years of cruelty forced upon us. And now we ask again, will you lead us?"
James the Giant stood at the head of a small army arrayed on the crest of a hill. Below them was a small walled city, still in the act of readying their insufficient defenses. He had faced battle before, and had even led an assualt against a city, but now he felt fear and doubt. But it was not the battle that would soon be that frightened him; it was the men who would have him to lead them. Their faces were strong and fierce, with a consuming hatred that permeated their being. But they had not always been that way.
Only months before, these men were in bondage, being subject to harsh work loads and little to live off of. For three generations had they been required to give tribute of half their grain and animals to another land, or forfiet their lives. When they would rise in rebellion to try and cast off their oppressors, there was never a gain to outweigh the loss, and their hopes for freedom became smothered by fear.
But when rumor reached their ears of a giant in a nearby land, who had defied a king, they knew they had to find and recruit him, no matter the cost. When two months later the men who were sent finally saw the Giant, they were struck with a mix of fear and awe. He was nearly twice the height of a man, with a lean, yet strong build. This they had expected. But what they had not forseen were his other characteristics. First was that he looked too young to have done what the rumors claimed, being in appearance about twenty-five. Second was his hair was as bright as a burning fire, a truly unsettling feature. And third was that his skin was covered in small brown spots. Truly he was the most strange person they had ever laid eyes on. They were about to decide to turn back when they caught his gaze. His calming light-blue eyes and friendly smile disipated their worries, and they felt immediately that they could trust him. They humbly laid their request before him, telling him of their plight. When at last they came to the offer of riches and glory, he immediately declined, saying, "I will do it for the sake of your freedom. You need not pay me." He and a few trusted men left with them the next day.
In the months that followed, the change that took place among the people was remarkable. Within weeks of his arrival, a small army had been assembled, followed swiftly by their first victory. A formidable blow had been dealt to the oppressor's grip upon them, and hope quickly sparked again in the hearts of the people. Subsequently, a fear and awe of the Giant also spread through the land, with rumors from both friend and foe spreading like wildfire. In the second month, the greatest city in the fruitful plains had been released in exchange for captured soldiers. And by the third month almost all of their land had been reclaimed, and in the fourth month a secure border had been set. Despite the losses that are always found in war, celebrations were held, though scant, and the people rejoiced in their freedom again.
But things had began and ended so fast that their newly reorganized kingdom had little foundation to stand on. They appointed a king who's heart was in for vengeance and not for the support of his people. Almost immediately the attitude of the people changed. Many were no longer satisfied with merely being free; they wanted their oppressors to pay. James was shocked and alarmed by their intentions. He had seen this once before, not long ago, and not so far away.... It was against his every reason that first brought him to their aid, and he could not stand for it. He was asked to march with them once again, and the pressure was too much to fight. He marched with them, but his heart was not in it, nor could he fight for them again. When they reached the hilltop overlooking the foreign city, they made their request: "Will you lead us?" He dared not give an answer. The hope and trust of so many rested upon his shoulders, but he could not do as they asked. They had broken his trust.
His heart was heavy as lead as he looked over the men. None but the few men who came with him at the first showed any sympathy in their eyes. They knew how he felt, but the rest could not for reason of their hatred. "How could they ask me to do this?" he thought. "After all the blood and sweat that has been lost for them to be free, yet now they want to be the conquerors of another?" He could not understand it. The silence had reigned now for a minute, and the faces of some showed concern. He knew how he would answer them, and it hurt that he had to say it. The last five months of tears and bloodshed would be in vain. In a voice strong with authority, he declared, "If you insist on this course of hatred and blood, you will forfiet my hand and my support, and I will leave you this very day." Surprise; shock; disbelief; utter silence. Even the wind seemed to have stopped.
One of the captains eventually stepped foward to speak. With a sober voice he asked, "What do you mean, Giant? Are you not the one to whom we owe our victories?" Many of the men briefly added their agreement as he increased in boldness. "Were you not the one to lead us to our first victory, scattering the foe as the wolves scatters the sheep? Did you not defend us at the Ganga river in our time of weakness? Was it not you who rallied us in the battle in the Ragnon valley, and who led us to take the city in one night? It was you who led us to capture their army outside of our capital city. It is because of you that we have done all of these things. So tell us what you mean when you say you will leave 'this course', because you are the one who has lead it."
All of James' pent up frustration and anger nearly exploded at that instant, but was immediately compressed by his willpower into a determination to speak his mind. After a brief moment, he replied, "Think back to when I first came to help you. Did I speak to you of bloodshed? No. Did I speak of vengeance? No. Did I speak one word that suggested that I wanted to kill? No. Everything I said or did was to help you to be free. And now you want vengeance; you want to kill. And for what? You already have all that you need. You've put it into your hearts the need to shed their blood; and for this you have become no better than them. I do not regret helping you thus far, but my heart aches because you want to do this. I leave my hope with you that you will listen to all I've said. Farewell."
And with that he began walking to the rear of the encampment. The men cleared the path before him. He began removing his armor. His plated gauntlets, his steel bracers, his thick padded leg guards, his studded leather body armor, his steel helm, dropping it as he took it off. The great ax that hung from his belt was the last to go. He looked at it briefly before laying it down. He imagined all the blood that was shed by it, in his hands, and shivered. He would never again use it. When he came to his tent he paused for a moment, thinking if he had relieved himself of all tools of war. After feeling satisfied that he had left it all behind, he proceeded to gather his few possessions into a wood framed pack. In it was placed his cloak, his bedding, a few spare clothes, and his knife- the only thing he had left that was from his home- along with a few miscelanious items such as rope, flint and steel, etc.. As he left the tent, a small bag with food and a water skin was offered to him. It was from a small man, Narri by name, one of the few who had accompanied him when he first left to help these people. "Are you really going to leave at a time like this?" Narri asked. The Giant looked away as he shouldered the bag, then back at him. "Just like in the last war I saw, I tried to spare bloodshed. It's just that this time nobody listened." And just like that, he walked away.
He decided to keep nothing which he had received from them, not even the respect and honor. No longer would they call out his name and cheer. No longer would they joyfully say, "See, the Giant comes!" or cry to those before him, "Make way for the Giant!". He would again be alone, but not for long. Though many before did not welcome the Giant as the people of this land had, he was no longer a friend among them. And in the land he had left to aid these afflicted, he might still have some friends. But most importantly, he had Sarai, his betrothed. Thinking of her helped ease the pains of war. Regrettably now, he had postponed their marriage till after his return. She might still be furious when he saw her again, but he hoped she would have come to understand why he left. His mind was set. He would return to the land which not so long ago he began to call home. "Never again," he said to himself as he thought of those behind him. "Never again will I bind myself to these people. I was wrong to have had such high hopes of showing them what is right. They have broken my trust, and never again will I help them." And he never looked back.
The sentries upon the city walls could not believe their eyes. They could practically see all that had happened, could feel a change in the air, and could hear the soundless crash of the invader's morale. The single most powerful enemy they had ever known, who alone could overpower fifty men, had just deserted the war. They stood breathless for minutes after the Giant (or the Giant of Fire, as they called him) had walked beyond their sight, not daring to accept what they had seen. Before the city, on the top of a hill stood the crumbled remnants of an army, which had begun their preparations for retreat. One good thing that was going for the invading force, though, was that a fear of being deceived into open battle kept their foes within walls while they fled. What would happen among the two peoples in the following months and years was out of the Giant's hands, and neither did he care.
As he walked toward the foot hills that would be his path, the Giant thought of what might be his current standing in the land where he was going. Though not well known or trusted by most of the people, he had contributed greatly to their welfare in various ways that only a few had noticed. He helped to bring peace to the land by stopping a war, circumventing the King's war plans by convincing the nobles of the King's Court to seek peace rather than war, earning the King's wrath. He helped provide food in times of hunger by seeking out new food sources when famine struck. Most knew him simply as The Giant. Few knew his actual name, among whom was Sarai. But to those in the small village where the people first came to know and to trust him, and where they knew of his origin, he was called "The Etherworld Giant".