As soon as their camp was set up the knight sneaked past them and up to the giant’s home. The door was closed but there was enough space for him to squeeze through the gap under the door. Now as the knight looked around and tried to think of what to do next, he came to the sudden realization that he didn’t know what he was doing here in the first place! All through the journey back to the house he had been focused on not being discovered and had not actually stopped to think his actions through. Now though, standing in the giant’s home he thought with apprehension that he had no idea what to do next. So as he stood and tried to figure out what to do, or even if he should do anything at all, he heard the stood of booming footfalls, and they were headed his way.
The knight didn’t get much time to think; as the giant moved very fast, and was in front of him within a few seconds. Fortunately for the human, this giant was much more familiar with humans than his contemporaries so he was used to looking around for humans, and he noticed the knight standing in the doorway, rather than accidentally stepping on him as the knight had half feared. The knight squeaked in surprise as the giant bent down and gently lifted him into the giant’s hand, beaming the giant said, “My little guest, you are back!”
The knight, quickly alerted the giant to what he had witnessed outside and to his surprise, instead of being angered, the giant seemed saddened and resigned. “Are you not going to fight them? Is it that spell that is controlling you?” asked the knight, to whom compliance to such tyranny was entirely foreign, having been taught to fight injustice and oppression since he was a boy. The giant gave the knight a sad smile and said, “Thank you for warning me, however, the spell is a mere trinket; easily removed, I just do not wish to harm the humans. When I was young giant, my father who was a fierce warrior giant killed the humans living on this land and captured this land. I do not wish to ever be as heartless as he was, he killed every man, woman and child in this place and then strung up their corpses on the boundary of the property, but after witnessing such cruelty I swore that I would never be the cause of such harm to anyone. Therefore I will not fight them.”
The knight was struck speechless for a few moments, looking at the giant in a new light, he had never met someone who was so self-sacrificing and foolishly noble. He said to the giant, “Since I was a mere boy of ten summers I have been taught nobility, courage and honour from the finest knights and warriors in the realm, I have been endlessly schooled in the knights code and morality, yet I have never met one so noble as you.” The giant was surprised and embarrassed at such praise and blushed pink, then the knight went on, “Nor one so incredibly foolish! It is not cruelty to fight for your rights, it is your right, nay your duty, being inherently more powerful than any human, you have a responsibility to act better and more nobly and fairly than them! As such you cannot let injustice stand while you are able to stop it, even if that injustice is against yourself; that is the point where nobility changes to cowardice!”
The giant was struck speechless after receiving such a scolding from a man who was the length of his Index finger. After this the knight spent all night lecturing and arguing with the giant, who till could not bring himself to act on the human’s advice. As dawn stuck the horizon, the knight finally seemed to give up on persuading the giant, and he set to preparing himself for the day ahead. The giant did not understand what the knight was doing, never having seen a knight polish his sword, don his armour and generally prepare for battle. Finally the seemed ready and he asked the giant to open the door to his home and to deposit him on the front step. The giant was puzzled at this behaviour, but he easily complied. Then as the knight unsheathed his sword and took a fighting stance, practicing a few swing of his sword, the giant finally realised what was going on. “Don’t tell me you are going to fight them!” the giant said shocked.
“Yes, yes I am. I have sworn oaths and it is solemn duty to protect the rights of every being living on the king’s soil. Whether or not you will fight for your own rights, it is still my duty to protect each citizen of this land. I will not step aside and see injustice done, while I can help it.” the knight replied with steely resolve.
The giant looked on helplessly, feeling even more torn than before. He did not have any more time to dwell on it because just then the party of humans the knight had come across yesterday appeared in front of the house. As soon as they saw the giant, they wasted no time in making their demands, not noticing the knight, their entire focus on the giant. The giant was quick to avow that he would comply, desperate to avoid the fight he could feel brewing in the air. However his fears were confirmed when the knight stand near his feet brought attention to himself by shouting, “Stop! In the name of the King!”
The party of humans was gob smacked to be facing a knight from the royal court, as his garb announced him to be. The men were bewildered but not intimidated, thinking that they could control the giant’s actions. They laughed in his face and said that the knight would have to show them the royal mandate before they complied. The knight pointed his sword towards the part of men and said, “In the name of the King, I sworn knight of the Royal Court, order you to cease and return to your master. This is your one and only warning.”
“Come at us then,” the soldier in the middle taunted. The knight wasted no time in complying, charging the three men at once and engaging the two soldiers in combat. No matter how skilled the soldiers were they could not hope to best a knight of the Royal Court, which were known as the best fighters across the land. Knowing this one of the soldiers shouted at the sorcerer to force the giant to subdue the knight. The giant who to this point had just been paralyzed by indecision felt the command of the magic. He was outraged that they would try to use him to harm the man who had rapidly shown himself to noble one of the most noble and courageous men the giant had ever known. The giant who would not raise a hand to save himself, leapt to the defense of his new friend, easily subduing the three men. The next day the giant deposited them at the edge of his property with admonishments that he would not be fulfilling any more of the lord’s unfair demands.
When later on, the lord showed up with his household guard to subdue the giant; he was faced not only with a giant who was fully willing to fight for his knights, but also a full coterie of knights and emissaries from the Royal Court, who had come to treat and set terms with the giant, on request from his friend the knight.
In the end, the king officially marked the giant’s land on the royal map and he paid a small tax directly to the king. The giant now had the freedom to get married and he went from a sad and lonely giant to a happy and friendly giant, all because of his friend, the knight who taught him that standing up for oneself is a nobility all on its own.
The End
This was a really long series of work, but if you want to read the full story, I am listing the links in chronological order:
- The Giant Epiphany Part 1
- The Giant Epiphany Part 2
- The Giant Epiphany Part 3
- The Giant Epiphany Part 4
- The Giant Epiphany Part 5
- The Giant Epiphany Part 6
- The Giant Epiphany Part 7
- The Giant Epiphany Part 8
Sunith
Loved this simpĺe story. Nice ending.
Daima Hussain
Thanks!