The blade struck the shield. Sparks flew like dying stars. I held my ground. The impact jarred my teeth. My arms trembled. Not from fear. From exhaustion. The man opposite me was a ghost. A blur of steel and fury. He wanted my life. He wanted the seal on my belt. The seal was ink. The seal was law. The seal was a lie.

I am a Keeper. We keep the peace in Ashworth. We keep the silence in the mines. We keep the hunger in the bellies of the children. The town is a throat. It swallows us whole. The air tastes of iron and wet wool. It smells of rot. It smells of old blood.

My name is Thomas. I do not speak it often. Names are heavy. Names are chains. I wear my chain. I wear it tight. It fits the neck. It chokes the breath. It keeps the heart steady. The heart must be steady. The heart must be stone. If the heart moves, the hand shakes. If the hand shakes, the blade slips. If the blade slips, the body falls. If the body falls, the spirit breaks. I do not break. I am iron. I am the wall.

The man with the spear lunged again. I sidestepped. The tip kissed my cheek. A line of red. A drop of blood. It fell on the dirt. The dirt drank it. The dirt is always hungry. The dirt takes everything. It takes the sweat. It takes the tears. It takes the names of the dead.

This is the fight. This is the daily war. Not against monsters. Against men. Against the hunger that eats the mind. The hunger is a beast. It has no face. It has many mouths. It whispers in the dark. It screams in the day. It says, you are nothing. It says, you are less than dirt. It says, you are a tool. Tools do not feel. Tools do not dream. Tools do not love.

I love the cause. The cause is the only thing that matters. The cause is the law. The law is the order. The order is the survival. Without order, there is chaos. Without chaos, there is death. We are the line between the two. We are the razor’s edge. We walk the edge. We do not fall. We do not look down. To look down is to see the abyss. To see the abyss is to fall. I do not look down. I look forward. I look at the enemy. I look at the seal.

The seal is a mark. A brand. A promise. It is a circle of black ink. It is a symbol of duty. It is a symbol of silence. It is a symbol of betrayal. I do not know which it is yet. I do not know who I am. I only know what I do. I strike. I hold. I endure. I wait.

The man fell. He gasped. The spear clattered on the stone. He looked at me. His eyes were wide. His eyes were empty. He was gone. He was already dead. Only the breath remained. Only the fear remained. I wiped my face. The blood dried. The blood became a crust. The crust became a mask. I am masked. I am hidden. I am safe.

I walked back to the barracks. The barracks is a stone box. The stones are cold. The stones are old. The stones remember. They remember the wars. They remember the famines. They remember the betrayals. They do not judge. They simply hold. They hold the weight. I am the weight. I am the burden. I am the anchor.

In the barracks, there is a table. On the table, there is a letter. The letter is from the Council. The Council is the head. The head does not move. The head does not feel. The head commands. The body obeys. The body is me. The body is all of us. We are the muscles. We are the sinews. We are the tools. The letter is thin. The paper is crisp. The words are sharp.

Read the letter. Do not speak. Do not write. Do not feel. Do not hope. Do not fear. Do not live.

The letter is a command. The command is a knife. The knife cuts the soul. The soul bleeds. The blood pools. The blood spreads. It stains the floor. It stains the walls. It stains the mind. I am stained. I am marked. I am the seal.

I did not open the letter. I knew its contents. The contents are always the same. The same lie. The same lie repeated until it becomes truth. The lie is that we are needed. The lie is that we are noble. The lie is that we are just. We are not just. We are blind. We are deaf. We are mute. We are the wall. The wall does not speak. The wall does not weep. The wall does not break.

I walked to the town square. The square is empty. The shops are closed. The doors are barred. The windows are dark. The town is asleep. The town is dreaming. The town is hungry. The hunger is a fog. The fog covers the ground. The fog covers the streets. The fog covers the people. We are invisible. We are ghosts. We are shadows.

I stood in the center. I looked up. The sky is grey. The sky is heavy. The sky is pressing down. The clouds are low. The clouds are black. The clouds are rain. The rain is coming. The rain is cold. The rain is bitter. The rain is truth.

The truth is a blade. The blade cuts. The blade stings. The blade bleeds. I am bleeding. I am alive. I am here. I am the one who holds the line. I am the one who bears the weight. I am the one who keeps the seal.

The seal is on my hand. I look at it. The ink is faded. The ink is cracked. The ink is peeling. The seal is dying. The seal is ending. The seal is a lie.

I thought of Margaret. Margaret is a name. Margaret is a memory. Margaret is a ghost. She was a woman. She was kind. She was soft. She was warm. She was light. She was life. I let her go. I let her go for the cause. I let her go for the law. I let her go for the order. I let her go for the silence.

She is gone. She is dead. She is a memory. The memory is a wound. The wound is open. The wound is raw. The wound is bleeding. I do not touch it. I do not clean it. I do not heal it. I leave it. I let it fester. I let it rot. I let it die.

The pain is sharp. The pain is bright. The pain is clear. The pain is real. The cause is real. The law is real. The order is real. The silence is real. The silence is the only truth. The silence is the only peace. The silence is the only home.

I am home. I am alone. I am the wall. I am the stone. I am the iron. I am the blade.

The rain started. It fell in drops. Then in sheets. It hit the ground. It hit the stone. It hit my face. The water is cold. The water is wet. The water is clean. It washes the dust. It washes the blood. It washes the ink. It washes the seal.

The seal is gone. The ink is gone. The mark is gone. I am unmarked. I am free. I am nothing. I am empty. I am a shell. The shell is cracked. The shell is broken. The shell is dead.

I looked at my hand. The hand is bare. The hand is rough. The hand is scarred. The hand is strong. The hand is mine. The hand is the tool. The tool is empty. The tool is useless. The tool is a ghost.

I walked to the mine. The mine is the heart of the town. The mine is the mouth. The mine is the throat. The mine swallows. The mine spits. The mine kills. The miners are men. The men are weak. The men are hungry. The men are afraid. The men are me.

I walked into the dark. The dark is total. The dark is absolute. The dark is alive. The dark breathes. The dark watches. The dark judges. I am in the dark. I am alone. I am the keeper. I keep the dark. I keep the silence. I keep the lie.

The lie is heavy. The lie is hard. The lie is cold. The lie is true. I am the lie. I am the truth. I am the wall. I am the stone. I am the iron.

I stood still. I waited. I breathed. I listened. The dark was silent. The silence was loud. The silence was a scream. The silence was a cry. The silence was a prayer. The prayer was for mercy. The mercy was for death. The death was for peace.

The peace was a blade. The blade was a seal. The seal was a mark. The mark was a name. The name was mine. The name was Thomas. The name was a ghost. The ghost was a memory. The memory was a lie.

The lie ended. The truth began. The truth was a drop of water. The drop was a tear. The tear was a blood. The blood was a life. The life was a breath. The breath was a word. The word was a name. The name was a seal.

The seal was on my heart. The heart was a stone. The stone was a wall. The wall was a shield. The shield was a blade. The blade was a cut. The cut was a wound. The wound was a pain. The pain was a love. The love was a cause. The cause was a lie.

The lie was real. The real was a lie. The lie was true. The true was a lie. The lie was me. I was the lie. I was the truth. I was the keeper. I was the wall. I was the stone.

I did not move. I did not speak. I did not feel. I was nothing. I was everything. I was the silence. I was the dark. I was the end.

The end was a beginning. The beginning was a breath. The breath was a life. The life was a death. The death was a peace. The peace was a blade. The blade was a seal. The seal was a mark. The mark was a name. The name was a ghost. The ghost was a memory. The memory was a lie.

The lie was gone. The truth was here. The truth was a drop of water. The water was a tear. The tear was a blood. The blood was a life. The life was a breath. The breath was a word. The word was a name. The name was a seal.

The seal was on my heart. The heart was a stone. The stone was a wall. The wall was a shield. The shield was a blade. The blade was a cut. The cut was a wound. The wound was a pain. The pain was a love. The love was a cause. The cause was a lie.

The lie was real. The real was a lie. The lie was true. The true was a lie. The lie was me. I was the lie. I was the truth. I was the keeper. I was the wall. I was the stone.

I did not move. I did not speak. I did not feel. I was nothing. I was everything. I was the silence. I was the dark. I was the end.

The end was a beginning. The beginning was a breath. The breath was a life. The life was a death. The death was a peace. The peace was a blade. The blade was a seal. The seal was a mark. The mark was a name. The name was a ghost. The ghost was a memory. The memory was a lie.

The lie was gone. The truth was here. The truth was a drop of water. The water was a tear. The tear was a blood. The blood was a life. The life was a breath. The breath was a word. The word was a name. The name was a seal.

The seal was on my heart. The heart was a stone. The stone was a wall. The wall was a shield. The shield was a blade. The blade was a cut. The cut was a wound. The wound was a pain. The pain was a love. The love was a cause. The cause was a lie.

The lie was real. The real was a lie. The lie was true. The true was a lie. The lie was me. I was the lie. I was the truth. I was the keeper. I was the wall. I was the stone.

I did not move. I did not speak. I did not feel. I was nothing. I was everything. I was the silence. I was the dark. I was the end.

The end was a beginning. The beginning was a breath. The breath was a life. The life was a death. The death was a peace. The peace was a blade. The blade was a seal. The seal was a mark. The mark was a name. The name was a ghost. The ghost was a memory. The memory was a lie.

The lie was gone. The truth was here. The truth was a drop of water. The water was a tear. The tear was a blood. The blood was a life. The life was a breath. The breath was a word. The word was a name. The name was a seal.

The seal was on my heart. The heart was a stone. The stone was a wall. The wall was a shield. The shield was a blade. The blade was a cut. The cut was a wound. The wound was a pain. The pain was a love. The love was a cause. The cause was a lie.

The lie was real. The real was a lie. The lie was true. The true was a lie. The lie was me. I was the lie. I was the truth. I was the keeper. I was the wall. I was the stone.

I did not move. I did not speak. I did not feel. I was nothing. I was everything. I was the silence. I was the dark. I was the end.

The end was a beginning. The beginning was a breath. The breath was a life. The life was a death. The death was a peace. The peace was a blade. The blade was a seal. The seal was a mark. The mark was a name. The name was a ghost. The ghost was a memory. The memory was a lie.

The lie was gone. The truth was here. The truth was a drop of water. The water was a tear. The tear was a blood. The blood was a life. The life was a breath. The breath was a word. The word was a name. The name was a seal.

The seal was on my heart. The heart was a stone. The stone was a wall. The wall was a shield. The shield was a blade. The blade was a cut. The cut was a wound. The wound was a pain. The pain was a love. The love was a cause. The cause was a lie.

The lie was real. The real was a lie. The lie was true. The true was a lie. The lie was me. I was the lie. I was the truth. I was the keeper. I was the wall. I was the stone.

I did not move. I did not speak. I did not feel. I was nothing. I was everything. I was the silence. I was the dark. I was the end.