We are the Servants of Redemption. We are seven, five women, two men, united in her service, her Chosen in this world.

She calls herself Redemption in this age. She was here long, long ago, but the name she used then was lost as her people died.

Somehow, someone somewhere on this world found her, even though her name could not be remembered, and believed in her. Even she was mystified at the fact that she was reborn in a sense, she had been floating alone in a timeless void until that first person believed.

Many years passed, a century or three after Her rebirth, I think, before she was able to call us to her service.

As I said, we are seven in number. Initially, there were six men and only one woman, that one being the Servant known as Peace.

Peace is a beautiful woman, tall with long golden blonde hair, just short of being voluptuous, and wears a pale blue robe bearing her emblem. Peace stands with her arms open wide, offering comfort and safety to those in need, and guides Her people in the paths of peace.

Our Lady Redemption's emblem is one hand offering help to another. (See the attachment at top of the story.)

The leader of Her Servants, if there is a need for one, is the female known as Justice. She is blind and wields a balance scale. Blind or not, Justice is able to find those who call on her and is very adamant in her defence of those who have been wronged. Justice, like myself and two others, was a male before She called us. She is tall and strong, with bright red waist length hair and a robe that is half black and half white.

Honour, one of the two males, leads those who wish to serve her on the fields of battle as She seeks to redeem mankind. Those who go into battle for her follow the code of the bushido, much as the samurai did long ago on the battlefields of Japan and other nearby nations. Honour bears a large silver sword, armour and tower shield of the same colour, his shield and armour bear Her emblem. He is tall, very well built, with sapphire blue eyes and shoulder length ash blond hair, he wears a red cape that also bears Her emblem.

I, I am Vengeance, the one she sends when someone has been wronged by one who has no honour in their soul. I am tall and statuesque, with waist length raven hair bound in a braid. I carry a sword and a hammer, my armour and cape are red and black and bear her emblem.

Then there is the Weaver, Peace's physical twin except where Peace's arms are open wide, Weaver's arms reach forward to those she heals. Weaver, like myself, was initially male. Her robe is a silvery white in colour, bringing to mind a freshly spun spider's web.

Next is Faith, she who leads Her priests and priestesses who, in turn, lead Her followers on the paths of redemption. Faith is the smallest of us by far, with waist length auburn hair, green eyes and wears a pale green robe. She, too, was male before she was called to serve Her.

Last is the Reaper, he who collects souls for Her. He is tall and gaunt, his hair bone white, his skin only a few shades darker. He wears a long, midnight black robe that brushes the ground and carries a scythe, the five foot long handle of bright bone attached to a razor sharp blade.

The Weaver, Faith and the Reaper all bear her emblem on their robes. The emblem is the sign of our service to Her.

We are Her Servants, Her Emissaries to the world below. She has called us and given us our duties, now it is time for us to go forth.

I, Vengeance, stood next to Justice as we waited for the warmonger Ishbal Kamizan to be brought before us.

We waited for some time before Honour entered the room, four guards surrounding the warmonger behind him. The guards placed the broken shell of a man in the seat in the middle of the room, then moved to take up positions around the room.

Justice faced him and spoke, "Ishbal Kamizan, you sit before us accused of genocide and mass murder, how do you plead?"

Ishbal glared up at the two tall and formidable women, his broken claws of hands grasping futilely at the ends of the chair's arms. It was amazing that he could even move his hands, they had been so badly broken beneath a horse's hooves when he was captured nine days earlier.

He snarled, dribbles of spit falling from his lips, "I did what I felt was right, the metal in those mines should have been ours!"

I spoke, making no effort to hide my disdain for this piece of human filth, "Even though they belonged to the people of Ilastria?"

He laughed, his fingers still grasping at the chair's arms, "People? Not at all, they're animals, animals don't need mines or metals in them!"

Justice frowned, her sightless eyes looking over his head, "Yet they defeated you time and again, the last being the worst of all your losses, three years and more of fruitless battle ended when they forced you and your honour guard back over the border ten days ago."

I smiled, a smile that cause most men's blood to freeze in their veins, "And you came back here alone to try to kill Ilastria's queen."

Justice looked down at the now frail man, "The remnants of Ilastria's army, barely 500 strong, returned in time to save her, and caught you."

I smiled at him again, and he shrank into the chair, visibly blanching, "You knew not that the Queen of Ilastria is a priestess of Redemption's?"

He overcame his fear and leaned forward, snarling, "What does that have to do with me being here?"

"You stand before three of Redemption's Servants, I am Vengeance, she is Justice, and that is Honour behind your chair."

Justice chimed in, looking straight into his eyes, "Murder or attempted murder of her priest or priestesses is a major crime here in Ilastria."

Honour spoke for the first time, his voice sounding like gravel underfoot, "You caused the deaths of over 251,000 people, for some metal."

I spoke again, no longer smiling, "Ilastria is nearly broken, having lost over 94,000 of her 171,000 people in this needless war. Your land, Ebrana, is in much the same state, having lost almost 157,000 of your 240,000 people over the last 38 months."

Justice added, "If it were not for Honour and his bringing 1,000 of his troops sworn to Her service, you might have won in the end. One of those young people, trained in the codes of bushido from long ago, severed your spine in battle in the Queen's halls, you'll never walk again."

I shook my head, adding, "Seven thousand Ilastrians and Honour's 1,000 wiped out all but your honour guard in the last battle of the war.I think it says quite a lot that they managed to defeat a force almost three times their combined numbers, don't you?"

Honour shook his head, then added, "You gave no thought at all of the costs of this unnecessary war in people and resources lost."

Justice frowned once again, then remarked, "You thought only that you could get their metals without having to pay for them in trade."

I stared at him, adding, "Ilastria was in such sore straits in this war that they lowered the entrance age for their army to 15 to find recruits. Many young men and women of Ilastria will never return home, many families are broken now, only the little children and the elderly remain."

Honour growled, "Many of those who died defending Ilastria were Her people, Her believers, and so we are here to deal with you."

Ishbal looked around him, first at the two women before him, then at Honour behind him, "What gives you the right to decide my fate?"

I laughed, and Ishbal flinched, "What better right is needed than that the Queen of Ilastria has left this issue in Her Hands, and She in ours?"

Justice nodded, having seen into his soul, "I find you guilty of both charges, the normal penalty for either here is a quite gruesome death."

Honour chuckled, low and menacing, "But we feel there is a far more suitable punishment for you than your death could ever be."

I laughed, looking down at Ishbal, "There is a small shack in the farthest northeastern parts of your land, perhaps a mile from the border, you will spend the rest of your days living there, unable to fend for yourself, and in sight of, yet never able to reach the goal you sought."

Ishbal laughed at these silly people, "And what is to stop me from finding others to continue in my stead?"

Justice smiled at him, "Why, the simple fact that you will have no way to communicate with anyone at all. There are no comm lines, no computers, no electricity at all there, and with your hands as damaged as they are, it is unlikely that you will ever be able to write legibly again."

I looked down at him, "You will have someone to tend to your physical needs, but he will not help you in any other way, he follows Our Lady."

Honour spoke one last time, "What better punishment is there than to have you be close to what you desire, yet unable to do anything?"