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The pouch feels a lot lighter than what you had set out with. Your father had given you enough of an allowance to buy yourself some things aside from the regular funds for the army; now it was nearly empty. You can hear the clinking of the coins as you walk and ride after making your investment. Thankfully, the pouch of Reichsthalers you were given by the Kaiser could prove useful in case you needed to buy something.
The first thing you bought was a comprehensive tome on how to write and read Mithradian, an important thing considering where you are headed. The alphabet of that country is something that you should decipher as well. Schreiber could help you in that regard, but you should perhaps find someone who does speak the language to teach it to you. In the meantime, however, you can content yourself with the learning the basics.
Afterwards, you went to the church. Although you cannot buy anything for them, It became quite clear that in exchange for donations, they would give blessed trinkets or perform special services for those who were in need of them. You managed to donate enough of your money to them that the deacon agreed to give you a sanctified rosary. While normal religious symbols that are commonly found in the jewellery and decorations of people are powerful enough to repel the undead, the rosary actively hurts the undead in a manner that distracts them. If it gets close enough, it is said, it burns them. But it hasn't been tested since it was donated itself, about 153 years ago.
The blessing of the war banner, however, was something you did not want to miss for anything in the world.
A selection of your best troops slowly carried the banner into the church, its colours and heraldtry announcing the presence of your family. The priest took it in his hands and brought it before the altar. There he said a few prayers about the crusade, the men of Greifswald, and the banner. Three times, in front of the altar to Isidor, with the altar to Siegfried, and then to the altar of Saint Lohengrin, known as the swanknight in live and having become the patron saint of the Tauten knights. When this was finished, the priest doused the banner with holy water, then one of them touched it once more and said a prayer, and then, as a test of faith, the red banner was dipped into a fire. If it got out unscathed and unburned, the blessing would be a success.
When the banner got out after about a minute, the assembled crow erupted into cheers.
<span class="mu-i"> Krieg! </span>
<span class="mu-i"> Krieg! </span>
<span class="mu-i"> Heiliger krieg! </span>
Holy war, with a holy banner to guide it, makes you feel like a hero from a book, but you don't need books to live out that fantasy; you can do the real deal. Those fire worshippers will be whispering your name in hushed tones for the next hundred years. You hope, perhaps for the next millennia.
(1/2)
