"That has to be the best public-relations stunt they could ever have received," Karl said as he turned off the television. He had just watched Meinrad storm through nearly three hundred people, and even Karl had to admit that the display had been impressive. The entire speech had been politically valuable for the Vatican, but the sight of Meinrad cutting through the kidnappers had undoubtedly done more for their reputation than any carefully prepared statement could have achieved. It was difficult to create a better image for the Church than a heavily armored knight personally charging into a criminal stronghold to rescue innocent people.
"Yes, it certainly was, but you have to admit that there are not many people capable of doing what he did," Bennie replied. He was still visibly impressed by Meinrad's performance, although his expression also showed disgust whenever he remembered the kidnappers. "Even we couldn't do something like that in the same way. Not because we lack the ability to kill them, but because we would run into different problems."
"That may be true, but if someone overheard you saying that, they would become rather confused," Karl said, shaking his head in disappointment. "They might assume that you meant we lack the ability to defeat three hundred people, which would be an absurd conclusion. Our problem would simply be ammunition. We would run out of arrows long before we ran out of enemies."
Bennie nodded, and Karl continued explaining the difference. "The rest of humanity, meanwhile, generally lacks the stamina to maintain that kind of assault, let alone the skill required to make it effective. There are enough historical records of peasants capturing and killing fully armored knights to prove that armor alone does not make someone invincible. A knight can be defeated by ordinary people if the circumstances are right, especially if he is surrounded, exhausted, or unable to move properly."
"That is true," Bennie admitted, "but it is still difficult to believe that Meinrad was alive all this time. The Vatican must have kept his existence hidden for years."
"There is no doubt about that," Karl replied. "Although, to be fair, keeping someone like him hidden would not have been especially difficult if he had no interest in appearing publicly. The Church has always been very good at hiding information that it considers important."
There was a brief silence as both men considered what they had just watched. The television had been turned off, but the dining area remained occupied by the two of them. They had been sitting there for nearly four hours, watching the broadcast and the endless analysis that followed it. Other family members had occasionally entered to eat, but none had stayed for long. Most of them had better things to do than spend an entire afternoon watching political speeches and battle footage.
"Still, it must feel good for the families involved that the title of Grand Cross is returning to the public eye," Bennie said after a while. "That should lead to more claims and questions being directed toward them, shouldn't it?"
"Yes, it probably will," Karl said with a sigh. "But don't forget that we voted for Meinrad to receive that title. It wasn't simply a decision made by the other families without us."
"Right, but why are you sighing?" Bennie asked, looking genuinely confused. "It's not as though the other families are particularly difficult to deal with, right?"
"No, of course not," Karl answered in a completely flat voice. "They are a lovely bunch of people. As long as you avoid insulting their crafts, challenging their traditions, questioning their pride, or accidentally suggesting that another family is better than them, everything is perfectly peaceful."
Bennie stared at him for a moment before realizing that Karl was being sarcastic.
"I just don't want to deal with those crazy fans and challengers again," Karl continued, his expression becoming more serious. "That was a very unpleasant period in our family's history, and I would prefer not to experience it a second time."
"Wait, what do you mean by challengers?" Bennie asked. "And what does insulting their craft have to do with it? Who would be crazy enough to insult the work of another family? Every single member of our family understands how dangerous that can be."
"Well, it is no longer really a problem now," Karl said, "but you remember the book that is passed down from patriarch to patriarch, don't you?" And sadly it was only patriarchs, as they never managed to trick a female family member into the role.
"Yes, I know that book," Bennie replied immediately. "I have warned my children never to pick it up."
Karl gave him a long, tired look. "You say that as though it is an ordinary warning."
"It is not an ordinary warning," Bennie said seriously. "Everyone knows what happens if someone picks up that book or one of its connected volumes. The moment they show interest in it, people begin assuming that they are interested in becoming the next patriarch. After that, they are watched, encouraged, and eventually pushed toward leadership whether they want it or not."
"That is exactly why I warned my children and grandchildren about it," Karl said with a disappointed sigh. "Although I did make one exception."
"Arin," Bennie guessed.
"Arin," Karl confirmed.
Bennie leaned back in his chair, looking amused. "I suppose you couldn't exactly warn him away from it when he was already involved in so many family matters."
"That was not the reason," Karl said. "The problem is that the books contain far too much useful information for someone like him to ignore. Besides, he is already interested in the family's history, so telling him not to read them would only make him more curious."
Karl paused before continuing. "Anyway, those books contain the complaints of various patriarchs who had to deal with challengers coming into the forest to prove themselves against us in archery. The challengers wanted to claim that they had defeated the Sonnenbergs, which would supposedly give them prestige and recognition among their own circles."
"And I assume most of them were nobles," Bennie said.
"Exactly," Karl replied. "That was the main problem. If they had been ordinary fools, we could have simply shot them and buried them somewhere no one would ever find them. But most of them were nobles, which meant killing them would create political problems. Their families would demand explanations, their allies would become involved, and suddenly we would have to spend months dealing with people who had no business entering our forest in the first place."
Bennie shook his head. "But where did they even get the idea that they could challenge us out of nowhere? Why would anyone think that was acceptable?"
"Well, as you know, there are significant differences between the various Trade Families," Karl explained. "You have families such as the Bingen and Roth families, whose entire existence revolves around a profession. Their traditions, wealth, and influence are all connected to the craft they have developed over generations."
"Then there are families whose entire lives revolve around a single weapon," Karl continued. "The spear families, the sword families, and others like them. Those people are often completely obsessed with combat because sparring and fighting are the primary ways they improve their abilities with their chosen weapons."
"Yes, I know," Bennie said. "We have had dealings with several of those families before."
"Back in those days, some of them essentially maintained open invitations to weapons masters across the continent," Karl said. "People were encouraged to travel to their territories, challenge their masters, and compete for prizes, recognition, or the chance to earn a reputation. The invitations were genuine, and the families were prepared to fight anyone who accepted."
"That sounds like something that would attract a lot of people," Bennie said.
"It attracted thousands," Karl replied. "Every year, people came from all over Europe to challenge them. Most of those challengers were defeated almost immediately, but that never stopped more people from arriving the following year. The opportunity to claim that they had defeated a famous weapons master was simply too tempting."
Bennie sighed as he finally understood where Karl was going with the story. "I see where this is heading."
"Yes, because we also primarily use one weapon," Karl said. "Unlike the Bingen or Roth families, we do not have a broad profession that outsiders can easily identify with. We are known for archery, and almost nothing else matters to outsiders when they think about us."
"And because we did not openly invite people to challenge us, they assumed we were afraid," Bennie said.
"Exactly," Karl replied, his frustration becoming obvious. "There were idiots who believed that the other families invited challengers because they were confident, while our lack of an invitation supposedly meant that we were hiding because we knew we would lose. They came into the forest convinced that they had a chance of defeating us and earning fame by doing so."
"That is unbelievable," Bennie muttered.
"It was worse than unbelievable," Karl said. "Some of them genuinely believed that defeating a Sonnenberg archer would be easier than defeating a sword or spear master because we did not advertise ourselves in the same manner. They treated the forest like an arena and expected us to entertain them."
Bennie rubbed his forehead. "And the nobles made it impossible to deal with them properly."
"Precisely," Karl said. "We could not simply kill every fool who wandered into our territory, even when they deserved it. Instead, the patriarch had to personally handle the situation, explain why the challenger was not welcome, and somehow convince them to leave without turning the entire incident into a diplomatic crisis."
He then gave Bennie a deeply concerned look. "That is why I am worried about the Grand Cross title becoming famous again."
"Because people may begin challenging Meinrad?" Bennie asked.
"Not only Meinrad," Karl answered. "There is a possibility that someone will decide to revive the old tradition of public challenges. They may put the chance to earn the title of Grand Cross on the line as a prize, using it to lure in ambitious weapons masters and glory-seeking idiots from across the world."
Bennie's expression slowly changed from amusement to concern.
"And if that happens," Karl continued, "we will almost certainly be dragged into it. We are one of the families that recognized Meinrad as worthy of the title. That means anyone trying to challenge the legitimacy of the Grand Cross may decide that defeating us would be another way to prove themselves."
"So, let me understand this," Bennie said carefully. "You are afraid that someone will organize a massive series of weapon challenges, use the Grand Cross as bait, and then invite people to come test themselves against the families associated with Meinrad's recognition."
"That is what I am afraid of," Karl replied.
"And because we are one of those families, we would be in the firing line," Bennie said, his voice now carrying genuine horror.
Karl nodded grimly.
Bennie stared at the dark television screen for several seconds before slowly exhaling. "I suddenly understand why you were sighing."
"Good," Karl said. "Then you understand why I would prefer that everyone simply forget about the Grand Cross for another few centuries."