What defines a human?

I jumped back with the stick in my hands, waving up and down, prepared for anything to come. The man standing in front and me standing against him to fight. Prepared for anything, both of us looking at each other. His eyes and my eyes on a randevou, an endless one.

This time unexpectedly Bog jumped at me, his 'shield' a little to the left to keep his sword in movement and no interference from the other hand. Would it interfere though? Or maybe he just did that because he started running straight at me. He swung with the sword horizontally right at me, I dodged back and when it happened, I realized that there is no more space behind me. There was only a tree, the one that could bring me to my demise.

Bog followed that attack with another one, an almost blind swing.

"Why almost?" I asked my own thoughts but once again there was no time to answer it. His swing was getting closer but weirdly this moment felt a lot… Slower. He got slower than before! I ducked the attack and in the same motion of going underneath his shield I was able to scratch him. But once again, the 'wound' didn't do anything because this wasn't a real fight with real swords, only dirt appeared on his leg. What's the point in fighting like this if I can't even hurt him? Do I even want to hurt him? I do want to… But not badly.

I was behind his back and he was still turning to me, his big body didn't allow him to turn so quickly. In the same moment I hit him in the back of his head, he then stopped moving and dropped his weapons.

"You got me." He said while huffing. I had him several times already, he would be dead on a real battlefield for sure! Or maybe not? I am not sure.

"Well, that was a nice fight but a short one. You both got pretty tired so you should train your stamina later, running or something like that. It may sound dumb and trivial but that is a really important thing to do if you don't want to die from exhaustion on a battlefield. Swings and turns, heavy armor, all of it requires a lot of energy." Only after that did I realize that the sweat created a small pool of mud under me. The same thing happened under Bog but it was much smaller than mine, he got tired later… I didn't train before, maybe that's the reason. It must be though, there is no other reason that comes to my head.

"Yup, you are right. I can't do it here though… If we escape, then I will train. I will do everything to attain power. I want to change this shitty world…" When I said those words Bog looked at me like a little child seeing someone important, someone who just in this moment gave him hope.

"You are the first person I've seen, the very first one to say about changing the world. The very first person to say anything like that. But what do you want to change actually?" He never heard anybody? Am I the very first person to try and change things? At least in his world… In his world that was a lot longer than mine, he says that he has never heard anyone saying that.

"You know… The difference between the poor and the rich, the people that don't deserve to be here, the people getting killed because of weakness or diseases or anything else. It's just so… Retarded actually. Killing your own people or just people in general just because they are weak, poor or anything that makes their lives worse than the royalties or just someone who has more money, even skin color is making a difference in a world with many races, what's the difference! It's just not fair…" He looked at me like at a star, someone who just gave him something new, a new purpose in life.

"You! You just…" He stopped while saying it and swallowed the spit inside his throat. "This is something I've been thinking about for a long time. This world is really not fair, even though I got here for a good reason, I wanted to save a monster, but it doesn't matter. I've seen people getting killed by royalty, women being raped by knights and no consequences�� They can do whatever they want to do, no punishment from the church, no punishment from kings. It shouldn't be like this. At this point… Monsters are more human than humans themselves." He looked into the sky and gasped loudly.

"You say that… I am not saying that you aren't right. But what defines a human?" Estel asked Bog and probably me as well, the question was in the air for several seconds with no answer. All three of us looked down at the ground.

"If you can show compassion to any human being… Is it a poor man, is it a prostitute, is it a person with the lowest power of all. If you can just be tolerant, show affection or compassion to that someone and not shame him because of his negatives. That is one thing that makes a human a human, not killing someone just because. That is what I think defines a human." I said it. I did, and those are the words that I would say to anyone who would ask me the very same question. The exact, same, answer.

"I very much agree with it. This is also my opinion on what a human would be defined as and nothing else." Bog only agreed to my words and didn't add anything to it. "If we leave this place… I will follow this thing, I will also try to change…" He added and then he made a gesture that made it seem as if he was deeply thinking.

"You are both right… I also agree with it, but it's just that the humans are… Greedy? Yeah, greedy. They find it entertaining, killing, raping and destroying their own kin just for… Fun. Just to keep themselves entertained, what's the difference between them and beasts? The difference is that beasts don't need entertainment, they just kill for food." Estel also agreed to what the both of us just said, humans… Are just a very bad thing. Not a being anymore, a bad thing.

"Hayden. If we escape… Can I follow you? I see that you are a smart person. I see that you want to change something truly, your words and the way you say things, it all makes it hard not to… Follow you." He is the fourth person that praised me for all the years of my life. And he is a complete stranger whom I met yesterday… How is it that until now, I've only stumbled upon people who have been somewhat wrongly put here. As if it was a mistake, but ignoring that, the situation where I am now. The question is so easy to answer but so hard to actually agree to.

"I understand that you want to do it, but I can't agree to that. I don't want to risk an innocent life, to risk it, if someone dies, it will be my fault. If my follower dies for me, it will be my fault completely and will make me feel bad. And probably will stop me from going any further, that's why I don't want anyone to follow me…" I explained it to him, the man that wants to follow me, the man who sees me like a person worth following. I denied him... He didn't look sad or anything, just a little disappointed.

"What a shame… Well… I will always be available if you will still need anyone. And the other thing is, it's not sure that someone will die while working for you. You don't know that, but I respect your choice…" Now he looked a little sad. He will always be there for me… Always prepared to fight for the sake of eternity. The sake of human survival in the void of royalty statuses and hierarchy.

"All of humanity has been impaled by the pain of losing something, authority, family and just anyone. And after all of that, after all of this pain, they have to suffer even more. Because of what? Because the royals want them dead and will do anything to make their lives more miserable." Estel nodded and looked at the 'weapon' in his hand. "What's the point in being a knight if you trash the people you are supposed to protect…" That was the line that finished what he had in mind, his last thought.

I hope I can make the change… Change all of those things. Being a human in this world, in this time, doesn't even feel like being a human at all anymore.