Game of the destiny
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Tábor - 11th April 1419
There wasn't still much light when Kateřina woke Peter up at the early morning. Jan z Jenštejna and Žižka were already waiting on the village green.
"We have to set forth already if we don't want arrive there late."
Peter scrambled up to a seat of his horse and Žižka was only shaking his head over it and turning his eyes in a column.
Jan z Jenštejna appeased him: "Don't tense, he will learn everything."
Then they went off. They rode pretty quickly to save a start of the celebration.
Prague - 11 th April 1419
When they passed the tree, where Jan and Peter had waited yesterday for Jakub, they slackened. They still had a little more time because the sun didn't rise yet. Jan set to silent talk with Žižka. Peter didn't understand them so much. The only thing he caught was a name Žito and he notified that perhaps he was the man which scrambled that blue potion, thanks which he is here and thanks which he can also return home. The horsemen slowly reached a gate where a guard stopped them.
"Where are you going?" a young guardian asked them sharply.
"To the city on a celebration," answered Žižka in peace.
"Hah, so on a celebration? And what ever happened You with Your eye?"
"I lost it at a battle."
"So at a battle, hmm ... And was't it perhaps by chance at some scuffle? Possibly with royal soldiers?"
"Why would I scuffle with royal soldiers?" asked Žižka uncomprehendly.
"Indeed, normal man certainly doesn't scuffle with them, but thieves or ravers ..."
Žižka frowned: "You are calling us thieves perhaps?"
"As I'm looking on you, you don't have a long way to them. And we don't want any doubtful elements in the city."
After that, Žižka was already raging: "What are you making free, you one earthworm? I was fighting in rows of a royal army at war against Teutonic Order in times when you was still holding yourself to a mother's skirt. I lost my eye at the Battle of Grünwald! I commanded a royal guidon and you will call me a doubtful element?"
"And shall I believe it? An appearance like a murderer, dressed like a rogue, rascality is peeping from your eyes and you are asserting about yourself that you are a general of the royal army? Move out of here, or ... " said the guardian and lowered his halberd against Žižka's horse.
Now also Jan put himself into the squabble: "Sir, we ride on a very important celebration. I'm Jan z Jenštejna, title of knight, and this is Jan Žižka z Trocnova from a yeomanly stock."
"So that noblemen in the end, let look at it. In few moments you will probably assert about yourself that you're kings. Then I'm most probably a pope."
It was already looking like that they will perhaps not get to the city when a second, much older guardian, probably at the age of Žižka, came.
"What happened here?" he asked his young colleague.
"These loungers would want to the city."
Old guardian began laugh: "Ha? Loungers? So let the loungers go further."
Young guardian stared a while.
"Beside one of these loungers I fought nine years ago against Teutonic knights. And the second one is though lord from Jenštejn . ... Excuse him please messieurs. How he is young, so he is inexperienced."
"And very zealous," Žižka threw in.
"You must go round to me sometimes. We will have a yarn about old times, commemorate, partake, ... " said guardian furthermore.
"Gladly," Žižka responded and then they finally rode into the city.
They arrived to Bethlehem Chapel shortly before the celebration start. They dismounted from horses and hurried inside. When a priest came he looked around the chapel. Žižka, Jan and Peter were already sitting in one of the benches together with other people. Žižka gave him unobtrusive signal and pointed at Peter.
The priest figure out on the sign and began preach: "Today's celebration will be a little different because we have among us a special guest. A guest whom the God himself required and he sent his request to us by Hus."
Peter recognized that he is speaking about him and about Hus's last letter. In the chapel it was murmering for a while and people was turning to find that guest, but nobody doesn't knew properly, whom look for. Only the priest who was concerted in advance with Žižka.
That day the priest spoke about the Day of last judgement. As always he spoke in Czech but this time he interlaced his interpretation with sermons about exploitation of ecclesiastical power and necessary remedy of Church because if it will not happen so, then it will soon call in God's anger on all of us. In his sermons he was asserting that it should be preached in Czech, and not in Latin because it's important that even simple people unfamiliar with Latin language will understand the interpretation. He proclaimed that the Church shouldn't accumulate property because graspingness is one of the seven capital sins. It should go as example for other people and live in poverty. At the same time he doomed also a trade with indulgences. He proclaimed that people should be equal each other. After commision of a sin, everybody should have been punished in the same way regardless of their power and position. No one shouldn't be favoured in anything because of his position. At the end of celebration he put a waffle into his mouth, fill a chalice by wine and drank. Then people went to him, one by one, and he gave everybody a piece of waffle representing Christ's body and chalice with wine representing Christ's blood.
When they went out of the chapel, Peter didn't see nothing bad on Hussitism. He couldn't understand why are Hussites called as heretics. They have same faith, believe in same God, have same Bible like Catholics. Only on-difference from them they require equality of all people and are against axploitation of ecclesiastic power. And thereon is nothing heretical.
Jan z Jenštejna and Žižka let him think about all at rest. They rode slowly through the city, didn't hurry. In front of the gate of Charles Bridge Žižka parted with them. He wanted to stay in Prague some time. Jan then paid a toll at the gate for himself and for Peter and they took the road over Charles Bridge to the opposite bank. They passed Lesser Quarter and through the Gold Lane they were approaching to Prague Castle. Through the castle's gate they got without any troubles because Jan was known there. On the courtyard the riders dismounted and let box their horses.
"I urgently need speak to the king," announced Jan to herald.
He let took them in reception room. After several minutes of waiting spent by browsing pictures, vases and other precious objects the herald reappeared in the door.
He stood up beside the entrance and announced his lord: "His Majesty, the king of Bohemian kingdom and lands of Czech crown, Václav IV."
