| “ | Being [God's] friend is not so easy either. | „ |
Behmen von Bleibruck is the protagonist of the 2011 film Season of the Witch, played by Nicolas Cage.
Biography[]
Deserting from the Crusade[]
He is a 14th century knight who engages in a crusade with his friend Felson, until they take part in massacring civilians of one of the conquered cities. Both knights realize how the word of God is abused by the church, desert the crusades and return to Europe.
Return to Europe and Redemption[]
Back in Europe, Behmen and Felson see the effects of a plague that is said to be caused by an alleged witch. Because of the thinning number of the knights, they are asked by a cardinal to escort the girl to the remote monastery of Severac where the monks might be able to perform a sacred ritual in order to cancel the witch's powers and stop the plague. How they were discovered and finally asked for the quest was when they wanted to buy horses, a boy spotted the crest on Behmen's sword and silently called for the authorities, resulting them being brought to the cardinal.
Deciding to take this chance to redeem himself after seeing Anna, the girl who was the said alleged witch, Behmen eventually agrees on the condition that the girl is given a fair trial, with Felson agreeing as well (along with the other condition that the charges of desertion against them will be dropped). They are accompanied by Debelzeq the priest, Eckhardt the knight, and the well-trained swindler named Hagamar whom was chosen as their guide.
When they go to move Anna, she goes to attack Debelzeq and Eckhardt in a futile attempt to resist, where the horrified Debelzeq stated that sooner they went to Severac was better. After Felson succesfully knocked Anna flat, the managed to moved her into the cage.
Obstacles and Ordeal During The Journey[]
During the long and dangerous journey, Behmen is forced to not only put his life in line, but also his believes about right and wrong. This is mainly because of his friends and the inconsistent evidence for and against the girl's innocence. He's also haunted in his dreams by the massacre of civilians that forced him to relieved his mistakes.
Not long after they start the journey, they meet Kay, the young squire who offers to assist them. Felson tests Kay's worth before they resume the journey, with Behmen allowing him to join the quest. When they're taking some rest for the night, Behmen tells Kay about how he joined the crusades out of interest with the atonement for their past wrongdoings. Later, he gives a bed roll for Anna as he felt that Anna was not comfortable with the cold air of the night. Anna worried that she would be killed after the trial, but Behmen states that her trial would be as fair as possible. However, Debelzeq later warns him that she can be deceitful and not worth to be trusted.
Things suddenly get rough that night. When Eckhart gets close to Anna's cage, she attacks him and Debelzeq, steals the key and escapes. The chase ensues, during which Behmen and his companions try to corner her, they accidentally capture a woman who's dying by the plague before spotting Anna who's running towards the burial ground. There Kay accidently kills Eckhart when the latter is hallucinating that he's seeing his deceased daughter Mila. The horrified and guilt-struck Kay calls for Behmen and Felson's help where they later capture Anna and put her back into her cage.