by Brent Tyman
“Yes, and I had sent letters under your name to call for a truce while we established ourselves in Fulgrem. I did not get a reply, but I assumed they would not resume hostilities so soon after their battle with the second royal army,” Eliandra said. Her face had twisted in uncertainty as I could see her mind racing to see if she had made a mistake somewhere down the line.
It wasn’t her fault; it was mine. I had given these humans too much trust, either because of my own experiences of them or because I was too lenient after settling in their former home.
I had assumed that this nation of Vulenchia wasn’t a threat, and that assumption would cost me dearly.
“It’s clear what is happening,” I said as all eyes turned to me. “The Vulenchians are at war with Fulgrem, and they care not that the old king is dead. They know of the change in ruling party and know we are weak, still recovering from our siege of the capital. This is an attempt to take Fulgrem for themselves and be the overall victors.”
I felt stupid to have not considered this. My only saving grace was that I was in a decent position to defend the land against their invasion.
“What can we do?” Lunara asked, her fingers drummed against the table absently. No doubt she was just as worried as the rest.
“We fight,” I said simply. “We have the men work long into the night to get the walls up, and we drag every truth sayer in the capital to help.”
Raina looked unsettled at the prospect of working harsh hours, but she would never voice a complaint. This is how we lived in Frostburn, where every day was a struggle, especially for the ones not in a position of power. We would build and struggle until our hands cracked at the seams.
“How do we break the news to the men, Sir?” Raina asked.
I thought about that for a moment, but I needn't have bothered. There was only one answer.
“The only way we can, tell them we either achieve victory, or death. There is no room to coddle them,” I said. She nodded at this.
“Right, so lets go over viable strategies, that I can take to the unit leads,” I said as we all looked at the map on the table.
Raina was the only one that had real experience in war other than me, so I expected some good suggestions from her. Surprisingly, despite their lack of experience in strategy, both of my woman put forth some interesting suggestions.
Since we had some riders, they would be of no use to us if they stayed inside our fortifications. If we sent them out to face the enemy, they would be on their own with no real support, which was also not an option. They needed to be close to the main army so we could support them with archer fire at the least.
The hill we were on dipped in front of us, which was good, but there was no tree cover until the Fancern forest itself.
The enemy was either walking along the tree line until they got to the gap in the mountains we were in, or they were marching slowly because of their numbers. They would be spread out enough that they may see the riders well before they charged.
I had thought about placing the riders deep into the mountains beside us, but if we did that, it would take them too much time to climb back down, especially with the horses. It was a pity there was no real tree cover at all here.
Eliandra then came up with an interesting idea, one that could work. We couldn’t put a portal down behind the enemy lines as they would see it well before all the riders rushed through. We could, however, do it when the enemy sieges us if we place the portal in the forest itself. It takes a few days for an army to march through here, but it would take the riders half a day at the most. The tree cover would be perfect to ensure the enemy army didn’t see them until it was too late, and the riders would engage near us once they arrived.
We settled on this plan for the riders. It was the best way to ensure the maximum amount of effectiveness we could achieve with them. There was little thought needed for the rest of the troops. The ranged men would be on the top of the walls and would rush back down if the enemy climbed them, so that the infantry could fight. As we were going up against an army four times our size, it was best to fight on the walls as long as we could, before their siege engines or mages could breach them.
It would become a magic battle at the beginning, as the truth sayers would try to destroy the siege engines while the enemy mages try to protect them. I supposed we would see how powerful these Vulenchian mages were compared to us.
Once we developed our general strategies, I bid the women farewell as they left to oversee the now heavily sped up construction effort. I wanted to make my meeting with the unit leads short so I could work on that too.
The unit leads had the same unsettled expressions that all the women had. These were some of the best that my people could offer, but they were more accustomed to be on the attack in raids than defending against a siege. Understandable.
The three men in charge of the riders had questions about our ploy with using the portal, but everyone else was solemn as I detailed our strategy. Some called for us to retreat to a better position, others called for us to return to the capital and wait for even more forces before engaging. I was unsure if the Vulenchians would split up their army if they crossed the mountain gap, but every town they destroy and take over would tip the scales in their favor. We needed to stop them here and now.
I highlighted that they would stick to orders and defend this position with their lives, or else. That placated the unit leads, and I wrapped up the meeting to work on the walls.
As I walked to the front of our camp where wooden walls were hastily being constructed, I was proud to see that I could not hear a single grumble among the men. Many would likely die even if we survived this siege, yet they all worked to ensure that most would see the light after. It seemed the women had wasted no time in detailing the consequences of not working as fast as they could.
That meant me as well. Every hand was valuable, and I had once been a common soldier in the army before my promotions. Because of my status as a minor noble, I had started as a Tier Five instead of a typical Tier Six that most commoners ended up. My father was in the army before me and reached the same position that Eklis now enjoyed. Everyone expected me to surpass my father after his… untimely death, and I supposed that I did. Even if I now donned a crown with its own ulterior motives.
I could still feel his blood on my hands as the life left him and shut out the memory right then. My hands involuntarily dug into my palms and I shuttered as I forced myself to loosen the grip. His body was likely still on Frostburn, or skeleton with the amount of time that had passed. I had to focus on the here, and now. The past can wait.
I approached the walls in construction and grabbed a long slender piece of wood, hoisting it along my shoulder blades. I would be of no use as one of the men that cut the wood into shape, but I could drag the materials to the construction sites and help with the menial labor. There would be men already in charge of ensuring the construction went smoothly, so I would only be approached if there were major problems. Even then, I imagined that the men would seek out Raina or my women instead, as none wanted to bother a king on these matters.
I received odd looks from the men as I carried the wood to the walls. I glared at anyone that bothered trying to salute now; it was not the time for that.
“Where do you want this?” I asked a builder that hammered down one of the wall support structures. He looked at me in shock as I stood there to wait for his response.
“My king!” he said with a shout, the tool he was holding dropped to the ground in a clatter, “You don’t nee…”
“Where,” I urged him and the man sighed before he pointed to an empty hole beside him. It seemed this piece of wood would be dug into the ground.
I suddenly remembered that I had my ability to gain incredible strength, and I had never used it for labor such as this. It wouldn't require a lot to carry wood around at the least.
I charged my arms with pure prime, and the wood I held felt as light as a feather. I saw that other men that did simi
lar tasks to mine needed others to hold the wood in place as it fit into the hole. Not me.
In one smooth motion, the wood slid off my shoulders and I placed it into the hole a moment later. There were other men near me, ready to help, but they stopped mid-stride as the wood protruded up in a perfectly straight line, as it pointed to the sky.
The builder was speechless, as were the other men that watched as I headed out to do it all over again. I noticed that my guards, which numbered around twenty soldiers, followed me with quick strides.
“You too,” I said as I pointed to the stacks of wood piled on top of each other in front of me. “Everyone must work.”
The guards looked at each other as if unsure what to say.
“But my king, who will protect you?” one of them asked, and I rolled my eyes at that.
“I don’t need protection, I need you to work. Get moving, now,” I ordered, and the guards leaped to obey. Some of them took off parts of their armor to make it easier for themselves, but as the day dragged along, practically everyone wore thin leather jerkins and little else from the exertion.
As the days passed in nothing but work, we completed the walls barely a few hours before news of a huge army approaching in the distance reached my ears. I had to let the men sleep for longer on the last day, as they would be of no use if they could scarcely keep their eyes open. We weren’t at one hundred percent because of the sped up building schedule, but practically everyone breathed a sigh of relief as news of the walls completion spread across the camp, or more like fort now.
The slaves were of huge help as they worked longer hours than the men themselves. They were just as relieved when they were told to stay near the back of the fort and be ready for a retreat if things headed south.
Now, it was time to defend Fulgrem with our lives; it was time to defend our homes to the end.
Chapter 6
I could hear the sounds of marching from all across the camp as a sea of green washed over the hills ahead of us. I stood on top of the walls in front of our fort with my women. Raina was further back behind me to relay any orders to the rest of the unit leads scattered across the fort.
The walls were littered with the archers I had brought with me, who stood shoulder to shoulder to shoulder with the crossbowmen. I couldn’t see many faces because of the helmets the men wore, but I knew we were all determined to see our flag flying high over the guts of our enemies. I would see that happen, no matter what.
We also had truth sayers with us that were portaled over from the capital. There were around fifteen total and were more apprentices than anything else. They called the senior truth sayers back to the capital city but it would take longer to find all of them as they had scattered themselves all along Fulgrem. Some were even visiting other nations, for whatever reason. No doubt they wanted to explore this new world, without Flavious looking over their shoulder at every turn.
Eliandra had reported our status to the capital with every day that passed, and she brought over any troops they could spare. Because of the unrest in the capital and Fulgrem at large, the amount of extra reinforcements we received were few. An extra five hundred in swordsmen and spearmen, with two hundred extra bowmen. The odds were still not good, but we had to make do.
Unsurprising, Eklis and Flavious supported my plan to defend this position. Naturally, they bickered amongst themselves for two days before Eliandra finally confirmed that they approved my efforts here. The only issue they raised was that they wanted me to come back to the capital for safety and have a Tier Two lead take over the defense. They felt that facing against a Vulenchian army with my current troops would be too dangerous for my health. I denied their request almost immediately and sent a strongly worded letter back with Eliandra the next day. I had yet to receive a reply, but it was too late for that now.
The only thing left to do was to have the riders portaled to the Fancern forest. As Eliandra was busy with going back and forth from the capital, one of the truth sayers would do it instead. Her name was Jaseeva, a blond truth sayer with tied back hair and what seemed to be a face that lacked any expression at all. She was one of the more senior truth sayers with us amongst the mostly apprentices. I ordered a rider to take her high into the mountains so she could view the location on where to open her portal for the riders. This took over two days because of the steep mountains. They had also seen the entire army that marched in our direction.
That army slowed as it came into closer view of our fort. This was the first time I could see individuals amongst the sea of green uniforms, and they were different to what I expected. The army was comprised of humans naturally, but I could also see a few other races mixed among the ranks. I recognized some lizardmen, but there were also beings with pointed ears like Lunara’s. These men appeared to have more slender frames than their human counterparts and sported a different style of uniform.
“Lunara, are those high elves?” I asked as I pointed to a cluster of the beings in question. Lunara looked over and shook her head, her face twisted in distaste.
“No, those are tree elves, our even more rural cousins,” she said. “Once they get close, you will notice their darker skin. High elves are much paler. Tree elves like to stay in the forest and be one with nature. When the Shattering happened, many left the Everlight to find a new home. They developed a strange affinity to the forests they stayed in and evolved into a different race all altogether. Be wary, the heads of the tree elves are powerful in prime.”
I don’t think Lunara had mentioned much about the history of the elves, perhaps because I didn’t inquire into it. Once in bed, she had given a brief history lesson on her people, but it was fairly brief. I knew that the elves used to be one race, before they diverged based on their prime affinity and beliefs. They all left the ruling class high elves of the Everlight, and the dark elves settled in Dunara.
It was interesting to see other types of elves now. More variety of whom to kill enticed me.
“I wonder what the tree elves are doing with the Vulenchian army, I’ve heard no word of this from my spies,” Eliandra said with a thoughtful expression. I shrugged at that.
“Whatever the reason, they will die all the same,” I said as I looked back to the army. I wanted to see where the leadership was, so I could order the truth sayer to focus on them early in the battle. My eyes scanned along the twenty thousand enemy troops when a loud horn blared in the distance.
All at once, the army slowed to a crawl, then stopped well short of our archer range, which annoyed me. It was to be expected though, they would use their siege engines on us first.
Another horn blew in the distance and we all watched as the center column of the army parted. The soldiers side stepped in unison, which split the army in two. I watched as a massive carriage rolled down the center of the now open column, and I rolled my eyes at the display.
Previously, after I had come to this world, a mad mage had captured me and I escaped from his clutches. During the time before I reunited with my people, I had met Lunara and her current ‘master’ at the time. This was a man named Elkala, and he had a fixation on displaying his wealth to everyone. This had resulted in him building a luxury wagon, which was a large gaudy carriage that signaled to the world how affluent he was.
This carriage that rolled down alongside the army took that luxury wagon idea and enhanced it tenfold. They made it with gold like Elkala’s wagon, but its size astounded me. It was the length of six ordinary wagons side by side and three times the width. I counted a cluster of twenty horses that pulled this carriage along, and even I could tell that it was still a strain for the animals.
While the rest of the army stood still, I saw a single man run alongside the carriage. He waved a giant white flag from a long pole at us intently, and I quirked my eyebrow at this.
“What is he doing?” I asked.
“They want to parley,” Eliandra said. Lunara also nodded her head at this.
“What does that mean?” Raina asked
from behind us. I shrugged as I did not understand it either.
Eliandra giggled at this as if it were funny, and I turned my head to look at her. She covered her mouth as she stared at the floor.
“I’m sorry,” she said as she returned to normal. “I sometimes forget that you come from such a… bloodthirsty culture. It means they wish to cease hostilities and perhaps talk.”
“Talk about what?” I asked, and it was Lunara who answered me.
“They likely want you to surrender, so they don’t have to fight. I imagine that they have their own scouts and saw our numbers from the mountains as we worked on the walls,” Lunara said.
I groaned at this and shook my head. These humans were strange.
“So now what? Do I calmly open the gates and let their army inside? I have no wish to play diplomacy here,” I said.
“I would suggest that you hear what they have to say Ordan. The more information we know about their invasion, the better,” Eliandra said, and I took a moment to think about this.
On one hand, there was no reason to talk with these humans. I wanted them dead and burned. I wanted to watch their entrails spill out and see the light leave their eyes.
But… perhaps it would amuse me to see what they had to say.
“Very well,” I declared abruptly. “What do I do, open the gates to let that carriage in?” I asked.
“If the Vulenchians follow the same principles that Fulgrem did, then they should fire a blunt arrow with a letter attached,” Eliandra said.
As if reacting to her words, I saw another man leave the army line with a bow in hand. The man with the white flag followed closely behind, waving his pole even more viciously above him.
As the pair neared bow range, I could hear orders echo along the walls as the unit leads prepared the men to attack.
“Raina, have the men hold fire for now,” I said.
“Yes Sir,” Raina said. I heard her bellow out the orders and watched as the archers beside me relax. The pair got closer to our walls before the one with the bow stopped and nocked an arrow. I honestly couldn't tell if there was any letter attached. If he hit anyone in the fort, I would make sure he wouldn't survive another minute.