by Mark Omodia
Chapter 17
The Red Campaign
The Morrs marched north, destroying the empty King Settlements they came across. They left no trace that Morflon ever existed in the King Settlements they destroyed, burning everything to fine ashes. The Morflon on the other hand were preparing their newly formed army for battle. The Morflon used spears to fight. There was a feeling of gloom as they prepared for war. The disappointment of not waking Radok was a huge blow to them. Now they had no one to match Trinidos. They felt the playing field was not level and that the odds were against them.
The very old, the young and the females all hid in the valley far north. They each made tents and stayed near the caves around. I stayed with Euphina and her family who stayed with Azadus and his family. Lila stayed with Ozin's offspring. The entire King Settlement was filled with trepidation; fear of impending doom. Everyone was afraid, worried if they would ever see their loved ones again, that is if they could make it alive themselves. Uncertainty; that was what lingered on in their minds, causing them serious heartache.
The Morflon army, with the help of the Rho tribe survivors, built catapults with which to hurl boulders at their opponents. They mixed rubincense and combustible fluids into paste and smeared the mixture on the rocks, so that they could ignite them before they hurl them at the Morrs. They also made a lot of smoke canisters. The camp was busy as the Morflon worked with Godspeed for they were fully aware that they had little time before the Morrs caught up with them. By now, Cylas had already gone with some Morflon to seek aid from his allies.
Many Morflon claimed that they dreamt of impending doom whenever they closed their eyes. Some even fell ill. That was the gravity of fear that gripped them. The only thing that kept them going was the words of encouragement they gave each other; and of course the fact that they would have to fight in order to survive. Days quickly ran by and weeks were fleeting. They all said prayers constantly.
The leaders of the Morflon army came up with a plan. They knew that the Morrs had the numbers and weapons advantage, so they decided the only way to win or at least give them a tough time was to ambush them. They understood the pattern in which the Morr army moved. The Morr army had already taken out seven tribe King Settlements and were heading to the Tau tribe. The Morflon decided to ambush them there. They dug trenches and set traps all around the King Settlement. They also hid their catapults at a reasonable distance. The element of surprise - that was their wild card. Quite frankly, that was their only card.
As expected, the Morrs marched into the Tau tribe. Some soldiers flew to the skies, using telescopes to get an aerial view of the place. They could not see the Morflon and their gadgets hidden amidst the thick bushes. They signalled that it was alright for the soldiers to go ahead. The Morrs, already used to seeing deserted territories, were pretty calm as they walked at ease into the territory, literally strolling by.
Suddenly, one of the soldiers in the sky noticed something in the woods. He adjusted his telescope to get a better view. Alas, it was one of the Morflon catapults. He looked round. Suddenly he started seeing more catapults. Soon he saw Morflon lurking in the woods, drawing nearer stealthily. Before he could do anything, a boulder coated with burning rubincense was hurled towards the Morrs. The rock fell and hit an unsuspecting Trinidos. The rubincense on the rock literally pushed his soul away from his body. Trinidos fell along with the rock which continued to roll and crush those in its path.
More boulders were hurled, crushing several Morrs who were caught unawares. The soldiers grabbed Trinidos, who had lost consciousness, and retreated. The Morflon roared as they hurled more rocks at them. There was chaos as the rocks fell like hail. The rocks fell with mighty thuds, causing the earth to quake. The Morrs could not understand what just happened. All of them ran for dear life, unsure of where the rocks were hurled from and where they would land. They ran, not knowing where they were going. They just wanted to flee the attack and re-strategise.
King Sett and his son also ran for dear life. They were running when a rock hit them. The rock narrowly missed King Sett as it brushed him to the ground. Egon, however, was unlucky. The rock fell directly on him, stamping him into the ground. The rock rolled over, inflicting more damage while Egon lay, coughing up blood. King Sett got up and ran towards his son, holding him in his arms. Tears trickled down his cheeks as he held his gasping son. Egon's body was slightly charred and his bones were broken. He lay there paralysed, his armour destroyed. Suddenly, he stopped breathing and his eyes were still, staring into nothingness. He was dead.
King Sett wept as he used is fingers to shut Egon's eyelids. He gave his son a warm embrace as he howled in pain. He was oblivious of the hailstorm around him. At that moment, nothing else mattered. It was other soldiers that saw him and dragged him up. He struggled with them, refusing to go as he stretched his hands, yearning to hold his son one last time. They bundled him with them as they too fled for safety. They also took Egon's corpse with them.
After a while, the Morflon ceased hurling the rocks and ran after the fleeing Morrs. They slaughtered Morr after Morr as they caught up with them. They surrounded a good number of the already disoriented Morrs and went berserk on them. The Morrs tried to fight back, but what they wanted most was to flee unscathed. The Morflon split them open, stabbing them with their spears. Blood was spilled that day, all amidst the red fog of rubincense. It was indeed a red day, a red campaign.
The Morflon roared in triumph. Their first battle was such a success. Within hours, they had struck down a number of Morrs and very few Morflon sustained minimal injuries. The element of surprise had worked. But they knew the war was far from over. Even though they had killed many Morr soldiers, the Morr army still outnumbered theirs. However for now they revelled in their glory, even if it was to be short lived.
The Morrs were able to flee from the chaos and hastily set up camp when they were sure the coast was clear. In one of the tents, Trinidos lay with stewards all around him. He gasped as his soul finally got hold of his body. He was still a bit disoriented. King Sett just sat silently at a corner while the servants bandaged his wounds, lost in thought.
'What happened?' Trinidos asked.
'Great one', the soldier replied. 'You were hit by a rock laced with burning rubincense.'
'So you fled?' Trinidos asked. 'Who gave the order to retreat?'
Trinidos looked round at all the soldiers present. They trembled in fear of what could happen next.
'Any way', he continued, trying to keep calm. 'How many Morflon were killed?'
'None great one', they replied, quivering in fear of what he was going to do.
'How many Morrs were killed?' Trinidos asked.
'We lost count...' they mumbled.
'How many?' Trinidos bellowed.
'A hundred and three', they stuttered.
Trinidos roared in anger as he smashed the table beside him to pieces.
'How is this possible?' Trinidos asked. 'We obviously underestimated those scoundrels... any way, they have dealt their hand. It is time we showed them ours.'
Just then, Oldric walked in.
'Perfect timing', Trinidos said. 'Did anyone see you?'
'No great one', Oldric replied. 'We were very discreet.'
'Good', Trinidos commended. 'Tell me you have good news.'
'Great one', Oldric began. 'We have found where the vulnerable Morflon are hiding.'
'Good', Trinidos said.
'They are hiding in the valley in the up north', Oldric said.
'Are you sure?' Trinidos asked 'Did you comb the entire forest?'
'Yes great one', Oldric replied. 'That is why we took so long.'
'Alright', Trinidos said. 'Anything else I should be aware of?'
'They are guarded by about a hundred Morflon... and they burn rubincense constantly to keep immortals away', Oldric said.
Trinidos laughed.
'The Morflon must really fear me to go to such lengths', Trinidos said. 'But their incense
would not stop me. Nothing would stop me from achieving my goal...! What about the alien... that creature you talked about...?'
'The human', Oldric replied.
'Yes... the human', Trinidos replied. 'Is he with them?'
'Yes great one', Oldric replied. 'One of the troops spotted him.'
'Good', Trinidos said. 'Prepare your troops. Tonight we shall head for the valley. I want to see this creature you all raved about. We must move with stealth for I do not want the Morflon to be aware of this... King Sett and Egon would lead the forces here... where is Egon?'
There was silence as all eyes were on King Sett who just sat down by the corner, brooding. His red eyes were tired of crying.
'My son is gone', he said. 'My only son is gone.'
Oldric and Trinidos were shocked. They felt for King Sett.
'I am sorry for your loss', Trinidos said. 'I am sorry for the loss of any Morr soldier in the battle field. Their blood would not be shed in vein. For every Morr blood they spilled we shall massacre a thousand Morflon. Their wives, their children, none of them shall know peace until we strike our blades in their sides...! Since your son is gone, you alone would command the fleet here. I trust you would do well with the other army chiefs.'
While the Morrs were re-strategizing, the Morflon were gloating in triumph. They could not believe that they had been so successful. Some Morflon ran around, wearing Morr helmets and armour and mocking them. They packed up the corpses and burnt them, causing huge pillars of smoke which could be seen from a great distance. They just sat in small groups, chatting away; each narrating how he slit a Morr's throat or brought him down with his spear.
But not everyone shared in the excitement. Morriah lay in his tent, lost in thought. His countenance was sombre. Ozin walked in with one of his offspring to check on Morriah. On their way there, they came across some younger Morflon who were boasting about their exploits earlier in the day. Ozin was disgusted by their exuberance. He walked into their midst, causing them to be silent as they watched him walk around with a frown on his face. His offspring just stood at a distance, also watching.
'Happy you about today aren't you?' Ozin asked.
'Sure', the Morflon replied, unaware of where Ozin was headed with the question.
'How many Morrs were killed today?' Ozin asked.
'A hundred and five', they replied.
'It was a hundred and three', Ozin retorted. 'Do you know how many Morr soldiers remain?'
They were silent.
'They are still almost twice our number', Ozin said. 'And you stand here gloating. The war is far from over. I bet none of you killed any Morrs yourself. Just hiding at the rear... In a normal battle, creature like you always survive to tell the tale of the greats, those who gave their all and were struck down in the blaze of glory. But this is not a normal battle. If we do not win, the Morrs would hunt you down and kill you, your wives, your children, your heritage...'
He then stormed off with his offspring trying to catch up, leaving the others speechless.
When they got into Morriah's tent, they were surprised to see him the way he was.
'What is the matter?' Ozin asked as he drew nearer to Morriah. 'You should be celebrating like the oafs outside. What is wrong?'
'Nothing', Morriah said. 'I am happy that we won the battle, but I know the war is far from over. We killed over a hundred Morrs today, yet their number is still almost twice ours. I think about my family. Not a day goes by that I do not miss them. I think of Eric. Ai! I feel for him. He has been through a lot. He does not deserve this, my family does not deserve this... sometimes I wonder if I would ever see them again.'
'I do feel your pain', Ozin said. 'I loved going for battles, but anytime I went, one thing was always on my mind, burning my chest - my family. I wanted so bad to see them again. I thought about them day and night, wondering how they were faring without me... sometimes I still do... but one thing kept me going.'
Ozin then showed Morriah the battle scar on his chest.
'Every time I see this, I remember that I am fighting for them', Ozin said. 'Every time I felt these two stripes on my chest, I knew I was doing the right thing, I was fighting for my family, for posterity. I knew that if I did not fight, I might not have a family to go back to, but even if I died in battle, at least they have a chance to continue my name... Cheer up Morriah. You shall see your family again.'
'Morriah', Ozin's offspring said. 'Ever the thoughtful one...'
'Has anyone gotten word from Cylas?'Morriah asked.
'No', they replied. 'We have not heard from him since he left. He has not returned.'
'I was sceptical about his trip', Ozin said. 'I hope he is alright.'
'Maybe he has run away', Ozin's offspring said. 'You know these Rhos can never be trusted. Elder Azadus also warned us.'
'Be quiet!' Ozin scolded him. 'After all he has done, you still see him in such light. I am disappointed. You should know better than to listen to every word Elder Azadus says...'
Turning to Morriah he said, 'No offence Morriah.'
Returning to his offspring, he continued, 'He is weary of everything. He is so pessimistic. You should know that.'
There was a brief silence afterwards.
'Ai! All will be well', Morriah said. 'All will be well.'