“They wish to die so that they may enter the everlasting glory of the afterlife . . . deliver them their wish.”
One of the men toward the back cleared his throat, then spoke up. “Lord Rahl, innocent people down there are going to die. These aren’t soldiers we will be attacking. A lot of children are going to die in this kind of thing.”
“Yes, that is unfortunately true, but don’t let your mind be clouded or your determination turned aside by such a spurious and irrelevant charge. The Order is responsible for conducting a war of aggression against innocent people who have done them no harm—including women and children. We seek only to end the aggression as swiftly as possible.
“It’s true that innocent people—including children—will be hurt or killed. What is the alternative? Continuing to sacrifice good people out of fear of harming someone innocent? We are all innocent. Our children are all innocent. They are being harmed, now. The Order’s rule will eventually harm everyone, including all those children in the Old World. The Order will turn many of them into monsters. Many more people will die in the end if the Order wins.
“Moreover, the lives of the people in the Old World are not our responsibility, they are the Order’s responsibility. We did not start this war and attack them—they attacked us. Our only proper course of action is to end the war as swiftly as possible. This is the only way to do that. In the end, this is the most humane thing we can do because in the end this will mean the least loss of life.
“Whenever possible you should of course avoid harming innocent people, but that is not your overriding objective. Ending the war is your objective. To do that, we must destroy their ability to wage war. As soldiers, that is the responsibility.
“We are defending our right to exist. If we succeed we will, as a consequence, help countless others to live free as well. But it is not our aim to free their people. If they wish to be free then they can join with us in our efforts.
“As a matter of fact, I know people in the Old World who have already revolted against the Order and are with us in this struggle. A simple blacksmith named Victor and his forces in Altur’Rang, for example, have lit the flame of freedom in the Old World and already fight with us. Wherever you can find these people who hunger to be free you should encourage them and enlist their support. They will willingly see their towns and cities burn if those blazes destroy the vermin who eat away at their lives.
“In all you do, never forget that your aim is to stop the Order from killing us and to do that we must make them lose their will to fight. To do that, we must take the war to them.
“I grieve for innocent lives lost, but their loss is a direct result of the immoral actions of the Order. We have no responsibility to sacrifice our lives to prevent innocent people on their side being harmed. We cannot be responsible for their lives in such a struggle not of our making.
“We have every right to defend our right to exist. Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise. The threat must be eliminated. Anything else is just whistling on your way to your grave.”
The men all stood somber and still under the billowing awning protecting them from the downpour. None had any argument to offer. They had been fighting a losing battle for a long time. They had seen thousands die. They understood that there was now no other way.
Richard gestured to Captain Zimmer, a young, square-jawed, bull-necked man who stood with his arms folded across his massive chest. He was immersed in total concentration as he’d listened to Richard. The man had become the head of the special forces when Kahlan had promoted Captain Meiffert to commanding general of the D’Haran forces. Kahlan had also told Richard that Captain Zimmer and his men were very good at what they did, that they were experienced, businesslike under stress, tireless, fearless, and coolly efficient at killing. What made most soldiers blanch made them grin. Kahlan had also told him that they collected the ears of the enemy.
“Captain Zimmer, as part of our new, coordinated operation, I have a special job for you.”
The man beamed with an infectious smile as he dropped his arms and stood up straighter. “Yes, Lord Rahl?”
“Of primary importance is the elimination of anyone—anyone—who preaches the tenets of the Order. These people are the fount of hate, the source of the corrupt beliefs that poison life.
“The Fellowship of Order has set their goal on the conquest of all of mankind for the purpose of bringing all people under their strict teachings. They advocate the killing of all those who don’t bow to their beliefs. The ideas of these men are the spark that ignites murder. Were it not for those teachings, they would not be here killing people.
“The Order is a viper that exists because of their beliefs, their ideas, their teachings. That viper stretches here all the way from the heart of the Old World. From this moment on, your objective is to behead this snake. Kill every man who preaches their beliefs. If they give a speech, the next morning I want their body found in the middle of a very public place, and I want it to be clear to all that they did not die of natural causes. I want it known that professing the beliefs of the Order is asking for a swift death.
“How you kill them is irrelevant, but kill them we must. When they are dead they can no longer spread their poison and raise the passions of other men to kill us. That is your job: kill them. The less time you take killing one, the sooner you can kill others.
“Keep in mind, though, that the high priests of the Fellowship of Order are gifted. While you must be cautious and aware that these men are wizards, also keep in mind that even such wizards still have hearts that pump blood through their veins. An arrow will kill them as surely as any other man.
“I know, because not long ago I was nearly killed by an arrow fired in a surprise attack on my camp.” Richard gestured to the two woman behind him. “I was fortunate in that Cara and Nicci were there to save my life. The point is that, despite their power, these men are vulnerable. You can eliminate them.
“After all, how often have I heard you men say that you will be the steel against steel so that I can be the magic against magic? Implicit in that maxim is the fundamental truth that the gifted are mortal and vulnerable to the same perils as all men.
“I know that you and your men will find ways to eliminate these men. I want every man who preaches the hate of the Order’s beliefs to find that death is the consequence. There must be no doubt of the hard truth that they are not going to escape that fate just because they are gifted. You and your men are to deliver that truth to them.
“This is, after all, about truth and illusion, a battle over which of those concepts mankind will serve. They preach an illusion of beliefs in things that are not real, of faith and fantasy, of kingdoms in other worlds, of punishments and rewards after we no longer exist. They kill to force people to bow to that faith.
“The counter to that is the reality of our promise of the consequence of harming us. That promise must be kept. That promise must be true. If we fail in this struggle, then mankind will slip into a long, dark age.”
Richard looked out over the silent men and spoke quietly, but in a tone that every man heard. “I am counting on the experience and judgment of you men to accomplish what we must. If you see something you think is useful to them, destroy it. If anyone tries to get in your way, kill them. I want their crops, homes, towns, and cities burned to the ground. I want to see the Old World burning all the way from here. I don’t want one brick left standing atop another. I want the Old World to suffer such ruin that they no longer possess the ability to extend their murderous intent to others. I want their will to fight broken. I want their spirits crushed.
“I trust that you men will be able to come up with ways to accomplish all this. Don’t be limited by what I tell you. Think about what is a valuable resource to them and what would make it a good target for us. Think of how best to carry out your new orders.”
He watched the eyes of men who were being called upon to do what they had never expected would be their job. “T
here will be no final battle with the army of the Order. We will not face them in the way they wish. Instead, we will haunt them into their graves.”
The gathered officers all clapped fists to their hearts.
Richard turned again to Captain Zimmer. “You have my orders as to your specific objective. Be ruthless. There is to be no alternative allowed for these men. Their death is the only result that is acceptable. Make it swift, sure, and without mercy.”
Captain Zimmer stood tall. “Thank you, Lord Rahl, for allowing me and my men to rid the world of those who preach this poison.”
“There’s one other thing I’d like you and your men to do for me.”
“Yes, Lord Rahl?”
“Bring me their ears.”
Captain Zimmer smiled as he put a fist to his heart. “There will be no escape or mercy for them, Lord Rahl. I will bring you proof.”
As they put their minds to their new goal, the officers all began coming forward with suggestions for both targets and methods of destroying them. Their enthusiasm enlivened their faces, as if they had gotten so used to the idea that there was no choice but to be worn down by an implacable enemy, that their faces had taken on creases as they sagged with the burden. Now Richard could see a new vigor in them, an excitement that there was a solution, an end in sight.
Men offered ideas of salting fields, poisoning water supplies with rotting, infected carcasses and corpses, destroying dams, cutting down orchards, slaughtering livestock, and torching mills. Nicci discouraged some suggestions, explaining why they wouldn’t work or would involve too much effort, and offered alternatives in their place. She refined other ideas to make them more devastating.
To a degree, Richard was sickened by the things he heard and the knowledge that he was the architect of such mayhem, but then he thought about the vision Shota had given him of Kahlan, of how those very horrors and more were real for uncounted innocent people, and he was gratified that they were at last striking back in a way that had a chance to end such horrors. The Order, after all, had brought this on themselves.
“Time is of the essence,” Richard told the officers and gathered Sisters. “Every day that passes the Order captures more places, subjugates, tortures, rapes, and murders yet more people.”
“I agree,” General Meiffert said. “This can’t be a march south.”
“No, it can’t,” Richard said. “I want you to ride fast and strike hard. The Order has a huge army and everywhere they go in the New World falls to their swords. But, because of their size, they are ponderous. It takes them a long time to move across the land. Jagang uses his slow speed as a tactic; it makes each city that lies in his path suffer the agony of waiting, imagining what will become of them. It gives fear time to build until it is unendurable.
“We actually have an advantage in that if we use cavalry and keep the units small and nimble, we can strike like lightning in one place after another. They seek to roll in on cities, envelop, and occupy them. We must not be drawn into that kind of drain on manpower and effort. We must simply lay waste to everything we can and then immediately move on to the next target. We must make everyone in the Old World feel fear, feel that there is no safety from our vengeance.”
A bearded officer gestured out at the camp. “There’s not nearly enough horses to turn the whole army into cavalry.”
“Then you need to quickly find horses for all the men,” Cara said. “Get them wherever you can.”
The officer scratched his beard as he considered. He smiled at Cara. “Don’t you worry, we’ll find a way to do just that.”
Another man spoke up. “I know of a number of places in D’Hara where horses are raised. I think we can gather what we’ll need in relatively short order.” When Richard nodded his approval, he tapped a fist to his heart. “I’ll see to it immediately,” he said before making his way out into the rain.
“The army needs to be broken into smaller units,” Richard said to General Meiffert after the officer hurried past. “We don’t want them to stay together in a large force.”
The general stared off as he considered. “We’ll form them into a number of strike-forces and send them south immediately. They will have to depend on their own resources, make do for themselves. They can’t rely on command to direct all the details of their actions or supply them with anything.”
“We’ll need to set up some communication,” one of the older officers said, “but you’re right, I don’t think that it will be possible to coordinate everyone. We need to give everyone clear instructions and then let them do their job. There is plenty of Old World to attack.”
“It would be best if they didn’t keep in communication,” Nicci said. When a number of men stared at her she went on. “Any messengers who are captured will be tortured. The Order has experts in torture. Any man who is captured will tell what he knows. If all the units keep in communication, then they can be betrayed. If anyone captured doesn’t know where other units are, then they can’t betray that information.”
“Sounds like wise advice,” Richard said.
“Lord Rahl,” General Meiffert said in a cautious tone, “our entire army unleashed on the Old World, without an opposing force to check them, will wreak unprecedented devastation. Set loose with such a goal, all of them cavalry, well, they will lay waste to the Old World on a scale never previously known.”
The man was giving Richard one last chance to change his mind, and a last chance to make it clear that he would not lose his sense of purpose at their expense. Richard didn’t shy away from the implied question. He instead took a deep breath as he clasped his hands behind his back.
“You know, Benjamin, I remember a time when the mere mention of D’Haran soldiers struck fear into my heart.”
The men nearby nodded in regret for an edge lost.
“By drawing us into a final battle that we can’t possibly win,” Richard told them, “Jagang has succeeded in making D’Haran soldiers look weak and vulnerable. We are no longer feared. Because they now see us as weak, they think they can do as they will with us.
“I believe that this is our last chance to win the war. If we let it slip away, we are lost.
“I don’t want this chance wasted. Nothing is to be spared. I want Jagang to receive word from messenger after messenger that all of the Old World is burning. I want them to think that the underworld itself has opened up to swallow them.
“I want to again make people tremble in paralyzing fear at the very idea of avenging D’Haran soldiers coming after them. I want every man, woman, and child from the Old World to fear the phantom legions of D’Harans from the north. I want everyone in the Old World to come to hate the Order for bringing such suffering down upon them. I want a howl to raise from the Old World to end the war.
“That’s all I have to say, gentlemen. I don’t think we have a moment to lose, so let’s get to it.”
Men filled with a new resolve saluted as they filed past Richard, thanking him and saying that they would get the job done. Richard watched them dashing out into the steady rain toward their troops.
“Lord Rahl,” General Meiffert said as he stepped closer, “I just want you to know that even if you aren’t with us, you have led us in the coming battle. While it may not be one big battle like everyone was expecting, you have given the men something they would not have had without you. If this works, then your leadership is what will have reversed the course of the war.”
Richard watched the rain dripping off the edge of the canvas awning in a curtain of beaded water. The ground was turning muddy beneath the boots of the soldiers as they dashed in every direction. The sight reminded Richard of the vision of kneeling in the mud, his wrists bound behind his back, a knife at his throat. In his mind he could hear Kahlan screaming his name. He remembered his helplessness, his sense of his world ending. He had to swallow back the unbidden, rising terror. The sound of Kahlan’s screams made his very marrow ache.
Verna stepped up beside the general. “He�
�s right, Richard. I don’t like the idea of pulling people other than soldiers into the fight, but everything you said is true. They are the ones who brought this about. This is about survival of civilization itself and in that, they have made themselves part of the battle. There is no other way. The Sisters will do as you have asked, you have my word as Prelate.”
Richard had feared that she would hold out against the plan. He was too grateful for words that she had not. He embraced her tightly and whispered, “Thank you.”
He had always believed that those on his side had to not only understand the reasons they were fighting, but to do so with or without him, do so for themselves. He now believed that they did grasp the truth of everything at stake, and would fight not just because it was their duty, but for themselves.
Verna held Richard out at arm’s length and peered into his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
Richard shook his head. “I’m just so sick of the terrible things that are happening to people. I just want this nightmare to end.”
Verna showed him a small smile. “You have shown us the way to make that come about, Richard.”
“What part do you plan to play in this, Lord Rahl?” the general asked when Richard turned away from Verna. “If I might ask, that is.”
Richard sighed as he put his mind back to the matter at hand. As he did, the terrible vision faded. “I’m afraid that there is serious trouble with magic. The Imperial Order army is only one of the threats that must be dealt with.”
General Meiffert frowned. “What sort of trouble?”
Richard didn’t think he could explain the whole story again, so he kept it short and to the point. “The woman who made you a general is missing. She is in the hands of some of the Sisters of the Dark.”
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