The Call to War

Chapter 9

"Graves, I swear I know that name," Arthur appeared deep in thought as he tried to remember where he heard that name.

"I can answer that one for you if you like," Vanesy chuckled. "Clive Graves, the former student council vice president, that really did not like you."

"Wait, they gave him his own division?!"

"No, Captain Graves is his father."

"So how much trouble will I have with him?" Arthur asked as he rubbed his temple.

"No clue, I've never met the man before. But I wouldn't expect to make friends with him."

"Didn't expect to." Arthur then stretched his arms into the air. "Well, since everything seems to be under control here, I'm going to go out and assess the troops."

"Would you like me to gather them all for you so you can make another exciting speech?"

"No thanks, and how did you hear about that?"

"Our cooks were in Etistin stocking up on supplies and heard it."

"I see, anyone else that might recognize me?"

"I doubt it, why?"

"I read a book once, where on the eve before battle, the king would dirty himself up and dress like one of his soldiers," Arthur somewhat lied, as it was actually a play from his old life.

"Why?"

"I was getting to that, don't interrupt. Anyway, he knew that if they saw their king they would present themselves at their best, and hide anything that could be concerning, like fear. But as a normal soldier, they showed their true selves. With that he could see their weaknesses and concerns, so he could try and boost moral and assess if they could really win."

"I see, well you're definitely dressed for the part," Vanesy commented as she gestured to his clothes, which were very plain in appearance. In actuality though, commander Virion had ordered practically a whole wardrobe of clothes for Arthur, all made of the same protective cloth that the clothes Tess gave him before their summer break were made of.

"I never did like drawing attention to myself." Arthur then turned around and waved. "I'm going to go have fun with your troops."

"Don't hurt any of them," Vanesy called out with a concerned expression.

"Do bruised egos count?" Arthur asked and walked out of the tent.

Once back outside Sylvie retreated back into the warmth of Arthur's cloak. "So where to?"

"I can hear some cheering, so let's go see what's going on over there."

Arthur walked through the camp following the sound of the cheers, and found a makeshift battlefield across from their shabby looking kitchen. Surrounding the battlefield were a series of benches, that were really just hastily assembled rocks with logs running in between them. Arthur took a seat and watched this bear of a man essentially wrestling another large man.

"Hey there," a voice called.

Arthur looked to see a young man with red hair, with a young woman with black hair, both looking at him.

"Hello," Arthur replied as he was extended his hand. "I'm Arthur."

"I'm Jona," the man replied as he took Arthur's hand. "And that childish little girl behind me is Cedry."

Cedry gave Jona a quick jab to the kiddies for that comment, then waved to Arthur. "Nice to meet you."

"So we haven't seen you around before, are you one of the new recruits?" Jona asked as he sat down rubbing his back where he got hit.