Blood Royals Book #4: Long Live The King!

Chapter Twenty Seven: The History Of The Blood King

King Relian's POV
"Behold Dargan's army!" She announced.

There are 1,500 sculpted soldiers in silver chained armor. Each wields a shield with the Chea Nivan crest and a sword. They are neatly arranged in rows. Their faces are distinct, none like the other.

"What?" I exclaimed. "What the hell?"

"It's time for a history lesson. Pay attention. These clay men in front of you are the same ones who fought beside your grandfather in Cray Thera. They rode with him on armoured horses charging at the enemy with nothing but valour and an intention to win."

"Horses? Swords? Why not guns? Tanks? We had those, didn't we?"

She smiled at me. "Your grandfather believed in the old ways. Why do you think that the Iron Army still teaches the old ways?"

"He would have lost."

"But he didn't lose!"

"Grandmother, it's not rocket science. Guns and swords? The gun wins."

"A bullet can miss. A sword is certain." She walked in between them. I did too and it feels like they are real. "50 sculptures were hired to make these 1500 representations of the soldiers who charged with him. They worked day and night sculpting every soldier to perfection. Not even a mole was missed." She pointed at one of them with a mole beneath his eye. "His name was Andy. He was a close friend of your grandfather. The craftsmanship is in the details. He knew each one of them by name. This is the exact formation they assumed when they charged in the early hours of the morning."

She stopped in the middle.

There's something different. A horse standing on it's hind legs with a man in a gold suit of armor pointing a scepter. I can't help but smile with pride. My grandfather. They sculpted him to perfection too.

"Still grandmother, a bullet is swifter."

"Skill and strategy are key. I saw him split a bullet in half with a sword Reli. I couldn't believe it but he did it. But here's the thing." She sat on the lowest step. Behind her, cannons. Gold cannons almost like the ones used in the 21 gun salute. They are not perfect. But they boast of elegance and history. "He wanted the kind of victory that will go down in history as the fiercest battle in CN. He believes bravery is engaging the enemy in a hand ti hand battle and not shooting people in the back. It was around half past midnight when he made the call for Cray Thera to be plunged into darkness. The rebels only had the moon left in the dark silence of that hour. Reli it was quiet that even breathing was consider loud. The rebels stood fast some experienced soldiers and some just looking to be participants in an anarchy. They were standing ready for battle when they suddenly saw a dark sky. It was at night and the moon was up so it wasn't really that dark until the night sky was blanketed by the arrows of 1,000 archers. Before they could see that the heavens were about to rain with arrows, it was too late. It took three assaults to injure and kill off a significant number. In their disorientation, the archers took their final bow when they lit up the night sky with burning arrows. The orange of the fire made it seem like daylight. In that amber gleam sat a king on his white armoured horse. As though to announce his presence further, the horse stood on it's hind legs and the glimmer of the Gold suit of armor could be seen. Your grandfather lived for dramatic entries." She laughed softly.

"Damn."

She chuckled. "He stood with his 1500 men in this exact formation. The cannons exploded around them thundering in the silent night and unleashing absolute chaos among the rebels. Ask any old timer and they will tell you how terrifying the deafening sound of the cannons was.

"He took advantage of the darkness."

"Yet he hated darkness. After the cannons, he gave an order to his men. He told them no one was allowed to die on their knees. He told them that they will die proudly on their feet. He told them that it was their moment to become legends. He told them legends never die."