Unity

A Battle of Union

The warriors of Garbagod had been given the condensed version of the history of Margartown and were now loading onto boats from a jetty. No Flagfell had ever seen an ocean, boat, jetty or man from Margartown and so they were naturally hesitant. However, with some coaxing the group set off from Margartown, bound for another civilization found at a vague location.

            Many days later, through luck rather than any skill, land came into view. The boats stopped moving.

            “We must swim to avoid being seen” called the chief.

            “What is swim?” questiones one of the Flagfell. Since the Flagfell had never seen water, none had ever thought of swimming. Immediately, the Chief realised the issue at hand.

            “Okay, new plan. Flagfell, you must trust us” the chief began. “The Flagfell will lie on their back. You will stay afloat, don’t worry. The men will tow you along and keep you afloat. Are we all clear?” Everyone shouted their agreement, except the lord.

“I will not risk my life for some war I am not a part of” declared the lord boldly.

“Then stay here” responded the chief, before he dived into the water. He was immediately followed by the men and, much more hesitantly, the Flagfell.

            The men stayed true to their word.  The Flagfell floated into the water and the men gently tugged them along. The lord had stayed behind, which left the Chief with seemingly no partner. However, no-one had informed Kwald that he was meant to stay in Margartown and he was discovered diving into the water alongside the other Flagfell. As such, Kwald too swam out to the island.

            Eventually, the army arrived at the island. They were, surprisingly, not met by anyone. As stealthily as a pack of almost fifty creatures could, the army moved towards the hut. Kwald immediately noticed how hot it was here and how strange the ground felt. The ground was made of this red grainy dirt which slid through his toes. He heard one of the men call it sand. Nobody else seemed overly concerned with the sand and merely went along.

            A short while after entering the island, the group were discovered. An object came from the top of a hut and nearly hit Kwald square on the nose. Instinctively, everyone ducked. Then, a hail of arrows descended on them. The chief dived on top of Kwald and shoved him to the left. There was some shrubbery over there, which Kwald flailed into. Too scared to move, he stayed there until the hurricane of arrows ended.

            In the attack, many were lost. When the attackers ran out of arrows, the survivors slowly stood. Someone had protected the chief and died in the process. The survivors raised their hands to show they didn’t mean to attack. Philadelphia, among the survivors, glanced around for Kwald. He was not visible and she assumed the worst.

            A strange fellow emerged from the largest hut. He had dark skin and wore some ridiculous clothing, with gems and some golden hat.

            “I am Higher Dexter Garson, of Filamonter” began the man from the hut. “I prefer Higher, by the way. We are a proud island of impeccable culture and ethics. Our island was once a lovely, green, luscious place with animals and water and trees. Now, we have a desert, as we call it, with our water from an ever dwindling supply and food from the inhabitants of dead trees. Many, many years ago, our people inhabited both this island and yours, Filamonten. However, now we cannot survive here. We first attacked you those many years ago and our Higher, the noble Xavier Garson, was killed. We now attack again and today exact revenge” announced the Higher.  

            As Higher rambled on about the joys of Filamonter, Kwald realised the position that he was in. if he stayed in this bush, he would suffer the same fate as everyone else. However, he had a plan. Slowly, without making a noise, Kwald reached up and grabbed some leaves, then rustled them. Nobody looked around and so Kwald assumed he was safe. He threw sand onto his body to try to camouflage. Then he crawled out from under his bush.

            “As part of our revenge, we will require slaves, especially for rowing over to Filamonten, or as you call it, Margartown!” spat Higher. “As such, please stand up, now” he ordered. Initially, no-one moved. “I said, stand!” yelled the Higher. As the men of Filamonter began to tense, Margartown’s chief saw Kwald out of the corner of his eye.

            “Peace, higher” announced the chief as he stood. His army followed suit, before they were organized into a line and tied together.

            Kwald was nearing the hut of Higher when he saw the commotion. Determined to help, he continued on. Shortly, he reached the door of the Higher’s hut. He leapt in and prayed that he hadn’t been seen.

            The interior of the hut was quite impressive to Kwald. The furniture seemed comfortable and spacious, which didn’t seem at all like the exterior. However, Kwald’s eyes were drawn to the cabinet of weapons. There were incredible things that he had never seen. Swords, knives, maces and even a pitchfork lined the shelves. Kwald tucked everything that he could into his clothing, before grabbing the biggest sword. He then grabbed the silver tray from the table, thinking it could be used as a weapon.

            Kwald leapt out of the hut and started screaming at the top of his voice. Then he charged at Higher. Dexter Garson slowly turned around, before his expression turned to horror. Too late, he began to move. Kwald just kept charging and his sword plunged straight into Higher. Then, the greatest of all battles commenced.

            It was somewhat difficult for the army of men and Flagfell to attack, because they were tied together. Kwald rushed over and cut the ropes as quickly as he could, however he was still too slow. From among the trees, an archer sent one of his arrows straight through his heart. He crumpled to the ground. The army made to duck, however Philadelphia realised that Kwald had weapons. She wanted to care for him but knew that his young body could not have survived such an encounter. She grabbed his weapons, wielding a knife for herself, before attacking every man from Filamonter she could see.

            The army of Flagfell and men were consumed with Philadelphia’s rage. Eventually, somehow, they overcame the men of Filamonter. The remaining enemy surrendered and they were tied together and taken to the boat. There were several casualties from the Flagfell as well, and they were laid to rest in the ocean. However, Philadelphia insisted that Kwald’s body return to Garbagod and be buried, as a reminder of sacrifice. And so he was a passenger on the boat.

            When the armies returned to their homeland, Kwald was buried with the Sword from the Sky. Thanks to the great battle, the civilizations of Margartown and Garbagod were now one, named Filamonten. The men of Filamonter were invited to join the new civilization, however declined. Now, all species vote for their Lord (Flagfell) or Chief (men), who govern the area together. Ears are no longer a sign of rank, merely courage.