It was a relief when Faolán returned from Lavos not only carrying news but also medicine. Torcan directed the messenger towards the commander's tent while he himself rushed to bring the tinctures to the infirmary. They had used the last pain relief yesterday and the agonized cries of the injured were starting to drive the healthy soldiers insane.
This would at least bring some measure of peace back to the camp.
Torcan walked up to the physician and handed him the crate with labeled jars. "These have come from Lavos, by the hand of king Elon's daughters. They have personally overseen that these were sent to you. Please use them wisely."
The physician bowed lightly as he took the medicine bottles. Medication from Lavos was highly sought after, and the daughters of king Elon were very adept at making them. "Thank you, my lord," he said gratefully, "this has come not a moment too soon. We have many injured still."
Torcan nodded. "Please," he said, "use them on Byron from Lavos first. He is king Elon's own son-in-law. I'm certain princess Eloni would be grateful to see her beloved back whole and healthy. How is he?"
The physician looked at him gravely. "The situation is dire, my lord," he said seriously, "as per request of king Darius himself, we are doing all we can. I'm sure the princess Eloni sent the medication as swift as she could, but even so, it may already be too late to save his leg."
Torcan gave a serious nod. Byron was still unconscious and burning with fever. And he wasn't the only one.
Leaving the mediation with the physician, Torcan made his way back to Darius. Some of the soldiers had returned from their hunt in the mountains. Tonight there would be plenty of meat to share. No one was allowed to drink alcohol as long as they were on duty, but at least there would be something to celebrate. Morale had been low the past few days. And how not? There seemed to be no end to the fighting.
He took a deep breath and entered the commander's tent Darius shared with Cyrus. They were still listening to Faolán's report from king Elon. Aside from medicine, Lavos had sent some grain as well. The food was most welcome.
The border with Lavos had been retaken. At the time Faolán passed through, there had been prisoners. Word of that would probably arrive soon. It was good news indeed. What was left over of the Balor army had been pushed back to their own border. There, the other troops would be waiting for them.
"Let's not let our guard down just yet," Darius said, "we will leave a few men stationed there just in case. Have fifteen riders patrol back and forth along the mountain ridge. We don't want any Balor scum to slip through the cracks."
Ignisius, second in command to lord Cassius Strega, nodded in agreement. "I agree with king Darius. Even though the enemy appears to be retreating, we need to be cautious. We have not won this war yet."
Cyrus turned to Faolán. "A few of Lavos' men should form a team with the riders from Tirèze. They know this particular mountain range best. My men will join Alcaeus at the Northwest border as additional back up."
Darius nodded too and looked at Torcan. "Torcan, select a few men to ride with Lavos to patrol our North border."
Torcan bowed. "Yes, my king." It seemed he needed to wait a little longer before he could speak with Darius. His king and friend was occupied every moment of the day. The moments Cyrus took over command were the only moments Darius was available, and that time was understandably used for resting.
There was no privacy in this camp.
Faolán, too, excused himself to join Torcan and gather some of his own men. It was adamant they acted swiftly, and the patrol would be sent out before nightfall.
In the tent, Ignisius turned to Cyrus. "Your Highness," he said, "with your permission, I will go speak with lord Cassius. We will select a few men to join Alcaeus at the border."
Antonios from Moraye inclined his head. "I will do the same, my prince."
Cyrus nodded. "Go. Instruct the men to gather here within the hour." Once the men had left, he turned to Darius. "I need to write a report to my father. I'll leave you in command of my men when they present themselves."
Darius nodded. "Go," he dismissed his brother-in-law, and he let out a long sigh once he was alone. His thoughts went out to his wife and children. Were they still alright? He wondered how the boys were doing in their lessons and if Roshan was already taking her first steps. He missed them terribly. But he needed to keep in mind that he was doing all this for them. For their future.
"My king," one of Darius' scouts approached the tent and bowed deeply. "The daily count has come from the border," he said while handing Darius a scroll. "Names of those that have fallen, Your Majesty."
Darius let out a deep and heavy breath. This was always the part he dreaded most, seeing names on that list he knew. "Thank you," he said, "take some rest before reporting back for duty."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the scout bowed, and he retreated.
Darius sat down on one of the chairs in his tent and opened the list. Thirty more deaths. Many injured. The added forces needed to be dispatched as soon as possible.
His eyes scanned the names and halted on the final one. With a sigh, Darius stood up and went in search of Cyrus.
The crown prince of Zeir was not that far away, seated at a small stationary in one of the smaller tents. When Darius entered, he looked up. "Have the men gathered already?" It hadn't been that long since he left the commander's tent.
Darius held out the scroll to him. "If you haven't finished your report yet, you may want to add something to it."
Cyrus studied him for a moment and then looked at the scroll. He knew what it was. He just didn't know whose name he would find on there. Of every casualty, the family of the deceased were notified. But if Darius found it necessary to come find him the moment the list arrived, it must mean someone of high rank was on there.
He feared what he would read.
"It's not lord Iolaus," Darius informed him calmly.
Cyrus let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, but then looked at Darius again. "Is it Iason?" Already he was mentally preparing himself for Vara's reaction. How could he ever face her? Even if it wasn't his fault, he still felt responsible. She would be heartbroken.
"It's not Iason," Darius said.
Cyrus sighed again and took the scroll. He read over the names. Most were men from Tirèze, but there were a few from Zeir. One from Lavos.
It was the final name that made him sigh again.
Alcaeus di Santi
Ophelia's cousin. They had known each other well. It grieved him the man had died. Ophelia would be upset. She had doted on her cousin.
Cyrus nodded. "I'll inform my father. He will make sure the family is notified. And I'll add the names of the other fallen from Zeir as well thank you."
Darius nodded. He himself would instruct Torcan to do the same for the men from Tirèze, and he'd send word to king Elon as well. One of his men had died too. "I'll leave you to it. I should return. The men will assemble soon. With this news, every man available should be sent out posthaste before we lose our ground. We will avenge or dead." He nodded at Cyrus and returned to the commander's tent.
Torcan was already waiting for him.
"My king," Torcan bowed, "the men are awaiting your instructions. Faolán has taken them to the horses. They are ready to leave." He didn't 'mention they had been reluctant to be selected. Leaving now would mean missing out on the feast that would take place tonight.
Darius nodded. "Thank you. I will see them now. I have another task for you. I handed the list with new casualties to prince Cyrus. He is notifying his father of the deaths of the men from Zeir. I want you to notify the families of our own men and write a missive to king Elon. One of the casualties is from Lavos."
Torcan bowed his head. "Yes, my king. I will do so." He turned to leave.
"Torcan."
Darius voice halted him and he looked over his shoulder. "My king?"
After you finish writing the letter, take some rest. You look exhausted."
Torcan offered a half smile. "Everyone is exhausted, my king."
Darius looked at him sternly. "You are my second in command, Torcan. I need to be able to rely on
you. Take some rest. That is an order."
Torcan bowed his head. "Yes, my king."
Darius sighed as Torcan left the tent. He hadn't failed to notice the circles under the young man's eyes. Still, Torcan never complained. He performed every task, endured mockery, worked behind the scenes. He went above and beyond, and Darius trusted no one more than him.
Growing up, Darius hadn't had friends. They were a luxury a crown prince, or a king, could not afford.
Until Torcan had been sent to court.
At first he hadn't even noticed the boy with the wounded look in his eyes that had befriended his sister. But then Torcan had been added to the group of boys training to become soldiers. He seemed determined to do well, despite the mockery and contempt the other boys showed him.
Of course Darius had known the boy's history. Nothing remained a secret at court. The boy's determination made Darius pay more attention. And one day, when he was taking a stroll on the palace grounds, he had witnessed the boy's true strength.
A group of the boys in training had surrounded Torcan, mocking him and pushing him around. Yet Torcan did not fight back. His clothes were torn, his lip split, and he had bruises all over, but he made no attempt to break free or run away.
Curious, Darius approached the group. He folded his hands behind his back and with a straight posture he looked down on them. "What's going on here?"
The group pause their assault on Torcan and looked up. When they realized who it was that was talking to them, they fell down to one knee. "Prince Darius."
Darius tilted his head. "I asked a question," he said. His eyes shifted towards a battered Torcan and back to the other boys.
What appeared to be the leader of the group, glanced up at Darius. "A practice drill, Your Highness," he said, "to test endurance."
Darius glanced at Torcan again, who didn't dare look up and was breathing heavily. "Is this true?"
Torcan swallowed and gave a stiff nod. "Yes, Your Highness," he whispered.
Darius eyed him curiously and wondered why this boy was protecting his assailants. Was it to not appear weak? Weakness, after all, was not accepted in Tirèze. He nodded in understanding. "I see," he said calmly, "well then, I'd like to know more about this endurance drill. Will you explain it to me?" He looked at Torcan questioningly.
Torcan swallowed again. "As Your Highness wishes," he said quietly.
"I wish it," Darius stated. He turned to the rest of the group. "You are dismissed."
The boys exchanged uncertain looks but couldn't ignore a royal command. "Your Highness," they all bowed and ran off.
Darius tilted his head towards Torcan who had not moved. The boy still sat kneeled on the ground and kept his eyes downcast. "So," Darius spoke, "I hear we are cousins." They might not be direct cousins, but they were still kin.
Torcan bit his lip. "It would seem so, Your Highness." He felt ashamed to be in this situation. The prince must think him weak too. If he was sent away from court, he would truly have nowhere to go.
"I have seen you fight in training," Darius commented, "you're quite good at arms. Why didn't you fight back?"
Now Torcan did glance up at him. "My prince?" he questioned.
Darius nodded his head in the direction the others had run off to. "They were ganging up on you. Why would you let them?"
Torcan averted his eyes. "It was a practice drill, Your Highness."
Darius' eyes turned cold and he gritted his teeth. "You'd be well-advised never to lie to me," he said coldly, "I am your crown prince. I will be king one day. Do not make a fool out of yourself."
Torcan let out a breath. "There would be no point in fighting back, Your Highness," he said "it would not change their opinion of me, and it would not earn me their respect. I am what I am. There is no changing that. They will form an elite guard one day, my prince, they'll need to fight as a unified group. One we finish our training, they will be as brothers, trusting each other, relying on each other."
Darius raised an eyebrow. "And you believe this is he way to achieve that?"
Torcan averted his eyes. "Perhaps not," he admitted, "but the result will be the same."
Darius stared at him bewildered. Such an odd way of thinking. "Stand up," he demanded.
Torcan obeyed without question. Thought the boys were of an age, at ten years old, Darius was about two inches taller.
"Look at me," Darius instructed. He was met with the boy's hesitant eyes. "Do not let anyone make you feel inferior," Darius said sternly, "are you not being trained to become a soldier as well? Shouldn't you be able to fight alongside them and trust them to have your back?" When Torcan didn't seem to have an answer to that, Darius scoffed. "I guess we will need to find some other occupation for you then."
Torcan stood quietly in front of him, accepting the scolding. The prince may act coolly in front of him, at least he didn't openly mock him. Nor did he hurt him. If prince Darius would ask his father to send Torcan away, there wasn't much he could do against it. He was used to being unwanted. His own father had disregarded him. Why would anyone else want him around?
Darius tilted his head. "Aren't you going to say anything?"
Torcan bowed lightly. "I'll accept any position you have in mind for me, Your Highness."
An amused smiled pulled at Darius' lips. "Will you now? That's good to know." He turned around and walked away, leaving Torcan staring after him, worried and confused.
...
Even though he was the crown prince, Darius couldn't just barge in at his father whenever he wanted. There was a protocol to follow, and that protocol included him too. If he wanted an audience with his father, he needed to make an official request. Then, when the king accepted the request, Darius would be summoned. It gave the young prince the time to carefully formulate his request and come up with solid arguments. Providing proper arguments was part of his lessons, and Darius knew that if he pleaded his case well, his father would be more inclined to grand his request.
Still, it took several more days for Darius to be called into the throne room.
Darius kneeled and bowed his head. "Father." He hardly ever saw the man that was his father. The king was always busy with state affairs, and his children were left to wetnurses and teachers. For the first few years of his life, Darius hadn't even known he had a sister. Ariane was raised and kept in the women's wing and he only ever saw her at official gatherings or at a distance.
King Xerex nodded at his son and waved his hand. "Rise," he said, "approach."
Darius rose to his feet and walked closer to the throne. "Thank you for receiving me. "
"Let me look at you, by," king Xerex spoke, "you look well. Your teaches inform me you excel at your lessons."
"Yes, father," Darius answered. He couldn't appear impatient. He needed to wait with his request for the right moment.
"Good," the king nodded, "a delegation from the nomad people will arrive in the next few days to negotiate. I want you to demonstrate your skills in archery and riding. Your sister will be present as well to perform a musical piece. I understand she is doing well in her lessons."
Darius kept his face passive. Performing tricks for visiting delegates as not his favorite pastime. It made him feel like a chess piece, which of course, in a way, he was. But he needed to stay in his father's good graces if he wanted his plan to succeed. "Yes, father," he said, "I will do my best."
"I need you to do more than your best," king Xerex spoke, "this visit is important. We need to show our strength."
Darius inclined his head. "Of course. I understand."
"God," king Xerex waved dismissively, "I will send for you when they have arrived."
"Father," Darius spoke, and he corrected himself, "my king. I came to ask a favor."
King Xerex studied his son carefully. "Speak," he said.
Darius nodded. "As crown prince, I should have someone at my side, to serve as a shield and confidant. I have found the perfect candidate. His skills with the sword are almost as good as my own, and he is loyal. I want him to be trained alongside me and become someone reliable."
King Xerex studied the boy a little surprised. Darius had neve shown much interest in other people, or so his informants had told him. But he seemed quite determined now. Perhaps this was a good thing. A future king could not have friends. He had subordinates. He had commanders. He could favor men that had proven their loyalties or proved to be valuable. But he could not have friends. Nonetheless. Even a king needed someone he could trust unconditionally. Perhaps someone growing up alongside him could fulfill that role. "And who is it you have let your eye fall on?" he asked his son.
Darius stood up straighter. "Torcan di Salve, who is my kin."
King Xerex blinked surprised and leaned back in his seat, one hand pressed against his lips in thought. He knew the boy, of course. Izem had sent him to court to be raised as a servant. He had disowned his son in favor of his newborn child, declaring the infant his heir instead. King Xerex knew what had befallen the boy by the hand of Balor tribesmen. When the boy had first arrived at Tirzé, he had been frightened and weak, and king Xerex had not known what to do with the child. In truth, he was unfit for service, unmanned an scarred as he now was. But an incident in the gardens had made him reconsider. One of the servants that tended to the harem had informed him the boy had been seen with the lady Ariane. Apparently, the young princess had hurt herself, and Torcan had comforted her, brushing the dirt from her skirt and cleaning the cut on her knee.
Perhaps, the king had mused, the boy could still be trained as a harem guard. After all, the boy was kin and had noble blood. It would be sad indeed to send him away.
So he had allowed the boy to be trained at arms along with the other recruits in training that would one day serve the army. By some twist of fate it seemed Torcan had now crossed paths with the crown prince.
Perhaps it was meant to be. The training instructor had informed the king that the Salvire boy showed great promise.
"Very well," king Xerex told his son, "let him become your right hand man and bind him to you. He will continue to train with the other boys, but he will also train with you. He will ride with you, eat with you, even sleep in the same room. Make him yours completely so there will neve be any doubt about his loyalty. This will be a test for you too, son. A king should know how to bind someone's loyalty to him. Show me you can do this and that you are worthy of being my heir."
Darius bowed deeply, feeling quite victorious. "It will be as you say, my king." He would make something of this boy what was his distant cousin. He would form him to his own wishes and make sure he understood his position. How thankful that boy would be! And Darius would make sure Torcan would never forget to whom he owed this honor.
For the first time, Darius felt what it was like to have the power to change someone's life.
It was a good feeling indeed.
...
Elora wiped her forehead and smiled at Malati. "We've done enough for today. Now this tincture needs to rest overnight and tomorrow we can give it the final touches."
Malati nodded and wiped her hands on a cloth. All day they had been busy making ointments and tinctures to send to the battlefront. There were a lot of injured there still. It was a lot of work, but she enjoyed it. For the first time since coming here, she felt useful, though she knew no matter how hard they worked, it would not be enough for the whole army.
Elora had even told her so, but she had assured the girl that her sisters in Lavos would be doing the same.
Here, in Tirèze, the flowers and plants necessary were scarce. King Darius had some planted for his wife when she arrived at court, but it was till nothing compared to the fields and gardens in Lavos.
Even so, the little they could do was still more than nothing.
"I hope the king will return soon," Malati said, "safe and sound." It would mean the war was over and that she would finally be free to leave. Not that she didn't like it here, but she wanted to finally go and live at Salvire.
Elora smiled sadly. "Yes, so do I." Every day he did not come home was another day spent in fear. Would this be the day she received word of his death? Was he mortally injured somewhere? Taken prisoner? Would she ever see him again? "That is why we need to stay busy," she continued, "to keep our minds from worrying." She placed a hand on Malati's arm. "I'm sure it won't be much longer. The reports we receive are very promising. We are gaining the upper hand and pushing the enemy back. Any day now the news will come of our victory." Telling herself that was the only way she could go on.
Malati inclined her head and hoped what Elora said was true. "I'll do my best," she said. She took a deep breath. "The North border is cold this time of year with the sows setting in from Zeir. Let's gather blankets and cloaks to send to the front along with the medicine."
Elora smiled surprised. She hadn't even though of that. In Lavos, winter was not so harsh and here, deep into Tirèze, it was hot all year round. But this nomad girl came from the district around Salvire. She must have experienced eh colder climate herself. "Yes," she said, "we need to do all we can to see to their comfort." She would start right away.
...
Iolaus bit his check against the pain. An arrow had struck him in his lower abdomen and for a moment he could not breathe.
They had closed in on the enemy quickly and managed to drive them into the canyon where king Darius' army was waiting, but that did not mean Balor did not fight back. They had very skilled archers among them and many had struck true. He had lost a lot of men, and now he wondered if he would be next.
A primitive field hospital had been erected and he had been carried there. Medication was scarce, and had been for a while. But even then, there were others that needed treatment more than him. Mortally injured men whose wounds had festered. Men that had lost a lot of blood or even limbs.
He could wait.
He could endure.
Iolaus closed his eyes and let his mind wander towards his wife and daughter. Thinking of them brought him peace. "Ophi," he murmured.
A face appeared in his line of vision. "My lord? Do you have need of anything?"
"Water," he managed to get out.
"Of course," came the reply. A moment later, his head was being supported and a ladle pressed against his lips. He drank greedily.
"We need to remove the arrow," the physician said.
Iolaus gritted his teeth and nodded. He felt so tired. He just wanted to have it over with so he could sleep.
The physician waved two men over. "Hold him," he instructed.
Iolaus felt hands press him down on the cot and he closed his eyes.
"Here goes," the physician spoke.
A sharp pain shot through Iolaus and he cried out. It was as if his entire body was on fire.
And then darkness took him.
A/N So I gave you a little insight in Darius' and Torcan's past :) Sure, my king, you showed him whom he owed thanks to. Forever in your debt. How did that turn out for you :P
I swear they have the most complicated friendship ^^"