Have a great weekend, everyone!!!
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Chapter 32
The stars were already out when Falcon finally marched into the training field with his army. Setting his men free in a capital city turned out to be a bad idea. Most of the men did not show up at the meeting place at sundown as agreed. He had spent most of the evening searching the city for them. He found a few sleeping at the inn, a few others in the local pubs, and others he found roaming the Sandoria flea market.
Dozens of other armies had already set up camp. Most of the men huddled in groups, keeping warm around small fires. A few of them passed the time playing games of elemental cards and Meiji. The sound of raised voices filled the air, creating a din of unrecognizable commotion.
“This field is bigger than our entire village,” noted an astonished Asturian soldier. He was right. Yet the field had no outstanding features. In fact, it was quite plain. Just a simple stretch of earth devoid of grass or trees.
“I guess we register over there,” said Aya, pointing at a rectangular table set in the middle of the field.
“Is the training field in Ladria this big, sir?” asked one of the soldiers as they made their way to the registration table.
“It looks about the same,” answered Falcon. “Except our fields are full of grass and trees. I’m sure Sandorians don’t have much use for that, seeing that the majority of them are earth wielders.”
A fat man who sat behind the table stared at Falcon as he approached. “State the village you hail from and name your leader.”
“I’m Falcon Hyatt, commander of the forces of Asturia.”
The plump man handed Falcon a white parchment. “Sign your name on top and have your men sign at the bottom of your name.” The man took a quick glance at Falcon’s army. “Not much of an army you have there. How many men have you brought forth?”
“Forty-two, sir, including myself. We also have a medic who can serve on the healing squad.”
“I see. Since there are so few of you in number, one parchment will suffice.” After they had all signed, the stocky man pointed to the far corner of the field. “You and your men can set up camp over there.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Falcon and the Asturians marched to their designated corner.
“All right, everyone. Let’s set up camp before we freeze to death.”
Despite the long day, the men moved fast. In no time they had put up their small tents.
Meanwhile Falcon used the rocks and wood provided to build two simple fires.
“Sir, tell us more of Ladria,” said one of the soldiers as he took a seat beside Falcon.
“I don’t know much,” answered Falcon. “I’ve rarely stepped foot in the city. Most of my time I’ve spent training at the academy.”
“You heard that, boys?” snickered a voice from behind Falcon. “The Asturians have brought a mighty Rohad mercenary. We are guaranteed an easy victory now.”
Falcon swiveled his head. Two men stood laughing at their sarcastic remarks. Falcon’s sighed annoyingly. Is there nowhere I can go without being ridiculed?
“We didn’t mean any disrespect, oh mighty Rohad warrior,” mocked the biggest of the two men. He wore blood-red armor with a similar colored helmet that covered most of his face. Only his eyes and nose were exposed. “We are so overjoyed to have a commander who fights for money and holds no allegiance.”
“If you can even call him that,” laughed the second man, pointing at Falcon’s men. “No real commander would lead that sorry excuse of an army.” The second man was much smaller than his companion, but he sported the same blood-red armor. He wore no helmet, his shriveled skin and black teeth evident for everyone to see.
Falcon glanced at his men. He had to admit, they didn’t look like much of a fighting force. The best Asturian soldiers had either been lost in the Ciompi ambush, or were recovering back in Asturia. That made most of his current army either young inexperienced fighters or old men.
“Just because I am from Rohad doesn’t mean that I don’t have an allegiance,” answered Falcon, trying to contain himself. “I am a son of Asturia, as are these men. Instead of throwing insults, you should be grateful we came to your aid.”
The bigger man laughed. “We don’t thank any riff-raff that shows up. You Asturians will cause more harm than good. But, if you are all so good, then how about you back it up with a little wager?”
“What kind of wager?”
“You, pitted against my friend here. If you manage to beat him, which you won’t, by the way, then you get to fight me. There is just one rule, no wielding.”
“No. I don’t fight to satisfy the whims of bullies.”
“I see. The mighty Rohad warrior is scared,” taunted the smaller man. “Of course I would be scared too if I was an Asturian coward and had to face two Sandorian commanders.”
“Asturians are not cowards,” snapped Falcon, his face hot. “If you want a fight, I’ll give you a fight. But not one at a time, I’ll take you both on at once.”
“You can do it, commander!” shouted the youngest Asturian soldier. The rest of his men joined in.
“Go, Commander Hyatt.”
“Do it for Asturia.”
Aya stood in front of Falcon. “Don’t do this. We are all on the same side, remember?”
Aya’s words fell on deaf ears as Falcon blocked out the noise around him. All his focus centered on the two Sandorian commanders before him.
“Get him!” ordered the bigger man.
The smaller man grabbed Falcon’s arm. Before the man could get a firm grip on him, Falcon ducked and threw him over his back. The bigger man then grasped Falcon from behind and squeezed.
Falcon recognized the hold, a classic bear lock. He slammed the back of his head into the man’s face. There was a loud crack accompanied by a cry of agony. The man rolled to the ground and held his hand over his bleeding nose.
The smaller man unsheathed his sword. He swung it wildly. Falcon caught the sword with his hand and jerked it away from its master.
Unwilling to give up, the man reached for a dagger he had tucked into his waistband. Before he could use it, Falcon drove his fist into the man’s face. The man crumpled to the ground.
Falcon’s men cheered loudly.
“What’s going on here?” commanded a powerful voice.
The cheering immediately ceased.
A dark man with equally dark hair and piercing eyes emerged from the crowd. His deep green-and-brown uniform and cape complemented his skin.
The two red-armored commanders lowered their heads. “Just a friendly sparring session, sir,” stuttered the smaller man.
“Two against one doesn’t seem friendly to me,” countered the mysterious man.
“It’s not a problem,” said Falcon.
The man looked at Falcon, then back at the two defeated men. “Both of you, go get yourselves cleaned up.” He turned his attention to Falcon. “And you, you’re welcome to stay. We can use all the help we can get.”
“Thanks, sir. I c—”
The man’s voice rose. “I wasn’t done speaking. If something like this happens again, you and your men will be sent back to where you came from. Is that understood?”
“Bu—” started Falcon.
“Yes or no, that’s all I need to hear from you, soldier.”
Falcon felt like a child who was being scolded for misbehaving. Even worse, he was being lectured in front of his men.
“Yes, sir,” answered Falcon, gritting his teeth.
“Good. And now that we’ve got that settled, on to what’s really important.”
The men in the field gathered around the imposing figure. “I am General Higa, leader of the Sandorian forces. As I’m sure you are all aware, the Suteckh Empire is marching against Sandoria as we speak.”
Lightning flashed in the distance. The sound of thunder followed seconds later.
General Higa continued. “I’m afraid the situation is more complicated than we initially projected. Even with all the volunteers, we’re outnumbered three to one.” The general gazed up at the sky, gathering his thoughts. “To make matters worse, our scouts report that the Blood Empress and her general, Draknorr, have used their dark wielding to summon dark beasts.”
There was a loud groan among the men. Fighting men was one thing, but fighting dark beasts was something else altogether.
“Well…um…how many of these dark creatures did they summon?” asked one of the soldiers. His voice sounded as if he were on the verge of tears.
“Our scouts have seen ten.”
A collective moan of distress rose from the men.
“That’s it then. It’s all over,” whimpered a young soldier, throwing himself on the ground.
“This is hopeless,” added another soldier.
“How can we hope to stand up to an army and ten dark beasts?”
Falcon own hopes dwindled. This was shaping up to be a massacre, not a battle.
“Don’t let your spirits leave you, men,” said General Higa. “I also bring good news that may win us the day.”
Despite the general’s enthusiasm, Falcon doubted he could say anything that could lift the men’s spirits.
General Higa continued. “I’m glad to say that a legendary soldier has come to our aid. He and I will be leading you in battle tomorrow.”
As General Higa spoke, a ripple similar to the one that teleported Falcon from Ciompi materialized besides him. Out of the flux in space emerged a white-clad knight.
The men cheered at the top of their lungs.
The Ghost Knight had arrived.
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The story is NOT over. There are still more chapters.