Grole sat before Aisrin, stripped of all Nit his clothes. His men were being treated equally so. Grole was giving Aisrin everything he was asked of.
"So this Baron Seloth, is a vile corrupted man with no ability to govern? Is that a good summary of what you've told me?" Aisrin finished his questioning.
"That's a perfect description." Grole answered.
"For a loyal retainer, you certainly had no problem giving information up on your Baron." Aisrin scoffed in amusement.
"I'm not his loyal retainer. I'm his father's. Seloth is unfit to govern anything. My surrender means I'll hang for treason against him, so I'll give all the information I can if it means that pig falls." Grole firmly stated. Aisrin looked at him with intrigue.
"Well, I don't care about the normal terms for surrendering. Here, you'll be taken care of with three meals, and a place to sleep. Your wounded will be tended to and your dead buried properly. You will of course adhere to my laws and you will help me clean the battlefield. Gabriel, see to it that this is done. They'll stay in the Barracks, you and soldiers of your choice will take shifts Guarding them." Aisrin immediately set about giving orders.
Aisrin and Grole then had several of their combined men go out with them to gather the dead and their belongings. Of the 159 men Aisrin started with 12 died, 7 were wounded critically, and a dozen more had minor cuts and arrow wounds.
Grole had gone from 500 to 268. Of the remaining 44 were critical and 79 had minor wounds. 232 were dead. The dead that were buried in the plains were not retrieved.
That night, the twelve soldiers that died were buried outside the village in one of the fields that Aisrin had deemed a cemetery. He had erected tombstones magically etched with the fallen soldiers names. He gave them the closest thing to a military burial that he could.
The village celebrated somberly. The loss of the brave men and women hung heavily over all. The dead soldiers on the enemy side were given equal treatment, it took a few days to get each name, but Aisrin left no soldier without the dignity and recognition he or she deserved.
"A man like you, is a treasure few have the pleasure of knowing, Lord Aisrin." Grole commented as he stood and looked at the rows of stone markers. Each with a name to commemorate a life.
"'If your enemy is Hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him water.' Where I'm from, that just means to treat your enemy as a human being, equally and without discrimination." In truth, it was a biblical quote Aisrin used to adhere to religiously.
"A man like you, I would have been honored to have served instead." Grole stated. Knowing full well Seroth would have had the bodies burned or buried in mass graves without honor or markings.
"An enemy today, could be a friend tomorrow. Somebody said somewhere. What I'm saying is, you could still. As it happens, I'm planning on creating a nation. Built by the people for the people. It's gonna take awhile to get there, but get there they shall." Aisrin answered.
"What will this nation be called?" Grole inquired.
"I've been thinking on it. For these people, I became their hope, a silver lining in a sea of grey clouds. I'm thinking of calling this Village Silver City. The nation will be New Dawn." Aisrin replied.
"If you'll have me, I'd be grateful for the second chance." Grole knelt.
"No need for kneeling, I ain't that kind of Lord. You won't be a captain anymore. You'll also have to undergo the immigration process. You'll have to be cool with that. This was to be offered to each of your soldiers as well. Refusing is allowed, in which they'll be handed a dagger a sack of food and sent off. That is New Dawn. A new horizon on which one can prosper anew." Aisrin responded.
"Then let me be the first to accept. Though we met as enemies, may move forward as friends." Grole held out his hand after the cheesy line.
"Sure, but try not to say such weird things ever again." Aisrin shook the man's hand and they headed back towards the village.
As Aisrin stated, each of the 268 soldiers from Graycastle was offered the chance to serve under New Dawn. Questions arose about families and housing and food. Each question was answered positively.
"Your families are more than welcome to move here, of course. How, I don't know, I doubt my Army can just march up and escort them on the five day journey... hmm... Ahem, I can set up temporary housing to shelter the families, and food is distributed daily based on occupations." Aisrin answered.
This seemed to gain quite the favorability amongst the soldiers. Though it gained favorable results from the vast majority, it still failed to convince a good portion. By the time spring rolled around, and the soldiers healed, 103 soldiers left for Graycastle, opting out of the New Dawn proposal.
"Lord Aisrin, I have great news!" Aren later approached Aisrin excitedly.
"Yes?" Aisrin asked.
"So, I heard from the Grayca- The new recruits, that me and my team were named the Grassland Wolves! Pretty cool, right?" Aren announced with pure glee, fit for a 17 year old.
"Actually, that perfect. I was just gonna call you special forces, but, having that name is a lot better and far more creative." Ausrin responded with a nod.
"What are you working on?" Aren asked Aisrin.
"The Grassland Wolves' next assignment. These are letters written to families of the new immigrants. They have addresses on them, but I also had them vaguely map out their streets so you could visually find them, since you all can just barely read from your three months training.
You'll pose as merchants, I already sto- Ahem, found, some horses and carts. These carts are special. I've cast powerful illusions over them so that it appears as though you are carrying exotic goods. And when you leave. it'll change to match the most common items it detects in the city. It's high level, but try to avoid suspicion, otherwise, it'll be obvious you aren't merchants.
I may be able to convince soldiers and common idiots that you have goods, but I can convince them that you are merchants... understand?" Aisrin explained.
"Yes Lord Aisrin, the Grassland Wolves will head out at first light." Aren nodded and left.
"Now, to begin teaching hunters how to fish. And the laborers how to build shit." Aisrin stretched. It was going to be a long couple weeks for him.