Sir George
The third war against the nation of Ishbel.
"We've run out of rations already. We only just begun our seige." King Arthur said as he rubbed his blonde hair in frustration. We were in the King's tent in the kingdom of Ishbel. Arthur wore his blue and gold cape, dress shirt, and pants. He was now 15 years old still young, but all the wars had caused him to look older. The bags under his eyes were evidence of that. Standing next to the King was Archbishop Boris. He wore long white and blue robes that reached his ankles. Boris had taken off his priest hat showing off his bald head. He took a sip of his wine before he answered the King.
"It is only a minor setback. Reinforcements will arrive soon with more supplies from the rear." Boris said as he sat next to the King. We had been fighting the Ishbel army for a few months now. They were a kingdom of free merchants and the next in line to be conquered. Like most of the other nations, Lora invaded. The Ishbel desired peace. The only problem was that they didn't like the idea of having a king. Ishbel had been a democratic republic since its conception. The nation didn't want to give up its democracy without a fight.
"Just our luck, we finally get these heathens right where we want them, and we run out of food." The men will start to lose their morale soon. The King said, slamming his quill down. He was right, the men were talking, and none of it was good. After months of fighting, we managed to push the Ishbel army to its capital, a large city known as Haven.
"We can use him to brighten the men's mood." Boris said, pointing his fat finger at me. I was busy sitting down in the corner, fighting my sleep. I had no idea how Boris planned to use me. Judging by the King's confused expression, I guessed he didn't know either. Boris stood, grabbing two bottles of wine off the table.
"Goerge. Go pretend to be human for a while." The priest said, handing me the wine. It took me a moment for the order to sink in. (I remember this day.) I thought as my body started to move. I was in another one of my dreams. Now when I went to sleep, I dreamed of my old life almost constantly. Today was the first time I tried wine—the first day in years where I was allowed to be human and not a slave.
Today I joined the men in the camp giving wine to the soldiers of Lora. The Lorain soldiers were happy to receive the red wine. They only had water and mead to drink. I have been told the mead they drank tasted like hot urine. They laughed and joked the entire night. I hardly said a word, only watching as the men sang songs and danced. I lost myself in the wine and revelry. That night was the first night I felt alive. It was very rare for paladins to have wine. Even rarer than when we got to eat meat. I was a lightweight when it came to alcohol. At least that's what the soldiers said. I notice myself getting drunk after only a few sips of wine. I enjoyed the taste. At one point, I had nothing but pants on and was busy fighting men in hand-to-hand combat. The soldiers thought it would be fun to test my might.
"Damn, you paladins are made out of some tough stuff!" Captain Kreem said as he spits out blood. I had knocked the level four captain on his ass with only a few moves. I was now at the peak of level six, so not many people could contend with me. I helped the man get up to his feet as the men cheered. Captain Kreem was a good man. He always took care of his men. The war with Ishball was my second battle with the Kreem.
"Who's next? Who wants to try their luck against Sir Goerge?" Captain Kreem shouted. That's when I noticed that the King and Boris were watching. Before I could make my way to them, the King began to walk to me.
"I think that's enough for tonight. We need our paladins to be in tip-top shape. The King said as he tapped my shoulder. The men all started to walk away, but the King stopped them.
"I would, however, like to take this time to thank Sir Goerge and all our paladins. You all see his scares!" Arthur said, pointing to the many scars on my body. Arrow wounds, cuts, scratches, and burns covered every inch of my torso. A testament to all the battles I survived. The soldiers all looked at me in a different light.
"His scars show his devotion to the kingdom of Lora. To the Goddess herself. The paladins all took an oath to fight and die for our kingdom. We, as the people, owe them so much." The King said, raising his tankard.
"So let us give a toast to the brave paladins. Let us make a promise never to forget their sacrifices. To the paladin order!" The King shouted, and men all cheered loudly. I stood there watching as the men put their faith in me. ( Fools, most of the men present won't even make it back.) I thought. Ishbel would fall in the morning, and the kingdom of Lora would continue gobbling up nations in the name of peace. Kreem and his men would survive tomorrow's siege, but they would all perish in the battle that came after. I wanted to scream at the Lorain army to stop, but I couldn't say a word. I only nodded at the King before walking back to my tent.
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"Ouch!" I said as I opened my eyes. Canem was looking over me with a worried expression. I looked down and noticed bite marks on my hand. (She must have bitten me to wake me up.) I thought as I pet the jackal.
"Its okay girl I'm fine now." I thought as I cuddled her. The sun was starting to come up. (Time to get the day started, I guess.) I thought as I stood up to stretch.
Ishbel Kingdom: The third human kingdom invaded by the Lorain Empire.