Nasr was tired. He sat in his tent holding his head trying to keep himself awake, planning his next move. The past few months had seen him on the constant backfoot, and whilst the losses he had suffered from the small skirmishes that had taken place weren't as tragic as the initial battle at the gentle river, it was not something that could continue.
He had been pushed back, although way to the split in the highway towards the North and knew that Harun's forces would be arriving soon. "Your Grace," a soldier walked in leading a royal guard. "A messenger has arrived from the south."
He gave a bow taking his leave, leaving the two alone. "Tell me, what news do you have." Nasr had expected this at some point. He had just assumed that Alfred was finally making his move. The royal guard looked at Nasr in confusion. His appearance and tone spoke as if nothing was happening.
"Your Grace. The Southern lords are wondering when you will finally send support. The Kingdom has conquered the entire borderlands and taken part of the coast." His words struck like lightning. Nasr looked up in confusion the horror. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times wondering what the guard was son about.
"What do you mean the Kingdom has invaded already? Why haven't I been told this before? Mansa left you men there for this sole purpose." Rage soon took over. Nasr stood up, pushing his finger in the man's chest, spit flying about. The guard ducked his head a little under the pressure coming off of Nasr but resolved himself.
"Those on the border had already come. They had come through my fort numerous times to relay the news to you themselves. Many of the Southern lords will be able to back this testimony."
Nasr fell holding his head. He was already losing against Harun when he had the superior numbers and now an army already invaded the south he didn't know existed. It suddenly hit him. How come he didn't get any news about the invasion? From the guard's words, it seemed multiple people had tried to send word about it.
"Your journey here, explain it without missing a detail." The guard explained his journey, from travelling south to the capital. How he met Adrian to give information on the situation, dealt with small matters that he needed to attend to and finally how he met Yusuf to find where the main army was.
"In the capital. Did Adrian do anything of suspicion?" Nasr asked. He was already suspicious after Aswad disappeared probably dying on his mission. Adding to his previous grievance that he would hold with his father, it wouldn't be a shock for him to be a traitor.
"The regent hasn't shown any strange movement. General Mansa had the same thoughts as you and placed two men to watch him 24/7. I spoke with them and they said he hasn't done anything strange. No treasonist letters or strange meetings. He has just been running the capital and sending what little support is available to him from the capital and west." The guard said all this as a matter of fact. Adrian didn't even know the exact location of the main army, delegating that to Yusuf.
He was the main reason the South hadn't been rolled over and finally stabilized after the initial invasion, sending men from the West over to fill in the gap. Nasr nodded. If the man had said all this himself then there was not much he could go off other than slight suspicion. Whilst Adrian was clear for the moment, the suspicion never left. His mind then turned to the other man in the capital.
"The Merchant. He is the only one who knows where we are exactly?" The guard nodded. Nasr thought about it. He had enough money to hire assains to kill the men sent over. Adding to knowing the route he would be able to provide the best location to commit the crime. The motivation was easy to guess as well. The Kingdom had the money to spend to get him on his side, and the existence of the Golden Mask Bank was a big incentive to switch sides.
A small chuckle escaped his mouth. All around him, there were traitors, and one sat on his own council. "I will help deal with the problem down south in the coming month, first I need to deal with the situation here. Go back to the capital and arrest The Merchant. Hand over his matters to Adrian until a replacement is found." Nasr fired the order. He was sure he had figured out what was going on.
"Of course Your Grace." The guard smiled. He had gathered over the conversation that all the men sent north had died. To arrest the one that was causing his brothers to be killed was a pleasure that he would happily take part in.
Nasr followed the guard out of his tent, summoning his council. It took a couple of minutes for them all to arrive. Taking their seats they looked at the exhausted Nasr wondering why he had summoned them.
"We must make a truce with Harun." Nasr flatly told his men. They were shocked by his words. Nasr had been completely against peace. "The Merchant has betrayed us. The Kingdom is currently invading us with their full might. They have been in our lands for the past three months now, and we had no clue." With a bitter voice, he told the news, it was that he was embarrassed to admit, but he knew she must.
Like a bucket of cold water was dumped on them. The South was their bread basket. It was something that couldn't be lost no matter what. More importantly, the capital sat in the South. They understood that the Civil War meant nothing if they had nothing to return to. "Send a message to Harun."
It was a dark clear sky. The two met in an open field. Their armies stood behind, eyeing one another. The North was arrogant and full of pride after the repeated victories, whilst the South looked dim, the light in their eyes gone. Harun looked at this and assumed his brother had come to surrender so he could at least keep his life.
"The Kingdom has invaded," Nasr spoke in a sombre tone, trying to get some sympathy from Harun. "This war between us doesn't really matter if we have nothing to rule over. That is why I propose a truce. Let my army return south unimposed." Nasr clenched his fist and ground his teeth in annoyance. He knew his brother wouldn't accept such terms and decided to throw something else in there, he just struggled to say it. "If you accept, I'm willing to offer you the entire north as your personal dominion under my rule, and a place on the council. You will be given the unique title of warden which your children can inherit."
Harun looked at his brother in surprise. He could see the anguish it took to offer such a deal to someone he hated and showed how terrible the situation down south was. He thought of Adrian believing he had something to do with it. Although he knew Adrian had done it so he could sit on the throne, it still made him feel bad about using the people he swore to defend to achieve it. But it quickly left his mind, they would be necessary sacrifices.
"I refuse brother." Harun smiled leaning in closer. "We could end this right now, you and me. No armies, no plans, just a duel to decide. If you win then you can march south and defend your land. And if I win I can do the same." Harun leaned back, placing his hands on the table. "Or, bend the knee. Tell everyone I am the true Sultan and return my rightful position. If you do this, I will let you keep your life and give you a castle within the west." Harun gave his own proposal. His voice was arrogant.
Nasr looked at him with cold eyes. He knew it was a death warrant to fight his brother in a duel. He also didn't wish to bend the knee, believing it was his rightful seat, given to him by their father. He regretted being so impulsive with his invasion previously. He had the advantage before and gave it up to march North.
His brother knew this. Letting out a deep exhale, he looked into Harun's eyes. "So be it." With swift movement, Nasr drew his sword from his waist and aimed for Harun's neck. Both armies watched the sudden attack in horror as the North charged forward to defend their King. The south soon followed.
Harun watched the sudden attack. He couldn't believe his brother would pull such a move at a peace treaty. He was a seasoned warrior and thought in the split second, the attack was made. He knew he couldn't reach his sword in time. Raising his hand to block the attack, he kicked into Nasr's stomach to create room.
The sword struck his wrist cutting deep into it, but with the sudden kick, it was unable to cut cleanly off. An animalistic growl left Harun's mouth as he grabbed the wound trying to stop the blood. He ran back towards his men, who threw him backwards into the line to defend him.
With Harun secured, they watched as the opposing force encircled Nasr. The two armies watched each other not sure what to do. They had not prepared for a battle to suddenly break out. Nasr watched between the gap at the Northen force. He clicked his tongue in disappointment, at the failure that took place. But he realised this was a chance. Harun was out of commission and the North was disorganised.
They had lost every time, due to Haurn's leadership and tactics but in a random pitch battle between the two, who could say who would win? They had the numbers and the North lacked their most valuable asset right now. Slipping back a little more like a snake, Nasr took a bow from one of his archers. Aiming, he shot at the front line of the North.
The arrow slipped through the gap in the shield line, impaling one of the soldiers. "ALL MEN CHARGE! I'M WITH YOU!" Nasr's voice called from the back as he ran forward. The men seeing this felt confident and followed behind. They wished to restore their pride that had been crushed time and time again, and their Sultan personally led the charge for them. They couldn't be cowards running the whole time and decide to follow behind.
The North seeing the swarm of men run at them, readied themselves. They were disorganised and unprepared for the sudden battle, but years of experience showed and quickly they readied themselves to meet the inevitable clash.