Robert entered his tent after assigning the orders of a search party for a possible monster attack in Vide forest. He deeply sighed, and talking to himself he said "This stupid war, now I have to babysit that idiot prince and now I have to look after two children"
He contemplated an early retirement as the thought of serving that said the prince as the possible new king interrupted his thoughts. He turned to the two children sitting politely on his bed as he started to make his bed on the floor with pillows and sheets.
He appreciated how troubleless they were but was aware of their unresponsiveness bar eating the food they were given earlier. Were they scared? Robert pondered. He thought it would be best if they were more comfortable, being in a war camp with terrifying men with weapons, that situation would mentally scar a child. That is why he aimed to send them to Maurice, the nearest town, at dawn probably with those young soldiers as their actions indicated to the general that they were competent and empathetic attributes which were rare.
He sat next to them and asked "are you sleepy? did you enjoy the food? Do you want to sleep now?" He did this while acting out the said questions in a childish manner as he noted that these children may probably not speak or understand Ximus.
The general tried but eventually gave up and decided to go to his new bed on the floor of his new small tent. He got caught on the bedding and fell.
Hehehe.
He heard a giggle. He turned and the little girl started laughing. She pointed at him and called him lolo and the little boy also smiled. Robert understood two important facts that this little interaction had given him.
The first being these children have a family or had one. This stupid war had ripped them apart, a common occurrence due to the yearly mass migration of the towns and villages near the Red plains of Gesa which results in people dying as there are monster attacks on some dangerous roads and scum thieves who take advantage of the event.
The second fact had given Robert purpose. He stood. Tall. Powerful. He inhaled a large amount of air through his nostrils. His eyes filled with conviction. His hands were open with his thumbs separated from the fingers… Then he made ridiculous faces and noises that were not befitting a war hero and legend as he connected his hands to the sides of his face and moved them with his actions. "Gwoo ahh ergh." He was scrunching his face and it was working. The little girl was laughing and clapping while the boy continued to smile while shaking his head in defeated disapproval.
The commander fell again on purpose and brought about another joyful reaction. He had eliminated the tension and the atmosphere felt calm which he had always preferred the night before a battle.
His mind was a lake, still and clear. He suddenly heard something unpleasant which caused the lake to ripple aggressively. It was the prince.
"Rindleyyyyyyy… my party has run out of wine, I've ordered your soldiers to go to the nearest town but they're soooo slow"
The fool was clearly drunk and looked a mess. His regal robes were scruffy and had fresh dark red stains.
"Prince, you should not have used the soldiers to do such a needless task"
The prince stumbled towards the Commander. His arm looked heavy as he tried to lift it to point his finger at Robert's face.
"They belong to me. I HIC am the prince. I am the most important and powerful being here a peasant like you should HIC … know his place as vvvermin."
Suddenly his drunken eyes wavered their attention past Robert. A smile grew. It was the crude smile of a fox.
"I didn't think you were this type of man…"
"I am protecting these children, they will be sent to the town of Maurice at dawn"
"You're doing moore than protecting" The prince winked slowly, he stumbled closer to the little girl, grabbed her jaw, and inspected the beautiful goods. "This ones a beaut, you can keepp your lil boy toy I'm gonna have somne fun tonig"
Robert clutched Leon's wrist like a vice. The drunk fool woke from his state and realised the pain and danger he was in. Anger emerged from the prince. "Such shit as you think such an act towards your sacred king is permissible". His spit spewed as he spoke and looked up towards the eyes of Robert.
The eyes of the beast did not blink even when the prince's venomous spit entered his eyes. His silent fury silenced the snake. "Take your filthy hand off that child or the next king will only have one hand." Leon's instincts let go of the child, he ferociously swiped his damaged wrist back while taking a couple of steps back and aimed his open palm at Robert.
"You will die now for your insolence" He chanted "I summon lightning to thee, become my power and eliminate my foes as you roar. Lightning bolt"
The magic spell materialised in front of his hand and was forming as he spoke the chant. Robert expanded his size to protect the children behind him and looked at them smiling to reassure the frightened children. As Leon said bolt the spell lit up and gathered magic to release the spell however suddenly the spell circle disappeared.
"What the? What did you do" Leon was confused. His spell did not activate? That phenomenon was impossible. As he started to activate another one a massive lightning bolt crashed down into the camp blowing away some of the weak tents including Roberts stripping those within the shelter from safety. The thunderous roar of the lightning and its impact caused the soil to reverberate and woke everyone. "YEASSSS! Witness my power. I rival the power of the Exalted. No. The deities, as I am one!"
Robert felt fear. He was paralysed. Was this the drunk fool's magic? Then he immediately realised this could be an attack, he shook off his fear and tackled the prince onto the floor. They both scuffled on the floor, the prince desperately trying to escape the grip of the commander as he wrestled him into submission. He needed to immobilise the fool so he ripped his nightshirt into two and used one half to handcuff him and the other to shut his stupid mouth. He stood from the ground and looked at the prince once more and told him "sit".
He looked around, the lightning strikes continued and his soldiers were running like headless chickens. He grabbed his sword and ran towards the main tent where his generals were directed to go if such an event occurred. As he ran, he loudly ordered to the chaos "get ready and execute a defensive sphere formation. Keep your eyes open and communicate any vital information to a senior officer". Where did those children go? He thought as he scanned the area he could not find them. The only thing he could do was win to protect them from becoming victims of war. "May Ishqa keep them safe". He inhaled the cold air and released it slowly. He closed his eyes. Then they lit burning with resolve to end this ridiculous war.
The commander arrived at the command tent with some of his generals awaiting his arrival.
"What's happening?"
"We can't pinpoint the location of the attack it's too random"
The high-ranking magicka strategist second to Leon expressed the opinion that "The attack may be a high-level spell I think it might be thunders wrath or maybe lightning rain". These words had merit as the magicka strategist in any army is the most knowledgeable and experienced in magic spells as they commanded and organised one of the most crucial aspects in modern-day war the contest of magicka.
"What if it's not an attack?" suggested General Digne the cousin of the King and nobleman who is adored by the population for his good looks, philanthropy, and mind as he is a leading scholar in Gesian history and magical theory.
"Answer. Now! Riddles are for the living" Rindley gripped tightly the shaft of the spear beside him as he dug the weapon deeper into the ground.
General Digne fearing the anger of the Commander quickly blurted out "it could be the infamous tears of Ishqa the only thing that could make my theory invalid is that we are currently not experiencing a drought"
"The tears of Ishqa are a myth for idiot farmers and peasants it's definitely an attack"
"
Have you been drinking the Siaman liquor (Siaman Zaha)"
The grip on Rindleys spear loosened. Rindley was a statue. He looked solemn as he looked up.
"Ishqa weeps because of us. War is a necessary evil to protect the weak and innocent. War requires the weak and innocent to become tainted and forces us to be that evil. The strong and guilty. This war has turned into a yearly tradition in which I'm forced to pointlessly sacrifice my soldiers …" The fiery resolve of the man had been extinguished. What burned instead was no longer human will but divine will.
The man was possessed and consumed by this will. "Today that tradition will end. To stop this potential attack and any further deaths all we need to do is win today. Regardless of the outcome, this will be the last battle on the Red Plains of Gesa. Let's ride!" That man walked out of the tent and into the raging storm ready to face its wrath. He was followed by his men who did not question their commander. They were motivated by Rindley's passion. In the middle of the storm, they had organised the whole army the best they could. They marched in the dead of the spirited night towards the red plains of Gesa to meet their enemies and to make history.