"Report, my Lord, everything has been completed. The food shipments continue arriving from the north, and if we keep this pace, we will be able to feed the families who have turned to us." Ravyn approached Haldor with thirty warriors in formation and spoke loudly so everyone could hear.
Haldor looked at the bundles made from animal skins and didn't probe too much. As long as there were no things that could cause delays, he would let his people take whatever they wanted from the abandoned villages.
"Death was a better fate than life, for you will reunite with those you love, and they with you. The wait for a new kingdom may be long, but we will make it pleasant."
Haldor had changed a lot since arriving at this stormy place, where even going to the bathroom was a struggle. Hygiene, though he cared for it much, was simply disgusting, something he had to live with day by day, and the fact that he didn't bathe every day was tormenting him.
He hadn't chosen this path. If anyone thought it was easy, it wasn't.
He wanted to go south, but his dragon wasn't yet big enough to fight other dragons.
He didn't know if he would ever regret leading all these people to a possible war. Even with his good dialogue, he wasn't sure he could get out of this unscathed.
He was lying to all the villages joining his cause. He didn't feel worthy of leading all these people, much less protecting them from all harm.
As all the villagers headed to the dark tower, only Haldor remained in front of a solitary village.
He supposed that after suffering so many assassination attempts, he played a lot with death in every move.
His eyes looked at the few wooden houses with torches left here. This winter, those elderly will be buried here together because, in simple words, they don't want to be a burden.
"If they can survive, then they can die in battle, with honor, and not from freezing." That was the promise Haldor had made to everyone.
The armored bears were bringing them too much food—well, that potato-like plant that is quite nutritious and would at least keep them full through the winter.
Everyone would be grateful to eat, but Haldor still felt unsatisfied.
…
The dreams were becoming more frequent, all mentioning a battle, and Haldor was increasingly certain that he was the one waging that war.
For that to happen, many things had to happen.
"Do you think these people really trust me?" Haldor looked at the people working on building the wooden houses as he had taught them.
Lucian looked at those people, some digging and others training. "Who wouldn't be willing to follow him after making them dream of a green and prosperous world? They trust you; they believe in your power."
"That's what I fear. I've never had so much power, and now, with one of my decisions, I can make a war break out anywhere, anytime." Haldor said, thinking it was fortunate that he wasn't a pampered child.
"You are the promised prince; everyone has been waiting for your arrival." Lucian was convinced that Haldor was the northern star who would take them all out of this place without perishing in the attempt.
"Power is always dangerous. It attracts the worst and the best, which corrupts it. I never asked for power. Power is only given to those willing to renounce themselves for it." After this, Haldor remained silent, watching the construction progress.
The whole idea of waging a war in the name of the north was just an excuse to protect himself from those trying to take his life, but every time he saw the faces of the people who trusted him as a child, it was an added weight to do things right.
His internal struggle still continued; he wasn't sure.
It was pleasing to be able to change things in this world, but the idea of getting used to that pleasure of power terrified him. He wasn't a complicated man; he liked simple things, and now he was here being considered the northern star.
Just as he was about to continue immersing himself in his thoughts, Luker arrived by his side and said, "We have managed to build the tool you asked for; we had never seen anything like it, but it's ready."
"Already?" Haldor seemed surprised that the impossible task had been completed by the armored bears.
He had incredible ideas that could be used in this place. The problem was that the creators of such artifacts could take years to even come close to their ideas or inventions with their missing knowledge. However, those ideas, with the help of the armored bears, who were amazing at working with metal, seemed limitless in terms of creativity.