Chapter 34 - Chapter 34: The Central Continent

"The enemy soldiers are on the move." Shouts a scout riding into the city walls. In the horizon, a cloud of dust is observed rising. "Every one to the wall. Close the gates." A commander shouts. I an instant, the gate is lowered and soldiers begin to line up on top of the city walls. A bell is rung announcing the looming dangers. "Father, our god has forsaken us. Our savior should have arrived by now." The boy said. "Now, now Roy my son. If the priestess said that a savior will come then they will come." Answered the old man. 'He says this even though the enemy is already here?' Roy wondered. "Roy oversee the evacuation of the civilians." The old man said. "Yes my king." Roy answers. He leaves at once and begins guiding them towards the underground shelters. "This way. Do not cry little one, all will be well. Let me help you carry some of this." Roy says as he tries to calm the civilians. 'Will everything be alright though?' Roy wonders. Soldiers are moving in opposite direction towards the wall carrying weapons. This day was expected to arrive and all preparations had been made. Tensions had been brewing for a long time among the various believers. The kingdom of Orthon was at the eastern part of the Central Continent. Roy was the crown prince of this nation. Their faith was in the goddess of harvest. This had made the kingdom very wealthy and prosperous. The Trade, industries and agriculture were the pillars of the country. It was now fighting a neighboring nation that was not as successful but had the most impressive military on the continent. The nations name was Lokain and the religion practiced there worshipped the god of war. Their main focus was on military might. The battle was taking place at the last stronghold protecting the capital. All the other's had fallen and taken by the enemy."Prince Roy. We expect that they will be here by nightfall." An attendant said. Roy motioned for him to keep her voice down and led her to a secluded corner while smiling and reassuring the populace. "How are the preparations at the gate?" Roy asked. "They should be complete in an hour's time." the attendant added. "Okay. I am coming there once I am done here." Roy answered. The attendant left. Roy sighed heavily while holding his head. 'Is this how everything ends?' Roy lamented. He had shown immeasurable courage and confidence in front of his subjects. His true feelings now laid bare as no one was watching. Roy was terrified of the war and terrified of death. But most of all, he was terrified that the prophesied savior would not arrive at all. He lightly slapped his cheeks in an attempt to calm himself. He took one deep breath and went towards the wall. The civilians were over 90% taken care of. On the way, he did not stop smiling and calming the populace who were freaking out. 'What a mess.' Roy thought. He quickly climbed the stairs and was now at the top of the castle walls. "That is a very large force." Roy lamented. "Yes indeed. Estimated to be above three hundred thousand." A lieutenant answered him. Roy was crushed once he heard that. He then moved towards the commanders' position to get more information. "How are you General? How are we looking?" Roy asked. "Terrible your highness. Hahaha. We are fine since they cannot blockade us. The sea is to our backs and will offer sustenance. We can hold the fort here for eternity." The General said with a smile. The General was an old and cunning man. He had managed to win some tactical battles against the superior army in the past. He personally led the targeting of supplies and making of traps for the enemy. He was the main reason that it had taken this long for this kingdom to fight. "Can we beat them?" Roy asked not bothering with subtlety. "No we can't. However we can ensure that we do not fall. The walls have already been reinforced and we have enough food to last two years. I don't think they can maintain a siege for that long." The general answered frankly. 'There is still a faint glimmer of hope' Roy thought. Roy left the general to his work and went to report to his father back in the castle. There he was met with chaos where people were shouting and screaming at each other. "What do you mean surrender? They take no prisoners alive." "We should escape via the sea." "Are you mad? Dreadful creatures live in the sea." Various opinions and rebuttals were thrown around in the room. Roy slowly went to his father's side and sat down. "Any news?" The King asked. "General thinks that if we barricade ourselves here we shall not face harm. That is provided they don't siege the city for more than two years." Roy answered. "Hmm. The soldiers are they enough?" the king asked. "We have a total of 40,000 in total. They will all act as archers. They should be enough if in the best case scenario each shoots about eight enemies." Roy answered. "If only it were that simple. So no contingent is standing by outside the walls?" the king asked. "Yes. That is correct. We would be sending them to their death against such great numbers." Roy said. The shouting had gone on for some time as the king told Roy. Various groups were throwing out random ideas. Some said that they should determine the location of the enemy general and spearhead with all the forces to eliminate them. Others wanted to escape by sea but the journey was dangerous. Others came fully dressed in military gear and suggested total mobilization where they would meet the enemy head on. This was the group that was almost beaten and forced to keep quiet. All in all chaos reigned at every corner. "Father, I am going to meet with the priestess once more." Roy said. The king nodded his head as he reached out to take a glass of water. The priestess was a very old woman who was chosen as a child to serve as the vessel for the goddess of harvest. She had taken this role at twenty years of age and served in that capacity for fifty years. "Roy or should I say Prince Roy. You look troubled." The priestess said. "Yes priestess. I remain uncertain of our victory." Roy answered. "Your fate is intertwined with another. Do not be dismayed, they will come in time." the priestess answered. This managed to put Roy at a calm state even if only temporarily. Roy helped out in the preparations inside the temple. He was going to offer up a prayer to the goddess to guarantee the safety of the kingdom. He performed the ritual in front of the shrine a few times and then left. It was now evening, Roy felt hungry and went to a public shelter that was giving out rations. He took some bread and soup then went to eat on top of the wall. As soon as he set his bowl of soup down to divide the bread, something unexpected happened. There were ripples inside the bowl that were signs of vibrations. He looked at the enemy but they were still too far away for him to see clearly. 'What could be making such a vibration? The ripples frequency is constant. It is almost like footsteps.' Roy wondered. He rushed to the general's station to report his findings. "So the rumors were true then?" The General said as he stroke his beard. "What rumors?" Roy asked. "It is said that the enemy's army has tamed a beast that breaks through city walls as easily as it walks. We have never found a witness to collaborate the reports for obvious reasons." The general said. Roy was shocked beyond words. The ever smiling and jolly general was now silent and in deep thought. This was definitely not planned in the equations. "We are going to change things drastically. All the civilians should escape through the tunnels we have dug. The soldiers will buy enough time by meeting with the enemy on the field." The general said. "We are not sure that the beast even exists. We should take it slow." Roy said. "It exists alright. I have heard about it for many years. The priestess also spoke of a vision that until now, I did not know that it referenced that beast." The general said. Roy put his hands on his head and started pacing back and forth. "Go and ring the warning bell immediately and announce a sudden mobilization order." The general said. Roy quickly got up to his feet and did as instructed. Roy reached at the bell house and had the soldiers ring the warning signals. In a few moment, the soldiers had gathered beneath where the general was addressing them from the top of the wall. A small space was left between the wall and the first row of soldiers to ensure visibility."Fellow soldiers, we face an unprecedented attack on our homeland. There is no doubt in my mind that this place will call home will be destroyed." The general said. The soldiers who were well behaved till now started murmuring. The general did not mind this and continued. "However, it is we the people who decide our homeland. Not this walls or this buildings, it is us. If they destroy these structures then we will rebuild somewhere else and after we gain enough strength we shall comeback here to reclaim our lands." The general continued. The soldiers began to look receptive. The message was frank and clear unlike the lies they were expecting. "We are going to evacuate all the civilians using tunnels to nearby settlements. We the soldiers will remain here to buy enough time for our loved ones to escape." The general concluded. They were murmurs all over the crowd which turned to full on shouting. "Can we win?" a soldier shouted with all her might. Her voice even cracked at the end. This question was what led to an abrupt silence. Everyone wanted to hear the general's answer. "No. the mission is not to win but buy time for the civilians to escape. The enemy is coming here with the beast rumors call the conqueror of walls. Our job as soldiers is to divert that beast until the citizens escape." The general said. No murmurs were heard this time. Soldiers were contemplating their decisions. The lady who had asked the question stepped forward and looked at the crowd. She stood silent. It took a few seconds but eventually people began to do the same. 'What a great display of courage.' Roy thought. The people who stepped forward had resolved to fight till the bitter end. "I will not force anybody to take up this role. However, you must understand this is the only way to protect our families." The general added. It was impossible for every soldier to fit in front so they substituted this with loud cheers. The atmosphere was now full of hope and courage although this was likely a suicide mission.