| Prologue Chapter 3: Return The next day, the morning hen of Captain Jack’s Battalion, Jeremy, woke everyone up at 06:00 in the morning. Within an hour, the camp was packed and everyone was on their horses to resume their journey to the Capital. James hadn’t recovered completely, therefore he was riding in the wagon. The lingering pain from his fight at Virschl fort still irritated him, and any sharp movement would cause a sharp pain in his joints. But, miraculously he sustained no internal injuries and was recovering rapidly. Just three days back, he had fought the person who was considered ‘the strongest man in Bridweltot’ and defeated him. When Donius had seen him after he had fainted, he was convinced that James had left them for the afterlife. To his surprise, and to Adam and Steve’s pleasure, they noticed him breathing raggedly, and he was rushed to the fort to carry out first aid. After the battle had subsided, they took him to the medical camp on a horse, despite it being lethal for his condition. On reaching the camp, the doctors seemed wary of treating James due to his poor reputation in the Battalion. But they began treating him when Adam threatened to have their heads otherwise. During all this, Donius was waiting outside the medical camp with a stern expression on his face. James was unaware of what he had undergone after passing out, and Steve had decided it to be best for him if he skipped out on the details of his ‘miraculous revival’. “Another uphill, what a pain…this is probably the sixth hill we are going up. Such a pain…” “Aren’t you a soldier? Why are you whining over going uphill? You were just fighting on the battlefield a few days back. This should be a walk in the park compared to that. Also, stop talking while riding, you will bite your tongue.” “The thing is…I am not very patient. Just sitting on this horse and going up and down over and over is too boring for me. I would much rather go out and kill more enemies. Also, I am a champion at talking while riding my horse. I have never bit my tongue ever” Just as Connor, the recruit who had recently joined Squadron James, replied to Steve, a bell was rung from the front of the battalion signaling the break for lunch. There were two breaks for meals in a day, at 12:00 for lunch and 20:00 for supper. Due to the meal times being extremely spread out, all soldiers looked forward to the bland and meager rations of bread and soup. Despite the severe lack of nutrition offered by such meals, the average death from malnutrition in the army was surprisingly low, at only 126 deaths per year. Any passing by woodcutter or hunter would immediately notice that Squadron James was separated and different from the rest of the battalion. While the rest of the battalion was gathered around the cooking stands, Squadron James was gathered at one corner of the clearing. Being closer to the woods increased their chances of being attacked by wild animals, but James thought that he would rather take his chances with the animals than sit between the scornful gazes of the battalion. The soldiers in Squadron James weren’t perturbed by the gazes but preferred to not sit between those gazes. James’ physical condition had improved exponentially, he was already able to walk around and had started practice swinging his sword, ignoring Steve’s repeated warnings. On the other hand, his Squadron cheered him on and encouraged him to cut down a tree. James was a simple man, who was easily swayed by encouragement but not by warnings or messages of disapproval. So, when the Squadron cheered him on to mow down the tree, he ignored Steve’s warnings and steadied himself in front of a sturdy tree. He stood before a thick tree with a diameter of 2 meters, dark brown bark, and dense leaves pointing outwards from their stems. It was a beautiful and picturesque tree, but Squadron James’ eyes were trained on James’ figure, who was positioning himself, ready to strike the tree. Thwack! One strike and it was halfway through. Thwack! Another strike and it was barely connected. A strong push would probably make the tree fall. “Ten, nine, eight…” The Squadron started a countdown, attracting the attention of the rest of the soldiers of the battalion. When Captain Jack saw James, he remarked in shock to Vice-Captain Grice, “He was dying three days back, and now he’s already back on his feet cutting down trees. Guess it’s true what they say, only a beast can take down a beast” “Monsters like those are not suitable for the military, Sir. No manners or discipline. The whole battalion will be a mess once he’s promoted to a lieutenant.” “Everyone has their shortcomings and issues, my job is to pick out those with superior skills and use them to grow stronger. Now that I am stronger it isn’t my problem, it’s yours. I am getting promoted and you will be the new Captain. I wish you the best of luck.” Despite the united spite of the battalion towards James, everyone watched on with bated breaths, as James prepared himself for the final strike. “…three, two, one” Thwack!! Creak….groan…..creak… The tree slowly swayed to one side, with creaks and grunts. And then it gracefully tilted in one direction and fell, the previously majestic tree falling in an angelic arc. Mesmerized by the sublime beauty of the tree, everyone watched it fall in slow motion as if the tree slowed down time to postpone its impending demise. ……………….………CRASH!! Suddenly, time returned to normal as the tree hit the ground. Leaves flew in the air and the tree rested on the ground, peacefully. Squadron James cheered, everyone else gazed at James in shock before quickly averting their gazes and returning to their disrupted conversations. James walked to the top of the tree trunk and started swinging at it, separating it from the leaves. Confused, Graham asked him what he was doing, “Whatcha doin’?” “I am not gonna waste the tree. I can use the wood to make some furniture or something” “Then let me carry it.” “Thanks for offering the help, but I can do it myself.” “Ya seem as energetic as ever, dontcha? Shouldn’t ya be sleepin’ and lettin’ yer muscles relax?” “I don’t wanna go weak, you know. I already slept for two days straight. I think that’s more than enough, any more and my strikes will get weaker.” James picked up the trunk on his shoulder and carried it off to his wagon. This in itself wasn’t a tremendous feat, even the weakest soldier in the battalion would be able to lift the tree. But, James had been gravely injured just a few days back. The sheer speed of his recovery was a commendable feat. Clang!Clang!Clang! The bell which rung signified that lunch had been prepared, and everyone stood in line to fill their bellies after twelve tiring hours. Being the first in the line was a privilege granted to the top officers like the Captain, Vice-Captain, and Lieutenants, while the remaining soldiers scurry to get a place in the front half of the line. As you go towards the back, the food gets staler and staler, and the people towards the back of the line get older bread and soup from the bottom of the barrel, which is less than desirable for multiple reasons. The more eager and energetic members of Squadron James would get into the first twenty people in the line, while people like James and Steve wouldn’t mind being towards the back half of the line. On average, a Squadron had 8 – 12 members. The recruits were first selected by the Lieutenants in a pre-selected order, and then the Squadron leaders selected recruits into their Squadrons. The Squadrons who got to choose first and those who chose last are decided by the social hierarchy which had been set up. Based on this, Squadron James would get to choose last due to Squadron leader James’ peculiarities. So, it happened that Squadron James was filled with the most unique and varied ensemble, in probably the whole Blake Empire Military. Steve would seem like an anomaly to this system, but that is only on the surface. Unknowing of Steve’s true nature, Squadron leader Benedict had added him into his Squadron when he was a recruit. He was a smart and well-spoken person who had helped a great deal by proposing various ideas in their plan to take control of the Bridweltot town of Obersenhoff. On the day of the attack, everything was going according to plan, their surprise attack had succeeded, the enemy’s Infantry Unit had been disabled, and they were pushing the enemy troops back on the cavalry battles. Captain Jack was extremely pleased as he saw the swift pace at which they were nearing victory, but a hiccup appeared in his ‘road to victory’. The enemy commander was extremely strong and Squadron leader James was not yet in Battalion Jack and was suspended from the military due to an upheaval he had caused in Battalion Trevor. The only reason he hadn’t been marked and expelled from the military was due to Captain Jack’s request to the capital to prevent his expulsion. Captain Jack hadn’t done so from the kindness in his heart but rather for James’ excellent prowess in hand-to-hand battle and abilities in war, which Captain Jack believed would lead him to victory in future battles. As Captain Jack contemplated the issue, he suddenly saw a surprising turn of events unfold before him. Steve from Squadron Benedict had charged into enemy territory, without permission, and began attacking the enemy commander. The enemy commander, caught by surprise, was slow to react and paid heavily for it. Steve had dealt a heavy blow on his shoulder and blood streamed out, but he wasn’t ready to go down easily. He charged at James and attempted to attack him, but Steve blocked it easily. Steve held an overwhelming advantage in the fight and could finish the fight instantly. But he didn’t, he had been blocking the enemy commander, Tobias’s attack for two minutes, but in all that time he hadn’t attacked him once after his initial strike to the shoulder. Tobias had noticed this and tried to run, but when he attempted so, his path had been blocked or Steve would strike on his already open wound, making it deeper. Other enemy soldiers tried to help Tobias, but they were knocked out or killed instantly by Steve. He seemed unstoppable. “Hey, why aren’t you attacking?” No reply. “Are you ignoring your leader? I will report you to Captain Jack and have you marked.” Once again, James ignored Squadron leader Benedict. Exasperated from all the waiting, Dexter, the most experienced soldier in Squadron Benedict charged towards Tobias to finish him off himself. But his path had been blocked by Steve who said, “I will kill you if you dare touch my prey.” Surprised and infuriated, Dexter attacked Steve but he was easily blocked and kicked to the ground. Taking this opportunity where his opponent was occupied, Tobias attempted to attack Steve from the back. Having expected it, Steve dodged it and jabbed Tobias in the stomach. A second wave of blood streamed out of Tobias’ stomach, this time rendering him incapable to move. AARGHHHHHH!!! He fell on his knees, desperately trying to stop the blood loss, as his guts spilled out. “Are you finished? Can’t you fight anymore?” Trying to stand up, he put one knee forward, but it gave way and he fell. Realizing that the fight was over, Steve sighed in exasperation, “You were giving the rest such a hard time, so I thought you would be strong, but here you are, dying. Well, I am done here.” Saying this, Steve turned away from Tobias’ dying figure and walked towards the tower entrance. But, he had been stopped by Dexter. “Who the hell do you think you are, recruit? You dare kick me, now I will have to punish you.” “But, you don’t seem capable of being able to harm me, nor are you in a position to have me punished.” “Haah? You underestimating me, asshole? I will kill you!” Saying this, Dexter swung his blade at Steve. Without unsheathing his blade, Steve evaded his attack and parried. Kicking at Dexter’s hands with precision, he knocked the sword out of his hand. The following series of kicks struck his stomach, then chest, and then on his back. The last kick made him fall over and before he could get up, Steve started stomping his face into the ground. “Hey, that’s enough. He’s bleeding, you can stop now.” “Why should I? He was the one who attacked me, even though I wasn’t prepared to fight. I don’t show mercy to people who attack me or those who I attack.” Steve said this with an expressionless face, as he continued to stomp on Dexter’s bloody face. The situation would have probably escalated further but, “I think it’s time you stop this.” Captain Jack himself had come to the fort to bring the situation under control. Though he was surprised by the unexpected turn of events, he wasn’t displeased. The enemy commander had been taken care of and he found himself another strong soldier. Any ordinary soldier would get expelled and marked for such behavior by any other Captain, but Jack valued competence and ability more than obedience and behavior. But to maintain the image of fairness, he had suspended Steve for three months and had transferred him to the leadership of Squadron leader James. James must have social abilities of his own, as he made Steve into his most trusted soldier and they fought side-by-side for the past 15 years. __________________________________________________________ It was night time and the whole battalion was sleeping after having had supper. But, Jeremy had gotten up in a cold sweat. Other than being the first one to wake up, he also had a strong sense of hearing. Despite being asleep he had heard a whistling sound coming from the distance. But this isn’t what confused him; he often heard whistling sounds coming from animals in the forest. What confused him was that the sound was coming from the sky. As far as his memory served, never in his life had he heard whistling sounds coming from the sky. ~~ Maybe it was thunder and I got confused. No, it can’t be. I don’t see any storm clouds or lightning. I should inform this to Captain Jack. But if I wake him up in the night for such a mundane thing, he will have my head. I will inform him about it in the morning and he will probably know what it is. Yes yes, I am sure he will know what it was. With that, Jeremy anxiously went back to sleep. __________________________________________________________ The next day, the battalion had traveled all day and had finally reached a town. The Bridweltot terrain consisted of dry air, sand-like soil, and undulating topography. It was not a hilly region, but rather a place full of highlands and warm temperatures. The Blake Empire troops were used to their hometown's cool and windy climate, due to which such a climate was extremely difficult for them to get accustomed to. The limited supply of drinking water added to the issue. Due to the sand-like nature of the soil, it wasn’t very suitable for agriculture and thus Bridweltot had been facing an acute famine for the past year. But, where it lacked soil fertility, it offered an abundant supply of iron and copper, and other valuable metals. Due to this, the Royal Government, on claiming full control over Mirbuti, decided that the next nation that they would reclaim would be Bridweltot. In Bridweltot, the towns had previously been under the control of town lords who had been selected by the Bridweltot Crown, but as Bridweltot had been brought under the control of the Blake Empire, power had been transferred to the Army’s Land Reclamation Forces (LRF). Captain Jack wouldn’t be surprised if he was given command over one of the forts which his Battalion had won, but being assigned to a foreign land wasn’t what he desired. Initially, the local reaction to the Blake Empire’s advancing forces was of fear and hostility. But, as time passed, people began to realize that the LRF forces were better than their previous town lords, so they began accepting the incoming forces and welcoming soldiers. The town which Battalion Jack had reached was towards the East, so had been conquered earlier and thus the locals welcomed Captain Jack’s incoming Battalion. “Maybe I should go an’ meet some Bridweltot ladies, whatcha say, Steve?” “Why are you asking me that? And I don’t think anyone would like to meet someone like you.” “Oye, cantcha be nice fo once?” “No.” The Battalion spent the night in one of the town inns. That was probably the best day they had in the past month. They ate meat, got drunk, and had a lot of fun. Everyone was busy doing their own thing. Separated from the chaos, James was lying on the bed in his room. He still felt sore from his wounds and had his fill of food. As he stared up from the bed, he thought, ~~ This gig is dangerous…….I could die someday……..I did just barely make it out of my last fight, thanks to Steve…………..maybe I should quit? Na, that won’t work……….I need money for my family and staying at home would be boring……..I am sure they will understand……..they will get over me dying……….people die, it’s nothing new……..but I don’t wanna die……….not yet anyway…………..I still got a lot to teach Kelvin…..he’s a growing kid……damn, I am tired……guess I should get some rest……   |
Oscar-17May 28, 2021 9:56 PM
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