SEASON OF SPRING, 485 - OUTSKIRTS OF REIHAU, THE ISLE
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(Third Person Perspective)
In the dawn of morning, in the temporary camps of the soldiers of Fortress-Gonthir near the outskirts of the town of Reihau, some men were just getting out of their tents, preparing for breaking their fast, while some talked amongst each other. Then...
"Get up and rally on me! Go, go, go!" A loud, booming voice echoed through the once-quiet camp. Men were jolted awake by the loud voice, and once they realized whom it came from, they scrambled to clothe themselves.
Soon, they properly lined themselves up. Skermin-Kummandaent Maenlich stood with a smirk, hands behind his back, with the other three Lutnants side-by-side with him. "About damn time." He thought as he chuckled to himself.
"Now... We will march back to Fortress-Gonthir, as I have finally completed something that will you lot will be doing once we return. But for now, fix yourselves up, and break your fast. After that, the Lutnants shall call you to form marching columns half-an-hour or so after my announcement. You may go now." Maenlich said to the men, who were mostly still groggy from their sleep. Soon, they dispersed to eat and properly groom themselves.
(First Person Perspective)
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Damn.. I thought to myself as I rubbed my eyes, still tired even after sleeping. "Good morning, Caersun. Care for a drink?" Someone said behind me; it was Aeraeck, with two mugs of ale in hand.
"For sure..." I said as I took one of the mugs. I proceeded to gulp down the ale. "Many thanks, Aeraeck.". I said as I emptied it. "No problem, friend." Aeraeck said as he smiled. We ate our meals together by the campfire, just making small talk.
"Ah, I gotta go dressed up properly. I will see you later." I said as I waved Aeraeck goodbye, and went into my tent to dress up. As soon as I finished getting my tonikae¹ amd leather vest on, along with my helmet, I went to get out of the tent.
As I got out of the tent, a familiar face was before me. "Ah. Good day, Niuwesuldaet Caersun. Or should I say, Klienilutnant Caersun?" Lutnant Arnault asked rhetorically, and I chuckled. "Good day to you too, Lutnant Arnauldt."
"You are in the nick of time, my dear boy. Now, please, come with me." Lutnant Arnauldt asked. I obliged, following him to the center of the camp. There were two other men, Lutnant Felip was one of the two, but the other I could scarcely make up who he was.
"Ah. Good day, Lutnant Arnauldt." Lutnant Felip said, as Lutnant Arnauldt greeted him as well. "You're Niuwesuldaet Caersun, yes?" He asked me. I was about to speak, until... "Klienilutnant, Lutnant Felip. My friend here has rose the ranks, fortunately for him." Lutnant Arnauldt said, correcting Lutnant Felip. "Is that so, hm? Congratulations, Caersun." He said to me. "Many thanks, Lutnant Felip."
The other man, who seemed more aged than Lutnant Arnauldt and Lutnant Felip, who had been watching us converse, finally spoke. "I suppose you have seen scarcely of me, boy?" He asked me. "I suppose so, sir?" I responded, a bit confused at what he said, but answered nonetheless.
"Lutnant Zigmond don Saelfirenn." He said simply. "Do not mind him, Klienilutnant. Ahem... Lutnant Zigmond is not a man of many words, but he is a capable commander, nonetheless." Said Lutnant Arnauldt, smiling nervously. "With that out of the way, let us call the men-" "Gentlemen. I see that you have had a nice little conversation without me, it seems." Lutnant Felip said, but he was cut off by the approaching Kummandaent Maenlich.
"""Kummandaent!""" "Kummandaent."
"Compose yourselves. As Lutnant Felip has said, let us call the men. I'm sure all of them have had enough time to fix themselves up." Kummandaent Maenlich said as he looked around the camp, observing the camp buzzing with activity.
"Men! Rally on me, now!" Kummandaent Maenlich shouted loudly, drowning out any noise other than his voice. I saw the men scrambling to get to the middle of the camp, How does that work everytime, anyways? I thought to myself. Energized by finishing their meals, all the soldiers were gathered, all eyes and ears on Kummandaent Maenlich as he smirked. "Always works like a charm, no?" He said to me, and I chuckled. "Yes, it does, Kummandaent. Yes, it does." Kummandaent Maenlich soon had a serious expression on his face, as he spoke loudly to the men.
"We will march back to Fortress-Gonthir to replenish our supplies that have been spent marching to Reihau and fighting the savages off for it! Lutnants, take fifteen men each, and form marching columns!" Kummandaent Maenlich said to the men, then spoke to the Lutnants.
""Yes, Kummandaent!" "Yes, Kummandaent."
"Now, you lot! On me! Form marching columns, now!" I heard Lutnant Arnauldt shout loudly, but I was suddenly pulled aside by Kummandaent Maenlich. Huh? What's going on? I thought to myself as he started to speak.
"Now.." Kummandaent Maenlich turned to me. "Klienilutnant Caersun, I have a very special task, just for you." He said to me, which intrigued me. What could it be? I wondered to myself, as Kummandaent Maenlich continued.
"I want you to take three men of your own choosing and take up the back lines. I do not trust that the path will be so quiet and peaceful. I suspect that there may be some Baumaenschaen that will try and disrupt our march to Fortress-Gonthir." Kummandaent Maenlich said to me, utter seriousness in his tone and voice. I soon sobered up and listened closely to what he had to say. Where is the Kummandaent going with this? Why would he pick me for such an important task? I thought as I listened more intently.
"I do not want to take my chances, as our forces have already been depleted. The men under your command will alert the Lutnants of any suspicious activities near the path, so we will be prepared for any oncoming skirmish. I have heard that you are a good fighter, and I hope to see good leadership from you. Will you take up this task I ask of you, Klienilutnant?" The Kummandaent asked me seriously. Do I want to?
"I will, Kummandaent." I said, determination in my voice. Kummandaent Maenlich smiled. "Good, good. Now, who would you like to pick?" He asked me. No doubt I would pick Aeraeck, but who else? I pondered for a bit more... Ah, I know now! I thought to myself, as I had an answer. "I would like to bring forth with me Aeraeck Zomhaier, Normunn Fosthmaen, and Jaenik Kaelnuwtaevski, Kummandaent." I said with certainty as Kummandaent Maenlich nodded at my answer. "Very well, then."
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(Third Person Perspective)
As the men were getting into marching columns, the voice of Maenlich boomed once more. "I need Niuwesuldaetin Aeraeck Zomhaier, Normunn Fosthmaen and Jaenik Kaelnuwtaevski, right now!" He called out, confusing the aforementioned men.
"Huh? What could the Kummandaent want with us? Did we do someting wrong?" Jaenik said, confused and worried. "I don't know... Hopefully not that, right?" Aeraeck said, assuring the his fellow soldier. "Well, let's go to the Kummandaent, see what the reason is to why he called us." Normunn said, with the other two agreeing and going to Maenlich.
Soon, the three walked to Maenlich, greeting him, whilst saluting. Aeraeck saw Caersun and waved at him with a smile. Caersun waved back and returned the smile. "You are all here. Good. Now, I've an important task for you three. Klienilutnant Caersun here will be leading you lot in the back lines, watching for any suspicious activity around the path we will take to go back to Fortress-Gonthir." Maenlich said to the three, as they listened with serious intent. "Klienilutnant Caersun has personally handpicked you three to be under his command, and I trust that you lot will be able to do this task properly, yes?" Maenlich asked them. """Yes, Kummandaent!""" All three answered quickly, determination in their voices. "Good. I do hope you will not disappoint me, soldiers. I shall see you back at Fortress-Gonthir, I will need to lead from the front." The Kummandaent soon walked away to shout orders.
"I'll be damned. I did not expect you to rise in ranks. This early, too, Caersun." Aeraeck said as he held Caersun. "Reality is often a curious little thing." Caersun said, chuckling. "What do we need to do now, Klienilutnant Faelmunt?" Normunn asked cheekily with a smile. "Ah. Don't say that, just call me Caersun as usual, Normunn." Caersun said, a little embarassed. "Whatever you say, friend." Normunn said with a chuckle. "We shall wait for Kummandaent Maenlich's orders...-" Caersun said, but he got cut off by a loud shouting.
"Men! March in columns outside of camp, now!" Maenlich said, prompting the soldiers to march out the camp in three blocks. "File formation, March down the path! I shall lead at the front!" He continued, as the soldiers formed behind him, finally moving in the path. "That's our signal! Jaenik, you and Normunn take the right side, I and Aeraeck shall take the left." Caersun commanded to the other two. Jaenik and Normunn simply saluted and ran to their positions at the right side of the marching soldiers.
"Shall we, Aeraeck?" Caersun asked Aeraeck. "We shall, Klienilutnant." Aeraeck responded with a smile. Soon, the two got to their positions in the left flank of the marching soldiers. As the soldiers marched to Fortress-Gonthir, the sunken road put unease in the soldiers, as the threat of a sudden Baumaenschaen skirmish cast over their heads.
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(First Person Perspective)
I and Aeraeck continued to march along with Lutnant Zigmond's men. "Have not seen a damn thing yet, Caersun." Aeraeck said to me, squinting as he looks around. "Me neither. I wonder how Normunn and Jaenik are doing..-" I was about to say until I heard a shout "Caersun! We gotta call Lutnant Zigmond! Shit, Jaenik was hit with a javelin!" Normunn ran up to me, panting and manic. What in the-!? "Alert the rest of the men! I shall personally tend to Jaenik!" I said hastily. Shit. I gotta go before he bleeds out or.. gets cut up by those savages... I thought as I sprinted to where Jaenik was. I saw him, with a javelin lodged in his leg, struggling against a Baumaenschaen.
"Get away from him, you no-good, lowlife trash!" I shouted loudly whilst charging at the savage, getting his attention. Come on, you son of a whore... I thought as I tackled the savage to the ground, stabbing through his left eye with my seax. He screamed in agony, palming to where I stabbed him, and I pried his hands away, took out the seax, and slashed his throat, killing him.
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"Hold on, Caersun!" A man shouted from behind me. I turned, and it was Normunn and Aeraeck, along with some other soldiers. Most likely from Lutnant Zigmond's column. I thought as I saw the men. "Normunn, you take Jaenik. Carry him until we get to Fortress-Gonthir. The rest of you, alert the rest of the Lutnants. Aeraeck, come with me." I ordered the men before me. Normunn nodded hoisting Jaenik on his shoulder, "Come on, Jaenik. Last thing you need to be a princess is a little crown." Normunn chuckled. "S-Shut up, Normunn. Just carry me, you b-bastard." Jaenik shot right back, groaning in pain. The rest of the men except for Aeraeck ran back to alert the other Lutnants.
"We need to scout for any more Baumaenschen, Aeraeck. We do not need to lose more people after fighting them at Reihau." I said to Aeraeck, who had a serious look on his face. "Let's go. Most likely, I say that they came from the nor..-" "We will come with you, Klienilutnant." Someone said as behind me as I spoke to Aeraeck. It was Lutnant Felip with a couple of men beside him.
"You two will be dead if there are more Baumaenschaen where you're heading. We will come with you, Caersun." Lutnant Felip said to the both of us seriously. "Is Jaenik well, Lutnant Felip?" I asked Lutnant Felip, to which he answered with a nod. "Niuwesuldaet Kaelnuwtaevski is well enough. He is fortunate for the javelin he was hit with to not have caused any bone in his leg to shatter. Otherwise, we will have to cut it off to save his life. He will finish healing in a couple of weeks, at most." He responded, Thank Kregnorr he is well. I sighed in relief.
"Now, I shall take command. Klienilutnant Caersun, you will be my second-in-command. I've heard of other attacks on our comrades in the other columns, so let us relieve them." Lutnant Felip said, which I and the others nodded to. "On me, soldiers." He said as we followed him.
We walked northward, and trekked through a forest, where we found a sizeable camp with Baumaenchaen prowling the perimeter.
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(Third Person Perspective)
"Shut it. They may hear us." Lutnant Felip shushed the men under his command, as thy saw a savage urinating on a tree. "Gormt. Take him out, will you?" The soldier named Gormt nodded and crouched, taking out a knife, and slowly walked to the savage. When he got close to the Baumaenschaen, he slit his throat, and carefully caught the body and slowly put down the corpse so as to not alert the rest of any suspicious activities. "Finish that piss in hell, savage." Gormt muttered to the now-dead Baumaenschaen as he nodded to the rest of the men behind him.
The rest of the men came closer, and spotted two more Baumaenschaen having a conversation. "Me and Aeraeck will take care of them, Lutnant." Felipe simply nodded, allowing them to take action. As they crouched.. "I will take the one on the left, you take the other one on the right." Caersun said to Aeraeck, to which he nodded. As they got closer, they took out their seaxes, and once they were behind the two Baumaenschaen, Caersun and Aeraeck slit the throats of the savages on the left and right respectively.
Caersun signaled for the rest of the men to come closer, and they saw twelve Baumaenchaen. "There is three near that campfire. Caersun, you, Gormt and Zomhaier kill those three. After that, I will lead the charge on them." Felip instructed to three men, who nodded. "Let's get these bastards." Aeraeck said, to which the others with him agreed.
As the three got close to the Baumaenschaen, they took out their seaxes. Caersun and Aeraeck managed to kill the two Baumaenschaen, but Gormt was pinned down by the third Baumaenschaen, and shouted something, alerting the rest of the Baumaenschaen. "Damn it, Gormt.." Caersun cursed as he took out his knife and lodged it to the back of the third Baumaenschaen's neck, felling him immediately. "Charge, now!" Felip shouted as the rest of the soldiers came out of the trees and charged at the camp to aid the three soldiers.
Three Baumaenschaen with axes charged at the three. Aeraeck and Caersun dodged their charge, and countered with their own attacks using their seaxes, fighting the savages. Gormt parried the incoming attack to him and headbutted the savage, prompting the latter to stagger back, allowing him to pin the savage down and kill them with a seax to the chest. Caersun kicked down his opponent and stabbed their chest with his seax, killing the savage instantly. He went to support Aeraeck, who was duelling with the remaining savage. Fortunately for them, the rest of the soldiers have finally reached them, allowing to relieve pressure on them.
The fight went on for several minutes, as both sides struggled to gain an advantage over the other, but it was obvious that the Baumaenschaen were losing.
"Take this, you son of a whore!" Caersun said as he lodged an axe he managed to pick up from a corpse of a savage and into the head of another one. As the twelve Baumaenschaen shrunk to three, with no losses to the soldiers, the remaining savages scattered into the woods, running for their lives.
"Shit. Should we chase them down, Lutnant? Gormt asked Felip as he looked on the fleeing savages. "No need. There is too little of them to be an actual threat. They will most likely flee back into their lands, or die trying." Felip said as he shook his head.
"On me. We need to aid the other columns. We cannot afford to lose more men." Felipe ordered the men, and soon got out of the fores where the Baumaenschaen camp was. They finally reached the path, where they saw soldiers fighting the Baumaenschaen.
"On me, men! Charge!" Felip shouted as he brought out his sword, charging at the embattled Baumaenschaen with his men shouting out warcries. The savages noticed their charge too late and were sandwiched between two sides, and fifteen Baumaenschaen were systemically cut down.
Lutnant Arnauldt cam to Lutnant Felip, obviously being tired from the fighting. "Lutnant Felip, I thank you for your assistance." Arnauldt said gratefully to Felip. "I am afraid that there is not enough time for thanks, Lutnant Arnauldt. We have to aid Lutnant Zigmond." Felip said with a sigh. Arnault nodded seriously. "Where is Kummandaent Maenlich, if I may ask?" Felip suddenly remembered and asked Arnauldt. "I believe he is with Lutnant Zigmond to help rally the men." Arnault said. "Then we shall be quicker to aid to end this." Felip said, which Arnauldt agreed.
"Men! Move south! We shall end this act of trickery by the savages! To arms!" Felip said loudly, to which the men cheered, and swiftly ran south to aid Lutnant Zigmond's forces. The soldiers moved rapidly, as they spotted the Baumaenschaen fighting against Lutnant Zigmond's men. They enveloped the left flank and rear of the Baumaenschaen, effectively trapping them in, allowing for the soldiers to kill off the rest of them.
"That is the rest of them dead... Shit..." Caersun said, panting due to the tiredness he felt. "Atleast we live, no?" Aeraeck aid, patting his friend on the back. "Yes.. hopefully for Jaenik too.." Caersun said as he wiped off the sweat on his forehead. The two returned to where the path was.
"Lutnant Felip, Lutnant Arnauldt. I am immensely joyful to see you both here." Kummandaent Maenlich said to the two. "It seemed that my judgement was right. Those damned savages dared to ambush us!" He said se sighed. "How many men have you two lost? Lutnant Zigmond estimates that he lost seven in the battle." Maenlich said seriously to the two Lutnants. "Unfortunately, I have lost seven men as well men." Arnault said with sadness. "I have lost a bit over five men, Kummandaent." Felip spoke with the tone as Arnauldt's. Maenlich only frowned deeper. "Damn it all.." He sighed..
"Tell your men to form marching columns and be in a file formation. I shall inform Lutnant Zigmond personally myself." Maenlich said as he got on his horse and rode to where Zigmond's men were positioned. "What a mess this was." Arnault sighed. "Men, form marching columns on me!" Arnault shouted over his men.
Soon, the file formation that the Kummandaent had ordered to do reformed, and finally made it back into Fortress Gonthir.
SEASON OF SPRING, 485 - FORTRESS-GONTHIR, THE ISLE
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(First Person Perspective)
What a goddamned mess this was.. I sighed to myself as we finally made it back to Fortress-Gonthir. Most of the men were dead tired from the marching, and the fighting. The others were shaken, staring blankly as they poured into the fortress's gateway.
However, I saw Kummandaent Maenlich stood like a steady statue, an expression of defiance on his face. What could he be saying now? I thought to myself.
"Men, we have won a great battle at Reihau. We saved our folks from the menace of the Baumaenschaen, and killed many of them. They have tried ambushing us, but that failed as well, cutting down approximately fifty of the cursed savages." Kummandaent Maenlich started, and I puffed my chest in pride, as so did many others in the crowd, shaken they werw. "However, I will say it as it truly is, even if it pains me to do so. We have lost men. Too many of them. Though they live in peace and tranquility in the higher realms, their sacrifices in Reihau and our march back to here would be mourned by their families and friends." Kummandaent Maenlich said, with sadness in his voice. Unfortunate. We lost too many of the others there. I thought, shaking my head in dismay. The jubilant energy in the crowd instantly dissipated as Kummandaent Maenlich talked.
"It is not good to stew in the happenings of the past, they would have not wanted us to do so. Instead, we will look to the present, and the ever-looming future. I have planned for today to be where we will be conducting drills and training, but all of you here are fatigued to the point that these exercises I have planned out. You may rest, talk with your comrades, anything you wish. You all may go." Kummandaent Maenlich said, as the crowd dissolved, doing their own daily tasks.
I sat beside a campfire, ruminating in my thoughts about today, and how it all turned to shit. That was when Aeraeck and Normunn sat beside me. "You feelin' well there, Caersun?" Aeraeck asked, seemingly concerned about me. "Yes, I am fine. I have just been thinking about today's happenings. How it was just..." I spoke, but couldn't continue on the last sentence.
"A mess, I assume, were your words?" Aeraeck asked with that same smile he always has. "I suppose so. Is Jaenik well, Normunn?" I answered with a smile. I then turned to Normunn, then asked him seriously. "He is fine. He may not be able to participate in what Kummandaent Maenlich is speaking about, but he is alive." Normunn said with a sigh, and I nodded.
The sun was going down. I am feeling deathly tired right now. I thought to myself as I yawned. "I need to go to sleep early, Aeraeck, Normunn. I hope to see you two tomorrow.." I said to the two, as they both nodded and said their farewells. I returned to my tent, where I laid down, and immediately.. fell.. asleep...