Karsten stood imposingly atop of a keep wall with folded arms in a flurry of snow. He wore an eyepatch, hiding his blinded eye and donned a heavy expression. His hair turned fully white and, with his accelerated aging, he looked like a man in 60s when in truth he was in his 40s. He was still in Elsos. In fact, he had no intention to move away from this city because he found a purpose. Far ahead of him, there was Siwen mountain that had been erupting on a regular basis, releasing lava which flew downwards to the deadland. Interestingly, in spite of constant snow, it did not accumulate on the deadland. The lava did stay although not for long. It would, too, eventually vanish.
image [https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/9765/qjmWco.jpg]
The dragon of the North had been practically active and destroyed a series of settlements. This was in part due to it receiving no resistance whatsoever in the beginning. The biggest casualty was Puras, a large city of at least 50,000 people. No one really knew the exact number of casualties. However, it was understood that the majority of people escaped to Suvi who was also under heavy pressure due to encroaching deadland. People were fleeing left and right from the city, and a sizable number of them had arrived at Elsos. Atra did mount an attack on the dragon by sending an army which was promptly wiped out. It was said that not a single soldier made it back.
“Sire!” A soldier with no visible armor but a hooded coat dashed toward him, kneeling down in the end.
“Report.”
“A massive number of monsters are crawling out of Siwen mountain.”
“Massive as in? How many are we talking about here?”
With a grim look, the scout declared ominously, “Easily tens of thousands. Highly likely more than what I was able to count. They seem to be gathering at the foot of the mountain.”
“Composition?”
“A mix of werewolves and orcs as well as a few basilisks.”
“Basilisk…, huh,” Karsten grimaced. They weren’t easy monsters to deal with. Their icy breath was known to be lethal.
Elsos had an unconventional layout for a city. It had no walls within its perimeter but had a small keep in the middle. While no one knew why the city was built this way, he saw some immediate benefits to this layout because it would have been nigh impossible to defend the city from waves of monsters if his army was to defend the whole walls. But defending a small keep, essentially a strategic point, was certainly visible.
“Evacuate the civilians at once,” he declared.
“It has already been under way for some time. Alas, some are refusing to leave.”
“Then force them out. Empty the whole city.”
“Empty… the whole city, sire?”
“We don’t have a choice. Draw everyone out, demolish buildings, and gather materials. We don’t have a choice and time. We will stop the monsters here. If some are refusing to leave, then ask them to join. If not, just kick them out.”
The scout was silent as if waiting for more orders or perhaps he was considering his options. Either way, Karsten eventually barked.
“Go now! We don’t have time!”
Startled, the scout stood up at once and dashed away. Heaving a long sigh, his attention moved back to the mountain.
“The Siwen… Always useless as ever,” he muttered weakly. He wasn’t wrong. The South had suffered far less casualties and its expansion of deadland wasn't as rapid as the North. That was due to the fact that Estana had been putting up resistances. Clicking his tongue in great displeasure, he eventually turned around and sought warmth inside the keep.
“Father, you shouldn’t be standing out in the cold for too long,” Lillian warned who was waiting for him in his chamber. “You haven’t recovered fully yet.”
He sighed at the sight of seeing his daughter in his chamber. “Lillian, you must leave. A battle will soon be upon this place. I cannot guarantee your safety once the battle breaks out.”
“Where would I go?” She replied stoically with a dose of sarcasm. “I am unwanted everywhere.”
He approached her at which point she started to undress his heavy shoulder armor plates and then his cloak. It should have been a maid’s job.
“You should go back to the Flissing. Get down on your knees and beg for their forgiveness.”
“I will not do that. I cannot.”
He didn’t argue, for even he knew that it was wishful thinking. What she had done was simply unthinkable and unforgivable. She crossed the line and far beyond. If she wasn’t a princess, there was a good chance that she could have been outright executed for infidelity.
“Do you plan to die here then?”
“Do you plan to die here?” She asked back with a strong voice, emphasizing “you”.
Karsten abdicated his throne to the crown prince, Leonhard Egra. However, he didn’t surrender his throne for free. He demanded two conditions. One, he demanded that Elsos would become his personal fief. Two, he demanded 5,000 men from the royal army along with adequate supplies. The crown prince, having wanted the throne for a long time, accepted the conditions without much reluctance. Therefore, he was no longer the king of the kingdom anymore. And, under normal circumstances, he would have entered his retirement and lived a life of luxury until the end of his days.
“Elsos is where I will end my life, yes,” he admitted although he didn’t specifically say that he would die defending it.
“Then I will end my life here in Elsos as well.”
“What a foolish girl. You are still young. You have at least a few decades left in your life. Leave here and find a man who will take you.”
“It’s too late,” she said while shaking her head and placing her hand on her waist. She repeated with a lamenting voice, “It’s too late.”
Her reputation was in tatters, literally. Additionally, she used to tease Leonhard a lot in their youth, and their relationship was … fragile at the best. Seeking a shelter under her brother, now the king, wasn’t going to be pleasant. Ironically, Elsos was her haven. Either way, she was not pleased with how her father was talking as if this place would be his grave.
“Why are you itching to end your life?” She retorted with tears in her eyes. He realized that he had to tell her the truth.
“When I was poisoned and was dying…,” he said with a vacant gaze into the air. “I believe I saw many things…”
His memories were extremely hazy, and he could not remember anything clearly. However, he did see numerous aspects of countless struggles caused by the Age of Darkness. What he witnessed in his semi-conscious mind was heavily fragmented memories of a dragon, and he saw a lot of things from the eyes of a dragon. While he couldn’t recall any of them vividly, he wasn’t a fool and picked up what was probably the most important message from literal riddle pieces.
“My job, or our job, is to hold the line from the darkness so that what little light we have has a chance to fight back.”
She cocked her head in confusion. “I beg your pardon?”
His face was contorted into a grimace; he was trying to recall what he saw into a logical sentence which a normal person could understand.
“I saw many things, Lillian,” he eventually told her. “Many men trying to fight back hordes of monsters commanded by the dragons. Their efforts looked to be in vain. A lot perished, and I do mean A LOT.”
In what looked like an inevitable defeat, there was a small ball of light behind them. He instinctively understood that the men were fighting for a common cause. They were killed left and right like pigs in a barbaric slaughterhouse, but they had a purpose; their death meant something. They were using their lives to delay the inevitable so that someone would save the others; they were literal meat shields.
“Someone…,” he whispered.
“Father?”
“Lillian, I understand that you do not wish to confront your brother. If so, would you go to Ceres? The duke will surely take you in and protect you.”
Her irises began to move restlessly; she was clearly tempted by the idea, and he caught on.
“Do you have feelings for him?”
Closing her eyes, she scoffed and replied, “Doesn’t matter now, does it?”
“True,” he agreed solemnly.
“I will not lie. I was more eager to marry him than Daniel. If I married him first…, perhaps I wouldn’t have ended up where I am now.”
She harbored no deep love for Kamil. However, since she believed she’d marry him, it was true that she did have some feelings for her future husband. This was even before she’d meet him in person. When it was ultimately decided that Daniel Flissing would become her husband, she was simply slightly disappointed. However, when things weren’t working out with him, “what if” had hit her mind numerous times. It was within realms of possibility that she may have been better off with Kamil than Daniel. The latter was a somewhat timid and passive boy whereas the former knew how to handle women better due to his past experience. In that sense, Kamil might have been able to rein her in and correct her.
“Then I apologize as a father for having failed you, daughter.”
She beamed a bitter smile. “You bear little faults in this father. You know the saying, yes? You reap what you sow. This is karma, I reckon.”
“Karma, huh. I suppose I, too, am receiving the punishment as well then.”
Unexpectedly, she beamed a broad smile. “We are both crooks. We deserve this outcome, I daresay.”
He laughed pleasantly. Then his face darkened immediately afterwards. “Are you really going to stay?” He was asking for the last time.
“I will,” she replied promptly. “I know how to wield a sword. I shall fight.”
“Then get into light clothes or armor. Do not be a burden to others.”
She leaned forward and a palm on her chest. “Understood,” she replied with a heavy heart. Then, she turned around and walked out at once. He looked at her and shook his head.
“What a foolish girl… But then, she is exactly like me,” he remarked with a mixed expression of sorrow and joy. After taking off his armor completely, he sat down at a table and poured wine into a cup, finishing it in one shot. Warmth started to swirl around inside, putting him at ease.
“I know what I’ve done,” he said to himself while staring at the empty wine glass. “But I am not ashamed of it. I believe in my vision and trust my judgment.”
It was true that he treated his men like pieces on a chessboard. But his actions weren’t without valid reasons. He had always chosen the most effective way to conclude warfare even if it meant more casualties. He never liked dragging wars for too long and opted to find a way to end it as swiftly as possible. This was why he chose to massacre those from Lyatan and Broon so that they would sue for peace sooner rather than later. It was also why he chose to sacrifice a sizable portion of his own army to drag the main Siwen army in. Yes, he was directly responsible for their death. At the same time, from a different perspective, it could also be argued that, if wars went on for longer, there would have been mounting casualties which might even surpass the original number of casualties. Additionally, since he opted to end wars sooner rather than later, damages to farms were minimal outside of immediate warzones. All in all, when analyzed deeper, his actions were fairly justified. Nevertheless, it was also true that his shoulders carried the responsibility of many, many, souls. Sighing, he continued to drink the wine.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
For the next several days, the army went on to drive everyone out, by force if necessary, and then began deconstructing everything near the keep in order to convert them into usable materials: Stones, lumber, hays, et cetera. They were meticulously working to get everything done in a timely manner while scouts were sent out day and night to keep eyes on the monsters' whereabouts. Meanwhile, several hundred civilians chose to enlist, and Karsten converted them into support personnel. They would not be fighting on the frontline. Instead, they’d be providing support from the back. This decision wasn’t made to protect the enlisted civilians. They actually needed those people to circulate food and supplies in sieges. Lillian was placed in charge of this support force. Donning a thick fur coat, she wore simple leather armor underneath. She also cut her hair to shoulder-length in preparation for combat. She was barking out orders to her men in a flurry of snow.
“Get those lumbers into the basement! The stones go over there! Any iron cookware you’ve found is going to the blacksmith!”
Repair and reinforcement of the keep was underway as well. Karsten wanted the lone gate to be reinforced with iron strips. He originally wanted to replace the whole gate with iron, but they lacked materials as well as time to do so.
“You there! Grab an axe and start making firewood!”
In spite of everyone being fully aware of their possible impending doom, their eyes shone, full of motivations and vigor. Even Lillian was enjoying the situation a bit, having finally found a clear purpose in her otherwise dull life. She was a tomboy in her childhood and bullied her brothers. She didn’t lament being a woman but disliked the responsibilities as a woman which was to produce children and support her husband in shadow. This active role suited her far better, she felt.
“Will this snow ever stop?” she growled. It had been snowing for as long as she could recall. The reality was that it wasn’t snowing a lot. It was due to the strong wind that snow was flying around. The snow in the region was very dry and was picked up by wind easily which made it feel like it was snowing perpetually. The gray sky didn’t help the perception, either. Once she felt satisfied by the workers and their speed, she descended down into the basement of the keep where a small group of men and women were reorganizing supplies and whatnot. The basement was basically a large empty hall which was warmed by numerous fireplaces. At the moment, all six fireplaces were all brightly lit, even then it was very chilly. She rubbed her hands and dusted off her fur coat of snow.
“Gosh, this is going to ruin my perfect skin…,” she muttered. As soon as one of the workers spotted her, he dashed to her.
“Lady Lillian, we have a problem.”
“What is it?”
“We’ve found what appears to be a secret passageway. It was a hidden door that led deeper to somewhere. We couldn’t dare exploring it.”
Furrowing her eyebrows, she replied, “A secret passageway? Lead me there.”
Castles and keeps had a strong tendency to have a secret passageway. Such existed to facilitate an escape in the worst case scenario.
“Here, ma’am,” he pointed at a corner which didn’t look suspicious at all. With fingers on her chin, she looked up and down. She still couldn’t tell.
“Really well made, I see.”
“There is a small button near the bottom.” Then he kicked a spot gently at which point a stone brick moved slightly inward and then a tiny opening was created at bottom. One would need to crawl to get inside.
“Interesting, you did say you didn’t explore, yes?”
“We were afraid to. Who knows what might be inside?”
She was quite certain that the passageway would lead to somewhere outside. It was most likely an escape route.
“Keep this between us. I will inform my father later.”
“Understood.”
She wasn’t going to tell her father about this. A secret passageway was effective because it was kept from everyone else. Besides, it was highly unlikely that a man like Karsten would choose to escape through a backdoor. She was fully aware that her father would rather die on a battlefield. Thus, there wasn’t really a point in informing him about this little secret. Additionally, she felt that he could even opt to destroy it.
When she visited her father’s chamber to check on his health the next day, she saw Isaac Knell conversing with him. Both men turned their attention to her for a brief moment before continuing on with their conversation without acknowledging her presence verbally. It would have been a grave offense some time ago, but she was no longer a princess. Additionally, with no husband to enhance her status, she was just a noblewoman without little authority.
“I see. Good work, Lord Knell,” her father told him with a firm nod.
“This is the last thing I can do for you, Lord Egra.”
Technically, Karsten and Isaac were on the same rank at this point. The former had a slightly higher standing due to him being a former king and that the Egra had far more prestige as a royal family, but the gap wasn’t large enough for the latter to act timidly. In any case, Isaac’s long wish had come true; he was no longer the king’s advisor although it didn’t bring his desired outcome due to the circumstances. Peace he desired was nowhere close by after all. He had just made a delivery of weapons, armors, metal scraps, and various supplies. This was something Karsten requested personally, and Isaac was under no obligations to comply. He did him a favor in the end.
“Sir!”
A scout absurdly entered the chamber even without knocking, approaching the two men and kneeling down at once.
“Can this wait?” Karsten asked to which he shook his head, indicating that whatever news he was carrying was of utmost importance.
“May I listen as well?” Isaac said. While strictly not his place to be, it was ultimately everyone’s business. Karsten saw no reason to reject his request therefore.
“Go on, report.”
“Sire, an advanced scouting party has spotted a very large gathering of monsters in the North.”
“Very large? How large?”
The scout hesitated to speak which irritated him.
“Speak!” He raised his voice, urging the scout to spill the beans.
Startling, he eventually reported, “We … spent at least an hour counting, sire. We believe the number is about 100,000. Roughly half werewolves and half orcs.”
“A hundred thousand…,” Lillian uttered in shock, recoiling a step back even. She knew that the keep had five thousand defenders, plus about three hundred support personnel.
However, Karsten looked unfazed. “Fear not, I’ve chosen this place to defend for a reason. Monsters are inept at destroying stone structures. As long as we hold our gate firm, we will be able to grind them down.”
“S, sire, there is more. We’ve spotted siege engines.”
Karsten as well as Isaac’s eyes widened in complete shock. It was unprecedented that monsters would use siege engines or any tools for that matter.
“Orc with siege weapons?” Isaac uttered. “Where did they even get materials from?!”
Werewolves were strong monsters but they did not have the intelligence as well as hand dexterity to utilize ladders and tools. Orcs were different, however. They were physically far weaker but were able to use their hands almost like humans. They also seemed to possess some form of a language. Knowing this, Karsten’s face was contorted in grimace, realizing that their odds of survival had greatly diminished. Soon enough, however, his face loosened up.
“No matter,” he said indifferently. “We will still hold them here.”
“My lie-” Isaac quickly corrected himself. “Lord Egra, this is insanity. You cannot defend this position against a horde of 100,000 monsters that have siege weapons!”
It was 5,000 vs. 100,000. Nobody would think the former would emerge victorious under any circumstances.
“Our survival is not the objective,” Karsten declared solemnly. “We are here to earn time.”
“Earn time for what?” Isaac retorted, not understanding his goal. “As far as I can see, you are simply itching to die.” Then he looked at Lillian. “Lady Egra, are you with him?” He had to ask since she was no longer wearing a dress. She nodded at him.
“I am.”
“Both of you are MAD!” He exclaimed. Watching the scene unfold before him, the scout stood up and excused himself discreetly. However, just as he was about to leave, Karsten called him up.
“Gather men. I will have a speech soon.”
Nodding, the scout left the chamber promptly.
“Did you not want me gone, Lord Knell?”
Isaac recoiled, looking surprised. “You… knew?” He had to come clean at this point.
“I am not a fool. I kept you on due to your competence, however. You are Gregor’s pupil after all.”
“Why bring this up now?”
Instead of answering him, he changed the subject. “Do you really think we have no chance?”
“No, I don’t normally say zero percent. But, in this case, I am compelled to say that you stand absolutely no chance of survival if you choose to defend this keep.”
“Then, probably for the first time you’d be wrong,” said Karsten with a weak grin on his face. He had no clue where his confidence was originating from, and neither did Lillian, but she wasn’t going to argue with her father because he had been more or less on the winning side for his entire life. If there was anything he excelled at, it was emerging victorious against overwhelming odds although, in this case, it was just too much.
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Isaac heaved a long sigh. “I have no idea where your confidence is coming from but I cannot stop you.” Then he struck out his hand for a handshake. “I daresay that this could well be the last time we talk.” Karsten accepted the handshake and told him.
“Support my son now.”
“That, I shall.”
Isaac’s eyes were fixed at Lilliam for a moment as he walked out of the chamber as if silently telling her to get out while she could. Once he was gone, she asked immediately.
“Shouldn’t we seek reinforcements?”
“From who?”
“The Flissing? The Fenchel?” She frowned at once, realizing that the Flissing was unlikely to help at this point.
“No lord may mobilize their armies unless the king calls for it. I am no longer a king.”
“But this is -”
He interjected, “We stand alone.”
She rubbed her temples. “There is no way that we can defeat a horde of 100,000 monsters, father. Please be logical.”
“I have no intention of defeating them, for there is no chance as you say.”
“Then what are you trying to do?”
“Haven’t I told you? I intend to earn time.”
“Who’s going to save us?!” She raised her voice out of frustration. While she didn’t mind death, she did not like meaningless death which she felt that her father was forcing on everyone in the keep. He would look right into her eyes.
“Lillian, for men, there are battles which they cannot back out from. I say this is one of those battles.”
“But -”
She was interjected once again as he put his palm toward her.
“Stop. I will have my speech soon. Listen to me, and you will know why.” He, then, beckoned her over. “Help me equip my armor.”
Sagging her shoulders, Lillian could only comply.
All soldiers along with most of the support personnel were gathered in the courtyard of the keep. Waving his fur cloak, Karsten walked onto a small, elevated, wooden platform. A flurry of snow was, as always, upon them.
“Men!” He shouted as he stood in front of them imposingly with his hands on back. “I am here to inform you of the reality we are going to face!”
Lillian was a distance away, watching the scene with a pair of maids behind her. These two were the only maids in the keep.
“I am sure that you’ve heard the news by now. We face a nigh impossible challenge! We face an army of monsters, 100,000 of them!”
Some of them began to murmur. It’s clear that not everyone was aware. He continued nevertheless.
“Make no mistake! Not many, if any, of us will survive! But we must fight! Do you know why?!”
He didn’t expect anyone to answer, and none did.
“Because this is a man's job.”
“A man’s job?” Lillian whispered.
He clenched one of his hands and raised up. “Because this is a man’s job in the end. We are not protecting the weak. We are protecting what is rightfully ours!”
Lillian narrowed her eyes while the soldiers glanced at each other, some looking confused, some looking very determined. He pointed backwards toward the wall.
“Those monsters out there are about to march into our territory and take what is ours! Our women, our children, our home, our every fucking thing! Are you going to let them happen as a man?!” He paused as if trying to gauge their reactions or perhaps he was letting them digest what he had just told them. “This is a dirty job, but we have to do it because we have the balls to do it. Now those who are too fucking cowardly to do the job, get the fuck out of here. This is your last and only chance to legally desert and not get punished.”
Initially, no one backed out for a moment. However, eventually a soldier in the back walked backwards slowly, turning around at one point, and dashed out. As if opening a floodgate, more and more men did the same. In the end, about two hundred people walked out. This was actually intentional. Karsten wanted some to flee and spread the words so that perhaps, just perhaps, he might get more recruits. Additionally, he was confident that most would stay. The five thousand men, they had been with him for many years. Some of them had been following him for their entire adult lives. They trusted him and vice versa; it was a bond that was created on battlefields.
“I do like your eyes,” he declared with a smile. Those who remained, their eyes were burning with a sense of purpose. “It is time to show those motherfuckers that we are not pushovers. Show them what we are made of and, when you meet the God of Death, proudly inform him that you died while performing your rightful duty. Congratulations, men, you will die proudly.”
They were silent with their eyes burning with light. A dirty job, yes, but someone had to do it; someone had to hold the line for whatever the reason may be. He walked down the platform and approached his daughter.
“You do what you can,” he told her with fervorous eyes. “Train your personnel, arm them, lay traps - whatever you think you can do to improve our odds. Do you think we stand no chance? Perhaps, but that does not mean we should lay down our weapons and get slaughtered.” Then he passed by her, entering the keep.
Once Karsten was gone, the soldiers in the courtyard began to disperse slowly. Lillian was watching them get back to work as if nothing happened. They were just told that they would get slaughtered, yet they were acting as if nothing happened. In fact, many, if not all, of them looked angry, and she was quite confident that they weren’t angry at her father. They were angry at something else. She just couldn’t understand what and reminded herself that her father would never take the escape route.