On the Vanura Kingdom’s western lands, the mighty castle of House Baura stood, tall walls surrounding a stone keep. The sounds of merriment and joy echoed within the castle, causing the dogs to bark adding to the hubbub. The festivity was caused by the engagement party between Lord Leora’s eldest daughter Tricia, and Lord Averell Baura’s first son, Quillon. For decades the two families were close allies, but this was the first time they had solidified their bond with a marriage.
Laughing uproariously, Lord Baura took a long guzzle of his beer, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, before wiping his hand on his shirt.
“Drake, do you remember that time Augie fought naked?” he boomed, his boisterous voice ringing across the Great Hall.
Slamming his hand on the table, Lord Leora laughed, tears coming to his eyes. “Of course, I remember! How could I forget his pale body streaking across the battlefield!”
“Father, what happened?” Lord Baura’s son, Quillon asked, grabbing another beer for his father and Lord Leora. Walking over, he joined the old men reminiscing about their youth.
Taking the mug from his future son-in-law, Lord Leora took a swig before clearing his throat. “I’m not sure why, but Augie was complaining about the heat all day, saying he had a headache. Well, that night after we set up camp, he went to the makeshift outhouse we built—to do his business. While he was in there, we were attacked by the cursed Domibu. As soon as the fighting starts, Augie comes running out of the outhouse, stark naked, waving his war axe, screaming bloody murder. I don't know why he took all his clothes off in the outhouse, but he did. I’ve never seen him look so angry and relieved at the same time! The whole night he fought naked—like the day he was born. After that, he was nicknamed ‘The Naked Madman’ by The Domibu!”
Rowdy laughter filled the Grand Hall, soldiers stomping their feet, impressed and entertained by the story.
“Why have I not met this man?” Quillon asked, grinning from ear to ear as he glanced at Tricia—his future.
The volume of noise within the hall dropped as the veteran warriors quieted, their smiles turning sad.
“Near the end of the war, Augie was killed by a Domibu General. I personally crushed the General’s skull,” his father said, looking down at his hands.
Hearing Lord Baura’s words, Tricia gasped quietly. Turning to her father, she asked. “Father! Why are you laughing at Sir Augie? He should be remembered as a hero.”
“He is a hero, but we must laugh to keep the sadness from consuming us,” Lord Leora replied, taking a sip of his beer. “We keep his memory alive through laughter and drink. As long as we keep telling stories of him, he will never truly be gone.”
“Well said!” roared Lord Baura, lifting his mug. “Let us all toast Augie, and the rest of our fallen brothers!”
“Here, here!”
The silence in the room was shattered by the unified voices of the soldiers, all raising their mugs, and yelling into the air.
“To our fallen brothers!”
As the party continued, a young man hurried over to Lord Baura, panting from exhaustion.
“Ah! Drake let me introduce you to my nephew Yansen, he’s my wife’s sister's son. Out of the younger generation, I think he’s one of the best,” Lord Baura boomed, gesturing towards the young man.
“Uncle, I bring urgent news,” whispered Yansen, pulling out a message. “We just received a message by bird from the Capital.”
Seeing the seriousness on Yansen’s face, Lord Baura sobered up, the drunk light in his eyes vanishing, leaving behind the eyes of an old warrior. Reaching for the message he started to read, his face turning redder and redder as he read, a wild snarl escaping through his bared teeth.
“Averell, what happened?” Lord Leora demanded, leaning over to look at the message.
“General Calahan rebelled!” Lord Baura spat, his words dripping with wrath.
Hearing the news, Lord Leora jumped up, knocking his chair to the ground.
“What! Is the King safe? When did he rebel?”
As Lord Leora’s outburst reached the partygoers, the Great Hall instantly fell silent. Each person stared up at the Great Lords, food and drink frozen in place.
“The message doesn't mention the King,” Lord Baura said, passing the message to Lord Leora. “He rebelled three days ago. Luckily for us, you brought some of your men here. If we march at first light, we should get to the capital in four days.”
Lord Baura stood up, turning to address the Great Hall. “General Calahan has rebelled against the Royal House! We will ride to the aid of the King at first light!”
A deafening roar filled the room as everyone started to talk at the same time, chaos, fear, and anger pushing out the happiness that was just present.
“Why would General Calahan rebel?” asked Quillion, disbelief and uncertainty causing his eyes to narrow.
“I believe it has something to do with nominating Prince Orda as the primary marriage candidate for Princess Milina. He sent me a message about backing him a couple of days ago,” replied his father, gesturing at his confused people.
“If what you say is true,” Lord Leora quietly stated, his face turning pale. “The King may have perished. There is no reason Calahan would have rebelled over the choice of the Princess's marriage partner unless he saw the issue as time-sensitive.”
There was an uncomfortable silence at the table, the two Great Lords looking at each other.
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Shaking his head to clear his doubt, Lord Baura turned to everyone at the table, his usual deafening voice, a whisper.
“We must keep what was just said a secret. We are on a rescue mission. We are not going for revenge.”
“I understand, father,” Quillion nodded, hands gripping the edge of the table.
Nodding at his son, Lord Baura cleared his throat, shouting over the noise in the Great Hall. “Generals to me! We will meet in the War Room, the rest of you prepare to head out at first light. I want everyone to be ready and rested.”
Turning to his wife he finished, “Dane, I will leave Quillion in charge of the castle while I am out. Depending on how long we are gone, you might have to make changes to the wedding date.”
“I understand,” Lady Dane nodded.
Making his way to the War Room, Lord Baura clenched his fist until he felt his knuckles pop, his body coiled with rage. Reaching for the key that hung around his neck, he opened the room, waiting for his Generals, sons, and guests to enter before entering himself.
“Drake, how certain are you that the King is dead?” he asked, entering the room last and closing the door. The War Room was the most secure location within the castle, with no windows, or other exits besides the door they had entered from. Standing in the center of the room, surrounded by chairs was a table, a detailed map of the Kingdom carved upon it.
“It’s just a speculation at the moment, but something else bothers me more,” Lord Leora answered, heavily sitting down.
“What is it?” Lord Baura asked, his eyes staring down at the map, his fingers tracing the path his army would take to reach the capital.
“What is Prince Hector doing?”
Everyone within the room froze as if they were scared to breathe, their heart pounding in their chests. Feeling a drop of sweat trickle down his forehead Lord Baura felt his stomach drop, if Prince Hector was there, it would be impossible for General Calahan to rebel.
“Did he kill Prince Hector? Or is Prince Hector part of the rebellion?” Viarop, Lord Baura’s youngest son stammered, his face turning pale.
“Fool, Prince Hector would turn on his brother!” Lord Baura yelled, turning to his son in rage.
“I’m sorry father. I meant no disrespect,” Viarop faltered, his hands held out in front of him as he took a step back.
“Averell, your son is still young, he doesn't know the prince like we do,” Lord Leora raised his voice, stepping between them.
Grunting in anger, Lord Baura went back to the map. “Calahan must have done something to the prince. We need more information. Yansen, I want you to find our Spymaster and try to find out any information about the whereabouts of the prince.”
“Yes, uncle.”
As Yansen left the room, Lord Baura turned to Lord Leora, “Drake, something feels off about this rebellion.”
“I agree,” Lord Leora said, his hand touching his beard. “But regardless of the situation, we ride to the King’s aid.”
A week after Hector learned about Calahan’s rebellion, he found himself in a town on the capital's outskirts. There he was gathering soldiers in preparation for retaking the castle. He wished the Elves had lent him warriors, but they would not, saying it was an internal situation and as a foreign kingdom they could not interfere.
Standing over a table, he placed a wooden group of soldiers on a map that lay on it. The map was of the capital, written using his memory—it was not very detailed but served its purpose. “I’m glad Todo was able to get information out to me,” he muttered. “The situation looks bad but it’s better than expected.”
Hearing the tent flap open, he looked up.
“My Lord,” a young farmer's son quickly stepped in, dropping to one knee.
Seeing the young boy, Hector felt his heart tighten, he did not like using children in war, but with all the loyal soldiers either dead or defending the castle from inside, he had no choice.
“What is it, boy?” he grunted, glancing at the map again.
“There is a large army approaching us, they are flying the flags of House Leora, and House Baura.”
“That's the best news I've heard in days,” Hector exclaimed, grabbing his saber and marching out of the tent.
The contrast between the dark interior of the tent, and the bright morning light, made Hector squint, the dazzling light leaving streaks in his vision. Using his arm to shade his eyes, he hurried over to a small hill, eagerly looking in the direction he knew the Great Lords would come from.
From the top of his vantage point, he saw a small army marching in his direction. Seven banners, he counted, knowing each banner had about a hundred men to it. Not as much as I wished, but they got here faster than expected. They must have taken the young soldiers and left the older ones to guard their lands. As he watched the soldiers march closer, four horses broke off from the procession, heading directly at him.
“Drake! Averell!” Hector raised his hand as he recognized two of them. Seeing them in armor made him feel his youth returning.
“Prince Hector!” Lord Baura bellowed as they got closer. Jumping off his horse he rushed over and gripped Hector's hand in a strong handshake.
“When was the last time we fought together?” laughed Hector, breaking his usual stoic face.
“Too long,” Lord Leora shouted as he too got off his horse and shook Hector’s hand.
Seeing the two warriors he had spent his youth fighting alongside, Hector could not help but feel emotional. “Averell, I heard your son got engaged! And to Drake’s daughter! Congratulations are in order. You must forgive me for not sending a gift. I was planning to once I returned to the capital.”
“It’s only an engagement,” Lord Baura laughed, stretching his shoulders. “The wedding will be in a couple of months. You can send something then.”
Grinning at the two of them, Hector hugged them, wincing slightly.
“So, you are injured?” Lord Leora stated, noticing the wince. “With Calahan’s rebellion, we knew something must have happened to you.”
“I was slightly injured, but the Healers of Lundale have fully cured me,” Hector lied. “I am strong again.” Feeling guilty for lying to his friend he gave him a pat on the shoulder. “You guys don’t have to worry about me.”
Looking sideways over at him, Lord Baura studied his face. “That's good to hear,” he eventually said, waving over at the two young men who were waiting behind them. “Let me introduce you to these two. Drake and I left our eldest sons as acting Lords of our lands, so they are not here. This is my second son Viarop, and this is Yansen, my nephew.”
“Prince Hector, it is an honor to meet you,” Viarop bowed.
Looking at the two men, Hector could not help but grin, the hunger in their eyes was something he had not seen in a long time. These two men would grow into strong warriors.
“The heavens have looked kindly on House Baura,” he praised. “I can’t wait to see how you two grow.”
Hearing Hector's words, both men blushed causing Lord Baura to laugh good-naturedly.
“Let’s get out of the sun. My tent is just over there,” Hector said, gesturing to his command post. “We have many things to talk about.”
Sitting around the map, the men carefully examined the troop placements Hector had just placed, their experienced eyes tracking the potential movements of the troops.
“With the numbers we have, even with Todo and Zacheri attacking from the inside, we will have some trouble,” Lord Leora said, a frown on his face. “The outer walls are still controlled by Calahan.”
“What are the other Great Lords doing?” Lord Baura asked, walking over to a basin and washing his hands.
“Falkan and Lady Isles are sending troops as we speak,” replied Hector. “The Nazau army led by Falkan should arrive sometime this afternoon. As for the Ruscell army, Lady Isles’ son, Beniti is leading them here. They will take two more days.” Sitting heavily on a chair he continued. “The other Eastern Lords and Lord Apra have not responded.”
An uncomfortable silence filled the tent.
“We must entertain the notion that the Eastern Lords are involved with this rebellion,” Lord Leora finally said.
“I agree with Drake,” Hector sighed feeling mentally exhausted. Once again, he wondered if his family was ultimately responsible for the Kingdom’s tragedies. Shaking his head he continued. “As for House Apra, although they are followers of Alumas I do not think Broi would take part in the rebellion, he will not join a fight that does not profit him personally. We need to wait for the Nazau and Ruscell armies to arrive. Once they do, we can take the outer wall. We have two days to prepare for an assault.”