Chapter 9
The Beach
I looked around, staring at the corpses and the remainder of my army. "You didn't fail. I did." I took a deep breath and walked over to Gaoreng, "stand up. You did good." Walking through the blood soaked sand, I grew colder. How could I let this happen? My thoughts slowly drifted back to my home, Tarí'ívaz.
"Barrékél," a disapproving, feminine voice said, "you failed again."
"Who's that?"
"Your army lost again. You can never become a good general if you yourself can be outdone by a subordinate."
"Again?"
"A good general must be the ultimate soldier. I didn't raise you to be subpar. Just look at your brother. Be more like Rhoskeil."
"Mom?"
"Don't mom me."
"Mom, I---"
"PAY ATTENTION YOU IDIOT!!!!!" a raspy voice screamed.
The world suddenly snapped into focus. I was surrounded by blue. A stone cold, blue substance. Wait what?
"Barrékél!" I hear three voices shout. Their faces are distorted, blurry, but recognizable. I try to move towards them, but I can't move. Shit. I blink to let them know that I'm ok. I see a crowd of people, elves and human surround them. They bang against the substance around me, chipping it away. I feel a slight tingle on my shoulder as acid eats the substance away. I'm slowly carved out of the substance.
"Barrékél?" Gaoreng asked, "what do you mean, 'I did?'"
"I must become a better general. That's what I mean. But what happened?"
"You walked towards the ocean with a blank stare, freezing the blood around you. You walked into the water waist deep and then sank beneath the waves," he replied. "I thought it was a religious ceremony until one of the humans ran towards the sea. We pulled you up in a block of ice."
"Really?" I ask mildly curious about my own actions. "Well, don't think about it too much." I look around to the people around me. "What do we have?"
"We have maps, food for a day, and three flags," said someone in the crowd.
"You guys actually made flags?"
"Yea," said Falemneil holding the flag. The great band in the sky arced across the upper-right corner, above a dark blue sea. In the left corner lay three stars, one green, one red, and one a gold-white mix.
"I like it," I reply, taking the flag. "If you could, do me the honor and be the bannerwoman?"
"With pleasure," she says, beaming with joy. She quickly goes off to find a flagpole or close substitute.
"Gaoreng, can you honor me and be a bannerman?"
"Of course." He leaves to find another flag.
"Who holds the third one?" A coo is heard from the back of the crowd as Itrust proudly marches with the final flag, tied to his spear. There is a small chuckle from the crowd. "Let the raptor keep it!" shouts one of the women in the group. It was quickly followed by claps and some cheering. "Itrust is the final bannerman!" I theatrically shouted.
The March
It's been a week since chieftain banned us from his lands. With our only sense of direction being Falemneil, we marched north through bogs and swamps. Every dusk and dawn, I trained my soldiers the way I knew how, in jungle warfare. Nobody, not even Josheire, was exempt. In the first few days, the troops suffered. The only ones who could already climb were Gaoreng and Guangmei, who both could scale a tree as fast as me. Joshiere and surprisingly Falemneil were quick to learn, but the majority struggled to get more than a few feet off the ground. Slowly, the endurance of the former sailors built up, me cheering them on as they practice. Despite the training, there was still a large gap between the skill levels of the elves and humans. The training, however, brought them together. Both elves and sailors were forced into a unknown situation and both struggled together. We ran from dawn to dusk on day six, without pause. I cursed myself and struggled to stay in front of the sailors. We were completely outdone by the elves, but even then, I started to notice conversation between the two groups. Alone in the jungle, they had no choice but to talk. Now, on day seven, I let them rest, with only eight people dead or missing from the starvation, heat, or training.
I sent out a small party to hunt for food. Itrust was doing his best, but he couldn't find enough meat for all of us. On the eighth day, we continued the march. I gathered that the soldiers, although tired, honestly believed that I knew where I was going and that there was an opportunity for them with me. The most of the people I hired were poor, homeless, and hopeless individuals, if not abandoned by their families. They stayed with me because they had nowhere else to go. I walked with Falemneil, watching her do her calculations on a slab of tree bark. A slight chill went down my spine when she looked up at me and smiled. "You interested?" She gestured towards her work and the strange figures depicted. "I was never the best at math," I said, stealing a glance at her cloud grey eyes and deep brown skin.
"It's fine," she said before going back to her work. "We should have another week or so marching before we reach the Exakre Empire's southern border."
"We made good progress then." I walked to the front of the army, "we are getting closer to the Exakre Empire! Remember the plan! Get the slaves, free them, and put them in the army."
The army walked for another hour, before a group of elves, armed with bows jumped down from the canopy in front of us. "The Chieftain wants a word with you human!"
The Lakuen
I walked towards the elves and looked one in the eye. She had the same jet black hair as Guangmei, but almond shaped eyes. She looked like she could be in her late teens, early twenties. "Are you from their clan?" I asked Almond Eyes.
"No," she replied "but you will come with us. The Chieftain wants to talk to you, plain and simple."
"Fine," I said, looking at the other elves. Almond Eyes scanned the army and froze. Her eyes began to water, and she ran forward, shouting, "Guangmei!" I turned to see Guangmei crying as they ran towards each other. They embraced each other and burst into hysterical tears. A small smile appeared on my face. That's sweet. I looked at the other elves, who remained expressionless throughout the entire ordeal. The elves turned and started walking eastward. I motioned to the army to follow and marched eastwards. As we moved, the dense jungle began to give way to scorched farmland, the results of a guerilla war. Strange beasts with hooves, mounted by other elves came from the forest to help escort us. These things remind me of the stories Granddad told me about. Pillars of smoke rose from the direction of the first clan I encountered as well as the northwest. We continued to march through burnt farms, flanked by the elven mounts. The farmland soon gave way to a battlefield where elven corpses lay dead, rotting in the earth. They were already stripped of anything of importance. I looked behind me to see Itrust looking at Falemneil's maps. Guangmei and Almond Eyes were talking, apparently catching for lost time. The two seemed to be perfectly happy together. The army, on the other hand, was slightly unnerved by the sight of at least hundreds of dead elves scattered on the ground. The stench in the air didn't help much either.
After marching three miles past the battlefield, we reached a village enclosed by wooden walls. The walls were decorated with the heads of other elves on spikes. "Leave the army here. Human, Guangmei, Ka'odreng leader, inside," said one of the elves. Josheire glared at the elf who decided it necessary to order him. We entered the village and were escorted to a large building, constructed almost entirely out of ivory, guarded by five large elves. One of the guards held a strange stick with metal embedded inside of it. Is he the commander for all the guards. And what is that thing for? Beating the guards or something? Stick Guard nodded to the elves escorting us. The other guards opened the doors. We walked in, followed by Stick Guard, and Itrust, who was sneaking behind us, slipped in as well. In front of us, we saw an elf, in what looked like his early thirties, sitting on a throne carved from a large emerald. He wore an emerald crown, possibly from the same emerald the throne was carved out from, and had hair the same color as his palace, an ivory white. Do elves just come out with random colored hair? What is this? Almond Eyes nudged Guangmei and quickly dropped to the ground, pressing their foreheads against the ground, the guards and our escorts did the same. Itrust, Josheire and I were the only ones who remained standing. The Chieftain stood up, signalling to the others to rise as well. He walked over to us and only then did I notice the scar on the right side of his face. It was as if a large claw dug into his flesh and to the bone. Well shit. Did you fight a dragon in the Great War? Wait, if so, how are still here? He towered over Josheire and was easily twelve feet tall. This is giant among elves. He is at least twice my height.
"Josheire, you are as arrogant as I remembered," the Chieftain said in a seemingly reminiscent tone. He then turned to face me, "human, what is your name? And why is there a beast in here?"
"My name, Chieftain, is Barrékél. The raptor's name is Itrust. He is a very curious being," I replied as politely as possible.
"And Barrékél, what is your purpose in my land?"
"I simply wish to pass through, so I can get to the Exakre Empire."
"Is that all? No conquest of my people with a slave army?"
"No." News must travel fast around here. "I have no interest in conquering your people. I have other targets."
"Guangmei," said the Chieftain while still looking at me, "I haven't seen you since the battle of Jong'a'aonlue. Does the human speak the truth?"
"Saongre, I'm surprised you remembered me. It's been decades."
Saongre turned to face her, "seeing a small child kill a dragon would be a lasting memory. Now answer the question."
"He is telling the truth. I am the one who suggested we use freed slaves anyways."
"You may not get the results you wanted heika," Saongre replied, voice full of sympathy and care.
"It's worth it anyways. Knowledge is the most important thing in the world after all."
"That's where you're wrong, the gods are."
"There are no gods," Guangmei tersely stated. Saongre shook his head and turned back to me. Guangmei, I see you have a few connections.
"Barrékél," Saongre said, "heika has vouched for you. I deem you trustworthy, but only to an extent. I will also assume that you are ignorant to the concept of bowing to a monarch." Had a feeling this guy styles himself a king.
"Your Highness," I say before I was quickly interrupted by the sound of the door being thrown open. Three elves enter carrying another, larger elf with blood red hair. He was beaten, and half of his face was broken, but I was able to recognize that it was the chieftain from the other village. Itrust skwaked and started to walk towards them, but he quickly realized that it was in his best interest to stay put.
"You!" shouted the chieftain from the other village, "you did this didn't you! I should have killed you when you first appeared by the gates. Humans don't belong here!" Saongre walked over to the other chieftain and kicked him in the face, knocking a few teeth out.
"Doleinsha, me and Barrékél just met. You simply have bad luck."
"Look at the elf that was going to get in your way. Pathetic." Who are you? Why are you in my head? And are you the same person who told me to pay attention? "I was always here and I'm here to stay." Oh, and you're going to put evil thoughts in my head? "I-" Rhetorical question. The chieftain from the other village was being dragged by the other elves up a flight of stairs to the back of the room followed by Saongre.
"Sheingne," asked Guangmei to Almond Eyes, "can we follow?"
"Sure," she replied before following Saongre up the stairs. We walked up to a balcony, but before we reached the top, I decided to take a chance.
"Your Highness," I say slightly hesitant, " how would you like an empire?" He merely chuckled and kept walking. From the balcony, we saw a crowd of elves below, all jeering at the blood head chieftain. Saongre burst out in laughter. "Everyone, today we have much to celebrate. One, is the capture of Doleinsha Bloodhair. Some say he is the son of Drungkei'ochen and Krei'ochegra'o. Some say he is but a man. I say he is dead."
The crowd burst out in applause and cheer. These two clans must've had a long hatred for each other. "Kill the elf. Get your vengeance! DO IT!"
"Two, the arrival of Barrékél. As you can see, he is a young human. Some of you may even recognise his face. He has the blood of Rhoskeil in his veins. He is the spitting image of the man who brought both the Exakre Empire and Keinov Dynasty to heel in the last years of the Great War. This man here, this man, descendant of a great warrior, came here to offer an alliance. He has offered to help with the creation of a grand Lakuen Empire and in exchange, we are to give his armies passage through our lands and refuge if need be." A murmur spread through the crowd. They must've believed that their chieftain has gone mad with power or has developed strange, improbable dreams.
"Lakuen!" I shouted surprising everyone and silencing the crowd, "the society the Exakre have built looks strong, but is fragile. A slave society is inherently fractured. A large portion of the country wants to overthrow the minority. So let them overthrow it! Then conquer it in the midst of a civil war. I will personally take the capital. If my grandfather has taught me anything, it's to leverage any advantage you have in your favor." How many lies did we say between the two of us.
"He has courage," Saongre says with an exaggerated tone of approval. "He has even tamed a large, dangerous beast, that can melt men alive. A beast known to devour entire villages. A creature so savage even the gods tremble in its presence." He dramatically motions to Itrust. The crowd, unfamiliar with raptors had a mixed reaction, from disbelief, to shock, to cynicism. He really in one for theatrics. The crowd is receptive though, so it works. Doleinsha, irritated with the speeches and theatrics burst into a fury. "You monsters! Godsforsaken creatures fit only for death, how can you take this much enjoyment in speeches and drama while you plot to murder me and my entire clan!"
"Oh Doleinsha," Saongre remarked as he began to laugh, "your clan is already dead, dying, or enslaved." Saongre grabbed Doleinsha by the hair and whispered into his ears. "Your daughters, by the way, are waiting by my bedside for me right after this. Your wife, sadly put up too much of a fight, but I suppose the soldiers had some fun with her before we cut her head off. And let's not talk about your brother, but some guys decided they wanted to try something unnatural." He rose and turned to the crowd once more. "I even have a special announcement to you all. This time, I will let Barrékél do the honor of executing."
"Perfect. KILL HIM! KILL HIM NOW!!" They brought Doleinsha towards me and forced him to his knees. Then I would be the same as my brother. A person must have a code to live by, and I refuse to kill anyone's parent knowingly. The crowd fell silent. "Everyone you will kill is either a parent or has the potential to be a parent. There is no escaping it." I gripped the hilt of my sword. That doesn't change anything. The air around me became frigid, my breathe came out looking like smoke from a volcano. "It changes everything. DO IT NOW, YOU WHIMPERING CHILD!!" I let go of my sword's hilt and grabbed Doleinsha by the throat. I will be the same as my brother. I lifted him onto his feet and let go of his neck. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! Don't you hate him?!" The crowd gasped and Saongre opened his mouth to speak. No, I don't hate him. There is nothing to hate. Doleinsha's face quickly expressed fear. He instinctively knew what was going to happen. He is nothing. A red crystal of ice quickly burst through the center of his chest. "Good, good. How do you feel?" More crystals burst free from under his skin tearing him apart. I feel nothing. Is this how my brother felt. Rhoskeil, did you feel nothing towards our parents? More crystals formed, tearing the already shredded Doleinsha in to pile of minced flesh and shattered bone. "Maybe he did. Maybe he did not. Eitherway, he killed people close to you. He deserves death."
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