Life on the farm was going as it normally would. The men hard at work in the fields, the women and children tending to the animals, and the head master taking inventory on the current crop growth.

The headmaster walked down the old gravel road through the farm with a piece of paper in his hand and a quill in his pocket. Today was the day he needed to report to the grand treasurer about his current harvest.

He strode through the farm sight looking down at his paper, numbers buzzing through his head. "You there! Good sir!" He called out to one of the farmer men. The man looked around to see if he was calling for someone else. But seeing no one else nearby he approached the head master.

"Yes my lord?" The man said nervous.

"Tell me how's the grain harvest coming along. Have we met the quota?" The headmaster asked.

"Oh most definitely sir." The farmer said gripping his overalls. "Infact, at the rate we're going we will have enough rations to cover the next winter too."

"Very good, and the corn harvest?"

"Not as well as the grain harvest but we're doing enough to meet the quota." The farmer replied. "And as for the oats and rye we have more than enough to fill the city coffers my lord."

"You don't say?" The headmaster said in disbelief. He pulled out his quill and jotted down some light notes on his paper. He ran some more numbers through his head as he scribbled more notes.

"Well praise the Lord. This has gotta be one of the best harvests yet." He said eyes widened.

"You really think so?" The farmer asked.

"Absolutely. This may very well be the harvest of the decade." The headmaster said optimistic. "And remind me when the year is done to give everyone here a raise." He said turning around.

"Oh, thank you sir!" The farmer said. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Nobody had been given a raise in ten years. This must be a bountiful harvest.

As the farmer returned to work the headmaster looked out to the fields and took a deep breath of fresh air. "Yessir this is gonna be a good one." He thought.

"Fire! Fire!"

The headmaster turned around to address the sudden cry.

"Fire in the field! The grain is on fire! The oats are on fire!" Said a young man as he ran down the dirt road in a panic.

Everyone was alarmed at the terrible news especially the headmaster who looked on down the road where the boy was coming from with a terrorized expression. The other farmers began to scramble to the well to fight the fire. But the headmaster had something else on his mind.

From our in the distance he could see several men whom he did not recognize come running out of the woodline by the end of the road. They were chasing after the boy. Some held torches while others had swords and axes. They fanned out in all directions into the living quarters and the fields. They lit the crops ablaze with fire and struck down anyone that stood in their way.

The headmaster was horrified at the sudden event. Never before had the farms of Parpanuan been raided. But now here they were, burning and killing like there was no tomorrow.

Seeing the marauders coming his way the headmaster retreated into one of the nearby huts to hide. He rushed inside and shut the door. He knew it wasn't strong enough to stop someone from breaking in. But he figured if he remained quiet the raiders might pass him by.

He sat there in front of the door listening as the raiders killed off the people one by one. He listened as the fire out in the fields crackled and spread across the rest of the farm. He listened as the raiders neared the hut he was hiding in.

Suddenly a large steel spearhead pierced through the door just an inch away from his face. He gasped in response to the sudden attack and knew he had given himself away. He backed away from the straw door and watched as one of the bandits kicked the door down.

Aed with an ax and a buckler shield the bandit marched into the room and made his way to the headmaster. He grabbed him by the collar of his tunic and pulled him off the ground.

He stared at the headmaster with fire in his eyes and could see the fear in his. The bandit then looked outside and then back at the headmaster. "Come now." He said pulling the headmaster Infront of him. "Move it."

The headmaster held his hands behind his head and did as the bandit told him. He looked around what was left of the farm in horror. The living quarters were destroyed, his workers and their families let dead all across the property, the fields were still burning, and as he left the house another bandit threw a torch inside setting it ablaze.

Along the road the bandits had round up the survivors and had them on their knees before Thier mercy. There were easily two dozen armed marauders keeping the people in place with who knows how many more looting the rest of the property.

The headmaster felt helpless and weak as his escort brought him to the other survivors and had him kneel down with them.

"What is the meaning of all this?" He asked crying at the destruction caused. "Why are you doing this to us?"

Not long after he asked an armed man on a horse strode Infront of them. The leader of this band of marauders. "I suppose we can tell you. It's not like you will live to remember it anyways." The man said dismounting his horse.

"Is it not obvious why we attacked you?" The leader asked rhetorically. "Who would want to attack the republic if not as an act of war?"

"But why? Why would you want war with the republic?" The headmaster asked through his tears.

The leader knelt down and faced the headmaster at his level. To take back what's rightfully ours." He said in a menacing manner. "For far too long your republic has controlled my people under the noses of our leaders. Controlling our kings and queens like puppets. And for what? To restore a long dead legacy of Yaman imperialism? No longer. We will get our people back. And it all starts right here, right now." He said drawing a sword

Suddenly one of the guards started yelling. "Hey! Come back here kid!" He screamed. A young boy had managed to escape the warband and fled into the burning field.

"Forget about him." Said another raider. "The boy will never survive the fire. He just killed himself. Now come on we got a job to do." At that moment the guard flashed his sword and decapitated a young woman.

Before long the screams of the people could be heard from a mile away as each and everyone of them were executed.

That was only six hours ago. Just a few miles away the grand city of Parpanuan stood like a mountain all alone in the hilly landscape. The boy had survived the fire and made it to the city where he was comforted and nursed for his presentation.

The attack on the farm would be the first time in a long time that the republic was attacked. And as the only known survivor the boy had to inform the grand council of this threat as soon as possible.

He sat on a stone bench in the council room with a blanket around his shoulders. He was waiting for the meaning to start. All they needed was for the rest of the council to arrive.

The high chancellor Absalom sat at the head of the meeting table with the other advisors and secretaries and administrators each seated along the side of the table.

"Let us begin the role call." Absalom said raising himself from the seat. "Secretary of state Timothy?"

"Here"

"Secretary of foreign affairs Fletcher?

"Present my lord."

"Secretary of defence Reginald?"

"Here my lord."

"Secretary of the Treasury Robert?"

"Aye lad!"

"Lord of the land sir Abraham the second?"

"Present chancellor"

"Master of espionage Nigel?"

"At your service my liege."

"Lady of the Commonwealth lady Katherine?

"Present my lord."

"Cardinal Ferdinand?"

"Present."

"And inquisitor Raphael?"

"I'm here! I'm here! He said reaching the council entrance just in time. "Sorry I'm late, there was a lot of foot traffic in the middle levels." He said making his way across the marble floor of the council room.

"Not a problem Raphael, please take a seat." Absalom said reaching his arm out to the empty seat.

"Now that we're all here, we have some important news to discuss. He said looking at the boy with the blanket. The rest of the council stared at the unusual sight of a commoner in the high council room.

"This young man has survived a what we believe to be a deliberate attack on our realm. Is this true?" He asked gesturing the boy to come up to the table. "Come now no need to be shy, we won't bite." He said in a gentle tone.

"Y-yes mister high chancellor sir." The boy said still a bit shaken up. "These men came out of nowhere and attacked my family's farm just today." He said sheepish.

"And which farm was this lad?" Robert asked leaning into the table. The boy was a bit intimidated by Roberts masculine beard short stature and his black eye patch but knew he meant no harm.

"The-the one to the west. The south west. The one by the forrest."

"And you were the only survivor?" Reginald asked wearing his full armor.

"Yes." The boy said tearing up. "They killed everyone."

"It's okay," said the nurse that was tending to him. "It's okay you did the right thing telling someone."

"Young man, can you tell us about these men that attacked the farm? Did they carry a banner or wore anything that might stand out?" Absalom asked softly as to not upset the boy any further.

"No. No they just had helmets." The boy said still crying.

"Shhhh, it's okay. Let's take you back to the doctor okay?" The nurse said escorting him out of the room.

"That's it? You called us up here to hear some kids sob story?" Timothy asked seeing the kid was gone. "Don't we have more pressing matters to tent to?"

With all due respect mister statesman, this would be the first time in a century our people have been deliberately attacked." Fletcher remarked. It matters not who the news comes from, but if it is true is what counts."

"Besides it's not like we have anything better to do." Katherine said.

"I agree. I for one could use a little excitement." Abraham added.

"Indeed it has been a while since anyone has tested our metal." Absalom said stroking his long grey beard. "But whom? That is the question."

"A better question is when exactly did this happen." Reginald said resting his hands on the table.

"What does the time of the attack have to do with anything?" Abraham asked.

"Cause the daily border patrol comes around the area at the eleventh hour." Reginald explained. "If the attack happened before then we might get an idea who is responsible when the patrol returns."

"Brilliant thinking Reginald. But what to do untill then?" Absalom asked.

His question would be answered sooner than expected as a lone man stepped into the council room throwing the doors open. The men were shocked at the state the man was in. He was clearly a member of the border patrol as he wore the signature uniform. But he was tattered and bloodied as if he had just returned from a fierce battle.

"War had come upon us!" The guard yelled throwing the doors open. "The western realms have forsaken us." Then as suddenly as he arrived the man collapsed in exhaustion and blood loss.

The council men looked at one another with worry in their eyes. "The men of the west? But they were one of our closest allies." Fletcher remarked.

"Bah so what if they are westerners? Let them come!" Robert said with his thick Scottish accent. "If they're hittin our farms, then that means they plan to starve us out."

"Robert has a point. The nations of the west are small and divided." Reginald said. "If they plan to lay siege then they must not have the numbers to offer a full scale assault."

"Perhaps not one on one." Nigel remarked with a conniving tone. "But keep in mind the men of the west are birds of a feather. Where one goes others will follow. We may be looking at something bigger than just a few bandit attacks."

"So you say there may be more than just one nation out to get us? And how many would you say?" Absalom asked.

"Well the western realms that are not under the influence of the holy order number about eleven different kingdoms. Though that's not including the dozens of city states." Fletcher said. "And if my spies are correct we could be looking at a coalition of tens of thousands possibly hundreds of thousands of men collectively."

"But that is if ALL the western powers are out for us." Nigel remarked. "There may still be some that wish not to challenge us yet."

"So in short, we know who they are, but not how many of them there are?" Katherine asked.

"Not yet anyways. I will message my spies at the earliest convenience. If there is a coalition against us we will know in a matter of weeks." Nigel said.

"We might not have weeks Katherine explained. "We have a lot of mouthed to feed and if they're gonna keep hitting our food supplies we might not last that long."

"Then we need to stall them." Abraham said slamming his fist on the table.

"What do you mean stall them?" Reginald asked.

"We need some time for our spies to get the information we need, and as long as we have no food we won't get the time. So we must defend the remaining farms untill then. Take the fight to them."

"I think I understand where you're going with this lad. You say we garrison some men at the surrounding farms and slow down their plans to starve us out. Giving Nigel and his men more time to do Thier work." Robert clarified.

"And slay our fellow Christian brothers?" Ferdinand said.

"Oh get over yourself Ferdie." Robert barked.

"Yeah man, it's normal for wars to break out over factions of the same religion. This is no different." Reginald explained.

"But we are a people of reason are we not? Ferdinand asked rhetorically. "And are we not made in the image of god? Are we not to spread love not hate among our neighbors?"

"He makes a good point." Absalom said. Our forefather Aam the great was a warrior king, and look where it got him. Surrounded by enemies, and befell by said foes. And what of the great Yaman Empire? Through military expansion they laid Thier legacy. And it was military expansion that caused thier downfall. We are a nation of the people. A nation of prosperity. We moved on from the ways of barbarism and senseless violence and it would be our best interest to continue this legacy."

Everyone sat there in silence for a moment pondering what the supreme chancellor just said. "So what are you saying?" Timothy asked.

"I'm saying we should try to commune with the western powers first and try to repair our relations with them."

"And if that doesn't work?" Reginald asked.

"Then we have done our part." Absalom replied folding his arms behind his back. "If the enemy wishes for peace, we will talk peace. If he wishes for war, we have nothing left to say. For no man can reason with a man who's mind is on a path of violence."

"As great of a motive that is, we don't know where the leader of this expedition force is. How are we gonna talk peace if we don't know where to find him?" Raphael asked adjusting his goggles.

"He's right. It would be fruitless to speak to mere grunts with no authority over their fellow infidels." Nigel explained. "And it will take even more time to find the man let alone get messengers out to him."

"Then we will just have to shotgun it." Raphael said.

"What's a shotgun?" Ferdinand asked.

"I have no idea." Raphael replied looking down at his feet. "But I was thinking that if we don't know where the leader will show up, or if at all, then maybe we will have to send multiple messengers and hope to catch him at Thier next target. Or someone who knows where he is."

"Hmm, that's not a bad idea." Reginald said rubbing his double chin. "I can have some of my fastest riders stationed a long the border region and wait for the enemy to come to US for negotiations."

"But will it work?" Ferdinand asked.

"No problem. We have eleven other major farms along the border region for them to go." Reginald explained. "I can have eleven teams of ten ride out by the evening. Just enough men to get the message across and put up a good fight if all does goes down."

"So it's settled. We will have a hundred and ten men ride out for the border region this evening and try to get things sorted out with our western brothers." Absalom said. "Any objections?"

The rest of the council just sat there looking at each other expecting someone to object the the idea.

"It's unanimous? And on our first try too? Now that's something you don't see everyday." Timothy remarked.

"Very well then. Meeting adjourned. You are all dismissed."

"Right. I better get those men on Thier horses right away." Reginald bellowed.

As the remaining council members departed Timothy stayed behind.

"Mister Absalom, don't you think we should tell the people about the sudden threat?" He asked earnestly. "They deserve to know what's going on to Thier families outside the city walls."

"I don't know Tim." Absalom said softly. "I feel like if we tell the people too soon they might cause a panic. And that's something nobody here wants to deal with. Especially when the enemy is closing in."

"But if we don't tell them then they will feel betrayed when they eventually DO find out what's going on. We can't hide a war forever." Timothy explained. "And besides, over a hundred riders isn't exactly very discreet."

"Your right. Meet me at the bell tower. We're gonna tell the people everything we know." Absalom said with confidence.

Meanwhile Reginald made his way down to the third barracks and got his rider team assembled. He looked at his army as his men sat on thier horses in shining armor sword and speer at the ready. He pulled out his instructors whip and stood in front of the small army.

"At ease men!" Reginald called out. The men then lowered thier weapons and sheathed thier swords.

"Now listen up. We're looking for a more peaceful solution to this sudden threat. But that does not mean that we let our guard down. Not for one second." He bellowed.

"Now I heard we got some new faces here today. Some new conscripts from the middle levels. Consider this your training newbies!" He shouted cracking his whip making several new guys jump in their armor.

"Now this is not an official attack on an eny army, this is a diplomatic ploy to try and reason with our foes. That said you are not to draw your weapons unless drawn upon yourself. Remember, we are a union first, warriors second."

"Mister Reginald sir, permission to speak my mind sir!" Said an older warrior.

"Permission granted."

"Sir why is the chancellor sending soldiers to do a diplomats job?" The soldier asked. "We were trained to kill not make bargains."

"Because the enemy has already showed signs of aggression towards us." Reginald replied. "They have attacked our farms along the borderlands. We need men who can speak peace and roll some heads on the front line. The chancellor wants to resolve this peacefully but wants to be prepared for violence as well."

"Then why are we having new recruits joining us?" Another soldier asked.

"Permission was not granted!" Reginald snapped cracking his whip again.

"But if you must know, the enemy has a lot of ground to cover so their lines will be thin. This will be the perfect opportunity for our young ones to get some practical experience."

"Now I have divided you all up into eleven teams." Reginald said opening a scroll.

"On team one we have bret, Jerald, Gregory..."

As the general listed names Abraham stood around the corner watching him. He wanted to ask for permission to join his campaign sooner but he couldn't muster up the courage to do so.

Suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him around the corner. He was startled at first and nearly gave away his location with a panicked cry. But a hand was placed over his mouth just in time.

"I thought you would be here darling." Katherine said holding him in place. She them removed her hand from his face allowing him to speak.

"Katherine, what are you doing here?" Abraham whispered. "Don't you know what these men do to women who walk into the barracks?" He asked concerned.

"They wouldn't dare touch the lady of the Commonwealth." She said with confidence. "But what are you doing here love? Your not trying to get in the army again are you?"

"I can't help it Katherine, it's in my blood." Abraham explained. "My father was a warrior, and his father was a warrior, and his father before him. If I don't carry on the family legacy who will?"

"Abraham, violence isn't always the answer." She explained. "Just look at what you've done as the lord of the land. All the new quarries you designed, the new houses you helped raise. Any man can swing a sword, it takes a stronger man to keep it sheathed."

"Perhaps. But I still can't shake the feeling that I belong out there on the battlefield." Abraham said leading his young wife out of the barracks. "Ever sense the dawn of time it has been men's role to fight. If I can't fight then what kind of man am I?"

"You're a better man for keeping your fists down my love." Katherine said softly as she grabbed his hands. "There have been many great conquerors in history. But there has not been another man who has done as much for our city as you have. And at such a young age nonetheless. Your father would be proud of the man you have become."

Abraham fell silent for a moment. He knew she was right. But deep down from the bottom of his heart he knew he was meant to be a warrior. No matter what anyone said.

"Come now, we have some, work to do." She said in a flirtatious matter. "If I'm not mistaken, we still need an hier for our estates." Abraham began to blush as she continued verbally playing with him.

"You naughty little urchin you." He said leaning in for a kiss. But before she could return the gesture the sound of a bell rang in both their ears. The two looked out into the city and knew very well what was going on. They then looked back at each other both thinking the same thing as the other.

With little haste they made thier way to the chancellors tower. There at the very top Timothy could be seen pulling a lever back and forth as the massive bell above his head rang out throughout all the city.

The people came in from all over the city to stand outside the tower. For the ringing of the bell indicated important news from the supreme chancellor himself.

Reginald and his knights were just about to leave the barracks when the bell rang out. And as was the custom the men rode Thier horses to the tower with weapons and armor still intact. They would make thier departure after the chancellors news.

Then from a balcony at the top of the tower the chancellor rose up looking down on the people. He gripped the mounted horn that stood sturdy at the edge of the balcony and leaned his head into it as he prepared his speech.

"People of Parpanuan." He said. The horn made his voice echo throughout the entire city as if he were at the peak of a mountain.

"I regret to inform you that despite our best efforts to preserve peace in our lands, there are those that still wish harm upon us. And I regret to inform you that said people have made thier move. For this morning one of our outlaying farms was brutally and ruthlessly attacked by the men of the west."

As he said this a buzz of chatter could be heard from the top of the tower as the people chattered among themselves about the terrible news.

"I am deeply saddened to see that our efforts to keep peace have been trampled underfoot by our allies in the west. Nevertheless, as supreme chancellor, it is my responsibility to ensure the safety of my people. Both inside and outside the city walls."

He then took a drink of water as the air was making his throat dry.

"Although I do not like the concept of conflict, I believe it is the only way to reason with these new threats. That said, we will be dispatching several rider parties to the remaining outposts along the borderlands to not only quell any further assaults on our people, but to hopefully negotiate terms of peace with our foes."

Reginald took this as his signal to move out. So having his men with him he led them to the gatehouse and opened the heavy iron gate for his mounted warriors. The sound of the gate creaking and the thunder of horse hooves leaving the city was drowned out by the sound of the people as they continued talking among themselves.

"We will receive word from our units in a matter of days to update the council on the situation. Untill then, please go about your day as if nothing happened. Everything is, and will be under control. Until next time."

Having finished his speech Absalom turned back to his friend Timothy who was standing underneath the bell the whole time. "You did the right thing Absalom." He said reassuring.

"I hope your right." Absalom replied making no eye contact. He passed by Timothy and made his way back to the keep across the massive stone bridge connecting the tower to the main citadel.