The King with Six Friends

The Battle of Brendon Loche

Kindle and Eryx stood in an array with the hundreds of other soldiers. They were on the slope of a hill that looked down into a shallow valley. It was a chilly morning, and the sun came through small patches of blue sky. In the distance, a lake glimmered in the sunlight.

"You warm enough?" Kindle asked out of the corner of his mouth.

"Sure," Eryx shivered from behind a scarf, coat, wrap, and upturned collar. He wore so many layers only his green eyes were visible under the shade of his helmet. He shifted his halberd to the crook of his elbow to rub his frigid hands together. Kindle bumped his side with his shoulder and chuckled.

"Atten-tion!" barked the sergeant. The entire division straightened stiff in unison.

Zar, on an armored horse, trudged to the crest of the hill. The wind whistled through the grass as the soldiers silently watched the king.

After a minute of scanning through the ranks, Zar spoke:

"Not many of you trust me or even want to see my face here. Some of you think I am a coward- an imposter to the throne," Zar projected his voice out to the crowd. "At the moment, I could care less what you think about me-"

Some of the soldiers bristled and whispered among each other.

"Because you're not fighting for me, and I don't want you to fight for me. I want you to fight for what's waiting back in your homes. You're fighting for your homes, your children, your siblings, your parents. You're risking your lives for love and freedom and future. The fate of your bloodlines rests on your shoulders." The men quieted.

"But let it be known that no one here will leave without knowing loss," Zar continued. "Not one face will be dry, not one heart will be untouched. I speak from experience that every single life lost is a hard blow to one's character. It weathers the mind like a waterfall crushes a stone. Prepare yourselves for the person standing next to you to disappear without warning. The South Kingdom hasn't seen war in many years, so the sting of death will be fresh to most of you.

"Just on the other side of those hills-" He gestured to the mountains across the valley- "Are three armies which will bring ruin to the South Kingdom. The Western Empire will take your livelihoods. Agrafistan will divide your land. Snowvidia will enslave you and your children. They fight for greed, but we fight with the drive of our pride and spirit. I say how dare they even try to challenge our strength!"

A small, but collective battle cry ran through the soldiers. "How dare they threaten our borders without provocation!"

A louder shout went around. "If they think we will cower like dogs at the first sign of danger, they've critically underestimated our strength. They have their hands in the viper's den, and it will be their ultimate downfall!"

This time, almost all of the soldiers raised their weapons and shouted with unity.

Zar drew his sword from his saddle's scabbard and swathed it over the ranks. "When your enemies see you, they will know that the South Kingdom is a force to be reckoned with and that we will not surrender! They will know and come to bear the heat of our fury and the sting of our blades! This will be a war that this land and the lands around have never before and never will again witness in history-" Zar took a moment to breathe- "Now, let us begin. Onward to war!"

A roar of primitive, guttural cries erupted from the hundreds of legions. Spears rapped against shields while horses reared and stamped. The energy that ran through the soldiers was infectious. Officers barked orders over the ruckus to march forward.

"That gave me chills," said Kindle. "I didn't know Zar could make speeches like that."

"I don't think he did either," Eryx replied.