Enchanted - Wizards and Wanderers

Chapter 1

"Friends! Comrades in arms, noble inhabitants of Gelider ! War is upon us! Our land will be conquered by those from across our noble sea if we do not stand up and fight with our own hands!"
Xen Essel had heard those lines before, parrot-repeated by those men in their uniforms every other day for at least two hours at a time. He knew them so by heart by now - he could go and be a war harbinger himself - the only difference being that he hated the people of Gelider almost as much as he hated the war that had been talked about at least two decades before.

"'Crap." He muttered quietly, casting his sharp orange eyes in the distinct but ridiculous man's direction. He shouted with what appeared to be a paper megaphone, carrying his voice down the street and into the small houses on the opposite side from where he stood.
"Doesn't that guy have anything else to do? Strategizing, even?"
He hated the military.
At least Gelider's military, corrupt as a few . Those men could sell out their dignity for a title of prominence. Joining the military if you didn't belong to a famous or wealthy family was tricky, as a matter of fact many of the young men had turned to professions such as the minstrel, the manservant in other people's homes. Life only smiled on you from the gold of a coin, at least in Gelider....
With no money, no title, you matter less than old gizmos sellers are willing to pass on to you at tremendously high prices.
" Join up! The Army needs capable and strong men in defense of our city! Our land!"
Some workers had come out of the stores to see who was shouting, A woman chatting with her neighbor from the balcony looked on in amazement-the neighbor merely rolled her eyes and resumed hanging laundry on a special drying rack, muttering insults in some local dialect.
"Did you hear that? War."
"Don't let them fool you. They're after easy cash surely, and they seek it from juniors paying hefty sums of money to join up."
The two of them were not wrong.
No one knew why, no one knew how or where. But twenty years earlier mandatory military service for young men aged twenty and over had been legislated in Edisa from one moment to the next, and the young men had been ordered to leave to go to the battlefront the morning after the communiqué, as things had already deteriorated to their detriment.
The death toll had been devastating.
40,000 80,000 men, with 200 returning, not even free of wounds; some walked jumping on one leg, some had bandages on one of their eyes, some without fingers, hands.
Grown-ups had refused to send more young men to war in the following years, accusing Gelider's army of being sloppy, unorganized, cruel and ill-qualified for battle.
The Army had therefore granted a try-out period to those who were eligible to enlist in the army.
The young woman next to Xen ran a hand over her ear with a jaded look, pulling her light and dark brown hair into a ruffled ponytail. "Why didn't he put a notice on the board to say they were looking for someone to enlist?"
"They ain't drafting." grumbled Xen, sharpening a knife, the kind he used to work hard materials.
It was clear; some walked away sending the man undignified insults, others sending flames and fire at him through their eyes. Some ten-year-old children were playing with their fake swords, chasing and knocking each other down, and the man turned in their direction.
"'Train your young men to become noble swordsmen who fight for their land! Citizens, join the strong and valiant army of our Gelider!"
The crowd roared disapprovingly and approvingly together. Those of disapproval shouted shouted those of those who disagreed, even with small quarrels if necessary. This was not new.
"We want war!"
"Cowards!"
"They won't even give us more weapons!"
"Long live Edisa!"
"Fuck this fucking town!"
A fist flew across a cheek, sending one young man falling on another man, who also fell. And from there the ruckus,of course.
All before the eyes of the soldier, who looked confused.
"A soldier who can't settle a fight," the woman murmured somberly. "We're on a roll. At this rate, they'll just be shooting up the mob."
Xen sharpened his blade with a new angry vigor. " So what?" He spat harshly, his eyes half-closed.
" So, innocent people might get hurt." She replied just as harshly, lightly crossing her cheek with her fingernail.
He stared at her impassively, his eyes half-closed and his head tilted. " Are they really that innocent when they're standing here not minding themselves as they should?"
" You can't blame those folks for wishing for all this to change." she murmured in a low, serious tone. " Even if it means going off to war."
Xen sharpened his blade harshly. "Whatever. Their business to handle."
In the run-up to what appeared to be the final war years after the first battle, armies of Generals had traveled to Edisa and requested an audience with the governor.