In The Welfare Of War 💔{ON HOLD}💔

3. Strategies

Chapter 3: Strategies (3,8K)

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

General Jace Wayland, protégé of King Valentine.

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Jace was having the best nap he'd had in weeks, when he was shaken awake. Instincts persuaded him to grab the small dagger he always kept on his person, swift as lightning and hold it against Lieutenant Lightwood's throat. For a moment he sat, suddenly alert, his blade pressed against the stiff Lieutenant bobbing Adam's apple, breathing heavily. Then, realizing who it was, he relaxed and fell back onto the pillow. Tiredly, he rubbed his knuckles over his face to erase any traces of sleep and got up.

"How long did you give me?"

"A couple of hours. I can't let you sleep more. All the men are ready to leave and waiting for your orders."

Jace shook his head, removing the crick in his neck and said:

"I'll sleep more tonight. Just give me ten minutes to freshen up. Meanwhile gather the Adjuvants in my tent, as well as Bane."

Without checking if his Lieutenant had understood his order, Jace left his tent and went straight to the stream to splash his face with cold water. For a couple of minutes, he squatted, listening to the cool, gushing water trying to figure out his next move. His capture hadn't just slowed down his mission, but had offered him a whole new perspective.

As he walked back through the camp, he noticed the small amounts of cooked food, which surprised him since there was wood not even a couple of miles away. Jace also noticed the sullen mood of his soldiers, and gathered that his month of captivity had been hard on them as well. The lack of action and purpose had taken its toll on them.

When he entered his tent, five men abruptly stopped their conversation, and turned to him. Jace noted the yellowed map lying on his barely-occupied bed..

There was Bane and Lightwood standing one next to the other, Bane looking preoccupied, staring into space. Jace's three adjuvants were standing in front of the politician and their Lieutenant. Jordan Kyle, Simon Lewis and Mark Blackthorn.

Jordan Kyle was the first man that Jace had taken under his command. He was the same age as Jace, but was taller and far more impressive on a physical level. Kyle was a brute on the battle field. He was not far from the 7 feet of height and the 220 pounds of mass. But his physical advantages were not what made Jace choose such a man to be under his command, it was Kyle's devotion to his troops on the battlefield. Kyle liked to be on the field, so much that he almost refused the rank Jace gave him. He liked battling his enemy, as much as saving his brothers in arms. He was a brute on the battlefield, but Jace knew for a fact that he was a sweetheart otherwise. The apple of his eye, Maia was proof enough of that.

Simon Lewis had been chosen for his unflinching honesty. Lewis was a man who liked to understand, and he never hesitated in asking questions to Jace concerning a mission he did not understand. Jace liked the fact that one of his soldiers (adjuvant in this case) never took his word for blindly and made sure to agree with what he was about to fight for. Unfortunately, both Jace and Lewis knew that he would never be more than an adjuvant. His vision was declining, and though Jace was the only one aware of this, they both knew that this shortcoming would always stop him from being at the head of an army. Jace kept the secret, and did all he could to prevent the humiliation of being retrograde, but there was only so much time before it got out.

Mark Blackthorn was another story. He had to fight his way into the army, and even more into Jace's. Neither Jace nor the General Graymark wanted Blackthorn in the army. Blackthorn was the sole heir of an eminent family that was specialized in spies. He had been raised as such, to take on the legacy. Jace had to admit that having someone trained the way Blackthorn had been was a considerable advantage. He knew about things that most people didn't and always looked at things in a whole different approach. But they all knew that when the time would be needed, Blackthorn would have to take on his legacy.