Arablest/ Prototype

The sunlight shone brightly through the window. The sun was already high in the sky; I had probably over slept. I sighed, and put my violin down onto the floor. I decided that I was never going to leave my violin, after hearing what Donovan said in my dream. If it was a dream. That would mean that Donovan could enter my dreams more freely. And that would mean I would never really get much of a break, because now even in my sleep I would have to do something. I sighed, and put on my clothes. Picking up my violin, I put it on my back, and reached for the key to open the door. I nearly walked right into Kal as I stepped out.

He had gotten himself a new outfit.

Instead of that tunic, he had a robe(Tunic? I have no idea what that’s called. Maybe I could say it’s a trench coat, only those didn’t exist yet. I think. Who knows) that was similar to Tomer’s, only it wasn’t torn and again was sleeveless. Under that he had a black shirt with long sleeves. He also had some sort of leather armor covering the upper left part of his chest; which was probably covering the heart.

“You look different.” That was the first thing that came out of my mouth.
“There you are! Did you just get up? You usually wake up before everyone else does!” he exclaimed.
“Really?” I asked, tired. Exhausted, even. “Whatever. I didn’t sleep much last night. And if I did, it certainly didn’t feel like it.”
“What was it that Iris said to you, anyways?”
“Can’t tell you.” I yawned. “What time is it?”
“It’s late in the morning. Come on, everyone else is waiting for you. And as for why I look different, I just felt I needed a change of clothes. It’s going to get a little colder, after all, and this leather armor will be useful.”

Kal led me outside the inn I was in, and everyone was already waiting for me. Iris was there, as well.

“I decided to go with you anyways, considering the fact that General Ira is with you.” She said with a smile. “If General Ira is with you, than you must be on a dangerous mission. Perfect for training.”
I sighed. “Whatever. What’s for breakfast?”
“You didn’t eat yet?” Tomer asked. “It’s already almost noon.”
“I just woke up.” I replied. “But no matter. Let’s go.”
“Where to next, Jeremy?” questioned Katrina.
“Raalte. But that means we’ll have to go to port.” I responded.
“In that case, we should go this way.” Kal said. “Follow me.”
“Jeremy? You lived in Raalte too?” Iris asked.
“No, I don’t.” I replied.
“So why are we going to Raalte? General Iris said we were taking you to your home.”
“Because, that was the last place I remember being. Someone put me there without me knowing, somehow, so I’m going back for clues. It’s going to be hard, though, because it’s been a long time since I’ve been there. Any clues left would probably be long gone by now.”
“I see…” she replied.
“Jeremy? When did you pick up your violin? I don’t remember seeing you take the violin from the wagon…?” asked Pierre.
“Don’t ask.” I replied. “It’s too complicated to explain.”

We all followed after Kal, Pierre driving the horses that pulled the wagon with our supplies.
I took my place sitting inside the wagon, seeing that I was still very tired. It felt like I didn’t get much sleep at all.
“Hey, Jeremy. You can eat this.”
The voice belonged to Tomer. He handed me a bowl of food from inside the wagon.
“Can’t have our employer, no matter how young, to go hungry, can we?” he said with a smile before I could say anything. “Don’t need to say anything, it’s part of the job.”
“Eh, I don’t remember paying for this.”
“You didn’t. Raymond did, and he didn’t pay for this, but hey. It doesn’t matter, you’re our escort.”
“Are you always this friendly to your escorts?” I asked. Shouldn’t there be risks of doing so?
“The risks don’t bother me. I have friends in my mercenary crew, so it’s fine, even if my employer decides to treat me like trash. Even then, most of the employers we work for don’t, because we are known to follow our morals more than money. I guess that’s why King Raymond trusts us more, seeing that he too is a trustworthy man.”
“So why not work for him?” I asked.
“Oh, no. Although I have my deepest respect for that man, I like the life of a mercenary better. And if something happens to Raymond, than I might end up serving under someone else, and leaving will have me branded as a traitor. That is not a desirable name among the common folk.”
“I see.” I replied after eating a bit.

Our trip led us through the mountains, through some sort of valley.

“Kal, are you sure this is the right way?”
“Yes. The last time we came here we could afford unicorn transports, remember? But we have a wagon with us, so we have to go by foot. I don’t want to leave the horses Raymond gave us behind.”

All I remembered was this area being mountainous, enough that they surrounded the capital city. But that was it.

“Halt!”
I jumped out of the wagon, hand on my rapier, seeing what was going on.
A small, armed force had stopped us.
“Who are you?” Kal asked. His hand was already on his sword, ready to draw.
“You! I remember you!” one of the armed men said, drawing a sword, staring right at me.
“Eh? Who are you?” I asked, taking a step back.
“So conceited, are you, to not remember?” he replied. “Then die.” Then I realized. His armor.

There was no insignia.

The army who had attacked us multiple time on my way to Thrycia.
The army who had possession of a dragon we had to defeat at a port here.

My eyes widened with realization as he charge at me, sword in hand. I instinctively took a step back, and managed to draw my rapier, but I thought it would be useless with my skills.

The soldier suddenly stopped as an arrow sprouted from his leg, causing him to stumble.

“Darn, I missed.” I looked up to find Katrina flying on her unicorn, nocking another arrow on her bow. If I could see her doing that…

“Katrina! Fly higher, or stay grounded! The enemy may have archers! Do not underestimate the enemy!” I shouted. I surprised myself again. I rarely spoke loudly at home, so why here? Was it because people’s lives were at stake? Or do I care for these people more than I care for others at home? And why was I already assuming my role as a tactician?

Katrina chose to fly higher, which worked, I guess, but a stray arrow from her might not be good.

I walked up to the wounded man, but still kept my distance. He was still alive and dangerous, after all.
“What are you soldiers doing, anyways?” I asked. “What is your reason—“
“Kill him!” the wounded man shouted, trying to get back up. He was on one leg, using his sword for support.

No time for thinking. I have to act now.

Kal had immediately cut the guy down as I composed myself.

“These guys again, eh? And you managed to recognize them before I did!” Kal said. “They may have taken the fight to us, but we’re not going down without a fight!”
“Or rather,” I responded. “We’re not going down at all! Pierre! Stay back in the wagon with me, and heal when needed!”
“Hey, hey, who made you the leader?” Tomer asked, smiling, before turning back to slash at another soldier. “Although, I do have to admit, you do seem to have a natural ability to lead.”
“W-What? N-no way!” I called back. I was never much of a leader at home. I hated being a leader. I was always better at listening and following orders than issuing them, at any rate. “Look, you don’t have to listen to me. Just, don’t go dying on me, you all hear?”
“Ha!” laughed Tomer. “Of course. It’s not like we want to die. Raymond said that Joseph and Garret believed you were a good tactician, and I’m inclined to see it for myself. So I’ll follow your orders just this once and we’ll see how you do!”

I looked around our surroundings. There were mountains on both sides, and we were on a narrow path. The enemy may have archers hidden on the mountains, but charging down those could be too steep. I’ll risk that.

We were on a narrow path, so the only way the enemy soldiers could rush in and hit us was on this path. In short, we may be surrounded, but they also didn’t choose the best of places to fight; the path was narrow, so they could only send a steady stream of soldiers on both sides, assuming they had soldiers on both sides (in front and behind us). The only real possible problem was if the enemy had set up boulders to roll down on us.

They did.

Fortunately again they made the mistake of placing them so high up that we could see them rolling down miles away.

“We can either avoid the boulders, or General Ira could try to do something, assuming she could.” I mused aloud.

“Tomer, I want you up front. Jacqueline and Garn, join him as well. Hit anyone that comes our way; we’re going to smash through. We shouldn’t stand here all day. Kal and Iris, hold any units at the back. General Ira, and that mage over there, cover us as much as you can with your magic as you see fit. Katrina is fine where she is, and Pierre, make sure to use that staff to heal whenever needed. I will watch from the wagon and will change the plan to adapt as necessary. Let’s go!”
Jacqueline, Garn, and Tomer were up together because I was sure that they’ve fought together before many times. They should be a good team.
My orders were already being followed as we moved along the trail, the occasional arrows from the mountains missing us pretty badly. Their archers were not very organized.

“It seems like they don’t have leadership… They’re not very organized.” I mused aloud.
“You think? This is too easy. Something’s probably wrong.” General Ira shot back as she set up a magical barrier around our group. Now we didn’t have to worry about the arrows, which was good. But General Ira was right. This battle was too easy. Even Katrina could fly near the mountains and pick off the archers by herself. It’s a good thing she hasn’t be shot down yet, but that was a risky thing to do.

I pointed Katrina’s recklessness out to General Ira, seeing my voice probably wouldn’t reach her.

“That is trouble some indeed. But I’m not Durand, so I can’t talk to her either. And Dameon here is still training in magic, so he shouldn’t be able to either.“

So that was the mage’s name...wait, he told me his name earlier. There's too many names to remember! Anyways, Dameon was simply throwing small blasts of magic into the fray at the right moment, just whenever it was needed.

“He’s got good timing.” I said.
“Yes, but not power. He does make it up with his timing, so he’ll be a great mage one day. And weren’t you supposed to be watching the battlefield, tactician?”
“I am.” I responded. “Although, it’s nice to be referred to as ‘tactician’ than ‘commander, because that makes more sense.”
“Ha. Joseph and Garrett have a habit of calling those of superior intellect Commander, unless the good King Raymond is around.”
As far as I knew, there hadn’t been much of a challenge. Any boulders that got close either exploded into tiny harmless pieces, stopped in their tracks, or redirected, thanks to General Ira, and any that missed rolled onto their own soldiers instead. That plan totally backfired. Tomer, Garn, and Jacqueline were doing good job clearing the way, although the dead bodies off to the side of the road with the blood draining into the ground was… disturbing.
“General Ira. Do you mind if you take over from here? I’m going inside to take a break. I’m going to guess that the only advantage the enemy has on us is numbers. They don’t even have leadership, because if they did they we wouldn’t be advancing this easily.”
“Go ahead. The battle is taking its toll on you, eh? I’m sorry that sometimes we’re having someone as young as you fight already… Go on in.”
“Thanks. You’re tactics are probably better than mine, anyways, and you’re more experienced, so I know I don’t have to worry.”
With that, I went into the wagon and tried to calm myself. That was when I realized I was still shaking.

“Jeremy, are you all right?”
Pierre was inside too, although he was also driving and calming the horses at the same time. He was still watching the battle, as he didn’t need to heal yet.
“Yeah, just tired.”
“Mentally, or physically?”
“Both, I guess.”
“You should take a break.”
“Thanks.”

Outside the wagon, the sounds of battle continued. The clash of steel(or some other metal, depending on the metal used for their weapons.), the shouts of anger, taunts, and… the screams and groans of the wounded.

It was horrible. I couldn’t escape it, even from inside the wagon, with my hands covering my ears, staring at the floor. I could still imagine seeing the blood pouring out of the enemies, staining the ground red…

I could imagine the hundreds of families that belonged to these soldiers, all in grief when they learned what happened…

The hatred they must feel for us…

I don’t want to think about.

I didn’t want to fight.

I didn’t want to kill.

I didn’t have a choice, but…

To kill or be killed… what’s worse is that I have to command it all.

Why?

Why must I command these battles?

Why must I watch people die for a seemingly pointless cause?

Why was I sent here?

Why?