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REBIRTH OF A WARRIOR Chapter 52
Seven long weary days later found us near enough to the sea that we could smell the salt in the air and even hear the crashing of the waves against the rocks of the beach. Stiffly, I got down from Flin. It was well after nightfall. Zarsha was asleep and I lifted her down, careful not to wake her. I pulled the blanket roll off Flin and spread it on the ground near where I was going to make a fire. I laid Zarsha down onto the blanket and covered her up with it. I looked at her for a long moment as she slept peacefully. I was so grateful to have her in my life.“Why did you take on the responsibility of that little girl?”I turned towards Krista, who still stood by her horse. “I don’t know. I just did and I don’t regret it for even a moment. She’s added so much to my life already that it’s hard to remember what it was like without her just a few weeks ago. ”Krista was silent for a moment. “You’re a rare man Jasper . You don’t mind me calling you that, do you? You don’t think it’s forwa
REBIRTH OF A WARRIOR Chapter 53
“Where’s Krista?” I asked.From her blank expression I could tell she knew nothing. I walked over to where Krista had slept, hoping to find some trace of her disappearance. Her blankets were gone too, but there was a piece of white paper weighted under a rock lying on the ground where she had lain.I sheathed my sword and with a sinking feeling I reached down and picked the paper up and read it. “Dear Jasper , I hope you understand why I have left. You, of all people, must know what the desire for freedom is like. And as you fought to claim yours, so must I. I want you to know that I harbor no ill will against you. I know that as a slave I could have wished for no better a master than you. Sebastian was wise to give me to you and I know I have disappointed both of you by my actions, but I must pursue my dream of being free, whatever the risk may be. I feel that I will die inside if I give up on my dream now. I wish to thank you, Sebastian and the dear woman who raised me for several y
REBIRTH OF A WARRIOR Chapter 54
“Yes, this is true. But if our long time allies perish, then who do you think will be next to fall? It is better that we stay together and if need be, die together. I can assure you that I will continue to preach just that to my superiors until they have no cause but to see it my way as many of us already do!” Captain Jansa finished passionately.I offered my hand to the young captain, “I wish you luck in your endeavor as we could certainly use the help, but there is no shame if you don’t come.”Captain Jansa left me and returned to the bridge to directly oversee the pulling of the ship close to the shore line in the darkness. When we were far closer to the shoreline than I would have thought safe, Captain Jansa gave the orders to cut the sails and come about.A long, hastily constructed wooden ramp was hauled out over the side and secured with rigging. Zarsha and I mounted Flin and, with the click of his hooves sounding loud and hollow in the night air, I directed him down the swayin
REBIRTH OF A WARRIOR Chapter 55
I looked back at him steadily, “Oh, and what would that be councilman?”Turning to General Santaran, Councilman Oswald asked, “How many men can we field General?”The General looked morosely at the table for a moment and then said, “We’ll be lucky to find a hundred and twenty thousand experienced troops and perhaps another fifty thousand boys and older men that are capable of holding a sword and mounting a fight. I would say that would be an accurate assessment of the force that we can hope to raise.”Oswald continued on, practically not waiting for the General to finish talking, “This is what I think would be our best strategy. We defend Kingdom Pass temporarily with just forty thousand of our most battle ready troops and we send the remaining eighty thousand warriors or so to wait for the Attorgrons and cut them down in the passes. After they cut the traitors down in the passes they can return to Kingdom Pass and ensure its continued security against the siege of the Zoarinians. Our
REBIRTH OF A WARRIOR Chapter 56
It’s easy to dream up a battle plan, but knowing what the cost in lives could be….. would be, well it was the worst self awareness moment that I had ever encountered.The cold, calculated precision of the plan bore evidence of the hardness of my own soul. My plan could be my people’s saving grace in their gravest hour of need, but did that justify its methods?*****One Month and three days laterIt was raining softly. The pitter-patter of the rain drops splintering off the armor of the men standing silently in rank behind and around me made its own pleasant music as we waited. Then, like the obtrusive sound of a crow shattering the melody of a songbird in full trill, came the sounds of heavy drums from further down the pass.The drums announced the menacing presence of the enemy close at hand. The drums grew louder and louder until they reached a fever pitch of intensity. It was a performance of sound meant to instill fear in the hearts of my warriors. I saw the enemy for the first t
REBIRTH OF A WARRIOR Chapter 57
I narrowly side stepped a sudden sword swipe at my ankles from beneath my shield even as the warrior beside me was pulled out into the mob. We wouldn’t hold up to much more of this kind of pressure. I had no idea if the other formations had even reached position yet, but I hoped they had because I had caught a glimpse of the white paint on the ground just up ahead of us.The command to fire would be given when our formation reached its target goal, regardless of whether or not the other groups had reached theirs yet.“Twenty more feet men! Twenty more feet and we have it!” I screamed out in encouragement as I struggled to hold onto my shield and maintain a forward circular motion.There was the huff of renewed struggle as warriors all around me also saw the white arcing lines of paint on the bloodstained ground. It seemed like an hour went by, instead of probably just the few minutes it took us to center overtop the scuffed white paint circle on the ground. We slammed our shields down
REBIRTH OF A WARRIOR Chapter 58
None could stand before the intensity of their onrushing force. The troops before them broke and fled down the pass in a vain effort to escape the crushing hooves and brutal ax strikes that followed close behind. Seeing the army flee from before the heavy cavalry, and with it their only chance of a managed retreat, the morale of the men within the diamond formation of our forces broke as well and they turned to run.We charged after them, cutting them down mercilessly the length of the pass, that had turned into a gory landscape that reflected the true horrors of war. Near the bend of the pass, the cavalry gave up their pursuit of the enemy and circled back toward the wall. They cut down those they had missed on the first charge and then smashed into the larger body of fleeing soldiers that my warriors were busy slicing down from behind.It was full on blood bath melee as the retreating soldiers’ escape was cut off by the milling heavy cavalry in their way. They had no choice but to f
REBIRTH OF A WARRIOR Chapter 59
“Brothers and sisters, hear me please. You have not only pledged your swords and arrows to me, but now I see that you have pledged your hearts also. I am unworthy of the honor you bestow upon me. I am but a man as you are with the same weaknesses that you struggle with, the same problems. But I am also a man that has faith! I believe in the Valley Lander way of life. The right to serve our Creator as we please! The right to protect our families and our lands from those who would take them from us! The right to live free and accountable to no man, other than those we appoint over us and the sovereignty of our Creator, who reigns over all creation! The enemy beyond those walls wants to take all of that away from us! As I have been elected as your leader in war, I swear that as breath and the strength remains within me to lift my sword, I will fight to preserve all that we hold sacred. I will fight to preserve our freedom and not only ours, but our children’s children as well. This is my