STEEL AND FLESH

THE THREAT TO SOVEREIGNTY

The Elerian envoy were already waiting in the royal courtroom when the king entered. On sighting king Lauihnio they bowed their heads in reverence as the king walked to his throne and sat on it.

Notable noblemen of Bauthinia were present of which were Garthine Polion the chief commander of the king's army, Lord Wemblewin baron of Laoia, the capital of Bauthinia which was located south of Bauthinia, Lord Spleyfico baron of Serdis which was located at the North Western region of Bauthinia, Lord Barthine Loust baron of Prodloust which was located at the North Central region of Bauthinia, Lord Meht baron of Vegia which was located at the North Eastern region of Bauthinia, Paulio grand cytix priest of Bauthinia, Lord Cantrio special adviser to the king and prince Cannio of Bauthinia the king's junior brother.

All men present took their seats with prince Cannio, Garthine Polion, and Lord Barthine Loust fixing a Stern gaze at the five Envoys of Eleria.

"long live king Lauihnio, ruler and defender of the people of Bauthinia, surely I must confess, when I heard of the rich fertile lands, beautiful buildings and the never ending joyful smiles of the youth and aged that made up Bauthinia, I doubted that possibility." One of the Envoys said. "But on my arrival here, I must say that Bauthinia is more beautiful and blessed, than how it is expressed in tales. I am sure and convinced his majesty in his wisdom and grace, is following in his father's footsteps in making sure that Bauthinia remains a safe haven for all men and women not minding the social class."

All Envoys including Paulio, Lord Meht and Lord Wemblewin nodded as a sign of concurrence to the Envoys speech. All five Envoys were beautifully dressed in white toga's, brown leather sandals, bronze bracers and dark turbans.

"I am sure you Elerians did not come all the way from Eleria just to talk about how beautiful and rich Bauthinia is - what did you people come for?" Lord Barthine Loust asked.

"Yes I am sure your king has a message for us other than the beautiful things you said about us which I very much appreciate." King Lauihnio said coldly. The envoy stood still then put up a broad smile.

"Yes your majesty, we did not come here just to talk about how beautiful and rich Bauthinia is, but since you don't appear to be interested in my opening remarks and compliments which was demanded of me by my king to you king Lauihnio I would go straight to the point and state the reason for our presence in Bauthinia." The envoy said.

"I am listening." King Lauihnio motioned for the envoy to speak.

"We bring vital information concerning Bauthinia..."

"And what information could you Elerians bring that concerns us." Lord Barthine Loust interrupted with a sharp tone looking concerned.

"your majesty, I would prefer your baron behaves more cultured and knows the right tone to use on a stranger."

"And who do you think you are to address me as a man that is less cultured." He stood up from his seat and paced towards the envoy in an attempt to assault him.

"Barthine Loust!" the king called. "We are all aware of your grudge against the Elerians but this is not the time to behave in such manner, these are envoys and any harm done to them by us could mean war, now get back to your seat."

Lord Barthine Loust shot a grimacing look at the envoy and gritting his teeth he reluctantly sat down on his seat.

"Okay, now that the atmosphere is calm can we hear the vital information you said you have for us."

"Yes of course I would go on, but I would suggest that his majesty improves the appointment of Wise men, scholars and cytix priests serving at the royal household as it would be of great benefit to the king in determining more cultured, and well behaved men who would serve at your court, men who are slow to anger so as to avoid hasty and rash decisions which could throw your government into confusion and pose a threat to the peace and prosperity of this beautiful kingdom." The envoy said eloquently.

The king's eyes widened because he knew how enraged Lord Barthine Loust would be at this statement. Lord Barthine Loust was a man of short temper and as such king Lauihnio for a short while expected something chaotic from him but was surprised when the baron maintained his position, by sitting on his seat. "Huh the gods be praised." He whispered nervously to himself.

"As I said earlier we have information that concerns the security of Bauthinia." The envoy said. "According to our spies king Brothlander of Quania who fled his lands after it's rampage and defeat to the combined forces of the Mocinians, the Zimbians and your army is in Lexiana.- He is gathering men, from what we hear a large army. so far according to reports over twenty thousand men are at his command." He paused "He plans a reprisal attack and his first move is to attack Bauthinia, and the fact that he is gathering men does not delay his advance towards Bauthinia - no."

King Lauihnio became shocked at the news

and became afraid but he managed to comport himself.

"Now what makes you think we should believe every word you have said about King Brothlander and his plan to invade this lands?" he asked.

"Yes and since when did you Elerians care about our safety." Garthine Polion added.

Another envoy stood up, he was advanced in age, grey beards and a wrinkled forehead which made him look grim. "We have spies that are part of this army of Brothlander's, and so far it appears we have a better scouting network than that of yours king Lauihnio, and with your response to this information showing some Elements of surprise, I believe you haven't heard anything from your scouts." He sounded very clear and direct even with his shriveled voice. King Lauihnio was confused and he became restive at that point.

It was not too long the Bauthinians came back from the first war they had ever fought in over a century, though triumphant in the various battles they fought against king Brothlander's men at the southern Quanian border, king Lauihnio lost a good number of men, another good number suffered injuries which in some cases led to amputations and some suffered mentally like he did, having severe traumas, hallucinations and personality disorders.

Now if what they said was true king Lauihnio had doubts of successfully defending Bauthinia without an external body fighting on their side. "I do not understand, king Brothlander was defeated two years ago in September during the harvest period and Quania registered heavy casualties, if I am correct they lost over twenty thousand men during the joint campaigns of the Mocinians, the Zimbians and us, so now we are in the month of October, how is it possible he was able to gather such a number of men in just five months - that is if what you say is true." The king said eager at what the response of the Envoys would be.

The older envoy smiled,

"Oh great king, I feel ashamed and filled with disgust that you of all people in your wisdom and judgement would think that we noblemen of high standing and class would travel all the way from Nuche the capital city of our country and residence of our great leader king Waigni to come and fill your ears with fallacy, anyway we envoys are to blame for having no evidence apart from the words which we speak from our mouths, but I swear by Oridon's mace, if you do not take this information serious, Bauthinia would burn to the ground." He paused for a few heartbeats. "About King Brothlander, he is known to be a very sociable person and as such he has friends, powerful friends in Lexiana, Inipalua, Mocini and even Bauthinia."

There was bewilderment among the Bauthinian noblemen, who turned round looking at themselves wondering how possible it was for a member of their caucus to be an associate with the enemy.

King Lauihnio began to laugh in derision which had a way of reducing the tension that had already befallen the noblemen of Bauthinia.

Lord Meht, Lord Wemblewin, and Lord Garthine Polion were surprised on how their king found the Elerian envoy's report of some spies in Bauthinia funny. Lord Garthine Polion tried to doubt the possibility of some spies in Bauthinia supplying king Brothlander with information and logistics.

Lord Garthine Polion always believed he had a reliable intelligence network which was made up of capable, patriotic men, who proved their Worth a good number of times including the foiling of a planned coup of king Lauihnio's throne by his uncle Lord Mordian and also in the joint successful invasion of Quania. 'If what this grizzly bastard says is true, that would mean that our intelligence network has been breached, and who knows we might even be in a more horrid trouble than we think' he thought.

"You Elerians are very good in creating a nervous atmosphere full of fear and confusion." King Lauihnio said "I am finding it difficult to believe your report on king Brothlander's plan to attack us, but one thing I would never believe is your alleged sabotage of my men, because unlike you Elerians, unlike any country or kingdom in the whole of the Azarian world we Bauthinians are known to be very patriotic people, people that are filled with passion and love for each other and our kingdom, this is why we have known peace among ourselves for over a hundred years, no civil war, no rebellion, no protest, no..."

"But there have been an assassination attempt on your life." One of the Envoys put up a sly smile, he was fair in complexion with a fine thick black hair, Lord Wemblewin, prince Cannio, Paulio and Lord Cantrio scowled and opened their mouths wide in shock because the foiling of the assassination attempt that was planned by Lord Mordian was a news that was concealed by the royal household and a few noblemen in Laoia who were close to the king's family, apart from them no one else knew about Lord Mordian's plan to usurp king Lauihnio's throne except the king's guard and some of Garthine Polion's scouts who uncovered the plot.

The third envoy stood up reluctantly from his seat and stood directly in front of the king's throne as the first and second Envoys had done. "it's okay, the two of you can get back to your seats." He ordered.

The third envoy was stocky, with sunken eyes and a cold look he looked like one with a rather reserved nature. He looked confident and looking straight at king Lauihnio he put up a one sided smile. "King Lauihnio of Bauthinia son of king Fordanio and grandson of Kastos Pannio, all great kings of Bauthinia except the present king whose legacy is about to be put to a test." He said

"yes I can understand how hard it is to believe the alleged threat posed on your kingdom, because the last time Bauthinia had to defend itself from Invaders was over a hundred years ago. The battle of Brondwaz, I heard stories about it. It was fought by king Lunserk your great grand father - with all due respect o king have you ever thought of the reason why no kingdom ever nurtured the idea of standing up against Bauthinia?"

The courtroom was silent. "Do you know why the lust for Bauthinian Gold mines, diamond mines and fertile soil seized from the hearts of kings, warlords and generals who had the men, the artillery and the coin to start an invasion against these lands?"

"Because we have found favour in the sight of Oridon and Oridon shields us from potential enemies." Garthine Polion stole the envoys attention to the king with that answer.

"No not that, if you say so, then would you say you have fallen out of favour with Oridon now that king Brothlander plans to invade these lands - if you say so you insult Oridon, you are saying that Oridon's shield of protection and love is not strong enough to keep king Brothlander and his Quanian army at bay." the envoy replied him.

"So what was the reason - what was the reason why for over a hundred years we have lived untroubled by other kings, warlords and generals?" king Lauihnio asked the envoy.

The envoy rubbed his nose then turned to the king and heaved a sigh. "I will tell you why king Lauihnio." he said. "Long before the battle of Brondwaz, Bauthinia had many enemies who were after the rich natural deposits and fertile lands they possessed. Before king Lunserk, his predecessors knew no peace, the Lexianians, the Husavis, the Quanians even the Mocinians who you have now made an alliance with tried all they could to take control of Bauthinia. The Bauthinians who were not willing to subject themselves to any of their leadership fought and fought. these wars turned them from fighters to warriors, as a result most of the Bauthinian warriors turned to cannibals."

Lord Wemblewin, Lord Meht and Lord Cantrio gasped at this statement.

The envoy chuckled. "News of the cannibalism of the Bauthinian warriors spread across the Azarian world and as such kingdoms began to loose interest in Bauthinia, the many failed attempts to conquer these lands was also another reason why they lost interests. However the successful battle against general Nagan of Husavor at Brondwaz signalled the end of the numerous invasions Bauthinia had to defend against - legends have it that after the battle, the Bauthinian army dismembered the corpses of the fallen enemies and feasted on them while general Nagan was cooked alive. king Lunserk ordered every single detail of the war to be recorded including the cannibalism and the gruesome death of general Nagan which was to serve as a warning to potential Invaders. It was then at that time that Bauthinia knew peace. Four years later Lord Stavion special adviser to king Lunserk was going through the Chronicles of events that transpired during king Lunserk's reign. He was filled with melancholy looking at those writings that narrated how cannibalistic you Bauthinians were. He begged king Lunserk to do away with those records as it contained a dark history which Lord Stavion felt was not suitable for the unborn generations of Bauthinians, the king refused and to cut the long story short Lord Stavion and trusted men of his stole all scrolls, books, slabs containing records and travelled to Eleria were he burnt them."

At the end of the third envoys speech king Lauihnio started clapping slowly amazed at the history of his kingdom which he did not know about.

"My king this is serious." Garthine Polion said thinking the king's clap was an act of mockery.

"Who are you and why should we believe everything you have said concerning our history." King Lauihnio asked. "My name is Bongan Rodbar, and it was my grandfather who burned those Chronicles. Before he died he spent time teaching me the history of Bauthinia, he told me all I tell you today, however he spent filling me with Bauthinian history because I showed interest."

King Lauihnio looked confused. "if you were so concerned about Bauthinia why do you pledge alligence to Eleria."

"I would say fate led me."

there was murmuring among the Bauthinian noblemen over the fact that Bongan Rodbar revealed he was of Bauthinian decent.

"with the story I just told you king Lauihnio what I am trying to say is that the reason Bauthinia still stood tall in the midst of their enemies is because men defended it, men who were forged through fire and steel. But - such is not the case today." Bongan said shooking his head.

"My king I am sick and tired..." Lord Barthine Loust stood up angrily to speak but king Lauihnio motioned for him to keep quiet.

"you were saying?" king Lauihnio motioned for Bongan to continue.

"what I am trying to say is that you do not stand a chance of defending Bauthinia - you need help, and king Waigni is willing to help you. All he wants is an alliance with Bauthinia, an alliance which would bring great economic and military gains."

The king sat up straight with the whole room silent for a few seconds. "you know I had difficulty believing your men when they spoke about King Brothlander's planned invasion of my lands." he said.

"But now I believe you and let me correct an impression, we are not in an alliance with the Mocinians, we are a sovereign and independent state and we like it that way, we only decided to go to war with the Mocinians because they promised us safe passage across their shores giving us licence to trade with their people, it was for economic purposes. however if king Brothlander plans to invade our lands let him come, we have all it takes to successfully defend Bauthinia from his army, from anyone - however I am amazed at the fact that you are well versed with our history you look and sound like a man that is familiar with literature."

"That's why I was sent as an envoy to you king Lauihnio."

"However tell your king I said no, we are not interested in his help and thank you for the information, I would say no more on this matter." King Lauihnio rested back on his throne.

"King Lauihnio we cannot and have no desire to persuade you to make decisions that you do not want to make, but I hope you think of the consequences that are bound to happen if you decide to face king Brothlander without our help." Bongan said.

"With our business done here, we would depart for Eleria at once." The sitted envoys stood up from their seat and in unison they bowed their heads towards king Lauihnio. After that they made for the door of the courtroom.

"Wait!" King Lauihnio called making all envoys to halt at once. They all turned back to king Lauihnio.

"While one of you Envoys were speaking about King Brothlander being a sociable person, if I am not mistaken you said he has friends here in Bauthinia who supply support to his cause - I would like to know these people. Are they among my noblemen?" He pointed to were his men were seated. "Is it my adviser, any of my barons, a servant, a soldier, a slave, a cytix priest - who are this alleged spies you people spoke of."

There was great tension among the Bauthinian noblemen, Garthine Polion tried to think of any of the barons, cytix priest, members of his scouting network or any soldier he was familiar with who behaved suspiciously in the past few weeks while he struggled to imagine how some spies would be some where in Bauthinia supplying logistics to king Brothlander without being noticed by his scouts or had the Bauthinian intelligence been breached.

The second envoy who spoke about the possibility of a spy in Bauthinia stepped forward. "King Lauihnio, yes I made mention that king Brothlander has spies here in Bauthinia, but the identity of the spies are not known to me, I spoke as I was directed to with the information I was fed with." The second envoy said with his shrivelling voice looking innocently at the king Lauihnio.

King Lauihnio stared at this envoy who was advanced in age. Thereafter he turned to Bongan Rodbar. "what about you, I presume you know many things and as such you should be able to tell us the spy or group of spies that roam about my lands supplying logistics logistics to king Brothlander."

"King Lauihnio the identity of the spies is not known to me." Bongan replied.

King Lauihnio put up a sinister smile. "You know Bongan, the war in Quania taught me something about being patient, it taught me that being patient can be of great advantage to you and being patient can cost you greatly, it is only with great wisdom that you try using wisdom to your own advantage when it comes to a matter of life and death." King said. "Now I would ask you one more time, who are the spies of king Brothlander that roam my lands freely and supply logistics to him." King Lauihnio snapped.

Bongan was unmoved the threatening tone of king Lauihnio. "King Lauihnio, I am a Bauthinian by decent and as such I declare to you that the love for Bauthinia is a natural instinct planted inside me - I wish to be of help to this kingdom in such cases but unfortunately at the moment we envoys sent to you by our leader, king Waigni only know of spies in your lands - we know not their identity."

King Lauihnio frowned at Bongan. "Guards!" He called out. The door of the Chambers swung open and four soldiers walked in, they were wearing a sword in their scabbard and dressed in Bauthinian military uniform which consisted of a sleeveless bronze scale armor, red knee length tunic, bronze attic helmet, bronze bracers and bronze greaves. "Seize this man." King Lauihnio ordered pointing at Bongan.

Two of the guards took hold of him and all envoys including Bongan and the Bauthinian noblemen present were shocked as they couldn't believe what was happening.

Lord Garthine Polion arose from his seat frowning as he paced towards the king. "My king, don't you think there would be grave consequences for what you are about to do? Holding this man hostage could incur the wrath of king Waigni, I hope you know what you are doing." He whispered to the king's ear.

"There would be no consequence Garthine Polion, I don't wish to harm him, I just need to get the truth from him which I know I will so don't panic, I know what I am doing." King Lauihnio whispered back in reply.

King Lauihnio told the other envoys to inform king Waigni that he meant no harm holding Bongan Rodbar hostage, he promised to set him free in three days time meanwhile he informed his noblemen what he intended to do with Bongan Rodbar, then ordered that the news of king Brothlander be kept secret until when he felt the time was right to reveal the impending danger that threatened the sovereignty of Bauthinia and of course king Lauihnio's legacy.