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The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General THE WARLOCK'S SIN
“Fame changes a man,” He said, turning to me. “I wore my olive wreath with pride for the next four years, and for as long as I had it on my head, people bowed at my feet. This was also the time I had my first lover… the same man who I defeated to win it, and he became my Erastes, a teacher and lover while training me. We both knew that I only won him because of age, as he was older and lacking the strength I was in excess of. As for skill, I had lots of it, but he still had so much to teach me. It was a time of bliss for the both of us, with hard training in one moment, a stolen kiss in another, and sex before we knew it. I took from him and he took from me. The only difference was that with time, I discovered that I loved women more, while for him, he only loved me.”I bowed my head, intent on not showing how much it made me squirm. For as long as I could remember, even in my childhood, I had not liked the idea of being dominated and made love to by a man. I had always felt that I wo
The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General INAR
“We were holding each other in the stream…”He abruptly stopped, making me look at him. I saw him swallow, as though his mouth found it hard to tell this part of his tale.“We were holding each other in the stream when slowly, the stream’s bed we stood on started to sink beneath our feet. It was so slow that we did not notice it at first, and then all we knew was that somehow, the stream's bed had become far too deep for us to stand on it. We tried to swim, indeed I held her and tried to, but the water felt like quick sand to me, and I soon started to slowly feel everything go dark around us. It was easy to think I had fallen asleep at the time, except I could not see how I would sleep in a stream while with a woman, and I could not wake myself up.”“You died?” I asked.“Indeed. I only knew that I had died when I found myself conscious again, standing by myself on the bank of the stream. I remember turning to look for her, to save her from the stream that had started to swallow us, on
The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General THE EAGLE MEN
This revelation would be the end of our discussion.“You see. We all have stories to tell in this place, and every man here has his own share of burdens, his own punishment from the gods. You should get comfortable with yours, as we are all the same here. Now let's go see that tent that's being set up for you, young one.”I stood in a daze, taking care to take my box and hold it close to me. He led the way, his tiny legs taking quick steps before me, while I followed in his lead, still pondering on his story.How had it escaped me that Inar was a woman?The size was intimidating enough, far too much to be anything but a man's, even with how she towered above me. I would have wondered about the voice, but I had not heard Inar say a word since I got in here. Not so much as a whisper.“Whoa whoa whoa whoa,” I heard someone cry in the distance, and I turned to find a number of soldiers who strangely included a half-man-half-horse with long fiery hair pouring down his shoulders and a big m
The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General SENI
It would turn out that I was the second to know about them.The Warlock was the first, and he had known for long enough to prepare ahead. His divination powers allowed him to know things before they happened, and he was aware that a battle was coming for us. For whatever reason, he kept it to himself and told no one.Bruma was the third to know, but only because I told him, and it had gone like this:Sitting in my tent alone that night made me bored. My interactions with other human beings more like myself had done much to remind me that Maia was not human, and far from the ideal companion. So I was not looking to speak to her, and instead, went over to Bruma's tent, which was really the only tent I knew the path to. I went to the flap, where I paused for a bit before calling out to alert the blind man to my presence. My call was followed by the sound of scuffling — something moving noisily across the floor of the tent and then kicking something lying in its way. I listened, curious f
The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General MORE ABOUT THE EAGLE MEN
“Do you promise?” Bruma asked.“Yes.” I answered.His familiar, throaty laughter rang around the tent again, only stopping when he leaned in to kiss Seni on the cheek and then whispered in his ear. After this, the servant got up and went through the flap he had been passing, leaving me with his master.Only then did I remember why I had come to see him.“Speaking of battles, Bruma. Who are the Eagle Men?”“An ancient powerful army, very much like ours, except that we are men banded together to protect and support each other, while they are a whole army who sinned against the gods, were punished with death, and share this desert with us. We are also not as uniform as they are. A bit scattered on our side, if you ask me.”“How powerful are they?”“Terrifying enough to shake the balls off every man who knows nothing about their dirty tactics. To get into their ranks, you had to kill one hundred eagles and be so skilled with a horse that you could shoot from horseback with ease, which mea
The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General THE PLAN
That was when I grasped how terrifying the Eagle men were.“Are you sure about this?”I thought of how much of a lie my event notifications could be, decided that Hades could not have been tricking me with the notification, and insisted on how sure I was to Bruma.“The Warlock should know about this, and I have to go see him to hear what he knows,” Bruma spoke aloud for all of us to hear, even if the words were only directed towards himself. He rose to his feet and I did the same, looking to him for guidance.“Do I come with you?” I asked.“Yes.” He said, while I saw worry lines that I had never previously seen crease his forehead. “Seni, I promise to return soon.”The one he spoke to nodded, while Bruma moved outside, with me following in his wake. The moon was high in the sky, and I turned to see if I could find my tent in this place if I looked hard enough. There were too many standing for me to know if it was mine, however, and I turned back to walking with Bruma to the Warlock's
The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General BRUMA COULD TRULY NOT SEE
“You defeated the Invincible Soldier, did you not?” The Warlock asked, his mischievous face turned towards me.“Only with the goddess Athena's help.” I answered promptly.“Even better. We'll tell the soldiers that amongst us condemned men by the gods, there is one of us whom the goddess loves.”“What if she doesn't help?”“Quit being afraid, kid.” Bruma cut in. “All I did was leave the Invincible Soldier's tomb without my eyes and the men in this place thought of me as a hero, for seeing him and coming out alive. Here you are, victorious over him. It doesn't matter who helped you. What matters is that you wielded the weapon that destroyed him, and that is all that there is to it.”I was lost for words. Whatever I would have wanted to say hung on my tongue and never made it out, so I opened my mouth, shut it, opened it, and shut it back again.“You have it all planned out then.” Bruma said. The lines on his face had disappeared, and he appeared to breathe with ease.“Indeed. The young
The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General THE DREAM... AGAIN
“Goodnight, Bruma.” I said, looking at the emptiness that were his eyes with a smile.He only gave a rigid nod and did nothing else. I continued to watch him for quite some time, touched by him and who he was, and then turned to go to my tent. It was unchanged when I returned to it, and I thought it was cute. There was a feeling about it, something that made me proud that it was my home and I was its owner, and I went to sit in a corner, curling myself up there so I could sit and eat the meat I got from Bruma. As I chewed in the darkness, I decided that I would not go there anymore. I did not want to be too regular in my friendly calls.The next day was to be a big one for me. They wanted to see my skills, to train me. I did not know how good of a fighter I was, but now that I had become comfortable with the thought, I was flattered that I should gain a reputation about the camp without knowing. I was not keen on disappointing them as well, and chose to check my system statistics ag
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HALF A MAN
I decided not to ride the Pegasus on the way back.This decision was driven by a variety of factors. First, I did not want to rush back to the tent, most likely because I did not want to find Inar waiting for me, or anyone else who wanted to congratulate me on my participation in the war and claim the Pegasus. Second, I wanted to be alone, to reflect on my death and how far it was from me. Certainly, I wanted to be able to die, but seeing so many dead men who had been marching to kill only the day before had touched my heart. Third, I wanted to admire the Pegasus and bask in its splendor. There could have been more, but I ultimately walked back."Will you not allow me to take you back?"I jumped back in fear, looking around for the voice that spoke. I was certain that no one had been close, but I still could not see anyone."I am here, the Pegasus."My gaze returned to the animal by my side, which shook its head in response."Can you speak?" I inquired, unable to think of any other qu
A CURSE
I felt much better when I washed all the blood off.With enough water in the pot, I watered both my Camel and my Pegasus, before settling to cook my own meat. It was an already dried and salted piece, and all I had to do was heat it up.As I cooked, some soldiers moved past with ragged, unsteady steps, and I waved them all, wishing them a good morning. They were quick to hail me, and some even stopped to give me their narratives of my action in the past day's battle in drunken tones. Others walked by with loot — horses and Eagle men's armour for the most part, and sometimes women. They, who I had not seen since I stepped foot in this camp, now appeared to have crawled out of their holes.When I was done cooking, I went back in to eat, and after that, set out to go bury my Pegasus' previous owner. He had been good while he lived, and might have been interesting if he wasn't fighting on the other side.The time to go came and I mounted the Pegasus, following the animal as it flew me to
BLOOD ON MY SKIN
The sky was lighting up when I woke up again.Nevertheless, I was groggy, and then went into the tent, forgetting that I had allowed myself a roommate, until I went in and saw her lying on the floor, clad in her armour. It cleared my eyes at once and I felt sympathetic, praying for the sun to rise so that she would meet Bruma. I was quite sure that he would take her in and still permit her the freedom she wanted without any sexual demands as well. He had Seni, and did not appear to be interested in women.With this in mind, I went back outside. There, I felt regret that I did not ask for any of the wells. I still carried the blood from the previous day’s battle, and now I needed a wash to keep me clean.I moved around, admiring the sight of my Pegasus and Camel together, both of them gifts to me. I did not have any plans on what to do with them, but I loved the beasts too much to let go.Once again, I looked down at myself and could still see the bloodstains. It amazed me that I had c
A CAMEL AND A PEGASUS
I did not turn until I reached my tent.Once there, I stopped the Pegasus and stepped back, in awe of the animal. Its magnificent white fur showed even in the dark, and I took off my armour — which had discomforted me so much that my body adjusted itself to the discomfort, and then threw it in the tent. I then returned to the animal and threw my arms around it.“Tomorrow, we'll bury your old master, and I'll take care of you.” I said to the beast.It huffed, and I laughed at the sound. It made me think of my camel as well, long forgotten in my inventory, and I asked Maia to bring it to me. This she did, and I had both of them with me, a Camel and a Pegasus. I tied both to the same anchor knocked in the sands, and sat on the ground not far from them, watching when something caught my eye from the side — a shadow.I took the pains to sit still and watch, curious about the spy. Whoever it was had their sights on me so hard that they did not even move while watching me, which allowed me t
THE PARTY BEGINS
My Pegasus had come with a saddle, a parting gift from its previous owner.Gently, I mounted it to even louder cheers, almost falling off as it rose. The wing caught me just in time, and I held even tighter to the bridle, giving the Pegasus a gentle rub when I maintained my balance, shifting my helmet to one hand to enjoy my ride.They started to call for me to fly, and I gave it another gentle pat, which sent it into a trot. An even harder one set it running, and a pat on the wings sent it off the ground, and the body stopped swinging from side to side, giving way for a smooth, gentle motion through the air as we went even higher and higher. Our men and their torches were now reduced to tiny, candle-sized lights, while the Pegasus flew in a circle, going round and round without stopping.I was soon weary of flying, and we slowly descended to the ground, settling on a patch of clear ground the men vacated for us. More applause followed, and when I got down from the Pegasus, I was lift
ANDREAS
Andreas was a man I thought had gone mad.Certainly, I knew I was the one who killed the man. I pulled the arrow that killed him. I did it for the Warlock. How was he then going to feel if the Pegasus refused him in front of everyone else?“Which of you will go first?”I did not want to. So Andreas stepped forward amidst rounds of cheers and applause from the men, especially those who claimed to have seen him shoot at the Pegasus. Funny enough, I found that my mind started to play tricks on me too, and I even began to wonder if I had truly killed the man or if I had imagined myself doing it. Even now, the events of the battle were surreal as I thought of them, like things that had happened in a dream while I slept. The darkness was coming over, and a few men were holding torches to offer light. Andreas went closer to the Pegasus under their watchful glares, backed away when it snorted, and stood, as if uncertain of what he started to do. It made me roll my eyes.Still, he refused to
THE PEGASUS
All eyes were on me as I lowered my hand, including pairs from my fellow men and those from the enemy. It was as though they were waiting for an instruction, waiting for something to be said, and I felt the need to say it just as much.“VICTORY IS YOURS. TAKE UP YOUR SHIELDS AND ATTACK!” I boomed.With these words, I picked up a shield, grabbed my sword, and ran towards the enemy, starting to feel the now familiar thump-thump of their arrows upon my shield and armour. Not long after, I had the eerie feeling that I was attacking alone and surrendering myself to the enemy on a platter of gold, until I heard men yelling behind me. Together, we rammed into the ranks of the Eagle men and their horses, and I cut into the first man of them I saw on foot, dividing his face into two horizontal halves. He was not the first to die by my hand, and neither would he be the last, as they turned and started to run, ignoring those of them who stood and tried to call them to fight.“Don't stop.” I crie
FIGHTING THE EAGLE MEN
The closer we drew to them, the louder and more frequent the thumps.I looked through the ‘Y’ in my helmet and a gap in the shield and saw how they stood like statues, their bodies standing still, their arms working in an impressive mechanism as they shot at us while sitting on horses. They were doing it at exactly the same time, and firing at the same angle, following the orders of the man on the Pegasus, who flew all over the battlefield with his flying horse. I could also hear the sound of the whistles Bruma told me about when he first told me about them, with the sound very similar to the one an eagle makes.That was when I fully understood what Bruma meant by order. They were far more ordered, more arranged, and more composed, as though they could read one another's minds. I would still have pondered on this if an arrow did not pass through some opening in the shield and lodge itself in the neck of the commander next to me. I watched in horror as he stopped, his eyes surprised, a
THE MARCH
The commander of the Eagle men was a quick man, and that was what saved his life. His Pegasus took him up into the sky just as rocks and swords found their way to the exact spot he had been, allowing him to escape unscathed. It caused a ruckus in our ranks, while the commanders took pains to call for order.“He has done what he set out to do.” Bruma spoke coldly beside me, while his very presence beside me burned into my skin because of the amulet I was wearing. “To rattle our ranks, annoy the strong and arrogant, and shake up the weak and feeble. We might be fighting an already lost war at this point.”“No, Bruma.” I declared, suddenly incensed by the prospect of losing. All the anxiety that had filled me when I opened my eyes to the day was gone, leaving the blood pulsing through my veins so hard that I felt it flow through me. Pulling my sword out of its scabbard, I felt ready to kill all the enemy if need be, and ready to die.“I did want to ask you about your sword. Whose is it?
