A Victory Without Rest - Part 1

The grand hall of Wyland overflowed with civilians as people gathered together to hear the king’s long awaited address. Citizens from both of the outer provinces of the kingdom made the trip to the central province of the high class and nobility.

Politicians, military officials and master mages all stood in waiting. Even the heads from major families within the kingdom took the time to be present. They sat in the higher balconies, their family crests hanging from the boxes they watched from. All of them eyed the chorus of trumpeters prepared to announce the king’s arrival.

Voices echoed all over the hall, two of which belonged to Emery Hartwell and Victor Warwick.

“It’s a great day to be here Victor. The frontiers have really cleared out on all sides of the kingdom. At this point it’s just surveillance and occasional attacks from obscure groups of remaining enemy soldiers.”

Victor nodded, but there was no smile on his face. He leaned on the railing of the balcony they were standing upon.

“That’s true Emery, it’s nice to be off the frontlines knowing we have commanders and lower ranking officials that can handle what remains of such a lengthy conflict.”

Emery gauged Victor’s reaction.

“Your words are positive, but I can tell your attention is elsewhere.”

Victor stared among the sea of civilians crowding the hall. He counted every exit, measured the distance between guards, and scanned the crowd to make sure there was no suspicious activity.

“As someone who has spent his years climbing the ranks of the military, I have developed an intuition for knowing when a battle is over…”

Victor paused as he came back to the moment turning to face Emery.

“And for when a war has come to an end.”

Emery looked at his friend with furrowed brows, and just as he was about to question him he heard the trumpeters announcing the king’s entrance. He reverted his attention to the stage and clapped for the monarch’s arrival.

The chants and hollers from the crowd in praise of the leader were near deafening. Some of the higher class covered their ears at such shrill sounds. Emery pointed them out to Victor and the two laughed at the stuck up rich folk as old friends would.

Finally the crowds settled, giving the ruler a chance to speak.

“Three years have passed since our kingdom first came under attack by those who don the colors of Yellow and Red. The Kingdom of Fenmarch. A group of people we once considered allies turned traitors and attacked us. To this day we stand without an explanation.”

The crowds booed at the mention of Fenmarch before quieting down again.

“It was to our good fortune we had been setting up defenses as a precaution to any sort of battle. Even the surprise attacks to seize our territories were unable to succeed. I thank my honorable general for making the suggestion when he did.”

The king gestured toward Victor, and the crowd applauded his contribution.

“But even caution can only do so much when fighting an invading army. We have had battle after battle defending our kingdom from the enemy forces. All I can truly do is thank our brave soldiers for remaining on the frontlines. For pushing through all the bloodshed, pain and sacrifice to protect the people of Wyland from harm’s way.”

The crowds cheered again in support of their troops.

“But after three years of turmoil, a continuous loss of precious lives and time with our loved ones, I, King Artemon Vanistarr of Wyland, finally declare victory against Fenmarch!”

Everyone, even the nobility, cheered in honor of the end. Emery was smiling and cheering at the King’s speech until he turned to face Victor. He was silently leaning against the guardrail deep in thought.

“Victor, didn’t you hear him? The war has been declared over!”

Just then Emery noticed a man whispering something into Victor’s ear. He examined the man and noticed he was wearing the uniform of a frontline messenger. Emery stopped clapping and refocused on Victor. He assessed the emotions of his friend, and noticing Victor’s hand turn clenched fist was never a good sign.

Victor walked off without a word and Emery chased after him.

“Where are you off to in such a rush?”

The two exited the grand hall arriving in the street where a chariot was ready with space for 2 plus the frontline messenger driving. Victor hopped on and stared at Emery who froze in place waiting to receive a sign he could join. The two may be close friends and fighting on the frontlines together, but that didn’t always grant him access to political controversies or information.

Victor stared straight ahead as if Emery didn’t exist. He rested his elbows on his knees as his fingers interlocked above. He closed his eyes for a moment until finally turning to his right at the open seat beside him. Finally he motioned for Emery to hop on. Victor tapped the messenger three times. No stops. Full speed.

1.2

Emery sat listening to the sounds of the horse’s feet clacking on the ground at high speed. He could feel the wind rushing through his hair as he sat in silence. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The chariot came to a pause as it waited for the drawbridge to lower before exiting the centermost province that hosted the Grand Hall and King’s Castle.

“There was a shocking sighting on the northernmost frontier.”

Emery leaned forward and quickly turned his head to face the general as he tilted his head hoping for more detail.

“Northern…is that even your division of soldier’s?”

Victor shook his head.

“It isn’t, but the current general has been deemed missing in action.”

Emery’s brows lift up while staring directly at victor.

“So what was the claim?”

Victor kept his eyes forward as the chariot began to ride again.

“The dead enemy soldiers…are rising again.”

The medical mage eased back in his seat processing the statement.

“The dead are coming back to life?”

Victor turned his head swiftly locking eyes with Emery.

“The reason you’re permitted to accompany me is because I need a skilled medic like you to confirm these claims. Your understanding of magic and its connection to the body are second to none. If what is being claimed is accurate…then we may have to retract our king’s speech.”

Emery’s muscles tensed up as he felt his shoulders drop back like a weight had been placed on him. He was now the confirmation point as to whether or not a new war was about to begin, right as the last one had ended. The chariot had already passed a second drawbridge heading to the frontlines.

“Is there any chance this is reanimation magic? Thanaturgy mages are able to bring the dead back to life at least once as long as their bodies are still intact.”

The frontline messenger leaned back in his seat while keeping his eyes on the road. Victor did not take kindly to being listened to.

“Do you have something to contribute to this conversation or are you simply stretching your back?”

The driver clenched his jaw and chuckled a little trying to play off his actions.

“I apologize General, I hope not to be reprimanded for listening in on your conversation, but I can provide an answer to that last question.”

Victor frowned while giving the driver a deadly look, but permitted him to speak.

“Before I came here, I heard that theory was considered by one of the medics at the site we’re headed to, but after the number of times he saw the same enemy body fall to the ground and rise back up he ruled that out.”

Emery reviewed the driver’s comments in his head. If reanimation magic was ruled out then there had to be something else moving those bodies.

“General Warwick, we’re arriving at the second line of defense. The first line isn’t much farther ahead. That’s where you’ll find what we’ve spoken about.”

The chariot came to a stop and Victor stepped out with Emery following.

“Thank you. Please keep what we’ve discussed between us. You’ve done well reporting this, now stand by as we figure out what the situation is. It’s likely we’ll need a ride back to the central province.”

The chariot driver parked and waited.