said Henriet. Elis went closer to his father and asked “what would you have us do?” His father looked down and then looks back up, worry written on his face. “Allan and Elis, you have been trained well and that can clearly be seen. Therefore, you were trained, to defend Humanity, I need you to drive off the Trolls and send them back to where they have come from, with your knowledge, leadership, and strengths, I am confident the two of you will make me proud” said Henriet. “We will make you proud father, what must be done?” asked Allan. “Lead the Ohith reserves to the wall and reinforce those stationed there, attack the Trolls and then defend the workers, you are to leave now, the troops are awaiting your command at the southern gate, I regret to put you my sons in jeopardy but sacrifices must be made to ensure the safety of our people, leave immediately” said Henriet. The princes nodded and retrieved their kit from their bedrooms before rushing down the stairs to bid their father farewell.
Upon leaving the palace, Henriet ran up to them and shook their hands and said “be careful and fight hard, I will be awaiting your victory here in Ohith”. He then put his hand on Allan’s shoulder and smiled, he turned to Elis and kept his smile as he nodded, a proud father. “Go now, be on your way, stay strong and stay safe” said Henriet as he went back to take a seat. Allan and Elis ran outside in the palace grounds where the soldier from earlier was waiting on his horse next to Elis’s horse, and Allan’s horse, copper. Saddles on, polished and well fed horses ready for a long and harsh campaign in the south. A young foot soldier carrying two chest plates walked up to Allan and Elis and gave them the armour.
They were high in quality, freshly minted, shiny armour only commanding officers could wear and the princes were honoured to wear these at such an age and with the little experience they have had in the army. They then put the armour over themselves before fastening it. At first, they felt heavy but were secure, then the soldier walked up to them again, this time with two helmets, well decorated with feathers from pheasants, strong and vibrant caps that would serve as good protection for Allan and Elis. They put these on as well, they had never seen combat before but now have been put in command of the Ohith reserves which they now had to lead. In the short time, they had spent in the army the previous year they had acted as officers that would take orders from a commanding officer, this was entirely new to them but they were confident, the intense training they have had over the years had equipped them with skills for warfare and leadership.
They mounted their horses without aid and both looked back at the palace, they could still see their father but now Henriet was coughing incessantly, the princes especially Allan worried for their father’s health and even had a thought that their father may not be around once they returned. A servant came up to the princes and she told them in reassurance “we will do all in our power to help your father through this sickness, although it is one I have never encountered before”. “Please do, good servant, ensure his health doesn’t deteriorate any further” said Allan. The servant nodded and ran back into the palace to attend to Henriet. He was a warm man and a friendly king, he gave his personal servants private estates, treated them kindly and respected them as if they were equal to him. In fact, to him anyone innocent, hardworking or anyone who has done great service to Humanity is equal to a king. Thus, his servants would in turn respect him, they would serve him well as he has done good things for them. For Henriet, he cared little for his life, only for the lives of his sons and the good people of all the Human kingdoms.
It goes against his heart to send his sons south to do battle but in the state, he was in, he had no choice as his health would not allow him to go. His sons are now marching down the main lane towards the southern gate to join their troops. As they slowly trotted on horseback to the gate, the people of Ohith would get out of their way, they were standing on either side of the lane many were clapping in encouragement for the princes, the others waved at them and some even chanted the word “Allan!” repeatedly.
Elis was waved at and clapped for but the people chanted Allan’s name rather than his name or both their names. He saw this as his golden chance to prove himself worthy of the thrown, redeem his father’s love and the respect he so craved from the people. Before reaching the gate area, towards they received an ovation from the people, the people were counting on them to deliver a decisive victory and return unscathed. At the gate, the princes were met with columns of foot soldiers, stamping their feet furiously and beating their swords against their shields, they cleared to form a pathway straight through the ranks so that the princes could approach the gate without having to push their way through a force that was densely packed around the gate.
At the gate a soldier was awaiting the signal from the princes to raise the gate and let this force out into open country. Elis straightened his back and looked directly at the soldier, brought his arm midway through the air and brought his arm back to his horse’s leash. The signal had been given, the guard cranked hard and the gate slowly opened, it was quite a moment for the princes, a sense of pride came over them and for Allan, even the worry for his father’s health transcended into a worry from himself and the glory of a victory for his people and his father. Elis felt strong, being a leader was a position he needed and wanted have, power over a small army meant a lot to him, this time he would not be overshadowed by his brother, he has equal standings as the leader of this force. When he had given the command to raise the gate, he felt stronger and he liked that feeling and throughout the long journey they were about to embark on, he will have plenty of opportunities.
The princes trotted out the gate, the foot soldiers behind them followed and they started to pour out of the city. As the princes emerged from the city atop their horses they noticed some chariots had been waiting outside the walls, two horses each per chariot pulling large wooden wagons. They began moving south as soon as soon as Elis and Allan emerged from the city. The soldier that had informed their father earlier came up to them, he was going to act as their advisor. “These chariots are for storing our provisions for the campaign, we only have enough food for a day of marching, the rest must be gathered on the way to the wall in the small towns and villages of Hetheil and Unodos, and we may even be able to gather troops in Unodos” said the soldier. “Then we better speed the troops up then” said Elis. “Sorry my prince, I would advise against that, the men will get tired fast and their morale will decrease. The speed at which we are going, we will reach the village of Udom before evening. The troops won’t be so tired and will be well rest for the remaining two days to reach the wall” said the soldier. “Three days?! Three?! We need to drive these beasts out now, my father took only a day to reach the wall” said Elis, irritated and spoiling for a battle. “We do need to drive them out now my prince but we have an army to look after, they need to stop and rest and we have mostly foot soldiers, your father travelled swiftly with his elite cavalry guard, they rode across the land quickly” said the soldier. Unlike the Kingdom of Diamonheim’s terrain, the Hetheilian terrain was less diverse, there were mainly flat grasslands they had to cross, there were a few small marshes and deserts they had to contend with but it wasn’t much of a challenge for a disciplined Human army on the march.
After an hour of marching, Ohith was finally out of sight and everyone in this army knew it could be more than weeks before they could go back home to their families. Elis’s frustration with the pace they were going at is already beginning to show, “we are moving too slowly, we need to pick up the pace now” said Elis. “Elis, just as our advisor said we can’t afford to tie our troops, it could stretch our already thin line even thinner and the foot soldiers will lag behind and us along with the cavalry will be far ahead” said Allan. “We need to fight those beasts now; we can’t go at such a pace” said Elis furiously. “The pace we are going at now isn’t even slow, the horses and men are already tired and we are still hours away from our destination” said Allan. Elis seemed to grow more distasteful with every word he heard. He took in
a deep breath, drew his whip, and struck his horse on its flank, it sped up with Elis on it and they rode to beyond the head of the column. “Your brother is bothered by something it seems” said the soldier. “Ha, don’t mind my brother, he is always like this, he has been like this for years” said Allan. The royals and the army’s advisor would always march in the centre of the column where the provision storing chariots were. At the head of the column would be the elite cavalry group, the king’s guard who would always be at the head of the column to absorb the brunt of an attack and clear the path for the rest of the army.
In the rear were the regular foot soldiers and archers who had to keep pace with their superiors who were on horseback and on the flanks, would be the agile light cavalry that gave a mobile protection to the vulnerable sides of the column. “I should go and join my brother at the head of the column” said Allan. “It could put you in danger of being ambushed my prince” said the soldier. “You let him go, good soldier, why not me?” asked