need water and they need it now” said Allan, his jaw tightened and his breathing became slightly heavier. “Allan, just get out of my way, you are slowing the pace of the entire army” said Elis as he ordered his horse forward. “You will go no further than this, we head west” said Allan as he brought his horse closer to Elis’s, stopping him in his tracks. “I said get out of my way!” shouted Elis as he reared up his horse, its hoofs then landed hard and loudly on impact with the ground.
The air grew quiet once again, Elis and Allan faced each other eye to eye, yet still on the same side. Allan nodded, a fierce smile upon his face, he slowly moved out of Elis’s way to the left of the column which faced west. At the top of his lungs he shouts “my brother does not care for our survival, whoever wishes to follow him shall. But I and my trusted army advisor are heading westwards before going to Maredos, where we will stalk up on water, I doubt even the Unodites will supply us with an adequate amount of water. I say we get our own water, this way!” His army advisor who he seems to be acquainted with swiftly leaves the centre and rides to beside him, “who else will join me?” shouted Allan once again.
Suddenly, troops from all over the column left their positions and began to gather around Allan, who then began organising a new column that was directed westwards. In fact, after the messy division, the troops that followed Elis composed of his five loyal companions and about a hundred men. Whatever men except his five loyal companions were soldiers who were misinformed, they probably thought that travelling west would be far more draining and many questioned the existence of water in such a climate. “See you in Maredos, brother!” shouted Allan, before commanding his troops to go forward over a hill and onto a flat piece of grassland out of the hills they were just crossing. Elis didn’t respond, he just ordered his soldiers to go faster towards the south. Allan turned his head forward to the west and ordered the army increase its speed as well. Within only a minute both armies were split and marching in different directions, neither of them could see each other, because of the many hills and because of the speed at which they were going.
After an hour, Allan and those who followed him could feel the water somewhere around them. “Good soldier, where is the river you spoke of?” asked Allan. “I suspect it is just over that hill, my prince” said the advisor, an excited expression on his face. Allan continued and led his exhausted and heat stricken army the over the hill. Suddenly all the soldiers began running towards a direction, they had at last found the river. “At last, men fill up your barrels and skins and we shall rest and rehydrate before heading to Maredos!” commanded Allan. The troops began unloading the barrels from the wagons that were drawn by the horses and brought them forward to the river bank, they hurriedly and excitingly submerged the barrels and brought them back up, ensuring they had collected water.
Those that weren’t filling up the barrels went to fill up their individual skins and some of the soldiers even tried fishing for food. It was a pleasant sight to see the soldiers relieved to find a source of water and quenching their thirsts with water from a clear river they had just been led that sparkled as the light from the sun reflected off the water. The men laid mats on the ground, some began cooking some food and they just sat rested while waiting for further commands. “Thank you, prince Allan,” said a soldier who was passing by. Allan nodded with a calm smile on his face, he then turned to his advisor who was gorging himself on a freshly cooked trout. “I owe this to you, good soldier. You showed us the way to this haven, I cannot thank you enough” said Allan. “Think nothing of it my prince, I am after all in service to you” said the advisor. It was a time for brief happiness for the army, they were resting, chatting, and eating. After half an hour, Allan got up and gave the orders to stop resting and continue their journey towards Maredos. “Soldiers we have had adequate rest and have replenished our strength, while gathering much needed supplies. We need to continue our journey, on your feet, more rest will come. To Maredos!” ordered Allan. The soldiers got up and started getting into their marching positions. Allan at the head of the column and once all soldiers were in position he ordered the army trumpeters to signal to the soldiers to march forward. They marched on, enduring the heat they so desperately wanted to escape from. “Double the pace men!” ordered Allan upon returning to the original path they were originally set to take.
Over the horizon, they could see movement, it was at first unclear to them what it was. When they were in sight, Allan immediately recognised what it was, it was Elis and the men that followed him. He didn’t know if he should be happy or unhappy to see his brother again, it was obvious that their pace had slowed due to their lack of water. “Pick up the pace once more! Apologies soldiers, I think our comrades at the front require our assistance!” shouted Allan, wanting to aid the soldiers that had split from them with the water they had collected. The soldiers did just that, they doubled their already fast pace to link up with the other soldiers. They got closer with every step and finally they caught up with them, they found their comrades in a horrible state, walking ever so slowly, some even on stretchers, their mouths dry and they even watched a soldier fall to the ground. This detachment needed dire help and the Allan led army with a replenished water supply couldn’t have come any sooner. The soldiers called out to their comrades to stop, the soldiers of the detachment stopped following Elis and started moving towards Allan and his army. The soldiers on Allan’s side rushed to help them by sharing the water they collected in their skins and some even carried their barrels.
The men started drinking but they did slowly as they were drained of fluids and some were even close to death. Elis’s part of the army now sat down with the others to rest and rehydrate. Elis was still frustrated, he was even angry at his five companions who ran to get some water. He got off his horse and noticed Allan walking towards him, a skin full of fresh river water in his hand. He looked at the men that followed him, they were drinking loads of water, sharing it with the others. He too was thirsty; in fact, he would have been amongst the thirstiest because he had been doing constant shouting as he tried to spur his troops on. Allan came over to his position and said “glad to see you again brother, you look thirsty, here, take this and drink”. Allan reached over with the skin in hand however Elis did not take it from him. “I don’t need it, let’s just continue, I am strong and I can go many hours without as much as a sip of water” said Elis with pride, though one could easily tell he needed water. Allan then walked past Elis, putting the skin against Elis’s chest, forcing Elis to take it in his hands.
The army was once again united but tensions remained between Allan and Elis. Now Allan, Elis and their military advisor rode at the head of the column, leading the army forward. Elis still hadn’t gone without water, his eye lids covered most of his eyes, his lips were bone dry and his movement significantly slower than the usual swiftness he had about him. He had not let his horse drink water either, yet the opportunity was always there, the skin was slung across his chest and he could drink whenever he wished but he just did not. The more the army marched, it seemed the sun would get hotter, many soldiers could no longer walk, the sun was just too intense and they had to be carried on stretchers and laid in wagons before being pulled in them.
Thankfully late evening eventually comes and the sun’s intense power is weakened, allowing the soldiers to not brave the heat as they marched. All their spirits were lifted and the pace at which the army was going increased dramatically. Elis was still able to keep him and his horse at the front, with the unroyal characteristic of being rugged. Of the three riding at the head he was the slowest, his horse looked like it was about ready to drop dead however frantic whipping from Elis, forced the poor animal forward. Elis refused to take the water Allan gave him, he felt it would dishonour him and show that he was weak. However, he himself knew he needed water and was hoping to get a glimpse of Maredos, the city he needed to get to for water as he did not want water from Allan or any water collected by him and those that follo
wed for that matter. “Look, there, it is Maredos, look at the lights, listen to sounds, we are very near it” said Elis excitedly as he spots the city from a distance.
Allan and the army advisor turned their heads towards the direction Elis was looking at, “what a sight, we’ve finally made it, just a little further and we can rest” said Allan. Soon the whole army knew that Maredos was in sight, they were thrilled and ecstatic, they needed rest and they knew they would soon get some. This increased the morale of the soldiers and sped them up even faster. By nightfall they were at the gate to Maredos, the soldiers were drenched in sweat, many worried for their friends and brothers who had suffered in the heat and were in dire states. A battalion of Unodite soldiers were at the gate, they were not there as part of a welcoming committee but rather as armed soldiers who were there to disarm the Hetheilian troops before they could enter the city. A few years ago, Henriet had withdrawn his forces from the Kingdom of Unodos and installed the step son of the long-deceased King