and observed the soldiers collecting new weapons and armour from the Unodite soldiers. Brand new, shiny breastplates, plate legs, large diamond shaped shields and beautifully crafted spears, swords and bows. The soldiers were surprisingly happy with the upgrades they were receiving. Their hair was well minted, faces washed, shaved and the smell of cologne was in the air. Allan fully understood the situation, the soldiers were psyching themselves up for battle, in order to do that they had to look their best and feel above themselves so as to go into battle proudly. Allan started walking towards the crowd and immediately a Unodite weapons master came up to him with a long and narrow object wrapped in a red cloth and secured by a gold thread. “Prince Allan of Hetheil, no need for you to wait in the queue, here have this, it has been specially prepared for you, this is our gift to you please put it to good use. We don’t have any armour for you as you carry the armour of a general, we hope you will appreciate this” said the weapons master kindly as he leaned forward and presented the item to Allan. “Thank you, I have appreciated everything here, your food, your hospitality and I am sure I will appreciate this gift just as much” said Allan as he reached over to take it from the hands of the weapons master.
As soon as he took it into his hands the weapons master, smiled and said “may this aid you in your battles to come” Allan untied the goldthread and before unwrapping it, he rubbed the cloth, noticing the smoothness, he then stuck the thread in his pocket and unveiled the item. It was nothing like anything he had seen before. Sure, it was a sword but it was one that gave immediate power to whoever wielded it. Allan held it his hand and tried it out by swinging it in the air using a combat technique. Furiously fast and ruthlessly sharp, Allan felt renewed with the sword in his hand. It was beautiful, well-polished and as light feather. Allan was truly awed at the skills of the smiths in Unodos, they really had a knack for the art of forgery. This blended well with the art of war on the part of the Hetheilians. He then saw Elis rolling up a tent, a frown on his, no morning freshness about him, just a bitter expression. Allan then noticed that Elis didn’t receive anything, he attributed this to Elis’s behaviour at the king’s palace. Elis looked up and locked eyes with Allan once again. His eyes were intense, his body tense and his mind with a goal, to prove himself strong and worthy on the battlefield. Allan looked away and started going about the tasks of getting ready for a long march to battle.
After about half an hour the army was fully ready to disembark from the city with fresh reinforcements and new equipment. Carts were loaded with supplies that would last weeks. Allan was somewhat fearful of battle but felt the responsible urge to do battle, on the other hand, his brother, Elis was spoiling for a fight, he needed chance to prove himself and as a result he could not wait for the battles to begin. “Sire, all is ready, we may proceed out of the gates and begin our rapid march south” said the advisor as rode next to Allan just before the gate. Allan nodded and signalled for the gate to be opened. “Open the gate!” cried Allan as he swung his arm upwards. In an act of unity between the two the kingdoms, one soldier of Unodos and another soldiers from Hetheil would each pull back the large doors of the southern gate, each pulling one back. As the soldiers of Hetheil and Unodos saw this, smiles came upon their faces, standing right beside their allies and newly found friends, different kingdoms would now march off together as a singular presence just like in the Great Tri war only this the troops were being led by Elis and Allan.
The gates opened and the soldiers marched out the gates onto the plains of the southeast where they will continue their journey south. Allan rode frequently next trusty advisor and friend whilst Elis was more involved with the troops, forcing them to go forward even if they could not go any further, he drove them on and took pity on no one, not even himself, this had earned him a reputation in the army as an infamous oppressor. Allan and his advisor rode at the front this time, to ensure that the pace they were going at wasn’t too fast for the soldiers marching on foot. Suddenly they heard heavy horse trotting from behind them. Allan turned his head to look and to his surprise it was Elis who had galloped all the way from the back of the line to the front. Immediately the two knew what his intentions were. “We surely won’t have to worry about supplies with what we have and I am confident at the speed we are going” said the advisor carefully, in response to Elis’s arrival to the front.
Elis looked down before looking up again and said calmly “Yes, with increased supplies our troops can afford to be tired, we need push and push faster towards southern Unodos”. “You are right brother but we are a short march from our destination, there is no need for a faster speed than the one we are going at and we are heading into a dangerous area, I would not wish the soldiers to be tired, should we run into a cleverly set up ambush by the Trolls” said Allan with haste and charisma, hoping to avoid reigniting tensions between him and his brother. “Well said brother, however I wish to see the front and I wish to see the battlefield, I wish to tell father we have won and I wish for it to happen now, I have a plan for a quicker engagement in our campaign” said Elis calmly although one could easily see the frustration in his intensive eyes. “Uh, brother” stuttered Allan as he responded to Elis but before he could get to the content of his response, Elis interrupted him and said “a plan, one that would bring a quicker end to this campaign and one that would ensure equal honours for the both of us once we return to Ohith”. He had stressed the word equal as if he wanted Allan to internalise it and its meaning. Allan nodded and said while squinting his eyes, “yeah, let us hear it”. “We need to divide this army, equal power in each and we will head with our armies one in my command and one in yours’ and head for different sectors of southern Unodos, travel at whatever pace we want but this would be much quicker than travelling in one big and large awkward mass of soldiers. We should travel swifter in in two different groups and we can cover a lot more ground this way” said Elis calmly, charismatically but with a dash of anger and forcefulness.
Allan took a few seconds to digest that statement for he believed that strength relied on great unity and numbers, completely different from Elis’s quick and rash strategies. “It would better to stay in a tightly knit army, we would be safer in numbers such as the one we have” said Allan. “Come on Allan, I know how it is to be away from home and away from father, I am experiencing it too, I want see father and I want to see him congratulating us on our victory, this is faster strategy, we just need to fight harder and harass these Trolls in two fast moving groups” said Elis with a fierce look upon his face. It suddenly hit Allan, he wanted to see his father again badly and the fact that his father was sick intensified his longing to return home. “Surely you would disagree with this plan of senseless action, Allan. My apologies prince Elis, but the plan seems a little risky” said the advisor. “No, I actually think we should do it and divide our army” said Allan, which stunned the advisor and not surprisingly pleased Elis. “Elis has a point, travelling in one big clumsy formation isn’t going to bring us anywhere, there are now a total of two armies spread out across trackless terrain trying to find these Trolls, there is no possible way we can snuff them out at the rate we are going. Division of the army is the best plan of action we can take at the moment in order to increase our efficiency” said Allan. Elis’s frown resided back to a calm and friendly expression. His advisor seemed confused at the fact Allan agreed as he knew Allan’s character and knew he would never agree to such a strategy. “Very good, brother at last you have come to your senses, how shall we divide the army?” asked Elis, an expression of excitement upon his face.
“As you said brother, equal troops, cavalry, archers and infantry. Equal Hetheilian troops and Unodite troops under our separate commands” said Allan. “Not a problem, let us begin the division of our army in an hour” said Elis who immediately rode off to other parts of the column. “Why did you agree with Elis’s plan? I’m sure you have limited confidence in its succession” asked the advisor. “You know me well” said Allan. “I am
an advisor, I access all situations after I heavily analyse them, if I can’t do this I am not fit to advise you, instead I would be being shouted at by your brother at the back of the line” said the advisor after a chuckle. “I found his plan really risky, I did not like the idea of operating an army in two groups, there is strength in numbers and unity. I would have preferred to stick to the original plan but I have decided to follow through with this new one. I just want to see my father again and if this works, I shall see him sooner. We will also be able to cover more ground and we will not have to constantly deal with my brother” said Allan with a toothy smile that slowly disappeared into an expressionless one. Allan noticed that whenever he talked about his brother, he always felt bad, never understanding why. “I guess and after all everyone in the army wants to go home to see their families, for now the quicker the better” said the advisor.
Suddenly after half an hour of marching rain began to pour heavily onto the troops. It came out of