The next day, General Sivingdon summoned a large meeting of officers, soldiers, and citizens outside the castle. He stood on a large platform surrounded by thousands of eager listeners.
Hoping for good news.
Hoping against hope.
Behind him on the platform were about two hundred of the deadliest Moscorians wearing Vechengschaft armor for appearance’s sake. This would change soon. General Sivingdon began his speech:
“Officers, soldiers, and citizens of Dachwald. This has been a black chapter in our great history, perhaps the blackest ever written, but, I promise you, it has an end, and it is in sight. And at the end of this black chapter lie very great things: this I also promise you. Yesterday, unbeknownst to any of you, this chapter almost became even sadder. The so-called king and senators of this great country conspired against me. Conspired to scapegoat me for the suffering we’ve all endured recently. I am going to tell you the truth about what happened to our crops and what happened shortly thereafter, because few if any of you know the truth about these events. As most of you probably suspect, the Sodorfians indeed DID DESTROY OUR CROPS!! All of my officers knew this, all of my trackers knew that the tracks were Sodorfian, and all of my trackers knew that the Sodorfian tracks went directly into Sodorf!! As general of the Vechengschaft and as an ardent Dachwaldian patriot, I wanted to do what any ardent Dachwaldian patriot would under such circumstances—attack the Sodorfian vandals and MAKE THEM PAY FOR WHAT THEY DID!! But the Dachwaldian government didn’t see it that way. They wanted . . . negotiations. They wanted to . . . talk things over. Look at how much good that did us!! We talked to Sodorf, and our emissaries looked their leaders right in the eye and demanded JUSTICE!! But did they give it?! No! They conspired against us! For conspiring is what Sodorfians do. Sodorfians cannot be trusted; Sodorfians cannot be reasoned with. They were a serpent in our bed. A scorpion underneath our pillow.
“They pretended to cooperate. They sent soldiers to examine the damage, but, this was only a trick. The Sodorfian nobles attacked THEIR OWN SOLDIERS so they could frame the Vechengschaft! They made it look like an unauthorized Dachwaldian attack had occurred so that they could self-righteously refuse to negotiate with us or allow us to cross their border. Our foolish king and senators fell for the ruse easily!! The Sodorfians took advantage of the pacifism they knew was rampant in our country! All they were doing and still are doing is preparing us for slaughter. That’s right. And are we ever ripe for it! Many of us are so weak we can barely stand. We have had to eat our pets, our horses; some have eaten their children. Many eat sawdust just to obtain temporary relief from the horrible hunger pains. Some have chosen to kill themselves out of despair. And all the while, who do you think is watching . . . waiting . . . plotting? The Sodorfians! They are your greatest enemy! They are MY greatest enemy! They are OUR GREATEST ENEMY!! But what can we do about it? We will never get the king and the senate to act; they are too cowardly!!’
Angry remarks from the crowd expressed strong agreement.
“Well, they WERE too cowardly. Here are the failures that have abandoned us to conquest.”
The Moscorians withdrew from large sacks the heads of the senators and the king.
“Here are the men who would oppose US!!”
And, saying this, he grabbed the severed head of the hated King Duchenwald and slammed it onto the platform in a show of defiance.
“NO ONE can stop us now!”
The crowd cheered wildly. Finally, someone with some backbone had taken over.
“But I can’t do this alone! I ask for YOUR help! Will you give it?!”
“YES!! WE’RE WITH YOU!! YOU CAN COUNT ON US!!” came the loud response.
“Now, thus far the only thing I have done is talk. The king and senators did that just fine. But when was the last time they offered you . . . a FEAST?!!”
He picked up a large bugle, blew hard on it, and then pointed towards a hill just east of them. Down the hill came an armada of large wagons pulled by enormous oxen and guarded by hundreds of soldiers. Though still at a distance, the hunger-crazed mob could see they were loaded with food. Mostly, deer, but also slain wolves and large bears. The mob began rejoicing loudly and triumphantly.
“We’re gonna eat again! We’re not going to starve!!” they cried, amongst other declarations of joy.
“But I am going to need your help if we are to truly overcome our enemies. All males between fifteen and forty-nine must enlist in the Vechengschaft. Our country has a long way to go before she recovers. These animals we’re about to eat were slain in the perilous northern regions, where few have dared to hunt for centuries. These brave men you see escorting the wagons are some of my bravest, most highly trained soldiers. Men, will you fight for your country?!!”
“Yes!!” the male Dachwaldian listeners proclaimed in a frenzy of enthusiasm and determination.
“Brave Dachwaldian women, will you support your husbands and sons who so bravely decide to fulfill their patriotic duty and join the Vechengschaft?!!”
“Yes!!” all the women proclaimed ecstatically. “Yes, we will!!”
“Let us begin the feast!!” General Sivingdon proclaimed triumphantly.
Everyone was revelrous—that is, everyone except for the few Dachwaldians of Sodorfian descent that happened to be listening to the hate-filled rhetoric. Frightened, most of them hurried back to their homes to begin a dash back to Sodorf and never look the hell back. Everyone else, however, couldn’t remember being happier. All the Dachwaldians pitched in. Some skinned the animals; others gathered wood to make bonfires. Others went back to their homes to get ale and other spirits. Within an hour, fires were blazing, meat was roasting, and ale was being guzzled. They ate and they ate, and then ate some more. Ate until they nearly had food coming out their ears. A few got sick, but didn’t care. One frail man, who looked like a toothpick, said triumphantly before vomiting, “I’ve never been happier to vomit!!” Similar scenes abounded. The whole valley was an orgy of gluttony and ale-guzzling. People formed large circles and happily danced traditional Dachwaldian dances. Dances they hadn’t thought they’d ever have the occasion or spirit to dance again.
Sivingdon was enjoying some ale himself and dancing happily with his wife. In spite of the joy, a tear almost escaped his eyes as he recalled how close he had come to ending his own life.
(don’t ever tell her; it would destroy her to know you almost did that without saying goodbye)
He noticed Feiklen approaching. “Pardon me for a moment, would you, love.” He excused himself and walked over to Feiklen.
“Don’t forget, Sivingdon,” Feiklen said, “Tomorrow, we will gather all males ages fifteen to forty-nine and take them north to begin turning them into real soldiers. We’re not going to allow them to even consider breaking their word!”
“Yes, sir,” General Sivingdon responded.
The next morning, when the stuffed, happy Dachwaldians began waking from their deep sleep, the Moscorians and Vechengschaft quickly began escorting the Dachwaldian males between fifteen and forty-nine and started forming them into lines to begin marching north. Most were not only willing to keep their word; nearly all were enthused to do so.
First, they were permitted to kiss their sweethearts goodbye and hug their mothers, fathers, and other family members goodbye, as well.
“Fall in line!!” barked the Moscorians at all of the Vechengschaft except for the highest ranking officers.
They quickly did so.
Special units of Moscorians had already been dispatched along the southern border of Dachwald to intercept any Sodorfians that tried to escape. They intercepted several hundred men, women, and children, and slaughtered them all on the spot. Afterwards, they dug deep graves for the bodies and spent considerable time evening the soil on top of the graves so they wouldn’t look suspicious. They even took loose grass and put it on top to cover u
p the fresh dirt and planted grass seed so grass would eventually cover up the graves completely.
There were many other Sodorfians throughout Dachwald unaware madness was consuming the country like fire spreading through a dry haystack. Tristan was consulting frequently with his konulans, and a growing list of names and locations of the remaining Sodorfians was emerging.
They would be dealt with.
The Dachwaldian mothers, wives, and daughters were sad to see their sons, husbands, and fathers go away, but it was the right thing. This horrible famine had to be recovered from, and it had to be avenged. They knew the Sodorfians would soon close in for the kill, but that was okay. There was a new sheriff in town. A strong one. And as long as they did what he said, everything would be right as rain.