Tom's POVI returned to the camp base quite late at night. The moon was surprisingly bright, illuminating every detail of the night. It cast the shadows of the trees of the nearby forest onto our camp. From a distance, I could hear the light snores of the southern soldiers, exhausted by the journey from the south to Ghysem. A few of them roamed the area to guard against our soldiers from the north. I had put on the appearance of Volkov as I neared the area. "You are back, captain." One of them had sighted me from a distance. He rushed over to greet me. "We had grown quite worried but did not want to leave the base.""Why would you be worried?" I asked without even a slight smile. From the time I had observed Volkov, I knew that he rarely smiled. He was a man who took every bit of life seriously as if he constantly had to prove himself to everyone. His discipline was behind control and he seemed very strict with his men. "I am quite alright.""Did you perhaps take a walk to clear you
Third Person's POVThe atmosphere at the camp was charged with unease as the soldiers stationed above ground anxiously paced back and forth. Time had ticked by since their fellow troops had ventured into the depths of the tunnels and a sense of dread loomed over them.Whispers of apprehension quickly escalated into a frenzy of fear when the first Ghysem soldiers emerged from the darkness, fierce and unyielding. Chaos ensued as the southern troops were caught off guard and filled with terror, scattered in all directions.There was almost no time for them to react or counter their attacks. Soldiers from Ghysem slaughtered them like animals, blood flowed in the land like a river contaminating the stream.Within minutes, the southern soldiers were dead.***In the southern pack, Lord Xeik brooded in his dimly lit chamber, frustration boiling inside him. A soldier has come to report to him that they had been ambushed by Ghysem soldiers and all of them were dead. Only the man who gave the r
Xeik's POVI dressed as quickly as I could, putting on my armor. It felt a bit heavier than usual but I knew it was just the anxiety that was gnawing at me. I stood in front of the mirror making sure everything was perfect, a part of me hoping Castilla would come in the morning to wish me luck but she did not. Knowing that my soldiers would have been ready and waiting for me, I dashed out of the room and went to the training field I had asked them to assemble. I surveyed them properly. The first line was going to be me wielding a sword, and two other swordsmen, and the first fifteen lines were going to have our best archers who were fairly good at sword-wielding. Then I arranged the best spear throwers after that the swordsmen and I kept repeating the formation till the end. "Are you ready?" I roared. They roared in response, eager to attack our long-time``` enemy. I climbed onto my horse and then we started to march out of the palace towards the border. When we got closer, we woul
Cyrus's POVAs we stepped out of the war room, our footsteps rolled heavily on the stone floor and they sounded eerily like the funeral bells before a war. We could not afford fear or doubt. Not now. Not when Ghysem's life depended upon it.We walked side by side and every now and then our hands would make soft contact. Eventually, I held her hand in mine. It was comforting. The illumination of torches was flickering along the walls and it was as if we were watched by the ghosts of the war."We'll place our swordsmen who can wield shields at the front," I explained, "They must be very good at defending rather than attacking. I shall let Drussus know immediately," I said glancing at Agnes. Her eyes, like precious stones gleamed in the dim light. "They'll block the arrow attacks from the south. I'm glad we revised our armor. It's now harder for an arrow to penetrate, except if shot from a greater distance, which increases the impact but is less accurate."Agnes nodded, her red hair sway
Moana’s POVThe return to the capital was at the same time liberating and torturing, The carriage was bumpy throughout the irregular road surface but this moment freed a tremendous weight off my back. The capital symbolized stability, a certain form of order amidst the destructions which had taken over Ghysem. But I worried about what was happening to Theophilus and the people at the new underground place far from where I was. That he should fight to the death to keep us safe was the one thing I admired, even though it cost me his company.There was no difference between one area and another – villages destroyed, cottages and hovels, thatch roof homes collapsed, the thatch exposed, the framework left behind. Burning ridges extended as if they were graves, the fertile land turning to charcoal of farm products. Broken hopes were there on the ground, lives that were once cherished by people were now completely erased.The actual roadway had been scarred and pitted; the crusts of the skin
At this point the sun was well high in the sky, scorching whoever it was upon and its red light was upon the battle as Cyrus led his army on. His heart raced like the beats of the horses of the Ghysem warriors following him. Drusus and Theo stood on his left and right respectively, serious expressions etched on their faces and both staring ahead for any sign of the Southern pack.Finally, they met with Xeik. Cyrus shouted, over the hollering of soldiers and it was a battle cry to the other side. “Xeik! Your coward of a king hides within his throne room while you do the fighting. Is this what it is to be Southern? What’s normally meant to be a king is not who doesn’t have courage and thus depends on others!"Xeik, with the iron in his glare, penetrated through the dust and confusion. His answer reverberated in my head and he glared at Cyrus, fury enveloping his voice. “If you were from the Southern pack you would know that the members here understand the importance of our king! We sha
The sounds of war have reached the capital making the atmosphere tense, the sounds of fighting could be faintly heard in Tina’s house. Every rumble, every clash of their weapons, brought a new spasm of involuntary terror to her bosom, which was twisted into a painful knot of concern at her stomach. She spent her time with Hannah, Philemona, Moana, and the twins sitting close in the room full of shadows, illuminated only by the feeble candle burning.Beyond the huge door, the real world lay, the world of a great war: the sound of the great, heavy drums could still be heard. Groaning and calls of soldiers, ringing metal in reply, the dull roll of horse hooves – the music of chaos. “Do you think they’re okay?” Hannah whispered, her eyes widened and hands folded in front of her lower abdomen tightly. She was clearly scared and kept glancing at the window as if she could somehow look through the walls and to the battlefield.“They will be alright,” Tina mumbled, her confidence being weak,
Agnes POVThe day had been extremely stressful. I had gone through the tunnels and rooms in the underground of the palace, cleaning the place out with the other slaves. I used the reports from the last population census, birth and death records to get a bunker for each family. We worked on protecting the really young ones and the elderly. Then the mothers of children first. We decided to put up petitions to ask some men who had brief training to fight at the back line of the battle if they could. That way, we would be able to have more room for people. Adrianna has worked tirelessly as well, getting all the supplies that would be needed down in the underground. We wanted to make sure we were able to get almost everything ready before the evening of the next day so that moving people would not be a problem.We had started with the regions that were closer to the war. Most of the people had been assembled in the throne room and courtroom, waiting for bunkers to be assigned to them. The