For Hope of Peace
“The attempts at peace must have failed sire,” a crumpled, but still tall, old man said. His position and wealth made obvious by his clothes.
“I told you I should have gone, my brother is an idiot,” the crowned prince said. He wore deep purple clothes with gold embroidery at the cuffs.
“He is the King and a King is more likely to convince barbarians to agree to peace than you,” he paused, “And you, crowned prince, should not speak of the King like that.”
“Arthur is a moron, I don’t care if he is King.”
“Your father was a proud man he did not want to admit that anything but perfection could be of his loins,” a small man dressed in black silk said as he walked into the room, “He is right counselor he should have been the one to go. The King is incompetent.”
“Duke Nicolas! We thought you were dead, the tales of the devastation of your land included you standing until the end in your castle.” The crowned prince asked as he stood up to greet the duke.
“Yes, just how did you manage to escape?” the counselor echoed uncomfortably.
“On seeing the unfavorable outcome, one of my men took it upon himself to knock me out and drag me from my castle.”
“Well I am glad that he did! No one is a better tactician than you. We could use your expertise in this grave time. The forces at our command are far greater than what you had available in your own lands.”
“Run.”
“What?” the prince asked, shocked at the cool tone of the command.
“Even with all of the men you have at your command it would be impossible to stop their advance. You invaded them, slaughtered their people, it is my understanding that you left no one alive in the lands that we took. Every able-bodied person in their entire country is in that army. Nothing and no one will stop them.” Turning towards the counselor, “And why exactly did we attack them? And why were your nobles not informed of the attack until I hear rumors of the devastation coming out of the north!”
“Our spies said that they were preparing to attack us,” he said hurriedly, “We wanted to make the preemptive strike. The King did not believe that the nobles be needed in the attack and He certainly does not need to explain his actions to you.”
“Well that is strange, counselor, very strange. We have always been on good terms with the Krestels. I do not believe they have ever attacked anyone. Why would they start with us now? We were their friends, we are one of the more powerful Kingdoms in the area, why us counselor?”
“Who am I to read the minds of barbarians?” he said quickly.
“It is strange that they should been planning an attack on us,” the crowned prince said, pondering. “Maybe they were hired by Cildrista. They’ve been looking for ways to get our winter ports.”
“With all the border raids into Krestel, I do not believe they would deal with Cildrista. No matter the prize,” the duke responded.
“But our spies...”
“It comes to this,” the duke interrupted loudly, “someone lied.”
“That is not possible!” the counselor said indignantly.
“But it is the truth, there was no reason for them to attack us. There is reason for Cildrista to want both us and the Krestels weakened. We have a Cildristan spy. We have to find out who, and quickly. But first we must end this war before we have no army left to fight Cildrista with,” the duke finished.
“Peace I can easily agree with, but I find it hard to believe that one of our spies is, in fact, a Cildristan agent. They are selected when they are four years old, it could not be easy to corrupt one of them,” the prince said thinking.
“As important as...”, the duke started.
“Sire! Sire!” a young man wearing the Bondar uniform rushed into the room, “We have news of your brother. He’s dead.”
“How?”
“As he returned from the battle the Krestels caught up with him and executed him. They gave his head to one of the prisoners and released him with it to bring to us.”
The duke walked in front of the prince, bowed and said “Your highness.” The counselor quickly followed suit and fell to one knee.
The soldier bowed his head as he said, “Your Majesty, you must do something now. The Krestellian army is only a few hours march from our walls. No one is quite sure who’s in charge sire. Rumors are about that you had been assassinated or that you had been with your brother and have been executed. None of the generals can be found...”
“Enough!” the new King cried. “No sooner do I become King than my Kingdom becomes no more.”
“Sire, what should we do? The standing orders are to stop them before they reach the Kings Forest. The men there re ready to fight.”
“No, the fighting must end,” the King said, then he paused, “Tell them to return to the castle and be ready to fight a siege. I’ll write you the missive.”
As they left the dark, bare room one of the torches died.
They quickly walked through the dark halls, the servants too busy preparing for the coming siege to light the torches. They entered the personal study of the former prince. Books lined the walls and silken drapes covered the four windows. A circular stair led up into blackness. The stone floor was covered by thick, brightly colored rugs. A desk stood in the center of the room. Books stacked in small, net piles. Paper was spread over the working area. The ink well was gold with diamonds worked into its sides. The pen lid next to the well was on a small golden stand. The chair was well padded and covered with fine silk. The wood was intricately carved with a scene of wolves chasing a frantic deer.
The King pulled back the chair and sat on its edge. He picked up the pen and carefully dipped it point into the ink. He sat still for a second then penned the short missive.
“By Order of King Anthony,
All members of the Bondar army able to reach the Royal Castle are to immediately withdraw to the Royal Castle. If presently engaged in combat withdraw as soon as possible.”
He signed the paper with his elegant signature. He then rolled the paper and heated a red wax stick, applied the wax to the paper and sealed it with his ring.
“Get this with all haste to who ever is in charge of the men at the Kings Forest then keep the message and tell anyone else you find to get back here. Have the peasants flee south, if this is a protracted siege we can not hope to feed them and the army.” The King said as he handed the soldier the message.
The soldier took the rolled scroll and said, “It will be done,” he then bowed his way out.
“We must get you to safety your Majesty,” the duke began.
“No, what good is a King without a Kingdom?” the King responded then turned to the counselor “Get as much food as you can, this is likely to be a siege. You only have a few hours according to the soldier so work quickly.”
“And what will you do?” the counselor asked.
“Quickly counselor, see to your task, we do not have time for idle talk.”
The counselor, clenched his teeth and bowed his way out of the room.
“I’m going to need plans of the castle your Majesty, if I’m going to get any defensive plans made up,” the duke said.
“Nevermind that we have more pressing matters to attend with. The spy must be found as soon as possible. Perhaps with him we can win peace.”
“The counselor would be better suited for that sire.”
“Unless he is the spy. All of the reports pass through him. He is the only one that see all of the reports. Someone could have deceived him but he could be deceiving us. I need you to find what what you can from the Dukes of the northern duchies. See if any of them are present here, see if anyone of them had heard any rumors about an attack. I know that you dukes have your own spies, if this attack was coming someone else must have found out about it.”
“Yes your Majesty, what are you going to do?”
“You could be the spy.”
“Your Majesty,” the duke said indignantly, “I am not!”
“We shall see. You have your orders, carry them out.”
Duke Nicolas stood still for a second then bowed and walked slowly from the room.
“We are pressed for time Nicolas,” the King said quietly. The duke’s pace quickened.
The King rose and closed the door behind the duke. The King stood, contemplating the door, studying the grain and the patterns. He sat down slowly but continued to stare at the door. For some time the King sat pondering the door. He face losing all emotion. His sharp, blue eyes tracing the grains of the door. he closed his eyes and started softly chanting, the air bout him began to glow softly. He quickened the chanting and the glow around him slid away into a focused glowing sphere in front of him. His chanting slowed but grew louder. The light changed from white to a soft green. The ball of light grew and slowly became a perfect sphere.
The King stopped chanting and took a deep breath. Then he said into the sphere, “Ruler of the Krestel, hear my plea. I am King Anthony of Bondar. I beseech you to end this war. You have rightly taken your justice out upon the King that ordered so much death upon your people. We were lied to, this whole war is being orchestrated by Cildrista. If you would be willing to entertain peace between us speak into the globe before you. I will go out and meet your army two flights from the castle. Please for the sake of both our peoples let us make peace.” The King fell silent for a moment then started chanting quietly once again. After a short time the globe flew through the room and then through the wall.
He closed his eyes and slumped into his char. His head falling into his hands. “Sleep, must rest before I go to meet that man,” he told himself. With great effort he pushed himself out of the chair. he slowly, and with great effort, walked towards the spiral stairway.
“I told you I should have gone, my brother is an idiot,” the crowned prince said. He wore deep purple clothes with gold embroidery at the cuffs.
“He is the King and a King is more likely to convince barbarians to agree to peace than you,” he paused, “And you, crowned prince, should not speak of the King like that.”
“Arthur is a moron, I don’t care if he is King.”
“Your father was a proud man he did not want to admit that anything but perfection could be of his loins,” a small man dressed in black silk said as he walked into the room, “He is right counselor he should have been the one to go. The King is incompetent.”
“Duke Nicolas! We thought you were dead, the tales of the devastation of your land included you standing until the end in your castle.” The crowned prince asked as he stood up to greet the duke.
“Yes, just how did you manage to escape?” the counselor echoed uncomfortably.
“On seeing the unfavorable outcome, one of my men took it upon himself to knock me out and drag me from my castle.”
“Well I am glad that he did! No one is a better tactician than you. We could use your expertise in this grave time. The forces at our command are far greater than what you had available in your own lands.”
“Run.”
“What?” the prince asked, shocked at the cool tone of the command.
“Even with all of the men you have at your command it would be impossible to stop their advance. You invaded them, slaughtered their people, it is my understanding that you left no one alive in the lands that we took. Every able-bodied person in their entire country is in that army. Nothing and no one will stop them.” Turning towards the counselor, “And why exactly did we attack them? And why were your nobles not informed of the attack until I hear rumors of the devastation coming out of the north!”
“Our spies said that they were preparing to attack us,” he said hurriedly, “We wanted to make the preemptive strike. The King did not believe that the nobles be needed in the attack and He certainly does not need to explain his actions to you.”
“Well that is strange, counselor, very strange. We have always been on good terms with the Krestels. I do not believe they have ever attacked anyone. Why would they start with us now? We were their friends, we are one of the more powerful Kingdoms in the area, why us counselor?”
“Who am I to read the minds of barbarians?” he said quickly.
“It is strange that they should been planning an attack on us,” the crowned prince said, pondering. “Maybe they were hired by Cildrista. They’ve been looking for ways to get our winter ports.”
“With all the border raids into Krestel, I do not believe they would deal with Cildrista. No matter the prize,” the duke responded.
“But our spies...”
“It comes to this,” the duke interrupted loudly, “someone lied.”
“That is not possible!” the counselor said indignantly.
“But it is the truth, there was no reason for them to attack us. There is reason for Cildrista to want both us and the Krestels weakened. We have a Cildristan spy. We have to find out who, and quickly. But first we must end this war before we have no army left to fight Cildrista with,” the duke finished.
“Peace I can easily agree with, but I find it hard to believe that one of our spies is, in fact, a Cildristan agent. They are selected when they are four years old, it could not be easy to corrupt one of them,” the prince said thinking.
“As important as...”, the duke started.
“Sire! Sire!” a young man wearing the Bondar uniform rushed into the room, “We have news of your brother. He’s dead.”
“How?”
“As he returned from the battle the Krestels caught up with him and executed him. They gave his head to one of the prisoners and released him with it to bring to us.”
The duke walked in front of the prince, bowed and said “Your highness.” The counselor quickly followed suit and fell to one knee.
The soldier bowed his head as he said, “Your Majesty, you must do something now. The Krestellian army is only a few hours march from our walls. No one is quite sure who’s in charge sire. Rumors are about that you had been assassinated or that you had been with your brother and have been executed. None of the generals can be found...”
“Enough!” the new King cried. “No sooner do I become King than my Kingdom becomes no more.”
“Sire, what should we do? The standing orders are to stop them before they reach the Kings Forest. The men there re ready to fight.”
“No, the fighting must end,” the King said, then he paused, “Tell them to return to the castle and be ready to fight a siege. I’ll write you the missive.”
As they left the dark, bare room one of the torches died.
They quickly walked through the dark halls, the servants too busy preparing for the coming siege to light the torches. They entered the personal study of the former prince. Books lined the walls and silken drapes covered the four windows. A circular stair led up into blackness. The stone floor was covered by thick, brightly colored rugs. A desk stood in the center of the room. Books stacked in small, net piles. Paper was spread over the working area. The ink well was gold with diamonds worked into its sides. The pen lid next to the well was on a small golden stand. The chair was well padded and covered with fine silk. The wood was intricately carved with a scene of wolves chasing a frantic deer.
The King pulled back the chair and sat on its edge. He picked up the pen and carefully dipped it point into the ink. He sat still for a second then penned the short missive.
“By Order of King Anthony,
All members of the Bondar army able to reach the Royal Castle are to immediately withdraw to the Royal Castle. If presently engaged in combat withdraw as soon as possible.”
He signed the paper with his elegant signature. He then rolled the paper and heated a red wax stick, applied the wax to the paper and sealed it with his ring.
“Get this with all haste to who ever is in charge of the men at the Kings Forest then keep the message and tell anyone else you find to get back here. Have the peasants flee south, if this is a protracted siege we can not hope to feed them and the army.” The King said as he handed the soldier the message.
The soldier took the rolled scroll and said, “It will be done,” he then bowed his way out.
“We must get you to safety your Majesty,” the duke began.
“No, what good is a King without a Kingdom?” the King responded then turned to the counselor “Get as much food as you can, this is likely to be a siege. You only have a few hours according to the soldier so work quickly.”
“And what will you do?” the counselor asked.
“Quickly counselor, see to your task, we do not have time for idle talk.”
The counselor, clenched his teeth and bowed his way out of the room.
“I’m going to need plans of the castle your Majesty, if I’m going to get any defensive plans made up,” the duke said.
“Nevermind that we have more pressing matters to attend with. The spy must be found as soon as possible. Perhaps with him we can win peace.”
“The counselor would be better suited for that sire.”
“Unless he is the spy. All of the reports pass through him. He is the only one that see all of the reports. Someone could have deceived him but he could be deceiving us. I need you to find what what you can from the Dukes of the northern duchies. See if any of them are present here, see if anyone of them had heard any rumors about an attack. I know that you dukes have your own spies, if this attack was coming someone else must have found out about it.”
“Yes your Majesty, what are you going to do?”
“You could be the spy.”
“Your Majesty,” the duke said indignantly, “I am not!”
“We shall see. You have your orders, carry them out.”
Duke Nicolas stood still for a second then bowed and walked slowly from the room.
“We are pressed for time Nicolas,” the King said quietly. The duke’s pace quickened.
The King rose and closed the door behind the duke. The King stood, contemplating the door, studying the grain and the patterns. He sat down slowly but continued to stare at the door. For some time the King sat pondering the door. He face losing all emotion. His sharp, blue eyes tracing the grains of the door. he closed his eyes and started softly chanting, the air bout him began to glow softly. He quickened the chanting and the glow around him slid away into a focused glowing sphere in front of him. His chanting slowed but grew louder. The light changed from white to a soft green. The ball of light grew and slowly became a perfect sphere.
The King stopped chanting and took a deep breath. Then he said into the sphere, “Ruler of the Krestel, hear my plea. I am King Anthony of Bondar. I beseech you to end this war. You have rightly taken your justice out upon the King that ordered so much death upon your people. We were lied to, this whole war is being orchestrated by Cildrista. If you would be willing to entertain peace between us speak into the globe before you. I will go out and meet your army two flights from the castle. Please for the sake of both our peoples let us make peace.” The King fell silent for a moment then started chanting quietly once again. After a short time the globe flew through the room and then through the wall.
He closed his eyes and slumped into his char. His head falling into his hands. “Sleep, must rest before I go to meet that man,” he told himself. With great effort he pushed himself out of the chair. he slowly, and with great effort, walked towards the spiral stairway.