“I may not be a great warrior,” Godfrey said, “but those are my brothers out there. They are being taken away. We cannot turn back. Even if it means our deaths.”
“Are you mad?” the Silesian general asked. “All of those fine warriors of the Silver, of the MacGils, of the Silesians—all of them, and they could not fight back the Empire’s men. How do you think a few thousand of our men, under your command, will do it?”
Godfrey turned to him, annoyed. He was tired of being doubted.
“I never said we would win,” he countered. “I say only that it is the right thing to do. I will not abandon them. Now if you want to turn around and go home, feel free. I will attack them myself.”
“You are an inexperienced commander,” he said, scowling. “You know not of what you speak. You will lead all these men to certain death.”
“I am,” Godfrey said. “That is true. But you promised not to doubt me again. And I won’t be turning around.”
Godfrey rode several feet forward and up an elevation so that he could be seen by all his men.
“MEN!” he called out, his voice booming. “I know you don’t know me as a tried-and-true commander, as you do Kendrick or Erec or Srog. And it is true, I do not have their skills. But I have heart, at least on occasion. And so do you. What I know is that those are our brothers out there, captured. And I myself would rather not live than live to see them taken away before our eyes, than go back home like dogs to our cities and await the Empire to come and kill us, too. Be sure of it: they will kill us one day. We can all go down now, on our feet, fighting, chasing the enemy as free men. Or we can go down in shame and dishonor. The choice is yours. Ride with me, and live or not, you will ride to glory!”
There came a shout from his men, one so enthusiastic that it surprised Godfrey. They all raised their swords high into the air, and it gave him courage.
It also made Godfrey realize the reality of what he just said. He had not really thought through his words before saying them; he just got swept up in the moment. Now he realized he was committed to it, and he was a little shocked by his own words. His own bravery was daunting to even him.
As the men pranced on their horses, prepared their arms, and got ready for their final charge, Akorth and Fulton came up alongside him.
“Drink?” Akorth asked.
Godfrey looked down and saw him reaching out with a skin of wine, and he snatched it from Akorth’s hand; he threw his head back and drank and drank, until he had nearly drunk the whole thing, barely stopping to catch his breath. Finally, Godfrey wiped the back of his mouth and handed it back.
What have I done? he wondered. He had committed himself, and the others, to a battle he could not win. Had he been thinking clearly?
“I didn’t think you had it in you,” Akorth said, patting him roughly on the back as he belched. “Quite a speech. Better than theater!”
“We should have sold tickets!” Fulton chimed in.
“I guess you’re not half wrong,” Akorth said. “Better to die on our feet than on our backs.”
“Although on our backs might not be half bad, if it’s in a brothel bed,” Fulton added.
“Hear hear!” Fulton said. “Or how about dying with a mug of ale in our arms and our heads tilted back!”
“That would be fine indeed,” Akorth said, drinking.
“But after a while I suppose, it would all get boring,” Fulton said. “How many mugs can one man drink, how many women can one man bed?”
“Well, a lot, if you think about it rightly,” Akorth said.
“Even so, I suppose it might be fun to die a different way. Not as boring.”
Akorth sighed.
“Well, if we survive all this, at least it would give us cause to really have a drink. For once in our lives, we will have earned it!”
Godfrey turned away, trying to tune out Akorth and Fulton’s perpetual chatter. He needed to concentrate. The time had come for him to become a man, to leave behind witty banter and tavern jokes; to make real decisions that affected real men in the real world. He felt a heaviness about him; he could not help but wonder if this was as his father had felt. In some strange way, as much as he hated the man, he was beginning to sympathize with his father. And maybe even, to his own horror, to become like him.
Forgetting the danger before him, Godfrey was overcome with a surge of confidence. He suddenly kicked his horse and with a battle cry, raced headlong down the valley.
Behind him came the immediate battle cry of thousands, and their horses’ steps filled his ears as they charged behind him.
Godfrey already felt light-headed, the wind in his hair, the wine going to his head, as he raced towards a certain death, and wondered what in the world he had gotten himself into.
CHAPTER FIVE
Thor sat atop his horse, his father at his side, McCloud on his other, and Rafi close by. Behind them sat tens of thousands of Empire soldiers, the main division of Andronicus’ army, well-disciplined and patiently awaiting Andronicus’ command. They all sat atop a ridge, looking up at the Highlands, their peaks covered in snow. Atop the Highlands sat the McCloud city, Highlandia, and Thor tensed up as he watched thousands of troops exit the city and ride towards them, preparing for battle.
These were not MacGil men; nor were they Empire soldiers. They wore an armor Thor dimly recognized; but as he tightened his grip on his new sword’s hilt, he was not sure exactly who they were, or why they were attacking.
“McClouds. My former men,” McCloud explained to Andronicus. “All good McCloud soldiers. All men I once trained and fought with.”
“But now they have turned against you,” Andronicus observed. “They charge to meet you in battle.”
McCloud scowled, missing an eye, half his face branded with the Empire seal, looking grotesque.
“I am sorry, my lord,” he said. “It is not my fault. It is the work of my boy, Bronson. He turned my own people against me. If it weren’t for him, they would all be joining me right now in your great cause.”
“It is not because of your boy,” Andronicus corrected, steel in his voice, turning towards him. “It is because you are a weak commander and a weaker father. The failure in your son is the failure in you. I should have known you’d be unable to control your own men. I should have killed you long ago.”
McCloud gulped, nervous.
“My lord, you might also consider that they are not just fighting against me, but against you. They want to rid the Ring of the Empire.”
Andronicus shook his head, fingering his necklace of shrunken heads.
“But you are on my side now,” he said. “So to fight against me is to fight against you, too.”
McCloud drew his sword, scowling down at the approaching army.
“I’ll fight and kill each and every one of my own men,” he declared.
“I know you will,” Andronicus said. “If you don’t, I will kill you myself. Not that I need your help. My men will do far more damage than you can ever dream—especially when led by my own son, Thornicus.”
Thor sat on his horse, dimly hearing all of their conversations, yet at the same time not hearing any of it. He was in a daze. His mind swarmed with foreign thoughts he did not recognize, thoughts that pulsated through his brain and continually reminded him of the allegiance he owed his father, of his duty to fight for the Empire, of his destiny as the son of Andronicus. The thoughts swirled in his mind relentlessly, and as much as he tried, he was unable to clear his mind, to think thoughts of his own. It was as if had been taken hostage within his own body.