Sages, Chapter 6: The Evening of Before
"The Evening of Before"
POV Bodey
"We'll move our first battalion here" I said, pointing to the map in front of me. Several pairs of eyes moved along with my hand and the croupier stick that now glided a handful of small figurines across the map. "Those forces will be led by General Bakla" I added, glancing at him from across the table. He looked at me with stern, light green eyes and gave me a small and gentle nod of confirmation.
"So what about Aey'Áris? Invading straight through the north-western front won't do much for us or for them" said the young lieutenant that stood to my immediate left. He was a fox with dark brown fur, and he asked an uncomfortably large number of questions.
"That's where we come in" I responded. "I'll be leading the second battalion here, over the Little Mountua and into Agu-Morran occupied Aey'Áris." Bakla moved the other set of small wooden figures to where I pointed as I continued. "We'll wait a full twenty-four hours until we make our advance, which will give the first battalion an ample amount of time to make their mark. With any luck, the Agu Morran troops should send all their available forces to help back us of at the north, which will allow us to make a clean and easy entrance in the west."
"Once our forces have secured the midline theatre, our additional battalions will all be prepared to engage Agu Morra's forces on the southern half of the kingdom" Bakla interjected. "They will have no place to run with the Midline blocked off, and will thus make for an overall easy and most like very successful recapture of the majority of Aey'Áris, including its capital."
"Exactly. So if stay strong and fight together, we'll emerge victorious. Yes?" I questioned.
"Yes!" chanted the voices that surrounded me.
"Alright. Meeting adjourned. First battalion, be prepared to launch in two hours."
Everyone exited the small tent into the camp that laid outside of it. Bakla ordered two of his lieutenants to go and deliver the plan to the other soldiers. Remaining by my side was Bakla, as well as two of his other lieutenants; a young, strong looking bobcat that called herself Jadia, who served as his first lieutenant, as well as the fox from earlier.
"Jadia, I think that you're services will be most beneficial if you lead our troops across the river alongside sir Aráshvahr" the general said as he turned to her. She nodded and replied "Of course, sir."
She then turned to me. "It will be a privilege to serve with you, Aráshvahr" she said, speaking in a clear and confident voice. "If there is anything else, general?" she then asked Bakla.
"No, that will be all" he replied. With that, she strolled away to attend to other business.
"Tokato, I'm assigning you directly under Aráshvahr's command. I assume that you will be compliant with him and assist him in any way that seems appropriate." spoke the general to the remaining lieutenant.
"Of course, general. You have my word."
"Good" he said simply. "Bodey Aráshvahr, I wish you my best of luck" he said to me, firmly placing a paw on my shoulder.
"Best of luck to you as well, sir."
The gray wolf nodded to me and parted off to convene his troops, leaving me and the fox alone. His voice began almost immediately.
"Sir, I have a question abou-"
"You always have a question, lieutenant." I barked at him, then walking away.
"But sir, I thought it was important, considering that it's releve-"
"Shut up!" I yelled, not bothering to turn around and face him. I continued walking and heard no further noises besides my own footsteps and the sounds of people chattering as they got ready for the transition to nighttime, indicating to me that he had giving up.
Finally...
I walked until I found my tent, which I had been given the honor of having all to myself. I walked in and laid down on the hammock that had been set up inside of it, which almost slunk down far enough to touch the floor upon having my weight placed upon it. I folded my paws together and gazed up at the roof of the tent, suddenly hit with a wave of all the thoughts that hadn't had a chance to fully express themselves during the busy day.
That damn lieutenant is so bloody obnoxious! How is it even possible for a person to say so much in just one day?
Well, maybe he's just excited. Or...perhaps he's nervous, and just wants some confirmation on things...
Well, that damn idiot should get his head on straight! We're on the front lines here; we can't have anyone acting like a chicken with it's head cut off.
Well, that's true I guess. War...
I woke up the next morning with a questionable amount of sleep behind me. I had had a difficult time falling asleep the previous night. I rolled out of my hammock and stood up, receiving a small amount of light-headedness but nothing too serious. Forcing my eyes open was difficult, but I could see the morning sun was definitely out, as were many of the troops, as I could hear them wandering past my tent.
Ugh...why does it have to be morning already?
"Good morning, captain!" spoke a chirpy voice as I exited my tent.
Why goodmo!-...wait a minute.
"How did you sleep, commander?" Tokato asked. "I slept rather well myself. And today's the big day, huh? We're gonna go take the first steps in taking back Aey'Áris! That's exciting, right? Well I mean, not really I guess...it's war, and people die, so not exciting like that, obviously. But it's good to know that we have a good plan to go by! I think it sounds like a plan that should gain us back the territory. And if things really go well, then we should gain back the capital too! Think about how happy the king will be when we save him! I bet we'll have the Árisians on our side for good! I mean, I'm not really sure about your country, sir. Uthalia, right? Speaking of which, what is Uthalia like? I've never been there myself, but I hear that it's really pretty. And do all of you guys over in Uthalia have those funny accents? Or is it just you? Y'know, I've been thinking, what if-"
"Lietenent."
"Yes commander?"
"How the fuck did you get promoted to this rank?"
He looked at me with a suddenly shy expression on his face. "Why do you ask sir? Do you believe that I shouldn't have been promoted so early?"
"Promoted early?" I questioned harshly, looking down at him. "You shouldn't even be in the bloody military to begin with! You have absolutely no discipline what so ever, you have no blood common sense, and to top it off, you talk so damn much that it's practically making my ears bleed!" I yelled.
"S-sir, I-"
"I don't care, lieutenant!" I screeched, walking away in a fit of anger.
That'll teach him.
POV X
Lieutenant Tokato sat the morning fire as others came by to pick up their breakfast. The camp felt remarkable empty compared to last night, when the members of the first battalion were still around. Although there was plenty of food, he didn't feel like eating. His appetite had been taken away by the thoughts that now coursed through his mind.
Maybe Aráshvahr is right. Maybe I don't deserve to be here right now. I mean, I guess I must be pretty annoying...that's probably why nobody likes me.
"Not hungry this morning, lieutenant?" came the familiar feminine voice of Jadia. Tokato looked up at her as she circled around the fire and took a seat adjacent to him.
"Oh! Umm, nah, I guess not" Tokato replied.
"Well, you should still eat something. You're gonna need the energy for tonight when we disembark."
"Yeah, I guess" he said, taking a bite of the food that had been sitting dormant on the plate on his lap.
Jadia appeared to have caught a glimpse of his disappointment. "Is something the matter, Rigel?"
"Oh! Well, I'm not sure..." he said as he stopped eating and looked up at her. He had been surprised by her form of addressing his; very few people ever called him by his first name.
"If something is, then you're safe to tell me."
Her calm, aristocratic voice made her offer tempting, which prompted the young fox to continue. "Well...do you think I belong here? That I deserve to be where I am with our military?"
"Well, I've seen you fight before, Rigel. You show an exemplary amount of skill on the battlefield. Not to mention that you're an excellent archer."
She paused for a moment, and then continued. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, it's that Aráshvahr guy. He seems to really hate me for some reason. Earlier today I was trying to converse with him a little, and he got super mad and told me all this stuff about how I don't belong here..."
"You conversed with him just a little?" the lynx responded as she let of a slight smirk. "That doesn't sound like you at all."
"Okay, so maybe I got carried away! I can do that sometimes..."
"Yes, I am aware." she responded. "You see, you and Aráshvahr are very different people. From what I can understand so far, he seems to be very sheltered. With someone as introverted as him, I'm sure you can understand how someone like you could easily get on his bad side. Especially when he's got an entire camp full of people to deal with in addition to you."
"Hmm, I suppose you're right. I guess I'll try to stick to business around him and avoid asking him too many questions?"
"Exactly. That sounds perfect."
"Alright" Tokato responded. A moment of silence passed, until he finally added "Thank you, lieutenant."
"Of course. I'm always a friend if you ever need one" she said as she smiled at him, before getting up and walking away.
Wow. She's awesome! I feel a lot better now.
Tokato quickly finished gulping down his food, then stood up from his place by the fire and walked away to tackle the day that laid before him.
Just you wait, Aráshvahr. I'll show you.
It was later that night when everything was starting to come together. It had been a day full of hard work and preparation, and the second battalion was finally ready to depart. They would be leaving for the Little Montua shortly. The protection of the dimly lit and foggy night would provide the perfect environment for a sneak attack.
The troops began to converge near the center of the camp. Acting-Commander Bodey Aráshvahr stood on top of the podium to face his warriors. Lieutenant Jadia Lytra stood beside him.
"Alright. The time has come. You all know the plan. We go in, we do our thing, and it'll be quick and easy; because you are all warriors of one of the strongest armies in all of Theria, and I won't be expecting anything less of you! Is that clear?" Aráshvahr said in his low, authoritative voice.
"Sir, yes sir!" chanted the crowd. Aráshvahr smiled.
"Excellent! Onward we shall go!"
Jadia gently pushed in front of him as he excited and stood on ground level, where she previously had stood. She began to speak her part in an equally loud and commanding voice.
"According to our sources, first battalion has been successful at create enough ruckus to attract a fairly large amount of their attention. I still urge everyone to be cautious and attentive to our offencive. Now prepare your squads, we'll be heading out in half an hour!"
In a small bustle of unorganized chit-chat, the crowd disbanded and began to saddle up. Aráshvahr returned to his tent, pleased with the morale of his troops and ready to make the final preparations for his embarkment.
He sat down, grabbed a cloth and began attending to his precious blade; a sword that had forsaken his family's name for generations.
Only a clean blade may serve as an honorable weapon in combat.
His thoughts of his glorious soon-to-be-victory were cut short by the hurried footsteps that barged into his tent. To Aráshvahr's unfortunate discovery, they were the footsteps of no other than his new biggest nightmare.
"Commander! I have some urgent news!" Tokato exclaimed as he barged into the tent. Aráshvahr glared at him, despising his presence with every muscle in his body. Tokato stood as still as stone and gulped in his nervous state, fearing that his commanding officer would once again repent him for his loud-minded behavior.
"Alright lieutenant. What is it?" asked Aráshvahr, with a tone of voice that very clearly highlighted his annoyance.
"Sir, it's umm...it's a message from the capital. They have another mission for us."
Aráshvahr seemed rather surprised by this information. "Oh? And what might that mission be?"
"Well sir, it's about Windstrom, sir. Sorry, umm...it's a small village in Aey'Áris, and it should be right on our designated course. Our sources believe that it's very likely the site of an internment center."
"So we're supposed to go free the prisoners?"
"Yes, sir. And one of the people I spoke to seems rather particular about one of them."
"I see." Aráshvahr replied thoughtfully. "Well, it looks like we'll have to add that to our agenda. Go inform the others, lieutenant."
Tokato saluted him. "Yes sir, will do!" he said confidently, before exiting the tent and vanishing from Aráshvahr's sight.