17 The Battle of the Capital

The Battle of the Capital

Brave men fighting for a wrong cause can bring a whole world down

Elisium. Year 5L 1/1

Solomon and his army marched through the streets of the Capital. The commoners greeted them with incredulous stares. A hundred men on horse-backs, completely covered in armor with only their eyes visible and carrying heavy weapons, this was a sight never seen in Elisium before. No one had any idea about who these intruders were, but they all sensed that something was wrong. After all, this was the turn of the loop, and if any of the stories which they had heard were actually true, the time was ripe for something unusual to happen.

Solomon noticed that the Capital itself had transformed in the last seven years. When during his father's days, the Capital was one large settlement, with the elites and the commoners living next to each others, now there was a distinct divide. The hillock which housed the Grand palace was now a part of the heavily fortified enclave, known as the Royal Mound. Even from a distance Solomon could see that many opulent buildings had come up around the Grand palace. Lavish palaces for all those corrupt ministers of Jonathan.

While the elites enjoyed all the extravagance, the commoners lived in crowded neighborhoods outside the guarded gates of the Royal Mound. Their houses were small, streets were narrow and the markets were overcrowded. Solomon had heard some tales during his stopovers in his journey towards the Capital, that the commoners who once lived in the vicinity of the Grand palace were forcibly evacuated from their houses to create space for these buildings. Their houses and lands were confiscated and they were thrown out to ensure that the enclave remained free of commoners.

Solomon and his men waded their way through the congested streets of the Capital towards the Royal Mound. A procession of curious onlookers was following closely behind them.

Solomon stopped at the large clearing near the grand Gateway of the Royal Mound. Aaron, Peter's son, who was now Solomon's most trusted adviser and his dearest friend, got down from his horse and approached the gateway.

The guards at the gateway were equally baffled at seeing these men, clad in armor, standing at their doorstep.

Boris, head of the Royal guards, took a few men alongside him and walked towards Aaron, "May I know who you are and what is the purpose of your visit?"

"I am Aaron, the chief adviser to Solomon Davids, Son of King Isaac the Enlightened, the true heir of this throne and the righteous king of this world. Our King Solomon has come here to claim what is rightfully his. He wants to meet King Jonathan and explain to him the terms of his surrender and how we all can avoid some unnecessary bloodshed."

Boris smirked after listening to Aaron "Terms of surrender, that I must say is the height of day dreaming. Now I would suggest you to go and tell your master, whoever he is, to get lost from here, before our King looses his head and gets all your heads on spears."

Aaron smiled, "I didn't expect any better response from you. But I think this matter is way beyond your jurisdiction. So I suggest you better inform your superiors and talk to your King before you take any silly decisions. So get moving and send someone with real authority to have a talk with us."

Boris didn't like Aaron's dismissive tone, but he knew he had a point. This was an unusual scenario and he must inform his seniors about this situation.

King Jonathan was in the Great hall conducting a meeting with his ministers, when Boris informed the minister of security, Geoffrey, about the situation at the gateway of the Royal Mound.

"Solomon, son of Isaac," said Jonathan with a chuckle when he was briefed of the situation, "whoever this person is, I don't think he knows about what happened to Isaac, or about how he was murdered. Nor does he know about how Solomon, shivering with fear, committed suicide by jumping into the Abyss. If he would've known he would have chosen some other person to impersonate."

"Your highness, what reply should we give to this person?" asked Geoffrey, "after all he is standing at our gates with an army of around hundred men."

"Take my sword and go, tell him, whoever he is, to kneel before my sword and leave before sunrise tomorrow or else I will have them slaughtered and have their heads mounted on spears" replied Jonathan, "and tell him never to try such antiquities again or I won't even blink my eyelids before having them all butchered."

"And what should I do if he doesn't leave?"

"Assemble our troops, and prepare an army of two thousand men to face this idiot and his men," replied Jonathan, "slaughter them in the worst possible way. Make it a spectacle. I have heard rumors that there are a few people among the commoners who are thinking of revolting against us. Let us take this situation as an opportunity to show the commoners what happens when someone rebels against the King. Kill them all in the most gruesome way possible."

Geoffrey silently nodded, but from within he loathed the idea. How much more blood is going to be spilled in this world. He must try and stop this madness.

An hour later Geoffrey came out of the Royal Mound to meet Solomon and Aaron, who had camped in the fields north of the Capital. He delivered Jonathan's message to them. To his surprise Solomon was neither perplexed nor agitated. In fact he was utterly calm and even smiled when he heard Jonathan's response.

"You understand that you will be slaughtered," Geoffrey said in a serious tone, "I don't want bloodshed in these pious lands. I urge you to leave now and save yourself and your men."

"Blood was first spilled in these sacred lands when Jonathan murdered my father," replied Solomon, "I want the culprit to be punished and this world freed from the clutches of that monster."

"See I don't know who you are," said Jonas, "you have an uncanny resemblance with Solomon the lost, but you look much older then he should have been"

"I must admit the hardships I had to face after leaving this world has taken its toll on me. I haven't aged that well."

"Whom you are trying to sell this story to? There were many eyewitnesses who saw Solomon jump into the Abyss and thus no one is going to believe that you are him. As for the murder of Isaac, I do believe it was wrong, but that is now a thing of past. What happened has happened. Things have just started to stabilize a little bit now and I plead you not to ruin it again."

"If exploiting the commoners and building palaces for yourselves is called stabilizing, I am afraid I don't agree with your views," said Solomon in a stern voice.

"So you are one of those discontented commoners and have come here to start a rebellion. But remember son, this is no more the land of righteousness and justice that it was some years ago. Rebellions here will be crushed brutally without any mercy," warned Geoffrey.

"I know that very well and that is the reason I am here. To return this land to its old virtues. This is no rebellion, but a war for justice and righteousness. And I am sure that the truth will prevail over lies in this battle."

Geoffrey shook his head in disappointment, "if you are hell bent on getting yourself and your men killed, then I can do nothing. I will pray to the Almighty that he puts some sense in your head. Or else we will meet on the battlefield tomorrow after the sunrise."

"We will be waiting for you as well Geoffrey" said Solomon "I always wished that this somehow gets settled without the bloodshed, but I don't see that happening."

"Remember son, overly high ambitions of some young men lead to their downfall"

"You must also remember that brave men fighting for a wrong cause can bring a whole world down"

Geoffrey glared at Solomon and then stormed out of his camp to start preparing for the battle.

At sunrise on the fourth morning of the new loop, two armies stood facing each other.

Two thousand men against a hundred. Even the everlasting thunderstorms of these days of severe adversity had paused for the battle. The commoners of the Capital had gathered as spectators on the fringes of the battlefield. They didn't know who these hundred soldiers were, but they all secretly prayed for these brave men. They wanted them to succeed. They hoped that this men could teach a good lesson this autocratic regime. But the odds were heavily stacked against them. A hundred against two thousand? It was most likely going to end in a massacre.

Geoffrey was in front leading his troops. Instruction from Jonathan were clear. Kill these traitors in the most brutal way and put their heads on spears. But Geoffrey had told his men to fight bravely, but with honor and compassion. He had ordered them not to kill anyone who surrendered and to spare as many lives as they can.

Solomon looked at the enemy troops who were ready to pounce on them. He closed his eyes, tightly clutched his amulet and started to whisper.

Geoffrey's army charged at their enemies, but just about when the armies were about to engage, a massive sandstorm appeared out of nowhere. There was a complete pandemonium as Geoffrey's men were not even able to see their own hands, let alone their enemies.

Aden's soldiers assumed that their enemies will be experiencing the same issues, but to their horror Solomon's men were unfazed by the sandstorm. They attacked their enemies as if there was no obstruction. Cries of help and screams of agony from Geoffrey's men echoed in the battlefield as they were relentlessly hunted down by Solomon's army.

Solomon looked at the scenes in front of him and remembered his most important conference of Transitioners. The conference which led him to his lethal weapons and made him finalize his battle plans.

"Well if you do visit Elisium, and I am strictly against you doing anything like that," said David, "but if you do, you must be prepared for any worst scenarios. First you must select some loyal men, then train them to fight so that they can protect you if any such situation arises."

"Since you have built your palace on the exact same spot where my palace stood, I can lead you to a treasure which may come in handy during a battle," said Abraham, "In the northern side of the palace, dig a little under the Ancient Holy tree and you will find a staircase that will lead you to a basement. There you will find some armors and weapons. Swords, spears, bows and arrows. These armors and weapons have been coated with stardust. The dust of the same holy rock from which the twenty diamonds in the amulet of Transition were extracted. These armors are impenetrable. No sword or spear can damage it. And these weapons coated with the stardust will shatter the enemy weapons like a rock shatters a glass. I had forged these weapons for dire situations, on the instructions of grandpa Adam of course, but never got a chance to use it. So I had them hidden in that dungeon. You can use it if you wish."

"That reminds me of one more tactic," said Noah, "the northern side of the capital is surrounded by desert. If you ever get engaged in a battle, and I am strictly against you going back to Elisium and starting any war," Noah added hastily when he saw Adam glaring at him, "but if any such situation arises, hold the amulet and pray for a sandstorm. Make sure that your men cover their eyes with veils made of permentian cloth. That thin fabric will keep the dust out and help your men keep their eyes open to see clearly whereas your enemies will be blinded by the sandstorm."

"Enough of war strategies," shouted Adam, "it seems like you all are almost nudging him to go there and start a war," Adam looked at Solomon, "just forget about all this and push away the thoughts of going back to Elisium."

But Solomon had remembered every little detail and used this information to good affect. He had unearthed Abraham's hidden basement and found the armors and the weapons. There were just about enough armors and weapons to arm a hundred men and that is why he had selected that many men to accompany him. He had camped in the fields north of the capital, and made sure that the battle took place in that area, so that the sandstorm could come to his aide.

Solomon's men wearing the permentian veil and armed with the stardust coated armor and weapons cut through the enemy ranks like a knife cuts through butter. Geoffrey's troops stood no chance. They were completely blinded and couldn't see their enemies. Even when they wildly swung their swords they found that their enemy's armor was impenetrable. When their swords clanked with their enemy's weapons, theirs just broke into pieces. They could do nothing. They were helpless. They were like a herd of sheep being hunted by a pride of lions.

Geoffrey's troops were getting routed. Everyone was right in their assumptions. It did turn out to be a massacre, but the other way around. Those who were assured of their victory were thoroughly vanquished.

Solomon had instructed his men to try and not inflict fatal wounds on the enemy soldiers. He just wanted to disperse the enemy troops and show their masters his real strength. Although his men tried their best, but in the heat of the battle, more than hundred soldiers of Aden were killed. Hundreds of others were injured and the rest just fled from the battlefield.

When the dust settled, people saw the aftermath of this massacre. Solomon and his men proudly stood in the battlefield surveying the damage they had inflicted. Their enemies were littered across the field, either dead or injured. Solomon had just lost two men in the battle,

Geoffrey himself was injured in the battle and had no option but to retreat. Even though he had some serious injuries, including a big gash on his face, he felt it was his duty to report the damage to the king and offer him his advise. Although they had lost just around a hundred men, but scores of others were injured. Those who had fled were never going to return. So in realistic terms they had lost almost half of their troops. And apparently, the troops who weren't called on to fight were also too afraid to fight these demons.

"So basically you are telling me that our strong army lost a war against just a hundred men?" asked Jonathan angrily, "Now what shall we do?"

"Their armors are impenetrable. Their weapons shatter ours like iron shatters a glass. Did you notice that in the morning of the battle, the everlasting thunderstorms just stopped to give us clear skies. And just when the battle was about to begin a sudden sandstorm engulfed us and left us in shambles. Do you understand where all this points to, Your Highness," asked Geoffrey.

"Where?"

"That this man is actually Solomon, the son of Isaac, and he really has the amulet of Transition. Because only that amulet can control the forces of nature. Only that things can stop the thunderstorms and create a sandstorm out of nowhere. Only a true heir of Adam the first can posses such lethal weapons and assemble such an invincible army."

"You keep forgetting that I am also a descendant of Adam the first."

"I know Your Highness, but you don't have the amulet. And that amulet only passes from a father to his son, down a single line known as the line of kings. You don't belong to that line."

"Okay I know that. But we all know that Solomon jumped in the Abyss with that amulet. How can he come back?"

"Somehow he has found his way back. We just can't fight the powers of that amulet. He is too strong. Even his troops with those weapons and armors look invincible."

"So now you tell me what are our options?"

"We must try and strike a peace deal."

"Why would he accept any peace deal when he knows he is clearly winning?"

"He is an honorable man and doesn't want to spill innocent blood. His men could have easily killed all of our soldiers but they did their best to avoid killing and tried only to incapacitate our men. I am sure he will accept a reasonable peace deal if that helps to stop this bloodshed."

Jonathan gave it a thought, "okay arrange a meeting with him. Lets see what this self proclaimed true heir of Adam wants from us."

Geoffrey came to Solomon's camp to fix a meeting. As Geoffrey had expected Solomon was against unnecessary bloodshed and readily agreed to meet Jonathan to avoid any further loss of lives. The meeting was fixed after the sunset.

Solomon eagerly waited for the meeting, as he was finally going to face his enemy. Though he badly wanted to chop Jonathan's head off for his crimes, but he had a larger goal in mind. He was ready to let Jonathan go if he agreed to his terms and surrendered his crown. Solomon kept trying to convince himself, that he was not in this world for revenge but to set things straight, once and forever, for both the worlds.

He hoped that this meeting will help him achieve his goal without any further violence, but destiny had something else in mind.

And Destiny always had its own ways.