Chapter 34

Desan led the expedition further into the Ganidan plain, his horse's hooves trampled the Centala flowers that marked the plain for what it was, a place of bloodshed. Paces behind Desan, Rehny could clearly tell the excitement inherent in the Prince's mannerism. He showed an almost eager need to dismount his steed, unsheathe his sword and charge into battle. Rehny saw the way Desan's back was straight despite the wobbling of his horse, he looked like a solid block of stone. Rehny could tell the form of Rage when he saw it and the solidity Desan portrayed made it clear that the Prince was already geared for war before it even started.

Straight ahead in the middle of the Ganidan plain what appeared to be red flowers surrounded by dark green bush slowly coalesced the more they got closer into what it truly was. The Talisi Green Army. They obviously outnumbered the Thirty Seventh Legion by ten to one and it appeared they'd brought more Red Priests than usual hence the red garments. Rehny turned his gaze to the Princess who rode beside him, he found himself hoping that she would not permit violence against the Talisi simply because of the presence of such numerous Red priests. He was powerless to stop Desan for he was third in command due to two royalties taking to the field with him, but maybe Dahli could do something.

"Princess Dahli." Rehny's voice sounded dry to his ears. "You must stop him from killing King Gans." Desan was too far ahead to hear his words. "We won't be able to hold them back if they charge us, it'll mean our deaths."

Dahli snorted with her gaze fixed forward, her eyes taking in the numerous Talisi whose sheer mass became more apparent the closer they came. "It almost sounds like you're begging for your life commander." She said in that same melodic voice that seemed to carry into the air and flutter with the hearts and minds of the men marching directly behind her. "I am just as powerless as you are for Desan is stubborn when he has his mind fixed on something. Though war without our King under such overwhelming odds will surely bring about the first loss Binoria has had on the battlefield in five centuries."

"I don't care about my life." Rehny said and surprisingly he found himself believing it for there was a certainty that he might not meet his end at the hands of the Talisi. He'd consulted Nerie the flame seer and she'd told him he'd live before she went mad and started screaming the same words over and over. THE MAD KING COMES! He had tried his best to keep the words out of his mind but as he watched Desan's back he wondered Is he the Mad King?

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Ishar was surrounded by beautiful women dressed in the same red robes as him but his eyes were fixed on the circling bird overhead. It looked like the same bird that had shat on him, it had the same brick red feathers and blue tipped wings. "I hate that bird." Ishar said. Several heads turned to face him. The Talisi had been standing silently in the middle of the Ganidan plain for over an hour until the sun reached its zenith, nobody spoke a word as they watched the Binorians appear as a moving red spec and inch closer, their gleaming armor taking form in the sunlight. Ishar had broken that blanketed silence with his hate for a bird.

The Talisi's Green Army formed a crescent around the Talisi's 'Gift'. The women were placed in the middle of the crescent shape and they filled it to completion, they seemed to unconsciously squeeze themselves further back into the army as if to take comfort in the army green that engulfed their blood red garments. Only Ishar and several other women stood at the opening of the crescent with their eyes facing directly ahead where they could see King Gans and Princess Tari standing fifty paces away from the comfort of their army, watching the Binorians approach.

There was worry on the faces of the Talisi, worry for themselves, worry for their families and worry for their King. King Gans didn't have his guards around him neither was anyone capable of reaching and rescuing him if anything was to occur, he was just too far away. It was customary for the King to do so, to place himself within the maws of the Binorians as an act of good faith, of trust that they shall show his life value as he shows them servitude. Ishar thought it was stupid. If he were the king he would not be standing like a scarecrow awaiting death, he would charge and meet the Binorians head on in a clash of blades. Screw the Jojoh Meena! Ishar thought. I'd rather die swinging a blade than standing like a stiff cock.

Ishar turned his head to the sky again, disinterested in what went on around him. The bird appeared to have circled behind him. He turned in a half circle, no longer facing the open Ganidan plain and the oncoming Binorians, instead he faced the women of Talisi in all their magnitude and beauty but his eyes were fixed to the sky, observing the singular circling bird. The women who could see him all turned their attention to him, some of them looked up at the sky while wondering what the Kolotian saw.

Ishar lowered his eyes from the sky after getting bored of the bird and met the eyes of hundreds if not thousands of beautiful Talisi women. They all stared at him and it sent an overwhelming nervousness over him that threatened to drop him to the ground. Ishar wanted to turn back around to face the King's back and the oncoming Binorians but his feet refused to respond to the signal from his brain. Ishar smiled nervously and raised one hand and waved at the gawking women. He was glad they'd removed the chains that would have made his wave very awkward if not frightening. He was met by blank stares, not a single girl waved back.

Ishar lowered his hand, feeling stupid. He was about to turn around when he felt something, it felt like the taste of something long forgotten but recalled upon his tongue just from its aroma, it felt like the first touch of snow after endless summer, it was the sound of someone cherished but long forgotten. It was a sense of familiarity. Ishar's eyes scanned the women before him, his eyes passing over them and moving to their right where the sense was strongest. Several rows of women away from him, a girl's eyes were fixed to the sky but not in search of a bird. Her green eyes were stained with tears and the tears still flowed as her full lips moved in silent prayer. "Niada." Ishar said.

Emotions surged within Ishar at the sight of her. He felt like he would fall to the ground and crawl on his belly to sneak another glance at her as he used to. The feeling was absurd but it came with the familiarity of routine. Wait, who is she praying to?  Ishar's eyes widened. He made as if to squeeze his way towards her but his efforts were in vain, the congregation of women was just too dense to permeate.

Ishar took in a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs while his blue tipped finger pointed at Niada. "NIADA!" Niada's face jerked towards Ishar, confusion evident upon her grief stricken face. "DO NOT PRAY TO HER! DON'T PRAY TO MEENA OR YOU SHALL DOOM YOURSELF!"

 Ishar then smiled at her and waved as if he hadn't just shouted at her. It was the first words he'd ever said to Niada and it pleased him that he'd finally gotten to do so though there was a crowd of people between them who were all staring at him like he had just flung his shit into the sky. Gods she's beautiful! With all the women around him Ishar only had eyes for Niada, it might be the last time he saw her with death literally approaching from the horizon hence he found it very difficult to break his gaze regardless of how startled and uncomfortable Niada looked meeting it.

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King Gans turned his head to observe the Talisi behind him at the same time his daughter did. "Did you hear someone shout something?" He asked calmly.

"Yes." Tari said, her eyes scanning behind her. "It sounded oddly like the Kolotian I met early this morning."

King Gans grunted and turned forward to observe the approaching rider clad in golden armor complete with a helmet of similar material. King Vayin rarely wore a helmet and the figure in gold didn't seem to carry the same likeness as King Vayin though he struggled to mimic it. Behind the rider rode a woman with shortly cropped blond hair dressed in red armor with a gold cape and beside her was a man dressed in similar red armor but with a black cape. King Gans was familiar with the war hardened red armored man, Commander Rehny. When King Gans was but a Prince he'd seen the man hurl himself into Talisi's defensive line alone. Hard to forget such a person after a sight like that.

King Gans took note of the light infantry that had come to a halt several paces behind the riders. There was no cavalry and by the looks of things they'd brought only a single Legion. Sure, a legion under the leadership of King Vayin was as deadly as an army of ten times its size but maybe the singular legion was a sign that the Centala flowers beneath his feet shall not taste that which makes them thrive. Maybe the Binorians did not carry death in their minds today. King Gans thought.

"Why did you bring the Kolotian, father?" Tari asked, turning her head from observing the Talisi to meet the Binorian slowly riding towards them.

"He killed the Chief Red Priest." King Gans answered.

"We both know such an act's consequence is immediate death not to be brought as a gift to the Binorians." Princess Tari replied.

The rider in gold unsheathed his sword and held its point to the side with his arm outstretched. He was only a stone throw away from King Gans and his daughter.

"He has been chosen by the Gods according to the Entrail Seer." King Gans said. He had never seen a sword unsheathed during the gift giving ceremony throughout his reign as King of Talisi. King Vayin usually indulged Gans and exchanged the gifts before departing shortly. The last time a sword had been drawn his father's head had rolled. "Gods know we need everything they can give us." Tari did not reply to her father's statement, instead she stared at the oncoming rider, her hands trembled in fright as she took in the length of his drawn sword.

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