Laiban & Valik

Inside a room around the middle of the Castle of Remna sat two youngsters, they recalled the memories of their villages that ceased to exist.

"Do not worry about it Valik," said Laiban to Valik as he slapped his back. "You sure faced a lot."

"Perhaps," replied Valik while touching the cover on his right eye. "Though I think the future is worse."

Laiban gave a stronger slap to Valik's back in response.

"Do not let your brain wonder too far in the future and make up negative thoughts about it," said Laiban. "Do not underestimate the future."

Valik still had not told Laiban that he had married his deceased sister, Shaiva. Valik felt It is too late to say anything now, that nothing will change even if he said it.

"So what are you going to do now Valik?" asked Laiban.

Valik's road boils down to two decisions. Stay in the Castle to fight Lorope. Or head southward and live somewhere peaceful within the Djinn Kingdom.

Both decisions to Valik were bitter. Enlisting in the army would mean that he will kill and plunder. And if he took the second choice and went southward, then his heart would be enraged, on why did not he avenge his wife, family, and the villagers.

"True, but I do not know what to do at this point," said Valik. "Tell me, why did you enlist in the army Laiban?"

"I like the army life," replied Laiban. "I like the struggle. The unity behind camping, drill training, and the discipline when everyone follows that single order is enticing. I admit it is a rough life. Yet, once you succeed in this struggle, it tastes like honey."

This guy is quite the animal, Valik thought. But at the same time Valik envied him, Laiban was unshakable.

"I see," said Valik. "It is my first time hearing that someone from the Chocked Villages enlisted in the military of the Djinn."

"Well, it was a bumpy road," said Laiban. "Of course my whole family and friends were against this military idea. I was seventeen at that time, and my marriage was a year away. So my mother was heavily against me going to the military. But I could not. I had and still have this mad passion for the military life."

"If I had this passion of yours for the military, I would not have been so conflicted in my decision," said Valik.

"Well I still had to make lots of tough decisions inside the military," replied Laiban. "We have this saying that in the military you have to either lie or die. It took me a while to accept this saying, but it made me realize that lying is not that bad. But there are still simple choices in the military, like on what kind of cohort do you want to join. For me, I chose the shield cohort."

"A cohort?" asked Valik. "What is that?"

"It is the building block of a legion," replied Laiban. "A legion is composed of ten cohorts. Each cohort is led by a leader, and they all use the same weapon, like a shield. There are two other main cohorts; a bow cohort, and a sword cohort. And I tell you man the training of shield cohorts is akin to hell."

"What training? You just have to hold a shield," said Valik.

"Dude, you keep lifting heavy objects all day. Then they test your shield skills against the largest wild boars you have ever seen," replied Laiban. "By the way, there are three levels of training in the military. In summary, it starts with general training, followed by specialization training, and ends with cohort training. It takes most people two years to finish the three levels."

"And on which training level are you right now?" Valik asked.

"I finished my cohort training about a month ago," replied Laiban while showing his thick arm muscles. "This means I am a full-fledged military man right now!"

"Well that is great," replied Valik.

The two villagers talked for hours, and from hours to a whole day. This helped Valik recover some of his physical and mental wounds. It also helped Laiban remember the old days of his village life.

Meanwhile, at the top of the Castle of Remna, a scout spoke to Vizier Kaljar and his second-hand man Lajek.

"What? An additional 30,000 Lorope army is heading our way?!?!" said Kaljar.

"Indeed sir," replied the Cheif Scout named Javet. "I still do not know how we did not notice them earlier."

"So they had certain ways to hide from our eyes...," said the second-hand man Lajek.

"Whatever the case may be," said Kaljar. "This means that Lorope army will be more than triple our current army size."

The Lorope army would total 35,000 men once the 3 legions meet up with the 5,000 men under Lustratous. It would put the 10,000 Djinn army residing in the Castle of Remna at a great disadvantage.

"So they wanted to surprise us," said Lajek. "We will have to avoid any direct confrontation with the enemy from now on. The resolve of our soldiers will also be weakened once they realize that we are at a manpower disadvantage."

"The enemy also has an additional 65,000 men. Is it also heading our way?" Kaljar asked the Chief Scout.

"No sir," replied the Chief Scout Javet. "I have placed two scouts around each of the ten Lorope legions. They confirmed that 35,000 are marching at the Castle of Remna, and the remaining 65,000 are still residing back in the Empire. So we can safely say that we do not have to worry about the 65,000 for now."

"How long until these 3 legions join up with Lustratous half legion?" asked Kaljar.

"It would take about a day sir till the 3 legions group up with Lustratous' half legion," replied the chief scout.

"And Lustratous half group will also need another day to reach the Castle?" Kaljar asked.

"That is correct sir," the Chief Scout replied. "In total, it would take two days for the 35,000 Lorope armies to reach the Castle of Remna."

"But there is no need to be troubled by the numbers," said Lajek. "Even if they outnumber us they still won't breach the Castle."

"Lorope knows how sturdy is the Castle," said Kaljar. "Why would they surprise us with three additional legions despite knowing that they can't breach the Castle?"

"I cannot tell sir," Lajek replied. "I would say it would be best to scout every sensitive area for additional safety. Perhaps they are hiding new legions that we are yet to notice."

"Good idea," replied Kaljar. "How many scouts do you presently have Javet?"

"Fifty men sir," replied Javet. "Twenty scouts are currently scouting Lorope's ten legions. So I still have thirty remaining within the Castle."

"Great," replied Kaljar. "Scatter them north of the Chocked Villages and around the mountains. Reply to me tomorrow by sunset for any findings. We do not have much time left."

"Gladly," replied Javet. "I shall order them right away."

Javet swiftly headed outside the quarters of Kaljar to dispatch the orders.

"That should do sir," Lajek replied. "If they have extra hidden spots to move their army, the thirty additional scouts should be more than plenty to notice them."

"I hope so," replied Kaljar. "Lorope should expect that we will send additional scouts. They should have prepared some countermeasures."

After the coming of the next day, the situation was growing tense at the Castle of Remna. Kaljar and Lajek were weary from waiting for the findings of the scouts.

By midday, the Chief Scout Javet knocked on Kaljar's door. It was later than the agreed time on sunset.

"Come in," Kaljar replied hurriedly. "Why are you late Javet? And what about the findings?"

"Sir... I do not even get what happened," replied Javet.

"What now just tell us!" urged Lajek.

"I agreed to meet the scouts for the findings at sunrise here at the Castle. But none came," Javet said. "I was surprised and confused. So I immediately sent for backup scouts and ran around myself to see what happened. All the scouts I managed to find were lying dead. It is as if Lorope is mocking us."

Kaljar's face looked as if hell fell on him.

"They are up to something," said Kaljar. "And we are many steps away."

Throughout this campaign, Kaljar's thoughts were always centered around avenging his father's death back in the Three-Years-War. But upon realizing this, he began instead to think about the safety of his daughter.

"We do not have to think that far sir," said Lajek. "With the Castle standing sturdy and solid we still have the upper hand."

"I do not think so Lajek," said Kaljar. "The signs are clear."