The Dreamer's Fall

Chapter 44 - Damian Verac

Three weeks later...

Within the command tent outside the walls of the Bernish city of Rothwel, a young man who hadn't yet stepped out of his teenage years sat at the head of a long table with an intricately painted map of Bern placed atop it. He sported short blonde hair and rested his chin upon his palm with an apparent disinterest evident in his listless blue eyes.

His name was Damian Verac, a young duke of the Agelian Kingdom tasked with aiding the Bernish army in battle against Ollerin. Three Bernish lords and one lady shared the table with him and appeared just as bored as he.

"...Earl Bakken's levy, twenty-two men lost to illness—nine to desertion. Earl Koz, fifteen..." An officer clad in chainmail read an attrition report from a long sheet of parchment. The reading continued for ten more excruciating minutes before it was finally complete.

"We've been losing a lot of men to sickness lately, no?" Marquis Kallik asked once the officer had finished.

Damian glanced toward the Marquis. He was the eldest in the room and bore a gentle yet authoritative countenance that Damian felt ill-suited for war.

"It's not abnormal. Sieges are always rife with plague. The best we can do is separate the ones who show symptoms." Earl Gabon turned to Damian and released a crooked smile from his leathery face. "When might Agelia's king bless us with more men so we can end this damned siege and prepare for Ollerin's counter-offensive?"

Damian lazily matched Earl Gabon's penetrative gaze. "I've told you many times now, King Ryttin has no intention of sending more men..."

"Is there any word on the evacuations?" Earl Terris asked the officer who had read the attrition report.

"Evacuations..." Earl Gabon mumbled as he tightened his fist in anger.

"Don't cause trouble." Marquis Kallik wagged his finger toward Earl Gabon. "King Goetian and King Ryttin have already come to an agreement. You don't have to like it, but keep your frustration to yourself. All your huffing and puffing does is sow discord."

The officer glanced around the tent and waited until it was quiet. "...The evacuations are proceeding as planned, lord. Only the northeastern territories lag behind, but I'm told that was to be expected."

"Remind me again, Duke Verac, how exactly is King Ryttin planning on feeding them all? Last I checked, Agelia's grain stock wasn't so abundant as to feed a third of Bern's population on top of its own." Earl Gabon mocked.

Damian sighed and spoke as if repeating some statement he had read prior. "Minaan will provide for his sons and daughters. Through his supreme grace, Agelia has been preparing for this day for over a century. As such, no one who evacuates will go without food or shelter."

"I wouldn't dare doubt Minaan's grace." Earl Gabon shook his head before shooting a glare toward Damian. "What I do take issue with is being told to abandon my lands to those Ollerinian dogs without explanation.

"If we can't defeat Ollerin on Bernish land, what difference does fleeing to Agelia make? It just postpones the inevitable, and I'd rather die fighting on Bernish plains than die on some nameless hill in Agelia."

"Yes, yes, Earl Gabon, your bravery is as boundless as the sky." Countess Puck mocked in a flowery voice. "However, despite Earl Gabon's bluster, I'm of the same mind. So please enlighten us, Duke Verac. How might we achieve this victory you've spoken of?"

"All I can tell you now is that our defenses are nearly prepared and a timeline set. You will see Ollerin's fall with your own eyes if you practice patience." Damian replied listlessly, yet his frustration with the line of questions became increasingly evident.