The Fall of Dewan

Chapter 4 Quiet Before the Storm

Dewan settled into a sense of calm following the walls completion. The wall had given them a new confidence that helped dampen the fear of war. They felt protected and united. With an army of around three thousand, they felt as though if a war was to ever come they could win it.

Even Cecila and Gerold found peace for a few years. The boys were now old enough that they could begin to prep them for what a life on the throne entailed. Genevieve and Addy had grown close- despite the eight year age difference. Genevieve, always mature for her age, finally felt as though she had a peer that saw her as more than a princess, and Addy felt as though she had gained a younger sister- one that would not judge her for her questionable parentage. They affectionally referred to each other as cousin, even though their linage was far more separate than that, and if one did not know better could be confused as sisters because they looked so alike.

Lief and Cassius began to study swordsmanship. Gerold would often sit in and watch as they sparred, eager to see them progress. Cecila had been adamant that Genevieve should also know how to wield a sword so she'd be able to protect herself if a situation ever arose. However after some stress filled sword lessons, it was decided the kingdom, and Genevieve, would be safer if she never touched a sword again. Cecila and Gerold were both bewildered how their daughter could be SO bad with a sword when both her parents were fearsome warriors. Genevieve had come closer to stabbing herself with the sword as she tripped over her own two feet than she did to ever hitting an opponent. They settled on her taking some basic archery lessons- at least that she could do from a stationary position.

The boys showed much promise in their sparring and had finally matured. They no longer hurdled through the halls of the castle tackling each other. Often they would sit in on meetings in the throne room, so they could see how matters such as tax and property disputes were navigated.

"The worst part of ruling a kingdom is dealing with the little nuisances like this- and it will take up the bulk of your days. If you think about it though, if your people have enough time to worry about property lines and taxes, it means they aren't worried about war and dying. Means you're doing something right." Gerold once told the boys after an excruciatingly frustrating day of meetings. When the boys were ages fifteen and fourteen they were even allowed to sit in on the war council meetings.

Genevieve could not be bothered with such political nonsense. She wished to spend all of her time in the library with Addy. She could tell you just about every geographical detail of Dewan and all of its historical significance by age ten. As both of their families sat in war council meetings, Addy and Genevieve would sit in the library debating the historical importance of some historical event that most didn't even know occurred.

Their years of calm came to an end in 349 A.S.. After ten years, Artemis made his first major attack on the wall. The attack lasted for six nights. Soldiers hammered at the wall, catapults were fired, mages sent blasts of energy at it that made the ground shake. All the while Dewanain solider sat atop the wall, sending down hundreds of arrows. Many Almorian soldiers were lost, yet it still look six nights for them to withdraw. When Dewanains went to survey the damage to the wall they were shocked at the progress that had been made. It seemed the Almorians were targeting very specific spots on the wall, with heavy power. The dwarves later identified that the Almorians had deduced what they believed to be the walls most critical infrastructural points. They were hitting specific parts heavily in an attempt to weaken the wall as a whole. The damage was not too significant this time, but the dwarves were adamant the plan had validity- if there was a way to breach the wall, they had found it. They called for reinforcements, fearing it was only a matter of time before Artemis would send more men. Conrad led a group of soldiers up himself. Gerold wished to go but Cecila convinced him that if word spread that he had gone to the wall then people would go into more of a panic thinking war had finally come.

"We must put on the illusion that all is still fine so the people do not panic. We have spent years preparing for this war, and we still don't know that they will ever be able to breach the wall. There is no need to panic the people as of yet", Cecila said to her husband and war council.

Another attack came a week later. Just as the first, it lasted six nights before retreat. The Almorians once again took heavy losses as the Dewanians had higher ground and many archers. The most troubling things of all was Dewan took no losses- the Almorian soldiers were not attacking the Dewanian soldiers, simply the wall. Not once did an Almorian solider turn their weapons to the top of the wall, their sole focus was on weakening the wall itself. When inspected, the damage from this attack was more significant than that of the first.

The war council considered sending soldiers outside of the wall to defend it on Almorian soil. But the king and queen would not allow it. "I will not have history say that it was us who invaded them. We do not want their lands, nor do we want their people. We only wish to defend what is ours" Gerold said when the idea arose.

Many advised against this- saying the best way to defend would be to attack but still the king and queen denied it. Even Conrad advised that Dewanian soldiers would be of more use on the ground then atop the walls. But Gerold and Cecila would not hear of it. Years later people still don't know what truly led to the king and queen to feel this way. Some believe that they had intel that it was a trap, that they believed Artemis was baiting them to go on their lands. Others say it was pride, not wanting to be the ones to officially start a war that they might not win. Others say that their conscience got in their way, believing they did not wish to invade an army that is filled with those forced to serve.

The attacks on the wall continued weekly, and every time the Dewanian soldiers remained atop of the wall, sending arrows from above. Word of the attacks on the wall spread across Dewan and, despite Gerold and Cecila's best attempts, panic began to rise. People began to store extra food, fortify their properties, and more. Even at the Dewanian castle, far from the wall itself, the panic was felt. Genevieve woke up in a sweat and tears nearly every night for months from nightmares about the wall being attacked. "They're getting closer. It's going to come down soon. They're almost there" she would say after the nightmares, almost in a fear induced trance state. At the age of thirteen, the king and queen thought it odd that their daughter was still so prone to nightmares but attributed it to her extensive historical readings and the stress of the times.

After three months, Gerold and Cecila had enough. As they laid in bed after a long tiring day, they finally decided it was time. Not only were they affected as parents by the distress of their daughter, but the stress of their people as rulers. They decided it was time to act. They would send people through the wall and bring this war to Artemis the very next day. Well they would have, if they had ever been given the chance. . . .