Oghinta Onizawa was crowned the High King of Yunan at the age of sixteen, after his father Neera the Great died. There were plenty of those dissatisfied with the choice. His father's younger brother, by the name of Needa, openly demanded the crown for himself. He said he was the better choice, being older, more experienced and more deserving.
After his demands were ignored, Needa sneaked away from Kassandana, into the neighboring independent kingdom of Verlow, and made a secret pact with its king. The traitor managed to gather a large host and marched against his nephew. Needa was sure he would easily win any battle in an open field, and there weren't enough supplies in Kassandana to last a long siege.
His host came up to the capital and laid siege to it. Oghinta's advisors tried to persuade him into parleying with his enemy. Yet the young king indignantly rejected their advice and prepared for battle.
His advisors said, "Sire, at least don't risk your own life, it's unseemly for a king. Also it's not your life only that you are risking; it's the life of every soldier in your army. Appoint one of your old and wise generals the Supreme Commander! Every one of them has been waging war longer than you are alive!"
The young king answered, "If I'm not worthy of leading soldiers into battle, I'm not worthy of sitting on Kassandana throne either. As for those old and wise generals, Needa fought alongside them, ate and drank with them, made friends with them. So he knows them inside and out, and knows how they think. The only general he doesn't know is I."
With those words High King Oghinta donned his armor and took command over the army. Soldiers, though, looked at him grimly and talked among themselves, "This boy will lead us all to our death! Shan't we side with Needa and have mature and reasonable ruler in him?"
Others objected to it, "Oghinta was the only son of the High King of Yunan. It's him who the king named his heir before he died. Is the word of Neera the Great worth nothing? Is the oath you swore to him worth nothing? Him who breaks his oath in the face of danger is a traitor and a coward!"
Meanwhile, the young king addressed his army in this manner, "Needa's soldiers excel us neither in skill nor in numbers. They are horse-breeders and swineherds of Verlow. If you believe that they present any danger to you, you should also believe that a sixteen-year-old boy would lead you to victory!"
In a brief moment he managed to change the soldiers' mood. They heartened up and placed their faith in their new leader. Oghinta commanded the gates opened and led a daring attack on Needa's host.
The battle was fierce and short. Within two hours the scattered enemy fled, and Needa himself was slain, as if by mistake. Some said it was no mistake, but Oghinta's secret order. He could neither let Needa live nor execute him openly, for he was his kinsman, still loved and respected by some people. No one knew if it was true. If it really was Oghinta's decision, he proved himself to be a wise, though cruel king. While alive, albeit imprisoned, Needa would pose a constant threat of another strife, a danger to Oghinta's sovereignty.
There were enough threats and dangers to Oghinta's sovereignty anyway. The next fifteen years he spent waging incessant war. He would spend weeks on horseback, eating and sleeping under open sky, like a common soldier. And his soldiers loved him for it. They were all ready to die for him and believed in him almost as in God Almighty himself. It is known that a battle is won not only with swords, but with faith and confidence. Oghinta's soldiers never wavered in their faith, so they won every battle.
High King Oghinta accomplished a feat that was beyond even his great father: he conquered the kingdom of Verlow and made it part of Yunan. Beside that, he purged the barbarians out of the Haelghira foothills and made these lands part of Yunan also. He quenched revolts spreading throughout kingdoms of Arheeze and Kiaran, dealt with sea raiders of the BelgIsland and neutralized many other threats.
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Gates to Glory: Epic Fantasy Adventure Tale (Ashurran #1)
Macera[FINISHED]She was born in a tribe of fierce female warriors. Swords and spears have been her toys from the cradle. She has the only path before her, to become the tribe chief after her mother. Yet Ashurran dreams of strange lands, of bigger battles...
