Empires of Faith

Chapter 2: The Battles Begin

21 Jumada Al-Awwal, 1663

The sun sat high in the sky, mercilessly hammering heat down on to the desert lands. After sending out a scout to make an estimate of the arrival time of the enemy army, it was decided that noon was the best time to march out and face them. The Muslim army was divided into three separate bands, with each assigned a specific task as a part of their tactics. Heavily trained -though slightly inexperienced- Muhammad ibn Sulayman would have his mettle tested as he led the foremost of the groups on a march to battle.

Ten paces ahead of the nearest row, Muhammad walked alone, carrying only his tall, wooden spear. He wore a simple, dark green thobe over his black pants, and a black turban whose tail blew fluidly in the wind behind him. Flowing down his back was a fine black cape which had a seal of Arabic calligraphy spelling صقر in white letters between his shoulders. It was a family heirloom worn only into battle, and this was to be only his first time wearing it, but he was determined for it not to be his last.

Behind Muhammad trailed a ragtag band of roughly sixty volunteer soldiers from the village. Without an official army, many of the men were untrained and some were even armorless and weaponless. Still, with faith in their hearts and a firm determination to defend their homes, the brave warriors trekked through the heated desert to confront the incoming army of General Greorg Sersdal.

As he and his troops marched on, Muhammad went over the battle plan once more in his head. All we need to do is drive them eastward towards the cliffs where Imran and his archers are lying in wait, he thought to himself. If we can take out a significant amount of them here, then it should be no problem for the archers to finish them off. Should they get past him, Usama and his horsemen most definitely should be able to finish them off. We are undoubtedly outnumbered, and though strong in determination, these soldiers are unskilled in the art of battle. Living out here so far in the desert, they've never really had to worry about invasions or any enemies besides nature itself. Their warrior ways have been lost with time unfortunately. Still, we are fighting for a just cause, and that is enough. Allah is with those who have faith in Him, and if these men have the courage to come out here, with no actual armor or training, just to fight and defend their families in Allah's name, then I believe they may just have adequate faith in Allah. In Shaa Allah, we can win this.

Muhammad looked back to the men who had been following behind him. The distance had increased beyond what he considered acceptable. He could see signs of fatigue on some of their faces. "We will stop here," he ordered. "Any further and some of you will not have the energy to fight the enemy when we meet them."

"Sir, we must continue," one young man spoke up, eager to keep up the march. "We need to be as far away from our families as possible, should we be defea-"

"Do not even speak of such a thing!" Muhammad cut him off. "In Shaa Allah we will be victorious here, and if we are not then Allah is the Protector over our families. If you are so concerned though, akhi, you must realize that we need to be strong enough to fight them, otherwise they will just defeat us and move on."

"I, I understand sir. I'm sorry for stepping out of line."

"No worries, akhi. I understand your worry; I truly do." Muhammad peered out into the distance, seeing no sign of the enemy army. Oh Munirah, I pray that you are safe, Muhammad thought deep inside. I know that you have told me to trust in Allah and that you would do the same, but I also know that you are worried about me, and I do not want you to let your emotions drive you to do anything that would endanger yourself. I don't know that I could fight at my best were I to see you in harm's way. Allah has forbidden fighting for vengeance.... And I just love you too much....