As Soal emerged from his tent the next day with his armor, sword and shield ready, he ran to Porter, at the front of the camp. Many of the tents had been pushed out of the way, and in their place laid the entire army, of only about two and a half thousand. Porter proudly stood at the front, next to where Soal stopped running. The sun had not yet risen, and peering down over a ridge, into the valley, Soal could see Articulus's army of two million, Dark Soldiers on foot, Dark Hands in the air. Their synchronized steps would probably measure 1.0 on the Richter Scale. Shadow Hand was leading them. But they could not see Soal's army yet; the ridge obscured them. It was up to him to start the battle. Kiwi, Retna, and Anter stood behind him, all three looking up to him in confidence, but filled with fear. "Do you have the Pure Light sword?" he asked Porter.
"Yes, here it is," he pushed it to Soal's metallic, armored boots, and Soal picked it up. It felt heavier than last time, though. "Hide it in Sickle's sheath," he gave some advice so later, he could get Shadow Hand close to him. So Soal did, and surprisingly, it worked; the prickly sword fitting inside Sickle's sheath, and stopping its glow from reaching the outside. Then he quoted Sun Tzu (again) one last time. "Know your enemy, know yourself, and you shall not fear the outcome of a thousand battles," he gave some advice to Soal and then stared at the ridge, sword in mandibles, shield attached to his chest. His back head kept track of the army, and they were all okay. "When you're ready, General Soal. Lead the way."
Waiting for just the right moment, he heard the entire army of two million freeze in their tracks, probably Shadow Hand scanning for their location. When a light , a faint one, was seen from the east, Soal decided this was the perfect time.
"Today, we will win this battle," he confidently said to Porter, trying to mask his fear of Shadow Hand and the battles, "And we will move on to our next destination. We will not let two million evil soldiers stop us. Today, we fill fight!" Raising his damaged sword, he let out a battle cry and ran over the ridge as the sun rose above the horizon, behind the enemy army. With that, the entire stampeding kiwi army followed him down the hill, towards the enemy.
YOU ARE READING
The Sketch: The Voyage of Soal
Fantasia{Book One in the Sketch Trilogy} In a bleak future world, a timid boy named Samuel Lawrence is sent to yet another boarding school, where a strange secret awaits him. When a corporation known as Lint Corp. delivers him a seemingly unimportant cart...
