A Tale of Time: The Malice of Men

Chapter 31: The March

Rumb! Rumb! Rumb! Rumb!

Here we come! Here we come!

Rumb! Rumb! Rumb! Rumb!

Here we come for war! 

Did they have to sing as they marched?

The giants were not particularly good at singing, and they only seemed to know two songs. Armanda had heard drunk men sing better! Not that she would tell the giants that. She valued her life too much. On top of it all, there was nothing cheerful about the songs. One advocated war and the other caution.

When she saw that there was no stopping them from their march, she decided to follow them. That was probably what they wante . At any rate, they didn't complain. For the first time in over two thousand years, the giants were no longer under the canopy of trees. They would sleep beneath the stars, If only for a while. 

Even on horseback, Armanda felt small amongst the giants. They towered over her and her men, who grew increasingly wary. They were old and had knowledge of many thousand years of existence. They wore some of the strongest armour she had ever seen. Their swords were heavy and made of pure silver. Each blade was fifteen feet long. Iravaan's own spear was thirty feet long and very sharp, so Armanda assumed, because she couldn't make out the tip of the blade. What is more, if the stories could be trusted, they were magical as well.

While going to war was a fine thing, it would have been nice to know who the enemy was! Iravaan had not told her that despite repeated pleas, although she had a feeling he wanted her to know for herself.

The rest of the giants liked to pretend the humans weren't there. Other than taking care not to tread on them and providing them with food, they did nothing else. Sometimes, Armanda thought she caught them staring at her in trepidation. She suspected the giants secretly feared humans, especially since their second a song ran as follows:

Flee from fire, foes and scum!

Run away from the lands whence they come.

They shall kill all in their wake and path.

Dark are their souls. Dark are their hearts.

The first five times they sang, all she could make out was 'fee fie foe and fum'.

Fortunately, they stopped singing come sunset and set up camp immediately. Wherever the war was, it isn't seem like they were in a hurry to reach there. They were really efficient workers. The camp was ser up in next to no time and by the time her men had set up their own tents, the feasting had already begun. Armanda couldn't believe something so big and so old could be so fast. Clearly, humAn rules didn't apply to giants.

The night was surprisingly quiet despite the large creatures about, and everything seemed to be in a tense, fragile peace. Her own men were beside her, about a fire they had set up. The meals were over and already, the giants were fast asleep. She knew that come daybreak, they would be on an unceasing March again. They never stopped as long as there was a Sun in the sky.

"My Lady." One of her companions asked. "Is this safe?"

Politically, it was dangerous as can be. This was the best possible time for war, open or otherwise, to break out. Her own political position was weak. The moment other humans saw her with giants, it was going to be the end of her time as the Lady of the Western Isles. Still, given the scenario, Armanda thought she and her men were in the safest position. The giants were quite intimidating, after all, and they seemed to know of things to come. Of course, it still remained to be seen how far the giants would protect her.