After an intense few breaths, the king spoke with a shaky voice. "It reads, 'To those that would halt my crusade; Siegfried Bähr, Boris Hext, Blake Amida, Talib Kerim, Sayen Volk, Arthur Castian, and Garele Zima. Know that your declaration of war at my northeast compound will not be taken lightly. Know that the full might of my forces shall fall upon you, crushing any and all hope you may have had in stopping me and my most holy of tasks. Should you not end your foolish campaign in futility now, neither you nor those you love will be left alive once I have finished. It would be truly a shame if Olympias Katsaros, Fadil Kerim, Sarnai Kerim, Lilly Goebel, Shikoba Volk and the Volk Tribe, or perhaps even the inhabitants of Burkhart and Alfsige were to meet an unfortunate fate. Know that from now on, you shall never be safe. You shall ever be under my watch. I am everywhere, and your end shall come by my hands and mine alone.' It was simply signed, 'Father'."
The air was heavy; everyone was trying to process the news they had just received. As the air grew ever more serious on all ends of the call, it wasn't fear that weighed down the air but rage. Each of the callers grew angrier and angrier with the thought that their loved ones were being threatened. The first to reach their breaking point was Siegfried. He slammed down so hard that it caused the table to split in two. While Garele quickly snatched up the cell before it could hit the floor, Siegfried let out a low, bestial growl in anger. "So he knows us, he threatens us, he threatens those we care for, and he thinks that will be enough to stop us. Bullshit!"
"Siegfried?" Boris' voice came through the cell, the anger in his voice growing alongside Siegfried's.
"No. We move on, undaunted. He knows who we are and is threatening us directly. Why? Because he's afraid. We did what no one else has, what no one else could. We destroyed one of his compounds and stopped all of his activity on the Northeastern Continent. He's afraid of what we can do, what we're going to do if left to our own devices. So he came at us with threats to try and scare us. So what? What are we going to do?"
"What are you saying, Siegfried?" the king's voice was still shaky, but it was calming with Siegfried's rage.
"I can't speak for the others, but I'll move forward. He threatened my friends; my family. I can't abide by that. I will go to each of his compounds, leave them all as rubble, and rip out 'Father's' throat myself. Talib, what do we know of Hamuza Canyon? You're from around here; do you know anything?"
"It's...it's a canyon a bit east of the Hema Anvil; it was cut by an underground river supposedly. Near the end of the canyon is a sizable lake of freshwater. But it's beyond some of the roughest terrains in the desert; just reaching the canyon will be quite a feat." Talib's voice was shaky with his own anger, but he held himself together as he turned into his teacher mode. "What of it, Sieg? What of this threat? Will you still move forward?"
"This threat? This won't stop me, not in the least; so, who's with me? Who'll move forward with me and stop this bastard from hurting any others, from hurting our loved ones? Who's with me?" with a pause to catch his breath, Siegfried was elated to hear the responses. In almost perfect sync, Boris, Talib, Sayen, Arthur, Garele, and even Blake only took a moment before letting out a roar; 'YEAH!'. Beaming, Siegfried continued, his rage growing but pride in his friends and allies growing right alongside it. "We aren't fighting alone; he's been attacking our homes and our peoples for too long, but now, he made it truly personal; he has called out our closest friends and family; he's even called out my home town. He came directly to us, by name no less. So, I say that we do the only polite thing and destroy that monster ourselves."
"You'll keep on going then?" the king was surprised by their determination.
"There is no way that a threat like this would stop us. I have people waiting at home for me to return triumphant. I shall not let this affront go unpunished." Boris could be heard pounding his chest in pride.
"You gave me this mission, and I'll see it to its end, come the abyss or high water. You have my word; you all do." Blake called out to the king and the others through the cells.
"His monsters have killed countless friends of mine, kept me stuck at the northeastern outpost for over five years, and now threatens my kids; all that I have left in this world? There is no true father in this world who would allow such a threat to stand." Talib's voice emanated pure rage with the thought of anyone attacking his family.
"Anyone that threatens my tribe is an enemy, and this lot I now travel with is very much part of my tribe; they are my friends, my family. I will not stay idle as my family fights. I'm going give it my all; and go straight for the throat." Sayen could be heard growling deep under her words.
"I don't know how he already knows of me, but that bastard already took all I had, and now that I find something new, somewhere I can belong, people that understand me; he threatens them. I may have only been with you all for a short time, but my spear shall pierce his defences and end his terror." Arthur's spear could be heard thumping on the ground in a beat.
"I was undecided; until now. My decision was made for me, it would seem. I may not be a fighter, but he threatened my saviours, but more importantly and more foolishly, he has threatened my little sister. There's no forgiving that. I may not be able to kill him myself, but I sure as the abyss won't let any of you die on our warpath. I'll see him dead. You all have my shield; 'till the end." Garele was uncharacteristically dark, giving off a feeling of dread.
"I thank you all. I must apologize, however. With there being a potential spy in the palace, I will not be able to assist you all that much. I wouldn't want your plans being leaked. I'm sorry, but you may have to fall off the map, so to speak, for a time." The king's voice was steady again with the confidence he received from the warriors.
"No problem, your majesty. Just keep him out of the Northeastern continent. But you got one thing wrong; we won't be hiding anywhere." Siegfried voice still held great rage, but there was a newfound calm to his voice.
"What do you mean, Siegfried?"
"We were just fighting a battle for our country, but now, now he's made it personal. We aren't going to just any battle; we're going to fight our battle. This war has only just begun."
-To Be Continued-
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Bodanen: Cobalt War
FantasyThe world of Bodanen has known war for forty-five years, but outside the capital of An-ox in a small trading town, a less than average farmer has grown up relatively peacefully. When the war comes to his home, he finds his aptitude for violence to b...
