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The BloodVaine EpicChapter 81: King Falconis' XXVIII Council
Randolph rode his horse by the multitude of weary discouraged Falcons as they set up what few tents were left. Of the force that had swept through Royal Knight land and penetrated Black Knight country - nearly a million men when first counted, best estimates showed that only 300,000 were fit to fight and the same number were wounded, incapable of rendering any service. The disaster that had befallen them nearly a week ago took thousands of lives, and the few horsemen that the Black Knights could muster continually harassed the Falcons through their long hard trek back to their homeland. Adolfus had wanted to regroup and attack again, but a message from the king himself had ordered him to withdraw.
A wise man he was, Randolph thought. The king of the Falcons, Falconis XXVIII had been on the throne for many years, and using diplomacy, bribes, and the sheer force of the army he had built up, the Black Falcon borders had spread and the country had become one of the largest in Dametreos. Yet ambition had now blinded him.
Allying himself with Bloodvaine, how foolish! Randolph reflected.
This time he made the right choice though. His precious army was decimated and in no condition to fight.
Turning back to the officer’s quarters, where the leading generals were to meet at noon, Randolph heard a trumpet sound. Coming to the camp was none other than Falconis, with the two hundred imperial guards that were famous for accompanying him in battle. That would be a good thing, for the sight of their leader would almost certainly encourage the haggard troops. Simultaneously, a body of five Red Cross Knights rode into camp just ahead of the slow moving body of the king’s guards.
Now what does this mean? Randolph thought Classic LEGOlanders - allies of Bloodvaine no doubt. Why would they come here?
Dismounting his horse, Randolph tied him up and walked to the tent were undoubtedly both the king and LEGOlanders would meet. Randolph saw the LEGOlanders dismount from their horses. Adolfus was already sitting at the head of the table, with three of the army’s leading generals. He arranged himself with the latter group as two of the Cross Knights stepped forward. One of them opened his mouth to speak, but Adolfus put his hand up, silencing him to stop.
“Please, wait one moment sir. At this moment our king is to come into our council. Please sit down here” he said as he motioned to his left. Nodding his head in assent, the men went to the directed spots. A few moments later, a herald entered.
“I present to you King Falconis XXVIII, ruler of the Black Falcons, sovereign of the Bulls, monarch of the Black Falcon Isles, and overseer of Royal Knight territory.”
Stepping aside, the man made way for the ruler, accompanied by two fully armored soldiers, each equipped with a short pike and a sword. Everyone in the room stood up in his presence. Adolfus seemed to be quaking with fear. The king himself scanned the room, his cold piercing eyes seeming to penetrate the thoughts of each person there. His figure was thin and gaunt, and his dress was simple to the extreme. A long, sharp sword hung from his belt, and one of his thin bony hands clutched the hilt. His face was long, and from his thin, small mouth he spoke.
“Adolfus! Tell me – what of the Black Knight army? Their land? Why is Rathoan still standing and their capitol left uncontested? At this moment my scouts report that a large force of Forestmen, Wolfpack, and Bulls are marching on Orion – barely four miles from here. You have proved you incompetence. I am removing you from command.”
Adolfus scowled.
“Your attacks on my failures are so easily spat out. A dragon severally hampered our progress. What were we to do of that?”
“Silence, before I have your head!” Falconis looked as if he could kill Adolfus simply by looking at him.
“Martin – you are to replace your former commander.” he said, pointing at the infantry commander, “Now tell me, what happened?”
Martin spoke up, “After subduing what little resistance there was in Royal Knight land, we crossed over though LEGOland territory just as BloodVaine made his attack. There we received some trouble from some Classic LEGOlander knights, but Randolph here drove them off, eliminating each one we came across. We crossed the Falpine River that forms the Black Knight’s northern border, and took the first few towns which quickly surrendered. Our objective was to secure Rathoan before the bulk of the Black Knight army reached us. In this we failed due to the cumbersome size of the army. They were able to assemble some 300,000 men just outside their city. The dragon caused us much trouble, but our army drove the opposing force back into the city. We should of sent our reserve force in to cut them off, but Adolfus foolishly did not carry out this part of the plan that I had presented. We started to lay siege to the city, but some four days later, the dragon came again, catching us by surprise. The Black Knights, their numbers replenished due to the lack of a full encirclement of the city drove us back – the greater portion of our army escaped due to the charge led by Randolph – most of our able horsemen were killed then, and a few hundred horses were simply left behind when we retreated.”
“How many men are left?”
“Of the million men, 120,000 were killed on the first day, 280,000 either were killed or deserted during the retreat. Some 100,000 are severally wounded, and only 250,000 are in any condition to fight. I blame the high death toll to be largely caused by the dragon. Had it not been there, we could of easily carried the day.”
“I see. Now, you two,” Falconis said, pointing to the Cross Knights, “What are you here for?”
One of them stood up.
“The aforementioned army you spoke of – the one made up of Foresetmen and Bulls are at this moment threatening the city of Orion which BloodVaine has taken. We ask that you send us a detachment to help.”
Falconis stood there, in a moment of indecision.
“I will bring 150,000 men along with myself. I personally want to see the complete and final destruction of the Bulls.” he said, spitting out the last syllable.
Facing Martin he said, “The wounded are to be transported to our own land though I want a detachment of 200,000 to stay here.”
“Yes, your lordship.”
“Then I call this meeting to an end. Prepare the men. I want only the best to come.”
Turning away, he left the room. Randolph was both surprised and amazed at the coolness of the king. Even when confronted with cold had numbers, he did not even flinch, seemingly shrugging them off. the men who died – they were people Randolph thought. Yet he simply shrugged it off…far from being impressed, Randolph came to the point of being disgusted at the king’s actions.
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