BOOK II OF III: The Reign of the Sultan

by J. Eric Booker

  Once the soldiers had formed ranks in front of him, about thirty seconds later, Baltor exited the command tent, borrowed Han’s megaphone, and then called out, “Forces, as of right now and until I say otherwise, we shall hold a defensive position; that is, until the catapult and siege machines arrive tomorrow and we place them around the city walls. If the route of peace can be achieved first, then this is my first command!

  “Simply put, do not attack unless I give the vocal command to do so. Also, send word to Admiral Bryce of my orders. Do you all understand my commands?” Following his question, Baltor gave the megaphone back to Han.

  At the same time, seventy thousand and three soldiers cried out in unison, “Yes, my Sultan!”

  While crossing his swords into the air over his head, Baltor yelled out, “For the honor and the glory of the Sharia Empire!”

  “For the honor and the glory of the Sharia Empire!” the troops yelled fervently back.

  Baltor sheathed his swords, looked over to his generals, and then calmly said, “Commanding-General Han, ensure that my horse is brought to me on the double.”

  Han looked over at his colonel with a nod to his head. That colonel hurriedly left to get his Sultan’s horse—even though it wasn’t his job, it was his privilege and honor!

  Not even a minute later, that colonel returned riding on Baltor’s stallion, Grasha, while also securely holding onto the reins of the two top generals’ horses.

  Except for the very first night that Baltor and his forces left Pavelus, he observed that Grasha was wearing her battle armor, which gold-plated steel not only protected her body, yet her head—her helmet bore the etched-symbol of the Sharia Empire.

  Once the colonel had gotten off, and snapped a salute, Baltor returned the salute, and grabbed the reins. He then tenderly patted his stallion’s face while chatting pleasantries to her for nearly a minute before climbing into the saddle. Meanwhile, Han and Thorn had already climbed into the saddles upon their horses, waiting patiently for Baltor’s next order.

  Baltor looked at his men, and ordered, “Generals and Guide-on-bearer, follow me.”

  He then lightly snapped the reins, spurring Grasha into a trot—the officers and the guide-on-bearer followed right behind.

  Not even two minutes later, Baltor and his men finally began to draw near the enemy army’s leaders, who were riding into the middle of the battlefield by themselves … all eight of them. It appeared that the enemy did not wish to attack, just yet.

  Once everyone had arrived to a safe distance of twenty feet away from each other, Baltor issued the command, “Halt!” Not only did his men halt, yet so did all of the enemy’s leaders.

  After quickly surveying these men that were quietly looking back, he realized that the Duke of Vispano was not in the mix, and so he introduced, “My name is Baltor Elysian the Fifteenth, and I am the Sultan of the Sharia Empire. Pray tell, where is Duke Marlborough Vispano, so that we can parlay the reasons on why he stole our money, conquered my city of Lasparus, killed my soldiers that were simply protecting it, and most importantly, what we can do to reestablish trade and peace between our two nations?”

  One knight rode out in front of the rest—he wore plate mail armor, as well a helmet-with-visor that covered his entire face, just like the rest of his entourage. He also wore a black cape with four silver bars sewn into each shoulder—the others wore capes, but theirs had different earthy colors, and not as many with silver bars.

  After raising the visor, which revealed piercing green eyes, a hawk-like nose and a salt-and-pepper goatee with matching eyebrows, this knight nobly replied, “Greetings, Sultan Baltor Elysian—my rank and name is Commanding-Knight Valiante.”

  Valiante took a deep breath through just his nose, before continuing, “To answer your question regarding the location of the Duke of Vispano…he has returned to Parthway but two days ago, as he has already selected a candidate to become this city’s earl, of whom he has personally gone to retrieve.”

  “I see,” Baltor said.

  Valiante added, “As for answering your two other questions, only the Duke himself can answer those questions—he never did tell me his reasons for conquering Lasparus in the first place. If you like, we can dispatch word for him to return as soon as possible, but I guarantee you that it will be no less than a month before they return.”

  Baltor stated with a whole lot of agitation, “I, and my forces, am not going to wait a month, nor even two days. This city belongs to the Sharia Empire, which your Duke unjustly stole because he got angry with my wife for not being his wife! She, Sultaness Brishava Elysian, even paid your Duke ten million parsecs, so that we could not only continue our trade, yet keep the peace between our two great nations.”

  “I’m sorry, Your Sultan, but I am only following orders until the Duke of Vispano returns,” Valiante countered with a slightly frustrated look upon his face. “The duke will have my head if he finds out I gave back this city without his direct consent.”

  Angrily, Baltor replied, “Then understand this, if you don’t release the control of my city into my hands, peacefully and immediately. The vast and powerful army, which stands behind me with more than seventy thousand elite soldiers, shall destroy you all by land, while my navy with tens of thousands of ships and more than forty thousand sailors and marines will destroy you all by sea! In the end, we shall personally hand all your heads to the duke, if you and your forces do not vacate my city and lands…now!”

  With that, Valiante unconsciously gulped. He only had a total of sixty thousand troops himself—thirty thousand knights on horseback had already assembled outside the defensive walls of stone that surrounded Lasparus. The remaining thirty thousand of Valiante’s foot soldiers, archers, and catapult launchers continued to protect Lasparus from within this city’s eighty-foot-tall by fifty-foot-thick walls—the duke had taken the remaining ten thousand soldiers with him back to their capital city of Parthway.

  A few moments later, Valiante finally replied, “Your Sultan, without the Duke’s expressed consent, I cannot relinquish Lasparus back to you, no matter the odds stacked against us—after all, I truly do not have the executive power to override his commands! I’m sorry it has to be this way, but it seems that war is inevitable, despite the fact that you seem to be a very honorable and peaceful man.”

  Still sounding and looking angry, Baltor snapped out, “Where is the honor and peace in the distasteful way that your duke treated my wife and her generosities by taking our money, stealing our city, and mercilessly killing our soldiers?”

  Valiante peacefully extended both of his hands into the air, just before he justified, “The only question that I can answer is the last one. The Duke felt that the surviving soldiers would become a threat—I could not argue with that logic!”

  After throwing both hands up into the air with anger and frustration, Baltor asked, “Why didn’t you just send the survivors by ship back to Pavelus—doesn’t that sound at all logical?”

  “Umm, well, I guess it does,” Valiante answered. “I, he, we never thought about that—I’m sorry, Your Sultan, but it’s too late to save them now…”

  While slowly nodding his head up and down, Baltor stated, “You’re right that it is too late to save my soldiers now, but it’s not too late to redeem what they fought and died for, Commanding-Knight Valiante, which is honor, duty, and peace. The truth of the matter is that I can sense those very qualities within you as well, which is most likely reflective within your men.”

  After gesturing his left hand out for Valiante to remain quiet, Baltor continued, “I have never seen or heard about these qualities within the Duke of Vispano…ever! Why are you serving someone that is rotten and tainted? Instead, serve my honorable, noble, and peaceful cause—the Sharia Empire—which is both fresh and pure.”

  Valiante answered, “You’re suggesting that my knights and I mutiny against the Duke? We, the Vispano Knights have existed for more than four hundred years, and we are both honorable
and dutiful warriors that have pledged our earliest vows and lives not only to this duke, yet all our Vispano ancestors! To even think about breaking our vows bears the strict penalty of death, as well the loss of our family’s honor and name!”

  A few moments later, Baltor sounded calm, cool and collected as he replied, “Very well…I have but one more thing to conclude our pre-battle discussion with, Commanding-Knight Valiante, if you’ll allow me, please?”

  “Your Sultan, of course,” Valiante answered with a respectful nod to his head.

  “Thank you,” Baltor said with his own respectful nod. “I know I’ve said this before, but let me try to say it in this way. Please, please give back that which is rightfully mine, and retreat your forces peacefully back to Parthway. If you don’t, then my vast and powerful army and navy shall be forced to eliminate every single one of you! What is your choice, Commander?”

  Valiante asked, “Your Sultan, may I be allowed to discuss all your suggestions with my knights, and give you an answer in the morning?”

  Baltor answered, “I will graciously give you even more time than that, Commanding-Knight Valiante. As I know that this will not be an easy decision for you to come by, I will give you until one hour after sunset tomorrow evening… Goodnight.”

  “Very well, goodnight,” Valiante concluded. He lowered his visor, turned his horse around, and rode back to the camp with his two top knights and guide-on bearer following right behind.

  Meanwhile, Baltor turned his stallion around, and rode back up to his two generals and guide-on bearer. Together, as they began to ride back to their army and camp, he grimly said, “I have a strong feeling that war and death will be their answer!”

  “My Sultan,” Han said with a whole of lot of excitement, “you’re words were most inspirational and true! I, too, could sense the honor within the Commanding-Knight, and I know that he will relay the entirety of your message to his equally-honorable knights—surely, they will join our ranks, my Sultan!”

  Thorn added, “My Sultan, I agree with Commanding-General Han.”

  A slight look of worry suddenly crossed Thorn’s face, and a moment later, he asked, “When we get back to camp, I wish to discuss something important with you in private, if you will, my Sultan…?”

  Baltor was now very curious as to what Thorn’s message was, especially by the look of worry he had seen on his face—instead of saying anything about it, however, he simply nodded his head.

  Once they had returned to camp, a minute later, Han called out through his megaphone, “Attention!”

  The troops instantly assumed the position.

  “Forces of the Sharia Empire,” Baltor declared through his megaphone, “I will make this briefing short so you can all get your rest tonight. Make sure that by tomorrow morning, all of the catapult and siege machines are set up around the city, as well as all our ground and naval forces. We will not allow any supplies to go in or out of Lasparus.”

  Baltor continued after a short pause, “Tomorrow night, Commanding-Knight Valiante—the highest ranking officer of the Vispano Forces occupying my city—will come back and relay his message of whether we are to have peace…or war! As I stated to him, peace is the preferable route, but we are all ready to face the latter route, should it prove necessary, right?”

  The whole of the army boomed out, “Yes, my Sultan!”

  No longer using the megaphone, Baltor ordered, “Commanding-General Han, dismiss the troops for the night. General Thorn, come with me.”

  Both generals cried out, “Yes, my Sultan!”

  While Han called out the command for the soldiers to dismiss, Baltor and Thorn climbed out of their saddles, and after a couple of troops had taken their horses back to the temporary stables, Thorn then followed Baltor into the command tent.

  As soon as he saw his Sultan turn around, Thorn immediately dropped down onto both knees, and with both fear and sorrow to his voice, he pleaded, “My Sultan, I ask of you to forgive me…”

  Looking a bit confused, Baltor asked, “For what?”

  While looking at the ground in shame, Thorn confessed, “My Sultan, the Vaspan Empire not only contains the city of Mauritia, yet also another city called Driven. Both are fortified with a massive labyrinth outside the cities…and expertly guarded.

  “Within each city, there are twenty thousand forces loyal to Emperor Vaspan, not including the citizens who can fight, which will make it nearly impossible for Governor Hawkins, Lord Bradmir, and your thirty-five thousand troops to win if their ‘route of peace’ should fail…

  “The reason I never before relayed this information to you, my Sultan, is because I had considered the possibility of simply escaping from you, getting to Driven as soon as possible, and informing the forces there that I was now the new Emperor-Sedious…”

  Baltor’s right eyebrow rose at hearing all this information, though he did not say a word, but continued to listen.

  A few moments later, Thorn dared to look up at his Sultan, eye-to-eye, before he continued, “However, over the course of these last six weeks, and most especially for the way you handled tonight’s performance, I no longer have a single doubt in you anymore, my Sultan, and I ask of you to forgive me.”

  Without waiting for answer, he unexpectedly threw his arms out before he pleaded, “No… I beg of you to forgive me and allow me to serve you, honorably and dutifully—even as a lowly cook, especially now that you can’t trust me as a general.”

  Without hesitation, Baltor looked down upon Thorn, while placing his right hand on his right shoulder. Finally, he said, “Of course I will forgive you and allow you to continuously serve me, General Thorn! Your honesty reestablishes your trust with me.”

  Thorn asked with both surprise and relief to his voice, “Really, my Sultan?”

  “Really. Now, how about some chow—I’m hungry!”

  Thorn stood onto his feet, snapped his sharpest salute to his Sultan, and then replied, “Yes, my Sultan!”

  Just then, Han entered the command tent, and coincidentally replied, “Dinner should be here momentarily, my Sultan.”

  “Excellent, I’m starving,” Baltor replied with a wink and a smile…

  The following night, Valiante, his two top knights, and his guide-on bearer all met Baltor and his entourage in the middle of the battlefield once again.

  The thirty thousand knights had spread themselves outside, only a few feet around the city walls of Lasparus, while the other thirty thousand soldiers defended from within.

  Meanwhile, Baltor’s seventy thousand infantry and cavalry soldiers, as well the catapult and siege machines, had all been set up about a half mile around just about the entire city, except the harbor—all were ready and eager to attack!

  It was Baltor’s navy who blocked off the harbor. They were armed with twenty percent of the catapult machines, and just as eagerly waiting for the command to “attack.”

  Just like the night before, the two leaders met in the very middle of the battlefield. A nervous look could be seen within Valiante’s eyes, as he knew Lasparus was completely surrounded—Baltor’s face bore no expression whatsoever.

  Once they had drawn to twenty feet away from each other, a friendly smile unexpectedly crossed Baltor’s face as he greeted, “Good evening to you, Commanding-Knight Valiante.”

  Returning the smile, though his face and eyes continued to look very nervous, Valiante greeted back, “Good evening to you, Your Sultan.”

  “So, Commanding-Knight, have you and your forces reached a decision?”

  After clearing his throat, Valiante answered, “Perhaps—if you and your forces can accommodate to our unusual request, my forces and I have an alternative suggestion to war and death that will reach cataclysmic proportions on both sides…no matter the victor.”

  Baltor looked confused, and asked, “What is your unusual request?”

  Valiante answered, “Written in our most sacred and historical book called, The Code of the Vispano Knights, which was written
by our first commander-in-chief, I quote:

  ‘When an impasse or decision can’t be reached between two opposing yet honorable factions that bear such massive armies that will ultimately result in massive disorder, destruction, and death no matter the victors. Then consider the possibility of honorable combat to happen to the death between the two best warriors from both factions…

  ‘In the end, it is well worth the chivalrous sacrifice of the best warrior, who has now transcended into a martyr for countless other lives if you were to consider everyone’s future generations.’

  “‘And most importantly,” Valiante added, “that martyr will forever be a hero—no matter whether the friend or foe—for the eternal Vispano Knights—fear not o’ warriors, in the end, only honor, justice, and glory shall prevail’…unquote.”

  After spending nearly a minute to digest all of this information, Baltor finally asked, “So, what you’re basically suggesting is that you’d like to have a duel to the death between your best warrior and my best warrior?”

  “Yes. Is this acceptable to you, your Sultan?” Valiante asked.

  Baltor asked, “What if your best man wins?”

  “Then you and your army must wait patiently until my duke returns, so that the two of you can discuss peace negotiations.”

  “And if we win?” Baltor then asked.

  “Then my army and I peacefully leave Lasparus, and return to Parthway…but you must not attack us from behind.”

  “I agree to your proposal.”

  Even though Baltor gave this simple answer, his mind was still shocked that history was about to repeat itself, especially in the fact that there would be two combatants fighting to the death in order to determine the victor of property!

  Valiante then asked, “So, who is your best warrior, your Sultan?”

  “Me… and yours, Commanding-Knight?”

  Even though Valiante became quite surprised to hear that this Sultan was willing to risk his life without hesitation, he replied a moment later, “Commander Barquoth.”