The Darkness of Dawn

by Braden Michael

  “We are not going to Kaiyotan,” Black Eyes told them, still maintaining the Sapphire Prince’s voice. The men looked at one another, slightly confused. “We are going to take a detour to Ashguard.”

  “Ashguard?” one of the men asked, highly skeptical.

  “I’m glad your ears work,” Black Eyes said. He rested his hand on the handle of his sword.

  “Why would we go there?”

  Black Eyes drew his sword and began to study the blade. “I cannot get a clear look at this sword with this helm constricting my sight.”

  The Headlanders squinted at Black Eyes, even more confused. He stepped to face the men and began taking the helm off, keeping his face covered for as long as he could. He took his time and the Headlanders continued to gape at him. When the helm was completely off, Black Eyes tossed it at the soldier in the center, who instinctively caught it with both hands. The three men darted their eyes at the helm, and then back at Black Eyes. Their faces were filled with absolute shock and terror when they recognized him. Before they could properly react, he dashed the edge of the blade across each of their throats in a single slash. They tried to shout, but their words were drowned out by gurgles and the sound of blood splashing into the dirt in front of them.

  “You fuckers deceived the Emberlands, so I can’t think of a better way for you to die!” Black Eyes’ taunt was the last set of words the soldiers heard before they were corpses.

  Black Eyes went to the back of the carriage, climbed in through the cage door, and tore the bag off the true Sapphire Prince’s head. The Headlander’s eyes were wide open, gazing at him fearfully. He offered the Sapphire Prince an incredibly smug grin, then proceeded to laugh hysterically.

  For over a minute, Black Eyes curled up and laughed harder than he ever had in his life. The Sapphire Prince remained fearful and uncertain. Black Eyes eventually recovered his breath and composure, then sat back up.

  “I cannot believe I got away with that shit!” Black Eyes chuckled profusely while he taunted the Sapphire Prince, staring him in the eyes. “Are all Headlanders so fucking dumb that I, fucking Black Eyes of all people, could just pretend to be you and escape the fucking Furakuhold?” Black Eyes chortled, wiping away tears from his face.

  The Sapphire Prince looked at him blank-faced and completely silent.

  “I should let you know, you are now allowed to grunt, squeal, or otherwise moan. Within reason, of course. Just avoid annoying me, and I won’t hurt you.”

  The Sapphire Prince grunted angrily, but Black Eyes laughed as he climbed out of the cage and hobbled over to the dead soldiers. He looked down at them and tried to think of what he ought to do. Should I leave them there? No, that seems lazy. Flay them? That would send a message, but no, that will take too much time. He shifted his gaze to the swords the dead men still had sheathed on their belts and grinned devilishly. They are not as good as pikes, but they’ll suffice.

  One by one, Black Eyes unsheathed the swords and plunged them blade first into the dirt, deep enough for them to remain in place. When each sword was firmly planted into the ground with the handle sticking out, he hacked off the heads of each of the Headland corpses that lay in the dirt. The Sapphire Prince tried to scream, but he could not muster the sound.

  One by one, Black Eyes firmly planted the severed heads onto the sword handles, making sure they faced the road. The flesh made squishing sounds as the heads were secured onto the sword handles. Blood dripped over the swords, painting the handles in red. When Black Eyes was done, he turned around to look at the Sapphire Prince, who looked at the display angrily, shut his eyes furiously, then shook violently in the cage. Black Eyes let out a stiff chuckle then looked back at the headless bodies sprawled out on the dirt road.

  “I’d wager you don’t want to be alone in that cage,” said Black Eyes, still looking at the bodies. “I’ll do you this one kindness and let your friends stay in the back with ya!” He began to drag one of the bodies towards the back gate.

  Black Eyes crouched down, grabbed the headless body by the armpits, and hoisted the corpse up into the cage, grunting and grimacing from the weight of the armor-covered body. The Sapphire Prince stared at the body blankly, appearing to be dizzy and light-headed. “Don’t tell me blood makes you nauseous,” Black Eyes taunted.

  The Sapphire Prince gazed blankly into nothing as Black Eyes hoisted the other two bodies into the carriage. He put the linen bag back over the Sapphire Prince’s head. “I didn’t say I’d let you look at your friends,” he said, chuckling.

  Black Eyes walked back around the carriage and picked up his helm, which was now stained with blood. Great, more shit to clean. He hopped back into the front of the carriage, set the helm down beside him, and began his journey to Ashguard.

  CH 25 – Vaishalla V

  The archer uniform was lighter than infantry armor, but it still covered the vital areas. It was complemented by dense chainmail that allowed for a lot of freedom in movement. The armor came with a light helm that allowed for clear sight, but it offered less protection than what she would have worn had she chosen to remain in the Royal Line.

  “If you have any doubts, sweet girl, I want you to be honest with me,” Vai said reassuringly.

  Elizabeth fidgeted nervously. “Well, the way you explained it, I’ll be safe in the Royal Line, but—” she stopped, unable to speak.

  “But what?”

  Elizabeth gulped. “But the archer regiment has to be far more dangerous than the Royal Line, right?”

  She is worried about me, Vai realized. What do I say?

  “Aren’t you scared?” Elizabeth asked.

  “I am.”

  “Then why are you doing it?”

  Vai paused to think for a moment. Because I need to be respected if I’m to rule. Because Peter would never set foot on a battlefield.

  “It’s the right thing to do,” said Vai.

  “How will we even win? Our army is a third the size of his!” Elizabeth turned anxious.

  “I am no strategist or tactician, but we have the best strategists and tacticians in all the Dawnlands on our side, and they seem confident that we have a strong chance to prevail. King Hiroshi should be more worried than us.”

  Elizabeth appeared comforted. Vai thought it strange that she was in need of comfort, considering the recent developments in Vai’s own life. My spouse died, my family line has been threatened, I’m to fight in the battle, and I’ve inherited an entire Empire, but I still must comfort my subjects. That’s what a good ruler ought to do.

  After Elizabeth left, Adrian came into the tent to see Vai before the army would depart.

  “You seem distraught,” he pointed out.

  “That’s because we’re going to battle. Wouldn’t that be the obvious reason I’m distraught?” Vai replied, with a hint of frustration.

  “Apologies,” Adrian replied nervously. “I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just that after losing your husband, or the letter from—”

  “You’ve done nothing wrong, Adrian,” she said, placing her hand on his cheek. “And I apologize for my tone. The battle makes me anxious, that’s all.”

  “I understand, but you’ll perform admirably during the battle,” he said reassuringly. “The officers may not have said it aloud, but they admire your willingness to fight.”

  “You really think so?” Vai said skeptically. “They seemed hesitant about the prospect.”

  “I wouldn’t blame them. They’ve never heard of a woman, much less an Empress, doing such a thing. Most Rockland noblewomen don’t possess skill with any sort of weapon. But when they noticed you loose that arrow with such accuracy, I could tell they were no longer apprehensive.”

  “Thanks Adrian.” She planted a quick kiss on his cheek. “Watch after Elizabeth.”

  “I will.”

  When the march commenced, Auckland wanted to prepare a tent that would be exclusive to Vai, but she politely refused, wanting to stay in a standard tent, with hopes to know the soldi
ers who seemed willing to die for her. The archers were, by and large, far younger than the infantrymen and cavalrymen. The eldest archer seemed to be no older than eighteen, whereas the melee fighters were the experienced and grizzled men.

  Months ago, Archard had told Vai that the Rockland military started recruits off in the archer regiment, who then graduated to the Infantry, and lastly joined the Cavalry when they survived five combat engagements in the Infantry Regiment. “That’s why we don’t have many cavalrymen,” Archard explained to her. “Most don’t survive five battles.” That information haunted Vai. All these young men die, and for what?

  The first night of the march, most of the archers in her tent were afraid to speak to her, instead choosing to avoid eye contact with her or look down nervously, but there were others willing to speak with her. Makeshift bunk beds had been set up. Vai, Nick, Garrod, and Tuttle were by their beds in the corner.

  “I must say, your Majesty, I’m surprised that you’re here,” said Nick. He was a goofy-looking kid of sixteen years, but he seemed well-liked by the others.

  “No need for formalities. Here, I’m just Vai.”

  “Of course, your Majesty—” Nick stammered, “I mean, Vai.”

  Vai giggled, and both Garrod and Tuttle laughed at Nick.

  “He gets nervous when he speaks to any girl, and you’re the first girl he’s ever spoken to,” Tuttle quipped. He was even shorter than Vai, but he seemed to be older than Nick.

  “How would you know he gets nervous talking to all girls when I’m the only one?”

  Garrod began to laugh boisterously, caking his patchy beard with spit. “You fuckin’ got him good!” He instinctively covered his mouth and looked down at Vai apologetically. “I, uh, apologize… for my foul language.”

  “You have a fucking problem with foul language?” Vai joked.

  The three boys laughed incredulously. Many of the archers throughout the tent looked in their direction, but they remained silent.

  “That wasn’t very lady-like,” Nick pointed out.

  “Neither is fighting in a battle,” she said.

  “You know…” Nick shifted in his bed. “It feels strange knowing that you’re here, but all the other regiments think you’re in the Royal Line.”

  “I suppose it is a bit strange,” Vai admitted.

  “Can I ask you why you are setting up that way?” Nick continued.

  “Well,” Vai said and took a moment of pause to consider her answer, “the purpose is to confuse King Hiroshi’s forces, make them focus their strength on the Royal Line.”

  “I get that, but you don’t need to fight with us to do that, so why’re you putting yourself at risk when you don’t have to?” Nick asked.

  “I may not need to, but I want to,” Vai clarified. “A good ruler should fight to defend their territory.”

  “Emperor Peter never did that—” Garrod stopped mid-sentence, appearing horrified. “Your Majesty—uh—I—I mean, Vai, I didn’t mean—”

  “There’s no need to feel bad, because you’re correct,” said Vai. Garrod’s sheer embarrassment began to wear off, while Nick and Tuttle were fascinated. “My late husband never did such a thing. I would never want to speak ill of the dead, but I do believe he should’ve taken part in the wars he waged, as any ruler should.”

  Neither Nick, Garrod, nor Tuttle was able to think of a response. They simply looked at Vai and soaked in her words. They are not used to hearing such honesty, Vai thought.

  Later that night, while awake on her cot, Vai reflected on the day that Peter declared war on the Midlands. By writing an insulting letter, Chairman Prescott Howell had refused to marry his seventeen-year-old daughter to Peter. You failed to breed with the previous four wives, and I refuse to let my daughter marry into such weakness. Peter had declared war that very same day, and when Vai’s father received word, he defected to the Rocklands and sent Vai to him without a second thought. King Hiroshi was furious of his vassal’s sedition, and his threatening letter reached Peter the night he married Vai. Peter was furious and took out his anger on her. He did things to me that I’ll never forget. Whenever the memories resurfaced, she shuddered while anxiety filled her mind.

  A similar anxiety entered her mind about the upcoming battle, filling her with doubt. I’m not a soldier. Accuracy with a bow doesn’t make it so. She had been impressed by the discipline the men displayed. They followed Auckland’s orders without fail and maintained their gear and equipment to an almost neurotic degree. Each soldier vigorously cleaned his boots, bows, and arrows while ensuring his provisions were properly rationed throughout the march. When she complimented her soldiers on their discipline, they humbly stated it was just their job. Vai was quite fearful she would not be able to maintain a similar level of discipline as her men when the Headland war horns sounded off and the cavalry came charging directly at them, but she forced herself to try and reach their standards.

  Drilling with the men and learning to follow Auckland’s commands was a large-enough task to distract her from the contents of Yamamoto’s letter. The infantry and cavalry had no true awareness of Vai’s identity since her uniform hid her feminine features, but it was impossible to hide the truth from the men in her regiment. Auckland commanded each man to not speak a word of Vai’s true involvement in the battle, and they were eager to comply.

  Every archer had been outfitted with a few of Auckland’s arrows, which is what the men began to call them. One of the lower-ranking soldiers opted to call them Boom-Sticks but was promptly laughed at by everyone who heard. The men were told to be incredibly careful not to drop them, or else they would risk killing themselves and their nearby comrades.

  After five days of marching, the Rockland army was now within a few miles of the Robinsport and set up camp at the top of a hill that overlooked the area around it. Unfortunately, the area was coated in dense blankets of fog present through most of the day, but in the brief windows of clear air the city itself could be seen. It was far enough away that Vai could fully block it from view with only her thumb.

  The archers had been gathered outside their tents and were murmuring to one another. Vai tended to stick with Nick, Garrod, and Tuttle, since they were the only ones to speak with her throughout the march.

  “Archers! Listen up!” Auckland stood atop a boulder, addressing the thousands of men, all of whom quickly stopped their murmuring to listen. “We are days away from the battle, and this will be a first combat experience for many of you! And for some of you, it’ll be your last…”

  The archers looked at the Colonel with solemn faces and remained silent. Auckland took several moments to look at all his men before speaking again.

  “The night before my first battle I shit my guts out, all over my armor if I recall correctly.” Light laughs emanated throughout the crowd. “So, I understand how you’re all feeling at this moment, even if you won’t admit it to yourselves. But I’ll tell you this: if you remember your training, trust your instincts, and trust your fellow soldiers, you’ll know precisely what to do when the arrows start flying and the swords start clashing. There will be no time for hesitation when you’re fighting! Now I want you to answer me this question… Are you gonna hesitate?”

  “NO SIR!” the crowd roared, forceful as lightning.

  “That’s because you won’t have time for it! But I can tell you who will have time to hesitate: King Hiroshi…” Auckland paused while the crowd cheered. “Are you anything like King Hiroshi!?”

  “NO SIR!”

  “Your enthusiasm is making my dick hard!” The crowd laughed. “If you maintain that enthusiasm during the battle, Hiroshi’s dick will go soft!” More laughter roared from the crowd, and even Vai smirked a small amount. “So, since the battle draws near, I want you all to rest. No sparring, no roughhousing, just rest. If you men have a full-night’s sleep, will you be able to bring that grit to battle!?”

  “YES SIR!”

  “That’s good to hear. You men best rest up now.
Dismissed!”

  The men began to disperse to their tents or elsewhere within the camp. Vai chose to go to Auckland to speak with him, wading her way through the crowd to get to him. After getting out of the crowd, she found him at the ridgeline just beyond the outer wall of tents.

  “Colonel,” she said with a hushed tone.

  “Ah, there you are,” said Auckland.

  “I’d like to speak with you, seeing as you have a moment,” she told him.

  “Of course,” said Auckland. The sky was densely foggy, but Vai could make out the sight of a few orange lights littering the land outside the Robinsport walls.

  “So, Colonel, is this the hill that Lord Archard mentioned?”

  “No.” Auckland vaguely pointed at the view. “We can’t see it clearly because of the fog, but the hill is about a mile and a half in front of us, and Robinsport is roughly a half-mile past that.”

  “And tomorrow we’ll take the hill, letting us overlook King Hiroshi’s army, and threaten him for as long as we please?” Vai asked.

  “Hopefully.”

  Vai pursed her lips. “How do we know that he won’t be set up on the hill already?”

  “The cavalry regiment detached a dozen scouts to bring back reports on the entire area, so we’ll have intel on where Yamamoto keeps his troops. If the hill is free, Bergdahl and Merlot will send in men to occupy it, then the rest of the army will move in at dawn,” Auckland informed.

  “How’ll your special arrows affect the battle? I saw firsthand what one of them did to the straw dummies,” Vai said, making Auckland chuckle. “I imagine thousands of them will be effective.”

  “You’re correct. But we’ll have to make sure that King Hiroshi charges at us, so we can rain them down on his forces.”

  “And how’ll we ensure that he charges first?”

  “By giving the false appearance of a weakness in our line. It circles back to what you said about controlling certain elements of the battle. The generals devised a plan to control when he’ll charge, so let’s hope it succeeds.”