***

  The following day, after the battle of Kimmer Sea Plains. King Danyais and Clyden sat on their horses overlooking the battlefield from where the Sukkan headquarters were once was. The King was dressed in black and gold armor, cleansed of the blood from the day before. The Dragon on his chest was gold plated, bordered by bright white paint. His armor had dents, and his tabard was slashed in more than one place.

  Even though they annihilated the Sukkan army, the fighting was fierce and heavy. The King rode out himself at a crucial moment to fight, rallying the left flank to attack when officers reported Loudas cavalry was attacking Sukkan’s rear flanks. His generals and officers did not know the cavalry’s sudden appearance was always part of the overall plan. Danyais and Clyden even went as far as to make false reports so that it seemed the cavalry lagged days behind. Even Clyden’s disappearance on the eve of battle was all carefully orchestrated. Many of the nobles thought of him as a coward and gossiped among themselves with his disappearance. They knew King Danyais would hear their slights, but politics and rumormongering were all part of the game. There is a saying, ‘The only slander not heard is the one never spoken.’ The next day after the battle, many of those same outspoken lords found Clyden and apologized profusely. Especially those who witnessed the carnage Clyden wrought with Witch Devil on the battlefield firsthand. They would want to avoid conflict at all costs with him. Luckily, Loudas did not embrace the duel as wholeheartedly as their counterparts in Sukkan did. That did not mean duels could not be fought in Loudas, though.

  The battle went well for Loudas, with only three thousand dead or wounded. The crows flew around the field of death, freely eating and testifying to the state of the Sukkanian army. Some birds seem lethargic in their flight from the dead they feasted on. Men on horseback rode through the field, chasing giant dire wolves just a tad smaller than their horses away, killing them if they could. Squads of men retrieved and buried the bodies as quickly as possible. Nobles were to be salted to preserve their bodies for their families on both sides. All that remained of the twenty thousand Sukkanians were five thousand prisoners.

  “Yesterday, the men killed a bear. Who would have thought it would take so much death to show us life is abundant here in the Kimmer Sea Plains?” King Danyais said to Clyden.

  “Only place I know where no life exists is in the Fade,” Clyden said.

  “I will take your word for it. So, tell me again of Ari’s words?” Danyais asked with a proud look on his face.

  “How many times are you going to have me tell you the same story? You are going to make me like Zander and have me wishing to be laying down there with those poor unfortunate men or fortunate ones now that I think about it,” Clyden said.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Ha-ha-ha! Alright! Alright! I will ask the cavalry squads tonight at the victory feast,” King Danyais said, raising his hands in a yielding motion.

  “Just remember, Ari isn’t your daughter anymore, and you have two thousand more sons than you had the other day. The right of succession is going to be a complicated affair,” Clyden said, and both men laughing wholeheartedly.

  “If I only knew the touch of their mothers,” Danyais joked, and even the stoic King’s guards in range of hearing laughed.

  “May I have a word with you?” Clyden said.

  “Always, my friend,” Danyais said.

  “Alone?” Clyden asked, looking at the forty men who were nearby. They were eyeing even the rocks and bushes no taller than a man’s knee as if a Sukkan assassin waited behind any of them.

  “If you would please give us time, we have things to discuss,” Danyais said to his guards. They moved away, and some guards dismounted, pulling out small crossbows.

  Clyden waited for the guards to be further away before continuing the conversation.

  “After this war, I request to take leave back to my forest. I have nothing of worth to offer anymore. My magic is gone, and I can’t,” he stopped speaking when King Danyais raised his hand. There was a mild look of disappointment on Danyais’s face.

  “If you are telling me that you want to go back because you are tired or want a respite, I will grant it. Gods know no one deserves a break more than you. But Clyden, if you are telling me that you want to go back because you think I will not value a magic-less friend. Even forgetting about said magic-less friend’s other numerous contributions, then I will ask you to take up Witch Devil and fight me now. Even though I know no man can best you in combat. I would rather die that death than have you slander your worth in front of me,” King Danyais said.

  The sincerity and strictness of Danyais’s words completely ambushed Clyden.

  “I-I-I,” Clyden did not have time to talk again.

  “Let me finish,” Danyais injected, raising his right hand in a stopping gesture. “I have known for a while. I had a feeling something was wrong after the fires from the sky three years ago with the vrollocs. You have barely used magic and never once without your glaive. I do not want you for your magic. The Kingdom of Loudas needs you for your wisdom. I am just greedy and want you for your friendship.”

  Both men just sat on their horses. Neither of them knew what to say next. Clyden was embarrassed and humbled at the powerful words just spoken to him. A King really does know what to say, Ari.

  “To the blood!” One guard shouted, interrupting Danyais’s and Clyden’s moment of brotherly solitude. The guard took a horn made from a bull’s horn and blew it as loud as he could in three quick bursts. The signal the King was in danger. Other horns repeated the same call. Men rushed to gather their armor and arms. Even some half-naked soldiers mounted on their horses and rode as fast as they could to their king’s position. Men whom were wounded and that could walk set out for their King.

  “What is it?” Danyais asked.

  “There, my king,” several answered at the same time, pointing to the east. In the distance were about two hundred mounted men, a cavalry scouting force, and behind them, further back, was an enormous dust cloud.

  ***