136 Loyalty

"Lord Macuy, welcome back to Saniya!"

"King Corco, this lord is glad to return to this grand city."

With a hug, the lord and his king celebrated their reunion after only a few months.

"You were almost late," Corco said. Although he had a jovial smirk on his face, the lord frowned, reminded of their path.

"There were some problems when we made our way through Lord Ogulno's lands. However, every other lord along the way has been very accommodating. As such, we managed to make our way back just in time." He looked to the morning sun as it crept over the horizon and painted streaks of orange into the clouds.

"Yeah. Tenth day of winter," Corco murmured. "Today's the day."

"Truly a shame that in the end, we could not meet at a banquet."

"We're still a bit off the winter solstice anyways. Let's have that banquet once we get back home. With the kind of support you have brought us, it shouldn't take too long, right?" Corco looked behind the lord, and the two thousand armored soldiers in his back, armed with axes and shields. He knew that Utusku was a small estate, and a poor one to boot. Considering his means, Macuy had brought about as much as he could spare.

"Ahaha, I hope my men will prove useful against the northerners," the lord laughed.

"Well, they won't have to do it alone. I'll show you to the rest." Corco turned and marched back into the camp the camp, a silent Quato in tow. For lack of a better space, this was where the combined troops of the south would assemble for this campaign.

"So how goes it back home?" Before the most impressive sight came into view, Corco decided to get some small talk in.

"Quite well. My workers have begun to set up enclosures on King Corco's suggestion. I am sure Utusku's husbandry will grow like flowers in spring, enough to fulfill Saniya's growing demands."

"That's great!" The king clapped his hands, to distract from his awkward segue. "And on that topic, please take a look, at Saniya's growing armies!"

His arms spread in a grand gesture, the king strode through a line of tents and opened the view up to thousands upon thousands of red-colored men. All throughout the square, they were stationed in smaller groups, armed with various weapons. There were the traditional heavy troops of Medala, just like the ones Macuy had brought. Then there were small bowman contingents, troops of light-armored bola and net throwers, as well as tightly packed spear formations. And at the foot of the arenas, at the very center of the congregation, Corco's soldiers stood tall. Another two-thousand fresh recruits, together with their freshly minted rifles, formed a fierce core for the army.

"Oooh, what a view indeed!" Macuy said. "The northerners won't know what hit them."

To the sound of countless salutes, Corco stepped past the soldiers and arenas, to the tents at the back of the camp.

"Yeah, it's not bad. Though according to my sources, King Pacha's army should still outnumber by a bit. Not to worry though, our chances are pretty good."

If everyone stays on focus, Corco frowned as he looked to the palanquins parked beside most tents. Although the king had urged the lords to leave them at home, most lords had still insisted on their prestige. And one of the worst offenders had only waited to make problems.

"According to this lord's sources, the northern army outnumbers us by more than two to one!" Lord Rafun's long hair stormed out of the tent to follow behind its owner.

"Rafun, are you a coward? Even if they have a few people more than us, they will never take the south!" Lord Queru rushed after him. "No matter how many 'men' those northerners have, we will crush them one and all!"

"That's enough! Lord Rafun isn't wrong, and neither is prudence," Corco silenced the bickering lords for the moment. "It's true that our numbers are fewer, but that's only because the northerners have more people to begin with. Plus, our chances are much better than the numbers make it out. Winter is close, and we will be the defenders. We don't need to win an open battle, we only have to hold Qarasi until Pacha runs out of food or support. If we can't even defend the south under these conditions, we don't deserve to carry the names of our ancestors."

For the moment, the king's words encouraged the southern lords, and reminded them that they all had the same enemy. Of course, things weren't as simple as Corco made them out to be. From within the tents, more and more lords began to assemble around him. Once everyone was present, he turned and marched back towards his troops. Although disunity was a problem, the troops would be under his control. The lords didn't matter.

When Corco reached the very front of the formation again, he climbed the arena again. Presented with a silent nod, Nahlen and Paec replied in kind. Only then did he step to the edge of the arena, to look upon his warriors.

As soon as the king arrived, a murmur ran through the crowd, but began to calm soon enough, the warriors intimidated by the status of the men before them. While Corco waited to begin the speech that would sent them to their deaths, he overlooked what had been assembled. Around fifteen thousand warriors all in all, that was the full extent of their troops. Of course, things weren't as simple as he had made them out to be.

"Wait, I do not see the ring banner of Saqartu. Where are Lord Mayu's troops?" Lord Queru asked, and earned frowns and sneers from his colleagues.

"My cousin has decided to stay in Puscanacra. Since the north is about to attack, Puscanacra has the mission to protect the coastlines. However, Mayu did send us most ships in his fleets, to help us with logistics and supplies in our endeavor."

Although the lack of warriors from Puscanacra was a bit of a shame, his cousin still had shown plenty of good will by providing them with a proper navy. His excuse was also justified, even though he had only done it so Corco couldn't take command of any Saqartu troops. A bit petty, but still proper, it was typical Mayu behavior.

"Ogulno didn't show either," another lord chimed in.

"Yes, Lord Ogulno is dealing with bandit attacks." This time Corco's smile grew a bit wider. For now he would have to take Ogulno's lack of support, but Corco wouldn't forget his disrespect. Not now, not ever. Their house would suffer the consequences of their actions soon enough, despite Aunt Guanca. Though of course, many of the lords on show weren't much better than Ogulno, and worse than Mayu.

Even though they had assembled twelve southern lords in total, they only managed to field twelve thousand men overall if one excluded Corco's own troops. Many of the lords had brought a mere five hundred men, barely more than an honor guard. Unlike Lords like Queru and Macuy, most of them still hedged their bets, just in case Corco lost the war and Mayu stepped in to save the day. This way, they could do their duties, but would hold troops back to sell another potential favor to their governor. These acts as well, Corco would remember. At least they wouldn't suffer from attacks. For Corco, it was enough to make sure that they wouldn't benefit from their revolution. Missing out on the chance of a lifetime would be the perfect punishment for the opportunists. Corco hated opportunists.

After a while, even the last of the warriors had noticed their king before them, and most of the chatter had stopped. Satisfied, the king grabbed his trusty megaphone from Quato's hands, and began to make the troops his.

"Brave men of the south!" A boom of baritone filled the camp, to the quiet and awe of the estate warriors. "Soon we go into battle, to follow the steps of great men past! Thirty summers ago, your fathers stood here as well, on the terminus of Sachay, to defend their lands from foreign invaders! And yet again, the northerners have come to take from us what is not theirs. This time, the war wasn't caused by a disagreement over food distribution, and it is not a power play from the Emperor. Instead, the bastard king has come south, to prove how much of a peacock he truly is."

Laughter roared as Corco bathed in his uncle's incompetence. After the succession, Pacha's shame had spread even faster than his heroism had before. Still, the laughs sounded hollow, and many soldiers remained tense. Of course, the lords wouldn't be the only ones to hear about their enemy's numbers.

"Although this time, the enemy is led by a fop, I feel your pain, your worry! Your father's, your uncle's, your own great sacrifice in the last war were only enough to secure a last shred of dignity, to prevent an annihilation of Sachay as we know it. And yet now they are already back, to take our lands again."

Indeed, many warriors hung their heads when they heard their king's words.

"I understand. Many here may ask: What is the point? Even if we beat back the north today, we could only gain some time. In a few years, they would still return, once again the same goals in mind. In the end, our fight did change nothing, like sandstone up against the waves. Would a surrender not be better than a slow death? Wouldn't this benefit you more? Accept your new northern lords, and nothing would change. You could forget those pangs of guilt, and tell yourselves that the only reason we fight this war is so the lords of Sachay can cling to their precious titles a few years longer!"

Like a cold wind over the plains, a silent cold ran through the crowd. So quiet was the army that Corco could hear a bustle from the lords behind him. However, he had no interest to find out which lords had tried to stand up against the speech and which had held them back. Quato would keep an eye out and tell him later. In truth, Corco had better things to do. After all, his speech still wasn't done.

"If those are your thoughts, then do not fight for the lords of the south! See what has happened to Saniya, see the road you have crossed to reach here. See the great treasures we have only just begun to unearth in this city."

As he saw the warriors before them raise their heads again, some life had returned to their eyes. For the last few days, many of these warriors had camped here, and Corco had made sure they experienced as much of Saniya's limited splendor and might as they could afford.

"Soon, the treasures of Saniya will spread throughout the south. It will make us strong, will make the Sachay men strong enough to oppose any attacks from the north! Now we don't fight for a limited survival, we fight to protect the bright future that awaits us all! Fight so that one day, we may rise above our oppressors and show them true prosperity! If you wish to fight for the survival of our people, grab your arms tight, and follow me! Raise the new banner of the south, and the flag of my kingdom, and follow wherever it may go!"

Excited shouts afflicted the warriors and silence struck the lords as they saw the new flags get erected all around them. Although Corco's words might have been considered an exaggeration before, no one would think so now. When the flags rose over the palisades, the morning light struck them and showed the new banner of the southern kingdom all across the camp: A silver triquetra on purple ground. There was a good reason purple wasn't a heraldric color. How many rulers could even afford just purple robes? How rich would one have to be to hand purple flags to his simple soldiers, to mount them on his castles and his ships?Now the king built his body even further, to stand before his men, as a giant purple banner floated in the wind behind him.

"For the first time in our lives, the south has a future more bright than anything the north can imagine. So follow me along this beautiful path, towards your own peace, your own plenty and towards the boon of your entire family!"

The earth shook from the rhythmic feet and clangs of weapons drowned out all but the shouts of the warriors. Content, Corco looked down onto the masses, as they whipped themselves into a frenzy. Even though they had come as individual warriors, they were already an army now. Even though they were still the troops of the southern lords, soon enough they would be his, in anything but name only.