Chapter 124: The Army

For Kothar, the one week before they were due to leave passed by in a blur, he spent the majority of the time devouring the camp's rations, and spent the rest of the time asleep. 

His time on Atla had propelled the strength of his body and mana to another degree, but what he needed now was real rest. Rotan was proof of the fact that, even those who had enormous mana reserves and could live without eating for a period of time, needed to rest from time to time.

That morning, Kothar emerged from his tent, to find that rather than the throng of tents that he expected to see around him, there was bare dirt. The entire camp had been dismantled, but the soldiers had not wanted to disturb the mysterious soldier that the Grand marshal himself had vouched for.

"Captain, Sir! I will take down your tent and stow it amongst the carts!" Rod gave Kothar an enthusiastic salute, and yelled out. Kothar grinned, and wondered what the young warrior would think if he knew that, under the helmet, was someone not too far from him in age.

"You can just call me Rufus. Thank you for your help, Rod, I appreciate it." Kothar said gruffly, keeping his voice as low as possible, and made his way toward where the horses had been stabled.

The camp was a hive of activity and soldiers of Ursten and the Tribes alike rushed in every way, carrying the massive logs that had made up the fortified walls of the camp, while others yelled orders and shepherded the younger soldiers into formation.

[I wonder why Tam has decided to take the fortifications with us? They can't be that useful can they, they're only logs that have been roughly shaped.] Silane commented, she had been mostly silent for the past week, keeping silent rather than voicing her misgivings about Tam. Kothar could feel the unease radiating off of her, but like her, wasn't willing to get into a head splitting argument.

[I'm sure he's got some use for them, or it could be some ploy to misdirect any enemy spies. The effort of carting all these logs around would be well worth misleading any enemy of our intentions.] Kothar said proudly, war was what he knew, and being able to go into battle with Tam again, was an exciting prospect.

Kothar found an elderly soldier waiting for him, a look of disapproval on his face, but as he processed the covered helmet and fine armor that Kothar wore, he realized that he was looking at the mysterious soldier that had returned from a clandestine mission.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Kothar had noticed the gray haired man's look of disapproval before it had been replaced with the empty look of respect one gave to a superior officer.

"No matter, no matter, sir. I am more than happy to wait, I will do what I must for the army." The old soldier's wrinkles folded into a smile, and he led Kothar to the horse that had brought him to the camp.

The chestnut horse looked well groomed and its coat shone, the yellow bands had become distinct rather than faded.

"You chose yourself a good horse, sir, and I daresay the exercise did it some good. These hybrids never really get to stretch their legs." A hint of genuine respect slipped into the elderly soldier's voice as he handed Kothar the reins.

"Thank you." Kothar took the reins, and the horse whinnied happily, shaking its head back and forth and butting Kothar gently with its head.

The horse had already been saddled and the saddlebags were bulging with rations, rope, and gear for weapon maintenance. Though the old soldier had been disapproving, he had not neglected to prepare Kothar's horse in the slightest, and had even polished the clasps on the horse's saddle.

Kothar joined the enormous column that was forming, at its head were Serena and Boson, as well as Shale and Slate, the Earth Mage twins. 

The Hawk soldiers had grown in number over the past week, as they had filtered in from all over Kalun arriving in small groups, but nonetheless all leading their own groups of a combination of young nobles' soldiers and Tribes people.

Kothar rode up to the column and joined those of the Hawks without a unit to lead, who had joined Tam's personal guards. 

These were no doubt the soldiers that Tam had trusted with personal missions, and every single one had concealed their identity in different ways. While many wore a helmet like Kothar did, Some wore bandanas around the lower half of their and faces, and grew their hair long, others wore elaborately carved wooden masks that covered their faces completely. Another soldier wore a heavy colorless Mana Crystal around his neck, which powered a rune construct that made his face flicker and blur, only his dark eyes visible.

All of these Hawk soldiers exuded a cold presence, and they all turned their heads to stare as Kothar approached, serious eyes shining out toward Kothar from being so many masks, helmets and devices. 

Kothar stared back out through the tiny slit in his helm, and focused his own perception toward them, he was beginning to understand the 'pressure' that more powerful individuals exuded and tried to return the gesture of the solitary Hawks.

As soon as Kothar did so, the cold presence disappeared, and they turned away from Kothar, apparently ignoring him, but nonetheless opening a small gap in their formation to allow him to join.

Now, they all waited. The enormous column of five thousand soldiers, and the countless cooks, stable hands, smiths and carpenters that followed them, stretched out under the burning sun of Kalun.

Then, a loud trumpet sounded out, and Boson rode out from the dense cluster of his shock troops, riding up to a small mound of earth so that he was more visible.

"Everyone, turn around!" Boson's loud voice bellowed out, and looks of shock appeared on almost all the soldiers' faces.