Welcome

Welcome to my site. Please click on one the books for more information about the book and to read it.

Monday, April 26, 2021

Hidden Kingdom: Prolog

 

Prolog

Thomas stopped in front of the opulent door. He needed a moment to steel himself before addressing his Queen. Delivering messages to the Queen was not the job for a first general, it was a job for a corporal or captain. Unfortunately too many men he had sent to deliver messages to the queen had not returned. The queen had developed a violent temper over the past ten years. If she did not like the message, Queen Hellicus would lash out at the messenger and either kill or badly maim them. It got to the point where he could no longer send men to their certain doom. He delivered all messages personally now. It was a waste of time as he had to travel to her castle and that took him away from the war, but so far, she had not lashed out at her first general. She had already lost one first general and that had stopped her last war. She could ill afford to lose another now.

He took a moment to look at the entry doors to the grand hall. They were solid oak with murals engraved into them. One had a scene of a buck running through the woods while the other showed two soldiers in swordplay. Both had inlaid gold that highlighted the images. Thomas thought to himself how the two scenes seem to fit the queen. Before the first war, the queen was known as a tough but fair ruler. The people had loved her and would follow her willingly. After the war, something changed and she became a tyrant. She led with a heavy hand and became known for killing people for the smallest of offenses. Where once people followed her out of love, they now followed her out of fear. Something had happened ten years ago that had changed her. No one knew what it was, and she never spoke of it.

The two guards that stood on each side of the doors looked at Thomas knowingly. They knew the Queen’s temper and understood. They stood there in their full dress uniforms of yellow and crimson. They were both armed with ceremonial swords that had been engraved and inlaid with gold and silver as well as armed with elven wands and spells. Normally they would challenge anyone that wanted to see the queen, but this was more for the protection of the person as everyone knew of her temper and only a fool would want to see her. But this was different. This man was here to give an update to the queen, not an enviable task.  Finally, Thomas indicated that he was ready, and the two men opened the doors and announced his presence to the queen.

The grand hall had once been beautiful. The marble columns lined both sides of the hall with the finest tapestries adorning the spaces between. At the head of the hall were the dais and the royal throne, which was simple in design and lacked large amounts of gold or silver. The throne had been built during the reign of King Hellicus the 4th. It was Queen Hellicus grandfather that had built it and Thomas guess that was why she had not replaced it. Down the middle of the hall, running from the double doors to the throne was a red carpet that in the past was always clean and bright red, making the room feel very grand and royal. Now, however, despite everything still in place, the room was full of gold and silver. She had turned the room into her personal treasure room. At first, the spoils had been neatly stacked on the sides of the great hall, but now it looked just thrown into piles and was completely disorganized.

The queen herself was seated on the throne, looking over some papers. She was wearing a full-length white dress with gold and silver inlay. The dress fit her well and was very impressive, and the white in the dress was matched by her long white hair. He knew she was about his age, in her mid-30s, but she looked as if she were ten years younger. Thomas could not understand why she would wear such clothes when she did not expect any visitors. They were at war, and since they had no allies, there was no reason to expect any visitors. Thomas made his way along the hall to the throne.

As he approached, he let out a quiet sigh. He could see that she was going over the maps of the current battlefield. She would be making orders on troop placements and battle plans. She was terrible at planning a war, but there was no telling her that. The only reason they were winning the war was because of the supply of elven wands and spells foundin the Citadel. The queen was too impatient for military strategy.

Thomas stopped in front of the throne and kneeled and bowed, waiting for her to acknowledge him. Everyone had to wait to become acknowledged before speaking. Although she knew he was there, she waited several minutes before speaking. Then she acted surprised he was there.

"Oh sorry General, I did not notice you there. How is the war going?"

Thomas stood up but still maintained a stiff and respectful posture. He had a good rapport with the queen, but he was smart enough to know not to push it. "We have reports that troops are beginning to gather in Doorshire. It looks like Delland and Carriland troops are joining Doorshire. We suspect that they will be making an attack at the River Jude."

The queen looked surprised. "All three nations? You think they managed to put their differences aside and are joining forces?"

"That is what our spies are telling us."

She paused to think, then said, "How long before you think they will attack?"

"They are still bringing in forces. I think it will be a few weeks at least before they are ready to attack."

"Maybe we should attack them first before they are ready," she said, thinking out loud.

Nervously Thomas said, "That is not advisable at this time. Our forces are spread pretty thin."

"Hmmm," she said. "So what is the status of the hunt for that patrol they sent to attack the citadel?"

"There has been no sign of them yet. We have the pass completely covered. There is no way they can make it through there."

"What about that lost patrol, any news on them?"

"No, that patrol has gone completely missing. We have two patrols searching, but all they have found is a few of the horses."

It was clear she was not happy about not finding that patrol. "And what about the Elven City of Atel? Do we control it yet?"

"Not yet. Although we made great inroads towards the ancient city, the armies of Doorshire have managed to regroup and are now putting a substantial resistance. They have fought us to a standstill, and we have not managed to make any new ground."

She was clearly not happy about this news. "We need to secure that city. We cannot have them trying to find something to destroy the citadel like they did before. What other news do you have?"

"We have taken the city of Kiana in the north of Doorshire. We have the city of Onuca under siege and expect it to fall in the next week."

She was only half listening. "So tell me, what would it take to strike at the gathering army before they are ready?"

Thomas took a deep breath. It was clear she was going to make strategy changes again. "We will need more troops. I have ordered our troops along the river to start digging in and fortifying their position for the attack. I feel we have enough time to dig in and can make a stand."

"Hmm, well this is what I want you to do. I want you to pull the troops guarding the citadel and the pass. Split them evenly between the troops at the border and those trying to take the city of Atel. Our top priorities have to be taking the City of Atel and attacking their troops before they can completely come together."

Thomas was shocked. "Are you sure you want to remove the soldiers guarding the Citadel? And what if the enemy tries to send men through the pass? Is it really wise to leave them both unguarded?" Leaving the Citadel unguarded was the worse idea she had come up with yet. The Citadel was the most important find in the world of Anon. It represented Emos power and source of elven magic. Leaving it unguarded was a very bad idea. Now he had to try to figure out how to convince her without getting killed.

After a moment of thought, she said, "Ok, then leave one platoon to guard the pass. That should keep it protected and keep anyone from getting to the citadel. To make up for the men, pull the soldiers from the attack on Onuca."

"Your majesty, the city of Onuca will fall within a week. I would recommend we wait one week before we pull troops."

The queen began to show anger. "The alliance forces are a bigger issue than some small city."

Thomas knew the discussion was over. "Very well your Majesty."

The queen went back to looking at the maps. After a minute, Thomas said, "Is there anything else?"

She turned to look at him and said, "No that is all. You are dismissed."

Thomas bowed low and began backing away. After a few steps, he turned and started walking out of the room. He mentally shook his head. The queen was frustrating him with his efforts to win the war. The city of Onuca was a major shipping port and trade city for Doorshire. It had more military importance than some ancient elven city that was in ruins. They had already learned what they need to know from the troops they captured. There was no need to try to take that city. He wondered how the last general had managed to handle the queen during the Great War. He had always admired that man, and now he missed him more than ever. It was going to be a very long war.

No comments:

Post a Comment