rode into their midst for some distance and then stopped in the middle of them, waiting happily for what seemed like an age for the cheers to eventually subside a little. Then he held up his right arm and the noise abated.
“Warriors! I do not wish to delay your march to war my friends, so I shall be brief!” he shouted at the top of his considerable voice, to all the Thargws who had gathered around him. “I thought that I would share this wondrous news with you all. This joyous news! My gracious King Vantrax, ruler of all this land, has just decreed... That I, Sawdon, shall lead you into battle!!”
The Thargws were ecstatic. They all began cheering wildly at the news, embracing each other and slapping each other on their backs as if celebrating a great victory already won. The thunderous noise startled Sawdon’s horse beneath him and it reared up violently. Sawdon controlled it expertly and effortlessly, then he galloped away through the gap the Thargws made for him and down the rest of the column at high speed. The warriors all watched their hero leave and when he’d gone they immediately reformed their ranks to continue their march, bursting once again into song and singing louder than ever before. They were watched contentedly by King Vantrax.
“What is it about him?” asked Strymos, impressed, surprised and perplexed by the Thargws natural and unanimous reaction to Sawdon and his statement.
“Grar. You just do not get it, do you Strymos?” began Vantrax. “Sawdon is just another Thargw to you and I. But to those warriors, he is the embodiment of all a Thargw could, and should, be! To them, he is already a living legend. One of their creed who always leads by example with the deeds he does, and the Thargw he is. I should not have to explain this to you, but those young soldiers, they all, to a Thargw, wish that they were him. Wish they could be more like him. To have his strength, his power, his sense of Thargw honour. That is why I had to let him fight. Though I do not wish to lose him, he inspires others. They will not dare to fail him, and I know they will fight twice as hard with him leading them.” stated the evil King, wioyolint in his eye.
“I see sire.” Strymos replied, feeling extremely envious of the respect and adulation shown to his fellow Gerada.
“Char! You do not see at all, Strymos!” Vantrax disagreed sharply. “Your world is governed by greed. You have no courage, no honour. That is why I like you. But I do not, and I never will, trust you. You would betray me without a second thought if you had the chance, for the right price. And if you had the courage. I have no such worries with Sawdon. And I never will. Do you see now?” he asked, staring at the red faced Gerada by his side.
Strymos didn’t answer. He was genuinely surprised that Vantrax was able to sum him up so well, having thought he had earned his trust and respect. He knew his own deficiencies and couldn’t deny the truth in his master’s words.
Meanwhile, Sawdon had reached the end of the column where the many volunteers from all the different regions were marching; the Petrosyian footsoldiers in their scaled Jintan armour which hung down to their thighs and their distinct, pointed, Jintan helmets. The Nadjan Archers in their dark green tunics. The Siatol and Ursium volunteers with their brightly coloured, differing armour and clothes that were determined by their allegiance to individual lord or noble. And the Rhuaddan volunteers; the soldiers and serfs who fought for Vantrax to escape death or slavery, alongside those who did so willingly in the pursuit of wealth and/or power.
He stopped his horse and looked up at the night sky again. ‘Another hour or so,’ he thought, ‘and we will be there, on the outskirts of Erriard Forest’.
He walked his horse back along the column, reaching the front just as the forest appeared on the horizon, silhouetted against the moonlit sky and still far away in the distance.
“There it is!” he said, pointing at it with his outstretched arm, aware that his eyesight was far superior to that of his companions. “There is a small rise not far from the entrance to the forest, it looks like excellent ground. I suggest we concentrate our army there, with our commanders on the ridge