The Times That Try Mens' Souls

Chapter 26

Growing Darkness

The days grew increasingly shorter and the nights longer as the Longest Night approached. It irked me, for I could've used more time in the day. More nobles arrived every day and our shadow Parliament grew. Our army grew as well.

The first recruits were L'Agnacites from Turnone itself and the surrounding areas. Raylen's messengers had done their jobs. Some were men-at-arms and chevaliers sworn to the lesser houses, but the majority were commonfolk. I rolled my eyes when I was out of their sight- I'd have my work cut out for me. As such, I thought it best to begin their training as soon as possible.

Fortunately, the palace training grounds were of a decent size. They would do for now. It was likely we would have to move to the fields outside the city for some drills, but not yet. I dressed in light armor- vambraces, breastplate, greaves, and mail. Over that went a L'Envers surcoat of deep purple. I wrapped a matching burnouse around my head and put my conical Akkadian helmet on over it. I buckled my sword belt around my waist, making sure my sword and curved dagger rested at my hips, and walked to the training grounds.

The recruits were already there when I arrived, my men, Uriel, and Raphael following behind me. My reputation was well-known throughout Terre d'Ange, but I thought it important to make a good impression nonetheless. I needed to win their respect and loyalty. As soon as I strode onto the grounds, they bowed low. I waited for them to rise before I addressed them.

"Welcome. You are all here because Terre d'Ange is in deadly danger. Queen Ysandre, along with the entire City of Elua, has been placed under a foul enchantment by Carthage. She believes that Carthage is our ally and Aragonia is our enemy. Queen Alais and I sought to convince her of the truth, and for that we were exiled. My grandniece is now acting Queen of Terre d'Ange.

"It has become clear to us that once Carthage conquers Aragonia, which seems quite likely right now, they will move against Terre d'Ange. And there is a good chance that Queen Ysandre will send the Royal Army to besiege us here. If these things come to pass, we- that is all of us here in Turnone- are what stands between Terre d'Ange and destruction. That is what is at stake here." I paused for a few moments to allow my words to sink in. "We must be prepared, as prepared as we can be. Training will be at this time every day, regardless of weather. We will meet here, unless otherwise noted. I expect to see every one of you here every day. If you miss a single training session, there will be… consequences. As you no doubt already know, I served as Royal Commander for nearly twenty years. I will be supervising all of your training while serving as Royal Commander for her majesty Queen Alais. All of you are now part of the army of Terre d'Ange. Anyone who cannot accept any part of what I just said may leave now."

They looked at me. Not a single one of them made a move to leave. "Are you certain? This is your last chance. Anyone having second thoughts, leave now. I don't need you wasting my time." Still, no one moved. I scanned the crowd and grinned. "Well then. I'm glad to see you all enjoy my company so much, but know this: anyone caught leaving from this point on will be treated as a deserter." I paused again before continuing. "Your training begins now."

Our group of recruits varied greatly in age, from men nearly as old as I was to boys who'd just come of age. No one under the age of eighteen was allowed to join the Royal Army, and we had kept that rule in place here. Still I could not help but wonder if some of these lads had lied about their age. Like as not they were full of romantic ideas about the glory of war. The sooner they got over that, the better. As for the older recruits, it was likely that many of them had indeed handled weapons before, in the Skaldi invasion at least. Perhaps they would be able to assist some of the others if they proved to be at all skilled. I noticed some of them did own their own bows, which was encouraging.

The small conversations which had broken out among them ceased as soon as I walked over, Uriel & Raphael following behind. I felt all of their eyes on me. "All right. How many of you have ever handled a weapon of any kind? I mean any kind- sword, spear, axe, dagger, bow?" Less than half of them raised their hands, mostly the older men. That wasn't a surprise. "Over the course of your training, you will all learn to fight with sword, spear, bow, and dagger. If any of you prove particularly adept at any of these weapons, you will receive more extensive and specialized training. We'll begin with archery."

I led the recruits out to the shooting range. A long table was set off to the side, covered with tarp. The handful of my men who'd accompanied us pulled off the tarp to reveal spears, bows, arrows, quivers, and bowstrings laid out neatly atop the table. We'd had all of the archery equipment brought out from the armory earlier, and I was confident that there were enough bows for the recruits who didn't have one of their own. "Those of you who do not own a bow will all line up here and select a bow, a bowstring, and three arrows," I commanded, pitching my voice so all of them might hear. "When you have done that, stand along the line facing the targets."

I was pleased to see the recruits follow my instructions with little difficulty, watching from the side with Uriel and Raphael. Once they were all standing on the line, I walked onto the shooting range and stood facing them, my bow and quiver slung across my back. It was my Akkadian bow of course- my old D'Angeline bow was at home and I'd not thought to send for it. The Akkadian bow would have to do, though it was different from a D'Angeline bow. I took out a bowstring and demonstrated how to bend and string the bow. Uriel and Raphael, standing on either side of me with D'Angeline bows in hand, shadowed my actions. "Once the bow is strung, practice drawing it back." I held up my middle and index fingers. "Use these two fingers, like this." I turned to the side and drew my bow. "Try it now."

I moved along the line, correcting any mistakes I saw. It was immediately clear which of them had experience with a bow. As for the others, they were not quite as inept as could be expected. When I was satisfied that they could all draw the bow correctly, it was time to begin shooting. I took an arrow from my quiver and nocked it. "When you have nocked the arrow, draw the bow. Your middle finger should be beneath the arrow, your index finger above it, and your thumb holding it in place. You need to pull the bowstring back to your anchor point. This should be a specific point on your face, such as your chin or the corner of your mouth. You'll find what works best for you the more you shoot." I moved back to stand with them on the line. "When you are aiming, close your weaker eye. It makes it easier. You must also take into account things such as wind which can alter your arrow's course. Adjust your aim accordingly, aiming above, below, or to the side of your intended target as needed." They clustered around me, eager to see me shoot. I did have a name as an excellent archer. I drew back the bowstring, aimed, and loosed the arrow. It sailed neatly into the center ring of the target. Polite applause broke out and I turned to give them a brief bow.

"Now it is your turn," I said, steeping back behind the line. "All of you will stay behind this line until I give the command to retrieve your arrows. Fire!"

A flock of arrows soared into the air, several of them missing the targets completely. Of those which did strike them, only a few came close to matching mine, which stood alone in the center ring. Still, I've trained worse groups. "Once you've fired your first arrow, fire the other two!" I shouted.

The second and third volleys were scarcely better than the first. When the shooting stopped, I raised my arms and brought them down swiftly. "Hold! Retrieve your arrows!"

As I went to fetch mine, one of the trainees approached me, a young man with an open, honest face. "Your grace, what kind of a bow is it that you use? It doesn't look like a D'Angeline bow."

I held it out before him. "It's not; it's an Akkadian bow, the best bow a horseman can have. I learned how to use it during my time as ambassador to Khebbel-im-Akkad. It takes some doing to master a bow like this."

He stared at the bow, clearly fascinated by it. "What is your name?" I asked.

"Pierre Dumond, your grace."

"Well lad, if any of you prove yourselves to be skilled archers and horsemen, I will teach you how to use an Akkadian bow."

He smiled and nodded. His enthusiasm was encouraging, but on the other hand it was clear he'd never been in a battle before and his head was full of nonsense about the "glory" of war. It would be better for him if he got over those ideas quickly, but when I looked at him I somehow could not find it in myself to crush them, not yet.

We practiced archery for quite some time. I was pleased to note that there was some slight improvement by the end of the session. We moved on to spears after that, working with them for a short while before moving inside to work on swordplay. Uriel, Raphael, and I sparred and demonstrated the simplest D'Angeline sword forms. The trainees attempted them with wooden practice swords. Their swordplay was not quite as promising as their archery, owing to the fact that the vast majority of them had never so much as held a sword before.

When training ended for the day, I was quite eager to change out of my armor and take a hot bath. I was about to make for my quarters when Raylen stopped me.

"Barquiel, you'd better come with me. A messenger's arrived from Siovale. He has news out of Aragonia."

I knew from the uncharacteristic urgency in his voice that a hot bath would have to wait. I followed him to the receiving room, where the messenger and Alais waited.

The messenger rose to bow as soon as I entered, but I raised a hand. "Do not bother with the pleasantries. I heard you have urgent news for us?" I took off my helmet and sat down by the fire, wishing fervently I'd had time to change out of my armor.

"Yes, your grace. I'm afraid the news I have to share is not good. Carthage has laid siege to Amílcar."

Alais gave a small gasp; Raylen went slightly pale. I daresay I did as well, for I felt the blood drain from my face. "What's happened to the Aragonian army?" I heard myself say. My thoughts were with Nicola.

"They surrendered to General Astegal. A resistance group has formed in Amílcar, led by Serafin L'Envers y Aragon." I felt a surge of pride in my half-Aragonian cousin. I'd expect any scion of House L'Envers to do the same. "But the Carthaginians have launched a naval blockade of the city and their army has surrounded it on all sides. The good news is that there will not be any further attacks until spring. General Astegal has retired to New Carthage for the winter," he explained.

We were silent, our faces grim. Several minutes passed before I broke the silence. "Well, I suppose it could be worse. We started training the army not a moment too soon."

Fortunately I had no time to worry excessively about Nicola. My days were spent training the army and assisting Alais. We carried on our training after the first snow fell. If any of the trainees were displeased with the arrangement, they were smart enough to keep their mouths shut. I had zero tolerance for such idiotic complaints now. Cold weather and snow never bother me. Neither does hot weather, for that matter. It's due to Blessed Elua's blood in me, the same reason I can thrive anywhere.

On a happier note, the Longest Night was fast approaching. Raylen was determined to go about the celebration as if nothing were wrong. I wholeheartedly agreed with his sentiments. My fête seemed as if it were ages ago and I was in dire need of a bit of entertainment. Of course, it also meant I had to come up with a costume for the Midwinter Masque.

I'd just dressed as an Akkadian the last few years. When you've been to as many Midwinter Masques as I have, they begin to grow tiresome. Apolline and I have had some excellent costumes over the years. Shortly after we were married, we dressed as the Hellene gods Ares and Aphrodite. For the first Midwinter Masque after we returned from Khebbel-im-Akkad, we were Naamah and the King of Persis. This year I sat down with my cousins to determine what our theme would be. It was customary for members of the same household to dress in accordance with a theme. I had an idea.

"I think we should dress as Albans for the Midwinter Masque," I said to them. The idea'd come to me while reading the Táin. "I'll be Cuchulainn- a great Eiran hero," I added upon seeing their confused faces.

"Well I like the idea," said Raphael. "No one else will be doing it, to be sure."

Uriel just looked at me. "Whatever you want to do, Barquiel. Neither of us have any ideas."

"All right. Alais's guards might be willing to lend us some clothes. Perhaps we can ask Raylen if he might recommend any seamstresses." I smiled. "I don't know about either of you, but I am looking forward to this."

Notes

Archery- I do actually have some limited knowledge of archery, since I took it in gym all four years of high school. I got to be a decent shot, in fact. I hope I haven't made any huge mistakes!