AGNOMAKHOS
by Ulquiorra9000
Chapter 8
"Everyone up! Now!"
Kulla's raised voice jolted Alex awake in his barracks' bunk room. Alex sat up at once, heart racing, all drowsiness gone. Around him, the other hoplites and battle-wise mages sprang to their feet and scrambled for their armor and weapons.
"What's going on, sir?" Alex asked as he threw on his armor and mage robe. Early morning light poured through the windows.
Kulla stood in the doorway, already in his armor. "Emergency situation at the city hall, mage. The other colonels and I just received a messenger bird from the council of Twelve. We've got to get there ASAP."
The city hall? Has there been another Agnomakhos attack? Alex wondered tensely. In these uncertain times, anything could happen.
At that moment, Jaina shouldered past Kulla, hands on her hips. "Your colonel told you to move it, people!" she barked. "Are you Army warriors or not?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Alex and the other platoon five warriors quickly answered. Alex could clearly see the strain in Jaina's body and tone. Whatever was happening, it was bothering her a lot. He threw on his robe and hustled out of the barracks with the others.
*o*o*o*o*
Alex heard the disturbance long before he saw it. As he and the rest of First Battalion marched toward the city hall, the streets were strangely empty of their usual morning traffic. However, he could hear the dull roar of hundreds of gathered voices, and the reality hit him: a mob!
As soon as Alex and the other warriors reached the city hall's plaza to form a perimeter, Alex realized just how many people were here. It seemed like half the city was gathered here, raising their fists, shouting angry messages, and stamping their feet. Even stranger than that was their garb: everyone wore something red, making a chattering sea of crimson.
Jaina positioned her soldiers along one side of the plaza while Olivia and the other captains set up their platoons. Alex stood only two dozen feet from the nearest demonstrators, and the noise of their voices pounded his ears. He tried to look impassive and strong like the other mages and hoplites, but couldn't. He could easily see the anger and helplessness in each citizen's face, and it disturbed him.
"We want out city back!" one man in a cheap red toga hollered, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Tell the council to give our lives back!" His words rallied those near him, and Alex winced at the noise.
"Some crowd, huh?" a mage commented to Alex, seemingly indifferent.
"Something's got to be done," Alex shouted back.
"We are doing something, kid. We're standing against chaos. And look, here comes Second Battalion."
The mage pointed, and Alex saw colonel Elias, the bald mage commander of Second Battalion, leading his men to the plaza. Like Kulla, he ordered his captains to form the platoons into a defensive wall that blocked the citizens from the city hall's front steps. Elias himself looked as peaceful as ever, unwilling to let any danger or chaos upset his meditative calm. His captains, however, scowled at the rallying citizens.
"Attention, citizens of Meletis!" Kulla shouted, stepping forward. He held a small, enchanted device to his lips to magnify his voice. Sixteen-inch blades were strapped to his wrists. "This demonstration is a disrupting our great city's business and order. Return to your homes, your shops, or your farms at once!"
"We'll go when the council stops this tyranny!" a woman roared, earning applause among the red-clad citizens. "Tell them to give us our freedom back!"
"You are free from all danger and chaos. That is the gift of the council and the Reverent Army," Kulla told her, unshaken. "The minotaurs, bandits, and cults of the wilds do not threaten us here, and you can thank the Army for that. Do you remember when the Shadow League stormed our walls? We stand against any such threat for all time. If that security comes at a cost, then so be it."
"Some security!" a man retorted, stomping an angry foot. "The Shadow League's gone, but now you Army folk started bullying us! Last week, you arrested my son for 'slanderous words' against the council. He's no rebel! Where's the justice in that?" The man's words inspired encouraging shouts from the other demonstrators.
Alex stared, horrified. It's worse than I thought! The Army is corrupt, and the citizens have had enough. Even more people will get hurt at this rate. He almost felt ashamed to wear the leather and robe of a battle-wise mage. He had half a mind to tear off his robe and toss it aside.
Now Jaina stepped forward and drew her swords. She pointed them downward, not as a threat, but a warning. Heliod's blinding, star-studded favor flowed over the blades and shimmered with a strong light. "You were ordered to stand down," Jaina thundered. Her eyes spat fire. "I was ready to give my life to stop the Shadow League. I love this city, and I will gladly lay my life down for it! But how can I do that if my fellow people resist the Army? I tell you again, stand down."
"But..." The man sputtered at the sight of Jaina's favor-enchanted swords. "Sun champion, you can't really believe that!"
"She's no champion!" the woman from earlier argued, pointing. "Just a lapdog of the corrupted council!" More cheers.
Now Elias walked to the forefront. "Violence will only cause more grief and regret," he said placatingly. He clasped his hands together. "Please, everyone. You have made your grievances evident. Clear out of this plaza so I may bring this matter to the council. I have no doubt that a solution for us all can be reached."
Alex's spirits lifted for a second. Elias' words were persuasive, to be sure.
However: "Liar!" the woman shouted. "Why should we believe you?"
"We'll tell the council about our problems ourselves!" another man hollered. "Who's with me?"
The breaking point had been reached. As one, the red-clad people surged forth with a collective shout. Alex backed up a step, shocked. What should he do?
Kulla brandished his wrist-blades and encased them with his iron-hard white mana. In a blur, he sprinted through the crowd, slashing his blades everywhere. By the time he returned to his original position, several citizens lay stunned on the plaza ground. Alarmed, the other citizens faltered.
Alex realized that Kulla had activated "crowd control" enchantments on his blades, magic that could stun and temporarily cripple a target without killing him or her. Effective for peacekeeping, yes, but the sight still horrified him. He had never seen a warrior raise his hand against unarmed citizens before.
"Back away," Kulla warned, pointing with a mana-encased blade. "I will not tolerate any more dissent."
With angry howls, several men in the crowd charged Kulla, knives drawn. In a flash, Kulla whirled around the men and sent them sprawling to the ground, clutching their bruised bodies. The men never even saw the blade strikes that crippled them.
"Sir! Isn't that enough?" Alex shouted. His heart thumped in his throat. Angry red mana sizzled in his gut, making his mind go fuzzy.
Kulla glanced over his shoulder. "Don't question me, mage! Do what your captain tells you."
"But..." Alex stopped when Jaina approached him.
"Stand back, Alex," she told him, her voice taut. "Maintain the defensive line." Nearby, Elias watched impassively, arms folded. His blue mage robe wasn't even ruffled by the chaos.
"By order of the council, anyone who defies me will be arrested and questioned!" Kulla warned at the top of his voice. "Return to your homes!"
To Alex's dismay, the people still didn't give up. They resumed the attack en masse, and this time, the battle-wise mages threw up barriers of white mana to keep them at bay. Blue mana spells disoriented the nearest citizens, putting them in a stupor. And worst of all, Kulla still wasn't done. The man was merciless as he darted through the demonstrators, disabling them by the score with his enchanted blades.
One man, an ex-warrior by the look of him, managed to catch Kulla by surprise and landed a heavy punch to the colonel's jaw. Kulla backed up a step, momentarily stunned.
"Yeah! You like that, Army asshole?" the man taunted. "Do you?" Nearby, other citizens crowded around Kulla to overwhelm him.
Kulla snapped. In another blur of white mana, he scattered the nearby citizens, then instantly positioned himself behind the tough man. With one deft movement, he gripped the man's brawny right arm and pulled. Alex clearly heard bones snap.
"Aaaaaargh!" Suddenly pale, the man sank to his knees, cradling his right arm. "Sone of a..."
"No!" Alex didn't even realize that he was moving until he was halfway towrad Kulla, sprinting at top speed. He didn't care anymore what Jaina told him, or what the council had ordered the Reverent Army to do. Kulla was going to kill someone at this rate, all in the name of his "justice"!
"What are you..." Kulla didn't have time to finish before Alex seized him and threw him to the ground, muscles fueled with raging red mana. Alex towered over him, fists clenched.
"Let him go! You're being the tyrant everyone thinks we are!" Alex roared. "You're not the kind of man I thought I could look up to."
Kulla stared back at Alex, lying flat on his back. "I serve justice, mage. If I'm not your role model, so be it. But I can make an example out of you."
Kulla sprang to his feet, drew back his left blade, and struck. Just in time, Alex raised a flaming hand to block it, his arm aching from the pressure of Kulla's blow. Over and over, Kulla slashed at Alex, filling the air with mana. Alex strained to keep up, but he felt himself tiring. His earlier rage gave way to panic, and he realized that there was no way out.
"I've had enough of you." Finally, Kulla knocked aside Alex's flaming hands and slashed his right blade across Alex's temple.
Kulla's grim, determined face was the last thing Alex saw before everything went black.
*o*o*o*o*
"Oh, my! Sun champion, you are a funny one!"
Jaina smiled as several wealthy businessmen and their wives laughed at another tale of her home village. Around them babbled many more important and wealthy Meletis citizens, all in the mansion of councilor Rinax. This fine evening, councilor Rinax was holding a charity ball for the less fortunate citizens of Meletis and its outlaying towns, and with the abundant wine, good food, and live music, the ball was turning out to be a success.
On the inside, though, Jaina was tense and alert. She wore an expensive lime-green toga and gold bangles, and councilor Kero had personally escorted her here as a guest of honor. Kero fit into the crowd pretty well, but Jaina only kept people's attention when she told funny stories about wrestling wild animals when she was a kid. She definitely felt out of place here.
Jaina glanced at the buffet table. "I think I'll have another serving of that excellent wine. Excuse me."
Glad to be rid of her filthy rich and shallow-minded company, Jaina wandered over to councilor Kero and leaned close to his ear. "I think I've mingled long enough," she muttered. "Everyone's at ease having me here. I've got to make my move."
"Very well. Just take it slow," Kero reminded her. "Good luck."
Jaina nodded and set off, tracking down councilor Rinax at the other end of the mansion's grand hall. Her heart raced in her chest as she drew closer to the man, and she impatiently waited until several businessmen parted his company before greeting him.
"Sun champion! I hope you're enjoying yourself?" Rinax asked warmly, offering a hand.
"Very. In fact, I have a favor to ask of you," Jaina smiled again as she accepted Rinax's hand. The man was in his late forties, with short curly hair and dark brown eyes. He wore a sky-blue toga.
"Of course!" Rinax said loudly, having had his fair share of wine. "I'd be honored to aid the champion of our time."
This is it. "Excellent. Look, it concerns the council. I have a few matters I'd like to address with Perisophia. Surely she could set aside a little time for me?"
Jaina was careful to control her tone and expression, not wanting to spook the councilor. On the inside, she lamented being such a blunt warrior woman at a time like this. But Kero had insisted on using Jaina's influence to get closer to Perisophia, so here she was. No doubt that Perisophia was hiding some dreadful secret that explained her rash behavior.
Rinax's smiled faded somewhat. "Beg your pardon, madam?"
"I wouldn't ask if it weren't important," Jaina said earnestly. "I believe I can act as a bridge between the common people and the council. I know what it was like growing up an ordinary person, and I have enough influence to be worth Perisophia's time. Perhaps this could be the common ground needed to settle this crisis."
Mixed emotions crossed Rinax's face. "There's no doubt of what you're saying," he said slowly, lowering his voice. Sweat beaded on his brow. "But I don't think that will work. No, Perisophia's not open to personal visits right now." With a shaking hand, he wiped his brow.
Who has him scared more, Perisophia or me? Jaina blinked innocently. "I mean to cause no trouble, councilor. I was just hoping that, as one of the Twelve, you could help me with -"
"I won't have this discussion," Rinax said urgently, glancing around. "Maybe you don't realize how delicate an issue this is? We're in the middle of civil war with the Agnomakhos rebellion, Sun champion. You're needed at the front lines, not interrogating our wisest leader."
"I wasn't going to interrogate -"
"Silence," Rinax snapped. Then, he smiled and addressed the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, I believe our Sun champion has a few words to share with us! Jaina, if you will?"
I hate politics. Realizing that she was beaten, Jaina turned, forced a smile, and cleared her throat. The crowd's chatter died down. "In troubled times like these, it pleases me to see the privileged extending a generous hand to those less fortunate. I love this city, and its people's happiness is my own."
Scattered applause broke out as Jaina continued. "As the Sun champion, I will be there to see our city saved! I won't let chaos and anger tear down what our forebears worked so hard to build. I will have the Agnomakhos rebellion put down and its leaders brought to justice for their crimes. The city hall demonstration yesterday morning underscored the urgency of the situation. I promise that with the Reverent Army at my side, peace will prevail!"
This time, everyone broke into applause and Jaina flushed slightly. The chatter resumed as Jaina sought out councilor Kero.
"Did it work?" Kero asked.
Jaina shook her head. "He was defensive from the start. Perisophia's got him scared. I really don't think I can get to her."
"Damn it." Kero pursed his lips. "I'm sure that Perisophia is the key to all this. I'll have to think of another way."
"Yeah." Jaina thought back to the violent demonstration and lamented that as long as Perisophia and the rebels leaders maintained their current course, everyone would suffer. And, of course, there was the matter of Alex's defiance against Kulla's will. Jaina didn't like to see the boy resist his superiors, but she got the feeling that he wasn't entirely guilty. The court martial tomorrow would probably be nasty.