The Union

At the very top of the tower, to the north, was a large room. The room was reserved for the Grand Master of the Tulosan Knights. Armed royal guards stood erect with their backs against against the room.

"Let us pa.s.s" Balian demanded, both hands tugged under the sleeves of his white robe.

"We apologize but we cannot" Replied the captain of the royal guards, Rain was his name- A middle-aged warrior veteran of several battles. With the crest of the royal family of Tulosa etched on his breastplate and a greatsword slung on his hips, Rain looked menacing.

"Reason?"

"Same as always Master Balian" Rain permitted a half smile "The Grand Master is old. Poor good man. He can"t even meet old friends. Come back later when he is feeling better"

"We will not stand down this time Rain. n.o.body had seen the Grand Master since the start of winter. We just want to talk to him"

"His order is not to allow any disturbance"

"His order or the Princess"?"

Rain leaned his head forward, one-eyebrow raised he asked, "Does it matter?"

Balian reached behind. His squire put a sheathed sword on his hand. He took his steel longsword from the scabbard and held the blade down with both hands.

"There will be bloodshed if you don"t let us pa.s.s. Move royal guard Rain"

The royal guards also unsheathed their swords. The action was reflected by Balian"s knights. Both parties were now in a stand-off.

Rain raised his palm against the royal guards as an order to calm down. He shook his head. "You know that we will fight to the death Balian. We royal guards are true to our oaths. It will not be a pretty fight"

"My Knights are not built for pretty things Rain. Our armors may be shining bright but we are not afraid to paint it crimson"

"So I"ve heard" Rain puffed a sigh. "You win Master Balian. Lads, let the Master pa.s.s"

"But sir! The princess..." protested a royal guard.

"The Princess ordered us to delay these honorable knights for as long as possible. We served our purpose" Rain stepped aside and gestured towards the room "Grand Master Nelson"s room is open for you honorable sirs"

Balian spared Rain one last look before sheathing his sword and walking towards the room. Rain followed behind. He pulled the door open and stepped inside. The Grand Master was not there.

Rain wrinkled his forehead "Where is Grand Master Nelson?"

"A few feet below the ground. He"s all bones now I suppose" Replied Rain

"He"s dead?"

"A monotonic tone Master Balian" Rain smirked "I thought you would be devastated. The Grand Master is dead. Oh what a dark day for the children of the Omniscient. What a dark day. A good man has left the world. But instead you are as calm as a lake"

Balian smiled. He leaned closer to Rain"s ears. "It is indeed a dark day, Rain. You have just denied me three months of my reign as Grand Master"

"You seem confident that you"ll win the vote Master Balian" Rain whispered back.

"You are a fool if you think that there will even be a vote" Balian chuckled "There will only be blood"

Balian walked back to his Knights. "Prepare the others"

*********

The knights were humming an ode to the Omniscient. Tobias walked slowly to the front on his white robe.

He raised his arms towards the Knights. He closed his eyes and let his soul dance with the tune.

"The day is good brothers!" His body was trembling with the holy light of the Omniscient. He could feel it. "Hail you praises to the Omniscient. Oh for he is good. He is good!"

"He is good!" shouted the Knights.

Tobias fell to the smooth marble floor of the cathedral. His body contorted.

"Praise him! We are his children oh dear ones. Our lives are for him" Tobias opened his quivering eyes "Praise him for he is good!"

The Knights shouted in unison. Tobias" ears were filled with voices of men shouting their faith. It was beautiful.

Suddenly his squire ran to him. It was abrupt and Tobias was annoyed. But after he heard his squire, Tobias smiled. The Grand Master is dead. Balian, his rival, had declared himself as the new Grand Master without a vote.

Tobias had foreseen this a long time ago. He knew that Balian would resort to force just to get the position of Grand Master. He also knew that Balian"s men are coming to kill him.

But he had made plans already. By the Omniscient"s grace he will be the next Grand Master. He is the Omniscient"s prophet.

Tobias rose. "Brothers, a terrible news just reached my ears...."

**********

The Sinon River served as the unofficial border between Castonia and Tulosa. Beyond the Sinon River was the Deadland Plains, a desert as large as the Meander Plains of Castonia.

Erik, four legions of Castonians, a few hundred Tulosan Knights and Tulosan royal guards were marching across the cold sand of the Dead Plains. The spring had made it such that wild plants and flowers bloomed on the sandy ground.

"So between the two who is better, Tobias or Balias?" Erik asked Henry.

"Balian sire. Master Balian. Whoever is going to win the voting sire, that man is better. During the voting, the Omniscient"s light fills every knight with wisdom"

"Or the Masters fill their pockets with gold. I don"t believe in miracles Henry. Men that could produce flames and men that could turn into bears and men that could become shadows- I believe those things. But miracles? I"ll rather believe in corruption and bribery"

"Your statement dangles on the edge of blasphemy Marquis Erik. The Omniscient is supreme"

"Aye" Erik shook his head "Supreme. Let"s say it"s true that you knights will be bathed in holy light and wisdom and all those things during the voting. The question is, will there even be a voting?"

"I hope there will be" Henry said with bit lips.

"So there won"t be. What now? Who among them is better? Any thoughts on the matter Princess Emily?"

"The two have their own faults" Princess Emily said, head popping from the window of her carriage "Master Tobias is a little cranky if you ask me. He is strict when it comes to worshiping the Omniscient. Master Balian on the other hand" She paused and gave a small head shake "He is a little proud and cra.s.s. Think of him as a paranoid King. He is playing knighthood like d.a.m.n politics. Some say he is a puppet of the other nations. Anyway the crown will support Master Tobias. He is more popular so we can expect the majority of the Knights to join us"

"I agree" Henry spoke "Master Tobias is still a better character. I"ve seen one of his sermons and I must say that he"s... serious about his faith"

"A fanatic then? Great." Erik lamented with lowered shoulders

"You hit it right in the b.a.l.l.s Marquis Erik" Princess Emily smiled "Sadly the crown will support a fanatic. But a fanatic is better than a violent sly person"

"Just demolish the Order of the Knights and be done with it" said Erik

"But the Order is deeply rooted in Tulosa. If you pull the root, the stem and all the parts goes. What would be left is a gaping ugly hole" said the Princess. "Anyway, it"s not that easy to demolish the order"

"We Castonians could. We could pull the root with our steel. But alas, King Timothy"s strict order is for us to remain neutral. We will be your referees in this conflict. That is unless the citizens are harmed. We will fight against anyone who harms the citizens- even against you if need be"

A rider was spotted from afar. His horse kicked a flurry of sand behind. His speed was fast- he is in a hurry.

The rider went to them. He gave a salute to the Princess and a scornful look at Erik.

"Your Highness I have news from the Capital"

"They"ve found out?" Princess Emily asked, frowning.

"Yes. About two days ago death of the Grand Master spread. Master Balian has declared himself as the next Grand Master without a proper vote. He has barricaded the headquarters and the entire city. The people of the city are also being levied by Master Balian"

"And Master Tobias?"

"Master Tobias escaped the capital Your Highness. A hundred knights lay dead at the cathedral. They tried to delay Master Balian while Master Tobias escaped. We think Master Tobias is gathering knights from the outposts to bolster his forces. Reports say that he is headed to either Vuono or Mort"

"And my father? What of him?"

"The King" The messenger lowered his head "He also fled the city with the n.o.bles. They brought the royal treasury with them. As a result, violence has erupted in the city. Bivon is currently lawless"

"Another great news" Erik clicked his tongue "So one Master has sort of occupied your captial. The other Master is gathering forces around to storm your capital. While the King left the citizens to fend for themselves. Great. You sure have some competent officials"

Erik"s statement was met with silence from both the Princess and Henry.

"Alright" Erik said "You two stop staring at the ground as if it will give you answers. He is levying the citizens in force right? That is a violation of the rules of war so we Castonians will interfere. We will demand that he stop what he"s doing"

"He will not agree" said the Princess

"Oh but when presented with twenty thousand Castonians he will surely think hard about it" Erik looked behind to his squire "Order a double time march. We will also do a forced march"

The squire nodded "March at the double!" he shouted. The order was repeated many times. After a while the rhythm of the trumpeters grew faster and the entire column was marching fast.