BOOK II OF III: The Reign of the Sultan (20 page)

Not even two minutes later, Baltor and his
men finally began to draw near the enemy army’s leaders, who were
riding into the middle of the battlefield by themselves … all eight
of them. It appeared that the enemy did not wish to attack, just
yet.

Once everyone had arrived to a safe distance
of twenty feet away from each other, Baltor issued the command,
“Halt!” Not only did his men halt, yet so did all of the enemy’s
leaders.

After quickly surveying these men that were
quietly looking back, he realized that the Duke of Vispano was not
in the mix, and so he introduced, “My name is Baltor Elysian the
Fifteenth, and I am the Sultan of the Sharia Empire. Pray tell,
where is Duke Marlborough Vispano, so that we can parlay the
reasons on why he stole our money, conquered my city of Lasparus,
killed my soldiers that were simply protecting it, and most
importantly, what we can do to reestablish trade and peace between
our two nations?”

One knight rode out in front of the rest—he
wore plate mail armor, as well a helmet-with-visor that covered his
entire face, just like the rest of his entourage. He also wore a
black cape with four silver bars sewn into each shoulder—the others
wore capes, but theirs had different earthy colors, and not as many
with silver bars.

After raising the visor, which revealed
piercing green eyes, a hawk-like nose and a salt-and-pepper goatee
with matching eyebrows, this knight nobly replied, “Greetings,
Sultan Baltor Elysian—my rank and name is Commanding-Knight
Valiante.”

Valiante took a deep breath through just his
nose, before continuing, “To answer your question regarding the
location of the Duke of Vispano…he has returned to Parthway but two
days ago, as he has already selected a candidate to become this
city’s earl, of whom he has personally gone to retrieve.”

“I see,” Baltor said.

Valiante added, “As for answering your two
other questions, only the Duke himself can answer those
questions—he never did tell me his reasons for conquering Lasparus
in the first place. If you like, we can dispatch word for him to
return as soon as possible, but I guarantee you that it will be no
less than a month before they return.”

Baltor stated with a whole lot of agitation,
“I, and my forces, am not going to wait a month, nor even two days.
This city belongs to the Sharia Empire, which your Duke unjustly
stole because he got angry with my wife for not being his wife!
She, Sultaness Brishava Elysian, even paid your Duke
ten million
parsecs
, so that we could not only continue our trade, yet keep
the peace between our two great nations.”

“I’m sorry, Your Sultan, but I am only
following orders until the Duke of Vispano returns,” Valiante
countered with a slightly frustrated look upon his face. “The duke
will have my head if he finds out I gave back this city without his
direct consent.”

Angrily, Baltor replied, “Then understand
this, if you don’t release the control of my city into my hands,
peacefully and immediately. The vast and powerful army, which
stands behind me with more than seventy thousand elite soldiers,
shall destroy you all by land, while my navy with tens of thousands
of ships and more than forty thousand sailors and marines will
destroy you all by sea! In the end, we shall personally hand all
your heads to the duke, if you and your forces do not vacate my
city and lands…now!”

With that, Valiante unconsciously gulped. He
only had a total of sixty thousand troops himself—thirty thousand
knights on horseback had already assembled outside the defensive
walls of stone that surrounded Lasparus. The remaining thirty
thousand of Valiante’s foot soldiers, archers, and catapult
launchers continued to protect Lasparus from within this city’s
eighty-foot-tall by fifty-foot-thick walls—the duke had taken the
remaining ten thousand soldiers with him back to their capital city
of Parthway.

A few moments later, Valiante finally
replied, “Your Sultan, without the Duke’s expressed consent, I
cannot relinquish Lasparus back to you, no matter the odds stacked
against us—after all, I truly do not have the executive power to
override his commands! I’m sorry it has to be this way, but it
seems that war is inevitable, despite the fact that you seem to be
a very honorable and peaceful man.”

Still sounding and looking angry, Baltor
snapped out, “Where is the honor and peace in the distasteful way
that your duke treated my wife and her generosities by taking our
money, stealing our city, and mercilessly killing our
soldiers?”

Valiante peacefully extended both of his
hands into the air, just before he justified, “The only question
that I can answer is the last one. The Duke felt that the surviving
soldiers would become a threat—I could not argue with that
logic!”

After throwing both hands up into the air
with anger and frustration, Baltor asked, “Why didn’t you just send
the survivors by ship back to Pavelus—doesn’t that sound at all
logical?”

“Umm, well, I guess it does,” Valiante
answered. “I, he, we never thought about that—I’m sorry, Your
Sultan, but it’s too late to save them now…”

While slowly nodding his head up and down,
Baltor stated, “You’re right that it is too late to save my
soldiers now, but it’s not too late to redeem what they fought and
died for, Commanding-Knight Valiante, which is honor, duty, and
peace. The truth of the matter is that I can sense those very
qualities within you as well, which is most likely reflective
within your men.”

After gesturing his left hand out for
Valiante to remain quiet, Baltor continued, “I have never seen or
heard about these qualities within the Duke of Vispano…ever! Why
are you serving someone that is rotten and tainted? Instead, serve
my honorable, noble, and peaceful cause—the Sharia Empire—which is
both fresh and pure.”

Valiante answered, “You’re suggesting that my
knights and I mutiny against the Duke? We, the Vispano Knights have
existed for more than four hundred years, and we are both honorable
and dutiful warriors that have pledged our earliest vows and lives
not only to this duke, yet all our Vispano ancestors! To even think
about breaking our vows bears the strict penalty of death, as well
the loss of our family’s honor and name!”

A few moments later, Baltor sounded calm,
cool and collected as he replied, “Very well…I have but one more
thing to conclude our pre-battle discussion with, Commanding-Knight
Valiante, if you’ll allow me, please?”

“Your Sultan, of course,” Valiante answered
with a respectful nod to his head.

“Thank you,” Baltor said with his own
respectful nod. “I know I’ve said this before, but let me try to
say it in this way. Please, please give back that which is
rightfully mine, and retreat your forces peacefully back to
Parthway. If you don’t, then my vast and powerful army and navy
shall be forced to eliminate every single one of you! What is your
choice, Commander?”

Valiante asked, “Your Sultan, may I be
allowed to discuss all your suggestions with my knights, and give
you an answer in the morning?”

Baltor answered, “I will graciously give you
even more time than that, Commanding-Knight Valiante. As I know
that this will not be an easy decision for you to come by, I will
give you until one hour after sunset tomorrow evening…
Goodnight.”

“Very well, goodnight,” Valiante concluded.
He lowered his visor, turned his horse around, and rode back to the
camp with his two top knights and guide-on bearer following right
behind.

Meanwhile, Baltor turned his stallion around,
and rode back up to his two generals and guide-on bearer. Together,
as they began to ride back to their army and camp, he grimly said,
“I have a strong feeling that war and death will be their
answer!”

“My Sultan,” Han said with a whole of lot of
excitement, “you’re words were most inspirational and true! I, too,
could sense the honor within the Commanding-Knight, and I know that
he will relay the entirety of your message to his equally-honorable
knights—surely, they will join our ranks, my Sultan!”

Thorn added, “My Sultan, I agree with
Commanding-General Han.”

A slight look of worry suddenly crossed
Thorn’s face, and a moment later, he asked, “When we get back to
camp, I wish to discuss something important with you in private, if
you will, my Sultan…?”

Baltor was now very curious as to what
Thorn’s message was, especially by the look of worry he had seen on
his face—instead of saying anything about it, however, he simply
nodded his head.

Once they had returned to camp, a minute
later, Han called out through his megaphone, “Attention!”

The troops instantly assumed the
position.

“Forces of the Sharia Empire,” Baltor
declared through his megaphone, “I will make this briefing short so
you can all get your rest tonight. Make sure that by tomorrow
morning, all of the catapult and siege machines are set up around
the city, as well as all our ground and naval forces. We will not
allow any supplies to go in or out of Lasparus.”

Baltor continued after a short pause,
“Tomorrow night, Commanding-Knight Valiante—the highest ranking
officer of the Vispano Forces occupying my city—will come back and
relay his message of whether we are to have peace…or war! As I
stated to him, peace is the preferable route, but we are all ready
to face the latter route, should it prove necessary, right?”

The whole of the army boomed out, “Yes, my
Sultan!”

No longer using the megaphone, Baltor
ordered, “Commanding-General Han, dismiss the troops for the night.
General Thorn, come with me.”

Both generals cried out, “Yes, my
Sultan!”

While Han called out the command for the
soldiers to dismiss, Baltor and Thorn climbed out of their saddles,
and after a couple of troops had taken their horses back to the
temporary stables, Thorn then followed Baltor into the command
tent.

As soon as he saw his Sultan turn around,
Thorn immediately dropped down onto both knees, and with both fear
and sorrow to his voice, he pleaded, “My Sultan, I ask of you to
forgive me…”

Looking a bit confused, Baltor asked, “For
what?”

While looking at the ground in shame, Thorn
confessed, “My Sultan, the Vaspan Empire not only contains the city
of Mauritia, yet also another city called Driven. Both are
fortified with a massive labyrinth outside the cities…and expertly
guarded.

“Within each city, there are twenty thousand
forces loyal to Emperor Vaspan, not including the citizens who can
fight, which will make it nearly impossible for Governor Hawkins,
Lord Bradmir, and your thirty-five thousand troops to win if their
‘route of peace’ should fail…

“The reason I never before relayed this
information to you, my Sultan, is because I had considered the
possibility of simply escaping from you, getting to Driven as soon
as possible, and informing the forces there that I was now the new
Emperor-Sedious…”

Baltor’s right eyebrow rose at hearing all
this information, though he did not say a word, but continued to
listen.

A few moments later, Thorn dared to look up
at his Sultan, eye-to-eye, before he continued, “However, over the
course of these last six weeks, and most especially for the way you
handled tonight’s performance, I no longer have a single doubt in
you anymore, my Sultan, and I ask of you to forgive me.”

Without waiting for answer, he unexpectedly
threw his arms out before he pleaded, “No… I beg of you to forgive
me and allow me to serve you, honorably and dutifully—even as a
lowly cook, especially now that you can’t trust me as a
general.”

Without hesitation, Baltor looked down upon
Thorn, while placing his right hand on his right shoulder. Finally,
he said, “Of course I will forgive you and allow you to
continuously serve me, General Thorn! Your honesty reestablishes
your trust with me.”

Thorn asked with both surprise and relief to
his voice, “Really, my Sultan?”

“Really. Now, how about some chow—I’m
hungry!”

Thorn stood onto his feet, snapped his
sharpest salute to his Sultan, and then replied, “Yes, my
Sultan!”

Just then, Han entered the command tent, and
coincidentally replied, “Dinner should be here momentarily, my
Sultan.”

“Excellent, I’m starving,” Baltor replied
with a wink and a smile…

The following night, Valiante, his two top
knights, and his guide-on bearer all met Baltor and his entourage
in the middle of the battlefield once again.

The thirty thousand knights had spread
themselves outside, only a few feet around the city walls of
Lasparus, while the other thirty thousand soldiers defended from
within.

Meanwhile, Baltor’s seventy thousand infantry
and cavalry soldiers, as well the catapult and siege machines, had
all been set up about a half mile around just about the entire
city, except the harbor—all were ready and eager to attack!

It was Baltor’s navy who blocked off the
harbor. They were armed with twenty percent of the catapult
machines, and just as eagerly waiting for the command to
“attack.”

Just like the night before, the two leaders
met in the very middle of the battlefield. A nervous look could be
seen within Valiante’s eyes, as he knew Lasparus was completely
surrounded—Baltor’s face bore no expression whatsoever.

Once they had drawn to twenty feet away from
each other, a friendly smile unexpectedly crossed Baltor’s face as
he greeted, “Good evening to you, Commanding-Knight Valiante.”

Returning the smile, though his face and eyes
continued to look very nervous, Valiante greeted back, “Good
evening to you, Your Sultan.”

“So, Commanding-Knight, have you and your
forces reached a decision?”

After clearing his throat, Valiante answered,
“Perhaps—if you and your forces can accommodate to our unusual
request, my forces and I have an alternative suggestion to war and
death that will reach cataclysmic proportions on both sides…no
matter the victor.”