Chapter, The Delegation
The Sowiler nation formed 78 years ago, wasn’t very much a nation, more of just a few villages. Its army looked much more like a city patrol unit. About 50 years ago conflicts between the Old Kingdom and the Alkunia Kingdom started to yell out with accusations of illegal drug trafficking and promises of reprisal for the dangerous effects the drug was having on their citizens and helping fund criminal organizations.
This quaint nation was directly in the line of fire between the 2 largest kingdoms with thousands of foot soldiers, one by one the crunching of the snow intensified as soldiers on each side lined up enough to know only a short jog… only a minor little breeze was between them and the largest conflict to date on the continent… Oh, of course, the Sowiler nation, but the soldiers didn’t care much.
Tiny little dominoes spread out across the land ready to fall once one action sets this beautiful snow mountain range into a crimson volcano straight from the other side…
The Old Kingdom’s Princess and a squad of about 5 Knights in blackish armor and golden gilded scabbards with elegant designs begin slowly walking forward… Crunch, crunch, crunch.
As they slowly appear over the snowy hill the crunching becomes clacking. The uniformed and disciplined clacking on the stone-cobbled street as they walk through the run-down capital of Sowiler. The tight streets made riding a carriage inside the city streets a difficult challenge with endless tight junctions only made for foot traffic with dirtied civilians glaring at them in the streets, from the windows and from just about everywhere the civilians glared at the soldiers in black and gold gilded gear well the lucky ones among them got a loaf of bread day.
The tall-sturdy princess walked with pride and was honored in a perfectly suited and measured formal military attire with medals decorating her uniform as she led the Old Kingdom’s Royal Knight Squadron with the utmost importance in each step. That pride that she cared trickled off on her unit of killing machines which could dispatch an entire battalion with no help. This was especially evident as the princess and the Knight to her right pointed out a small alley corner with a large shop window lightly baked in snow and the thin outline of a sign reading “For-Sale”. With muffled laughter they carried on with their journey of a lifetime.
The constant clacking became a Clack, Clack Clack became slower and slower… Clack… Clack a steady crack of the soldier’s necks as they look up as the tight roads become more open and a building in the middle of a slight hill looks down upon them with magnificence. An old and slightly bent city hall with a cobbled base but a wood finish around the sides and walls. There were 2 of the nation’s few soldiers standing at the double doors with old worn equipment and a damp yellow colored uniform with nervous sweating upon every piece of skin that could be seen as if they knew the end was near.
The steep incline up the hill as the delegation party readied the building as they slowly entered the dimly lit capital hall they saw the bright crimson red uniforms of the Alkunia Kingdom’s soldiers stand outside. The tension as both parties glared at each other and the Old Kingdom’s prince entered the room and slowly approached a door with the message, “Meeting room”. One final sigh. One final breath. One final era… The prince entered.
The wind hallowed and screamed in the air seeming to carry the last bit of human decency away. The slight snowfall began to batter the minds of the thousands lined up ready to fight if negotiations go away…
The high flicker of a wood oven inside the meeting room gives warmth and love to its frigged surroundings. The soldiers outside the room stand ready with their hands on their scabbards and their fingers itching down to the handle with every passing minute to get a first strike if negotiations fell…
Sounds of “BRING US HIS HEAD!” ring in the hallowed air, drilling into the minds of those who listened.
