Destruction of Insipia
Julian
A day has passed since the Circled Kingdom Knights started their journey to attack the City of New Phillip. The squire, Julian, had a good night sleep the night before but he felt himself getting tired already; they had been walking for almost four hours now.
He knew this would be a long journey, filled with suffering and pain, that there was high chance he may never survive their upcoming attack, but he was determined to do his best.
Julian thought how menacing they must’ve looked. There was a long line of procession which included exactly a hundred Knights on their horses, a thousand or so foot soldiers and around a two hundred squires. He was located near the front where the highest ranked Knights where located.
All the Knights rode horses and wore silver full body plated armor, a helmet with small openings for vision and ventilation, and a long white cape decorated with a simple circle.
Like Julian, the simple soldiers and the squires wore chainmail and a simple leather helmet.
It occurred to him that he has not really taken a closer look at the two highest ranked knights that was assigned to the lead army. He blamed himself for being too frightened at the start of the journey. Truth be told, he barely even remembered the journey yesterday as he had spent the better part of the day looking down at his feet – willing them to keep on walking to his (he believed) early grave. Surprisingly, he felt he was quite able to function today.
I guess this means I have resigned to my fate. He thought dully.
It took great effort for him to finally get his mind off from his incoming doom but finally he was able to observe the two Great Knights he has looked up to since he was just a little child.
There was High Knight “Great Joy” Pubert. He must’ve been over seven foot tall. He was as wide as a troll who just got done feeding on an especially obese Lord. Two enormous horses were bred specifically for him; one to carry him and another to carry his great hammer. Great Joy, as he was called by those who knew him, was known for his booming laughter and his love for parties. It was said that every week when he had a party at his land, the neighboring lands could not sleep for his mirth could be heard for miles the whole night. They hated him for it but all was forgiven the very next day when Great Joy personally invited them to the next party.
And there was the Lord Knight Sebastian. He also has epithet but no one actually uses it anymore after he was granted the highest rank in the order of the Knights. He was not as tall as Great Joy but he was still a giant among men at six foot six inches tall. He had a tan face with perfectly trimmed blond hair. Julian couldn’t see it but his light blue eyes was said to be so mesmerizing a dozen or so Lords have offered their daughters to him in marriage even before he became a Knight. His preferred weapon, a glaive, was carried by his squire beside him.
Among the Knights, Great Joy and Sebastian had the most squires and foot soldiers behind them; they had at least twenty each. The rest of the Knights had around half of that. The group, if you even could call it that, with the fewest members is Julian and his sworn Knight, Kei.
Unlike the other Knights, Kei only brought Julian and two horses for the attack – one for him and another for Julian and their stuff. Currently, Julian was walking beside the horse since he wanted to give it more time to rest. He knew the road – at least, from what he read in the geography books - so he knows it would take at least a week more of walking until they get there. Thankfully, he remembered that they were soon to arrive to a town called Insipia.
Julian tried to find Kei among the Knights in front. A short while ago, Sebastian had called for Kei, Lady Kiyo and three other knights to come to him to the front. Julian imagined that Sebastian was giving them instructions – it made sense since they were the five newest members of their order and, as such, they were the least experienced.
A short while later Kei rejoined Julian. Kei unhorsed and walked beside Julian. Julian was surprised and thought this was a new development – Kei, while he knows to be kind, did not really speak to him. In fact, he believed they only had a conversation twice in the past two months he was with him. Kei took an irritated look at Julian before looking back at the road and talked in a low voice.
“Do you see it?” asked Kei quietly - he pointedly looked up at the sky. “The smoke.”
Julian strained his eyes at best he could but couldn’t see anything – he was able see a vague outline but for all he knew, it could just be clouds.
“You will soon,” said Kei grimly. “The Knights have been able to see it for the past hour. Listen close: Catfoot was sent to scout ahead but I have a bad feeling about this. Stay close to Lord Knight Seb and follow his orders. If a fight breaks out, I am expected to fight in the front lines. You’d be safer with him. I believe he knows you are still untrained.”
Julian then tightened his hold of the horse’s leash. He tightened it so much that it caused him pain. Not from excitement for what was to come nor was he readying himself battle. He tightened his grip because he felt a pang of anger at himself - he was already frightened at just the idea of a battle.
How did I not ready myself at the prospect that a skirmish would occur before we got to New Phillip? Julian cursed.
Kei was right. Half an hour later, they were able to see the smoke. And half an hour more... they smelled it. The smell was coppery and metallic – the smell of burning flesh.
Kei got back up to his horse and ordered Julian to do the same. He then motioned Julian to follow him to the front lines. As they come near Lord Knight Sebastian, they spot Lady Kiyo riding as fast as she could towards them.
“Orcs and goblins, Lord Knight!” shouted Lady Kiyo – her eyes blazing. “Hundreds of them – maybe more. The town is burned and the townsfolk are being slaughtered. There are still some survivors – I heard their screams.”
“Orcs here? So close the kingdom?” said sir Great Joy, perplexed.
“Great Joy, take ten Knights and head on,” said Lord Knight Sebastian. “You could handle the orcs until we arrive. We might be able to save the townsfolk – the sight of Circled Kingdom Knights would provoke them to come fight. I must ready the soldiers for the battle.” He turned to Kei. “Go with Great Joy and be careful.”
Kei looked at Julian - wordlessly reminding him of his order to stay as close as possible to Sebastian before taking off with Great Joy, Lady Kiyo and seven other knights.
As Julian watched them go, Sebastian ordered everyone else to prepare for battle. They were able get ready quickly for the smell was a dead giveaway; they knew a battle was going to happen. Unfortunately, Julian’s mind was already starting to numb. Fear has overtaken him. Only survival instincts allowed him to follow Kei’s orders. Julian has never seen an orc or a goblin but he has read about them. The words: VICIOUS, ABNORMALLY STRONG, UNUSUALLY CRUEL and KNOWN MAN-EATER flashed in his mind.
Julian barely remembered what happened after. He knew everyone got their soldiers and weapons ready and that the Lord Knight ordered them in to battle. The ones with horses, mostly the knights, went in first.
Unlucky. Julian thought exasperatedly,
Kei must have thought that Lord Knight Sebastian would stay behind and give orders. But the Lord Knight did not gain his rank as the highest force in the Circled Kingdom by just sitting in the war room and planning – he gained recognition through his might in battle. And when he finally attained the rank of Lord Knight, that aspect of him never changed.
Lord Knight Sebastian was leading cavalry.
