Age of Heroes (Age of Heroes Chronicles)

Chapter 122: The speech

1015 SEEDMONTH

The moment he walked out he could see they are already waiting for him. Arial walk confidently Thousands of his troops is already standing in uniform position waiting for him. The camp was in total silent as they saw Arial walking.

The atmosphere is tense. Even though the wind of spring has decided to visit them early, no one could feel the embracing embrace of spring.

Here in the North, they are fighting.

And tomorrow might be the last battle of the war.

And it will probably decide the true ruler of Alan, decided a new change for the whole of the Human Continent

As he walks out he could see the gaze of his fellow soldiers. There is a lot one could tell from their gaze. Some shows fear, some show reverence, some shows awe.

And as he walks he could hear whispers among them.

'Ssh, stop talking, the young lord is here'

Some whispers

'The dragon from the east.' They are the soldiers from the forces of the Western forces and the Southern forces.

Slowly Arial climb the staircase. With each steps, the sound of his footsteps was resounding as if he is the only one here in this large area.

The stage was constructed high so that everyone can see him. They are all waiting for him to address the army.

He is already begin focusing his internal energy to his throat to address all the troops, so that everyone will hear.

The moment he has reached the top, the whispers stopped, their stares turn to him and they are all waiting, watching and anticipating what their young lord will tell them

Will he tell them to win? Will he tell them what they have gained? Will he tell them what they have lost and fan their hatred and vengeance?

Arial intend to do a bit more than that. He wanted to consolidate this newly built Kingdom with words. He learned in his exile how powerful words are and the effects it has on people.

'Ehem, ehem' he coughed a little before he begins his speech. Looking at the sea of people below him, he smirks.

On the distance his eyes could see the banner of Alderam on the high tower of Dented Shield.

Then he begins.

'MY FELLOW COUNTRYMEN!!!' He said, his voice was like thunder visiting the land, reverberating and resounding, piercing through all whisperings and hushed conversation, and the troops all take notice,

Arial called them countrymen and they were stirred.

Many of the troops under the other lords and Knights also seem shocked with the phrasing of his words.

Countrymen. The people of the Dukedom have always identified themselves under the troops of some noble houses.

Knights of this house or that house.

Mercenaries of this company or that company.

The word countrymen sound foreign especially in the Dukedom. The Dukedom is unique because of the structure of power in the realms.

Dukes rules not Kings.

Their power is limited and each duchy have their own sets of laws, each city has their own Dukes which they swear their fealty towards…. never a King.

Arial was satisfied looking at the soldiers and then he continued

'We are now in the edge of a new dawn.' He said, his eyes were full of determination

And he could see that they can hear him and feel his words. The lords that came also watch him intently and they too begin to listen.

He nodded and continued his words

'Before, we are all separate, fighting against each other. Separated by many rules, by many lords, small or large. But tomorrow, a great battle will take place here. This is not a battle for vengeance! This is not a battle for settling old scores!'josei

Arial yelled and his voice resounded in the area, amplified by my internal energy, echoing that one could even hear it on the distant hills.

He smiles and then he shouted

'It is a battle that will lead us to somewhere new. A better tomorrow, a better future. It is a chance for us to begin anew. Like the Fabled Phoenix that rise from the ashes, we too will rise from this fire. We are tempered by fire like steel and we will be stronger because of it!'

'YARGH!' The soldiers roared. Some raise up their swords and spears to the sky. Arial continued amidst the roaring.

'A Kingdom that is united is a strong Kingdom. And a strong Kingdom means a strong citizen, and prosperous citizen.'

He is saying this to the lords, so that their hearts after this battle will not waver, their hearts will stay true.

'And we are its citizens. And what is the essential of a good citizen?' he ask them. No one offers any answer, so he tells them, pointing his finger to the crowd.

'No man, can be a good citizen who is not a good husbands or father, who is not honest with his dealing with other men, who is not faithful to his friends, and fearful in the presence of foes that determined to crush this new union brought forth by the ideals of a new peace and prosperity. This battle will show the other nations our strength and our will to become an independent nation and they will tremble and fear us for our liberty, and no longer will our nation plagued with outside interference, whether it is from Vern, or Vangua or Dostov! Those Outsiders can go to Hell Below!'

Another roar resounded from the army, as they began knocking their shields with their weapon; a sound louder that can be heard miles away is produced, their face is fierce and smiling ferociously

Arial smiles widened as he continued with a louder voice, drowning the sound of those shields banging.

'They will not make us bend our knees, nor will we lower our heads to their Kings and Emperors. And who will protect this new kingdom? WE WILL!' He shouted and the soldiers shouted back with zeal

'WE WILL! WE WILL!' They answered with zeal.

Arial wanted to fan love towards the country. Nationalism. The reason the Empire falls is also because of this.

Many of the ruling elite is from Caelum race, Arial own race but instead of striving for racial harmony, the Empire did not change its stance.

This is why even though the Empire unified the land once upon a time, it was doomed to fail, not to mention because of the lack of education in many part of the Empire many people only obey the words of the Emperors and racial sentiments form and then they all secede.

But even now, the Caelum race is still the ruling elite.

Arial notices this problem a long time ago. He has already sent letters to Silas to address this issue. Surely he is now discussing it with the King.

Of course there is no full scale war because of the matter of a race but that mostly because the Dark Lands come to invade.

But if Arial manage to succeed repelling the Invasion…. then he did not want to see the kingdom to be plagued by internal conflict and destroy themselves from within

He would also not let that happens.

After this he might even ask some of the other race to migrate here to familiarize Alan with cultural and racial diversity.

In Alan, it is unique in it is dominated by Caelum race while other nations have many race but predominant race in the Alan soil is Caelum.

He yelled and the troops cheered to him, praise every word, for this is the first time they hear such speech.

Most speech is always about some noble's honor or stories about vengeance or some gold or what they gained.

Arial is trying to instill something in them. Loyalty to the land itself and the Crown who governed them.

Loyalty to country, always. Loyalty to the royal family, when it deserved it.

Arial is not done as he continued with his speech

'Our citizens, brave and strong they are, blood of the Caelum, must be willing and able to take arms for the defense of our great Kingdom, a protector, each one of them, an avenger when need to be, a shield that can defend the Kingdom, a sword that can be used to execute her enemies. Our citizens must be a citizen of great fighters and great scholars, else knowledge will come to naught and its virtue ineffective, and no delicacy, no love for appreciation of beauty in art or literature, no capacity for human ingenuity can possibly atone for lack of these virtues. Every man must devote a reasonable share of his time to do his duty to their Kingdom. No man, I reiterate, NO MAN, has a right to shirk his duties, in this Kingdom. Whatever plea of pleasure may not be heard, and while such shirking may be pardoned in those of the common folks for everyday they struggle to get by, but it is entirely unpardonable in those among whom it is most common. A young man who shirks his duty to the Kingdom in time of peace is as being only one degree worse than the man who shirk his duties during the time of war.'

And Arial words captivated them; ensnare them as they wait for his next word. Arial the shouted

'And like I said, we are at an edge. WILL WE WIN TOMORROW?' He asked the crowd. Infected by the atmosphere they yelled

'Yes!!!' they cheered

Arial shake his head

'Honestly, I do not know the answer to that question' and the crowds cheer quieted. Then he opens his arms wide and with one finger he pointed to the sea of men in front of him.

'It depends on all of us. To open that new path, a new path where our country is strong. I want you all to dream this with me. A new world, strong and prosperous, free from foreign interference, free to rule among ourselves, under one King, a King we have chosen. My father, the Kingmaker chose King Adrian to be my liege lord and King of this Kingdom, for he embodied a new world virtue, where we can live peacefully, strong and united. I may fight his battle but I do not dare to sit on his throne or eyes his crown. That is his burden to bear and I have my burden to bear and...you! All of you have a burden to bear. But tomorrow, our fight will decide if a new world will be borne, or will we stay in this savage world, where people are killed in the most joyous occasion, in a funeral or a feast, where civility is replaced by acts of savagery. IS THAT THE WORLD WE WILL LIVE TOMORROW? Or will we live in a new world and its uncertain possibilities and its vague future that it offers us? But also with that dawning of a new world it comes with the promise of great hope! Fight with me tomorrow, men. Raise your swords, my fellow brave men! Sharpen your spears, tend to your wounds and tomorrow, TOGETHER we will create that world and trust me, WE WILL PREVAIL!"

And Arial hold his left hand on his chest while his right hands were set to my back. The soldiers seeing this gesture also followed his gesture.

'Our Lives and Heart we offer to the King' Arial proclaimed. And the soldiers repeat what he said and the cheer came, even when he was going down the podium.

The clapping and the whistling fills his walk down. The ground shakes as the soldiers stomp their feet and banged their shield to the ground

'A great speech, my lord' Lord Paris complimented, congratulating him when Arial reached down the podium.

'Congratulations, my lord' some of the other lords also congratulate him.

'Congratulations, my lord.'

Thank you, thank you Arial said to them all

He returned to his war tent as he orders his guards that he is not to be disturbed tonight.

As he sat down on his bed, he thinks about tomorrow.

Tomorrow the war and the battle begins and Arial swear it in his heart, that by the evening the blood of Alderam will bathe his armor for he will perish in his hand, their faithful followers will be slaughtered, imprisoned, chased out of this country never to return unless they kneel and swear fealty to the new king.

This is his determination.

No longer will such bloody occurrence like the battle of Beth happen again.

Bodies of his soldiers filling the field, the scream and yelling of pain, the blood that blocked the river water and the smell of corpses fill the land like it is some cursed realm.

Tomorrow he will end this war. He would be merciless and this time there would be no escape for Alderam.

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