Yesterday
Pierre, still uneasy in his ill-fitted plate armour, reviews the men he has just hired. All 175 of them. The size of the troop was staggering, unlike anything he’s ever seen before.
“-Isn’t there someone else who would be better placed to lead them?
-They want to be with you, Milord. They are all volunteers, and they wouldn’t trust anyone else. Your name gives them trust you know. They know you are brave and will care for them.
-Brave I’ll try, Stars willing, but what they should be looking for is experience.
-But… you have lead men before?
-Archers in the forest, mostly. And that was 10 years ago. Can you believe I had never manned a wall before I came to D’Hara?
“
The troops positioned themselves in the weakest position of the fortifications, to bear the grunt of the assault. They were not the most deadly, but they did exactly what was required, and no Novan could go through. By noon there were a hundred bodies making makeshifts barricades , but the battle was won.
More would come back at sunset though. The remnants of the Novans, backed by some fresh reinforcements, had another go. They hurled themselves at the wall, but this time the wind had died, and even though the battle was one-sided the centre infantry was exposed, and suffered badly. Yet there was no time to rest, they would come back in the morning.
Of the mighty troops only 14 were left standing when the sun rose. The battle had only started when Pierre was hit by the first arrow. Slightly hurt he looked to gauge the enemy, and entered a great rage when he noticed, right in front of him, a rag-tag troop of infantry not larger than his own, sporting the same Bloodstars emblems, their sleeves embroidered “Rendorian Shieldguards”, climbing the walls on their siege engines and breaking the defenses. He shouted at their leader Aldraker Renodin:
-You hypocrite! You proclaim yourself faithful and fight for a heretic! You shall be thrown back to the depth of the sea far from view of the Stars with your mistress Jonsu!
But that is all he would say, before a sword cut him in the guts. He expired in less than a minute.
Thus died Pierre von Genf, Luminary of the Auspicious Star, former Duke of the First Temple, former Regent of the Faith, defending Qubel Lighthouse from Novans attacking in support of the heretic Jonsu Himoura.
