ã€ŠThe New Legionã€‹


 TNL 1 - Prologue

    One - Prologue

    Seven years ago

    Raidon

    It was a drizzly morning when Raidon¡¯s mother instructed him to visit aunt Marja. The eleven-year-old boy didn¡¯t really want to go. Aunt Marja was always so clingy. It was impossible to evade all the kisses and hugs.

    His mother however, thought that it was once again time for the whole family to come over. Raidon¡¯s father had recently joined a merchant to drive his and was away from home a lot. As a result, there was almost never time to have a family get-together. Since his father finally had a few days off from work, it was time for the whole family to dine together.

    A few moments later, Raidon trudged through the street in the drizzle. Because he looked down to avoid getting the rain in his face, he didn¡¯t notice the other people moving to the side of the street. He was startled when a man pulled on his arm to move him aside.

    ¡°Watch out, boy, those warriors really won¡¯t hesitate to walk right over you. You might get injured and I don''t want that on my conscience.¡±

    Raidon looked up startled and only then he saw that there was a group of twenty warriors coming his way. Up to that point he had only seen warriors from a sizable distance. Mother was always very careful when there were warriors in the neighborhood. Raidon didn¡¯t know why, but mother preferred to go around an entire block rather than that get close to such men. The only time Raidon had really seen warriors, was when he secretly went to the Palace to have to look. And even then they remained at a great distance while watching those men standing guard at the gate.

    Up close, the warriors were far more impressive for the young boy. The men walked full of confidence through the street. Raidon didn¡¯t know yet, but a lot of that confidence was arrogance.

    The warriors all had rough leather chest armor and leather wrist protectors. They also had high leather boots that were more suitable for horseback riding than walking. On their waists they had a large sword and a dagger. Their round shields hung on their backs.

    ¡°Wow, I¡¯d love to look like that when I grow up,¡± Raidon said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t yell that too hard, boy, I think your mother will have an opinion on that,¡± noted the man who had pulled him to the side of the street. ¡°Those warriors often cause more nuisance than they are worth. No woman is safe with some of those guys.¡±

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    Raidon didn''t understand the connection between women and warriors, and why else warriors like that would be annoying eluded him even more.

    ¡°I''m still going to be a warrior when I grow up,¡± reported Raidon to the man. But he added gently to it: ¡°But maybe I won¡¯t tell that to mother.¡±

    ¡°Good for you, boy, good for you.¡±

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Alyena

    Late in the afternoon, the fifteen-year-old Alyena was looking out of the window when her father, the Emperor, came in. The Emperor of Falwyn was a firmly built man with graying hair and a well-groomed beard. The man, who was in his fifties watched his daughter with a concerned expression on his face.

    ¡°I come bearing bad news, Alyena,¡± he started, ¡°I just received notice that your engagement this summer will not happen.¡±

    Alyena, who had never been in favor of the engagement, but knew it was the best for her country, didn''t seem very upset.

    ¡°Why not, Father? I thought you and Emperor Igror of Chakra were both convinced that we could bring both empires closer together?¡±

    ¡°That''s right, daughter, and we both still stand behind it." If both empires would become one, everyone could live in peace. The only ones that don¡¯t live within the borders of our two countries are the nomads in the high north. And they only come over the mountains after very bad winters on the ice. In short, there would be virtually no need for the huge armies that we have to keep up with now. It is time to stop this pointless war that has been going on for centuries.¡±

    Then the Emperor sighed. ¡°Unfortunately, I fear that that peace will remain a dream. The prince who would become your fianc¨¦, the crown prince, has been murdered by one of his brothers. After this Borya killed his brother, he went right to Emperor Igror to claim the position of heir to the throne. He then persuaded all of his brothers to leave the court and renounce their claims. I understand that most of them have disappeared quickly. Whether they have fled or were killed, I do not know.¡±

    The emperor seemed to have sunk in thought, but then went on. ¡°In any case, it seems as if the new crown prince is pulling more power towards himself. My agents do not know whether the Emperor Igror is in control at all, or that Prince Borya is now ruling the country. As for your engagement, the new crown prince has informed him that he doesn¡¯t find it necessary to seal the truce between us and Chakra with a marriage. I am sorry to bring this so insensitive, but I thought that you had the right to hear this from me, and not through the gossip of others.¡±

    Alyena had listened attentively to her father. It happened more and more that her father used her to test ideas. For a long time she had been aware of the ins and outs of the empire.

    ¡°That doesn''t matter, father, as you know I thought it was my duty to agree with your plan. However, it was not my choice to marry someone I''ve never even seen before. So I¡¯m really not that upset that the engagement has been cancelled. This means that I can find someone myself. It¡¯s worse that this Borya is now in control. I do not believe that he will hold to the terms of the truce for a long time.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately I agree with you, daughter, but hopefully Borya has his hands full with taking over control of Chakra. He is not yet an emperor, so anything can still happen.¡±

 TNL 2 - Foundation Part 1

    Two - Foundation Part One

    Three weeks ago

    Alyena, a slender young woman with long black hair, had a long night in the throne room to get through. This was her inauguration night, the night in which the new emperor or empress was deemed to pray to the gods so that they would bless the empire.

    Many of the duties of an emperor, or in her case empress, she had already taken upon herself after her father had fallen ill. Still, it was difficult to live with the idea that she was now responsible for half the known world.

    Only three days ago her father had been the emperor of Falwyn. But then the news from the border with the other empire had come. The eastern Empire, Chakra, had performed a surprise attack against their empire, Falwyn. The border army had been totally caught off guard and thousands of good soldiers had died. The supreme commander had also fallen while trying to save as many warriors as possible. The supreme commander had been the best friend of Alyena''s father. His death had come as a heavy blow for the frail emperor and his had resulted in his heart giving out.

    Two days later, on the last day of Winter, the old Emperor had been buried and the 22-year-old Alyena was crowned empress. From then on, she bore the responsibility for governing a country at war. And that while the whole border army had been decimated!

    The only thing that she and her empire could do, was to try and delay the armies of Chakra until their own had recovered. Something that might take years, now that so many warriors had been killed.

    Alyena concentrated on praying again. That was the only thing she could do at that time. And who knew, perhaps one of the gods would hear her prayers.

    ¡°Please, if you can hear me, help us. The armies of Chakra are advancing, their armies are enormous. Our warriors can¡¯t stand up against odds of ten to one,¡± she prayed to all the gods that had ever been prayed to. ¡°Please, whatever the price will be, I will pay it. I¡¯ll do anything to make sure that my people will remain free.¡±

    Suddenly a voice sounded like thunder through the dark throne room:

    ¡°SO IT SHALL BE.¡±

    Alyena jumped a bit out of fright when she heard that voice.

    But even while she came down from the adrenaline rush from the sound, a gust of wind flew through the hall.

    When Alyena looked up, she saw that a hidden door had been opened behind the throne. With care she sneaked in the direction of the opening. In the corridor hung torches. How do I get those to ignite? She thought. Little by little she inched closer. When she finally stepped through the opening, she was startled again.

    All the torches ignited out of nowhere! First the torch went at the entrance, after which the second began to burn as soon as the first gave real light, after which the third went on. She could see that the corridor ran at least a meter or ten.

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    ¡°Well, at least that solves the problem of lighting up the place,¡± she muttered gently against herself.

    On the walls were signs that were known to her vaguely, but Alyena could not bring them home. She looked carefully again and saw the same kind of characters on the torch.

    Suddenly she recognized the characters. This was called the old language. The language of the ancient Empire from which the two countries were born. A few years ago she had had some lessons about this. The word on the torch meant light!

    Now that she recognized the language, she could, with some effort, understand what was written above the entrance. According to the signs this was a temple to an ancient god of war.

    Cautiously, Alyena walked further down the hallway. At the end, she ended up in an open room. This was the room where the temple was supposed to be. And indeed, in the middle of the room was an altar, with a scroll on it.

    After looking around for a while, she remarked to herself:

    ¡°I don''t see anything else here.¡± After which Alyena picked up the scroll and carefully opened it. The language was the same as the one at the entrance. It seemed like some kind of story about the soldiers of the ancient empire and about a connection with a god called Mithras. In the ancient empire, this god was worshipped by all soldiers and warriors.

    Why soldiers and warriors were called separate was a mystery to Alyena. Nowadays, the word ''soldier'' was almost never used.

    When Alyena was almost done with the first paragraph, she found something else that caught her attention. There was something about an arsenal and Niroma. This would mean that this arsenal would have to be located in the capital of the empire. The city where she was right now!

    Slowly Alyena closed the scroll again. It was time to go back to praying. There would still be enough time to study the scroll later.

    As Alyena walked back through the hallway to the crown room, the torches behind her went out one by one. Even the secret door closed on its own the moment she went through the opening. A moment later there was nothing left to see.

    The next evening, Alyena studied the scroll some more. She would have liked to have done that before, but because of the coronation and everything that went with it, that hadn¡¯t been possible. In the evening, however, she had taken a few hours for herself.

    This stupid language doesn''t make it any easier either, she thought. After two hours, she had only been able to translate half the scroll.

    Fortunately, the second half went a bit faster. And little more than an hour later she had also translated the rest. The story stunned her with its implications. She quickly walked to the door to call an imperial guard.

    ¡°Harry, would you be so kind as to get Captain Cervik?¡± she asked. ¡°I need a section of the guard tomorrow to figure something out.¡±

    Only a few minutes later there was a knock on the door.

    ¡°Come in!¡± cried Alyena, and immediately Captain Cervik stepped inside.

    The captain was a fairly short man with short sand-colored hair. At thirty-two years old, he was young for this important position. Yet his position was not one that could be bought. Even though the captain was of the nobility, his position had been given to him due to his exceptional talent.

    ¡°Ah, captain. I¡¯m glad you could come so quickly. Tomorrow I will be looking at some of the old parts of the palace. Somewhere in there must be a secret section where we might find something to help us with the war. For that I will need a section of guards. I would also like it if you, as commander of the guard, would personally lead them.¡±

    ¡°But of course, your majesty. I am your humble servant.¡±

    ¡°Idiot, don''t act like a moron.¡± Alyena could hardly contain her laughter. Sometimes the often stern captain had a strange sense of humor. She had known him since she was ten years old and he had joined her father''s personal guard as the youngest palace guard in quite some time.

    The next day, Alyena sent a note to her secretary to cancel all her appointments. Instead of consulting with various ''important'' people, she went in search of the old arsenal. However, even before she had properly arrived at Captain Cervik''s office to take the section of guards with her, her secretary had already found her.

    ¡°Your Majesty, a boy just came up to me and told me that all your appointments should be postponed. That can''t be true, can it?¡±

    ¡°I''m afraid so, Titus. There''s something I have to do today and I don''t know how long it''s going to take. It could take up the whole day.¡±

    The secretary looked at Alyena in amazement.

    ¡°But your majesty, Count Griffith will arrive soon to discuss your ban on lifelong serfs. As you know, he has many lands and mines where he uses serfs. If you implement your ban, he will lose a lot of money. It is a very important consultation for him.¡±

    Now Alyena is the one who looks a little surprised.

    ¡°I had indeed forgotten the count, Titus, but this is more important. Could you send the count a message that he can come by this afternoon? I will do my best to be back in time.¡±

    The secretary sputtered for a moment, but left to draft the message to the count.

 TNL 3 - Foundation Part 2

    Three - Foundation Part Two

    Together with Captain Cervik and four other guards, Alyena descended down to the lower levels of the palace. In contrast to the round shapes of the newer parts, there were sharp lines here.

    The part they descended to was one of the oldest of the palace. Many corridors were dead ends and the dust hadn''t been disturbed here in years. The corridors were also much more spacious than in other old parts of the palace. In some corridors you could easily walk with four people next to each other. All in all it took a while before the group had found the right corridor.

    At the end of the hallway was a painting of a fight. This took up the entire width of the corridor. At first they couldn¡¯t recognize what was on the painting because of the thick layer of dust. After one of the guards had carefully wiped it off, it could be seen that the painting depicted warriors of the old empire. The warriors wore metal plates instead of the usual leather armor used in the armies of today.

    ¡°And that while leather harnesses have been in use as long as the history books go back!¡± exclaimed Alyena. ¡°This painting must really be ancient.¡±

    Alyena studied her translation again.

    ¡°According to the scroll, there should be a door here. It''s a shame about the painting, but we have to see what''s behind it.¡±

    Immediately the captain sprung into action.

    ¡°Tear down that wall!¡±

    The guards rushed to carry out the order and within moments the wall with the painting was gone. Behind it was an entrance with solid wooden doors that were almost as big as the painting had been.

    The guards tried in vain to open the doors. Not only were they closed with a large lock, but over the centuries the aging of the heavy oak doors had only made them stronger.

    When it turned out that the doors would not just open, the captain ordered two guards to use their shoulders as battering rams with a run-up. With a loud bang they charged against the doors.

    ¡°Let''s try that again,¡± Alyena said, ¡°I think they moved a little bit. Maybe if four guards try it?¡±

    When the guards charged against the door this time, something different happened. Even though the doors were still intact, the hinges were not. With an enormous impact, the doors fell to the ground at exactly the same time. The four guards tumbled after the downed doors, with one of them making an ugly fall.

    ¡°Well, that was easy,¡± Captain Cervik said. ¡°I expected that it would take a week to have some experts break through those doors.¡±

    Behind the doors was a large hall with several corridors that ran in three directions.

    ¡°I believe we found what we were looking for,¡± Alyena said. ¡°Make sure that no one can just walk in here, and let someone get some more guards and clerks. I think we could use some help.¡±

    ¡°Yes, your majesty,¡± the captain responded, turning to a bunch of guards. ¡°Jack, Nerv, you have heard her majesty. No one gets through those doors without permission. Roy, you pick up the guard squad on duty. They can support us here. Oh, and don''t forget those clerks. There are probably a few in the service area.¡±

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    The guards wasted no time and rushed to carry out their orders.

    ¡°Let''s take a look while Roy gets the duty squad, your majesty,¡± captain Cervik suggested. ¡°I have become curious about what can be found here.¡±

    ¡°You''re absolutely right,¡± the Empress replied. ¡°Let''s split up and let each choose a corridor to see what''s out there.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t let that happen, your majesty,¡± was the captain''s response. ¡°I will not leave you unattended. We will all go together.¡±

    With a deep sigh, Alyena responded. ¡°I didn¡¯t really expect you to agree with that, but I could try.¡± After which the three of them took the middle corridor.

    Soon they came across rooms on both sides of the corridor. The entire structure down here had been built by the same large stones that could only be found in the oldest parts of the palace. The only difference was that here in different places the stones were broken, so that moisture had managed to enter. The rooms were almost three times the size of Alyena''s bedroom, which was, as the bedchamber of the empress, pretty large. Unfortunately, one room after another turned out to be empty.

    ¡°If this continues, we¡¯ll have destroyed that painting for nothing, Alyena muttered.

    "¡±In that case, it''s still a great adventure, isn''t it?¡± responded Captain Cervik.

    ¡°Yes, but it wouldn''t help us one bit in the war,¡± came the sour answer.

    Almost immediately it turned out that she had spoken too early. The next rooms were all the complete opposite of the first ones! Each room contained parts of armor. Not the kind of equipment that had been used in recent centuries, but made entirely of metal. Helmets, cuirasses, shoulder pieces and much more.

    ¡°This is unbelievable!¡± exclaimed Captain Cervik. ¡°I have never seen such armor. These must be hundreds of years old!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a distinct possibility. The old empire left almost a thousand years ago. If I''m not mistaken, this is the kind of gear they wore then. I have read that in the books about their armies, in which such equipment is described. Oh, and I think there are also some statues in the storage of the palace that originate from that time. Maybe we can find some examples there.¡±

    ¡°Yes! I know where we have seen them before!¡± cried Captain Cervik enthusiastically. ¡°Such armor was worn by those warriors in the painting in front of the entrance!¡±

    ¡°But how did they fight in these?¡± asked a guard. ¡°They look so heavy that I think you can hardly move in them.¡±

    ¡°I have no idea. Maybe we''ll find out somewhere here,¡± Alyena suggested.

    ¡°Still, I don''t see how anyone would want to fight in this. Consider the cost for a warrior to have to buy such armor to join the army. My family could only save just enough to pay for my equipment. I don''t even want to know how long we would have needed to work to buy a suit of armor like this.¡±

    ¡°That''s because nowadays every warrior has to arrange his own gear and the officers also need to pay for their training. That may be useful for the treasury and for the nobles, who can maintain their important position, but the result is that we have fewer warriors. Imagine how many extra warriors we could deploy if everyone could just sign up.¡±

    Suddenly they heard voices behind them with a moment later cries of astonishment.

    ¡°That will be the duty squad. Shall we meet them and put them to work?¡± asked Captain Cervik.

    ¡°Let''s do that,¡± Alyena agreed.

    Once back in the first room, Captain Cervik immediately handed out assignments.

    ¡°You are going to work in twos. Each duo consists of one guard and one clerk. Choose a room and write down what you find. If you come across anything that you don''t know, or that looks important or dangerous, you''ll come get me right away.¡±

    Everyone rushed to get to work. For a moment it was chaos in the room, with guards and clerks running in all directions. One clerk just managed to hand over a message to Alyena before he was pulled away by the guard assigned to him.

    When everything calmed down again, Captain Cervik turned to Alyena.

    ¡°Now we have to wait for them to come back. In the meantime, you can read that message that you have clamped in your hand.¡±

    Alyena looked at her hand in amazement. In the chaos, she had completely forgotten the message that the clerk had given her. She quickly read the note, and immediately after that she started swearing.

    ¡°I forgot about the consultation with Count Griffith. That will start in a few minutes!¡±

    Alyena looked longingly at the corridors where the guards and clerks had just disappeared.

    ¡°I have to run. If you find something that is especially important, I want to know right away. In that case, send someone to get me, Cervik! I will see if I can keep the consultation short, but knowing the count it will take a while.¡±

 TNL 4 - Foundation Part 3

    Four - Foundation Part Three

    As the empress had expected, the consultation with Count Griffith was not finished quickly. It wasn''t until an hour and a half later that a tired-looking Alyena returned to the hidden arsenal.

    ¡°Have you found anything?¡± she asked Captain Cervik.

    ¡°We have found a lot, your majesty. Most of that is more of what you''ve already seen. Lots of harnesses and the like. But we also found some weapons. Not all of them are usable, but some of them just need to be re-sharpened.¡±

    ¡°I want to see everything!¡± Alyena was rather short after the exhausting consultation with Earl Griffith.

    It wasn''t until three hours after Alyena returned that the final discovery was made. By this time, Alyena wasn''t the only one who looked tired. She was just about to give the order to stop the search when one of the guards came running. As could be seen from his sweaty face, he had run the entire distance. Captain Cervik immediately approached the guard, while Alyena pretended to continue studying a bunch of weapons with chains attached to them and that no one understood.

    ¡°Captain, we found something,¡± the guard shouted enthusiastically after gasping for a moment.

    ¡°What did you find? And where''s your clerk?¡±

    ¡°It''s a complete library! With hundreds of books!¡± exclaimed the watchman, and then told a little more calmly. ¡°Harm has stayed behind. I couldn¡¯t tear him away from the books when he saw them.

    Alyena stopped staring at the weapons and joined them.

    ¡°A library you said?¡±

    ¡°Yes, your majesty, with rows upon rows full of books. There are so many that they even reach up to the ceiling.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯re looking for! Let¡¯s go right away!¡±

    However, the captain disagreed.

    ¡°Let our people finish their work, your majesty. It is already late and tomorrow you will have another long day. The clerks will make a list of what can be found here. I will hand it over to you as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right,¡± was Alyena¡¯s dejected reply. ¡°I already have a lot of work to catch up on tomorrow. The consultation with Count Griffith is not the only thing I had planned for today. It¡¯s quite a bit of work that I¡¯ve put off.¡±

    The next day it became clear to Alyena what they had found exactly. Captain Cervik¡¯s report stated that a total of one hundred complete iron harnesses with a number of spare parts had been found. Furthermore, there were several hundred books in the library, of which there were one hundred and twenty textbooks for soldiers, four books for officers and a number of separate other books. Of the four books for officers, one was different from the other three and was probably intended for a senior officer. Unfortunately, that very book had become quite damaged over time.

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    Apart from reading the report, Alyena did not get around to dealing with the discoveries for the rest of the day. One report after another had to be read and answered, signatures had to be signed, and then there were the meetings and other conversations. Apart from a short break to have something to eat, she spent the whole day catching up on the previous day''s work.

    Before she fell asleep that night, she thought that she really had to find a way to get some more free time. In the past, when she also did much of the work, she could occasionally make trips to the imperial forests to hunt with the falcons. Or she could spend a day with dusty old books. Now that she had become the empress herself, it wasn''t even possible to wander around her own palace for a few hours without having to work extra hard for days to catch up on all the work.

    When she woke up in the morning, she was immediately reminded of the discoveries in the old arsenal. There was a scroll of parchment on the table next to her bed.

    ¡°Where did this come from! Who put it here?¡± she cried as she rubbed sleep out of her eyes.

    ¡°I don''t know, ma''am, it wasn''t there before,¡± the surprised chambermaid proclaimed.

    The scroll itself explained it. It was a new message from Mithras. Alyena wasn''t sure what to do with the message. There was only one sentence on the scroll: ''Let them believe again.''

    By noon, it finally came to her. This was what Mithras wanted for his help! Those legions of old had to rise in their former glory to worship him.

    That same evening, Alyena gathered Captain Cervik and the two remaining commanders of the army. The commanders Colling and Dwain were stationed at the army headquarters in Niroma, making them the highest surviving officers in the entire army. Together they had to figure out what they could do with the discovered equipment, weapons and books.

    During the meeting it immediately became clear that both commanders had already decided what they wanted to do with the armor. Their decision was to distribute it among the commanding officers. The rest had to be stored somewhere under lock and key. Empress Alyena, however, had other plans. She had a promise to keep.

    ¡°We''re not going to give these armor to officers. On the front line, they will have much bigger effect. The officers usually command from behind the units and need them less.¡±

    The commanders disagreed.

    ¡°Officers are more important than normal warriors!¡± exclaimed one. ¡°Imagine what the high nobility would say if you did not give it to their sons!¡± cried the other.

    At that moment, Captain Cervik remarked that it would be almost impossible to move in the harnesses because they were so heavy.

    ¡°They probably weigh as much as a fully armed warrior. This means that they are not very useful for the warriors and even less for officers. Or would you like to carry them around all day?¡±

    Commander Dwain admitted that there would be few officers who would want that.

    ¡°Hmm, and they''ll be super warm too. Nice in the winter, but it is almost spring now. In the summer, I think you don''t have to make a fire anymore to make your lunch. Those harnesses will be as hot as ovens.¡±

    ¡°What we need to do is create a new unit. We can equip this unit with the harnesses and test how we can best use them,¡± captain Cervik continued.

    ¡°Impossible!¡± shouted commander Colling immediately, after which commander Dwain also reacted negatively.

    ¡°We need all the recruits we can find to rebuild the border army. We don''t even have enough recruits for that, let alone for this ... experiment,¡± was the opinion of commander Colling.

    After some bickering, the captain changed his advice. Instead of taking warriors who were desperately needed in the border army, a new unit had to be created from people who had never been trained as fighters. That would mean that the common people could be deployed. After all, they already had the equipment ready. These did not have to be bought by the new recruits first.

    This was exactly what Alyena wanted. This could be a first step towards closing the gap between rich and poor.

    Even though the commanders complained with comments such as ''It''s against tradition'' and ''It can''t be done'', she decided to push through captain Cervik''s idea.

    ¡°We will implement captain Cervik''s idea. We''re going to recruit a hundred ordinary people here in the capital. These will be trained in a remote camp by your best people. Practicing with a hundred people won''t be such a big deal for men who normally have to train thousands of others in the normal way. The instructors and officers in charge of the training will then decide how best to deploy the new unit.¡±

    With this decision, Empress Alyena closed the meeting.

 TNL 5 - Registration Part one

    Five - Registration Part one

    Today

    Raidon''s family is among the poorest in the city. His father died a few years ago and his mother barely makes enough money by sewing clothes to feed herself and her three children.

    A few months ago Raidon finally turned eighteen. Since then the boy with dark blond hair can finally take on jobs himself. With this he can help his mother earn the money they desperately need. Before he turned eighteen, he could only try to help with mother''s sewing, something which he turned out to be not really good at.

    Now Raidon spends most of his time at the Formsquare. This is a square near the warehouses and offices of the merchants. Here the day workers gather to look for jobs. Many merchants get the people here that are needed to load and unload their carts. This way they can save themselves the costs of permanent employees. Since Raidon still looks very young, he often spends whole days waiting for someone to hire him. Luckily, the fact that he isn¡¯t hired a lot is the reason that he is there on that memorable day.

    Raidon has been waiting all day for someone to offer him work. Unfortunately, today is one of those long days when there is not much to do. I might as well go home to help mom, he thinks.

    But then a wave of unrest ripples across the square. Immediately Raidon and the other day workers get up to see what''s going on. They see a group warriors approaching the middle of the square. The warriors are on their way to the eastern part of the square, where Raidon and the other men and women are waiting for employers. In the wake of the warriors walks an officer.

    When the warriors arrive at the spot where Raidon and the others are standing, the officer steps forward:

    ¡°As ordered by our Empress, anyone who is willing to, will be able to join the army. Those who do not qualify for the regular army can apply for a specially established unit. This unit will be called ''The New Legion''. Members of this unit will become legionaries.¡±

    Most day workers look at each other in confusion.

    ¡°What''s that man doing?¡± There is a bit of murmuring among themselves.

    The officer realizes that his message has not been understood and lets out a deep sigh.

    ¡°What I said is that even the poor can join the army, as a legionnaire!¡±

    Raidon doesn''t know what a legion or a legionary is, but he does know that this is his chance to become a warrior. That would be great! Doing what he always dreamed about and earning enough money to be able to help his mother.

    The officer looks at the men in front of Raidon and shouts:

    ¡°This is an offer that is only open for today. If you want to join, talk to the clerk there.¡±

    Raidon sees that while they were listening to the officer, an older looking clerk has set up a table in the middle of the square. Next to the table are two warriors with spears.

    While he still takes all this in, a number of men have already made their way to the clerk. Due to the lack of work there will be many who will take this opportunity. Fortunately, there are only five, Raidon thinks.

    The officer doesn''t look happy.

    ¡°Is that all? This way it¡¯ll take forever to get those fifty legionaries together. Let alone the fifty that we have to find after that.¡± Then he raises his voice. ¡°Maybe I wasn''t clear enough. Anyone who wants to, male or female, may join. If you want to take this opportunity, you have to do it now.¡±

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    Raidon doesn''t need more encouragement. He runs in the direction of the clerk, with about ten to fifteen others rushing after him.

    When Raidon arrives at the table, the clerk looks at him for a moment.

    ¡°Aren''t you a little young, boy?¡±

    ¡°No sir,¡± Raidon replies proudly, ¡°I''m eighteen, old enough to work.¡±

    Still the clerk is a little reluctant.

    ¡°That''s still pretty young to go into the military,¡± he says, but adds: ¡°But we need everyone we can get. Tell me your name and I''ll sign you up.¡±

    ¡°I can write my own name, sir,¡± Raidon replies.

    ¡°Good for you, boy. Just write it here. That''s it. Now go and stand with the others. Next to those three warriors over there.¡±

    When Raidon stands with the others, one of the warriors addresses him.

    ¡°Once everyone has signed the forms, we will head for the palace. There you will get a uniform and a place to sleep. When that¡¯s done you will have two hours to go into the city. Make the best of it, because from sunrise tomorrow you will be hard at work. Tomorrow in the afternoon you will leave the city to go to the training camp. When you have time to come back is not certain. So say goodbye to your family or your sweetheart and arrange your business where necessary.¡±

    At that moment, Raidon realizes that he doesn''t even know how much they get paid. In all the excitement, he has totally forgotten to ask. Fortunately, the warrior is still there to answer his question.

    ¡°Two coppers a day while you''re a recruit. Three a day when you''re done with your training,¡± the warrior says.

    That''s double what I earned before in a whole day, Raidon thinks. And it becomes even more so after he finishes training! It doesn''t occur to him that he might not even be suitable for the program.

    After about fifteen minutes, all the forms are signed and they are on their way to the palace. Here they get a gray uniform and boots.

    ¡°These don''t fit,¡± Raidon complains to the clerk handing out the clothes.

    ¡°You''re going to grow into them, boy, and you''re not the only one. At the end of the training you will no longer recognize yourself,¡± is the clerk''s answer.

    The others have the same problem and get similar answers.

    There are other things they need, but they don''t get those until the next day, according to the clerk.

    Once they''ve put their new uniform away in a wooden box at the foot of their bed, of which there are enough of in one room that everyone can sleep in the same space, it''s time to head into the city.

    ¡°Make sure you are back before the last changing of the guard, otherwise you will be noted as absent. You really don''t want that, believe me!¡± They are once again urged.

    Raidon goes home to tell his mother. And she is not happy.

    ¡°How can you leave us?¡± She cries, ¡°and the army, that''s dangerous! I could lose you forever. You could get hurt, or even die!¡±

    Raidon sympathizes with his mother, but he has made this decision for himself. He has wanted to be a warrior for so long and this might be the only chance he''ll ever get to follow his dream and help his family.

    ¡°I''ll come back as often as I can, mom,¡± he tells her, ¡°and I''ll give you all the money I make. Then you can pay the masters to give my sisters an internship.¡±

    His mother laughs through her tears.

    ¡°That would be nice,¡± she says.

    Together they continue to talk for a while. Meanwhile mother is busy with the household chores, because during the day she has almost no time for those.

    After Raidon says goodbye sometime later, he returns to the palace. He''s just in time.

    ¡°Good timing, recruit,¡± calls the guard at the palace gates. ¡°You''re the last one in.¡±

    That night, Raidon has intense dreams of fighting and defeating all the enemies of the empire. In those dreams, of course, he himself is the great hero.

    The next morning, before sunrise, they are gathered outside the dormitories, which are called barracks. Most of the recruits are still very sleepy. They''re not used to getting up so early. Even when they were looking for jobs, none of them were awake before the sun rises.

    A few minutes ago, however, a bunch of guards had entered the barracks and shouted:

    ¡°Wake up! Rise and shine! The day has begun!¡± Thereby waking up everybody.

    When everyone has quickly put on their new uniform, they are sent outside. There they have to stand in a long line with their faces facing the middle of the field in front of the barracks.

    As soon as everyone is in place, new orders are called. They are told how to stand at attention. ¡°Stand up straight, recruit!¡± Is something that is called across the field more than once.

    When the instructors are finally satisfied, it is explained how to march and what a marching order is. Apparently, soldiers have to walk with small steps to keep their balance.

    Raidon is fifth in line. One of the recruits in front of him is having a hard time. ¡°Other left foot, you idiot!¡± The instructor shouts at the man for the third time.

    After the instructions, they continue to practice on the field in front of the barracks. After a few laps around the field, most of them begin to understand what¡¯s expected of them. Then they are handed a backpack with several things inside to carry. Fortunately, it''s not that much, Raidon thinks.

    ¡°In these backpacks are a drinking bottle and your lunch. Be careful drinking it at once, because this is all you get for the day,¡± says their instructor. Once everyone has received their backpack, they have to march around the field again to experience how the marching goes with the added weight.

 TNL 6 - Registration Part two

    Six - Registration Part Two

    Cervik

    Captain Cervik is staring out his window. The window overlooks the field where the new recruits are practicing. As far as he can see, the recruits are just walking in circles. From above, this looks no different than with normal newbies. Yet he knows it will be different up close. From above, the individual recruits cannot be seen and you couldn¡¯t see that some recruits have been taken right out of the gutter.

    While Captain Cervik is still looking out the window, he suddenly hears the door close behind him. He quickly turns around while his hand automatically goes to the hilt of his sword.

    ¡°Do I really look that dangerous, Captain?¡± asks Empress Alyena.

    ¡°Your Majesty, I apologize. I hadn''t heard you.¡±

    Alyena smiles at the captain of her imperial guard.

    ¡°It''s nice that I can still surprise you from time to time.¡±

    ¡°Protecting you remains difficult if you keep trying to surprise your guards, your majesty. It''s our job to be prepared for anything, but that doesn''t get any easier when you act so impulsively.¡±

    Alyena grimaces. ¡°I know, Cervik, but here in the palace, very little can happen to me. Outside I always try to pay more attention.¡±

    After a short break, the Empress continues:

    ¡°Why I¡¯m here is the recruits. I see that you were already looking at them, but from the palace it is difficult to see. I want to know what they look like up close. Are these men we can count on? Is the project going to work? I can hardly go and watch without a lot of fuss, but you can.¡±

    ¡°That should be possible. There are already some guards who supervise, so I can always make it look like an inspection. We shouldn''t make the recruits feel like they''re important either. That will only get in the way of their training.¡±

    ¡°Exactly my thoughts, Captain. Come and visit the library later, I will spend the next few hours there.¡±

    Then empress Alyena leaves the captain in his office. Captain Cervik takes one last look through the window before continuing with the report that has been lying half-finished on his desk for a while.

    A little later Captain Cervik arrives at the field outside the palace.

    From the doorway of the palace he observes the recruits. It looks like a clumped mess. A few men have long hair and don''t look too fresh. A bunch of others look like they''re doing muscle exercises every day to get stronger. There is even a boy who doesn''t even seem old enough to grow a beard.

    After a few minutes, Captain Cervik decides to have a chat with the guards.

    ¡°How are they doing?¡± asks Cervik to the first guard.

    ¡°Ha! They do it, but that¡¯s about all,¡± the guard replies before he sees who is addressing him. Then he looks straight ahead in anticipation of a stern word.

    ¡°Rest assured, soldier, I will let it go this time if you point out to me who the leader of this mess is.¡±

    ¡°That''s Major Quinn, Captain. He''s standing there on the west side of the field.¡± Immediately, the guard points out the somewhat older officer.

    Cervik walks up to Major Quinn to hear from him the details of the project.

    ¡°Major, Her Majesty would like a progress report on the recruits. What can you tell me?¡± Captain Cervik remains formal until he knows how the major will respond. Since the officers of the army are of nobility, you never know.

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    ¡°I do see potential, captain. Some look better than most recruits at the academy. Of some others, I fear that they¡¯ll be out after the first week.¡±

    ¡°Why is that? According to the information we found, anyone should be able to complete at least the first training.¡±

    ¡°That may be the case, but as I see it, the recruits have to be quite strong to wear those armor. Look at that one there.¡± Quinn points out the boy Cervik has seen before. ¡°That boy has only just turned eighteen. If it were up to me, we wouldn''t have hired someone like that. But the orders were clear. Anyone who wanted to sign up, could participate, and this boy really wanted it. He was one of the first to sign up. Still, it doesn''t seem like a braggart or anything. Apart from a few questions when registering, he kept his mouth shut. Small, young and timid, I don''t think that''s helpful, but we''ll see. I''ll give him a week before he''s out.¡±

    Quinn and Cervik talk a little more about the different recruits. Then Captain Cervik says goodbye.

    Ten minutes later, Cervik is at the door of Alyena''s office.

    Immediately after the first knock on the door, he hears the Empress shouting from inside:

    ¡°Come in, Cervik!¡±

    Cervik opens the door.

    ¡°How did you know it was me, your majesty?¡±

    ¡°Because I told you to come to me after you looked at the recruits, and I expected you fifteen minutes ago with that information.¡±

    ¡°My apologies, your majesty. I talked for some time with the major of the new unit.¡±

    ¡°And?¡±

    ¡°He was not very pleased with some of the recruits. He would have preferred to hire only the most muscular men. He was critical of anyone who isn''t. Still, I didn''t see much difference in how the muscular men marched and how the less muscular men did.¡±

    ¡°All in all, do you think they have a chance of success?¡±

    ¡°I think the opportunity is definitely there. Some may fall out, but that''s not a big problem either. After all, it''s just an experiment.¡±

    ¡°Let''s hope so, Cervik, let''s hope so. I fear that we will need them badly in the future.¡±

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Raidon

    In the end, the instructors are finally satisfied. The recruits are arranged next to each other in rows of five and ten. As soon as everyone is ready, the officer who addressed them in the square steps forward. This time he introduces himself:

    ¡°I''m Major Quinn. I am an officer in the army of the empire. From this moment on, you are my responsibility. Do what you''ve been told and we won''t have any problems. If you don¡¯t, then you will have to deal with me.¡±

    After this short speech, they are led out of the palace. They have to march all over the city and attract a lot of strange looks from the population.

    ¡°You have to see how green they look,¡± Raidon hears someone say. He''s already struggling. Although he has had jobs for some time, his condition is not that great. This is already as much effort as he normally has to do during the whole day. And the morning isn''t even over yet!

    Then they finally arrive at the gate. Here they are held up for a moment. A discussion ensues between the officer and the gatekeepers. Too bad we can¡¯t hear them from over here, Raidon thinks. It would have been a nice distraction. But soon the problem seems to be solved and they can move on.

    An hour later, they are still marching. It is now almost noon and they kept marching the whole time. Everyone is tired and sweaty and occasionally there is some complaining to be heard.

    ¡°Okay, recruits, that''s enough for now,¡± Raidon hears from the front. The recruits sink exhausted on the side of the road to the ground. No one has the energy left to stand.

    ¡°Now is the time to eat your lunch,¡± says Major Quinn. ¡°Make the most of this break, because in half an hour we will be on the road again.¡± There are quite a few moans among the group of recruits.

    Lunch is literally devoured. Everyone is hungry from the effort. Raidon also finishes his lunch within a few minutes. Then he drops back into the grass. Wonderful to relax and relax his cramped muscles.

    Roughly he is shaken awake.

    ¡°Wake up mate,¡± says the man next to him, ¡°we''re going to hit the road again.¡± Raidon didn''t even realize he had fallen asleep.

    ¡°But we only just got here!¡± he says. To which the man chuckles:

    ¡°You''ve taken a nap, boy, we''ve been here for over half an hour.¡±

    ¡°In formation! You know how to do it!¡± The officer shouts. With some fiddling, everyone eventually succeeds.

    ¡°Forward!¡± The order then comes from the front.

    They still have to walk all day, with only a few short rest breaks. When they are all so exhausted that they almost fall over and it also starts to get dark, they finally arrive at their destination. Slowly a shadow takes shape. Wooden walls and a gate are coming into view more and more clearly.

    Raidon later can''t remember going to bed or taking off his clothes. He is so exhausted that his last memory is that he walked through the gate. He can''t remember this whole room with beds at all.

    The next few days are pretty much the same as that first one. The only difference is that they now don''t get an explanation or have to trek through a city at the beginning of the day.

    Only a week later they arrive at their final destination. At first glance it looks like yet another camp to spend the night, but once through the gate they see that this one is much more spacious.

    Then Major Quinn suddenly tells them that this is their final destination.

    ¡°Look carefully, this is your home for the coming period.¡±

    They are assigned a room in groups of ten. In each room there are ten beds, with ten boxes at the ends. Raidon chooses the first bed he encounters, right to the left of the entrance. Because of all the exercises of the last days, the men are not as tired as that first night, but they still go to bed immediately.

 TNL 7 - The Basis Part one

    Seven ¨C The Basis Part One

    Alyena

    Alyena has to hurry to get to the emergency meeting with her generals on time. She may be the empress, but even then it shows bad manners to arrive late at appointments. The fact that this meeting was not scheduled does not change that.

    The others are already waiting for her when she arrives at the meeting room a few minutes later. Not only are the both recently promoted generals Colling and Dwain already there, some of their commanders are already present. The last person to join the meeting is Captain Cervik of the palace guard.

    ¡°All right, let''s get started right away, gentlemen.¡± As far as Alyena is concerned, this meeting cannot be over quickly enough. She was busy drawing up a plan to handle some financial matters in an unconventional way when the invitation for the meeting came in.

    When everyone has seated themselves, general Colling sets off.

    ¡°I have convened this meeting to discuss the latest news from the front. We have finally managed to stop the army of Chakra. Fortunately, because if they had pushed even further, we could no longer use the Primeval Forest as a natural defensive barrier. General Ebredus was able to slow down the enemy long enough to fortify this new frontier. After a single attempt to break through, Chakra''s army has withdrawn. At this time, they will secure their new territory. Fortunately, we were able to evacuate most people. It will take a few months before the conquered area is fully integrated. If we are lucky, they will not make another attempt to advance until next year.¡±

    ¡°Finally!¡± Alyena is very pleased with the general''s report. ¡°Once we have moved the evacuated people elsewhere, we can recover from that dastardly attack. General Colling, please make sure that this new border is strong enough this time to hold. This must not happen again.¡±

    Immediately General Dwain takes the floor. ¡°Personally, I don''t think we have a year to prepare, your majesty. I think it¡¯s more likely that we will have to endure another attack this autumn at the latest, and possibly even this summer.¡±

    ¡°What is your reasoning, General?¡±

    ¡°In order to stop the enemy in the north, we had to summon every possible warrior within the empire. As a result, almost every garrison is undermanned, including the garrisons at the southern border. Should Emperor Borya find out that we have all our men in the north, he will not hesitate to make another attempt elsewhere.¡±

    ¡°But your majesty,¡± General Colling responds immediately, ¡°we will keep a close eye on the movements of their troops. As soon as troops are sent south, we can do the same.¡±

    ¡°So to sum up the situation, we have used all our troops to preserve the north and we must hope that not only Chakra, but also the nomadic tribes of the ice plains do not hear that we are weakened at all our borders.¡± Captain Cervik is now also making himself heard. ¡°Doesn''t that seem very dangerous to you, generals?¡±

    General Colling, however, stands by his position. ¡°The nomadic tribes have not committed a raid in years. I''m not afraid of that. And as I said, we keep a close eye on all of Chakra''s troop movements. So there is no immediate danger.¡±

    Then Alyena manages to put in the last word: ¡°I think that you thought that last time when we were surprised, General. That is why I think you should bear in mind that an attack will be carried out earlier. I will leave it to you what preparations you make, but we have to make sure that we are ready when that attack does come.¡±

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Raidon

    Just like every morning during the previous week, Raidon and the others are awakened at dawn. This morning, the recruits are told some important facts about the army they signed up for.

    ¡°Two weeks ago, a hidden room was discovered in the palace,¡± says Major Quinn. ¡°In it we have found information and equipment from the time of the old empire. Some of you may already know something about the old empire? It was an empire on the other side of the world that once colonized these parts. They had an unbeatable army! We now have the opportunity to re-establish that army, and you are the first to form this army.¡±

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    ¡°If they were unbeatable, how come they don''t exist anymore?¡± One of the recruits asks.

    ¡°They were betrayed by their rulers. In the end, they were simply left to their own devices here. Many have gone back to their homeland. Some of the others are your ancestors. Also, a lot of them were eventually killed by wild tribes of the Ice Plains.¡±

    ¡°What you probably don''t know is that we are at war with Chakra. A few weeks ago, they launched a first strike, breaking the ceasefire. During that attack, the northern border army was decimated. Along with that army, the commander-in-chief was also killed. We need you as soon as possible to help keep the Chakras at bay. We have tried to keep this information hidden from the population so that there won¡¯t be a panic.¡±

    ¡°How are we supposed to do that with so few of us?¡± The recruit asks.

    ¡°We will soon have a second batch of recruits. After that, the found equipment will be used up, until we learn how to make new ones. You will soon find out why that is. What we expect from you is that you, as a special unit, will carry out assignments for which we would otherwise need many more warriors. This will allow us to free up more warriors to strengthen our border armies.¡±

    ¡°Enough about that,¡± Major Quinn continues, ¡°this training camp has been set up just for you. We cannot use the normal training camps because you are going to follow a special training regime. You are going to become heavy infantry, or legionnaires. This means that you will be given a steel harness instead of the usual leather equipment. With those, you will be much better protected and you can even hold your own in the face of superior odds. You will also receive training in numerous weapons and will use various weapons in battle. This includes a large shield. The shield will not only protect you, but also your neighbor. Cooperation is extremely important with your way of fighting. So take a good look around you and get to know each other. Your life will depend on your neighbor.¡±

    After Major Quinn''s speech, a tour of the camp is next. They pass the headquarter, the training fields, the arsenal and the chapel. Once they arrive in front of the chapel, they receive a new order.

    ¡°Attention!¡± Major Quinn commands. ¡°You will enter the chapel in groups of ten. There you will be presented with a choice. Accept the consequences and then you will be full members of the New Legion. Decline and you will be sent back to the city. This is your last chance to change your mind.¡±

    Indeed they are ushered in, ten at a time. When it''s Raidon''s turn, he thinks: I''m curious what the choice will be, probably something super difficult.

    Once inside, they are escorted to an altar. The altar looks rather old and there are strange signs on it.

    A priest comes running and begins to speak:

    ¡°You all have a choice. This is an important choice and one that you should not take lightly.¡± The priest pauses for a moment before continuing: "For you to join the New Legion it is necessary to worship the god Mithras. This god will not accept fake worship. In other words, you will have to renounce our own gods." This seems rather complicated to Raidon, but before he can think about it, the priest continues: ¡°According to the information we have found about the ancient legions, they all worshipped Mithras. Apparently this was also part of the strength of the legions, but we have not yet figured out how can be.¡±

    Did those soldiers get their strength thanks to their faith? Raidon wonders. But the priest talks further:

    ¡°Part of renouncing the gods and swearing that Mithras is your only god will be a branding. The mark will show everyone that you belong to Mithras. Think deeply, because this is the last moment where you can back out.¡±

    The priest remains silent for a moment to give everyone the opportunity to change their mind. When it stays quiet, he says:

    ¡°All right then, let''s get started. You there, you can be the first to come to the altar over here.¡±

    The first recruit slowly walks forward.

    "Chop chop, a bit quicker now!" the priest shouts cheerfully. Raidon doesn''t quite understand why he''s so cheerful. Even though this priest is part of the nobility, he¡¯s still converting people to a faith different from his own. But perhaps people who are not nobles are not important to the priest at all.

    Then the first recruit begins reciting the oath:

    ¡°I hereby swear that Mithras is my only god. From this moment on, my life is in his hands. So do I swear.¡±

    The recruit looks expectantly at the priest, but he appears to be done with him. The oath is very short.

    The priest then grabs a branding iron from the fire pit next to him. It seems to Raidon that the branding iron is as thick as the priest''s arms, because as soon as he rolls up the sleeves of his brown cloak, it can be seen that the man is extremely skinny. Nevertheless, the priest wields the branding iron with ease. He turns it until he has it straight. Then the iron is pushed against the upper arm of the recruit. With a lot of hissing and loud moans from the recruit, the iron burns itself into his upper arm. When the branding iron is removed, a beast is shown on the recruit''s arm. Finally, the recruit must also prick himself in his thumb and leave a bloody fingerprint on the altar.

    One by one, the recruits are introduced to the priest. Raidon also gets his turn. The oath is not a problem. He has never been helped by the other gods anyway, so a new god will not be a problem to worship either. The branding iron is way worse. Raidon can''t suppress a moan. Fortunately, the pain is quickly over. How is that possible? Shouldn''t it hurt a lot more? And especially much longer?

    When they¡¯re finished, they are led outside again. Once outside the fifth and last group can enter.

    Once everyone has been inside, major Quinn steps forward again.

    ¡°From this moment on you are members of the order of Mithras and also of the New Legion. Without Mithras there is no legion and without legion there is no Mithras. A person who does not belong to Mithras cannot serve in the legion. The animal you see on your arms is an elephant. This animal apparently lives in distant lands where the emperors of the old empire once ruled. Here in our countries we have never seen such an animal, but according to the scrolls it is an impressive animal. The altar you have just sworn on is an original piece from the old empire. You are certainly not the first to swear on it. The altar comes from the palace and is very valuable,¡± he says. After a short pause, he continues: ¡°You will now continue on to the arsenal. There you will get your armor and weapons. Later you will get more stuff, but for now you will get the standard equipment.¡±

 TNL 8 - The Basis Part Two

    Eight ¨C The Basis Part Two

    Major Quinn and his guards lead them to the arsenal. Here they have to stand behind each other in a long line, before they can enter one by one. Once inside, a series of clerks ensures that everyone gets a harness. When Raidon enters, his eyes grow large. Row after row of armor is ready to be used. Most of them look very different from the familiar equipment of the regular army. These harnesses are made of metal! Those must be heavy, Raidon thinks. With some fitting and measuring, the clerks manage to give everyone a harness. These harnesses ensure that not even a single piece of gray uniform remains to be seen anywhere. Last they get a helmet with hinges on the sides to open the cheeks. When the helmet is closed, only a small opening can be seen through which the recruits can see. If the helmet is open, however, the entire face can be seen.

    Because of all that iron, Raidon is soon proven right with his reservations about the weight of the harnesses. They are very heavy!

    Finally, they have to go through the armory, where they are given a short sword that can be attached to the right leg and a rather large rectangular shield. They also receive a booklet in the old language. Oh well, that¡¯s no problem either, Raidon thinks. Then the recruits have to go back to the square to line up.

    Here they receive a short instruction on how to put on and take off their harness. As they have already noticed in the arsenal, the harness consists of several pieces that get stuck together with leather straps. All these parts must be put on and off in the correct order. The clerks who just put the harnesses on the recruits now show how they can put the different pieces on and off themselves. At the end of the instruction, the recruits have to march again. This time they have to go to the training field.

    At the field are several men waiting for them.

    "I''m instructor Morris and these are my assistant instructors," the middle man introduces himself. "We are the ones who will teach you everything you need to know about fighting. You will also receive information beside fighting from us. Other things you will learn from the handbook you have been given. Be careful with that, because they still come from the old empire."

    Then the recruits get their first lesson on sword fighting. The lesson mainly consists of listening to the instructors. Most recruits can hardly move in their heavy armor. Raidon himself finds it extra difficult to remember all those different blows with the sword, because he cannot test them himself.

    When the lesson is over, the guards come once again to guide the recruits. This time they have to march around the square twice. At least that is the intention. Almost half of them give up before they have completed the first round. Raidon is determined that he will make it, but halfway through the second round he can''t take it anymore. He also falls forward on his hands and knees.

    Totally exhausted, the recruits are told that they can go back to their barracks to take off their armor.

    "I don¡¯t care how you do it, even if you have to undress here and now and carry everything one by one, but store your equipment, you will!" Shouts the captain of the guards.

    When everyone is finally done, including a few who have crawled to the barracks on their hands and knees, they must line up in front of the barracks again.

    "Now you can go back to the training field," says the soldier who spoke to them earlier, "but you will march there neatly. That''s a good exercise."

    Fortunately, marching without the harnesses is a whole lot easier for the recruits. For Raidon, it feels like he''s as light as a feather. Unfortunately, it is only short-lived. When they arrive at the training field, they are immediately put to work. All of them get a wooden rod that is as heavy as their own sword. They are tasked to hit a wooden pole, but only the way and in the order indicated by the instructors. Every mistake is a reason for the instructors to scold the recruits. Raidon also has to endure a lot. Because he is the youngest, he is soon picked out by one of the instructors. This instructor pays extra attention to Raidon and every mistake is immediately punished harshly by the instructor. Within an hour, it is almost impossible to proceed with the training. The recruits are so tired that they can hardly lift their arms anymore.

    Only when even the strongest recruits are exhausted, are they escorted to the canteen to have lunch.

    "Unbelievable that it''s only noon now," Raidon says to no one in particular as they walk to the cafeteria.

    "I feel like I''ve been running for two days straight," the man next to him replies. "I think that harness is just as heavy as those crates that we normally lifted on a cart in pairs."

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    Once at the canteen, they get an extensive lunch. There is loads to eat, which they really need with these exertions. One of the guards scattered here and there among the recruits explains that they get better meals especially for this training camp. This is because the recruits have to develop quickly to be able to wear their armor.

    After lunch, the recruits are allowed to hit the poles again for another hour, followed by a run. For this one, they go out of the gate and run around the entire training camp. They have to try and do this as fast as possible. After their round they have another break.

    "You have fifteen minutes of rest," tells the soldier who supervised while running.

    Raidon takes the time to talk to his neighbor. The man seems to be about ten years older than Raidon, but is already starting to become bald on top of his head. He says his name is Gareth and that he is the third son of a leather worker. As the third son, there was not much to do with his father in the company, which is also the reason why he seized the opportunity to join the legion.

    After the break, they are escorted to the canteen. This time not to eat, but to learn to read and write. Most recruits can''t, but there are a few who can. The recruits who are able to read and write, including Raidon, are given another difficult task. They have to learn the old language. Since the recruits are very tired from the first training sessions, it is not easy for anyone.

    At the end of the lesson, Raidon can only remember a few words of the ancient language. The recruits who have yet to learn to write have only practiced a few letters.

    This introductory lesson ends when suddenly a whole bunch of guards walk into the canteen. It turns out that all recruits have to get their hair cut, and the guards who just came in are their hairdressers.

    Within an hour, each recruit has a head with short hair and clean-shaven face. The hairdressers say that this is the norm for a soldier in the New Legion.

    After the haircut it''s time for dinner. While the recruits are instructed to run around the camp one more time, the canteen is swept and the tables are set. Again, there are piles of food for the recruits. Raidon and Gareth speak some more during dinner and when they are sent back to the barracks after dinner to clean their equipment, they do so together. That is very useful, because soon after, the guards report that the light has to be turned off and they have to go to sleep.

    The second day in the camp starts the same as the first day. At sunrise, the recruits are awakened. They all have quite a bit of muscle ache from the first day. Raidon has never had so much pain in his muscles. At first, he''s not even sure if he can get out of bed.

    When everyone is finally ready, they have to run around training camp twice to wake up. Also, they need to do some exercises like push-ups and things like that. The instructor who supervises them says it''s morning gymnastics.

    Fortunately, they can have breakfast afterwards. The morning gymnastics has made everyone hungry.

    "If this continues, we''ll be well muscled," Gareth told Raidon. "Then the females will be easy to get."

    "If we ever get time off to meet them, you mean," Raidon replies.

    "Surely we will?" asks Gareth worriedly.

    "Normally we should, but we hail from the poor classes. So who knows what they''ll come up with."

    "Hmm, you might be onto something," Gareth replies. "But if it gets too annoying, we can always stop."

    "You''ll have to wait and see," Raidon says. "I think they won''t just let us go when we''ve done our training. That cannot be their intention. They want to send us to war."

    Then the bell rings to signal that breakfast is over. Their next lesson is on the training field. Here, the instructors show how to use several weapons such as spears and axes in combat. They also do some practice fights to show them in action.

    After that the recruits have to hold the weapons and imitate some simple blows. Especially the spear gets a lot of attention. After that, they once again tell them what the advantages and disadvantages are for the weapons. For example, the long spear is said to be very effective against riders thanks to its length, but that you get into trouble if someone gets too close.

    After class, they have to run two more laps around the training camp before they can go to the canteen to eat their lunch.

    After lunch there is another writing lesson. This time, the recruits are less tired, so they can absorb the information a little better.

    "The intention is that starting next week you will be able to read in your handbooks," says a clerk. "If you don''t know the old language, it''s going to be very difficult."

    Raidon doesn''t understand how the recruits who can''t even write yet will manage to learn to read and write in one week and also have to learn a whole new language. Even Raidon and the recruits who can already read and write will have a hard time learning to read the ancient language within a week.

    Hopefully we''ll know enough to understand at least something about it, Raidon thinks.

    After the writing lessons there are a few more laps around the training camp, followed by practicing with the swords against the poles. Apparently, these two things are something they have to do over and over again.

    Then comes dinner. That evening they get some kind of stew with meat and various vegetables. During dinner, the conversation between the recruits gets going a bit more than before.

    They''re starting to know each other a little bit now. It turns out that the men Raidon is in the group with all have different backgrounds. There is someone who has been a beggar, two men whose family have always been carriers, someone whose father is a roofer and four men who were city cleaners. In addition, Gareth''s father is a leather worker and Raidon''s mother is a seamstress.

    At the end of dinner, Major Quinn has an important announcement:

    "Tomorrow morning there will be an inspection. You will put your rooms in order tonight and muster tomorrow morning in your full gear. If anything is not taken care of, everyone in your group will be given extra tasks. So make sure you have everything neat and tidy."

    Raidon and Gareth look at each other.

    "Let''s make sure we don''t get those extra tasks. We really can''t use that, the days are difficult enough as it is," Raidon told Gareth.

    "Tell that to John. We could have guessed that the slob was a beggar," Gareth replies. "It''s already a miracle that they were able to cut those hairs properly."

    His concerns were soon proven valid. Back in their room, everyone starts cleaning and tidying up their things, except John. He is already lying on his bed.

    "John, if even one of us doesn¡¯t have their stuff in order, then we will all be fucked tomorrow. So please go and tidy your things," someone says to him.

    "It''s neat enough. Everything is in my chest, my clothes hardly smell and that equipment can never break. So I¡¯m okay with it and I¡¯ll stay put. It was a tough day," John replies.

    The others leave it at that. You can''t talk to John when he doesn¡¯t want to. When the guards come a little later the guard to turn off the lights and the men rush to their beds, John still hasn''t done anything.

 TNL 9 - The Basis Part three

    Nine ¨C The Basis Part Three

    The next morning, everyone has an even worse muscle ache than the previous day. Thus there is a lot of moaning when the men get up.

    Slowly, they begin to get ready for the inspection. Their uniform is on, with the harnesses over it. The weapon belt is buckled over and the shields are placed at the door. Then everyone will make their bed and pack their box neatly. At least, everyone except John. He quickly puts the blanket over his bed and then lies down on it with his harness already on. His bed creaks under the weight.

    "Beware, John, you''ll crack through it soon!" warns Gareth. A warning that John obviously does not pay attention to.

    Then the second bell rings and everyone stands in front of their bed. John has some trouble getting up from his lying position on the bed. So when Major Quinn enters, John is still just out of place.

    Quinn looks at everything. Everyone has a few rough spots. One man¡¯s bed is not tight enough, someone else still has a dirty spot on his harness. Also, some chests are not neat enough. But everything falls into nothingness when he gets to the last bed. John''s place is in the back corner and it''s a drama.

    "What is this supposed to mean!", Quinn shouts. "You think you don''t have to do what the others have to do? That bed is a disgrace! It is even completely dented. If you think you''re getting a new bed, you are wrong. You can repair that yourself."

    The list of faults is endless. There is even a dirty uniform under the bed. John''s chest is also a disaster. Everything is just crammed in.

    "This means that you are the group doing the extra tasks," Quinn tells the men. "Next time you can make sure that everyone in your group has everything neat. How you arrange that, I don¡¯t care. You will hear your extra tasks this afternoon."

    After the inspection, the recruits are given a short time to take off their harnesses.

    "As you know, you don''t need the harnesses for training yet," says one of the guards. "So go and change, you have five minutes."

    While taking off the harnesses, the atmosphere in the bedroom is deadly.

    As soon as Major Quinn and his guards are out the door, the comments begin.

    "Thanks, John, you gave us those extra tasks!" Someone shouts.

    "Why thanks to me!", John shouts back. "How was I supposed to know that Quinn would be so fussy. It''s my stuff after all."

    "We were warned! He personally told us during dinner!" Shouts another.

    "So?" Asks John. "Even if he begged me on his knees, I wouldn''t have done it. And if he thinks I''m going to do those extra things, he''s so wrong!" And John can''t be convinced to change that point of view.

    Once outside, it''s time for morning gymnastics. During the rounds, Raidon and the others get a lot of looks and comments. The other groups are only too happy with John. Now they don''t have to do an extra corvee.

    "Thank you, John!" is shouted more than once while running.

    During breakfast they are finally told what their extra tasks are. Major Quinn steps forward to tell everyone what the tasks are that Raidon and the others from his room have to do.

    "It is clear that one chamber did not have its affairs in order. This was mainly due to the fact that they could not work well enough together to ensure that everyone had their belongings in order. I hope that they have learned something from this and that from now on they will make sure that everything is in order," he begins. "From today until the end of the week, they will ensure that the laundry is picked up everywhere at the end of the day. They will also help serve the other hungry men during dinner. Finally, after that dinner, they can help with the dishes."

    Raidon looks at the others incredulously. Is that their punishment? Getting to bed extra late to pick up smelly clothes and have a lot less time to eat in the evening. He really can¡¯t use that. The others also looking rather angry and surprised and a stray curse can be heard from the other side of the table.

    But then Quinn starts speaking again:

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    "From now on, there will also be unannounced inspections. If a different room emerges as the worst, they will finish the punishment. But if the same room loses, the punishment will be way worse. After all, there is always something to do at the toilets." At that last part, a small smile appears on his face.

    Raidon is the first to respond.

    "John, from now on you will make sure your place is tidy! I have absolutely no appetite to clean or dredge toilets or whatever it is they want. This is bad enough!"

    The others immediately nod that they agree, but John doesn''t seem impressed.

    "Quinn can do those things himself. I don''t intend to do anything. I am my own man and I will continue to be so."

    "No, John, we are all punished and together we will finish it. You''re the one who had the most problems, so you''ll definitely help," says one of the others.

    The rest of the day there is a noticeable tension in the group.

    After breakfast it is time for the weapons exercises. Today is a platoon day. As the instructors explain, this means that the entire platoon has to do the same exercise and all at the same time.

    "Today we will start attacking as a unit," the instructor begins. "This way of moving as a unit is called a formation. Some of the formations that you will now learn, we still know today as part of ceremonial occasions."

    The recruits have to line up in a double row, twenty-five men next to each other. Every time the instructor shouts that there is a need to push, the men have to put their shield forward and push, while the men behind them make sure that extra force is added from behind. As soon as the instructor then shouts that they have to stab, the front men have to stab with their swords. The men in the second row are always holding the belt of the man in front of them, to ensure that he remains in balance.

    This exercise requires good coordination and cooperation, because it can be ruined if  both are not done at the same time. If the men in front and behind do not do their movements at the same time, they are both out of balance. The whole training period they are busy with this exercise, where they go back and forth across the training field several times.

    Raidon is partnered with John. As long as John is at the front, things are going well. Once the roles are reversed though and Raidon is at the front, things don''t go so well. Raidon does his utmost best, but John continues to resist by breaking the rhythm. Every time Raidon has to push, John pulls a little on his belt. And when stabbing, he always pushes a bit to push him a little off balance. As a result, the instructors think that Raidon is not doing a good job and he gets scolded at more than once.

    When more than half the training is over, John whispers in his ear:

    "That will teach you to command me to do those tasks. I can make life difficult for you here. Remember that."

    Having said that, John continues with the exercise in a normal way and does not make it difficult for Raidon anymore.

    After the training it is almost time for lunch. First they have to run a few laps.

    Fortunately, Raidon and his roommates do not have to help serve during lunch and they can just enjoy the food. There is still some tension in the group, especially between John and Raidon. Thus it¡¯s quite quiet while eating.

    After lunch there are writing lessons again. The beginners can write their first words this time. Raidon and the other four men have to continue learning the ancient language. Even though the letters are the same, the language is absolutely not.

    When the lesson is almost over, Raidon notices something. The name legion is legion in the old language. Veterans are veterans and even a sword can be found. A sword was a gladius, while swordsmen are still called gladiators today. This means that there are many similarities with the old language.

    It also means that the language is easier to learn than Raidon had first thought. He only has to find the similarities between the words of the old language and the current words. If that succeeds, he is already a long way and he only has to learn in which order to put the words.

    Maybe with this knowledge I can even recognize some words in the handbook, he thinks. But before he can further develop his idea, the lesson is over, and after their laps they have to get back on the training field.

    The exercise with the swords and poles is back on the schedule. This time at a higher pace to see if the men still know the moves.

    Since each movement has been given a number, the instructor can call them out very quickly. For example, number one is a thrust forward, while number three is a slice from the top right. The even numbers are defensive, while the odd numbers are offensive.

    For now, the movements are all still in the same order, but the instructors did say that they will change the order in a few days. That''s not such good news for Raidon because he often has to think about which stroke belongs to which number.

    Then it''s time for dinner. Raidon and the others haven''t exactly been looking forward to this.

    Their fears come true. As soon as they enter, they are directed to the kitchen. There they are told which pans and bowls have to go where. It is a tough job after training, because the pans are quite large. Fortunately, they only have to bring the pans and they don¡¯t have to bring the plates or pour drinks.

    John largely gets out of the task by taking one of the smallest pans each time and dragging his feet while the rest bring the other pans.

    All in all, the serving does not take very long, and they can start eating themselves fairly soon afterwards. The task is difficult and especially annoying thanks to the nice smells that came from the dishes. Raidon now knows that he really doesn''t want to do this longer than a week.

    During dinner, the conversations get going again. Some of them tell something about what it was like at home, others complain about the training.

    Raidon doesn''t say much this time. He''s too tired to show any real interest. He is also still thinking about the situation with John.

    If they can''t persuade John to work with them, then not only is their training at risk, but their entire life in the military. And to do all John''s chores for him, also goes too far. The other option would be to report John to the officers. Yet that also seems like a wrong choice somehow. There must be another solution.

    However, Raidon can''t think of anything, and when the bell rings indicating the end of dinner, he''s not one step closer to a solution. Meanwhile, Gareth and the others have become much happier. While they work washing the dishes  they keep chatting. Even if it''s not their favorite chore, the cheerful mood stays all the time. When they go back to their room afterwards, they also try to drag Raidon along in their cheerful state, but he still does not feel like this at all.

    "I''m going to bed on time today. Tomorrow is a new day," he says.

    But alas, it''s not time for a rest yet. When they arrive at their room, they are met by a guard. He shows them where to get the laundry and where to take it. This is another tedious job, because with all the heavy training of the day, also the clothes stink enormously.

    Half an hour later they have finally finished lugging the clothes all over the camp. By that time, everyone is ready to sleep and there is not much left of their cheerfulness.

 TNL 10 - The Basis Part Four

    Ten ¨C The Basis Part Four

    The next morning Raidon wakes up before sunrise. Today the muscle ache he had yesterday is even worse. Slowly he starts to get ready for the new day. Since he still doesn''t know what to do with John, he decides that there should be a group conversation. Maybe then they can find out from John why he reacts this way and how they can come to a solution.

    With that in mind, he wakes everyone up just before sunrise. At least everyone except John. Him, he leaves lying in bed. In a soft tone, he explains to everyone why he woke them up fifteen minutes earlier than usual. Most think it''s a good idea, although they''re not very happy with getting up early.

    Together they sit together at the end of the room. John is on the other side so they won''t disturb him too much. Raidon begins gently:

    "We have to come up with a solution to the situation with John. As it stands, the problem will get bigger and bigger the further we get with our education. We can''t force him to do anything, but leaving it this way will cost us all dearly. Does anyone have an idea how we can solve it? Because I thought about it all day yesterday and haven''t gotten anywhere yet."

    "Well, I''m not too happy with those extra chores either, but I don''t see what we can do about it," someone replies.

    "It''s not just the chores," Raidon says. Apparently he is already one step ahead of the others. "If this continues, then first the chores will get worse. You heard for yourself what Quinn said about the toilets. But if they don''t see any change after that, then they''re going to punish us even worse. The best case would be that we would all be fired and be able to return home without pay. In the worst case, they use us as water carriers or something like that for the normal military. Then we¡¯ll have no freedom, no wages and we can run around like crazy for those slackers of nobility."

    The others are surprised by Raidon¡¯s reasoning. Gareth is the first to respond.

    "You could actually be right about that. I hadn''t thought about it like that."

    The others also hesitantly agree with this.

    "So we have to find a solution," Raidon says. "I suggest that we discuss with John how we can ensure that he gets organized. Right now it''s almost time for the morning bell, so it''s not possible, but I suggest we talk to him at lunchtime."

    Everyone agrees and while they are still nodding in agreement, the morning bell rings.

    Like every day, they start with morning gymnastics. The laps are still difficult. This is mainly because the muscle ache is worse than the previous days.

    The rest of the morning the group is very quiet. During breakfast there is not much talk among them. The weapon training after breakfast is fighting the poles again, which is admittedly tough, but still not too bad now that they know what to do.

    Once it''s lunchtime, it''s time to confront John. Since no one starts about it right away, Raidon takes the lead again.

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    "John, we need to talk," he begins. "I know you''d rather not have it, but we''ll all have to make sure we don''t have the worst room again. That means that your place must also be neat. How can we ensure this? Please explain to us what the problem is."

    John doesn''t respond and doesn''t even show that he has heard him. But Raidon doesn¡¯t let go.

    "JOHN!" he shouts much louder this time. Many men at the other tables are now starting to look at them, and John finally responds.

    "Yes, what?" Is all he says.

    That''s when Gareth starts talking

    "John, this is from all of us. Not just from Raidon. None of us want to become water carriers in the regular army."

    "Water carriers?"

    "Yes, water carriers," Raidon says. "That''s where we''ll end up if we can''t muster the discipline that comes with the New Legion. Others could serve in the normal military, but for us that is not an option. We are not nobility and we cannot afford the equipment. That''s why they will use us for all the things nobody else wants to do. Failed soldiers really won''t just be sent home with their wages."

    "Hmm," John hums.

    "So," Raidon continues, "we''re going to have to make sure everything is in order. We would like you to work with us about a solution. You now belong to our group, so we would rather not lose you. But in the end, we will have to do something. Better to lose one person than all of us."

    They now see John thinking deeply.

    When one of the others wants to add something, Raidon stops him, and Gareth says:

    "Wait a minute, he has to decide this himself."

    Moments later, John starts talking:

    "For years I have been a wanderer and beggar. Before that, I was a journeyman with a woodworker. But then the whole building burned down one night. The master and his whole family died. I was having a drink somewhere and when I came back, it was over. All at once everything I had was gone. Then I kept drinking. I''ve been living on my own for years now and it''s hard to adjust again."

    The others are silent while John tells them his story. Once he''s finished talking, they exchange a look and are in agreement. They''re going to help him. From now on, they will fully involve him in the group and even help him keep his place tidy.

    At that moment they see that all the other tables are almost finished eating. They quickly empty their own plates. Fortunately, they have just finished when the bell rings again.

    During writing class, Raidon starts by testing out his ideas from the previous day. He no longer tries to learn the rules of the old language, but he looks up the words from his handbook that he recognizes. Indeed, he finds a lot of words that are either very similar to the current words, or can be linked to them in some way. In a short time he has worked through the first chapter of the handbook.

    Even though he doesn¡¯t know exactly what it is about yet, a global picture is already starting to form in his mind. With the rules they have received from the clerks during the first class, he manages to translate some more words. This is enough to almost completely translate some of the sentences. Even the grammar is a bit like the current grammar. It is becoming increasingly clear that the current language originated from the old language. In this one lesson, Raidon has already learned more than the previous lessons combined. And the lesson isn''t even halfway through!

    One of the clerks has noticed that Raidon is doing something different than the others. He comes by to see what that is. When the clerk wants to scold him, Raidon shows what he has discovered.

    "Look, all these words are similar to those in the old language. And some rules are almost the same. The old language is where our own language originated from! This way we can learn the old language a lot easier. All we have to do is discover the connections!" Says Raidon enthusiastically.

    The clerk is not convinced.

    "You might be right, but we can''t assume you are. The best thing is to just follow our teachings. Then we know for sure that the translations are correct."

    Raidon disagrees.

    "Isn''t this whole class about us learning the language in order to continue our education? In that case we should not only be able to translate the old language, we need to really know the language and be able to speak it. Your way takes way too long."

    However, the clerk isn¡¯t being persuaded. Raidon just has to translate according to the rules.

    At the end of the lesson, Raidon is fed up with those rules.

    This way we¡¯ll still be translating next year, he thinks to himself. Thus he intends to go through the book and learn the old language at his own pace. At first glance, the first chapter seems to give some background information about the old legions. Any knowledge that he can find is welcome. And the sooner he is able to find that information, the better.

    At that point the lesson is over and it''s time for their laps, followed by weapons training.

 TNL 11 - The Basis Part Five

    Eleven ¨C The Basis Part Five

    Today there are big weapons on the program. Giant swords, axes and even a huge battle hammer. The men can¡¯t do much with these heavy things. In fact, for most of them it''s hard to even lift them. Let alone to fight with them. But a few of them instinctively know how to use them. John is one of them. The hammer seems to fit him perfectly.

    "These weapons are intended for individual combat. It is not always possible to fight in formation. But with your armor and these heavy weapons, you will still be a terror to any adversary. For example, if such a hammer is shoved your way, you¡¯ll want to dodge," says instructor Morris. "You will all have to master at least one of these weapons."

    At dinner, Raidon and his roommates have to serve the food again. This time even John participates. And although he doesn''t do quite as much as the rest, this time they forgive him for that. It''s already a lot better than yesterday.

    During the meal there is also a better atmosphere. The stories get going again and someone even gets John to tell what kind of things he used to make as a woodworker.

    Then they need to wash the dishes. Today, the pile of dishes is almost twice as large as the previous day. Almost immediately they find out why that is.

    "We''ve saved the dishes from lunch for you guys," one of the chefs jokes.

    By the time the dishes are done and the laundry is taken away, Raidon and the others are only too happy to go to bed.

    The next day Raidon wakes up earlier than the rest. He''s always needed less sleep than his family, but since he''s been here at the camp, it seems like he''s sleeping even less. Maybe this is one of the things that make the New Legion so special, he thinks. As he has to wait for the others to wake up, Raidon decides to clean up John''s chest, then at least that''s done and who knows, maybe they''ll make it through the inspection next time.

    A little later, the rest wake up to the morning bell. Raidon has just finished John''s chest. The stuff John needs today is even laid out.

    Gareth and John''s neighbor James help John make his bed today. Although John is still not happy with the help, he does allow it.

    Moments later, Raidon''s premonition comes true, as Quinn enters with a couple of guards.

    "Stand at attention for inspection!" Is shouted. There are moans from the men. No one knows that Raidon took the time to clean up John''s chest. Everyone thinks they''re going to get an even worse punishment.

    Quinn visits everyone. Here and there are some small things, but no big problems. When he arrives in front of John, he says:

    "Well, that bed already looks a little better. But I''m afraid that you will still be cleaning toilets anyway, because that box will be a disaster."

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    "Yes, sir," John murmurs. He is very disappointed, because he was just convinced that they could get everything neat and then get out of punishment duty.

    "Sir, shouldn''t you inspect the chest first?" asks Raidon.

    "You think that matters?" Quinn replies. "Then we''ll do that. At least then these guards will have something to laugh about."

    Then he opens the chest, and everyone looks at it in amazement. This one is completely neat!

    "Hmm, maybe it won''t be cleaning toilets for you after all," Quinn says. Then he turns to the men.

    "Your room is acceptable. Note that the inspections will become increasingly strict, but for now this is good enough. Your punishment is hereby over."

    When Quinn and the guards are gone, everyone looks at Raidon.

    "How did you know!? How can this be!? When did that happen!?" Everyone shouts at each other.

    Raidon just laughs.

    "I woke up early this morning. I seem to need a little less sleep, so I thought, let''s clean up John''s chest. Apparently that was the right choice."

    Everyone starts laughing.

    "Did you see Quinn''s face when that chest opened?" Asks Gareth. "It looked like he had swallowed a frog!"

    Of course, that comment makes everyone laugh even harder.

    Today, running laps is very easy for Raidon. The muscle pain has largely disappeared, making it easier for him to walk. It seems as if his condition has already become a lot better. That¡¯s quicker than that should normally be possible. It''s like he''s been training for weeks instead of just a few days. Not that it''s too easy now, because it''s still a lot of work.

    When the men arrive at the training field that morning, they see that something has changed. Instead of their usual stuff, this time there are targets made from straw bales on the field. There are also crossbows ready in racks.

    "Today we are going to make a start with ranged weapons. At the end of your training you will be able to use almost all the weapons you can imagine, but for now we will stick to the crossbow," says instructor Morris.

    He then shows how the crossbow works. This means that he fires a few shots at a target, shows how the reload works and also tells which points of attention there are with the weapons such as tendons and crooked arrows.

    Per group of ten men, they are assigned one target with two crossbows. This way one crossbow can be cocked while the other is shot. Also, each recruit now gets his own belt with which the crossbow can be attached on the left leg of the harness.

    In the beginning, almost everyone misses the targets. Raidon himself doesn''t even come close to the target. Only John manages to hit the target. Which, thanks to the relaxed atmosphere, leads to hilarity. John manages to hit the target in the hand.

    As more shots are fired, the men start to get better at it. At the end of the training, everyone has hit the target at least once. The recruits are pretty happy with this and even the instructors seem to be satisfied.

    After lunch, it¡¯s once again time for writing. Since Raidon is more than fed up with the rules of the clerks, he works his own way again. Comparing the words still seems to have much more effect, at least for understanding the sentences in his handbook. As a result, he is not paying attention when one of the clerks comes by to see how it¡¯s going.

    "So, you think you can just do something else?" The clerk asks in a loud voice. "In that case, you can probably already tell me what''s on the seventh line of your exercise!"

    Raidon picks up the practice sheet. He hasn''t even looked at the practice sentences yet! Yet he recognizes most of the words at a glance.

    "In the north, the final battle is being fought," Raidon reads aloud.

    The clerk looks at him surly.

    "Almost correct," he says. "You have the tenses wrong, but the rest is correct. I don''t know how you do it, but maybe there is some truth in your way of learning. You have my permission to continue like this, but do not distract the others from the correct way of learning. Eventually, even you will have to learn the rules."

    Raidon is relieved. At least he can now continue to learn the ancient language in peace.

    The afternoon training is again dedicated to sword fighting. Since these are the weapons that are most important when fighting in formation, they are more often used during training than the other weapons. Raidon is now getting to know the repetitions, which allows him to follow the pace. Only a bit more practicing and then he doesn''t even have to think about the moves anymore. Which is probably the intention.

    The rest of the day is uneventful. Fortunately, Raidon and his group no longer have to do chores, so they can enjoy finally a quiet evening.

 TNL 12 - Training Part One

    Twelve ¨C Training Part One

    The next day is the sixth day in training camp. After the morning bell, everyone is ready to start with the morning gymnastics. Today, however, they don¡¯t start with that.

    Instructor Morris is waiting for them with the rest of the instructors and supervisors.

    "Starting today, you are going to wear your armor. We have seen that your condition and strength have improved immensely. That''s why we''re going to test whether you can start using the harnesses," he says. "So chop chop, back to your barracks and put those harnesses on."

    They do as they are told. Together they even manage to put their harnesses on correctly, because although they have practiced it a few times, no one is able to get all the parts on properly themselves.

    Although the harnesses are still heavy, to Raidon it seems like it''s easier to walk around in them. The others look just as surprised as he is.

    Back on the training field, they have to do their normal morning gymnastics. Today this really is an ordeal, because although the recruits have become strong enough to wear the armor, the darn things remain very heavy and limit mobility. In the end, everyone does manage to finish their morning gymnastics. This is followed by the rest of the morning exercises.

    When they are finished, and they look forward to take the harnesses off, they are disappointed. Instead of going to the barracks to change clothes, they are directed to the canteen for lunch.

    While they are eating, the harnesses are the talk of the day.

    "I think we are going to wear the harnesses all day," Raidon says. "Morris said we were going to wear them, not that we should only wear them in the morning."

    "But that¡¯s not possible, is it?" Replies Gareth. "We¡¯ll never manage to drag those things around all day long. After those few laps of running this morning, we''re already exhausted."

    A few others also get involved in the conversation.

    ¡°It is so heavy that it feels as if my back is breaking. I hope that we can take it off soon." "We''ll probably wear them for the rest of our lives." The conversation goes on and on in both directions like this. Just before the bell, Raidon stops the discussion with the comment:

    "We¡¯ll find out when we find it out. We can''t do anything about it."

    As they had feared, they have to perform all their normal tasks today in their armor. From the weapon exercises with the swords to the writing lessons. Everything is very uncomfortable, because their mobility is so limited. They also have to be very careful when sitting down on chairs and watch out that they don¡¯t knock anything over.

    Fortunately, Raidon manages to get a lot further with reading his handbook. He is now halfway through the book and although there are large parts that he does not understand, it is becoming easier and easier to understand what is written in the book.

    They also have to perform the afternoon training harnessed. This time the training is the throwing with spears. This turns out to be even more difficult with harness on than it was without.

    The next day is the first day of the second week. Today there is another surprise. When they line up in front of the barracks, the field is not empty as usual. Another group in uniform is waiting on the other side with some of the instructors. Apparently a new batch of recruits has come in.

    "Indeed, as you can see, the second platoon has arrived. Just like you, they have only just been registered, but these come from several different cities. Starting today, they will follow the same training that you have already had. Hopefully they will soon catch up so that you can perform joint exercises," is the explanation of instructor Morris when he is finished with the second group.

    They don''t see much of the second group this first day. Because the members of this group must first take the oath and try on harnesses, their daily schedule is different. Only in the evening do they really notice a difference. The canteen is suddenly twice as full. Although the two groups do not yet seek much contact with each other, prying eyes are already being exchanged.

    After eating there is another change. It turns out that with the new recruits, more staff have arrived. There are now, among other things, real masseurs in the camp. Everyone from the first platoon gets the chance to get a massage. This allows them to go to bed tired but relaxed.

    The next day is pretty much the same. Both groups of recruits still remain largely separated. However, there is a sporadic conversation in the canteen. Other than that, they hardly see each other.

    On the third day after the arrival of the second batch, this changes. Until now, the new recruits have walked a different route in the morning, but today they have to follow the same route as the first group. Since everyone is still keeping their own pace, the groups start to mix up. With a hundred people walking together, it''s quite a chaos.

    When they come back from their first round, the instructors are waiting for them. "As you''ve seen, that was kind of a mess," Morris says. "From today, your rounds will change. We know that the second platoon is not quite caught up with the first, but we are going to introduce this change anyway." He then begins to explain that from now on the two platoons will run together. Actually, it''s more like a fast march than running, Raidon thinks. The intention is that they even make the same steps as the others in their platoon. Fortunately, Raidon''s platoon has already practiced this during formation training, but the second platoon doesn¡¯t even know where to start.

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    After breakfast it becomes clear how important the instructors think this collaboration is. Instead of weapons drills, they continue to march and run. The second platoon starts to work with training the different formations, but the first platoon has to alternate practicing with the formations and marching, but also running in formation.

    In the afternoon after the writing exercises, they even have to run with full equipment. This means that they have their weapons, shields and helmets with them. They also get a backpack with what the instructors call ''some supplies''. In practice, it means that there are a bunch of stones in the backpacks.

    At the end of the day, the instructors are not very satisfied.

    "But this is good enough for now," Morris says.

    The rest of the week the formation exercises remain on the program, but now the morning training sessions are spent on weapons exercises. Of course, they also keep running and marching every day, through wind and weather.

    On the last day of the week, Raidon finally reaches the end of his handbook during the writing lessons. Although he still does not understand everything, reading the handbook has ensured that he has a strong basis in the old language. He decides to finally start learning the rules of the old language. The clerks insist that these are important and while reading his handbook he has discovered that they should indeed be useful. Now that he understands something about the language, the rules also turn out to be easier to learn. Raidon soon catches up with the others. They are still learning the rules from the outside, while Raidon is beginning to understand the language itself.

    Because this seems more effective, the others begin to learn from him. The clerks now even allow it!

    On the first day of the third week, they get a new officer, captain Bras. This young nobleman gets the chance to prove himself by leading this small unit. The officer has only just completed his own training at the academy of the regular army. The academy is a place where young nobles who join the army can receive training. However, this training is completely without obligation and in practice it often means that there is more partying than learning. Usually, the officers in the regular army learn in practice what it means to lead their men.

    The new officer does not know much about the new legion, but his father has managed to secure this appointment for him. That his father chose this position for him was because all the nobles who wanted to get in the empress¡¯ good graces wanted it. The reason that everyone wanted this appointment is mainly to gain a political advantage by participating in the project that the new empress has spent so much time on.

    This officer comes from a very important family and is therefore quite arrogant. He imagines himself above the recruits because they were not born into the nobility.

    Fortunately, Raidon and the others don''t have much to do with him. The training continues to consume all their time and although the young nobleman has been officially designated as their captain, they have only seen him once during the week since his appointment, and that was when he took command.

    "Do you guys know anything about captain Bras?" Gareth wants to know from the group. They are all sitting in their room waiting for the ringing of the bell indicating to turn off the lights. Raidon has just helped John clean up his chest once more. He does this once every few days to make John a little more careful. As a result, he has already progressed a lot.

    "No, not much," Raidon replies while he is just stretching out on his bed.

    "Well, I do know something!" Says James. "John and I saw him today in the officers'' canteen drinking and laughing with a bunch of others. That''s all he''s done so far. Playing soldier and meanwhile celebrating like an important nobleman."

    "Hmm, that''s going to be a headache," Gareth hums. "Let''s just hope that his expensive noble education was worth it. I don''t feel like dying at the first opportunity because an idiotic nobleman doesn''t know what he''s doing."

    While the men are still talking about their new officer, they have to turn off the lights.

    The arrival of their new commander also appears to cause adjustments in the training. Extra attention is paid to the formations. From now on, the training is not only focused on formations during marching, but also on combat formations.

    The first day this is mainly theory. Raidon has already read most of this in his handbook, but it is a bit clearer now that the instructors explain it.

    The recruits are divided per bedroom. Each group of ten recruits is called a ¡®squad¡¯, just as the whole group of five squads is called a platoon. The men are already used to practicing per platoon, but now they also have to do exercises per squad.

    For example, they have to make a straight line with the shields against each other, which is called a shield wall. Or a circle with the backs against each other. Also, there are some other formations that they need to practice. After doing these exercises a few times with their squad, they have to do them with the whole platoon as well.

    This training lasts about a week and although they don¡¯t finish the exercises fast enough according to the instructors, it is apparently good enough.

    A week after the conversation about their new captain, the big moment has arrived. Now that they have done their first training, the next step of their training has come. They are sent on patrol. Finally, they have to deal with their new captain.

    The entire first platoon has to patrol along a certain route under the leadership of their new commander. The intention is to get to know the various duties that they have to fulfill when they have completed their education.

    The captain doesn''t say much. Only that they have to be in formation, "and quickly." Fortunately, the previous day the instructors already explained what the exercise would be, otherwise it would go completely wrong.

    It immediately becomes clear to Raidon that it is going to be a long day. The captain does not know what he is doing, but is convinced that he knows it perfectly.

    A typical nobleman, Raidon thinks.

    The captain lets them march out of the camp while he himself rides on his horse. Once outside the camp, he makes them run faster and faster, until they go almost twice as fast as they are used to. The captain does not even realize this, because he lets his horse set the pace.

    After an hour and a half, the first of the recruits are exhausted. The fact that they have lasted so long is due to the difficult training. Nevertheless, the captain still does not let up the pace and a break is certainly coming soon.

    After two hours, most of the recruits have a hard time keeping up with the pace. But the captain doesn''t care.

    Raidon finally makes the decision and shouts:

    "Sir, can we take a break? This pace is faster than we are used to."

    His companions give him grateful looks, but the captain absolutely disagrees.

    "Come here, recruit!" he shouts.

    When Raidon has come forward, he says with a stern look:

    "You get a penalty of five lashes as soon as we are back in the camp. And now back in your place!"

    Embarrassed and angry, Raidon goes back to his spot. The rest of the patrol it is very quiet in the ranks.

 TNL 13 - Training Part Two

    Thirteen ¨C Training Part Two

    Back in camp, Raidon''s punishment is carried out immediately. Held by two of Captain Bras'' men, he is taken to the square in front of the canteen. There he has to undress, exposing his pale skin to the bright spring sun. Then the captain personally gives him the whipping. Although Raidon does his best not to scream, he begins to moan at the third stroke. The pain is immense!

    When the punishment is finished, he isn¡¯t even able to stand up by himself. The others of his squad have to help him.

    Then Major Quinn walks out of the mess hall.

    "What''s going on here!" He shouts.

    "Just a punishment for this recruit, sir," the captain replies.

    "And why is that?" Asks Major Quinn.

    "He broke the peace during the patrol."

    "Is that so?" The officer major looks at the recruits. One of them speaks:

    "He asked for a break because we had to march the entire patrol at twice the normal pace, sir."

    "Double? That was not the order. Why is that, Captain?"

    "It was just the normal pace of my horse, sir. He is trained to keep to the standard pace."

    Major Quinn starts to get angry and his head turns red.

    "Why, in the name of the gods, were you on a horse? You have to command infantrymen who have to carry all that weight of those heavy harnesses. It''s a miracle they made it!"

    "So what? They''re trained to wear it, aren''t they?" The captain replies indignantly.

    Major Quinn looks amazed and exhausted.

    "Fall out, recruits, and you too, captain," he says. Then he walks away, mumbling about young idiots who think they know everything.

    The next day, Raidon can''t get out of bed to put on his armor. A doctor is sent to the barracks to see if he can do anything for Raidon. He smears a disgusting smelling paste on the wounds, but even then Raidon can''t get up.

    "You''re going to have to rest for two days, recruit. Lie on your stomach for those two days and then you should be able to get up again."

    "Two days of being bored?" Asks Raidon. "Can''t you arrange for something to read?"

    "I understand that it¡¯s a long time if you don¡¯t have nothing to do. I''ll see what I can find for you."

    The doctor keeps his word. Less than ten minutes later, a guard comes in with some old books.

    "Here you go, recruit. Delivery from the doctor."

    The first book is a manual. This time not about the training part of the legions, but more about the structure of the order of Mithras. Since he has nothing better to do, Raidon begins to study the religion. Some things even have a pretty good connection to what they do during their training.

    ¡®The manifestation of Rank, Awards and Decorations can only be seen on the armor. But since the harness can be changed, stolen or otherwise lost, it differs per wearer which awards and rank are shown on the harness.''

    This is just one interesting fact contained within the book. Another is:

    ¡®The position from the civilian point of view is not the same as from the point of view of the army. For example, a civilian rank of site commander may be a military rank of captain or major. While a civilian rank of regional prefect can be a military rank of major or higher.''

    Before this, Raidon had no idea that there were different ranks within the New Legion. He also did not know that these were shown on the armor that the soldiers wore. The way Raidon reads this, also means that nobles such as the captain or major are only temporarily in charge of the New Legion. In the New Legion, it is apparently the case that the different ranks are assigned by the armor (or the deity), which cannot be bribed. This makes Raidon a lot happier. It also makes him even more motivated to read the book as quickly as possible.

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    Two days later Raidon is finally allowed to participate in the training again. Now more than ever, Raidon is determined to become a great soldier of the New Legion and not just a warrior. He came across the distinction between those two in one of the books. When he returns to his platoon, they have just started training spears in formations. Raidon missed a day of this, but that''s not all that noticeable. And everyone is happy to have him back.

    ''Had a nice holiday?'' Is one of the comments he immediately has to endure. The bond between the recruits is becoming better and better.

    During the next three weeks they go on patrol ten more times. Now even the captain has to walk, which he certainly does not like. Raidon, meanwhile, continues to study the books he has been given by the doctor. Every free moment he has, he is reading. For example, while the others take a massage or if the group goes for a drink in the mess hall (during one of the few free moments they have), he takes a book with him.

    At the end of the three weeks he has read all the books he was given. Unfortunately, he has to return them to the library. He would like to see if there are more manuals. However, this turns out to be impossible because recruits are not allowed to enter. Three days in a row he tries and each time he is sent away. However, one of the clerks does confiscate the doctor''s books.

    Then the first peloton is split into the five squads. To practice more, they have to patrol per squad. Each squad gets their own route. As for captain Bras, the recruits know how to conduct a patrol and therefore he doesn''t feel that it¡¯s necessary to accompany them. This way he can stay in the camp to take it easy with his friends.

    Raidon and his roommates are assigned the area furthest from the camp, namely patrol 5. It''s really just a small path that runs through an uninhabited, wooded area. This is a patrol that involves a full day of marching.

    "You have the patrol that is equal to the number that is on your barracks," the instructor explained earlier. "After a few times the routes will be switched up and then you will get a new route to patrol."

    Since Captain Bras is not present at the patrols, there is no one in charge. When the five patrols are ready to go on the road, there is no one to give the go-ahead. In the end it¡¯s Gareth who says:

    "Well, shall we? We don''t have all day."

    This causes some laughter within the group, but they do move out. Just marching in their small groups of ten.

    This is the first patrol they make on their own. Therefore, everyone is quite nervous at first.

    "You¡¯ll see that we¡¯ll come across a patrol of Chakras or something," James notes.

    "Idiot, the Chakras are all on their own side of the border. They don''t just raid this far behind the lines." John also seems quite nervous, because while making the nippy remark, he goes with his right hand to the short sword on his right leg.

    Despite the nerves of the first half hour, it doesn''t take long for everyone to be a little more relaxed. Instead of looking around all the time, they now start talking among themselves. After all, that''s what they did during the patrols with Captain Bras.

    Raidon is just talking to Gareth about the things he''s read in the textbooks, when the first arrows fly through the air. At the moment they are in a somewhat denser part of the forest. The path is very narrow, and it doesn''t look like a lot of people pass by here. This is also noticeable due to the overhanging branches and the weeds that crawl halfway over the path.

    The first moment the recruits notice something of the attack is when James suddenly seems to stumble. Immediately he turns to the man behind him.

    "John! Don''t push like that."

    "What are you blabbering about? I didn''t do anything."

    But then Raidon sees the arrow on the ground. It seems more intended for hunting small game than to kill people. The arrow has a round sphere on the front with which small animals can be stunned.

    "Guys, look at that at your feet."

    John and James now also notice the arrow. John bends down and picks it up. At that moment, the others see another arrow flying through the air, right where John''s head had been a moment ago.

    "Shit, Chakras!" Shouts John.

    Then many more arrows fly through the air, but now also arrows with sharp points.

    Fortunately, all the arrows bounce off their armor. Here and there someone stumbles a few steps to the side because more of those weighted arrows hit them. Everyone looks in horror at the place where most of the arrows come from.

    There is not much to see between the trees due to the vegetation that seems extra dense there. There are still some arrows flying from the bushes, but they seems to be thinning out.

    The patrols with Captain Bras did not prepare the recruits at all for an attack during a patrol. The only thing the recruits know about a patrol is that they have to march a certain distance. The surroundings are only looked at from the path they follow. There is no one who specifically pays attention to whether there are  enemies around.

    Suddenly there is a lot of shouting and rumbling from the bushes. With a loud crackle, a whole piece of the vegetation falls away. It looks like that part is fastened to a frame of branches.

    Now a whole bunch of men come out screaming from behind the hidden opening in the bushes. More shouting from the path shows that from the front another ten men come charging at them.

    Just to be on the safe side, Raidon also looks at where they come from, and damn, there are another ten men coming.

    The recruits are still stunned. They practiced a lot during their training, but then it  was always clear what they had to do. If no one tells them what to do now, they will soon be defeated without putting up a fight.

    Then Raidon finally takes the initiative. If no one else makes the decision he, as the youngest of the group, will do so.

    "Form a circle! Backs to each other!" He shouts.

    This is one of the formations that the platoon has practiced, so they know exactly what to do. In a single moment there is nothing left of the indecision that was just there a moment ago.

    The others react immediately. Faster than they ever did during training, they form a circle with their shields and spears pointing outwards. All the training from the past few weeks has apparently had its use. Within a few moments, there is no longer a gap between the rectangular shields. The only thing left to see of the recruits are their feet and the top of their helmets.

 TNL 14 - Training Part Three

    Fourteen ¨C Training Part Three

    A short distance from the recruits, their attackers stop. It is now overly clear that these are not Chakras, as John had shouted so loudly. These are simple bandits that you can find everywhere.

    One of the bandits walks a little further forward and shouts: "Surrender! There are three times as many of us as there are of you. Give us that beautiful equipment and all your money, and we''ll let you live. But if you don''t surrender, we''ll kill you all."

    Some of the recruits start to get a little restless, but Raidon speaks to them:

    "Take it easy, guys, we have our harnesses and they only have those rags. And look at their weapons! Some only have a bat. Even with ten to one, they would have no chance. Let alone with only three to one!"

    Actually, he is terrified himself, but he does not want to let the others know. His voice does skip a bit, but no one seems to notice.

    When there is no reaction from the recruits, the bandits attack. The archers shoot their last arrows. They only have a few left, and not one manages to get through the shields and armor. Now that the recruits are prepared, even the shields hardly move when they are hit.

    Then the seven archers go and stand next to their fellow bandits. Now there are almost thirty bandits facing the patrol of ten recruits.

    When the archers have readied their weapons, they all charge together towards Raidon and the others. From three sides, the recruits are now being attacked by the bony bandits.

    "Let them get tired against our shields and armor, men," Raidon shouts. "When they''ve exhausted themselves, we''ll take them. They won''t know what''s happening."

    The bandits, waving wildly with their improvised bunch of weapons, begin to let loose on the large rectangular shields of the recruits. Raidon is almost thrown backwards thanks to the first attack by a bandit, a head taller than himself, who starts his attack with a huge kick against Raidon''s shield.

    .

    "Brace yourself!" Shouts Raidon to the others as a warning. Immediately the recruits adjust their stand a little, as they were taught during their training. Partly because of this, everyone manages to stay standing. Where possible, they help each other to keep their balance.

    Now that the first blows have been exchanged, their formation begins to be a little less pressed. There is even occasional room to pull off a counter attack. When Raidon himself tries to hit his attacker with his spear, he finds out that this is very difficult in the tight space. Maybe this works a bit better if we have a more spacious formation, he thinks. With ten men who are almost with their backs against each other, you are more likely to hit the person behind you than to hit an opponent.

    When he looks carefully around him, while he covers behind his shield, he sees that almost all the recruits still have their spears in their hands. That is why Raidon invokes his next order:

    "Spear down, use your swords!"

    Some scraping later, everyone has their sword in hand. Some even use them right away! Suddenly, three bandits fall to the ground. Stabbed in the stomach by the recruits.

    "Ugh, this one shit his pants!" Shouts John.

    "You''re used to that, aren''t you, John?" Gareth jokes from the other side.

    Raidon himself has little time to make jokes after he has given his command. He is still facing the large bandit. Despite his large shield, he finds it quite difficult to keep the man busy. He has already received a number of blows against his armor. Fortunately, the harness turns out to be strong enough to absorb the blows with ease. All he''s left with is a bunch of bruises.

    Suddenly he sees his chance. The bandit grabs his sword with two hands and starts a big swing. This opens his defenses to a counterattack by Raidon. Quickly as a snake, he sticks his sword forward. The sword penetrates inches deep into the bandit''s belly. With a twist of his wrist, Raidon opens the wound even further. A moan escapes from the bandit''s throat, who releases his sword to try to keep his intestines inside. He staggers a few steps back and then falls to his knees.

    Four bandits have now been eliminated. And the recruits become a bit more comfortable. Apart from the blood and noise, it''s a lot like the training. Thanks to their harnesses, there are few places where they can be hit. For example, there are some spots in the faces of the helmets and the moving parts, such as the elbows, are also less strong than the thicker parts of the harnesses.

    A few minutes later, the bandits clearly begin to run out of breath. There are fewer blows on the shields of the recruits and the bandits start to look around a bit restlessly.

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    That''s why Raidon shouts:

    "Push and attack!"

    As during their training, the soldiers all strike at the enemy with their shields at the same time, with the iron boss in the middle of the shield right to the face of the opponent. Right away, they also take a step forward.

    The bandits are thrown backwards by the enormous weight of the armored soldiers. Within a few seconds, seven other bandits are dead or seriously injured.

    Because they have suddenly lost almost a third of their number, the bandits instinctively move towards each other for protection. Soon the recruits are only attacked from one side of the circle. As a result, some recruits now have no one in front of them. Raidon stands with John and Gareth at the back. Looking over his shoulder, he realizes that this is the opportunity for a counterattack.

    "On my sign we form a line shield wall and we are going to attack. John, Gareth, are you ready?"

    When both nod, Raidon shouts:

    "Shape a shield wall on James!"

    This means that the circle formation splits right in front of James. James is standing in the middle of the side that is still under attack. Fortunately, everyone knows exactly what to do thanks to their training. As the men in the back rush to the sides, James and the men next to him make sure they withdraw slightly.

    Since the circle of the ten men was very small, it only takes a few moments for everyone to be ready.

    "Get ready! Now!" shouts Raidon.

    The ten men rush forward at the same time as they strike at the bandits with their shields.

    These have no answer to this ferocious attack. With desperation they still try to defend themselves, but there is little hope for them.

    A few moments later, the bandits are literally hunted down. They can''t stand up against these heavily armored soldiers. A few minutes later, only a few bandits are still alive.

    "Spread and finish!" Is Raidon''s command. He himself also carries out his command and goes after the bandits. These kinds of people are criminals, and Raidon doesn''t dare to leave these guys alive.

    Raidon faces the bandits'' captain. This bandit actually has a good sword. But while he knows a little bit about how to use his sword, he has little chance against Raidon. The armor captures all the blows that manage to evade Raidon''s shield, and the bandit himself has a hard time dodging Raidon''s blows.

    This also shows the lack of training of the bandit. With a feint learned to Raidon in the second week, he breaks through the bandit''s defense and pierces him. One on one, the bandits have clearly less experience than the recruits.

    Then it slowly calms down. All the bandits are dead. The last one by a thrown spear that John picked up when his opponent tried to escape. Now that action is over, the recruits look around. When they see what they''ve done, a few recruits start to look green. Soon Raidon isn''t the only one to get on his knees on the grass moments later. When he feels better again, he notices that the others look at him for orders.

    Although the recruits look tired and dirty, Raidon realizes they''re not done yet. Therefore, he orders them to search the bandits'' clothing and drag the bodies to the side of the path.

    "Well, they don''t have much. These men clearly didn''t choose a much-traveled road to raid," Gareth notes.

    "That''s why they tried to catch us. We were probably the first people here in a long time," Raidon replies. "Let''s see where they have camped. That shouldn''t be too difficult. It seems as if they have chopped a complete road through the bushes."

    They go in search of the camp of the bandits. John leads the way with his bloodied spear and shield in his hands. The others, including Raidon, struggle to keep up with the former wanderer. The uneven terrain does not seem to stop him at all, while the others often stumble over the loose branches and bushes.

    The camp turns out to be quite easy to find. The bandits have set up camp only twenty meters away from the path. There is not much to be found. Some skinned rabbits for supper, an old cart on which, according to Gareth, cabbage was once transported and an iron pot where a dubious-looking meal is already simmering over a fire circled with stones.

    "Throw everything of value on that cart. And don''t forget the weapons and other stuff they had with them," Raidon orders. "Then it''s time to go back. We are already far too late."

    When they come back to the camp, it is almost dark. On the square they find the rest of the platoon ready to search for their patrol. This under the direction of the captain.

    As soon as the captain sees Raidon and the others coming, he starts screaming.

    "And where have you been? You are three hours late! The whole platoon has been ordered to stop what they were doing and look for you. You will be punished for this!"

    Then he sees the cart.

    "And what do we have here? Something you found along the way? Or did you rob a bunch of citizens of their stuff?"

    Raidon''s companions look at him with a look that asks for an explanation.

    "This is the loot we have collected from twenty-seven bandits and their camp, sir."

    "There are no bandits for dozens of miles, recruit!"

    "Not anymore!" shouts one of the them, to which some of the others chuckle.

    Just as the captain is about to respond, Major Quinn comes out.

    "What is this? Are they back? Captain, report!" He shouts.

    "They''re back ... With a car full of stuff that they probably stole somewhere," says the captain with a sour face.

    "Okay, let''s see. Then I will decide what we are going to do with them," Major Quinn replies.

    They walk to Raidon''s squad. Once there, Raidon takes the lead.

    "We didn''t steal this, sir! In the forest, a few kilometers before the halfway mark, we were attacked. Twenty-seven bandits fired arrows at us and then asked us to hand over our armor. When we didn''t accept their proposal, they attacked us. Afterwards, all the bandits were dead, so we put them next to the road. We took all this stuff with us as proof."

    The captain speaks before Major Quinn has time to respond:

    "Yes, twenty-seven bandits ambush you and you defeat them without anyone getting hurt? What an unlikely story."

    "You can send someone tomorrow to look at the bodies, sir. As you can see, our armor made all the difference. They got some scratches on them.  And we got some scratches and bruises ourselves, but that''s all."

    Then Major Quinn interrupts the conversation:

    "We''ll figure it out tomorrow, recruits. For now, you can all go back to the barracks. Don''t leave the camp."

    "Or we hang you," the captain adds viciously.

    All the recruits go back to their barracks. Once there, the whole platoon wants to hear the story again and this time including all the details. That''s why they decide to stay together outside of the barracks for a while.

    "So you were the one who organized everything?" one of the younger recruits asks Raidon.

    "Yes, he did!" Shouts one of Raidon''s squad members. "Most of us were too scared to even think about what was happening and then he shouted what we had to do. He said it the same way as the instructors do. He saved us!"

    "Let''s just go to sleep, okay," Raidon says. "We have to get up early tomorrow."

    He doesn''t know how to react to all the praise, so he quickly goes to his bed.

 TNL 15 - Promotion & Knowledge Part One

    Fifteen ¨C Promotion & Knowledge Part One

    The next morning Raidon wakes up early. While lying down, he thinks back to the events of the previous day. Yesterday he killed someone for the first time. The images of the fight have been haunting his mind all night. As a result, he did not get much sleep.

    Especially that first bandit keeps returning to his thoughts. It happened so quickly and easily. Yet it was a human life that he took. A man whose future he has taken away.

    Suddenly the morning bell interrupts his thoughts. Glad he finally has something to distract himself with, Raidon gets up. It¡¯s time to start moving.

    This morning there are no training sessions. Instead, everyone has to gather in the square after breakfast.

    Here they are addressed by Major Quinn.

    "Last night I and my colleagues have discussed yesterday''s situation. We have decided that we need to investigate it further. Today the first platoon together with a cavalry unit will take the same route as yesterday''s patrol. If we find out that the story is a fairy tale, then all the culprits will be stoned to death by the other recruits." Raidon and the others look at each other in a panicky way. Stoned? That sounds serious! But that thought is short-lived. They all know it wasn''t a fairy tale. Like Raidon, most have been thinking about the fight all night.

    While they are on the move, Raidon and his squad march at the front of the column, along with Major Quinn and Captain Bras. Both officers walk together with the foot soldiers, even though Captain Bras first intended to ride with the cavalry unit. Unfortunately for him, the major thought that that would set a bad example, so he had to join the foot soldiers.

    Raidon''s squad has to show where the battle took place. Since they left very early, they are already halfway there when the sun has fully risen. Suddenly, Major Quinn orders the column to halt.

    "What is the meaning of this, recruits?" He shouts to Raidon and the others. Raidon has no idea what the major is talking about. They are still miles away from the attack. Looking around, he sees the others looking just as surprised.

    Suddenly he sees something out of the corner of his eye. When he looks a little better, he sees that all members of his squad have colors on their armor.

    "Did you tell them they could paint on their armor?" Major Quinn asks Captain Bras.

    "No, sir, certainly not!" Is his angry response. The captain is not happy that he is being put on the spot.

    When Raidon looks more carefully at the colors on the breastplate of the man next to him, he sees that they represent an animal. Every member of his squad has the same animal on their breastplate.

    "And what about you?" Raidon almost jumps when Major Quinn addresses him. "It wasn¡¯t enough for you to draw that beast on your armor, you had to have a few extra decorations with it?"

    "Uhm ... no, sir!" Raidon still doesn''t quite understand what''s going on, but he does know he has to defend himself and his squad mates.

    "We didn''t do this ourselves, sir. This morning when we put on the harnesses, we didn''t see it either."

    Then he remembers something.

    "I do think I read something about this in one of the manuals, sir! In one of the books I got when I was recovering from my punishment. There was something in there about the appearance of emblems on the armor."

    "Are you sure? Never mind, we''ll figure it out when we get back. Then you can show me that part in the books. It''s not the intention that everyone just starts drawing things on their armor, but if you''re right, that would explain why you all have the exact same thing."

    Major Quinn is a bit annoyed about all the fuss about a rookie unit in an empty corner of the country.

    "But even that doesn''t surprise me anymore with this command," Raidon hears him mumble so softly to himself that no one else has been able to understand.

    Captain Bras, however, is not so easily convinced.

    "We can also find out here. Give me suit of armor, then I will put it on and then we will see if it indicates that I am the commander."

    Major Quinn doesn''t look happy now that they have to wait even longer. Yet he allows it because Captain Bras'' father is an important nobleman in the empire.

    It takes a while for Gareth, who has about the same stature as the captain, to take off his armor and even longer for Captain Bras to put the armor on with Gareth''s help.

    When it is finally done, he exclaims:

    "These things are heavy! How anyone can fight in this is a mystery to me," he shouts as he takes his first steps.

    "I don''t see anything on this harness yet," he continues, but the moment he says that, colors begin to appear on the armor.

    However, instead of the emblems that everyone expects, a large red cross is drawn on the front of the armor.

    "Well, it''s clear that those things themselves indicate something, but I don''t understand how it works at all." Major Quinn turns to Raidon. "As soon as we get back, you''ll be looking in those books with me to find out how this works."

    With a red head, Captain Bras quickly pulls off the harness. As soon as the owner of the harness has it back on, the cross disappears and the other markings come back.

    An hour later, they arrive at the scene of the ambush.

    "Sir, there are bodies here!" Shouts one of the scouts.

    "Hmm, apparently they''re telling the truth," is all Major Quinn says. He and Captain Bras do not look happy. This is for a different reason for both men. Major Quinn mainly thinks about the paperwork that he has to fill in, while Captain Bras is disappointed that he cannot put the low-born recruits down.

    However, Raidon and his squad are very happy. It is quite a relief to be able to prove that they told the truth about the attack.

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    Since Major Quinn is now already stuck with making a comprehensive report on the whole situation, he has his men examine everything properly. Especially now that Captain Bras is keen to destroy the image of the New Legion, it is important that everything is done according to the rules.

    The major is aware that the wrath of the Vaughan family, of which Captain Bras is the youngest member, reaches very far. He himself does not come from a large noble house, but from one of the poorer branches of a house that has not occupied an important post at court in years. As a result, it is possible that he will be used as a scapegoat by the Vaughan family if Captain Bras messes up his position.

    When Major Quinn is convinced that his men have investigated everything there is to investigate, he gives everyone another half hour break before they start the way back. All in all, by that time they have remained at the scene of the attack for almost two hours.

    In the hour and a half that the guards have been investigating, the recruits have recovered the bodies. On the same cart on which Raidon and his squad took their belongings yesterday, the bodies of the bandits are now being taken back to the camp.

    Once back in camp, Raidon has to accompany Major Quinn to headquarters to show what he has read in the handbooks about the armor.

    Raidon tries to remember where exactly he read how the harnesses work. Unfortunately, he doesn''t remember exactly where it was, he doesn''t even remember which book he read it in.

    While Raidon tries to find the correct part in the books, and Major Quinn is becoming more and more impatient, one of the guards knocks on the door.

    "There are several recruits at the door, sir. They ask to speak to you about the harnesses. Would you like to receive them?"

    "Let them in," replies Major Quinn.

    Moments later, three members of Raidon''s squad step into the room. They stand at attention until they have permission to speak from the major. When he nods to them, the middle one begins to speak:

    "Sir, something strange happened to the harnesses of all the members of our squad. As soon as we took off our harnesses, the drawings that were on them faded within a few minutes."

    "That''s it! I have indeed read something like that somewhere!" Shouts Raidon. "There was something about it that it was impossible for anyone to pretend to be a soldier or officer of the legion. The harnesses don''t allow that."

    "Have any of you read or heard anything about this?" he asks the recruits.

    When they answer negative, he addresses Major Quinn: "And you, sir? Have you ever read anything about this?"

    "No, I haven¡¯t," he replies. "It still sounds strange to me. I would like to see it again with my own eyes."

    "Well, you can!" Says one of the recruits, after which he begins to take off his armor. A few minutes after he has laid down his breastplate on the floor, everyone can see that the drawing is slowly fading away.

    "It''s clear that you didn''t draw this on your armor yourself," says Major Quinn. Then he turns to Raidon.

    "What about it? How does it work?"

    "Sorry, sir, there''s something about it in one of these books, but I don''t remember which book it is and where it is."

    "Well, then you can go and figure this out. You''re going to read all those damn books again, along with all the other books we have about the old empire. As soon as you find something important, you immediately report it to me personally. You will also report to me once a week. For now you are all excused to the barracks."

    The next day is a long one for Raidon. Not only do the instructors keep him working, he also has to study the books for Major Quinn. In practice, this can only be done by trying to read a part at any spare time he has, such as at lunch or just after eating while the others can rest and relax after the exhausting workouts.

    Out of frustration, because he can''t find what he''s looking for, Raidon finally starts reading the normal manual again. He notices that this is now quite simple. He can remember a lot of the things described in it almost word for word.

    It doesn¡¯t take him long to find out how it is possible that the book seems so easy.

    A little further on it says that all members of the order of Mithras receive support in learning the manuals. This allows them to absorb the information described in them much more easily. It also states that there are different types of manuals. This first book is a soldier''s manual, in which the reader is taught the knowledge that a soldier must have. It is the first book in a series of seven. Each book provides a little more information and helps with achieving the next rank.

    In addition, there are other series of books. For example, books for civilian officers, specialists such as marines and engineers, and even books for affiliated units. There are also some separate books that don¡¯t belong to a series.

    It is now clear to Raidon that the information he is looking for must be in his soldier''s manual. The other books he has read are all from different series, while the information about the armor must be somewhere in the book about the soldiers.

    That''s why he picks up the soldier''s manual again. Some time later he finds the fragment he was looking for. Unfortunately, it only states that the rank marks and decorations will appear on the armor as soon as they are earned. The sign of the elephant represents that this person is a soldier and has completed his or her first training. The signs on the shoulders indicate the rank of a soldier. The double arrow means that he has been promoted to sergeant. How he got this promotion is, unfortunately, not listed.

    According to the book, the ranks are as follows:

    1 arrow -> Squad leader

    2 arrows -> Sergeant

    3 arrows -> Captain

    1 star -> Major

    2 stars-> Colonel

    3 stars -> General

    Furthermore, there are numerous decorations and medals with which the seniority within those ranks can be determined. This can result in an experienced veteran of a lower rank being respected more than a newly promoted captain who has a lot of talent but little experience.

    The decorations will appear on the breastplate, forming a circle around the elephant of the legion.

    Two days later, Raidon is finished with the first soldier''s manual. Now that he has read the book a few times, he can almost recite the words by heart. He knows he can''t learn much more from this book. He needs the next manual to learn more.

    Knowing that there is little point in trying to get the book from the scribes without the major''s explicit permission, he decides to report on what he has learned so far.

    At the staff building he is stopped by the guards. No one can just go in and disturb the people there.

    "I would like to speak to Major Quinn."

    The older of the two guards looks at him with a mean smile. Apparently, this guard is just as much of a fan of the New Legion as Captain Bras.

    "About what, recruit?" he asks.

    "Just say it''s about the manuals of the New Legion. I had to report to the major if I had more information," Raidon replies.

    With obvious reluctance, the guard goes inside to convey Raidon''s request. A little later he comes back again.

    "The major has a few minutes to spare for you. So go inside quickly."

    Raidon enters Major Quinn''s office and stands at attention.

    "Sir, I''m coming to report on the handbooks."

    "Yes, I had already heard that. What did you find out?"

    "I can tell you that the animal, the elephant, means that the recruits have completed their first training and that they have attained the rank of soldier. This is described in the first soldier''s manual, which was handed out to every recruit," says Raidon. In doing so, he puts the book down with the right page opened. Raidon then explains that there are several series of books, and how they work.

    Major Quinn takes a look at the passage Raidon has designated in the book.

    "Hmm, so we officers have to watch as something unknown determines that recruits with only a few weeks of training should already be considered as trained soldiers?" He says, after which he looks at Raidon again. "And what is that other sign you have? I don''t think I saw that with the other recruits."

    Raidon hesitates for a moment. He''s not sure if he should share that information with Major Quinn. Then he makes the decision. Better tell the major than the captain.

    "The other marks, which you mentioned decorations, mean that I have been promoted a second time, sir," he says. "Apparently I am fit to be a sergeant. Those double upward pointing arrows on my shoulders indicate that I have been promoted to sergeant."

    He then quickly adds:

    "I have not yet been able to find out how it works exactly. In this first manual, a lot of the basic knowledge is given. More information can be found in the next book. Unfortunately, I haven''t gotten that one yet."

    "So the first books only give the basic information. That''s useful to know. The more we learn about the structure of the ancient legions, the better we can train you." Major Quinn has to think about this for a bit.

    "As for your so-called promotion, I still have to think about that. In my army, no one is promoted all of a sudden. Let alone a recruit to sergeant. That way you skip a lot of steps."

    "Not so many steps, sir," Raidon replies. "Sergeant is the next rank after squad leader. Apparently there were fewer ranks in the old empire. This was possible because a distinction was made between soldiers of the same rank by means of other decorations. These can be seen on the harness, just like the rank. Nowadays we use more ranks than in the past, but that was once different."

    The major can only sigh deeply and say:

    "So many things are different than we had imagined, we can work around this as well. You have my permission to go get the second manual. I will pass it on to the clerks, and you can pick it up tomorrow. We can do very little with it, since even the clerks who know something about the old language do not seem to be able to remember what is in the books."

    Then Raidon can go.

 TNL 16 - Promotion & Knowledge Part Two

    Sixteen ¨C Promotion & Knowledge Part Two

    The next day, during the lunch break, Raidon quickly stops by the library to pick up his book. Unfortunately, the book is not ready yet. The clerks don''t know how to tell the difference between the different sets of books. The only way for them to find a specific book is to read a number of pages in it and then compare the books.

    Fortunately, Raidon can show them how they can recognize the different series. Once they know that, the right book is quickly found. It turns out that there are only two books of the second level of the soldier series. Also, one book has been found that could be of the third level, but that book has become completely unreadable. Probably there was once a leak where the books were stored.

    That same evening, Raidon begins to read his new book. When he quickly flips through the book, he finds out that this book is mainly about how to set up a camp. This includes the supply, the safety of the camp and even more information that has to do with this. The information in this book is also much more extensive than in the first book. As a result, Raidon seems to have a lot more difficulty with this book than with the first.

    Suddenly he realizes that the information in the first book was also difficult to understand, but that it became easier and easier later in his studies. It''s clear to Raidon that the connection with his armor makes learning the books easier, but that he still has to work hard for it.

    The first part of the book is not too bad. Here the duties of a sergeant are described. A sergeant''s main task is to take care of his platoon, both during battles and out of it. It is the sergeants who assign the tasks to carry out an order from the captain. Usually it is the sergeants who know their soldiers the best, since captains and the higher ranks have too many soldiers under them to know everyone personally.

    Raidon closes his eyes and tries to reflect on what he has learned so far. Apparently, however, he is more tired than he thought. He falls asleep and the next thing he knows is waking up from the morning bell.

    Once a week the recruits have a rest day. On such a day, the recruits only have to march their laps around the camp followed by a session of sword fighting. The rest of the day they can take care of their equipment and relax. This is to ensure that their muscles can develop faster.

    Normally you would think that training more and longer makes you stronger faster, but the manuals explain that your muscles should also be able to rest, at which time they can recover and develop. Such a rest day is therefore beneficial for muscle growth.

    This is something that is not known at the military academy these days. Probably that is mainly because it has never been necessary there. Everyone at the academy is very rich or of has a noble background. That is why a leisurely pace is maintained.

    That this knowledge is now being used, is because there are books from the old legions that Major Quinn and his people can read. These are mainly the books for the affiliated armies. Most other books remain a mystery to anyone who is not a member of the New Legion.

    Today is such a rest day, and it''s a good time for the recruits of both platoons to question Raidon and the others in his squad about what exactly happened during the battle a few days ago. Everyone has heard a few things, but those are bits and pieces that they have heard from the group.

    After lunch, everyone gathers together on the training field to take care of their harnesses and equipment. In the meantime, they can hear the whole story. Some of the older recruits are rather skeptical that Raidon, as the youngest of the group, has taken the lead. Still, everyone has to admit that his tactics have worked.

    However, one of the recruits from the second platoon continues to complain all the time. This is one of the older recruits, somewhere between thirty and forty, Raidon guesses. His name is Brandon. He has black hair and he used to be a carrier in the city. This makes him one of the strongest men among the recruits. Brandon believes that someone as young as Raidon should not take a leadership role. He doesn''t care who or what you are, when you''re that young, you have to show respect for everyone who''s older.

    Brandon continues to make critical remarks about all the choices Raidon made during the battle. As a result, Raidon often has to keep repeating and justify himself. In the end, Raidon''s patience runs out.

    "If you don''t agree, you''re going to have to get promoted yourself," he says. "You can do that by reading your manual and memorizing it. Then your harness will probably give you a promotion after a while. Then you can make your own decisions. Until then, it would be nice if you don''t keep giving your negative comments about things that have worked pretty well."

    Then he also advises the rest of them to read the manual, because then they can not only get promoted but also have more chances of survival in a fight.

    The confrontation is the signal for everyone to break up and do their own things.

    In the following weeks, everything remains pretty much the same. The training of the recruits is getting easier and easier. It is now becoming clear that many recruits are better at some things than others. For example, it seems very easy for Raidon to remember the knowledge in the manuals, while for some others, such as John, it is much more difficult. John, on the other hand, has it much easier with some physical things. This makes it almost impossible for him to lose his balance, and when he has to run an obstacle course, he never falls.

    There are additional tasks that need to be done each week besides the training, such as patrols and exercises. The officers (especially the captain) treat everyone, including Raidon and his crew, as recruits. What is different is that the recruits are now more motivated to read their manuals. Some are having an easier time than others, but within each squad there is always someone who can help the others where it¡¯s needed.

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    Raidon himself continues to study hard in both of his manuals. He even managed to get an extra book from one of the clerks of the library. It is a small booklet, which tells about the bond between the old legions and the affiliated units. These affiliated units were part of the armed forces of the old empire, but were not fully part of the core army, the legions. Raidon is interested in the different types of units that were connected. Not only sailors, scouts and cavalry were part of these, but also people such as instructors, clerks and servants. There were many more, but this part is important to Raidon. People such as instructors and clerks for example, were deployed when there were not enough experts within the legions and they were needed to complete a mission.

    Just like with our training, Raidon thinks.

    Raidon has asked Morris, the instructors'' captain, if there are any maps he can look at. But he tells him that the officers did not give permission to teach map reading and such to them. They are going to become soldiers and they will get officers from the regular army to command them. These will have their own training, where map reading is also taught.

    This means that Raidon only has the drawings from his manuals. There are only a few examples in this, such as those of a standard army camp. Nevertheless, he tries to teach himself to read maps through these drawings. That is still quite difficult, because the environment is very different than at the time of the old empire. Also, the drawings are not nearly as detailed as the maps that lie in the staff building.

    Meanwhile, the unity between the recruits is getting stronger and stronger. Especially between the recruits who sleep together in a dormitory, a close bond develops. Gareth turns out to be someone to whom others can go with their problems. Raidon for example likes to be able to tell someone about how insecure he is sometimes. John''s place in the group has also improved tremendously these days. He still struggles sometimes with the discipline that is demanded, but with the help of the others, he gets through every inspection.

    Three weeks after the battle, an announcement is made. Major Quinn has been given new orders. He is promoted to commander and given a division of the regular army to train and command. This means that Captain Bras will take over the position of camp officer as the highest ranking officer left. It is the first appointment for Captain Bras in which he is the highest ranking officer. An important position for him.

    The transfer takes place on the same day. Captain Bras gives a speech for the occasion

    "As of today, some changes will be made. In my opinion, this camp can function better than it does now. In the coming days, everyone will be told what will change."

    After this short speech, Captain Bras leaves for the staff building. Apparently he doesn''t think it''s necessary to get too involved with the men under his command.

    Yet the changes start that very same day. Despite the protests from Major Quinn, who has not yet left, the recruits are only fed ration bars at lunch. Meanwhile, Major Quinn sits with Captain Bras in the officers'' canteen, where the food is stunningly luxurious.

    Major Quinn speaks to Raidon just before he leaves.

    "I can''t agree with how those armors of yours award promotions," major Quinn begins, "but the way Captain Bras is working now isn''t right either. When I get to the capital, I will file an official protest. With a bit of luck it will turn out better for you soon after that."

    "I hope so, sir," Raidon replies. "So far, the training has been tough, but it was doable. If the captain continues like this, then I don''t think we can last long. And we haven''t even seen the other changes!"

    Major Quinn accepts Raidon''s assessment of the situation with a nod, after which he leaves.

    Meanwhile, there are more and more changes happening in the training camp. There is already a regulation posted on the door of the canteen that all days off have been canceled. The day after, there is another regulation that the massages have stopped and that the training has been adjusted. Apparently, this is how Captain Bras relays his orders to his men. Very different from the way Major Quinn worked. When he was still in command, he addressed the men and explained why he made certain decisions.

    The new training schedule means that only sword fighting is practiced. There is no more marching or working on formations. The men have to practice all day with their swords, and in a very different way than they are used to. Where until now the greatest attention was given to short stabbing weapons, now only longer swords are used that are intended to cut instead of stab.

    The only thing that has remained the same so far are the patrols. But that too doesn¡¯t last long. Two days later there is a new schedule for the patrols. There are more than twice as many patrols to be done!

    On the first patrol of the new schedule, the recruits immediately notice that somebody else is in charge. The pace has increased and the captain''s bodyguards are in charge. These now ride horses at the front of the patrol, except when they go along the column to use the whip to increase the pace. These whips are also something new under Captain Bras.

    Within a week, everyone is exhausted. Even the instructors look jaded. Only Captain Bras and his bodyguards are still in a good mood.

    Again, new rules are set. From now on, the instructors must ensure that the recruits do their utmost best. If they don''t try hard enough during a workout, their dinner can be withheld. In fact, instructors who are not strict enough can suffer the same punishment. At every lesson there is a guard who supervises the training, to ensure that the recruits are dealt with strictly.

    Within three weeks of Captain Bras being put in charge, most of the recruits are fed up with it. There is even talk of trying to quit and get out of the army.

    One evening Raidon starts reading his manual again, although the light is very bad this evening. While reading, he mumbles to himself: "Surely there must be something we can do, we should be soldiers dedicated to Mithras. Not farmers in a slave army."

    And then it happens! One of the pages at about a third into the book begins to shine. Raidon slowly turns the pages until he reaches the illuminated page. Some of the text on it has been alight.

    The text tells again about the relationship between the old legions and the other regular army units. Although the legions formed an important part of the army, they were also a religious order. Furthermore, each area of the old empire had its own ruler, with its own army. These different armies all had their own chain of command.

    In practice, this meant that the legions often had to cooperate with other armies. The officers of the old legions could not give orders to those other units unless they had been ''lent out'' to the legions. This could only be done with the agreement of both the commander of the legions and that of the local army.

    The officers of these other units could not give orders to the soldiers of the legions either. The soldiers of the legions had their own missions, where they were higher in the chain of command than any officer of a regular army. Even a sergeant could act in this way as he saw fit, even if a senior officer of the local army had very different ideas.

    Once Raidon has read the part, the glow disappears. Yet one sentence continues to give light for a few seconds longer. Namely, the part that states that no officer of a regular army can give orders to a legionary.

    Raidon is stunned. This means that as the highest in rank, he can take over command of the recruits. They don''t have to accept what the captain is doing. They are their own army unit with their own chain of command.

    Although it is already late, Raidon immediately summons the others of the first platoon. Not everyone wants to come, because they are exhausted and want to sleep. But even these recruits respond to the tone of Raidon''s voice. When the whole pack is gathered, Raidon asks them to open their manuals on page 75 and read the same piece that was illuminated for him. It takes a while and some are a bit faster than others, but slowly everyone gets what Raidon means. Raidon is the highest in rank of the new legion!

 TNL 17 - Mutiny Part One

    Seventeen ¨C Mutiny Part One

    The next morning Raidon and the other soldiers of first platoon get up early. Even before the morning bell, they are ready and have their harness on. Everyone now has the marking of the elephant, which shows that they have completed their basic training. Apparently, accepting Raidon as their commander was the last step they needed.

    "Does this mean we''re getting paid extra now?" asks a recruit.

    "Why?" asks Raidon in amazement.

    "Well, when I signed up, I asked, like everyone else, how much we would get paid. I was told that we were now getting two coppers, and three when we finished training. You think we''re real soldiers now, right? So then we also have to get those three coppers."

    Raidon can only nod in agreement, but the recruit isn''t done with his story yet.

    "I kept asking questions then, and you even get paid extra in certain situations. For every day you have to fight, you get paid double, the same as when you''re on a campaign. When there is heavy fighting where many men lose their lives, you get even more. Then you get a month''s worth of pay."

    "What happens if we die during such a campaign that you talked about?"

    Now others are also starting to get involved in the discussion.

    "Then you get death money. That is brought to your family together with your belongings. So if I were you, I''d just think about who that should be sent to, and then write that down." This last answer gives the recruit with a gloomy face.

    When the discussion stops, Raidon sends a number of soldiers to the second platoon to pick up the other recruits as well. After all, they also belong to the New Legion. To be on the safe side, he instructs the recruit with the big mouth to tell his information about the salary to the other recruits. This way everyone knows the same.

    Once the others have arrived, Raidon steps forward.

    "Grab your manuals and open them on page 75. Then read the piece in paragraph four," he commands with his best imitation of Major Quinn.

    Although Raidon has now become the commander of the New Legion, he has little experience in commanding others.

    Even though they don''t yet understand why they have to read something in their manuals, slowly most of them start to pick up their books. Brandon is difficult at first, but when he sees the first reactions of the others, even he picks up his book. The surprise is now at least as great as the previous evening with the men of first platoon. Some still need to have it explained to them by their neighbors, but in the end everyone understands what Raidon is referring to. Raidon is the actual commander of the New Legion!

    The understanding that they are actually rebelling comes not much later. Not everyone is happy with it, but no one protests too loudly. Captain Bras has made too many bad decisions since he became the commander.

    Brandon is not happy and certainly does not want Raidon as commander. Yet, at the insistence of the others, he eventually gives in. As soon as he does this, the last step appears to have been taken. Everyone in second platoon gets their markings. As with the men of first platoon, everyone gets a big elephant on their chests. Brandon even gets an extra mark on the shoulders. On both shoulders there is a single arrow, which Raidon thinks he recognizes as the sign for squad leader. This makes Brandon the highest in rank within the New Legion after Raidon and thus takes command of second platoon. It also makes it clear to Raidon that Brandon is not yet competent enough to work as a sergeant.

    Some soldiers, because that''s what they are now, want to kick Captain Bras out of the camp right away. Raidon disagrees.

    "Remember that the military will not accept us. They will attack us as soon as they understand that we are rebelling. They will call us deserters."

    Then he tells them what they are going to do.

    "We are going to capture everyone in the camp. That way they can''t warn anyone. By the time the army finds out, we¡¯re long gone."

    Raidon again uses his imitation of Major Quinn.

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    "We¡¯ll split up. The first three squads of first platoon go with me to take over the headquarters. We will also take the captain and his guards. The other two squads take care of the sentries. That leaves all the other staff in the camp for you and second platoon, Brandon."

    Brandon appears to open his mouth to contradict Raidon, but then changes his mind. Without a word, he goes to perform his tasks with second platoon.

    When Raidon arrives at the staff building with first platoon, the guards are immediately alert. They are not used to the recruits, who they normally belittle, suddenly marching towards them with so many. However, they remain the personal guards of the captain and they can''t resist making cruel remarks.

    "What is this? Shouldn''t you be marching!", they shout, among other things. But Raidon and the other men of first platoon don''t show any sign that they hear anything. This is easy enough thanks to their closed helmets. Within a few moments, the guards are overpowered. Then the captain and a bunch of other guards come out. Although the captain continues to shout and use his whip, this is totally ineffective against the armor of first platoon. Within half an hour the entire camp is under the control of the New Legion.

    Raidon orders a squad from first platoon to guard the prisoners and two other squads as sentries to keep an eye on the surroundings. The last two squads of first platoon must be ready to activate at any time. This means that second platoon can take a rest and have breakfast. Later they will switch so that first platoon can have breakfast.

    Raidon himself goes to question the clerks. He wants to know where all the manuals of the old legions are. He knows that they should be somewhere in the library, but also that there are some in other rooms. Under the guidance of a few soldiers, the clerks have to gather the books. Although the clerks are afraid, they work pretty fast. The clerks also tell that there are many messengers going moving between the capital and the camp with orders and supplies. The next one is expected in three days. This means that Raidon must organize his two platoons as quickly as possible so that the messenger does not find out what has happened. Even if they secure the messenger, he will soon be missed.

    The captain''s office is quickly searched so they know what else is going on. Here Raidon finds yet another book of the old army. This book contains better maps, which he can compare with the other newer maps they have found. He thinks that he should start going through the books that night. For now he has the first thing he has to do is to talk to the instructors.

    While John and Gareth stand guard at the door of Captain Bras'' office, Raidon has the instructors come to the office one by one. Since he still finds it difficult to go stand up to Morris, the head instructor, so he decides to keep him until last. The first instructor is Bob. Instructor Bob is very clear in his answer.

    "Absolutely not!" he almost shouts. "You are warriors of the Empress. No imperial warrior deserves to desert and then expect others to go along with them. Forget it!"

    The following five instructors are almost as clear, although to varying degrees. This means that only Morris is left. Fortunately, Morris is quite calm.

    "I have to admit that I don''t like captain Bras. And I don''t agree with how he arranged things here. But you''re asking a lot."

    "The intention is not to become bandits or anything, Morris," Raidon responds, "the intention is to make sure that we are seen as our own unit. Not a group of weird soldiers who have no rights because they originate from the lower classes. We will try to reach the Empress and raise our concerns with her."

    "That''s a bit better than what I expected. Unfortunately, it will have little chance of success. Not everyone can just get to the Empress and the generals will try to stop us from the moment they hear about it."

    "So they shouldn''t hear about it," is Raidon''s answer, followed by the fact that, "Wait, you said us? So you''re in?"

    Morris agrees: "Yes, boy, I''m in. You are our boys and are progressing so well that it would be a shame to give up on you. You could be the salvation of the empire."

    After this conversation, Morris consults with the other instructors. Despite some grumbling and complaining, he manages to persuade the others. Raidon, meanwhile, goes to talk to the clerks, after which he also has to make an attempt to persuade the other support staff.

    It takes Raidon the rest of the day, but in the end he manages to convince everyone. All the support staff, from the cooks to the masseurs, have suffered under the policy of Captain Bras.

    The next day starts early for Raidon. With virtually everyone in training camp participating, it''s time to figure out where they''re going. There is no point in staying here. The generals obviously know the location of the training camp and they will not be safe for long. Raidon takes the maps out of the stack of papers and also grabs the map book of the old legions. It takes him some time, but then he has enough similarities between the maps to decide what¡¯s what. It seems as if there used to be many forts all over the continent. But there is only one that might be useful to the New Legion. This place is now in the middle of the wilderness, far enough away from habitation to avoid discovery, yet close enough to provide secure supplies if necessary.

    This former fort was a permanent fort, meaning it once had stone walls and buildings. It is possible that some of that is still standing.

    Since everyone is already packing for the move, Raidon lets everyone do their own thing. He maps out a route for the trip and decides to leave only a day later. From the clerks he has heard that a messenger should be coming very soon. If the messenger is not stopped, then the whole operation is lost before it has even started.

    The most convenient thing is to leave two instructors behind to catch the messenger. Raidon decides to leave Bob and Alan behind. Those two are the least friendly instructors, so he''ll get less complaining when they arrive at their new home.

    The next day, everyone in the camp joins the convoy. All the carts are loaded with handy items, from pots and pans to important books and training items, not to mention the old altar. Only the instructors Bob and Alan are left behind along with Captain Bras, who is locked in a room on his own, and with the captured guards in a different room. Before departure, the instructors will provide enough food and water for them to last until the next messenger arrives.

 TNL 18 - Mutiny Part Two

    Eighteen ¨C Mutiny Part Two

    It takes the convoy three days before they reach the edge of the wilderness. From here they have to make their way through the dense vegetation. Earlier that day, one of the instructors returned, namely instructor Alan. He says that they went out together to catch up with the convoy, but that Bob unexpectedly left. Probably back to the training camp to release the captain and the messenger. Fortunately, Bob didn''t know where the new legion was going, as it had been agreed that they would meet halfway between training camp and the wilderness.

    For now, Raidon can''t pay attention to the guy. Finding the right place in this wilderness is difficult enough. Only halfway through the evening they suddenly find the right place. Although it''s getting dark, Raidon wants to continue searching because he feels like they''re almost there. Suddenly he feels that the place should be more to the right. He has no idea why he suddenly has that feeling, but he decides to take a look anyway. Less than twenty meters away, they suddenly find themselves in front of a heavily overgrown wall.

    Since it is already dark by that time, they decide to set up a camp outside the walls as the best they can do. The next day they can explore in full light what is still standing of the former fort. It is impossible to make a camp like Raidon learned from the manuals, because of the trees and the dense vegetation, they decide to put extra men on guard. They are in the wilderness after all and the biggest danger comes from wild animals. With enough sentries, that danger should be minimal.

    The next day at first light, Raidon, Gareth, Morris and two clerks are ready to go and have a look at the fort. There is not much left. Hundreds of years of neglect have caused a lot of damage to the buildings and the walls. The buildings have become ruins without a roof and the outer walls have crumbled. It''s a foundation to build on, but first everything needs to be cleaned and tested if it''s worth preserving. However, the old fort is large enough to keep everyone inside. There is also much less vegetation within the walls because the entire courtyard was once tiled.

    That same day they make a start with cleaning up the fort. Everyone helps, with only the instructors remaining as sentries. Within a few hours, the biggest mess of the courtyard is cleaned up and they can set up camp there. With everyone helping, this was a quick job. The rest of the fort will take much longer. No one in the New Legion knows much about building. The only things they know are those that they learned before joining the New Legion. However, there are a few clerks who know a thing or two. One in particular knows quite a lot. This young stocky bookworm named Duncan is privately studying to become an engineer. Although there is little chance that he will ever be singled out to become a real engineer, it has always been his hobby. Raidon thinks he has seen some books that Duncan might be able to use and searches through the library books for them. Indeed, there are books for the engineering corps that was connected to the old legions.

    Together, Raidon and Duncan take a look at the fort to figure out what needs to be done. The drawings in Raidon''s handbooks are a great help in knowing what it once must have looked like. While the staff members from the camp make dinner and put the camp in order, Raidon and Duncan tell the soldiers which jobs should be done first. The vegetation has to be removed and thrown outside the walls. After that, the loose stones and debris must be brought to a corner of the square. These can later be used to build with. Since it is impossible to get onto the walls, the instructors are standing guard outside.

    All in all, it takes them two days to clean up the biggest mess in the fort. Even with the help of all the tools they were able to take with them from the training camp. Once that''s done, Raidon and Duncan decide that there should be more visibility outside the fort. For this, trees are felled and thickets must be removed. Then they can see from the fort who is arriving. Perfection is not an issue, but safety is. So most soldiers led by Gareth set to work cutting down trees. The wood is stored and stacked. The remaining branches are sharpened so that they can be used as stakes.

    Meanwhile, a few men are busy removing a large tree stump in the middle of the square of the fort. The tree apparently fell over and rotted away years ago, but the stump still stands. Because the stump is rather rotten, it takes a lot of time to remove it. The top has completely decayed, but the roots are still strong. Halfway through the afternoon it seems that they have almost succeeded. Raidon, meanwhile, is making a round through the fort and comes over. The stump is pulled away and John, who was pushing, almost falls into a deep hole.

    "Gods, I thought I was done for!"

    Carefully, the stump is pulled further away. Together they all look down. The hole underneath is perfectly round.

    "It looks like a sealed pit," says one of the soldiers. Indeed, not only are the walls of the hole made from large cut stones, there are also parts of a wooden hatch with which the well had once been sealed.

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    "Let''s see if there''s still water in it," Raidon concludes, "that saves a lot of lugging buckets to and from the stream."

    John picks up a piece of stone from the pile of rubble.

    "Every second is something five meters deep I think," says John. Some look at him in amazement. That''s why he says:

    "Read your handbooks, there''s a lot in there."

    Then he drops the stone. Tensely they look at the stone, until it disappears from view. Suddenly they hear a ringing from the well.

    "THREE!" exclaims John. "So the well is about fifteen meters deep. But that was a special sound."

    "It sounded like metal."

    They decide to lower someone with a torch into the well. Since he had such a big mouth, John is instructed to go down.

    After he has taken off his armor, a rope is tied around his waist with a lantern attached to it. Carefully he then climbs into the pit.

    "John, what¡¯s it like to enter your own black hole," jokes one of the soldiers, to which John makes an obscene gesture.

    Slowly John sinks down. Raidon has placed six soldiers at the other end of the rope to ensure that it is held tightly. That this caution is not a superfluous luxury is evident when one of the men accidentally lets the rope slack too much. Suddenly the other men can''t hold on to the rope anymore, and with a scream John falls several meters down.

    Then suddenly it seems as if John has been smashed to the bottom, because the rope is stopped in one go.

    "Would John be dead?" the guilt-conscious soldier asks no one in particular.

    "That¡¯s not possible, is it? We didn''t hear a thump that he ended up on the bottom."

    Carefully, Raidon bends over the edge of the pit to look down.

    And really, a long way down is John. He has his hands and feet clamped to the side of the pit.

    "Thanks, no!" Shouts John when he sees Raidon. "I¡¯ve shaved off the skin from my hands. Let those slackers pay a little attention."

    Now a lot more carefully, the men lower John down again. A little later it sounds from below:

    "Easy now, I see the bottom," and then, "I''m here! There are corpses here, man! With armor and all. They¡¯re like ours."

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The descent is not very pleasant for John. For him it is not really a problem to climb, he often had to do that while living on the street in the past. Then, however, he did not have a large lantern hanging around his waist that swung back and forth with every tug of the rope. In addition, that stupid lantern sometimes bumps into his body in very unfortunate places.

    And then suddenly the ground seems to fall out from under his feet. Or wait, he thinks, there was already no ground under his feet. Those idiots must have let go of the rope.

    With a tremendous effort, John pushes his arms and legs to the sides to brace himself against the edges. It costs him some skin and blood from his palms, because they are not protected by boots like his feet, but then he stops falling.

    When he sees the sergeant peering down a little later, he can''t resist shouting up some obscenities.

    A little later he sees some formless shadows below him in the darkness. That''s why he shouts upstairs that they should lower him a little slower. Indeed, it does not take long after that before he is at the bottom. The bottom seems to be made from the same large stones from which both the wall of the fort and the walls of the well have been made.

    Since he still can''t see what the shapes are that lie here and there, he quickly turns on the lantern. Fortunately, the sergeant has given him a glowing fuse, so he doesn''t have to mess with flints or anything like that.

    Once the lantern is lit, he can have look around.

    The shapes he saw earlier turn out to be armor. Around them are other pieces of equipment that apparently came loose when the harnesses were thrown down.

    John holds the lantern a little closer to one of the harnesses. From the helmet that is still on the harness, two dead eyes stare back at him.

    Immediately John stumbles backwards, only to stumble over one leg of another corpse. When he has recovered a little from the shock, he calls upstairs what he has found.

    "John!" it comes from above. "Undress those corpses so we can bring out the harnesses."

    "Hell no, you can forget that, sergeant!" He shouts back. No way does he want to even think of touching these mummies here in this dark hole.

    "I¡¯ll tie the rope around their waist. Then you can lift them up in their entirety. Let the others touch the stiffs up there where there is sunlight."

    No sooner said than done, John loosens the rope from his waist, with some difficulty because the knots have become really tight. Then he ties the rope to the corpses one at a time.

    When all the corpses are gone, John looks around a bit more. Once this well must have been in use, but where did the water come from? The walls of the well look the same everywhere. All made of the same stones.

    While holding the lantern high to get the most light, John searches the entire bottom of the pit. There''s just nothing to be found. On a whim, he decides to check a little higher as well.

    Actually! At eye level, a piece of the wall seems to look different than the rest around it. It turns out to be a cover plate. In the past, the water seemed to come in here and was pushed upwards. Unfortunately, there is nothing that resembles a mechanism by which the cover plate is operated.

    After some more fiddling with the cover plate, John gives up and lets himself be hoisted up. However, when he is almost there, with only a few meters to go, he feels an abnormality in the wall.

    Since the men above him have already dropped him once, John has kept his hands and feet against the wall all the time while going up. This makes it easier for him to brace himself should something happen.

    Unfortunately, he turned off the lantern before going upstairs, so he can''t see what it is he feels. One stone feels different from the others. There is a kind of cross in it with two grooves that are a bit deeper and two grooves where there seems to be something in it. The cross is quite large, because the stones are almost as big as John''s forearm.

    After some fiddling, he manages to pull the piece out of the grooves. It turns out to be a lever that you can turn so that it can fall into the grooves in two ways.

    With difficulty, John manages to turn the lever and push it back into the cross in the stone. Then he quickly lets himself be pulled further up.

 TNL 19 - Mutiny Part Three

    Nineteen ¨C Mutiny Part Three

    Raidon has the corpses brought up with their armor still on. John ties everything to the rope down the hole, after which the six soldiers pull it up. They do this three times, with a fourth time for John himself.

    "There were three corpses down there with full armor," he reports to Raidon.

    "That''s nice. The more we have, the more soldiers we can recruit. Who knows, maybe this fort has even more secrets."

    The corpses appear to be completely mummified. Carefully the armor is removed from the corpses, after which they are carefully buried a little away from the fort. Raidon recites a prayer for the soldiers of the former garrison. Immediately after he has done this, the ground begins to shake violently, only to settle down a little later. Raidon quickly runs back to the fort to see if there are any injuries and if there has been any damage.

    It turns out that there is no damage at all. Not a stone has fallen from the crumbling walls. The only difference is that suddenly the sound of water can be heard. The sound comes from the well.

    Carefully Raidon lies down to be able to look over the edge. Just in time he pulls his head back, because suddenly a lot of water comes up. With a loud roar, the water sprays up, wetting everything and everyone nearby.

    "Oops, should I have turned that lever the other way?" Asks John to no one in particular.

    "Lever? Which lever?"

    "Uhm, when I was pulled up, I came across a lever that I switched. I think that it turns the well on and off."

    John now seems a bit guilt-conscious that he didn''t say anything about the lever.

    When the power of the water has weakened a bit, Raidon and the others are amazed to see that the well is filling up in a normal way. So full, in fact, that it starts to overflow! "Get everything out of the way!" Commands Raidon. The water flows towards the gate and on the way there are still all kinds of items stacked that they have brought from the training camp.

    A number of soldiers quickly remove the last items before those get completely soaked. The water runs in a stream through the gate to the outside, where a number of other soldiers are surprised to look at all the water that flows out.

    Slowly the water starts to decrease again, until it is about half a meter below the edge of the well. The water now seems completely clean.

    "It looks like the well has washed itself clean," says John. Carefully he makes a bowl of his hand and drinks some water from the well.

    "It''s delicious!" he exclaims. "I''ve never had water that tasted this good." To reinforce his words, he immediately takes some more.

    "Great," says Raidon, "now we just have to make sure that we don''t pollute the well itself. We have to build a wall around it, then we can¡¯t fall in it and no junk can fall into the hole."

    Then he asks one of the soldiers: "Jerris, would you please get Duncan?"

    A little later Duncan arrives with the soldier. Raidon quickly explains what he wants to happen to the well.

    "Duncan, can you make sure that this well gets a raised fence? I¡¯d say a meter high should be enough. You can use John and the rest of first squad for that. After all, he is the one who ''forgot'' to tell us that there was a lever."

    Then a bang can be heard from the other side of the fort, followed by rumblings of falling debris.

    "Now what," Raidon murmurs to himself before rushing toward the sound.

    A little later it becomes clear what happened. When Raidon arrives at one of the old buildings, he sees some dusty soldiers standing inside. These tell him that one of them tripped and fell against the back wall of the building. Then the whole wall fell down. Thanks to his armor, the soldier only had some bruises and some scratches on his armor.

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    Behind the collapsed wall there appears to be another space.

    "Let''s see what''s in there, guys." Raidon then points out one of the soldiers. "You can go in first with me. After all, you have found this space with your butt, haven''t you?"

    When Raidon enters the room, it soon becomes clear to him that they are not going to find anything here yet. Not because there is nothing to be found, but there is still so much dust in the air that it is almost impossible to see anything.

    It takes almost half an hour for the dust to settle enough to enter the room. It seems as if this was the extra secure part of the former arsenal. In this section, the special harnesses of the legions used to be stored. Here and there are collapsed cabinets surrounded by parts of the harnesses. Raidon has two soldiers bring the parts to the square, while he himself looks further through the room.

    A bit away from the spot where the soldier fell through, there appears to be a mechanism. After studying it for a while, Raidon decides that this is the original door. The mechanism must be some kind of lock, but it¡¯s much more complicated than the rivets and closing bars that he is used to. When Raidon wipes the mechanism to better see what this looks like underneath all that dust, it suddenly starts spinning!

    With a tick that sounds loud in Raidon''s ears, the gears turn, to eventually make the whole door turn. On the other side of the door there is nothing to see that looks like a latch or lock. It''s just a wall, just like all the others in the fort.

    "Well, now Duncan has something to tinker with. Because I have no idea how this works."

    When Raidon is outside again a little later, he is told that a total of seven complete armors have been found, with a few spare parts.

    "Now we have ten extra harnesses. For that reason alone, it was helpful to go here," Raidon says as he consults with Brandon, Morris and Duncan.

    "Indeed, now we have a hundred and ten harnesses and some spare parts," Morris says, to continue, "How do you want to deal with that now? Do you want to recruit ten new men? Or do we leave it like this for now? And if we hire new recruits, do we form a third platoon?"

    Brandon foresees difficulties at the same time.

    "No, let''s have a careful look at that village that is close to the edge of the wilderness. Maybe we can find some recruits there. We can then add those to the first platoon as sixth squad. Ten men is not enough for a new platoon. Also this way it¡¯s not that noticeable that we are with more than the original hundred men."

    Then Duncan''s question is: "Why don''t we make new harnesses?"

    To which he gets the negative answer from Raidon.

    "Because those harnesses weren''t just made. It takes special knowledge to make them this strong. And even if we had that knowledge, there is no smith-priest to make them. We¡¯d also need a special forge. Unfortunately, they did not have a forge in this fort, otherwise we might have been able to find a clue to build our own forge."

    That evening Raidon goes looking for his second handbook. Maybe he can find something in there that can help them with the fort. Within fifteen minutes he finds what he was looking for. It is a map with exactly where the different buildings stood in the forts of the legions. Now they can see which buildings are the most important to clean up and put into use. That is much more convenient than randomly cleaning up buildings and then seeing what they can serve as.

    The next day he uses the map to find the canteen. This was one of the largest buildings in the fort and if they can clean it up, they can sleep there until barracks are ready.

    It appears that the canteen is still in reasonable condition. The roof has collapsed, but the walls still seem to be standing. That same morning they clean up the rubble from the roof. Duncan has figured out how they can make a temporary roof fairly quickly by stretching the canvas from the carts over the roof. With a number of trunks of young trees, Duncan makes a kind of framework, supported by other branches and trees. The canteen has become a tent with stone walls. Only in the evening is the work finished and are all their possessions brought in.

    Meanwhile, Raidon and Brandon have not been idle. To ensure that he does not get contradicted by the somewhat older man again, Raidon has involved him in almost every decision he makes. As long as the man feels that he is part of the decision-making process, he is one hundred percent committed to the decisions made.

    Today Raidon and his first platoon have worked outside the walls to cut down trees. Brandon and his second platoon have been busy cleaning up the canteen and then removing debris from the outer walls. This turns out to be quite a job. In one place, the wall appears to be entirely destroyed. If there are more such places, then the fort is not nearly as safe as they had first thought.

    On the fourth day after arriving at the fort, Brandon and the second platoon finish clearing the debris. The rest of the wall is in reasonable condition, so apart from the gate and one weak spot, the wall is fine. Tree felling, on the other hand, is not as fast. The wilderness around the fort is very dense and it takes the soldiers a lot of effort to remove it. Raidon has already decided not to cut down the trees for now. First, the soldiers remove all bushes and other low vegetation to get a bit better visibility. Even with that, they are only finished on one side of the fort. The other three sides still have to be done.

    On the fifth and sixth day, Raidon and Brandon use all the men to remove vegetation. By the evening of the sixth day they are only finally finished with this. Now they have at least some visibility from the walls between the trees.

    From the seventh day onwards, the instructors no longer have to stand guard between the trees. Now one squad of soldiers stands guard on the walls, at the gate and at the weak spot in the wall. The instructors can now give individual lessons to soldiers and they can also give tips to the soldiers on duty.

    Raidon also has two squads patrolling the wilderness. There are plenty of game trails they can follow without having to plod through the thickets too much.

    One of the patrols finds the edge of the wilderness on the second day. This is a welcome discovery, because there should also be a village nearby that Raidon has already seen on his map. Within two days the village is found. The patrol does not yet show itself to the residents, but they do tell Raidon what they have seen.

 TNL 20 - Mutiny Part Four

    Twenty ¨C Mutiny Part Four

    Raidon decides to go to the village together with Morris, two instructors and a squad of first platoon. Here they can gather information and perhaps also find tools to improve the fort. In the best case, they also find a number of recruits for the harnesses they found.

    It is mid-morning on the eighth day that Raidon and his men enter the village with a wagon. It seems that this village is fairly prosperous. There are an inn, a shop and even a sawmill.

    Raidon decides to first visit the general store. Here he finds out that the village is called Nicaea. He has taken quite a bit of money from the training camp and for one gold piece he manages to buy a number of tools, rope and a few barrels of grain. This is loaded directly onto the wagon by the soldiers.

    For Raidon, this is a bit of a calculation, because this is the first time that he spends an entire gold piece. Before he never even touched a gold piece. After a little calculation, he arrives at the conclusion that a gold piece is worth as much as twenty pieces of silver, each of which is worth fifty pieces of copper. When you consider that he used to only earn one piece of copper a day in the city, this is a fortune.

    After the purchases are loaded onto the cart, Raidon visits the blacksmith. It is located in the middle of the village, right in front of the inn. Raidon has to make some effort to explain what he needs. It is not every day that the local blacksmith makes hinges. Certainly not hinges large enough for a real gate. However, the blacksmith does have ears for the assignment, especially when he hears that Raidon really has gold pieces. They quickly agree and the blacksmith promises to go to the fort the same day to measure the gate. The blacksmith is also a good acquaintance of the owner of the sawmill and decides to put in a good word for Raidon.

    At the sawmill, negotiations have are resumed. Thanks to the blacksmith, this is quite easy. It will cost Raidon a third of the wood he brings, but then the trees he brings will be sawn into planks. The sawyer also wants to help with making a new gate. This must meet the requirements they have found in Duncan''s engineering-manual. For this reason the sawyer also goes to the fort. He takes a cart that is specially made to transport tree trunks.

    They decide to immediately go back to the fort and early in the afternoon they arrive. Duncan immediately consults with the blacksmith and the sawyer. It takes an hour to get to an agreement. The blacksmith and the sawyer make a few more notes and then leave. Duncan visits Raidon to tell him what he has agreed upon.

    Duncan says the blacksmith will return in two days to put the hinges into the gatehouse. He also says that the blacksmith knows how to make concrete. Unfortunately, the blacksmith does not have the necessary raw materials to make much, as some of these raw materials must come from the city. Using Duncan''s handbook and what the blacksmith explained, it should be possible to make the concrete to repair the walls and buildings. Unfortunately, they do have to make sure that they get hold of the raw materials.

    According to Duncan, the sawyer will need five days to make the gate. He has to enlist the help of a cousin of his who is a carpenter. Together they should be able to be ready within the five days. Unfortunately, it will cost a few gold coins.

    In order not to have to take an extra ride, the sawyer leaves his cart behind and the soldiers can now load the large logs to bring to the sawmill. This quite a feat, because most trees are quite heavy.

    The next day Raidon immediately has the cart loaded by a squad of soldiers. He sends it off, together with two of the other carts to the sawmill. The two normal carts are driven by two instructors and the tree-bearing cart by Morris. There is also a squad of second platoon as guards. The end of the convoy consists of two more instructors on horseback.

    After delivering the trees, Morris and the four instructors continue towards the city. They are going to get a cart of gravel and a cart of lime for making the concrete. Meanwhile, the squad of soldiers takes the other cart back to the fort to load up with trees again.

    That same day Raidon has a squad work on expanding the game trail that leads to the village. The game trail is only passable for the carts with a lot of trouble and winds in all directions. The squad starts by removing the vegetation so that a straight path to the village is created. Eventually Raidon wants a road here on which two carts can pass each other. Of course, this will take a long time, but a start can already be made. For safety, Raidon also doubles the number of patrols.

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    With all the extra tasks such as standing guard and patrolling, there are only three squads that are cleaning up the fort and felling trees. Duncan has one squad of soldiers and his clerks to check out the different buildings. They need to figure out which buildings are easy to repair and which are not. If possible, they can also start cleaning a building. The other two squads are felling trees on the western side of the fort. This is where the weak spot in the walls is and it is extra important that there is an open view for the guards.

    They keep up this schedule for five days. During these five days, the soldiers manage to clear the trees on the western side across the weak spot.

    Duncan and his group also manage to clean up one of the barracks. This building is pretty well preserved and offers space for a whole platoon. Unfortunately, the roof has been lost, but Duncan knows how to repair it. His estimate is that the roof will take another five days. The other four barracks in the fort have unfortunately been damaged to such an extent that they have to be demolished.

    In the evening of the fifth day, Morris returns with the carts. They have had to pay a lot, but they have two carts full of building materials.

    "I have your change here, Raidon. It took us almost two and a half gold pieces to get the materials. I have ten pieces of silver left. I used the last piece of silver to pay for the inn where we had to spend the night."

    What no one knows is that during their visit to the city of Alan, one of the instructors visited the garrison. Secretly he left his mates behind and went to the commander of the garrison. He told him exactly where the new legion is camped and also indicated the weak spots of the fort. The commander has promised to forward this information to the generals. What the commander has not said is that he himself will also take action against the New Legion.

    The day after they return, mid-morning, the sawyer and the blacksmith arrive. However, they did not come alone. On the back of the sawyer''s cart are three young men.

    "These three boys want to join you if you pay well," says the sawyer.

    "You mean they''re rascals who''d better do their mischief somewhere else?"

    The blacksmith clearly does not have a very positive image of the boys.

    "Ah, Rob, it''s not that bad. They are a bit adventurous, but that is a good thing in this case."

    "Puh, adventurous you say? I remember that these three managed to put a water barrel on top of the roof of a shed. That was useful to have water all the time or something like that."

    "You have to admit that they did succeed."

    "Ha! Yes, until that barrel crashed through the roof and they got so wet that they caught a huge cold."

    Raidon lets the two men squabble while they park the cart.

    "Morris, would you mind looking after our new recruits? Just start with some exercises to test their condition. Once we have the rest of the recruits, we can find a priest to swear them in."

    "That''s good. I think we can keep them busy until then. And while we''re on the subject, I think you have to make sure that you and the others have the time to practice as well."

    "Why? We''re soldiers now, aren''t we? At least that''s what our armor says." As he says this, Raidon can''t resist standing a bit straighter.

    "You should not think that you know everything now that you have been promoted by the harnesses. Even if you did, you should know that you have to maintain those skills. Or did you not come across anything like that in that book of yours?"

    Blushing, Raidon has to agree.

    "I will make sure that there can be practiced one squad at a time. But I can''t give you more than an hour a day for each squad."

    "That has to be enough for now. Now I''m going to start with those new recruits. They look so lost right now. You''re going to check in with the gate, I suppose?"

    Indeed, a little later Raidon walks in the direction of the gate, where the blacksmith is already busy securing the hinges. In the meantime, the sawyer is putting the finishing touches on the gate.

    The sawyer had some delay in making the gate, so he now has to make the final adjustments on the spot. That is precisely why he asked the blacksmith to go with him to the fort. This allows him to adjust the gate to the hinges of the blacksmith. It takes the men all day, but eventually there is a gate in the fort.

    Meanwhile, Duncan is busy making concrete for the wall. By the time the gate hangs on its hinges, he and his squad of soldiers are also finished for the day. They managed to get the wall at the weak the western side a meter high everywhere. A few more days and the weak spot will no longer exist.

    The next morning, John''s squad is on patrol near the nearby village of Nicaea. When they come within sight of the village halfway through their patrol, one of the men suddenly notices that the village is much busier than usual. When they approach carefully, it turns out that there are about a hundred warriors of the regular army in the village.

    "Come on, guys, let''s quickly notify the sergeant. This does not bode well," John says to the others.

    Raidon is in consultation with Morris about the training schedule when the patrol returns.

    "Sergeant! We saw a company of the army in Nicaea. They were asking around about our camp."

    "What! How do they even know we''re here? No matter, you are all going out to gather the others. We have to make sure that everyone is back in the fort before that company arrives."

    The patrol immediately rushes away to find the others.

    "Morris, could any of your men have something to do with this? You are the only ones who have been to Aran. No one else could have had contact with the army."

    "I''ll see what I can find out. As far as I know, no one has been alone during our visit to Aran, but you never know. I''ll let you know if I find something."

 TNL 21 - Mutiny Part Five

    Twenty one ¨C Mutiny Part Five

    By the time the company of army warriors arrives at the fort, all preparations are complete. Despite the instructions that the instructor secretly passed on, the warriors still had to inquire in Nicaea where the New Legion is located. This has given Raidon and the others more than enough time to prepare.

    Just before the warriors arrive at the fort, the last patrol has also returned.

    "Morris, what do you think? Should we put everyone on the walls, or is that too dangerous?"

    "Well, I think it''s not without reason that we practiced as much fighting together. If you stand on those walls, you are fighting man to man. Despite your armor, those warriors are a lot better at that."

    "So what are you saying? Should we meet them outside? Is that what you want to say?"

    "That''s exactly what I¡¯m saying. Your discipline is your best weapon. Use it."

    Since Raidon can''t argue with this, he follows Morris'' advice. When he stubbornly takes another look at the walls, he sees that they are still far too dangerous to defend. The chances are far too great that a piece of the wall will come loose. Then the soldier standing there would also fall down, which he probably wouldn''t survive.

    The mounted warriors attack from the west, probably because the traitor has told that there is a weak spot in the walls. To be on the safe side, they have taken three ladders from Nicaea even though they had to carry them through the wilderness.

    When they arrive at the fort and see that the New Legion has no intention of manning the walls, there is a lot of cursing among the dismounted warriors. More than one warrior has scratched his arms on the vegetation while walking through the woods with a ladder on his shoulder.

    Amazed at the strange decision of the New Legion, the commander of the warriors has his men stop at the tree line. With half of his men still hidden between the trees, the captain oversees the situation. The numbers of men are about the same in both armies. But the warriors have much more experience than these rude citizens. Each of his men should be able to handle ten of those weaklings. Even with those metal harnesses, which actually reflect a lot of light.

    With his eyes squinted, the leader decides to teach these rebels a lesson.

    Raidon in the meantime decides that he must make an attempt to resolve this disagreement without bloodshed. While his men line up neatly in formation, a long row of contiguous shields with a second row in support behind them, Raidon steps forward.

    Calm, without rushing, Raidon walks forward. He secretly hopes that the captain of the warriors will do the same, because otherwise his position will be very dangerous. To be on the safe side, Raidon remains at the center of the two armies. Upright, with a confident appearance, Raidon continues to wait for what his counterpart will do.

    For almost a minute and a half nothing happens. The commander of the warriors doesn''t really need a meeting with Raidon. However, his men think that he should follow this courtesy. When the commander, a captain who is not inferior to Captain Bras in arrogance, arrives at the spot where Raidon stands, he is quite grumpy.

    "So, so you''re that bunch of rebels who have deserted," the captain hums.

    "Sorry, sir, but I''m afraid you''ve been misinformed. We told exactly what was going on in our report. You could see it as deserting, since we left our assigned captain behind. However, it turned out to us that that man could not give us valid orders. We have explained this situation to the Empress and are now waiting for her answer."

    "Ha, so you admit that you have deserted. That''s enough for me. Put down your weapons, and we won''t hurt you, too much."

    "Sir, we will do that under no circumstances. We are willing to do a lot for a peaceful solution, but if you force us to defend ourselves, we will do so."

    The captain turns around and shouts to his men, "Enough! They refuse to surrender. Attack!"

    Raidon doesn''t hesitate either. Even while the captain shouts the command to his men, Raidon starts running. With a bit of luck, the captain will wait for his men and Raidon can get safely to the shield wall of his men.

    A moment later it becomes clear that the captain has other ideas. Raidon feels a push in his back that almost causes him to fall forward. When he looks over his shoulder, he sees that the captain withdraws his sword for another blow. Hoping his armor has held up and he''s not too badly injured, Raidon dives to the ground. With a whoesh, the sword of the captain misses Raidon''s head with a hair width difference. Raidon comes down hard, no one has taught the recruits how to fall with a harness on, and sees the captain''s horse coming towards him again. If the horse''s hooves hit him, the chances are small that he will survive.

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Desperately, Raidon makes a feint to the right, but then dives to the left. He hopes that the captain can''t move his horse fast enough to still trample him. When he doesn''t feel anything, he decides that the captain must have stepped into the feint. Quickly, without looking up, Raidon scrambles to his feet. Still on all fours, he starts running to his soldiers. A moment later, however, he hears all the pounding of the captain¡¯s horse. Just a little longer before he has to turn around again to defend himself. But then Raidon sees in front of him that Morris, who is standing behind the lines, has taken a crossbow from one of the soldiers. He sees the man take a deep breath and aim calmly.

    Then, almost faster than Raidon can see, the arrow whizzes right by him. For a moment Raidon is afraid that Morris was aiming at him, but then he hears the whining of a horse right behind him. The army captain was close enough to hit Raidon right under the edge of his helmet this time, when the arrow struck. With perfect precision, the heart of the horse is hit by the arrow, after which it immediately goes through its knees. With a huge bang, the captain flies forward off his horse, after which he lies dazed on the ground.

    Raidon doesn''t have to think twice this time, and continues to run towards his men. A little later, he squeezes between two soldiers to get behind the shields. There he takes a seat in the second row, after taking his shield from Morris.

    "You¡¯re welcome, boy," Morris shouts cheerfully.

    "Thank you," Raidon sheepishly replies. "Lucky you hit the horse like that. If you had hit that captain, the horse would certainly have trampled me."

    "Ha, lucky? Something like that is called good aiming."

    "In that case, I thank you twice."

    Then the conversation is cut short because the enemy warriors have almost arrived at the lines of the New Legion. Normally, cavalry would have an advantage because they can arrive at a considerable speed. With their weight and momentum, they can storm right through an enemy formation. Unfortunately for them, that doesn''t work this time. Due to the many tree stumps, it is impossible to keep up the momentum without their own formation falling apart. Because the captain is still dazed on the ground, that is exactly what happens. Some warriors are clearly a lot faster than others. Even when the formation has completely fallen apart, it is still difficult for the horses. Several horses go down, throwing their warriors forward.

    The warriors rush forward as good as they can, dodging the tree stumps and their captain. Little by little, the first warriors arrive at the New Legion.

    When the first warriors arrive, the soldiers suddenly disperse. The entire momentum of the horses is destroyed by not being stopped. Immediately the soldiers close their line shield wall again, while the men in the second row take care of the warriors that have broken through in duos.

    Now the soldiers are under attack from two sides. Thanks to the armor and shields of the soldiers, the warriors that broke through have little chance to defend themselves. A few times a soldier is hit with a sword, but the warriors are unable to pierce the armor. Quickly the warriors are knocked of off their horses and knocked unconscious. No one has time to tie the warriors up after they have been disarmed.

    After the first seven warriors are overpowered this way, four warriors break through the line shield wall at the same time. Together the four of them can defend themselves much better against the soldiers. But then Raidon also arrives at the group of warriors.

    "Kill the horses. It''s a shame, but without horses they can''t do much."

    He follows through himself after saying this and sticks his short sword in the chest of a horse. A whole gush of blood sprays over Raidon, causing his armor to turn deep red in one go. Within a few moments, the four warriors are lying on the ground.

    When Raidon looks around, he sees the same picture everywhere. Horses run loose behind the shield wall, with their riders lying on the ground. Nearly a quarter of the warriors seem to have been defeated already.

    Then a new warrior breaks through the shield wall right next to Raidon. Even before Raidon can raise his weapon, the warrior''s horse hits him. Raidon''s head reverberates like a clock when it hits the ground with a blow. Dizzy, Raidon scrambles back to his feet. The warrior who just ran over him is already lying on the ground next to his mates. Carefully Raidon retreats a bit to vomit out his breakfast against the wall of the fort.

    The rest of the fight is a blur for him. Due to the dizziness, he has no chance to help with the fight. Luckily that turns out not to be necessary, because the last of the attacking warriors are easily defeated. In addition, ten warriors are killed, with seven others who have suffered broken bones in their fall. The arrogant commander is among the ones killed. When Gareth and a bunch of soldiers go look for the captain, they find him with a hoof print on his chest.

    If the warriors had been able to maintain their formation, the situation would have been a different one. Then they could have acted as a unit rather than as individuals. After the battle it turns out that Raidon is the only wounded among the soldiers of the New Legion.

    While Raidon is still recovering, Morris figures out how it¡¯s possible that the army has found them. During his research, he found out that Alan, one of the trainers, had been away from the others for a short time while they were in the city of Aran. He is the only one who has been able to tell the army where the New Legion is located.

    When he interrogates Alan, the man quickly admits that it was him.

    "You understand that the ten men who are dead have died because of you? We are waiting here for a response from the Empress and then suddenly you make us have to fight for our lives. Why?"

    "That seems clear to me. Everyone here is a deserter. Bob and I are the only ones who don''t face the death penalty. He went straight to the generals with the information we had at the time, while I stayed here to find out where you were going. Unfortunately, the commander of Aran underestimated you, but that will not happen again."

    "Thank you for this information. We will not persecute you for your betrayal, but I would just make sure that you are gone within the hour if I were you. Go back to your friends in Aran. Get out!"

    The warriors return to the city. Their pace has slowed down a lot because of the wounded and also because there are not enough horses left to carry everyone. Before they are halfway through, they are overtaken by Alan, who accompanies them for the rest of the journey. When they return to the city, the commander is furious. Nevertheless, at the insistence of his advisers, he decides to wait and see what the generals have to say.

 TNL 22 - Forgiveness Part One

    Twenty two ¨C Forgiveness Part One

    On a warm summer day in the afternoon, Alyena is sitting in her office working on finances. She thinks it''s important to stay informed and money speaks more clearly than all the other reports combined.

    What bothers her is that the pay for the New Legion has not been withdrawn by the generals. Since the New Legion is her project, the payment is outside the budget for the regular army. But this time that money was not used.

    Why aren''t those soldiers being paid? she asks herself.

    She decides to find out from the generals themselves.

    "Jack! Please get me the duty squad." she shouts to the guard at the door.

    A little later, the guard replies that the squad is ready. Together with her guard, Alyena sets off for the army headquarters. Once there, she speaks to the clerk who is in charge of the finances of the army.

    After just a few questions, he reveals that the New Legion rebelled some time ago. Since the guards who bring the pay away also have to withdraw it from the treasury, the money has still not been withdrawn.

    "Now that they''re not needed to take the money away, they don''t pick it up," the clerk tells the empress.

    A few minutes later, General Colling enters. The general is a man of about fifty years old with a square face. He has broad shoulders and narrow hips. Clearly a rider, Alyena thinks. She knows that the general has trouble with change, and is very convinced that the nobility is better than the ordinary people.

    He invites her into his office and, at Alyena''s insistence, tells her that the New Legion has indeed rebelled.

    "Apparently they weren''t exactly grateful for their job and as soon as they thought they had learned enough, they left."

    The general is quite outspoken about his disapproval of the whole project. As far as he is concerned, ordinary people have no place in the army and women have to keep away from everything that has to do with the army. Alyena already knows this, but she has to know what¡¯s going on in her realm.

    Alyena feels that Colling doesn''t tell everything, but can''t put her finger on it. Therefore, immediately after the conversation with the general, she decides to check the orders of the army. To this end, she goes to the archives of the headquarters.

    "I need the orders for the last three weeks," she tells the clerk who is in charge here.

    He does not look happy when he hears what she wants, but can do against it. Who tells his empress that she can''t have something? To be done with it faster, he decides to quickly show her where to look.

    "What are you looking for in the orders, ma''am?" he asks. Alyena raises one of her eyebrows, amazed that the clerk gives in so easily.

    "I seek all orders that have to do with the New Legion. The orders for the New Legion, but also the ones that relate to it."

    The clerk mumbles something to himself as he quickly passes a row of documents. A little later he picks up a whole pile.

    "These are the messages sent to the camp where the New Legion was trained," he tells her, after which he goes back to the documents. A few moments later he arrives with a smaller pile.

    "And here are the orders for the army that are about the New Legion."

    Everything seems well organized. Once back in her office, it only takes Alyena a short time to sort out the orders. According to the reports, the New Legion rebelled some time after their commander was replaced by a younger officer. This young man comes from one of the oldest noble families of the empire and used to be known as an arrogant bastard. That already explains a part, she thinks, he should never have been assigned there.

    The last order shows that the generals consider the New Legion guilty and that they want to disband it. And that without consulting with her! As she can see from the reports, the location where the New Legion has taken refuge is known, namely somewhere in the southern wilderness. Apparently, the nearest garrison has already carried out an attack, in which several warriors of the garrison did not survive. Alyena smiles to herself. Even at this stage of their training, her New Legion is able to fend off an equal amount of warriors.

    Then her face clouds over again. At the end of the order it says that the entire garrison, a thousand men, are to attack the New Legion.

    "I cannot allow my troops to be treated like this. We are working hard to rebuild our army and these idiots are wasting the them against our own men. Just because this new unit is different from what they''re used to," she told Captain Cervik, who has just come in.

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    She decides to send one of her guards to find out when the order was sent. It takes the man almost half an hour to return. He says that the order was only sent yesterday with a quick messenger.

    "According to the clerk, General Colling was furious when he gave the order. Apparently because some warriors have been killed. Civilians should not kill noblemen, was what he said to the clerk."

    Angry, Alyena makes a decision. If her generals think they can do this without consulting her, then they are profoundly wrong. She quickly rushes back to her rooms.

    "Cervik, gather an escort. I¡¯ll leave immediately for the city of Aran in the south. Along the way I will inform you further. Make sure the escort is ready within the hour," she commands the captain of the guard, as she prepares to change clothes.

    The captain rushes away after seeing her face. If your empress is in such a mood, you do not contradict her.

    An hour later, Alyena is on her way with an escort of fifty men from her palace guard. She has left the most important matters to the clerks and her ministers, so the empire can function without her for a while.

    On the way, she tells Captain Cervik what''s going on. The captain has often had problems with General Colling and is therefore not surprised with what has happened. According to him, all the generals of the empire think this way.

    "That''s because of their noble upbringing," he tells her. "My own father doesn''t like most of the nobles of the empire. He himself is satisfied to manage his lands as well as possible. Our interaction with the ordinary people is a lot better than other nobles. After the big storm of a few years ago, my father even stood in the fields himself to help the people. That''s why he raised me and my brothers differently from young people like that captain you talked about."

    Their journey begins well. The first days the road is in good condition and the villages they pass seem peaceful. But after a few days, the villages start to look less and less prosperous. Poorly maintained and overall they extrude a sense of poverty.

    A few days later it is very clear that the people who live further from the cities do not have a lot to spend. Almost every hour that Alyena and her escort get closer to a city, the villages become more prosperous than the villages that are further away. Now that they arrive at the province of Aran, where the town of Aran is also located, it seems twice as bad here as in other provinces. The previous province was Tamrin and this morning they crossed the provincial border.

    It seems like a completely different country. The two villages they have seen are not much more than hamlets and the people are depressed.

    "Why are all these villages so decayed?" asks Alyena to Captain Cervik.

    He thinks for a moment before he answers.

    "The villages are owned by the landlords. These often live near the cities, but also have lands that are further away, such as these villages. As long as they themselves see few problems on their short trips, they are fine it. It doesn''t matter how the farmers live, as long as they get their taxes."

    "But they have a duty to take care of their people! These lands are part of the empire. If they are not properly cared for, the rights can also be taken back by the state. Why hasn''t that happened here?"

    Alyena is quite angry about this, but Captain Cervik explains it further.

    "That''s because most inspectors are corrupt or lazy. The few who are not, are quickly eliminated by the nobles. A few gold coins here and there is much cheaper for the nobles than refurbishing the villages."

    Alyena keeps quiet and thinks about this for a few moments. Then she decides that she has to do something about it when she returns. The empire has to be strong in difficult times and if this kind of practice continues, then it will be a huge job to resist the enemy.

    An hour after they have passed the second village, Captain Cervik suddenly stops. The captain listens attentively. Then he shakes his head and turns around to give the order to move out again. However, before he can give that order, arrows and stones fly through the air. Some guards go down immediately. The captain also goes down after a stone bounces against his helmet after hitting another guard. The projectiles continue to fly around. Alyena is pulled off of her horse by two guards and dragged protectively to the center. Almost half of the men are already dead or injured when the projectile rain suddenly stops.

    A man steps out from the vegetation and calls for a pause. One of the guards walks forward and talks to the man. Then he comes back.

    "These bandits have a hundred men. They want us to surrender," he tells Alyena. "Of course I turned it down. A hundred men is quite a lot for a group of bandits. There are probably less than fifteen of them."

    Then the bandits appear. One after the other comes from behind the trees and bushes. Even when there are more than twenty in sight, there seems to be no end to them. Within a few minutes there are almost seventy bandits facing the less than thirty guards.

    The guard really misjudged this, Alyena thinks just before the bandits clash with her guards.

    The screams and sound of violence are deafening. However, the guards have no chance against such odds. The imperial guard consists of experienced warriors, but because their task is largely ceremonial, they are not prepared for a large battle. Their equipment is more suitable for impressing visitors of the palace than for holding out against a horde of bandits.

    The guards defend themselves with all their might. Even the wounded are still trying to help, but to no avail. Although they manage to kill twenty bandits, the guards are taken apart. After the attack, only twelve guards are still alive, including five seriously injured. The others have mainly minor injuries. Among the wounded is also Captain Cervik. He appears to have fallen unconscious after his helmet was hit. He is only slowly recovering.

    They are tied tightly with ropes after which, surrounded by bandits, they are led into the wilderness. Half an hour later they see a clearing where the bandits'' camp can be seen. The camp consists of a hodgepodge of tents, canvases and huts.

    The captain of the bandits brags that all the bandits have participated in the attack, after one of their scouts saw that a noblewoman would pass by. The guards will be sold as slaves, but a noblewoman will be worth a lot in ransom.

    "Even after she''s been in the hands of a group of bandits," he jokes. "I¡¯d love to know what it''s like to sleep with a real lady."

    Then he shouts to his men that they should go and see what is hidden under those layers of clothing.

    Enthralled, some bandits look at Alyena, after which they take her away from among the guards. While dragging her along, they are already groping her, but before they move far, a loud horn suddenly sounds.

    For a moment it is quiet in the camp, but when the horn sounds again and then again, the bandits start screaming and running in circles.

 TNL 23 - Forgiveness Part Two

    Twenty Three ¨C Forgiveness Part Two

    After being attacked, Raidon has expanded his patrols. He sends the patrols further and further away from the fort, because he thinks it is important to know what the area looks like. That is why he always lets the squad leaders make maps of what they see. He himself puts these maps together and despite the differences in the reports, a map of the area begins to form.

    Raidon himself occasionally goes on patrols. Especially if a previous patrol has seen something that may be of interest.

    The previous evening, a patrol from the north returned with the message that they had seen traces of people. The squad leader thought it looked like there were quite a few people around.

    Raidon decides to send two patrols in that direction today and to go with one of the patrols himself. Once on the road, it doesn''t take long before they find the tracks. Two hours after they have left, they already find the first traces. Today Raidon brought one of the instructors to serve as a tracker. He knows how to tell that the track has been made today.

    Carefully they follow the tracks, only to arrive at the edge of a clearing a little later. From this position, they can oversee the entire clearing. A camp has been set up consisting of a huge variety of shelters. In the middle of the camp is a large group of men. In some huts they see a few women who are apparently kept as slaves. In the middle of the group of men they see even more prisoners.

    Raidon asks the instructor for confirmation, because he thinks he recognizes a few prisoners.

    "Don''t those prisoners belong to the imperial guard? I think I saw some of them when we were practicing for our trip to training camp."

    The instructor takes another look and then yelps. In a smothered voice, he says:

    "Yes, that''s Captain Cervik of the Imperial Guards!"

    Then his breath stops. A noblewoman is drawn from the midst of the prisoners. Raidon immediately sees what is going on, and before the instructor can tell who the noblewoman is, Raidon picks up his horn and sounds it as hard as he can.

    The sound should be heard far and wide and as soon as the other squad hears it, they will come towards it. To be on the safe side, he sounds it two more times to emphasize the importance of the signal. He then orders the attack.

    "We attack in formation. Then we protect the prisoners until the others arrive."

    The pounding sound of running soldiers in armor sounds and within moments the soldiers close in with the bandits. These run in all directions to get out of the way, but some are not fast enough. The slowest bandits are knocked over by the shields of the soldiers. Then, a protective circle is formed around the prisoners.

    Raidon has the instructor quickly cut loose the hands of the noblewoman and her escort. Raidon blows his horn once again and now that they see that there are so few attackers and that Raidon is calling reinforcements, the bandits decide to defeat their attackers out as soon as possible. They are just under fifty men as far as Raidon can see. Some have already been killed when the soldiers made their way to the prisoners.

    Fortunately, the bandits are not used to heavy infantry. Although Raidon has only ten men with him, the bandits break against the shields of the soldiers. However, the pressure is so high that Raidon does not know how long they can last.

    Suddenly the pressure decreases and Raidon hears a second horn from behind the bandits. The second squad has arrived and immediately attacked.

    "We''ll counter at my sign!" shouts Raidon, and a moment later: "Now!"

    The bandits are now being attacked from two sides. Raidon''s men are helped by the noblewoman''s escort. Where possible, the guards have taken weapons from the fallen bandits and they know how to use them. The bandits do not last long.

    A little later, all the bandits are dead or heavily wounded, and a few are captured. Among the soldiers there are only a few small wounds to be seen. The harnesses have done their job once again.

    Only after he is sure that all the bandits are dead or captured, Raidon turns to the noblewoman.

    "Lady, I would like to invite you to our fortress. Tomorrow we can accompany you and your escort to the city of Aran. The garrison there will likely be able to help you further."

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    Alyena laughs and Raidon doesn''t understand why. When she done laughing, he asks her:

    "Why are you laughing?"

    To which the Empress explains who she is and what the situation is. Even before she''s gotten far, Raidon interrupts her.

    "Your Majesty, I would love to hear the whole story when we are back in our fort, Fort Alpha. There, the environment is just a bit more refined than in this carnage."

    Raidon then orders the second patrol to search the bandit camp and take the useful items with him.

    "Jayden, you and your patrol are finishing up here. Don''t forget to bring those other prisoners. We can bring them to Nicaea."

    The other patrol accompanies Raidon, the Empress and the guards back to the fort.

    Once at the fort, Raidon calls Brandon and Morris to hear the empress''s story. Before they can start, they have to convince Morris not to throw himself on the ground in front of the empress. They also need to put everyone back to work. After hearing the faint sound of a horn in the distance, the entire camp had been ready to repel an attack.

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    Alyena is impressed as they approach the camp. According to her generals, her New Legion would consist of an undisciplined and its members would never be able to become soldiers.

    What she sees here and what she has seen in her rescue is very different. The camp of the New Legion looks nothing like a mess of tents. This camp has stone walls, watchtowers, buildings and even the ground is paved throughout the camp. The men are strong, work well together and seem ready for anything. No wonder they repelled a poorly coordinated attack from the garrison, she thinks.

    "Pretty impressive, don''t you think?" she remarks to Captain Cervik, who has recovered a bit from the blow to his head.

    "Yes, your majesty. These men make a very different impression than the last time I saw them. Especially their captain. I remember that young boy from then, who would have thought that he would grow into such a leader."

    "Indeed, he was certainly not insecure, when he told me that we should speak further in their fort."

    Raidon calls a few others, after which they go inside the largest tent in the camp. This is the captains own tent and therefore the most suitable for a consultation. Once inside, the men remain standing, while a chair is grabbed for Alyena. The chair comes from behind a desk and is the only one in the tent.

    "I''m sorry, ma''am, but in terms of comfort we are not very well equiped," says one of the men.

    As soon as Alyena sits down, the officer who saved her starts talking. "I will first introduce everyone. That man without shiny armor is instructor Morris. He was the lead instructor in our training camp. He is currently leading our scouts and other special forces. Next to him stands squad leader Brandon. He is commander of the second platoon. I myself am Sergeant Raidon and I command both the first platoon and the entire New Legion."

    "You¡¯ve chosen your own commanders?" begins Alyena. "I thought the army generals had selected officers. Where are they?"

    "Well, ma''am, it''s like that. The harnesses themselves determine who is able to lead and who is not. After a bandit attack, Raidon and a few others were promoted from recruit to soldier. Raidon was even promoted to sergeant. When the officer ordered our captain Bras to put on a suit of armor, a large red cross immediately appeared on it. The harnesses are therefore not easy to steal and use," says the instructor.

    "And in addition, that captain was not exactly the best for that task," adds the squad leader, after which a look from his commander silences him.

    Alyena explains that she has come to find out exactly what is going on with this rebellion. After hearing the whole story, she is furious and tells that she only found out by chance that something was wrong.

    "I noticed that your pay had not been paid and started asking questions. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have known anything was wrong."

    "So you never received our message?" the instructor asks. "We reported the whole story in a report to the generals, with a copy for you."

    "No, I didn''t get anything. But that''s not the biggest problem. General Colling has decided that the garrison in this area has to stop you. The whole garrison will march against you. That''s ten times the amount of warriors that were in the previous senseless attack."

    "WHAT!" exclaims Brandon as he quickly steps forward. "We have to get ready to leave, right now. By morning we can already be at the edge of the forest."

    "Calm down, Brandon," Raidon responds, "it''s not that easy, organizing a big attack. We¡¯ll get enough of a warning in advance."

    "That won¡¯t be necessary," says Alyena, "I''ve seen and heard enough to know that you''re not to blame. Tomorrow I will travel to Aran to revoke those orders." Followed by a dry tone:

    "After all, that was my goal for this expedition."

    Of course, the men are relieved. But they know that the generals will look for another way to thwart them. However, the Empress is not finished yet.

    "Furthermore, I¡¯ll separate your unit from the regular army. It is clear that your approach is totally different from that of the regular army. In addition, Colling is not exactly a forgiving man. From this moment on, you are my personal division. The army cannot give you orders, and neither can you give their troops orders. Orders will still come through the generals, but will always be signed by me personally. I will sign your appointment as soon as I am back in the palace."

    After that declaration they decide that it has been enough for today. The second patrol has recovered the empress''s belongings and a sleeping place has been set up for her. Her guards are also taken care of and where necessary, they are already in bed.

    The next day Alyena is up early. She is still angry about the attack on her and her guards and also that her generals are withholding messages from her. She decides to deal with both of these things as soon as she is back in the palace.

    She uses this morning to talk to soldiers and also to the other people in the camp such as the cooks, clerks and instructors. Their stories are surprisingly similar to the one she heard last night.

    In the afternoon an escort is arranged for the empress. The entire first platoon will accompany Empress Alyena and her remaining guards to the town of Aran. There the garrison will take over the escort.

    When the escort is ready, Captain Cervik offers the remaining horses to Raidon and some of his soldiers, but is turned down.

    "With these harnesses on, we are too heavy for the horses. On foot we will be faster," Raidon explains.

 TNL 24 - Forgiveness Part Three

    Twenty Four ¨C Forgiveness Part Three

    Duncan, who has grown enormously in his role as an engineer, is always so busy that he doesn¡¯t manage to keep informed about what is happening in the fort. The repairs consume all his attention. Here a piece of the wall needs to be repaired, there a new roof needs to be made or the doors need to be replaced. Not to mention all the floors and other minor jobs that still need to be done.

    From all the hard work, the former clerk has grown enormously. Where he recently looked like a young stocky bookworm, he has now become a young stocky man, on who you can clearly see the arm muscles. Especially now that he often walks in a shirt without sleeves because otherwise they get in the way. All in all, he has acquired a healthy color and looks much more confident.

    Currently, Duncan is mainly occupied with the stairs that go to the top of the wall. Several of the steps are broken or loose. This creates dangerous situations. For example, yesterday someone fell down when a piece of the staircase broke off. With those heavy harnesses, there is quite a bit of weight on them, so they have to be very sturdy. Fortunately, the soldier had no worse injury than a sprained ankle and a large bruise on his buttocks, but if he had fallen further down, it could have been much worse.

    But while he is busy mortaring a staircase step, he is suddenly introduced to the Empress! With no idea how she ended up here, he manages to stammer a welcome before apologizing. Fleeing, he resolves to ask a few soldiers how the Empress got here. However, even before Duncan can do this, the Empress has already left the fort.

    The afternoon after the empress arrives, half the soldiers leave to accompany her to the town of Aran. The soldiers who have stayed behind tell him that there should be no more attacks, and that the Empress herself will be responsible for the New Legion. This respite comes as a gift from heaven for Duncan. Now he can take his time to do the repairs of the fort properly. His first task is to finish the canteen. He would have preferred to repair the bathhouse first, but given the damage, it makes more sense to finish the canteen. This building only needs to get a new roof and the bathhouse has to be rebuilt almost from scratch.

    The squad assigned to him today is led by Soldier Lenn.

    "If you can bring over the poles that we put behind the building, I will tell the staff inside that they have to take everything out of the canteen," Duncan tells the soldier. When he nods, Duncan walks in. The cook is not happy that he has to leave.

    "I''m just preparing dinner, do this another time!" he shouts at Duncan, after which he replies:

    "Sorry chef, if I start working while you''re still here, we''ll all be eating grit in the food tonight. So please go outside with your stuff, and we''ll make sure that tonight the roof is finished enough that you won''t be bothered by us anymore."

    The cook is still not happy, but grumps while he does he is asked. Within half an hour, the entire kitchen is vacated and the first work on the dining room is already being carried out.

    Duncan, meanwhile, has started making concrete to repair the walls of the building. It should take him a bit more than two hours to repair the entire building including the dining room and then another hour before it has hardened far enough that the poles can be inserted into the holes. Meanwhile, his squad of soldiers is busy smashing and sweeping away the old weakened concrete.

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    Three hours later, the first poles are inserted into the walls. In the middle, these are supported by pillars made from the trunks of mature trees. These have been debarked before they were laid to dry. Where the poles connect to the pillars, there are holes where they can slide in. Outside the building, the poles also protrude about half a meter outwards. This allows the roof to protrude just slightly so that no leaks occur.

    As soon as all this is all set, the crossbeams can be placed and fastened perpendicular. By the time dinner is ready, this skeleton of the roof stands over the entire building. Of course, the cook is not satisfied with this, because the cooking area still does not have a roof. But himself Duncan is very happy.

    "Sorry chef, but it turned out that it wasn¡¯t feasible to finish one part and not the rest. The entire roof must be done in one go, otherwise the whole thing will collapse again in no time. Tomorrow we will start with your part and work towards the front. Within a few days you will be rid of us."

    "A few days!" exclaims the cook indignantly. "You said it would be ready tonight, not a few days! It''s getting worse and worse."

    "Chill out, chef, tomorrow at noon the roof will be finished at your side. Those few extra days are for finishing up. Apart from some noise, I don''t think that should bother you that much."

    "Yes, probably." Grumbling, the cook walks away from Duncan.

    By the time Sergeant Raidon returns from Aran, the roof of the canteen is ready. At the edge, the gutter is still being finished, so that the water can be collected. But that does not alter the fact that the roof itself is completely finished.

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    All in all, it takes two days to arrive at the town of Aran. They are seen from afar by the guards on the walls and when they arrive at the gates, those are closed. Once there, the soldiers of the New Legion remain in a tight formation. Raidon steps forward and shouts that the gates must be opened.

    "Open the gate! We are on our way to the garrison!" he shouts up.

    "Absolutely not!" comes the answer from above. A little later, a captain appears on the wall.

    "You are deserters! Put your weapons on the ground and go sit next to the road! Then we will lead you away in no time!" he shouts to the New Legion.

    This is too much for the Empress, which is why she and her escort also step forward. Together with Captain Cervik, she looks at the captain of the garrison. Captain Cervik shouts to the other captain to come down immediately.

    "Do you know who this lady is?" he asks. The other captain has never seen the Empress and therefore does not recognize her. Captain Cervik shouts angrily:

    "As commander of the imperial guard, in the company of Her Majesty Empress Alyena, I demand that you immediately open the doors of this overgrown chicken coop!"

    The captain on the wall pales. Maybe the situation is not as he had judged it to be. Still the gate does not open. However, the captain does shout down:

    "The gate can only be opened on the orders of our commander. You will have to wait for him to come."

    A little later, the gate slowly opens. Immediately, dozens of warriors run out of the gate and surround the soldiers. Raidon has his soldiers form a circle around the Empress and her guards. A little later it seems as if the entire garrison is surrounding them, then an officer steps forward. The same game starts again that they have to lay down their weapons. Empress Alyena is now really fed up. She passes between the soldiers and walks towards the officer.

    "You! I''ve seen you at court. Do you recognize your own empress now?" she snarls at him. The officer steps from the furious woman. His incredulous look shows that he does indeed recognize her. Alyena still isn''t finished. She scolds the officer to within an inch of his life and it doesn''t take long before he surrenders and sends the garrison back inside.

    The first platoon and the imperial entourage are escorted to the garrison. There the Empress speaks to all the warriors of the garrison.

    "The New Legion has been found innocent. As of this moment, all charges have been dropped and they are no longer listed as deserters. This order can only be revoked by an order signed by me personally. Furthermore, from now on they are under my personal command and no longer under the command of the regular army."

    An hour later, Raidon and the first platoon leave the city. Empress Alyena has promised that as soon as she is back at the palace she will give new orders for the New Legion. Until then, they can continue to finish the fort. The fort is now the headquarters of the legion and will be named Fort Alpha.

 TNL 25 - The First Command Part One

    TNL 25 ¨C The First Command Part One

    When Alyena is finally back in her palace, she wants to stay in bed for two days straight. Why did I have to ride all the way? she asks herself. I can''t wait for all the muscles to loosen up again.

    Nevertheless, it is not possible to rest. Her generals are eager to disgrace and disband her New Legion. She has to put a stop to that.

    Since she and her escort arrived late in the afternoon, she was able to rest for at least one night before she had to confront them. Unfortunately, one night rest has done little to reduce her muscle ache. She struggles to get up and lets herself be dressed by her chambermaid. Once dressed, she rushes to her secretary to arrange the schedule for the day.

    "I know we have a lot to do today, but first I have to have a meeting with the generals. Could you immediately send a message that I want to see them as soon as possible?"

    "Yes, ma''am. A meeting is also planned for today, so it is not an effort to ensure that this is held as early as possible." Having arranged that, Alyena leaves the rest of her agenda to her secretary. She herself rushes to Captain Cervik''s workspace.

    "Cervik!" she shouts as soon as she comes through the door. "Will you arrange the death money for the guards we lost on the way to Aran?"

    "But of course, your majesty," is the affirmative answer. "That was the first thing I did this morning. I''m looking through the files for replacements now."

    "Great that that has been done . One less thing to worry about."

    "You should leave these kinds of tasks to your subordinates, your majesty. If you want to take care of every little detail, you''ll never get to make the decisions that only you can make."

    "I know, Cervik, I know. But I''ve had to watch people cheat on my father for so long that I find it difficult to trust that everything is done right. That''s why I just see if things are being done. I had some room put in my agenda for that. As long as it doesn''t take a lot of time, it should work."

    A little later, Alyena is on her way to her meeting room again. Just before, she had left Captain Cervik with his paperwork, after telling him that he too must be present during the meeting with the generals. After that, she managed to complete several smaller tasks before the meeting is actually held. Now she has to hurry to be on time for her own meeting.

    When she enters the meeting room, the generals are already waiting. As soon as they see her, they all get up. Some a bit faster than the others. General Colling is the one who takes the longest.

    "Gentlemen, thank you for being able to come so quickly," Alyena begins. "Before we start with other things, I want to talk to you about the New Legion. Captain Cervik and myself have just returned from the city of Aran. During our trip we were attacked..."

    Alyena recounts what happened to her during the journey, after which she explains what she plans to do with the New Legion:

    "Although some of you might be against the New Legion, and even an attack has been ordered on their new camp, I want you to deploy the legion in Aran. My idea was to replace the garrison there with the New Legion, freeing up those soldiers to reinforce the army in the north."

    When she''s done, she gives the generals some time to respond. General Colling looks rather uneasy as Alyena tells about the ordered attack on her legion.

    "Your Majesty, the New Legion has betrayed our trust by rebelling against their commanders. Even if there might be mitigating circumstances, they are deserters."

    "General Colling, I hereby conclude that the actions of the New Legion were justified. They can no longer be blamed for this uprising. From this moment on, the New Legion is under my personal command. This means, gentlemen, that all decisions regarding the New Legion will go through me. Now, will you give the New Legion its chance as a garrison of Aran, or do I need to make more changes?"

    The generals are shocked by this decisiveness of their young empress. There is little they can do to counter the appointment. Therefore, they quickly decide that the New Legion will get its chance.

    "Now then, I want to know the state of affairs as far as the war is concerned."

    When the generals have left, Alyena is alone with Captain Cervik.

    "Cervik, would you mind ensuring that the orders for the New Legion reach them as soon as possible? I don''t trust that the generals will do nothing to undermine the legion."

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    "Sure, ma''am, I''ll take care of it. In my opinion, General Colling in particular did not seem to be satisfied with the way things were going. I think you should keep a close eye on him."

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    Raidon is training with the first platoon when the messenger arrives.

    "He is waiting for you at the gate, Sergeant," the guard on gate duty reports. "I think he''s had a lot of trouble finding us."

    "Thank you, soldier. And remember, we are in the wilderness for a reason."

    Even as the soldier turns to go back to the gate, he mumbles:

    "And we didn''t really make an entranceway either."

    Raidon can barely hold back his laughter and follows the soldier to the gate.

    "Messenger Hartum, sir," the messenger reports. "These are the orders for you and your unit, sir."

    He gives an envelope to Raidon.

    "Thank you. Go get some food and a drink before you leave. There on the right is the canteen," Raidon replies.

    "You must first open the orders, sir. It must be done in my presence so that I can report to General Colling that you have received and read the orders."

    Raidon opens the letter.

    "If I may be so curious, what is your mission, sir?" asks the messenger.

    "According to these orders, the New Legion under my command must relieve the garrison at Aran. This is personally signed by the Empress."

    Then he looks at the messenger.

    "Aran is the city we escorted the Empress to, but how big is that province?"

    "Isn''t there a map, sir?" the messenger asks in turn. Raidon looks sheepishly into the envelope. He takes out a map, which he unfolds.

    "It seems that more than half of the province of Aran consists of wilderness, it has one city, which is probably Aran, and there are also a number of villages."

    "Those are pretty reasonable orders, if I may be so free, sir."

    Raidon looks again at the orders.

    "Wait, there''s a second page."

    He reads the second sheet.

    "We are also required to have a unit stationed in the city at all times and also send out patrols throughout the province. Furthermore, within three months of the entry into force of these orders, we must have secured the whole province for all residents. If we do not carry out these orders properly, the Legion will be held responsible for all damages and possibly disbanded."

    Raidon looks at the messenger as he continues to talk.

    "These orders take effect on the 25th of the month of Maius and this time is signed by General Colling."

    He frowns.

    "What date is it right now? We live here quite remotely, I''ve lost count of the days."

    "Today is the 24th of Maius, sir. The trip went a bit faster than expected. The Empress gave me an escort for the first part of the journey."

    He says all this with a straight face, but while he tells the second part Raidon sees the beginning of a smile. That gives Raidon all the information he needs. The generals are already trying to make the New Legion fail.

    "If you hadn''t had that escort, how much time would that have cost?"

    "A few days, sir."

    In other words, the starting date for the orders would have gone in way before they would have even gotten the orders. Then Aran would not have had had a garrison for several days and the New Legion would be in trouble even before they had started.

    "I have read and received the order, Messenger Hartum," Raidon confirms to the messenger. "You can go eat now. It must have been a long journey."

    Raidon quickly goes looking for squad leader Brandon. After some searching, he finds him in a conversation with Morris.

    "Exactly the two people I need," Raidon says while he walks into the building, "our orders have just come in."

    Raidon hands Brandon the envelope, who reads through the orders.

    "Great, it seems to me that that''s about what we were promised," he says, before passing the order on to Morris. After a few moments, Morris looks up from the command.

    "Hmm, it arrived just in time. Was the messenger delayed?" he asks Raidon.

    He laughs.

    "Not exactly. Messenger Hartum received an escort from the Empress for the first part, so he arrived a few days earlier than expected."

    "Typical Colling," Morris sighs. "I know him from a long time ago, and if he doesn''t agree with something, he does everything to stop it."

    Brandon looks rather surprised and Raidon explains.

    "The general is already trying to undermine us. Today is the 24th. If the messenger had come even a day later, we would not have had time to take over the garrison. In that case, the commander of the previous garrison might complain that we had not shown up when he had to leave. Then the general immediately had a mark against us being skilled enough."

    Brandon begins to curse.  "... the dirty goat fucker," he concludes.

    "Interesting choice of words, but I can''t disagree with it," Morris mentions dryly.

    "Fortunately, the Empress knew about Colling. Now we can make sure that we move today to take over the garrison." Raidon pretends not to have heard Brandon. "The commander will probably leave early in the morning, so we better make sure we arrive there tonight."

    "That''s going to be a tough march," Brandon notes, "it''s quite a bit of a tipple from here to Aran, we experienced that the other day."

    "Who do you want to take with you?" asks Morris to Raidon.

    "I was thinking about you and the first platoon. And possibly two squads of the second."

    Then he looks at Brandon.

    "That means that you will command the rest of the second platoon. Who can lead the squads of the second that will go with me?"

    Brandon thinks for a moment.

    "I think Soldier Lenn is the best. I expect that he will soon be promoted to a squad leader. But the harnesses will tell us that. By the way, what do you want to do with those three recruits? We still haven''t found a priest who can help us. Also, we still haven''t gotten more than those three guys."

    Raidon nods. "Fine. If you can have the two squads ready in an hour, we can leave. I will make sure that the first platoon is also ready. As for the recruits, I will see if I can find a priest in Aran, as well as the extra recruits we still need."

    Late in the evening they arrive at Aran. Little of the town can be seen in the dark. Only two torches at the gate are visible. Once there, Raidon reports to the guard who is standing above the gate.

    "Sergeant Raidon of the New Legion. We are coming to relieve the garrison."

    The guard stares at them for a moment, and then opens the gate and points them to the garrison.

    "Follow this road and at the end you will see the garrison."

 TNL 26 - The First Command Part Two

    TNL 26 ¨C The First Command Part Two

    A little later they arrive at the garrison. The garrison consists of seven buildings, surrounded by a wall that shows signs of age. Once through the gate, Raidon and his men see the buildings. That higher building will be the headquarters, that low building the canteen with the storage space behind it and those longer buildings the barracks, Raidon thinks. After letting the soldiers stay at ease on the square, Raidon immediately goes in search of the commander. The guards at the door show him to the office.

    On the door of the office it says that the commander of the garrison is Major Craig. Next to the door to the office is a desk with a clerk. As soon as Raidon reports who he is here, the clerk gets up and walks to the door of the office.

    There he knocks before he announces Raidon.

    "Sir, the captain of the relief is here."

    The major gets up when Raidon enters.

    "It is good that you are here, but the intention is that the relief is present a few days before taking over," the commander begins.

    "That¡¯s possible," Raidon interrupts him, "unfortunately we didn''t get the order until mid-morning today. We had to walk quickly to get here on time."

    The major looks at Raidon for a moment.

    "That sounds unlikely, sergeant, but at least you are here now. You and your men can use the rear barracks for tonight. Tomorrow you can choose where you sleep."

    The next day the major leaves with his garrison of just under a thousand men. Without a word to Raidon, the major leaves at the head of the column. A lieutenant is the last one to stay and send the men after the major. The major did not provide any further information about the garrison''s duties. Raidon has to figure that out for himself. The departure takes half the morning. Apparently, the departure of a larger group of men is not that easy with the regular army.

    "That lieutenant seems to think that it looks impressive if everyone looks to be crawling all over each other," private Lenn remarks to Raidon. Raidon looks at him but wisely doesn¡¯t respond.

    When the old garrison has finally left, Raidon hands out his orders.

    "Lenn, you and your two squads are going to check out the surroundings of the city. See what''s nearby, but make sure you don''t go too far. I want you to be back before lunch."

    "Yes, sir," Lenn replies.

    Raidon then turns to the first platoon.

    "First and second squad, you''re going to make some rounds through the city. Make sure you get a little familiar with the streets. Fourth squad, you are on guard today. There are only two gates, so divide yourselves. I want three men at both the gates. The other four stand guard here at the barracks. Fifth squad, you look at what is here in the barracks. I want to know everything from food to materials to sleeping places. You know what to look at. Third squad, you can stay with me."

    A few minutes later Raidon is on the road with the third squad. Their first stop is the mayor of the city. Once there, they are told that he is not yet present and that they can come by in an hour.

    Then they go to the port.

    "I only see small fishing boats," Raidon says.

    "People don''t seem very happy to see us either," one of the soldiers remarks.

    An old woman speaks to Raidon. "When will the warriors return? Without warriors, it will be one big chaos here!"

    "They''re not coming back, ma''am," Raidon replies. "We are the new garrison and we will take over their tasks."

    The woman does not seem happy. "But you look like porcelain dolls," she remarks, then retreats.

    After the port, they go back to the mayor by the market. It seems quiet on the market, but it is not a market day. Here they also meet second squad.

    "Anything worth reporting?" asks Raidon to the soldier in the front.

    "Not yet, sir. Nothing that can''t wait."

    "Good, then I''ll hear it later." After this short conversation, both squads continue their way.

    When he arrives at the mayor''s office, the man finally has time for Raidon. It turns out that the old garrison did little for the surrounding area.

    "Most of the time, the warriors stayed around here. The city and everything that was in sight of the walls was good enough for them. As far as they were concerned, the rest of the province didn¡¯t even exist."

    "So they were only protecting the city? But I am sure that the previous garrison consisted of about a thousand men. What were all these warriors doing all day?"

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    "Ha! You''re right that we had to feed a thousand greedy warriors." The mayor is clearly not impressed with the previous garrison. "The commander of the garrison thought it was more important that his men looked good than that they actually did their job. Usually there were about a hundred or so who guarded the gates and walls and did patrols through the city. The rest were either organizing competition games, or holding parades. The rest of the time they were eating and drinking at the expense of the city."

    Over the course of his speech, the mayor started to talk more and more animatedly. It is clear to Raidon that the situation was very annoying for the man. However, before he can even respond, the mayor continues.

    "And that''s not even the worst thing! Even though it cost us a lot to pay for all that beer and food and the damage they caused in the pubs, that''s nothing compared to what it has cost the rest of the province. While we have become accustomed to the dozens of patrols that ran throughout the city, almost every other village in the province has been almost wiped out by bandits and other scum. I myself know of more than a dozen raids on trade convoys and villages in the past six months."

    "You can be sure that things are going to change about that. Not only are we with fewer people, we are also instructed to protect the entire province."

    "Yes, I have to talk to you about that. How many warriors does your garrison have? From what I have been able to gather from the rumors, it seems as if you only have a handful. I have already had several residents at my door who are afraid that there will be a real crime wave if there is no more patrolling."

    "I don''t have many warriors, mayor. I do have seventy soldiers here."

    "Seventy but? For the whole province? That''s far too little!" exclaims the mayor, before continuing in a bit of surprise: "Soldiers? What are soldiers?"

    "Soldiers are actually warriors, only we are trained to work together. Warriors are individually strong, we are strong together." Raidon shakes his head for a moment. It is almost impossible to explain the difference to this man without showing what he means. "I think you should come and have a look at our training. Our trainer, Morris, can show you exactly how we differ from the normal warriors. As far as your safety is concerned, you don''t have to worry."

    "Still, it¡¯s only seventy men. How do you intend to ensure safety in Aran, not to speak about the rest of the province?"

    "I have seventy soldiers indeed. My adjutant has stationed another thirty in a fortress in the wilderness. As soon as we know what it''s like here, I will send twenty men back to Fort Alpha, that''s what we called our fort."

    "But then we only have fifty men here to defend us! I want you to bring everyone here, or at least ask for extra men at another garrison."

    "I''m sorry, Mayor. Unfortunately, that will not happen. Soldiers like us can''t just be taken away from somewhere. We have found equipment for ten more soldiers, but we have only found three recruits. Furthermore, we have not yet found a priest who can help us with the inauguration of the soldiers."

    "Equipment? Priest? Is all that necessary? We just want to be able to feel safe in our own city and not be afraid that we will be robbed in the middle of the street."

    "Robbed? You also have your own city guards, don''t you? They should be concerned with the criminals in the city. We are about safety. We will support your city guard where necessary, but you do not have to expect us to take over the work of your city guards."

    The mayor then tells that the city itself is very poor, and that the city guard is not even half as large as it should be. In the past, the garrison was smaller, half the size it was in recent years. Because of this, and because of the many demands of the major, the city could not maintain the garrison without suffering itself. This also means that there will be little support for a new garrison.

    "As I have already told you, we are with far fewer people than the previous garrison. It will cost you a lot less to maintain us, less even than that smaller garrison you were talking about. But let¡¯s help each other. You get us seven recruits, and a priest. Then I will make sure that we support your city guards until they are back to full strength."

    The mayor insists that there is nothing he can do. In the end, Raidon leaves it for what it is. First he needs to know what¡¯s what. That''s why he goes back to the garrison.

    At the garrison, he gives third squad free time to maintain their equipment until lunch. Raidon himself visits fifth squad to see what they have found. They tell that there is still enough food available, but otherwise few materials. The old garrison took almost everything with them that they could get their hands on. Also, there is no support staff. All the staff have been laid off.

    "There are not even cooks present!" reports the soldier. "Furthermore, the garrison is in poor condition. The walls have not been maintained and the barracks do not look very good either."

    Raidon goes to the office to sort through the papers. Perhaps they¡¯ll shed light on the state of the garrison. It turns out to be a lot of searching and there appear to be quite a few papers missing. There is virtually no information about the inhabitants of the city, let alone from the rest of the province. It is also not known how much tax comes in, or how much the garrison has available to spend. What Raidon does find after some searching is a map of the area. This appears to be different from the map he has received himself. On this map, the area is almost twice as large. He decides that he should consult with the mayor again. The mayor probably has a lot of the information he needs. But that is something to be done later. First, he must try to make sense of these papers.

    There is also a chest full of reports and complaints. It turns out that there are indeed a lot of robberies. Just as if the bandits control the entire province except the city itself.

    "That''s easy if the garrison doesn''t go outside the city," Raidon mumbles to himself.

    By the time Raidon begins to understand the organization of the papers, it''s already so late that the patrols start to come back. That''s why Raidon leaves the papers and goes outside to receive their reports. A little later he is standing in the courtyard with soldiers from the different squads.

    "The outer walls are poorly maintained but still solid, sergeant," reports Soldier Lenn of the second platoon. "With some repairs, they will be back in order in no time. What is missing is a ditch to stop siege equipment. The walls are fine, but apparently not made to withstand a siege."

    "The same applies to the inside of the walls. The walls show considerable damage and some stairs are simply dangerous. I would not like to go up these walls in a hurry," reports the soldier of fourth squad.

    "Fortunately, we don''t expect an attack," Raidon replies. "The rest of the city is more important now."

    Then he looks at the soldiers of the first two squads.

    "Not much to add, sergeant. It is a big city and for now everything seems quiet. But it doesn''t seem like people are very wealthy," says one.

    "People also seem to expect dozens of soldiers to be walking around all the time to keep order," says another.

    "Hmm, I noticed that too," Raidon agrees with the observations of the two squads.

    That afternoon, the soldiers eat a simple meal of nuts, cheese and other food that they do not have to prepare. After lunch, Raidon redistributes the tasks. The tasks remain the same, but the shifts are changed. This time Raidon takes second squad with him and two other squads will look outside the city.

 TNL 27 - The First Command Part Three

    TNL 27 ¨C The First Command Part Three

    Once again, Raidon visits the mayor. This time he has Morris with him. Once inside the mayor''s office, Raidon immediately starts:

    "The previous commander of the garrison fired everyone who worked in the garrison. We need those people and those people probably need their jobs. Can you tell us who worked at the garrison? Like the cooks?"

    The mayor denies this:

    "No, I don''t have that information. That is something that is arranged within the garrison. I have nothing to do with that."

    "But you probably know who they are. This city is not that big that no one knows those people," Raidon insists.

    The mayor capitulates.

    "Some of my people may know who worked for the garrison. I''ll check."

    Raidon settles for this answer for now. Even with small steps you can advance.  Then he shows his maps to the mayor. The mayor studies them and is very clear with his opinion afterwards.

    "This older map seems to be the most correct. That new map isn¡¯t  right in any way. The coast is not drawn correctly and this lake is about twenty kilometers away. The province is also almost twice as large. How did you get that map?"

    "This is the map we got with our orders. It comes directly from General Colling," Raidon replies.

    "Hmm, I think that I have a fairly recent county map here somewhere."

    The mayor searches in his office.

    "Ah, there he is."

    The mayor takes another map out of a drawer of his desk.

    "As you can see, this map is almost identical to that older map of yours. A few things are different because this map is a bit newer, but the big picture is right."

    "So another way to put us in a bad light. That General Colling is starting to annoy me now," Raidon told Morris.

    "That''s how he''s always been, don''t worry," Morris responds. "Let''s hope there aren''t any more surprises."

    The mayor is quite surprised. Since he does not know the situation, he looks questionably at both men. To explain, Raidon and Morris tell what was going on with the date on the order.

    After this, the mayor is a little more willing to cooperate. He gives the names of the people who helped at the garrison. He also offers to send them to the garrison. Then he tells about the past, when there was half a garrison and the patrolling was done by the watch.

    Armed with this information, Raidon and Morris return to the garrison. Together they look at the area and how to fill it in.

    "I think we can operate partly from Fort Alpha. If we station one platoon there and the other here, we can send patrols from both points. From here there are more villages to go, but there is more wilderness there. We may have to temporarily add one or two squads from the second to the first, but we''ll have to see that later," Morris said.

    "Seems good to me. Tomorrow I will start going to these villages. It seems that there will be an overnight stay for the furthest villages. We won¡¯t manage to travel there and back in one day."

    "That''s what it looks like. But I don''t think you should leave the city. Someone has to take command here."

    "True, but I want to become familiar with the inhabitants of those villages. Then they should be more likely to ask for our help if they need it. I don''t want our soldiers to do that. These residents have had no help for a long time, so ordinary soldiers will not be believed by them."

    Morris agrees.

    "But someone has to be here and it can¡¯t be me. Who are you going to have command here while you are on the road for several days going to the villages?"

    "Good question. Maybe we should leave the distant villages for a while and only go there at a later time. We can start with visiting the closer villages."

    The next day Raidon sends the two squads of the second platoon back to Fort Alpha led by Lenn. He also gives them the orders for Brandon. Together with Morris, Raidon has created a new map, showing the two patrol areas centered around Fort Alpha and Aran. He also has a few clerks come to town along with the recruits they already have. In the city he can use them better than in Fort Alpha.

    That same evening they have normal food for the first time in a long while. The food at Fort Alpha wasn''t bad, but there was also no resupply, so everything was rationed.

    Then when they arrived in Aran, there was supply again, but no one knew how to prepare the food.

    Fortunately, that time is now over. This afternoon the support staff that the mayor would send have arrived. Almost everyone returned immediately when it became known that the garrison still needed them.

    Tonight there is a delicious stew made of mutton and various vegetables. According to the cook, that was the only thing he could prepare at such a short notice. Fortunately, he did make fresh bread to soak everything up.

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    For Raidon and the others, that doesn''t matter at all. This is much better than that dried meat they''ve had to eat lately. And to top it all off, it is also served to them, while they can stay seated.

    "I can get used to this!" shouts John after taking his first few bites. Of course without first emptying his mouth, so the men opposite him are sprayed with pieces of the meal. Fortunately, the riot that follows does not last long, because everyone wants to enjoy the delicious food.

    A few days later, the recruits and clerks enter the city. The recruits will function as a sixth squad for first platoon, once the mayor has delivered the last seven men. This happens less than a day later.

    The small group is led by a skinny priest in a brown robe. Raidon, however, counts more than seven men walking behind the priest. They are with twice as many.

    "Welcome, priest, I assume the mayor sent you?"

    "That''s right, boy. I have been asked to perform a ritual for you. An initiation ceremony? I know a lot about those, which ritual did you have in mind?"

    "I¡¯m afraid that you will not have used this ceremony all that often. You will have to bless the new recruits of ours to adopt a different faith."

    "How do you mean a different faith? You deny our gods?"

    "Rest assured. We worship another god, who is even older than the present faith. At the time of the ancient empire, the god Mithras was worshipped. That faith has been restored by us. All our soldiers have been blessed by a priest to put our souls in his hands."

    "I still have to think about it. I haven''t been told anything about this."

    "I get that. Nor will you be the first priest to refuse his cooperation. But now another question. We asked for seven men, but I think I see about fifteen men here."

    "When these men were entrusted to my care, I was told that there were far too few of you. That''s why the mayor has sent you some more men to help."

    Raidon lets out a deep sigh. That mayor might want to help, but he does it in a clumsy way.

    "Ahh well, let''s see which of these men are best suited to become soldiers."

    A little later, the new recruits are ready for their initiation. Raidon has looked it up in his manuals, but there is nothing in it about rejecting recruits if they would like to join. Apparently Mithras decides who is a good candidate to worship him.

    That Mithras does indeed decide, becomes clear when the men get their branding. Everything is going well until the white hot branding iron touches the first man.

    Instead of giving a nice sign like all the other soldiers of the New Legion got, it continues to burn long after the startled priest has removed the branding iron. The whole shoulder of the man has become one big burn.

    "Gods! What is this?" The priest seems to be in shock.

    "Well, I don''t think Mithras thought that this was the right man to join the New Legion." Raidon looks at the other men sternly. "If you want to change your mind, this is the moment. Rest assured, if you really want it, there is nothing to worry about. But if you have bad intentions, you better walk away now."

    Three men decide they have to be somewhere else, but the remaining twelve men take the gamble.

    For another four men, the burning hurts a lot, but all of them pass Mithras'' inspection.

    Now that that¡¯s done, Raidon can start sending out patrols. With six squads at his disposal, he can use two as patrols inside the city, two outside the city and one to guard the gates. Meanwhile, the last squad can take a rest day. On the rest day, of course, they have to train for half a day under Morris.

    In the days that he was waiting for the extra squad, Raidon himself has already supervised some patrols and visited some villages. These villages are the only ones where the patrols are allowed to show themselves for now. In the coming days, Raidon plans to visit the other villages as well. Brandon will do the same from Fort Alpha.

    On the same day that the recruits have arrived, Raidon receives a report in which he reads that one of the smaller fishing villages has been raided. Also, an angry businessman who has lost his entire caravan and wants to sue the legion comes to the garrison.

    Raidon has checked the complaints of the past few weeks. When he sees how many there are, it is clear to him why the area here is poorer than other places in the empire. There are several bandit raids per week, always in a different place. He is surprised that there are still people living in this area at all.

    The next day he receives another message, this time from a somewhat larger village right in the middle of the province. Apparently, no place in the province is safe from the raids.

    This appears to be the pattern of the messages. Almost every day there is at least one message of a raid.

    A few days later, Raidon marches at the head of a patrol. They are on their way to one of the more distant villages. Once there, they see a village that seems to have been raided.

    "The residents don''t look very happy either," says John, because today it is first squad to accompany Raidon.

    "I can understand that, with three burned-down houses," Raidon replies.

    He has the patrol stop in the middle of the village. Then he walks towards a man who he has seen looking from the moment they entered the village.

    "Can you tell me who the mayor of this village is?" he asks the man.

    "That''s nobody at the moment. He died when his house was burned down."

    The man points to one of the burned-down houses.

    "And who will take over his duties?" The man shrugs.

    "That will probably be Erland. He is the blacksmith, there you can see his forge further on."

    Then the man turns around and walks away.

    Raidon takes James and Gareth to the forge. John and the rest are instructed to look around the village.

    At the forge, the blacksmith is just busy shoeing a horse. Raidon decides to wait till the man¡¯s done. After a few minutes, the blacksmith is ready. Raidon speaks to him.

    "Dear man, can you tell us what happened here? It looks like the village has been raided, but nobody wants to talk about it."

    The man watches Raidon from head to toe.

    "How do you get that iron suit? It seems properly made. I''ve never seen anything like it before."

    "We are soldiers of the New Legion. A new unit of the Empress. I am Sergeant Raidon, the new commander of the garrison in Aran," Raidon patiently explains.

    "Hmm, well I can tell you what happened here. The taxes have been collected. The chaos you see is what happens every year when those hyenas come along and someone can''t pay. As soon as someone cannot pay personally or the village itself can¡¯t cough up its own taxes, retaliatory actions are carried out by the tax collectors."

    "The village as well as everybody personally?" asks Raidon.

    "Yes, since about ten years it has been decided that every village of more than five houses has to pay to be a village. The inhabitants must ensure that they also pay something on top of their normal taxes to pay for the village. This year, most of them didn''t succeed because we were raided a while ago. Now no one has anything left. This horse is the only animal that the village still has. Even the dogs have been taken to compensate the horse. It had lost a horseshoe, forcing us to pay for it."

    "How is it that we in Aran have not heard anything about this yet?" asks Raidon to the blacksmith.

    "The tax collectors often come first to villages like this one, that are further away from the city. This way they can visit the other villages from Aran at a leisure pace. If you don''t mind, I''ll move on now. There is still a lot to do to ensure that we don¡¯t starve this winter."

    Raidon then leaves the forge again. He tries to make some more small talk in the village, but has little success. The residents have started to really dislike the government.

    "I''ve seen enough, men. We are going back to Aran," Raidon reports to his soldiers, after which they leave.

 TNL 28 - The First Command Part Four

    TNL 28 ¨C The First Command Part Four

    Outside the village, Raidon gathers the others, but it turns out that John is missing.

    "Where did John go?" Raidon asks the other soldiers who have been looking around.

    "He went a long way outside the village. As soon as you were gone, he left to investigate the area."

    "It''s always something with that guy, sergeant," Gareth grumbles.

    A little later, John reappears. Just before Raidon gives the order to go looking, he appears a long way away between a group of trees. At ease he walks to the others.

    "Soldier John reporting, Sergeant!" shouts John quite loudly as he gives an exaggerated salute.

    "Yes, yes, yes, we''ve seen you, John," Raidon replies. "But where were you? You had to explore the village, not play the tourist and enjoy the view."

    "I thought: Let''s see what kind of tracks I can find. Morris taught me a thing or two about tracking. I discovered that a group on horseback came from the north, and later left with a wagon in a southerly direction."

    "And for that you had to sit in the bushes? Or were you doing something else there?"

    "Well, it''s like that sergeant, sometimes a man has to..." John can''t resist teasing Raidon a bit. The young sergeant always starts to blush when John makes these kinds of statements.

    "You know what I mean, John."

    "I looked to see if there were any other details," John replies, shrugging his shoulders. "I have found out that sometimes people keep an eye on the village, from the forest over there."

    "They probably won''t be tax collectors. Maybe one of those bandits we hear about so often? We''ll find out later, let''s go back to Aran first to see if there''s more news about the tax collectors."

    Once back in the city, the tax collectors appear to have arrived. Two men have entered the staff building and intimidated the soldier on duty so much that they managed to take over Raidon''s office. A whole bunch of other tax collectors are already busy making chaos in the city and the surroundings. Finally, they have also taken over a large part of the barracks for their guards.

    When Raidon arrives with his soldiers, he is immediately notified at the gate. He rushes to the garrison. There he immediately goes to his office to see what exactly is going on. When he enters his office, someone is sitting at his desk.

    "I didn''t ask you to come in, soldier," the tax collector says without looking up.

    Raidon answers slowly.

    "I am Raidon, sergeant and commander of the garrison. You are in my office."

    "Ahh, the commander," says the tax collector. "I need your office and sleeping places for about two hundred and twenty men. Including two hundred guards. Since I have the most people here, I will also temporarily take command of this garrison. You can now leave to arrange this."

    "That''s not going to happen. I am the commander here, appointed by the Empress herself. With all due respect, sir, this garrison is under my command and will remain so," Raidon said. Then he continues:

    "You and your men may use the facilities of the garrison, but that is all. I will have one of the barracks prepared for your guards and another for you and your men. Further on is another room with a desk, which you can use as an office. But that''s where it ends. I expect you to be gone from my office in a moment." Raidon begins to get more and more worked up about the attitude of the tax collector.

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    That said, Raidon leaves the room. The tax collector sits red with anger behind the desk, but can''t say much before the door behind Raidon closes.

    The next day, the tax collectors and their guards leave early to collect taxes. Only the commander and a group of ten men remain at the garrison.

    "They are the ones who keep track of and monitor the taxes collected," reports one of the soldiers.

    In the days that follow, complaints continue to come in to Raidon every day about the tax collectors. His soldiers have also noticed, during their patrols, that the tax collectors are very heavy-handed.

    "They just put those people on the street and destroy the whole house," one of the soldiers remarks.

    Even in the garrison it is not calm with the tax collectors and their guards. There is a lot of noise and the guards make a mess of the rooms. They eat and drink themselves through the supplies and not a day goes by without a lot of guards singing drunken songs.

    Then two soldiers come to Raidon to tell them that items have been stolen from the legion''s barracks.

    "It is clear that the guards did this," says one of the soldiers. "Those pigs were reading from a textbook, after which they tore up the book."

    "This is going too far!" Raidon agrees. Therefore, during the morning meeting the next day, he orders that the men of the legion gather at noon.

    "Make sure to gather in small groups. Then we all gather here in the courtyard during the midday bells," he tells his men. "For now, you know your positions. Dismissed!"

    When the noon bell tolls, all sixty soldiers of the first platoon gather in the courtyard. Even before the last bell rings, everyone is ready and in formation. Raidon addresses his soldiers.

    "Soldiers of the New Legion. The city and province entrusted to us are afflicted by a plague. Not the expected plague of robberies, accidents and stupid bad luck. But a plague of overenthusiastic tax collectors."

    He falls silent for a moment so that this information can be absorbed by the soldiers. Then he continues:

    "These tax collectors are undoing all the work that we have come here to do, before we can even start. Everyone knows that taxes are necessary. What is not necessary is to expect such high taxes that they take away everything these people have. What is not necessary is to burn down the houses if people can''t cough up what they don''t have."

    He looks at the soldiers in front of him.

    "What we are going to do here now goes against what is expected from us. Normally, we should ensure that people comply with these obligations. But not today! Today we are tackling these bandits who dare to call themselves tax collectors!"

    The soldiers cheer and Raidon has to wait for the cheers to subside.

    "We will protect our people and where possible we will return their belongings. The Empress will decide whether we are right about this, but for now this is our job. For Mithras and the Empress!"

    After this speech, the soldiers get to work. Four squads go to the guards to disarm them. Another squad stays in the courtyard just in case. The last squad goes with Raidon and Morris to take the leader of the tax collectors into custody.

    At the administration building, Raidon sends four soldiers to guard the exterior:

    "Make sure no one escapes."

    Then he goes inside with the other soldiers. There are two guards at the door of the leader¡¯s office. They reach for their weapons, but even before they are able to draw them, they are both held by two soldiers in their heavy armor. Raidon enters the office. The leader has stood up as soon as he heard the noise outside the office.

    "What is this supposed to mean!", he shouts.

    "It''s simple," Raidon replies. "I''m tired of the chaos you and your men are causing. You are doing as much damage to this land as the armies of Chakra and it is enough."

    He then has the leader taken away by two men, while goes and see what the man was doing before they barged in.

    "It looks like this is the list of taxes for today," Raidon says to no one in particular.

    "That could come in handy," Morris agrees, after which he studies the list. "It seems like the majority of the tax collectors are outside the city today."

    "That''s a good thing. Then we can quickly sweep the city clean."

    The prisoners are gathered in the square. Raidon leaves one squad behind to guard them. He takes the other five squads into the city to take the other tax collectors into custody. This happens quickly thanks to the schedule left by their leader. Within the hour, Raidon and his soldiers have assembled the other twenty tax collectors gathered in the city.

    Once they have captured everyone, they take them to the courtyard, where Raidon addresses the prisoners:

    "This area has suffered greatly from the many raids and other things that the inhabitants could not do anything about. That you then come to take away the little that the people still have, goes too far. As commander of the garrison, I inform you that this year''s taxes have been suspended. I will personally contact the Empress to confirm this. For now, this means for you that you will leave this province. No more taxes will be collected. Should you do so, or be found in this province within five days, you will be considered common robbers and bandits. My men will accompany you to the gates. You can protest to the Empress."

    Raidon then turns around and enters the staff building.

 TNL 29 - The First Command Part Five

    TNL 29 ¨C The First Command Part Five

    That same afternoon, Raidon is informed that the tax collectors and their guards won¡¯t accept his decision. Although they have been expelled from the city unarmed, they are still not leaving, and blocking the gate.

    As Raidon gets ready to go to the gate, to tell the tax collectors to leave, he gets messages about those guys again. It seems as if the tax collectors have sent a message to their colleagues, and they don''t seem intent on leaving peacefully. Soon the small group in front of the gate has grown into a crowd. At the end of the day, more than two hundred guards and tax collectors have arrived at the gate.

    The next morning, Raidon gathers a squad of soldiers to act as an escort. He then goes through the gate to talk to the leader of the tax collectors.

    It seems as if Raidon was already expected, because the man is already waiting. A short distance in front of the assembled mass of guards and tax collectors, he stands just out of range from the walls.

    Raidon addresses the captain.

    "Your meeting is not allowed. I said you should disappear from the province."

    Then the leader of the tax collectors defends his actions.

    "That may be the case, but we do not accept you as an authority. You and your bums shouldn''t even touch those weapons. Let alone that such a boy as young you should be the boss of a province of the empire. I''ve said it before, it''s my right to run this province. You are a nobody and you have too few men to keep control over the other citizens. This is the end of this nonsense of civilians playing warrior!"

    The captain draws his sword and lashes out at Raidon.

    However, Raidon had already expected something like this when the man started his last sentence. Therefore, it is no problem for him to pull his short sword out of the scabbard in time and ward off the sword of the captain. Even before the guards can react, Raidon''s escort steps forward and slam their shields together in a shield wall.

    "Form a square, men," Raidon shouts to his soldiers as soon as the other tax collectors and their guards charge.

    The soldiers quickly form a square with three men on the front and sides. The last man holds the back. He is assisted by Raidon, who in the meantime has received an extra shield from one of the soldiers. To the best of their ability, the men brace themselves, where necessary they help the man behind them to stay upright. Then the tax collectors arrive and hit the small group.

    Within moments, several soldiers are hit on their armor and helmets when the tax collectors find openings in their defenses.

    Now it is to be hoped that the other squads will react quickly to relieve Raidon''s small group.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As soon as the captain of the tax collectors makes his first move, Morris sees it from the gate. Precisely because he and Raidon had already expected the tax collectors to betray the talks, he is on the lookout on top of the walls.

    "Platoon forward!" he shouts quickly down to the soldiers who are waiting.

    With Gareth in the lead, the squads rush through the gate in a quick pass.

    "To the sergeant, forward!" shouts Gareth quickly.

    The tax collectors, who did not expect such a quick response, step back for a moment. This gives the soldiers enough time to get to Raidon and his escort.

    A little later, the square of Raidon and his escort is no longer a square. The other squads of the legion each in turn extend the square by taking the left and right of Raidon''s position. In a few moments, Raidon''s square has become a lined shield wall that is two men deep.

    "You can still withdraw now! No one has lost their lives yet!" shouts Raidon to the tax collectors, who unfortunately do not respond to this. With renewed passion, the guards attack, only to be held back by the shield wall of the legion.

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    Raidon gives the only order possible in such a situation:

    "Shields and attack!"

    As one, the soldiers of the New Legion punch their shields into the faces of the tax collectors. As soon as these recoil, the short swords come into play. Like snakes, they come out from between the shields and there are cries from the tax collectors. These are experienced bullies, but they are not real warriors. They are more used to intimidating civilians than fighting real battles.

    "Forward!" shouts Raidon suddenly, whereupon the soldiers step forward as one. The tax collectors at the front recoil again, but the tax collectors further back don¡¯t realize this. As a result, they are increasingly jammed together. This action is repeated over and over again, until almost half of the tax collectors lie dead or injured on the ground.

    "Retreat for loose formation!" shouts Raidon, to which the soldiers give their helpless opponents a break.

    The tax collectors do not know what is happening. One moment they are still heavily pressed and the next moment the soldiers are suddenly gone.

    It soon becomes clear why the soldiers are withdrawing. Once they have distanced themselves enough from the tax collectors, they throw their shields on the ground and draw their other weapons.

    Each soldier of the New Legion has learned to use different weapons during their training. For example, everyone can somewhat handle a crossbow, they can fight with spears and of course they are experts with their formidable short swords. But each soldier has also chosen his own heavy weapon. The soldiers now take these and the guards now see iron giants in front of them all with huge weapons such as double-handed axes, war hammers and two handed swords.

    Anxiously, the front tax collectors watch until the inevitable order sounds.

    "Attack!"

    The soldiers then go on the attack again. Now that they have distanced themselves from each other, they have the space to wave their huge weapons. The tax collectors don''t stand a chance, and soon their morale is broken. Some still try to flee, but most are surrounded by the New Legion.

    For Morris, who is still watching from the gate, it looks like grain is being mowed. That quickly the tax collectors fall under the attack of the New Legion. Only now does he see the devastating effect these heavily armored soldiers can have on an enemy unit.

    "Glad I never met them when I was fighting at the front. They chop them up like they¡¯re chopping vegetables," he mumbles to himself.

    A little later it''s all over. At the end of the battle, only about thirty of the tax collectors are still alive, almost all of whom were wounded to a lesser or greater extent. Among those thirty men is also their leader. Raidon has them all secured and lets Morris go as a messenger to the closest garrison in the city of Arma. Morris will ask for an escort for a number of criminals to the capital.

    "Let the commander there know that after the fighting we don''t have enough soldiers to arrange the escort ourselves," Raidon says. "Convince him of the necessity and agree that this is not the most ideal situation."

    "I will, but don''t expect too much from it. These garrisons are very much focused on themselves and are not really inclined to help each other. But I will do my best."

    Morris then leaves to carry out his task.

    In the office, the newly promoted squad leader Gareth reports.

    "Of the first platoon, seven are wounded. Most of them not serious, but Soldier Jayden broke his arm. Furthermore, soldier Manis from the sixth did not survive his wounds."

    "Thank you, Gareth, we got away extremely well. Fortunately, these bullies were not used to fighting soldiers. They succeeded in intimidating simple citizens, but that was it."

    "True, but we can''t count on that next time. Certainly not if we ever face the experienced soldiers of Chakra."

    At that moment, their consultation is disturbed by knocking on the door.

    "Inside!" shouts Raidon. "Sergeant, the mayor is here," reports the soldier on duty.

    "Let him come in," Raidon replies.

    The mayor enters Raidon''s office and takes a seat on a chair. He and the inhabitants are very happy with the actions of the New Legion. The mayor also explains in detail what the tax collectors have done. It turns out to be even worse than Raidon had already thought.

    "The taxes were sky-high and less than a quarter of them were sent to the Empress," the mayor says passionately. "If someone couldn''t pay, then everything was broken as a warning!"

    The man keeps going like this for a while before Raidon interrupts him.

    "Fortunately, we have now stopped them. I will send a report to the Empress to see how we can best address the situation further," Raidon promises, after which he accompanies the mayor outside.

    In the week after the fight, the reports come in slowly. Outside the city there were no soldiers watching, so the actions from tax collectors were even worse. Many houses have been burned down and even more people have lost all their possessions. Even things like plates and other household goods have been destroyed.

    Raidon has claimed the collected taxes. With them, he tries to alleviate the suffering of the people. But because of all the random damage done, it is not nearly enough to repair everything. It also means that there are no taxes from the province to send to the capital. That is why Raidon writes a report to the Empress to explain what happened. This way she can hear first-hand what the situation was.

    Then Morris returns from the garrison in Arma.

    "The garrison refused. The commander, another major, thinks that each garrison should arrange their own guards," Morris told Raidon. "I think he even wants to send a complaint to the generals because we dared to ask."

    "I get pretty tired of those nobles in the army," Raidon replies. "These kind of things should easy enough to arrange, working together only makes the empire stronger. Now they''re only making a bad situation worse."

    Raidon decides to send one squad along with Morris and the prisoners to the Empress. The squad to guard the prisoners and Morris to report personally to the Empress. To help him, he gives Morris a written report to hand over to her.

    Just before Morris leaves, Raidon pushes another pouch into his hand.

    "This is for my mother. The soldiers know where she lives. Could you give it to her and tell her that I''m fine?"

    Morris agrees with a smile. Deep beneath the born leader is still the young boy who arrived at training camp a few months ago.

 TNL 30 - Bandits Part One

    TNL 30 ¨C Bandits Part One

    Now that the tax collectors are out of the picture, it is clear to the inhabitants of Aran that the New Legion is quite honorable. The population cannot believe its luck and despite the many damages, the people are now fully prepared to support the New Legion.

    Suddenly Raidon gets everything done that was impossible before. Soon after the fight, the mayor sends a message that he has information about several raids that have taken place in the past. Of course Raidon sends a message back to invite the mayor to the garrison.

    When he arrives at the garrison, the man is not alone. Two other civilians have come with him. The mayor introduces his companions:

    "These are Marcel and Borus, two of the traders from the city who were ambushed."

    "Pleasant," Raidon replies, although both traders have unfriendly appearances. Raidon is this close to taking a wash after being near them.

    "You have information about the raids?" he then asks the mayor.

    "Yes, and so do these two gentlemen. As you may have heard, the raids are getting more and more common. From the moment the previous commander took over the garrison until you took over, he did not send out one patrol. As a result, almost every bandit in the wider area has come to our province. They could just do what they want here! I have repeatedly sent the commander a message and even personally tried to persuade him to send out patrols. Unfortunately, he didn''t want to know about it! His job was to keep the city safe, I was told."

    "That doesn''t surprise me, mayor, but unfortunately I can''t do much with that information."

    "Yes, well, that''s right. Sorry, I let myself go. The bottom line is that all these bandits have joined together. In the beginning there were raids of a few bandits, sometimes with a raid in which about ten bandits participated. But as time went on, they formed larger and larger groups, so that now as many as a hundred can participate in one attack. As a result, the villages are no longer safe."

    "He''s right," says one of the merchants. "When my caravan was raided, it was something like fifty bandits. There was nothing me and the few guards I had could do. We would have had a chance against ten, but not five times as much."

    "I was ambushed two months later and had a large caravan with twenty-five guards. Then it was seventy-five bandits," the other merchant continues.

    "As you hear, it seems like the bandits have built up a considerable force. If this continues for another year, I fear that even our city is at risk," the mayor takes over the conversation again.

    Raidon thinks for a moment before nodding.

    "I agree with you that that is a possibility. I have no intention of waiting that long. That is why I would like to get all the information you have about the robberies. Places, numbers and preferably also the loot. Then I can see if we can get hold of these bandits. The fact that they work in larger groups is useful, because then we can get hold of them all at once."

    The mayor promises to send the information to Raidon as soon as possible, after which he and the two merchants leave.

    That same afternoon Raidon receives the first information from the mayor. A whole pile of papers shows that the mayor has been mapping the raids all this time. Raidon doesn''t waste any time and immediately starts going through the large amount of papers.

    While Raidon and his soldiers were busy with the tax collectors, three new raids were committed, according to reports. One from the sea and two from land. Raidon can do little about the attack from the sea now. Around the entire continent are places where pirates are active, although all trade is done by land. There is little traffic by sea, because almost all large places are inland. The few islands on which villages are located are either self-sufficient, or they get the few things they need with their fishing boats. The only ships larger than a fishing boat are the pirate ships.

    Catching the pirates at sea is impossible, because they are the only ones with larger ships. A fishing boat has little chance against a large ship, no matter how many soldiers are placed on it. The heavy armor is also a disadvantage on a ship, especially if the soldiers have to try to enter a larger, taller ship. Therefore, a fight on land is the only way to deal with the pirates. Whether it is possible to catch them on land, Raidon will have to consider that later. Therefore, he decides to focus on the raids of the bandits.

    "Since the New Legion restored Fort Alpha, there have been virtually no attacks nearby. It seems as if the patrols are useful from there. One fact that helps is that few people travel through the wilderness," Raidon tells his friend and squad leader Gareth. Gareth is one of the men who was promoted after the fight with the tax collectors.

    "The other villages are not doing so well. It seems as if the bandits have indeed joined together to raid villages. The attacks are getting bigger and bigger and the bandits now also dare to tackle the larger villages. Several houses have already been burned down and there is a lot of damage. About thirty people have also been killed."

    "I don''t see how we could get a hold of them, Raidon. If we are lucky, we come across them and even then we can not do anything with a single patrol. Even with our harnesses, it is impossible to take on such a large group."

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    "That''s right. Nor should we do this with a single patrol. What we need to do is figure out where they''re going to make their big move next time. We have to find a pattern in the raids."

    "And how do we do that?"

    "Well, it''s easier said than done, but we need to look into the reports and see how they choose their targets."

    Gareth looks at Raidon incredulously.

    "But they randomly choose a village in the province!"

    Raidon laughs a little.

    "Do you really think so? I don''t. How do they know there''s any loot to take? Or that a large caravan is expected? Somewhere there is something that makes them know that. We just have to find out what that is."

    Raidon continues to send out his patrols from the city. With the information that the patrols collect, combined with the information Raidon has received from the mayor and other citizens, he starts to map out the attacks. After he has recorded almost twenty raids, he already sees that they are indeed not completely random. But how they choose their targets still eludes him.

    In the meantime, they are now a week further and still the patrols have not seen a bandit once. Two minor attacks were done this week. But then finally Raidon gets the message he''s been waiting for. Another big raid has happened!

    Raidon calls Gareth and the other two squad leaders to join him.

    "I just received a message that the village ...," he looks at the report, "Harta has been raided. That is a village about two days to the northwest of Aran. That is exactly in the area where we thought that the next attack would take place."

    "How big was the attack?" asks one of the squad leaders.

    "Something like seventy bandits as far as the inhabitants could tell. So it might be a little more or less, but it''s a big group."

    "Gareth, I want you and Ice to take the fourth and fifth squads to Fort Alpha. You temporarily take over the guard there. The first, second and third stay here with me. Gareth, you get orders for Brandon. I want him to take the whole second platoon here before he takes those bandits. It''s the second¡¯s turn for some action. I think we''ve had enough to deal with for the time being."

    Three days later, the second platoon is ready. Raidon has told Brandon exactly what the plan is in the morning. Brandon seems to have mentally grown enormously since he was put in charge of Fort Alpha. In terms of behavior, he no longer resembles the angry rebellious man he used to be in the training camp.

    As for the plan to tackle the bandits, Brandon had a few points of improvement, but otherwise he thought it was a good plan. Simple but solid. The second platoon will go to the village that, according to Raidon''s calculation, will be the next target. If all goes well, they will arrive just in time for the next raid. The different squads will spread out around the village and catch the bandits.

    When Brandon has left with second platoon, the barracks seem very empty. Now that Raidon only has three squads at his disposal, everyone has to work extra hard. He has only one squad to patrol the city and one to patrol around the city. The latter is needed at the gates. As a result, they are very spread out.

    The past few days have somehow seemed less quiet. "Maybe because Brandon and the second can show up at any moment," Raidon muses.

    The next two days are just as insignificant to Raidon as the first one. Only on the third day can he expect anything from Brandon and second platoon at the earliest. But the wait is hard for Raidon. That is why he himself also goes on some patrols. That and the paperwork are all he can do until the second is back. The paperwork is something he''s still not used to. Reading reports and other messages is not such a problem. Answering these isn¡¯t either. But in less than a week he has to prepare a quarterly report for the generals. For that he has to look at all expenses and calculate them, see which items are needed for replacement, calculate expenses for pay, and all other things.

    "The fact that the New Legion has only recently taken over this position doesn''t make it any easier," Raidon muses as he marches around the city with second squad. "The previous commander left little behind that I can use. I have to include his time as garrison commander in the quarterly report, but I don''t even know exactly how many men he had or how much those warriors earned."

    Then the squad comes to a piece of wall that is pretty broken-down.

    "Sergeant, look!" shouts one of the soldiers. Raidon quickly looks up from his musings. And sure enough, there''s a bunch of kids climbing over the wall! In amazement, the soldiers watch how a group of seven children has made a game of the derelict wall. Without much effort they climb the wall, and then go back down via a tree.

    "That wall really can''t stay like this. If children can get over the wall so easily, so can an enemy," Raidon says.

    "Walls cost money, sir," one of the soldiers says. "The previous garrison probably preferred to keep the money themselves. And it is the duty of the garrison to take care of the maintenance. The mayor probably can''t do anything."

    "How do you know that?" asks Raidon to the soldier.

    "My father is a bricklayer, sir. I used to help him with small things. I remember that a piece of wall had once collapsed and it took almost a month for the generals to free up enough money to repair it."

    "Hmm, so another thing I have to include in my quarterly report."

    Then, halfway through the next afternoon, just as Raidon is making progress with the report, a squad from second platoon arrives in the city. The soldiers are completely sweated from top to bottom from the long marching, but they have message from second platoon.

    "We were just too late to stop the raid, sergeant," says the squad leader. "We arrived in the village less than two hours after the attack. The tracks disappeared after a few kilometers, which is why squad leader Brandon ordered to help the village out. He will stay for two days before returning to Aran. We were sent ahead to inform you."

    This is a very frustrating message for Raidon. He would have liked to stop the attack. Now he has to figure out again where the next attack will take place. Well, in any case, the calculations of the place of the raids are correct. Now I just have to get the timing right, he thinks.

    All in all, it takes Raidon three more days to find the next village that will be raided. Meanwhile, Brandon has come back with the second and has reported on their first attempt. According to Raidon''s calculation, the next raid will be even bigger than the previous one. Possibly even with almost all bandits in the province. If Raidon is right, they will try to take the largest village in the province. This town is important, because it is becoming so big that it can get city rights in a few years. A raid there could weaken the entire province.

    Raidon makes an important decision in consultation with Brandon.

    "We''re going to take a risky action," Raidon says. "Ice and Lenn can take care of the city and Fort Alpha. They will only get their own squads, so patrols are not possible. Brandon, we take the other eight squads and we are going to stop this raid. If we get hold of them, there are enough of us to stop the attacks in one big fight."

    "It''s a pity Morris hasn''t returned yet, because we could use his help. And especially that of the squad he has with him," Brandon replies.

    "Yes, but there is little we can do about it. His task is also important and this way we still have enough men to have a good chance of success. We''re leaving as soon as possible, so if you could send Lenn and his squad back to Fort Alpha, I''ll start preparing for the rest of the legion. Make sure he leaves within the hour."

 TNL 31 - Bandits Part Two

    TNL 31 ¨C Bandits Part Two

    When he arrives in Niroma, Morris immediately rushes to the palace. His first priority is to ensure that he gets an audience with the Empress.

    To get an audience, he reports to the clerk who is in charge of the audiences. This official has an office adjacent to the arrivals hall of the palace. The clerk is a small man who has piles of papers everywhere.

    "Sorry, I can''t give you an audience. Since you are in the service of the army, you will have to arrange audiences through the general staff. If they decide that you need to speak to the Empress, they can request it. Unfortunately, I can''t do anything for you."

    "What do you mean through the general staff? I have been assigned to the New Legion, which falls directly under the Empress. We have been told that we should report to her, not to the general staff."

    "I understand the problem, sir, but I also got my guidelines from my superiors. I can''t give an audience, so could you please leave now?"

    Morris can do nothing but leave before he is thrown out of the palace. Since he can''t do anything else, he decides to try his hand with the general staff.

    "Little chance of that succeeding," he hums to himself.

    Indeed, that attempt appears to be doomed to failure. Arriving at the army headquarters, he is almost immediately shown the door.

    "Unfortunately, I can''t help you," says the clerk of the general staff. "The generals have clearly indicated that everything and everyone who works with the New Legion is not ours. We can''t help you. If you want to have an audience, you have to request it from the palace."

    When this attempt has also failed, Morris decides to see how the squad of soldiers and their prisoners are doing. After arriving, they went to prison to deliver their prisoners. Then they would wait for him at the courthouse.

    A little later it appears that at least this part of the mission has been brought to a successful conclusion. When Morris arrives at the courthouse, the soldiers are already waiting for him.

    "Mission complete, Morris," one of the soldiers reports. "The prisoners have been delivered and accepted by the custodian."

    "At least we''ve been able to accomplish something," Morris replies, then tells us how he fared at the palace.

    "What I have to do," Morris concludes afterwards, "is to speak to my contacts in the palace in order to get to the Empress. If all goes well, I know someone who runs the evening shift in the palace. If I can speak to him, I should be able to give our report to the Empress. But first we have another assignment."

    Moments later, Morris knocks on the door of a cottage in the southwest quadrant of Niroma. A tired-looking woman opens.

    "No!" she shouts and seems to start crying. "Tell me it''s not true!" Her hands go to her face as she bursts into tears.

    "Easy, madam, nothing has happened to your son. We were sent here by our sergeant. He himself could not leave his post and sent us."

    "But what does that have to do with me? You just said nothing happened to my son."

    "Ah, maybe I should be a little clearer. I myself have been assigned to the New Legion as an instructor. The sergeant and commander of the New Legion is your son Raidon. I and some of his soldiers are here to deliver a package of his to you."

    Morris gives her a pouch from which the ringing sound of coins sounds.

    "If I''m right, he''s given you pretty much everything he''s earned so far. Furthermore, there is a letter for you if I am not mistaken."

    Morris gives a salute, before leaving the surprised woman in the doorway.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Alyena is just planning to take a break and have dinner when one of her clerks comes in.

    "I''m sorry to disturb you, your majesty," the clerk begins. "A friend of mine has asked me to ask you for an audience. He belongs to the New Legion. What can I tell him?"

    Alyena is a little surprised at first when this clerk comes up with a request for such a personal favor, but her mood changes when she hears the rest.

    "Is he here? Have him come in."

    When the man enters, she immediately recognizes him from the meeting with the leader of the New Legion.

    "It was Morris, wasn''t it?" she asks him.

    "Yes, your Majesty, I apologize for disturbing you like this. It seems impossible for us to schedule a normal audience with you. That is why I had to try to speak to you this way. I have a report for you from Sergeant Raidon. There have been some things that happened in the province of Aran that you need to be informed about."

    "Wait a minute, I''ll get to the report in a minute. How do you mean you couldn''t get an audience? I told you to come to me if there was anything?"

    "Yes, your majesty, but apparently rules have been introduced whereby all soldiers must request an audience by the general staff. Unfortunately, we are not part of the army, so that is not possible for us."

    "That''s not acceptable! I will personally make sure that those rules are changed. I will look at the report in a moment. Come back in an hour and take a seat in the waiting room. I will make sure that you are the first to have an audience after lunch so that we can discuss the report."

    Morris salutes, after which he leaves the room.

    Two hours later, Morris is admitted back in the presence of the Empress.

    "Ah, Morris, good to have you here. I''ve read Sergeant Raidon''s report, but I''d also like to hear your version. Tell me what you think was going on in Aran."

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    When Morris has finished telling his story, the Empress replies:

    "That''s about the same as what the report says. It is clear that there is too little supervision of my tax collectors. Another problem to solve. You have acted correct. I will make sure that the entire province of Aran is exempted from paying taxes this year. I can hardly miss it, but if we can stand our ground in the war, it will bring in more taxes in the future. You can go back to Aran and I''ll fix the loose ends here. Thank you for coming to explain the problems."

    It''s clear that the Empress is done with Morris and that she won''t let go of these problems. Morris gathers his squad of soldiers and begins the journey back.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    It takes three days to bring the eight squads together in Aran.

    "We really need to find a better way to send orders," Brandon notes. "This way, everything takes so long."

    Raidon agrees.

    "It would make a difference if we had a mounted unit. But we only have the instructors at the moment. And if we use them to send a message, they all have to go together. I really want to send at least five people at a time for safety."

    "Is it an idea to ask for a few extra people from the army? I know they''re not very happy with us, but surely there must be a few with whom we can work just like with Morris?"

    "Hmm, I''ll think about it. Maybe we can recruit a few local messengers. Or even train them as mounted soldiers."

    Raidon immediately begins to think about the possibility. But then he shakes his head.

    "It''s a good idea, but it will have to wait. When we are done with this mission, we will think about it again."

    Raidon and Brandon set off with the eight squads under their command.

    "This time we really have to stop the raids. If this mission fails and the generals are told about the failure, we could be in a lot of trouble," Raidon tells Brandon as they march together at the head of the column.

    "Yes, if it succeeds, we will get away with it, but otherwise even the Empress will have a hard time defending our actions."

    Just before sunset they arrive at the village. Raidon visits the mayor to warn him.

    "There will probably be an attack tomorrow morning just before or after sunrise," he tells the mayor. "What you and your people have to do is hide in the town hall and barricade it. That is the strongest building in your village. Keep as quiet as possible and make sure no one can get in."

    The mayor doesn¡¯t seem entirely convinced, but he too has heard about the recent raids on villages and he decides to do as he¡¯s told. Within ten minutes the whole village is informed and it is a chaos of people wanting to voice their opinion.

    One of Brandon''s crews hides in the houses to smoke the chimneys at sunrise. This way it looks like it is a normal day for the village. The other squads hide nearby in a farm.

    Just after sunrise the attack on the village starts. The bandits attack from the south. As soon as Raidon and Brandon see that the bandits are entering the village, they surround the village.

    Two squads at either end of the road block the entrances to the village while the rest spread around the village to close off other escape routes. Meanwhile, the soldiers who have been hiding in the village run off so as not to get stuck in the middle of the bandits.

    Unfortunately they are discovered by the bandits before they are even halfway to safety! And these run after the soldiers. Of the ten soldiers, nine escape. The latter steps into a rabbit hole on the way, causing him to sprain his ankle. The bandits catch up with him, but the soldier sells his life dearly and four bandits die before a giant of a guy arrives with a big hammer. He manages to hit the soldier on his head, causing him to get knocked out. Then the bandits finish him off. Fortunately, the other nine soldiers manage to reach Brandon''s formation.

    The bandits now find that they are trapped and try to get away. They see Brandon and his three squads and try to break through. There are one hundred and fifty bandits attacking Brandon''s twenty-nine men. After a few minutes, twelve bandits are dead or wounded and only one of the soldiers in Brandon''s squad is lightly wounded. Then two squads arrive from the side to encircle the bandits. As soon as they see that, the bandits run off again. On the other side of the village they try to break through at Raidon¡¯s position. The outcome of the confrontation is almost as bad for them this time around. Seven more bandits lie dead or wounded. The remaining bandits begin to panic and run away in all directions.

    Then their captain manages to get above the noise and calls them back together.

    "We''re still with more men, guys!" he shouts.

    The bandits gather on the field in front of the town hall. The soldiers of the New Legion enter the village in good order, but even before they get close to the bandits, those are startled again.

    From the windows of the town hall all kinds of things start to come down. The inhabitants of the village have seen that the bandits are losing and have decided that they want to help. Everything they get their hands on is thrown at the bandits. One of the bandits is even knocked down by a full toilet bowl. Its contents are distributed amongst the other bandits standing nearby.

    Then Raidon and Brandon arrive with their soldiers. In an instant, the bandits are surrounded and stand with their backs against a bunch of houses.

    The soldiers of the New Legion take their places at their leisure. For the bandits, this is an impressive spectacle. Fifty-eight soldiers standing side by side and waving their shields forward at the same time until there is an uninterrupted wall of large shields and iron men.

    Raidon gives Brandon a sign, after which both men give their orders.

    "At my command, throw!"

    Fifty-eight spears fly through the air. These do a lot more damage than the stuff from the town hall. Because the bandits have no shields and wear almost no reinforced clothing, one after the other is felled by the spears. Almost half of the spears find a purpose.

    Immediately after throwing the spears, the soldiers step forward. The bandits have no chance to regroup before the soldiers arrive. As Raidon and Brandon advance, the bandits try to escape everywhere between and through the houses. Since the houses are very close together, the bandits can only escape from the encirclement very slowly. Once outside the village, these men are taken care of by the squads of the New Legion that are lined up around the village.

    But then a group of fifty bandits together break down a wall of a house. On the other side of that wall, they clash with the second squad of Raidon''s platoon. Seven bandits are fatally hit before the rest manage to get away.

    Afterwards, Raidon discusses the fight with the newly promoted Sergeant Brandon and all the squad leaders.

    "More than a hundred bandits have been killed, sergeant," reports one of the squad leaders. "There were also prisoners, but unfortunately the villagers got hold of them."

    Brandon continues:

    "We ourselves have twelve wounded and one man did not make it."

    "We knew it was dangerous for the squad to hide in the village. Too bad he didn''t make it," Raidon replies, then looks around the group. "On the positive side, I see that we have a lot of promotions."

    "Yes," Brandon replies, "every squad now has a squad leader and a lot of decorations of courage have appeared. There is even a decoration of lifesaver. Soldier Manno of your second squad saved the others when they were almost overrun by the outbreak of the last bandits. Unfortunately, they have five wounded to mourn, one of whom is in bad shape."

    "I know. Despite the victory, we didn''t get off as easily this time," Raidon''s reaction is, after which he continues with his orders. "Brandon, I want you to take your platoon with you to catch those bandits. You probably won''t get a hold of them all, but the more we catch the better. I myself will take the first and all the wounded back to Aran."

    When Brandon and the second platoon return to Aran a few days later, Raidon is told that three more small groups have been caught. Unfortunately, more have escaped because they broke up in smaller and smaller groups. But the big raids are a thing of the past. Raidon unfortunately has to tell Brandon that the badly wounded soldier did not make it.

    A few days later, the day after Brandon and the second platoon have left to take back the garrison of Fort Alpha, Morris returns.

    "I delivered the message to the Empress. It did take some effort to gain access to her. General Colling managed to set some rules that made it impossible to speak to her. In the end, I succeeded and delivered the message. She hadn''t heard anything about this herself, but she thought we acted well. She is also going to change those rules and look at the taxes. I also visited your mother. I think she would like it if you would come by yourself, but at least now she knows that you are doing well. Did I miss anything here?"

    "Well, we''ve decided that you and your men are going to train some local guys as scouts and messengers. Maybe even as light cavalry if that works? About twenty is perfect, then you and your instructors can all have a group of four to command."

    Morris looks at Raidon for a moment at this unexpected answer.

    "Hmm, that should be possible. But you need these guys to find those bandits? It may take a while before they are ready for that."

    "That won''t be necessary, those have already been dealt with," Raidon says with a steely face, after which he can no longer hold back and bursts out laughing at the sight of Morris'' bewildered face.

 TNL 32 - Pirates Part One

    TNL 32 ¨C Pirates Part One

    Seven days later, Raidon, Brandon and Morris sit down together. Brandon has been recalled from Fort Alpha especially for this meeting.

    "The province is now largely safe as far as bandits are concerned," Raidon begins, "but we are still dealing with pirate raids. It''s time for us to take a look at that as well. Does anyone have any ideas?"

    "Not really." Morris is the first to answer. "Since hardly anyone ever goes out on the ocean, we know very little about this. No one except pirates uses the ocean. All I know is that the water is wet!" At that last remark, he has to laugh himself.

    "Wait!" shouts Brandon. "There are people who use the ocean. The fishermen! This city has a port for a reason."

    "You''re right," Raidon¡¯s conclusion is. "I don''t think anyone else has bigger ships than the fishing boats. But they may know what action we can best take to reduce the raids. Of course, they go out on the water with their boats every day."

    Raidon follows his own advice that same day and takes a squad of soldiers to the port. When he and his men march into the harbor he lets his soldiers spread out.

    "Try to find fishermen who have the time and the will to help us. Preferably not young men, because the older ones will probably have a lot more experience."

    A little later, the soldiers have found three men who might help.

    "Sergeant, these are the only fishermen in the port at the moment. All the others have sailed out and will not be back until tonight," one soldier reports.

    Raidon looks at the three fishermen. One of them is walking on crutches and has clearly not sailed because he is injured. In addition, this man is about thirty years old. Another one is still almost a boy.

    He won¡¯t even be twenty yet, Raidon thinks.

    The third man is exactly the person he is looking for. It is an old man between fifty and sixty, heavily wrinkled with dark gray hair. However, he still looks strong. He will probably have twenty to thirty years of experience with the ocean, Raidon suspects.

    He points out the old man.

    "You are the one we need. The other two can go again."

    The old man is not too happy about this. "What do you want from me? Can''t an old man enjoy his old age instead of being dragged away by a bunch of brutal soldiers?"

    Raidon realizes that the soldiers may not have been too subtle, but he still needs the man.

    "Dear man, I understand that this might be an imposition. My men and I were wondering if you might have any knowledge about the ocean?"

    "Well yes, of course I have. What else do you expect when you drag a retired fisherman over here!" Sarcasm is apparently the old man''s favorite way of talking.

    "Beautiful! Then you are the one we need. We need your help. You will of course be paid for that."

    "What do you need?"

    "We¡¯d like to know more about the ocean and how we can take out the pirates."

    The old fisherman is stunned. "You want to fight the pirates? How?"

    "Well, we need you for that. We know absolutely nothing about the ocean, apart from the things that everyone knows, such as that fish swim in it."

    The old fisherman, shaking his head, decides to go along. He has nothing better to do since he gave up fishing.

    Raidon takes the old fisherman back to the garrison. Once in the office, he picks up his maps.

    "These are our maps. On this map I have marked the places with red where the various raids were committed. Firstly, I would like you to look at them and give your opinion. Then I would like to know what else you can tell me."

    The old fisherman mumbles for a moment:

    "You don¡¯t have to be too formal with me.¡±

    Then he pulls the maps to himself and looks at them. A little later he looks up.

    "These maps are not correct. The coast is completely different in different places."

    He points out a place where a peninsula juts into the sea.

    "This point doesn''t even exist. I think that peninsula fell into the sea when I was about twelve years old. Furthermore, I don''t even see the lost island on here and even the pirate islands are missing."

    Raidon looks stunned at him. "Lost island? Pirate Islands? What are you talking about?"

    The old fisherman laughs. "You really don''t know anything, do you? How do you think to deal with the pirates when you know so little? Can you send someone to my house for my own maps? My daughter knows which one I mean. They are in my old chest at the bottom. In the meantime, I''ll tell you a thing or two."

    Raidon immediately sends two soldiers on their way to get the maps.

    The old fisherman begins to tell.

    "A few days sailing from here is a huge island. That''s the lost island. Don''t ask me why it''s called that, but for as long as my grandparents'' grandparents could remember, it''s been called that. That island is off-limits. No one who goes there survives. All we know about it is the coast, because a fisherman once sailed around it when he was blown far off course in a storm. He ended up in the north on the open ocean and when he saw land, he sailed further south until he could recognize something. Only when he came to the end of the island, he saw that he was sailing near the lost island. As was his custom, he took notes of everything he saw. With his maps and his notes we were able to fill in the coast of the island."

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    The old fisherman has to cough for a while and Raidon offers him something to drink. After drinking, the old fisherman wants to continue, but at that moment there is a knock on the door. The soldiers who come in have the maps of the old fisherman with them. The old fisherman immediately grabs them.

    "Look, here you see the lost island. We have not been able to map everything, but what we do not know for sure, we have been able to fill in on the basis of what we already had. Here further to the southeast you can see a lot of small islands. These are the pirate islands. The people who live there sail their ships all over the coast and commit raids everywhere. They are also one of the reasons that there is never any trade via the ocean. The traders who tried that have all been caught by the pirates."

    Raidon takes a look at the maps and then notes:

    "But those islands are pretty far away. If that lost island takes a few days of sailing, then those pirate islands must be much further out. How can they commit so many raids here?"

    "I''ll tell you that, boy," the old fisherman replies. "The pirates must have a base somewhere in the province from where they commit their raids. Otherwise, they could never take all their loot back to the islands. This must be somewhere in the wilderness, because otherwise everyone knew about it. The only other place would be the lost island and no one can survive there..."

    Raidon knows enough for now. After thanking the old fisherman and getting him to lend Raidon the maps for a few days, he has his soldiers take the fisherman back home. But not before the man has received a pouch with coins.

    From the maps from the old fisherman, Raidon draws the coast on his own maps. The fisherman''s comments continue to play through Raidon''s head. If the pirates have a base somewhere in the province, they might be able to attack it to stop the raids!

    Raidon immediately sends a message to Brandon in Fort Alpha. His patrols have to patrol the coast, in order to find the base of the pirates. Brandon immediately sends back a message that he is going to investigate and will let Raidon know if he has found something.

    Brandon does his best, but he and his patrols are unable to find the base. It takes them almost three weeks to comb out the wilderness and although they have looked at almost every spot on the coast, they cannot find the base. That''s why Brandon sends a message to Raidon that the base is not in the wilderness.

    Despite the old sailor''s doubts, Raidon is now convinced that that pirate base must be on the lost island. That most people that came close could have many reasons. The pirates can also be the cause that those people have disappeared.

    That''s why Raidon decides to rent a boat to send a group of scouts to the island. This group consists of Morris, with two instructors and some of his new cavalrymen.

    "Morris, this mission could be very dangerous. I am fully convinced that there is nothing special about that island and that those people have been caught by the pirates. Still, I want you to be very careful. At the first indication that something is not right, I want you to come back."

    "No problem. Me and my men know what we''re doing. And even my recruits already know a thing or two."

    Renting a boat is not that easy. With great difficulty Raidon manages to convince a captain to sail out to island for a hefty fee. But then it turns out that the boat is not big enough for the entire group he wants to send.

    A few days later Raidon finds a second captain who wants to sail along to send the other men. He eventually wants to help, but wants to be paid almost double the amount that the first captain wanted. This way, the costs increase a lot! Nevertheless, Raidon decides to accept the fee. He has no choice.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    It takes ten long days of anxious waiting for Morris and his men to return. When they return, all the men look disheveled. The journey was tough, but they have succeeded.

    Immediately upon arrival, Morris gets straight to the point:

    "The base is on the island!" Raidon, however, first sends him to the barracks to freshen up.

    "We will have a meeting in an hour and then I want to hear your report. Now go and get freshened up. You look exhausted!"

    According to Morris, there is indeed a fairly large pirate base on the island. The pirates who live there take care of all the raids in the province and also some further north. Even the bandits are brought ashore from here and picked up again.

    "We''ve even seen a few arriving and departing pirate ships," he says.

    Halfway between the landing site and the pirate base, Morris and his scouts have found the ruins of a tower.

    "The architecture is a bit like that of Fort Alpha. So maybe they''re from the old legions," Morris says. "Possibly the ruins of the old legions on the lost island are better preserved because hardly anyone comes there."

    From the tower they explored the area and found the base in a bay on the southern side of the island.

    "The settlement has a wooden palisade with a single gate. As far as we could see, they only have lookout towers on the side of the harbor. So there probably will be something to close the harbor with," Morris tells Raidon.

    "Then we''ll go to the island to pay them a visit," Raidon replies.

    One of the wounded bandits has already indicated during the interrogation that the raids from the country are actually only a small part of a much larger organization. That''s the only thing he let go. For Raidon, this is a good indication that he can possibly stop the remaining raids in the province by driving the pirates off the island.

    Raidon asks the old fisherman to come back to the barracks. Together with Morris and Brandon, they will figure out how to tackle the pirates.

    "What we could see from a distance is that the pirates are using larger ships than we have seen in the port here. Fairly elongated ships with a lot of rowers," Morris explains.

    "That could be possible," the old fisherman agrees. "Those pirates almost live on the ocean. They will need those larger ships to get to and from their islands if they commit a raid. They are away for much longer than we fishermen."

    "The New Legion consists of two platoons and one separate squad. Unfortunately, we recently lost two men. So at the moment we still have a hundred and eight soldiers. The instructors are added to that and there are three of them who will go along." Raidon looks at the old fisherman.

    "How many men can we transport on the fishing boats? We need space for a hundred and eleven men and enough supplies for them."

    "Well, that depends on which captains want to offer their services."

    "Don''t offer anything. As commander of the province, I will instruct them to cooperate. You tell me their names and we make sure they make their boats available."

    The old fisherman looks rather dubious at this statement. "Well, if it has to come to that. Then I think that with eight boats for the soldiers and two for the supplies, we should have enough. With a little bit of trouble, up to fifteen passengers might be transported by a ship in calm weather."

    "Raidon," Brandon begins.

    "Yes?"

    "I don''t think we need that much. We can''t take everyone with us."

    "Why not?"

    "Some people have to stay behind to take care of the city and Fort Alpha. If we leave everything here unprotected, the remaining bandits or others could cause a lot of chaos."

    "He''s right, boy," Morris says. "I understand that you want to take as many people as possible for the attack, but we should not neglect our responsibilities either. Then we¡¯ll get into trouble with the generals."

    Raidon sighs. "You''re right. But even then, I want to take most of our people with me." He looks at Morris. "You can stay here to take command. The men are used to that by now. You can have squad leader Lenn with the rest of his squad. Take four men yourself and give him the other four for Fort Alpha. Both of you can also have ten cavalry recruits. Your colleague can stay with Lenn to guide the recruits. It will not be enough for patrols, but enough to hold the posts. Close the gates and wait until you hear from us. If you don''t have a message after two weeks, send a messenger to the next garrison for reinforcements. You¡¯ll also report to the Empress if we don¡¯t come back."

    While Morris nods with a dissatisfied look, Raidon looks at the old fisherman.

    "Furthermore, I want you to keep one of the boats at the landing site to send a message for when we need to be picked up again."

    The old fisherman also nods.

    "Nice, now let''s get to work," Raidon concludes the meeting.

 TNL 33 - Pirates Part Two

    TNL 33 ¨C Pirates Part Two

    All in all, it takes almost a week before the expedition is ready. First, both platoons have to gather in the garrison and supplies must be found. But then the time has finally come.

    Both platoons are lined up at the harbor. It has been decided that each of the ten boats will take a squad of soldiers on board and part of the supplies. This is to allow for a more orderly embarkation.

    One by one, the squads board the boats assigned to them. That morning, the necessary supplies have already been brought on board in the early hours. All in all, it only takes an hour before the boats are ready for departure. Raidon, together with the old fisherman, is the last to board a boat.

    The crossing takes two days, just long enough for Raidon and the others to get used to the heaving of the boats. Then the fisherman on the lookout calls that there is land in sight, and a little later the first boats reach the beach. The fishermen do not often land on an unknown beach and for a while it is exciting. But for the soldiers of the New Legion, who are called landlubbers by some fishermen, it is very intense. Because of their heavy armor, they would drown immediately if the boats overturned.

    When the boats slide home on the beach a little later, the relief is great. The soldiers quickly rush off board. Once on the beach, it is not over for many of them. After the time at sea, many men have acquired sea legs. For the fishermen it turns out to be a very comical sight. The old fisherman is not the only one who is doubled over with laughter.

    "You should see what that looks like! And that after such a small breeze. Just wait until it''s autumn in a few weeks, then we''ll sail again!" the old man shouts to Raidon after he has dropped out of the boat on the beach and then stays there as if he wants to hug the ground. He is certainly not the only one, because more than half of the soldiers have become seasick in the small fishing boats. Therefore, when disembarking, nothing can be seen of the orderly embarkation of a few days ago.

    A few minutes later, however, Raidon has recovered far enough that he resumes his obligations. He therefore stands up to call orders. But he sees that the unloading of the supplies has already been started by the men who were not seasick and also that there is already a beginning of a camp. Then he sees Brandon laughing at him from the firmer ground a little further away.

    "So you have woken up again from your beauty sleep, Sergeant!?" a soldier with a bag of grain on his shoulder shouts to Raidon.

    "Well, this great appearance has to be maintained!" replies Raidon, after which he walks up to Brandon.

    "What is the situation?"

    "Almost everyone has recovered a bit from the trip. Another man or twenty are still a bit unsteady or have similar symptoms. Furthermore, we are halfway through unloading the supplies. All in all, we should be ready setting up camp in half an hour."

    "Just make it an hour or two," Raidon replies. "I want to have a fortified camp here. A few fishermen will stay here for messages and the like and I want to be able to withdraw if necessary. So put the men to work when they are ready, then they can recover in a safe camp for the rest of the day."

    The next day they move on. In column, the two platoons set off. Since the camp is made on an elevation where the ground is firmer, walking is much easier than through the loose sand on the water. However, the soldiers now suffer from the long grass and one hill after another.

    "I think these hills are called dunes," Gareth says.

    An hour later they are finally on the edge of this terrain. As soon as the soldiers see the first trees, they are relieved, but even then it takes almost twenty minutes before they reach the forest. The shade under the trees is a huge relief. Raidon hears the soldiers sigh as soon as they are out of the scorching sun. He himself is also relieved when he walks under the trees.

    The forest turns out to be fairly easily passable. Here and there they have to walk around if trees have fallen over or many fallen branches block the road, but all in all it is not too bad. There is only a little low vegetation to make it more difficult to move on.

    By noon, the soldiers have traveled through the forest. Now they see a huge open plain. However, there are many low plants here, in which many soldiers get stuck with their feet. Several soldiers go down hard, which makes an enormous noise thanks to their armor. The only way to stay on your feet is to lift the feet high. This requires extra concentration and thanks to the harnesses it is not easy to accomplish.

    Moments later, Raidon stops.

    "Enough, men, time for a break. I want each squad to leave one person on guard. Alternate on time."

    The men don''t have to be told a second time. Grateful, most of them sit down. The men are already so attuned to each other after all the training that each squad automatically has someone who takes the first guard.

    After half an hour they leave again and by the evening they are finally at the end of the plain.

    "Brandon!" shouts Raidon to the back as they stop. "What do you think? Will we camp between the trees or stay here on the plain? Both options have their pros and cons."

    "Well, I think we better stay on the plain. Then at least we can see it when someone arrives. We just have to hope that the pirates don''t have scouts so far from their camp."

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    "Agreed. Put the men to work."

    A little later, Raidon consults with the scouts about the distance they still have to travel.

    "What do you think? How far have we come?"

    "I think it will take us another three days, sergeant," says a scout. "When we came here, we had it a lot easier because we were lightly packed. We came to the end of the next forest area on the first day. In total it took us three days, but at the pace we have now, it will take us four."

    "Hmm, let''s hope we can make up some time tomorrow. I want to end this as soon as possible."

    The scout is right. The next day the troops are held up again by the terrain. This time it is a forest area with a lot of undergrowth.

    Eventually they come to the end of this area and they finally see terrain that they can work with. As far as they can see, there is now grassland. Also, the area seems quite flat. The hills of the coast have long since passed them and the way forward seems completely flat.

    "Beautiful! Now we can finally make up some lost time." Brandon seems satisfied with the terrain.

    "Yes, but it also means that every fire we make can be seen from miles away. So we will have to make do with a cold camp," Raidon replies.

    Halfway through the fourth day of their journey, they finally come close to the bay in the southwest of the island. Everyone can see from afar that the pirate base is here. It seems that it is a whole village with a wooden palisade and with two large farms outside. Raidon calls Brandon to him.

    "Brandon, I want you and the second to attack that farm on the right. I''ll take the first platoon and take the left. Make sure your men rest later, because we are attacking tonight. As soon as the scouts are back, we can decide how to proceed."

    When the instructors return from their reconnaissance mission, they tell them that there are twenty pirates in both farms and about a hundred prisoners who maintain the farms. The two platoons split up to prepare their attacks.

    It''s around three o''clock at night when Raidon and Brandon launch their attacks. Raidon has his men move as quiet as possible, while the instructors move forward. Before the attack, he spoke to his men and explained the plan.

    "The instructors go first, to eliminate the guards. When that is done, we will attack. There are only about twenty men in the house, so when we attack, the odds will be in our favor. I want this to happen quickly and preferably with as few losses as possible on both sides. Hit them with the knob of your sword if you can, but don''t put yourself in danger."

    The attack proceeds smoothly. The one guard is dozing by his fire at the entrance and the rest is half drunk. The instructor who accompanies the first platoon suddenly jumps up behind the guard. In a fluid motion, he hooks his arm around his neck. Meanwhile, his other hand comes over the watchman''s mouth so that he cannot make a sound. The whole action takes less than two seconds. Then the soldiers come running and enter the building. Without anyone coming even close to being injured, they can overpower the pirates. John shows that despite his lesser attributes, he is still a great asset to the New Legion. He is one of the first to close with the sleeping pirates, and before the others have even taken in the situation, he has already slit the throats of the first two pirates.

    All this happens in the silent night without there being more noise than the rumble of the dying pirates.

    The action is repeated at the other farm by Brandon and before the hour has passed, both farms are in hands of the New Legion.

    When Raidon and Brandon discussed the attacks, they also decided what to do with the prisoners in the farms. For now, they''re leaving them be. When it''s morning, it''s early enough to tell them what has happened. It is better to let them sleep until there is light.

    After the attacks, Raidon has a camp set up within sight of the pirate base. In the dark, the soldiers make a camp as quickly as possible, entirely with an earthen wall to protect the camp. There won''t be much sleep this night.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For Aulis, this is the third week of his imprisonment. A few weeks ago he was a carefree boy of eighteen with blond hair, who worked on the farm with his parents and brothers. Everything changed when he went to the market in the village with his father. Just as they were starting to unload their cart, the village was raided. The bandits beat down anyone who resisted, took everything of value and took the young men and women with them. Aulis'' father was one of the men who resisted. Aulis himself was captured not knowing whether his father was dead or alive. Now he has been in this barn or working on the surrounding land for three weeks to grow crops for the pirates.

    Since Aulis is used to the work, it is a little easier for him than most others. Some can hardly get up in the morning. Especially the city and village people have a hard time. But even for Aulis, it''s starting to get harder and harder. They get little to eat from the pirates, which makes them weaker and weaker. That makes little difference to the pirates, since they always get new prisoners from the mainland.

    One day when morning comes, the prisoners are not awakened at the normal time. The few prisoners who are still in good condition wake up early out of habit. The others remain sleeping until they are woken up by the pirates.

    An hour later, however, the guards still haven''t come. Slowly the prisoners begin to realize that something is wrong.

    When a little later the door of the barn opens, everyone looks at the door with anticipation. Some with hope of liberation, some with fear of what awaits them now.

    Blinking against the light, they see that there are no pirates in the opening. Instead of their usual guards, strangers now come in. Judging by their weapons, these must be real warriors. No pirate is so stupid as to put on such heavy equipment on a ship.

    The warriors look like gods! The light reflects off their shiny armor and some prisoners can hardly look at it, that''s how bright the light is.

    Aulis can hardly believe his eyes. Will they finally be saved?

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Raidon has the prisoners freed by his men in the morning.

    "Gods, they look so wretched," James exclaims as he first takes a look at one of the barns the prisoners are in.

    "You''re right, James. I''m glad we let them sleep a little longer while we got ready. It''s a good thing we already have our plans ready, because we don''t have to count on these guys when we need help. I doubt that more than half can stand up, let alone have the strength to defend themselves against those pirates," Raidon replies.

    "Shouldn''t we look at what we can do for them? Otherwise, I think there will be a whole bunch dead by the time we''re done with the pirates."

    "I think that''s a good idea. Because it is your idea, you can also implement it. Choose two squads from both platoons to help you. Forty men should be enough, I think? Then you can use two shifts per farm."

    When James has gathered his men and opens the doors wide open, the prisoners only look at him incredulously and sometimes even fearfully. Carefully, he and his men take the prisoners outside, and calmly tell them what is going on. Several prisoners burst into tears when they hear that they are free.

    Since these people have never heard of the New Legion, it takes a lot of effort to convince them that it is not a joke. In the end, the best argument turns out to come from John. He arrives with a big breakfast of bread and toasted pig.

    "Look, folk," John shouts cheerfully as he walks in tow with a bunch of others, "a nice breakfast, freshly stolen from your captors."

 TNL 34 - Pirates Part Three

    TNL 34 ¨C Pirates Part Three

    Even while the soldiers of the New Legion help the prisoners, the alarm sounds. Especially for this occasion Raidon had a trumpet brought along. Now one of the soldiers is blowing his longs out on the thing.

    "By Mithras, that thing makes a noise. Harm clearly has more air to blow than he has talent," John grumbles.

    The sound of the trumpet ensures that more and more pirates realize that something is going on outside of their palisade. One after another the pirates appear on top of the gatehouse.

    Some of the prisoners are rather combative after breakfast and want to help. Unfortunately, most of the others are in such bad shape that the handful of stronger people have to take care of the rest.

    "Brandon, it''s time to have the men take their positions. If we don''t start now, we might be too late," Raidon shouts to Brandon.

    As Brandon immediately starts shouting to the second platoon that they have to line up. Raidon now turns towards his own men.

    "Men, we have the right flank. Form a shield wall with the second and be ready for further orders. Think about your training, and we''ll get through this."

    After his pep talk, Raidon leads his men to the place where they want to fight the pirates. Raidon and Brandon chose this place the night before as the best location for the fight.

    At some distance, right in front of the gate, the pirates can do nothing against the New Legion. To get to the soldiers, they will have to leave their safe defenses. With that, the biggest advantage the pirates had would be lost.

    The soldiers are lined up in a formation of two men one behind the other. This formation has often proven its worth against the opponents of the New Legion. Just as they practiced it, a little later there are fifty soldiers standing next to each other. The two platoons stand next to each other to double the width of the formation. Otherwise, they would be surrounded in no time.

    To provoke the pirates, both platoons have appointed a squad to take ladders and a ram. The pirates don''t know it, but the ladders are tied together with pieces of rope and are weak and crooked. The ram also does not represent anything since it is only a large tree trunk that they have encountered on their journey across the island. Because of these ''siege attributes'', the pirates may think that this small group really wants to storm them.

    The pirates do exactly what Raidon had hoped for. Instead of waiting quietly behind the palisade, they decide to do a sortie. Because of their great superiority, they think that they can wipe out these tin cans in no time. When Raidon sees the gate open, he knows that his plan has succeeded.

    "Men, throw that firewood away and then back in place. I think we have company."

    More than five hundred pirates charge out of the gates in a seemingly endless stream. There are even more than Raidon and Brandon had expected. According to the reports Raidon has seen, there would be at most four hundred. However, this mass of people is a lot larger than four hundred.

    Despite this unpleasant surprise, the soldiers remain calm. Raidon, who is in the front row today, calls his new orders.

    "Row one, kneel and get ready. Row two, choose your targets."

    The front row of soldiers, including Raidon, now kneels on one knee so that the men behind them can shoot over their heads.

    "Row two, shoot!" shouts Raidon, after which fifty arrows strike into the horde of pirates.

    Because the pirates are bunched up so close together, the soldiers can hardly miss. Each arrow of their first salvo hits a pirate.

    Immediately after the first pirates fall, Raidon shouts: "First row, choose your targets." And right after that, "Row one, shoot!"

    Once again, dozens of pirates go. Raidon is impressed with the crossbows. Never before has the New Legion used the weapons on a battlefield.

    Next time we should try to shoot earlier. Then maybe we can reload for another volley, Raidon thinks.

    As soon as the last arrows have been fired, the soldiers hook their crossbows back on their left leg. There, the soldiers are no longer bothered by the weapons.

    "Grab spears!" it sounds.

    At Raidon''s command, everyone picks up their spear, which they had stuck into the ground for convenience. The front row of soldiers gets up again, to be the first to throw their spear.

    When the pirates are about twenty meters away, Raidon has the first row of soldiers throw their spears. For this, they take a few steps forward to give their throw momentum. Even as the spears fly through the air, the second row follows with their spears.

    With this second type of ranged weapons, another fifty pirates or more fall down. All in all, more than a hundred pirates are already dead or wounded.

    The soldiers brace themselves to hold back the stampede of the pirates. Even with their heavy armor, the soldiers are pushed back a lot by the hundreds of pirates. Deep grooves in the soft ground show that the force exerted on the shields of the soldiers is enormous.

    Despite the heavy losses, around four hundred pirates are still on their feet. Slowly but surely the soldiers are driven backwards. In addition, the pirates on the flanks begin to surround the army of the New Legion.

    But then something unexpected happens. Behind the pirates, the gates close. It only takes a while before the first pirates realize this. A short moment later, the soldiers can suddenly hold the enemy back because the pressure has halved. Only the front pirates don¡¯t yet realize that something is wrong.

    While everyone looks at the gate in amazement, people suddenly appear at the top of the gate. The pirate flag is also lowered, it is clear that something has gone completely wrong for the pirates.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Ryker, the old fisherman, still doesn''t know if the plan he has made with the sergeant of the New Legion will succeed. The sergeant was very convincing and when he explained it, it seemed quite logical and easy. But now that he and his fleet are on their way to the pirate base, it seems utterly idiotic. Who is going to voluntarily go to a base full of pirates and large ships with only ten small boats?

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    At least the weather is good, there is a nice breeze, but not strong enough to make waves too big. Fortunately, the wind also comes from the mainland. If we were downwind, the situation would be a bit different, he thinks.

    Together with the sergeant, he has conceived the plan to attack the pirates in the back if possible. Both knew in advance that the untrained fishermen cannot do much damage to the trained pirates, but with a bit of luck an opportunity might present itself.

    As soon as Ryker and his fleet get close to the bay where the pirate base is located, they have to be extra careful. If they are discovered by the pirates, then the whole operation falls through. That''s why Ryker lets his fleet sail spread out. Most boats sail close together on the shore, where they can quickly enter an inlet to hide. Around it sail two boats that transmit signals when a sail is seen.

    When the fleet finally arrives at a place where they can wait safely, at the back of an island in the bay, Ryker has a lookout keep an eye on the pirate base day and night. The coordination between the New Legion and Rykers fleet must be timed just right.

    It''s a bit of a wait, but a day later the lookout finally reports that something is happening. At night there was already more light to see from the land than usual, but now it is clear to see that something is going on.

    "I think they''ve arrived, Ryker," says the lookout.

    "Why?"

    "Well, from the place where I was sitting, you can see that there are all these people out there at the farms. And not in the normal way like they go to work. I also think I can see a camp out there."

    "Well, keep an eye on it. As soon as you see that the soldiers are preparing for battle, we have to leave too."

    An hour later, the lookout comes running again.

    "It''s time!" he shouts enthusiastically. "The soldiers are ready and the pirates are pouring out of the base! There are so many that not one can possibly be inside anymore!"

    Ryker doesn''t waste a moment.

    "Set sail! We¡¯ll take the base from the inside and close the gate. Hurry up, this is our only chance!"

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    One of Raidon''s soldiers sees the gate close and immediately shouts to Raidon.

    Raidon immediately responds: "Form a circle, men! Just a little longer before the reinforcements will be here!"

    Of course, the pirates hear this. They don''t know what''s going on in their base. Frightened, the front pirates now also look around. The pressure on the shields decreases even further, only to disappear completely when the pirates take a few steps away from the New Legion.

    Then a new surprise awaits the pirates. Instead of forming a circle as Raidon just shouted really loud, the soldiers of the New Legion straightened their lines. Within a few seconds, the whole formation is as neat as before the pirates attacked, only a few meters further back.

    Then Raidon''s voice sounds above the noise.

    "ATTACK!"

    And there the soldiers go. Now that they all charge in their heavy armor, it seems as if a wall of iron is rolling towards the pirates. Most pirates take a few steps back, causing them to bump into their own people. There is a lot of confusion and no one is ready when the soldiers arrive.

    With a huge blow, the shields come into contact with the first pirates. These are literally knocked back. Some pirates seem to be able to fly!

    Immediately, Raidon and his soldiers show that their short swords are very effective in the tight space. The pirates, who usually have longer swords and spears, have almost no room to use their own weapons.

    Within moments, a third of the pirates are dead or injured. Nothing seems to be able to stop the soldiers now. The pirates suddenly decide that enough is enough and run off.

    But when they arrive at the gate, they have nowhere to go. The gate remains closed. Stones are even thrown from above!

    Raidon and his soldiers drive the pirates against the gate and the walls. It is a slaughter. Within moments, dozens of pirates are dead or injured. In desperation, the remaining pirates drop their weapons and surrender.

    "A great victory!" shouts Brandon as he and Raidon survey the battlefield. "We have captured more than fifty pirates and around four hundred have been killed. The others won''t stop running for a long time, I think."

    "Yes, but I think we lost some people," Raidon replies depressed.

    A little later, the squad leaders come to report. Brandon speaks briefly with the various squad leaders before he can report to Raidon:

    "The total losses are twenty dead and thirteen wounded. That''s not bad for such a big battle."

    "Yes, but they were friends," Raidon notes.

    Brandon blushes a little. Raidon is right of course, and with the ones lost is also soldier James of Raidon''s original squad. A fleeing pirate managed to stick his dagger in James'' eye as he tried to run past the soldier. James is the first of the nine men to share a room with Raidon when they were still recruits.

    When Raidon and Brandon walk to the gate with two squads, it opens. And standing inside is the old fisherman.

    "Well, guys, your plan worked. There were no more than fifteen pirates in this entire place. Ten at the gate and five were with the captured women. When they saw that there were almost fifty of us, they surrendered without a fight."

    Brandon looks at the old fisherman in bewilderment.

    "Plan? What plan? I didn''t know anything!"

    Raidon and the old fisherman start laughing.

    "So you didn''t tell him anything?"

    "No, I thought it would be nice to see his face when he saw you opening that gate."

    Then the old fisherman starts laughing even harder. Raidon explains it to Brandon:

    "Before we left, I asked him to bring a group of men. With them, he has been able to take the base from the inside pretty easily. In this case, we were actually the distraction. With their small fishing boats they could sail right in."

    For a moment it seems as if Brandon might fall back into his old habits from the training camp, but then he manages to control himself. That time seems so long ago, and he can actually see the humor of it.

    "I admit, you''ve got me. But these are important things to share with your commanders, sergeant. I would appreciate it if you take that into account next time. I don''t want to lose more people if I don''t have to."

    The whole time Raidon kept an eye on him, to see how Brandon would pass this test. If he doesn''t erupt in anger even now, Raidon is sure he doesn''t have to fear that Brandon will fall back into his bad habits.

    Not wanting to have to recapture this base, Raidon decides that a garrison on the island is necessary. Now that there are so many dead and wounded, this is quite a difficult task. In the end, Raidon and Brandon decide that the platoons need to be reorganized. Two squads are disbanded until there are enough recruits to replace the lost men. The other soldiers in those squads are divided among the other squads.

    Now that they only have eight squads on the island and one on the mainland, it is necessary to look at where to station them. Since there are still more than fifty pirates roaming the island, Raidon is left with three squads. The other five, containing all the wounded, go back to the mainland with Brandon. Once there, Brandon and the other squad will ensure that Aran and Fort Alpha are protected. They also take all the captured pirates with them.

    Raidon, meanwhile, appoints one squad to guard the pirate base, which is actually more of a village. The former prisoners will also remain in the pirate village. Once they are strengthened, they can choose whether to stay here or return to the mainland.

    Raidon himself leaves with the other two squads to catch the remaining pirates.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Aulis falls from one surprise into the next all day long. First they were liberated by those soldiers, they were fed and they were further cared for. Then they were told that they could go home and that transport was to be provided to get back to the mainland. And now suddenly comes the offer for volunteers to build a new life in this village.

    While they are trying to process everything, they are still being cared for in the largest house in the village. Not only are there fishermen who try to do everything, there are also a whole bunch of those warriors with their beautiful harnesses who try to help where they can. According to one of those warriors, they are soldiers of the New Legion, whatever that means.

    When Aulis is one of the first to volunteer to stay, he still has an urgent question for the soldier to whom he must report.

    "I still have a request, sir," he tells the soldier.

    "What¡¯s up, boy?" he asks.

    "I would like to send a message home to let them know that I am still alive. I would also like to ask if they can tell me if my father is still alive."

    For a moment, Aulis is afraid that the soldier will get angry, but then he sees that the difficult expression is not for him.

    "That we didn''t think of that ourselves!" exclaims the soldier as he hits himself in the head. "Of course you can! We are going to arrange that for everyone. Great that you thought about it. So you see that not every soldier in the New Legion has a head for organizing. Rest assured, boy, we will take care of that. Just make sure you recover a little from your experiences here. Tomorrow we will organize everything here so that everyone who stays gets their own place to live."

 TNL 35 - Recruitement Part One

    TNL 35 ¨C Recruitment Part One

    Halfway through the second day, Raidon and his soldiers come across a number of buildings. It looks like a small abandoned village.

    "This is where the pirates gathered, sergeant," Raidon''s scout says. "All the tracks come together here before they continue to the mountains. It also seems as if the inhabitants have joined the pirates."

    Their path leads them right through the mountains. The mountains run over the narrow part of the island from northeast to southwest. The path that the pirates have followed, and now also Raidon and his soldiers, runs through a mountain pass. Raidon expects an ambush to happen all the way through, but nothing happens. It seems as if the pirates are in a hurry to get to the north side of the island.

    The path is easily passable and only after they have started the descent again does the scout find out why.

    "I think there used to be a road here. It is completely covered with earth and dust, but we have encountered only a little vegetation that held us up. At first I thought this was a game trail. Later I thought that strange, because no game trail can be this straight. A little further on down the path you can see that there really was a road once. Part of the path has fallen into a ravine and there you can clearly see the old covering stones."

    Raidon looks at him in amazement. "A road? And even now we still benefit from it? Amazing!" But then he looks a bit questionable. "Actually, I could have known. We have come across ruins of the ancient legions before on the island. Think of those watchtowers. This road was probably also made by them. I don''t think we should be too surprised if we come across more ruins from that time. Especially in the more remote areas."

    Their journey lasts several more days and already on the second day through the mountains they encounter even more signs of an overgrown road. This one is already noticeable by a grinding sound. If the soldiers pay close attention, they notice that the sound is coming from under their feet. The studs under their boots rub over the flat stones of the old road. Previously, they did not notice it because a thick layer of sand and dust has blown over it, and even some vegetation has started to grow on it here and there.

    Now, however, there is little coverage of the old road and in some places even the old road surface can still be seen. The pirates seem to follow the road all the way to the end.

    Another day later they can finally see where the pirates are heading. It seems as if there is a whole city on the northern tip of the island. Complete with a huge stone wall. From afar, Raidon and his men can already see the city quite clearly.

    "I hope there aren''t too many pirates in that city," squad leader Ice notes.

    "Yes, even from here, that city doesn''t look as easy as that village we took from the pirates," Raidon replies.

    However, the pirates are not on their way to the city, but to a place that is slightly to the east. Another group of pirates has ships here for the return trip to the base and the pirate islands. Before Raidon and the soldiers can catch them, they board the ships and set sail.

    "Well, that was that, I think," Raidon notes. "Hopefully they''ll go back to their islands and we won''t see them again for a long time."

    Then he turns his attention to the city.

    "Let''s see who lives in that city. We haven''t come across any sign of people apart from some ruins, but this city is too big to just leave without having a look."

    Moments later, Raidon and his men stand in front of the giant gate at the end of the old road.

    "Hello!?" shouts Raidon as loud as he can. "Is there anyone there?"

    When no one answers, the soldiers also start shouting.

    Five minutes later, there is still no response. Then a soldier in ice''s squad sees something moving. "There''s someone there!?" he shouts. Everyone immediately looks up, at where the soldier is pointing.

    When suddenly a shadow appears, everyone recoils a bit.

    "Rroee!" it sounds when a huge pigeon rises from the battlements. And everyone spontaneously bursts into laughter.

    In the end, Raidon knocks on the gate as hard as he can. There is a hollow sound of metal on strong wood. The sound slowly dies away. The moment it''s completely gone, the grating starts.

    Slowly, a crack appears in between the two doors that make up the gate and it opens up to Raidon. Inside, it seems like a completely different world. Everything looks like it could stand forever. Everything is pretty dirty from the dust and bird droppings, but all the buildings are still in perfect condition. Raidon and the soldiers have no trouble imagining what it must have looked like in the past.

    "What kind of place is this?" one of the soldiers asks softly.

    "It looks like a city of the legions," is Raidon''s equally soft answer. "Let''s see what it is exactly. Does anyone have a problem with us starting exploring at the harbor? At least then we''ll know where we are in this maze."

    No one answers.

    "All right, here we go."

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    Fifteen minutes later they arrive at the harbor.

    "Wow, you have to see this!" shouts the same enthusiastic soldier who also made comments earlier. The harbor spreads over a huge area.

    "Hmm," Ice hums, "this harbor must be almost the same size as the entire city of Aran."

    "Yes, I think so too," Raidon replies. If you include the rest of this city, the whole thing is perhaps three or four times the size of Aran. A huge area to search. So let''s get started."

    He looks at his squad leaders.

    "This is our meeting point, in an hour we will all be back here. We split up and investigate. Seven groups please."

    Raidon takes two soldiers into the main street.

    "If I remember correctly what the books say, this street should run from the harbor to the center. So if we follow it, we will automatically end up at the most important buildings."

    They look their eyes out. There are huge buildings everywhere. When they arrive at the center, the buildings are even bigger. Here are a huge garrison, a temple and a bunch of other giant buildings.

    "Let''s look at the garrison first, guys," Raidon says, "but be careful. We don''t know what we might encounter."

    Slowly they open the large doors of the headquarters. Inside they can¡¯t see much at first because there is hardly any light coming through the dirty windows. But once their eyes get used to the light, they see that they are standing in a large hall.

    There is a huge layer of dust everywhere and nowhere is it disturbed.

    "The dust shows that nothing or no one has been here in all the centuries since the legions have left," notes one of the soldiers.

    "All right, then we''re going to spread out. Just look around and don''t touch anything. I just want to know what''s here. In ten minutes we will be back here and we will go back to the harbor," Raidon commands.

    The three men disperse. Raidon and a soldier go upstairs, with Raidon viewing the first floor and the soldier viewing the top one. A little later, the soldier comes down again. Raidon is shocked when the soldier suddenly stands next to him.

    "Soldier!" he shouts in horror. "Can''t you just tell me that you''re coming!"

    "Sorry, sergeant," the soldier says. "Upstairs is nothing special. Those are just the commander''s personal quarters."

    "Nice, then you can help here. I think on this floor the offices and such were, but at the end of the hallway is a much larger door. I couldn''t open it myself, but it should be possible if we work together."

    The soldier obediently walks along. Even together they need all their strength to get one of the large doors open a bit. Raidon sticks his head through the opening to look inside.

    "Wow!" he exclaims. "It''s a library! Completely filled with books!"

    Raidon withdraws his head. This isn¡¯t as easy as it was sticking his head inside. Only with difficulty does he succeed, because he gets stuck with his ears between the doors.

    Raidon gently feels his ears to see if he has damaged them very badly. Then he looks at the soldier. "Who knows, maybe there are more handbooks here," he says. "Then we can learn more about the legions."

    Once back in the large hall, the other soldier is already waiting. "Down here are only reception areas and such, sir, not that special. Is there more to be found upstairs?"

    "Yes, the first floor is where all the real work was done. We can work with this."

    Fifteen minutes later Raidon and the soldiers arrive back at the harbor. Only two other groups have arrived, so they have to wait for the rest. A few minutes later, two more groups arrive. There are only two groups still missing.

    Ten minutes later, Raidon starts to worry. But then they finally see the two groups coming towards them together.

    "They seem rather enthusiastic, Sergeant," someone notes.

    Indeed, the soldiers arrive while talking about their findings.

    "Sergeant, you must see this!"

    "No, ours first!" they shout from afar.

    "Calm down, men!" shouts Raidon, then points out one of the groups. "You guys first. What did you find?"

    "Ah, nothing special really, sergeant," says the soldier who speaks for the group. "We just found an arsenal full of harnesses, with a real forge."

    Raidon looks at him for a moment.

    "Nothing special, he says..." he replies shaking his head. Then he looks at the other group. "And what have you found that can match that?"

    This soldier manages to keep his face in check even better.

    "We found a few small boats in a storage shed, sergeant. Only a few hundred people can be transported with them at the same time, each."

    Raidon''s mouth almost falls open.

    "Boats?"

    "No, real ships, sergeant. Of two different types. I think warships and merchant ships."

    "Wow," Raidon whispers, "this allows us to build a real army."

    Raidon takes the soldiers back to the gate. Here they go up the stair until they are on top of the gatehouse. From this height they can see a large part of the city and also the land around the city. It is clear that the whole city is built around the harbor. There are two clearly recognizable places, namely the temple square with the administration building and the barracks of the garrison.

    "When you look around here, what do you see?" asks Raidon. The soldiers look at each other.

    "Well, a huge wall that surrounds a city, Sergeant," one person remarks.

    "A harbor?" asks another.

    But Raidon shakes his head. "I mean outside the city, guys. What we see is a beautiful landscape with really fertile soil. Thousands of people must have lived here in the past. I think there must have been farms and everything outside the walls here. There is not much to see after all these years, but they were probably there."

    He looks at the soldiers.

    "If we want to stay here, we¡¯ll have to have people who are going to work the land. This can become our place, because it lays outside the borders of both empires. The lost island can become the island of the legion, but we have to keep this a secret."

    Raidon makes his decision.

    "Ice, you take your squad back to the pirate village. From there you go back to Aran to tell Brandon what we have found. I want the pirate village to be inhabited as soon as possible, and for people to come and work the land not only near the village, but also here. We need everyone he can find, from farmers and fishermen to workmen and other villagers, but he needs to be careful. I don''t want the knowledge about the island to be known outside of the province. After the raids, there will be plenty of people who want to start over somewhere else."

    Raidon waits for the squad leader to process all this and then he continues:

    "Once you''ve conveyed that, I want you to persuade a few fishermen to come back here. I want a direct connection between this city and Aran and the pirate village. So there are some fishermen who will have to go up and down quite often. Just tell them that we will pay them well for their services. Do you have all that?"

    The squad leader looks at Raidon for a moment and then repeats the messages.

    "All right, then you leave right now. Try to go as fast as possible, but be careful."

    Just as the squad leader goes down the stairs, Raidon calls after him:

    "And tell Brandon we need more recruits!"

    When Ice and his squad are through the gate, Raidon and the remaining squad get to work. Raidon takes the soldiers to the barracks. Here are rooms on the third floor for the commander of the city and also for a platoon of guards. Here is enough space to stay, once it is cleaned.

    As they are used to, there are ten sleeping places per room for the guards. Since they are with eleven, it is going to be tight, but cleaning more than one room is too much work.

    "Careful with those mattresses, men, if they fall apart, we¡¯ll have even more dust here!" shouts Raidon to two soldiers who remove a mattress from a bed.

    Near sunset, the space is clean enough. There is still some dust here and there, but at least they no longer sneeze as much as before. One of the soldiers even got the windows open, so that fresh air and light can come in.

 TNL 36 - Recruitement Part Two

    TNL 36 ¨C Recruitment Part Two

    The next day, Raidon has three groups of three men investigate. He keeps the last soldier with him in the garrison. Raidon and the soldier go first to the office of the major who commanded the garrison. Here Raidon finds maps and other papers that could prove useful if they use the city. Since these papers will require more study, they will save them for now.

    Then they visit the other offices. Here they mainly find documents that are useless to them. Only at the last office they find something they could use. The soldier outs of a cry of surprise and with a huge smile, he hands Raidon a third-level soldier''s manual.

    "Maybe you can learn something from this, Sergeant! In any case, it looks a lot better than the damaged one from the palace."

    During the search, Raidon and the soldier find out that this ''city'' was not a city at all. Ports like these were called naval bases. This naval base was designated by the number three seven five.

    "Well, in terms of names, they weren''t very creative," Raidon notes.

    Furthermore, it appears that a naval base was not under the direction of the garrison. In a naval base, not only normal soldiers were present. It had a garrison the size of a battalion, but there was also a second battalion of marines present. These two thousand soldiers were supported by hundreds of others that comprised of support personnel, sailors, traders, farmers and more. All this was under the command of a commander. A commander was someone who fell outside the standard ranks and had a certain location under his command. A commander was not supposed to fight, but mainly to take care of the administration.

    Raidon decides to go with some soldiers to look for the commander''s headquarters the next day. This was not in the garrison, but had its own building.

    "Probably that beautiful building across from the temple," Raidon murmurs.

    The other groups come back and they discuss what they have found.

    "It seems as if the ships are still in good condition. If we had sailors, we could start using the ships right away, Sergeant."

    "The forge is also in good condition. There are still parts, weapons and large stocks of iron and coal."

    The last group has found row after row of barracks.

    "There is something to be found inside here and there. Here some coins, there some clothes, some weapons." The soldier who reports this hands Raidon something.

    "These can also be found in almost every barracks: Manuals."

    The rest of the afternoon they spend on exercises, eating and in the evening even cleaning a room in the barracks. The intention is that soon, enough of it will be cleaned so that if necessary the entire New Legion can take refuge here.

    When the sun rises the next day, Raidon sets out with four soldiers to the commander''s headquarters. The other six soldiers go back to investigate the city in two groups.

    The commander''s headquarters is opposite the temple. Opposite the barracks of the garrison is a huge canteen. The headquarters is locked, but eventually Raidon and his men manage to get in. Once inside, they find out that the commander also lived here. On the top floor a very spacious bedroom. There are also a few rooms for staff.

    "Not enough to put it into use," Raidon concludes. The barracks are a much better choice for now.

    The ground floor is much more impressive than the ground floor of the barracks. More than half of it is occupied by a reception hall. The rest consists of offices, just like the first floor. The second floor consists of the office of the commander and some other important administrators.

    In the old commander''s office, Raidon finds many more documents than in the barracks. There are maps, lists, and bills here, in short, everything. Raidon also finds a letter on the desk. It states:

    The fifth battalion of the seventh legion, together with the remaining marines and other personnel, will leave the naval base to make the crossing to the capital on the continent. The naval base will be closed by the priest until she or another battalion returns.

    Now Raidon knows how it is that no one ever came into the naval base to loot. It was protected by Mithras! This not only ensured that no one could enter, but also that people forgot that this place existed. In addition, the decay of everything within the walls has also slowed down enormously. Dust and birds have made a lot of dirt, but almost nothing has really broken in all those centuries.

    All in all, they find little else in the office that is of immediate use. The documents should only be reviewed once later. That''s going to take a lot of time. To be on the safe side, they do another round through the building, but they find very little that they missed the first time.

    When they are back at the barracks, they find a very enthusiastic group of soldiers there. One of the other groups has come back before because they found something, namely the pantries. Here are still items from the former garrison and it is huge. There really is a lot in there. Everything from food and wines to sails for the ships. There are also tools for farmers, blacksmiths, tanners and more. There is even seed in airtight packages.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    The other group returns a little later with news that in the arsenal are not only armor, but also weapons and projectiles for bows and crossbows. There are even things like parts of catapults and other devices that they don''t even recognize.

    For Raidon, it''s clear that they''re going to stay here. There''s too much they can use to leave it all behind. The rest of the week they continue to find things that the former residents have left behind. One of the most important discoveries is the library. Upon closer examination, they find a huge amount of soldiers'' manuals. In addition, the other series such as specialists and marines are also present. And that''s just the beginning of the knowledge that can be found in the library.

    Raidon is particularly impressed by a history book. The book recounts part of the oldest history of the ancient legions:

    In the second year after the landing of the fifth legion, the plate armor was developed by the first new priests of Mithras.

    The usual Lorica segmentata or chest harness fell into disuse because the plate harness offered better protection.

    Furthermore, the plate armor was blessed by Mithras, making various benefits available to members of the legion. In this way, some properties of the carrier were strengthened.

    For example, soldiers with a natural talent for tactics became better at this, or found it easier to learn strategy as well. Or soldiers who were good at logistics no longer had to count to keep track of their accounts.

    It also became possible to create a corruption-free army.

    Mithras made sure that all parts of the legion were linked together.

    For example, promotions were awarded automatically if the soldier earned them, the soldier could more easily absorb the knowledge from a linked textbook to become a better soldier, and the soldiers'' bodies developed much faster to enable them to wear the armor more easily. In addition, it was also possible to attach various weapons to the armor.

    Maybe a very simple thing after all these mystical qualities, but still an important one. On the armored legs of the armor it was possible to fasten a gladius and a crossbow, while on the back there was room for a large weapon. These weapons were attached in such a way that the wearer was not bothered by them (apart from a slightly larger weight, which was reduced by the extra muscle strength that the soldiers received).

    This makes a lot clear to Raidon. That the harnesses were special was already clear to him. But now he knew much better what to expect from the harnesses. Extra reason to continue reading the books in the library.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Brandon is busy. After the battle of the pirate base, he first had to set things up to take care of the wounded. Raidon had left almost immediately to go after the pirates, leaving Brandon behind to clean up the mess.

    "Apart from the hundreds of dead pirates, we also have to decide what to do with their base," Brandon told his squad leaders. "Raidon and I have decided that we are going to leave a garrison here and that will be Mateo¡¯s squad."

    In doing so, he looks at the squad leader. "Your squad has no injuries, at least not bad enough that they can''t do their jobs. I think you''ll need them all to make something out of this place. The rest will go back to Aran with me the day after tomorrow. There I will send two more squads to Lenn in Fort Alpha, along with the rest of his own squad. Who those squads are, we''ll see then."

    Brandon looks around the group again.

    "For today, our job is to clean up the pirates'' bodies. Mateo, you are going to look for a building here where you and your squad can set up a garrison. Gareth, I want you to deal with the freed prisoners. Also see if there are a few who want to stay to help the garrison. That''s enough orders for now, I think.

    The second day in the pirate base is a lot more fun for most soldiers. Mateo has found the headquarters of the pirates and decided to set up in garrison in there. The entire pirate village consists of a large house, in which the garrison is now set up, about twenty smaller houses, three warehouses and a single well on the square in front of the large house. The whole thing is enclosed by a wooden palisade with two towers at both ends at the harbor.

    Gareth has found a whole bunch of volunteers to help the garrison. And now that the corpses have been cleared, the soldiers of the New Legion can engage in looting the base. Everything of value that will not be immediately useful for the garrison is gathered in the port. There it is loaded into the fishing boats and sent to Aran, along with Gareth''s squad for surveillance.

    For Brandon, this is a day when he can really develop himself. He has taken on the entire administration and everything that is found, he lists neatly.

    "Organizing is really something for Sergeant Brandon," Mateo eventually remarks to his fellow squad leader John.

    "Fortunately, yes, imagine if I had to do it. Then we had nothing to eat within a week."

    "After a week? I think you''d have everything eaten within a few days. Big pig that you are."

    By evening they have searched the whole village. The first loot is already loaded into the fishing boats so that Gareth can take it to Aran the next day.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    When the fishing boats arrive in Aran, Gareth sees that they are already being met by Morris. How did he know we were arriving here? Gareth asks himself.

    A little later, that question is answered.

    "Welcome back, Gareth, did you have a good trip?"

    "Certainly, it was a nice trip. But how did you know we were going to be back today? All the boats are loaded with loot and I had them all with me."

    "Not all boats. Ryker returned the day before yesterday in a small one-person boat. That man likes to be the first to arrive with news. He told you that you would probably arrive today. I have to say that I am impressed by the knowledge that man has of the ocean."

    "Well, that explains that. A small boat would not be missed when loading the loot."

    "Indeed. But now I''m guessing it''s time to unload, isn''t it? I think we''re holding things up."

    With the help of an army of helping hands, the entire loot was loaded from the boats within three hours and taken to the garrison. Here are all available clerks were already waiting.

    "I think we need a little more people than these two, Morris," Gareth''s dry comment is.

    "Well, as you know, we don''t exactly have a lot of staff available."

    "That may be the case, but we¡¯ll still be working next year like this. Maybe it''s time to hire a few more people. With this loot, we have enough funds to take on a few extra clerks. Oh, and while you''re at it, make sure we get some good kitchen staff. Because I''m ready for a good dinner, after the shit we had to eat on the island."

    "I will ask the mayor if he knows any people that need a job. The old garrison must have employed more people. Especially since our two clerks have been with us since the beginning. Where are the clerks of the garrison? I think the mayor has something to explain if he has withheld those experienced forces."

    That same day, Morris manages to get eight extra clerks from the mayor and even an extra cook along with her students.

 TNL 37 - Recruitement Part Three

    TNL 37 ¨C Recruitment Part Three

    A few days later Brandon also returns from the island with his four squads. As soon as the wounded soldiers are installed in the infirmary and the other soldiers have visited their own room, Brandon calls the squad leaders and Morris together.

    "Lenn currently has half a squad in Fort Alpha. Tomorrow I want to send him the rest of his men with two other squads for support. Then we have three squads there and another three here. That should be enough for now. The two squads are the third and fourth of the second platoon." Brandon looks at the relevant squad leaders. "As soon as you are there, you have one day of rest before you go back on patrol. Of course, one squad will stay at Fort Alpha at all times."

    Then it''s the turn of the other squads.

    "The rest of us stay here and I will keep all the injured soldiers here as well. We have better medical facilities here in the city than there are in Fort Alpha." Brandon looks at Morris. "Can you get some of your mounted troops to bring a message to the capital? I can spare your recruits better than a squad of soldiers right now."

    "Yes, that should work. I can send Cordell with his four men."

    "Don''t you think we should send more?"

    "This should be enough. Since we restored order in the province, the entire road is safe. In addition, five mounted warriors are not exactly a rich target to rob. No loot, you see."

    "Well then," is Brandon''s final conclusion, "the other mounted troops can help with patrols."

    Slowly but surely things are starting to get back to normal. Despite the reduced manpower of the New Legion, patrols are being carried out again. This is supported by the mounted units led by Morris, who can easily reach the distant areas. The first wounded are slowly but surely coming back on the list of available personnel.

    A few days later, a soldier enters the office while Brandon is busy with the administration. With a bang, the door blows open, because there is a strong autumn breeze outside.

    "Beware, soldier! A bit more careful with my door please."

    "Sir, there is a fishing boat approaching from the direction of the pirate village. They fly our flag, so there are soldiers of ours on board."

    Brandon gets up right away. "I''m coming. You can ensure that rooms are prepared for our guests."

    Arriving at the harbor, the fishing boat just docks. Brandon immediately sees that there is a whole squad of soldiers on board. When the squad leader comes to him a little later, he immediately calls out to him:

    "Squad leader Ice isn''t it? Weren''t you out with Sergeant Raidon? What''s the news?" The squad leader does not answer immediately, but first walks towards Brandon. When he arrives, the squad leader stands tightly in the posture.

    "Squad leader Ice with full squad reports, sergeant!" he shouts. Brandon looks a little surprised at him. According to the regulations, this is completely correct, but never before have they adhered to this as tightly as this squad leader. A little surprised, he replies:

    "Welcome, squad leader Ice, how did your chase go? A short answer is good, then we will discuss it in detail later in a meeting."

    "Sergeant, the pursuit has failed. We chased the remaining pirates all over the island and at the end they were met by some ships and escaped." Squad leader Ice remains silent for a moment, but just as Brandon wants to answer, he continues a bit softer. "We did find something else. A place of the old legions. Sergeant Raidon stayed there with the other squad. He asks if some fishermen can provide a direct connection between that place and Aran. We must show them the way and return to the sergeant."

    Brandon is a bit overwhelmed. "A place of the old legions? Something like Fort Alpha?"

    "No, Sergeant, I think this place is as big as Aran and still completely intact!"

    All Brandon can do is say:

    "Wow!"

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The time comes when Raidon expects Ice and his squad to return. A day in advance, he leaves two soldiers on guard at one of the harbor towers. This way they know when the squad is coming.

    Only halfway through the next afternoon a fishing boat is seen. Slowly it comes closer, only to not enter the port in the end. The fishing boat swings away just before the opening and heads for the beach nearby. The two soldiers on guard quickly notify Raidon. Raidon takes two extra men with him. At the gate they wait for the sailors and passengers to arrive. It is indeed the second squad, with four fishermen from the fishing boat.

    These say that they wanted to enter the harbor, but that they saw just in time that a huge chain is stretched just under water. No boat can sail in until this chain is removed. Raidon invites Ice and his squad and the fishermen to come in. They go back to the barracks where the others are already waiting.

    The four fishermen are overwhelmed by what the naval base looks like. It is almost as big as their own city and totally deserted.

    Raidon receives a message from Brandon. Two more men have died from their injuries, but the others are doing well. Twenty-two soldiers have now died and eleven more are wounded. Four harnesses also seems to have been damaged because there was a pirate who waved a war hammer around.

    Raidon starts calculating. It means that there are now seventy-seven active soldiers in the New Legion and eleven more wounded who will get better soon. They still have a hundred and six harnesses and some parts. Fortunately, more than two hundred and fifty harnesses have been found intact in the naval base. And they have the forge. So once they find someone who can operate it and learn from the books what¡¯s needed, they can make more harnesses.

    It also means that they can now train two hundred and sixty-nine recruits if they put all these harnesses into use. Raidon decides that Brandon can recruit twenty-two men and train them in the city. These can make up for the losses they have suffered. Another forty must be found and will be trained at the naval base, in order to bring the number of soldiers in the New Legion to one hundred and fifty. Fortunately Brandon has already found three recruits, but the other fifty-nine still have to be brought in from somewhere.

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    The report also says that several of the poorer people have decided to move to the island. Two fishermen with their families have already moved to make their new home there. In addition, five farmers and twenty townsmen have come over to try their luck in this new land.

    Raidon decides to make an offer to the fishermen of Aran. He needs sailors for at least one of the ships. Everything has to be transported from the mainland to the island. Not only is a good connection needed between the different locations of the New Legion, but also supplies need to be provided.

    This is difficult with only the small boats that the fishermen have. That is why he wants to hire more fishermen with knowledge of the sea in order to form a core of good sailors.

    "If you know experienced people who would be interested in this, such as younger sons, then we can use them all. In the future, I think we will need even more large ships, so there is plenty of work for everyone."

    "I know a few young people who know the sea well, but don''t really like fishing," says one of the fishermen. "But I don''t know if they''re suitable and if they''re interested in it though."

    When the fishermen return to Aran, they take two soldiers with them. These bring a message to Brandon with Raidon''s plans for the next few weeks and months. Raidon thinks it''s important to keep Brandon informed about how the New Legion is doing, as he is the second in command.

    Raidon decides to explore the city with his remaining eighteen men. He has two men on guard in the same tower near the harbor. Four are going to see if they can do something with that chain. He himself only accompanies the groups exploring in the morning, in the afternoon he stays in the barracks to study the documents. Of course, he also studies the new handbook.

    It takes Raidon a week to go through the new handbook. At the end of that week, the messengers return from Aran with a message from Brandon. They also have five recruits with them and the first three new sailors.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    When Ryker, the old fisherman, hears through some acquaintances that huge ships from the time of the old legions have been found, he is at first surprised at all the fuss about this. What can anybody do with those. Derelict ships from another time are of no use to him. Maybe for the shipbuilders, so that they can learn something from them before they completely fall apart, but for him there is nothing he is interested in.

    But then suddenly there is a squad of soldiers at his door.

    "Fisherman Ryker? We were sent by Sergeant Brandon to ask you to come with us to the island. An interesting find has been made. We have found intact ships that you may be able to help with."

    "What could I possibly do with that junk? Bring a shipbuilder. I belong on the sea, building a boat is not something I know about."

    "I believe you are misinformed. Like I just said, they have been found INTACT. They are almost perfectly preserved as far as I have been told. Sergeant Raidon wants you to come along to see if they are actually seaworthy."

    Ryker can''t believe his ears. This is a lot different from what he had in mind. If these ships are indeed seaworthy, then that''s a whole new adventure! He can¡¯t manage to keep the enthusiasm out of his voice when he answers.

    "When are we leaving?"

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As Ryker prepares to leave for the island, a message is sent to Fort Alpha. Duncan is busy restoring Fort Alpha, as this is still not quite ready. The fort is starting to look like how it must have looked in its heyday, but there is always something that needs to be done.

    When the messenger arrives, he finds Duncan hard at work outside the walls. Since one of the messages is for him, he delivers it before going to the commander of Fort Alpha.

    Sextilis 5421 PR

    Duncan

    We have made great discoveries here. The whole naval base is full of things from the old legions, many of which we can use, but others are too technical. I want you to get ready to hand over your work to others and then come here as soon as possible. We need you!

    I''ll see you soon. Hurry up!

    Raidon

    Duncan doesn''t believe his eyes. He''s not ready yet! There is still so much to do before Fort Alpha is back to its former glory. He can''t just leave that behind, can he?

    But then he thinks about what he might be able to learn if he leaves for the naval base. Although he already knows a lot more about building defenses than any engineer in the army, there are still many things the army knows more about. If he leaves for the naval base, he can probably learn more from the legion.

    Then suddenly comes the thought: Maybe I should join the legion. Then I really belong. Duncan decides to consult with the commander of Fort Alpha first.

    If I go to the naval base, how does the construction here continue while I''m away? Duncan is still hesitating about what to do.

    An hour later he sits around the table with squad leader Lenn, who is currently the commander.

    "What do you think? Have they really found something worthwhile?" asks Duncan squad leader Lenn.

    The squad leader bursts into laughter. "Duncan, you really mis everything that goes around, don¡¯t you? That naval base is the size of a city! So much has been found that it will take years before we find out everything about it."

    Duncan looks at him glassy. "Really? I thought only a few old things had been found." But then he gets excited. "If it''s really that big, then I just have to go there! When can I leave?"

    "Well, as soon as you have handed over your tasks and packed your things, then I think your escort is ready too. They are only waiting for you. Oh, and don''t forget to tell John. I know you''ve become good friends in recent weeks, at least during the times when he wasn''t trudging through that jungle."

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Because indeed. Since returning to Fort Alpha with squad leader Lenn, John has mostly been off in the wilderness. The dense forests with their game paths fascinate him. He has already walked most of the passable paths, and even some that looked a lot less passable.

    Playing garrison soldier is difficult for him. He knew that from the beginning, when he had to get used to the discipline in the New Legion with a lot of help from his squad mates. Every time there is action, such as fighting pirates, he feels completely in his element. But at times like this, with nothing to do except man the fort and do a single patrol, he has a difficult time. That''s why John often wanders through the wilderness on his own. With the permission of Lenn, who finds it difficult to contradict the stubborn man, John is working alone to improve his tracking skills.

    In order to get better at sneaking and similar skills that a scout needs, he and Lenn have agreed that John will also try to test the fort''s guards. The latter can be quite dangerous, because the men who are on guard can might expect that it is John who they hear, while it can be an enemy. That is why John also has permission to punish the guards with extra training and other tasks. John still secretly laughs when he thinks back to that one time when he had instructed the guard to clean the latrine on his own for three days. Most of the time, however, he sends the men to Duncan if the man has some tedious chores. Then everyone benefits from it.

    John has also discovered something special in the wilderness. During one of his trips he found out that he has been promoted to squad leader. However, he doesn''t feel like being saddled with a bunch of weirdos to command. When he thought hard about it, he saw that his rank signs were fading again! After some practice, he managed to hide his rank at will.

    It has taken him some work to figure out how it is possible that he has acquired this skill, while others cannot. With difficulty he broke into Lenn''s office and read his handbook. As is so often the case when someone in the New Legion needs certain knowledge, a piece of text lit up. This almost caused John to be caught, but the passage of text did explain to him that there were some special units within the old legions that had the ability to hide their rank. These units were mainly used as scouts and spies.

    Many of the private armies within the old empire had their own opinions on certain matters. Of course they did make their opinions public, but they were much less wary of the ''simple'' soldiers of the legions. In this way, a lot of information was gathered.

    For the moment, however, it is John''s little secret that he is actually a squad leader. One day he will tell Raidon, but he hardly ever comes back to Fort Alpha.

 TNL 38 - Recruitement Part Four

    TNL 38 ¨C Recruitment Part Four

    Raidon takes his time to read Brandon''s latest report.

    Sextilis 5421 PR

    Raidon,

    Here in Aran everything goes according to schedule. There are already a number of young people who have signed up for the New Legion. I hope to be able to test and equip them soon.

    The old pirate base is gradually starting to look like a real village. From here about fifteen people have moved to set up a new life there. The inhabitants now call the pirate base Arana, derived from the provincial city Aran. All in all, there will now be around fifty people living in Arana.

    Other than that, I don''t have much news to report. Within a week we will receive an answer from Niroma, in response to our report on the fight with the pirates.

    I''ll keep you posted on the developments here.

    Brandon

    After reading the message, Raidon gets up and walks out to put the new recruits to work.

    Outside, the recruits and sailors are waiting in a group with a bunch of soldiers.

    "So, I''ve heard from Sergeant Brandon that five of you want to join the New Legion, and three of you want to go out to sea. Stand together, recruits on the left and sailors on the right, and we''ll see what we¡¯re dealing with."

    With some pushing and shoving, the group splits into two.

    "Great, the three of you are going with soldiers Willem and Milan to the port. Until we have enough sailors to go out to sea, you will be put to work with chores in the harbor.

    The other five are allowed to go with soldiers Marcel and Rob to the training field. Prepare for a hard day. Training to become a soldier of the New Legion is a lot of work."

    When the two groups leave, Raidon sees that someone else has been standing behind the group. With a smile on his face, Duncan is waiting for Raidon to come to him.

    "Aren''t you unnecessarily scaring those young people, Raidon? You also made it through your training in one piece."

    "Duncan! How nice that you have come. As you can see, there is more than enough to study here."

    "You can say that, Sergeant, this place is really huge!"

    "Agreed. But before you can follow your heart, you first have to do a job for me."

    "What kind of job, sergeant?" Duncan wonders.

    "In front of the entrance to the port hangs a huge chain. I want to know how we can remove it, but also how we can put it back. I''d rather not have pirates suddenly sail right in, like how Ryker entered their base."

    "Hmm, that would indeed be rather annoying. Do you have any idea where to start?"

    "The chains are attached to both towers at the port. Somewhere in one of those, or maybe even both, there will probably be a mechanism."

    When Duncan investigates the towers, he discovers that indeed both towers hold a kind of large coil with which the chain is pulled up and down. This allows the tension of the chain to be adjusted so that ships can enter the port. Unfortunately, these coils and chains have not survived the time completely intact. Even though everything was protected from intruders by Mithras, the salty seawater has caused considerable damage to the metal of the chain. In addition, the wood of the coils is not that good anymore, which together has ensured that the whole thing has become stuck.

    "I''m afraid we''re going to have to replace the whole thing. That chain can still be used for a while, because most of the damage is limited to the part that hangs in the water, but all the wood really needs to be renewed," reads the report that Duncan brings to Raidon.

    Another four days later, the same sailors manage to launch one of the ships with the help of everyone, even the recruits. This is one of the smaller trading ships. Raidon initially wanted to take a warship, but on Ryker''s advice they decided not to. The warships are too big and need too large a crew. There is also relatively little space on board to transport items.

    The sailors spend the rest of the day looking at what needs to be replaced on board to make the ship further seaworthy. This turns out not to be much, because the ship is so well preserved. They only have to bring water and food on board before the ship can set off. Unfortunately, they do not yet have enough sailors to man it. Furthermore, there are still pirates nearby. Despite the loss of their base, these are still sailing around. Fortunately, the number of attacks has been greatly reduced, but occasionally a pirate ship still sails at sea. If those come across the trading ship, they will lose it. That''s why Raidon wants to have at least twenty soldiers on the ship instead of the usual ten.

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    He sends a message to Brandon, to see what needs to be transported to the island and to get it together. Once Brandon has done this, he has to send ten men along with fifteen fishermen to sail once with the trading boat. With another ten soldiers from the naval base, they can then risk a single trip to transfer cattle, supplies and households to Arana. After that, the trading boat can sail back to the naval base.

    Three days later, five fishing boats arrive on the beach. Not only are the requested people there, but also a message from Brandon. The report they sent to the capital has been responded to.

    Sextilis 5421 PR

    Raidon,

    We have received a response to the report of our fight at Arana. I am afraid that the reaction is not too good. I sent the message along, but I will list it briefly.

    The generals are not happy that the New Legion suffered 20 percent losses in a skirmish with pirates. They question the usefulness of the legion again. There will be a study to see how useful the legion is. This examination will be carried out by a captain of the regular army.

    I think we have to do something to get ahead of that examination, otherwise I fear that they will want to take everything that we have built up.

    Let us know what to do as soon as possible.

    Brandon

    After reading the message, Raidon leans back in his chair. He had expected a lot, but not that there could be such a negative reaction. After all, no unit of the regular army can win against such odds, let alone with so few losses.

    Moments later, armed with the messages, Raidon goes in search of Morris. Perhaps he can explain why the generals are so difficult.

    Luckily for Raidon, he doesn''t have to search long. Morris is sitting at a desk two doors down working on a training schedule.

    "Morris! You have to see what the reaction of the generals is. With a bit of bad luck, we''re going to lose everything."

    "Woow, take it easy, Raidon. First, let me read what exactly they have to say."

    A few minutes later, Morris looks up. All this time Raidon has been impatiently pacing back and forth.

    "Yeah, they''re not really subtle, are they? If you read between the lines, it just comes down to the generals wanting to get rid of us."

    "That seems clear to me. What I want to know is how we''re going to fix this. I''d rather not give up everything we''ve built. Certainly not now that we have found this place."

    "I''m sure it won''t get that far, Raidon. The generals can claim more, but the empress really won''t just give up on the legion. After all, she had to fight hard enough to set it up."

    "Maybe you''re right. But even then, such an investigation can never turn out well."

    "That''s why you have to make your preparations now. Take the original orders that the legion has been given. Make sure you follow those down to the last detail. For example, send the soldiers you can miss back to Aran, so that you have a whole platoon there. You can think of the rest yourself."

    Amused, Morris looks at Raidon, who goes to work like a madman to make the necessary preparations.

    Within a few hours, Raidon has sent the merchant ship back to Aran, manned with all the men he can spare. The ship makes the trip in a record time of five days, including a stop in Arana. A few cows, sheep and even chickens are transferred to Arana, as well as a whole pile of building materials and other personal things for the residents. The ship returns to the naval base without having seen pirates.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    There is a knock on Brandon''s door. Brandon wakes up to the soldier sticking his head inside.

    "Sergeant! You need to come quickly. The inspector has arrived and wants to speak to you."

    "Huh, what? What time is it?"

    "He insists that you come immediately, Sergeant. I will tell him that you are coming."

    When Brandon arrives at his office, the inspector is waiting in front of the window.

    "Ahh, finally. You must be Sergeant Raidon, the commander of this unit."

    Brandon sits down quietly before answering. "I am Sergeant Brandon, commander of the unit currently stationed here. Who exactly are you?"

    "Sergeant Brandon? As far as I have heard, there is only a squad leader Brandon, not a sergeant. Since I am sure that no message can possibly have arrived since I left, I assume that you are still a squad leader. Now tell the sergeant to come here right now!"

    Brandon can hardly believe his ears. Could this be the inspector who has to examinate their actions? This man knows absolutely nothing about the New Legion!

    "Sir, apparently you don''t know anything about us. We are not under the command of the regular army. The fact that you know nothing about our promotions is because they do not come from the regular army. If you are indeed the expected inspector, then surely you should know that?"

    "I believe that something like that has been discussed, but I cannot accept that as the truth. My assistant has my orders in the bag, which I will have delivered later. For now, I will repeat my question once more: Where is Sergeant Raidon, the commander of this unit?"

    Since they''ve experienced this arrogance before, Brandon isn''t really surprised. Even though he does pretend to the inspector.

    "Mr. Inspector, who still hasn''t introduced himself, Sergeant Raidon is currently on the island to arrange the final things at the former pirate base. I will send him a message that you have arrived and want to speak to him. The next messages will be sent tomorrow."

    "That''s not acceptable! I want the sergeant to be here tomorrow to guide me in my investigation!"

    "Mr. Inspector," Brandon says with a deep sigh, "the island is a long journey by boat away. I don''t think the sergeant will be back sooner than a week after we send a message. You will have to be patient anyway. In the meantime, you can start your research, at least after you have been able to identify yourself."

    Brandon gently pushes the inspector out the door. Then he begins to talk softly to himself:

    "Fortunately, the ship had just left. I think I''ve only taken an hour''s rest since it left. If we had been caught with that thing, we would really have had a problem."

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Two days later, some soldiers return to the naval base with a fishing boat. They tell Raidon that the inspector had arrived on the same day that the ship left Aran. Brandon has said that Raidon was watching with a squad at the pirate village and therefore could not be present to receive the investigator. Raidon is expected to return in person to consult with the investigator. He must report as soon as possible.

    That same evening when Raidon is still in his office, he goes through his new handbook one more time before he has to leave the next day. While he is busy studying, one of the soldiers comes in with a question about the duty roster.

    For a moment the soldier looks at Raidon, but then he says:

    "Congratulations, Captain!"

    "What, Captain? I''m still a sergeant I think, soldier."

    "Apologies, captain, but the triple arrow on your shoulders tell otherwise."

    In amazement, Raidon then looks at his shoulders. Indeed, a sergeant''s double arrow has given way to a captain''s triple arrow.

    "Gods, I didn''t notice that. The promotion must have just happened, because just before I started studying, I was called sergeant."

    "In that case, I am the first to congratulate you, Captain. Are you treating us to a beer?"

    "You can get a beer, soldier. But don''t push your luck."

    That said, Raidon takes the duty roster to explain the changes to the soldier.

 TNL 39 - Research and Navy Part One

    TNL 39 ¨C Research & Navy Part One

    On the fifth day of the month, Raidon arrives in Aran. In the harbor, once more, a soldier is waiting for him.

    "How does he do that?" asks Raidon to no one in particular. "I''m sure we didn''t see a single fishing boat this time, so they couldn''t have told him we were coming."

    Raidon doesn''t have much time to think about it. As soon as the boat docks, he and his soldiers rush to the garrison.

    Once there, Raidon immediately goes to the headquarters. The soldier on duty tells him that Brandon has been on the road with the inspector almost every waking moment during the past week.

    "That inspector insists that he be accompanied by the sergeant. He does not want to accept Sergeant Brandon because he has not received confirmation of his promotion from the generals," the soldier tells him.

    "Hmm, it''s one of those people."

    "Yes, Captain. The inspector even instructed his assistant to try one of our harnesses on. That man must have giant blood in his veins, that''s how big he is. However, when he tried that harness, he fell to his knees within three steps."

    "That may be true. No matter how big and strong he is, he will never be able to wear our armor with ease. Recently, I''ve learned that the harnesses are much lighter for us than they should be. Someone who tries to wear armor but is not a member of the legion will think that those things are made of lead. And for malicious people, they even seem to become so heavy that they cannot carry out their evil plans while wearing them."

    "Sorry captain, it¡¯s hard to comprehend that, what about Captain Bras? He could stand when he put on a harness."

    "Well, but no matter how bad Bras was as captain, I don''t think he was really evil. That might be different with this assistant. But enough talk, please send Sergeant Brandon here. I will have to hear him out about the inspector."

    Soon Brandon arrives with the inspector on his heels, Raidon speaks to him.

    "Brandon, I need you in the office. Mr. Inspector, I will speak to you shortly. Please be patient."

    Brandon follows Raidon into the office while the inspector is clearly furious.

    "Brandon," Raidon begins once they''re in the office, "tell me about that inspector."

    "Well, there is not much to tell. Imagine our old friend Captain Bras, but even more arrogant. That man has been getting under my skin since his arrival. So far we are not doing much correct and he thinks it¡¯s not done to have him be received by a squad leader like me. So brace yourself."

    "That might be fun. Fortunately, I have taken squad leader Ice and his squad with me, so it seems as if we have everyone back in the province. Now the inspector can''t whine about that."

    When Brandon wants to leave, Raidon quickly asks:

    "What''s the name of that man?"

    "No idea, he hasn''t lowered himself yet to tell a simple soldier like me his name. I can''t get any further than that he has the rank of captain and therefore thinks that he should immediately take command here because he is by far the highest in rank."

    "Well, then it''s nice that I got my promotion to captain just before I left."

    Brandon looks at Raidon in amazement. "Congratulations, Captain! That will take some getting used to. Everyone is used to calling us both sergeant."

    As soon as Brandon leaves the office, the inspector storms in.

    "How dare you make me wait for that simple squad leader! I am a captain of Falwyn''s armies and appointed investigator by the generals of the armies of her majesty the empress! In rank, I am the highest in this whole province and therefore authorized to take command of your whole bunch of men." After this outburst, the investigator stands there panting right in front of the desk.

    "Mr. Investigator," Raidon begins quietly, "as you know, I have only just arrived in the city. I needed to know what the situation is with the men under my command. You as captain should know how important that is."

    The investigator seems to be calming down a bit.

    "I''ll start over. My name is Captain Raz, of the Beynon family. As I said, I have the rank of captain and with that I am taking over the command of this province. You are now under my command as a sergeant and I will not hesitate to have you demoted back to squad leader if I deem it necessary!"

    Raidon remains calm, causing even more irritation with the investigator.

    "Captain, I''m afraid I have to correct you. You are not the highest in rank in the province. That''s me."

    "What! Absolutely not!"

    "Once again, I am. As commander of the province garrison, I am senior in rank to anyone else of the same rank. I must inform you that it would not have mattered under any circumstances. We of the New Legion are not under the command of the regular army. Only the Empress herself can command us."

    The investigator does not hesitate for a moment.

    "What do you mean the same rank! You''re a sergeant and I''m a captain!"

    Apparently, the investigator did not get anything from what Raidon just told him.

    "I got my promotion a few days ago. I am a captain these days, just like you. With that, I fear that your attempt to take over is doomed to fail, even if we could be forced to accept you as a possible commander of the New Legion."

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    "Impossible! The generals don¡¯t agree with any promotions, otherwise I would have heard it!"

    Raidon has to sigh deeply after this statement by the investigator.

    "Like I said, we are under the personal command of the Empress. And that in name only! We do not get our promotions from an earthly person, but directly from the god Mithras. As soon as we are ready for a promotion, it appears on our armor. This means that there is no ignorance in our chain of command like there exists in other armies. It also means that the generals have nothing to say about our promotions. That is why you have not heard anything about this. What does surprise me is that you do not know this. As an appointed investigator, you need to know how the New Legion works, right? Or did the generals just pick some clueless noble to poke around?"

    The investigator seems to be speechless. He turns around without saying anything and walks out of the office.

    For two days, Raidon sees very little of the investigator. Apparently the man can feel that Raidon has less patience with him than Brandon has had. The man interrogates several soldiers of the garrison and also talks to the main inhabitants of the city. Furthermore, he spends most of his time sifting through the reports that the New Legion made.

    When Raidon finally speaks to the man again, the investigator tells him that he has finished his investigation.

    "So you''re leaving again?" asks Raidon.

    "Absolutely. I think I have a pretty clear picture of the situation. I will leave a copy of my investigative report for you and I am sure the generals will be very interested in the outcome. I think you''ll see me again soon with authorization from the generals to improve things here. Then I will probably also have the orders with me that make it clear that you are nothing more than a bunch of farmers who need real officers."

    That said, the investigator leaves an astonished Raidon behind.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Report

    In the name of the Empress, this investigation has begun to assess the unit called The New Legion based on their actions taken.

    Upon further investigation, it turned out that the following points were not in order:

    <ol>

    <li>The commander was not present on the arrival of the investigator.</li>

    <li>Provincial capital Aran is not continuously guarded by the number of soldiers ordered.</li>

    <li>Patrols are dispatched from Aran by an undermanned garrison.</li>

    <li>Percentage of casualties is much higher than might be expected after confrontation with simple pirates/bandits.</li>

    <li>Pirate loot was not sent to the treasury in its entirety.</li>

    <li>Taxes have not been collected in the province.</li>

    <li>The province of Aran is in poor condition.</li>

    <li>The walls of the city of Aran are in less than perfect condition.</li>

    <li>The barracks are not in such repair that it can receive visiting units.</li>

    <li>Without permission, additional support people are recruited.</li>

    </ol>

    The conclusion of this investigation must therefore be that the New Legion did not adhere to their assigned tasks. Although the orders specifically state that the garrison at Aran must at all times consist of at least a full platoon, this is never the case. In addition, the soldiers from these units have suffered extremely large losses in their actions against untrained and poorly armed men. This is evident by the large percentage of dead and wounded after a skirmish with simple pirates.

    Furthermore, several of the points mentioned are obscured or otherwise hidden away in the reports sent to the army command.

    My advice is therefore that this unit is not worthy of its independent position and should be dissolved or transferred.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    When Raidon and Brandon go through the report together, they are both outraged. Brandon, in particular, can''t stand someone being so negative about their performance.

    "How does that man expect us to send patrols and keep fifty men in Aran? We only have seventy-seven men who are uninjured. That''s impossible!" exclaims Brandon.

    "Calm down, Brandon. This is what we expected, isn''t it?"

    "Yes, you''re right about that, but still!"

    Raidon and Brandon decide to send a message for the Empress to the capital. If this report is the only message that reaches the capital, then the generals will once again try to disband the New Legion. So they really can¡¯t afford to have the message intercepted like how it happened in the past with the message they sent from the training camp. Just like last time, when Morris brought the message to the Empress, this time an officer with a squad of soldiers will have to go.

    "Brandon, I want you to personally convey the message. You can take a squad from the second platoon with you. You will have to keep a good pace. If Empress Alyena does not get hold of this soon enough, the generals can put far too much pressure on her."

    Raidon focuses on the rest of the distribution of soldiers.

    "Lenn is doing fine as commander of Fort Alpha. I think I''ll call him back to act as commander of Aran while you''re away. Who do you think can take over Lenn''s duties at Fort Alpha? Mateo is already in the pirate village, Ice is going with you and I want to take Gareth back to the naval base."

    "Well, then I think it''s best to have Indigo."

    "Indigo? I don''t think I know him."

    "That may be true. Indigo is in the second platoon and has been promoted after the battle with the pirates. I think Indigo is the best to command Fort Alpha. I think he has a talent for organization, just like Lenn and I."

    "Don''t you think I should send Ice there to support him? He has the same combat insight as I have, and you could take someone else."

    "I don''t think that that''s necessary. It''s not like we''re expecting an attack on the fort. And even it that would happen, they would have to be very strong to get over those walls. Then it would make little difference whether Ice would be there or Indigo. Anyone of us knows how to win a fight, otherwise we wouldn''t have been promoted."

    "Then I think we should leave John there to help him. John is getting better and better at sneaking around during his patrols, so at least then we know for sure that good patrols are being carried out."

    When Brandon wants to leave, Raidon stops him for a while.

    "Before I forget to ask: how did you know the right moment I would arrive at the port?"

    "Yes, that was nicely timed, wasn''t it," Brandon replies. "I spent some time with some of Ryker''s colleagues. They taught me a thing or two about the sea. With a little calculation you can find out when a boat arrives. Just look at what the weather is like and where the wind is coming from and you apply that to the distance to be covered."

    "You might call that easy, I call it complicated."

    Brandon leaves the room, but before closing the door, he says:

    "Me too, that''s why I put someone on the lookout who saw your boat coming."

    Raidon stays in town for almost a week to assess how Lenn and Indigo will fare when they arrive, but two days after they take over, he''s seen enough. When he finally decides that the two squad leaders can indeed handle their new commands, it turns out that as commander of the legion he has some influence on the ranks within the legion. The same day that he decides that he can leave, it appears that Lenn has been promoted, complete with the double arrows on his shoulders. The next day, a messenger comes to tell us that the same thing has happened to Indigo.

    Since the pirates have been defeated, it seems quite attractive for young people to join the legion. The twenty-two recruits Raidon wanted in the city have already been found, and there are even seven additional recruits who can go to the naval base. Unfortunately, Lenn and Indigo indicate that there is little chance that more recruits can be found in the city. Securing the province now has a counterproductive effect on recruitment. Despite the popularity of the New Legion, most young people are more likely to work for their own families. The city is getting more and more traffic now that the roads are safe again. The negative atmosphere in the city has completely changed. It is now a pleasant bustle wherever you go.

 TNL 40 - Research and Navy Part Two

    TNL 40 ¨C Research & Navy Part Two

    At the naval base, Duncan falls from one surprise into the next. He thought he had learned a lot about the architecture of the old legions at Fort Alpha, but here it turns out that that knowledge is just the tip of the iceberg. The buildings are huge and look nothing like the buildings that are being built nowadays. Even the villas of the nobility are not as grand as the buildings here.

    Everywhere the ingenuity of the engineers of the old legions is evident. From the chain for the port to the construction of the tall buildings. Even the kind of buildings that are made today were made very differently back then.

    For example, Duncan, although his interest is not there, is very impressed by all the tricks in the forge. Everything is made in such a way that it can be done easier and faster than as it happens today.

    It''s been a while since he got the chain for the port loose. Since then, Duncan has been looking around everywhere. He still doesn''t know where to start. The captain has left no instructions for him and squad leader Ice can''t help him either, so he has to see for himself what he can do.

    In the end, he decides to have a look at the library to see what kind of books are available that he can benefit from. But when he comes to the door to the library and he can already see the rows of books, the door suddenly slams shut in front of him! While Duncan is still looking in amazement, letters appear on the doors.

    "Access only for the order of Mithras," Duncan reads. "Well, there went that idea. Maybe one of the soldiers can get me a book."

    But when he goes to ask squad leader Ice if he can spare someone to help him, he is told that the squad leader has thought up something that Duncan can help with.

    "The mains gate is getting more and more difficult to open and close. This morning it even took five men to get it open. I''d rather you try to fix that. Then Captain Raidon can arrange those books for you when he returns."

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Since the soldiers left the village, Aulis doesn''t know what to do with himself. He may have set himself up as one of the first volunteers to stay in the village, but so far there hasn''t really been anything he can do. It has already been a week and the village still looks exactly like it did when the soldiers conquered it. Aulis isn''t the only one who feels this way. In the past week, several of the former prisoners have become strong enough to take care of themselves and some have even left. The few who just like Aulis stay, only walk around the village a bit, or take care of the wounded. The soldiers who have stayed, meanwhile, do little more than guard the place and take care of the former prisoners.

    Aulis decides to ask the squad leader about when there will be tasks for him and the few others who are ready for it. That afternoon he walks into the building where the soldiers are housed. Upon entering, he immediately sees that the squad leader is not present in this room. However, there is a soldier at a desk. Aulis walks towards the soldier and asks about the squad leader.

    "Sir, I''m looking for squad leader Mateo. Where can I find him?"

    "Squad leader Mateo is doing his rounds at the moment. He will be back in a few minutes. If you sit there on that couch, I will tell him later that you want to speak to him. What name can I pass on?"

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    "My name is Aulis."

    A little later, squad leader Mateo enters the building.

    "Otto, I see a visitor. Has anything else happened?"

    "No, sir, apart from your visitor it has been quiet. This is Aulis, he would like to speak to you."

    "All right then. Aulis, come with me to my office."

    The squad leader leads Aulis through a door. When he arrives at the office, Mateo points Aulis towards a chair, after which he sits down at the desk himself.

    "So, tell me why you¡¯re here."

    "Well sir, it''s like this. Me and a few others have decided to stay here as you know, but there is nothing for us to do. We are not allowed to choose a house or leave the village. Because of this, we cannot begin to build a new life. We are trapped in this village. All we can do is take care of the wounded or roam the village. What we want is the chance to set up our lives here. Give us something to do, or let us see where we can settle."

    Mateo looks at Aulis for a moment.

    "You''re right. The problem is that we need help for the people who are still too weak to take care of themselves. If you are all gone, we simply won''t make it. I only have ten soldiers here, including myself."

    "That''s not a big problem for us, sir. It is already the case that only half of us help at the infirmary. The other half does nothing. What if we make a schedule so that you get the help you want, but that gives everyone the time to see what he or she would like to do here in the village or the immediate vicinity?"

    "Hmm, that might work. The biggest problem I foresee is that I don''t have any soldiers available to patrol around the village. I cannot guarantee your safety out there. I have no idea what kind of wild animals are here, or if there are still pirates around. I haven''t heard anything from Sergeant Raidon, who is following the last pirates."

    "That''s not a problem. For now, everyone can choose a house in the village. My family consists of farmers and I know the most about that myself. I would love to go back to the farms outside the village. As long as it is not safe, I can always go back to the village at night and keep a house here, but I would like to save some of the crops. I also know that there is a hunter who would like to stay. He can see what kind of animals are around."

    The squad leader still has to think carefully.

    "I think that''s possible. I want you to be my point of contact though. I need to know who is outside the village, which houses are going to be put into use and just everything else that happens. I think we want to build a thriving community here. This includes a village council or mayor. I want you to take on that task for now. I arrange the protection of the village, you the rest. But because I have the knowledge and the capacity for now, I will make sure that everything is written down. You pass on who what and how and I will make sure that there are no problems later on. Agreed?"

    "Agreed."

    The next day, Aulis calls the people who want to stay together. Of the former prisoners, about fifty have already left for Aran. Among the remaining people, there are about twenty who want to stay so far.

    "Folks, I have called you together to discuss our future. I spoke to the soldiers'' squad leader yesterday and I made an arrangement with him."

    Aulis waits for a moment for the buzz to die away.

    "I know you didn''t ask me to speak for you, but I felt something had to be done. I have agreed with the squad leader that we will look at where we want to live and that we will report it to him. From now on we can also go outside the walls, but stay within sight of the village. He indicated that he cannot guarantee safety outside the walls. I know from Dew, that he is a hunter and therefore he has permission to see what kind of wild animals are around. I myself want to see if I can save the crops at the farms.

    In exchange for this freedom, we must ensure that enough people help in the infirmary. What I have suggested is that we set up a schedule so that everyone has the opportunity to look around and pick a house. Furthermore, the squad leader would like the communication to go through me and that we pass on what professions we have, what we want to do and simply everything else that can be useful. With your permission, I will temporarily be the point of contact, the squad leader called that the village council or mayor, until we have everything running."

    Not everyone is happy that Aulis has appointed himself mayor, but in general they are far too happy with the news to be difficult to do.

 TNL 41 - Research and Navy Part Three

    TNL 41 ¨C Research & Navy Part Three

    Once back at the naval base, Raidon and his men can enter the harbor unhindered. During the mooring they are immediately met by Duncan and two soldiers.

    "Welcome back, Captain," Duncan welcomes them. "This place is truly amazing! It''s going to take years before we''ve discovered everything we have here."

    "I know, Duncan. I know."

    Raidon is tired from the crossing. This time around the weather was not that great, because halfway through the crossing a real autumn storm arose, and he has therefore been seasick for half of the trip. That''s why he doesn''t feel like talking to the enthusiastic Duncan at the moment, but he knows he can''t just avoid his obligations.

    Raidon turns to the soldiers behind him.

    "Go and take the recruits to the barracks and arrange a place for them to sleep. Duncan and I still have a few things to discuss."

    As soon as everyone is out of earshot, Raidon starts.

    "Duncan, how about joining the legion? Unofficially, you''re already our engineer, but as you know, that''s always just a temporary position for someone who doesn''t belong to the legion."

    "I know captain, and I''ve been thinking about it. At first, I didn''t think it was important to join. But now that I have been able to look at the naval base, I can see that this is way better than being a clerk. In addition, I could finally poke around in that library."

    "Great. Then we will soon be able to handle the oath and everything. I will arrange your transfer from the army. reports will have to be sent to the generals again soon."

    Just before Raidon turns the corner, he turns around for a moment.

    "I just don''t know if we have a harness in your size. Maybe I should see if we have smaller harnesses. Is there such a thing as a dwarf soldier?"

    He can''t resist teasing Duncan with his small stature.

    After a good night''s sleep, Raidon feels a bit more himself again. He now feels good enough to tackle the less fun side of leadership: the paperwork.

    His job this morning is to check who performs which task. Figuring out where the soldiers can best be stationed is quite a task. There are now so many places where soldiers have to be stationed, that all in all it has become quite complicated. Especially now that tasks have been added with the conquest of Arana and the discovery of the naval base. In addition, there are also fewer soldiers to perform these tasks, so all locations are now understaffed.

    The garrison of Aran must consist of a full platoon. This is a huge part of the eighty-eight experienced soldiers. Fortunately, the recruits ensure that they now have a total of one hundred and twenty-two soldiers. Currently, as it should be, there are fifty men in Aran. Twenty-eight are experienced soldiers and twenty-two are recruits. Among the experienced soldiers, however, there are eleven wounded. Sergeant Lenn is in charge of the garrison.

    That means that Raidon has sixty experienced soldiers left. Half of these are in Fort Alpha, with Sergeant Indigo as commander.

    Since there are now very few experienced soldiers in Aran, with only seventeen men who are not wounded, Raidon decides to make some changes. Therefore, he moves ten of the eleven wounded soldiers from Aran to Fort Alpha. This means that ten soldiers from Fort Alpha can be moved to Aran to help there. The last wounded soldier in Aran only has a broken arm and can help train the recruits in the city.

    The twenty experienced soldiers on the island are also redistributed by Raidon. Arana gets five more soldiers, leaving a full squad of ten men. The other ten soldiers are really needed by Raidon in the naval base. He would have preferred to keep more soldiers at the naval base, but it is useful to keep a few experienced soldiers in Arana just in case the pirates try something. The high walls and other defenses of the naval base ensure that he does not have to worry about safety. In addition, he has twelve recruits to double their number if necessary.

    Including the last squad of ten soldiers who are with Brandon, the New Legion currently has a total of one hundred and twenty-two soldiers. That is twelve soldiers more than before the battles with bandits and pirates.

    Duncan has found a perfect solution for Arana to secure the port. By attaching iron chains to a number of tree trunks, Duncan has devised a system with which the port can be closed. This is based on the chain that lies in the naval base in front of the entrance to the port.

    With ten men on the walls and no possibility of being attacked in the back, Arana should be able to hold out long enough in a siege to allow reinforcements to come from the naval base or Aran.

    Once Raidon has redistributed the soldiers, it''s time for the other people under his command. He has five instructors, including Morris. Morris and another instructor will have to come to the naval base to train the new recruits, while the other three will remain in Aran. The four clerks will have to be spread over different points. Raidon wants reports to be kept in every place, to draw up balance sheets on expenses and so on. The squad leaders may be able to read and write, but the complicated arithmetic and what else is involved, that¡¯s too difficult for them right now. So Fort Alpha, Aran, Arana and the naval base all get one clerk. Hopefully Brandon will be able to get some extra staff in the capital. Now they are very spread out.

    Then there is his unit of cavalry. Each instructor has four men under his command. That''s twenty horsemen who have to be stationed somewhere. As it is now, there will soon be eight cavalrymen on the island and twelve in Aran.

    What if I keep five horsemen here in the naval base, Raidon thinks, then there are still fifteen in Aran. If they manage to get five new recruits there, there will be enough to send out two mounted patrols."

    The kooks, Raidon leaves up to the chef. The chubby cook knows a lot more about her people than Raidon can ever figure out. So far, the cooks of the old training camp have just stayed in Fort Alpha, but there are no people with cooking experience in the naval base. The recruits need a bit more than the rations that have been consumed so far.

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    When this job is done, Raidon is surprised to see that it is already time for lunch. Time flies with paperwork. That he has found out already. He quickly draws up the final orders to be sent to Aran and goes to lunch.

    After lunch, Raidon decides to wander around the naval base. First he goes to look at the port. Movement can be seen on the trading ship. Raidon sees that Ryker has taken command of the ship.

    "So you couldn''t resist getting back on the water?" asks Raidon to the old fisherman.

    "No, boy, the call of the sea was too strong," he replies. "As you can see, I found a few more guys for this barge. I know a few more who live a little further away and as soon as I can send them a message, they will probably join us. Just a little longer and this barge can explore the seas again just like in the past. Before the winter storms come, everyone will know what to do."

    "Well, maybe I should appoint you captain of our navy. You''ve already taken on that task anyway, so we might as well make it official."

    "Ha, then all those little soldiers of yours have to call me sir. Bunch of cheeky brats that they are. But I''m really happy now. This way I can still carry out the profession that they thought I was too old for."

    "You too old? Only when you are in your grave, I think. Even if you live to be a hundred years old, you are still telling everyone how to do their job."

    "You''re probably right about that," laughs Ryker, "I''ve already persuaded ten men to go out to sea in that overgrown wash tub of yours. That''s only a quarter of the normal crew for a ship that''s that big, but even with half of the normal crew, I can do it. So it won''t be long before I have a seaworthy ship for you. Then we''ll see if I can still do my job."

    "I¡¯d love to see how such a large ship sails compared to the smaller boats I have sailed on now. This seems to me to be a completely different experience. I just hope that I can conjure up an extra squad of soldiers somewhere. Your sailors have no combat experience, and unprotected, such a ship is of course a nice booty for pirates."

    "Ha, I''ll leave that to you. You can play warrior, then I will make sure that we get where we have to go."

    Since he can''t do anything there that Ryker can''t do a lot better, Raidon decides to continue with his round. Duncan also appears to be in the harbor. He is again working on the mechanism by which the chain can be brought up and down. Despite the repair that Duncan carried out a while ago, there still appear to be problems with it. Over time, the moisture has entered the mechanism, causing it to get stuck. As a result, the parts that had not been replaced are now due for replacement.

    "A few more days, captain, then it will work as it should."

    Raidon decides to also investigate the forge. Since they found it, no one has been there. Perhaps there are clues there for finding a blacksmith priest. Raidon doesn''t know much more than that they have to meet unknown requirements.

    Unfortunately, there is nothing new to be found in the forge.

    For the rest of the afternoon, Raidon roams the naval base. He visits a number of buildings in the barracks and also the gatehouse. Slowly but surely he gets a better and better picture of the naval base and what condition it is in.

    When he passes the training field, he sees that squad leader Ice is crouching with one of the recruits, who is sitting on the ground with a pale face.

    "What happened to him, Ice?" asks Raidon to the squad leader.

    Horrified, the normally so strict squad leader looks up.

    "Excuse me, Captain, I didn''t see you coming. Recruit Bram has managed to hurt his hand quite a bit, as you can see."

    "Yes, that''s a big wound. How did you manage that, recruit Bram?"

    While the recruit gets a red head, one of the other recruits laughs and answers.

    "He managed to cut himself to his own sword. Apparently, it can be difficult to grasp the right side of a sword."

    Shaking his head, Raidon leaves the care of the recruit to squad leader Ice.

    He spends the evening on paperwork once more. There is still plenty to study in the barracks. The fact that he has now become a captain does not mean that he is suddenly handed all the knowledge on a platter. There is still a considerable study involved.

    To expand his knowledge, he takes a look at the library before going to bed. He doesn''t expect to find much in such a short time, and he''s happy when he even finds something useful. After half an hour, the only useful information he has found is an overview of the names of the months in the old language.

    Ianuarius

    February

    Martius

    Aprilis

    Maius

    Iunius

    Quintilis

    Sextilis

    Septembris

    Octobris

    Novembris

    Decembris

    Randomly, Raidon opens a bunch of books in the hope that he will still come across something that arouses his interest. In the third book, his gaze falls on a piece about the building up of the legions.

    Units of the Legion:

    Ten soldiers together form a squad, led by a squad leader.

    Five squads, or fifty soldiers, together form a platoon, led by a sergeant.

    Five platoons, or two hundred and fifty soldiers, form a company, led by a captain.

    Four companies form a battalion, led by a major.

    A regiment has five battalions and is commanded by a colonel.

    A full army consists of five regiments and is led by a general.

    A little further on are also the units that relate to the navy.

    Number of marines per ship:

    A warship has a platoon of soldiers on board that is supported by rowers and sailors, with room for transport of an entire company.

    A merchant ship has a squad of soldiers on board as an escort.

    In a standard naval base there are usually ten warships stationed with room for fifty other ships. Hence, these locations have an additional garrison of a battalion led by a major.

    "So this wasn''t a wasted hour after all,¡± Raidon murmurs. This information helps him a lot further in finding out how this place once worked.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Later that day, a number of cavalrymen report to Raidon.

    "Captain, as ordered, we explored the area. We looked at everything within half a day from this place and we found quite a bit."

    "So, so there are still signs of the old empire on the island?"

    "Yes, sir," the scout continues, "we have found a number of places where we think there used to be a village, and in one place there are clear signs that there has been a farm. That farm is completely gone now, but the fields can still be recognized if you look closely. We also found an old water mill near the river. There is not much left of the building, but you can still clearly see that the riverbed has been adapted to drive the water wheel."

    "So the conclusion is that there are still a few things, but only a few that we can immediately benefit from," Raidon concludes.

    "Not quite, sir. We also found many traces of wild animals such as deer and boar and of various predators. But we also found traces of farm animals. We think they were released when the island was abandoned. The animals that survived have become wild."

    The scout remains silent for a moment before continuing.

    "Our conclusion is that the island can take care of hundreds or perhaps thousands of people. I myself think that this island is even better than the province of Aran."

    "I think that used to be the case. It''s our job to rebuild everything."

    It is clear to Raidon that the reconstruction of the island will take many years. Due to all the raids by bandits and pirates and the mismanagement of the former garrison, the entire province of Aran is weakened and impoverished. The province cannot afford a lot of extra people to build a new life on the island. In addition, the danger of those pirates still exists. And of course there is also the war, which will make everything even slower.

    After dinner, Ryker comes up with some interesting news.

    "Raidon, I just looked into those logs of the trading ship. I haven''t been able to make much of it yet, but I have found the name of this naval base."

    "Oh, is that so? And what did they call this place? It''s hard to keep calling it a naval base, and that number they assigned it wasn''t exactly convenient to use."

    "True, even in the old legions they thought so. Even though this place had its official name as a naval base three seven five, among the soldiers this place was called Naval Base Centurion. Or Centurion for short. That seems to me to be a better name than the other one, even though I don''t know exactly what a centurion is. Can you eat that?"

    Raidon laughs at his antics.

    "No, you can''t eat that. A centurion is an old name within the army for sergeant. At the time of the establishment of the legions, there were all different names. Later they changed during a reorganization of the army because the language changed."

 TNL 42 - Company Part One

    TNL 42 ¨C Company Part One

    All the way from Aran to the capital, Brandon is thinking about how to talk to the Empress. The New Legion may be under her personal command, but that does not mean that every soldier can just visit the Empress whenever they like. Both the army command and the palace guards will not agree with this.

    What I have to do is make sure I get a message to Captain Cervik. He can then inform the Empress. Everyone else will probably be the generals'' people, Brandon thinks.

    The journey is going well. Brandon and his soldiers have brought enough supplies and they are used to camping. After a long journey, they finally arrive at the capital.

    At the gate they are stopped by the guards.

    "Halt! What do you want in the city? Show me your letters of passage," one of the guards shouts.

    Brandon answers. "Letters of passage? We are soldiers, guardsman. We bring messages for the Empress."

    "Yes, yes, right. But no letters of passage or orders from your officer. You will stay there until I have called the officer on duty."

    Brandon sighs deeply, "guard, you do what you have to do, as long as you hurry up. I don''t have all day."

    A little later, a sergeant does indeed arrive. He consults with the guardsman for a while and then comes to Brandon and his squad.

    "So, my guard tells me that you are warriors without orders. Are you deserters? And what are your intentions in the city?"

    Brandon stands in front of the man.

    "We are certainly not warriors without orders. Your guard is just a little suspicious, you know. Maybe it''s an idea to ask him what his problem is?"

    The sergeant runs red. "You''d better show a little more respect when you speak to your superiors! I''ll put you all under arrest!"

    At this, the soldiers in Brandon''s squad look at each other in amazement. Does this sergeant not recognize their unit? And not even Sergeant Brandon''s designations? Brandon himself is just as incredulous, those double arrows on his shoulders are not really inconspicuous. With difficulty he manages to hold back.

    "Sergeant," he begins quietly, "as you can see, I am a sergeant just like you. This makes me second in rank of the New Legion. These soldiers are on their way with me to the Empress. You have no right to place us under arrest, as we are simply doing our job. And now move!"

    Brandon suddenly shouts that last part, causing the sergeant of the guard to reflexively step back. Without a word, Brandon and his soldiers march through the gate.

    Brandon leads his squad through the streets of the city until they reach the palace. Here they turn off to the barracks that belong to the palace. The headquarters of the regular army is also located here. When they arrive, they have to report in, to be assigned sleeping places. Brandon lets his squad rest on the square where they got their first lesson in marching all this time ago. He himself goes to the officer on duty.

    The captain on duty is sitting at his desk when Brandon enters.

    "Yes, can I help you?"

    "Yes, sir. I have ten soldiers with me and we need beds until we can have an audience with the Empress. We are here to report to her before we have to go back to our unit."

    "Hmm, eleven men. That should be doable."

    The officer beckons one of his men.

    "You, take him and his men to barrack four. I think it''s empty."

    The man precedes Brandon and his soldiers.

    "This is your place to sleep. For the duration of your stay you can stay here."

    After the man has said this, he disappears again quickly. Brandon looks at the man.

    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    "Well then, we have to see where they dumped us. Judging by how quickly our guide disappeared, it can¡¯t be that great."

    When they enter, the smell takes their breath away. While the soldiers open the windows, Brandon beckons squad leader Ice outside.

    "Ice, these barracks are downright filthy. I have to report to the generals, so if you could put the men to work putting the building in order, that would be nice. Then at least we can sleep tonight without a bucket next to the bed."

    "All right, sergeant. We¡¯ll tidy up here. Typically of the regular army to put us in such a shack. This building is probably planned to be demolished. If I''m not mistaken, those dirtbags have also used it here as latrine. In the back there¡¯s a scent that appears like a cross between vomit and urine."

    "I''m not going to bet with you. Go ahead and do what you can. I''m going to report that we have arrived."

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    While Brandon makes sure that he and his men get a place to sleep, a message is sent to General Colling. When he hears that a unit of the New Legion has arrived at the headquarters, his temper flares.

    "Damn, why do those guys have to show up again at this moment. I almost convinced the Empress that the whole exercise with those tin soldiers is a waste. And then all of a sudden they show up to contradict me."

    General Colling is the one who is most opposed to the New Legion. Several attempts to discredit unity have already failed. But now that he has an official investigative report on the functioning of the unit, which is not very positive, he finally has the chance to disband the New Legion.

    "Wait!" shouts General Colling to the guard at the door. "Tell General Dwain that his service starts a little earlier. I have to speak to the Empress right now. Dwain can receive that soldier from the so-called New Legion."

    General Colling quickly grabs the papers he needs, including the investigation report. When he has everything, he looks around one more time before he quickly walks out the door and makes his way to the palace.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    An hour later, Brandon angrily storms into the barracks.

    "Ice! Arrange something to drink for me. I have to wash away the bad taste that that general gave me."

    "What have they come up with to bother us this time, sir?" asks squad leader Ice as he pours a cup of wine for the sergeant.

    "You''re not going to believe it, but we don''t even get the opportunity to speak to the Empress. Although we are under her personal command and the regular army has nothing to say about us, they have taken the liberty of speaking to her about us. And that was not in a good way, I can already tell you that. I was told by a General Dwain that we, as good boys, should stay in our barracks until they have decided what they are going to do with us. And that may take a while, he told me."

    Two days later, Brandon still hasn''t heard anything. He''s starting to get impatient.

    "Ice, what do you think? Should we go looking for the Empress ourselves?"

    "Well, sergeant, the generals have said we have to stay here. But who are the generals?"

    "I think we think the same thing. Officially, we have nothing to do with orders from the regular army. I think we''ve been behaving for long enough now."

    Brandon looks at the other soldiers for a moment before he continues: "Harnesses on guys, we''re going to do something naughty."

    Moments later, Brandon and his men walk out the door. At the door there are two warriors on guard!

    "Halt! You have orders to stay inside!" they shout.

    Brandon looks at the guards before telling them:

    "We have not received any valid orders. The only one who can give us orders is the Empress herself. So be good and run back to your boss, then we won''t hurt you."

    The guards look at the odds against heavily armored men for a moment, before they quickly run off.

    "All right, now we have to hurry. It won''t be long before more men are sent after us," Brandon says.

    The men quickly march in the direction of the palace.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Alyena is working in one of the reception rooms when she hears a commotion outside the door. Even before she can fully get up from her chair, the door is suddenly thrown open. One of the guards at the door stumbles in, while behind him a lot of other men rush in. Her palace guards quickly line themselves up between their empress and the invaders.

    "What is this supposed to mean!?" thunders Captain Cervik.

    Alyena can''t even see the intruders anymore, the palace guards are standing so close to each other.

    "Sorry, Captain Cervik," Alyena hears someone shout. "Since we have been held against our will for days, we thought we should visit ourselves to figure things out. No one is injured, apart from a few sore heads. We would like to have the chance to talk to the Empress."

    "Move aside!"

    Alyena pushes herself between the imperial guards to see who enters her palace just to get her to speak. Once the guards have stepped aside, she can see that they are members of the New Legion.

    "You''re Sergeant Brandon, isn''t it?" she asks the leader.

    "That''s right, ma''am," he submissively begins. "We of the New Legion arrived some time ago to consult with you, but we were taken into custody by the generals of the regular army immediately upon arrival. We were forbidden to leave our barracks and we were not allowed to speak to you. General Dwain indicated that he and his colleagues were already in consultation with you, for which we had to wait. That was a few days ago."

    "I didn''t even know you were in the city."

    Alyena looks at her captain. "Did you know, Cervik?"

    "No, ma''am, I was not notified that they had arrived."

    "Well, then we have to figure this out."

    Captain Cervik lets his men take up their position again.

    "I''m assuming you''re no longer a danger?" he asks Brandon.

    "Sure Captain, we could to hand you our weapons if you want to? But it might be possible that some of the generals'' men will come looking for us in a moment."

    "Hhrmph, leave that to me."

 TNL 43 - Company Part Two

    TNL 42 ¨C Company Part Two

    With new guards at the doors and the soldiers of the New Legion at attention in front of the Empress, Brandon begins to talk to the Empress. Soon they are convinced that the empress hasn¡¯t received any reports from the legion in a long time, apart from complaints and the really bad investigative report from the generals.

    "The regular army is still making a lot of effort to make it difficult for us. Apparently, our reports are intercepted by the generals before they reach you. This way they can pass on whatever they want themselves. I''m guessing it often doesn''t even come close to the truth. Furthermore, they also try to hinder us in our tasks wherever they can. By refusing support when we need it, for example."

    "I see the problem, Sergeant, but it is difficult because all communication goes through the army headquarters. The generals indicate that they have accepted you, but that you are not doing your job. This makes it difficult for me to take measures. Especially now that you have suffered such heavy losses with little to show for it."

    Brandon looks at the Empress incredulously.

    "Little to show? What do you mean?"

    "The report I received a few days ago about your functioning. As you know, there has been an independent investigation."

    "Independent my ass!" says Brandon angrily before he can hold back. "Sorry, ma''am."

    "Doesn''t matter, Sergeant, but then tell me why the investigation is wrong."

    "That researcher was even more biased than General Colling, madam. I had to accompany him for some time when he was in Aran. You can hardly imagine a slimier man. That research wasn''t worth it to wipe your ar..".

    Brandon can barely hold back this time. "In any case, the report was not exactly accurate, ma¡¯am. The only point in that whole report that is true is that we had a high percentage of deaths and injuries. But even there, not everything was told. It did not tell us that in the battle in which that happened we faced a huge odds. There were more than five hundred pirates that we defeated and that was not the only thing the researcher did not tell in the report. Like this, all his points can be refuted."

    "I think that we should talk about this in detail once more. Unfortunately, I don''t have much time left at the moment because I have an appointment soon. Talk to Captain Cervik when we¡¯re done, and he will arrange an appointment for tomorrow. Then you can tell me everything that has happened since the last report that I actually had in my hands."

    Over the next three days, Brandon has several meetings with the Empress to discuss everything. Fortunately, he has brought evidence and is able to convince her that there are no problems with the New Legion.

    On the third day he has one last meeting with the empress.

    "I have decided to expand the New Legion. In the coming days, Captain Cervik will find more people to join the legion. He will also ensure that more people are sought in the following week who will follow as soon as they can. Both groups will be the size of a platoon of the legion."

    Alyena looks at Brandon emphatically. "In addition, you get permission to take in more people. As many as you want as long as it''s within your budget. I think you still get the same budget as the old garrison of Aran, don''t you? Furthermore, I will ensure that there is better communication between your unit and the palace. How I''m going to arrange that, I don''t know yet, but I''ll figure it out. What is also important is that from now on you only communicate directly with me or Captain Cervik. We do not tell the generals how many of you there are or what your positions are. From this moment on, we completely separate both armies from each other."

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    Then comes the big shock.

    "There will be something I want from you in exchange, Sergeant."

    The Empress begins to talk about the course of the war and what she expects from the New Legion.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As the walls of Aran loom in the distance, Brandon knows they are almost at the end of their journey. Fortunately, because the return journey had taken almost twice as long.

    A little later, Brandon is just about to shout at the gatekeepers that they have to open the gate, when it swings open on its own. As Brandon closes his mouth again, he sees Raidon smiling and waiting behind the gate.

    "So, so you came back again? It is that you have been recognized by the patrols of Fort Alpha, otherwise I would have set up a search. I had been expecting you aged ago..."

    Raidon stops talking halfway through his sentence. Because Brandon and his squad of soldiers are not alone.

    "Brandon! Who did you bring? Do you still have friends in the capital? Or are they all here!?" shouts Raidon in amazement.

    "Madam Empress thought my report on the legion was better than the fabrications of the generals, captain. As you can see," Brandon points out the men behind him with his arm, "we got a few recruits. We also have permission to look for more in other provinces. Unfortunately, I had to tell her that we have found more things from the old legions on the island. But even the Empress doesn''t know exactly how much. I got a platoon of recruits from the capital and there is even a new platoon being sought and then sent here under the leadership of squad leader Ice."

    A little later, Raidon and Brandon are in consultation. Brandon explains that it was quite a job to speak to the Empress about the report.

    "In the end I managed to speak to her, but I had to tell everything. This includes raiding the pirate camp, but also finding another legionnaires camp. I didn''t tell her what state Centurion is in, or how big it is. I did tell her that we still found a lot of harnesses."

    "Actually, that works out quite well. In the entire province of Aran we have only found four other recruits. There just aren''t enough people to join. Everyone has work for two. Now that the raids are a thing of the past, much more land can be farmed, new shops are being set up and who knows what else. Then there is Arana and the recruits who have joined us, all in all there is more work than there are people. If we can also look for people elsewhere, expanding the legion will be a lot easier."

    "I agree, but first let me tell my story. The Empress understands why we have not reported everything to the generals and the investigator. Especially after I explained how the researcher behaved. As far as she is concerned, the losses are by no means high, even though the generals may think so."

    With a grin, Brandon tells that the Empress said that none of the generals'' troops would have done as well, and certainly not new warriors with less than a year experience.

    "All this also means that the Empress will once again personally stand for the New Legion. Which means that whatever the generals may find, she ensures that the New Legion is allowed to continue. It also means that her position will deteriorate greatly should the New Legion fail.

    That was the good news. The bad news is that the war with Chakra is going worse. The Chakras have now deployed slave armies. They just conscripted everyone they could find into the army, gave them a weapon, and then sent them towards us. With the numbers they have, the regular army simply could not stop them. The fact that they have been stopped for now has more to do with the fact that they are plundering the area they already have than that our armies are doing so well. The generals have sent every available warrior to the north. Chakra has already taken half the land between the old border and the capital, so now the generals really have to stop them. Fortifications are being built all over the north."

    Brandon looks at Raidon seriously.

    "This also means that the south is virtually unprotected. The row of forts near the city of Linh are manned by skeleton garrisons. All in all, maybe a tenth of the normal number. It''s one big bluff over there.

    And then our orders. The Empress has asked if the New Legion can train the additional recruits as soon as possible, as it is possible that the New Legion will have to be deployed in the south. Should Chakra attack in the south, the entire area up to Borna, which lies on the edge of the ancient forest, could be lost. Because the only place where the few soldiers in the area can hold out is where the distance between the wilderness and the forest is getting smaller. Small groups of soldiers might still get through the wilderness, but not entire armies. But if we lose those provinces, it will be almost three times the size of the province of Aran. That would be almost a quarter of the empire. The Empress has given us orders to expand the legion. She also asked me personally if all of us could do our best to prevent the loss of the south. If we fail, the New Legion will be placed under the generals to hold the defenses of the south. And that won''t be to the legion''s advantage."

    Raidon silently hears Brandon, after which he sends the sergeant out to make sure the new recruits get a place to sleep.

    The story Brandon told indicates that the New Legion is well on its way, but the information about the war puts a heavy damper on the positive news.

 TNL 44 - Company Part Three

    TNL 44 ¨C Company Part Three

    Slowly Arana starts to become a thriving village. A few dozen people from all over the province have come over to build a new life here. Many of them lost pretty much everything during one of the raids. Although the province has become a lot safer these days, some would rather start again in a place that is far away from their old life.

    To accommodate all these poor people, everything has to be taken from the mainland. The pirates left a lot of household goods behind when they were defeated and those were things that were not taken to the mainland as loot. Tables, chairs and everything has been left behind. To make things even better, many of the former slaves are able to stand on their own again.

    The small garrison in the village nowadays focuses entirely on the safety of the village. The last people in the infirmary are cared for by three midwives who have moved to Arana.

    Aulis is still the temporary mayor of Arana. Since the village has grown so much larger, he has to divide his time between the village and the farms he has taken charge of. With the new influx of people, they managed to save almost the entire harvest. Dew the hunter also started to explore further and further from the village. He is convinced that there is a lot of wildlife around, but he has found few traces around the village. According to Dew, this is because the animals are people-shy. What he has found in traces indicates that there are wild farm animals such as chickens, pigs and other cattle around, but also that there are predators such as bears.

    On one of his longer explorations, Dew even found an old watchtower. Completely ruined, but apparently some of the infrastructure of the old legions still exists. Enough so that there may also be other useful structures nearby.

    When Aulis brings this up with the commander of the garrison, squad leader Mateo, he tells him that Captain Raidon has found a small village during his pursuit of the pirates. There are also places near Centurion where parts of buildings exist. According to squad leader Mateo, there are more such places on the other side of the mountains than on this side. There the old road still partly exists and it is possible to follow the small side roads to former villages and other buildings.

    Aulis decides that he should take a look at that village. Maybe there are still things they can use in Arana. Or maybe it''s a nice place where people can move to. Aulis asks the squad leader what he thinks.

    "Mateo, I would like to take a look at that village with Dew and a few others. We can probably find some things there that we can use here."

    "Aulis, you know I don''t think the island is safe. I only agree with the hunter exploring, because he is a good ranger. All others have to stay within sight of the walls."

    "But what if we take two soldiers with us? I know your garrison isn''t exactly big, but two men for a day or two shouldn''t matter that much, should they? Then you know that we are safe and maybe we can show that the island is no more dangerous than other places in the empire."

    Squad leader Mateo eventually changes his mind. And only an hour later, a group of seven men is on their way to the village in a cart. With Aulis, Dew and the two soldiers are three other men, a lumberjack, a tanner and a former owner of a tavern who drives the cart. The group has decided that they will spend the night in or near the village and go back the next day. When they arrive at the village, the disappointment is great when they see what kind of state it is in.

    "You can''t call this a village, this is a hamlet," says the innkeeper.

    "Yes, it''s not much," Aulis agrees, "but who knows, there might still be something useful. Let''s take a look around and take the stuff we find back to the cart. If you two want to stay outside to watch for danger, then it should be safe enough as I see it."

    The latter Aulis says to the two soldiers.

    It only takes a shot time to search the entire village. The pirates have left very little behind. Even though they were on the run, they apparently had enough time to take the important items with them. The only useful things left behind are tables and chairs. That is, until they arrive at the last house. They have loaded very few things on the cart, but the last house appears to be in better condition than the others.

    "The leader must have taken this house for himself," says Aulis.

    In the house, the tools of the pirates appear to be stored. Not only do they find a bunch of knives, but also axes, bows and other tools. Apparently the pirates felt so hunted that they took everything that was close to hand, but not that which was stored under lock and key in this last house.

    "With this house and the tools, I could do my job here," says the lumberjack. "Then I could transport wood to Arana so that can start building again. If there is also a sawmill nearby, it would be perfect."

    "Dew, would you mind making a round nearby? Who knows, maybe there''s something close by."

    Aulis has a suspicion, but does not yet inform the others.

    Dew doesn''t stay away for long. Even dinner isn¡¯t ready yet when he comes back.

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    "How did you know?" he asks Aulis. "Nearby is a stone building where the remains of a sawmill can be found. Complete with a rusted saw blade."

    "Ha! I knew it." Aulis can''t believe his luck. "I already had an idea when I heard what a great place this would be to arrange building materials. We will probably also find places at the foot of the mountains where they used to extract stone. Maybe even a few old mines! We have to go back to Arana tomorrow to get people to move here. Among all the new inhabitants of Arana, there are probably a few who would want that."

    "I''m one of them!"

    The lumberjack does not hesitate for a moment. He even decides that he wants to live here, especially if Dew wants to stay a few more days to explore a bit more.

    "Sorry, gentlemen, but we have received clear orders from the squad leader. No one is going to stay here. This is just an exploration."

    The larger of the two soldiers throws a spanner in the works.

    "But you can also see that it is safe here, right? If Dew and I stay here, there is little that can happen. Together we can make a start for when the others arrive."

    "As I said, this is an exploration. I agree with you that there is a lot of potential here, but for now we have to stay together. We will help you to persuade squad leader Mateo, but that''s all we can do."

    And the men have to make do with that until they are back in Arana.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Raidon takes Brandon and the recruits to Centurion. Aran is now under the command of Sergeant Lenn, while Fort Alpha has Sergeant Indigo as commander, with John to help him. This frees Brandon to help Raidon. When Raidon and Brandon return to Centurion, they immediately find a new situation waiting for them.

    Gareth is waiting for them in the harbor.

    "Captain, sergeant, I see that you have won some new souls for our little army."

    "Indeed. Brandon has taken the liberty of bringing some friends from the capital," Raidon replies jovially.

    Despite Raidon''s humor, Gareth continues to look serious.

    "Captain, I fear that my position as squad leader will become vacant."

    Raidon can hardly believe his ears.

    "Why is that? Are you going to quit the legion? What happened?"

    "Calm down, Captain, I''ll stay with the legion but in a different position. Let me explain. While you were away to wait for the sergeant, I poked around the forge a bit. There I found a secret room. There turned out to be a secret temple for Mithras, entirely with books, armor and everything else. When I went in there and touched the altar, there was a bright light. When I came out again, one of the soldiers told me that I had this new sign on my harness."

    Gareth points out a sign on his shoulders that looks like a hammer.

    "When I went to look it up, it turned out that the hammer is the sign of a smith-priest of Mithras. I''m apparently going to take that independent position within the legion."

    Raidon doesn''t know what he''s hearing. On the one hand, he loses the friend that¡¯s always right there next to him on his adventures, but on the other hand, as a legion, they now have a priest who will soon be able to repair armor and even make completely new ones. There is nothing they can do about this and Gareth himself seems to enjoy the thought to work as a blacksmith. That was also the reason he was snooping around in the forge. The priestly part still seems difficult to him, but as he says himself, he will probably succeed.

    "Now that I have informed you, I will go back to the forge. There are dozens of books I still have to go through."

    Now that he has made his report, Gareth is immediately less formal.

    Since Gareth is busy with the many books in the temple, Raidon and Brandon go to the barracks. The new recruits are assigned a place to sleep. Morris almost has his hands in his hair when he hears that there are now fifty new recruits and another fifty to be added within a week. But a little later, when Brandon also informs Morris of the situation at the southern border, Morris pales.

    "The south? But they can''t give up the whole south, can they?" Morris continues softly: "My family lives there. If Chakra attacks in the south and the line of forts at the border fall, then Linh, my hometown, will be the first to fall. They don''t have a garrison there apart from those in the forts. They just have some city guards and a wall!"

    Morris seems really depressed, but then Brandon suddenly asks:

    "How big is that city, Morris?"

    "Uhh, Linh has several tens of thousands of inhabitants. Why?"

    "How many of them are normal citizens?"

    Then a light also goes on with the others.

    "With the city threatened by war, many people may want to join the legion there!" Raidon enthusiastically shouts.  "Maybe enough to actually make a difference in the war!"

    The decision is then quickly taken.

    "Morris," Raidon begins, "you go straight to Linh. With your contacts there, it will be easier for you to find recruits than for us. Bring a bunch of your cavalrymen. We still have enough harnesses for two new platoons after the arrivals from the capital. That means you can recruit a hundred people. Furthermore, we can also use people for the cavalry and other support. Try to find as many people as possible, but do everything you can to get at least those hundred people. That will bring us to three hundred and thirty soldiers! That is enough to go out with a full company and also leave enough soldiers behind to man everything here. And if Gareth can make more harnesses, we can expand even further!"

    It is difficult to find the best route for Morris to take and then also the route back with a hundred recruits and all the other people and stuff that Morris can arrange. From Aran it takes six days on horseback to get to Linh. The way back will take at least twice as long, perhaps even longer because new recruits are not used to walking such stretches. Eventually, Raidon makes a decision.

    "Morris, you are going on horseback from Aran to Linh with ten of the cavalrymen. Doing so, you will follow the route that leads around the wilderness. One day we will probably make a shorter route, but for now you will have to stick to the existing roads. Once in Linh you get a week to recruit. After that week you have to go directly to Peredur. That''s a city on the coast. There we will pick you up with one of the ships. That way we can halve the time to get back. This solution is the best because the recruits may get a first experience of marching, but they don''t have such a long journey that they need weeks of rest afterwards."

    "Why can''t he go straight to Peredur with the ship?" asks Brandon.

    "Because the ship has to pass the pirate islands. Here, I''ll show you."

    Raidon picks up a map. He then points out the pirate islands.

    "Look, if Morris is going in that direction with the ship, then there must be a large unit of soldiers on board. Otherwise, they might board the ship. To achieve that, we have to remove soldiers everywhere, while we are already quite understaffed."

    This is where Morris takes over. "Before you think to, Brandon, the recruits are not nearly far enough along with their training to be deployed. We did your training as quickly as possible, and even doing so your training was not yet completed when Captain Bras threw a spanner in the works. The recruits we have now have not even completed half of that shortened training."

    "Indeed," Raidon agrees. "In addition, it takes almost as long traveling by ship as on horseback, so it does not make that much of a difference. It would just mean that we don''t have enough people for a few weeks."

    Morris immediately gets to work to pack his things and arrange for the crossing to Aran. The next morning he leaves as soon as the sun rises.

 TNL 45 - Preparation Part One

    TNL 45 ¨C Preparation Part One

    The same day that Morris leaves, Gareth visits Raidon.

    "Raidon, those harnesses aren''t going to be ready any time soon. Even repairing parts is not going to work. I have now read most of the documents that deal with forging, which is only a small part of the whole, but that is not enough. Those priests of the past all had pupils and it took years before they were able to attain the rank of priest. And that under the guidance of other priests. I don''t have that guidance. Both branches of the priesthood are new to me."

    "That might become a problem. We really need you to make new parts, especially with all the new recruits we''re going to get."

    "If I want to have even a small chance to forge something soon, it would be best to make sure that someone comes to teach me the blacksmith trade. I can eventually learn the priestly tasks from the books, but not the practical experience as a blacksmith."

    "If you think that will help, I will do everything I can to find you a teacher. I will send a message to Aran that they need to find someone."

    Within a few minutes of Gareth leaving Raidon''s office, someone is already on their way to deliver the message to Aran. With the fishing boat that is available for these kinds of important messages, the message is immediately taken away.

    Within two weeks after Raidon has sent the message, the first replies are coming in. These were collected over the course of that week in the barracks in Aran and then sent in one bundle. Raidon now has a stack of nearly twenty responses to his message.

    One by one, he carefully goes through the messages. For this he has taken the whole evening. Unfortunately, he might as well have taken fifteen minutes.

    Everywhere the blacksmiths are extremely busy. With the enormous increase in prosperity in the province, more is being demanded everywhere from not only the blacksmiths, but also from all other crafters.

    Only when he takes a look at the second to last message does he have a positive answer. Indigo has indicated from Fort Alpha that the blacksmiths in the neighborhood are all busy, but that in the village nearby, Nicaea, there is a retired blacksmith who might be interested. This is the father of the blacksmith who repaired the gate of Fort Alpha. He is not a blacksmith, but he did make knives and arrowheads. Even though this man is retired, his experience is unparalleled in the province.

    Raidon decides to read the last message before he decides to bring this man to Centurion.

    As soon as he opens the last answer, the decision is made. On the last note it only says in a very bad handwriting: No one available.

    Raidon sends an escort of two soldiers to pick up the retired blacksmith. He expects the blacksmith in Centurion within two weeks.

    It takes fifteen days before the blacksmith finally arrives in Centurion. Due to a storm, it took a day longer before the crossing from Aran could be made.

    After arrival, the blacksmith immediately goes to see the forge. This without even visiting Raidon.  It''s only when Raidon receives a report from one of the two soldiers he sent to find the blacksmith that Raidon knows he has arrived. The soldier says that the blacksmith was very impressed, and it seemed as if the years fell away from him when he saw the forge.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A moment ago a soldier came to get Gareth to get him to meet the blacksmith. After waiting half a day for the blacksmith, he had only just left when the blacksmith arrived.

    When Gareth arrives at the forge, he sees the old blacksmith walking around. The old man clearly has his best years behind him, but he still looks fit enough to teach Gareth what he needs to know. His arms are huge, probably from all the years of work in the forge. The man has gray, almost white hair and he is slightly bent over.

    You step out for one moment to wash yourself and as always, that¡¯s when people show up, Gareth thinks to himself. That was where the soldier had found him: in the baths. As soon as Gareth enters the forge, the old blacksmith speaks to him in a loud voice.

    "So, so you are the master of this forge? You don''t look like it!"

    "Yet I am, sir," Gareth replies. "I didn''t think this was for me myself, but apparently Mithras thinks I''m suitable for the craft. I just have a lot to learn."

    The blacksmith is shown around the forge by Gareth. He doesn''t say much and what he says is in such a deep humming voice that Gareth can''t even understand him. Yet it seems as if the blacksmith is satisfied with the forge. At the end of the tour he asks:

    "What''s behind that door there? We haven''t been there yet."

    "You can''t go there, sir," Gareth replies. "Behind that door is the sanctuary of the forge. This is only accessible to priests of Mithras and their pupils. You can give it a try, but you probably won''t be able to get through the door."

    The old blacksmith tries anyway, but indeed, the door doesn''t even move!

    "Well, we know that now," he hums in a cheerful tone. "Then we can now get to work. Tell me everything you already know about the craft."

    Gareth explains what he learned from the priests'' textbooks.

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    "The old priests usually learned forging as recruits. As a priest''s recruit, or acolyte as they were also called, the training was much longer than that of any other soldier. Yet after the first year, they were often able to deliver work that was almost as good as the work of regular blacksmithing."

    "That seems impossible to me. As a blacksmith, knowledge is important, I admit that. If you don''t know how to hold the hammer, it will fly through the air after your first blow. Not to mention things like tempering or the amount of carbon in the steel. But to master the techniques, you need a little longer than a year. Even with all that knowledge, you still have to practice, practice and practice again."

    "That''s what they did that first year. According to the texts, they did little more than practice forging. That first year, the acolytes had no life other than the forge. However, since there are no full priests now, I was immediately promoted to priest in spite of everything. So I have a lot of catching up to do."

    "Training you to be a blacksmith should be possible for me, boy. You''ll have to figure out all that stuff about priests for yourself."

    The blacksmith questions Gareth for a while. It is clear that Gareth has already learned a thing or two from the books that he read, but that he has little idea of applying that in practice. Nevertheless, the blacksmith seems to be enthusiastic.

    "That doesn''t matter, boy." Gareth is now getting used to the man''s humming voice. "It means that you don''t have any bad habits that you have to unlearn. Let''s start at the beginning. First, we will test whether everything works."

    The blacksmith climbs into the fire pit with some difficulty to check the chimney.

    "Well, that looks fine!" he shouts. "We can light the fire and see if the rest works as well."

    Immediately the blacksmith tries to light the blacksmith''s fire. This just turns out not to be as easy as he made it seem.

    "This can''t be that difficult. Despite its age, this thing is still in perfect condition. This whole forge even looks like mine."

    Gareth, who has been told to watch alone, is now also helping. Together they check everything that has to do with the blacksmith fire. When Gareth studies the stones of the oven, something strikes him.

    "I think there are signs here!" he shouts enthusiastically.

    Gareth goes through the signs with his fingers. For a moment nothing happens, but at the last sign he feels something moving. With a little force in the right place, he knows how to push the stone where the sign is on. Gareth then quickly pushes on the other signs as well. For a moment these light up, after which the blacksmith utters a cry.

    "Absolutely! I think you did it, boy."

    When Gareth looks up in the oven, he sees that the blacksmith''s fire has started to burn on its own.

    A day later, Gareth and the blacksmith have checked everything that is available and are ready to really get to work. They have found a large stock of coal and iron, as well as a very nice number of tools. So nothing needs to be picked up from Aran. While Gareth uses the blowing gall to fan the fire, the blacksmith explains what they do and why they do it. Slowly but surely Gareth becomes more and more comfortable and begins to ask more questions.

    That same day, the fire in the forge burns again for the first time in centuries. The blacksmith himself no longer has the strength to practice his profession for a long time, but he can teach Gareth what he knows.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Raidon is once again putting things in order. To pick up Morris and the expected recruits in Peredur, he really needs a manned warship. A merchant ship is simply too small to take all the expected recruits with it.

    Fortunately, Ryker has been preparing a warship for use for a while. It does mean that he has to take soldiers away somewhere to man the ship. Luckily, the eleven soldiers who were wounded in the fight with the pirates are now almost completely recovered and can resume their duties. After some calculations, Raidon finds out that he now has one hundred and thirty soldiers. He has included the first recruits, but not the hundred who have only just arrived from the capital.

    After struggling with it for some time, Raidon decides to leave two squads in Fort Alpha, one platoon in Aran and one and a half squads in Arana and in the naval base. This brings him to two full platoons that are needed to man the different stations. The remaining three squads can join the ship.

    "We''re in better shape than I thought," Raidon says to himself. "Just a little while longer and we have enough soldiers to not only maintain our positions, but also to carry out real missions."

    Then squad leader Ice reports to Raidon''s office.

    "You wanted to see me, Captain?" he asks.

    "Yes, Ice, I want to talk to you about a journey we need to take. As you know, Morris is on his way to find new recruits. The intention is that we pick up him and those recruits with the ship. At the moment, soldiers are on their way to help man the ship. I want you to act as my second in command for the trip."

    "Of course, Captain, that makes sense to me."

    "What do you think we should do to get the men ready for battle at sea? We have to go through the pirate islands and I think we''re going to see some action."

    "Hmm," Ice hums, "at least we have to practice with the men first. And preferably a little longer than a few times up and down through the harbor."

    "Well, of course we could also start looking for recruits ourselves. Morris is still a long time off from arriving in Linh and the Empress has given us permission to look for people everywhere. I think there is a remote city in the north that we should be able to reach in a few days. I believe the city is called Estera. Ever heard of it?"

    "No, Captain. But a few days at sea would be ideal to train the men. On the way there and back we can do exercises. Do you want me to coordinate it?"

    "I think that''s an excellent idea. Talk to Ryker, I''m sure he''ll have a thing or two to say about life on the ocean."

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For Alyena, the day doesn''t start great.

    It started right after breakfast, when the Empress had a meeting with generals Dwain and Colling. Once again she had to point out that the New Legion is under her command and that the generals have nothing to do with it. The fact that they still try to hinder the work of the New Legion starts to annoy her more and more. It seems as if she has to name every detail specifically for the generals not to oppose her.

    After that awkward conversation, she had to talk to Griffith again. The count is still too lax with her new law to help the poorer inhabitants of the empire. Even though the new law states that every citizen of the empire has their own rights, Count Griffith still treats them like slaves. There have also been reports of inspectors he has tried to bribe.

    And then comes the conversation with her minister of finance. According to the man, the empire is not in good shape. The cost of moving the inhabitants of the conquered piece of land in the north has demanded a lot from the treasury. The new fortifications and other war effort even more so. Together with the piece of land, this is a serious depletion of the reserves of the treasury.

    "Your Majesty, unfortunately the reforms you want to implement are not possible. The treasury is currently almost completely empty. We will have to wait until at least the beginning of spring, which will take a few more months, before we have the first taxes. We will need them to pay off our debts. If you are going to implement reforms now, we will not get enough taxes to get through the next quarter."

    Alyena begins to look frustrated. The minister has a whole series of reasons for not introducing reforms. Even the few changes that Alyena has already ordered are not or hardly followed by the people under the minister.

    "If I''m not mistaken, it''s your job as finance minister to make sure the expenses I deem necessary are paid, isn''t it?" Alyena does not give the minister time to respond to this before she continues. "That is why I hereby recommend that you draw up a plan to implement the reforms before the spring of next year. I do not want any of my subjects to be mistreated for another season. Therefore, everything must be ready before the planting season has arrived. I expect your first draft of the plan within three days."

    When Alyena is done with her finance minister, she leaves the office, leaving the man somewhat bewildered.

 TNL 46 - Preparation Part Two

    TNL 46 ¨C Preparation Part Two

    Two days before the trading ship is scheduled leave, there is considerable excitement about the last fishing boat that comes in. The fishing boat is very deep in the water. Raidon thinks for a moment that the boat is overloaded, and has taken too many soldiers onboard. But then he sees that the other fishermen in the harbor are already throwing their lines and sailing towards the boat. The fishing boat is sinking!

    If the ship sinks, the fishermen can swim  ashore, but all the soldiers on board will drown. With the harnesses they wear, they will be at the bottom of the harbor in no time. Are they going to make it?

    Horrified, Raidon sees that the fishing boat is getting deeper and deeper into the water. The water almost flows over the edge. Slowly the boat comes closer. Raidon can now see that most people on board are tipping water over the edge. Not only the fishermen on board, but also the soldiers of the New Legion. Some of them even use their helmets.

    Despite all the efforts of the passengers, Raidon sees that they will never make it to the pier. He quickly looks at the other fishing boats. They too are not in time to save the soldiers. With lead in his shoes, Raidon sees that the water is flowing over the edge of the boat. Despite their screams and shouting, the soldiers of the New Legion disappear under water.

    Raidon is staring with his mouth open. To lose men under his command in such a way is the worst thing he has ever experienced. With tears in his eyes, he turns away. Around him he sees that other soldiers and fishermen have also stood in horror watching how the drama played out. Raidon isn''t the only one to let the tears flow freely either. Some have turned away just like Raidon, others are watching the fishermen continue to dive to find the soldiers underwater.

    Within a minute, two other fishing boats are also on site, with a third just behind. From the first two boats men also jump into the water to help the others.

    "Captain! Have a look!" shouts one of the soldiers next to Raidon. This soldier is one of the few who has continued to watch the rescue attempt.

    When Raidon looks at the sunken boat in amazement, he sees in amazement how first one, and then two soldiers in almost their full armor, only their helmets are missing, are taken out of the water.

    "How is that possible?" asks Raidon to the soldier who has continued to watch.

    "It looks like the fishing boat sank right into the entrance to the harbor," the soldier says with a huge smile on his face. "Those smart guys deliberately sank the boat there."

    "Why would they do that?" Raidon doesn''t get it.

    "Because the boat is now under water on top of the chain! That''s only a few meters under water."

    "But how is it possible that our men are still alive?"

    "Well, I''ve heard that someone who can''t breathe anymore can be helped by other people. If you blow air into someone''s mouth, you can make someone breathe again. What if those fishermen dive down to let the others breathe?"

    "Ah, that''s why they keep diving down all the time."

    Half an hour later, the rescued soldiers are brought ashore by the fishing boats to loud cheers. Even the sunken boat is dragged along and attached to the pier.

    A few days later they are ready to sail with the trading ship. The warship is still not fully repaired, but on the merchant ship they can at least experience what it is like to defend a ship. Raidon has given his soldiers an extra day of rest to recover from their experience. Now that they have fully recovered, they can finally go out into the ocean.

    With three squads of soldiers and the entire crew led by the old sailor Ryker, they are ready for anything. Ice and Ryker have come up with a training schedule for the soldiers and acting on Ryker¡¯s advice, they also involve the sailors in the training. In the event that they have to engage in a battle with pirates, of course, not only the soldiers are in danger. Everyone needs to know what their duties are in defending their ship.

    When Raidon and his thirty soldiers arrive at the ship''s gangway, he must first ask permission to board. This was clearly stated in the navy regulations. Anyone wishing to board a ship must first ask the captain or his replacement for permission. It''s a bit like the permission needed to enter other people''s territory.

    "Captain Ryker, can we come on board?"

    "You can come on board, Captain Raidon."

    Within moments, the soldiers have all marched aboard. On board they have to find their places. On these large ships there is enough space for the soldiers both in the hold and on deck. If the merchant ship also carried a lot of cargo, the space would be much more limited.

    Now Raidon and his soldiers are led by Ryker to a spot in the middle of the deck. Here they are the least in the way of the sailors. Once everyone is in place, Raidon follows Ryker to the aft deck. This is the place where both the helmsman and the captain normally stand. If there are important officers on board, they can also often be found on the aft deck where they can communicate well with the captain of the ship.

    Once on the aft deck, Ryker gives the necessary orders to set sail.

    "Sergei, get that gangway in!" shouts Ryker, with a little later:

    "Loosen the lines and push off! Rowers, start at half speed!"

    Slowly the ship starts to move forward. Within a few moments, the ship is detached from the pier and on its way. It takes them at half speed almost five minutes before they reach the entrance to the port. Once outside the harbor there is wind for the sails.

    "Rowers, get those oars. Mate, hoist the sails."

    Ryker clearly has things under control.

    The next morning Raidon wakes up early from the ringing of the ship''s bell. It is the alarm that sounds all over the ship. He quickly grabs his equipment and puts it on. During the past few exercises, they have agreed that there are several alarms. The alarm that is now sounding means that an enemy ship has been seen, but not so close that there is immediate danger. This gives the soldiers the chance to put on their equipment, which gives a huge advantage in the defense of the ship. By the time the enemy is so close that there is immediate danger, the second alarm is sounded. Then everyone should get on deck as soon as possible to stop boarders.

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    When Raidon comes on deck, the soldiers arrive at the same time. Within a few minutes of himself arriving at Ryker, who is at the helm, the three squads of soldiers in formation are on deck.

    "Is this another exercise, Ryker? Or did you really see an enemy ship?" asks Raidon to the old fisherman.

    "Does it matter? As long as your soldiers do what they have practiced. In this case, there''s really something for them to hurry up to."

    "Oh yes? Tell! Where then? I don''t see a ship anywhere."

    Raidon is completely confused.

    "A little further away, a tree trunk floats," Ryker notes dryly. "That''s a nice exercise for shooting from a moving deck."

    Raidon blinks. Is this what got him out of bed? But still, it''s not without reason that he put Ryker and Ice in charge of the exercises.

    "ICE!" shouts Raidon to the deck. "Right side, ehh, starboard! Your target is that dead tree. It wants to board the ship!"

    Squad leader Ice makes no bones about it.

    "Soldiers, ready, starboard side! You have heard the captain, an enemy tree has been spotted. Wait for my sign... shoot!"

    The soldiers move to the starboard side of the ship and are just in time to shoot their crossbows on command. Most arrows completely miss the tree. So Ryker was right, Raidon thinks. It''s harder than it looks to shoot from a moving ship.

    "Reload!" comes the command from below. "We''re going to turn around to make another attempt."

    Raidon looks surprised at Ryker, who explains:

    "Ice and I have agreed in advance that if such an opportunity arises, we will do three rounds before we continue. So he knows I''m turning the ship around."

    The second attempt is slightly better and the last attempt even better. The soldiers don''t shoot perfectly, but already a lot better than the first time. It is clear that they understand that the ship is moving and they have to take that into account.

    "Well, this exercise has proven its usefulness. I''d rather miss it now than when a bunch of pirates really come our way."

    Raidon is finally satisfied that he has been called out of his bed.

    It is two days sailing to reach Estera. The second day there is no practice. Not because the targets are now hit every time, but more because even the experienced sailors have had to tie themselves to the ship. Just after noon, the first heavy autumn storm arose. Everything that was not fixed was thrown overboard. Without the experienced sailors, it would never have been possible to survive the storm.

    To be less noticeable, they beach the ship a long way from the city. The ship is gently sailed onto the beach, so that everyone at the front of the ship can disembark. From there, Raidon and one squad of soldiers go ashore to enter the city. Ice and Ryker stay behind on the ship to guard it. After about a kilometer of marching, they see the gates of the city.

    When they arrive at the gate, they are stopped by the guards.

    "Halt! Who are you and what do you want in Estera?" asks the sergeant of the guard.

    "I am Captain Raidon of the New Legion. We are here to recruit people for our unit," Raidon calmly replies.

    "New what? Never heard of it. You can''t get in without laying down your weapons and then you''ll go with me to my commander!"

    Raidon can hardly believe his ears. Not only have the warriors of this garrison never heard of the New Legion, but they are placing him and his soldiers under arrest? That''s really not acceptable!

    "Sergeant, would you believe us when I show you the empress''s warrant?" replies Raidon, after which he searches his pouch for the document.

    The sergeant needs very little time to look at it.

    "I can''t read myself, but this is the imperial seal. You can keep your weapons, but I will send someone with you to escort you to the barracks. Then the commander can decide what to do with you."

    "So, so you are that New Legion I''ve heard about?" asks the commander of Estera''s garrison a little later.

    The man is a major who has risen through the ranks at the end of his career. His place of employment is seen as an easy post where the commander is usually an almost retired officer who is serving out his time. In this case, it is also the commander''s hometown. The garrison consists of about five hundred warriors.

    "Yes, major," Raidon replies, "I have brought a small unit to your city."

    "Right, and what do you want in my city? It doesn''t happen every day that strange units arrive in Estera."

    "It may be a strange reason, but we have come to see if there are people in Estera who want to join the New Legion. The Empress has given us permission to recruit everywhere in the empire."

    The commander looks at Raidon with piercing eyes.

    "So, if I understand correctly, you want to steal my best people and you have permission from the Empress to do so?"

    Raidon can hardly contain his laughter. It''s always the same with the regular army, always thinking the worst. Even this major who rose from the ranks.

    "No, major," Raidon continues with a smile, "the people we are looking for are the poor of the city. Unlike the regular army, anyone can join us. Equipment and everything is taken care of. That is why we are looking for the people who are of little use to you."

    The major has to think for a moment, but then he gives his permission.

    "Fine, as long as I''m not bothered by you, you can count on my support. Is there anything else you need for now?"

    "Maybe so. I have heard that you have quite a bit of experience in fighting at the border. Did you happen to serve in the South as well?"

    "Yes," the major hums, "I have served nearly three-quarters of my career in the South. Why?"

    "Well, according to the reports, the south is very weakened at the moment. The generals have sent every available man to the north, but there are too few men in the south. Chakra is now expected to launch a new offensive in the south. Should that happen, the standing orders are to retreat to Borna. That means that almost the entire south is being abandoned."

    "WHAT!" shouts the major. "Do they want to retreat to Borna? What idiot comes up with that! Then we might as well give up right away."

    "Indeed, that''s exactly what I thought. What I would therefore like from you is all the information you have about the south, the situation there and anything else that may be useful. We of the New Legion have been given the task by the Empress to prevent this retreat."

    The major seems to calm down a bit after hearing this.

    "You''re going to stop things there? Then I understand that you are looking for people to help. How many are do you have right now? I seem to remember that something like a hundred men had been found and that no more would be called?"

    "We are still a small unit, Major," Raidon replies, "but we have already managed to expand something. If I can find thirty recruits here with you, I am satisfied. We do not have more equipment at the moment. If there are many more registrations, we will probably come back again soon."

    "Hmm, thirty could work. I think there are a few hundred people who would be interested. We live here quite remotely and even though there is not much work, no one just leaves. It¡¯s way too far to travel without knowing if there is work at the end of your travels. I will give you a guide to the square where they are looking for work. Then you should be done in no time. Are you sure you don''t want more people?"

    "No thanks, major, I don''t have more openings at the moment."

    Two days later Raidon leaves Estera. Not only has he found his thirty recruits, he is also saddled with a whole bunch of other people. The major couldn''t resist looking for people himself, so Raidon now has way too many people. So many that he can''t take them all with him on the ship. For that reason, he sends one of his squads overland with the recruits towards Aran.

    "Squad leader Ice, you and your men will stay here in the barracks until the commander has his people and stuff together. He has promised us some supplies and equipment that will go with you. I expect he has gathered another eighty men, but I can''t be sure. Depart in three days at the latest, then keep the best pace the recruits can handle. In any case, try to teach them how to march along the way and if you can, teach them some formations as well. I hope you will be in Aran within two weeks, but that is not a fixed date. I don''t know how the roads run from here and in what condition they are. Use your own insight."

    Raidon himself leads his forty recruits to the ship. Since he leaves a squad behind, he wants to take those extra ten recruits with him. "I see you''ve exchanged some people in town, Captain," Ryker greets him from a hill near the ship.

    "Yes, the commander was kind enough to make more people available than we can take with us. So Ice will bring them overland to Aran," Raidon replies. "Can we set sail right away?"

    "Well, that will be a bit difficult. As you know, we are not in a port and we have beached the ship to drop you off. What we didn''t think about is that the tides would get away from us. As you can see for yourself, we have to wait until the tide is high again before we can sail. The ship is completely on the beach!"

    Raidon looks at the man in amazement. Does he really mean this? But moments later, it''s all too clear that Ryker was right. When Raidon comes to the top of the hill, he sees not a ship in the water, but a ship on the beach while the sea is tens of meters away.

    "Well, then we can start training our recruits. That''s about all we can do now."

 TNL 47 - Preparation Part Three

    TNL 47 ¨C Preparation Part Three

    Morris has been on the road for seven days. But despite delays due to a huge thunderstorm, he is now finally within sight of his hometown of Linh. He quickly urges his horse to go even faster. His cavalrymen have trouble keeping up with him.

    It''s been quite a journey, Morris thinks. He and his men have ridden all the way around the wilderness, mainly because it is almost impossible to ride on horseback through the dense forests of the wilderness. Despite the great detour, they have saved a lot of time.

    When they could see the ancient forest in the distance, they were very happy that they didn''t have to go through it. Taking shortcuts pieces through the wilderness is possible at some places, but that is not the case with the ancient forest. The ancient forest is impenetrable right from the edge. The smallest trees are already more than twice as large as the largest trees in the wilderness. In addition, the space between the trunks of the trees is completely overgrown with shrubs, spines and other plants. There is literally no path that gives access to the ancient forest.

    A little later they arrive at the city. Memories flood Morris. It''s been years since the last time he was here. Usually he stayed near the barracks or the army camp during his leave. And during the few times he could, he went to the capital. But his hometown? That was a while ago.

    Yet everything is so recognizable. The gates with the street behind them, the statues on the squares and even the barracks.  When he arrives at the barracks, Morris reports to the guard on duty. "I come for the commander of the garrison. Is he here?"

    "Yes, sir, I''ll see if he has time for you. What is your name and why are you here?"

    When Morris has given his identity, they can continue.

    Moments later, Morris stands in front of the commander''s office as he reads the warrant Raidon has given Morris.

    "Hmm... So... Yes, I see it. This is a very interesting document," says the commander, after which he looks at Morris. "Unfortunately, I can''t help you. Great that you have permission to take people, but not from my city. Linh is in danger of being attacked, as is the entire southern province."

    Incredulously Morris says:

    "But the people of the city can''t even fight! They are not warriors!"

    "Even then, as long as I''m in command here, I want to keep everyone safe inside the city."

    The commander cannot be dissuaded from this point of view and a little later Morris comes out empty-handed.

    Since it is impossible to talk sense into the commander, Morris decides to visit his family. His parents died years ago, but he still has three brothers living in the city. His family was never very rich, but they had enough to buy Morris'' equipment so he could join the army. Since it is a family visit, Morris leaves his escort in the barracks. To put so many people on his family''s doorstep at once is a bit of an imposition.

    A little later he is at the door of the family business. His brothers now manage the business with the three of them, with eldest brother Gerard at the head. When Morris knocks on the door, Gerard is the one who opens it.

    "Yes, what can I do for you?"

    "Gerard, I know it''s been a long time, but you have to recognize your own brother, right?"

    "Sorry, sir, you know my name, but my brothers are all working inside."

    "Maybe I should beat you first in a game of wrestling, just like I used to?"

    "Is that a threat? Maybe I should call the city guard after all. Or maybe I have a better idea."

    "Oh yes?"

    "Absolutely." Gerard turns around and calls in to ask for help.

    "Guys, come and help. We have an obtrusive guy at the door!"

    Within moments, the other two brothers come rushing out to help Gerard.

    "Morris, is that you!?" they shout.

    "Yes, idiots, let me in!"

    Within a few minutes, Morris is surrounded by family. Not only are all three of his brothers there, but also their families.

    After dinner, Morris discusses the problem with his brothers.

    "And that''s the situation," Morris ends his story.

    "So if I understand correctly, the Empress has personally instructed you to protect us here, but the commander does not want to cooperate?" asks the eldest brother.

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    "Yes, that''s about it. Remember that we cannot help right away, but that that help lies in the future. So the commander does not go directly against his orders."

    "Well, fortunately we normal people have no orders to hold us!" shouts the youngest brother. "We''re going to help you, brother, and let that commander try to stop us."

    "I don''t know if that''s such a good idea. He would probably arrest you quickly."

    "Ha! Fat chance. We just tell your problem to the neighbors, asking if they know any people who want to help, and then it goes around on its own. Just wait and see!"

    Three days later, so many people have already indicated that they are interested, that Morris has to decide who he will and will not take with him. Morris'' brothers try to help pick the best people. While they sit around the dining table for this, there is a knock on the door.

    "Open up! This is the watch!" is shouted.

    Morris and his brothers look at each other. "Shit!" Morris'' brother opens the door. "What can I do for you, sir?"

    "We have reports that you are organizing an illegal meeting here."

    "No, sir, as you can see, we do not have a meeting here. Only me and my family are here."

    "Don¡¯t be a smartass! I said organize! I hereby inform you that if I notice that you are continuing with your illegal practices, that I will throw you all in jail. Be warned!"

    When the guard has left, Morris and his brothers look at each other.

    "Well, apparently we have to be a bit more careful."

    "Well, or we have to change the location. Leave everything to me. If you find out who you want to take with you, I will indicate to your candidates where they have to go and when. Morris, you''re already suspect anyway. Go back to the barracks and try to persuade the commander again. That''s what he expects from you. I will have someone report where the meeting is."

    Morris has little to argue with. That is why he leaves for the barracks.

    Two days later, Morris receives a note from a waitress at breakfast, stating that he must be on a hill a bit out of town around noon. That''s why Morris and his men leave as soon as possible. Without attracting too much attention, they manage to saddle their horses and leave the barracks. At the gate, however, they are stopped by two guards.

    "Show me your orders. I don''t think there are any extra patrols planned."

    Morris expresses another deep sigh. "Soldier, we are not part of the garrison. No one has to give me permission to go wherever I want. Open the gate now!"

    The guards look at each other for a moment.

    "I''m sorry, but our commander has ordered to keep everyone at the gate from leaving. Even the merchants are not allowed to leave without written permission."

    "Great, friend, but I also have to carry out the orders of my commander. For that I have to leave the city. You get that, don''t you?"

    "As long as you don''t have permission from our commander, I really can''t let you through." The guard, meanwhile, has become quite surly. Who does this guy thing he is? That he wants to set aside the commander''s orders.

    Morris realizes that he will not get any further by arguing. That is why he takes a different approach. He decides to tell the guards exactly who he is.

    "Gentlemen, apparently you don''t know who I am. Not only does my family own one of the more important trading houses of this city, I am also a training officer in the armies of Her Majesty Empress Alyena. Currently I am on loan to her personal army the New Legion. This means for you that you are not only against an officer of your own army, but also against someone you can compare to an officer of the imperial guard. You know what that means?"

    The gatekeepers are starting to get nervous. No one could just stop imperial guards and messengers. The least punishment for that is a beating.

    Morris exploits the hesitation further.

    "If you don''t open that gate soon, me and my men will have to do it themselves. Do you think the Empress will miss two guards very much?"

    The guards choose caution and decide to do what this threatening officer asks them to do.

    "Understood, sir, we will open the gate for you. Would you like to report that we did what you asked? It was not our idea to stop imperial guards."

    Morris just growls for a moment.

    Just before noon they arrive at the hill. There is no one waiting for them.

    "Well, I think we''re too early, guys," Morris says cheerfully.

    "Huh, if you ask me, we''re just scammed and no one is coming."

    "That''s why no one is asking you, Bobby."

    But even as he says this, they see a group of men coming from a different direction. And a little later more groups of men arrive from other directions. In no time there is a whole crowd gathered on the hill.

    "Look, Morris!" shouts his brother. "I have arranged a few volunteers for you!"

    Morris can''t believe his eyes. There must be a few hundred men on the hill.

    "Two hundred and ten to be exact," says his brother. "I know you only wanted half of that, but these are the ones who are the best. I thought a few extras would only be useful. Even more than this number I had to reject. You''re wildly popular right now, man! Thanks to the commander''s unwillingness to let the inhabitants help defend the city, everyone wants to help you show that we are not as simple as the commander thinks."

    "Well, I hope Raidon can appreciate these numbers. I don''t think we have a chance to give everyone a place in the legion."

    "Ah, who cares. Then you let the others wait first. There will probably be enough work to keep the men busy."

    "Guards!" is called suddenly, whereupon the whole group begins to look around restlessly.

    Morris and his brother look in the direction of Linh and indeed a group of five horsemen comes their way. Morris urges everyone to stay calm and let him speak. Although not everyone calms down, a path opens up through the group that the riders can pass through to get to Morris.

    "Torin? Is that you?" asks Morris to the leader of the riders.

    "Well met, Morris. It''s nice to see that you''re still causing a stir, just like during our training all those years ago."

    Morris looks sheepishly at his brother. "Torin started in the army at the same time as me. Together we did lots of pranks during the training."

    Then Morris gets serious again. "Torin, what are you doing here?"

    "I''m here to warn you. The commander knows about your meeting and at this time a unit is being assembled to imprison you all. Me and my friends here decided that we would rather serve under you than under the commander. If we leave quickly, we will be outside the commander''s jurisdiction. Then he can''t do anything  to you anymore."

    "Us maybe not, but you and your men will be in big trouble, Torin. You know how deserters are dealt with."

    "Then they have to find us first. If they follow us beyond their jurisdiction, we just have to hide. I''m sure your commander will want to put in a good word for us if he can get some experienced cavalrymen."

    "Hmm, I''m not happy about it, but you''re right that we can use you a lot. We don''t have more than a handful of cavalrymen and most of them have never experienced a fight. Let''s hurry up before your commander misses you."

    Within ten minutes Morris has organized the group and they leave. Morris'' brother goes along to Peredur, to do some shopping.

    "If they want to stop me, I just show that I have done some shopping. Little that the commander can do to me without all the trading houses revolting!" laughs his brother, after which he marches at the head of the group.

 TNL 48 - Preparation Part Four

    TNL 48 ¨C Preparation Part Four

    In the early morning, Aulis is awakened by banging on his door.

    "Aulis! Mayor! Wake up!" is shouted from outside.

    Slowly Aulis wakes up and walks to the door.

    "Who is there so early? Couldn''t this wait for me to get dressed?"

    "Sorry, mayor, but this really couldn''t wait. I was just sailing my ship, and I was less than two miles at sea when I saw a bunch of ships in the distance."

    "Ships? What kind of ships?"

    "I think pirates. I think they are the only ones who have several larger ships. Unless you''ve been notified by Centurion that they have a real fleet?"

    "Damn, if we''re really attacked, I think we have a big problem. You''re right that you woke me up."

    Aulis is now wide awake. Immediately he steps out the door to go to squad leader Mateo of the garrison.

    "Uhh, mayor, shouldn''t you put something on before you wake up the squad leader?"

    Aulis begins to blush and rushes back inside.

    "You''re right. That''s what you get when you get rushed out of bed!"

    A little later, Aulis is with squad leader Mateo in his office. The squad leader was already awake and calmly takes up the situation.

    "No one needs to panic, Aulis." The squad leader always addresses Aulis with his name, instead of with the mayor.

    "Those pirates can''t just enter the village. After all, engineer Duncan recently stretched that tree chain in front of the entrance to the port. They can''t just sail through that. The real danger comes when they storm the village. I only have nine soldiers, and my men cannot be everywhere at once."

    "What do you propose we do?"

    "I will spread my men over the walls. With two soldiers at the gate, and two men on the other two walls, we will certainly not be surprised.

    I myself will take the rest to the harbor. We will man the watchtowers at the entrance to the port. Who knows, maybe we can hit some pirates with our crossbows."

    "What should I tell the inhabitants? I can hardly reassure them with the fact that we only have two soldiers on each wall."

    "Well, I''m afraid I can¡¯t tell you much that will help you with that. Other than that my men and I will do our utmost best to preserve the village."

    For Aulis, the conversation is not as enlightening as he had hoped. On the way to the main square, where they hold their meetings, he thinks again about what to tell the people.

    "Folks," he begins his speech a little later, "as some of you may have heard, a fleet of some pirate ships has been seen. We suspect that they will come to test us.

    Our garrison commander, squad leader Mateo, has told me that he and his men will do everything they can to keep Arana. What he hinted at, however, is that he simply does not have enough soldiers to have much chance of success."

    The inhabitants of Arana become very restless. Most of them had expected to be able to build a safe new life here, not to be raided again.

    "My question to you, dear people, is to ask yourself if you can help defend the village. I know that our hunter Dew could do quite a bit of damage with his bow. I myself know how to handle a pitchfork, and I know I''m not the only one!

    Let''s form a militia where everyone uses their own tools. If we work together, we can make sure that no pirate gets over those walls!"

    An affirmative cheer rises from the crowd.

    When the three pirate ships come within sight of the watchtowers an hour later, Aulis finds himself on the pier in the harbor. Almost half of the inhabitants of the village have joined the soldiers on the wall, but Aulis wants to see how the pirates'' attempt to enter the port goes first.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    As soon as the pirates come within reach, Dew, who has lined up in one of the watchtowers with two of the soldiers, starts shooting at the first ship. His longbow has a greater range than the crossbows of the soldiers. Immediately a single cry can be heard from the pirate ship. A little later the cries double, when the soldiers also start shooting.

    Maybe it''s because of the arrows, but the first pirate ship doesn''t even seem to notice the tree chain. At full speed, the ship rushes to the port. The other two ships seem to be sounding a warning, but it''s already too late.

    With a huge blow and splatter of wood, the ship collides with the large tree trunks that are half in the water. For a moment, Aulis fears that the chains that hold the logs together will fail, but then the pirate ship lies still, only to be slowly pushed backwards by the tightly drawn chain.

    Meanwhile, hunter Dew and the soldiers continue to shoot their arrows at the pirates on deck of the ship. Most of the pirates are easy targets, as virtually no one was able to keep to their feet when the ship suddenly came to a standstill.

    The other two pirate ships have meanwhile adjusted their course, and are heading for the beach near the village. Slowly the battered third pirate ship follows, and then sets course for the sea. Apparently it is too damaged to continue the attack.

    From the remaining ships, pirates now jump ashore. When more than fifty pirates are on land, they walk to the village. Almost half of the pirates have a rope with a grappling hook with them to climb over the wall.

    Squad leader Mateo, who has followed Aulis with his three soldiers, sees the danger immediately.

    "You there, guys," he points out to a bunch of ten-year-old boys, "run to the walls to call the rest of my men to the gate. We will face the pirates outside the walls."

    Squad leader Mateo informs Aulis that he has to take care of the vacant positions, and then rushes to the gate. When the nine soldiers are with the squad leader, he throws open the gate with the help of one of the soldiers. He then calls on Aulis to close the gate behind them and not to follow them.

    As always, the soldiers of the New Legion have their entire equipment on. However, squad leader Mateo does not intend to use the usual tactics. He knows that with ten men he cannot form a shield wall long enough to stop the pirates. That''s why he and his men leave their shields behind. Instead, they first grab their crossbows, which are now loaded, to try to hit a few pirates. Once their arrows are fired, they drop their crossbows and grab their two-handed weapons. Most of the soldiers have large swords on their backs, but the squad leader has a real battle axe.

    With these huge weapons, the soldiers run towards the pirates. Normally, odds of six to one should not be a problem for the soldiers of the New Legion. They have often had so many enemies in front of them.

    However, the pirates do something unexpected. Instead of fighting the soldiers, they retreat. As a result, the soldiers become quite scattered, and eventually they are surrounded and on their own by enemies who all keep their weapons ready. Apparently, this time the pirates have taken the legionaries into account. The survivors of the first battle must have told what happened to them.

    Aulis and the others see from the walls that the pirates are slowly but surely luring the soldiers of the New Legion away from each other. To Aulis, it seems as if the soldiers are being swallowed up in the horde of pirates. It doesn''t take long before the soldiers are defending themselves more and more desperately. The only reason they are still alive is that they wear their heavy armor.

    Several times Aulis sees that a soldier is hit by a sword. The soldier then turns around to attack the pirate who just attacked him.

    Unfortunately, the soldiers are not invincible. Slowly but surely the soldiers get tired, making their movements slower. Until eventually one soldier goes down. He was hit on the head with the knob of a sword. Even on the walls they could hear the reverberations. Aulis does not want to think about how hard that must have sounded to the soldier who had the helmet on. Fortunately, another soldier was standing nearby, and he quickly works his way towards his comrade. He stands wide-legged over the other to protect him.

    Aulis decides that enough is enough. He takes matters into his own hands. He quickly summons the inhabitants of Arana to follow him and then rushes to the gate.

    The people who follow him all have their tools with them as Aulis had asked in his speech. No one knows better than a farmer how to work with a rake or a pitchfork. And the butcher, despite his size, is still a horror with his meat knives. Thus Aulis leads a group of twenty inhabitants out of the gate.

    The pirates, who can only keep the soldiers of the New Legion in check thanks to the odds, can do little against this new attack.

    As soon as the pirates split up to stop Aulis and his people, the men of the legion manage to regroup. Now that they are under less pressure, they can move closer to each other, so that they form a loose formation again. As a result, the pirates can no longer surround the individual soldiers.

    Squad leader Mateo sends two men back to help Aulis and the inhabitants of Arana. The remaining eight soldiers slowly push the pirates back to their ship. Due to the heavy blows of the enormous weapons, the pirates are pushed back.

    Meanwhile, the twenty pirates opposite Aulis are attacked from behind. They must now hold their own against angry civilians with a hodgepodge of improvised weapons. Because of all those strange weapons, they can only defend themselves with difficulty. While they are busy with their own safety, they are now also cut down from behind by the two soldiers of the New Legion. When the larger group of forty pirates sees that their companions are being defeated, they start to run. Booed by the inhabitants of Arana, the pirates drip off.

    "Well folks, if you ask me, we won''t see them again any time soon. I think we''ve all earned a drink now. The first round is free!"

    With these words, Aulis closes the exciting morning and leads the citizens to the building that serves as the inn.

 TNL 49 - Preparation Part Five

    TNL 49 ¨C Preparation Part Five

    In the distance, Raidon can already see the naval base.

    "Look!" shouts one of the crew members. "They all hoisted flags. It looks impressive like that!"

    "Indeed," Raidon replies, "indeed."

    Raidon walks up to Ryker.

    "Ryker, when we are docked, could you prepare the ship for a short trip? I would like you to take a squad to Aran to pick up the second platoon of recruits from the capital. That should still be possible before we have to go to Peredur. Oh, and take the rest of the instructors with you if you can. We can use them a lot here."

    "No problem, captain. We just need to stock up on fresh water. We have enough of the rest of the provisions on board."

    An hour later, the ship docks in the harbor. The lines of the ship are caught by a bunch of recruits on the pier. This makes a lot of sense, because there are only fifteen real soldiers in Centurion and more than fifty recruits, not counting the few cavalrymen, instructors, and Brandon and Gareth. Hence, these kinds of simple tasks are performed by the recruits.

    "And now there are dozens more recruits," Raidon murmurs as he disembarks.  "I''d better leave my extra soldiers here to guide the recruits. Otherwise it will be a big chaos."

    Raidon has the new recruits escorted to the barracks by one of his squads. The other squad remains in port to set sail once Ryker has resupplied the ship. Raidon himself quickly goes to the staff building to relieve Brandon and see if there are any peculiarities that need his immediate attention.

    A few days later the ship returns from Aran. They have a new platoon of recruits with them, which is added to the other groups of recruits in the naval base. Raidon and Brandon are waiting for the ship and its crew in port. Ryker is one of the first to disembark.

    "Ahh, our generous leaders are waiting for us personally. Why this honor, gentlemen? Or are you waiting for a beautiful lady in need?"

    Raidon looks at Ryker in surprise, but Brandon immediately joins in. "Well, your honor, we gentlemen of standing found it amusing to look at you and your working subjects."

    Ryker bursts out laughing, "Well answered, boy! But seriously, I need one or two days to resupply the warship and give my men a rest. Two trips in a row have exhausted the crew and the journey to Peredur will also be a tough one."

    "No problem," Raidon replies, "we had already assumed that. We leave in three days. Then everyone has time to recover and we can also help the recruits for a few days before they have to make do with the few instructors and soldiers who will stay here."

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    Arana has almost two hundred inhabitants. Yet the village is not growing that fast anymore. Most of the people who fled Aran have now arrived in Arana. The ones that have stayed behind now have so much work in the flourishing province that there are few people left who want to build a completely new life on the island.

    Two days ago, in a meeting, the residents chose to keep Aulis as mayor. His temporary position has now become permanent. The fact that they have chosen him is mainly due to his performance during the attack on the village. His resolute performance has reflected well on him.

    The village nowadays not only has the two farms outside the village, but a few families also live in the small village where new building materials are extracted. Thanks to part of the garrison of Arana, three of the ten soldiers, the lumberjack has settled there today. He fells the trees there, which he then brings to the restored sawmill. There are also two miners living there. One is more of a stonemason than a miner and therefore ensures that a start is made with the mining of stones. The other is someone who has worked in an iron mine for years. He is investigating the three ancient mines discovered by the hunter Dew in the mountains.

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    Aulis himself struggles with the problems of making the village prosperous. Now that the village is starting find its way, not only does the garrison expect to be maintained, but naval base Centurion also asks for supplies. Along with all these expectations, Aulis has to make sure that his people can earn something. At the moment there is little money in circulation in the village. Everyone helps each other and the money that is there is used to buy things that can help the village as a whole. An example of this is cattle for the farms, or the sawblade for the sawmill.

    He would like the economy of the village to really get going. Many residents have little to do, because many materials have to be paid for. For example, there is a weaver in Arana, but he does not yet have any materials to work with. The tanner has already been able to do some things, but he depends on what hunter Dew takes from the woods. Aulis never expected that it would be such a big job to make a village autonomous.

    When Aulis is talking to the weaver at his new workshop, where unfortunately he can not do anything yet, he is suddenly approached by a soldier of the garrison.

    "Mayor Aulis?" the soldier begins. "Sergeant Brandon is currently at our garrison building. He would like to have a consultation with you. Do you have a moment for him today?"

    "Hmm, Sergeant Brandon. I don''t think I''ve met him before. I do think I have some time now, I can go back here again later."

    "Perfect, sir, I''m sure the sergeant appreciates that."

    A little later, Aulis enters the office of squad leader Mateo. In the office, Sergeant Brandon is already waiting for him.

    "Mayor, I would like to consult with you. Squad leader Mateo has said that you are easy to work with and I would like to expand that cooperation."

    "Sure, Sergeant, what can I do for you?" replies Aulis.

    "At the moment, there is little on this island that can help us expand the legion. Of course with the exception of naval base Centurion. But with the expansion of the New Legion, we also need more supplies. Think of all the food we consume every day, or the clothes we need. At the moment we get a lot of that stuff from Aran and the garrison there. I would like to see the island become more self-sufficient. That''s why I want to ask you when Arana can start sending us the things we need?"

    "Damn, that¡¯s a good question, Sergeant." Aulis did not expect such a big demand. "I have to say that life in Arana is getting better and better. We have already made progress in several areas. But I don''t think we can meet Centurion''s demand." Aulis falls silent for a moment. "How many people do you have there now?"

    "Not much at the moment, but soon we expect almost two hundred extra recruits. If you assume three hundred in total, I think you get pretty close. Not everyone will stay in Centurion, so for now that number will be good enough."

    "Three hundred, that''s quite a number. I don''t think we can do much for you right now. I do have people here who can set up small businesses, but I first have to raise enough money for an investment in those companies. Otherwise, they can''t even start, let alone support you."

    "Money is not a problem. Tell us what you need and we''ll make sure you get the money to get started. In Centurion we found a lot of stuff from the old legions, including quite a few coins. Together with the budget for a thousand warriors for the garrison of Aran, that should be enough to help you. I think we can afford enough to donate something. And if it becomes too much, we can always see it as a loan, can''t we?"

    Aulis doesn''t know what he''s hearing. An unlimited budget? Or at least so much money that it comes close to that?

    "Wow, we could do so much with that," he whispers. "With it we can give the economy of Arana a huge boost. Then it will indeed not be long before we can help with your supplies."

    Then Aulis comes up with something else.

    "Is there a chance that you could make a few trips to Aran with your trading ship to pick up things we buy? If we do not have to pay the fishermen, that would make a big difference in costs. And last but not least, it would all go much faster."

    "No problem. I''m leaving for Centurion tomorrow. Place your orders and let us know what you need from us. Oh, and before I forget, the road from here to Centurion is completely overgrown in some places. Occasionally there is even a tree on the road. Do you think your people could help make that road more passable again? We will of course pay them and provide an escort for safety."

    "I''ll ask around. Those trees can probably be removed by our woodworker. There are probably plenty of people who want to help get rid of the other vegetation and such. Especially if they get paid. If this continues, I think Arana is finally on her way to becoming a truly prosperous place."

    "I hope so too. If our plans succeed, this entire island will fall under the New Legion. So the better you do here, the better it is for us."

    After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Sergeant Brandon leaves again. He leaves Aulis with a head full of ideas on how to make Arana more prosperous.

 TNL 50 - Pirate Isles Part One

    TNL 50 ¨C Pirate Isles Part One

    Like Ryker promised, the warship departed three days later.

    During these three days, Raidon and Brandon supervise the new recruits. That is certainly necessary, since both men still know how hard they had it in the beginning.

    One of the things Raidon still laughs about when he thinks back on it is a conversation he and Brandon had with one of the recruits. The recruit in question, after he had walked his first lap around the training field with his armor on, was kneeling on the ground. Around him were his fellow recruits. With a huge moan, he asked, "How did you do it, Captain, Sergeant? Or are those harnesses of yours just a lot less heavy?"

    "Rest assured soldier," Brandon replied, "within a few weeks you don''t even think about it anymore. Just a little while longer and you¡¯ll have to think about sitting in a chair, because it feels so natural to wear your harness that you forget you''re wearing it. That''s one of the things that the training is good for."

    Chuckling, Raidon walks on to the rudder of the ship. Since the warship is much larger than the merchant ship, it takes some getting used to. Ryker has asked a bunch of new men to help during the voyage and they need to learn even more about these large ships than the crew of the merchant ship.

    Despite everything, the departure goes perfectly. Without any problems they manage to sail out of the harbor and hoist the sails.

    For Raidon it is no problem to sail on the warship. Lately, thanks to all the trips between the island and Aran, and the long trip to Estera, he has become accustomed to the heaving of ships. Also, these large ships lie much quieter in the water than those small fishing boats where he was seasick every single moment of the journey.

    Just before leaving left, Gareth urged him not to take too many risks.

    "Don''t forget what happened to James. Even if you are such a good soldier, anything can happen."

    For Raidon, this brought back the memories of James. Since the New Legion was set up, they have lost several men, but James had been on Raidon''s squad from day one. As a result, he had known him very well.

    Two days later, Raidon is startled by the lookout.

    "Land in sight!"

    "It looks like those are the pirate islands, captain." When Raidon arrives on the aft deck, Ryker notifies him.

    "So this is where the pirates who ravaged Aran came from. I understand that they wanted a base on the island. It''s a lot easier to sail from the island to the province than all the way from here."

    "Certainly, and you have to remember that what you see here is only the first island. The pirate islands consist of dozens of islands, some large and some so small that there are only sandbanks. I think it will take almost a day before we have left the last island behind us."

    "And until then, we should definitely beware of an attack by pirates. Behind such an island you can hide several ships, I think."

    "Fortunately, you took three squads of soldiers with you. That should be enough for one or two pirate ships. I don''t know if we can stay ahead of those fast ships if they really want to catch us."

    "Let''s hope they''re not prepared for the fact that we have ships too. On the way back we will probably have a lot more men, if Morris'' mission is successful."

    Luck is with the ship of the New Legion. A little less than a day later, they leave the pirate islands behind without having seen a single pirate. The relief is noticeable, because the pirates still instill fear in the people who live on the coast. The sailors do their work a lot happier now that they have left the islands behind, and they even occasionally sing embarrassing songs.

    On the third day of the trip they arrive in Peredur. The city is ill-prepared for the arrival of such a large ship. As in all other cities on the coast, there are at most small jetties for the fishing boats. A ship like the one Raidon is now arriving with can''t dock there. Therefore, everything has to be moved with a bunch of smaller boats. Fortunately, Ryker knows how to talk to the fishermen here and after only a few minutes he has gotten a captain to take care of the transport. The captain also tells them that Morris has not yet arrived in Peredur. Raidon decides that everyone will stay on board, so as not to offend the local commander. The rest of the day is used for replenishing supplies, especially drinking water.

    Stolen story; please report.

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    On a beautiful autumn day, Empress Alyena sits in her palace garden enjoying the weather. With all the obligations that the young empress has, there is also occasionally time needed to relax. The palace garden is a perfect retreat for her at times like this. The garden was designed by her mother in the last year before Alyena''s birth. Her mother died at that birth, and had therefore hardly been able to enjoy the garden. For her daughter, it has become the place to relax.

    The only one who is allowed to disturb Alyena in the garden is Captain Cervik. As captain of the palace guard, he must have access to the empress at any time of the day. That is why he is now also near her.

    "Slept badly, Cervik?" asks Alyena as she looks at him.

    "That''s right, your majesty. I''m afraid I couldn''t lie on my back all night. As a result, I was up almost all night."

    "Not on your back? Why is that?"

    "I''d rather not talk about that, your majesty."

    Alyena now has a mean smile on her face, when she sees that the captain is starting to look a bit uncomfortable.

    "Come on, Cervik, it can''t be that bad."

    The captain is now actually starting to blush. Just as Alyena begins to think that he suffered a defeat during a training session, and is therefore so shy, the captain starts talking anyway.

    "It''s not something I would normally tell you, your majesty, but because you command me..." For a moment, the captain keeps quiet, hoping that this time the empress will not get her way. If, after a few awkward moments, it doesn''t look like she''s going to let it go, he says, "I''m afraid I have an ailment that pops up from time to time. According to the healers, it has to do with the food and there are some things I shouldn''t take. What the things are that I have to stay away from, however, they can not tell me."

    "Come on, man, what do you have?" Alyena is now starting to get really curious.

    "If my ailment flares up, I suffer from a kind of pustules. Last night I had a very painful one, which unfortunately was on my backside."

    Alyena looks at her captain in amazement. She absolutely did not expect this. But then she can''t resist. Even though she tries to hold back, she bursts out in laughter.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The next morning Morris arrives with a huge crowd in the port of Peredur. Raidon is called by a soldier on deck and when he comes out of his cabin, his mouth almost falls open in amazement. The group Morris brought with him is more than twice the size of the hundred men he had to find. The captain of the fishing boat takes Morris to the ship as one of the first.

    "Captain! I''ve found a few recruits," Morris reports.

    "Yes, I see, Morris. Why so much?"

    "Thank my brother for that. The commander didn''t want to help us, so my family did. This is the result of my brother looking for a hundred men. He thought it was useful to ask for more. I have two hundred and ten men here. According to my brother, the extra people don''t mind waiting until there is room and doing other jobs in the meantime. And because we were more or less chased by the garrison, I thought it would be better to take them with me anyway."

    "So, that sounds like it wasn''t as easy as we thought it was. On the way back you have to tell me exactly what happened."

    "That won''t work, Captain, I also have a few extra cavalrymen with me. An old friend, along with some other men, abandoned the garrison for us. I could hardly let them stand trial for deserting, so they are also going with me. All the riders are waiting for me outside the city and then we¡¯ll ride back to Aran together."

    Raidon starts to look a bit questionable when he hears all these problems.

    "So if I understand correctly, have you illegally recruited people, taken deserters and are you going to Aran with the deserters overland?"

    "That''s right."

    Now Raidon really has to sigh.

    "All right then. But when you''re back, I want to know everything that happened. I''m the one who has to straighten this out again."

    By noon, all the new recruits are aboard the ship and ready to go. Morris has returned ashore after his short report and will already be well on his way with his riders. Ryker thanks the captain of the fishing boat and pays him. Then they are ready to set sail.

    "Heave the anchor!" shouts Ryker to his crew.

    Shortly after they have sailed out of the harbor, squad leader Ice comes to Raidon and Ryker on the aft deck.

    "Captains, we''ve found something you both need to see."

    "What did you find, Ice?" asks Raidon.

    "In the forecastle we found a door. When Soldier Sam told me this, I went along and we broke open the door. What we found, I can''t explain. You have to see for yourself."

    Raidon looks at Ryker. "What do you think? Can your first mate do without you so we can go and have a look?"

    "A secret room on my ship? My first mate had better make sure he can do without me. I don''t want to miss this for anything."

    In the forecastle, Raidon and Ryker immediately see where the door has been. The entire door has come loose from its hinges and is now next to the doorway. Within the space, the captains can see an entire structure.

    "What is it?" whispers Raidon.

    "It looks like a siege weapon, captain," squad leader Ice replies. "I looked through some drawings of these kinds of weapons with Duncan. He knows what this is for one, I think it''s either a ballista or a small catapult. I don''t remember exactly what''s what, but at least this one here shoots those huge arrows."

    Raidon looks at the angle to which squad leader Ice gestures. There are a number of racks with five huge arrows each.

    "Wow, those arrows have to weigh at least ten kilos. Imagine what such a thing can do to an enemy ship. One shot and you have one less pirate ship."

    "Well, maybe not with one shot," Ryker replies. "I think they only weigh about four kilos, but such a thing would wreak havoc on that ship. I don''t think I would want to command a ship if such arrows were coming at me."

    Raidon looks at squad leader Ice. "Can we test it?"

    "I''m afraid not, Captain. It seems that the mechanism to raise it is locked. I think Duncan should take a look at this first."

    "Let''s just hope we don''t need it this trip."

 TNL 51 - Pirate Isles Part Two

    TNL 51 ¨C Pirate Isles Part Two

    Unfortunately, the return journey seems to be much more exciting than the outward journey. Shortly after they passed the first of the pirate islands, three pirate ships appear from behind the tree line of one of the islands.

    "Captain," Raidon asks Ryker, "would you say those are pirates?"

    "Well, I¡¯ll be darned, I think you''re right. Maybe we should treat those thieves to a warm welcome."

    "I¡¯d say so, my young friend."

    After this get-together between the two captains, Raidon begins to call his orders while Ryker directs the ship towards the pirates.

    "Ice, get the men ready to defend this ship. One and a half squads on both sides please. And don''t forget the recruits, we have plenty of weapons for them."

    The squad leader immediately gets to work and repeats the orders to his men and the other squad leaders. Fortunately, they are already used to defending a ship thanks to all the exercises that Ice had them perform. Within a few moments, not only are the soldiers armed, but additional weapons have been distributed to the new recruits.

    Just before squad leader Ice moves to his position, he receives one last order from Raidon.

    "Ice, would you also be so kind as to hang our flag in the mast? I think it''s been a while since pirates have been afraid of a flag of the legions. It''s time to revive that fear."

    As the first pirate ship approaches, a cloud of crossbow arrows flies through the air. A large part of these arrows mis because the recruits have not yet been trained, but that does not matter much. Among the pirates, more than twenty men fall dead or wounded.

    The attack is answered by the pirates, but because of all the chaos on board, only a few arrows are fired. The pirates are clearly not used to fighting at sea. The only ships they encountered at sea were always fishing boats that could offer virtually no resistance.

    "Reload and shoot when you can!" shouts squad leader Ice as soon as the last men have shot their crossbows.

    Most recruits don''t know how to draw and load a crossbow, but here and there is someone who has used the weapon more often. These few men show how to do it, so that some crossbows are still being loaded.

    Meanwhile, the soldiers have already finished reloading and shoot their crossbows in a targeted manner. The captain of the pirate ship is hit by at least three arrows at once, the helmsman is able to duck away just in time to dodge a fourth arrow.

    Pirates also fall from the mast and rigging, where one is also shot down by another falling pirate. One pirate has been caught in the rigging during his fall, and his body swings back and forth above the remaining pirates.

    The latter turns out to be too much for the crew of the pirate ship, and without a captain to call them to order, the ship turns away.

    Ryker immediately sends their ship towards the second pirate ship. The large warship has a huge ram at the front and Ryker points it straight at this ship. Apparently the pirates have seen it, because this ship is also trying to get away. Slowly it turns to go after its sister ship.

    Just before this succeeds, Ryker manages to adjust his ship and the ram hits the helm of the pirates. The blow is so great that most of the passengers on both ships fall, including all the pirates in the mast and rigging. When the pirates try to quickly sail on, it turns out that their rudder has broken off in the collision. They can do nothing but sail straight ahead.

    "Shouldn''t we go after that ship?" asks Raidon to Ryker.

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    "Why? They no longer have a rudder, and they¡¯re sailing straight towards that island. There is little chance that those guys will get into the mast fast enough to slow down."

    Raidon laughs at this. "Well, then I don''t think we''ll have much trouble with that pirate ship."

    When the pirates on the last ship see how their comrades have fared and how many ''soldiers'' are on board the warship, they too run off as fast as they can. A little later, squad leader Ice reports that not one of the passengers has been injured, apart from a few abrasions from when they rammed the pirate ship.

    When they arrive in Centurion, it seems a lot livelier there. While they were gone, the second promised platoon of recruits has arrived from the capital. This means that there are two hundred and thirty recruits present, not counting the latest several hundred that Morris has recruited. Brandon has already brought all the instructors back from Aran to train all these recruits, but even then it''s a huge undertaking. This is more than three times the number the instructors were originally supposed to train and Morris hasn''t even returned to help yet.

    When Raidon arrives with another two hundred and ten recruits, it means that there are now nearly four hundred and fifty recruits in Centurion. In addition, there are a few dozen that are still on their way from Estera.

    Raidon decides to leave his thirty soldiers in Centurion. The other locations can of course also use the soldiers, but he desperately needs the extra soldiers to help with all the new recruits. His best thirty men have to help the instructors, while the others take on the other tasks. Since the practice fields are not large enough to train so many recruits at once, there are now enough people to take over all the supporting tasks. Under the guidance of the soldiers on duty, all sleeping quarters are cleaned in no time. Other tasks such as loading and unloading the fishing boats arriving at the port, mapping all the buildings and carrying out the necessary repairs, and numerous other tasks are now done by squads of recruits.

    With more than four hundred extra recruits, new squad leaders and some new sergeants are also needed. Raidon hopes the armor will show which soldiers are ready for these tasks. Because at the moment he only has three sergeants: Brandon, Lenn and Indigo.

    Luckily he is right, and the day after all the recruits have sworn their oaths, Raidon receives word that soldiers have been promoted in Centurion. A few days later, reports follow from all other posts that soldiers have also been promoted there. The newly promoted sergeants are Ice, Mateo, Mark, Owen and Liam. Together with Brandon, Lenn and Indigo, the New Legion now has eight sergeants. This allows Raidon to leave Lenn and Indigo in Aran and Fort Alpha, because those are pretty important places.

    Raidon sends back a message that the newly promoted soldiers must return to the naval base. In Arana this means that Sergeant Mateo has to hand over his task to his replacement, the newly promoted squad leader Floris.

    For the most part, those promoted are the soldiers that Raidon had expected it from. Raidon had the feeling with their names that they were ready for this. Probably another feature of the harnesses. The fact that there are now eight sergeants means that some platoons have to be led by squad leaders. Apparently, not enough people are good enough to be promoted multiple ranks.

    All in all, it takes a good week before all squad leaders and the six sergeants have taken their new positions. Luckily, unknown to Raidon, Brandon has made a list on which all the squad leaders get a squad of recruits to command, and the sergeants are each put in charge of their own platoon.

    This means that there are still about one hundred and forty recruits left. Raidon leaves the command of these recruits to the soldiers on duty in Centurion, with Raidon helping and directing them. This solution is partly because most of these recruits do not yet have armor. Morris has found so many people in his search that they now have to wait for Gareth to learn how to make armor.

    With the help of extra strength exercises, these recruits are already prepared for the weight of a harness. In addition, the recruits can do all the other training exercises without armor. As a result, the recruits will only have to get used to the armor later on before they can be promoted to soldier.

    The space to practice on the practice fields in Centurion is limited. The important clean-up jobs are also quickly done with such numbers of helping hands. That is why it is decided that practice will also be done outside the walls. Especially practicing with the different formations as a platoon is good to do there, because the open fields around Centurion lend themselves well to this.

    Under the leadership of the sergeants, the training quickly takes on a fixed form. Three sergeants practice with their recruits on the practice fields, and three sergeants take their recruits outside Centurion. The rest of the recruits do the other necessary tasks in Centurion, or learn to read and write. The recruits led by the soldiers on duty in Centurion are alternated with the recruits led by the sergeants.

    There are other recruits, but these are stationed in Aran and receive their training from the soldiers stationed there. Morris turns out to be a great help. When he returns to Aran, a few days after Raidon arrives with his load of recruits, it turns out that the five deserters he has taken with him have often taken care of training. With Morris himself, this gives Raidon six extra instructors.

 TNL 52 - War Part One

    TNL 52 ¨C War Part One

    "Raidon!"

    It''s early in the morning when Gareth finds Raidon.

    "Raidon, we have a problem. We have found more than enough recruits, but we have problems with the harnesses. It seems like not all parts fit well together. It will take a while before everyone has a fitting harness. Calvus and I are already working on it, but it will be another day or two before we have most of the harnesses in working order."

    "A few days doesn''t matter. We also started without harnesses, so the new recruits can as well. Don''t worry about it. What I''m more interested in is how you and Calvus are doing with your blacksmith training?"

    "That''s going well. I completed my first knife. Calvus has helped me, but next time I think I can do it myself. Fortunately, we have more than enough weapons. They still make them almost as good as they used to, and we got a lot from the regular army. However, the harnesses are a different story. That may take a while."

    "How long is a while? We don''t have years before we''re needed at the front."

    "I''m starting to understand the theory, but there''s a lot of testing and practicing involved. I only just learned how to fix broken pieces."

    "Fix you say? You can do something with the pieces that broke?"

    "I certainly can. I can repair all the parts made by a priest. At least, if they''re not too battered. This morning I repaired a helmet that had been smashed with a big club or something. Parts of armor are as soft as wrought iron in the hands of a priest, although for others they are so strong that they can ward off blows from swords."

    That same night as Raidon goes through the unit book, he notices that Gareth has been promoted! I haven''t seen him with his armor on for a while because of his new position, but he has been given the double arrow of a sergeant. That must mean that it goes well with his training, Raidon thinks.

    The next day it appears that Gareth''s promotion is not the only one. Brandon comes in and tells it right away:

    "Raidon! I made it. I made it to the captain''s rank!"

    Brandon proudly shows off his triple arrow.

    Raidon gets up. "Brandon, that''s great news! That means we are on the right track. But it''s a good thing we can work together better now than we did in the beginning, don''t you think?"

    "Yes, quite a bit. Back then I couldn''t stand you!"

    "And look at us now. Both captains in our own army!" Then Raidon gets serious again. "Now that we have enough people and you have been promoted, it is also time to look together at how we are going to organize everything."

    "I agree with you. If you don''t mind, I''ll stay here to staff the base. The last time and especially the days that you were traveling, were quite an experience for me. I don''t think I would mind doing more of the administrative side of the military. I think you''re cut out more for the action. Don''t you think?"

    "Hmm, I have to think about that for a while. But basically, I think you''re right. You are an excellent leader yourself, but if you keep things in order here, I can focus on the war. It could work. Let me sleep on it for a night. Who knows, maybe I''ll come up with another idea."

    Raidon uses the rest of the week to train Brandon. As commander of the whole of the New Legion, Raidon has for some time had many more administrative tasks than it takes to command a just a platoon. Fortunately, Brandon has already learned a thing or two as commander of the garrison in Aran. Brandon soon has mastered most of it and it becomes clear that this is indeed easier for him than for Raidon. In the old days, they would probably have both had a very different continuation of their duties. Brandon would have probably ended up in the staff building and eventually rose to commander of a fort or naval base. Raidon would have been more in the field, probably at the forefront of the battles and eventually led his own legion.

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    Now that he can alternate the administrative tasks with Brandon, Raidon has much more time for the training of the recruits. That is why he can often be found on top of the gatehouse. From this high place he has a good overview of the recruits who are busy with their exercises outside the walls.

    The recruits outside the walls are practicing their formations, in squads and in platoons. From above, Raidon can give tips afterwards to the sergeants who lead the exercises. Morris, who as a manager supervises all groups at the same time, often comes to have a chat when Raidon is standing on the gatehouse.

    When Raidon, two weeks after Brandon''s promotion, is looking from the top of the gatehouse, he is very impressed. Although the new recruits have only been training for a few weeks, there is already a clear progress to be seen. Not only do the recruits no longer get in each other''s way, they have even mastered some of the basic formations well. As Raidon watches, he sees one of the practicing platoons switching from a formation in marching order, with four soldiers side by side, to a defensive formation in a circle with all the shields pointing out continuously.

    Here and there a recruit is a little slower than the men next to him, and immediately a squad leader is on his skin. Raidon thinks he recognizes Sergeant Ice in the middle of the formation. Especially the strict posture with his arms crossed is recognizable.

    "If Ice continues like this, his men will be even faster at changing formations than our experienced soldiers," Raidon murmurs to no one in particular. He looks up in surprise when he hears a voice behind him.

    "I''m afraid those recruits down there are already faster than the first group I trained," replies Morris, who has been looking diagonally behind Raidon for a few minutes.

    "Why that, Morris?"

    "Sergeant Ice has his men tightly under control. I think he''ll use every minute he can find to get his recruits to practice even harder. As a result, I think his men are the furthest of all new recruits."

    "Even then, they''re just recruits, Morris." Raidon hits his open hand with a fist. "We are real soldiers."

    "You may be real soldiers, but when do you have time to keep up with your skills? The only exercises I see the ''real'' soldiers doing are weapons exercises. But practice in squads and platoons? You haven''t done that since training camp."

    Raidon is starting to get a little uncertain now.

    "Do you think so? That we''ve slowed down, I mean. I know we haven''t done any exercises as a platoon in a while, but that''s because everyone is so spread out. Only the garrison of Aran is the size of a platoon, and even there they can''t get everyone practicing at the same time."

    "That''s what I mean. You are so busy at the moment that those exercises have been pushed to the side." Morris shrugs. "As soldiers, you will still be in great shape, though. I''m just afraid that you won''t be able to work together as easily if you don''t figure out a way to get everyone to practice a little more often."

    "I think you''re right, Morris. I''ll think about how I can solve that problem."

    The conversation with Morris made Raidon think a lot. He was firmly convinced that he and his men constitute the most fearsome army in the country. But thanks to Morris, that belief has taken a big dent. Unfortunately, Raidon is unable to come up with a solution.

    After spending a week pondering the problem, Raidon decides there is no simple solution. Until enough recruits are promoted to increase the numbers, it is not possible to involve the smaller groups of soldiers in the practice. Once the recruits get that far, it becomes a high priority to create a fixed training schedule for all locations where soldiers are stationed.

    However, it will be a while before the recruits are promoted to soldiers. The original training Raidon and the others received took months, which is much faster than would have been the case in the past. In the old legions, it took an average of a year for recruits to reach the point where they could be incorporated into a legion.

    That this is not the case now is partly due to a weighted training regime, but mostly because they are simply desperate. At any moment the war might start for the legion and then they need all the soldiers they can get.

    The training of the new recruits of the New Legion is progressing well. Thanks to a practice regimen that Raidon and Morris have devised together, the focus of the training is mainly on the combat skills. Reading and writing is currently of secondary importance. Raidon really feels the time pressure to get the recruits ready for battle.

    Within a month, Raidon feels that the first recruits, pretty much all the recruits who train under Sergeant Ice, are far enough along with their training to hold their own in combat. If Raidon''s suspicions come true, the first of them might be promoted any time.

    This¡¯ll mean that Raidon and Brandon will have more and more troops at their disposal in the coming period. To respond to this, they already make a roster for all posts with an optimal crew, while enough soldiers remain available to form a full company.

    A company in the New Legion consists of five platoons, or two hundred and fifty soldiers. However, this is the number in peacetime, since in a war there are always soldiers injured or on missions.

    Raidon tries to gather enough soldiers to take the full five platoons, led by the five sergeants of the platoons, Ice, Mateo, Owen, Liam and Mark. Most of these will consist of untested soldiers, since there is only about one and a half platoon of soldiers who have fought against the pirates.

    Some of these ''veterans'' stay behind at the various locations to ensure that everything runs smoothly there. In practice, it means that in the company only the squad leaders and sergeants have experience. That amounts to thirty veterans. Raidon has decided that he wants to take away another twenty experienced soldiers to help the newer soldiers.

 TNL 53 - War Part Two

    TNL 53 ¨C War Part Two

    Two and a half weeks later, the good news started piling up. Gareth''s study with the blacksmith is going very well and he has made his first attempt at making harnesses. To practice the quality needed for the harnesses, he started with parts of the legs. His third attempt even yielded a shin protection good enough to be used as a spare part.

    Furthermore, almost half of the recruits are ready to act as real soldiers. They have received their markings. Where possible, recruits are sent to Fort Alpha and Aran to free up the more experienced troops for the first company, and where necessary recruits are sent to increase the numbers.

    Not all the recruits Raidon and Brandon had wanted to send to Aran are going there. The moment these soldiers received their markings, they also received the markings of an acolyte blacksmith priest. Now that they have completed their first training, they must complete a second training period as apprentices with Gareth and Calvus, the old blacksmith.

    During this training, the six recruits chosen for this can help in the forge. They can help with operating the bellows and sharpening the knives that Gareth can now make with a decent skill, for example.

    For the rest, their training will consist of a lot of reading. Like Gareth, the new acolytes can gain a lot of knowledge from the books. The rest they will learn while practicing under Gareth and Calvus. With eight of them, four of the twelve anvils will eventually be able to be used at the same time.

    When the soldiers of the newly established first company arrive in Centurion, Raidon makes a real payroll for this company for the first time. Until now they had a list of the members of the New Legion, but that was along the lines of the regular army. In practice, this set-up means that there is a long list of the names of the warriors or soldiers, including in which army or garrison they serve. On a payroll of the legions there is much more data. From the date of joining to the pay that every soldier should receive.

    In Centurion, Raidon has found payrolls of the ancient legions in the library. As a result, it is now finally possible to officially establish the first company of the New Legion. Officially, this is even:

    First company of the first regiment of the first legion.

    At the moment, however, there is no legion or even a regiment within the New Legion. For the harnesses, however, this does not matter much. Even before the ink on the document is dry, the indications already appear on the armor of the soldiers. On the side of the right shoulder, a large I appears with each soldier, with a smaller I underneath and an even smaller I underneath. For units smaller than a company, there is apparently no special sign for it on the armor.

    For Raidon, this is a huge morale boost. Within a year of the creation of the New Legion, it was possible to set up a real company, with two platoons in reserve as well.

    When drawing up the payrolls, Raidon notices something else. John, who has been a bit different from the others from the beginning, turns out to have been promoted! Why Raidon hasn''t heard anything about this yet, he doesn''t know, but it seems like a good idea to bring John to Centurion to perhaps pass on some of his tracking knowledge to the new recruits.

    After that, it goes fast. Less than a week and a half later, virtually all recruits are ready to join as soldiers. The best are added to the first company, while the others replace the more experienced soldiers at the other posts where as possible.

    Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that Raidon had a strange conversation with John.

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    When John received the message from Raidon that he had to report as a squad leader in naval base Centurion, he was not happy.

    His mood hasn''t gotten much better since then either. Even though he managed to hide his rank during the trip, he doesn''t like the fact that Raidon has somehow found out that he has been promoted.

    When he arrives in Centurion and is instructed to give training to a group of recruits as a squad leader, he stands his ground.

    "Sorry, captain, but it''s not without reason that I make sure that nobody knows that I am a squad leader. According to section 71a of the squad leader''s handbook, I have the right to conceal my rank, unless this would endanger my unit."

    Raidon looks at John in amazement. He has never heard of this.

    "Read that part, captain. I am part of the spies and scouts. I can disguise my own rank, in order to gain information that someone with a higher rank could not get."

    Raidon picks up the piece in question. After reading through it, he gets up to pick up another handbook.

    "Ah, look, now it looks familiar to me again. This piece in the captain''s manual already seemed strange to me, but now it''s becoming a lot clearer."

    "Sorry, Captain? What do you mean?"

    "I came across a piece in my handbook that had to do with this. I just could never figure out exactly what it was like. To my knowledge, the harnesses always indicated the right rank, so I had nothing to do with the information I came across here."

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    John still doesn''t get it.

    "I''ll explain. You can and may hide your rank, but as leader of the legion I also have something to say about that. Remember, you are ultimately under my command. It would have been better if you had told me this earlier, but knowing you I¡¯m not surprised."

    "I can''t quite follow you, Captain," John now replies somewhat guiltily.

    "I''ll tell you. First of all, as I have instructed you, as a squad leader, are going to train a number of recruits."

    John wants to go against this, but Raidon doesn''t give him that chance.

    "Secondly, I want you to choose the best men here, to become part of the unit of spies and scouts."

    Now John becomes a bit more thoughtful, but even then he doesn''t like to be saddled with a bunch of idiots. Certainly not those shrill males he has seen struggling on their first day in their harness.

    "Third, John, you are going to act as my intelligence officer as a disguised sergeant. According to my handbook, I have the right to appoint one of the members of your unit for that officers position, with a promotion to sergeant. So congratulations. However, be wary that from now on you can no longer make your rank seem lower than the rank of squad leader. After all, you have to be able to lead your men."

    Still somewhat flustered, John leaves Raidon''s office.

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    Two days after the first recruits have completed their basic training, the time has come. Raidon is interrupted when he is working on a workout. A messenger is waiting impatiently at the edge of the training field.

    "Captain Raidon, Captain Brandon asks if you can come to the staff building as soon as possible. There is a message from Linh."

    Raidon doesn''t waste a moment. "I''m coming, soldier. Reports captain Brandon that I''ll be there in a few minutes."

    Once he arrives at the staff building, Brandon starts:

    "The enemy has carried out its first attacks. They have made some small attacks on a number of forts. Probably to test how well manned these are. The messenger also indicated that the first units of the army are already retreating. There is little chance that they will wait until there is a real attack."

    "Okay, so we have to move there as soon as possible if we want to make a difference. We will need the help of the military to even the odds. If they have already withdrawn everyone, we are going to have a hard time. Have you sent the orders to get first company moving?"

    "Yes, they were sent at the same time that I sent the messenger to get you. Within the hour, everyone will be busy with the preparations."

    The fact that Brandon was able to issue the orders so quickly has to do with the fact that they had known about the withdrawal of the army for some time. Raidon had Morris leave a messenger in Linh, to get a message as soon as possible. Even though the commander does not want to cooperate with them, they have received the message in record time. The messenger was ordered to leave the moment the first sign of activity with the enemy was seen. If they were waiting for word of an attack on the city itself, they would have never been able to arrive in time. That is why the plans have been ready for a long time and they only get better as more soldiers are added to the roster.

    Raidon will take an entire company to Linh to save the city. Brandon keeps the other one hundred soldiers and the recruits without armor with him to man the different locations. Since there are enough new soldiers for these tasks, Raidon is also able to bring a unit of twenty cavalrymen.

    Who he doesn''t take with him is Duncan. In Raidon''s original plan, Duncan would go with the company to provide support in the form of weapons of war such as ballista¡¯s. Duncan himself has indicated that this is not possible. He doesn''t have any other engineers to help him with those. He will have to train a unit of ten to twenty men and teach them how to handle things like catapults. Because that is not possible within a few day, it makes little sense to take him to the front. He''d be of better use to stay in Centurion to train those people and to take care of all the other things needed in the naval base.

    Since the call had been expected for some time, most of the supplies have already been loaded onto the ship. Only food and fresh water still need to be loaded. This takes about an hour and that is also the time it takes the soldiers to get ready. Once everything and everyone is ready, they board and leave.

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    When Captain Cervik enters her office, Alyena immediately sees that he doesn¡¯t bring good news.

    "You look as gloomy as the weather outside, Cervik. What went wrong this time? Or do you have another pimple on your back?" Alyena tries to lighten the mood while it is still possible.

    "If only it were so, your majesty. The news is much grimmer. General Dwain has just reported that the moment we feared has come true. Chakra has carried out another attack, this time in the south. Where they get the men from, I don''t know, but although they have a huge army in the north, they attacked the forts on the border with a second army. According to General Dwain, several forts are under siege and it is only a matter of time before they break through and take the city of Linh. When he passed on the message, it was only a few days old. The messenger often changed horses so that we could hear this news as soon as possible."

    "Damnit! How do they do it? Both our countries have always been equals. Even if they dealt us a heavy blow with that surprise attack a year ago, we should at least have been able to hold out after we had strengthened the border. And now you tell me they still have another army? Or is this even bigger than the one in the north?"

    "What I''ve heard from the general is that this army is a lot smaller, your majesty. At most thirty thousand warriors. Yet it consists of more troops than we have stationed there. The generals, as you know, emptied out almost every garrison of trained men to reinforce the army in the north. As a result, not only the forts in the south are undermanned, but also all other garrisons in the country.

    The only place where, according to General Dwain, we can hold out is far inland. This new border lies on the narrowest piece of land between the Ancient Forest and the wilderness. The Ancient Forest has always been an impenetrable place and the wilderness is not much more passable. They won''t be able to get armies through that without us knowing."

    Alyena quickly walks up to the large map that hangs on one of the walls of her office.

    "You mean this place?" asks Alyena, pointing her finger at the spot.

    "Yes, your majesty."

    "But then we would give away almost a quarter of the empire! That piece of land is even bigger than what we lost last year!"

    "I know, but apparently at the moment we don''t have enough warriors to stop Chakra''s armies. I know this is costing us a lot of revenue, but if we take away enough troops from of the north to counter this attack, we run the risk of them breaking through there. If that happens, we could even lose the capital."

    "I''m not concerned with money," Alyena dismisses the captain''s comment, "I''m concerned with all the people who live there. We now know what Emperor Borya does to his subjects, not much good will happen to those people. If we do nothing, we will lose not only Linh, but also all the other villages and towns in that area. That''s thousands of people!"

    "Yes, your majesty, but there is nothing we can do. What we do need to do is try to limit the damage. The people must try to escape, and you must ensure that our secret project does not destroy itself."

    "You''re right. If the New Legion tries to save the border, we will lose them too. Our only chance is to grow the New Legion until they are strong enough to save our empire. They''ve had almost a year now and in that time they''ve already achieved a lot, who knows what they can do if they have another year."

    Deeply saddened, Alyena signs the order that the New Legion must stay absent from the fighting in the south.

 TNL 54 - War Part Three

    TNL 54 ¨C War Part Three

    A few days later they arrive in Peredur. Along the way they suffered from a storm only once. This one was so heavy that Raidon was afraid the ship would sink, but according to Ryker, this was just a breeze compared to a real fall or winter storm.

    The ship still can''t get to the quay, so the same fishing captain is hired once more. This time he is asked to have a few other boats help. Faster than the first time, everyone is taken off board. The supplies take a little longer, but soon the entire company is ready.

    "Ice, can you see if you can rent a bunch of carts here in the harbor? Maybe the captain of that fishing boat knows where to go."

    "Sure, Captain. Sam, Frank, you''re going with me."

    Raidon sees Ice being directed to a building on the north side of the harbor. A few minutes later Ice returns, with three carts in tow.

    It''s quite a parade. No one here has ever seen the heavily armored soldiers. Last time they were in Peredur, everyone stayed on board the ship. Now two hundred and fifty heavily armored soldiers march through the city, followed by several supply wagons. Finally, a small unit of cavalrymen follows.

    Especially the soldiers are viewed with awe. These are all fully armed for battle. Never before has Raidon had the opportunity to command a fully armed unit. The soldiers all have their heavy plates of armor and elongated shields. Furthermore, each soldier has a short sword on his right thigh, a crossbow on the left thigh and a two-hand weapon on their back. This whole armament looks very intimidating to the inhabitants of Peredur. Especially compared to the warriors of the regular army.

    Raidon takes charge of the long column. Slowly, in order to cause as few problems as possible, they move through the city towards the gate. It soon becomes clear that the people are bespelled by the soldiers. Although they look intimidating, everyone wants to touch the harnesses. At first the soldiers are surprised, but soon they let it happen. They continue to look straight ahead and do not look up or around from the touches.

    Halfway through the city they arrive at a square where they can''t go any further. When Raidon marches into the square at the head of the first platoon, there appears to be a large group of warriors on the square. There are about a hundred warriors, but the number continues to increase as other men come running. The warriors are led by a captain.

    "HALT!" shouts the captain as soon as they march into the square. "In the name of the Empress, stand still and identify yourselves!"

    Raidon steps forward until he is close to the captain. There he salutes.

    "Captain Raidon of the New Legion, on his way to Linh. Would you be so kind as to step aside?"

    Although Raidon starts out formally, he can''t help but put some humor in the final section. The captain gets a red head when he is addressed in this way. Apparently no one told him that a large ship has arrived. The only information he has is that there are strange warriors walking through the city. What he did not expect is a company of the New Legion.

    "The New Legion has not asked permission to march through this city. If it had, then I would not have been instructed to stop you. I fear that your men will have to wait here while we both go to the commander to solve this. Next time, you would do well to ask for permission at the gate."

    Raidon has to chuckle at this. "That would be difficult, captain, we arrived at the port by ship. You have no gates there. But I lets compromise. We march on while one of my officers arranges that permission. As mentioned, we are on our way to Linh, and we do not have time to wait here."

    "Hmm, I think that that''s possible. But you can also come along yourself, can''t you?"

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    "I don''t think so. My captain will be with the commander sooner than I can be there."

    Having said that, Raidon turns around and shouts to the end of the column.

    "Morris! Come forward!"

    Then he continues to talk to the captain.

    "As you can see, the commander of my cavalry will be able to get to the commander much faster than I can walk. That saves us a lot of time."

    After giving his instructions to Morris, the column can march on again.

    When they arrive at the gate a little later, Raidon can''t resist.

    "Permission to leave the city!?" he shouts to the astonished men above the gate.

    A short time later they are outside the city. From this point on, they can maintain a better pace. At the end of the day, they have already made a lot of progress. Still, Raidon stops the column in time to set up a fortified camp for the night. So close to the front, of course, you don''t know what can happen during the night.

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    Within a short time after he and two of his cavalrymen have left the column behind him, Morris arrives at the garrison. Instead of being stopped at the gate, as has happened so many times, the guards simply let him and his men enter through the gate. Why is not entirely clear to him, because usually strangers are stopped at the gate. Especially in a war zone, the warriors should be extra sharp.

    He gets off his horse and gives the reins to one of his men.

    "I don''t think it will take long, but find a place in the shade so the horses can rest."

    When the two men respond in the affirmative, Morris rushes to the staff building. When he enters the staff building, the clerk behind the counter looks at him.

    "What can I do for you?"

    "I have to speak to the commander. Apparently there is quite a fuss about our passage through the city."

    "Ah, then you must be the leader of the unknown warriors. I will announce you."

    Even before Morris can protest that he is not the captain, the clerk knocks on a door.

    "Major? The leader of the unknown warriors is here."

    If there is an affirmative answer, he beckons that Morris can step in.

    "Explain to me, how did you get to my city without me knowing, and what are you doing here?" The commander of Peredur is a stern major with a hanging mustache.

    "Didn''t they tell you, Major?" asks Morris. "We arrived by ship and are just passing. Unfortunately, there was no one to apply for permission to enter the city and since we are in quite a hurry, we decided it was better to ask for forgiveness than to wait."

    "Hmm, by ship you say? I think I heard something like this from my predecessor, that a new unit has a big ship. I assume you belong to that unit?"

    "That''s absolutely right, Major. I am the leader of the mounted unit of the New Legion."

    "Well, then everything is fine. I give you permission, and you leave my city. I assume that I will meet you again at the new border when I and my men arrive there. Oh, and next time send someone ahead to warn everyone. In these times, we cannot use such distractions."

    The major becomes very jovial when he feels that he has solved everything. Morris, however, is not yet satisfied.

    "Major, we are not on our way to the new border. We are on our way to Linh, to defend the current border."

    "What! But that''s suicide."

    "Not quite, Major. As you may have heard, the New Legion is a special unit. The soldiers have very heavy armor which makes it very difficult to injure them. Our experience so far is that the New Legion is very effective. Especially against an enemy that is not prepared for them."

    "Then again, even if this New Legion is as good as you say, Chakra has thousands of soldiers here in the south. What can a handful of men do about it?"

    "The information we have is that the forts are still holding. If so, then our unit will be enough to repel an attack on one of the forts. My cavalry unit is tasked with keeping the New Legion informed of the latest developments. If a fort is attacked somewhere, Captain Raidon has to know as soon as possible."

    "I maintain that this is a suicide mission. I have never seen an army so much stronger be defeated."

    "Let that be our concern, Major. It works, or it doesn''t. But let''s get to the point. I did not come just to inform you of our plans. I would like your help."

    "You want me to help with this crazy plan?"

    "Absolutely. As I said, my mounted unit has a very important task. I would like to have some men from you to strengthen my unity. I only have twenty cavalrymen myself, which is not much to keep an eye on the entire border."

    "Well, I don''t see how your plan will succeed, but if it does, I would be an idiot if I hadn''t helped. I will double your unit and even give you a captain to help you. You may have Harris, he brought you to me, so you already know him."

    "Thank you, Major, we can certainly use him."

    "No thanks, I don''t need that many troops in a city that we are going to give up."

    Moments later, Morris overtakes the column of the New Legion with his growing unit of cavalrymen. As soon as they arrive in front of Raidon, who marches at the head of the column, they are immediately sent forward to Linh. The commander of the garrison there must know as soon as possible that help is on the way. He can then pass this information on to the forts at the border.

 TNL 55 - Saving Linh

    TNL 55 ¨C The Saving of Linh

    The next day Morris and his men arrive in Linh. When they arrive at the barracks a little later, the commander is already waiting for them. One of the gatekeepers recognized Morris and immediately sent a message to his commander.

    "So, so you dare to return to sow even more unrest? Men, take away the weapons of these gentlemen and put them in one of the barracks. Then bring the commander to my office."

    The men of the garrison obey immediately. Menacingly, they approach Morris'' men. After a single glance at their commander, the cavalrymen give up their weapons.

    Within minutes, Morris is standing in front of the garrison commander''s desk.

    "Now, explain what you have done with my citizens and while you are doing so, you can also tell me what has become of the warriors who have fled with you."

    "Like I told you last time, commander, I belong to the New Legion. The warriors you are talking about have been included in my unit of cavalrymen who support the New Legion. They are currently assigned to the legion''s headquarters. The citizens you are talking about have joined the New Legion, as recruits. Just likeI told you."

    "You did explain it last time, after which I told you that you had to look for men somewhere else. Then you caused unrest in my city and even ensured that men deserted. Therefore, from this moment on, you can consider yourself a prisoner and then we will see what the generals think about this. As far as I''m concerned, you¡¯ll get whipped and thrown out on the street."

    While the commander explains what he thinks will happen to Morris, the alarm is raised. Within moments, the door of the office is thrown open and a warrior enters.

    "Commander! The armies of Chakra have broken through the front lines!"

    "What!" The commander gets up. "This will have to wait. I have to see what''s going on first."

    But when the commander rushes away, Morris stops him.

    "Commander, I''m here for a reason. The New Legion is on its way to stop the enemy. If we can hold on until they arrive, then we can turn back Chakra''s army and retake the front lines."

    "I don''t have time for stories right now, man! Have this pipsqueak join his men and make sure they are guarded." The commander tears himself loose and rushes out the door. Morris can do nothing but go with the warrior of the garrison who escorts him to the barracks where his men are waiting for him.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    When Raidon and his company are close enough to reach Linh in a day¡¯s march, they see a messenger coming. The horseman is rapidly approaching from the direction of Linh.

    The messenger has closed with the column before he realizes it. As soon as he notices the soldiers, he tries to hold back his horse and flee. Unfortunately for him, it''s already too late for that. During his crazy ride, he has come so close to the legion that he has almost run into them.

    Before anything else can happen, Raidon calls out to the messenger.

    "Take it easy, man, we are from the New Legion. On the way to strengthen the front. What news can you tell us?"

    The messenger looks rather surprised.

    "On the way to the front? We had heard that there were no troops to reinforce the south. The first units have already been withdrawn to the new defensive line. I have orders for Peredur''s troops to withdraw as well."

    "Damn, what are the generals doing?" says Raidon, then clarifies for the messenger.

    "We have been instructed to do what we can to preserve the southern provinces. But that cannot be done without the support of the regular army."

    The messenger has even more information. It turns out that the generals are withdrawing their troops because the fortress closest to Linh could fall at any moment, after which the city of Linh will soon follow. The troops of the other forts are getting ready to retreat as soon as that particular fort falls.

    Raidon turns to his soldiers and shouts:

    "We have come here to protect Linh and the south. Will we let those lunatics from Chakra just take our land? Or are we going to run from here to the rescue of the city?"

    The answer is a deafening:

    "GO, GO, GO!!!" the soldiers shout, while beating their shields in the same rhythm. Raidon looks at the messenger one more time. "It sounds to me like we''re going to save a city. Would you be so kind as to step aside?"

    The messenger looks rather amazed at this. Never before has he seen warriors so motivated to put in so much effort.

    At a pace almost twice as fast as usual, the soldiers of the New Legion run towards Linh.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The next morning Morris is escorted to the commander.

    "Ah, Morris. We''re not exactly friends, but since you''re the only other captain currently in town, I thought it was important to discuss the situation."

    Morris decides not to tell him that there is a captain from the garrison of Peredur with his men.

    "What is the situation now, commander?"

    "We are under siege. Fort three, which is closest of the five border forts, has been besieged or captured and the vanguard of the enemy army stands at our gates. This vanguard consists of several thousand warriors, and their commander will probably ask us  to surrender this very morning."

    "Why surrender? With the help of the civilians, we can easily defend the walls against this attack."

    "Citizens, what am I supposed to do with them? War is only for real warriors. Those citizens will only get in the way."

    The commander immediately rejects the suggestion. After that, however, he continues in a more reasonable tone.

    "My garrison has shrunk. Most of the men have already been moved back to the new border. If the commander of the Chakran army asks for surrender, I will accept it. Maybe I can save our last warriors to fight at the new front lines."

    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    Morris is starting to get a bad feeling. If this frightened commander gives up the city, the New Legion will never succeed in recapturing it. If that happens, every resident, including members of Morris'' family, will be taken away as slaves. And that while the soldiers of the New Legion are at most half a day marching away from the city.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Three and a half hours after they encounter the messenger, Raidon stops on a hill within sight of the city. A moment ago they passed the hill of Morris'' meeting, which was clearly described to Raidon. From that moment on they knew exactly how far it was to the city. With one last effort, the tired soldiers finally reach the city of Linh.

    From where they are standing now, they can clearly see the city. In the distance they can even see the fort smoking. It seems as if the fort could fall at any moment and the first enemy troops are already at the gates of the city. On the walls of the city they can see some warriors here and there, but there are not that many. Probably the survivors of the fort, supplemented by the men of the commander of the city.

    "Well, guys, it looks like there''s work to be done down there for us. Sergeants, forward, we''re going to make a plan to solve this mess."

    Sergeants Ice, Mateo, Owen, Liam and Mark arrive and a moment later Raidon explains his plan. Nowadays it is much easier for him to command these men who are quite a bit older than him.

    These days Raidon is able to see in a glance what the tactical situation is in a fight. The effect that the harnesses have on their wearers is becoming increasingly evident. Many soldiers look like they are heroes from a fairy tale, that''s how big and muscular they have become. Others have a graceful grace that would be the envy of many a dancer. And that''s without talking about the mental changes in the soldiers. Insights and intuition have already given so many advantages in the previous battles that they may have become the strongest weapon of the legion.

    Raidon turns his attention back to the situation in front of him.

    "It seems as if there are around three thousand Chakranian warriors in front of the gates. The rest must still be busy plundering the fort. It can¡¯t be that these few troops are all they have left to conquer Linh. Mateo, you have the best eyes. Can you see how the Chakras are equipped?"

    "It looks like it''s light infantry, with the same equipment as the regular army. I don''t think this is a slave army. Maybe they only have those in the north and don''t trust them enough to use them here?"

    "Fortunately, that means that the numbers of warriors here are much lower than we had feared.

    What we are going to do is an attack from the flank with the full weight of our shields. We launch an attack and just before we get there, we form an arrow formation. We are all well practiced and I expect everyone to do their part without any problems. Once we are in the middle, we form a circle and make space. Once we''ve hit them back, we grab the heavy weapons and chop them into pieces. So far we have only fought bandits and pirates, so be aware that these are experienced warriors. On the other hand, they don''t know our tactics, so it should work out without us losing too many. Do you have any further suggestions?"

    "No, Captain," the five sergeants reply.

    Since Linh is not yet in immediate danger of being captured, Raidon lets his soldiers rest for a while. This gives the sergeants time to inform their men of the plan.

    As soon as everyone has caught their breath, the soldiers line up in a wide formation with two men in a row. The two ends are formed by the platoons of Sergeant Ice and Sergeant Mateo, while Raidon occupies the middle position with Sergeant Liam. Slowly, striking their shields with their spears, they walk down the hill, towards the enemy.

    At a distance of two hundred and fifty meters, they are noticed by the first enemies. These point to the legion and most laugh at the small number of attackers. Still, some do start to look restless when they hear the thunderous sound of the weapons hitting the shields, and they see the heavy armor of the soldiers.

    The fun wears off when the legion is about fifty meters away. Raidon calls his command and suddenly a cloud of crossbow arrows flies over the heads of the foremost Chakras. Because the Chakras are so close together, almost every shot hits a target. At least two hundred Chakras fall dead or injured. Meanwhile, the soldiers of the New Legion do not hesitate for a moment to march on. Within a few steps they have their crossbows attached to their legs again without getting out of step for even a moment.

    When they are about thirty meters away, Raidon calls his next order.

    "Arrowhead on me!" he shouts, and suddenly the formation turns into a big V with Raidon taking the point. The platoons of Ice and Mateo drop back slightly so that the tip becomes a lot sharper. The soldiers close their shields together and suddenly an arrow-shaped formation arrives. When the distance is halved to about fifteen meters, the order is given by Raidon and the sergeants, and immediately more than a hundred spears fly through the air. A little later, the platoons of Mateo and Ice also follow with their spears.

    There is some space between the Chakras, because they are restlessly walking back and forth, so that only about a hundred go down. During the throwing of the spears, the formation is barely slowed down and shortly after it even begins to accelerate! It''s as if the soldiers are running a few steps to throw their spears, and never stop running afterward.

    Suddenly the charging soldiers of the legion arrive and their formation strikes a deep wound into the army of Chakra. The first rows of enemies are broken up and the army of Chakra is split in two. Only when the New Legion has penetrated almost halfway through the enemy army does the attack begin to slow down due to the large numbers of bodies of the enemy.

    Even then, the Chakras can''t do much. The formation is so strong and heavy due to the wall of shields and heavy armor, that their blows are almost of no use. Most strokes are absorbed by the rectangular shields, and the blows and stabs that pass by the shields do little more than scratch the armor. Even the Chakras that end up behind the V-shape can''t do much. A few manage to knock down a soldier of the New Legion. As soon as a soldier falls, however, his place is immediately taken by a soldier from the second row.

    Only when Raidon and his soldiers are in the middle of the enemies do they stop. Raidon calls new orders, and within moments the soldiers strike and push out with their shields to change their formation. Suddenly there is a big circle in the middle of Chakra''s army!

    The commander of the Chakran army sees his chance and calls on his warriors to attack and chop this small army into pieces.

    But just as the Chakras come rushing and start to apply pressure, the shields of the soldiers are suddenly thrown away. And right in the faces of the approaching warriors! More than one warrior hits the ground after receiving a shield to the head.

    In the space that opens up, the heavy weapons are taken out. As in the battle with the tax collectors of Aran, this is a battle where the soldiers of the New Legion can use their large weapons. These heavy weapons are different for each soldier, but all of them are so large and heavy that they must be held with two hands.

    Raidon himself grabs a large war axe. Just as he learned so long ago, he keeps himself balanced. An enemy doesn''t have to be completely cut in half to be eliminated. It soon becomes clear that not all soldiers have fully mastered this. Most of them have only recently been promoted and this is their first fight. Around Raidon, several soldiers cut their opponent in half, and then let their weapon pass through into the muddy ground.

    The Chakras can do little to counter this sudden development. Since the new legion came into view, they have had to deal with one shock after another. This latest one is the biggest. Because their weapons have so much less power, they are knocked out of the way like flies. Lifting a normal sword to stop a two handed sword is of little use. Even the light round shields of the Chakras have hardly any effect against the heavy war hammers and other weapons. The circle in the middle of their army gets bigger and bigger and after the first Chakras are cut down, the soldiers look like creatures from the underworld. Every soldier is covered with blood that splatters around with every cut. Here and there, even body parts remain attached to the weapons of the soldiers.

    The fight doesn¡¯t even last ten minutes before the enemy flees. The remaining enemies run as if the hellhounds are hot on their heels. Raidon stops his troops and slowly gathers them on a piece where there are only a few bodies. Carefully, the soldiers hang their weapons back on their backs and try to catch their breath. Not everyone survived. Here and there between the fallen Chakras lies a legionary soldier. The five sergeants have all survived, although Mark''s armor seems to hang loose in various places. After brief consultation, the sergeants report their findings.

    "First platoon, five wounded."

    "Second platoon, three wounded, one dead."

    "Third platoon, one wounded."

    "Fourth platoon, seven wounded, four dead."

    "Fifth platoon, one wounded, two dead."

    All in all, seven soldiers were killed and seventeen wounded in the field.

    "Well done men!" shouts Raidon. "We survived our first battle!"

    When the soldiers have gathered with their sergeants, Raidon leads them to the gate of Linh. The New Legion offers a terrible sight. The once shiny harnesses have turned red and brown from all the blood and other filth. When the soldiers arrive at the city gates a little later, Raidon announces their unit.

    "Open up for the soldiers of the New Legion!"

 TNL 56 - Epilogue

    TNL 56 ¨C Epilogue Book One

    Sergeant Lenn is sitting in his office in the garrison of Aran, when an imperial messenger is announced.

    ¡°Let him come in. An imperial messenger usually brings important news.¡±

    As soon as the messenger steps into the office, he announces:

    ¡°Sergeant, I have new orders from the empress. Because of the importance of these orders, I will give you a shortened version:

    The New Legion mustn¡¯t interfere with the defense of the southern front. The empress thinks it¡¯s more important to let the New Legion gain more strength so that you can make a real difference later on.¡±

    Lenn can¡¯t help himself smirking. Which the Imperial messenger doesn¡¯t think is funny.

    ¡°How dare you laugh at an imperial command! This is important, sergeant!¡±

    Sergeant Lenn holds up his hand while trying to stop laughing.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I couldn¡¯t help myself. You have to know that your message is a bit late. Captain Raidon went to the southern front some time ago. This very morning I got a message that he and his troops have relieved the siege of the city of Linh and have repelled the enemy troops. Chakra has lost men in the hundreds. You must have missed our messenger on his way to Niroma.¡±

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    The messenger looks surprised. As far as he knows, there are only a handful of soldiers in the New Legion.

    ¡°How did he do that? The Chakranian army usually attacks with an enormous amounts of warriors, don¡¯t they? This should be the case as they have managed to breach the line.¡±

    ¡°If I remember correctly it was about fifteen to one during the fight. Most of the warriors of Chakra were tied up with the fort there, with only about four thousand men that attacked the city. If I know Raidon, and I do, then he won¡¯t stop till he has taken back the fort. All in all I think that you can go for a bite to eat before you go back to Niroma. The empress will want to send new orders I think.¡±

    Having said that, Sergeant Lenn leans back in his chair to enjoy the astonished look on the royal messenger¡¯s face.

    To be continued in book two.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    That¡¯s it people. Book one of The New Legion is finished. As I¡¯ve mentioned I will have a one week break, and after that we will continue with book 2.

    Book two has the first 20 chapters ready for translation, so we¡¯re not done yet! I¡¯ll use my week off to start on those chapters, look for mistakes and the flow of the story. I¡¯ll also start on the rest of book 2 to make it ready for translation.

    Those of you who have signed up for my Patreon have already started on book 2 by now and I hope that I can improve my writing a bit more. As I stated in the past, book one was already published, but book two isn¡¯t. Thus I¡¯ll have more freedom to change things up. If you have suggestions or corrections, let me know!

 TNLB2 1 - Prologue Book Two

    It is already late in the afternoon when the last carts are driven through the gate. For Sergeant Alderman, the day is almost over. Only these last two carts have to be unloaded, then all the supplies for the second attack are ready.

    "Hurry up!" shouts Alderman to the drivers. He lost his good mood hours ago, when an incompetent moron managed to hit another with his cart. It took ages to reattach both wheels.

    For most drivers, this is their first time in Fort Shi. As a result, they often stop in the middle of the road to ask where to go, which causes major delays. In addition, almost half of the drivers are prisoners of war. Only the whips of the guards ensure that those guys do not destroy the carts by crashing them on purpose.

    "If those idiots had broken through with the first attack, we wouldn''t have these problems. Odds of two dozen to one, and still they manage to screw it up." mutters the sergeant.

    It has only been a few days since the sergeant himself arrived at Fort Shi, as part of the Fifth Chakran Army. Together with the seventh and eighth, they would put the Falwyn border under such pressure that they could win the war with one blow.

    Unfortunately, things have turned out differently in reality. The fifth were still about four days out from Fort Shi, when word came that the eighth had started the attack early. Together with the first two regiments of the seventh, they had attacked the border city of Linh, while five other regiments of the seventh performed diversionary maneuvers. Why Fort Shi needed three regiments to reinforce the defenses was a mystery to Sergeant Alderman.

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    The general of the Fifth Chakran Army, who was to organized the attack, almost exploded with anger when he heard what had happened. The two generals of the Seventh and Eighth were both sent to the city of Chakra to answer, along with a big portion of the officers of both armies. It was not the failed attack that they were to be charged for, but the part that the attack had failed.

    The attacking army had done considerable damage to Falwyn''s border armies, and they had even almost succeeded in capturing the border city. If that had succeeded, the generals would probably have been rewarded considerably. Now they will have a good chance that they will have to pay with their lives. A force of four regiments had advanced to the border city, which had only a few hundred men as a garrison. Just as the city was about to surrender, however, the Chakran force was defeated.

    According to the reports Sergeant Alderman had seen, the army had been defeated by less than three hundred enemies. The losses had been high, more than a regiment of dead and almost as many wounded. The greatest loss, however, was that the fleeing remnants of the regiments had ignited their comrades while they were about to capture the central fortress.

    "Less than 1500 dead, and almost ten times that number of warriors flee. If they had fought on, there would have been nothing wrong, but no, they flee from a handful of enemies. No wonder General Crag decimated the entire Eighth Chakran Army. Now we have to inspire those slackers all over again to carry out another attack. I hope the general knows what he has started. Especially now that Falwyn knows what we are up to. All this effort to sneak away from the northern border, and for what? Fortunately, we now have more than twenty-five thousand warriors. That should be enough if we attack before reinforcements arrive for Falwyn''s troops."

    Alderman lets out a deep sigh. The chance that the general will get everyone to attack again before Falwyn''s reinforcements are there, is not very high. In addition, there are now fifteen thousand warriors whose morale has been completely destroyed. With a few weeks of discipline, that can easily be remedied, but by then it will already be too late.

    Something will have to be done now and the general will come up with something. He has always done that so far.

 TNLB2 2 - Logistics Part 1

    58 - Logistics Part One

    Nearly a week has passed since Raidon, along with his first company, relieved Linh. Throughout the week he had to leave the leadership of his company mainly to his sergeants. He himself has been working almost non-stop trying to reorganize the entire frontline. The commander of the southern border had succumbed to his injuries withing hours after the Chakran armies left. About three hundred other warriors had preceded him in the defense of the third border fort, leaving the garrison with only about seven hundred warriors. All of the other forts also lost warriors, but not in such large numbers. This makes Raidon the most logical person to command. Only the commander of Linh objected, but that man is so inexperienced that no one supported him.

    Raidon can hardly comprehend that he and his men have driven so many enemies to flee. Despite the stories, no one from the New Legion expected that there were so many Chakran warriors in the south. According to the messages Raidon had received, there should only be a few thousand Chakras near the border. That number was pretty similar to the numbers they fought off at Linh. However, the new reports from the five border forts offer a very different view of the enemy troops present.

    Along with Morris, Raidon interrogated a surviving Chakran captain. The man was badly injured in the fight, but was still clear enough to answer a few questions.

    "Our armed forces consist of a few dozen armies which are led by generals. I think even the emperor doesn''t know exactly how many armies he currently has.

    Each army has ten regiments of a thousand men, led by colonels. Below that are the captains, lieutenants and sergeants with their smaller units."

    This information gave Raidon enough information to ask some additional questions.

    "So it wasn''t just one army attacking here? There were several?"

    "That''s right. Although normally only the seventh is stationed at the border, because you never attack anyway, more armies have been sent south for a surprise attack. The Eighth Army had been waiting for a week for the fifth to arrive with the general in charge. However, when it was delayed, our commander decided that two armies would be enough. The general of the eighth agreed, especially when he was told about the fame they would get if they could achieve a great victory."

    "But fortunately for us, it didn''t happen that way."

    "No," replied the captain, "the general of the eighth had not counted on how treacherous the general of the seventh could be. Instead of a strong attack at one point with both armies, he ordered at the last moment that only two regiments of the eighth would participate. The general of the eighth had already given his word to follow his colleague, and so could do nothing but watch as he was left behind with most of his men."

    Exhausted from his injuries, the captain closes his eyes, while Raidon and Morris look at each other in a silent thanks to the Chakran general''s stupidity. A worried medic rushes to the captain.

    "I fear this man will not give you any more answers, Captain. He is still alive, but I doubt he will return to the waking world before he dies."

    "That is regrettable. Not only for us, because we can use all the information we can get, but also for the man himself. I had hoped he would survive."

    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    The doctor shakes his head. "There''s always a chance, sir. But I don''t give it much hope."

    Moments later, Raidon and Morris are back in Raidon''s tent.

    "So we¡¯ve had more luck than we could have dreamed of. Against thirty thousand men we could never have held out. Not even if we had deployed every soldier of the entire legion."

    "I''m already surprised that we have now this time," Morris replies, "that group that besieged Linh was only a quarter of the attacking troops. You must have made them really afraid to let all those others flee."

    Raidon waved Morris'' words away.

    "That bunch was almost defeated before we started. Firstly, they had not expected a counterattack, secondly, they had never had to deal with legionaries..."

    "And thirdly?"

    "Thirdly, we are obviously very frightening."

    Morris looks at Raidon with such a surprised face that he has a hard time holding back his laughter.

    Later that afternoon, Raidon looks up from the maps on his table to look around the tent. The New Legion has set up camp near the third fort, which is a stone''s throw from Linh. Raidon''s tent is set up first so that he can focus on going through the reports of the scouts. Apart from a collapsible table, however, the tent is still almost empty.

    "We need to fortify this whole border," Raidon murmurs, "those border forts are all good and well, but totally useless if the enemy doesn''t want to have them. There are more than a dozen places where an entire army can push through without being hindered by the forts. That means that the walls of the forts are useless, and we have to leave the forts every single time we want to stop the Chakras."

    While Raidon is still thinking about how best to handle the situation, the tent canvas is pulled away with a jerk in front of the entrance.

    "Raidon!" shouts Morris as he storms in, "You never believe what those lunatics have come up with again."

    "By those lunatics you mean the leaders of the border forts, I assume?" Raidon has sent Morris on his way to tell the captains that the boundary is not going to be given up.

    "Of course the captains. Those slackers plan to stick to the old schedule. Apart from the third fort, of which you have temporarily taken command, the others plan to leave within three days. They are afraid that the Chakras will attack again, and thanks to recent developments, they are all understaffed. I have told them that they can just sit behind their walls, but even that they are too afraid for to do."

    "I expected something like that. That is why I asked for reinforcements immediately after the battle. With a bit of luck, the regular army will answer my call. If so, we can expect the first troops in a few days. At least I hope that the commander of Peredur is kind to us, because most of the other troops are still too far away."

    "He can''t miss all that many troops either. I don''t think a few hundred warriors will make a big difference to the leaders of the forts."

    "Maybe not, but if I can send the four commanders a hundred extra men each, then maybe I can persuade them to wait until the rest of the army is back."

    Raidon gets up, "come on, let''s take a look at the hard work of the men. It has been about a thousand years since a legions'' camp was set up. Fort Alpha doesn¡¯t count, because the walls were still standing there."

    Together, Raidon and Morris step out of the tent.

    The New Legion makes its camps just like the legions of old. The tent camp is set up in a square, with an open field in the middle with the public space. For example, on the square there are, among other things, the tents of the captains, the kitchen and the arsenal. Around the tent camp will be a ditch or moat, the earth of which is used as the foundation for a palisade. The whole is completed with four gates and a number of towers. First the tent of the commander is set up, then that of the other commanders, then that of the soldiers themselves.

    By the time Raidon and Morris have a look, all the tents are already set up and the soldiers are busy with the defensive moat and earthen wall. Then there is the strong wooden palisade, but for that they first need to obtain enough wood. All the forests near the border on the Falwyn side have long since been felled, so the only place where the trees can be found is the Ancient Forest.

    "It''s a good thing I sent John and his team out to look for suitable trees in the ol Ancient Forest."

    "I still don''t know why John''s team is so special, Raidon."

    "Let''s just say they''re special scouts. That''s all I can tell you about it. For now, it''s enough to know that they will perform some important tasks for the legion."

    "Like finding a suitable place to set up this camp, and making a trek to the Ancient Forest?"

    "Indeed"

 TNLB2 3 - Logistics Part 2

    </a>59 - Logistics Part Two

    <h2> </h2>

    Alyena''s thoughts are rudely disturbed. This afternoon she went out to relax in her palace garden. No one should disturb her here and she can recover in silence from the stress of running her empire. The only one who is also allowed to come here is Captain Cervik, who is allowed to be present as her bodyguard.

    Today, however, it is not only the captain who enters the garden. With a steely face, the captain comes through the garden gate, with an imperial messenger in his wake.

    "Cervik, what are you doing! You know I am not to be disturbed when I''m in my palace garden."

    "I''m sorry, your majesty. However, the news that this messenger brings cannot be postponed."

    Captain Cervik never indicates that something is important if it really isn''t, Alyena thinks.

    "Go ahead, speak. Then I can go back to my contemplation."

    "I think the man should tell it himself." Answer Captain Cervik.

    "It''s like this, your majesty," begins the imperial messenger, "I had been instructed to take the orders to the New Legion. You had instructed them to keep themselves out of the situation in the south."

    "That''s right, I wanted to keep them away to protect them so that we wouldn''t lose them right off the bat. What is the problem with my orders?"

    "I''m afraid I was late, your majesty. Somehow the New Legion had already left for the southern border."

    Alyena looks at the messenger in shock.

    "What do you mean too late? Have you stopped somewhere? I''m sure no messengers left before you, so how did they know what was going on at the border before you could tell them?"

    The messenger is now the one who looks shocked.

    "No one had been there before me, your majesty. According to what I was told, they had already left days earlier. According to the sergeant I spoke to, they themselves made sure that they would be informed of any change in the south."

    Alyena puts her hands on her back and starts to pace.

    "This was not the plan. I hope they don''t ruin all our chances with their ill-considered action."

    "Uhm, sorry to interrupt you, your majesty. But I have more news."

    Alyena stops pacing and sends a look at the messenger.

    "What else do you have to say that has gone wrong?"

    "According to the sergeant I spoke to, one Sergeant Lenn, the legion had already left for the border days earlier. However, that same morning he had received a message from a Captain Raidon that he had relieved the city of Linh with a full company of the legion. There is another messenger on the way with a full account of the battle, but the sergeant was able to tell me that they had defeated a huge force with few losses."

    Alyena can''t believe her ears and turns to Captain Cervik.

    "You knew this? And you''re making me completely stress out that my orders arrived too late?"

    "Well, good news must also be brought in an exciting way, right? Otherwise, it''s only worse to get the bad messages."

    Alyena doesn''t know how to answer.

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    The messenger is just as careful.

    "Excuse me, your majesty, do you want me to bring this news to the generals? Or do you want them to hear when the report of the fighting arrives?"

    "I apologize dear man. We shouldn''t make you wait. You can leave, I''ll make sure the generals are informed." Alyena waves the messenger away and continues talking to Captain Cervik.

    "What do you think, Cervik? Should I wait for that report, or should I rub it in to General Colling that my ''project'' has saved the entire border?"

    "I''m afraid my opinion doesn''t matter. You have already made your decision."

    "Ha, you''re right. Come, let¡¯s visit the generals."

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Sergeant Alderman rushes to the command tent. Only a few moments ago he received the message to report to the general, and now he is very late. The command reached him when he was checking the saddles of the third regiment of the Fifth Army. As a supply sergeant, it is his job to take care of everything that the fifth Chakran army needs.

    When Alderman arrives at the entrance of the command tent, he is stopped by the guards.

    "Halt, sergeant. Why are you here?"

    He gives the guard a cutting look. Guards of the command tent imagine themselves to be better than normal warriors, even if those have a higher rank. For a moment the guard holds his own, but then he gives in and announces the sergeant.

    "Sergeant Alderman is here to see you, General."

    "Let him in," the answer comes from within.

    Sergeant Alderman treats the guard to one last look before entering the command tent.

    "Ah, Sergeant Alderman. Better late than never, isn''t it?" The general''s tone is jovial, but Alderman knows that the general is a master at concealing things so he is not comfortable with it.

    "I apologize for my late arrival, General. Your messenger had some difficulty finding me in the stables of the third regiment."

    The general dismisses Alderman''s apology, which makes him even more uncomfortable. Then the general walks to one side of the tent, which is taken up in its entirety by a huge map of the southern border region.

    "Come here sergeant, and I will explain why I called you."

    Alderman walks behind the general and studies the map. It has clearly been updated recently, as colored pins indicate the positions of the three armies.

    "As you can see, we have around twenty-five regiments here. These red pins indicate the positions of Falwyn''s units, as far as we have been able to determine."

    Alderman studies the enemy units a little more closely.

    "It seems that there are not many warriors to hold their positions, General. Those units a little further away worry me a bit more. Those seems like quite a lot."

    "Well spotted. Those are the troops that those weaklings withdrew, but who are now on their way back. We have recorded their positions as best we could, but we don''t know for sure where they are. Our information from behind enemy lines is sporadic."

    The general pauses for a moment before continuing.

    "As you may have seen, most of our forces are currently unable to carry out another attack. In addition, I have no intention of losing our only combat-ready army in another reckless attack. We''re still not sure what kind of warriors it were who humiliated the eighth."

    "If you don''t want to start another attack, why am I here?"

    "Patience, Sergeant. I''ll get to the reason why I let you come."

    The general treats Alderman to a stern look, at which Alderman visibly cringes.

    "What my scouts have been able to find out is that some of those strange warriors are hiding near the middle fortress of the enemy. There are only a few hundred of them, but that can never be all the warriors. No one gets it in their head to send so few men to the border, but that aside. What I want to try is to lure those warriors out so we can find out who they are. Since they''re the only reason we can''t invade Falwyn, I want to make sure they''re so busy chasing their own tails that they''ll never expect it when we really go on the attack."

    Alderman waits this time before he opens his mouth. A little later it turns out to be a good decision, because the general continues.

    "Broadly speaking, our plan of attack is that I divide the Fifth Army into four parts. Those four parts will rotate, with one unit attacking a fort at a random time of the day. In the meantime, two units will rest or prepare. The fourth will help with the training of the other armies."

    "I understand, General, but what do you need me for now? I''m not a captain. I assume that the commanders of the regiments will lead their own units."

    "Right, but you as the supply sergeant must ensure that everything runs smoothly. I will make a schedule of the order of units that will attack over the next three days. You will make sure they have the right gear to carry out those attacks. Sometimes that will be horses, at other times it will be bows and arrows. We are going to do everything we can to make it as difficult as possible for Falwyn."

    "Understood, General. If I may be so free, how long do you intend to continue these attacks?"

    "As long as necessary. I asked the emperor to send one or two more armies here, but that will only happen if there are no major troop movements in Falwyn''s northern armies. If they do take place, I fear that warriors will even be taken away here to make a new attempt in the north. But enough for now, you know what to do. My adjutant will bring you the schedule later. Do whatever it takes, and who knows, we might be showered with honor. Move out!"

 TNLB2 4 - Logistics Part 3

    60 - Logistics Part Three

    Just after lunch, Raidon is walking around the new camp to let his food settle, when one of Morris'' cavalrymen rushes towards him.

    "Captain! Fort One is under attack!" shouts the man while being out of breath.

    "Right, thank you soldier. I''ll take over now. You just sit down and relax. There should still be something for you to eat and drink in the mess hall."

    As the cavalryman slowly trudges towards the mess hall, Raidon looks after him for a moment. It is nice that everyone is doing their best, but this goes a bit far. If the man had slowed down just a bit, the news would have arrived only a minute later, but the man could be deployed again immediately. Now he must first recover from the effort.

    Raidon walks slowly to the gate. Like the legions of the past, the New Legion makes well-fortified camps. Not only does the camp have a wooden palisade, there is also a two-meter-deep moat that has been dug around the camp. The earth excavated is used as an earthen wall on which the palisade is built. The moat itself has been dug into a V-shape to make it extra difficult for attacking infantry to get over the moat. Between the moat and the earthen wall, pointed stakes have been planted that make it very dangerous to climb the earthen wall.

    All in all, the camp of the New Legion is even more secure than the forts of the front line.

    When Raidon arrives at the gate, he finds the sergeant on duty with several soldiers from his platoon. At any time of the day, one of the five platoons is standing guard.

    "Sergeant, would you be so kind to sound the alarm? I want all our soldiers to be ready to march in ten minutes in full armament."

    While the sergeant rushes to sound the alarm and pass on Raidon''s orders, Raidon goes to his tent to look at the maps again. Their camp is set up in the middle of the southern front line, and even with a quick march it will take all day before they can get to Fort One.

    Well before the ten minutes are up, the entire company is ready to leave. Less than five minutes after Raidon''s command, the first platoon arrived. Since this is the platoon on duty, it doesn¡¯t surprise Raidon at all. A few minutes later the next two platoons arrive, with a third shortly afterwards.

    Everyone has been in position for a long time when the fifth and final peloton arrives.

    "Apologies for the delay, Captain." Reports Sergeant Liam, "one of my squads was unable to show up in good order, so we had to wait to determine their punishment."

    "Right, but why didn''t you do that while we were on the road?"

    "Uhm, good question captain. I''m afraid I didn''t think of that."

    "Doesn''t matter, you were still on time. But let''s get on the road now."

    That same evening they arrive at the fort. It is clear that a battle has raged here, but now there are no more Chakras in sight.

    The walls of the fort are heavily blackened, and here and there are the bodies of some Chakras. However, there are far fewer than Raidon expected. A real major attack on the fort would still be going on now. Although there are few troops present in the fort, the defenses ensure that each attack would cost a lot of troops.

    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    "Well Raidon," Morris reports, "I''m afraid we walked all the way here for nothing."

    "Walked? You and your men could take it easy and then catch up with you on your donkeys. We are the ones who had to walk until we had raw feet."

    "Donkeys? These are thoroughbred horses. Their family trees probably go back further than yours."

    While bickering, the two commanders go to the commander of the fort to find out what exactly happened here.

    The commander of the fort is a captain of the regular army. Apart from bags under his eyes, the man looks like he is going to a ball.

    "Gentlemen, thank you for coming. As you can see, we have everything under control here. My men easily repulsed the enemy, after which they fled."

    "Is that so?" Raidon asks, "We did see some traces of the battle, but it didn''t look like this was a large-scale offensive. Can you explain that to me?"

    "But of course. The attack here consisted of a few thousand warriors. When my lookouts saw that we were being attacked, I put all my men on the walls. The enemy had braziers with which they tried to set the walls on fire. When that didn''t work, they tried it with grappling hooks. During this second attempt we killed many enemies."

    "What do you call a lot, Captain? We saw the bodies of at most a dozen dead."

    The captain is now starting to blush a little.

    "We killed fourteen men."

    "Fourteen, and how much have you lost yourself?"

    "Six of my warriors lost their lives in the defense of the fort."

    The captain seems to be proud of this number.

    "Six, that''s almost half of the attackers. With the walls and other defenses, you should kill at least three times as many enemies as they can do to you. Two on one is not very good. Certainly not since this was not a real attack."

    "What do you mean not a real attack?" The captain now really seems to be lost.

    "This seems more like a test of our defense. With a few thousand men, they can never completely break through our line. With these numbers, they could only commit a few raids before our troops would catch them."

    The next morning Raidon and Morris leave again. Before they leave though, Raidon impresses something on the commander of the fort.

    "You understand that we expect you to repel the next attack better, captain. Remember that it can be helpful to keep some warriors on hand as a reserve. Don''t put everyone on the walls at once. And make sure there are enough ranged weapons on the walls. Spears, stones, arrows, anything that can make casualties without them being able to hit your own men back. You do not have thousands of troops to ride towards the enemy like in the past. You will have to act defensively until the rest of the armies are back."

    "But captain, when we hide behind the walls we seem cowardly in the eyes of the Chakras."

    "Well, man, it''s about keeping this border secure until the reinforcements arrive. Or do you want to give away half the empire to Chakra?"

    "Well no, but I have to think about the honor of my family."

    "Rest assured man, I will make it clear to my replacement that you have followed my orders. There''s nothing dishonorable about that."

    By the time Raidon, Morris and the rest of the New Legion are almost back at their camp, it''s almost noon. Everyone looks forward to an extensive lunch and soft beds.

    Then, however, one of Morris'' cavalrymen meets them. Half of the cavalrymen remained in the camp under the command of Captain Harris to guard it and to serve as messengers, and apparently one of them has been sent to meet up with them.

    "Commander, our captain informs you that Fort Four, the next fort to the south, is under attack by thousands of Chakras."

    Raidon looks at Morris. "Well, there goes our lunch, I think. Shall we?"

    When they arrive at the fourth fort, it turns out that this time they are still on time. Even before the enemy comes into view, they hear the sound of the trumpeters blowing the retreat.

    The road winds around a hill here, so the enemy has not yet noticed the New Legion.

    "They are withdrawing. Let''s try to catch a few of them." Raidon calls out to his men.

    Immediately, the sergeants order the marching order be changed. The front soldiers keep the same pace, while the others run a bit faster. As a result, it does not take long before the five platoons march side by side.

    When the enemy comes into view, they see that most of the Chakras are already on horseback. Only a few hundred are still in the process of returning to their horses.

    When the Chakras see the company of the New Legion, a thousand storm towards them.

    However, this attack does not last long. The Chakras have not even covered half the distance when they see that this is not a regular company.

    They quickly turn around to return to their own army group. Here and there collisions occur due to the rapid turning, and a single warrior even falls from his saddle.

    Raidon and the soldiers of the New Legion, meanwhile, continue to march unmoved. Just as they get the enemy within reach of their crossbows, the last Chakras spur on their horses. Raidon quickly orders the crossbows to be fired, but at most a dozen of the arrows reach the target, with only three warriors falling out of their saddles due to their injuries.

 TNLB2 5 - Logistics Part 4

    61 - Logistics Part Four

    The iron is red hot when Gareth takes it out of the fire. He has been working on this same piece for three days. If all goes well, he can put the finishing touches on it tomorrow. He strikes it as precisely as he can with his hammer to make the right shape.

    After folding the steel several times, it is difficult to process it. However, those different layers of the metal are also what make the legion''s armor so strong.

    Then one of his assistants stops moving the gallow. Groaning, the gallow collapses. It''s only a small distraction, but it''s big enough for Gareth. His next blow is off and he strikes the side of the anvil.

    Full of contempt, he looks at the mess that his work has become. The hammer has struck right through the hot metal and is now stuck in the piece of metal that should have been a chest harness.

    "Idiot, see what you made me do!" shouts Gareth to his assistant, who recedes before the angry priest sergeant. "That was three days of our work. This way we will never manage to make new harnesses."

    "Gareth," replies Calvus, the old blacksmith, from a lazy chair in the corner of the forge, "it''s wrong to blame the boy. You are the one who got distracted. In addition, it is useless to stay busy with the gallows while the fire is not being used. You know that."

    Put in his place, Gareth immediately apologizes.

    "I''m sorry Andr¨¦, Calvus is right. It''s just the frustration. I feel like we need new harnesses as soon as possible, and every time something happens that makes things go wrong."

    "No problem, Sergeant. I''ve also seen it every time it went wrong. This is what? The twentieth time something goes wrong at the last minute?"

    "Ha," Calvus shouts from his angle, "double that, boy."

    "You''re right, I actually don''t think it''s just because of our forging skills. And yes, I know Calvus, we are far from accomplished blacksmiths. But Andr¨¦ is right. It is always at the last minute that something goes wrong. We''re overlooking something in the process."

    "What about those books that you can read and I can''t?" The old man asks, "Isn''t there something in there that tells you what the problem is?"

    "I think we have to find out. Andr¨¦, if you could get the others, we will do some deeper research in the books. We have to figure out how to make good armor!"

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Aulis sits in his office while he thinks. Since he became mayor of Arana, a lot has happened. The village started out with a few freed slaves, and now it has almost two hundred inhabitants. A small part of these, about fifteen people, live in the hamlet that is a few hours north of the village most of the time. There, among others, the lumberjack and the miner have settled to provide the growing village with building materials. To make things easier for himself, Aulis counts every inhabitant of the Lost Island as a resident of Arana. This is because the only other place of significance on the island is the headquarters of the New Legion.

    The hamlet is a major headache for Aulis and the commander of the garrison of Arana. The squad leader, Floris, has only ten soldiers at his disposal. With those, he has to try to protect everyone. With eight men in Arana and two in the hamlet, his men are dangerously scattered.

    A further problem for Aulis is that the former pirate base was not built to function as a normal village. The pirates were content to build a number of large barracks where everyone could sleep, with at most a few other necessary buildings.

    The people who have settled in the village, on the other hand, all want to have their own home. This has already caused several quarrels, after which Aulis as mayor has been given the thankless task of providing new homes.

    Because the young man actually does not have a good idea how he can best perform this task, he asked for help from squad leader Floris. The two men have been working together for some time now, and have found out that they get along well.

    Aulis is therefore not surprised when squad leader Floris enters his office without knocking.

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    "Aulis, I put my men to work to properly map the village. Then the both of us can draw on the map how we think we should organize the village. If everyone just randomly starts building everywhere, as some are already doing, then it will be a big chaos here. That would be bad for the defense of the village, but also for trade, if you ask me."

    "That may be true, Floris, but since I can''t do anything with maps, we have little use for this."

    "Oh, that''s not that difficult. I can teach you map reading. And until then, I can explain it to you, right? The most important thing is that we can record our plans in a clear way. I think the first thing we have to do is decide what the village should ultimately look like."

    "What do you mean? The village looks pretty good, doesn''t it, with the buildings around the harbor?"

    "Well, for now that''s good enough. But what will you want to do when more people come to live here? Arana is the only place on this side of the island where it is not a life-threatening task just to survive. If people want to live somewhere else, they will have to start with nothing. I think that''s why most people will settle here first. Thanks to the pirate buildings, this has by definition become the most important place on this side of the island."

    "Uhm, yes"

    "Well then, that means that even more people will live here than there already are. How many more people do you think we can house here? I know that we only have half of the barracks in use, but if people get their own houses they will take up a lot more space. I think we should even think about making a new wall to make the village bigger."

    "Damnit, you''re right. With two hundred inhabitants, there are already twice as many people living here as in the village where I grew up, and that was almost as big as Arana!"

    "Great, now that we figured out the problem, we can start brainstorming about the new layout of Arana. When we have a finished plan, we can show it to a few others and see if they have any suggestions. I think that Hunter Dew has a good head on his shoulders, and maybe there are others who have good ideas."

    Aulis and Floris don''t waste any time. Floris immediately starts to explain to Aulis how the map he has made works. Fortunately, the village has two towers, so Floris and Aulis can climb up there to point out the buildings. Aulis immediately sees that the buildings and streets look the same from above as the blocks and dashes on the map.

    Over the course of the next three days, the two wear out one paper after another with their drawings of a new village. For squad leader Floris it is important that the village is well defendable, which is why he makes winding streets where a trap or barricade can be made on every corner. However, Aulis thinks more about straight streets to ensure that everyone can easily get to the port. As the only village on the island, Arana is still very dependent on the ships that dock in the port. Without that trade, it would be all the more difficult to build up a good life.

    In the end, the two decide that they have to ask Dew for his advice even though they don¡¯t have a finished plan yet. As an older man with more experience, they both trust him when it comes to decisions. When he arrives in Arana the next afternoon, he soon realizes the dilemma of the two young men.

    "Look, I understand that you, Floris, want your men to be able to withdraw if those pirates manage to get into the harbor, and that you, Aulis, want the trade to go well, but I still think you are going about it the wrong way.

    If you are so afraid of pirates in the harbor, why don''t you close the harbor off from the rest of the village?"

    "What do you mean?" asks Aulis immediately curiously.

    "Hey, I just wanted to say that!" shouts Floris immediately.

    "Look, this is something I''ve been thinking about. Those pirates have always been a plague, and I''ve heard that ten years ago in a city in the north of the empire they burned down half the city before the garrison could stop them. That city had beautiful strong walls, but because the pirates could sail right in, that big wall was of no use."

    "That''s what I said! That''s why we have to have winding roads."

    "Easy there, Floris. Keep in mind that that city already had those, because it had grown around the port. The garrison just couldn''t stop the pirates in time. What I am therefore proposing is to make a plan in which we expand the port so that it is also large enough in the future. Around the harbor we put an elongated wall or palisade, with three gates. One on each side of that wall. The two gates on the sides are then led to a road that runs around the new village. That new village will be located next to the port, with a connection to that gate. Within the new village you, Floris, can make a layout that is easy to defend. Then we have the best of both worlds. The trade can largely take place in the port, with an easy connection to the roads. If the village is attacked and pirates or anyone else manages to enter the port, you close the gate there, and the villagers are safe."

    "If we are smart, we will change the entire design of the village." begins Aulis, "didn''t you tell me, Floris, the other day that the old empire had thought down to the last detail what a village or city should look like?"

    "That''s right, Aulis. When building took place in the old empire, it was often according to fixed guidelines. Because they alway built the same way, even someone who did not know a city knew roughly where he had to be if he had to be in a temple square, for example. Another advantage was in colonizing new areas, because a legion could already start building a new place. This could just be built around a fort, and it did not even matter whether this was a permanent fort or a temporary fort."

    "What''s the difference between those forts?"

    "What are you thinking about, Aulis?" asks Dew, but Floris already answers.

    "A temporary fort was, as the name suggests, temporary. Often made of wood and earth. A permanent fort began as a temporary fort, but all the buildings and walls were then slowly replaced by stone."

    "Right, so if we draw such a fort on our map, then we can actually plan a city exactly like the old empire used to do? Or do we lack the information to do that?"

    "I don''t have the plans at hand here, but they can probably be found in Centurion''s library."

    "Well, then I think the best thing we can do is pay a visit to Centurion, Dew. Or do you think the three of us can come up with a better approach to the new Arana than the old empire?"

 TNLB2 6 - Logistics Part 5

    62 - Logistics Part Five

    Alyena is waiting in front of the meeting room at the army headquarters. A few moments ago, a clerk ran inside to report her arrival to the generals, who are in a meeting. Instead of opening the door immediately for his empress, the clerk muttered that he would notify the generals of her arrival.

    However, that was a few moments ago, and Alyena''s patience is starting to run out. But then just before she decides to throw open the door herself, it is opened.

    "Welcome, your majesty," General Dwain greets her with a smile. "I apologize that you had to wait, but me and my colleagues were involved in an intense discussion and the clerk didn¡¯t dare to interrupt us."

    "That''s not a problem, General, although your clerk would have done better to give me immediate access."

    "That''s the protocol, your majesty. Every visitor must be announced before access can be granted."

    "Hhmpf, maybe for every the other visitors, but this is your empress. After all, this is her empire, her city and her army," says Captain Cervik, who is also present.

    Stately, as is expected of an empress, Alyena walks into the room. Around an oval table sit General Colling and five commanders.

    "Let me introduce you," begins General Dwain, who rushes around Alyena. "You already know General Colling, and the commanders are from left to right Meer, Bos, Molen, Zale and Quinn. We were just discussing the defense of the new southern border."

    "The new border? Explain that to me, General."

    The general seems to be somewhat flustered by this question.

    "You were already aware of that, weren''t you, your majesty? To prevent the entire empire from being overrun, we have withdrawn all our units to a defensive position near the city of Borna. There we can make optimal use of the natural boundary of the Ancient Forest and the wilderness. At the old border were only a few units left to keep up appearances, and according to the reports, they were already under pressure from the Chakras. Those messages are already a few days old, so I fear that at this point the border will have already fallen. I think we will soon hear from the refugees how things are going."

    Alyena can''t help but smile when the general is done with his depressive story.

    "I''m afraid your information is a bit outdated, General. I have just learned that the original border still holds. My own unit, the New Legion, has managed to save the city of Linh by striking back one of Chakra''s armies. After that their entire attack collapsed, and all the armies of Chakra in the south have retreated to their own territory. From what I understand, the commander of the New Legion has already asked if the warriors in the south can return to their positions. The danger seems to have passed for now."

    For a moment it is quiet in the room, but then General Colling reacts. "You mean that those citizens acted against their orders? I think the plan was clear: Everyone had to retreat to the new border."

    "You have to admit Colling, that unit was not included in the southern armies. So they would not have received those orders," General Dwain replies.

    "That doesn''t matter, they have endangered the entire empire with their antics. I suggest that they be held accountable immediately."

    "I''m afraid you didn¡¯t interpret my message correctly, General." Alyena responds to these strange statements by the generals, "the point is that the southern border still holds. There is no need for a new border, and certainly no border where we have to give up a quarter of the empire."

    "My apologies, your majesty, it was not our intention to display your good news so negatively, but the fact remains that we had to change the border for a reason. Our empire simply does not have enough warriors to guard that extensive border. Not if they are as heavily contested as the northern border. If we waste too many warriors to guard the weak southern border, there is a chance that we could lose the entire war."

    "Maybe General Dwain, but I never agreed with that decision. Now that my legion has saved the border, you can call all the units back to their old positions. In my opinion, there will not be a really big attack as long as most of the Chakran army is camping in the north."

    "We still have a shortage of warriors, your majesty. The advantage of the new border was that we could send some of the warriors from the south to the north to reinforce them and to keep all those refugees in check. It seems to be quite chaotic over there, with all those people living in tents near the border."

    "For the refugees, as you call those people, I do have a solution. I have seen for myself that the province of Aran is very sparsely populated. We should let those people settle in Aran, so you no longer have to use warriors to keep order. And isn''t it true that there are also new units in training at the moment?"

    "Yes, your majesty, three of the commanders who are here with us are in command of a unit in training."

    "That''s great, then that''s solved. You ensure that the old border in the south is restored, I will ensure that your refugees get a new home, and with a bit of luck we will soon be able to deploy your newly trained warriors where they are needed. They could even guard some of the passes to the ice plains. Perhaps as their first mission with some trained warriors to coach them? We''ll discuss that later."

    Alyena bids farewell to the generals, and accompanied by Captain Cervik, she walks back to her reception room.

    "That was a good idea, your majesty, to send those people to Aran province. There is more than enough work for them there and they will probably feel better there than twiddling their thumbs at the army camps."

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    "I concur. Those people have already lost everything, this is the least we can do. And in addition, there are virtually no lands owned by our nobles in that province. So there is less chance that these people will suffer from this."

    "Yes, that is a big difference with the provinces on the west coast. There, almost every square meter of land is owned by some nobleman."

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    When the alarm sounds, Raidon is rudely awakened from his sleep.  "What now," he grumbles as he quietly puts on his pants.

    Then the tent flap is suddenly pulled open.

    "Captain, you must come at once!"

    "Yes soldier, I already thought so with that alarm that you hear so loudly. I assume the Chakras are attacking somewhere again?"

    "Of course captain, and yes captain."

    When the soldier doesn¡¯t continue, Raidon asks while putting on his boots: "Which fort is being attacked now? Probably another one of the furthest forts, maybe fort 1?"

    "Well no captain, that''s the problem. A small group of Chakras has slipped past the forts somewhere and is now causing mischief behind our lines."

    "Shit, that sounds worse than. Tell Captain Morris that he and his cavalrymen have to get ready, I will get there as soon as possible."

    The afternoon is coming to an end when Morris finally returns. He is covered in soot and blood.

    "What happened Morris, did you eat roasted Chakanen on the way back?"

    "Ha ha, very funny, Raidon." Morris sighs wearily. "We can''t go on like this. I lost three men again. This group got it in their heads to try and start as many fires as they could. Fortunately, it is not the middle of summer, because then it would have spread across the plains. Thanks to the winter rains, the fires were contained to the farms they burned."

    "I know it¡¯s difficult Morris, but as long as the regular troops are not back, there is not much else we can do."

    "Then we have to come up with something to reduce the pressure. In this way, we can never stand our ground. A few more such attacks, and I won¡¯t have enough cavalrymen to stop them. The forts also barely have enough men to keep it up."

    "Well let''s start making a plan. You go have a bath, I will see you in my tent later. I will provide a bottle of wine and some food."

    "Seems like a plan to me."

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    "Gareth, we''ve been searching for days in those musty old books. Can''t we go back to work in the forge?"

    "And then what, Andre?" Gareth replies, "Every time we make a part for a harness, it disintegrates. I''m not going to make all that junk for nothing. That is not only a waste of time, it also costs us a lot of coal that we cannot easily replace. So until we know the right way to bless the parts, we¡¯ll keep searching."

    Andre and the others groan when they hear this answer. Together they dive back into the dusty books. While his acolytes are busy with books about the blessings, he himself is searching for a handbook for the priests. There is still so much he needs to know before he can really feel like a priest of Mithras.

    "GARETH!" it suddenly sounds through the forge and the attached chapel.

    With a deep sigh, Gareth puts his book down again. That will be Brandon again, he thinks.

    Indeed, he sees the broad captain standing in the forge. "It''s a good thing that only priests and acolytes can enter the chapel here. Otherwise we would be distracted even more often than we already are," he murmurs in front of him.

    "What did you say?" asks Brandon.

    "Nothing important, captain. I''m actually happy to smell fresh air. Shall we go for a walk?"

    "Hmm," Brandon hums, "I breathe that cold air all the time. But I understand that you don''t get around to that. How does it go with those spells?"

    "They''re not spells, you know that. But to answer your question, no, we still haven''t found out why we can''t bless new parts. Nothing is written about breaking, creasing, dents or other defects after blessing."

    "Well I hope you find something soon. I have over two hundred recruits training with sandbags instead of real harnesses! That¡¯s okay for the short term, but when they are ready to be promoted to soldier, they will still have to get used to a real harness. As you know yourself, it is quite a difference to live with or without armor. Those sandbags will help a bit, but whether it is of much use we¡¯ll have to see."

    "I know, I know. We do everything we can, but it is not easy. There are dozens of books in the chapel, not to mention the library. We have to be very lucky to find the missing piece of information."

    Brandon suddenly looks at him in amazement. "What do you mean by lucky? Don''t you remember how Raidon found out he was the boss in the beginning? Didn''t you try to ask Mithras for advice?"

    With a jerk, Gareth stands. "That I didn''t think of that myself! I have to try it!"

    Brandon starts to chuckle, "and he calls himself a priest. Go and see what Mithras has to say about this."

    Without looking back, Gareth quickly returns to the forge. Once there, he calls the acolytes together.

    "Guys, come here. Brandon had an idea, which we should have thought of earlier. We are going to ask Mithras for advice."

    When everyone has gathered around the altar, Gareth begins.

    "Oh Mithras, god of legions, please hear us." After a moment of silence, he continues: "Oh Mithras, help us in our need. Our knowledge is insufficient to finish your creations. Please help us with the knowledge to make new harnesses. Our colleagues desperately need these, both our newest colleagues during practice and our colleagues and friends in the war. Oh Mithras, please help us."

    For a moment, everyone holds their breath. However, when nothing happens, the acolytes start to become restless. Then Gareth suddenly sees something out of the corner of his eye.

    When he turns around, he sees that the book he had been reading before Gareth called him is starting to light up. He almost stumbles in his haste to the lectern with the book. After browsing for a while, he arrives at the glowing page.

    The acolytes look at him with excitement. But when Gareth''s face clouds over, they start to lose hope.

    "This is a piece I''ve read before. It simply says that a priest must perform the blessings." Gareth exclaims indignantly. "We did that every time!"

    However, one word keeps lighting up a little longer. "Why does the word ''priest'' keep lighting up?" He asks the others.

    Immediately, the word starts to become less bright, and begins a page further down the book lights up. Gareth quickly turns the pages. The page is almost at the end of the book. Gareth reads aloud:

    "To attain the rank of captain-priest, or an accomplished priest, the sergeant-priest must know the first three books of knowledge, have spoken the first three oaths of the priesthood, and taken the first step on the road to enlightenment."

    "Well, at least we know what the problem is," Andre says first, "none of us is a real priest, not even you, sergeant."

    "You''re right Andre, but what can we do about it? Those books of knowledge aren¡¯t a problem. They will be here among the others. I assume that those oaths are also somewhere. But what is the road to enlightenment? I''ve never heard of that."

    The others shake their heads. No one knows what that means. Only Andre suddenly starts laughing.

    "You know, Gareth, this means you still have to spend your time with your nose in those dusty books, but we get to play with fire in the forge. Then when you have found that knowledge, you can bless everything all at once."

    Gareth lets out a deep sigh. "You''re right Andre, but you understand that you guys are the ones who have to hear Brandon¡¯s whining. Those recruits of his may as well start wearing armor that has not yet been blessed. His problem was mainly about the weight and getting used to moving in them."

    Andre''s smile freezes on his face. He knows very well that the big captain will haunt them until they have finished those two hundred harnesses.

 TNLB2 7 - Plans Part 1

    63 ¨C Plans Part One

    After thinking about it, Raidon also invites his sergeants and the other cavalry captain to his tent. Even before Morris has returned from washing, Ice, Mateo, Owen, Liam and Mark are standing at attention in his tent.

    "Relax, men. I have called you here to make plans for the future, but we¡¯ll do so in an informal way. So find a spot and grab a cup of wine. We''ll wait a little longer for Morris and Harris."

    The sergeants all grab a stool and then sit down at the folding table. Morris managed to scavenge it from the fort the previous day. Officially it is a table for the commander, but since there is currently no commander there, he does not need it either.

    "Ah," Morris notes as he enters last, "I didn¡¯t steal the commander''s map from the fort for nothing."

    The sergeants look up as Morris mentions the map, and after looking specifically for a map, it catches their eye.

    On the table is a large map of the southern border. Not only the border is on it, but also the entire area from the border to Peredur and from the ocean to the Ancient Forest.

    Raidon looks at his people one by one.

    "Gentlemen, we are facing a big problem. As you know, the entire border is under severe pressure. The regular troops haven''t returned yet, and even when they get back, they probably can''t fend off a strong attack.

    What you see here on the map are the well-known regiments of Chakra."

    Raidon puts a double handful of wooden warriors on the map with a red stripe around their waist.

    Then he picks up a handful of warriors with a blue stripe.

    "These are the regiments of the regular army, when they arrive. As you can see, even after all their losses, Chakra has at least double the number of warriors here in the south than we have."

    "But how did this happen, Captain?" Sergeant Ice asks, "wherever the Chakras attack, they are in the majority everywhere."

    "That''s easy to explain. Before the war, about twice as many warriors were stationed here. That is, about five thousand warriors at each fort with a reserve in Linh. However, after the surprise attack in the north, more than half of the troops were sent there to reinforce the northern army. After all, there was never a real threat here."

    "But why has Chakra never attacked here? The border here is twice as long as in the north, but all the battles of the last hundred years have been fought there."

    "That has to do with Chakra''s policy," Morris replies for Raidon, "instead of a series of defenses and fortifications like we have, Chakra has destroyed an area more than a mile wide on their side of the border. All the trees have been cut down and the earth has been sprinkled with salt. Thus, they have created a desert where nothing grows anymore. As a result, it is impossible to enter the country unseen. The only positive thing is that the Chakras have been lazy in one thing. They could have extended that desert anywhere up to the Nirj River, but in most places there is a small patch of greenery on this side of the river.

    All the Chakran army has to do to stop an invasion is to send out some scouts, while the rest can sit quietly in their only fortified fortress. I don''t think I need to tell you that Falwyn has never tried such an attack."

    "Right," Raidon takes over again, "while the Chakras only need enough warriors to defend a single fort, we have to man and maintain a whole series of defenses. However, it was never necessary to leave large garrisons here. No army can would think about leaving thousands of warriors in their forts and push on to the country. Then they would have an army at their backs that would simultaneously blocks their supplies. And when several garrisons join together, they form a joint army that is strong enough that each enemy general would think twice. Furthermore, a very large army is needed to defeat a well-entrenched enemy. With proper preparation, the forts can probably kill five or more men for every warrior who falls."

    "If the situation has been the same for more than a hundred years, why is it suddenly different now?"

    "There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the garrisons have been halved, severely reducing the danger to the back of an invading army and seriously affecting the resilience of the forts. Secondly, Chakra normally has only one army in the south, which consists of about ten thousand warriors. At the moment we know of three armies that are in the vicinity of the border, although one of them is undermanned, and there may even be more on the way. And third, it''s not just the forts that are understaffed. The generals have used almost all reserves to strengthen the north. So there is no one to reinforce a fort or to stop an army while the garrisons attack from the back."

    "Except for us."

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    "Indeed, except for us. To sum up, we have half of the warriors needed, and Chakra has triple and more to deploy. Our task now is to come up with something that gives us a chance to win the war."

    "To win? Don''t you mean to stand our ground, Captain?"

    "No Liam, just standing our ground is not enough. That is the first possibility, but in the end we have to end this war."

    After this explanation of the situation, the officers look at the map. Not much more is said now, everyone is lost in their own thoughts.

    Eventually, Sergeant Ice breaks the silence.

    "Can''t we adjust the defensive line?"

    "What are you thinking about?"

    "Well, if we leave the forts as they are, and build the standard defenses between the forts, you know, canals, ramparts, stakes, the whole shebang, then a smaller unit at any point can stop a way stronger attack."

    "That would be possible, but even then we don''t have enough people to protect that line. The border is simply too long. That¡¯s exactly what they are doing in the north. It¡¯s quite possible that that''s why the Chakran armies are trying their luck here."

    "What if we could disrupt supplies?" Captain Harris asks no one in particular, "without supplies, they cannot carry out an attack. Then we will at least gain some time."

    "How do you want to do that? They have enough supplies stored in Fort Shi to maintain those three armies for several months. And that fort is not only deep in enemy territory, there are also three armies around it."

    "Simple, we lure them away."

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    "I have to admit that I''m not good at this." John tells his squad mates.

    "Well you have to admit sergeant, there is little we can do to change the situation. Until the rest of the army is here, we''re stuck running around chasing all those raids."

    "Yes, and that''s the problem. We¡¯re always too late to do anything. And don''t call me a sergeant. You know that no one outside our squad knows that I am not a squad leader, apart from Captain Raidon."

    "Sorry squad leader John. Ever since your promotion you just have such an overweight on us that I can''t hold back."

    John looks at the soldier scathingly. "Are you saying I''m fat?"

    "Well squad leader John, all that new authority of yours you has to settle somewhere."

    "In that case," John replies with a mean smile, "we just have do some extra strength training exercises with the entire squad. We''ll see if the rest is so happy with that loose mouth of yours."

    Now the other men of the squad look angrily at the loose-lipped soldier. None of them are excited to do extra heavy exercises.

    Then the tent flap is pulled open.

    "Squad leader John, you are expected at the captain¡¯s."

    Later that afternoon, John and his men find themselves a long way south.

    "Why did we have to march to this fort to speak to the commander?" One of the men complains. "Not that I don''t like the smell of the sea here, but the other forts were a lot closer.

    "Because those were our orders, Maarten. The captain had to have a good reason to send us here without arousing suspicion. We were not sent because our squad consists of such sweethearts."

    "So there''s another reason we''re here? What¡¯s that?"

    "We''ll find out later. The captain has urged me to go to our second destination before I open his other orders."

    "So even more walking. When will that stop?"

    "If you would keep your mouth shut for a few minutes, Maarten, you would already see our destination right in front of you."

    "Uhm, but John, that''s the sea..."

    "Right, you''ve seen correctly. Shall I see what our orders are?"

    John picks up a roll of paper, after which he carefully breaks the seal. When he has read the orders, he gives a brief summary to his men:

    "Apparently our captain is planning to make a new defensive position. Actually, we are the ones who are going to make it. We have to make a neat harbor here where our ships can dock, complete with palisade, ditch and space to house two companies. We can decide ourselves how we do it, as long as there is a fortified port here in the end."

    For a few minutes it remains silent, while the men take on this news. There are only ten of them, and this job can take days, if not weeks.

    "John, how long do we have to do that?"

    "Hmm, it''s not exactly described here, except that we have to be ready when the warship arrives here. That''s what, a week and a half?"

    "that¡¯s impossible!"

    "Not if we keep standing here, you layabouts. Get to work!"

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    "You can go in." The secretary of Linh''s commander sounds surly when he finally lets Morris in. For the past three hours, Morris has been twiddling his thumb in the waiting area, while other people have been given priority with a visit to the commander.

    "Ah, Mr. Morris. You had an urgent reason to speak to me, I heard."

    "Yes, commander, that is why I must also report that I find it extremely unsettling that you make me wait so long. It is not for nothing that I indicated that it¡¯s urgent."

    "That may well be Mr. Morris, but I am still the commander of this city. Therefore, I will determine what is important and what is not. Since you could not indicate why your visit is so urgent, I could not give you priority."

    "But that''s idiotic! I''m here in a military capacity, you can''t expect me to pass on important information to any random clerk. The information and request I have are only for your ears. There is already far too much information that ends up with the Chakras in a strange way."

    "Well, if this is so important, I''d get to the point if I were you."

    "You are right, we do not have time for bickering about the correct way to handle this. I came here  to ask if you could spare some of your warriors to help secure the border. My commander, Captain Raidon, has drawn up a solid plan to keep the Chakras at bay. For this, however, he needs more people than he can free up at the moment. Also, the border forts are severely understaffed and cannot spare any warriors."

    "I can be very brief about that request, Mr. Morris. Your Captain Raidon may ask a lot, but I can''t spare any of my warriors. As you may know from our previous conversations, I myself have very few warriors to defend this city. If I also have to send part of those few warriors to reinforce you, I won''t have anyone left."

    Morris lets out a deep sigh. In fact, he had already expected this answer. After all, he has already met with the four commanders of the border forts. The only option now is to implement the plan with a smaller unit.

    With a heavy heart, Morris climbs his horse a little later. Raidon can speak easily that the plan can be carried out with only the soldiers and cavalry of the New Legion, but he himself has his reservations.

    As he drives towards the gate with his escort of four cavalrymen, he suddenly sees a unit of warriors entering the city. The first of the recalled units have arrived.

 TNLB2 8 - Plans Part 2

    64 - Plans Part Two

    Aulis lets out a deep sigh.

    "I''m glad we''re almost through the mountains. I almost can''t feel my buttocks anymore. The seat of this cart is way too hard to sit on."

    "You¡¯re whining, Aulis," Dew replies. "Have you ever driven a cart on the roads in Aran. Those little tracks that are often called a road there are more potholes than road. I know someone who was even thrown off of his own cart once because he drove too fast on such a road."

    "That¡¯s swell, but we could have brought a few cushions. Or just wait for a ship to take us to Centurion."

    "Ha, I thought I was the old man here. You are a young boy, you can take some bouncing around. When I hear you talk like that, you sound like my grandfather. And weren''t you the one who didn''t want to wait for a ship, and see the road from Arana to Centurion?"

    Aulis lets out a deep sigh.

    "You''re right Dew, but then I thought the road was in a better condition than I''m finding out."

    "It could have been worse. If we hadn''t removed all that vegetation, we would have had to go off the road for whole sections."

    "That''s it, we have removed all those trees and shrubs, but there is still so much earth and other junk on the road that it¡¯s still quite difficult to pass in some places."

    "Yes, but what do you want to do about that? We could clean those sections, although that is also quite a bit of work, but it will not be long before a lot of debris is back on there."

    "I''m thinking about making a real trade route. The road itself is already there, but because it takes days to drive from Centurion to Arana, it might be a good idea to make some fixed resting places."

    "What did you have in mind?"

    "Well, Right now everyone going from Arana to Centurion and backwards, has to set up their own camp every night. What if we build an inn in different places? If we make those buildings sturdy enough, then they are safe from wild animals that may be there. I was thinking about a few buildings, with a sturdy wooden fence or palisade and a gate in between. In the courtyard that we create in this way, the carts of the traders can be parked safely."

    "I think that that''s a good plan. Right now we spend a lot of time making and breaking camp for the night. If there¡¯s an inn at the end of the day, you could travel longer because you don''t even have to set up camp and cook for yourself. And if you put a few extra horses in the stables, a messenger could also change horses if there is an important message."

    "That''s right! I hadn''t even thought about that. Now, I was thinking about making such a resting place in three locations. We can start building those, and find the innkeepers later. Then the travelers could at least use them, and cook their own food."

    "Why three places? Don¡¯t we need more?"

    "Well, I was thinking it''s about four days of travel from Arana to Centurion. From the far end of the island even five or six days, but nobody lives there yet. If we plan from Arana, I would make one place just before you go into the mountains. That is just a little less than a day''s drive, but then you can have the second day to get through the mountains. Then the second location would be on the other side of the mountains, approximately where we set up camp tonight. Then the third one between here and Centurion. Eventually we can also make one on the other side of Arana, but that is of later concern."

    "Even then, I think three is too little. There are plenty of people who have to walk, or who are held up for whatever reason."

    "It''s not perfect, I know. But we don''t have enough people now to do more. If more people live on the island, those other places will come naturally. As far as I''m concerned, this is the minimum we need to build."

    "Well, this convoy is the first to go overland to Centurion. So it won''t be very busy. I fear that we will have to help the people who are going to man those inns."

    "Why not? Right now we also have to do everything together. In Arana it¡¯s still the case that everyone works for the community. Eventually everyone will buy their own stuff, but that¡¯s something for the future. By that time, the inns may also be able to live off the travelers."

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Ryker is off the coast at Centurion training new people for his ships, called sailors according to the old books. Yesterday a dozen fishermen''s sons arrived in Centurion. These young men, most of them still almost boys, have come from Estera to try their luck on the great ships of the New Legion. At home, like before in Aran, there was a shortage of space on the fishing boats.

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    With these new sailors, Ryker is able to divide his people into two groups. His first mate will take command of the first ship they have commissioned, the merchant ship. This allows Ryker to command the warship for the longer trips to the southern border, while the merchant ship, led by Marcel, takes over the shorter trips between Aran, Arana and Centurion. Maybe if he dares, he can even take a trip to Estera. This could greatly improve trade between these places.

    "Sail on the horizon!" Is suddenly called from the rigging, the ropes that hold the mast upright and with which the sailors can climb up to the sail.

    "What kind of ship is it?" Calls Ryker back.

    "It looks like a fishing boat, captain. I think she''s coming this way."

    "Well, I''m curious what kind of disaster has happened this time. The weekly messenger is not expected until a few days from now." Ryker mumbles to himself.

    A little later it becomes clear that it is indeed a fishing boat, and that it has set course for Ryker''s ship. Soon the ship comes alongside and one of Morris'' cavalrymen comes on board. He actually salutes for Ryker, and in the manner of the legion.

    "So, I see that you are beginning to adopt the mannerisms of the legion. Or are you planning to switch to hoof it?"

    "No sir, Captain Morris thinks it is good if we adapt a bit of the manners of the soldiers of the legion. After all, we are hardly part of the regular army anymore."

    "Right, I can agree with that. If everyone follows different rules, misunderstandings quickly arise. But I assume you''re here to speak to me?"

    "Yes captain! I apologize for not telling my message right away."

    "Yes, yes, just tell me. I think I was the one who just started asking you questions."

    "Well sir, it''s like this. Captain Raidon asks if you can get to the front line as quickly as possible, and even all the way to the border itself. The captain will make sure you have a safe place to dock there for the short time you¡¯ll stay there."

    "Well, I don''t understand much about this yet, but if Captain Raidon needs us we will go to him as soon as possible. On the way to Centurion you can tell me exactly what the plan is. We will still have to stock up for a longer trip. Marcel! Set course for Centurion. It looks like you''re getting your new ship sooner than we expected." The latter Ryker shouts over his shoulder to his first mate.

    "Yes captain!" The man answers, after which he immediately changes course.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The afternoon has already arrived when Raidon and First Company come into view of the harbor.

    "Well, John has worked hard." Morris reports to Raidon. He himself can also see a little later what Morris could already see from the top of his horse. Almost nothing is left of the small cove on the coast. At the deepest part of the inlet is a pier built of tree trunks. This one seems quite coarse, but very sturdy. Around the inlet is a palisade, with a moat that connects to the sea. The palisade itself stands on an elevation, and within it there is room for a hundred tents, but at the moment there is only one lonely tent.

    In the distance, Raidon can even spot a sail. "I think we timed this nicely, Morris. I think I can already see Ryker''s ship arriving there."

    "You may be right about that. Unless the pirates come to visit, which seems very unlikely to me."

    Later in the afternoon, Sergeants Owen, Liam and Mark embarked with three full platoons. The seven soldiers who died in Linh''s relief have all been replaced by soldiers from the two platoons that remain behind. Raidon goes through the last things on the pier with Harris, Ice and Mateo. "Sergeant Ice is now in charge of the two platoons that remain behind. Mateo, of course you are his second, but Ice has a strong insight into combat situations. Harris, when as you''re back, Morris is once again in charge of the cavalry. I hope to see you again in a few weeks, so make sure you survive this!"

    "Of course captain, we are the New Legion. We won''t let ourselves be beaten that easily."

    "Good, and make sure to keep it that way. And now let''s get to work. Morris is expecting you back in the camp at Linh today!"

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Empress Alyena has a difficult discussion with one of her ministers.

    "But your majesty, our nobles are beginning to insist more and more that you must choose someone. At the very least, you should show that you are actually looking, perhaps by throwing parties where you can meet the sons of the lords. That would probably also ensure that they pay their taxes on time. At the moment, confidence in the empire without a successor is very low."

    "Minister Corneel, you have to stop. I have absolutely no intention of getting married yet. I''m young enough to rule for decades more, so I have plenty of time to make sure I have a successor. And if my nobles need feasts to pay their taxes, then something goes completely wrong."

    "Yes, your majesty, but you must also understand that all those young sons who are currently staying in the capital are not here without a reason. They have all been sent to court you."

    Empress Alyena is more than fed up with the direction of the conversation. For weeks, several of her ministers have been saying that they want her to look for a husband. Some even try to impose their own sons.

    "Enough, Minister Corneel. Let''s talk about taxes. You indicate that we will not be able to collect enough this year to pay the entire army?"

    "That''s right, your majesty. My estimates indicate that we need to reduce the pay by almost five percent to have enough left until the next season."

    "How is that possible? I''m sure that during my father''s reign we had more than enough income to pay the army and to boost the treasury. And that while his army was a lot bigger than we can currently deploy."

    "That''s right, your majesty. However, during your father''s reign we had peace for a long time. The truce allowed the country to flourish. Furthermore, we still owned the northern province at that time, and there were not so many new warriors and equipment to be taken care of. When the northern army collapsed, a huge amount of their equipment was lost."

    "But even then we should have more than enough! I can understand that there are expenses to make that lost equipment. That alone can never be enough to both empty the treasury, and ensure that we structurally have too little income. The problem lies somewhere else, and you''re going to figure this out. I want to see a comprehensive report showing where our expenses are, what revenues we have, and also what the differences are from previous years. Call this an annual report, and make sure that from now on this is given to me once a year as standard."

    ¡°But your majesty..¡±

    ¡°No buts, minister. You¡¯ve heard my order and you will comply. I will get to the bottom of this, even if I have to do all the work myself. Now get to it!¡±

    The minister has no option but to do as his empress ordered. Surly he does as he¡¯s told.

    ¡°Yes your majesty.¡±

 TNLB2 9 - Defense Part 1

    </a>65 - Defense Part One

    The coast has been in sight in the north for the entire trip. Only this morning the coastline was out of sight for a few hours. According to Ryker''s map, that¡¯s the bay where the delta of the Great Southern River flows into the ocean.

    "Land in sight, straight ahead!" Is suddenly called.

    Raidon quickly rushes towards the bow of the ship. A little later he can see from the bow what the lookout on top of the mast already saw. The coastline, which is always in the north, suddenly swings a long way into the ocean. It is the beginning of the peninsula. Just a little longer and it''s time to implement the plan.

    "Look, there it is." Is soon shouted by Ryker.

    "Where? I don''t see any difference."

    "If you look closely, you can see that in the distance it looks like the peninsula is ending. That''s not the case, but that''s how it seems. According to my map, the coast of the peninsula runs from east to west again, until at the end it almost separates the two parts of the country. Because of that bite from the coast it now seems as if the peninsula is already ending, but in a few minutes we will be able to see the bulge of the last part in the distance."

    "And on that last part is the village we are heading to. It should be a fishing village called Olanca, but we don''t know much more. It has been a long time since we have been able to get accurate information from the Chakran territory."

    "Right, I think we''ll be there in half an hour, so maybe it''s an idea to inform your men."

    Ryker''s sense of timing turns out to be right. Less than half an hour later, a beach can be seen where three small fishing boats have been pulled onto the sand.

    Because it is dangerous to sail any longer, Ryker has his men put the sail away stick out the oars. At exactly the same time, the muscular sailors stick out the oars, and on the orders of the first mate they begin to row.

    Although it is hard to believe, the warship is now starting to gain even more speed.

    Like a knife, the prow cuts through the waves.

    But then they''re there. When Ryker gives the signal to his first mate, he orders the oars to point into the air. Now nothing can happen.

    Although not as easy as the waves, the prow also cuts a deep notch in the loose sand. With a shock, the ship comes to a stop.

    Raidon, who, like his men, was almost knocked over by the abrupt stop, immediately runs to the side of the ship. Impatiently, he waits for the sailors to throw a large net overboard, with their colleagues doing the same on the other side.

    When the net finally reaches into the water, Raidon is the first to climb overboard. Not that he necessarily always wants to be first, or necessarily wants to lead by going in front everywhere, but more because he still doesn''t feel one hundred percent comfortable on the water.

    Because the beach here reaches deep into the water, the water does not get higher than his hips. That makes walking a bit more difficult, but he has no problem to wade through to dry land. Just behind Raidon, the other soldiers follow. As individuals, they struggle onwards.

    Once they are in the loose sand, the three sergeants call for their men.

    "Third platoon, line up with me." "Fourth platoon..." "Fifth platoon..."

    Disciplined as they are, they are neatly in line in the blink of an eye.

    Meanwhile, Raidon is looking around to see where to go next. Wherever he looks, the beach flows into a forest.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    "This looks like the wilderness, there is so much vegetation between those trees. Are we sure we have to go through this?" Sergeant Liam asks.

    "You see those boats, right? If those fishermen can walk to the village with their catch, then surely we should be able to do the same in our harnesses?" answers Raidon dryly.

    "Let''s see where we have to go. Those boats are in the southwest, so I assume there will be a path in that direction somewhere. Liam, because you are so afraid of blackberry bushes, you can lead the way with your platoon."

    When they near the fishing boats they can clearly see that there actually is a path through the forest. With Liam and third platoon in front, the soldiers make their way on the path. It is clear that it is not made for carts or for large groups of people, but with two men next to each other, the soldiers manage.

    Raidon himself marches with Mark and fifth peloton, who are last. Because John leads the fifth squad of the fifth peloton, it is easier to give him his orders.

    "Mark, I want you to order squad leader John and his squad to fall out and follow their own path. They are used to wandering through the wilderness and we could use some more information."

    "Yes, captain. Squad leader John, forward!"

    When John arrives in front of the two officers a few seconds later, the sergeant immediately passes on Raidon''s command.

    "You and your squad can take the scenic route. Make your way around the village, and try to search as much of the area as possible. You know what''s important, move out."

    "Don''t you think that was a bit exaggerated, sergeant? Squad leader John knows very well how to perform his task."

    "In my experience, it''s better to be too extensive with the orders than to let people come up with something themselves. The protocols are there for a reason."

    "Hmm," Raidon hums, "we differ on that, but I''m sure John will figure it out."

    A little later, the column stops. Practiced as they are, it doesn''t become a mess when the front platoon suddenly stops. Within a single step, the entire column is also at a standstill.

    Raidon makes his way forward on the side of the path. Right now he¡¯s really happy to be wearing his armor, because on the side of the path all kinds of bushes protrude.

    When he finally arrives at Sergeant Liam''s position, he is covered in the traces of the vegetation.

    "Well, you have something to clean up tonight, Captain. Your armor is covered in green smudges."

    "Yeah, laugh, this mess is even harder to clean up than blood. With my luck this stuff will be sticky, so it¡¯ll stain my uniform as well."

    "The troubles of command. Maybe we should have hired some people to clean the harnesses for us."

    "Keep dreaming, Sergeant. Taking care of your equipment is an important task. Or do you want to have what keeps you alive in a fight maintained by someone you don''t know?"

    "No, now that you say it like that, not really."

    "That''s what I mean. Now, can we continue with what we came here for, or do you want to take a break first?"

    The sergeant knows better than to open his mouth. After the sharp remarks of his captain, he is already afraid that he has gotten on his bad side.

    From the front, Raidon can see the beginning of the village. It is clearly a small village that has to make do with fishing. There are perhaps a dozen houses where nets hang almost everywhere, and where that morning''s catch is drying. Here and there you can also see the residents who are busy with their daily work.

    "Let''s just march into the village. It seems like there is little that can stop us. Forward!"

    The inhabitants of the village of Olanca are shocked. Here in this far off corner of the country they have almost never seen warriors. Once a season the tax collector comes, and even he almost never has guards with him. And now suddenly here are these heavily armed metal giants.

    What Raidon notices is that there is no screaming. He had expected the women to scream, and the men to react aggressively. But nothing could be further from the truth. These simple people react very practically. The women gather their children, who look with admiration at the soldiers of the New Legion. The men gather, after which the village elder approaches Raidon.

    "My name is Mart, I am the village elder of Olanca. May I ask you what you are here for?"

    "But of course good sir. We are part of the New Legion of Falwyn. I fear that from this moment on you are no longer under the empire of Chakra. As part of the war that our empires are engaged in, we have decided that your village will be a nice addition to Falwyn."

    The village elder shrugs his shoulders.

    "Go ahead. As long as we are not bothered by you, we don¡¯t care all that much. Here on our peninsula we notice little of that war. Even the tax collectors don''t always find us, so this won''t be a big change either. Can we maybe sell you some fish?"

    The capture of the village has not proven to be a difficult task. When John and his men return a little later, Raidon is already waiting for them.

    "Have you learned anything special about the village? Or will we go straight to the narrow part of the peninsula."

    "I think I can catch you up while walking. Let''s see how we''re going to dig in here."

    While Raidon and his men take it easy and prepare for the march to their final destination, one of the villagers secretly leaves the village. This young man has been having bad luck this past year, thanks to his boat being knocked over during a sudden storm. As a result, he could not pay the dowry for the girl he wanted to marry.

    Now he hopes to sell the information about this invasion to the Chakran army. They would probably want to pay a lot of money for that.

 TNLB2 10 - Defense Part 2

    66 - Defense Part Two

    "The indication of the induction of the blessing to distort the acquired property can be recognized by..." Gareth mumbles as he sits in the dim room leafing through one of the books. He feels like he''s been stuck with his nose in these dusty old books for weeks. This last book is by far the hardest to understand. Some words, sentences and sometimes entire chapters are so complicated that he can''t make much out of them. This last sentence is another example of that. The only thing he can tell from it is that it has to do with the extra skills that some legionaries have. He himself is an example of this, since he became a priest and therefore had to have the necessary skills to be able to forge the armor, among other things. Another example is Raidon with his quick insights on the battlefield, or Brandon with the ease with which he can manage a large location such as Centurion.

    There must be an easier way, Gareth thinks. Until now, it hasn''t been that complicated to read a manual. I don''t think Raidon and Brandon had much trouble getting a higher rank. Maybe I should visit Brandon, he might have an insight about how to deal with these twisted books.

    An hour later, Gareth and Brandon are in the building they claimed as a canteen. While enjoying a beer, the two can relax and discuss Gareth''s difficulties. After Gareth explains what his problems are, Brandon responds:

    "Okay, so you have a hard time learning for priesthood. That looks suspiciously like the problems that some team leaders report. From what I have been able to find about the promotions, there are a number of causes. First, you may have achieved the highest rank that''s right for you, but we know that''s not the case with you. Secondly, it may be that there are simply no positions available in the legion, we can hardly have a platoon with fifty sergeants of course, which is not the case at the moment. Thirdly, it may be that the information is too difficult for you, in other words that you lack something in the knowledge that you need to understand it. I suspect this is the case with you, you had to do a few things and know how to become a priest, right? Wasn''t one of those things to utter some oath or some such? Maybe the intention is that you take those oaths first, and that you can only learn more afterwards?"

    "Maybe you''re right," Gareth doesn''t seem convinced yet, "but I haven''t come across anything that shows that those oaths should come first. That''s not normally the way to do it, is it?"

    "You might be mistaken, Gareth. When we joined the New Legion, we also had to speak a number of oaths. The people of the regular army had quite a lot of trouble with our manuals back then, while they were quite easy for us to understand. Perhaps it is only by speaking your new oaths that you will truly join the priesthood."

    "If you put it like that, it actually sounds quite logical. I will immediately start looking for the oaths, then we can test your idea."

    "Well, I''d drink my beer first if I were you. A few minutes of delay doesn''t really matter one way or another."

    That evening Gareth can be found in the large library. With the help of the acolytes, he has searched the smaller library in the sanctuary to find any books that held the oaths. Unfortunately, they can¡¯t find anything. Gareth hopes that a copy of the book he needs might be found here in this huge library. However, this space is so huge that it can take weeks before he has found the right book.

    For the seventh time, Gareth has found a book that looks promising. When he takes it to the librarian''s book stand, he soon sees that this book is not the right one either.

    "Damn, I wish Mithras would help find the right book. There is so much we have to rediscover that a little extra help would be welcome."

    He hasn''t ended that sentence or it starts to get a lot darker in the library. Gareth quickly looks to see if any of the candles have gone out, but they are all still burning.

    "ALTHOUGH YOUR PRAYER COULD BE BETTER, I WILL FORGIVE YOU FOR THAT NEGLIGENCE THIS TIME, PRIEST OF ME. HOWEVER, NEXT TIME I EXPECT THE RESPECT THAT IS DUE."

    Gareth is shocked when that thundering voice suddenly roars through the library. This is the first time Mithras has spoken to him personally, and the experience is jarring.

    "Uhm, thank you Mithras, I will do my best to serve you to the best of my ability."

    Slowly the darkness recedes, but not before Gareth sees a light shining at the end of the central corridor. By now he knows how Mithras offers his knowledge, so he quickly runs down the hall to the glowing book. Without taking the time to walk back to the book stand, Gareth opens the book on the ground while kneeling next to it. As soon as he opens the book, it falls open on the right page. At a glance, he sees that this is a list of exactly what oaths are to be spoken for each rank of the priesthood. When he quickly looks through it, he sees that the rest of the book is a whole manual for training new priests.

    "I should have known," Gareth replied with a deep sigh, "all this time we''ve been struggling with random books, and it turns out there''s just a manual here that explains everything."

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    Then he rushes to the sanctuary to speak the three oaths. To be sure, he first takes the time to put on his armor, he does not want to offend Mithras again. In the sanctuary, he quickly begins to speak the three necessary oaths.

    "With my strength I protect the weak."

    "Death is just the beginning."

    "I follow the command of Mithras above all else."

    Moments later, a confident Gareth enters the blacksmith''s shop. At a glance, the others see that something has changed. After speaking the oaths, Gareth was immediately promoted to captain-priest.

    "Well boy," begins the old blacksmith Calvus, "now you can start blessing that pile of iron that we have prepared for you, I¡¯d say that it is all in all about a hundred whole harnesses. Then the real work can begin, we still have several hundred young people to provide with appropriate pieces of old iron."

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    Slowly the last guests trickle in. Just a little longer and then Empress Alyena can also enter her own birthday party.

    Despite her previous objections, Alyena has nevertheless succumbed to the arguments of her ministers. A ball, especially one in honor of her birthday, will probably do a lot of good for the morale of her nobles.

    Suddenly, the time is there. "And now our empress and guest of honor of the ball, Empress Alyena!"

    Somewhat nervously, Alyena enters the room in her brilliant blue dress. As soon as she comes into view, the whole hall starts clapping and cheering exuberantly. It looks like a circus in here, thinks the young empress.

    As soon as she stands in front of her throne, she shouts, "Let the party begin!" With that, the greatest attention on her also seems to slacken. Only a few young men seem to have glued their eyes to her. One in particular keeps staring at her, and he is the first to approach her to ask her to dance.

    "My name is Bras Vaughan, may I have this dance of yours."

    Alyena knows more about this young captain than he knows. So she knows that this young man is the same captain who treated the New Legion so badly. Since he was relieved of his post there, the captain has been given some insignificant duties. The only reason the man still serves in the army at all is the great influence of his father. Recently he has been given a unit to prove himself once more, but that too is a rather insignificant appointment. If Alyena remembers correctly, it is one of the old forts that guards one of the passes to the ice plains. They have not been used in years, but Alyena decided some time ago that they need to be refurbished.

    When the dance ends a little later, Alyena is asked to dance by the next young man, and then another. That''s how it goes all evening. Only by occasionally using the excuse of a drink does she manage to get a rest.

    Then it seems to be Bras Vaughan''s turn again to ask her to dance. Quite unexpectedly, however, he asks: "Would you like to take a breath of fresh air on the balcony?"

    "Yes please, I could use a break after all the dancing." Alyena has to laugh about this herself. It is not often that she is moving so intensively for such an extensive time.

    While they walk towards the balcony, Bras takes two glasses of wine from a passing server, giving one of them to Alyena. Gratefully she accepts the wine, being parched from all the dancing.

    "Your guard doesn''t have to follow us all the time, does he?" Bras asks when he sees captain Cervik following them, and when Alyena agrees: "After all, that man is not of the high nobility, his family could almost be called merchants. Maybe you should see if a better man can become the captain of your housekeeper. I myself would not turn down such a position."

    "Captain Cervik has always served me very well. I don''t think I''m ready to replace him."

    "But maybe you could think about having a second person take over some of his tasks?"

    "I don''t know... that might be possible."

    "My father is one of the most important noblemen in the country, and also one of the richest. Maybe we can arrange for him to help you out with some things?"

    "That would be very nice! Your father is usually the one who criticizes my decisions the most."

    "Oh, I know very well how to deal with my father. Together we could handle him just fine, and so could all the other nobles. What do you say? You and I together against the rest?"

    "That doesn¡¯t sound too bad."

    "I would like to hear a yes or a no Alyena, afterwards we shall tell the nobles in the other room. Then they will  change their tune. So are we together?"

    Just as Alyena is about to answer, Captain Cervik storms onto the balcony. "What are you doing here?! Your Majesty, I think it is time for you to withdraw. It looks like you have already consumed quite a lot of alcohol. And this young gentleman should be ashamed to try to take advantage of that. So get out of here!"

    "Who do you think you are! The Empress and I have a get-together, and she has just chosen me to rule alongside her! So be careful what you say, country bumpkin!"

    "Now that''s enough, I heard very well what you were up to, but the Empress didn''t promise you anything. So don¡¯t you get anything in your head!" Captain Cervik grabs Bras Vaughan by the neck, and drags him off the balcony. With a final move, he pushes him into the ballroom. He then turns to Alyena.

    "Your Majesty, it''s time to leave."

    On Alyena''s face, anger and shame compete for the loudest.

    "Cervik, what are you doing! Bras was just trying to help me with his father!"

    "Your Majesty, you really drank too much. Otherwise, you would have immediately seen through the young man''s intentions."

    "Intentions! He wanted to help me!"

    "He wanted you to tell everyone here that you are together. With that, you would have promised to take him as your husband. And if I heard correctly what he was just trying to get you to say is that you would take him as an equal. With that, he would become emperor as soon as you got married. How much power do you think you would have as a woman with him by your side and his father standing behind him?"

    Alyena is quickly starting to sober up thanks to the harsh words of the normally quiet captain. However, before she can answer, General Colling walks onto the balcony.

    "Empress, I need to speak to you urgently. And did I see that spawn of a Voughan being removed hard handed? Did he mess something up again?"

    "General," Alyena replies, "I am not in the mood right now to cross words with you. But yes, young gentleman Vaughan has ridiculed himself again. Tell me what you want now, so I can withdraw."

    "It''s about the New Legion. They are planning something again, because after my warriors came back to the border garrisons, most of those guys withdrew! And no one can tell me where they''re going!"

 TNLB2 11 - Defense Part 3

    67 - Defense Part Three

    Three days later, Aulis and Dew arrive at Centurion. They could have arrived a day earlier, but the drivers did not want to force their tired horses. Upon entering the naval base, the two men don¡¯t know where to look. More than once they are convinced that they could make Arana a great place if they could rebuild it in the style of the old empire.

    A short while later Aulis and Dew finally make their appearance in front of the commander of Centurion. Because Captain Raidon is at the front with part of the New Legion, Captain Brandon is currently the commander of Centurion.

    "Gentlemen, what can I do for you?" he asks as the three of them sit around a table.

    "We¡¯re actually here for two reasons, Captain," Aulis begins, "as mayor of Arana, I am charged with making new houses for the residents. People still live in the old barracks, and it''s time for everyone to have their own place. After consultation with some of my residents, we have come to the conclusion that it is best to rebuild Arana from the ground up. We would like to do this in the style of the old empire. That¡¯s why we hope that you have the building plans to build a city in the old style in your library."

    "Hmm yes, I think that we might have those. There is so much information in the library though, that it will take a while for my people to find those plans."

    "That doesn''t matter. As far as I''ve heard, the beginning is always the same. It starts with a legionary fort, right? In that case, squad leader Floris can certainly help us with setting up such a fort."

    "Hmm, you could be right about that. I do remember something like that. But you were talking about two reasons?"

    "That''s right. The second reason has to do with the road that runs from here through the mountains. We traveled here with the first convoy from Arana. Along the way we have come up with a plan to not only maintain the road, but also to facilitate travel. We had the idea to set up inns in three places, where travelers can spend the night, and messengers can change horses. To do this, however, we need your permission, as we are really only working around Arana."

    "Hmm, you have big plans to improve the island, don''t you? Despite your young age, you come up with some good plans. I may have a solution for you. This island used to have its own governor. I myself think that this island, thanks to the mountains, is far too inconvenient to be controlled by one person. That''s why I was thinking about splitting the area in two, with the mountains as a separation. Now, however, I think we should do that at a later time. If I appoint you to make those improvements, could you also come up with some plans on this side of the mountains? We ourselves don¡¯t have the time for it, thanks to the war with Chakra."

    "What do you have in mind, Captain?"

    "To be honest, I don''t have any plans as of yet. Captain Raidon is the one who devised the plan to rebuild the entire island to support the New Legion, but he was called away before he could make any concrete plans. That means that as far as I''m concerned, you have a free hand to rebuild this island."

    "That''s quite a job, captain. We are already struggling in Arana to make the village independent. Let alone the rest of the island."

    "Well, as we have already agreed, the New Legion can help to cover the costs. We can also offer some manpower. I assume that you need a lot of muscle for all the projects you come up with. Just make sure you let me know about all current affairs."

    "Thank you for your support, Captain. I think that together with Dew here and squad leader Floris of the garrison in Arana I will think about what we can do for the island. For now though, we will return to Arana as soon as we have the build plans. When we have a concrete plan, I will let you know.¡±

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    When Morris rides through the gate of the camp at the head of the column, Captain Harris is already waiting for him. Harris and his ten cavalrymen guarded the camp, while the others were on their way to the new port. While the cavalrymen go to take care of their horses, and the legionaries go to their tents to take care of their armor and recover from the long morning march, Morris addresses the other captain.

    "Good afternoon Harris, are there any new developments?"

    "No, it''s been pretty quiet for the last twenty-four hours."

    "Strange, after all this time being under attack with short intervals, and now it suddenly remains quiet? Maybe they''re preparing a bigger attack. Your men''s horses are still fresh, so if you don¡¯t mind inform the fort to prepare? Then they can send messengers to the other forts."

    Even before Harris has turned around to send someone on his way, a loud alarm sounds from the nearby fort. Sheepishly, he looks at Morris: "I think they received the message."

    As soon as the alarm sounds, it is suddenly a hustle and bustle in the camp again. Soldiers who have just taken off their armor have to put them back on immediately. Some had even gone to the canteen to see if there was anything to eat. Others had taken off their dirty uniforms to wash them, but they too now have to put their wet uniforms back on quickly. Despite this chaos, it doesn''t take long for all ninety-three soldiers to be ready for action.

    Morris stands at the eastern gate, from where he has a good view of the border fort. From the flags that the Chakras carry, he can see that this is an attack by two regiments. That is a lot bigger than they have done lately. Suddenly he sees that a group of about two hundred warriors breaks away from the rest and moves towards the camp.

    "Pay attention men, there are a few coming here!" He shouts at the soldiers near him.

    Moments later, the warriors try to cross the ditch. They don''t find jumping in too difficult, but most of them seem to have a hard time climbing out again. One after the other falls silent with a crossbow bolt in his body.

    After several minutes, the ill-considered attack is stopped and the Chakras withdraw until they are out of reach of the crossbows. Nearly forty bodies are left in the ditch.

    Morris soon sees that a bunch of men are sent back to the main force. They probably saw that despite the strong defenses, there are only a few soldiers in the camp.

    Not much later, his prediction is proven true. Almost the entire attack on the fort is stopped and the two regiments of Chakran warriors rush to the camp of the New Legion.

    Because the Chakras intended to take the fort, the main force actually has the necessary siege weapons with them. Fortunately, these are not the heavy weapons found in the legion''s books, such as catapults, trebuchets, and siege towers. The Chakras mainly carry ladders with them, and a single battering ram.

    "Men pay attention, they can only use half of those ladders if they want to get over the ditch, so get most of the soldiers away from the west and north walls. That ram can still be a problem, so let Ice be ready with two teams as a flying brigade. Send Sergeant Mateo this way to take command of the walls, and send Harris and his cavalrymen to the stables." Two soldiers both rush one way along the walls to carry out the orders.

    While Morris and Harris prepare their cavalrymen, there is plenty of fighting at the walls. Thanks to their heavy armor, the soldiers of the New Legion are perfectly equipped to defend a position. As soon as the Chakran warriors get to the top of the ladder, they find the soldiers there with their two-handed weapons. These are almost impossible to fend off while the warriors are on the ladders, and also the ladders are occasionally damaged if a war axe or war hammer hits a rung. In addition, they are also constantly bombarded by the soldiers with their crossbows who are not under attack.

    At the east gate, things are not looking so well. Because there is no ditch here, the Chakras have been able to bring their battering ram into position. The first time they wave the ram, nothing happens. At the second time, however, the gate doors begin to creak dangerously.

    "That won¡¯t last long men!" Sergeant Ice calls out to his two squads.

    "Squad one, form two rows of contiguous shields, squad two, grab something to get up on so you don¡¯t shoot the others in the back. That cart there would do nicely, and otherwise just grab some crates, then get up there with your crossbows. As soon as that gate breaks, I want to see a barrage of arrows."

    The soldiers quickly do as they have been told. The first squad divides in two, with the front five putting their shields on the ground and leaning low against them. The other five soldiers are ready to lift their shields and place them diagonally on top of the other shields. This creates a wall of shields that is higher than most men. Between the shields, the soldiers of both rows can stick their swords.

    The other squad, meanwhile, is busy setting up a barrier behind the first squad. Their squad leader has taken sergeant Ice''s command a bit more broadly, and ensures that the barrier can also serve as a fall back point, should the first team be overrun.

 TNLB2 12 - Defense Part 4

    68 - Defense Part Four

    Morris and Harris, meanwhile, have their twenty cavalrymen ready. Because most Chakras attack from the east side, they can slip out with their men through the west gate.

    As quickly as possible, the twenty-two men drive off, and then return to the border fort with a large bow.

    What Morris has noticed, and the commanders of the Chakras have not, is that the attack on the border fort has thinned out to such an extent that there are no longer enough men to keep the garrison inside. The garrison, which still consists of nearly seven hundred warriors, is now held in by between one and two hundred Chakran warriors. However, these, like the main force attacking the New Legion camp, have left their horses under guard, and are currently on foot.

    With loud cries, the two captains and their cavalrymen storm right through the group of Chakras. Due to the speed of the horses, the Chakras do not stand a chance to stop the cavalrymen. Without losing a single man, they break through to the gate of the border fort.

    From the gate, the warriors have seen the attack, and rush to open the gate.

    Meanwhile, the gate of the camp is about to break. Despite the ominous crackle of the gate doors, they still managed to stop the ram quite a few times. With the last hit, however, the head of the ram breaks right through the right door, Now there is a big hole in it. The Chakras adjust their ram slightly, so that the final blow can be given to the closing bar of the gates.

    With an explosion of splinters the bar breaks in half, and the doors swing open a bit. Immediately, five soldiers of the second squad shoot their crossbow bolts through the open gates. This will bring down some of the warriors operating the ram, causing it to fall to the ground.

    Despite this obstacle, the Chakras rush through the gate. At the same time, the men of the first squad also brace themselves, and the second row puts their shields on top of those from the first row.

    For a moment it seems as if the soldiers are being knocked over by the weight of the attacking warriors, but thanks to their heavy armor they manage to stay upright. However, they are pushed back almost a meter. Sergeant Ice, who is in the second row, still almost manages to be beheaded by one of the largest Chakras he has ever seen. With a huge sword, he swings from behind his head to hit the squad leader behind his shield. However, his eyes suddenly seem to pop out of his head as his sword continues to point almost straight up. Both he and his opponent look up, to see that the sword has bitten into the top of the gate.

    Then the other five soldiers of the second squad also shoot their crossbows, with take down several corporals, including sergeant Ice''s opponent. A few moments later, the first five have finished reloading their crossbows and can fire them once more. Slowly the pressure on the first squad becomes a lot less, as the swords of these soldiers also take their toll on the Chakras. The gate slowly begins to fill up with the bodies of slain Chakras.

    The situation on the walls also doesn¡¯t look too good. Although the Chakras have not yet managed to force a breakthrough, the soldiers are slowly starting to become exhausted. The odds of the Chakras compared to the soldiers is enormous, and this time the New Legion does not have the benefit of surprise.

    For Morris, the situation in the camp seems even worse than it really is. The garrison of the border fort was not prepared for his plan, and he feels it takes ages for the warriors to get there.

    When the time finally comes, he charges through the gate at the head of five hundred warriors from the garrison. The besiegers of the garrison, now only about a hundred in total, have no chance of confronting this attack. Immediately after trampling them they move on to the main force of the Chakras.

    The attack in the back turns out to be devastating for the army of Chakra. The commanders, who are at the back, are almost caught but they manage to flee because they have stayed on their horses.  The ordinary warriors have to pay the price, as only a few manage to flee after their commanders.

    "Well Morris, I think these commanders have a lot to explain when they return without their regiments." Cheers Harris.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    "We always get the worst jobs, guys. The fact that our skills include the exploration work does not necessarily mean that we always have to be ones picked for those things that no one else wants to do."

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    John and his squad of soldiers are working on determining the defensive line. With stakes they indicate where the defensive wall and moat should be, where the palisade and watchtowers should be set up, and all the other things that have to be figured out before work can be started on the defensive works. Captain Raidon has the other one hundred and forty soldiers working on assembling shelters.

    "Well sergeant, someone has to do it. And if we don''t do it, what will become of the whole defense?"

    "Keep your mouth shut Robin, my visible rank is that of squad leader. No one needs to know that I''m actually a sergeant."

    "Who will find out? There is no one here. Everyone else is busy building huts."

    "Better be on the safe side, soldier. Let''s quickly learn to stick to the visible ranks. That reduces the chance of slips of the tongue if there are others around."

    At this narrow part of the peninsula, the country is still almost a kilometer wide. However, it is not necessary to defend the entire length. The eastern part consists of a gorge of three hundred meters that is so difficult to climb that even John''s best men doubt whether they dare to do so. The bottom of the gorge consists of a sandy beach, which is flooded with spring tide. Here and there you can see the traces of those high water levels. John can even see some planks from a fishing boat.

    In the west is an elevated plateau. Just like the gorge in the east, it seems as if the ground that is missing there has been pushed up in the west. This plateau is higher than the tallest trees, and is therefore a natural line of defense. According to the inhabitants of Olanca, the top of the plateau is almost completely flat. A few have climbed the steep wall of the plateau as young people, but more than one has fallen during the climb.

    To make this place even better for the defense, the largest part of the last three hundred meters is protected by a fast-flowing river. Of course it is possible to cross the river, but with only a few men it should be doable to guard this entire stretch.

    John and his men are mainly occupied with a part of about a hundred meters where there is no natural defense. Here the terrain is a lot higher than the river, making a moat not feasible. A ditch is of course possible, but it will have less of an effect.

    It takes John and his men two days to draw up the plan for the line of defense. Most of his time has been spent trying to find ways around the planned defenses. Now he reports to Raidon.

    "In my opinion, it is possible to climb the plateau. But from above you can defend the entire plateau with a handful of soldiers. The same goes for the gorge, which can be climbed, but not if someone is shooting at you or throwing rocks down. Both places can you defend against a odds of a hundred to one? Maybe even more."

    "And the river?"

    "The river is a different story. We have found about ten places where it should be possible to cross. And it is also possible in other places, but then you¡¯d lose a number of men when crossing. Yet the river is still a difficult obstacle for any attacker. It flows fast enough to wash away most of the junk, so a complete bridge needs to be made to get to the other side without huge losses. So apart from a long siege, the river is fine to keep under watch without fortifying it."

    "That¡¯s lucky for us, because without that bend in the river, the distance would be almost four hundred meters extra to strengthen. All right, I assume you''ve laid out the defenses?" When John agrees, Raidon continues, "the road that runs north eventually ends up at a city. Until it hits that city, however, the road runs almost directly to the north. So any army will probably follow the road to get to us. I want you and your men to follow the road to make a listening post somewhere."

    "But I just wanted to pick out a bed in those beautiful cabins that you have made in the past few days." John manages to look bewildered. While he and his men have mapped out the defenses, the other soldiers have done their best to turn the many trees into sturdy huts. They sealed these with the tent cloths to make them warm and waterproof.

    "Too bad John, they are for us while you can have fun in the wilderness. Also look at where you can trap Chakras. That will be your next task."

    "Thank goodness! Otherwise we would get bored. A listening post is a lot more interesting than digging a ditch." With these last words, John leaves before Raidon can put him to work at the ditch.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    While first company is putting themselves in danger at the frontlines, at Centurion they have other things to do.

    Lately Brandon had his recruits, led by experienced squads of soldiers, doing exercises on what to do when the island is once again invaded by pirates or others.

    He found the old protocols a while ago, but they have proven to be almost useless. Most of the fortifications, lookout towers and other defenses have long ago fallen. Only Centurion and Arana are left on the island.

    Thus Brandon had to rewrite the entire defensive protocols for the island.

    Now, after their exercises have finished, he has to deal with the after action report. According to his sergeants, even his revised protocols will be useless without using way more resources than he has available.

    To defend the island, they would have to use over a dozen small ships, like the fishing boats, to patrol around the coast. Furthermore, they would need over a hundred patrols the size of one squad each to patrol on land. A lot of these would need permanent camps all over the island from where they could do their patrols.

    The only other option would be to let an attacker invade the island at their leisure, while they would only defend the two settlements. When an enemy would be spotted, they could then gather the troops and to the invaders to do battle.

    ¡°Whatever I do, Gareth, it¡¯s the wrong choice. We don¡¯t have the men nor vessels to do all those patrols, and if we somehow could use every soldier available and do them, then we would be helpless if something actually did happen. It would just take too long to gather all those little units to form a larger fighting formation.¡±

    ¡°I agree, Brandon, and the other option also isn¡¯t something I like. We wouldn¡¯t even know if there were enemies on the island, and everyone could be ambushed at any time.¡±

    ¡°Yes, especially those ins that will be built along the road soon. And Arana isn¡¯t all that much better off. It needs a much bigger garrison to manage to hold out against a real attack.¡±

    ¡°So we need to think about something else. For now we¡¯ll just have to continue with the second option, and maybe have the trade ship do some patrols around the island, with some soldiers to be stationed on it of course.¡±

 TNLB2 13 - Trapped Part 1

    </a>69 - Trapped Part One

    Alyena is working in the library. These days, she has little time for her beloved hobby: searching through old books.

    Today, however, the Empress has taken a break from her busy work. In order to distract herself from the problems that continue to arise within the country, she went in search of the library''s oldest books.

    Some books are hundreds of years old, some others even older. Alyena hopes that somewhere in these ancient books there are secrets about the old empire. Perhaps it contains interesting facts about how the old empire functioned. If she¡¯s lucky, she might even be able to solve some of her own problems.

    Because Alyena has been in the library since she was a child, she knows exactly in which part the old books are. This section is the least used and the books radiate that too. On some shelves there is even a thick layer of dust.

    "I will ask Gerben the librarian to maintain these books a little better. Otherwise, I fear that it won''t be long before we lose all the knowledge in these books."

    "I don''t think it''s unwillingness, your majesty," Captain Cervik replies. "In my opinion, Gerben is just starting to grow old. I think the man was already old when I was a rookie in the imperial guard. That was about ten years ago."

    "Damnit, you''re right. Maybe it''s time for him to find a successor."

    Empress Alyena is not someone who makes a fuss and rushes straight to the entrance of the library, where the librarian has his desk.

    "Gerben, can you explain to me why so many shelves and books are covered in dust?"

    The librarian looks up in horror. Deeply lost in his work, he had not even seen the Empress coming.

    "Mmmajesteit, I do my utmost to maintain all the books. You have to believe me. This library is my life! You know that."

    "That doesn¡¯t take away the fact that some books in the back are in very poor condition. You know how much I love old dusty books, but that doesn''t mean they should actually be covered with dust!"

    "I''m afraid it''s because of my rheumatism, your majesty. It takes me more and more time to drag those ladders all over the place to keep things clean. I always start at the front of the library, because that part is the most used. That is why it is a bit more dusty in the back, because by the time that part comes to the turn, it starts to get dusty again in the front."

    "Maybe you should go find an assistant. Someone who can eventually even take over your job as a librarian? You understand that that will be for my successor, because you will continue for another fifty years or so." Alyena tries to keep the conversation about a successor light-hearted with a joke.

    However, the librarian is quite distraught.

    "Maybe you''re right. Nowadays it takes me more and more effort to get out of bed in the morning. But I wouldn''t know what to do without my work."

    "Puh, I think you¡¯ll work here until you drop, Gerben. There is no one to keep you out of here. Your assistant will have to accept that you will always be the librarian. But it would still be nice if there is someone who knows what you know. I don''t like it when knowledge is lost."

    "You are right, your majesty. But speaking of which, what were you looking for in those old books?"

    "Information about the old empire. Since we found the secret arsenal, that''s my favorite topic. You know that, don''t you?"

    "Ah, the old empire. But why not search in the closed off part of the library? I''m sure there''s a lot of information about the old empire there."

    "Which closed off part?!" Snarls Alyena. This is the first time she hears about a closed off part of the library.

    "There is a closed off part in the imperial library. Access to this part is only for the emperor (or in this case the empress), and the librarian. Apart from those two, the only one who even knows about this part of the library is the captain of the imperial guard. He must know this in order to guard the emperor when he is in the closed off part."

    Alyena looks at Captain Cervik angrily. "You knew about this? All this time you''ve let me search and search, and you knew there was a piece of library I''ve never even been to?"

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    The captain actually blushes. "I''m sorry, your majesty. To be honest, I had forgotten about it myself. Your father almost never came to the library. He was satisfied with how the empire was doing without trying to change it. Maybe Gerben knows if he has ever been in the closed part, but not since I took charge of the imperial guard. Back then I heard about the closed off part of the library, but I have never been there myself."

    "Gerben! Show me the closed off part. I just need to know what''s out there.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    "Mayor, the trading ship of the New Legion has just arrived from Aran. They have a number of people on board who want to speak to you."

    "Can''t they wait Leo, I''m still busy with these construction drawings."

    "It seems to be important, mayor. Apparently the ship is packed with refugees."

    Aulis is stunned, dozens of people can be transported on a trading ship.

    "Maybe I should indeed wait a while with these drawings. If you''re right and we''re getting new residents, we may need to adjust all of our plans. Send those people in if you want."

    "All of them, Mayor?"

    "Well, I¡¯d say only the spokesmen. I don''t think this office has enough space for a shipload of refugees."

    "What do you want me to say to those other people? There''s a whole crowd at the door, and people are still arriving."

    Aulis lets out a deep sigh. "Just tell those others that I need to consult with the spokesmen. It''s hard to talk to everyone at the same time, if I don''t even know what it''s about."

    A little later, Aulis gets up when five men enter his office.

    "Good afternoon, gentlemen. My name is Mayor Aulis. I hear that you came to our humble village as refugees?"

    "That''s right," hums the man who entered through the door first, "I''m Mayor Crow, and these are mayors Toth, Phast, Deist and Wuld. We come from the north, from the province of Edoi, where the Chakras have taken possession of our land. Thanks to the army''s early warning, most of our people were able to flee before those murderous maniacs could catch up with us. As mayors of the largest villages, we have been appointed spokesmen."

    "Yes, that sounds like you were able to escape with a large group. Or am I hearing that wrong?"

    "You''re right. I think hundreds if not thousands of people got away before the Chakras took their positions at the new boundary. Unfortunately, thousands more were not so lucky."

    "At least that''s better news than we''d been told so far. According to the latest reports I have seen, hardly anyone would have escaped. But let''s get to the point. Why exactly are you here, and what do you want from me."

    The man seems amazed. "We come to settle here of course. It is not without reason that we have travelled all over the empire to come here. First we were given a mandate by the Empress to settle in the province of Aran, but when we arrived in the city of the same name it turned out that there was not nearly enough land available for all our people. And that while a large part had already decided not to continue and has settled in other places during the trip. However, the mayor in Aran indicated that there would be more than enough land available for us here."

    "To be frank, mayor, we were promised land here," one of the others also joins the conversation. "I myself had never heard of this island, but according to those people on the ship, there is enough land here to make each of us rich." The man gets a glint in his eyes from the prospect of living like a nobleman.

    "It is true that there is a lot of unused land on the island. However, there are some factors that you are not aware of. This country has only recently become part of the empire. In addition, even that is not entirely correct, since this entire island has been claimed by the New Legion. The village here is established with the consent of that legion, and although I have permission to accept new inhabitants, I am not allowed to move an entire people here. In addition, we do not have much space left in the village. How many have you brought?"

    "Well, like I said, a lot of people have already stopped somewhere along the way." Mayor Crow takes over from his colleague. "I think there were about a hundred and fifty people on the ship. Double that are still waiting for a crossing in Aran. I don¡¯t count all the people who were allowed to settle in the province of Aran."

    "Those are pretty big numbers, Mr. Crow. I think it would be better to try and establish other settlements for you. This village is currently not nearly big enough to accommodate so many people."

    "That is not a problem, now that the weather is starting to get better, it is possible to hold out in our tents. We can probably set them up somewhere here until we have found a place."

    "I think I even know a place or two where you can settle. However, I must first ask permission from the officers of the New Legion before I can promise you those places."

    "How long do you think that''s going to take? Me and my people would like to start building our new village as soon as possible so that we might harvest enough this year to get through the winter."

    "I know something better. There is a road from this side of the island to the other side. It ends at the headquarters of the New Legion, naval base Centurion. Several of the places where you could possibly settle are along the road. How about visiting Centurion with me? Then we can immediately see if there is a place that suits you."

    Mayor Crow seems to like it. Two other mayors seem less enthusiastic.

    "How far is that, Mayor Aulis?" asks the same man who just spoke. "I had actually hoped for a few days of rest."

    "You can also stay here. I assume that you have entire families with you, not only women and children. If you send a group of men with us, we should have enough people to make the right decision, don¡¯t you think?"

    No sooner said than done. The next morning, Aulis leaves for Centurion with Mayor Crow and twenty other men.

    After a short stopover in the second village of the island, where the hunter Dew joins them, they follow the road of the old legions.

    On this side of the mountains there are only a few places where there used to be settlements. Most of them were located on the north side of the island. However, there is one place that Aulis thinks could be a beautiful place. This is located just before the start of the pass through the mountains. Nearby are the old mines that Dew had found a few months earlier and there are also open fields here that can be used for agriculture. The only downside is that it is some distance from the nearest river. That makes the drilling of wells pretty important. Mayor Crow is therefore not yet convinced about this spot. He prefers to look at some more places before he comes back here.

 TNLB2 14 - Trapped Part 2

    70 - Trapped Part Two

    John is working at a ford in a stream halfway between the listening post and the east coast of the peninsula. Like so many other strategic places, traps are placed here. The traps on the west side are already done, and on the east side more than half have already been placed.

    Here at the ford in the stream, John and one of his men lay pointed stones in the water. No more than an annoyance for infantry, but dangerous for cavalry. The stones can penetrate deep into the horses'' hooves.

    Further on, Muras is busy digging a trap in the middle of the road, and Charles is busy undermining the watering place that is neatly laid out next to the ford.

    All in all, John doesn''t expect to be able to stop a Chakraan army with this, but it will certainly slow them down. If they have to look for new traps from this point on, it will take them a while before they get to the real line of defense.

    While all of them are still busy, Jonny comes running. He almost manages to fall into Muras'' trap, but after a shout from him, Jonny manages to avoid the pit.

    When John arrives, Jonny starts talking while still panting.

    "Chakras are coming. I could barely get away before their scouts saw me."

    "How many are there?"

    "I counted twenty men on horseback."

    "That''s the vanguard, I suppose, but how many are there in total?"

    Jonny looks at John sheepishly.

    "No idea really, I had to use too much effort to get away without those first twenty warriors seeing me. Next time I will hide to be able to count the rest, then those scouts can find you when you are busy playing with mud and water."

    John lets out a deep sigh.

    "This is the problem with bringing in such wayward people. No respect for their superiors." After a short break, he continues. "Well then, how long before those scouts are here?"

    "I think a few more minutes, Mr. squad leader, sir. I ran the whole way, and they rode at ease so they wouldn¡¯t get too far ahead of their main force."

    "Nice, that gives us enough time to prepare something fun for those men. Jonny, if you could help Muras cover his hole, at least then you won¡¯t have any more witty remarks. Charles, finish what you can as soon as possible. Me and Maarten are going to set up some things for our guests on the other side. Muras, Jonny, Charles when you''re done with your traps, you finish what Maarten and I started. Then you come to us to finish the latest presents for our new friends.

    Full of enthusiasm, the five men throw themselves at their tasks. In no time the first preparations are ready. Full of energy, Maarten throws himself on preparing a large tree. With only his battle axe, he chops the first wedges out of the tree, so that he can later drop them across the road with a single blow.

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    Meanwhile, John is busy measuring a long rope. He measures about three times the width of the road, after which he cuts off the piece of rope. Then he cuts the remaining piece of rope in half again so that he now has two pieces that are long enough for his plan.

    When Charles comes running a little later, he can help out right away.

    "Charles, come and help me. We are going to stretch these ropes over the road so that those scouts are knocked off their horse."

    "Are you sure that''s going to work? Surely those people must be keen to discover tracks and the like?"

    "Bah, we don¡¯t know for sure. But those scouts will probably mainly look at the ground, and at the sides of the road. That¡¯s why we must ensure that we don¡¯t leave fresh footprints while setting up the traps. Now, this first rope, like I just said, is meant to knock them off their horse. We are going to hang this rope higher than we can reach."

    "How do you want to do that?" asks Maarten curiously.

    "You just pay attention." John walks to the first tree he has chosen. "Do you see that nice thick branch there? At a height of three meters?"

    "Yes, it looks good. But how do you want to tie your rope to that?"

    "Well, I know several ways to do it. I''ll show you two at once. Come here."

    As Maarten cautiously approaches, John leaves him standing next to the tree.

    "And now on your hands and knees please."

    "Uhm, do I really have to?"

    "Yes, hurry up now. If you take much longer, those scouts will be here before we¡¯re done."

    When Maarten is on his hands and knees in front of the tree, John lifts his feet high and then quickly steps on top of Maarten''s back. A deep moan comes from the lower soldier.

    "Don''t whine so much Maarten, you wanted to know how I could reach that branch." John doesn''t waste a moment of time on the soldier, but is already busy tying one of the ends of his rope. Within moments he has tied a loop at the end, which he quickly throws over the branch. Then he takes the loop and steps off Maarten''s back.

    "So, now just this end through that hole, then tighten, and that''s it."

    "And you couldn''t have done that from the ground?" shouts Maarten indignantly.

    "Of course I could, I just wanted to show you how it can be done."

    John pulls the rope tight and gives it a few jerks to see if it''s really firm.

    "Great, now we can do the other side. And you know what the fun part is? I can''t do it with a loop there. So you can play as a stepstool again."

    At the sight of John''s extremely happy face, Maarten breathes another sigh, and then trudges towards the other tree.

    When the other end is done and the rope is pulled tight, it is time for the second rope.

    "Oh no, not really. At the next one you can be the stepstool, John."

    "Fine Maarten, let''s take those trees a little further away. Those are nice and close to the road."

    When we arrive at the designated trees, Maarten immediately points to the ground.

    "Your turn, Mr. squad leader."

    "Ha, no such luck, soldier. With this trap, we don''t have to go that high." After a look at Maarten''s dazed face, John can''t help letting out a chuckle. "We stretch this rope about a foot off the ground. If those scouts don''t pay attention, their horses stumble, or if they¡¯re walking, they themselves fall flat on their faces."

    While John and Maarten were bickering and setting up their traps, the last two soldiers have also arrived. They quickly get busy on the roadside, to ensure that no one can easily move off the road to escape the ambush.

    With branches and bushes, they make a natural wall of obstacles. A determined person can struggle through without too much effort, but not before he can be attacked in the back.

    While they are still busy, Muras suddenly hears the snort of a horse.

    "Shit, John, they''re nearby."

    "Well, you know your positions. Hide quickly and then be silent until we know if our traps work."

    The men quickly rush to their hiding places. John hides with Muras, Jonny and Maarten near the second fall with the ropes. Charles hides by the tree he has prepared moments before.

    After five minutes, Jonny and Maarten start to get a little restless.

    "I thought you said they were nearby, Muras?"

    "Yes, you heard horses, didn''t you, Muras?"

    "Guys, keep you quiet. Those scouts can be right around the corner. Who knows, maybe they just stopped for a moment so as not to get too far ahead of the rest of the warriors." John isn''t happy that the two younger soldiers can''t keep their patience.

 TNLB2 15 - Trapped Part 3

    71 - Trapped Part Three

    Less than a minute later, John''s suspicions are confirmed. Through the thickets they see a large group of men on horseback arriving on the road. Full of anticipation, they watch as the scouts ride towards the traps. For a moment it seems as if nothing happens, because the first scout rides under the first rope.

    "You hung it too high, John!" yells Maarten quietly, after which the others call him to silence.

    But then the second scout looks up when he sees something out of the corner of his eye. It is the rope that strokes through a short red plume on top of the helmet of the first scout. This little thing is what kills the man. Because he sits upright on his horse, which in John''s defense is a lot smaller than the horses that Falwyn''s army uses, he is now tall enough to ride against the rope. However, he is not hit at the neck, as John''s intention was, but full on the forehead. The scout remains in the saddle, but his head claps back with great force. For a moment he stays upright with his head in a strange angle, but then he collapses in his saddle.

    The men behind him are therefore just in time to bend over to dodge the rope, whereupon the third man quickly pulls his dagger and cuts the rope with a quick cut.

    John and his three men quickly jump up from behind their hiding places and run to a position just behind the second trap.

    The captain of the scouts, who looked back behind him after all the commotion, sees the men running and spurs on his horse. However, as soon as his horse jumps forward, it¡¯s legs get stuck behind the second rope. With enormous force, the horse falls forward and on its side. In addition, one of the legs of the warrior on his back is shattered and John and his men have time to take up their position. Quickly they brace themselves with their large shields facing forward, and their spears anchored in the ground. Thus they are ready to absorb an attack of cavalry.

    However, even before it comes to that, there is a huge noise again. Just a little later than planned, Charles hits his last blow against the tree. This was not the first time he hit the tree, because he had been a little too cautious with the preparations. It took him a few blows before the tree finally fell down.

    With a thunderous roar of broken branches, the thick tree plunges down. The last scout only just manages to make his horse jump forward so as not to be hit by the tree. The trap has been sprung, and all John and his men have to do now is make sure that those scouts don¡¯t return to their unit. That gives John and his soldiers enough time to take a quick look at the incoming army, and then quickly return to Raidon and the defenses he is building.

    However, they¡¯re not there yet. First, eighteen more scouts have to be disabled. Now that their captain and another man have been eliminated, the remaining scouts are a lot more cautious. John sees three of the scouts trying to turn around and fight past Charles to warn the rest of their army.

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    However, he cannot spend much time checking up on them, because the other fifteen scouts throw themselves at the four soldiers. Hoping that Charles can stop the three warriors by himself, John braces for impact.

    At full gallop, the scouts rush in, with the intention of simply knocking over the four soldiers who block their path. What they have not thought of, however, are their horses. Only the most well-trained warhorses will throw themselves on a shield wall. However, the horses the scouts ride are not such expensive animals.

    Just before they arrive at the small shield wall, they hold back and move to the sides. This causes great confusion in the ranks of the scouts, giving John and his three men the opening they were waiting for.

    "Attack!" shouts John, reinforcing his own words by rushing forward and stabbing the first scout a spear in his stomach. "Try to spare the horses, we might be able to use them."

    John stabs a second scout in the leg with his spear, but then has to duck quickly away from another scout¡¯s sword. In addition, he doesn¡¯t have the time to withdraw his spear, and therefore has to let it go. Now armed only with his shield, he quickly draws his sword. His big hammer is still hanging on his back, but in close combat, John has no room to swing it. The disadvantage of his sword is that he can¡¯t reach much higher than the legs of the scouts.

    A long sword comes whizzing towards his head, and John manages to throw up his shield just in time. With a dull blow, the sword strikes right through the iron edge at the top of his shield. Because the scout can put extra force from his horse, the sword penetrates almost ten centimeters into the wood of the shield and gets stuck there for a moment.

    John doesn''t think twice, and turns his shield to hold the sword in his shield. Meanwhile, he repels a blow from another scout with his own sword, and then quickly stabs into the leg of the first scout. With a cry of pain, the scout releases his sword, which now sticks loosely into John''s shield. When he turns to the second scout, he notices that that one is about to deliver a mortal blow to him. Just as John rests on the fact that he will not survive this skirmish, the scout suddenly slams forward with force against the back his horses head, which immediately runs off. In amazement, John sees that a crossbow arrow protrudes from the back of the scout.

    Further on, Charles is reloading his crossbow at ease, balancing on top of the tree he dropped across the road. While John is still looking in amazement, Charles shoots a second bolt. Then it becomes quiet on the small battlefield. Looking around, John sees that besides himself, only two other soldiers are still standing. Muras lies face down in the overturned earth of the roadside, with two dead scouts next to him. Everywhere the bodies of the scouts and their riding animals litter the ground. Despite John''s orders, five riding animals were killed. Six others are so shocked by the violence that they ran away.

    "Maarten, could you go and looksee where those horses fled to? I don''t want us to have gone through all this effort, only to be betrayed by a bunch of stupid animals."

    "Sure, John. I''m on my way."

    While Charles climbs off his tree and helps Jonny search the bodies, John goes to see Muras. As he approaches, he sees that the older soldier has a big dent in the back of his helmet. In addition, the pool of blood in which he lies seems to be getting bigger and bigger. When John Muras turns around, the entire front of his armor is red with blood. "Boy, that has to be a big wound, if he¡¯s losing so much blood." But no matter where he looks though, he can¡¯t find the wound anywhere. To be on the safe side, John carefully pulls the helmet off Muras'' head to see if he is still alive. However, as soon as he gets to the helmet, Muras'' eyes suddenly open! "Aye, that hurts, you son of a dung beetle!" exclaims Muras. It turns out that he was only knocked out, and that the pool of blood comes from both dead scouts next to him. With John''s help, Muras manages to get up, although he is still reeling.

    "Hurry up, guys." shouts John to his men, "we still have to see what kind of army is coming our way." The men quickly finish their tasks.

 TNLB2 16 - Trapped Part 4

    </a>72 - Trapped Part Four

    <h2> </h2>

    Brandon looks up with a shock when there is a loud knock on the door of his office.

    "Come in!" He shouts surly.

    A soldier comes in and immediately stands at attention and looks straight ahead.

    "Captain, I come to report to you that the roof of the arsenal has collapsed."

    Brandon has to blink for a moment before he has processed that information.

    "The roof has collapsed? How did that happen? These buildings have been standing for centuries."

    "We don''t know yet, Captain. There was a squad busy greasing and sharpening the older weapons. My sergeant is now looking to see if they noticed anything, at least before they got the ceiling on their heads." For a moment, the soldier seems to be unable to hold his tight posture, and especially his facial expression. He is clearly having a lot of fun in the incident. "The sergeant thought you should be informed immediately, Captain."

    "Yeah right, we didn''t expect the whole thing to collapse. Did your sergeant also send someone to engineer Duncan? Maybe he can help with what exactly happened here."

    "Yes, Captain. Soldier Boris was sent to the engineer at the same time as me."

    "Well, then he will come soon. I''ll walk with you, then we''ll see what your sergeant found."

    Moments later, both Brandon and Duncan are looking at what¡¯s left of the arsenal. Broken weapons are everywhere among the debris.

    "Well, this is a nice mess." Brandon says.

    "You can say that again. I think the roof support beams have not stood the test of time as well as we thought."

    "How is that possible? Otherwise, everything is in perfect condition. Even the boats we found are still in good condition."

    "That may be the case, but I think time has not necessarily stood still within the protection of Mithras. Gareth is probably more the person to ask, but my opinion is that that Mithras has put a kind of shield over the entire base, with everything within it remaining pretty much the same. The roof of the arsenal would have already been damaged before that, and that damage has not gone away. I will have to investigate exactly what it was, but it can be anything from water damage to pests."

    "So it''s a good plan to check every building we use."

    "It''s certainly a good idea. However, it is not feasible at the moment."

    "Why not? This seems rather important to me."

    "Well, I still have a lot to do that is also important. So far, this is the only building where anything has happened, so I think there is little chance that more will collapse right away. So this will be at the back of my to-do list."

    "When will you get around to it?"

    "That may take a while. In a few weeks?"

    "That''s way too long! It''s time you started training a few new people. To start with, it seems to me that you should form two squads. I suggest that you check with the sergeants and squad leaders, who probably know a few handy guys within the legion. If you still don''t have enough after that, we can probably miss you for a week so that you can look around in Aran or Arana."

    "Then everything will takes a lot longer before I have them ready. I have to find recruits first, and then train them. That slows everything down enormously."

    "Maybe, but it''s clear that you can''t handle it on your own. What would we do if you get sick? So now look for those recruits first, then we will see what you can do during their training."

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    "Captain, squad leader John has returned and asks to speak with you immediately." With these words Raidon is startled when he is just busy at the hole that serves as a latrine.

    "Let him come to my tent, Kevin. I''ll get there in a minute." he replies, after which he puts his pants back on as quick as possible.

    When he arrives at the tent, John is already waiting impatiently for him.

    "Raidon! I hope your defenses are almost ready, because the Chakras will be here in a few days."

    "Already? I expected us to have at least another week to prepare," answers Raidon calmly.

    "If this were the army of Fort Shi, I would think it would take almost twice as long. However, this is a smaller army. I''m guessing this is the garrison of the town of Von. It''s on the other side of the bay, and they could have seen our cooking fires on a clear night."

    "That could indeed be the case. Even then, it is a coincidence that they immediately go out in large numbers to investigate those fires. After all, it could have been a bunch of hunters. How big is that army you''ve seen?"

    From what we have seen it is a mixed army of about two regiments, so about two thousand warriors. A third of them were on horseback, the rest were infantry."

    "All right, have they seen you and your men?"

    "Some have seen us. To spy on that army, we had to take out a group of scouts. With the help of a number of traps that we were still making, we defeated a group of twenty warriors on horseback. Muras has been battered a bit, but with a few days of rest he should be back in action. We were able to capture twelve horses, two of which we used as pack horses for the weapons of the Chakras. Then I and two men carefully had a look at that army."

    "How long will it be before they are here? If most of them are infantry, and they don''t know who¡¯s waiting for them here, then I hope we still have a few days?"

    "In my opinion, they¡¯ll take it easy. Although I don''t know how they reacted when they saw their dead scouts. I''ve left half of my men behind to prepare a few more traps in their path, so I hope they have to be very careful not to lose more men. I think they could be here in two or three days."

    "Let''s just assume two days. Then we will not be faced with an unpleasant surprise. You quickly go back to your men, and try to cause more delay. I¡¯ll put everyone to work right away to finish the first line of defense. If they besiege us, we won''t have time improve the defenses."

    After John leaves, Raidon summons his three sergeants. Within moments, sergeants Owen and Mark are with him, with Liam arriving a few minutes later.

    "Sorry, Captain. I was doing my rounds at the guard posts, and your messenger only just found me."

    "No problem, Liam. Fortunately, we still have some time. John has just reported that we can expect an attack in a few days. I know everyone is already working on the defensive lines, but I want you to push everyone over the next two days to get the first line ready."

    "An attack? So soon?"

    "John thinks this is Von''s garrison. The Chakran armed forces consist of two mixed regiments, minus the twenty scouts that John already took care of. With a bit of luck, he''ll get a few more, but even then those are difficult odds."

    "You could say that, that''s what, thirteen or fourteen enemies for each of our soldiers?"

    "You''re right about that, Mark. But we have our defenses. We were prepared to fight off a lot more Chakras, now we have to deal with a little less a little earlier."

    "Even then, those are huge odds. Especially since the defenses are not yet finished."

    At this point, Liam rejoins the conversation. "According to the manuals, it is quite normal to be able to defend a well-defended position against odds of ten to one, and that is against similar opponents. If we all work hard and get that first line of defense in order, then it should be doable if you ask me. After all, we have a big advantage because of our harnesses."

    "You have to take into account that our lines are very long. That ten to one only counts if we have enough soldiers to man those defenses. We have almost a kilometer to defend. This means that one soldier can be deployed every seven meters. That''s not enough."

    "Indeed," Raidon replies, "we don''t have enough soldiers to man every section equally well. But you have to remember that of that kilometer, almost seven hundred meters is protected by the gorge and the plateau. Then we only have three hundred meters left, with the river also flowing along two hundred meters. That is not one soldier per seven meters, but rather ten soldiers per seven meters. Then we have twenty soldiers left to guard the river."

    "Sorry captain, but that''s not going to work either. The gorge and plateau are difficult to cross, but certainly not impossible. There too, we need people to keep an eye on things. I think you need two squads for the gorge and the same number to guard the plateau. I would still use two squads with a gap of ten meters per soldier, so that you know if someone is trying to pass by, and then also a unit that can respond to it. That would then result in four squads for the river. That leaves us with seven squads to man our defenses. Then we can put someone down every two meters, with two squads as a reserve."

    "Our original plan is clearly not going to work. We simply don''t have enough men to protect our flanks. What I propose is to man the main defenses more strongly."

    "The middle? Then they¡¯ll start looking for other ways to get past the defenses. Then we are completely in the shit."

    "Not if we make it seem like there''s a lot more of us. I want all three of you to use one of your five squads to make fake soldiers. Have them make dolls and spears from branches, and give them a bunch of banners. If we put enough of those dolls along the flanks, with a few soldiers to keep things moving, then it¡¯ll seems as if we have deployed a large part of our men there. Then they might think the best place to attack is right through the middle."

    When the three sergeants don''t come up with a better idea, Raidon has them go to work. There is still plenty to do in the next two days.

 TNLB2 17 - Trapped Part 5

    73 - Trapped Part Five

    Five days later, the expected army finally arrives. John and his men have done a good job, because not only have they held up the army for a total of almost two extra days, they have also managed to eliminate a dozen more warriors. Now, however, they have finally arrived.

    The three squads that made the fake soldiers also worked hard. They managed to get almost fifty fake soldiers at the top of the plateau, with a squad of real soldiers for the necessary movement and to discourage any climber.

    Also near the gorge is a group of forty dolls, making it seem as if they are ready to support the single squad that can clearly be seen.

    Furthermore, there are three groups of fifty dolls scattered along the river. Here, too, they are positioned in such a way that they are partly out of sight. By placing them between the vegetation, for example. From a distance it seems as if a platoon of soldiers is ready to intercept any enemy who tries to cross. The twenty soldiers patrolling the river are supported by two other squads although Raidon assumes that they won¡¯t be necessary.

    At the defenses there are now nine squads. Two squads will be reserves, one of which is John''s squad. The other seventy men are waiting for the enemy on the palisade.

    The Chakras have become a lot more cautious than usual due to all of John''s traps. Several scouts are sent out to explore the defenses of the New Legion. However, as soon as they get too close, the soldiers shoot their crossbows. Each time, only a single shot is fired. This keeps the Chakras at a distance, but it is not noticeable that some soldiers are not real.

    Only the next morning is the enemy commander ready to attack.

    As intended, although the commander doesn¡¯t know that, they directly attack the palisade.

    "This man is clearly not an experienced general. He hasn''t even looked at any other way to get past the palisade. I think we put all that effort into dolls and everything for nothing." Grumbles one of the soldiers standing near Raidon.

    "Maybe, but even then we can also use them when there¡¯s a bigger attack. Let''s make sure we survive this first."

    Raidon didn¡¯t speak a moment too soon. While a part of the Chakras is still setting up, their commander sends the first units towards the palisade.

    "What''s the point of that. Those guys don''t even have ladders with them." Calls the soldier again. This time Raidon doesn''t have time to answer. At the last minute, he calls on his men to shoot their crossbows.

    Indeed, this ill-considered attack falls flat. Just before the ditch, the horses stop in their tracks. No horse will jump over a wide ditch where there is no room to land on the other side.

    Several warriors almost fall out of their saddles, only to really fall when the soldiers of the New Legion shoot their crossbows. Immediately panic sets in among the Chakran warriors. This attack was repulsed without any of the legion being wounded. On the side of the Chakras, the arrows of Raidon and his men had a devastating effect. Of the seventy arrows, nearly three-quarters hit targets. Because Raidon waited until the last moment, the distance was so small that they could hardly miss. Nearly fifty Chakras have been left behind, with even more injured, or remaining in their saddles after being hit.

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    "What a pity that we haven¡¯t been able to build a gate yet, then at least we could have looked for our arrows." Raidon mumbles. Due to the early attack of this garrison, they completely finished the ditch, and did not build a gatehouse. Eventually it has to be done, but they simply didn¡¯t have the time to build a drawbridge.

    As the Chakran warriors retreat, the next units are already gearing up to make another attempt. These are not the well-trained warriors on horseback, but these are the peasants and criminals who have been conscripted against their will into Chakra''s slave armies. These men often have no shields or other protection. They also have the cheapest weapons: spears.

    "Let them come, men!" shouts Raidon as they come storming. "Save your arrows and throw some stones down on them. We''ll need those arrows later!"

    This attack also has little chance of success. Although these men do get over the ditch, they have little chance of getting to the top of the palisade. Dozens become entangled in the ditch and are trampled as the men behind them trample them. Stones are now being thrown from the walls, causing dozens more to be injured and killed. Not much later, this attack is also called off.

    "I think they lost a hundred men in that attack." Reports Sergeant Liam, who, along with Raidon, commands from the palisade.

    "At least, I think there will be even more if those men can''t get out of the ditch. They still have about fifteen hundred healthy warriors. The rest are dead or wounded."

    "Well then we might still have a hard time."

    "What do you mean by that? We have already reduced this army by a quarter without losing anyone."

    "Yes, but what do we do when the army of Fort Shi arrives? They have a lot more men than we see here. If they treat their people the same, they can walk up over the bodies of those slave warriors. Then we''re not going to be able to fight them off with our handful of soldiers."

    "Maybe you''re right, but what do you suggest to do about it?"

    "That''s a good question. Maybe build an extra wall behind this one? I don''t think we can get this wall higher without undermining its strength. In the end, I think a stone wall would be the best option, as with a solid foundation you can get it quite high."

    "A stone wall is too much for now, I''m afraid. But that would be the solution. In the worst case, you can then throw oil down and burn down the entire mountain of bodies."

    "Bah, that''s a very unsavory thought."

    "We will have to cremate the bodies anyway, Liam. Or did you want to bury them all? I don''t think we have the time for that."

    Even before the sergeant can answer, the trumpets announce the next attack of the Chakras. This time they are slightly better prepared than the previous two attacks. While the soldiers of the New Legion were chatting, the Chakras cut down a dozen trees. By leaving the branches on the trees, they have turned them into improvised ladders.

    "Now it''s getting serious, boys!" shouts Raidon, "when they are at a hundred meters I want a salvo with the crossbows. Focus on those warriors who lift the trees, squad leaders aim at the officers. Then shoot when ready, but pick your targets."

    The mass of warriors of the Chakran army are slowly moving. It is clear that the slave warriors no longer feel like it at all. However, they are more afraid of real Chakran warriors than of the soldiers of the New Legion.

    As the attack progresses, however, they become more and more enthusiastic. Whipped up by the encouragement of their officers and the whips of the masters of discipline, they attack the wall with abandon. When they arrive at the one hundred meter mark, the men who lift the trees notice that it is not without danger to carry those heavy things. Seventy soldiers shoot their arrows all at the same time, causing dozens of Chakras to go down. At least three corporals and two masters of discipline are brought down by the squad leaders. However, the attack is unstoppable, not with the weight of almost fifteen hundred warriors stomping over the fallen. Three trees fall but are immediately picked up by other slave warriors.

    Fifty meters away, the first soldiers of the legion have nocked their crossbows again and arrows are again being fired into the mass of Chakran warriors. This time the effect is not even visible, because each soldier shoots as soon as he¡¯s ready. These single arrows don¡¯t have the big effect that the first volley had.

    Then the Chakras are finally at the ditch. It is still half full of bodies from the previous attack, which makes it a lot easier for the warriors to get to the other side. Once again they are pelted with stones, but still the Chakras manage to put the improvised tree-ladders against the palisade.

    Immediately the slave warriors climb the trees. Dozens fall from the trees due to well-aimed stones of the soldiers. Others fall thanks to branches breaking off from the trees, after all, they remain improvised ladders. Here and there a whole tree is even pushed down by the soldiers with their war hammers and axes. Unfortunately the two-handed swords have less of an effect against the ladders.

    Eventually, the Chakran slave warriors manage to emerge and the fighting begins in earnest.

 TNLB2 18 - Trapped Part 6

    74 - Trapped Part Six

    In this man-to-man battle, the soldiers of the New Legion use their two-handed weapons. As has already been shown, these are much more effective against the tree ladders, but they also have a longer range and are more difficult to repel than the short swords that are the soldiers main weapon.

    With great effect, the soldiers wave their weapons, while they are protected by their heavy armor. The advantage of the harnesses is that they do not have to use shields, which would force them to use the smaller weapons. Now the Chakras are usually still climbing the ladders when they are in reach of the soldiers of the New Legion.

    Still, the fight doesn''t go entirely in favor of Raidon and his men. Although he planned to lead the fight, Raidon is soon embroiled in one-on-one combat. Because of this, he sees too late that on the wall east of the gate a bunch of Chakras have defeated three of his soldiers. Because of this, they now have the chance to get more warriors on the wall. When he realizes what is happening, there are already at least ten warriors on the wall and the three soldiers have been thrown off the palisade.

    Fortunately, the squad leaders of the reserves see what is happening. Without asking for confirmation, John rushes up the ladders with his squad. While he climbs up with half of his squad on one side, the other half takes a ladder at the end of the wall. This allows them to keep the Chakras from gaining more space on the wall.

    As reserves they have kept their large shields with them, and now they make a small shield wall with two men next to each other. Slowly they push forward, causing the Chakras to be pressed into each other. The Chakras are led by a giant of a man, who has scars everywhere. As a slave warrior, he has almost no equipment, and his weapon consists of a huge club that looks like it had recently been a branch on a tree.

    Earlier, this man knocked the first soldier off the wall with his club and now he is trying to do so again. Unfortunately for him, John has seen what happened before and is able to brace himself before the club hits his shield with tremendous force. He almost loses his shield, and his entire left arm has become numb in one fell swoop. As a result, he cannot use the usual tactics by striking his opponent with his shield. Clumsily he sticks his sword at the Chakraan. Miraculously, he manages to hit him.

    However, the Chakraan doesn¡¯t even flinch. Once again, he uses his devastating power to strike straight down with the club. At the last moment John manages to throw his shield up to absorb the blow, but he is knocked to the ground. Blinking his eyes to clear up the dizziness, he waits for the next blow.

    Instead of a blow, however, he is pulled to his feet while another soldier takes his place. The soldier had reacted quickly and used his crossbow the moment John was knocked down. The great Chakran warrior now lies next to the palisade on the ground with a crossbow bolt in his chest.

    Shortly thereafter, the entire wall is back under control and most of John''s squad can take their place as a reserve again, while three of them take their place on the wall.

    The other reserve squad, meanwhile, has offered help in another place, and the whole Chakraan attack seems to be collapsing. Nearly four hundred warriors are left dead or wounded while the rest retreat. Less than half of the garrison army is still able to fight, even though they have only managed to get to the top of the walls one time. Most of the dead and wounded are slave soldiers, which make up three-quarters of the garrison. However, the professional warriors know that a similar fate awaits them if they attack a second time.

    A delegation of warriors talks to their commander to leave this invasion, as it is called, to the army of Fort Shi. They argue that the slave soldiers are unable to take a fortified position without proper siege material. Their captain is also not eager to bring in his warriors himself and soon sounds the retreat.

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    Sergeant Alderman wakes suddenly thanks to the noise in the fort. All over the place warriors run everywhere, there is swearing and things are knocked over.

    Alderman sticks his head out and calls out to the first warrior who passes him.

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    "What¡¯s that noise? Come on, tell me!"

    "Falwyn has attacked the empire! Everyone has to get ready to leave within the hour."

    "Falwyn and a counterattack? That hasn''t happened during this entire war. I''m coming!"

    Immediately Sergeant Alderman closes his door and gets dressed.

    Not much later, Alderman is dressed and busy chasing his men on. At that moment, the message finally arrives for him to get ready to leave.

    "Nice timing." He hums.

    "Sorry sergeant, in this chaos some orders have been sent to the wrong units. Almost every man we have is deployed to punish this invasion immediately."

    "Do you happen to know where they attacked? I thought we had more than enough armies in the north to pit three warriors against each of them. Or are they on their way through the wasteland?"

    "No sir, they came by sea. Those strange warriors who have been such a problem before have taken the village of Olanca. The garrison that was stationed nearby tried to scare them away, but lost more than half of their warriors. The messenger was talking about an army of at least one or two regiments, and who knows how many more are coming while we are waiting here!"

    "Come on, calm down. Within the hour we¡¯ll be on our way to chase those guys back to their own lands."

    "Indeed! The general is sending fifteen regiments on horseback to exert pressure as quickly as possible. Thirteen regiments of infantry will follow at ease by foot, to ensure that they don¡¯t get strange ideas at the border. The fort is manned by the last regiment of infantry."

    "Well, I just hope that the general is right and that a large part of their army is indeed part of that invasion. A single regiment cannot do much more than slow down an attack."

    "That''s why the infantry follows at half speed, sergeant. The general really knows what he''s doing."

    Not much later, Fort Shi seems to be abandoned. Of the nearly twenty thousand soldiers who were here recently, less than a thousand remain. Part one of the plan of the New Legion seems to be working.

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    "So, Priest Gareth. You look like you had a party yesterday. Do we have anything to celebrate?"

    The captain of Centurion, Captain Brandon, often pokes fun at Gareth. This time, however, he''s not entirely wrong, as Gareth is very tired. For a few nights now, he can hardly get any sleep. Every night he is tossing and turning late into the night. Even when he finally falls asleep, he has the craziest dreams. With a deep sigh, he replies:

    "If only that were true, Brandon. I haven''t been able to sleep normally in days. Those dreams I told you about a few days ago continue. I keep feeling like I''m forgetting something, or that I need to do something important."

    "I sometimes have that feeling. Most of the time it resolves itself."

    "Exactly what I thought. But this has been going on for almost a week."

    "What if it has to do with Mithras? Since you''ve become a priest, you''ve experienced weird things before, haven''t you?"

    "Well, not since I''ve officially become a priest.. Apart from this weird feeling that is."

    "Wait, you''ve had this since you became a priest? Then I''m probably right! If I were you, I''d go through those books of yours again. There''s probably something in there somewhere that you need to know."

    Not much later, Gareth is sitting at his desk staring at a stack of books. After all the time he has spent here trying to become an official priest, he is here once again. This time, however, there is no book that lights up to tell quickly what he wants to know.

    "That would have been too easy," he sighs, "maybe Mithras wants me to learn everything, and not just the facts that are important at the moment."

    With visible disgust, Gareth returns to his studies.

    Less than an hour later, Gareth has found what he was looking for.

    "The clairvoyance of the priest is limited to unconscious knowledge and premonitions of serious danger to official units within the legion of which the priest is attached."

    "In other words, those dreams tell me that one of our units is in trouble." He immediately tells Captain Brandon.

    "But you don''t know which unit, or any other information? Like where that unit is?"

    "The unit is easy to guess Brandon. As you can see in the book, these are official units."

    "And the only unit we''ve officially put on paper is Raidon''s first company." Finishes Brandon Gareth''s sentence. "What do you want me to do with this information? We know Raidon is somewhere at the southern border, but we don''t know where exactly. In addition, he has five platoons with him, and we can at most prepare one or two extra platoons. And that only if you and your acolytes can finish enough harnesses."

    "As far as I''m concerned, we should send every soldier we can find to Raidon. I did not get this clairvoyance without reason. In addition, I have been suffering from it for some time, so I think that means that the danger is very real."

    "Gareth, you know as well as I do that we can''t send everyone to Raidon. We also have other obligations. In addition, the first company is only one unit. Even if we lose the entire unit, the legion and thus the religion of Mithras will continue to exist here through us."

    "You''re right, but I still think we should do everything we can to send help to Raidon. I''m going to start working on those harnesses right away, you make sure to have those two extra platoons ready to deploy when we have more information." When Gareth then walks to the door, he turns around one more time. "And if you can, have someone inquire in Aran. Or even better, send a messenger to Raidon to tell him about this."

    The rest of the week Gareth is hard at work blessing the stock of harness parts that his acolytes have been making. Thanks to the stock that was ready, he can pronounce the blessings one after the other. This means that he is speaking almost non-stop, which has a clear effect on his voice. The night he has pronounced the last blessing, his voice breaks, and the next morning he can only express a soft squeak.

 TNLB2 19 - Fort Shi Part 1

    </a>75 - Fort Shi Part One

    Morris has been waiting with his men for two days. A trio of scouts keeps an eye on Fort Shi, while the two platoons of soldiers and the thirty-seven cavalrymen stay out of sight.

    The long days of waiting have ensured that Morris now has a pretty good idea of the defenses of the fort. Every time he was on the lookout himself, he gradually drew his map of the fort.

    That''s a good thing, otherwise he would never have discovered the weak spot in the fort''s defenses.

    Like the forts Falwyn built near the southern border, Fort Shi was originally intended as a base of operations. The scale is slightly larger, because Chakra only has one fort, against the five forts of Falwyn, but it still isn¡¯t much more than a bunch of barracks and warehouses with a wooden palisade around it.

    What Morris has discovered, however, is that over time that palisade has not been maintained. Probably because the warriors of Falwyn never get this far east of the border.

    The consequence of this neglect is that some of the tree trunks are rotten and that at the back of the fort some trunks have even fallen over. Already, a small person can enter the fortress without much difficulty, and with a little work, even the heavily armored men of the New Legion can find their way inside!

    On the third day of waiting, there is finally movement at the fort.

    "Captain Morris, it worked! It seems as if it is emptying, I¡¯m guessing only a few hundred are left behind. Arnaut and I had already counted five regiments when I came to get you, who knows how many men have already left."

    "According to the latest information we have, there are a lot more than the standard five regiments in that fort. Let''s hope you and Arnaut are right and they¡¯re all leaving. If more than one or two are left behind, we have a problem."

    Fortunately, it seems as if Raidon and Morris'' plan succeeds, because by the time night falls, the scouts have counted thirteen regiments of infantry and seven regiments of cavalry. This means that only one regiment has remained to guard the fort.

    That same night Morris and his men sneak to the fort. At the back of the fort where the palisade is broken, the forest has been allowed to encroach on the walls, allowing the soldiers to hide between the shadows of the trees. Morris has instructed everyone to secure all parts that can make noise. Even the horses, which they have secured a long way back in the forest, have been given cloths tied around their feet.

    "Careful now, we wait for that lookout to walk the other way, then we rush to the palisade. First the cavalrymen, who can go through the hole without too much noise. Then you come with your men. Ice, your job is to make that hole big enough for your men to easily pass through. We meanwhile, will try to silence that lookout. If they manage to sound the alarm, try to get inside as soon as possible. Go straight to the barracks where light is on to keep those doors closed. If two soldiers push against a door with their harnesses on, it has to be a really strong guy to get those doors open."

    "Got it, Morris," Sergeant Ice replies, "let''s hope your men are successful with the lookout. Otherwise, otherwise it could go terribly wrong. We don''t even know exactly how many warriors they have left behind. I hope they didn''t get any reinforcements after you got the estimate."

    "Let''s not worry about that now. It is what it is."

    A little later, the lookout turns around to walk his round again. Without a word, Morris and his warriors rush to the breach in the palisade. Just behind them is a squad of sergeant Ice''s soldiers, who are moving even quieter.

    The first part of the plan proceeds without difficulty. Morris'' warriors know how to take down the lookout without him being able to utter a sound. A few minutes later, the soldiers of the legion also break through the palisade.

    Right after that, however, things start to go wrong. One of the other lookouts sees something out of the corner of his eye, and immediately sounds the alarm.

    The rest of the legion''s soldiers are now rushing to the fort to get inside as quickly as possible. No one tries to move quietly now that the Chakras know they are there.

    "Ice, take care of those barracks!" Morris shouts to the big soldier, "we will take care of the men on the walls."

    Even before he is finished, the first soldiers have already rushed away in duos. Sergeant Ice himself was just as quick to assess the situation as Morris, and he immediately sent his men on their way without waiting for the older captain.

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    "Shit, this place is a lot bigger than I thought," Sergeant Ice shouts. He and his men have to walk a lot further than he had thought to reach some barracks. In each barracks a hundred men can sleep, thus it¡¯s important to keep them inside.

    The first three barracks are soon blocked by two burly soldiers. Unfortunately, this means that there are still seven barracks left where light is on. With a final sprint, two other duos manage to reach the next barracks.

    In the distance Ice sees the next squads of his platoon coming running, but they will never be in time to block the last barracks. He quickly calls the squad leader of his first squad to run together with him to the next building.

    With six out of ten barracks blocked, it will at least be a fair fight. A little later, the other squads also run past Ice.

    "You two, come and relieve us!" he shouts to the last two soldiers.

    The moment he shouts it, he suddenly feels a huge thud against the door. He almost falls over, but the weight of his harness helps to keep the door closed. The Chakras have finally woken up to the persistent sound of the screaming warriors on the lookout. However, after pushing two more times, they seem to give up trying to get through the door.

    "I think you can relieve us now." Ice tells the two soldiers. But even as he says this, they hear a huge scratching sound of iron on iron. The Chakras have thought of sticking their swords between the cracks of the door. Only the heavy armor saves Ice from being impaled. He quickly lets the soldiers take their place.

    In the distance he sees that the next barrack is also blocked, and that his men near the door of the barrack after that are battling a dozen Chakran warriors. With their shield wall, the more than thirty soldiers push their opponents further and further back, until they can finally close the door of that barrack.

    "Hold the line there!" Sergeant Ice shouts to his squad leaders, "Those last barracks are lost. If we form up here, at least they can''t free the others. The other platoon will come and help us when they are finished with the other barracks."

    Indeed, Sergeant Mateo''s platoon is busy setting fire to and securing the previously blocked barracks. The first building is already burning like a torch, while a squad of soldiers walks around the building to ensure that no warriors manage to come out through the windows. From the inside fearful screams can be heard from the trapped warriors. Meanwhile, the other squads are also on their way to their assigned barracks, with torches that they have lit at the cooking fires of the fort.

    There is also a lot of fighting on the walls. A fort the size of Fort Shi has a lot of lookouts, and the watchmen have joined together to face their attackers. Morris and his warriors have already killed a dozen lookouts, fighting in two groups of twenty along the walkways. Almost half of the walls of the fort are already in their hands when Morris sees that the soldiers of the legion have not succeeded in blocking all the barracks.

    "That''s enough men, if we push further we will be attacked in the back by two hundred warriors. We¡¯ll hold here until the soldiers have done their part."

    As the fire spreads further and further through the fort, Sergeant Ice and his soldiers are also attacked in the back. He has already sent five soldiers with a squad leader to give the soldiers that keep the doors closed some cover. That''s all he can spare from the shield line. He has already lost two of his men due to lucky hits from the enemy, so he himself has already taken his place next to his soldiers.

    Slowly the legionaries are driven back until they reach the door of the eighth barrack. The two soldiers who are pushing against the door look at each other for a moment, after which they both draw their large two-handed swords. First one, and then the other makes room so he can push his sword deep into the. As a result, the door can be opened a little bit, but the soldiers can join the shield wall without the enemy warriors escaping.

    Meanwhile, in the first two barracks, it has become quiet, and the soldiers there rush to the next buildings. The four soldiers of Ice''s platoon help to give the shield wall cover against a bunch of warriors who make circumferential movements between the other buildings.

    From the walkway, Morris has a good view of the battle that takes place inside the fort. Although he started to doubt for a moment whether the legion would be able to hold its own, it seems as if that doubt is unfounded. Half the fort is already shrouded in smoke and flames, while the soldiers with their blackened armor have now managed to set fire to the seventh barrack. Here and there a bunch of warriors have managed to escape from the hell of burning barracks, but most of them don''t even have their clothes on.

    Then he sees a group of about twenty warriors working their way behind the shield wall of the soldiers by making a wide detour. For a moment Morris doubts whether he should help with a bunch of men, but then a squad of soldiers comes running who have just torched a barrack. With their shields in front of them, they make their way through the small group of enemies like a battering ram, leaving death and destruction behind them.

    When these soldiers have also joined the shield wall, it is no longer pushed back, and they even manage to push the Chakrans back. Slowly but surely, ground is being gained again.

    Sergeant Mateo, meanwhile, begins to make a circumferential movement with his half platoon, just like the Chakras tried a few moments ago. Slowly the enemy is pushed further and further into one corner of the fort, leaving Morris and his men free to advance further as well.

    Although the Chakras are still in the majority, their morale is totally broken. Most have only grabbed their swords and are now shivering from the cold in their underwear. After a few minutes of retreat, the warriors shattered. The once tough men run like terrified hares to the front gate of the fort. When they manage to remove the heavy beam from the doors, they run south as fast as they can in the same direction as their comrades earlier that day.

    For the soldiers and cavalrymen of the New Legion, however, there is little time to celebrate. Twelve men were killed, including nine soldiers. Almost double that is injured but out of danger. The just over a hundred remaining men plunder the fort as quickly as possible, taking only what they can carry, or stack on the two wagons and the seventeen horses left behind, with the wagons also having to transport the dead and wounded. Morris and the two sergeants, meanwhile, rumble around headquarters looking for any papers that might be important.

    By sunrise, there is little left of the once proud fortress. After the rapid looting, every building was set on fire and even the old palisade had to pay the price. With pieces of roofing from the buildings, the palisade was lit in various places, after which the soldiers quickly run off. They still have a long way to go to reach the border and the escaped Chakras will warn their comrades in the meantime. Maybe their cavalry is already on its way back!

 TNLB2 20 - Fort Shi Part 2

    76 - Fort Shi Part Two

    Alyena has gone to the closed part of the library at every opportunity she got these last few days. Because the books here are almost never used, the maintenance of them has also been less than it should be. Gerben the librarian tries his best, but he can¡¯t afford to do more than clean a little bit at a time.

    The books have not been rewritten for a long time, which means that many of the books are difficult to read due to the language changing over the centuries. To Alyena, it seems to be a mishmash between the language of the old empire and the current language.

    As a result, she has made less progress than she had hoped. However, she did find several interesting books where possible answers to her problems might be found. For example, she has found the following piece:

    "In order to introduce the long-awaited and for the people so important change with regard to the forced incorporation of the regiments in defense of the imperial territory, Emperor Augustus VI deployed both the third, fourth and seventh legions to strengthen legiolism."

    Another more hopeful piece is:

    "In the fifth month of the fifth year of emperor Theodore''s reign, the tributum was increased on the purchase of slaves. With the increased tributum, Emperor Theodore shut down much of the slave trade. The deployment of a slave became much more expensive than the use of servants, especially if the servant signed a contract to remain employed by the owner of the estate for his entire life. As a result, the use of sworn servants became much more common.''

    Apparently it is indeed possible to implement changes, Alyena muses. Unfortunately, it doesn''t look like that''s going to be very easy. I don''t have three legions to enforce a law. The second option, to offer something that amounts to almost the same thing, is also not going to work.

    Because Alyena has to think for a while about what her next step will be, she decides to take her mind off it with a visit to the military academy. The academy is located on the shore of Snake Lake, near the city of Maisier. That is why she calls Captain Cervik to plan the trip.

    "Captain Cervik! Put together a bodyguard for me to accompany us to Maisier. I think it''s time for me to take a personal look at the academy."

    "Why do you want to go there? I don''t think you learn very much there, at least I didn''t when I was there."

    "That''s exactly my goal, I want to know how the students are being taught. If our officers don''t know how to wage war, how are our warriors ever supposed to fight against Chakra? And in addition, the academy costs a lot of money."

    "In that case I think you can certainly learn something from that visit. Whether the academy is what you expect it to be, I doubt it. But it will certainly be instructive."

    Immediately Captain Cervik leaves the room to arrange an escort for the next day.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    "You''re not going to believe this, Florian!" With these words, Aulis storms into the squad leader''s office.

    "Let me guess, the mayors don''t think the third option is good enough either?"

    The two have been trying for days to find a place that the mayors think is good enough to start a new village. So far, all the places nearby have received a failing grade. At the first, the soil was too poor for growing enough food and the second was too close to the forest, which they thought dangerous.

    "What was the problem this time?"

    "That you couldn''t guess that Florian. The ground was not flat enough."

    "But they can just flatten that themselves, can''t they?" Asks the squad leader with played amazement.

    "Yes, of course, but the same goes for the previous excuses. Those guys, especially Mayor Crow, just want to have a ready-made village to move into."

    "Well, we didn''t hide any ready-made villages in the warehouses. What we can do though, is offer them a place that has already proven itself. Then they¡¯ll have no choice but to accept it."

    "What do you mean by that? This island has been uninhabited for centuries."

    "Yes, but before that time there were a lot of villages. I think you even came across a few places during your expedition to Centurion."

    "You''re right about that! In some places you could even find the foundations among all the weeds."

    The next day, Aulis and Florian, along with Dew and a bunch of soldiers, will take the two mayors to Centurion. In the evening, Aulis personally informs the mayors that they will be on the road for a few days. He also mentions that there will be lots of place to see that will be great to start up their new villages.

    At the end of the evening, Mayor Crow once again starts to complain that he has seen very little of those amazingly beautiful places to found his village.

    "Well, mayor, I can''t do much about the fact that you didn''t think the previous places were good enough. That is why we¡¯ll go along the main road, and see all the places that were once the places to be along the road. You¡¯ll see, these will soon be the most visited villages of the island."

    "Well I haven''t seen all that many people on that main road of yours." Is the grumpy man''s answer.

    "There is not much more than Centurion and Arana on the island yet. But after you¡¯ve founded your villages, there will already be a lot more reason to go back and forth. In addition, Centurion has to buy a lot of supplies, which will mainly come from the island. I therefore expect that there will be a lively trade along the road. That is why we have chosen some places where resting places will be located, perhaps eventually even inns if we can find interested parties."

    "Hmpf."

    Aulis and Florian look at each other. This man is never satisfied.

    The next day the expedition is already on the other side of the mountains. Here are most of the places on the main road where villages used to be. On the side of Arana there is of course only one, and there is already a small settlement there these days.

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    When they come across the first place, Mayor Naam is very enthusiastic.

    "This is beautiful!" he exclaims, "This is as far from the pass through the mountains as that settlement on the other side, but the land here is a lot more fertile."

    "You are right, sir," squad leader Floris replies, "down there, you can''t see it, but you can hear it if you listen carefully, a river flows where you can find clean water. This place is high enough that even the meltwater does not make the river high enough to cause flooding."

    However, Mayor Crow is not so enthusiastic. "Otherwise, it''s still very uneven here. I don''t think my people feel like walking up and downhill all the time."

    Now even the other mayor is fed up with his whining. "Crow, since we''ve been here, these people have done nothing but try to help us. As a thank you, you have only been whining, that has to stop right now! If you don''t want this place, I''ll take it! I''m sure I can persuade enough people to build our village here. Look at it, the foundations of houses are still there. With a little cleaning we can start building new walls and roofs immediately!"

    "Hmpf."

    Aulis and Florian look at each other again with telling looks. That sniffing of the man starts to get annoying.

    The second and third places that Aulis thought were good for a settlement are also rejected. But in the middle of the afternoon they arrive at an intersection of the main road. Here used to be another major road that went more from the northeast to the southwest. This puts it perpendicular to the main road. On this spot there used to be a fairly large village. In the distance you can even see the walls and towers of Centurion.

    "Here, this is a place I can do something with." The once surly Mayor Crow seems to have turned into a cheerful man in a single moment.

    Well, cheerful is also exaggerated, Aulis thinks. "You''re right, Mayor Crow. As you can see, here are also the remains of an old village. The intersection of these two roads, the two largest we have discovered on the island, makes it an excellent place for the next village. The land here as you can see is quite flat, and there is a lake half an hour''s walk away. In addition, you can see Centurion lying there in the distance, that is now an hour or two on foot I think."

    "Is there a river nearby? Or do we have to walk all the way to that lake for drinking water?"

    "Well there is no river here, but there is a stream nearby. Also, this old village once had a well, so I assume that it can be repaired again. Oh and if that''s not good enough, there used to be a sawmill near that stream."

    "I don''t know much about those. I''m more into agriculture. If we cultivate some land, we can grow a lot of grain here."

    "Then why don¡¯t you put a bunch of millstones in that old sawmill?" Is the brilliant idea of squad leader Floris. "That water will probably move those stones as easily as a saw. Then you don''t have to build a normal mill."

    "Right, then we can sell the flour instead of grain. That yields a lot more." Mayor Crow seems convinced. "Shall we go back to Arana now? The sooner we leave, the sooner I can go here again with my people."

    However, Aulis has a better plan: "How about going to centurion first? After all, it will be the island''s best trading partner. And in doing so, they¡¯ll ensure that no pirates and bandits come to set things on fire."

    "Yes, but we also want to start setting up our villages quickly!" Both mayors are now so enthusiastic about their new villages that they want nothing more than to start right away.

    "I think I can persuade the captain to bring us home with one of their ships. Or do you feel more like walking for a few more days?"

    The latter argument appears to be the deciding factor. Even Aulis is surprised by the enthusiasm with which the two men immediately start walking towards the towers of Centurion.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Five days after their departure from Niroma, Alyena and her entourage arrive at the city of Maisier.

    "Look there, your majesty," says Captain Cervik, "There in the distance you can see the Imperial Academy."

    "Where then Cervik? I see the city and in the northern quarter I see a walled estate. But I don''t see a military terrain anywhere."

    Empress Alyena is not wrong. In the middle of the northern quarter is a walled estate. The entire site resembles a large park, complete with a forest, a small lake and a large lawn. In the middle is a beautiful mansion with at least three buildings that are placed in a U shape.

    "That estate IS the academy, your majesty. When it was founded, it was decided that it should be built within the walls of the city. They made room for it by buying out the people who already lived there, or by adjusting the leases in such a way that people could no longer afford to continue living there. Eventually, a wall was put around it because many residents from all over the city came to visit the area. Over the years, the inhabitants have adapted, and some buildings have even been built against that wall. Near the gate in the fence, an area has arisen where the young noblemen can spend their money, this area is also called the Velvet district. Everything you can think of is for sale there, whether it''s jewelry and gala weapons, or whether you''re looking for feminine beauty, that''s where you can find it."

    "Then we will visit there tomorrow when we visit the academy. First, let''s stay the night in the garrison. I¡¯m guessing that I''m not the only one who would like to take a bath."

    The next day, the company sets off early for the academy. Arriving in the Velvet district, it soon becomes clear why the district is called that. Wherever Alyena looks, it radiates wealth. From the perfectly maintained green lawns, to the displayed wares of the merchants. There is also a city guard on almost every street corner to keep an eye on things.

    "As you can see, your majesty," Captain Cervik explains what they see, "no expense has been spared to ensure that the young noblemen can enjoy themselves here. However, you can assume that you can find a better quality in the crafters districts. The goods that are sold here are made to look especially beautiful, but they will not last long. The young people mainly want to show off their beautiful things, and then buy something new a week later."

    "Shall we look somewhere? I want to see what must be so beautiful that people dare to deliver poor quality."

    No sooner said than done, Captain Cervik leads his empress to a blacksmith. Like all the shops here, the blacksmith has some of his weapons displayed behind a real glass frame. The glass alone must have cost a fortune, Alyena knows.

    Even before she has been able to see what is behind the window, they are approached by a passer-by.

    "Your Majesty, if you want to take my advice, you''d better look elsewhere for a personal weapon. These weapons can only be used for a gala, and will not save you in case of emergency."

    "Disappear, how dare you disturb her majesty with your wild stories!" Immediately one of the imperial guards yells at the man.

    "You recognize me? However, Alyena immediately asks the man," after which Captain Cervik hurriedly waves his guard away.

    "But of course your majesty, who else would be accompanied by the imperial guard? I will introduce myself, my name is Bremen Bennett, former student of the imperial academy. But you can call me Bremen, since my family disinherited me after I left the academy."

    "Your family disinherited you because you left the academy?" Asks Captain Cervik, even in his experience most noblemen give their sons an extra chance.

    "Well, more because I got kicked out of the academy. My opinion about the state of affairs was not considered to fit within the policy of the academy. My father learned of this when the academy sent both him and most prominent warriors a message strongly discouraging  them from offering me a position. In other words, I will never join the army, the first in a dozen generations."

    "Yes, that sounds more like a valid reason for most nobles. But if you want to excuse me, I''d like to look at this store right now."

    "Don''t you believe me that the quality here leaves something to be desired?"

    "But of course I do, but as I explained to Captain Cervik earlier, I would like to know what my nobles spend their gold on."

    "Ah, in that case I¡®d love to show you around, your majesty. Since I currently hang out here all day, I have a good idea of what is being sold where."

    Although Captain Cervik doesn''t think it''s a good idea, Alyena accepts the young man''s offer. In the space of two hours, he manages to find several extremely expensive stores, where the most miraculous things are sold. Captain Cervik is tempted to buy a weapon, a steel sword with inlaid gold and silver motifs. Alyena, on the other hand, likes some of the dresses in another store so much that she almost buys one. Only the warnings of the young Bremen holds them back from the purchases.

    "If you both want to go back and buy the dress and the sword, you can do that. However, I do hope that you have enough gold with you. However, I fear that it is almost impossible to carry so much gold, both together will soon cost between 500 and 700 gold coins."

    "How much?" Alyena''s mouth almost falls open in amazement. "That''s more than it would cost me to hold an entire ball in the palace."

    "I told you, you wouldn''t want to shop here, would you? Although I do expect that with some haggling you can halve the price, but even then that is much more than those things are worth."

    "You can say that again. Thank you for helping us, Bremen. We will now continue our way to the academy. I am increasingly curious about what people there teach our young nobles, when they buy this nonsense here in their spare time."

    "Would you also like a guide at the academy? One that dares to tell you all the bad things? I can guarantee you that they will not tell you how things really work there."

    Alyena looks at Captain Cervik, and when he nods briefly, she answers in the affirmative.

 TNLB2 21 - Fort Shi Part 3

    </a></a>77 - Fort Shi Part Three

    <h2> </h2>

    After a week of not hearing from the Chakras, finally something started to happen. That same morning, John called on Raidon to ask to add even more traps. After Von''s garrison withdrew, John and his squad have already started working hard to renew their traps. In addition, they have significantly increased the number of traps. Tripwires, pitfalls and even a landscaped swamp with pointed sticks hidden in them were made by the squad. On the off chance that they could, they have also created several places where an ambush might be carried out.

    "Captain, is it possible to get an extra squad?" John asks Raidon, "I know no one should know that I have a higher rank, but no one would get to know that. My own squad is just too small to take advantage of all the opportunities that the traps offer us. With a second squad I can do a good ambush and maybe even catch the commanders."

    Raidon starts laughing when the older man almost ran out of breath from his enthusiasm, "John, even without that whole explanation, I would have given you an extra squad for your ambushes. The day you told me you were making those spots, I already discussed with the sergeants that a squad had to be ready to support you."

    John looks a little sippy, "so I could have asked much earlier. I¡¯m here eating myself up to see if I could ask for help without reason. I thought you needed everyone to get the defenses finished on time."

    "Both are equally important. The longer it takes the Chakras to come to us, the better our position becomes. In addition, I hope that you can eliminate possible siege tools or their engineers."

    "Well we''re definitely going to try!

    As the evening starts, Raidon is suddenly called upon by one of the soldiers who had been assigned to John that morning.

    "Captain! I have a message from squad leader John, the Chakras are coming."

    Raidon immediately has his full attention on the soldier, "they¡¯re almost here? How long before they arrive?"

    "The squad leader thinks that without delay they can be here tomorrow at noon. With our traps and ambushes, we should probably be able to stretch that for another day or two, but it won''t be much more."

    "Right, so we should have a few more days to improve our defenses. We can make that work. Can you tell me what squad leader John is up to right now?"

    "Yes captain, he has gone exploring with a number of men to see how many warriors are approaching. By counting the campfires, he thinks he can make a fairly good estimate. After that, he already has a first surprise for the Chakras in store."

    "Then I will inform the sergeants that we can get an estimate of the number of attackers later in the evening. Then we can consider the steps we still need to take. Now get back to squad leader John, and tell him that I want that information tonight."

    That evening John himself comes to the camp to tell what he has seen.

    "It''s about five thousand Chakras, Captain."

    "What kind of armament do they have? And how many of them are cavalrymen and auxiliaries? And did they bring siege equipment?"

    "Well, you don''t have to be afraid of those siege tools, because they don''t have them. None of my men have seen troops other than cavalrymen. So this is either the vanguard of a giant army, or Morris got them to go back."

    "Let''s hope it''s the second. Without siege equipment, we have a chance to hold out, even though we are vastly outnumbered. The manuals indicate that you should be able to maintain a well-defended position if the opponent cannot pit more than ten men against each of yours. But that only applies if both the attacker and the defender have the same equipment."

    Raidon still has to think about what the best option is. Despite the defenses they have built, the odds are still staggering. Even with their harnesses, it doesn''t seem possible for him to hold their position for long. The Chakras can line up more than thirty warriors against each soldier of Raidon.

    To be on the safe side, Raidon decides to send Ryker on his way with his ship to get extra soldiers.

    "I think it''s best to go to Centurion for help. At the border there are mostly warriors of the regular army, I fear that you will find no reinforcements there. In Centurion, meanwhile, Brandon should have completed the first training of the recruits we already had, and with a bit of luck he also managed to get enough harnesses."

    "Are you sure Raidon? You can also choose to evacuate everyone now. When I leave, you have nowhere to retreat to."

    "I know Ryker, but we have to take that risk. We won''t find a better position than this any time soon."

    "If that''s your choice, I''m going to do my best to come up with reinforcements as soon as possible. I''m going to get everything ready to leave right away."

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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    When Alyena and her entourage arrive at the gate of the academy, they are stopped by armed guards.

    "Halt! The class season started last week, so who are you to come to our gate now."

    Apparently, these so-called guards don¡¯t even recognize the markings of the uniforms of the imperial guard.

    "In front of you is Alyena, empress of the empire. So open this gate immediately and guide us to the marshal of the academy." Captain Cervik clearly has no patience for the incompetence of these guards.

    Without blinking, the guards open the gate. Apparently, not recognizing the Empress and her entourage was part of the gate ceremony. Within seconds, a servant comes out of the building next to the gate.

    "Welcome majesty, to the high academy of the art of martial arts."

    "High academy? I was not aware that there is also a low academy. Can you explain that to me?" Alyena interrupts him with a small smile on her face.

    With a pained face, the servant answers negatively.

    "No, your majesty, that is just the name that the gentlemen of standing have given to our beautiful academy. We are still the only academy of our empire. This is still the best place for young men to learn the art of warfare." He says the latter in such a proud tone that Alyena can''t resist teasing him again.

    "If it''s the only one, then it''s also the best, isn''t it? I don''t think it''s very difficult to tell you that you''re the best."

    With a red head, the servant leads them to the U-shaped building at the end of the driveway.

    Once there, they are immediately led into the headmaster''s office.

    "Welcome majesty, what can we with our humble academy do for you? Maybe you want to come and take some classes? Our teachers are masters at teaching everything a noble lady needs to know in order to move in the upper classes. Both learning the art of embroidery and conversing are ideal for ladies of your caliber. Or maybe you would like some lessons in finding the right spouse to take over your burdens from you?"

    "No thank you headmaster. While I''m certainly curious about what the ladies here are learning, I''m here mainly to look at the lessons the young men are learning to become officers. I am concerned about the quality of our officer corps."

    Full of wonder, the headmaster replies: "But that''s nothing for a noble lady like you, is it? I can guarantee you that the lessons for the ladies would suit you much better."

    The disdainful speech of the headmaster starts irritate Alyena quite a bit.

    "Headmaster, I know very well what I''m here for. And that''s not, like you keep insisting, taking useless classes. So you can stop your attempts and assign me someone now who can guide me to some of the lessons. If you don¡¯t, I will reconsider if this academy still continues to have the right to exist."

    The headmaster seems to sink into his chair under the empress''s fiery speech.

    "Of course your majesty, my own assistant will guide you." The headmaster walks to the door and immediately calls his assistant. "Gerwald, you are going to show the Empress and her entourage around the academy. I think Master Jada is currently giving parade lessons to the third-year students, that¡¯s where you can start your tour."

    "Of course sir, your majesty, if you will follow me."

    The assistant leads Alyena to an exit on the north side of the building. Immediately Alyena hears the rumbling of lots of horse hooves on stone. Indeed, a dozen young men ride black horses across a small square.

    The assistant immediately walks up to the teacher, who is watching from the sidelines on an equally black horse.

    "Master Jada, Master Jada! Her Majesty Empress Alyena is here to observe your lesson. Maybe you could explain what your students are currently doing?"

    Master Jada is equally utterly bewildered. It is not often that someone comes to observe at the academy, and certainly not someone like the Empress.

    "But of course, the gentlemen are currently engaged in a warm-up exercise. During the first year they learn to ride in step, after which we use this exercise for the warm-up of both the men and the horses. In a moment we will start working on a more difficult pattern."

    When the parade lesson is finally over, Alyena and her entourage are escorted to the next lesson.

    "I have to say Bremen, that this lesson was not that bad. Maybe it''s not very useful for a war, but at least they learn discipline."

    "You are right, your majesty, but I fear that you were sent to this lesson for a good reason. The parade lesson is one of the few lessons that are not completely useless. If you ask me, the headmaster has used this time to organize some lessons with which he can leave a good impression."

    "Then tell us what lessons are normally there, and we''ll see if this matches what we''re going to see today."

    "Of course your majesty," Bremen begins before being interrupted by the Empress.

    "Bremen, enough with that majesty. Politeness is appreciated, but exaggeration is also an art. You don''t have to use my title in every sentence."

    "But of course maje-... But of course. As I was going to say, there is a distinction between the ladies and gentlemen who are taught at the academy. The ladies have several lessons that they must follow. The lessons you were offered by the headmaster are some examples of this. Despite these mandatory lessons, the ladies have more than enough time for themselves. The ladies have lessons at most three days a week."

    "And the gentlemen?"

    "With the gentlemen, the lessons are more non-committal. Not a single class is mandatory, instead they have to sign up for classes. If there are not at least three registrations, the lesson will not be taught."

    "And what kind of lessons are available?"

    "You have already seen the parade lesson, that is one of the lessons that is pretty much always taught. Most young nobles find it important to look good to impress the young ladies. There are also lessons in fencing and boxing. Also, fighting from the saddle is quite popular. Furthermore, a few immerse themselves in the management of their estate, but usually they have to turn to the library. The librarian gives lessons in management, but they often don¡¯t take place because there are too few registrations."

    "Those lessons sound pretty useful. Why do you say you didn''t learn anything here?"

    "Because these are the lessons that the others find useful. Yes, if you can handle your sword, that is very useful in a war, but I would also like to learn how to keep the men alive. There is no teaching in tactics or strategy. No one here has any idea what it''s like to lead warriors. I think ninety percent of graduates would fall into the first trap or ambush that they encounter. The academy is really only good for social contacts, to party, and to finally have a piece of paper that one can use to immediately move on to a good position in the army. Probably three-quarters of the gentlemen are not even near the academy at the moment, but they are either in the city, or they are hunting under the guidance of a teacher."

    The three classes that Alyena and her entourage attend the rest of the day don¡¯t look much like the description that Bremen gave. Indeed, there is one lesson in swordsmanship, but the other two lessons are one in topography and one in the creation of the two empires.

    Although the lessons themselves are not wrong, it is clear that the students do not get these lessons often. No one really knows what the teacher is talking about, and the questions that are asked have to be read from a piece of paper half the time.

    When they drive back to the garrison, Alyena decides that she has already seen enough.

    "Bremen, if you have no objection, I would like you to accompany us on the way back to Niroma. I think I can get enough information about the academy from you for my needs. In return, I will make sure that you will receive a decent education, with the chance of a position in the army afterwards."

    "Your Majesty, it would be an honor for me. Thank you for this opportunity, I will not disappoint you!"

 TNLB2 22 - Retreat Part 1

    75 - Retreat

    At the end of the afternoon, the long-awaited river finally comes into view. After they cross it, only the desert will be between them and the border.

    However, when they get near the bridge, they can see a cloud of dust rapidly approaching from the south.

    "That will be the cavalry!" Morris shouts. He immediately hands out his orders: "Sergeants Ice, Mateo, push the men to march as fast as they can go. Captain Harris, you and I will go ahead to capture the bridge before the Chakranian cavalry can arrive."

    With the plan made, Sergeant Ice, as the oldest sergeant, takes charge of the two platoons of legionaries.

    "Mateo, we¡¯ll make a square with the pack horses and wounded in the middle. You take the rearguard and the right side, I¡¯ll take the front and the left side with my men. Just put two squads on the side and three on the back, I''ll mirror you. The main danger will come from the back and from the south. You have two minutes to arrange that, then we leave. Anyone who is not yet in position should run a little faster."

    "Understood Sergeant! Men, right and behind two and three squads, move it!"

    Even before Morris and Harris can start their charge forward, the entire column has turned into a rectangular formation around the vulnerable wounded. At the same time, they also begin to pick up their pace, until they almost catch up with Harris'' procrastinating warriors. There is even singing coming from within the formation!

    Morris has to concentrate to hear the actual words, but when he does, he immediately stops and urges his men forward. Let Harris enjoy the harsh words from the legionaries, but he won¡¯t hear any more about him, his men, and their horses.

    Unfortunately, even the herculean effort from the legionaries doesn''t seem to be enough to be the first to reach the bridge. Slowly, the dust clouds begin to reveal their contents, as first the outlines of men and horses, and later the warriors and horses themselves emerge.

    "What do you think Harris, about a thousand? Or will there be more?"

    "I think about double that Morris. Those guys have enough horses, and the survivors from the fort must have told them how many men approximately have. I think even the Chakras find twenty against one good enough odds."

    "Well, that means they''re spread out over a considerable distance. That means that maybe we have a chance. We¡¯ll position the men in a straight line all the way from the bridge to the infantry. Make sure there is no space between the horses and let everyone keep their spears ready. It''s our job to hold that bridge till the soldiers arrive."

    "Are they going to make it? If I were them, I would surrender immediately. At least in the slave armies you have a small chance to escape. We should leave everything behind and race to the border."

    Morris shakes his head. "You won''t make it. Our horses are pretty much exhausted. And don''t write the legion off yet! Remember what they did at Linh? If do something like that again, they''ll be with us in no time."

    Moments later though, it''s clear that the legion can''t get to the bridge in time, so Morris lets his warriors retreat to the bridge.

    "With three people in a row, we have enough weight to hold the bridge for a while. I want to see swords and shields at the front, the rest use those spears wherever you can."

    Shortly after the warriors have braced themselves on the bridge, the Chakras arrive. However, none of them is so stupid as to venture straight onto the bridge. The group of defenders looks determined and their numbers make little difference on the narrow bridge. Slowly they form a semicircle around the bridgehead.

    Some warriors make an attempt to swim to the other side, but in winter the river flows much too fast. After the first two men are dragged away along with their horses, they quickly give up.

    Meanwhile, the legionaries are still running. They have just seen their escape route blocked by hundreds of enemy warriors, but even that can¡¯t faze them.

    "Standard marching pace!" Orders Sergeant Ice, after which their speed becomes a lot slower. He knows that his men have little chance of breaking through when they are out of breath.

    "We still have a short distance to go, and then we¡¯ll fight our way to that bridge. I have no intention of letting this raid fail now. Mateo, what do you think. Are we going to go straight at them in an arrow formation and smash ourselves straight through to the bridge, or do you have a better plan?"

    "How about charging them first in a shield wall and then stopping for the crossbows and spears."

    "Yes, that was my plan as well," Sergeant Ice interrupts the other sergeant.

    "Let me speak for a moment. I suggest keeping the shield wall straight and hitting the enemy head on. Then, during the battle, we switch to an arrow formation to make our way through. This way the shield wall will have effect over a larger area, and we may be able to get through them more easily in the middle."

    "I don''t know if that''s a good plan. I wouldn''t hesitate for a moment against infantry, but these guys are all on horseback. We can''t just push them away like we did at Linh. We probably have to use our spears now to hit those horse lovers, with the two-handed weapons to mow away the legs of those horses."

    "Bah you''re right, do you know if the handbook has any other tactics for battling cavalry?"

    "I have to say that I can''t remember that part very well. So far, we haven''t needed it either. These tactics have always worked."

    "Sorry, Sergeant Ice, Mateo, I heard what you said," one of the soldiers reports, "the handbook gives the tip to keep to the formation in most cases and keep the cavalry at bay with spears and ranged weapons."

    "Thank you soldier, that¡¯s what we¡¯ll do, I think," Sergeant Ice replies, "Mateo we''re going to form two rings. My men have already fought in a shield wall last night, so yours can now be in the front. My men stand behind yours with spears and crossbows. Then we walk like a hedgehog: shields overlapping with the spears in between. The second row holds the shields high and protrudes over the men in front while the men who are not in danger use their crossbows."

    "Understood," replies the second sergeant, "Team leaders come forward!"

    Less than five minutes later, the newly formed ''hedgehog'' comes within reach of the Chakran cavalrymen. There is still enough distance between the two units, so Sergeant Ice decides to test the shooting skills of his men.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    "Stop! Take up your crossbows, choose targets and on my signal we''ll see how many we can hit." The sergeant puts his money where his mouth is, and counts to three just to be sure. "Shoot!"

    Nearly a hundred arrows fly at the enemy. The rear soldiers don''t want to be left behind, and just aim at enemies who are a little further away. This way they can shoot nicely over the heads of the others.

    Many of the arrows go astray or hit horses, but the effect is clearly visible. Almost the entire first row of Chakras opposite the legion fall down, while here and there others are also lifted from their horses by the hard blows. When a second shot is fired a little later, none of the Chakras knows who¡¯ll be the next to be shot down. Of the ordered formation is therefore soon nothing to be seen.

    Sergeant Ice knows he has to take this moment while he still can.

    "Forward!" he shouts, and the whole formation immediately starts to run, while the soldiers who were still holding their crossbow quickly hook them back into their holders and quickly snatch their spears with them.

    Now that the formation of the Chakras has been disrupted, it takes the soldiers no effort to break through the first rows of enemies. There is not much left of the first row anyway.

    After a few minutes, the advance starts to become a lot more difficult. The soldiers of the legion also sometimes have a hard time maintaining their tight ranks. There are dead horses and warriors everywhere, and here and there the still living horses also get in the way. Yet they slowly but surely manage to get closer to the bridge.

    When they finally arrive at the bridge, the relief is noticeable. The hedgehog breaks open at the front to let the wounded on the carts and the pack horses through. The soldiers quickly rush to reinforce the rear. This is the last chance for the cavalrymen to capture the New Legion.

    However, the expected attack does not materialize. Apparently the enemy commander is shocked by the ease with which this small group of soldiers has broken right through his army.

    Both Sergeant Ice and Sergeant Mateo have lined up with the soldiers who cover the retreat.

    "I think we''ll make it, Mateo. What do you think?"

    "I think so too. They only have one more chance, which is when most of our men are on that bridge. Then they could attack the last men on this side."

    "I don''t think they do. Then they would have attacked us now, now that they can take more of us."

    Even as Sergeant Ice makes this prediction, they hear a huge crackle and scream behind them, followed by a huge splash. They quickly turn around to see what''s going on. Unfortunately, there is little to see by all the soldiers standing between the two sergeants and the cause of the noise.

    "I''m going to look, you just make sure that those Chakras don''t get any ideas." Sergeant Ice calls out to his colleague, while he is already making his way between the soldiers.

    After a few minutes of struggling, Sergeant Ice finally arrives at the scene of the accident. After looking at the situation at a glance, the man begins to curse from the bottom of his heart.

    One of the wagons lost a wheel, and then fell into the river with horses and all. And unfortunately, it¡¯s the car with the twelve dead men and three soldiers who were wounded in their legs.

    Miraculously, one of the three wounded soldiers survived, clinging to the remains of the railing of the bridge. The other two unfortunately sank immediately due to their heavy armor.

    When everyone except a two-team rear guard is over the bridge, the captains discuss how to proceed.

    "Ice, Mateo, you will have to walk to the border as soon as possible. Despite the speed with which you can march, those cavalrymen are a lot faster."

    "I don''t agree with that, Captain Morris," the sergeant replies. "My men can do a lot, but marching much further to the border is not one of them. We all fought last night, after which we also marched all day to fight here again. We will have to camp here for at least a few hours."

    "I guess you''re right about that, I''m sorry sergeant. I hadn''t thought that marching is a lot harder for you than for us on horseback. My men are tired, but they still have a few hours in them, I think."

    "Well I''m actually pretty tired, Morris." Now Captain Harris is also involved in the conversation.

    "Yes, we all are. But the longer we stay here, the greater the chance that those people will find another place to get to this side of the river."

    "We''ll have to rest anyway Morris," Ice said. "It''s starting to get dark now, so let''s give the men as much rest as possible. Mateo and I will let our men stand guard until it starts to get dark. If we make a schedule with short guard times, that should not be a problem."

    "Yes, and then our men will have to keep watch all night. That doesn''t seem fair to me!" Captain Harris replies immediately.

    "Well, that''s about what it comes down to." Sergeant Ice now begins to grin viciously. "By the time it''s dark, you and your men can take over. In the meantime, our soldiers will be a bit rested, so we will start the march to the border as quietly as possible. As you always say, you are so much faster than us, that you can easily catch up with us when you leave a few hours later."

    "Ha! and the Chakras will meanwhile make a lot of effort to cross the river, only to find out that we are no longer there. Great plan sergeant!"

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    With a soft thud, Ryker moors the large warship at Centurion''s largest pier. With practiced precision, his men throw the bunches around the bollards, not that anyone from the New Legion knows what the ropes and poles are called with which the ship is secured. Probably Ryker and some of his men are the only ones on the entire continent who know what they are called. Since the large ships of the past have disappeared, that knowledge has also been lost. The fishing boats are usually pulled onto the beach, or fastened in any place where there is space.

    When the ship is firmly tied down, the gangway is extended. In order not to waste time, Ryker immediately goes ashore to look for Captain Brandon.

    However, even before he reaches the end of the pier, a full platoon of soldiers appears in the distance. As always, all soldiers are exactly in formation, with the sergeant in the front. As soon as they arrive at Ryker, the sergeant gives the order, and at exactly the same time the whole platoon comes to a standstill with a thud.

    "Sergeant Roland reports, permission to board captain."

    "Uhm, but of course sergeant, but why?"

    "According to Priest-Captain Gareth, you are here to get reinforcements for Captain Raidon, sir. We are the first platoon of those reinforcements. The second platoon will join you when you have spoken to Captain Brandon."

    "Oh, well, in that case, once again welcome on board. My first mate will show you where to go, I have to report to the captain first."

    "Of course, Captain. Forward, Mars!"

    Full of wonder, Ryker looks at the soldiers, how they know Raidon is in trouble is a mystery to him, but it saves a lot of time. At the earliest, Ryker had expected to leave the next day, and if his luck was bad, he had expected to only after a few days. With a shock he notices that he has been staring at the soldiers, who are already on board his ship. He quickly rushes to the Legion headquarters to report to Captain Brandon.

    Moments later, he''s in Brandon''s office.

    "... so that was the situation when I left. Captain Raidon urgently asks for reinforcements, because they will not be able to last long if the plan fails and tens of thousands of Chakras keep banging on the gates. And even if the plan does succeed, they will still have a difficult time."

    "Then it''s a good thing Gareth convinced me to get two platoons ready to leave. I couldn''t believe that was necessary, with the border armies to support the first company, but in the end he persuaded me to at least be ready just in case."

    "Let me leave right away, the sooner we can help Raidon the more soldiers will survive. I assume the second platoon that goes along is ready?"

    "Of course. I''ve already informed Gareth that he''s the boss in Centurion while I''m away. He has Sergeant Noah to help him with the everyday things, but as a captain he is the only one with the necessary authority."

    "Are you going along yourself then? I''m sure the sergeants will be able to keep their men in line during the journey."

    Brandon immediately shakes his head.

    "That''s true, but we don''t know what kind of situation we''ll find. It may just be that something happened to Raidon. Then someone will have to take command. These two sergeants are not ready yet. And in addition, there should be two more platoons with Morris. If we also take them with us, we have almost a whole company of reinforcements. With so many soldiers, I prefer to take command myself. Gareth and Sergeant Noah are perfectly capable of keeping things running."

    "As you like, but can we go now?"

    "Of course, I¡¯ll follow you captain."

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 TNLB2 23 - Retreat Part 2

    76 - Retreat 2

    "Bremen, how do you think your father would react if I were to pass this law?" Since Bremen came to the palace with the Empress, she has used the young nobleman almost as often as Captain Cervik to test ideas. Just like the captain, he is of nobility, so he can judge how the nobles view things. Unlike the captain''s father, however, Bremen''s father is one of the people who is very difficult about her reforms.

    "I don''t think he''ll accept this, Your Majesty," the young man replies, "my younger brother is going to the academy in a year or two, so I expect my dad wants as few changes as possible that could complicate my little brother''s career."

    "But that''s nonsense!" From Alyena, "your father must also see that it is only an advantage if our officers receive a better education. What difference does it make if the school gets a little tougher?"

    "You forget that most of the young nobles at the academy find their future husband or wife there. Since every young lady and young gentleman comes to the academy for their education, the academy is less important as a training institute, and more important as a mediator between the various noble families. If you change the whole institution to improve the education, then the nobles will no longer have a neutral party to organize the weddings."

    Alyena has to think about this for a moment. However, it doesn''t take her much time to get around this problem.

    "So if I manage to separate those two tasks without that second function disappearing as well, then you think they will accept my reforms?"

    "Yes, if you can do that, and preferably without it costing a lot of money, then they will have little reason to work against you too hard."

    A few hours later, Alyena has a session with the council of nobles where she presents her plans.

    ¡°As you can see, I want to create a new institute that will be located in the city of Maisier, just like the academy. I would like to see it run by a council of three of the most senior noble ladies. Naturally, I hope to receive advice from all of you as to which ladies can best become a problem here.¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± begins Councilor Vaughan in his condescending manner, ¡°you didn''t expect that to be possible, did you? The academy has existed this way for generations. What you are trying to do now is damaging the traditions of the academy.¡±

    ¡°Councillor Vaughan, I''m afraid you''re wrong about that. You talk about traditions of the academy, but originally the academy was founded as a training institute. Just as I want to restore it now. This means that I honor the traditions of the academy. You must understand that at first I only intended to restore the academy to its original role as a training institution. However, I learned that there are other interests at play at the academy. I think these will be completely taken over by the new institute that I am going to establish. In fact, I ensure its neutrality by appointing a council of noble ladies to its main problems. Can you give me other reasons not to implement this reform?¡±

    ¡°I don''t think you think the academy has ever been anything different. My family has attended the academy for over two hundred years, and I have never heard anything about it. You don''t have my vote."

    ¡°If you would have my librarian copy the most important pieces from my private department. Or perhaps you have as little respect for him as for your own empress? In that case I will even allow you to view the original. I hope your old imperial isn''t too rusty, because these old books are still written in the old language. Does anyone else have problems with my decree? If not, the change will become official next week. I expected this council to make the recommendation for the matriarchal council of the new institute this week.¡±

    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    From the bow of the ship, Duncan pauses his work on the ballista to survey the harbor. Not that it looks like a real harbour, like the one in Centurion or even Aran. Still, the soldiers of the first company did a pretty reasonable job. However, Duncan''s experienced eyes see areas for improvement everywhere. For example, it would be best to make the piers of stone instead of the wooden jetties that are now there. In addition, it is now impossible to defend the port from the sea side, and the shelters are also only temporary.

    Then Duncan''s reverie is interrupted by the ship''s captain.

    ¡°Duncan, what do you think of the port? Nice work for a temporary mooring, isn''t it?

    ¡°Certainly, as long as it remains a temporary mooring.¡± He growls in response. His builder''s heart cannot stand it when something is not made right.

    After docking, they are met by one of Morris'' cavalrymen. He indicates that Morris is still on his way back, but that he is expected that same day.

    ¡°Shit, they''re not back yet? I know we had a strong tailwind, but I expected Morris to be here waiting for us.¡±

    ¡°The detachment was delayed by the wounded who needed to be helped. I don''t know the exact numbers, but I think there are about two dozen injured.¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Captain Ryker grumbles, ¡°that will indeed slow them down. Especially if they also carry all those heavy armor of all the wounded.¡±

    ¡°I think most of the wounded are carrying their own equipment, and I believe the armor of the fallen soldiers has been lost. Otherwise it might have taken even longer.¡±

    Duncan can''t believe his ears when he hears that news. As a member of the New Legion, he knows that the armor is extremely valuable. The fact that Morris and his detachment left behind armor does not bode well for their mission. Hopefully there are enough healthy soldiers left to help with the rescue mission.

    It takes three hours for Morris'' detachment to arrive at their base camp. Then they have to march to the harbour, so it is not until the end of the afternoon when they arrive there.

    ¡°Look, there they are!¡± Duncan shouts as he sees a cloud of dust looming in the distance from his position next to the gate.

    A little later the column of the New Legion indeed becomes visible. Ten cavalrymen ride at the front and rear, with eight teams of soldiers in between.

    ¡°Hey Ryker, couldn''t you have come a day later? We had not even been in the camp for ten minutes when Willem came to report that you were already here.¡±

    ¡°Ha, you can rest fine on the ship, as long as you don''t smear too much blood on my beautiful floors.¡± Immediately after this cheerful comment, the captain of the warship becomes serious. ¡°How did your raid go? I see that there are quite a few people missing, and your man Willem told us this afternoon that you had to leave some armor behind.¡±

    ¡°We lost seventeen men, fourteen of whom were soldiers and three cavalrymen. We also have eighteen injured people, ten of whom are so badly injured that they will remain behind. Harris will remain here with eight soldiers, including the three seriously wounded. Furthermore, seventeen cavalrymen remain with him, including the seven wounded. I can take the other hundred, including twenty cavalrymen. As for those armors, we lost them with two other wounded soldiers when we crossed the river. The damn cart collapsed on its wheels and dumped the whole thing into the water. Only Barend was able to save himself. Like the other two, he had a broken leg, but he was still able to hold on to a beam. I fear the others have drowned.¡±

    ¡°Shit, that doesn''t seem like much fun, swimming with those heavy harnesses on while having a broken leg.¡±

    "No indeed. Anyway, let''s get everyone on board quickly so we can leave. Harris will ride to Fort Three with our horses, where the others have remained. I didn''t think it was responsible to leave such a small number of men in our own camp, so they will stay with the regular army until we return. By the way, has Captain Brandon been able to send a squad or two? Or maybe even a whole platoon?¡±

    ¡°Ha, he even managed two.¡±

    ¡°Shit, only two squads. That is going to be a tough one, from what we have seen, thousands of warriors have been sent to Raidon.¡±

    ¡°Fortunately there are not two squads, but two whole platoons.¡±

 TNLB2 24 - Call of the navy part 1

    Call of the Navy

    Meanwhile, the peninsula''s defenses are becoming increasingly desperate.

    The first attack of the Chakras posed no danger.

    The general had sent five thousand mounted warriors ahead to sweep the peninsula. However, the horses could not get close to the defensive lines.

    John filled the entire path on the peninsula full of nasty surprises. Potholes with stakes, wires across the road, falling trees. Anything he could think of. One of his beautiful and easy traps is specially designed against horses. A shallow and narrow trench has been dug along the entire length of the defensive line. It doesn''t stand out among all the grass. The horses step into the ditch and break their legs. The screams of the horses are hard to hear, but it does cause chaos among the attackers.

    After the ditch is a row of felled trees, over which the horses jump with ease. What the warriors didn''t see is that there is a row of wooden stakes behind it. Several horses and warriors are impaled on the pointed branches.

    After these two surprises, the rash attack is over. But as the cavalrymen try to help their wounded, and try to find a way back through the makeshift defenses, two platoons of soldiers from the New Legion march through the gate.

    Although they arrive neatly in formation with their large shields and long spears, they stop at a good distance from the large group of enemy warriors.

    As one, the soldiers of the legion grab their crossbows and, on command, shoot a cloud of bolts into the middle of the chaotic pack of warriors.

    While several commanders of the Chakras call out to their warriors to climb into the saddle, the soldiers of the New Legion string their crossbows once more. This time they focus on the commanders of the warriors. Instead of a cloud of arrows, each soldier now shoots as fast as he can. Because of this, none of the Chakras know when he might be hit, and their small round shields are of less than no use. Several captains and even a single commander fall from the saddle mortally wounded before enough warriors are on horseback to attack the soldiers.

    They quietly put away their crossbows, after which they return to the gate in formation with closed shields and spears.

    The group of nearly 200 warriors reach the legion just before they return. The horses, however, refuse to rush into the wall spears. If the soldiers then step forward three steps at the same time, the warriors will even come within range of the spears! Before the warriors in the back realize what is happening, several of the men in front are already dead or wounded.

    This is the last straw for the demoralized warriors, and all the while they retreat to the rest of the army. All in all, they leave behind almost two hundred and fifty dead and wounded, and they still have almost as many driving wounded with them.

    As the Chakras regroup, the soldiers of the Legion come out of the gate again to collect as many weapons and bolts as possible. The horses that are still stray on the loose are also collected and led through the gate.

    Although this first battle is a resounding success for Raidon and his men, they cannot congratulate themselves yet. This was only the first attack on their position, and most of their traps are now known, and the Chakra general will not be fooled so easily again by the seemingly small army.

    Although Raidon and his men spend the rest of the day waiting for another attack, the Chakraan general limits himself to setting up camp, and removing any traps he can find.

    When it looks like there will be no more immediate attacks, Raidon lets his men rest. He does, however, leave one platoon on the palisade to keep an eye on the enemy and to stop the enemy while the alarm is raised.

    In the middle of the night, Raidon is woken up by the alarm. There is no time to put on his armor, because he can already hear that there is a lot of fighting.

    Raidon quickly grabs his sword and shield, and hurries out of his tent. Although it is pitch dark outside, he can already see in the flickering light of the torches on the wall that the Chakras are indeed making a strong attack. Mateo''s platoon is already heavily cornered on the wall, and the first Chakras are climbing down in three places where the soldiers of Mateo''s platoon have been pushed back.

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    Within moments, however, soldiers of the New Legion come rushing from all sides to stop these Chakras. Among the first of the rushing soldiers, Raidon recognizes Sergeant Liam. Raidon quickly rushes to Liam, but before he gets there, Sergeant Liam is hit by his opponent. Before the warrior can deliver the final blow, however, Raidon smashes his shield against the warrior at full speed. Immediately, other soldiers rush to kill the warrior.

    Nearby, Raidon sees John approaching, with Sergeant Mark close behind. Raidon quickly points out John and a dozen men to quickly put on their armor. Meanwhile, he and Sergeant Mark divide the half-naked soldiers. Raidon takes one half up the wall, while Mark catches the Chakrans who manage to get over the wall.

    When John returns a little later with ten fully armored men, Raidon immediately has them take over a piece of wall from his own men. The relieved men run back to the camp to put on their own armor. In the meantime, Sergeant Mark has also sent a number of men back to get dressed. Now that there are more men on the wall, fewer Chakras are coming over it. This gives the opportunity to send more men back for their armor.

    Half an hour later it is clear that the attack of the Chakras has failed. Although it didn''t look like it at first, the soldiers have regained control of the entire wall.

    When Raidon consults with Mateo, Mark and John, who has temporarily taken over Liam''s team, it turns out that this victory has been an expensive one.

    In Mateo''s squad, three soldiers are dead, and seven more are wounded. Five of them have broken bones, one has lost an eye, and the last one is missing two fingers.

    With that, Mateo has come off the best. Although his men fought the longest, they did have their armor on. Mark has eight dead and fifteen wounded, and John has counted five dead and eighteen wounded, with Sergeant Liam being one of the wounded. Both expect that several more injured people will not survive. Most of their soldiers were wounded at the beginning of the fighting, when they had to fight without their armor.

    "This shows how important the harnesses are. Most of Mateo''s injured have broken bones, while the rest of us have mostly suffered cuts and stab wounds. Although we are great fighters, it is clear that the warriors of Chakra, and therefore also those of Falwyn, are a lot better at one-on-one combat. From this moment until the Chakras withdraw, I want everyone to sleep in their armor."

    "Are you sure they''re going to pull out?" asks Mateo, "I think they''ll keep coming until none of us will be standing."

    "Normally you''d be right, but while we''ve been working here, Morris hasn''t been idle either. If all goes well, it won''t be long for the Chakran general to be told that the second half of his men, the infantrymen, will not come. Morris and the others attacked Fort Shi while we were playing the bait here."

    "What! You mean this whole operation is just a diversionary tactic? Why couldn''t we leave when we had defeated that garrison?"

    "Because I''m not going to give up this place. Although this is indeed a diversionary tactic, it is also intended to take over this peninsula. This place is too good to pass up."

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    Aulis is busy. Although he is still mayor of Arana, he has not been to the town in days. And yes, he thinks, nowadays you can call it a real town.

    A few weeks ago there was a revolt among the workers of one of the nobles in the west of the empire, because that man was treating the people on his land as slaves. After years of exploitation and not enough food, the people had revolted. Instead of waiting for the nobleman''s warriors, they moved away. The people had heard of how the province of Aran was getting back on its feet after all the bandits had been driven out, and of course it also helped that there were no nobles who owned land in the province, and they had decided to go there in the hope of a new life.

    Eventually, many of those people ended up in Arana, although a lot of new land was also cleared in the province itself.

    Lately Aulis is mainly busy building rest areas along the main road. The two mayors, Crow and Mark, have already settled in their future villages a while ago, and the time has come to take care of the rest areas as well. Hopefully, Aulis will also be able to find people who want to run the rest areas as an inn, but that is of later concern, he thinks. As long as the buildings are there now, at least it is safe to travel by road.

    The first resting place was finished a few days ago. This consists of a two-storey building, at the bottom of which is a communal dining room and kitchen with sleeping quarters above, a stable and a canopy where firewood is stored.

    Aulis and a group of ten men have already made a space next to the road for the second resting place. The trees and shrubs that were in the way have been removed and the ground has also been levelled. The next step is to install a foundation of wooden poles that are partly buried and thus form the framework of the buildings.

    However, the delivery of those poles, which have to come all the way from the city of Aran because they warp if they are not properly dried, has still not arrived. Aulis had wanted those poles here almost a week ago, well before they would start this second construction.

    In the two days that follow, the eleven men can do little more than dig the holes in which the poles are to be placed, and build the roof for the firewood. Of course, that structure does not have to be as sturdy as the other two buildings.

    Finally, the cart with the poles arrives halfway through the third day of waiting. However, as soon as Aulis inspects the cargo, he exclaims:

    "Where''s the rest? This is not even enough for the stable, let alone the inn."

    "I''m sorry, sir. This is all the merchant could send from Aran without getting paid first. I think you were lucky that he wanted to do this. Most of the time, the merchants want to see money before they even want to deliver a nail."

    "Now that you mention it, I don''t think the nails were delivered either, did they?"

    "No, I only got those beams"

    "Then I''ll have to go and see the man myself. We have paid enough to set up all five rest areas on this side of the mountains, so I expect him to deliver what he promised."

    "Like I said, sir. The dealer insists that he has not yet received a copper piece. Every you''ve gotten so far is because he''s confident that you or the legion will pay."

    "Nothing at all? That means that the materials for the villages have also not been delivered either. The other mayors will not be happy about that. Four of them have already started setting up their new villages, with two on this side of the mountains and two on the side of Arana."

    "That''s right, from what I hear, one Mayor Crow has already sent an angry message to Arana."

    Aulis out of a deep sigh. "That man will be my death one day. You know what, I''m coming with you to Arana. Then we

    will find out once and for all what happened to the payment.