THE DAUGHTER OF OARWELL (Chapter 4)

CHAPTER IV

The battle between the kingdom of Eatherland and the nation of Hostho came to pass near the end of the warm season. It took place in the valley of Thorrah which was the boundary of the two warring domains. The army of Eatherland encamped on a hill on one side and the army of Hostho encamped on a hill on the other side. Between them was the valley, a large tract of stony land that was once the bed of a great body of water.

The army of Eatherland occupied the whole length of the grassy hill. In separate days, the ten divisions marched to the valley from the camps in which they did their respective training and then pitched their tents on the hill according to their divisions. A narrow road ascended from the ground below and ended at the highest portion of the hill where the King's tent stood. From his tent, the King had a good view of the valley and of the enemy camp. Beside his tent was also the tent of his next of kin, Lord Fernburry, who was the Chief-captain of the royal army.

"It's a fierce battle ahead of us," King Rockburry uttered with a tone that hid his deep concern as he examined with his sight the camp of the Hosthiles on the hill at a far distance. He had been in a sufficient number of battles to enable him to so conclude with certainty.

"Perhaps it is," Lord Fernburry answered. He was standing beside the King and similarly looking at the enemy camp. His leather vest added firmness to his upper body and his whiskers, to some degree, hid his advancing age. "Nevertheless, your army is fit and fervent to meet the Hosthiles," he assured the King, "your men are inclined to lay their lives for Eatherland."

"We shall therefore all draw our swords and cut the deceit of these Hosthiles," the King exhaled after taking a deep breath of the cool afternoon air.

The nation of Hostho, the southern neighbor of Eatherland, was under the rule of Grand-chief Aerah, a sovereign who took pleasure in going to war. Its land was comprised mostly of ranges of mountains from which timbers of fine grades came, and some portions of level land where varied sorts of grains and other crops were grown. It had several provinces, each of which was governed by province chiefs who seasonally paid tribute to the Grand-chief, giving him good measures of sifted grains from their harvests and good amounts of gold nuggets from their other gains.

During the reign of King Rockfuller, Grand-chief Aerah extended a hand of friendship to the King, binding the Hosthiles to draw their swords along with the Eathens and fight their common enemies. And indeed, at one time, the two nations stood together and prevailingly repelled the mighty throng of aggressors that marched from a distant land in the east and tried to ravage their lands. However, the Grand-chief, having a covetous heart, was later moved with the strong desire to topple the King off his throne and then bring the Eathens under his rule. Seeing that Eatherland was with a vast tract of fertile lands where crops could richly grow and beasts could fitly live and multiply, he thought that his might and riches would surely increase if he could add the kingdom in his dominion. He kept in his heart such iniquitous desire and waited for the opportune time to overthrow King Rockfuller.

When a number of small nations in the west border of Eatherland gathered together and waged war against the Eathens, Grand-chief Aerah saw his long awaited opportunity to weaken the Eathen army. Deceitfully, he sent a message to King Rockfuller, saying that the Hosthiles will fight with the Eathens against the western nations, but, in verity, he intended just to hide near the place of the battle and let the Eathens fight on their own. When the two warring armies are gravely weakened - he devised - he will send his army to decimate them all.

However, before the battle with the western nations came to pass, an Eathen spy did forewarn King Rockfuller, of an ambush. The spy had told the King that a large number of western swordsmen were encamped covertly on a hill that stood beside the dusty road where the Eathens and the Hosthiles would surely march by, and were lying in wait to surprise them. Forthwith, the King wrote words of caution and then appointed a messenger to deliver with haste the written words to Grand-chief Aerah. The messenger complied promptly and headed to the nation of Hostho on a horse. He traversed a trail that would lead him with the least distance to the city of Aranah where the Grand-chief's palace stood.

Then it occurred that in the middle of his travel, the messenger heard a stream of melodious cries of strings. He caused his horse to walk in slow pace and looked around to ascertain where the enticing sound did come from. Under an oak tree, he saw an old man sitting and holding an open triangular frame with strings that were stretched uprightly.

"Rest a while and listen to my melodies," the old man called out to the messenger, "... it sure will soothe your soul."

"I have no time for your rubbish, old man," the messenger replied with coarseness as he glanced at the old man who appeared to be puzzled why his goodwill was met by him with such arrogance, "I have an errand to run." Then the messenger rode on without further looking back at the old man.

After some time, the messenger, anew, heard the melodious cries of the strings. He stopped and looked back to see whether the old man had followed him. However, he saw nobody behind him. Unable to comprehend the occurrence that just had come to pass, he was frightened so severely. On his horse, he rode onward speedily until his bewilderment caused him to lose his way.

Not given the words of caution from King Rockfuller, Grand-chief Aerah and his army marched towards the west border ahead of the Eathens in order that they may find a hill to hide behind. When they arrived at the hill where the western swordsmen did lie in wait, they were taken aback by the sudden appearance of danger. Their surprise caused them confusion and, eventually, caused a great number of them their deaths. When the western swordsmen were finally routed barely half of the entire Hosthile army was fit to fight. With severe displeasure,
Grand-chief Aerah gave out an order for the Hosthiles to march back to the city of Aranah. Later in the city, the Grand-chief's displeasure was inflamed the more when he learned that the Eathen army defeated their enemy.

Incapable to fight the Eathens, Grand-chief Aerah resumed his pretense and remained friendly with King Rockfuller. When King Rockfuller died, however, Grand-chief Aerah rebuilt his army and, when it was ready to fight, he declared war against the Eathens, believing that King Rockburry was not so mighty as his father.

The day of the battle came. The sun rose and hid behind the thick clouds, seemingly not wanting to witness the deliberate shedding of blood. The two armies gathered on the opposite ends of the valley, forming two rows each, five divisions in a row and each division having an array of a thousand men.

The Eathens were in their full armors: brass helmets upon their heads, brass plates upon their breasts and brass greaves upon their legs. About their loins were girdles of woven linen to keep them upright and their feet were shod with leather sandals.

The Hosthiles were not as much fortified bodily. Upon their breasts were leather vests and upon their heads were leather helmets that had strips of brass sewn around them. Their arrogance kept their bodies upright.

As King Rockburry was waiting for the time appointed to let his army march onward, he saw two Hosthile riders heading towards them. One of the riders was with a banner of white color while the other rider, with his plumed helmet, appeared to be a swordsman with a high office. In response, the King sent Lord Fernburry, his Chief-captain, along with a bearer of banner, to meet the Hosthile riders and learn of their purpose. Halfway, the four riders met.

"Let us not spill warriors' blood wastefully?" the Hosthile rider spoke, "... surrender and the mercy of the Grand-chief will surely fall upon the Eathens."

"I assure you," Lord Fernburry answered with repressed anger, "... no Hosthile shall set one foot on Eatherland as long as there are Eathen warriors that live."

Lord Fernburry had fought many battles for the kingdom of Eatherland.
During the reign of King Rockfuller, he led a division of the royal army against the western nations that tried to posses by force a portion of the Eathen territory. When King Rockburry ascended to the throne, Lord Fernburry was appointed the Chief-captain of the royal army.
"Very well," the Hosthile replied, forcibly sounding a tone of confidence as he pulled the reins to cause his horse to stride back to the hosts of Hosthile army, "prepare to meet your deaths."

Similarly, the two Eathen riders rode back to where the King was and told him of the Hosthiles' insolence.

Shortly, the trumpets were sounded. Thereupon, a row from both armies marched towards each other. Spear-bearers were in the lead, with a spear of two-and-a-half arms long on one hand and a shield on the other. Swordsmen followed the spear-bearers, marching onward with their swords and shields. Following behind were the archers who were also the swordsmen, arrayed and waiting for the trumpet call to let go of their arrows.

When the two rows were at a sufficiently close distance, the trumpet call for the archers was given. Promptly, arrows from both sides flew through the air, countless like rain, and the warriors blocked them with their shields. Some of the arrows, nonetheless, did hit their objects. When all their arrows had flown, the Eathen archers drew their swords and then rushed onward to once again join their ranks.

Soon, the warring armies met and the fight broke; spear-bearers against spear-bearers; and swordsmen against swordsmen. When the ranks were broken, the armed riders who rode at a distance behind the archers then drew their swords and rushed into the fight, smiting every enemy that stood near their way. The divisions went into disarray. Blood oozed, heads rolled ... and bodies fell. The battle was fierce.

Seeing that the Eathens were gaining grounds, Grand-chief Aerah sent the remaining row to the fight. With his old age, he was reduced, merely, to a spoken might that his men heedfully obeyed. In his prime, with his heavy weight and imposing stature, he could overpoweringly wrestle with two warriors at the same time and could cut an enemy in two with just one swing of his sturdy iron sword. The long passage of time had somewhat weakened his firm body but failed to appease his deceitful soul.

As the second row of the Hosthile army marched onwards, King Rockburry likewise ordered his second row to march onward, and then he joined the fight. He was on a two-wheeled iron cart drawn by two horses. The battle went on and the fight grew hottest where the King was. There were threats against him from all sides. He fought skillfully but his strength waned.

Then it came to pass that a Hosthile rider drew near the King and struck his sword against the King's shield with a mighty blow. The King fell off his iron cart and landed to the ground on his back. The Hosthile straightaway jumped from his horse and wrestled with the King on the ground. Seeing what just befell the King, Lord Fernburry, quickly came to give assistance, smiting with his sword the Hosthile who was on top of the King. From behind, however, another Hosthile came and swung his sword against the Chief-captain's neck. It all happened so swiftly.

Right after the King fell from his iron cart, a trumpet was sounded. It was a call for the Eathen riders. The riders looked onto where the King's cart was and saw that the King was not on it. At once they rushed towards the iron cart, fighting their way through. Some riders, as they rushed towards the cart, saw the head of Lord Fernburry fell from his neck. They were shaken. On the ground, they saw the King lay, defended by a number of spear-bearers. A dagger pierced through his thick linen girdle and into his loin. The riders resistively surrounded the King, and then rushed him to their camp on his iron cart. Shortly, a trumpet was again sounded. It was a sound for retreat. The Eathens withdrew.

Emboldened by the sight of the fleeing enemy, the Hosthiles pursued after the Eathens, even onto the hill. On the hill, however, the Eathens stood on their grounds and repelled the Hosthiles. They were determined to defend their camp and protect their king from the hands of the enemy. The spear-bearers gathered anew and, with their spears and shields, steadfastly blocked the Hosthiles who tried to climb up the hill. Behind the spear-bearers were the swordsmen and the riders, giving aid to fortify the ranks.

As the fighting went on, a lightning flashed and a thunder roared. Then heavy rain poured from the sky and stung the eyes of the Hosthiles for they were looking uphill as they fought. The Hosthiles, thereupon, withdrew, deciding to end the day's heated fight. As they marched back to their camp, the Hosthiles, with their swords, shields, and voices, made all sorts of noise to mock the Eathens.

Thereafter, silence seized the valley. The rain poured on heavily as the wounded warriors from both armies were being retrieved from the battleground. Before long, twilight came and cold wind blew. Darkness slowly crept into the valley and death, through the stench of the air, declared its victory.

In their camp, the Eathens awaited tidings from the King's tent. The King was weakened a great deal for he had lost a considerable amount of blood. He was laid on a bed and a physician nursed his wound. When the night came, the King began to chill. The rain had diminished but the air grew colder. The King was covered with layers of linen but his chilling remained. When the physician saw that the King needed more heat, he summoned two stewards and to them, he said, "Isn't there a woman in the tenth division? Go, therefore, and fetch the woman ... that she may cherish the King's feet and give the King more heat."

Thusly, the stewards complied without delay. Guided by a torch, they went to the left end of the hill where the tenth division was.

As they followed the trail to the tenth division, a wagon drawn by a horse overtook them. Upon the wagon were two stewards and four large sacks of grains.

"To where do you head?" one of the stewards on the wagon asked. The other pulled the rein to cause the horse to stop.

"To the tenth division?" one of the King's stewards answered, "... to the Captain."

"We head to the same," the steward on the wagon offered, "ride along and we will lead you to our Captain." Gladly, the King's stewards obliged.

"There is a woman that abides with you, we heard," asked one of the King's stewards, "what brought the woman in your division."

"We took her from the river of Mosskin..." one of the tenth division stewards revealed, "... a maidservant who roamed to a place afar without her mistress."

"I saw her first!" the steward who was holding the rein intruded, wanting to rehearse the mischief that, he believed, was committed against him.

"Is she with you alone?" the King's steward inquired.

"She used to be with the daughter of Oarwell," the tenth division steward replied, "a young woman who was summoned to serve in the King's mansion. She intended to leave when the daughter of Oarwell was ushered from the camp ... but when the Captain returned from the city before she could leave, she thereafter reconsidered her intent and begged the Captain to let her stay and be of service for the division."

"She speaks no clear words," the one with the rein added, "but she cooks a truly pleasant meal."

When the four arrived at the left end of the hill, the King's steward found that nearing a quarter of the tenth division did not survive the day's fight. Wounded men lay in twain inside the tents and were attended to by the division stewards. Those with no wounds sat round about, staring at a distance and deep in their thoughts.

Inside his tent, the King's stewards found the Captain. He was resting on a cot, likewise in his deep thoughts. His tired eyes blinked occasionally as his memory laid open the sights of devastation which the Eathens sustained earlier in the day: the King, lying on the ground, wounded; the Chief-captain, fallen and headless; and the Eathens, running from the fight, disgraced.

With an inhibited gesture of respect, they asked for the woman and told the Captain what she was being summoned for. The woman was by the campfire, heating a large round vessel of animal broth for anyone who had the desire to drink. The Captain, readily, gave his consent, called for the woman and sent her with them.

As they followed their way back, the King's stewards conversed with each other concerning Lord Limbstrong. The woman listened, noticing the glances of the stewards who seemed to be puzzled why she was so covered by the amber-colored covering.

"What is this rumor I heard about the Captain? He is a cheat they say?"

"Indeed he is. He conspired to mislead his men that he may save his own life."

"How so?"

"It was about the riddle he failed to break. A teardrop from the third eye of old Cluemaeler it was … and the answer of which is a 'gossip's tongue'"

"What a deceit he had committed!"

"He must have brought the curse that caused misfortune to the King and to Eatherland. So grave a disgrace he brought upon us."

The words of the stewards went into the woman's heart heavily... she wept.

When they arrived at the top of the hill, the woman was promptly led into the King's tent. Beside the King's tent, she noticed a similarly pitched tent with its entryway shut and with a lone torch standing before it. "It must be where the Chief-captain's remains lie," she presumed. Inside the King's tent she went in and beheld the King lying on a craftily fashioned cot. She was grieved. The sight of the King, weak and wounded, melted her heart and filled her eyes yet again with tears. By the King's feet she lay and held them on her bosom. The King, thereafter, got more heat and ceased to chill.

Later that night, in the camp of the Hosthiles, Grand-chief Aerah called for two of his men and instructed them to climb up to the enemy camp and then spy on the Eathens. He wanted to find out what remained of the Eathens' courage and strength so that he may be able to devise a rightful scheme to finally defeat them.

Dutifully, the two Hosthiles did as what they were commanded to do. They did guise themselves as Eathens with the armors they took from those who died, and then climbed up the hill to the Eathen camp. They spied on all the divisions and found that the Eathens were glum. Before their eyes was the poor shadow of the mighty army of Eatherland.

When the spies were on the tenth division, however, the steward who was a cripple met them on his way to an errand. He bowed to them, counting them to be Eathens, and spoke words of grace to them saying: "May inspiration shine above Eatherland ... for the Eathens are downhearted." The spies ignored him, pretending that they heard nothing from him and walked on.

Once more, the steward came to them and rehearsed the words of grace, thinking that they were deep in their thoughts and were not able to hear him speak - he never did let go of his words of grace not assented. The spies ignored him just the same for the fear that the words of grace would come to pass if they would assent to it.

Convinced that the two men were unwilling to assent to his spoken words, the steward shouted: "Spy! Spy!"

Promptly, the Eathens surrounded the spies, took prisoners of them and brought them to their captain. Discerning that the arrest of the spies was a good omen, Lord Limbstrong spoke before his men saying: "Behold... the Good Spirit has delivered the Hosthiles into our hands. Take courage, therefore, and be strong, for tomorrow... the whole of the Hostho army shall fall."

After Lord Limbstrong had spoken, his men brought the spies to all the divisions and declared the good omen. The Eathens were consequently revived.

The second day of the battle came. The Hosthiles gathered and formed their rows early and waited for the Eathens. In the camp of the Eathens, the warriors similarly gathered near the King's tent, according to the division which they belonged and awaited an order from the King.

After some time, the King then emerged from his tent. He was sitting on a wooden armchair with twin poles that the stewards laid on their shoulders as they carried the King. He appeared yet weak but remarkably in better state than what he had been the day before. It seemed, the King's stewards noticed, that healing had visited the King during the night.

With his little strength, the King put forth effort to lift the confidence of his men and, with slowly spoken words, he said: "This day ... you must fight without your King and ... without your Chief-captain. But let not your hearts be grieved, a Warrior, mightier than a thousand kings, braver than ten thousand chief-captains, fights with you. Be strong therefore ... and fight mightily." Thereafter, he sent his army down the valley, laying upon the captains the charge to fight.

As the Eathen army marched down the hill and headed for the battleground, they sounded a battle song, singing:

"May inspiration shine above Eatherland;
Like the morning sun that lights a hope for every man;
'That the Eathens may rise up, the adversary to overcome;
May inspiration shine above Eatherland.

"May inspiration shine above Eatherland;
May the Good Spirit fight with His noble sons;
A Warrior mightier than kings in a thousand;
May inspiration shine above Eatherland.

"May inspiration shine above Eatherland;
'That against the enemy, the Eathens may boldly stand;
And for a righteous cause, they may gladly lend a hand;
May inspiration shine above Eatherland."

When the fight again broke, the Eathens fought with vengeance, sounding their loudest growls. The Hosthiles were taken aback for the Eathens had regained their might and were fighting like madmen out for blood. As the fight went on, the Hosthile army were crushed gradually, division after division, and were driven back to their camp. Seeing the certainty of their defeat, Grand-chief Aerah fled with the remaining men behind him.

As the Hosthiles ran from the fight, the Eathens relentlessly pursued after them until they were driven away from the valley. Thereafter the Eathens broke into their camp and seized what were left over by them. With the spoils of war in tow, the Eathens gleefully marched back to their camp and declared their victory. The camp was then filled with great jubilation.