The Thousand Strong stood in formation. One hundred wide by one hundred deep, they were the last fighting force of the town of Arrow’s Bane and Mikhael stood in the middle of them. The battles had taken their toll on the warriors. Those that survived had gained their share of scars. The teenager saw that some walked with limps while others had shields strapped to the places where an arm used to be, but each one stood tall and waited for the proclamation of their Lord.
The final siege was to occur tonight. These thousand soldiers were all that stood between the dark forces outside of the grand wall–which gave the town its name–and the city’s heart. Mikhael had only made the age cut off by six months.
?Mik looked down at the red sash that lay upon his chest. It proclaimed to everyone else that he was below the age of manhood, eighteen in this part of the world, and he was to be protected.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t armed. It also didn’t mean that he wasn’t expected to charge into battle with the old timers and try and stop the creatures that were currently waiting beyond the gates. But in a case where he could be saved, this sash would tell those around him that they should try to bring him home safely.
The town had been politically torn by the decision to have children put on armor. In the end, the Lord had made his decision, and most of the young men had accepted their role without question. Mikhael didn’t want to fight, but seeing his older brother two rows ahead of him gave him some semblance of strength.??As the Lord stepped in front of the dais wearing his own battered armor, the soft murmur of the crowd died. Nobody had expected the town to last as long as it had, and many felt that their inevitable defeat was at hand. By tomorrow or perhaps the day after, the Lord would be dead and the dark forces that had plagued this side of the country would have them at their mercy.??“Men!”
Mikhael’s voice caught in his throat as the Lord’s own resounded across the field.
The Lord bellow, “Today, we face odds that are against us. For every one of you, there is another five of them. For every sword you possess, they have two swords and three archers. Our greatest defense is a wall that has stood for a thousand years, yet they have mechanical beasts and stone-throwers that will invariably turn it to rubble. I tell you that these things should not matter to you, because at this moment they do not matter.”??Mikhael finally released the breath he had held since the first word. He had no doubt now why this man was in control of Arrow’s Bane. His presence was strong and proud. An air of calm surrounded him even when the storm was so close at hand. Mikhael thought that, if he lived to see the rest of his life, he would never forget the feeling the Lord’s voice created in the pit of his stomach.
?“You may have at some point in the past, or even as we stand here now, asked why do we stand? Why do we fight? Why do we continue to hold our ground?” The Lord said, “I too have battled the dark, demon hellspawn that await us called doubt. The answer is simply because we must. Every day we have awoken, and we will do so until we die. To give up on this battle–no matter the odds–is to let them know they have not only won our land but our spirit!
“I have lived a long life, and I walk past the gates of this town to stand with you all, knowing that I will live longer still. These monsters are no different than the blizzard that threatened to engulf our town five years ago, or the drought when I was a boy that turned the water to mud and the crops to dust. These things are no different, because just like then we banded together and worked as a united force to face uncounted odds. And we persevered!
“I have no doubt that this fight will be the same. You will stand together and you will march onto the battlefield with your head held high and your sword at the ready to defend not just yourself, but your brothers, family, and home!”??Again, Mikhael glanced two rows ahead where his brother stood in full attention with a bow strapped to his back. They had promised their mother that they would make sure the other was safe, even though Mik was certain that she meant it more to his brother than to him.??The Lord continued. “When you awoke this morning, putting feet to the floor was the first hardship you overcame, yet you did. When you sat down to eat, perhaps the food wasn’t good, yet you ate. You dressed for war, knowing that the rest of the day held more and more challenges, but here you stand. There is no greater thing in this world than to know that you have defeated another challenge. Today’s battle shall be no different. Each warrior that meets you in the fray is another obstacle to rise against and defeat. Don’t think of them as anything more than something that stands between you and your goal. Today, your goal is survival. But that is no different than any other day! Merely the obstacle are different.”??The Lord’s voice was gaining strength and momentum. Mik could feel the hair on the back of his neck start to rise; his blood stirred.??“Tomorrow, the thing that stands in your way may be fighting through the wounds that you have accrued today. The following day might be helping the town rebuild the wall or the fields. For some of you, from there the challenge will be completing your schooling so that you may one day make decisions to assure tyranny will never again beat down our walls. For others, you will devise ideas to construct ways better defenses. Each one of these things is no different than the challenge before it. They are all goals that hide behind challenges. Each one of them can be overcome. And, with your fellow soldiers and the support of your friends and loved ones, you will overcome them!”??The soldiers all screamed their approval, some beating their weapons against their shields and others stomping their feet. For the first time since this all began, a few were seeing a glimmer of hope. The darkness was out there and pushing down upon them, but this man believed in them. If they could face off against these odds, then nothing could stop them. Even the fifteen-year-old Mikhael couldn’t help but follow suit and cheer with his fist in the air.??There was a pause as the Lord took a moment to let the cheers die down. He smiled down at them.
“Before this battle is joined,” the Lord said, “you are to all do one thing for me. Think long and hard as to what your goal is. What is it that you wish to achieve? Not today, but tomorrow or next year. Know what it is that you want to accomplish and from this moment on work towards it. Write it down before stepping onto that field, and know that it is waiting for you when you return home.”
He continued, “The youngest of you might not know what to think of that, and perhaps do not know what your goal could possibly be. You might think that you are not old enough or smart enough or good enough to decide what your future might hold, and I tell you this…” ?
Mikhael felt that he was hearing a demand, not a request.
?The Lord’s voice again rang to a fierce pitch. “Fight for love! Fight for freedom! Fight for creativity! Fight because that is all there is to this world. To passively let your life fall to the wayside is just as good as letting the sword plunge into your gut and letting these walls fall down around you! You will fight and you will win! Perhaps not on the first try. Perhaps not on the second. All that stands in the way of you and your victory–in this and all things–is you!”
Mikhail’s stomach fluttered. He wanted to shout and leap and run into battle.??The Lord added, “That is all I have to say! Your troop leaders will give you your orders and placement. Tomorrow, we meet in this place again, and we discuss defeating our next challenge! Who is with me?”??Louder than before, the soldiers’ cries went up. The red-sashed youths felt their blood pumping and a desire to live pound into their hearts and minds. The ones that were trembling in the morning as they strapped on their armor were now roaring their approval.??The Lord yelled, his own ornate sword raised to the sky, “What do we do?” ??In one voice, they yelled back, “We win!”??“Why do we do it?”??“So that we may fight again!”?
The men all cheered and continued the chant for a long time. Mikhael was also reciting the war cry with his friends and brothers-in-arms. The crowd began to disperse, and Mikhael needed some time to digest everything. He saw his brother for a brief instance in the crowd, but instead of joining him, he turned and walked.??I’ve barely lived, he thought as he began to walk home. The words of the Lord repeated themselves through his brain over and over. What am I to hope for? What am I to want and desire?
Mikhael was good at math and puzzles… not war. He didn’t even enjoy the fighting games so many of his friends played.??Lost in his thoughts, Mikhael slipped and landed on the ground. If he hadn’t been wearing his armor, he would have skinned his knees. Instead, he was lying on the ground, eyes staring at one of the town’s many gutters.??That was when the idea came to him.??Instead of running home, Mikhael ran to his troop leader to tell what he had realized. From there the troop leader brought Mikhael to the Lord himself.
Mikhael repeated his idea to that statue of a man as the Lord and his council listened. Even as the warriors lined up at the gates, the Lord and his people took the time to hear Mik’s idea. It was only then, telling these warriors about the gutters that ran beneath the town, that he realized how desperate this war was. ??Mikhael explained that he and his brother had gone exploring in the sewer tunnels for years. The sewers ran right beneath where the opposition would come from. With some explosives and a little bit of luck, perhaps they could take out the troops before they even got within range of the town!??The Lord nodded intently, and thanked the young man for his service. Mikhael was ushered out quickly, but he knew something was in the works when the soldiers didn’t leave the city gates for hours past the time they were supposed to.??Because of this one teenager and this one idea, the tide of war fell to the side of Arrow’s Bane. Because of one great idea, the world was changed for the better. The hordes were held back another day and their numbers dwindled until reinforcements could arrive from neighboring cities. The loss of morale to the creatures was the first in a long string of defeats for them. ?? One Lord with one speech that inspired one young man.
?Why do we do it?
?So that we may fight again.