The Fall of Brikstrat 5 - The March

Ulal steps out of the towers main entrance. In front of him he sees the gathered strength of his army. The mages, Tarzana and Catherine at the front, and the five men of his elite stand in the centre. His elite are a great display of power and uniformity, the mages on the other side don’t possess standardized uniforms yet and look a patchwork of different clothes. That doesn’t mean they don’t look impressive, everyone knows what such robes stand for after all, just that they look a bit out of place amidst the uniformed rest.

To the right the professional army has taken formation. The soldiers, invigorated by their new war gear to serve Ulal with outmost loyalty and discipline, stand in almost perfect rows and with unwavering spirit. In light contrast the drafted soldiers are looking a bit lax. If it is because of lack of trying or ability Ulal does not know. Even though their lack of perfection irks the Demonmagus he takes it all with a smile. He has other days to get that attitude out of them, today is a day for battle.

A cold breeze goes over the standing soldiers as Ulal walks into the front of them. Here in the south they have been spared from the changing weather for quite a while now but now in November it seems like the world finally decided to turn the seasons.

Ulal waves his hand and creates a small tribune of ice. He walks up the stairs so even the backrows of the gathered people can see him. Now, on top of the tribune, he can also see the many onlooker who have put down their tools and crafts for this morning to witness the moment. On top of them stands Glenn, the nervous man taps his food repeatedly as he shrinks down under Ulal’s gaze.

Not wanting to terrorize his council member further Ulal lets his eyes wander over his people. He spreads out his arms, the skeletal wings appearing with the noise of cracking ice. The enchantments on his armour spring into action as he puts index and middle finger on his throat.

“My dear soldiers, my honoured citizens, my respected council members. Today is the day that we attack Brikstrat. I know the decision lies bad with some of you but let me remind you of why we are marching out this day. All of you who are men, all of you know of the shame of the helplessness of being the victims of a society that thought you are less just because of your birth. Because of things you had no influence over. You have been exploited, treated like animals.”

Angry mumblings from the foot soldiers and the crowd, the rest of the army stands still and disciplined. “Your anger is justified. Let me ask you this however: Would you wish the same fate unto anyone else?” He lets the question sicker in for a moment. “Some of the women in that city surely deserved that something bad happens to them, but what is happening to them now is inhuman. They are raped, tortured, for crimes they didn’t commit but a Queendom that allowed this continued discrimination. We can either look away as these men continue to spread injustice or break the hatred and fight for the equality of all humans.” ‘Because you are all inferior to me’ Ulal adds mentally and smiles.

“Fight for me, today we show the world the future!” The shout echoes over the stones of the city as Ulal raises his hand towards the sky. Short silence. Then Tang hammers his glass boot to the ground, the material making a harsh, pure noise. Soon others follow suit, the whole army stomping in unison as the crowd starts cheering his name. “Ulal! Ulal! Ulal!”

The Demonmagus lowers his arms to chest height and points at the gate. “Follow me my soldier, we march for Brikstrat.” He says and jumps of the platform all the way over the armies. The first to follow his stride over the bridge are his five elites, then Catherine and Tarzana with their mage units, the professional army and finally the drafted foot soldiers.

Left and right the men are cheering, no one is trying to stop him or even booing him. The morale keeps rising as they leave the city and move towards Brikstrat.

The army is still in high spirits by the time they arrive at the outer city of Brikstrat. “Halt!” Ulal shouts and raises his hand so that everyone can see the signal. Slowly the sound of marching stops. “What is it?” Catherine asks. “We have to give them the chance to surrender. There are rules in war.”

Tarzana raises and eyebrow, “Really? How long are we going to wait?” “Three hours.” The witch looks very disapprovingly, “That gives them more than enough time to men the walls.” “And?” “And…well you are right why am I even worried.” Tarzana realizes and gets back to her position in the formation. Catherine does as well a few moments later.

Ulal crosses his arms, his eyes one the wide open gate. A messenger comes stumbling out finally. A short man with stubby legs and farmers clothes, an unfitting but noble clothe draped around him. “I am…the….the leader of the…Freefarmers.” The man pants. Ulal turns up his nose as the sour odour of a hangover oozes from the man’s mouth. The bloodshot eyes that meet his own and the bags under them only second the notion, this man has been drinking a lot and from the fresh spots of red on his clothes Ulal guesses that he has not stopped recently.

“Is that so. I am the Lord-Regent of Ultopja.” “Is that the city that…” the man makes some sluggish gestures, “happened into the Wekgrond.” “Yes.” The man blinks slowly, his drunken mind not quite up to speed. Then he suddenly screams as he realizes the wings and tail. “You are a demon!”

Ulal rolls his eyes but bites back on the overly sarcastic remark. This guy would not see the next day anyway so why bother. “Here is why we came.” Ulal says, “We will liberate the city from you unjust rule. All the men that have killed or raped will be punished, all the men that only wanted freedom will be judged based on their actions. All the women will be judged based on past actions as well. If you refuse to give up we will annihilate you.”

The messenger looks over the army, “You and that army?” he says. While they look quite impressive they are still only a hundred. Over a thousand willing hands defend the city and many less convinced ones could maybe be swayed during the one sided siege. “Me and that army.” Ulal affirms. “You have three hours until we attack. I suggest you pray to whatever gods you have, I hear some of you have taken to kneeling down in front of a black armour. You know I plundered a fort with that guy once.”

The messenger looks at him and narrows his eyes to get a clear picture. “You talking about Vakanthism?” he asks. Suddenly the guy is replaced by an open maw, snapping at him as fire wells up deep within the long throat of the beast. Ulal simply wishes the flashback aside, they have become part of this day by now and are little more than a slight annoyance.

“Is that the same? How interesting. I will find out more once I have liberated the city.” Ulal raises three fingers. “Three hours. Kill you then.” He whispers at the messenger. “I suggest you run before I make an exception for you.”

The man is more than convinced by that argument and sprints away. “All of you, check your gear one final time. Make sure you know the command structure. Take a small breather.” Ulal says to his soldiers. “Today we purge the filth of humanity.”