by Kevin Duffield

Created on: November 11, 2008   Last Updated: November 29, 2008

Defiance

Across the field of war the enemy troops stood waiting. Lord Gregory sat atop his own mount and watched his men with intense pride. The colorful banners, the gleaming armor, and the strict discipline; his father would have approved.

Lord Gregory had already reunited three of the twelve providences that had seceded from his grandfather's rule over seventy years ago; a task that Lord Gregory's father had shamefully failed to accomplish.

Each battle won was another step in the fulfillment of a great destiny. There was a sort of poetry in it all. Not the whimsical and often dull poetry that his mother forced him to read to culture' himself, but the epic verse that made its reader's heart race with every heroic deed, every violent battle. Soon Carrinan, known for its lush emerald grasslands, would be added to his own personal epic.

Kane, Lord Gregory's closest friend and general of his armies, could be seen at the center of the battle field. He was delivering the terms of surrender to Lord Carrinan's own general. Lord Gregory knew that it would be less costly for both sides if the terms were agreed to, but he secretly hoped they would be refused. Carrinan's own army was reputed to be the greatest of the Twelve Realms. Defeating him would show the remaining providences that Lord Gregory was indeed unbeatable. Such a reputation would make he and his army feared by the others. With that fear he could overrun his enemies easily, sweeping through them like an enraged god demanding penance for their defiance.

There was also a more personal reason. He wanted to see if he could beat Carrinan. He needed to know if he could face someone greater than he and beat him down. Lord Gregory began to entertain thoughts of attacking even if the terms were agreed to as Kane rode back from the parley.

"Kane appears slow in returning. Perhaps Lord Carrinan has accepted your terms."

"Be silent," Lord Gregory responded irritably to his wife, Linn, who was at her customary place by his side.

It was the hope in her voice that irritated him. He had often suspected that she had no stomach for the business of war, despite her years of training. If such was the case, Linn never voiced her thoughts, which was just as well. Her place was to serve and obey him, not to offer up her petty opinions.

Lord Gregory loved his wife, but his love of reunification was stronger. He would kill her without hesitation were she to interfere with that goal.

He watched as Kane weaved his horse through the ranks

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