CHAPTER 60

  THE ORDER OF GOLDEN GRIFFINS

  Arat’s response generated a buzz of murmured conversations in the expanded boardroom. Reina, her voice rising, demanded the information directly from Arat. “Just give me the numbers, Old man.”

  “50 artillery pieces with 1,000 shots. No barrier of yours will be able to stop them, the same as how they captured Galenhall Fort. The penetrable power is absolute; it can strike down any flying beast or warships from 30 km.”

  “You sound proud,” Reina’s eyes narrowed. “Our Galenhall family lost their ancestral home and was forced to flee; it’s all your fault—

  “A blacksmith is not wrong in forging a sword that massacred the living.” Hans was silent, but he couldn’t bear hearing more, so he bit back, “The fault lies in the very nature of the possessor of that power. These are the words of your own progenitor, Clandor Queen. Will you refute that?”

  “Yes, you are right, but you gave that power to the Council. Will you refute that too?” She questioned Hans, but Arat responded, chiming in. “No, I won’t. That’s why when Parv had no desire to be siding with anyone, he was joining the royal faction.” He rubbed the salt on Reina’s wounds, Parv staying out of this civil war was what she was after, and the fiasco she created in Deadlands aimed to do the very thing at least. She almost had achieved it. Yet somehow Parvians managed to get involved.

  Seeing the change in her facial expressions, Arat halted his spiced tongue and added, “Don’t worry, we’ll be sending our Griffin knights with Commander Homar to your aid, you know the current third-rank holder. With this, you’ll have all three top knights in this world. This is our sincerity.”

  “Hmm, I feel like I’m in someone’s game.” Reina reluctantly said.

  “I can’t help if you feel that way, Queen Reina, but you have no choice but to play.” Arat smiled a little, asking, “So when are you going to open your borders for us? Our army is ready to ‘AID’ you.”

  However, Reina wanted more; she had borne the significant loss. “Since this is the mess you made,” she pointed out, “Your knights will represent our forces at the vanguard.”

  Arat nodded, “Hmm, fine—”

  “No, not going to happen.” Hans cut off Arat, that startled him too, along with the others in the assembly.

  “Prince, let me handle this.” Arat whispered to Hans, “All is going well—”

  “Shut up,” Hans undermined Arat in front of others, and his tone was filled with utter disrespect. He turned to others and addressed them, “Let me make this clear to you all. Parv is taking part in this not because we feel guilty of what we did or have any pity for Clandorians. They aren’t our people. We bear no responsibility for their lives, but we do for Eclipse… So, stop bullshitting and let us do our job in eradicating them. Open your borders, and we’ll take care of them in our way.”

  “Your arrogance has no bounds, isn’t it, Prince of Parv? Did you say you feel no guilt?” Reina questioned, her face furious, “Why do you think these good people are supporting our side—because they know if the council comes into power, the lives of commoner elves will become unbearable, they’d even lose the basic rights. These people are with me to stop that tyranny before it happens. And you armed our enemies, the kind with the means to realise their ambitions, and you say you bear no responsibility?”

  “Hmmm…Do you know, Path of inner peace starts with four words?” Hans said with an innocent face that turned cold instantly as he continued, “NOT MY FUCKING PROBLEM.” He added after the bewildered faces darting at him. “And the last time I checked, I do not have ‘Clandor’ as my last name, but Parv, Queen Reina. The only people I’m responsible for are from Parv. Call me cold-hearted, but that is the truth. So not a single Parvian will die following your commands.”

  “That’s quite the assurance your country is bringing.” Reina laced her words with sarcasm. “So you want me to open our nation to people whom I can’t have authority over? That’s just asking us to hand ourselves over.”

  “Take it or leave it, your choice.” Hans gave an ultimatum.

  This wasn’t discussed before, and Arat had no clue what was happening either. He was trying to make Hans understand that this could backfire on them very quickly. The moment they sold weapons to the Council, they had no choice but to align themselves with the Royals to not make them an enemy of the rest of the world, but Hans was adamant on getting things done his way.

  However, when Arat kept pressuring him, Hans revolted against him too. “Mr. PM, Griffin knights are the shield of the imperial bloodline, that makes me the last person they vow to protect. Under no circumstances, I’ll allow them to become collateral damage in someone else’s war.” Hans pressed, and Arat halted his words.

  So, he continued addressing others. “As I’ve said, they vowed to protect me as my knights, so as their master, it is my duty to protect them from any unfair commands. I believe that is the knight’s oath we take in Parv, right?”

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  The mention of a lord’s oath shut Arat up permanently. Hans was right by every word he said, and it reminded him there was much more than politics that mattered in Parv. He eventually forgot that the knights were not just soldiers but also the people. They were strong but not invincible, and Hans was protecting them.

  However, Hans’s statement had thrown the whole war assembly into chaos, as it challenged the traditional structure of military authority. To build a strong army, there typically needed to be a single commanding authority, yet Hans was advocating for autonomy. This raised concerns about potential clashes within the army and the potential weakening of Queen Reina's authority.

  Hans understood that too, so he offered, “But I promise in my name that no harm will befall on your side from ours, at least not during this civil war. I’ll personally be there, making sure of it.”

  Arat was dumbfounded by the sudden revelations. He had planned Hans to be in Clandor but not as the authority but an observer. He immediately objected, standing up fervently. “This was not part of the discussion”, he strongly opposed Hans going as authority to Clandor, where he could be easily targeted for assassination. However, Hans's intense gaze silenced Arat before he could speak further.

  Sierra and Rudolf, who were present there, didn’t accept it either. “Going to Clandor. My foot, brat.” Rudolf shouted, but Hans coldly responded.

  “Sir Alastor.” He addressed him formally, “This is not your place to speak up. An imperial must be present on the battlefield, not hiding in the safety of the walls. My father did that and so will I. It has been our ways since the beginning of our times and I’ll not be breaking that tradition.”

  Hans’s presence in Clandor was the self-assurance that Parvians won’t be acting out, so after some heated discussions and concessions for hours among the royal allies, his condition was accepted. But, Hans was asked to confirm Parv’s every move directly with Reina. She couldn’t let go of the authority, and Hans had no problems in accepting those terms. All he wanted was to protect Parvian knights from hidden schemes.

  As the assembly was dismissed, a several-square-feet-wide light pillar fell on Concordia grounds. Arat had quickly called on the Griffin knights, and the order was here. The hundred knights of Parv stepped out from the light. Each possessed an elite and regal appearance, clad in armour that gleamed with enchantments and insignia of the golden griffin, clearly stating their sole allegiance and loyalty to the imperial blood.

  Some among them were seasoned veterans, ranked in the top hundred, while others were fresh, unranked due to the closure of the Parv in participating in the Knight convention. But, the immense aura they carried was not of a Dominion Knight. The sheer numbers of knights of grade eighty and above proved why Parv was called the nation of knights.

  Leading the procession in his impressive and sleek green armour, Homar removed his helm, revealing determined eyes fixed on Hans. With a booming voice, he declared, “The Order of Golden Griffin salutes its master!”

  In perfect synchrony, the knights stamped their left feet in unison and assumed a posture of utmost attention. Their right hands transformed into fists, resting solemnly over their hearts. The ground seemed to echo with the weight of their collective might as they stood in disciplined formation, exuding the unwavering strength and unity.

  “Long live the Imperials! Long live Prince Hans!” They thundered in unison, their words reverberating through the air like a battle cry.

  Hans was baffled but accepted their greetings with utmost respect. “Since when did Homar think of me as the prince? Didn’t he say, ‘ I need to prove myself by defeating a top ten’?” He thought hard but didn’t find any answer, so he focussed his gaze on Homar, who approached him, and with every step he took, a clanking sound followed.

  He stopped at a hand’s distance and addressed Hans, “Fighting in the frontline is not your place yet, mister Hans.” He hadn’t called him prince, but his voice carried a great respect he never showed before. He bowed slightly, “I appreciate you speaking for the order and your wish to be responsible for our lives. You treating us not as knights but citizens of Parv is commendable too, and trust me, everyone in the order is grateful for your stand. So I ask you to have some faith in our abilities; we are not fragile.”

  “You want me out of this too? I gave my word; I won’t be backing down.” Hans responded, resolute, continuing, “It’s an insult to my name—”

  “I said no such thing.” Homar interrupted, “This is your decision to make, but I’ll carry no dead weight in the order and quite frankly, you are the dead weight, Mister Hans. A fight and a war are different as night and day. You want to be in the war, find your own place.”

  Because of Homar’s unwavering stand, Arat and Hans’s well-wishers thought they would get what they wanted. There was no way Homar would stand down, but it was akin to slapping Hans’s face and challenging his authority, so to save his pride, Arat inserted himself into the conversation, “But since an Imperial had said it, it must be followed.” He came to Hans’s defence, and his eyes searched Sierra to add something.

  The dean of mages, although reluctant for Hans to be in Clandor, couldn’t bear him losing his pride, “You’ll join me in the logistics and support unit, Hans. Your grandpa already took leave of absence for us. With your regeneration and my healing, we will be contributing more compared to the frontline.”

  Hans realised what was going on. Arat was manipulating him, but it was for his safety. So, he gave in, only proposing a condition that must be satisfied, “If we saw a glimpse of Xandor, I won’t listen to anybody. Got it?”

  Everyone agreed, and Homar bid him farewell. The next day, the allies of Clandor royalty were arriving in Utar at dawn, at the western borders of Clandor. So, Golden Griffin set off early.

  Arat also needed to go back to Parv. The departure of the golden griffins had left a hole in his home that he needed to fill. So before his departure, he pleaded to Hans, “Remember there is no shame in running, only in giving up. As long as you survive, you can bite back. So, please take care, my prince.”

  “I’m sorry to drag your name into the mud, Mister PM—”

  “Tsk, tsk, you never apologise to anyone, so don’t jinx your luck by changing, my prince.” Arat patted his shoulder warmly and went back to Parv. Homar and the order were to fight Eclipse, and with Sierra around, there should be no danger to Hans’s life. At least that was what Arat was thinking, but he was getting an ominous feeling that he couldn’t pinpoint. There was a hidden enemy siding with the Council that no one was aware of.