by Robin Hood » Sun May 23, 2004 3:06 pm
Once upon a time long ago, there lived a Black Falcon solider. He was at home getting ready for the war; he put his helmet on and grabbed the spear. Then he went out the door and kissed his wife. She looked after him until she could not see him anymore...
As the soldier walked along the dusty, beaten trail that led away from his abode and led to the nearby village, he wondered what his fate would be. He had received his summons a week before and was worried. The Black Falcons had been fighting their oppressors, the "lions" as they were called, for years, but never had the situation been so serious to warrant a draft...
Of course, he reasoned to himself, never before had the Black Knights become involved. Rumor had it that the Lion king had promised them the Knight's Castle, and half the kingdom as vassals if they helped the Lions take down Duke Falconer and his people. The soldier sighed, and hoped that he would learn that it was just a rumor when he reached the Black Falcon's Fortress, the small, but impregnable fortress of the duke...
He got there and saw some hurt and dead people – sights that saddened him. When he reported to his position, he saw that some of his friends were there already. When he looked out on the battlefield through the crenellated walls, he almost screamed by the sight
of a massive army about two miles away. A few fleeting thoughts of deserting passed through his mind, but he remembered the training he had received beforehand and his morale was further boosted by the presence of the duke, who was wending his way through the ranks of men, giving them words of advice and support. Gripping his spear and shield (issued to him when he entered the city) tightly, he weighed his chances of survival in his mind. As the approaching army drew forward, he could distinguish various features in the oncoming mass. He determined that these were indeed the troops of the Black Monarch, known not only for their numbers, but for their skill in combat as well. When they were about a half mile from the walls, the leader came forward with two other horsemen carrying white flags and stopped a few dozen feet from the walls. With a loud voice he yelled…
"All yea Falcons, hear me, if thou do leave thy city peacefully and without weapons and go to thine land for resetlment, yea shall not be harmed. I yea resists thou, we shall have no choice but to destroy thee, were thee stand. What say yea to this."
The Duke leaned over the wall and spat on the horsemen and said, "Hear me, if any of you blagards, set foot in our fortress, they shall be instatly killed. I reject you offer. Begone ere our spears fly!" (sorry if I had the thees and thous mixed up)
I build, therefore I am.
Brave words coming from a guy called grapenuts.