Ch. 07 – Preparation
With the betrayal of Esther and Mara, the planned assault on the Black Citadel would have absolutely no positive outcome for Lexington and his Fallen Army. The following Battle of Shantei, though a victory, thinned the already small number of men Lexington had at his disposal.
Following the victory, Lexington and his lieutenants, Aggram and Daniel, decided it return to Shahemein and fortify their position within the giant walls of the great city. Prior to the attempted assault on the Black Citadel, Lexington had Ishmael, the late second-in-command, organize an arrangement with Cresus, the military advisor to Gaous, the Chiefman of the First Quarter of Shahemein who also owned the Shahemein Military.
Lexington hoped that Ishmael's contact with Cresus would at least give Cresus and Gaous the foresight to mobilize the military. He knew that the Shahemein military was spread through out the great city, outskirts, and a few neighboring cities.
Shahemein was the only city in the continent of Shatelos that was fortified and had an established military. Kahemein, the Oceanside city to the south east of Shahemein and Aloantei, the small trade city north east of Shahemein were somewhat fortified and had only militia to protect them.
With all this in mind, Lexington knew that Shahemein was the one place that they needed to defend in order to prevent Shadohinus from taking over the rest of Shatelos.
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A week had passed since the Battle of Shantei. Shadohinus had left no inclination as to when or how he would attack, but Lexington knew his only chance was to wait though he would slow Shadohinus down if he could. And with that, Lexington had his army destroy the Luildel River Bridge. Although he knew that Shadowmen had no experience with rivers and oceans prior to the arrival on earth, it was simply a matter of time before Shadohinus found a way to cross the Luildel River.
The remaining 2,500 soldiers of the Fallen Army had created a basecamp just outside Shahemein opposite the side of Shamein, the slums situated on the east sides of the great city. The Fallen were quick to fortify their position outside Shahemein as a precaution. Daniel had arranged sentries throughout the great grasslands that lied between Shahemein and the Luildel River.
After his Fallen were situated, Lexington made sure to stop by and Enama and the rest of his family before heading to Gaous and Cresus.
As he walked along the avenues of Shahemein, he had only just realized how much he missed the city. He missed the organization of the flow of traffic and how efficient everything seemed to run. The large braziers were soon to be lit with the coming nightfall.
Lexington had come up to the tavern where he had remembered seeing two men fucking Mara. It was the first time he had seen her since they arrived in Shahemein. There was a part of him that missed her. She provided the strength he required to get them to Shahemein in the first place, but he regretted every moment of it once he was reunited with Enama. He couldn't help but feel responsible for her betrayal. He shook the notion off. It was her choice to join Shadohinus, but what could the Lord of Avariceal offer a human whore, he wondered.
As he approached the Grand Rotundus, the largest building in Shahemein, he still found the size of the great building breath-taking. What was even more amazing was the fact that Gaous, the Chiefman of the First Quarter of Shahemein, owned the entire top floor of the Grand Rotundus. He began up the flight of stairs and gave polite smiles to the few people that walked down passed him or were awaiting on the several balconies the lined the floors that preceded the very top floor of Gaous' home.
Once again he approached the ornate two door entryway of Gaous's home. One of the doors was quick to open and Gaous' grandson, Galius, stepped out to greet Lexington.
"Good evening, Lexington. It's been a while," Galius spoke first.
Lexington smiled and grasped the arm that Galius had stuck out in greeting. He then replied, "Good evening. How have you been?"
"I've been fine, despite our current situation. Grandfather has me training with Abulati, the Master of Arms."
Lexington patted Galius on the shoulder. The touch was enough for Lexington to notice the growth in Galius' musculature. Galius would make a fine soldier and eventually a great leader.
"That's great news," Lexington replied.
Galius turned to let Lexington in. "I believe you'll be wanting to speak with my grandfather?"
Lexington nodded.
"He's... occupied at the moment. I'll notify him that you're here."
"Many thanks."
Galius motioned for Lexington to sit on one of the couches that lined the hallway that led to other rooms and eventually the main bedroom of Gaous. The hallway was long and decorated with bedazzled and colorful rugs. Large mirrors with golden and silver frames hung on each side of each entryway to other corridors of the long hallway. Lexington felt as he could never grow tired of the beauty of this simple, yet luxuriously place.
It was only a matter of moments before the door to Gaous's bedroom had opened. From the bedroom stepped a young man and two young women. As they made their way toward the exit and passed Lexington, he was quick to notice their features. All three were probably eighteen or twenty years old. The boy was thin, but healthy. He wore only white linen that wrapped around his waist and crotch. The rest of his thin body was exposed. The two young women were also thin, but their dark skin was exquisitely smooth. They also wore nothing but a white linen. The white linen skirt was tied at the top of their narrow waists and draped over their thighs. Both their small breasts were exposed showing large, almost black areolas. Their black hair was cut short, just above their shoulders. It was cut the same way the young man's hair was.
As they finally passed Lexington and were at the entryway, a servant stepped from a corridor beside the entryway and opened the door for them. Lexington noticed that the skirt that the two young women wore clearly exposed one side of their buttocks due to the way it was tied. He was surprised to find just how luscious each of their buttocks looked. He wondered if the women were sisters. The young man couldn't have been related to them, his skin was much too pale plus he looked nothing like them. Both the young women seemed to have the exact body shape, but Lexington didn't get as good a look at their faces.
Lexington's thought was halted once he heard Gaous call out to him.
"My dear friend! Come in, please, come in," he called out with his increasingly frail voice.
Lexington quickly stood from the lavishly decorated bench and made his way towards Gaous. The old man had a brightly polished wooden cane in one hand and appeared to be leaning heavily on it.
He wasn't using a cane the last time he saw him, Lexington thought.
"Gaous, sir, how are you today?"
"Exhausted," the old man replied as hobbled onto another lavishly decorated bench just beside his bedroom chamber door. Gaous patted the space next to him, motioning Lexington to take a seat. "Where is your friend, Ishmael?"
Lexington's expression quickly faded to a solemn glance. Gaous quickly recognized it.
"Forgive me, I did not know."
"No apology necessary," Lexington said while shaking his head slowly. "He fought valiantly. I came to discuss what he spoke to you and Cresus about."
Gaous turned his gaze from Lexington to his balcony window. It was already nighttime and the flames of the torches swayed with the incoming breeze.
"That Ishmael, mighty fine young man," Gaous said.
The remark was enough to make Lexington chuckle. "He wasn't as young as you think."
Gaous returned the chuckle and replied, "Oh, I know. You Celestials and what not. Ishmael had an excellent mind for war."
"As Celestials, it was all we have ever known. To fight and to serve."
"Such an honorable concept," Gaous said. Gaous seemed to slowly trail off as if he had left the room and entered into his mind alone.
Lexington paused for a moment before asking, "Gaous?"
The old man's eyes fluttered seeming to shake off a notion. "Forgive me, dear boy, I am exhausted. As I was saying, Ishmael – an excellent military mind. He asked of Cresus to mobilize the Shahemein Military as soon as possible. He warned us of an impending attack."
He wanted Shahemein to be ready in case we failed, Lexington thought. Lexington was so sure of his plan. He felt comforted knowing that Ishmael had thought preemptively. The comfort faded just as quickly as it had come when he realized he would no longer have Ishmael counsel.
"Cresus departed on that same day with his Captains to collect the military," Gaous continued.
"How long will it take to assemble the military?"
"It shouldn't be more than a week to round the entire band together. Although most of the military men reside in Shahemein, a good portion lives in Aloantei while a small number are in Kahemein. Each of the five Captains were dispatched to collect the outlying forces."
Lexington nodded. Although he so desperately wanted to avoid involving humans in actual warfare, he had no other choice. He was quickly reminded of Mara. How could Shadohinus even begin to influence her?
"Gaous, thank you for your time. But I have one last thing to ask."
Gaous gave a nod with a curious look.
"Mara, one of the survivors of Shantei, betrayed us at the Black Citadel. She somehow warned Shadohinus of our plan to distract him. It may be possible that there is an agent of Avariceal within the walls of Shahemein."
Gaous' curious expression faded into worry. "Is it possible for such a thing to take place? And even so, how would any of us know? We have never seen a 'shadow man.'"
Lexington nodded. Gaous was right. There was no way an agent of Avariceal could hide within the walls of Shahemein. Even during his absence, he made sure that Shahemein was in an alarmed state of security. Shadowmen didn't have the ability to disguise themselves, nor did Shadohinus have the ability to do so for them. Not to his knowledge at least. It all seemed improbable. How did Shadohinus ever contact Mara in the first place?
