Chapter 14
Brethan 1.3
The hall by now was no longer as full as in the beginning. Brethan and the others sitting on the long table could hear the shouts and roars of the warriors outside. "They really didn't waste time, didn't they?." The King said. Albert was holding a mug filled with beer. He swoon a couple of those huge mug already and only his face was slightly pink. He didn't even look tipsy.
As the hall was keeping on growing lesser with people Brethan now realize something. "Your highness, didn't your little brother came with you? You wrote to me that you will be coming with him and your daughter." King Albert that was going to hit another mug stop himself and look around. "Shit, that dwarf most be in the whore house!" Bethran spew his beer and turn to look at the cursing king.
Isn't he a believer of the Nine Divines? He is studying for his Maester collars, how can he mixes himself with whores? Bethran shook the thoughts off his head and said, "let him be, if he wants to relieve himself, by all means he is welcome to throw money to those hard working girls. I hope that the rumors are true though." King Albert look at him with a questioning look.
Bethran cleared his throat and said, "I heard he shit gold." King Albert now turn red in embarrassment. Bethran knows from where the money is coming from if he really shit gold. As not to let his king be in embarrass he changed the topic for something serious. "Your majesty, what's going on with the south." The king put down his mug and with his elbows on top the table, using his hand to hold his bearded chin.
"That I don't know. But things are not looking good right Robert." Robert was jugging beer when his majesty call out to him. He look at the side and nodded with a serious face. "It isn't that is bad, is worse than what you think." Robert said.
King Albert face turn grave and later let a sigh escape his mouth, "is because of the church right." Robert didn't mince his words, he just straight up nodded. "My friend, am truly sorry. I have put pressure on them a couple of times but the council just doesn't want to agree on anything." He leaned back on his chair and close his eyes.
He said while taking deep breaths, "the nobles have been complaining to the church about these witches. The church had no choice but to follow the will of the people, with the nobles on one side asking them for the purge of these witches to my daughter giving them the sign of approval, it gave them the perfect excuse to not meddle in the southern war. I know that my daughter didn't have an overall picture of the situation at the time. She just hated witches and she just believed in what the church says thanks to that friend of hers. But that sign on paper gave the church the power to mobilize their forces around the villages and towns..."
Brethan could feel the helplessness of the King. The nobles have been pushing the church for years and the church use the signed permission of the princess as an excuse to not go south to help the Six Forts. Meanwhile these Nobles who have been asking for the purging of these supposed witches don't even use their own forces to go to the south to help the Six Forts.
Bethran could understand his majesty headache on the situation. He couldn't pressure the nobles because everyone has some sort of level of forces in their households. Forcing them to send their men to fight may lead for an opposing effect, one that many are looking forward to seeing. The only difference in all of this will be that the king is a Legendary Warrior, something above and beyond any combatant in the kingdoms. At the end of the day they needed to bow down to the strongest and proclaim him king of the lands. That's the only thing keeping this semblance of balance.
"My problem comes not of the nobles not wanting to throw their resources away, but that the church have the best weapons to combat these beasts that are been control by Demons. If they could use their Holy Knights to cast their Spells to disperse the mind control on the dragons we could manage the remainder of the beasts. But knowing the solution and not even showing an ounce of interest for solving it is what makes this subject furious, your highness." The king look at Robert in thought.
Is true what he is saying, the Church’s Holy knights have this Passive Spell, it comes in a form of Sound Waves when their Soul Weapon has been Manifested. That sound is like some sort of music that will leave the beasts in a daze for a period of time without the beasts realizing, in that period, it will be the perfect opportunity to kill them or to at least incapacitated them from further fighting. As the biggest danger of the south are those dreadful creatures built with scaled armor and capable of soaring through the sky with unimaginable speed, the most appropriate weapons needs to be use for having the perfect effect with minimal casualties.
Also, what made them extremely dangerous will be those long range fire breath attacks, it will leave any Warrior on the ground incapable of even putting a fight. It's as such that Holy Knights are needed to battle such creatures of destruction. If not, combating them with Warriors alone, hundreds if not thousands will lose their lives trying to take one down. Such casualties are the ones happening in the southern war every time a Dragon appears, that is what’s making Robert so angry with the Church this time.
Bethran can realized the usefulness of these Holy Knights on the southern battlefield. The Nobles are only sending batches of above average Warriors or to put it in unpleasing words, cannon fodder that wouldn't even get stuck in the Beast fangs. If Bethran was in Robert position he would challenge every single Household top Master and beat them up to force them to put capable warriors on the southern lines.
"If things keep on like this, how much longer do you think the forts can hold on?" Bethran ask because he wanted to know if they have time to prepare. "If I be honest, I don't know Brethan. Is hard to gauge the Demons mind. The only thing I know is that they couldn't send more than two dragons to a fortress at a time. These two dragons will come with a following of thousands of beasts. They wouldn't be coordinated though, their course of action will be slamming their bodies on the walls while some of the Higher Graded Beasts will combat directly against the Warriors Masters of the Forts."
Bethran could just imagine the carnage of that battlefield, it gave him the chills. Right at this moment his lady wife Liana chime in and said, "Why don't you host a competition your majesty?" King Albert, Robert and Bethran himself stare at her.
She cleared her throat and said, "if you have some sort of material that will be attracted to the nobles then throw it out in the open. Made them turn greedy, and bait them towards the battlefield of the south. Maybe you could put a price on the Dragon’s Head, maybe you can offer an impossibly attractive price for the Head of a Demon. Maybe with these, you could spur the greediness of the Noble Houses. And you don't need to worry about them winning and becoming stronger with the rewards you will be giving them, because they will be suffering casualties just like you. At the end, everyone will be in a somewhat delicate balance as other houses wouldn't let the other win."
Brethan had his mouth slightly open at his wife proposal. He realized that they were so into the solving of the problem that they didn't think about other solutions. He grabbed her and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "my woman, you are a genius!" He laughed at that and his laughter resounded over the music that was played at the side of the wall.
But Robert was still thinking, "that may motivate the Nobles to act but what about the Church? They will use that excuse to continue and kill innocent girls for the name of their Gods. If we don't solve this we would never solve the crisis of the Demons as only those with a Holy type Aura can obscure their power against humans." Bethran tilted his head and stared at him with a questioning look.
Robert look at the other side of the table and ask, "Isn't that written in the Demons Record of your Maester Tower?" Maester Eustace was still reading that old thick book of the Kings Of Winter when Robert talk to him. He adjusted his glasses that were almost bigger than his face and look at where they were sitting in the middle of the long table.
"Demons Record? It does say that when they invaded the humans lands they indeed had Mind Warping Powers. Not only that but the way they could control beasts and lead them to their own deaths is incredibly mysterious itself. Seems like the Beasts couldn't control themselves, couldn't resist against them. Not only that, their bodies are way stronger than that of beasts themselves. In some old testament from the first men, they speculate that Beats are actually descendants of these Demons and that's why the Demons seems stronger and able to manipulate them."
Bethran was really surprised by that piece of information, Maester Eustace continued, "The Holy Aura type is a special Force that is gifted to the believers of the Gods. Some are even born with it like the Holy Maiden of the Church. Others cultivated just like how other humans cultivate the Force. On the overall spectrum, that power is the perfect nemesis against the mysterious powers of the Demons but only the church will have it and for that they are the solution."
Bethran pick up what he meant by that. Master Luwis that was one of the Master sitting on the long table with them said, "if they have bodies stronger than Beasts isn't that comparing them with the Strange Monster of the Gate?" After the words left his mouth the table turn silence. Out of everyone here, the northerners are the most clear of how truly dreadful those creatures are. If Demons are put on the same threat level as the Strange Monsters with the abilities to control beasts, then aren't they more horrifying than the Strange Monster themselves?
Every single Warrior who has earned the title of Master in the north most have pass through the Gate at least once in their life. Those creatures could leave a normal men with nightmares for the rest of his life. No matter what, or who you are; a king, a House Master, a knight, a Legendary Warrior. One would feel dread and helplessness in the face of something that is not supposed to be born in this world. Something that seems to come from the other side, from that other world who has been mentioned since the epoch of the human race.
The hall that were left only with the adults of the Noble Households of the north were now quite at the disturbing and serious topic that the King and Household Master Ashcold were talking about. Bethran wouldn't lie if he didn't feel scared, his lady wife was holding his hand while shivering slightly. These things are really something that they didn't think about because of their peaceful life but now they couldn't help but remember that this world is truly not made for humans to survive.
Right at that moment the door of the hall open and Bethran Butler came in. He was named Faust and he is a middle age man with a gray beard and short wavy hair. He came in and found the hall quite, Bethran saw his confused look and wave his hand to call him over.
Bethran look at his pull up sleeve and at the bandage wrapping around it with some fresh, stain of blood on it. "What happened to you?" Bethran asked breaking the silence of the hall. Faust stop as he was stepping on the steps up to the table and look down at his forearm. He threw a tower on top to hide it and gave Bethran a slight smile, "Don't worry is just a bite." A bite? Bethran thought. The wolves of house Ashcold don't bite, they will ripped and tear it off if that was the case
Looking at it, he realized that it wasn't a bite from one of his family wolves, not even the Cubs that stay around inside the castle running and playing or in the grove at the back of the castle sleeping and lazing around would leave such bite, they would rip the arm apart. He decided not to ask now and pick up that conversation at a later time.
Faust bow to everyone after reaching the stage and look directly at General Beévarn who was close to the king side. "Lord Beévarn, Master Ash ask if you could give one of your best, outstanding Knight to spar with him on the Martial Fields." General Beévarn furrowed his brows in surprise and said, " he wants to spar against one of my knights? Ok, wait for me I will entertain myself with him." He stood up and bow to his majesty. He excused himself and left with Faust.
King Albert, Robert and Brethan look at each other. "Should we gamble?" The king asked. Robert follow, "we talk about the important talk, we later dwell on the details. For now let's go and enjoy the show." Bethran laugh and stood up, "couldn't agree more, let's go."
By the time the music was all done, the maids were dismissed before the end of the conversation and Bethran left with the king and Robert and with the other Nobles at their heels as they all step out of the dinner hall.
