A few weeks later, they were invited to the military gathering. The capital was situated in the forested hills, wooden houses stacked tightly. Smoke arising from the chimneys and alleyways twists everywhere. The watch tower watched over the tree tops. There in the middle of the city lies a huge wooden palace, the king's place, where the military was called upon there which was rare.
The generals, high officials, the king, the princess and notable figures all gathered along with the high priest Erlith. The Chancellor (Ralvem) himself spoke ( 55, Male, 5'10, thin, well-groomed and put together with a calculative look) "We will begin with a reward ceremony, our military has long protected the Kingdom of Dravem, and its presence reminds every kingdom, every faction and criminal organisation to think twice before disregarding the state's authority."
General Dorvik (45, Male, 6'0 muscular and rugged looking), stillness, steady gaze and a tensed jaw, "what a joke the state has realised only today it has a military, or maybe they are just scared?" he murmured
General Rolith (35, Male, 5'9 stocky, one eye damaged, his face wide) with a smirk, "well they had to, even these crooked individuals will do everything to save themselves, things are finally getting interesting," he whispered
General Orvyic (65, Male, 5'8, chubby, wrinkly and droopy face) "Impudence! I hope you hear yourself talk, it is our State authority you are talking about, I shall slay both of you myself if you whisper such poisons again!" He murmured. They went quiet but made distasteful expressions.
The Chancellor cleared his throat aloud, "Keep silent," he spoke under his breath and continued with a steady voice, "The following people will be rewarded for their service to the state. Orvyic will be rewarded with 200 gold and be made into the Grand General for putting an end to the rebellion in North East and for his loyalty and competence."
Murmmur erupted in the Grand Hall. "Why are we restructuring our command suddenly?" "Are the rumours true?" "Orvyic is competent, but he is definitely not suited for such a role". General Dorvik "Ridiculous", General Rolith "restructuring command won't help".
The chancellor continued, "General Dorvik will be rewarded with 100 gold coins for his long service to the military, and General Rolith will be rewarded with 100 gold coins for his recent feat of exterminating bands of bandits all over the Kingdom. And for an impressive feat that was achieved by our young junior commanders, Cedric and Wilaric who were victorious against the largest band of bandits in recent years, out numbered in an event of surprise attack they still manage to deal a crushing defeat to the enemy, for that they will be rewarded with 50 gold coins each, and be promoted to knight Captain commanding 500 soldiers each."
The priest turned his gaze towards Cedric, and they met eyes. Cedric looked straight, raising his head higher. The military officers there all turned their heads to acknowledge the two young commanders, impressed but skeptical about their abilities. The chancellor Ralven continued with the reward ceremony, and everyone present there was rewarded with something each.
The King Veyric stood up, a broad and lean man standing at 5'11 his hair long and gray (51 years old ) his face narrow and his gaze proud "Your feats will not go unrewarded, the military is an essential part of our kingdom and we will do everything in our power to reward those who
bring honours to it, a strong military reflects the strength of the state itself, I am grateful to you all for your service." The princess looked at his father with a bright smile, her name, Altha, elegant and sophisticated.
With the conclusion of the military reward ceremony they were all given orders by the Chancellor to recruit more troops all over the kingdom even conscript if necessary and increase their numbers, some speculated the whole reward ceremony was designed to make the military co-operate, they fear something bigger was brimming inside the closed door and they were being kept in the dark, the Grand General Orvyic and the High Priest Ralven were the one only made to wait after the ceremony, that only made things more suspicious.
Few days later on Drouca district, where the Cedric unit was camped, Orlen came up to Cedric on his camp "It looks like the recruits from the military will be arriving, they have mentioned a certain individual from the capital will serve as our Lieutenant" Cedric annoyed "i don't like those guys from the capital they are arrogant but incompetent", Orlen replied "this individual seems to be highly skilled and he has a similar personality like you so I think you will get along well" Cedric replied "looks like I am gonna really hate that guy" Orlen chuckled.
Cedric cleared his throat and straightened his body. "By the way, Orlen, what do you think about all of these? You know, military ceremonies are hardly held in this kingdom; in fact, the military is ignored most of the time. And why did they make the High Priest and the Grand General wait?
He continued, "It doesn't make sense, and the rumours about strange phenomena happening all across the circular land, one which we witnessed ourselves, it's like the words of the Holy Book are coming true, could it be that the state is preparing for a great war… You know to trample all the kingdoms and open the inner gate to the supposed next layer ?"
Orlen, with a heavy voice, replied, "To be honest, it's plausible… if you think about it, those 4 huge impenetrable gates, why do they not open? The very fact that they were designed as gates must mean they can open."
Cedric looked at the ground. "If what the seer from the village says is true, then we will all die, our kingdom is too weak, and we will be the first to get destroyed."
Orlen took a deep breath. "Maybe who knows… but let's focus on what we can do now."
Suddenly, the ground started vibrating. Cedric and Orlen walked out to see, and there it was. 500 soldiers marched towards them, 50 Cavalry in front, 350 infantry followed behind them and 100 archers at the end of the March. With Cedric's remaining men, 50 infantry, 10 cavalry, and 15 archers, the sum adds up to 575 soldiers.
The one leading the March on horseback was young (19), had soft eyes, smooth features and long hair. His gaze was steady, not intimidating, but it lingered. Cedric murmured, "Wow, is that our lieutenant? She is gorgeous," Orlen, "I think that's a guy. Well, at least the report says that." Cedic startled, "What?? No way??" The person discounted and walked up to Cedric. "Greetings, Knight Captain. I am Lucen. I will be serving as your lieutenant from now" his voice was unexpectedly deep, and his tall height of 5'10 made it clear he was a man.
Cedric mouth quiver "ahhh… right.. you will be in my care from now, Torric! Call the remaining men to gather."
Orlen "Should I tell him you were fascinated with his beauty?" Cedric replied, "Be quite, Orlen, I haven't been feeling well since morning"
Cedric stood in front of 575 soldiers and gave a speech, his voice steady and sharp. "As you all might know, I am the man who defeated 400 bandits with just my 150men, of course, Wilaric helped too. Either way, let me make my name clear again. I am the Knight Captain here. My name is Cedric Alvyren, son of Rodric Alvyren. You will be under my care now. We will begin with a drill to test your skills."
The men murmured dissatisfied, they had just reached the camp and were exhausted. Cedric proceeded with his plan, but one of the infantrymen stumbled while forming the shield wall, and another cavalryman lost control of his horse while making the simple flying wedge formation. It was a disaster; the men weren't well-trained, they lacked discipline, and their individual strength was lacking, much less their ability to coordinate together, though they were properly equipped.
Cedric sighs, "Do I have to train them all from the basics? And the Chancellor expects me to find volunteers and train them as well, ridiculous." Draviz replied with a smile, "Don't worry, I will help. I might not be the bravest, but I am good at formation and tactics. Torric can handle the individual strength training."
A man walked up to Cedric, his eyes focused, his nose large, medium black hair, narrow face with a skinny frame, 5'7, his voice calm. "Sorry for not introducing myself sooner, I am Rhydan and will be serving as a sergeant, glad to be in your care."
Cedric looked at him, his height towering over him. "Are you an archer?" He nodded, "Perfect, you will be in charge of training the archers, and Lieutenant, you will be in charge of training the cavalry, and Darviz, you will be in charge of training the infantry. Lastly, Torric, you will be responsible for basic military training. And at the end of the next month, I will train the officers and the soldiers personally." The officers nodded in agreement.
Cedric, for the next two months, set out with Fenric, Orlen, Selara and 50 other soldiers to recruit volunteers but it wasn't enough, so he resorted to conscription from around the villages. At the end of the month, they had gathered and trained 500 conscripts, along with the new 500 soldiers from the military, meeting the requirement of the Chancellor's order. With that, they now have a force of 1075 soldiers,
At that time, rumours had it that in the region of Veyra, the region where Dravem held power, political unrest was seen all over the region. There were 5 smaller kingdoms in Veyra, and apparently, they had allied together to topple Dravem. The military force of Dravem had anticipated such events and had taken precautions by ordering their military officers to garner more recruits, thus the military ceremony.