Lord Taboon’s face had grown pensive as the king talked, and Henok had noticed it.
“Lord Taboon,” Henok called, pulling him out of his thoughts, “now is not the time to play cozy with your thoughts. If you are cooking something up, say it here immediately so we can deliberate on it.”
“My apologies, my king,” Lord Taboon said, bowing simultaneously. “There might be a way to go around Sinto’s problem.”
Sinto stared at Lord Taboon. Immediately, he knew he was not going to like what the magician was going to say.
“Go on,” Henok said.
“There is a magic ritual that could replenish their magic, and get them ready even before the time for the attack.”
“I can tell there is a caveat coming,” Henok said.
“My king, he is talking about using dark magic,” Sinto chipped in.
“Thank you, Sinto,” Lord Taboon said, turning to acknowledge the other man, albeit sarcastically, “you took the words right out of my mouth.”
Henok reclined into his thoughts for a moment. Then he asked:
“This magic ritual will have them at full strength in time for the attack on Tonar?”
“Yes, my king,” Lord Taboon replied with a flourish.
Dark magic was not just a specialty with Lord Taboon. It was a hobby, something he relished practicing. And he did not hide that. He was one of the very few in Toas who practiced dark magic somewhat openly, courtesy of being Henok’s favorite teacher years back and being one of his most prized counsellors now.
“My king,” Sinto said, “dark magic, while seemingly stronger, is unpredictable. The members of the guard stand the risk of death or even more horrible things if even the slightest thing goes wrong with the ritual Lord Taboon is proposing.”
“What could be worse than death, Sinto?” The King asked. “The future of the Middle kingdom seriously relies on us being able to spring a surprise on an entirely unsuspecting Tonar. While I respect your concern, I do have to overlook it. There is no time. You have nothing to fear. Lord Taboon is skilled in the dark arts. Nothing will go awry.”
Sinto pressed his lips together. There was nothing more to be said. The king’s tone was clear. He had made his decision already.
“Lord Taboon,” the king called. “I expect that you will supply an army of magicians to win my war!”
Lord Taboon smiled. “Of course, my king.”
Henok nodded. “Then you are both dismissed,” he said. “I expect that everything will be ready in two weeks.”
Sinto and Lord Taboon bowed at the same time, before turning and walking out of the throne room.
Everything was quiet and still as they made their way through the trees. Nobody spoke. There was no need for that, not yet. They moved under the cover of the dark sky, which was lightened by the hue of first light. Ordinarily, this time of the day was not ideal for troop movement, especially movements made without the aid of torches. But this was no ordinary army. These were the warriors of the Middle Kingdom. Each selected soldier that made up the mass of this army was handpicked from a young age, and trained rigorously. The only people who seemed to have a problem at moving around where the people within the walls a few miles from the forest. The warriors of Middle Kingdom were skilled at navigating in the dark, among other things. It required extreme skill for such a deluge of forces to be able to make it through the trees without making a sound. At the front of the army was a row of horsemen. The horses moved silently, and the men swayed smoothly with the movement of the horses. The horses moved surely and steadily without making a noise with their hoofs.
One of the horsemen moved closer to the horse in the middle. “My King,” the horse rider saluted, “We’re almost there.”
“Thank you, General Senay,” Henok replied. “If we’re to win this, our numbers alone aren’t enough. We can do more damage if everything goes according to plan.”
“I’ll see to that, my lord,” General Senay said. With a quick bow, he retreated from the King then turned around and went down the length of the column to consort with other generals.
About a week before the attack, the generals had sent scouts out into the forest to survey the terrain and the walls of Tonar. Tonar had suddenly assumed a strictness towards the admittance of people within her walls. Attempting to go in would subject the scouts to intense scrutiny from the guards at the gate. And the King had made it clear. He wanted this to be a surprise. If the identity of the scouts were revealed, the element of surprise was sullied. Each of the scouts had returned with about the same report:
Tonar had heightened their level of security. But apart from that and the fact that the huge walls kept a lot from going out, there did not seem to be much happening inside the city. The indication that they might be expecting an attack was nothing.
The generals kept sending scouts out to establish certainties that they could work with for plotting strategies. Then two days later, the army left the Middle and bled into the woods. The scouts had kept ahead of the general body of the army every step of the way, ensuring that the forest was clear enough for the army to move undetected. The scouts had left with a smaller group of soldiers, who would help stage the catapults and battering rams required for the assault.
Lord Taboon and Sinto moved by both sides of the king. Sinto had members of the guard walking behind him in hooded robes with runes etched into all of
