Citadel of Light – 4th Installment

Go To The Citadel of Light 1st Instalment

An extra-long single entry today:

The 4th Day of the Month of the Butterfly of the 208th Year of Stone

Karrato’s forces assaulted us! It started with the movement of the catapults; Karrato’s army had fitted them with wheels and they were pushed towards the citadel’s walls by about twenty men to each catapult. Each catapult also had a small contingent of men dragging a new supply of rocks on sledges behind them. Surrounding and scattered among those crews were enemy archers. Supposedly these archers could fire at our men on the walls but all they really did was provide cover for the catapult crews by dying instead of them; even in the shadow of the walls their arrows could not hope to reach their top. The watchmen on the walls sounded their horns as soon as the enemy moved and, once they crossed the threshold of our bows’ range, I ordered our knights to begin their volleys.

Thinking that it was an ill-conceived move to target the higher part of the wall with their rocks (which is, in truth, no weaker than the lower parts) and that our arrows would drive them back in due time, I left the wall to report to the Court. The Court discussed what could have driven Karrato to this bold move and swiftly concluded that it was a sign of desperation – they know they cannot break our walls or starve us out so they must attempt an attack, however unlikely a victory would be for them.

I was taking down the Court’s statement of victory in this battle, ready to announce it to the populace upon Karrato’s retreat, when we were interrupted by the sound of a crash from outside. I was swiftly given leave to investigate and discovered that Karrato’s forces had wheeled their catapults so close that some stones were reaching over the walls and hitting the buildings inside the citadel! I returned to the Court to report and was told to use every tactic at my disposal to drive the catapults back.

I returned, at great personal risk, to my command position on top of the walls. Most of the rocks from the catapults were hitting the wall below us but occasionally one would go over our heads. There was a quiet panic among the peasants wherever the rocks hit as the nearby inhabitants scrambled to save their things. Gradually the streets filled with people who wanted to see the rocks coming and so hoped to avoid them. This hope was dashed when a rock headed straight for a wide plaza that was so crammed with people that nobody could get out of the way fast enough.

It was imperative that we stop the catapults’ barrage so I decided to do what Lord Bahn had been suggested from the beginning; I arranged for a sortie to leave the citadel. It was a dangerous move, opening the citadel’s gates with the enemy so close, but I thought that a group of knights charging for the catapults could burn and destroy them. So I ordered roughly a quarter of the knights to mount up, with half of them armed with swords and a central group of them armed with burning torches. Then I ordered the gates opened and our charge began.

Unbeknown to me the catapults firing over the walls were not the only assault Karrato’s army had planned. From behind the mass of archers and catapult crews his own traitor-knights had begun to march on us. Our knights were halfway toward the catapults when they spotted the oncoming forces as I watched, powerless, from the wall. Our knights fought bravely but were too few and I ordered the gates closed again; there was no way any of them would be returning to the citadel.

My plan for the catapults was a failure, and I was shamed. There was no time to dwell on my shame, though, for I had to counter the coming knights. Behind their front lines came rows of peasants carrying the biggest ladders I have ever seen, evidently they planned to climb up the citadel walls. Our knights on the wall put volley after volley of arrows into them but their march was relentless.

It wasn’t until they reached the wall that the tide of battle began to turn in our favour. The catapults, to my chagrin still intact, had run out of rocks again and their barrage was over. Their archers had never been able, despite their best efforts, to reach our men on the walls so there was no danger of enemy missile fire by the time their knights planted their ladders and began to climb.

I had ordered the fires under the oil lit at the same time as I had ordered the gates closed, a standard order for when the walls themselves are threatened; the oil cauldrons were simmering and ready for use. I ordered the knights on the wall to wait until the enemy were half-way up their great ladders before tipping the oil down onto them and the other men waiting below. From above we could hear their flesh sizzling and their screams as they let go of their ladders in pain. It was a decisive blow, but we had no ready oil left. Instead of tipping the ladders down back on them I ordered the knights to pull the ladders up, no easy task as they were so large but at least half were dragged up and out of the reach of Karrato’s men.

Those ladders our knights were not pulling up were pulled down from below and Karrato’s army withdrew. Despite a valiant effort we could not pull the ladders we had all the way up, they were too heavy and unwieldy, and dropped them shortly after Karrato’s men began their retreat. Some of them turned around to snatch those ladders back also but, at my command, torches were dropped on them to burn them into uselessness before they could be reclaimed.

Tomorrow I must give an account of my actions to the Court. Though we were victorious it was not without casualties and I wonder whether I am likely to receive praise or censure.

Cthulhu and Boris

And now for something completely different.

For those of you in foreign climes you might not know that in London humanist groups started advertising on buses with the slogan “There probably is no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy life.” Those of a religious disposition countered with adverts saying, “There definitely is a God.”

Using this website : http://ruletheweb.co.uk/    I made these…

Ia! Ia!

Well, come on, it is pretty unbelievable.

I’ll return to the Citadel of Light soon (as soon as I write some more).

The Citadel of Light – 3rd Installment

Go To The Citadel of Light 1st Instalment

The 27th Day of the Month of the Chrysalis of the 208th year of Stone

The Investigators have discovered the man who spread the knowledge of General Shan’s banner being raised by our enemies and, I am sorry to say, it is one of my junior Secretaries. It appears that the man has, unbeknown to me, been frequenting the peasant taverns to drink and whore away his silver.

I have been pleading for leniency from the Court, as is my duty as the man’s immediate superior, but they have – quite rightly – ignored my pleas. They have not yet issued a sentence for the crime but I suspect it will be execution; for a common knight to spread such rumours would be a misdemeanour but it is totally unacceptable for a Secretary charged with keeping the Court’s secrets.

Otherwise the days remain routine; my duties are regular and the Citadel continues to wait for Karrato to make his next move. I expect we may have to wait months before the wretch realises his efforts to bring us low are futile.

The 28th Day of the Month of the Chrysalis of the 208th year of Stone

The Court sat in its entirety for the first time since the 23rd in order to decide on the fate of our junior Secretary. Lord Bahn looks pale and unsteady on his feet, so I assume that illness was the reason for his previous absence and he remained quiet throughout the deliberations today. Lady Salla was her usual taciturn self which left the only real discussion between Lord Krinn and King Sharlo.

Lord Krinn advised the King that the Secretary’s treatment should be harsh and that a prisoner was ‘one more useless mouth to feed’. King Sharlo did me the honour of addressing me directly and asked me if the man was replaceable. I told him, honestly, that he was not – the only families from which a replacement could be drawn were all based outside of the Citadel of Light, in territory controlled by the usurper Karrato. Lord Krinn pointed out that whether the man was replaceable or not made no difference to what the just sentence would be.

King Sharlo considered the case for ten minutes, an usually long time for a man normally so bold and decisive, before coming down on the side of execution. He asked for my assurances that it would not affect the Secretaries’ ability to do their jobs and I gave them; we have not been pressed of late – the lack of having any land beyond the Citadel to manage has cut our duties considerably since the gates were closed.

So the junior Secretary with the injudicious mouth is to die. The date was set for the 1st day of the Month of the Butterfly; he has two days in which to say his goodbyes from his cell in the palace. Meanwhile Karrato’s army still sits outside the Citadel, its men and ours engaging in staring contests for the lack of any effective weaponry.

The 1st Day of the Month of the Butterfly of the 208th year of Stone

This was the day on which the junior Secretary was hanged. Traditionally the 1st Day of the Month of the Butterfly is a time for beginnings, and I duly read out a proclamation by King Sharlo that on this day we killed an enemy of our great nation so that all enemies of the nation might die. It received a half-hearted cheer; the people are still nervous due to the siege and, of course, those that had spread the rumour of General Shan’s banner would have been feeling guilt for playing a small part in drawing him to the Court’s attention.

The priests made the correct oblations to the gods to propitiate the King’s commands with the heavens. They are the greatest priests in the land and know their craft well; we can confidently expect more of the King’s enemies to be dying this month.

It is strange to think that in the two weeks since this siege started the first and only casualty is a junior Secretary being executed for treason. Ordinarily I would consign his name to oblivion for his crimes, hence so far I have avoided noting it here, but his death is of some historical significance so I name him now, once and once only : Hashal, junior Secretary to the Court of the Citadel of Light.

Besides the execution there was a carnival atmosphere in the Citadel. The peasants and knights alike were given extra rations (to Lord Krinn’s disapproving stares) and alcohol was unrationed completely. Despite that nobody went too far out of control, perhaps through fear that with the gates closed there would be nowhere to run if the drink made them do anything criminal. I find myself once again perversely enjoying this siege, it makes it far easier to keep order.

Citadel of Light – 2nd Installment

Go To The Citadel of Light 1st Instalment

The 22nd Day of the Month of the Chrysalis of the 208th year of Stone

Karrato’s catapults have begun firing, and at the same time they have hoisted the captured banner of General Shan’s army beside their own! Their insults are more damaging than their weapons; their catapult rocks fall short of our walls by quite a distance and I doubt they have the bravery to come any closer. As the wisest minds predicted, we are safe.

Despite our safety there is still disagreement at court. Lord Bahn, furious at their raising his son’s banner, is growing ever more insistent that we should send night sorties out to harry their lines.  The rest of the Court maintain their position against it and King Sharlo even suggested that maybe the banner signified that Lord Bahn’s son had turned traitor and joined Karrato. Lord Bahn raged against the accusation so powerfully that his words could have been deemed an insult to the King. King Sharlo withdrew the accusation with good grace, though. I suspect that he only made such a baseless claim to distract Lord Bahn from insisting on his dangerous, aggressive ideas.

My own duties have not changed; I oversee the distribution of food, the organisation of the garrison and relay orders and announcements from the Court. I have settled into a routine for what must be the first time since Karrato treacherously declared himself Emperor. Is it perverse that I am, in some way, enjoying this siege?

The 23rd Day of the Month of the Chrysalis of the 208th year of Stone

Karrato’s army moved during the night! Their catapults are now capable of reaching the Citadel’s walls and are firing volley after volley at them. Most of the rocks bounce off the hard, round surface and those that do not embed themselves in the stone. The Citadel’s impregnability remains unchallenged but it was a bold and unexpected move.

The Court was, once again, split over the best course of action. Lord Bahn was crowing about how his night sorties would have come across the catapult crews in the dark and murdered them and still puts such an assault forward as the Citadel’s next move. Lady Salla and Lord Krinn are cold towards him since his outburst yesterday, though, and his idea has gained no more capital with the King.

Lady Salla proposed using beams from unnecessary buildings to construct our own catapults, as she had previously suggested, and return their aggression that way. Lord Krinn, however, thought it unnecessary when our arrows would kill the catapult crews just as dead (his words, not mine). King Sharlo concurred with Lord Krinn and we are to test a volley at first full light tomorrow. If our arrows reach them we will slaughter the catapult crews and leave the catapults as still monuments to Karrato’s impotence.

The 24th Day of the Month of the Chrysalis of the 208th year of Stone

Our arrows do not reach Karrato’s army! They fall short by about the same distance their catapult rocks were falling short two days ago. They seem to have exhausted their supply of rocks, though. This morning they responded to our arrow fire by packing the catapults with small stones which, of course, fell short most often and did no damage when they did reach the wall.

So we are arrayed against each other and, alas, equally impotent. As a result King Sharlo was inclined towards Lady Salla’s plan to construct our own catapults but Lord Krinn pointed out that we have no more freely available stone than our enemy. Lord Bahn would undoubtedly have put forward his plan for night sorties again but he was not present at Court today. No reason for his absence has been given to me, I assume the King is aware of his reasons and does not disapprove as I have not had to pass on any orders regarding his chastisement. King Sharlo decided to wait for Karrato’s next move rather than make any rash decision which could weaken our position of strength.

The peasants have learnt that General Shan’s banner is being displayed by Karrato’s army; clearly one of the knights in the Citadel’s garrison is loose-tongued when alcohol passes his lips. As a result rumour is once again rife among the peasantry – as it always is when they lack news of any substance – and everything from General Shan’s defection to his head being displayed alongside his banner is whispered among them. If the knight who spread that information is caught he will be severely punished, possibly even executed as an example.

The Citadel of Light

This is the beginning of a story I’m going to post in a serial and then, when it is all written and posted, I’ll post the whole thing again in one single post so that someone trying to read it doesn’t have to work backwards through the posts.

The Citadel of Light

The 13th Day of the Month of the Chrysalis of the 208th year of Stone

The rumour among the peasants is that the armies of ‘Emperor’ Karrato have defeated General Shan’s army and will soon be upon us. I am sorry to write that the rumour is true, though my superiors at Court have refused to publically confirm it. The Citadel of Light is impregnable, of course! We have the highest walls ever built to protect us from their puny catapults. Our food stores are ample and the garrison at the Citadel are the best trained knights in the Kingdom. I have decided to keep a diary, therefore, as a memoir of the pretender Karrato’s last days. His army will break itself upon our walls.

I can report from witnessing their lively discussions that the Inner Court are all certain we cannot be overwhelmed. Lord Bahn, General Shan’s father, mourns his son’s death but is sure that he will have weakened Karrato’s army to the point of making it an irrelevance. He is not even convinced that the rumours of their marching on the Citadel can be believed. Lord Krinn is panicking about the food supplies, my fellow Secretaries and I have all assured him we have enough but he insists we need more. It may be treason to say so but he is a fat man and so perhaps more worried about skipping a few meals than the rest of us. Lady Salla maintains a dignified silence, as she has almost perpetually since inheriting her position at Court from her childless husband. As for King Sharlo himself, he keeps our spirits up with jests and sharp words which cannot help but bring a smile to our faces even when directed against us.

If only all people could see the surety and nobility of our Inner Court. I suspect there would be rumours of nothing but their magnificence if only it could be so.

The 14th Day of the Month of the Chrysalis of the 208th year of Stone

Despite the certainty of our safety some of the more unfaithful peasants have fled the Citadel and even a few knights have left the garrison, either to pillage the countryside or to join the hated Karrato. For this reason, and to protect us should Karrato’s army move faster than we expect, the Inner Court has commanded the gates of the Citadel to be shut.

It was not a command made without argument. Lord Krinn insisted that he needed more time to gather provisions and King Sharlo himself believed it better to keep the gates open in order to maintain the illusion that Karrato was not marching on the Citadel of Light. Lord Bahn, however, argued well that the time had come to protect the Citadel and admit to the populace that this was necessary.

As senior Secretary the duty of passing the Inner Court’s commands to the knights at the gates fell to me, while the four junior Secretaries were left to announce their closure to the populace from their platforms in the market square. The news was met with uncertainty among the ignorant populace and once again I thought how much better it would be if all people could see the Court acting with consideration and wisdom, as I could.

The 16th Day of the Month of the Chrysalis of the 208th year of Stone

Karrato’s forces appeared on the horizon just before dusk today. Like any wise army they have elected not to travel past nightfall and so an exact count of their numbers is not possible. Nevertheless I can be sure that they are a vast force, even at such a distance, and that if they are so numerous after fighting General Shan then Lord Bahn’s son must have faced a truly terrifying force on the battlefield.

Safe behind the Citadel walls I gazed out at their fires with the men of the garrison. There is something strangely beautiful about the site of a hundred flames on the horizon, even when one knows they are the fires of one’s enemies. I appreciate the time I am allowed to stand and stare out at the world; tomorrow Karrato will be at the gates and my duties will be innumerable.

The 17th Day of the Month of the Chrysalis of the 208th year of Stone

I was not wrong in my predictions yesterday. Karrato’s army of thugs and renegades have indeed approached the gates, though Karrato is not such a fool that he has camped his men close enough that our arrows would strike them. So they squat just outside the reach of our weapons which, given our height advantage, makes us far out of range of their’s until they begin constructing their catapults.

It is their catapults and the threat they pose that has been the centre of debate at Court. Lord Bahn is convinced that we should send our garrison out at night to sabotage their efforts but the rest of the Court is against this; Lord Krinn says the garrison is too small to risk in such a way whereas King Sharlo is sure that there is no need and no catapult made could do serious damage to the Citadel walls without coming in range of the garrison’s arrows.

Lady Salla, who is always listened to when she speaks because the occasion is such a rarity, asked the Court whether or not the loyal subjects of the Citadel should begin constructing catapults on the walls so that we have a way of answering their assaults. As we have no spare materials to construct catapults the suggestion was rejected, though King Sharlo himself acknowledged that it was a worthy notion.

I have been kept busy arranging the garrison, making sure that they have sufficient supplies of arrows and cauldrons of oil (with unlit fires ready underneath) should Karrato’s forces decide to charge the Citadel. In the streets the peasants are subdued, but I can hear whispered fears that their homes will be levelled. Personally I doubt the enemy’s catapult rocks will even reach the Citadel walls.

Not Alone

The first real post, huzzah! This poem came to me in a dream.

Not Alone

The carpenters have cut it down,
That temple where we stood
And offered sacrifice
Of rusted silver crown,
Unopened flower bud
And long forgotten vice.
Don’t go into that room alone.

Dreaming we would walk together,
Isolated hand-in-hand,
Our touch conducting desire
As we lay wreathed in heather
Which stroked our limbs; caress of land
That stood out from the mire.
Don’t go into that room alone.

Listen to the creeping vine,
The voices of times past
And whispers of the trees,
Uttering that self-same line
To kiss your soul at last;
All begging to you, “Please
“Don’t go into that room alone!”

First post!

So right now I don’t know if this blog will be regularly updated or if I will post three things and then leave it to languish in internet limbo. All I can say is that I plan on updating it regularly.

It’ll mostly be a blog of my creative writing; poetry and genre fiction. Occasionally, if something annoys me or excites me enough I might post about something real but that isn’t this blog’s primary purpose. If you really want to hear me rant, use your cyber-ninja-detective skills to hunt me down and buy me a drink.