The High King's Noble Son, Part Iii
III.
The northern borders were alive with talk
of the Warlord known only as Bimeng,
who’d risen amongst the savage peoples,
and was said to be uniting them.
Now Reth had heard tales of such things before,
so he stirred not from his comfortable ways,
Until on day Garrow came up to the gate,
his half-brother’s face was toned ashen gray.
Reth went out to speak with the crown prince,
said,”Now whatever could bring you down here?
Is father unhappy with my choices,
or is the fortress simply out of beer?”
Garrow just frowned,”Father doesn’t approve,
but that is not the reason that I came.
Bimeng is marching, scouts have seen his force,
and I thought that you might ply your blade.
“You would be under my command of course,
I’m leading the army out on the morrow.”
Said Reth,”The garrison has five thousand men,
Fight with that and it will end in sorrow.”
Garrow took umbrage at his brother’s words,
said,”The best generals have taught me to war.
I know what I’m doing, so I ask you
are you coming, or staying here, mopping floors?”
Reth’s eyes narrowed, and he asked his brother,
“Has father acknowledged me as his son?”
When Garrow scowled back, Reth simply shrugged,
“Then I guess I’ll have to sit out this one.”
The crown prince glared harshly, then galloped off,
no word was heard from him for a whole week,
when two thousand survivors limped back south,
all that had lived long enough to retreat.
When word came to Reth he mounted his horse,
raced for the fortress to see for himself,
found many old comrades bloody and sore,
and condemning his fair brother to Hell.
They told him what happened, every detail,
“The fool attacked in a flat, open field,
against an enemy three times our strength,
thinking the savages surely must yield.
“But they did not, they encircled us all,
killing half of the frontier’s great lords,
Lord Efferin died cutting a path through,
helping us to escape from the horde.”
He soon learned more news from his old comrades,
Saleesa’s husband lay amongst the slain,
to attack such a foe on open ground,
was his brother a fool or insane?!
“He’s useless at war,”and old sergeant said,
“Spends most of his time bedding servant girls.
Even now the bar-wench swells with his kid,
the only ‘conquest’ of that foolish churl!”
Reth then found Garrow, wounded and quite drunk,
in his chamber, hiding from the disgrace,
said,”Stay here and drink, I’m taking command.
The men will return in a hand’s full of days.”
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