Chapter 149 The Value of Life
In the great hall of the tower.
The Count stood beside the lord and the captain. His gaze fell upon the knights defending the entrances. Then he looked at the two heads that marked the end of the noble house of Colina Alba.
Esteban: Where are we?
Peador: Eight Knights are sound. Six with serious injuries, but able to fight. Seven dead. Four are dying and two will soon die without the Sisters of Shadow.
Pedro: Every time the guards attack, Azure Death charges and they flee. But in the end, they will stab the unicorn in the leg with a spear or cut him down with an axe. Then they will kill us with a three-way attack.
Esteban: Seventeen of us against a hundred guards and soldiers. My life is promised to the queen. If it is time to pay, it is time.
Horns blared outside. Every soldier in the kingdom knew the sounds well. The Blue Knights were attacking. Four horns, four companies of war Unicorns, two hundred huge animals and powerful knights.
Peador grabbed both heads by the hair: Count, your honor is more dangerous than your sword.Tell them their lives matter.
The red-haired giant walked to the center of the hall and threw one head down the corridor of the west wing and the other down the corridor of the east wing.
The voice of Esteban echoed through the halls: Valero is dead. His son is dead. Octavio is under our swords. When the Blue Knights arrive, they will kill every man who wears the colors of these noble houses. Who are you fighting for? What are your lives worth? Coins from a man who will die if we are attacked? Promises from two mouths that will never speak again? I promise the mercy of a soldier. Swear loyalty to Queen Olivia and no one will be punished without the opportunity to defend their actions before her.
The first red flag appeared in the hand of a captain who confirmed the head was that of Valero. In rooms and corridors, men searched for red cloths to signal their intentions. The defenders of the royal castle surrendered in groups. The castle fell into the hands of the Blue Knights. The great bell tolled the surrender for ten minutes. Afterward, the pages rang the bell fifteen times, counted for fifteen seconds, and rang it fifteen more times. It was the same signal that was used on the day the queen took the throne a week earlier.
City of Costa Lunas.
As the sun began to set in the west, an ancient banner of King Gutierre the Wise flew over the castle. In the city, soldiers from Colina Alba and Colina Verde deserted. Their captains surrendered to the captains of the army of the queen.
Some soldiers and guards took advantage of the confusion to commit atrocities against women and children. Others murdered their commanders because of the cruel treatment from the past. They stole belongings and harmed vulnerable people but many tried to defend their families.
In several neighborhoods, veterans and strong men took up weapons and formed gangs against the aggressors. In the quarter of hunters, Fausto and Birgit organized a militia that killed abusive guards and defended families. Finally, they burned the guard barracks nearby.
Throughout the city, people were deciding whether they were wicked or loving towards others. Those with kind hearts were saddened by the number of people who committed selfish and malicious acts.
In the air.
The Pegasi guided the armies of the queen in battles. They attempted to help control evil activities by leading soldiers into places to protect the people. Seeing them gave hope to many people. Some also fled from them because they believed the messengers of the goddess were watching. Some children saw them and dreamed of flying on a Pegasus.
The two males were the first to land, exhausted. They flew to the peninsula and were greeted by the countess of the castle. White Stockings left when her wings were very sore. She flew into the forest. Snowfall followed a while later. The two matriarchs flew over the city until nightfall. They landed in the west with the last rays of the sun. The Blue Knights of the Air had contributed to a great victory for the queen.
In the Greenwood.
Floriano was escorted before the queen by Gunther and Frieder. The rider noticed their confident expressions. He accepted a piece of meat with a strange taste but ate it because he was very hungry. The young man knelt before his queen, still dressed in his leathers and his blue and silver tabard.
The Queen: Knight, what news do you have?
Floriano: My queen, Colina Verde has been conquered. The royal castle is in the hands of your army. The banner of your great-grandfather flies over the castle. There is work to be done to bring peace to the city, but the army of the traitor has been defeated.
Olivia smiled, but her eyes were sad: Do you know how many are dead?
The man: No, Your Majesty. But I believe there are many. Though far fewer than it would have been. The plan of the count was almost perfect. Had they not used Unicorn magic and our assistance, they might have failed.
Olivia: Thank you for your service and your bravery. You are an excellent example of a man of Costa Lunas. I will need many men like you when Aurelio arrives. Please, rest. You will be in your nest before I sit upon the throne again.
Isla Real.
The All-Mother called to her rider and to the rider of the son without a nest. The power belonged to her daughter who had not yet been born. In a sense, the power of the All-Mother was already part of the daughter before she was born. But it was necessary for the last Mother to transmit the memories of all the Mothers of the past. The transfer was a matter of ancient ritual and magic. On each occasion, the All-Mother sacrificed her life for the success of her daughter. But this time it would be different. The daughter was in a false Mother, and the memories were in the mind of a biped. The ritual would require more than a mother giving life to her daughter in a special place. The two young bipeds arrived with more food for her and the male.
Lupita spoke and thought the same thing so that everyone could understand: I heard you, All-Mother. What do you need?
The All-Mother thought to the three minds: My daughter will arrive soon. The biped and her Pegasus will be with me at the birth. My rider needs to be with me, and I believe the son without a nest and his rider as well. The life of everyone will be in danger. The place is special, but anyone at the ritual could die.
Lupita: I will be with you. My life is nothing without you.
Kerstin: Beautiful Boy and I will be with you. We mean little in this world. If we can serve in the ritual, it will be worth our lives.