Rebellion Chapter 2: Decisions

It was more than a year since the key start of the rebellion.  It began with one man's hope for freedom. Aurlan was only a young boy when he first learned of the evil of people. His home village was burnt to the ground in a raid by blood-hungry national soldiers. Aurlan barely managed to escape into a nearby forest. From there, he grew older and made his way from village to village in search of a home, but he was certain to never forget what had been done to him. He lost not only his innocence and his home, but he also lost his family and his protection from the harsh realities of the world. The years past, and Aurlan went through the southern lands, going from village to village, spreading his cause everywhere he went. His followers aided him in several raids and ambushes throughout the years. Soon, his gang of rebels turned into an army of freedom fighters. Their first actual battle occurred over five months before the Battle of Southfield. His group of a hundred men ambushed and raided a national camp in the middle of the night. The ambush was barely a fight, and the Battle of Southfield was a much more devastating battle.1

"We were lucky that those archers came late to the battle," Aurlan told one of his main men, "If they had attacked us at the same time as the other army, then we all would have died. The enemies that got away shall soon return in a few days. When they do, they will bring an even more massive enemy army with them."2

"What should I tell the men?" his second-in-command man asked.3

"Tomorrow morning, we will go back to the village Hann," Aurlan stated, "It is there that we will regroup and rearm our forces. Send messengers to the other villages that we freed and tell them to send all of their forces to Hann. It is there that I will decide what to do next." Without hesitation, messengers were sent out into the night.4

Morning came and the weak and tired were forced to carry the sick and dieing for days on end. They made their way to the southeast, towards the freed lands. Aurlan did not care about anything else other than returning to his beloved wife, Reslend. He did not care about all the pain and suffering around him, he only cared that he kept his promise.5

"Promise me," he remembered her telling him before he left, "Promise me that you will return to me so that I may yet again see you."6

"Worry not," he told her as they embraced one another, "I shall return." It was on the fourth day of their journey home when they reached the village. The roughly fifty remaining men were greeted by dozens of their family. Some were relieved and overjoyed of those who they had wished to return, but most were crushed by not seeing the others who they had hoped to see return. Aurlan frantically searched for a while for his love, and then their eyes finally met at a distance in the crowd of people.7

They both froze and stared at each other. Then, Reslend ran for Aurlan while Aurlan threw aside his blade. She leaped into his embracing arms as their lips met.8

"You came back," she said, sobbing into his chest, "You have returned my dearest love, thank you."9

"There is no need to worry, my love," Aurlan said, "I will never leave you once I free these lands and these peoples. Once we are free, I will never leave your side again." They embraced one another for some time as others rejoiced and mourned all around them.10

That night soon came and all were eager to hear what was to happen next for them. The hero deiced to give his speech in the village tavern, but only to the soldiers, not their families.11

"Now is the time," Aurlan began slowly in the dark, damp, dimly-lit tavern, "We have two-hundred mighty warriors ready for war. Ready for freedom. Up to this point, we have simply been going from village to village, creek to creek, raiding and freeing all in our path. If we keep this up, it is only a matter of time before we are hunted down and destroyed by the national troops. In order to secure a good chance at total freedom and peace, we must secure a major town and make it our main base and capital. Although this shall surely attract much attention from those in the north, we must do it to show that we are strong and that we will get what we seek. Doing this will also bring forth the attention of others who seek freedom in the Southern River Nations. We will be recognized by other nations as well. The strongest ally that we could possibly have right now are the Kalthans to the South. Hundreds of thousands of troops cram their already crowded city streets along the bay. If we secure a major town, then freedom will finally be within a reasonable distance of our grasp. That is why I tell all of you here tonight; now is the time for war and glory and freedom!"12

Aurlan waited for the cheers and cries and roars of excitement to die down before saying, "The town that we will take is the town of Naltharn. It is a town of roughly two-thousand people about twenty miles to the north of here. It is a town around a fort, directly above the intersection of two rivers. It is a great strategic town, and it is the town that will secure our freedom."13