Dungeon Prowler : One Man Army

Chapter 363: it's always the same

"The mortal world has changed much since my last visit, it makes me feel the years in my bones much more than ever" Apophis concluded his statement with a very aged sigh, one could feel the time from the sound of the released breath, as if something that has been decaying for an eternity left his lungs, Yunan just kept his eyes on the miniature theatre and the very realistic dolls, the play was something truly magical.

This particular booth was showing off effortless magical control over a few hundred mini golems that were made to act out a village, a true living village was simulated by the golems and acted out some story that was rather compelling in nature.

The village was the fiefdom of a certain Lord, it was under siege by a massive number of soldiers armed to the teeth, they had come conquering and were not taking no for an answer, they were prepared to take this village no matter the cost, at the moment it was showing a scene where the herald of the Lord was giving a speech trying to recruit the villagers into a makeshift army.

The Lord was so engrossed in his own indulgence and gathering of riches, he did not even try to keep an army and only used the minimum number of guards; so as to cut on costs, thinking his own position as a relative to the king was enough for security. Alas, life was really fond of shitting on the plans of mortals.

"You will be granted free citizenship, for you and for your descendants for eternity" hollered the herald of the Lord " you will be the free soldiers who shall defend their country, never lose your resolve" the words kept flowing as the herald kept reading the document given by the Lord at the peasants who were gathering at the village square with fear and apprehension.

"You will gain riches and wealth, you will never go wanting again, the Lord shall reward your services, the Lord shall open his coffers and armoury for your sake, so that you may use the best weapons and treasures in this country, be courageous and beave the dangers". At this point, it was apparent that the words said by the herald only demotivated the peasants even more with each word, thus he chose to attack a more vulnerable spot: religion.

"It is the holy cause for defending your children, your wives and families, not even the pope can deny you this martyrdom and sainthood, for the gods reward those who raise their anger for a holy and just purpose, unleash your rage for the holy quest, unleash your ire on those who besiege our land".

Unfortunately for the poor herald, his efforts turned futile, the peasants who were afraid of the army now showed an even deeper fear, the fear of disobeying the call of the holy crusade. Some even started stealthily running away, if they did not hear the holy summons sent by the bishop they would not be mistreated by the gods if they did not join the war efforts. When the crowd started dispersing, the poor herald could not find it in himself to say any more, he had done his job and sent the summons to the army, thankfully this wasn't enlistment or the lord would surely relieve him of his head.

Yunan felt that this ending was rather empty, true, but still empty and not so theatrical, thus he extended a thread to one of the little peasant golems and took control over it, the owner of the miniature theatre did not resist Yunan, this was a showing off, he would absolutely allow anyone to try their hand at controlling the tiny villagers.

"We are the poor and the hungry, not soldier nor knights, we are a hundred peasants, we do not wield blades or shields, nor do we know how to work the siege engines, we are illiterate and ignorant, untrained and unorganised, we are doomed to lose without a doubt" Yunan controlled the figure he chose to make quite the spectacle stopping the villagers from fleeing anymore.

"All around us is an army of thousands of soldiers, armed, trained and ready to vent on our little town, they will bury us and enslave us, not matter if we fight or sit still at home, that is the truth" as if on cue the horns of battle sounded outside the village walls, and the besieging soldiers started their march on the town. The figure under Yunan's control raised its voice again, it looked at the resolute faces of its fellow villagers and sang the hymn of battle in the area.

"Under the summer sun, raise the banners as one, ring the assault horns and sing the battle hymns, to the walls! for glory!". Many then picked up the call and went to the walls, able or old, disabled or weak, woman or child, did not matter, today they decided to die at the walls.

The theatre owner was very pleased, his theatre was a chance for others to play god and change the path of destiny in the little village, it was not hard giving the tiny golems an independent personality, it was harder to convince the golems; seeded with the fear of death, to sacrifice themselves and change the story, from just any other village taken in a war to a village that fought in said war, even the watchers clapped at the change, it was a better story if glory was sought instead of dying under a blanket, hiding like cowards.

Apophis chuckled to himself and patted Yunan in a thankful manner. This was the response Yunan had given him "no matter how the world changes, the inhabitants will always be the same, greedy, cowardly, brave and maybe even pious, as long as sentience was achieved by any race, they would exhibit the same traits no matter the age or the name of the civilisation, even gods were the same, over glorified beings with a bit more power than your run of the mill mortal, no need to feel the change of the world, the inhabitants were still the same".