Sweet Waters Throne

163 Chapter 16No one was safe from Artodo’s flames that day, even Cregan’s men burned because Artemis mistook them for Aryan’s. If the sun had come out then mayhaps Artemis would have realized that Aryan’s men wore golden cloaks with lions on their backs. While Cregan Lawsend’s men wore blue, the color of House Lawsend.

The screams of men burning alive could be heard all over Lawsend’s City and the men who were waiting in the green battlefield for Cregan to appear, suddenly turned back and raced towards the city to see for themselves what was going on. There was no need for torches in order to see, Artodo’s flames brought the light needed for the men to see while it burned them.

In just a matter of two minutes, Aryan’s men laid down in front of Cregan’s castle completely burned and black ─ almost forty thousand of them. This was a huge loss to Aryan and she had never lost such amount of men in wars before, she marched with fifty thousand knights from the Raven, gained twenty thousand good folks along the way ─ and for what? To see all of them burn like roasted meat?

Experts of battles blamed Aryan for allowing all sixty thousand men including the untrained good folks who volunteered to storm inside Lawsend’s City meanwhile she had no idea as to how many men Cregan Lawsend had at the green battlefield where his men were waiting for her. It was a clever plan if she were to succeed, yet it was the most stupid plan because that’s when she fed all of them to Artodo’s wrath.

Lord Tommy and Lord Criston High Rise didn’t survive the carnage when the flames came up and burned their hiding place. Aryan herself was nearly put to flames if it wasn’t for Sir Thomas and Sir Tyriol, her Lord Commander. “We need to fall back! Fall back and race towards the sea” Sir Thomas screamed at his men while he ran away trying to obscure Aryan from the flames and enemies who wanted to run her down.

Artemis showed no sign of stopping, and neither did Artodo. The whole castle of Lord Cregan burned to the ground and within it his men and Aryan’s men with it. Most of the men hid inside the castle because they thought the dragon wouldn’t burn it, and this was their mistake because as soon as Artodo came upon them ─ no one survived.

Cregan Lawsend was still inside the temple as he watched his city burn from the top story of the building. There was never a day Cregan was so happy like that day, and he screamed with joy “Burn them, burn all of them” as if Artemis could hear him. “I knew he’d come for me, I knew it” and this he said it to his men.

A small boat was waiting for Aryan, Sir Thomas and Sir Tyriol as they barely made it out of the city. Some of the men who also made it out of the city wanted to protect their Queen, however Thomas urged them to find their way back to the capital. “What if the dragon turns to the capital?” the men asked with fear on their eyes.

Not only was Raven the most populated city in Prophis with over one million people ranging from rich merchants to whores in their brothels, but also these men had families in Raven and that’s why they were scared. Lawsend’s City was just a small slice comparing to the whole Raven, and hence that begged a question. “Can a dragon burn a huge city such as Raven?” but no one asked the question.

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Sir Thomas had lost all hope of ever saving the city from the wrath of the dragon and that’s because he knew it better. He just wanted to take Aryan back to the palace and safe in her throne, and from there they will discuss matters of the war but not before then. Hence they abandoned their own men to the flames, the archers who hid in the mountains and hills were the only ones who survived when the sun rose.

Seventy thousand men including ten thousand men who wore Lawsend’s colors laid down in front of the castle and all over Lawsend’s City dead and turned black, like a soot and hard like a dry wood. This war which gained the name “Wrath of Artodo” was the biggest massacre ever.

Not even Battle of Stonedance came close to the number of people who died just before the sun rose. Houses were destroyed, food savings were put to torch and the market square and brothels and luxurious inns had all turned to ashes. Thousands of wagons full of treasures and goods all burned right in front of Aryan as she was forced to watch her wealth crumbling down right before her eyes, the sun came out just to show in clear daylight the destructions Artemis brought towards Aryan’s army.

Even the lions burned like chickens that day, all three of them and if it wasn’t for Sir Thomas to advise Aryan early on in sending back the seven cubs ─ then Aryan would have lost everything that day not just her army.

This day Artemis never came down as he preferred the view from above, he was later recorded to have said this to his secret council meeting that he preferred to look at the burned dead bodies from above as if to admire the work of his dragon. As soon as he was done, he patted his dragon’s back and slowly whispered “Valar” and made his way back to Maldonia.

When it was all said and done, eighty thousand men in blue cloaks stood outside of what was once the gates of the city but now completely destroyed by flames. They were all unhorsed and seemed exhausted after running from the green battlefield to now a completely destroyed city where only few buildings stood. One of those buildings which remained was the temple and that’s where Cregan Lawsend hid himself throughout the war.

When the dragon flew away Cregan screamed for Artemis to wait for him, maybe to just say a thank you or perhaps he wanted Artemis to fly him away from his enemies but it was all too late. “I’ll journey to Blackmount at once and say my thanks to my friend. I need that trip organized” Cregan gave an order.

However, when he came outside of the temple and saw how ruined his city was, and all the dead bodies which were scattered all over the city, Cregan knew there was no coming back from that. Artodo may have saved him from death but he sure didn’t save the city when he completely burned it and alongside it; his enemies.

Even the eighty thousand men were stunned as to what happened to their city. They hadn’t seen the dragon because when they arrived, Artemis was already gone. But the destruction left behind could only be caused by a flying creature breathing flames from above.

A very close friend of Cregan decided to ask “What do we do now my Lord?” as they walked through bodies and fallen houses and buildings. Cregan was speechless in terms of what he’d lost, but he was filled with gratitude that at least he was still alive and so was his vault where he hid most of his wealth.

“If I keep staying here I will be dead come dusk. That bitch will never stop until she avenges her brother…” said Cregan and then he bent down and picked a stone which seemed to have fallen from his castle. “We must all leave, the city is dead” he finished with a somber tone knowing the good days had finally come to an end.

“What about your men, all eighty thousands of them who stood waiting for you in the green battlefield?” This time a question was anonymous since it was asked by a man in the back line who seemed to have taken quiet a beating from the fight.

“I give them my thanks and gratitude, I saved their lives for sending them there. It’s because of me they escaped the wrath of the dragon, and they are bound to serve me for eternity. Only this time, we sail to Lydia and find our position over there, we move in an hour” this was an order and his men followed.

Cregan truly intended to leave behind his sacked city for better daylight and a bright future. His men sailed first to Lydia after they had packed whatever was necessary to them while Cregan made a journey to Blackmount, this was mainly because he wanted to give his appreciation to Artemis for what he did.

Apart from having an army, Cregan also had his own fleet of ships and he thanked the gods his fleet wasn’t put to torch. One thousand ships awaited him and his men to sail away towards a new beginning, who knows what city they will raid and take it for themselves. It could be Lydia or if they were strong enough, then maybe even Penrith or Arkala. This was to be discussed after Cregan comes back from Blackmount, for now his only priority was to meet up with Artemis.