Little Fighter: Calm Before the Storm

[Divisor]

Louis

He always hated the speed at which city gates were opening. Louis had to stand in front of them for about five minutes before two huge metal blocks moved aside. Hurry up, damn it.
»Remind me to consider a new system for the gates,« he told one of his men »This is taking too long to be of any use.«
»Will do, sir.«
»Good.« Louis admired the obedience of his men. His elite group never questioned orders, and even the normal troops were loyal until the end. Because of this attitude, our army is the most fearsome…or at least it was. He recalled standing before the Great Wall of Heatlands six years ago. The Rocklands assembled a mighty host, almost 10.000 men were armed and ready on that day. They were just about to storm the wall and break Heatlands' last defense, when the order to retreat came out. That was smart, back then. If we had not retreated, we would be crushed. Instead, they marched back home, joined the allied forces and betrayed their own leader. It was a tough choice, but it had to be done. His fate was sealed, we merely made it happen faster.
The gates finally opened, prompting Louis to focus back into the present.
»Dismissed!« he shouted to his guards as they were entering the city. He walked alone into the crowd, making his way among all sorts of people: merchants, workers, noblemen, city guardsmen, homeless beggars. Stonewall was always noisy and hectic: its small interior, when compared to Heatland or Coastland cities, definitely contributed to the population density, but that was not all. When the war turned to Rocklands' disadvantage, people from border lands fled to more fortified cities, mainly Stonewall. And after the war ended, most of them stayed there.
Louis reached the city keep after roughly twenty minutes. The fort was built at the highest point in the city, allowing the guards to observe the whole town, which was effective in case of public order issues as well as when foreign armies got near the walls. Louis climbed the stairs to the Rockland Royal guard building, which served as the military command center for all Rocklands' area. And because Lord John spent most of his days at the Forbidden Tower on Queen's island, Louis was, as the Supreme General, left with ruling the country. But now, after almost five months of absense, Lord John was back in Stonewall. Maybe he'll shed some light on whatever he is doing…or leave me further instructions and go back again. When he entered the building, Lord John was standing in the middle, chatting with advisors.
»You're here.« he said, when noticing Louis. »Leave us.« he told the others.
»You wanted to see me, my lord«. Louis slightly bowed his head.
»Indeed.« Lord John walked towards the table. »I won't be staying long, Louis. I'm going back to Queen's Island in the morning.« He suddenly turned to face Louis. The look on his face was serious and frightening. »I don't know for how much time I'll be gone, but one thing is certain. When I return, I will return with results.«
»It would very much please me, my lord, if you finally shared some of your plans with me. I hate being kept in the dark…again.«
Lord John laughed. »Straightfoward as ever, eh? See, that's what I like about you. All my other advisors are more or less asslickers, but you…not you.«
»Is that a 'yes'?« Louis asked, impatient.
»Very well. Among all my men, you deserve to know the most. Anyway, I was just about to have lunch. Join me, we will discuss it over some food.«

Two hours later, Louis was walking out of the building. He could not believe what he had just heard. If John comes through with this plan…if he manages to revive him…we shall rule the entire continent, as we once did. He looked upon the sky, clear and sunny.
Indeed…the calm before the storm.