Neytopia › Part 2: Noon › Chapter 39

Exodus

The citizens from the city under the mountain had left their homes days before the northern kingdom’s reached their city. They took with them what they could, knowing they would never return. They all walked through a secret narrow tunnel hidden that started in one of the houses and led outside, to the opposite side of the main entrance.

The giant walked alone for days until he reunited with the people from the city under the mountain. Then they marched together through the snow-covered forest in a single column, with warriors on either side to defend against any possible ambushes. They were sad to leave their homes, but it was also thrilling to be out in the wild. Except for the scouts and traders, most citizens had spent all their lives hiding. They had only seen the outworld during special occasions, and usually at night.

Every night they pitched their tents in the forest to sleep and resumed their march at dawn’s first light. The plan was to get as far southwest as quick as possible, where the northern army couldn’t reach them. Everyone felt safe walking with the giant, being under his protection. The raven knew the route because he had chosen it himself. He, and he alone planned the ambush on the 4th southern division of the northern army.

The raven didn’t choose the thick woodland because it was the shortest or the safest path. No, it was because he learned that the northerners were afraid of anything as tall as the Greater man, even trees. The northern army would be reluctant to get deep into those woods. If there is one thing you can count on, it’s superstition.

The raven flew for four days over the route he had planned and finally spotted them. He was stranged because according to his calculations, he should have found them sooner. He crash landed into a tree and climbed down. The citizens were awed to see him and went to greet him, praising the gods for his return. The leader’s son, who was very fond of the raven, hugged him yelling

He’s back! He’s back!

The raven spoke to the leader and the giant, smiling, unable to hide his self-satisfaction,

Two thousand and forty-eight soldiers died in the mountain four days ago. The news will soon reach the rest of the continent and the northern kingdom will finally realize that we are a real threat.

Those who heard him only stared at him without saying anything. Stranged, the raven went on,

The time to strike is now, before the news reach the northern king. We have to leave now and take as much land—

He stopped talking. The leader and the giant seemed appalled. The leader gave the raven a pamphlet that read,

We are at war. Heathens and demons made an alliance to destroy our churches and trample our holy ground. Join the northern army and fight for your kingdom!

The raven read the pamphlet again, incapable of believing his eyes.

It’s impossible, nobody survived.

What he didn’t know is that one smart captain had avoided his trap and fled back north to tell the story. The giant said,

This didn’t happen four days ago. It’s been four weeks now since you left.

The raven didn’t understand. He had fallen asleep after the little girl materialized to kill the soldiers, but he thought it had only been a few hours. The leader continued,

Every road is crawling with northern soldiers. The northern king will have an army by his side now, making it impossible to get to him. I guess… we won’t be killing him after all.

After a long silence, the raven yelled,

I refuse!

What do you mean you refuse?

I refuse to surrender now, not after what I have achieved alone. Definitely not after all the time you people have been hiding. I won’t hide in some remote chunk of land while that madman terrorizes the entire continent. And I won’t wait for a group of even worse degenerates to come to these lands and murder the group of degenerates that is already here. And if it takes a tyrant to kill a tyrant, then so be it.

The leader and the giant looked at the raven like they were watching a crazy person. The raven resumed raving,

I will tell you what we will do. We will take the people to a safe location, as far from the northern soldiers as possible. We will establish our base camp there. We will fight. We will strike at night with overwhelming force to push the northern kingdom back north. We will advance east, starting from the southwestern corner of our continent. We will clear every city, every town, every house in our path.

The crowd around him nodded, some even cheered. He had ignited the few sparks of hope left in them. He continued, with even more determination,

Don’t you see? The northern king will lose all support and his own people will remove him. Then, a different leader will make a deal with us to split the continent. The peace will be frail, and it will also be a sham: the worst trade deal in the history of trade deals. Because we will eventually take over their entire kingdom and make it our own.

The giant couldn’t hold his tongue any longer.

I’m sorry, but this is madness. We can’t wage war against the northern kingdom, look at us!—Then, in a lower tone, speaking closer to the raven—Have you forgotten what the little girl said? Look, we have the chance to live a peaceful, quiet life. You can marry that nurse, have a family. One day we will die and be forgotten. But we will live as free men. The little girl gets this, and I’m starting to get it too. Please, let’s just build a place we can call our own and live there for as long as we can. Don’t sacrifice these men and women for an impossible dream.

But giant, I too understood something when I alone destroyed a whole division. As much as I would enjoy a peaceful life, I couldn’t live with myself knowing I didn’t fight. I couldn’t live knowing that any day the northerners could come and kill us all. I can’t safely raise a child until the northern king is dead. And what about the South? They will come here, I’m sure. What will we do when they come for us? What will I do when they turn my children into slaves and rape my wife? No! I won’t let it happen! We can win, I know we can. First we’ll take the North, and then we’ll defend against the southern hordes.

The giant looked at his friend with concern, seeing the first signs of the thirst for power that had consumed so many before him. Meanwhile the leader smiled, already picturing himself as the ruler first over the whole continent, then over the whole world.