I raise my hand, bringing a stop to the music and the cries for battle. My hand lingers in the air as the last of the noises die out, their vestiges only remaining in the mutters and gossip of those who think they're out of earshot. For some people, I see hands strike out and little amounts of bickering show up.
"Good subjects of my kingdom, though you come before me dressed as gallantly as any knight, even if you work the fields. Work in the smithies or more. My noble knights, I understand you put much trust in me to place you into valour, we are not here for you. We are here for the kingdom. A kingdom that starts in the fields, and in the streets."
I tell them, striking my hand out across the horizon towards the Crack in the Sky. Many turn their heads, with only the most disciplined keeping their attention where it should be. But no one is going to chastise or belittle. No one will hold it against anyone to look right now.
"Out there, from the Crack in the Sky, monsters have come. Not like those that we hunt for food and trophies, but ones who seek our destruction. I say no. I want for you all to say no alongside me. For we will meet them in battle and make them pay for every drop of blood. Every pile of ash and every trampled crop. These monsters made a mistake, and I look to you to make them realise that."
I explain, raising my armoured fist as some cheers go through them. But, I don't quite feel it from the knights, let alone the farmers who've come here today to fight for their homes. It sounds like their hearts aren't fully to it. A shameful thing to consider...
"These monsters are not here to kill us, not those of us of age. From what I have learned, any child these monsters have found has been slaughtered. Butchered like the animals that fill out your plates and bowls. The women and men are missing, their families gone and ruined. Newborns are not dead because of neglect, they're dead because of the monsters. Monsters called osibindah. They're not here to eat you, they're here to take your bodies for themselves. For they are vicious parasites who will seek to consume us all for their own petty existence."
Not rousing them to cheer, but to explode with anger. Passion burns through their steel and sets ablaze their clothes. Those who are here from the lands in the safe zone, it's taken a new meaning for them. Yet still, I do not quite feel it from the knights.
"I need you all to understand, my beloved subjects. That I, cannot allow this to continue. I cannot allow these monsters to go uncontested within my kingdom. Not because the land is mine, not because the view is ruined. Nothing selfish and nothing inconsiderate to any of you. I cannot allow this to continue because I am your king! I am your protector and I must do my duties! The Lord has gifted me my gift of age and power for a reason, and that reason is before me right now! Every man and boy gathered here, armed as they typically are and more so!"
The cheers come back in force, needing only that final push to go somewhere greater.
"Knights, soldiers, men-at-arms, noble doctors and more! I call on you to answer a call I've never had to experience before. Never before has the kingdom been threatened in such a way! I cannot face this threat alone, and we should not tolerate it! TO TOLERATE SUCH EVIL ON OUR DOORS IS TO SHOW WE BUT DESERVE IT! SO I ASK YOU ALL, FROM FARMER TO KNIGHT AND MORE... WHAT SAY YOU!?"
"NO MORE MONSTERS!" the men agree to roar, bringing a surge of confidence to my lips and a smile that will not go away.
"NO MORE MONSTERS IN MY KINGDOM! NO MORE MONSTERS IN YOUR FIELDS, AT YOUR HOMES AND ON THE ROADS! NO MORE MONSTERS!" I carry on, agreeing with their sentiment.
"NO MORE MONSTERS! NO MORE MONSTERS! NO MORE MONSTERS!" they repeat, again, and again.
My hands come up again, and I call for silence. The wait is long, and in their righteous fury, many do not notice me. But they do, in time. They all do.
One hand curls up, grasping for my sword, and I draw it for all to see. My magic blowing out with practised, ceremonious care. The skies shine with the emerald light of my power, the greatest in the land for so long. Though I cannot bless the army to be stronger, the noble doctors are all the greater for it. Amplifying the display in their own ways, battling the ailments already weakening the army and its resolve.
"LET US MAKE THEM REGRET COMING THROUGH THE CRACK IN THE SKY! LET US MAKE THEM BLEED FOR EVERY TEAR THEY MADE THE CHILDREN CRY! LET US BURN THEM EVEN AS THEY ARE ASH! LET US SLAUGHTER THEM AS IS THEIR ONLY RIGHT IN THIS EXISTENCE! KILL ALL THE MONSTERS!" I work myself up into howling, throwing my magic out as greatly as it can be done without triggering the machine and the flash fires.
Perhaps, Nin has helped me more even here.
"FOR HER MAJESTY! FOR THE LADY-KING MORGIHRANUR! IN HER NAME THE MONSTERS SHALL FALL!" a grandmaster of the knights roars with all he has, his voice dimming down so he can strike out his orders. Like the fires he reminds me of, this spreads. Armour stomps in order, aligning to a single cause. Professional soldiers show off on their turns, the peasants doing what they can to emulate.
The musicians play their songs again, trumpets of marching orders and the steady beats of drums filling out the city. One by one, they leave my sight, heading off towards the one place they need to head. The Crack in the Sky, the source of the monsters. They must move quick if we are to contain the bugs properly.
We will be fighting with exhausted bodies and it cannot be helped... To march into battle first is the burden we all must bear. Every knight and his oath, every farmer and his obligations. We all shall bear it, and I will bear it for everyone who will struggle to do so.