Omen: 12, 16

  Adam yawned, waking early in the m. He was trapped under his triplets, who were sprawled against him, as always. That m felt different, but he supposed it was because it was the Twilight Month, when magi the world became chaotic.

  ‘Thirteen months,’ Adam thought. ‘Why did it have to be su unluumber?’

  Adam spent his m with his twins, though his triplets were oo far from their father. Since Jarot had left back to the main family estate, they had begun to squirm and cry more often. Adam fed them from the spoon Jurot had carved for them long ago. The Iyrman had spent several evenings on each spoon to make sure they were perfect.

  “What is this?” Adam asked. “How you do this to me? Do you think you bully me now that you ot bully yreatfather?”

  Jirot looked up at her father quizzically, before bursting into a giggle. She squealed and reached up for her father’s face, wanting to touch his soft skin.

  “I’ll five you only because you are cute,” Adam said, befoing to ge her clothy, doing the same for baby Jarot, who had the same schedule as his sister.

  Katool squatted over her baby sister, Maool. “She is so small, Cousin Adam.”

  “Yes,” Adam said, recalling how many times they’ve had this versation.

  “She is so cute.” Katool crawled beside her sister, who turned her head to look her way, squinting at the t toddler.

  ‘Taygak and Katool are the ohat are always looking at their siblings,’ Adam thought, looking to the other children, who were all assisting their families with chores. ‘I should try ahem all ied in the babies ohey’re older. Should I wait until they at least crawl? That probably is a good idea…’

  Elder Zijiered the courtyard, noting the Iyrmen sweeping the ground and w on ing their homes. He smiled and waved at the children who always seemed to eager to greet him, even if he was being a more frequent sight.

  “Good m,” Adam greeted the Elder.

  “Good m,” Zijin replied, pg doouch of gems before the Half Elf. “Your payment for st month.”

  “Appreciated,” Adam said, peeking into the pouoting the gems. There were ten, as expected. “Is there any ce I bother the Iyr to send the to the Adventurer’s Guild?”

  “Is it for Nobby’s family?”

  “Yes.”

  Elder Zijin bowed his head. “How much do you wish to send?”

  Adam stared down at the pouch, and Elder Zijin could see that Adam was thinking something ridiculous, but waiting to see what he was going to say.

  “Could you send five hundred gold? That should be good enough for me not to worry about year.” He had first thought to send the entire ohousand gold, but then realised he o make a hoard for his three children, but the guilt of only gifting three of his children a hoard caused him to take half the gems, five in total, for each of his children.

  ‘If nothing else, Jirot and Jarot should have enough moo look after themselves if something happens.” Adam sighed, thinking about how two Goblins would use the money if they were going to be shot on sight. ‘Aunt will be able to protect them…’

  Elder Zijin was certain that Adam was going to send the ehousand gold to the family, but realising how many gems Adam had decided to keep, he uood what had happened. “It will be done.”

  “You promised that no one would bother me this month, right?” Adam asked.

  “Yes,” Zijin replied. “No one will bother you to work.”

  Adam smiled, nodding his head. “Did you hear that, Jirot, Jarot? I py with you all day. There’s no way that old man is going to steal you from me.”

  “Where are my greatchildren?” Jarot asked as he ehe shared family estate, before marg towards the Goblins, who were fast asleep.

  ‘How much free time does this old man have?’ Adam thought, frowning.

  Churot poked his head out from behind his grandfather, holding a book. “Cousin Adam.”

  “Cousin Churot,” Adam replied, motioning a hand to the seat beside him. “Have you been well?”

  “Yes.” Churot opened up the books and revealed the equations, some of which had been marked, and those which had been marked had been marked correct.

  “Churot, it’s not fair that you are so smart,” Adam said, smiling at the Devilkin.

  Churot’s lips twitched into a smile.

  Adam spent the day with his family, rexing the entire day.

  He was pletely oblivious to the moves greater forces were making throughout the nd.

  The drumming echoed throughout Bckwater, the capital of Aldnd, and it’s most populion. Flutes whistled, and boots thumped, as thousands of soldiers marched iogether, f a line easily a mile long as they marched alongside one another.

  They were the armies which had formed, ten thousand fresh soldiers. Most were peasants who answered the call, wanting a ce to gain and glory otlefield, and some who hoped to be knighted for their efforts. They had been trained hard the st six months, all the while the smiths of tral Aldnd worked overtime to create the arms and armour, mostly spears, shields, as.

  Of the two new armies, one wore cloaks of bck, and the other, cloaks of chequered bd white.

  The Bck Legion.

  The Chequered Legion.

  They were but the first of many new armies which would be formed over the few years. Each legion tained four thousand peasants, and a thousand true soldiers, those who had been trained lohan just six months. There were also hundreds of officers, each as powerful as a Bronze Rank Advehough there were many who reached Steel and Silver.

  King Justinian Bckwater inhaled deeply as he stared at the soldiers marg through the capital streets, surrounded by his Royal Guard, ten Knights with the title of King’s Bde, who had been trained within the Order of the King. The ten beside him were each as powerful as a Mithril Rank Advehough they were supported by several other Knights, giving even the greatest of enemies pause.

  ‘Soon,’ Justinian thought, watg his soldiers march through the streets. ‘Tomorrow we march to the Iyr. Fions and ten panies. We will meet with Duke Lio, and the Iyr will see what true strength will look like.’

  The Iyr, which had only fifty thousand people in total, could only stare with mouths agape at such a force. Thirty thousand soldiers will marto their nds, with dozens of warriors each at least Mithril Rank.

  ‘If only I could bring the Dragon,’ Justinian thought, though he wasn’t foolish enough to mess with such a terrifying creature, especially when she held powers which were unimagihere was a reason as to why the Bckwaters had ruled the nd for two thousand years, and as to why the capital city had never been razed to the ground before. It was all thanks to the A Gold Dragon who slumbered deep within the ke, accepting tribute of thousands of gold monthly, and more, for her assistance.

  ‘The Grand Army,’ the King thought. ‘No, not yet. Twenty or thirty thousand soldiers is too small. We must aim for fifty, no, one huhousand soldiers. Once I deal with the traitor to the south, I take the Grand Army to deal with Aswadasad, bringing w and order to the nd. Ohe sea routes are secured, the isnds will be a simple matter to deal with.’ He smiled. He would use the experience of the two wars to train the soldiers, and ohey were trained on this nd, the soldiers could head to the isnds. With two wars uheir belt, what could possibly deal with them?

  The Beast Waves would also train the army on the way to the Iyr. Then they would head south and deal with the traitaining more experie would take a few months at most to deal with the south, which had yet to recover from what the Elves had dohen they would march to Aswadia, and there they would wet their bdes a final time, before they would move to the isnds they had won.

  ‘After the two wars, who would have an army as powerful as ours?’ Justinian smiled. Once his army had finally ma the isnds under his fold, he would then be able to set his sights on finally uniting the nd under his bahere would be nion which would not belong to Aldnd, from the Dragon Kingdom to the north, to the Shendom to the south, it would finally be a united nd uhe Bckwaters.

  Such a thing would have been unimagio his aors, who had spilled their blood against the Iyrmen and Elves feions, but Justinian looked across his two new legion, who were but two of the twenty which would be formed over the decade, not including the many guards and personal forces of the various nobles, which would be rolled into the Grand Army.

  ‘No, not one huhousand, but two huhousand,’ Justinian thought, thinking to the resources the isnd possessed.

  Two huhousand soldiers, and if the isnds were half as rich as he thought, he would not stop there.

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  Imagihinking two huhousand soldiers (which you don't have) could threaten the Iyr.

  *Laughs in all the people who are currently in the Front Iyr that aren't even Iyrmen.*