Why the Vestrisian Fights Chapter

Why the Vestrisian Fights

      It was the last week of the fourth month and the cadets had learned much since the beginning of their training. Morderaz summoned the entire company to gather around him. Many of them expected more drills and extreme tests of endurance like they went through during the first months of their training. Some of the cadets whispered and chatted amongst themselves.

      “The whole company is gathered. What’s up? Are we doing something else?” one cadet asked from behind chiecra.

      “Is there news from the fronts?” another cade asked his name was Norvos Visentius, whose parents fled from Vodwania eight years ago to escape Nazdar seizure of power.

      “Morderaz wouldn’t tell us that, it’s not his job!” Thenos said in his ear. All around them cadets were continuing to whisper, and mutter while Sergeant Morderaz looked at the clipboard in his hands. No one saw him raise his head up. “Shut the chatter and listen up cadets!”

      The whole lot of them quieted down. Sixty cadets sat on bleachers set up in a semi-circle outside the training boot camp. Morderaz looked at them with different intentions other than more training today. Chiecra could see it in his eyes that their Sergeant had no intentions giving them more training. He felt relieved by the look he saw in Morderaz’s eyes.

      “I know all of you are expecting more training, but the superiors and governess want you lot to attend a course in the Academy’s classrooms. Pick yourselves up from your asses and follow me and shut up!” Morderaz walked away from the bleachers as the company of cadets stood up to follow him.

      They marched behind the Sergeant in two lines, trailing his footsteps. Chiecra looked around and saw that other companies were being led to their assigned classrooms for this lecture. He turned his attention back to the front as they passed a standing superior staff officer that acted as an overseer to ensure the cadets fell in line. Chiecra hoped this would be good for them otherwise most of the cadets would find this to be a waste of their time. Knowing the punishments for such thoughts kept that viewpoint to themselves. It was best to keep your mouth shut than to endure the sergeants and officers biting your head off for an hour.

      The campus of Eagle horn Academy was larger than they had thought it to be. It was run by the Headmistress Vanelope Eagle horn, the great granddaughter of the Eagle horn who founded it. Students watched from their windows as others cleared the way for the cadets, fearing the wrath of the staff sergeants. Athletes who were outside exercising with their coaches looked down their noses at them. The cadets ignored them as they entered the buildings in the center of the campus.

      As Metal company entered the literature department structure, Chiecra looked up and saw the flag of the Vestrisian Republics. Their fields of blue with a golden pick axe, pitchfork, and wrench standing on a sword across a gold anvil hung above the doors of every structure on campus. The campus colors hung beside it and the city’s as well, which consisted the colors of Naatidra for its background.

      They came to a hallway in search of a room big enough to accommodate sixty cadets and two others. An elfish professor came rushing towards them in a black dress that covered her from shoulder to her knees. She smiled at them and opened a door on the left then turned around to her office. They looked up at the room number that read as Room A 174.

      “Cadets get in there and choose a seat. You better do it quickly.” Morderaz commanded them. Forty cadets entered what appeared more like a small version of an arena for a classroom. It reminded Chiecra of the courtroom design in his hometown as he and his fellow cadets took their seats. Morderaz stood in front of the board waiting for them to be seated before he started.

      “This war began because of multiple issues around this part of the world. I will fill you in for one week on how this war we are fighting began and why.” He walked over to the desk where a stack of eighty notebooks and seventy pens bound together in a leather strap. Morderaz picked up the stack of notebooks and handed them to a cadet closest to the door.      

“For the sake of the almighty gods, you will take notes. Cadet Moxxy-Love, distribute these notebooks and pens. Pass them around!”

      Morderaz turned to the desk and began the lecture. “This course will introduce you to the reasons we are fighting this war. I don’t know if your parents told you this or not, but I will tell you anyways!” The stiff necked Sergeant turned to the board and began writing.

      Chiecra read what Morderaz was writing on the board. It read, The Boathrin Civil War and Slavery returns to Vestrisia. Chiecra received his pen and notebook then proceeded to write the words down after handing the other notebooks and pens to the next cadet. Morderaz crossed his arms and waited for a few seconds before resuming their lecture.

      “I am sure you have all heard of the Boathrin Civil War.” Morderaz said as he wrote more words under Boathrin Civil War. Everyone was stumped including Chiecra. None of them had ever heard of the Boathrin Kingdom having a civil war. One cadet stood up. “Permission-“

      “Permission granted, speak cadet!” Morderaz said.

      “When did this conflict occur? My grandfather spoke of the sovereign war and the Muskallan-“ Morderaz cut him off there, the Sergeant was not interested in what they already knew in terms of past wars.

      “The Boathrin Civil War began before the beloved Queen Lizan was even born. There was some expression of disloyalty against the King Minontis from islands that used to be the Vullanese Empire.” Morderaz allowed the cadets’ time to write this information down. He pulled out a folded map and spread it out and pinned it to the board.

      On the map was the land locked ocean of Valde. One of the pilgrims had told Chiecra that the city of Ulfhineu sat on the edge of the mountains and on the edge of the ocean. The map did not show the whole world, but a part of it instead. In the center were multiple islands surrounded by parts of the mainland that showed on the map.

      “These islands here…” Morderaz pointed to a group of islands close together. He drew a circle around a select group of islands excluding a select few closest to the main lands to the west. “…Are the islands that make up the Boathrin Kingdom. There have been conflicts over these islands for centuries, but you can read about those on your own time.” Morderaz drew a diagonal line across the Boathrin Kingdom.

      “When the western half of the Boathrin Kingdom spoke of disloyalty that is when slavery began to return and the Vullanese Empire was revived. I don’t know very much about their religion, but I know it has something to do with slavery. Maesters, and Praetors, the religious and political leaders, conspired to split up the Kingdom.” Morderaz wrote Vullanse Empire over the islands west of the line.

      “Those loyal to King Minontis waged war against the Maesters and Praetors. Al-Dadorians fought against the Vullanese in the attempts to bring them back under Minontis’ heel. Apparently the newly assigned Praetors made alliances with these particular nations.” Morderaz wrote the names of the nations allied to this Vullanese Empire that split the Boathrin Kingdom, separating the loyalist Al-Dadorians from the loyal Boathrians on the eastern islands.

      “Those Vullanese had nations such as Gontrella, Vidothra, Nymres and Vodwania, formerly known as Exos. Their alliance forced the split between the worshippers of Vullan and loyalists Boathrians and Al-Dadorians. It should be clear to you that the Vullanese won that war of secession to an extent. That is all I have for you today. Be sure you’ve written this down, and keep those notes. You’re dismissed.”

      The cadets left the course for their barracks to wait for further instructions. Within hours of waiting Morderaz showed up at the door of their barracks.

      “Attention!” he yelled and all forty cadets stood in formation like that had been taught to do so for months. Morderaz just stood there observing the long lines of cadets standing before their bunks.

      “Let’s go for a run this afternoon, around the entire campus.” Morderaz said. He jogged out and the forty cadets followed him out and they began their long run, circling the entire campus seven times. It was enough of an exercise for one day as Morderaz led them back to their barracks. The next morning the bugle sounded and all the cadets filed out of the barracks with their drill sergeants waiting for them. They began the morning with ten minutes of jumping jacks and fifty-four pushups.

      “Cadets, your next lecture begins in one hour after morning meals. Eat, get what you need, and head straight to your assigned classroom. Move out Cadets, Urah!” Morderaz dismissed them and the cadets raced to the mess hall. After spending half an hour eating firsts, seconds, drinking coffee and chatting the cadets marched back to their barracks. Several companies of them ran into members of the group called the JMPF who saluted them, and gave some advice to the cadets.

      One member of the JMPF named Avos Meckoine looked at Chiecra and nodded who nodded back. He looked like had one year left before graduating to Private. Another Cadet was not so far from becoming Private saluted them saying, “Hail Argrithe, Hail Antalace!”

      It was an inspiring cry for them as the cadets grabbed their notebooks and pens. In moments the cadets found themselves marching up to their assigned classroom, seeing the three flags over the door and entering the literature building. As company 36 or the Metal Company as they came to be called, came to the door of the classroom, they found it full of Eagle horn students. They waited for forty-six minutes until the hour and a half course ended. Within moments of the class ending students filed out to their next courses, some looked at the cadets with envy, others high fived them, others gave them nods of approval. The girls who looked at them smiled and looked away, some giggled and whispered to their friends.

      Once the students had left the professor waltzed out giving the cadets a good afternoon and went on to her office. Morderaz showed up shortly after her departure with the same expression he had since the day they met him.

      “File in cadets, we’ve got a lot to talk about.” Morderaz said as the cadets entered the classroom and took their chosen seats.

      He walked up to the board and began writing names down before he began speaking. “Before we talk about the other events that led to this conflict I will tell you the names of the leaders of Vullan, her allies and Boathria. We shall start with the Maesters of Vullan first. Write these names down! Maesters Silon, Gades, Solcor, Gathra, Antar Nal, and Zanu were responsible for luring many of the people to their side and reviving the old empire. Thus, they encouraged disloyalty against King Minontes. Those are just the religious leaders the Praetors are the political ones. Praetors Zardoth, Xiasco, Urith, Vesuvius, Malum Dominus, Rastus Latum, and Staphanus Urbanus were the ones who arranged the alliances.”

      Morderaz then began writing down all the names of the allies of the Vullanese Empire. These allies of the Vullanese Empire included Rector Achil Balius of Nymres, Rector-Doge Drustanos of Gontrella, Rector-Overlord Iduma of Vidothra, and the Rector-Priest of Vodwania, Agepetus Geraldus. Morderaz continued on with a list of those loyal to Minontes and his allies.

      “Those loyal to King Minontes were Sheikh of Chieftains Bassam Essa Fadi of Al-Dadoria. General Thanos Nilolaos ensured that his armies supported the king while a lesser king, the Halberd-Vice King Drasta had Boathria pull its support for Minontes’ rule. That civil war ended with the splitting of the kingdom, but the preservation of the eastern half. King Taran II of Zedarkhaand entered the conflict when Gontrella, and Vodwonia made moves to conquer other pieces of Minonte’s Kingdom.”

      “However the eastern side forced the other half to give loyalty back to the crown. That was after the defeat of Vullan’s allies, but the Maesters and Praetors planned to show false loyalty for the remaining years of the Vullanese Empire. Now our next lectures will be on the issues of slavery and the Castarian War. I will be brief about this one since there is not a lot of time to discuss this conflict.” Morderaz began writing more words on the other portion of the elongated board.

      “For decades slavers would come into family’s homes and take away some members of the family. They would also abduct women and children from the streets or just invade all homes from all cities of New Vallorum, Naatidra and as far south as Geverin. The movement against slavery began in New Vallorum then spread as far as Geverin and parts of Castaria. Kings and their subjects joined the organization of the Vestrisian Army, which was under the leadership of Antalace and Argrithe. After years of attacks on slavers and wars eliminating the idea of owning slaves, the Castarian Empire began demanding slaves from the neighboring kingdoms. This sparked outrage amongst the leaders, which led to the Castarian War.” Morderaz set the utensil down and turned to face them.

      “That is all we have for today cadets. Tomorrow I will not be lecturing you. A progressing teacher named Mrs. Undines Elaton will be giving the lecture on the Castarian War. You are dismissed!” Morderaz said and he waited for them to march out of the classroom.

      Chiecra was rather curious as to who this Undines Elaton was and why Sergeant Morderaz wasn’t giving them the lecture tomorrow. The young cadet chose not to ask after all it wasn’t his place to ask such questions of a superior rank. All the first year cadets marched back to their barracks as did other cadets. As they sat in their barracks the cadets listened to the drills of the older cadets who were in the JMPF or the Junior Military Police Force. It was a stepping point to the army that required servitude to the city of Udraine itself. They all conversed about this JMPF during evening meals then continued these conversations before going to bed.

      Every cadet awoke to the sounds of the bugle and prepared for the day. Each one were expecting more running and other exercises from Sergeant Morderaz. This day Sergeant Morderaz did not come for them like he always did. Metal Company marched out of their barracks and proceeded to the Literature building after morning meals. They all sat by the classroom, since Morderaz wasn’t there to bite their heads off. As they waited for the teacher a voice drew their attention.

      “Good morning Cadets.” The woman said with a voice that sounded sweet like honey and birds chirping. All the cadets looked up to see a tall blonde curvy elf with a large bust, thick thighs, and large buns for an ass. Her legs appeared like the legs of a goddess. It was obviously Mrs. Undines Elaton come to teach their lecture. Mrs. Elaton approached them wearing a silk blouse with long sleeves and a fashionable dark blue skirt with a line of silver roses made from linen trailing down it. Her breasts bounced slightly as she approached them. She kindly introduced herself to them.

      “Hello I am Mrs. Undines Elaton, I teach psychology and some courses of current events. I am here to give you the lecture Morderaz was supposed to, but he had other matters to attend to today.” She said in a very elegant tone with some authority to her voice.  

      Chiecra felt his pants tighten as his manhood hardened. There was no doubt his fellow cadets were getting hard at the sight of this luscious looking elf before them. Each one of them knew better than to screw or take advantage of any females. Their Sergeant would be on them in a second. Mrs. Elaton approached the door and grabbed the door knob. She twisted the knob, but couldn’t get it to budge when she pushed to open it.

      “Could one of you cadets help me?” She asked as she turned her head towards them. The buxom elf professor looked at Chiecra.

      “You, what is your name Cadet?” she asked.

      “Cadet Chiecra Gwynor ma’am I mean Mrs. Elaton.” Chiecra answered before walking up to help her get the door open. It didn’t take him very long to budge it open. She looked at him and smiled showing her appreciation for getting the door open.

       “Thank you Mr. Chiecra Gwynor.” She said scratching his head as she entered the empty classroom. Once she turned the lights on, every cadet poured into the classroom and took their seats.

      “Sergeant Morderaz stopped at the four kingdoms declaring war on the Castarian War, am I correct about that?” She asked.

      “Yes ma’am.” They all said cheerfully since the grim faced Sergeant wasn’t here today.

      “Good let us get started and resume your lecture. At the same time the peasants of Castaria started to revolt against their Czarist government.  You see there was land reserved for those who worked hard enough and earned the ownership of his own few acres of land to grow crops. Since the nobles demanded slaves from the neighboring kingdom they decided to reserve those lands for slave labor. Hundreds of landowning peasants were forced off their hard earned lands and hundreds of others were butchered for resisting to leave.”

      “Both demands from the Czar and the nobles turned five nations and thousands of peasants against them. In 1834 five nations and New Vattoram joined together and forged the VUVR, or the Vestrisian Union of the Vestrisian Republics. By the year of 1835 the Castarians were caught in a losing war, which basically started in 1833. The armies of the new Vestrisian Union fought nearly every day of that conflict, pressing against the defenses of the Castarian Czarist forces. It lasted for four solid years with more peasants rising against the Czar of Castaria. Vestrisian Soldiers pushed their way through with aid from other locals and rebelling peasants…”

      A cadet raised his hand. “Excuse me Mrs. Elaton.”

      “Yes, what is it, do you have a question?” she asked turning away from the board.

      “Which of the kingdoms and nations united to form the Vestrisian Union?” he asked.

      “I am happy you asked than. The first five members of the Vestrisian Union were New Vallorum, Naatidra, Zedarkhaand, Ezonel, Geverin or Godriv, and Bisdolan.” Mrs. Elaton wrote down the names as did the other cadets who added Castaria in the list.

      “The battles were straight forward, meaning the Vestrisians fought the Castarians in the open battle field. Vestrisian victories were numerous with some losses every now and then. By the end of 1836 A.N. the Empire lost support of all peasants and other commoners. The rebelling peasants used guerilla warfare until the VAVR reached part of their movements.” Elaton wrote down the names of groups, generals, and other figures involved in this conflict including Antalace, Argrithe, and the five kings, the Czar, six Boyars, and Regan Vontonsky who led the revolution.

      “As we can see it was the full might of unified peoples and the pressure from a revolution that brought the Castarian Empire to heel. In late 1837 it was brought into the Union. There were other conflicts, but they had nothing to do with slavery.” Elaton said skipping the other conflicts.

      “This leads us to the current conflict or at the start of it. The Vullanse Empire and her seven allies joined an alliance with two major empires. It became an issue over slavery when word spread that Vullanese temples were harboring slaves the priests abducted from Boathria. Vullanese temples were attacked, and that is when soldiers discovered young women and girls holed up in the underground floors. That is why our comrades are fighting this war. To protect women like me!” She leaned on the desk and smiled at the cadets.

                “Oh, I do hope Morderaz isn’t too harsh on you boys. Not like those coaches are with their athletes. Well goodbyes.” She said dismissing class.