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The 8000 Army

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Chapter Four        Prince Gael, it had been so long since that had been a factor in his life. So long since he had been more than the Commander. Now here he stood before the large oak doors of the Great Hall. In that oversized room would be the bleached ivory throne his father had sat on. The ivory throne of the first son of every King since the founding of The Craeg named for the Craeg Mountains that had protected the rear of the fort for generations, a fort built for the soldiers, a fort built for war. The Halloy waters of the mountain had cut deep in the rocks, of the near impossible to climb mountains, creating a gorge so steep it made the fort inaccessible from the river. Only sections of the mountain could be safely ascended and even then it was arduous and had to be navigated a fair distance down the river where it was crossable. There was a worn path to the Halloy Loch but even that was a harrowing trail made by the local folk.       ...
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The 8000 Army

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Chapter Three                   Gael was used to minimal sleep and with the less than hospitable accommodation of the end barracks, he did not feel the necessity in sleeping late. As the sun warmed the stone of the Quad, Gael jogged the perimeter with an increasing dismay that the moonlight of the previous night had been masking the severity of the decaying Fort. The morning soldiers on guard were no more attentive the the previous nights shift.      First and Forth corporals joined him half way through the routine exercise. On their return to the barracks they were greeted with the Fifth, Seventh and Eighth corporals. No doubt having built their own conclusions in regard to their home that no longer felt like home. They waited for Gael. Gael had no doubt that had he not left Finlay, Conall and Pike, the Corporals whom remained to regulate Medterra, they would be here to include their coppers worth.     ...
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The 8000 Army

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Chapter Two         Prince Gael and the Kings 8000, reduced to 5622 of which only 3510 reached the gates of Fort Craeg before the moon rose to the zenith. His men were greeted by sleepy guards hovering round the battlements. A far cry from the diligent disciplined soldiers that normally stationed the walls, had Gael been an invading army the guards would have been long dead and the Fort over run in mere minutes. First impressions left much to be desired on his return and he could only hope that it was the wily light of the moon that painted their once immaculate precision army base into the run down relic it appeared to have become. Including the rather unwelcome welcoming committee, which did not include his brother, the King to whom these men had given 10 years of their lives defending and countless brothers of the sword. The King, who would not garner the will to rise from his warm bed to receive his army of  hand-picked prized soldiers and certainly no...
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The 8000 Army

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Chapter One           The sun burnt the mountains gold as it dipped behind the sleeping giants crest. It's last rays glistened in snow melts rushing descent down the unstable rocky face of the mountain range. Numerous streams branched out from the gathered snow, that seldom ever fully melted even during the height of summer, to converge in a natural formed pool before bursting over a sheer drop of kaleidoscopic rainbow delight. Their land had always been a harsh teacher with nary a moment for leniency. The rocky pool smoothed over by centuries of running water was one of the most beautiful places to swim in the entire nation, if you didn't mind the icy waters, but the climb was treacherous and many a fool had lost their life to it's lure. Particularly the boastful whom believed they could compete with the sly current and play chicken with the thunderous waterfall. An inch of a stroke and there would be no swimming to prevent the descent upon the unforgiving...
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