Easter Solsday, 21st of Aprillia, 470th Year of the Fifth Ere
Josias was sat atop his tiger as he formed part of the column of tiger warriors led by his father that would be setting off northwards towards Hutangali. A total of one hundred warriors, all mounted upon their large tiger-beasts, were gathered in front of the Church of Goria. Josias was placed in the front row of the left wing warriors facing the church alongside his four closest warrior companions.
All the warriors there were equipped with steel breastplates in the western fashion that were laid over white-coloured shirts while the metal helmets they were wearing were styled in the fashion of a western burgonet helm. Their armor was blackened and emblazoned on the front with a red Latin cross with the Anthroian letters ‘A’ and ‘Ω’ written beside the cross in white on its left and right respectively. Black, white, and red, the three colours symbolising the Halak people, called the ‘Bonang Manalu’. Many of the warriors, including Josias himself, were carrying in their hands various banners, but most of the banners had the same white, black, and red motif to them. In addition to their armor, the warriors also wore masks in the style of fierce and grimacing faces, with some of the more eccentric of the warriors dawning masks that were made in the style of demons and monsters.
The warriors looked truly fearsome as they stood in attention, sabers and pistols at their side, while the banners they were holding fluttered oh so beautifully upon the winds. In front of the center column was Parulian, sat atop his own tiger-beast and behind him were four other warriors who would act as his lieutenants in the short campaign, all of whom were armed in full suits of black western armor along with their tigers and cloaked with the red ‘ragi hotang’ ulos over their right shoulder. The lieutenants were the Lords, Mardomu Sinatua, Hasudungan Rapmasari, Ronggur Sigompul, and Lord Hariara Idabagak. Josias could only look on to the men with respect in his heart as all five of them - his father included - were the undisputed most powerful warriors of Goria, being at the level of five-star Pinnacle warriors and all seem to be at the cusp of becoming blademasters soon.
From what Josias could remember, the main village of Goria itself had a total active fighting force of nearly a thousand able-bodied men under the age of fifty. Of these thousand warriors, all of them were starred warriors with half of them being at least of the second star level. In total, out of these active warriors - which meant the starred elder warriors and mages were not put into the equation - a little over a dozen were five star warriors. It had been agreed upon that while the more powerful of the clans warriors would be sent to journey north, the majority of the warriors were still to be garrisoned within the village itself.
Josias felt that even though a hundred warriors sounds far too few a number on paper, but if it came down to the outright quality of the warriors, it wouldn’t be surprising if they could crush a literal army of thousands of aura-less fighters. No doubt, it wasn’t a force to be easily trifled with though deep down, Josias understood that being overly confident and conceited had been the downfall of many a warrior before him. Regardless of how powerful the army was, it was still prudent to act with the utmost caution.
Besides the hundred warriors themselves, provisions were made so that a group of about a dozen spellcasters - led by Ompung Ester herself whom Josias didn’t know was still willing to follow into a warzone despite in a more supporting role - would join the endeavour along with a team of priests, medics, and their aides led by the Reverend Timotheus. They would be in charge of providing the medicine and healing as well as caretaking the supply lines for both the army and the tiger beasts throughout the journey. Including the allied delegates who would lead the way to Hutangali, there would be a total of about a hundred and fifty people sent on this journey. And now these hundred people were standing at the ready in front of the church.
It was a few hours before midday and just a few hours before then, they had all attended the Easter Solsday liturgy presided over by the Archbishop Ludwig himself. After the liturgy was prepared and the men setting out on the expedition being given anointments and communion, they had all prepared themselves and gathered in front of the church’s square where a religious ceremony led by the bishop would be held symbolising the sending of the soldiers to endeavour within God’s work.
In front of the church was Bishop Ludwig in his full episcopal regalia, acting as the Highest Prelate among the Halak Church’s clergy with his office as Archbishop of Goria. There he stood in front of the gates of the church, holding in his hand his crosier. Next to him stood the King himself in his best clothes and most intricately patterned ulos cloth draped over his right shoulder. Around them were the other Elder Heads of the Great Clans of Goria while to the sides of the church along the roads were the many other citizens of Goria, mostly the wives, children, and families of the warriors who would be sent out.
In front of the elders were the women and children of the great clans who would be sending out their fathers, brothers, and husbands to the expedition. Josias could see his mother standing stoically while holding onto his brothers, sister, and little cousins. When Josias saw his younger brother Jakobus, he noticed his eyes were mostly trained unto the magnificent figure of their father, donned in his full set of armor, living up fully to his reputation as a fearsome warrior. Josias couldn’t fault his brother for not even seeming to give him a second look. Even to himself, his father was his hero. Besides them, Josias could see his beloved fiance standing stoically as she smiled at him while around her were his friends’ loved ones, all gathered to see them off. Many of them in fact were sending off more than just one person.
Arta was sending off not just Mateus, but more importantly her father - the Lord Hariara Idabagak - as well as some of her brothers. Maria was obviously sending off her own brother Timotheus, as well as himself as her Clan kinsman, and her fiance Johannes. Safira was seeing off her brother and her lover while Helena would also be doing the same. Many of the women had tears in their eyes and it began to dawn upon Josias that this was indeed a serious endeavour. An actual expedition against rational human beings with discernable wills outside of the beasts of dungeons. The blood inside his body felt like it was starting to rush as all sorts of feelings of anxiety and excitement were jolting within him like rogue waves at sea.
Finally it was time for the short yet meaningful ceremony to begin. Bishop Ludwig had stepped forward and made the sign of the cross in front of him three times, once for every main column of warriors he was blessing. After doing so, Archbishop Ludwig looked to King Parhal as he nodded. Josias saw as his grandfather was carrying the great processional cross of the Halak Church that he had only seen a few times before. It was a two meter long golden plated staff, on top of which was a highly ornate and considerable sized golden crucifix encrusted with various beautiful gemstones and the title ‘INRI’ written in the Halak script above the figure of the crucified Christ. The staff of the cross itself was unique as it also doubled as a ‘vexilium’ banner where below the cross was a vertical triband of white, red, and black made of velvet cloth. In the middle field of red was a golden symbol of the ‘chi-rho’ while on the white field was the Anthroian letter of ‘alfa’ written in black and on the black field was the symbol for ‘omega’ written in white. Around the symbols for the alpha and the omega were various and intricate native gorga patterns.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Josias almost cried when he saw his grandfather slowly approaching his father whilst holding the banner with unsteady steps yet a determination in his eyes could be seen to hand over the holy cross-banner to the leader of the expedition. Elder Marasi had also walked beside the king the entire time in case he were to fall or experience any other such adverse events. Josias could also see that Elder Marasi was holding onto a small basket filled with rice grains. All the while this was happening, Bishop Ludwig had directed for the people there to start singing a hymn as the king was personally going to hand over the banner to Lord Parulian.
“Nunga talu hamatean, dibahen Tuhan Jesus i! Ai na hehe do Ibana songonna nidokNa i! (Death has finally been conquered, by the holy work of Christ! He has risen from the dead, as he stays true to His Word!)” Bishop Ludwig sung as he was shortly after followed by all the people there, including the warriors who had unsheathed their sabers and started thumping the hilts of their blades towards their cuirasses to the beat of the hymn.
“Haleluya! Haleluya! Nunga Hehe Jesus i! (Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ is Risen from the dead!)” Everyone began to sing with much gusto and energy “Haleluya! Haleluya! Nunga Hehe Jesus i! (Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ is Risen from the dead!)”
As the hymn had finished being sung, King Parhal had arrived in front of Lord Parulian whilst still holding onto the processional crucifix. Whilst taking a deep breath, King Parhal finally spoke afterwards, saying, “...This cross… was made from the gold and pieces of jewelry that was taken… from our enemies after we had defeated them in the fields of Haumarara… Take this crucifix with you as a symbol that Christ tramples underfoot all His enemies… Go with God and stay safe, my son…”
As his grandfather said those words, his weak voice strengthened by his mana, Josias saw his father carefully dismounting from his Tiger as the clanks from the armor could be heard when his feet touched the ground. As his father stood across from the king, Josias could only remark how he had inherited his grandfather’s smaller frame as compared to his father’s larger build. Lord Parulian then grabbed the cross-banner before kneeling in front of the king after which King Parhal laid both his hands upon him in an act of a father blessing his son. After blessing his son, the king grabbed some of the rice grains that Elder Marasi was holding before pouring it over his son’s head. It was a symbolic gesture native to the Halak peoples. Soon after, the other elders and the Bishop had approached as well to bless the rest of the warriors one by one.
After his father was blessed, the king had approached Josias. Seeing his grandfather draw nearer to bless him, Josias quickly dismounted from his tiger beast, took off his helmet, and knelt as he gestured the ‘somba’ towards the king. King Parhal did to him the same thing he did to his father as he laid both hands upon Josias’ head while speaking, “...Dear Lord of Lords… and King of Kings… Jaga i ma Tuhan tongtong pahompukkon na hinaholongan… marhitehite goarNi Debata Ama… dohot Anak… dohot Tondi Parbadia… (Protect my beloved grandson in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit)... Make me proud, Josi…”
As the King said his blessings to him, he poured some of the rice grains over Josias’ head. Afterwards he felt his grandfather embrace him and affectionately ruffled his hair before heading off to bless Timotheus. Josias couldn’t help but smirk before he donned his helmet and climbed up his mount once more. From his beast, he could see the other elders also blessing their descendants one by one as his own grandfather did.
As Elder Marasi moved to bless his own son, Mardomu, King Parhal had switched places with him to hold the basket of rice grains. After blessing Mardomu, he moved on to bless Johannes and his other clansmen who were being sent off. Elder Rihar had also set off to bless his own son, Lord Hasudungan Rapmasari, and after that his other kin including, Hesekiel. However, the funniest exchange that Josias saw happen was when Elder Rihar approached his wife who was riding atop her own tiger as the elder looked like he had a crestfallen expression plastered all over his face.
“...O Nai Duma!! Boasa ihut ho…? Naeng dibahen ho au mate sasada dison? (O Duma’s mom, why are you following along with the men? Do you want me to die alone here?)” Elder Rihar said as he brought his two hands to his face.
“Ah! Far be it from you to die any time soon, you old goat!” Ompung Ester scoffed at her husband’s worry “And besides, a mother like me can’t stop worrying for her son! Someone has to look over Sudung!”
“The man’s nearly forty! He doesn’t need his mother coddling him!”
At Elder Rihar’s protest, Ester only laughed before she got off her tiger and planted a kiss onto her husband’s forehead. “You know me, hasian, ain’t none of these younglings are capable of even laying a finger on me. So don’t worry and spend some time with our other children! We’ll be back before you know it, you old goat! Hahahaha!”
At his wife’s reassurance, it appeared that Elder Rihar had no other choice than to begrudgingly respect and accept her decision to go. Josias couldn’t help but laugh as no doubt he would find no end of joy in mercilessly teasing Hesekiel and Johannes for the fact that their grandmother had joined the expedition. All of it was in good fun, however, as Josias knew as well as anyone else of Ompung Ester’s prowess as a seasoned spellsword and veteran of the various Halak conflicts, including the great battle of Haumarara.
With all the blessings finally administered by the clan heads towards the warriors heading northwards, they had pulled back and allowed the Lord Ephorus Archbishop Ludwig to come and put one final blessing towards the men of Goria. As he handed over his crosier to one of his aides, the Archbishop extended both his arms as they were outstretched towards the warriors and said his blessing.
“Dame ni Debata na sumurung sian saluhut roha, i ma mangaramoti angka ateate dohot pingkiranmuna di bagasan Kristus Jesus! (The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus!) Amen!”
“Amen!” The warriors replied as they unsheathed their sabres and lifted up their weapons and banners into the air before shouting in a thunderous roar “Hamatean! (Death!).”
And with that, the warriors of Goria had departed the village onto their new destination. With songs in their hearts and cheer in their soul, the warriors rode onwards towards their task. With their standards and banners fluttering in the wind and the light of the sun glistening from their armour. A fearsome host had set out to glory.
