¡°Fuck me!¡± Jan blurted. ¡°That sounds incredibly bad*. The crusades, a horrible church propagated invasion, pulled in an estimated 100,000 back where I come from. That was a long time ago, long before our industrial revolution. Ah, another world, gawd.¡±
She picked up the bottle of wine and poured her own glass and offered to give them more.
Jan took a sip and considered this news. ¡°So these Duodenarists, I was half kidding about calling them Vegemites, something we do in the military. Call our enemy some nickname so we can feel better about slaughtering them. They are just kids who are led by imbeciles. Duo...,¡± She said, thinking. ¡°Durds, Dodos, Dicks.¡±
The energy had poured into her from where? Troy? Or was it this place? She still couldn¡¯t wrap her mind around the feeling.? There was a thrill and a dread, her blood, her heart had felt so strong in her chest, beating like some wild beast.
¡°Anyway, can¡¯t think of anything better. Vegemite motherfuckers think they can just cruise around as they please. We need to gather these folks you mentioned, the Reformers, no Reformationists and you guys, the Trinitarians you said. The Gods, small and large. We need to get them here. We need to form our own army. We need a cohesive group that can be so quick and decisive that in the field our enemies will have no idea what hit them. I can build a bomb. Oh hell, I need some enriched uranium. That would kick those Vegemites back into the stone age.¡±
Jan got to her feet, hands knotted into fists. She raged inside. The wine had set her off. But this was more than just the wine. This was her duty. Her brain buzzed with conflicting emotions. The house shuddered unexpectedly.?
Jan sat down suddenly. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m a bit of a rabble rouser. I get fired up at the thought of action.¡±?
Eyes blazing, Jan looked at her new guests with another question on her tongue.
¡°Just how many are we talking about in this Vegemite Mis¨¦rable March?¡±
*nod to Bill and Ted
Zafiri was taken a little aback when the house shook.? At the same time though, her father Haran simply stopped, raised an eyebrow, and went back to his drink before speaking.? "I think I might be able to answer this question.? Although I was just a boy at the time, I remember full well the last Exalted March.? The one led personally by the previous High Lord Papal, over fifty years ago.
"It happened at the walls of Sharizaad, in the Caliphate of Emirzelli.? I was in my last year of Trinitarian School, and I was to start learning the Tradition of the Healer at summer's end.? The Caliph of Emirzelli, like his father, had offered sanctuary to all Torquani, and allowed us to practice our faith in peace.? This was one of the grievances of the High Lord Papal, along with claiming Sharizaad held a holy site to the Faith and had to be ruled by an adherent of the Holy Twelve.
"He claimed to lead an army of a quarter million Faithful.? It was more like 100,000.? What was more disturbing was that the High Lord Papal himself was there, along with a retinue of Cardinals, many Bishops and hundreds of priests.? The High Lord Papal is always ranked as one of the most powerful wizards in the known world, and all who serve the Church, from the priests upward, are wizards of some level of Talent.? I should point out that no other faith requires its holy men or women to be wizards.? I suppose it helps some when your faith boasts that its priesthood can 'work wonders' on a regular basis.
"I remember the sky turning dark that first day.? It is said that the High Lord Papal himself opened the attack by breaching the first outer wall, and setting its defenders aflame.? The siege lasted nearly a month, thousands fell in battle on both sides, magical energies ebbed and flowed between the Papal's priests and the city's defending mages, and Sharizaad looked ready to fall.? If not for the intervention of a mounted army of united Dorok tribesmen from the south, it may have indeed been its fate."
Haran fell silent, taking a sip of his drink and letting his words sink in.? "That would likely be the most extreme example of an Exalted March.? The only differences between then and now?? Well, pike squares are still the same now as they were before, save for the recent addition of matchlock firearms.? Also, dragon riders were a very new thing back then.? I'd say that their flying assets are better integrated now, with more evolved tactics.? Finally, the siege of Sharizaad was probably the last time such a massive army was made up of conscripts.? These days, the abundance of silver makes it easier to raise mercenary armies for the nobles to lead.
"I should also point out that, unless the current High Lord Papal decides to lead another March, you're unlikely to see such an abundance of wizardry in a battle."
(Tag Jan)
