THE RISING SONS - Hour One The last bell of the morning rang loudly as the children all raced to their seats. "Please stand and face the flag," the teacher announced as the room fell silent. The children stood beside their desks and placed their right hands over their hearts, facing the red, gray and blue Banner of Broughcut located at the front of the classroom. "Tommy, will you lead us in the pledge this morning?" the teacher asked. The boy, small for his twelve years, moved proudly to the front of the class and began. "To the Banner of Broughcut..." Then all joined in, "...we make this solemn vow; never again will we divide the book, the sword, the plow. All three will remain no matter the cost; We'll remember the struggle and honor those lost." "Thank you Tommy," the teacher said with a smile as the young man scurried back to his seat. The school teacher moved to her own desk and settled in. The red-haired girl in the front row slowly raised her hand to ask a question. "Yes Emily?" "What is the eight on the flag for?" She asked. The teacher hesitated for a moment, her years betraying her slightly, then addressed the class. "Do any of you know what the eight on our flag represents?" she asked. The room was silent. In the last row a hand shot up. "Yes Tommy?" "It was a war." "Well, that is close. Yes it was a war, but it was more of a battle." "My Grandpa was in that war," Tommy said quietly. "Yes he was, Tommy. Many of your grandparents were involved in the battle." "Could you tell us about it?" another child asked. "Yes. I think that would be a good lesson for today. It was many years ago. Well before any of you were born. Some of your parents may have been children themselves, or like Tommy's Grandpa, some were in the battle." She looked at their eager faces and continued, "The three sons of Anson Broughcut met on the field of battle, each knowing that the fight was for all or nothing and each intending to destroy the other two; and it lasted eight hours. That is the reason for the eight on our beloved flag. To remind us all of the sacrifice made by so many in such a brief time." The middle-aged woman stood from her desk and moved to the bookshelf behind her. She raised her glasses to her face and scanned the shelf stopping on one of the volumes displayed upon it. "I am going to read from The History of Broughcut. Some of the names you may recognize. I had planned this for a lesson later this year, but now is a good time to start." She returned to her desk with the book and carefully opened it. Settling back into her seat, she cleared her throat and started to read. "Hour One began with the three armies colliding just outside the City of Splat. Prince Toddanson had known the battle would be brought to his door first and had prepared accordingly. General Jayson fired up his men, many of which were young boys. His brave young warriors all knew that they faced overwhelming odds and to survive the first hour would be crucial, yet they were in high spirits as they marched into history....the Red Banner of Toddanson snapping defiantly in the wind. A small force was sent to occupy the tiny airstrip near the City of Splat. A second force was sent to the old border Fortress in an attempt to halt the advance of Antony's Army. A third, yet smaller force, was sent to the Old Smuggler's Stronghold near the boundary of Prince Cire's Mine Field. By the time Antony's deployed forces had covered the ground to the Fortress, it was already occupied by the Red Army. Toddanson's soldiers had dug in and were able to maintain a good foothold as the Gray Army made their way through the sparse cover toward the ancient keep. Gen. Ramrod and LT. KARLSON spread their men out for a guerilla-style attack. The Gray Army moved closer, knowing that they were under the eye, and the guns, of the enemy. Every man knew what was expected of him this day. All were waiting for the order to attack. The entire line fell silent. In the distance a blue jay screamed out a warning. Gen. Ramrod took a quick look up and down the line - then cried out at the top of his lungs, 'FOR YOUR CHILDREN! FOR YOUR FUTURE!' And thus began the battle. Antony's men rose up and attacked in a solid wave. The poor cover between them and the fortress created a killing field. The Gray soldiers charged into the guns of the Red enemy only to be hurled back. Antony's soldiers fought as best they could, shooting on the run as rounds passed into their ranks. Just as it seemed futile, a lone foot soldier was able to make it to a small pile of logs close enough to get good position on some of the soldiers firing from the keep. By shear determination and courage he was able to slow the firing just enough to allow another up beside him. The pair were able to lay down enough cover fire to enable several more to advance closer to the Fortress. It had been a late night in Prince Cire's camp as the plans for the upcoming battle were laid out in great detail. Gen. Bravo's expertise was valued by all, especially Cire. They spent their precious time shaping squads and promoting those who were natural leaders. Prince Cire , in the first hour of the battle, revealed that he was more prepared than either of his brothers could have imagined. He was a natural strategist and deserved much of the credit for his early success, although the contributions of Gen. Bravo and those natural leaders who received battlefield commissions could not be ignored. Everyone knew their job and executed the performance of it with outstanding quality. Prince Cire had surrounded himself with a formidable army. Loyal mercenaries make a dangerous force. While the battle raged on, the legendary Assassin Hunters , Law Bos O'Neal and the Vurki known only as Boowie, were greeted with open arms by all sides and the two easily gathered information and followed leads unconstrained. They closed in on the assassins and in that first hour attempted an ambush, but the assassins were not to be defeated so easily. It was rumored that O'Neal had missed an opportunity to eliminate Talon in that first hour. Talon's skillful capacity to change his appearance allowed him to pass by undetected. Back in the Painted Forest, RAYNEER , Captain of the Border Guards, was again left with the charge of protecting the many food and water caches from two enemies, and he did so admirably and with ease. A few minor skirmishes broke out in the Forest Realm, but all were dealt with quickly. One of Cire's foot soldiers became separated from the rest of his recon squad. He took up position to the North of Splat City. The lone, grizzly-looking sniper reeked havoc on Toddanson's men and his actions prevented any northern exodus from the city in that first hour. At the same time Gen. Bravo was strategically positioning the men in his command. Bravo pushed into Splat City from the East and led the attack directly into the streets. This early foothold was exploited by procuring several packages of medicine and advanced technology for Prince Cire. Meanwhile Prince Antony, with his bodyguard JONSTONE , coordinated his men in a second-wave drive to overtake the Fortress. Preserving the life of a man who insists on being in the thick of battle is no easy task, and this push made Jonstone's job most difficult. Heavy causalities were suffered by both the Gray and Red Armies. In that first hour, Toddanson's force effectively stopped any further advancement into the city by Antony's Army, with the exception of GEN. RAMROD who boldly entered the city on his own and smugly returned spoils of war to Prince Antony. It was rumored that he did so in full sight of his adversary, Gen. Jayson, who was reloading his weapon and the moment was lost. With the City of Splat being pressed on three sides during the intense first hour of the battle, Gen. Jayson could feel the pincers snapping shut. To avoid being seen by Cire's men, Jayson slipped into the first door he came upon. His eyes adjusted to the meager light in the room and slowly a small band of Red Soldiers materialized in his view. The group was huddled together, many were wounded, all were exhausted." The noon bell rang loudly, startling the schoolteacher and her class. She started to place a slip of paper between the pages when the children protested, begging her to finish. She was so close to the end of the chapter that she decided to press on. "Gen. Jayson looked at the weary soldiers and cried out, 'Who will fight beside me?' From the back of the room a voice boomed out, 'I will, Sir.' The man stood and his blood-soaked bandaged head scraped the ceiling. 'I am Cyrus and I will fight with you.' Standing beside the giant, barely at his knee, was a small boy. 'I too will fight, if you will have me,' said the lad. 'The largest and the smallest,' said the General with a smile. The General, the Giant and the Imp headed out the door to rejoin the skirmish, just as the first hour of the battle came to a close." She placed the mark between the pages and carefully closed the book. The children filed out of the classroom and headed to lunch. Emily stopped in the doorway, turned and asked, "Miss O'Brien, will you read more after lunch?" "Yes, Emily. After lunch we will learn about Hour Two." |
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