A Message from the East

Cynane takes a deep breathe.

The man in front of her is a foot taller than her – broad shoulders, thick muscular arms and sturdy legs. Anyone can easily tell that this man has Herculean strength.

Even for someone as good and as swift as Cynane in fighting, she knows she has to be very wary when it comes to this man. She always does.

Taking one step back, she gathers all strength on her right foot and uses it as a propeller as she charges once again, this time with greater speed and force.

The sound of clanking swords echoes in the entire training grounds. Even the other soldiers stopped their own training just to watch the current brawl. Who wouldn't want to watch two of the generals of the Macedean army fight after all.

"Oops. That was close", Michal nervously mutters, a sweat slipping down from his temple.

Cynane smirks, their faces a few inches away from each other and their swords pressed against each other's blade. Cynane quickly withdraws once again. She is well aware that she is no match with Michal's raw strength. Her only chance of winning is her speed. While Michal composes himself, she is already on her feet, prepared to launch another attack. In a blink of an eye, she lunges forward like a lightning, making it almost impossible for Michal to catch her next move. Michal halts as he feels the tip of a sword behind his back.

"You're just too fast, aren't you?" Michal says in defeat. He cannot see Cynane's face but he's imagining how she's probably smirking right now.

"Well, do I have a choice? I have to be extra faster when fighting with you. You are a walking wall. You'd easily crush me the moment you seize me. I cannot ever let that happen. You know my pride wouldn't be able to take it", Cynane explains for the nth time.

Michal lets out a low chuckle. After all those years of training with her, he knows how his fellow general hates losing. She is indeed one prideful woman, as Michal would often refer to her.

"Of course, as always. Alright, you win."

Cynane lets down her sword and Michal turns around to face her. She is indeed smiling, obviously pleased at the result of the fight. Michal walks up to her to pat her head.

"Now there, your highness looks tired, should I give you a massage?" Michal says to annoy her.

Cynane scowls at him. She hates it when he or any in the army calls her 'your highness'.

"Stop teasing me, Michal," she replies, pushing his arm away from her.

Michal looks around and finds that some of the soldiers are still watching them. "Okay the show is over, go back to your training!"

"Yes sir!" the men answer in unison.

Cynane carefully inserts her sword back in its sheathe. Anyone who is well acquainted with her also knows how much she values her sword. She calls it "Samo". It's the only one in the kingdom. She purposefully had it custom-made for her four years ago, when she joined the Macedean army. The blade of the sword is made of Schianova, a rare type of mineral found in the high mountains of Macedea. The sword is not your usual Macedean sword. Traditional Macedean swords are typically thirty-one to thirty-three inches long with a wide blade, and they are mainly designed for the purpose of cutting. Samo is shorter and the blade becomes narrower as it reaches its tip. The sword has the best features of cutting swords from Macedea while at the same time possessing a thrusting capability. It's the perfect sword as it is not too long, not too heavy and can be used both for cutting and piercing. A green stone is also embedded in the middle of the sword's quillon. It was a gift Cynane received from her former teacher.

"So, is there any report from Lucio yet?", Cynane asks as she and Michal saunter through the army camp's hallway.

About four weeks ago, the King of Macedea assigned Lucio, one of the four generals of the Macedean army to control the situation in the Eastern region of the country. A group of activists are allegedly causing havoc in some of the towns there.

Michal shakes his head. He has not heard a word from Lucio ever since they left the capital.

Cynane lets out a sigh of frustration. "That bastard better come back alive and unscathed," she mumbles. She may act tough and cold, but Cynane has a very tender and caring heart. She does not always get along with her fellow generals, but she still worries for them, though she does make it that obvious.

"Hey, do not worry. Who knows, maybe the messenger he sent just got lost on his way," Michal says in an attempt to lighten up the atmosphere.

"Well, if that's the case then poor messenger."

As the two continue to roam around the training grounds, the camp's huge gates suddenly open, and a man riding on a horse enters the camp.

"A messenger has arrived!" the assigned guard of the day announces.

"Call for Joakim, now!" Cynane exclaims.

____________________________________________________________________________

"What took you so long? We've been waiting for you for almost an hour!" Cynane roars in anger as Joakim enters the room. She hates wasting time.

Joakim has that usual 'happy-go-lucky' aura on him. It's really hard to tell whether the man takes things seriously or not.

"What's gotten into you again your highness? It's still so early in the morning, can't I enjoy my sleep? Please quit acting like a cranky grandma.", Joakim responds nonchalantly as he joins his fellow generals in the meeting room. There is an obvious bad blood between the two ever since Cynane entered the army.

"You-"

Michal butts in, cutting off Cynane. "Enough you two. You can save your bickering for later. We have a more important and urgent matter to discuss. The problem in the Eastern region is actually more serious than what we thought. The Truskan tribe are involved."

Joakim can't help but curse at the mention of the Truskan tribe. "Those barbarians…what on earth are they doing in the Eastern region of Macedea?"

The Truskan tribe are known to inhabit the lands in the border of Macedea and its neighboring country on the West, the country of Fuema. However, the Truskans are not officially recognized as citizens of Macedea. They are nomads who found the lands twelve years ago.

It is a common knowledge for both Fuema and Macedea that the lands between them are barren and infertile, because of that, no one had the guts nor interest to live there. For so many years, no one really paid attention to those lands, not until the Truskan tribe came. For some reason, the tribe who suddenly appeared out of nowhere was able to revive the dying lands. How it was done remains a mystery to the people of Fuema and Macedea. Some say that it has something to do with sorcery because many kings have already tried to restore the lands, yet everyone ended up as failures, so it must have something to do with the supernatural to be able to do the impossible. There are also those who believe that the Truskan tribe hold some knowledge in agriculture that no one in both Fuema and Macedea knows. After all, the tribe's origin remains a mystery to everyone.

Because the tribe was able to revive the lands in the border, both the kings of Fuema and Macedea allowed the tribe to continue living there. However, the king Phirrus Bilistiche wouldn't accept the Truskans as citizens of Macedea. Aware of the prejudice of the king of Macedea had for them, Truskan tribe's leader, Irma, vowed his tribe's allegiance to the Fuema kingdom and therefore they have become official citizens of Fuema.

"Exactly my thoughts too. We're not sure yet what their true purpose is. What we do know for now is that they are working with a rebel group in Macedea. This may start a breach between the treaty of Fuema and Macedea, or much worse, this may spark a possibility for war in the future."

"Dang man, I did enter the army, but I honestly never thought that I'd ever face even the possibility of war. The country has not been in war for more than a century now," Joakim replies as he runs his palms through his face.

"It's not like you're the only one who's thought of that. Perhaps peace is not really something that can be maintained forever", Michal follows. There is a sudden silence in the room. Even for soldiers like Michal and Joakim, the idea of war can still be frightening. They have spent almost their entire lives training and preparing for things like it, yet you can never really be too prepared when it comes to war.

'Peace…even if it's not definite, is something that I would risk my life for – for the peace of the kingdom; of my family', Cynane thinks to herself. She gets pulled back from her thoughts as Michal continues to speak.

"Nonetheless, it's too early to be claiming war. For now, we need to inform his majesty, the King. I know it's quite difficult to have an audience with him nowadays because of his busy schedule for the festival so…" Michal and Joakim shift their eyes on Cynane.

Cynane raises both her hands as she comprehends what the two men are thinking.

"I know. Don't worry, I'll speak to my brother."