5 An arranged marriage

Back in Zapen Hill where the aftermath of the Battle of Delsh was still lingering in the air, the Archessan soldiers under the command of the youngest General of Archess were busy carrying out the order that was given to them before they headed back to the capital of Archess kingdom.

General Canillas von Rodega began his training as a soldier at the age of ten, and at the age of fifteen, he joined in military force, in which he had his first battle as an Archessan soldier.

After participating in numerous fierce battlefields, and proving himself to be a brave and tactical soldier which brought Archess victory after victory, he managed to become the youngest general in the kingdom at the age of twenty.

As he had become a general for four years now, General Canillas von Rodega had led three legions of soldiers most of whom he had personally recruited and had fought with him in the war of both expansion and defense.

The territorial expansionist campaign had long begun from the battle against tribal neighbors, later, it came to dominate as a wider land of the great Archess kingdom.

Having the Terra kingdom as its immediate neighbor in its southern part didn't make Archess force Terra into submission like what had been exhibited by the Valthian Empire across the south sea, the Russcean sea. Instead, Archess offered Terra the status of an allied kingdom.

The massive pressure that had been forced by Valthian to conquer Terra made the King of Terra approach the King of Archess to help them fight against the invasion of Valthian.

It was then, under the command of General von Rodega, that the Archessan soldiers fought a campaign against the Valthian, resulting in the retreat of the Valthian troops from Terra.

With the defeat of the Valthian Empire, the King of Terra, Ordoba de Montella, who had known about the superiority of General Canillas von Rodega, had a long-planned agenda to bind the General for the advantage of Terra by offering a political marriage with a Terran lady.

Therefore, before the General left Terra after the victory of his campaign against the Valthian, King Ordoba held a banquet with the main mission of bringing up the topic of political marriage. 

As the topic was brought up, the General didn't immediately agree as it was a political marriage between the two kingdoms, and he was an imperial soldier of Archess kingdom. Hence, the marriage proposal should be first sent to the King of Archess, who had control of the military in Archess.

As time passed, the political marriage between the General of Archess with a noble lady of Terra was approved based on the agreement of the two kings. Although General von Rodega was a commoner with a humble bloodline, he was an honorable soldier and a hero of Archess as he had fought numerous fierce battles and brought victory to the kingdom. He was even granted a large piece of land by the King of Archess in return for the performance of certain obligations, including military service.

Therefore, the King of Archess, Bram de la Roca, would only agree to the marriage proposed to General von Rodega if Terra arranged for a marriage with an aristocratic lady.

Among several noble ladies that were offered for marriage by Terra, when Canillas von Rodega read himself the written background of the family of the ladies through the letter that was sent by the imperial official of Terra, without knowing the physical appearance of the ladies, his choice fell on the daughter of the Duke of Barasca, Joanna de Lara.

Two weeks later after both of the parties received each agreement, the marriage certificate was issued and his bride was sent to his homeland, Archess.

It had become the custom that had long ruled in the land of Archess that a marriage between an Archessan gentleman with a lady from another kingdom was ruled by sending the bride to the land of the groom.

However, before his newly-wedded wife whom he hadn't seen even once arrived at his mansion, he received an urgent report about the invasion trial from Calburn.

Therefore, Canillas immediately led his troops to Zapen Hill to fight back the Calburn army and force them to retreat. It took him more than three months to conquer them under a challenging area like Zapen Hill as Canillas' troops had to advance downhill, cross a large area of marshy ground, and then climb the northern slope of the hill. The rain that had frequently poured made the battle more frustrating.

However, it wouldn't have been General Canillas von Rodega if he couldn't make the enemy experience heavy loss, not only killing a lot of enemy troops but also capturing their commander and some leaders while releasing a few numbers of disabled troops that would not become a threat in the future to return to their kingdom to report about the loss to their king.

Having ordered all the important tasks to his troops, including taking care of the Archessan wounded soldiers, collecting the dead bodies of the Archessan soldiers to be buried in the land of Archess later while burying the enemy in a mass grave in the Zapen Hill, and securing the Calburn soldiers who were held captive to be sent to the prison later, Canillas set out for a night stroll on the woods of Zapen Hill around their camps.

After observing that there was no something odd, he lay down under the blanket of sky, by the bonfire. Instead of sleeping inside the tent, Canillas chose to sleep outdoors as the weather was surprisingly fair tonight.

Some of his men were also lying, scattered on the open ground around him, while some took guard around the camps.

Compared to the other nights, this night their camps seemed to be more alive, filled with the energy and vitality of young soldiers, deep laughs and conversation, as if they showed their relief after once again surviving the verge of death of the war, unable to wait to welcome their next adventure, to their home.

With his hands folded under his head, Canillas gazed at the shining stars dancing around the white moon in the night sky and seemed to be immersed in his own thoughts.

Tomorrow, he would head back to Archess so he would meet a new member of his family soon. 

His bride. His wife.