Two years went by. In the night, the Princess treated the boy with care, tucking him in. But in the morning... the boy sweated.

  He held the wooden sword against the Generals.

  And the one who enjoyed it the most was none other than Leo.

  After all, Leo picked on everyone. Now, he had someone to pick on who couldn't fight back.

  "Move your sword faster!" Leo shouted. "Yes, Uncle Leo!"

  Leo froze. "Damn. I became an uncle." He shook his head. "Ahem. Anyway. As I was saying. Don't get distracted at any time."

  He slashed at the boy with his wooden sword.

  For the first time in months, Gray didn't get hit. He dodged, jumping out of the path.

  "Good," Leo said, nodding. "Very good." He clapped. "So. As a present from me... SERVANT!"

  The noble-servant appeared, panting. "Yes, Sir Leo?"

  "Make a cocktail for the little man."

  "But... he is young, sir."

  "Alcohol-free, stupid!"

  "Of course, sir. I am sorry for being stupid."

  "You aren't," Leo grinned. "But you will be if you don't move fast."

  "Yes, sir!"

  The servant ran, his expensive noble clothes dragging in the mud.

  Leo watched him go, sighing contentedly. "I am too kind. I don't know where my kindness will lead me."

  "To hell I hope." Merk said, patting his horse nearby.

  The two generals started arguing like stray dogs.

  Gray stared at them. He saw his opening.

  He escaped slowly, slipping away while they shouted at each other.

  He walked to a quiet corner of the courtyard. He found Shyn, sitting in the shade.

  "So," Shyn said, not looking up. "You escaped to the same place I escape to." Gray nodded. Shyn smiled. " Sharp mind... Little Warrior."

  The boy smiled back.

  “Do you know where Malik is?”

  Shyn sighed, looking at the distant forest.

  “Your brother is out hunting nobles and sheep.”

  “He told me he can’t tell the difference anymore.”

  Gray blinked. "Why?"

  Shyn shrugged. "He says they both bleat the same when you catch them."

  "Anyway," Shyn sighed, leaning back. "You have to be ready.”

  “Your 'Dad'—Ruther—wants to take the other castle this month.”

  “I don't know how... or even where we will get this much equipment from.”

  “But we did it once, didn't we?"

  Gray looked up at him. "I wanted to ask you, Uncle Shyn.”

  “What was my real Dad like? In battle?"

  Shyn’s expression softened. He looked into the distance.

  "He was brave," Shyn said quietly. "He killed soldiers like it was nothing.”

  “Your father... from the day I met him... he killed in a blink."

  Shyn looked at the boy. "He killed Captains who had trained for years.”

  “Men who wore armor heavier than his whole body. He killed them in seconds."

  "Good choice asking me, by the way," Shyn smiled.

  "Since I was with him the whole battle." He stood up and brushed off his pants.

  "Anyway. Want to shoot some arrows?"

  Gray's eyes lit up. "Yes, Uncle Shyn!"

  "Then let's get going."

  BROOOOOOOM.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The horn broke the silence. It wasn't the alarm.

  It was the horn for the Generals to meet.

  Shyn sighed. "Sorry, Little Warrior," he said. "But the Big Warrior wants me."

  He reached into his pocket and tossed a red apple to the boy.

  "Here. Eat an apple until I get back."

  He walked away toward the war room. Gray took a bite. It was sweet.

  The Generals gathered in the war room. "SERVANT!" Leo shouted.

  "PULL THE CHAIR FOR ME."

  The soldier-turned-servant ran in, breathless. "Yes, sir." He pulled the chair out.

  Leo sat down.

  "Good. Now, go make some cocktails for the Generals until we finish the meeting."

  "Yes, sir." The soldier ran out.

  Ruther rubbed his face.

  "So cruel," Strang said, shaking his head.

  "No," Leo grinned. "I am a King. If I was cruel, I would have killed him."

  "Anyway, Ruther," Andree interrupted. "Can we start the meeting before I die from Leo's stupidity?"

  "So," Ruther said, standing over the map. "The reason I called you is because the spy we sent came back today."

  "And?" Shyn asked. "Something new?"

  "He told me the Warchief knows we are coming. And they are thinking of making a trap."

  Leo looked at the map. "So... they want us to invade the castle, get stuck inside, and then they will attack us from our backs with a second army."

  "Exactly," Ruther said.

  "So," Leo sighed. "We have to take the castle in less than three hours, repair the doors, and then get sieged by a real army for months. We'll starve."

  "And we won't do that," Ruther said.

  "Leo. Merk," Ruther commanded. "Both of you will lead the men.”

  “The same plan we used last time. The difference is... there are no sewer openings this time."

  "So how do we get in?"

  "We depend on the ladders. And the new weapon."

  "You mean that Catapult?" Merk asked.

  "Exactly."

  "But that won't break the walls, Ruther. They're too thick."

  Ruther pointed to a blue line on the map. "The thing about this castle is that it has a river going through the middle of it.”

  “Every time it was sieged, that was a point of strength. Infinite water." He smiled.

  "But if we fire there... right where the water meets the stone... a part of the wall will collapse."

  "That allows you guys to take the ladders and climb while the archers are distracted by the breach," Ruther continued.

  "And you?" Leo asked. "Me, Shyn, and Strang are going to wait outside.”

  “We wait for their reinforcements to come to trap you.”

  “And then..." Ruther slammed his fist into his palm. "...We strike them from behind. Hammer and Anvil."

  "A massacre," Shyn whispered.

  "Indeed."

  "And the best thing." Ruther said.

  "Is that most of the armies coming to trap us... are going to be soldiers from the Final Castle of the Diamond Part."

  He looked at Andree. "Which leaves the Capital empty."

  Andree smiled. "Which I am going to strike."

  Leo raised his hand. "But there is something that might fail this plan, Ruther."

  He pointed to the map. The castle was surrounded by a vast yellow expanse. "It's a desert."

  Leo looked at the troops. "Most of our men came from the City.”

  “They never saw a desert. We can't march in deep sand. We'll be sitting ducks.”

  Ruther grinned. "That is why I have been trading with the Southern Sand Merchants for the last two years.”

  “The camels are in the lower stables."

  "Oh," Leo said. "Good thinking." He frowned, looking at the map again.

  "But the other thing... how is there a desert and a river? Those two don't mix."

  "These lands were green, once," Ruther said. "But they trapped the river. They changed its way to go in a circle—from the castle, back to the castle."

  "And the sand?"

  "They put devices in the ground," Ruther explained.

  "To suck the water out of the soil. To use it for farming inside the walls, and to turn the outside into a desert.”

  “A strength against attacks."

  "Strange," Leo muttered. "What are these devices made of?"

  "It's a closed loop," Ruther explained, making a circular motion with his hand.

  "They trap molten rock between layers of thick Type 4 glass.”

  “The lava spins in circles inside the glass, never cooling, never stopping."

  "It acts like a furnace under the soil. It boils the groundwater into steam before it can reach the surface."

  Leo stared at him, blinking. "I don't understand."

  Ruther sighed. "Because you are stupid."

  "The cocktails, sir," the Servant said, trembling as he placed the tray down.

  "Thanks, my servant," Leo said, taking a glass.

  "NOW GET OUT! THIS IS A SECRET MEETING!" The servant scrambled out the door.

  Merk watched the door close. He looked at Leo. "Do you think he wasn't spying?" Merk asked.

  "No," Leo shrugged. "He doesn't go out of his room unless I tell him."

  "And what about when you are not watching?"

  Leo blinked. He looked at the door, suddenly worried. "I... I don't know."

  Ruther sighed. "Stupid," Ruther said.

  "That is why I have a shadow watching him. He is clean. You are just too cruel."

  "Anyway," Ruther said.

  "The attack is going to be next week. So please... don't drink this week."

  He looked directly at Leo.

  Leo flinched, clutching his cocktail.

  "You hear me, Leo?" Ruther said. "No cocktails."

  "But—"

  "No 'buts', Mister I-Can't-Stop."

  Leo slumped in his chair.

  He looked at the full glass, then put it down sadly. He thought for a second. His eyes lit up.

  "Fine," Leo said. He stood up and walked to the door. "SERVANT!"

  The servant ran back in. "Yes, sir?"

  "Since I can't drink..." Leo grinned. "You are going to bake."

  "Bake, sir?"

  "Yes. Cakes. Lots of them."

  Strang shook his head. "So cruel."

  "I don't know how my son trains with you, to be honest," Ruther said, shaking his head.

  "He is actually very smart," Strang said, grabbing a cocktail when Ruther wasn't looking.

  "Yeah," Andree agreed, sipping his own drink. "He is a fast learner. I told him how to shift weight, and he learned the first time I showed him.”

  “It took me weeks."

  "He can actually shoot," Shyn added. "If those stories about Elf Archers were true... I would believe your son is one of them."

  "And he has some fine eyes," Leo said.

  "He saw openings in seconds. But... he still has some fear in those eyes."

  Ruther nodded.

  "He fears that he will die like his father," Ruther whispered.

  "I heard him once, talking to my wife. About how he wants to be a 'Great Warrior' so that History can write his name."

  Ruther looked at his hands. "But he doesn't know... that the death of my father is the reason I stand here today."

  The table was silent. "Drink, Mister Poetic," Leo said, raising his glass.

  Ruther snapped out of it.

  He looked around the table.

  Every General had a glass. "One sec," Ruther said, his eyes narrowing.

  "Didn't I just ban drinking this week?"

  The Generals froze. Then, in perfect unison, all of them downed the whole thing in one go.

  They slammed the empty glasses on the table.

  Ruther stared at them.

  "Who said we are drinking?" Andree burped.

  "SERVANT!" Leo shouted. "WERE WE DRINKING?"

  The servant looked at the empty glasses.

  He looked at Ruther. He looked at Leo. "Yes, sir."

  Leo stared at him. "You told me not to lie!"

  " Are you blind AND dumb?!" Leo hissed.

  "I... I am sorry, sir."

  "How can you be this stupid," Leo groaned, "when your master is someone as smart as me?"

  Shyn coughed into his hand. "Smart? Says the guy who can't talk to a woman."

  "You son of a—" Leo lunged across the table.

  Merk stood up, holding Leo back. "I won't let you hit him!"

  "Hey, guys!" Andree shouted. "Calm down! You can't fight in a Secret Meeting!"

  "Shut up!" Leo yelled, pointing at Andree's head.

  "You tie your hair with a shoelace! We are Generals now! At least change it!"

  Ruther shook his head. He looked past the brawling generals.

  He saw Gray, standing in the doorframe, holding his wooden sword.

  The boy was staring at them. Wide-eyed.

  Ruther went silent. Then Shyn noticed Ruther staring.

  He looked. Then Merk. Then Andree.

  Finally, Leo stopped struggling and looked.

  They all saw the boy.

  "Oh no," Leo whispered.

  "Great," Shyn muttered. "To him, we aren't Generals. We're just children with swords."

  Gray just stood there.

  Ruther shook his head at the bickering Generals.

  "Come, son," he said, walking to Gray. "Let us leave this stupid lot."

  He looked down at the boy. "Do you want to ride?"

  "Where?"

  "To the Green Mountains."

  Gray’s eyes lit up. "Yes! Yes!"

  "I knew you would love that."

  Ruther whistled. Light, his massive white warhorse, trotted over. Ruther swung himself into the saddle. He reached a hand down to help Gray up.

  "No," Gray said, backing away. "I can do it myself."

  Ruther watched. Gray dragged a wooden water bucket over to the horse. He flipped it upside down. He stood on it, grabbed the saddle, and pulled himself up behind Ruther.

  "Good thinking," Ruther smiled. "Now, hold tight." He snapped the reins. "Show him speed, Light!"

  The horse ran. The wind roared in their ears. They passed the landscape of the Glass World.

  Most of the mountains in this world were Rock—jagged and sharp. Some were made of Wood—ancient, petrified stumps of trees that were once the size of cities.

  But the Green Mountains were different. They looked like they were painted. There was no jagged rock. No brown wood. Not a single point of stone broke the surface. It was just an endless, rolling landscape of emerald green grass, rising into the clouds.

  Gray laughed. The air moved like lightning next to his ears, tingling his skin. They rode until they reached the peak of the mountain. The world stretched out below them. Ruther pulled the reins. "Whoa." The horse stopped.

  "Look, my son." Ruther pointed across the horizon. To the jagged, shining mountains of the Crystal World.

  "This," Ruther said, his voice turning serious, "is where you will show you are a Warrior."

  Ruther looked down at Gray. The boy stopped smiling.

  "When the day comes," Ruther said. "You will lead soldiers. They may be led to their death... but they will go. Because the man leading them has no fear of death."

  He pointed a finger at a distant, glittering fortress. "That day... you will take the Walls of Lith like it is nothing. The walls will crumble before you."

  "And in that day," Ruther whispered. "The Palace of the Glass People will be built. For all of our people... it is Hope."

  He put a hand on Gray's shoulder. "But for you... it is Fate."

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