booktalesy Chapter 595: Welcome
Chapter 595: Welcome
The sun in the Heights was now down, the sky had turned dark, the snow, from Lord Feraos’s grace had stopped, the weather was still cold, but at this point, the people had gotten used to it, they weren’t feeling as cold as they normally would.
Or that was the... positive way to put it...
Which, at some level, was a lie.
The cold in the Heights was brutal, people don’t just get... used to it.
No, that doesn’t happen.
Even now, people weren’t... used to it...
They were just... dealing with something... far more... grave than the cold.
And that made them tense, that very thought occupied their minds so strongly that their minds didn’t even have the time to register that this was still winter, that it was supposed to feel cold, that it was supposed to make the body shiver.
The same was true in Velmourn City.
This was the fifth day since the Stonefangs had moved into their Wall, and ever since then, it hasn’t been... peaceful.
And it wasn’t because of the reasons one may think—
The Stonefangs came inside the Wall and while there were some tensions at the very beginning, things had calmed down to a considerable level, one may even say that the Velmourns and Stonefangs were getting along quite well—
It was, in some odd way... peaceful too.
But...
The tension was still there.
How could it not be?
As if the cold alone wasn’t enough, a literal war was coming, it was no secret, the enemy had already attacked them once and there was quite a bit of damage, the Stonefangs had lost quite a bit and yes, while Lord Kael did attack the enemies in return, taking revenge in their stead—
At the end of the day, that would only escalate the situation.
The war was now... only a matter of time...
And the people who sensed that... be it the Velmourns or the Stonefangs...
They were tense.
And today, that tension only became stronger because the people were told six more tribes were coming into their land.
Sure, they came as allies, but the fact that they would be living together with the same people they had considered their enemies for generations with no wall between them—
It... wasn’t easy to digest that news...
Even when the Velmourns had already accepted the Stonefangs. After all, it took time and effort to build trust, and the people...
Together with all this chaos, they didn’t have enough energy to put in that required time and effort.
Not that it mattered—
Whether they wanted it or not, the people had to accept it, because this was the only way to survive the war—
To form an Alliance.
So in the end, as unwilling as they inwardly were, the people accepted the change.
And it was happening—
New tribes were coming and for its preparation, the soldiers were already moving according to Commander Korvath and Chief Gruumak’s arrangements.
Ropes were strung across lanes to redirect movement, stakes were hammered into frozen ground, there were guards moving all around the city to make sure nothing surprising happened.
Quarter banners were pulled down and replaced with plain, temporary marks—simple symbols that meant "EMPTY," "MOVING," "NO ENTRY."
Yes, the Velmourn and Stonefangs were working together to prepare the tribes’ welcome, not that they looked very pleased about it.
In fact, they... did not like it at all.
And the same sentiment was carried on the Wall.
"Open the Gates!"
One squad leader ordered, the soldiers tensed up at those words, even the strongest soldiers were no different, but in the end, they did what they were told.
The Velmourn Gates... opened.
Velmourn soldiers stood on the inner side, their hands didn’t leave their weapons. Stonefang warriors were standing a level lower because of their brute strength. Standing below made it easier for them to react faster and face the enemy head-on, it was almost as if the position was specifically made for the Stonefangs.
So the Stonefang warriors watched everything with solemn, alert eyes, while letting the Velmourns watch their backs.
It was... strange to see it.
The two sides that would have tried to kill each other at sight the instant they saw each other, now trusted each other with their backs, stood shoulder to shoulder and... stared at the... same thing.
More tribes.
More past enemies that had now turned into allies...
More... risks.
Risks neither the Velmourns nor the Stonefangs would have normally taken, but now they did and everything held together because...
He stood there.
Kael.
He stood near the entrance lane, the ground there was cleared for the traffic.
Kael was wearing his cloak that was now covered in snow, his face was calm, as if everything happening was under his complete control and...
That expression was the only reason the two forces behind him followed along with these absurd arrangements.
Yes, all these complications, all these enemies, now coming together as allies, were because of one thing—
Their trust in Kael.
That was the responsibility Kael was carrying on his shoulders.
And the one who helped him carry all this weight was standing right beside him, like she always had been.
And this entire time since the two had returned to the city to stabilize everything, Kael had not once let go of her hand, not while he was passing orders to quarter stewards, not while he instructed the patrol leaders with communication crystals.
His fingers stayed locked with hers, they were... shamelessly steady, like he was making it clear that he had no intention of leaving her.
And Lavinia, who stood at the receiving end of all this new... shamelessly more dependent, more needy Kael...
She didn’t pull away one bit.
Why would she?
She was enjoying every second of it, there was this... quiet amusement, a silent satisfaction on her face as Kael moved her around, not leaving her even once.
She liked how every single soldier stared at them and... that was all they could do.
It felt like... Kael was openly confessing his already known feelings for her and claiming her as his.
"Make sure everyone enters in a line, is that clear?"
And while Lavinia’s mind was busy with her own fantasy, Kael ordered around.
"As you say, Lord Kael."
The soldier nodded and rushed away.
Kael nodded and then—
’Father.’
Imperia called out in her usual, calm voice.
’The Borealis are here.’
She informed, again, since her ants were with them, she had real-time information on all the tribes, all the time.
Hearing Imperia’s words, Kael nodded, then he raised his hand.
And the instant he did, the entire Wall turned silent in a single moment, waiting for him to speak.
It was... quite a heroic sight.
A single man standing in front of a thick, tall wall that was armed with hundreds of soldiers, and the moment he raised his arm—
The entire place turned silent, waiting for his signal.
"They are here."
Kael’s voice echoed throughout the place and the people reacted—
The gate guards shifted, the Stonefangs stepped forward, as if preparing themselves, the Velmourn soldiers became more alert as well.
And then...
The first tribe entered.
The Borealis Herd.
The tribe came silently, all their Bonds were, like Kael told them to, kept inside their Sanctuaries to avoid needless friction. So while they did travel on their Beasts, at about a hundred meters away from the Wall, the beasts were sent back to their Sanctuaries.
There were around six hundred and twenty Borealis in total, about one hundred and forty of them were capable of holding their own weight in the war.
They were Borealis soldiers.
The rest were herders, elders, and children huddled under fur. They had also brought animals with them, not the Beasts they had Bonds with, normal animals they used for herding.
The soldiers at the Wall narrowed their eyes at that sight—
Animals meant... food.
And while the people inside the Wall weren’t hungry, the same couldn’t be said for the tribes that would come in the future.
These animals that were in the open... would cause some tension.
But—
"Welcome."
The moment the Borealis came close, Kael approached them and greeted the Leader in his language, then, together with Kael was obviously Lavinia and another Velmourn, someone who had learned Borealis Tongue quite extensively.
He was much more fluent than the Velmourn Kael had left with the Borealis people before.
"He will guide you in."
Kael spoke, the Borealis Leader looked at the Velmourn, who nodded at them, having no difficulty understanding their language.
The Borealis Leader nodded, his eyes momentarily did fall on the Stonefang warriors that were still glaring at his people, that glare alone intimidated him but—
"Don’t worry."
Kael spoke in a calm tone.
"Go in, you and your people are absolutely safe in there.
I guarantee that."
He reassured.
The Borealis Leader looked at him, then he nodded.
Then, with his single signal, the Borealis people moved and entered the Wall in a perfectly straight line, without causing any commotion at all.