Ch. 25: Gorvant

Two weeks had passed since that fateful day I became the Bodach Empire's new Champion. We were traveling to an upstanding civilization called Gorvant. The men there were renowned to be huge, dark and noble killers. They prided themselves on their honor-bound morality. Even though they would make incredible allies, it was near impossible for their race to agree to compromise and were completely resistant to the Bodach empire.

Kovin and I led thousands of soldiers, all of them clad in the Empire's heavy armor. I myself was wearing a lighter outfit, suitable to store my many weapons. I never took the ones from the arena off and brought each of them with me. Directly behind us were a few man-servants including Richie. He was now decked out in a more reasonable tunic than the typical palace garbs. I hated that he had to come along - war was no place for him, but he seemed to take it well, especially since he was allowed to ride a horse.

Being as I was still new to any type of tactical warfare methods, I turned to Kovin who was sitting on a horse beside mine, "How are we to negotiate with such a society? From what I can surmise, the Gorvantians will NOT agree to any type of alliance."

I could tell Kovin was tired from my constant questions, however he was now my 'subordinate' and was ordered by Prince Baymun to assist me as necessary. He ran a hand through his dark hair as his rugged expression showed annoyance, "We won't be able to negotiate with them - Prince Baymun has already planned out this particular battle before giving his position to you. All you have to do is follow the battle plans laid out in the scrolls I gave you yesterday."

I had already looked over the scrolls - that's why I knew so much about Gorvant and their noble ways. "I perused them last night and after looking at it repeatedly, I'm not sure if all-out war is the best method to take."

Kovin gave a sharp glare with his coal-black eyes, "My lord is the best tactician there is. His plan is fool-proof."

I inwardly rolled my eyes while steadying myself atop a beautiful pitch-black horse. I was still trying to get used to riding such an animal for a week and a half ago was my first time. "No offense to your great 'prince' but I don't think he took into account that I would be leading the charge. The men still don't trust me or value anything I have to say. This could greatly impact the result of the battle."

Kovin seemed a little surprised from my deduction and was silent for a moment. I looked at his face to try and understand what he might be thinking. Gazing at the long scar cut into the right cheek below his eye, my mind began to wonder how he was injured. 'Probably from battle somewhere.'

"You might be correct." His low voice roused me from my train of thought, "It's possible your being here could cause the plan to go awry. What do you propose then Champion?"

"I'm not sure yet." I answered honestly. I had been mulling it over since obtaining the demon prince's scrolls. If they were a noble race, perhaps we could work out an agreement of some kind . . .

"Do you think they will be willing to listen to a proposed challenge?" I asked curiously.

Kovin gave me a side-ways glance, "Their kind loves challenges."

A small smile began to form at the edge of my lips. 'We might can win this battle after all.'

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After setting up camp, I patiently waited for the messenger to return. I had just informed Kovin of my plans, and he wasn't too happy.

"That's absurd! I won't allow it! Too much is at stake." Kovin's temper flared. I originally thought that this man was very silent and kept to himself yet was greatly mistaken. Kovin had a raging temper and wasn't very kind even in passing. The only person he seemed to respect was Prince Baymun, and that was pretty much it. He tolerated the other princes' but wouldn't really speak with them unless to show servitude. His loyalty to the demon prince was undeniable, but at this particular moment his loyalty to the Empire was shining through as well.

"It's already been done Kovin. Also, I'm pretty sure that you are only here to make sure I don't unnecessarily kill off any of Baymun's men - in this case not one 'man' will be harmed."

If he could have shot fire through his eyes I'm sure he would have, "That's PRINCE Baymun to you and just because your plan doesn't involve harming the soldiers, there is a lot more harm it could do -"

"Enough. I was appointed as Champion, therefore I will make this decision. As 'prince' Baymun said, all defeats or victories will fall on my shoulders anyway so you have no right to interfere."

Kovin inhaled a lung-full of air as he closed his eyes tightly. Richie was standing over in the corner, a huge smile on his face, "I think your plan is brilliant luv. Kovin's just jealous he didn't think of it first."

Kovin turned around, death emanated from his every pour, "You would do well to shut your mouth slave before I put you in your place."

I wanted to speak up for Richie, but Rich just gave me wink letting me know he didn't care about Kovin's rude temper. I sighed and looked back down at the table in front of us showing the lay of the land. From what I could see, we had to go through Gorvant before we could make it to the other lands. Our main goal was to obtain as many alliances and/or territory as possible to replenish the Empire's wealth, resources and male population. The Empire apparently prided itself on being the wealthiest and most land consuming civilization there was, and here I am having to administer their conceited objective.

"Look Kovin - the plan is solid. We will see if the Gorvantians will provide their best champion. If I do a one-on-one battle and win, none of our men will die and we will have obtained Gorvant as a much needed ally. Not only that, but I think the men need to see that I am fit to be their leader - they weren't at the arena to witness the fight between Derrick and me. If they were to see that their Champion was willing to risk her life to ensure their safety, then possibly it could allow a level of trust to build."

Kovin gritted his teeth, "That's all fine and great but what if you don't win?"

I smiled, "Then you will no longer need to deal with me and can follow through with your lord's original plans of all-out war."

His eyes widened, "That would be treacherous!"

"The stipulations I sent only stated that if they win we would leave their land unharmed. Therefore, once you all have returned back to the city you can come back with your prince and take their land by force. The agreement never stated that the Empire would stay away indefinitely."

Richie's grin widened in the corner, but he dutifully remained silent. Kovin on the other hand ground his teeth again, "You do realize that their Champion is the renowned Rodair. He's known for brutally slashing his enemies limbs off one-by-one until they have nothing to defend or walk with."

I wasn't too concerned with what Kovin just said, however Richie's pleased face suddenly changed to concern, "Ez, maybe this isn't the way to go? If you keep putting yourself into life-or-death situations, eventually it's going to catch up to you . . ."

I sighed, "Rich I appreciate your concern, but I AM doing this. I'm positive that this Rodair IS as brutal as you claim Kovin, however I did let them know in the message that the new Champion from Bodach Empire was female. I'm pretty sure that this will cause their own Champion to underestimate me - and from what I've read Gorvantians are head-on sword and fist fighters, so they will not be used to my fighting style."

Kovin looked down, seemingly defeated by my reasoning. "Well, here comes the messenger now. We will see if Gorvant is willing to play your little game."