The Saracens march to war

The next day, messages were sent to all clan leaders. They were all summoned to arrive at the capital and the most fantastic city of the solo moon world, Kairouan. Small locusts flew across the desert to every clan, from the most powerful to the most feeble, to deliver the summoning message.

It was not long before tremendous and puny caravans of Saracens started their ride. For weeks these grand entourages traveled through the desert until they arrived at the lush foresty lands, and finally the city of Kairouan.

At least fifty clan masters had arrived and were waiting in the throne room where the queen sat like she had all the power in the moon world. The clan leaders bowed on all fours and then got up.

"We are here for the queen calls. We, the clans of the Saracens, vow to listen and serve the queen, for she protects us from the darkness and gives us peace and justice," All the clan leaders vowed in unison.

The queen rose from her throne.

"Clan masters of the Saracens. Look outside. Look at how your people still cry because of the actions of one man. A man from the Heian empire. A prince from a foreign world and nation. He worked together with demons, freed one, and aided him in freeing more. He then was ready to attack Kairouan with his gravity ships, burn it all down to hide his crimes."

The Saracen clan leaders were visibly angry and shocked. They had heard of the disaster at Kairouan, but none knew what role the Heian empire played in it.

"My queen, I understand what you are saying. This was a clear violation, and I also see this as an acceptable reason to declare war, but we are in a different world. How can we move our warriors to Aesis without a gravity ship fleet?" one of the clan masters questioned.

"You do not have to worry about that," Rufus said.

Doreen and the rest had no idea what Rufus had in store.

¨¨

Rufus took everyone outside. The sky was clear, with nothing in sight.

"Why are we listening to this main worlder?" one of the clan masters said.

The clouds started to scatter, and the sun was blocked. Tens of merchant gravity ships arrived through the skies. Three ships at the front flew the flag with the emblem of the Aurelian kingdom. A man with a long curved sword jumped off one of the ships while it was still mid-flight. The knight had ornate armor with a wolf's beautiful fur built into it.

"It seems like you were able to do as my King expected you to," Maxim, the leader of the greyhound knights, said with a bright smile after he jumped off the gravity ship.

~~

The ships had docked at Kairouan; before long, they were being filled with soldiers and warriors from all over the desert moon world. There were enough ships to carry at least fifty thousand Saracen warriors to the main world of Aesis.

Thirty thousand warriors on foot arrived from all the clans, but the elite of the Saracen warriors was their cavalry. Most of them were lightly armored, with the warriors carrying a spear and a shield at most. These horsemen had a different impact during their charge than the Aesis heavy cavalry. Still, they were able to ride circles around them.

If push came to shove, the elite clan leaders and their guardsmen rode on top of better-armored cavalry wielding curved blades and long lances. These warriors were called the Mamluks, the warrior caste of the Saracen society. They were taken from their families to serve their clan masters. Usually, one was taken at a very young age as a tax if they couldn't provide for their child and the clan master simultaneously. Since childhood, they were trained to be the fiercest warriors in the desert, right after the locust witches.

Rufus's entourage and friends went aboard the red fox.

"Feeling kind of melancholic leaving this world now. Finally started to get used to this heat," Amala said.

"You think you have gotten used to the heat?" Yusuf asked.

"I think so," Amala said, not realizing her armpits were like waterfalls.

The ship started to undock from Kairouan and followed the other ships into the sky.

"Hey, Woah, Woah, Woah, Wait a minute. Rufus hasn't yet arrived," Haley yelled as the ship started to undock.

The red fox ship was already high in the air when they realized Rufus was not with them.

"Hey, Kassim. We need to go back and get Rufus," Haley said and pulled on her sleeve of Kassim.

Kassim looked back and smiled.

"Nope, I don't think we need to," Kassim said and pointed at the sky above Kairouan.

Haley and the rest of them turned around. They saw a tiny spot in the sky that seemed to get bigger. It looked like an eagle flying majestically in the sky, but as it got closer, it became clearer that it was no eagle. Rufus flew mighty in the sky, controlling his wings with ease.

He then landed on the deck of the red fox, and his wings vanished into thin air. As Rufus's friends stared at him, they felt immense divine pressure and aura from him. Rufus was brimming with confidence, and as he walked, each step felt like it carried a lot of weight. Rufus looked at them and said, "Are you guys ready to go to war?