The Walls

A giant of a man is sitting on the tower, staring into the setting sun. His overgrown dark-brown hair under the shade of orange light is waving in the wind like chaotic flames. His skin was brown and his muscles flushed as if carved on his arm. leather vest, white harem pants, and a brown robe tied on his waist, reaching his knees. He was a giant, fierce worrier. As he looked at the sun disappearing behind the mountains, he heard a voice on the wall Bellow him. He saw a young knight surrounded by other knights making fun of him.

"Hi look, what've we got here. A newbie right before the full moon. Yeah, this will be his first and only night here. Are you afraid, little boy? You haven't seen the undead up close and you are already shivering with fear. I hope you make it through the night alive." Knights chattered and laughed as they were surrounding a knight on the wall.

"What do you think you are doing? Do you want to see the horde up close?" The man on the tower shouted in a loud voice. "Get back to your post." And he called the boy. "And you, young man, come up here."

"Yes, Captain." He comes running at the tower. "Take it easy and what's your name, young man."

"It's Giles Captain." The boy replies, standing straight, and he was stiff as a rock.

"Take it easy, boy. Here, come sit with me and Call me Leofwin for now." He asks him gently. "You got recruited last week and this your first day here on the walls, right?"

"Yes, Captain. I mean Captain Leofwin." He said, stuttering. "I am a little nervous."

"That's fine," Leofwin said and asks further. "Well, do you have a surname?"

"No, but my father's name is Hamo." He replied in a low voice.

"Then I shall call you Giles Hamo," Leofwin Replied as he was still staring towards the sun setting in the valley between the mountains. "Tell me, why did you join the magic nights?"

"My father is under a lot dept and those people pick on him time to time. He owns a bakery but we can't pay the debt just from the money we got from the bakery." Giles replied and his voice went down and started looking at his feet, bending his head down. "I thought people may respect my father if I join the nights and I'll help him pay the debt."

"That is a noble cause, but unfortunately, I picked you and you ended up in the most dangerous place in the entire kingdom," Leofwin replied as he sighed, looking down from the tower.

"I was so happy when you chose me. I thought no squad would take me in." He replied eagerly. "Can I ask you something, Captain Leofwin?"

"Yes, go ahead, young man," Leofwin replied.

"Your squad has to guard the walls, right?" He asks curiously, "Then why does your entire squad seem to be positioned only here?"

"That's a good question". Leofwin replied as slowly stood up, brushing his clothes. "But first tell me, how much do you know about the undead?"

"First, they are unkillable, second mana attracts them, and third they get more violent in sunlight and passive in the dark." He replied as he was counting on his fingers, thinking. "Am I right?"

"Yes, you are," Leofwin replied as looked back towards the empty desert. "Now think and tell me how an entire squad will affect their behavior?"

"Let me think." He replied and says after thinking for a moment. "Our collective mana will attract most of the undead right here in front of us if am not wrong."

"Yes, you are not wrong," Leofwin replied, and he goes on telling. "It's not like there are no knights on the walls elsewhere. Most of the northern part of the land is snowy mountains and is extremely cold. They become active so there's no need for guarding. A small number of low-ranking knights keeps patrolling the walls and to our south, there are low-ranking knights spread thinly on the walls with signal fire in case something goes wrong and also the walls were built on the mountains and this is the only place where we have an easy way of the land and for the undead, this is the only easy way in. So placing most of the squad here is the right move. We gather all here and can fend them off easily, having so much manpower. It's like 'killing two birds with one stone."

"That's amazing." He replied and asks a question, thinking. "But then why there is not much information about this in the books and why are you telling all this to me?"

"There's a reason for. It's not like it was always this way. Before me, the entire squad was evenly spread throughout the walls, west of the lands, but two years ago it led to a disaster and we suffered far too many losses." He replied as he took a deep breath. "And I might've seen myself in you or perhaps I am just killing time and you should go back to your post now." As he tells him to go back.

Sun has set, and the darkness has spread its wings across the whole desert as the dark clouds are covering the sky hiding the moon behind them. The torches on the falls are flickering as the wind is getting heavier, and it seems as if fireflies were dancing in the dark.

"What a frightening night it is, yet beautiful and calm. Indeed, nature could be mysteriously beautiful and terrifying at the same time." Leofwin says taking a deep breath as he looked at the sky and the loud cracking sound started echoing in the mountains. "Men, on guard," Leofwin shouts as he looked far in the valley in darkness.

"No one shall move unless I say so. Wait for my command. Don't waste your mana shooting in the dark and let them come close and wait for the clear visibility. Remember, we are not here to kill them. So don't aim to kill and waste your mana. We only have to guard any means necessary. You know the drill, don't waste your mana, and don't let them climb the wall". Leofwin commands his magic knights in a thunderous voice.