Chapter 52 - Malnourished

Fifty of them in all, they were trotting through the thick winter snow on their big warhorses.Their armor was a dull silver and mantles of assorted colors lay in their midst.

 "Sir, there are men ahead," the scout informed Leopold, his horse snorting from the exhaustion of running back through the snow.

 "Bring them to me," ordered Leopold, stopping his own steed.

…

 "Say your apprentice names," ordered Leopold to a large youth who was easily six feet tall. He was also carrying another boy on his back.

 "Bjorn, sir, my name is Bjorn Alara. And this is Pan Lewis", replied the young man, as he placed Pan on the ground. Keeping the two of them alive for the past four days had been an arduous task. Pan was already malnourished and dehydrated even before he fell into a coma. Bjorn managed to melt some of the snow and hydrate him, but too little, as he could kill Pan with hypothermia, as well as himself if he drank too much. Also, finding food in the middle of winter was difficult, especially food that would pass down the throat of someone in a coma.

 'Pan? Sounds familiar.' Leopold thought.

 "Why are yours here? If I'm not mistaken, you should be in Lurea, what happened?" asked Leopold.

 "Sir, before I let you know. I would like to ask you to treat my Lord, I don't know how much longer he can bear." Bjorn asked. He was sitting and tired with Pan's body leaning against him. His eyes were sunken and his heavy breathing made steam that went to his eyes which in turn were red. His muscles had also diminished in the last four days and the once giant and proud blacksmith now looked like just a big trunk, old and fragile.

 'Without an arm?' Leopold thought as he took a closer look at Pan, he looked different with his long hair and his cloak soiled with blood and feces. But he was still able to recognize the young man. How could he forget an apprentice who killed a fallen few days after being chosen?

 "How dare a mere apprentice make demands?" Answered Ax beside Leopoldo, while pulling his horse's reins. "Quiet!" he snapped angrily. But his steed didn't seem to hear and he started to jerk and then leapt aggressively, knocking the man to the ground before galloping away.

 "Damn animal!" Braved Ax after getting up and looking where the horse was running.

 "I, I'll get it sir" informed a young crusader, before running after the horse that ran away.

 As for the reason of the escape, she showed herself soon after. Sensing the threat in Axe's tone, Mavis placed herself on Pan's chest and began to slowly stretch out her roots of chaos, which didn't go very far in the end. After all, she was hungry too.

 "What is it?" Declared Ax with rage, as he glared at the mandrake that was the cause of his shame.

 "It is my lord's aspect and an aspect only," Bjorn replied in a hurry, stepping between Pan and Ax.

 "An apprentice with an aspect? What a fallacy, I'll teach you not to carry mandrakes around, boy," replied Ax, heading towards Mavis with anything but goodwill in his eyes.

 "Enough," ordered Leopoldo.

 "Who do you think you are to order me around?" Axé replied, looking into Leopoldo's eyes, who did not back down, quite the contrary. He jumped off the horse and when he landed on the ground, all the snow had turned to water.

 "Who do you think you are to question me?" Leopold asked, full of brave and putting his eyes inches from Axe's.

 Ax was a crusader master just like Leopold, but he knew that the only reason he wasn't promoted to grandmaster was due to suppression. Leopold had brought a fallen lord's head to the order six months ago. However, the Havagar family continued to say that he was a weak and hungry lord, denying Leopold the right to rise as a grandmaster by killing a lord. 

 "Fuck off," spat Ax before ducking his head and heading toward the bolting horse.

"Give vitality to both" ordered Leopoldo to a nearby white man.