Suthrath prepares for the war

Suthrath's vow and his speech had caused tremendous effect on the population of the settlement. As he walked through the streets of the settlement, the people looked at him with faces full of reverence and awe. With a small act, speech and a vow Suthrath had solidified his image and his position in the eyes of the general population of the western settlement.

Suthrath could feel the whispers of "Gods' blessed" coming amidst the crowd as he walked with a smile tugged at his lips with Lander was following behind him.

This was a small achievement Suthrath had achieved and he felt content. Right now, he had clearly suppressed any chance of internal disturbance. And it was not that the act had been for the general population only but also for the truly powerful people- the councillors. After his display, no councillor would dare to do anything unfunny.

This also granted him an additional benefit. His newly portrayed image granted him the leverage to make more tough decisions.

The decisions which had high chances of causing discontent and possibly disturbance or rebellion could now be executed, hopefully with ease.

"My lord," Lander asked with a puzzled voice. "Your wound? Has it really completely healed?"

"Yes, councillor Lander," Suthrath confirmed.

"But how?" Lander asked. He was not able to believe what he witnessed. He was one of those people who had rescued Suthrath from the battlefield and thus he had seen the wound first hand and it had been grievous.

"I do not know, councillor Lander," Suthrath said.

He remained vague but left the idea which he wanted to plant, "But I believe that Gods must have played their parts."

"And other than their blessings, I do not see any other reason of my sudden recovery," Suthrath added with a small smile.

Lander was in daze as he followed behind Suthrath. But as the leader had said, he himself could not see any other reason for this miraculous recovery. Perhaps... it really was the blessings of the Gods.

"My lord," Suthrath said with a slight hesitation. "Can I dare to ask a question?"

"Ask, councillor Lander," Suthrath replied.

"Your sword…" Lander said as his eyes roamed on the leather strapped sword. "It is unlike anything, I have ever witnessed in my life."

"And I dare say the… quality of the steel… the craftmanship…the beauty which it holds… let alone in our small settlement, even in big towns it would not be possible to find such a thing."

Lander was in visible awe as he talked about the sword.

Suthrath was aware that sooner or later, the question about it would be asked. He had a reply ready.

"Well to be honest, councillor Lander," Suthrath said. "Even I am not sure of where it came from."

"Few years back, my father had granted this to me as a gift," he added. "He had acquired it from some faraway merchant."

"I had been young back then had not understood its brilliance," he added. "But now that we were in trouble, the sword and I… both have found their purpose."

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Suthrath took a small tour of the settlement and then he turned towards the eastern side of the settlement where he had ordered for the men to be assembled.

"Councillor Lander," Suthrath said as they walked. "Assemble 100 volunteers from the general population. The only thing they need to have the ability to do is draw the string of a bow and fire an arrow."

"My lord..." Lander seemed to hesitate.

"What is it?" Suthrath asked with an eyebrow raised. "I believe that with the new found believe these people have in me, it should not be a problem to recruit 100 people."

"It is not about recruitment my lord," Lander clarified. "It is about the bows and arrows."

"We do not have a problem in arming the people with the bows. It is easy to make a bow and we have abundant of bamboo and other trees which is suitable for the crafting of a bow."

"But we do not have sufficient arrows," he continued. "Even if all the blacksmith in our settlement work round the clock, they will be not be able to manufacture so many arrowheads."

"Besides, the blacksmiths are already busy in repairing the damages to our swords, spears and other weapons which they have suffered in the last two skirmishes."

"Councillor Lander," Suthrath smiled. "We do not need an arrow made with an iron arrowhead. The volunteers will make their arrows themselves out of wood by giving them sharp edges."

This was the benefit of such a society. Even a normal person had a high level of craftmanship and crafting a bow and giving arrow like a shape to wood was something almost every person could accomplish.

Lander objected, "But my lord, arrow of woods will not be able to inflict any damage on the enemy army."

He continued, "At most arrowheads of wood can penetrate the softer flesh and that too a very little degree. They would cause nothing more than superficial scratches and slight injuries."

"Also, since the weight of arrow would have been reduced, their range would be reduced," he finished.

"That would be enough, councillor Lander," Suthrath said. "You will see."

"Just make the bows a bit bigger," he added.

Lander still did not understand what his leader wanted but he nodded his head none the less.

"I also want to meet two of the most talented blacksmiths we have in the settlement," Suthrath continued. "I have a special task for them."

"Yes, lord," Lander said. "I will bring them to you."

Suthrath nodded and they continued to walk.

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