44 Ceremony (1/2)

After Morrow was done narcissistically staring off into space, we left the room. We made our way back through the building towards the entrance I had came through earlier. As we went through the last door, the spacious training ground opened up in front of us. The mercenaries that had been aimlessly milling about before, were now lined up in rows. The group looked organized, but nothing like armies of the past.

Means of production and access to resources had been established in Black Lion Village for some time. However, that did not mean Morrow could arbitrarily allocate everything where he desired. Many of the mercenaries had mix-matched clothing and were not at all uniform in appearance or grooming.

This is one of the reasons they used tokens for identification. Morrow was simple unable to produce enough uniforms to outfit all the mercenaries. Only a portion had uniforms and those were mostly gate guards or patrols that couldn't be at the ceremony because of their duties. There were also a large variety of weapons among them, due to them still needing to use the free one from the care package.

Eventually, most major cities would have a standing army, but that was a long way off. The biggest difference was their unified spirit. Armies of Earth's past and armies in Agatha's future were able to project a kind of unique spirit. Depending on the army you would get a distinct feeling from their presence. For instance, some armies would feel like a giant steel wall. You knew breaking their defense would be like climbing the Heavens. Others would feel like a fiery tiger, as if at any moment their attack would pounce on you ferociously. Very few would even feel like a noble dragon, it's might so unreachable that the thought of facing them whether offensively or defensively would seem impossible. In front of this group, I felt nothing.

An army without a spirit, a unifying purpose, an undying will, is doomed to be defeated. I don't know how they managed in the past, but without change this force would have no hope in facing the dangers I know are coming.

At this point we were standing on top of a wooden platform at the edge of the training ground. The mercenaries were lined up in front and the eight remaining Lieutenants were standing in a line towards the rear of the platform. I walked over and stood nearby, but still in front of them. As Captain, it would set a bad precedence to diminish my position by standing beside them. One of the basic concepts of an army is the importance of hierarchy and respect of position.

Of course Morrow went to the front to a makeshift podium. Without the assistance of technology to amplify his voice he had to speak loudly and project his voice so people could hear him. He began the ceremony with remarks about the progress of the village, about how important the role the mercenaries played in different aspects of that progress as well as a few miscellaneous announcements.

After the pleasantries he finally arrived at the real important topic, ” As some of you may have noticed we are missing two Lieutenants as well as other mercenaries who should have been here by now.”

Instantly, the mercenaries looked around nodding and mumbling a little.

Morrow waited for them to calm down...., ”This is no accident, in fact, they are dead.”

Immediately an uproar sounded from the mercenaries. Many men began shouting, demanding justice, asking who the culprit was, for a moment I thought they would storm the stage.

Morrow's eyes became cold and he swept the crowd as he shouted, ”SILENCE!”

As quick as the uproar began it fell back into complete silence. I had no choice but to admit Morrow's charisma and his ability to effectively control the emotions of the crowd were top notch.

Morrow let the silence linger as if daring someone to break it....., ”Now, do not worry. There has been no attack. However, there has been a betrayal.”

A few gasps could be heard, but most of the mercenaries remained silent after last time.

”Fortunately for Black Lion Village, I had a contingency in place for exactly such a possibility.”

So typical for Morrow, even in rewarding me he is going to take the credit and uses it to further cement his power.

”When establishing the mercenary group I entrusted an important mission to the person I knew I could trust the most, my only brother.”

A small ripple of shock passed through the crowd, most reacted with a slightly confused look.