Prince Arshakein

Everyone standing on the shoreline was transfixed by the arrival of a very large and majestic foreign ship. But there was no identity flag on the ends of the ship indicating where the ship came from. The port supervisors who were initially amazed began to worry.

Prince Arshakein, who happened to be around the harbor, immediately ran to the supervisory secretariat building. The magnificent ship was still some distance away, and its identity flag had not yet been raised.

"Where is the chief superintendent?" asked Prince Arshakein hurriedly to someone in a naval uniform.

"Oh, Your Highness Prince Arshakein. Greetings, the chief superintendent's quarters are at the far end," the navy man stammered. He ushered in Prince Arshakein who stepped quickly in front of him.

The chief harbor master was standing at the window of his room, his gaze fixed on the approaching majestic ship. When Prince Arshakein knocked on the door, the man jumped and immediately diverted his attention.

"Excuse me, Captain," Prince Arshakein greeted in a loud voice.

"Your Highness Prince Arshakein, respectful greetings." The Chief Harbor Master respectfully bowed to acknowledge Prince Arshakein.

"You have seen the ship, haven't you? Remove the children and women from the shore at once!" ordered Prince Arshakein.

"Yes, Your Highness," the Chief Controller replied and rang the bell to summon his men. His men would take to the field to secure the women and other underage residents.

After entrusting the matter to the Chief Overseer, Prince Arshakein passed from the port secretariat building, He moved quickly on his horse to meet one of the bodyguards and ordered to send soldiers to the coast to keep watch. The war against Gordeganemian had ended months ago, but tensions were still high. Gordeganemian would not just give up on Seodurnag's resistance, Prince Arshakein was fully convinced that Gordeganemian was not stopping, but resting for a while gathering ammunition to attack Seodurnag again.

"Your Highness," greeted a woman as Prince Arshakein and his guards stopped at a spring.

Prince Arshakein looked up from the water he was drinking and just nodded to the woman, there was no reply to her greeting, but the woman was quite satisfied with the prince's nod. The woman and the other women behind her were pregnant. They moved away from the coast as directed by the harbor inspectors.

"In ten years, we might witness another surge in our population." One of the guards remarked.

"Yes, in a few months those baby boys will come to the land of Seodurnag." Prince Arshakein muttered.

Seodurnag needed many successors after millions of people died on the battlefield against Gordeganemian. The kingdom required all women of legal age to become pregnant. The kingdom needed human resources which were now even less in terms of quantity.

Meanwhile, women who cannot get pregnant because they are old and infertile, are required to study health science. They would play an important role when other women were in labor and during war.

"How many soldiers have been sent here?" asked Prince Arshakein.

"Mercy, Your Highness, there is no news yet," replied the squire.

"Send an eagle to the headquarters and tell it that we need soldiers on the coast," hissed the Prince.

"Yes, Your Highness," responded the squire.

The other guards, assisted by the locals, cleared an underground hideout not far from the spring. Such fortresses had been constructed since the war drums against Gordeganemian started beating.

Two eagles landed at once on the roof of one of the carriages carrying goods, both carrying different scrolls of paper. One of the guards immediately took each scroll and handed it to the prince. The first letter told him that the soldiers were still on their way, while the second letter was from a governor under the Seodurnag Kingdom. Gordeganemian's troops invaded from the land route attacking from a point in the province.

"Damn it, that ship is just a diversion! Deliver a letter to the military headquarters, send troops to Pepperland Valley!" exclaimed Prince Arshakein as he threw the crumpled letters.

"Shall we head straight to Pepperland, Your Highness?" asked one of the guards awaiting the prince's orders.

"Yes, of course. We're leaving now, you fools!" said the prince with fury.

The hooves of horses echoed along the path to the coast as Prince Arshakein and his small army left the place, heading for the Pepperland Valley. The lowland was indeed a vulnerable target for enemy invasion. They infiltrated easily through the people's trade routes in the border region due to lax inspections.

The troops began to pant on their horses after hours of non-stop riding. The horses' snouts began to froth with thirst and hunger. Prince Arshakein read the situation whether it would be safe to stop or dangerous.

"We need to stop for a while, Your Highness." One of the guards spoke in a pleading tone.

"Are there any houses around here, I think it would be safer if we stopped inside a house than in a wild yard like this." Prince Arshakein said.

"I will seek information, Your Highness." Another bodyguard volunteered.

The warrior quickly returned and informed them that there was a public house nearby, not far from where they had halted their horses. Prince Arshakein and his small army rode back on their horses following the bodyguards, they were greeted by several residents who had heard of Prince Arshakein's arrival.

"Thank you for the ride. I hope we have not been in too much trouble." Prince Arshakein said as he was served a simple meal by the villagers.

"We didn't expect Your Highness to visit our hut," responded a mother with young children.

The bodyguard in charge of the eagle received another letter from the palace, more precisely from Prince Shankarein, Prince Arshakein's older brother. As he read the letter, Prince Arshakein couldn't stop mumbling and frowning. This time he had to fight alone in the Pepperland Valley.

"My brother can't come to fight Gordeganemian," he muttered.

"Did something happen to the Crown Prince, Your Highness?" asked the Guard curiously.

"I don't think so." Prince Arshakein shrugged his shoulders in disbelief.

His brother could not go to the battlefield because he was forbidden by his father, King Meghalodein, the supreme ruler of the Seodurnag Kingdom. Prince Arshakein took a deep breath to calm his slightly agitated heart and mind.

His father had always favored his older brother, Prince Shankarein. Sometimes Prince Arshakein thought the excessive affection was a form of favoritism from the King to his children. The smallest and biggest battles were always handed over to him, while his brother in the palace was only studying political theory to prepare himself to take over the throne from his father.

"Your Highness, we cannot linger here. The soldiers directly dispatched to Pepperland Valley are almost here." A bodyguard quietly woke Prince Arshakein's reverie after reading the letter from the palace.

"Alright, prepare the horses and enough provisions. We will leave right away." Prince Arshakein hissed. He was determined that he could act alone without the help of the other princes. He would fight with only his top warriors.

Prince Arshakein again brushed aside his irritation at his brother who was so guarded by the palace family. He has been trained since childhood to advance to the battlefield. The doctrine that it is better to die than go home defeated is still stuck in him until now.

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