The Hopes of Kings. Steve Reilly
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For many years our people have travelled the land to try and teach the people. It has been largely without success, although I believe this is how you came to become a member. But the numbers have always remained low and even our members do not bother to attend the meetings.” He used the king as an example of the difficulties they faced. “In more recent times you have led one of the squads that worked to encourage the people to rise and act on behalf of their race. You have seen the results. This, too, has had limited success, and the people were generally embarrassed about their work rather than proud of it.”
But despite Grarm’s denials Beth could see they were falling under Xavier’s spell as he led them to the place he wished them to be.
“With respect to the council, our squads have gone about their work and done it well. But the people only react to our words while we are there to lead them. Later, as you say, they have a change of heart. But the reason is as simple as it is hard to see. They do not understand what they have been doing. They act only when they must, when we give them the leadership needed, so our efforts are wasted. The people have not been given a reason to be active in our work, or the knowledge of what we do. Without understanding, they see nothing to keep them interested and they become no more than the animals we rightly fear.”
The councillors each took their time in considering Xavier’s words. Beth was concerned perhaps they had not come around to Xavier’s ideas when Josef spoke again.
“You say we should find those who will listen. We have tried and few, very few, have been found. Where do we find the people we should be speaking with?”
Beth watched Xavier let out a silent breath of thanks to the young councillor. Now he had them thinking and interested enough to listen. It was almost amusing to watch, though she still could not see where Xavier was leading them.
“They are all about us. We see them every day and yet they are invisible to us.” Xavier had them now. Their faces were furrowed with concentration. “In the past, our people tried to encourage the farmers and city workers to join in the cause. We asked them to become active in spreading the word of The Society but these people have too much to do and are too set in their lives to take on the responsibility for humankind. That is our responsibility.” -He paused long enough to give Beth a smile.-“We need to make the work of vigilance and readiness attractive to those who have the time on their hands to join our in work, as I did when I first heard Piaz speak. I was found, not because I listened, but because I had the time to listen. Unfortunately there are not enough like me out in the world waiting to be called, but I suggest to you that we have the people we seek. We have the children and youth of the lands. These young people have their obligations to their parents, and that is as it should be, but they still find time to go out and enjoy themselves. These are the recruits we need, and if we can get them interested enough at that early age, they will carry on our work for all their lives.”
His words were eloquently delivered and Beth was proud of his passion and sincerity. She could see, now, what he hoped to achieve just as she could see, on the faces of the council, that he had their full attention. When Grarm asked how they would appeal to these young people Xavier explained,
“Youth need to feel important. They have lived their lives in the shadows of their parents and most can only see their future as following the lives their parents have lived, but most want more. They look to soldiering as a glamorous life. They are idealistic and hopeful, and want the best for themselves, but more importantly they desire more than accepting the life of their parents. The role of this council should be to show them how they can achieve this.”
She wondered how he planned to achieve this. She was not made to wait long.
“We give them what they want. We give them a life that is different. We send people out into the land to gather these young people, and show them they are important. We teach them the skills of sword and bow, of spear and mace, and we organise events for them so they may compete among themselves and against the youth of neighbouring towns and cities. When they are ready, we will announce a tournament across all the kingdom, with a grand prize for the champion of Arenia.” Xavier visibly began to relax, seeing his plan already a reality in his mind. “And while we do this, we teach them to be proud of what they represent. They show them they are the future of mankind. We create groups and encourage pride in these groups, a chance to belong to something more than the soil. We give these children tasks similar to the army to occupy their time, but there must be differences so they have something to aspire to, but close enough that they can dream. An army fights because they believe in and follow their captains and their king. So we give our new recruits people they can believe in. We give them rank and authority within their groups.”
Xavier was becoming lost in the passion of his plans. She could see the dream taking over his body and thoughts.
“If we recall the people like Piaz and show them what we require, I am sure we will soon have an upcoming army of young people ready to do our work.” He took a breath. “There lies our future,” he finished.
In the moments following his speech, Xavier was a little breathless with the desire to have them accept his plan. He had put all his heart into his words.
“A grand plan, but how do you propose to ensure their ongoing support?”
Luke had asked the obvious question. As she watched, a smile again settled on Xavier. This one touched his eyes as he saw the acceptance of his ideas.
“You forget we now have the backing of the king,” suggested Xavier. “I will pass a law demanding that all boys must attend between the ages of twelve and fifteen, for the sake of their own improvement. After their fifteenth birthday they will then be required to serve two more years in the army, for the good of Arenia. This will increase the size of our military and give us five years in which to show them the importance of our superiority. In time all Arenia will be trained and ready to serve in the fight for survival should the other races make it necessary,” the king reassured them.
The councillors were shocked. This was a massive plan, but a dangerous path to take, and one that would not prove popular for Xavier. Luke was the first to object, explaining that he would be taking boys away from the farms just as they were coming old enough to be of true value and their parents would not like the loss of aid to their lifeblood.
The king explained, “In the army, the boys will be paid as soldiers of Arenia. They will have the coin to support their parents, and as compensation to their families I will reduce their taxes by one quarter for each boy that serves while their boys are gone. If the boys then choose to remain in the army, there are others who can work their farms, and these boys would probably have left anyway. This should help ease their concerns, and anyone who still objects may petition me.”
The tone of Xavier’s voice made it evident that any such petitions would not be treated with kindness. Beth feared for the lives of any who brought such a petition to the palace as Xavier had obviously given this plan much more thought than he admitted and it was something no one on the council had considered as yet. But they had never had one of their own sitting on the throne before, Beth conceded to herself.
“It could work. It is something to think about but what of the girls? Surely you would not have them forced into the army. The people are certain to rise against us then,” she asked.
“The girls may have their own groups where they will be taught to cook and care for their home and family, and how to keep their soldiers happy. Someone will need to advise us on this, for I admit that I am not familiar with the training of girls, but a tournament could be arranged to test them in cooking and such. I will leave this to others with better knowledge of girls to plan. And while we teach them, we can watch them. I am sure Beth would appreciate the chance of finding new recruits for her network.”
She had already seen the possibilities before Xavier had put them into words.
Grarm leant forward, his elbows holding him above the table. A grin had split his face as he saw the chance Xavier had given him.
“I see this idea has promise. Not only that, if it fails, the problem will be attributed solely to Xavier. The Society would not be compromised.”