A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor
Chapter 1552 - 1552: Protector of the West - Part 1

"I would not see them effectively used," Broadstone seconded. "They would be better in General Patrick's hands, if he claims to be able to sharpen them into the soldiers that he has elsewhere."

"For the sake of the war effort, I'd leave them to General Patrick," Rainheart said. "Even if we assume it will take a month for him to train them, that will entitle us to a further thousand men that we would otherwise not have had."

"…Can you make such promises?" Blackwell asked of Oliver.

"This is one realm where I have certainty," Oliver said. "I will make them useful. Even when you make it to Pendragon lands, General, you need not give me men that were meant for my betters. Give me the peasantry, all that have the health to fight, and I will make an army of them."

Hod nodded. "There's a proposal that I do not think any will dispute. He has been awarded his title ahead of his time. Having the burden of building his army himself, is that not only fair? And, in time, no doubt throughout our march, there will be acquired significant enough men that he will fulfil his capacity as a symbol. It will seem as if we are giving him the same level of responsibility that we have purported to."

Blackwell shook his head. "You're far too easy on him," he said. "All of you. You will weaken him. What will be done then? You have allowed him this symbolic position, for the sake of the war effort, and now you coddle him? What happens when he breaks, and before our army, the symbol that saw our allies gathered shatters pathetically? Will you be able to rebuild the pieces."

"Your point is acknowledged, your approach is not," Hod said. "This is a Time of Tigers, General. I would not judge our Tigers based on the standards of the usual man. I do not attempt to limit a Tiger such as yourself in my head either, General Blackwell – I would not change my approach, from those that have been acknowledged."

"Have it then," Blackwell said. "And I say we conclude our strategy with it. For it was necessary to pick a regard to defend our front from the west. Now Oliver Patrick has volunteered for the role. With his Patrick men, and the extra thousand peasants he has acquired, he will remain in Ernest, and hold our western front, until we are so able to relieve him from his duty. In that time, he will see his newly acquired men trained. Is that sufficient responsibility for you, Hod? Do you still accuse me of a lack of trust?"

Hod inclined his head. "The opposite, I do suppose."

"You could have spared yourself this," Blackwell told Oliver from atop his giant warhorse, as the armies prepared to depart, on the very same day that they had seen their strategy meeting concluded. "You do not yet know the burden of a General. You do not wish to be in the position that you are in. Do you think I am blind to your struggle? I know you well enough to see the fear in your eyes."

Oliver hid his hand behind the back, so that the General could not see the shake in them either.

"And the shake in your hands," Blackwell said, pointing. "Do you not think I have been there, in the same position, at one point? As you break a Boundary with the Gods, so do you in other areas of life. There is the sensation of a wall being ran into, then of a door breaking, and overwhelm laying beyond it. You have crashed straight through. I would have given you the time necessary to acclimatize. You are in a worse position than I was, when I was first given the same burden. For, if you fail, everything important will be stripped away from you."

"…I am prepared to carry out my duty," Oliver said, fiercely.

"And that is the issue," Blackwell said. "You're as honourable as your damn father. You're going to destroy yourself. Hod pushes you, because I wants to see a miracle in a man's body. The others expect the same. You show them only strength when you have it, so they forget the existence of weakness. They will ignore your suffering, and expect more."

"It is the price of the power that I have snatched," Oliver said.

"Do not delude yourself," Blackwell snorted. "This was not power that you snatched. These were seeds planted long ago. I was powerless to resist it. The masses are moved by a story, and your story is a good one. Better than mine. My son has been slaughtered, and I will secure vengeance in his name… However, you seek your own demise, boy. You are still young, far too young for this position that you are in. Do you not understand that I have cut the rope of the guillotine, and I was forced to, in making you secure our western flank? Do you understand the danger that lies in wait?"

"…I am aware of it," Oliver said.

"You are not," Blackwell said harshly, pausing just for a second, to listen to the words of one of his Sergeants, as the man came to him with a report. "Set them to marching," he told the man. "I will follow in just a moment."

"You are not," Blackwell continued. "What will the High King send out first? Scouts, Patrick, scouts. He'll know the location of every important head in our army, and he will see you, left here, with a mere fifteen hundred men, protecting the major stronghold of Ernest. And he will see a quick and easy conclusion to our war. He has been eyeing my family home for the past decade, and now he'll see a chance to secure it. He will call upon the Emersons, and they will fall upon you with everything that they have."

"…"

"I do not expect you to win," Blackwell said. "Buy as much time as possible, then retreat. It is the nature of this war that we must be willing to sacrifice. I have taken everything I wish for from Ernest – my family will be sent ahead with the rest. I have no lingering attachments. You are to leave it, as soon as it grows strategically impossible to defend it. Understand now, Patrick, that your life holds more meaning in this war than the life of an ordinary man. Every deed you perform will carry an echo. You have ensured that plenty of eyes are on you. Your death, especially, will echo with such a loudness, that I doubt we can recover from it. Do not put our forces in such a position."