By the last sentence, Keledu's tone had turned severe. Only then did the officer realize his mistake, and his face went deathly pale.
He hurried to explain. "Lord Apostle, I never meant to put our brothers' lives at risk. I..."
Keledu cut him off. "Enough. Go to the Iron Bone Tribe and make sure they finish clearing the battlefield and get their troops ready to move. If we can't leave by this evening, we'll head straight back and let them fight the rest of this war themselves!"
The officer nodded quickly and spurred his horse toward the Iron Bone Tribe's forces.
What he failed to notice was the way Keledu looked at him—as though he were already dead.
Once the officer had ridden out of earshot, Keledu beckoned behind him. A younger officer came to his side. "Lord Apostle, what are your orders?"
"How many brothers does he still have under his command?"
The young officer knew Keledu meant the man who had just left. After a moment's calculation, he said, "Kachi commands our Left Banner. It normally has five hundred brothers. Since we arrived in the Northlands Wasteland, it's fought several battles and been replenished twice. It still has more than four hundred and seventy."
"Choose two men from his ranks who could take over as commander of the Left Banner. They must be the most devout of our brothers.
"In the next battle, have Kachi lead the charge. See to it that he shows enough courage to make a contribution to our great cause!"
The young officer was startled, but one look at Keledu's eyes told him Kachi was finished. He answered at once, "Yes!"
"Mizhene," Keledu said, "you must understand that we are the Lord's most loyal guards and brothers bound together in the faith. Everything we