Suleiman continued roaring out orders.
"All Household Heads, stand at the front of your respective groups!"
"Military officers from each fort, stand at the front of your respective Household Heads' groups!"
Under everyone's gaze, the eight hundred subjects, divided by household, formed eight neat, orderly squares.
At the front of each square stood their Household Head, and before them stood the military officer from their fort.
Everyone faced the raised platform, waiting for their lord to continue issuing orders.
The commotion vanished, replaced by deathly silence and an oppressive sense of discipline.
With the Neighbor Head watching and their Household Heads at their sides, no one dared speak. The crowd stood solemnly, looking up at their lord, Lord Suleiman.
At the edge of the crowd below the platform, Evelyn watched the scene. As she watched Suleiman roar out orders from atop the platform, her heart pounded in her chest.
An army in a day.
Just a day earlier, they had been farmers, blacksmiths, lumberjacks, and hunters scattered across the hills.
Now, though they wore homespun clothes and carried pitchforks, sickles, and hoes, they had already begun to resemble an army.
An army that had been organized swiftly and would obey every command.
Suleiman's gaze swept over the seven silent squares below. He knew the time had come.
His voice rang out once more, now charged with icy fury:
"Our enemy! The Legg family of Willow Town!"
"Their army is occupying my land!"
He paused, letting his words sink into everyone's hearts.
"Your land!"
Suleiman's voice rose sharply, like thunder out of a clear sky, making the soldiers lift their heads and straighten their backs, though his words still meant little to them.
He pointed toward Willow Town and clenched his fist against his chest. Each word seemed forced through gritted