The Assembly

Always displaying a great sense of awareness, he observed the sights and odours around him. The odours he could do without, his keen sense of smell being assaulted by the collective stench of those around him, not the least being the Seam City heavy metal and grease. This and the irregular sulphurous farts from the Rock Titan made the air quite uncomfortable to those with sensitive noses.
The Equilord couldn’t remember the last time he had seen the entire forces of the army of the White Wing assembled in one spot, it was normally only gathered like this on very special occasions – the army so strong that only sections were ever needed to take on other combatants.
The Equilord often wondered why the King needed such weapons, why bring back the dead and awaken old giants?
Why did the University have to make these massive, belching steam engines and those bastardized anomalies of nature, the berserkers and hounds.
In the past the Equilord and his clan had been enough to take whatever the King wanted.
He had heard tales, rumours really that the King’s massive stockpiling had really only begun after the Bishop Angel arrived in the Kingdom. The Equilord had only been in his presence a few times and each time he felt as if the Angel was a powder keg waiting to explode at any minute such was the air of tension and intensity that surrounded him.
The Equilord feared and respected the Angel far more than his King.
Many things were happening in the field now as an air of impatience not becoming military personnel became apparent.
The Equilord watched with a grin as the Skeleton General slyly tripped one of his more severe and upright sergeants causing him to fall and scatter, setting the University hounds into a frenzy, running off with various parts of his body.
Occasionally the big Steam Cities would relieve the pressure from their bellows with a loud, ear splitting cry causing the berserkers to leap about like startled monkeys.
In the centre of these happenings the King and his Queen stayed inside their respective campaign tents and the Angel just stared patiently into the horizon as if waiting for someone or something.
They were – according to King – going to meet a formidable foe and the price of victory was unimaginable, defeat not an option.
The Equilord as well as the other generals weren’t quite sure whether the Kingdom was being invaded, border patrols would surely have long since sighted such a large army, or whether they had been gathered for a march to some neighbouring Kingdom that had been invaded. Either option seemed highly unlikely given the King’s stranglehold over the whole dimension.
It was all these factors that led to the uncertainty in the ranks.
The Equilord wished he were a million miles away in a green forest with his kin, far away from the mad king and his strange army. Little did he know how soon his wish would become reality?
The entire White army had assembled outside of the Kingdom perimeter in a large field adjacent to where the Rock Titan and his people resided.
The army stretched out across the green open spaces with the massive Steam City taking up the other flank.
The Equilord was concerned.