Del Muero

m and wh

o counted along as the whip thudded against the prisoner's flesh. Fifty strokes. The first for the next two days. He knew the drill. Anyone unfortunate to be picked out was hung against the wall and given fifty las

ebel forces and the king's army had been dubbed the Battle of IIdron by supporters of the king. Ironically, no battle had been fought in Ildron, the King's valley, only that the king presided there over what must be the cruellest trial to ever have held. What a name to describe the bloody war that had cost the freedom and lives of so many. Things had been going on well until the tables turned, and the tyrant's army cr

t giv

e of the captains under his fellow commanders. His le

happen and we would find ourselves on the oth

words and began to counte

e still complete in body. You are stron

to him. Devon was the only one who spoke with him about the old days. He would always urge him to eat whatever

again. Ienello tried to tune it out, but his thought

the man was not to be trusted, amd he was proved right. The soldiers were dragged forward in tens and any part of their body the king pointed out was cruelly hacked off or smashed. The commanders watched helplessly as their men were being tortured. Jaws, foreheads, temples, wrists, shoulders, knees, ankles, ribs, hips were smashed. Eyes, ears, tongues, ribs, fingers, toes, hands, feet, scalps, even the manhood fell off different soldiers, decent men whose true crime was that they chose to stand up for their country against a tyrant who pilliaged his own people. Ienello screamed in helpless rage, he cried uncontrollably as he watched some of the men convulse to d

and announced t

have settled that, be rest assured we will continue

d and left wi

, into a dark hall filled with empty cells stretching as far as Ienello could see. They were stripped of all clothing and pushed into various cells. When it became obvious that the cells would not be enough for everyone, rhey were f

ells. Ienello's cell was close to the end of the row. Each time the guards brought food, Ienello would ask the date, the day and time; and soon he was able to establish a sense of time. He would also ask how the war was going. The reports he got over the first months of the war were not encourging. He kept praying, for the sake of the

ith a whip. He beckoned on him to exit the cell. Ienello briefly considered ignoring the

don't let th

rtainly be picked out one day. Later that day, the guards were in an obvious state of excitement. They gathered in groups discussing under their breath. Occassionally their voices would rise but there was no way for Ienello or his cellmates to know what

with the guards

d. waving his good hand frantica

he other cells. 'Get a gri

. They are going to present themselves to the king. The king is going to inspect the prisons. All the pr

be at the end of the mo

soner. 'Anyway, now or then, what's th

death', a quiet voice

er Commander Jardon. Ienello was not sure he had seen the young man talking to anyone before

e think about it and plan it properly we can do something. We are soldiers for goodness sake. If we work together, broken or n

in body. Could Devon be right? They all seemed to be waiting for him to say something. Any response he could have thought up was preempted by the noisy return of the guards. The king's comi

e in him as the guards laughed. Abruptly the screaming stopped. The man was proclaimed dead and dropped unceremoniously. A murmur rose among the prisoners. No one had ever died at the whips be