"What are we going to do?" "We haven't enough men to withstand half their army!" "The King is not with us; we are nothing without him!"
I stared out into the crowd, silent as my people's fears were hurled into the early morning air. They kept coming, more and more as one doubt fed another, until I could not distinguish any individual voice in the chaos.
I raised my hand so that all could see. Gradually, the noise died away.
Inhale. Exhale.
"You're right. If the King is not with us, we are nothing. But who told you that He is not with us?"
A voice cried from the crowd, "Well, I don't see Him; if He were here, would He not stand where you stand now and lead us all with a mighty battle cry?"
Agreements rose from the rest.
I spoke. "Perhaps he would. But he knows that he has prepared us enough. We can handle the enemy if we just remember what he taught us."
The cacophony crescendoed again. I glanced at Josiah, my right hand and brother; he only nodded. I turned back to the crowd, a sudden power filling my heart and expanding my lungs.
"ENOUGH!"
The voices ceased.
"We are not dimwits who know nothing of war! We are not peasants who have no experience in battle! We are the brave! The warriors of the Most High King! Have you lost your heart?"
A thousand pairs of eyes were on me. The sound of leaves rustling in the wind reached my ears.
"Have you forgotten the day each of you were knighted? Some of us trembled because we thought we would fail, and some of us stood with confidence, believing we would not even need training. But we were all wrong. We all needed training, but now, who can stop us? How can we fail with the authority of the King? Now quit yourselves like men, and let us fight!"
"Landon. Landon, wake up." My eyes snapped open to see Josiah's gray eyes illuminated by the lamp beside my bed.
Inhale. Exhale.