LEGEND by David A. Gemmell

When he appeared, a huge roar went up from the crowd and the old man paused and waved.

They couldn’t hear what he told the officers, but the men moved with a purpose as he dismissed them. Then, with a final wave he returned to the Keep.

Within the main hall once more, Druss removed his jerkin and relaxed in r high-backed chair. His knee was throbbing and his back ached like the devil. And still Hogun had not appeared.

He ordered a servant to prepare him a meal and enquired after the Earl. The servant told him the

Earl was sleeping peacefully. He returned with a huge steak, lightly done, which Druss wolfed down, following it with a bottle of finest Lentrian Red. He wiped the grease from his beard and rubbed his knee. After seeing Hogun, he would have a hot bath, ready for tomorrow. He knew his first day would tax him to his limits – and he mustn’t fail.

‘Gan Hogun, sir,’ announced the servant. ‘And Dun Elicas.’

The two men who entered lifted Druss’s heart. The first – it had to be Hogun – was broad-should­ered and tall, clear-eyed, with a square jaw.

And Elicas, though slimmer and shorter, had the look of eagles about him. Both men wore the black and silver of The Legion, without badges of rank. It was a long-standing custom, going back to the days when the Earl of Bronze had formed them for the Vagrian Wars.

‘Be seated, gentlemen,’ said Druss.

Hogun pulled up a chair, reversing it in order to lean on the back. Elicas perched himself on the edge of the table, arms folded across his chest.

Elicas watched the two men carefully. He had not known what to expect from Druss, but he had begged Hogun to allow him to be present at the meeting. He worshipped Hogun, but the grim old man seated before him had always been his idol.

‘Welcome to Delnoch, Druss,’ said Hogun. ‘You have lifted morale already. The men speak of nothing else. I am sorry to have missed you earlier, but I was at the first wall supervising an archery tourney.’

‘I understand you have already met the Nadir?’ said Druss.

‘Yes. They will be here in less than a month.’

‘We shall be ready. But it will need hard work. The men are badly trained – if trained at all. That must change. We have only ten surgeons, no medical orderlies, no stretcher-bearers and only one hospital-and that is at Wall One, which is no good to us. Comments?’

‘An accurate appraisal. All I can add is that – apart from my men – there are only a dozen officers of worth.’

‘I have not yet decided the worth of any man here. But let us stay positive for the moment. I need a man of mathematical persuasion to take charge of the food stores and to prepare ration rotas. He will need to shift his equations to match our losses. He must also be responsible for liaison and administration with Gan Orrin.’ Druss watched as the two men exchanged glances, but said nothing of it.

‘Dun Pinar is your man,’ said Hogun. ‘He virtually runs the Dros now.’

Druss’s eyes were cold as he leaned towards the young general. ‘There will be no more comments like that, Hogun. It does not become a professional soldier. We start today with a clean slate. Yesterday is gone. I shall make my own judgements and I do not expect my officers to make sly comments about each other.’

‘I would have thought you would want the truth,’ interposed Elicas, before Hogun could answer.

‘The truth is a strange animal, laddie. It seems to vary from man to man. Now keep silent. Understand me, Hogun, I value you. Your record is a good one. But from now on, no one speaks ill of the First Gan. It is not good for morale, and what is not good for our morale is good for the Nadir. We have enough problems.’ Druss stretched out a length of parch­ment and pushed it to Elicas with a quill and ink. ‘Make yourself useful, boy, and take notes. Put Pinar at the top, he is our quartermaster. Now, we will need fifty medical orderlies and two hundred stretcher-bearers. The first Calvar Syn can choose from volunteers, but the bearers will need someone to train them. I want them to be able to run all day. Missael knows they will need to when the action gets warm. These men will need stout hearts. It is no easy thing to run about on a battlefield lightly armed. For they will not be able to carry swords and stretchers.