Phantom: Chainfire Trilogy Part 2

There were far too many men in the encampment for Richard to be heard and understood by them all. His intent was to speak in detail to the officers and men of rank, and then have them spread the word among their own men. There were enough officers gathered for that task.

The general, in a casual but clearly commanding manner, gestured to the men surrounding the command area, watching the great event. They immediately began to disperse, going back to their own work, while their commanders learned of their fate.

General Meiffert held out an arm, inviting Richard and his escort in under the shelter. Richard first glanced at the sky, judging the chances to be good that the rain would soon start in earnest. In under the expansive tarp, hundreds of men were gathered tightly together. Richard tapped his fist to his heart, returning the collective, muffled thump of their sharp salutes.

"I am here today," Richard began as he scanned all the eyes watching him, "about the gravest of issues… the coming final battle with the advancing army of the Imperial Order.

"There must be no confusion about what I will have to say. I need every one of you to understand what is at stake, what I am going to ask of you, and why. This is about all of our lives; I will not hold back anything from you and I will answer honestly and to the best of my ability anything you want to know. Please feel free to ask your questions, voice your objections, or even to disagree with certain points as I lay out what I've decided. I value your vast collective knowledge and skill. I trust in your ability and experience.

"But I have had to weigh and consider matters outside your purview and on everything put together I have made my decision. I can appreciate that, absent such information, you many not entirely understand my reasoning, so I will do my best to explain it, but there will be no dissent about my conclusion."

Richard's voice took on an edge of absolute resolve. "You will follow my orders."

The men all shared looks. This was as stern a command as any Richard had ever given them.

In the afternoon hush, Richard began to slowly pace back and forth, choosing his words carefully. He finally gestured out to the crowd before him.

"As officers, as men of command, what is it that preoccupies your minds the most?"

After a moment's confused silence, an officer to the side spoke up. "I suppose that we're all thinking about what you've already mentioned, Lord Rahl: the final battle."

"That's right, the final battle," Richard said as he came to a halt and turned to the men. "That's the common way we all think, that everything will come down to that defining moment, the climax of everyone's effort, and that there will be a final, grand battle to decide it all — who wins, who loses, who rules, who serves, who lives, who dies. This is the way Jagang thinks as well."

"He wouldn't be their leader if he didn't," an older officer said.

Sporadic chuckles rippled through the assembled men.

"True enough," Richard said in a solemn voice. "Especially in the case of Emperor Jagang. His objective is to carry his cause to that final battle and in that concluding contest crush us once and for all. He is a very intelligent foe. He has gotten us to focus on that final battle. His strategy is working."

The laughter had died out. The men looked a little displeased that Richard would give the man so much credit. Soldiers like these didn't like to grant their enemy too much mastery lest their own men suffer a failing of courage at fighting him.

Richard had no interest in making Jagang seem less of a threat than he was. Quite the opposite; he wanted to give these men an accurate glimpse of what they were up against, and the true dimensions of the menace.

"Jagang is a devotee of a game called Ja'La dh Jin." Seeing some of the men nod, Richard knew that they had become at least somewhat familiar with the game. "He has his own Ja'La team, much like the Fellowship of Order has its own army. Jagang's overriding concern, when he sends his team in to play, is to win at Ja'La. To that end he collected the biggest, toughest players for his team. He does not view it as a contest, a competition, as some do. He intends not merely to be victorious in any Ja'La match, but to overwhelm the opposition.

"Jagang's team once lost. His solution was not to try harder the next time, to train and coach his players, to do better the next time. He instead went out and got other players. He created a team of the biggest, strongest, fastest men. The translation of Ja'La dh Jin, by the way, is 'the game of life.