"You know well how the Nabuks scheme! Their mongrels will be upon you should you wander the streets unguarded with wounds yet unhealed. At least don't walk around without four or five warriors with you!"

  Kaelyra had been scolding Corvus for ten minutes straight. Corvus, knowing that whatever he said would be useless, kept silent and waited for Kaelyra's scolding to end. "And why didn't you go to the army camp? You need to organize and take care of Varek Nabuk's men. And be here before sunset. Grandfather wants to talk to you," she finished her scolding. Not once during his speech did he turn to look at Belisarius.

  The two set off for the camp with a few warriors in tow. "I scarce believed a mortal could unleash such a tirade without pause. Though I grasped not a word, your torment was plain to see." Belisarius said. He seemed to be joking, but he was truly amazed. "And what makes you believe she is human? Nay, she is a devil given flesh!" These words made the two laugh. "You just said you had business in the camp. What business?" asked Belisarius.

  "Do you remember the fight I had last night? The winner of that kind of fight takes everything that belongs to his opponent. And by everything, we don't mean taking their children or anything like that. Weapons, armor, money and most importantly, warriors." Belisarius frowned.

  "So you now own all that belonged to Varek? Even his home?"

  Corvus snorted.

  "What need have I for his home? Let him rot within its walls. But his warriors? They are mine by right."

  "And they have no choice?"

  "They always have a choice," Corvus admitted, cracking his knuckles.

  "Yet no mercenary may fight unless a Sharazir claims him. And after last night’s lesson, tell me, Belisarius—who would choose a master proven weak?"

  What Corvus was about to say made him proud, so he puffed out his chest. Making a fist and pointing at himself with the thumb of his left hand, he said,

  "To be named Sharazir is no simple feat. The last to bear the title at my age was my grandfather—Magnor Tiamat, the mightiest of all Sanguinars. And now, I stand in his shadow, unyielding."

  Corvus seemed quite happy about this. He continued.

  "The shamans of Mount Rhaz carve in the rocks the names of the city's most powerful. Those who get on that list get the right to take soldiers under their command. Those who make the list but are at the bottom are called Sharazir. Sanguinar, the man at the top of the list, decides how many people can enter the list. As you can imagine, having hundreds of commanders can disrupt the order and organization of the army. So Sanguinar can reduce or expand the list if he has the approval of the second and third on the list."

  "But what if someone who is strong but has no understanding of battle tactics gets on the list? Wouldn't that reduce the army's ability to fight?" asked Belisarius. It was the first time he had encountered such a military system and it was interesting. He wanted to know more.

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  "Being a Sharazir doesn't mean you can act independently. As you move up the list, you can command not only simple soldiers but also lower ranked Sharazirs. If they make mistakes, their superiors have the authority to punish them. You can't even imagine how cruel the punishments are. So in short, even if a stupid person gets on the list, as long as he is not Sanguinar, it is not a problem. If he's stupid, he's dead."

  "And what about you? As I remember, you had few soldiers under your command, but you didn't seem to be taking orders from anyone."

  "I was under Kaelyra until two days ago, but my situation is a little different. Because I was one of the Sanguinar candidates... or rather, because I was the only one for now, I could be a bit independent. Besides, being a Sharazir doesn't mean that you can immediately recruit soldiers under your command. No soldier wants to be under a Sharazir who hasn't proven his abilities or a Sharazir with no backing. I am Tiamat, so things are different. Now that I have defeated Varek Nabuk, I am a Sharazir equal to Kaelyra and directly under my uncle Valerius."

  "And how many soldiers can you put at your command?"

  "A little over three thousand now."

  "Three thousand swords sworn to you—can you truly command them alone?"

  Belisarius was not convinced that a young man of eighteen could manage three thousand men on his own.

  "You have to appoint a supervisor for every thousand men under your command. That's where the Sharazirs, who are on the list but can't get men under their command, usually come in. Just because you put a person who is not a Sharazir in charge doesn't mean that he automatically becomes one."

  Belisarius was thoroughly confused, but his curiosity was not satisfied. It was a system that seemed as simple as it was complicated. As Belisarius understood it, the army was organized like a pyramid. The higher up you went, the more you controlled the Sharazir, not the soldiers. The Sharazirs were responsible for the training, salaries and income of the soldiers below them. The higher up you went, the less labor you had to do, but the more decision-making and control you had over a larger part of the army.

  "And what happened to Varek Nabuk? Was he crossed off the list?"

  "No, he hasn't. Because I defeated him, I moved up his ranking and he moved down mine. On top of that, all the soldiers under his command are now under my command. Of course they don't have to stay under my command.They can go under other Sharazirs or under Varek if they want. Since Varek's ranking has fallen, he can naturally have fewer soldiers under his command."

  "So, in effect, the soldiers you won by defeating Varek yesterday could leave you today?"

  Corvus answered without thinking, as if he had been waiting for this question to come. "Aye, they may take their leave, yet few would dare. The strong command the willing, and I have proven my strength. The more powerful a man you are under, the more likely you are to survive the battle. I proved by defeating Varek that he was weaker than me. Only those who have a problem with me or my family will leave me. Unless, of course, they are sure they can be under another Sharazir."

  In the city of Rhazgord, soldiers made the most money. Soldiers who could get under a good Sharizar could earn a lot of money and honor at the same time. The poor poverty in the city and the fact that the Rhazgordians considered war to be a holy act of worship made it logical that people would go to such lengths to be under a Sharazir's command.

  "The Nabuks are many, and they will not kneel to a Tiamat lightly. Today, some will leave me, bound by blood and grudges. That does not trouble me. They don’t want to be under a Tiamat. Of course, that’s not a problem for me. Even if my family is a bit annoyed with me at the moment, they will support me."

  For the Rhazgord, a warrior culture, of course, the political arena was not the parliament but the army camps. The more Sharazir and soldiers Corvus could control until the day when he rose through the ranks and became first, the more powerful he would be politically.

  They had already reached the city walls when Belisarius asked about the Rhazgord army structure. Beyond the city walls, the land stretched wide, barren but for the dark banners of the encampment. By the time they reached it, their talk had not ceased.

  And that’s another chapter done! If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much. The world of “The Fall of Everything!” is vast and full of details, so if there's something you're curious about, I'd love to explain it in more depth. Your thoughts can also influence the story—whether it’s something you’d like to see more of or a question you want answered, feel free to share it in the comments! Your feedback is incredibly important to me and helps shape the story. The next chapter is coming soon, so stay tuned!