Duty
an excerpt

Cool, indifferent green eyes watched the hovering hawk. Only to the bird, high above the ground, visible like some elemental spirit of the wild in the growing dawn light, was the whole of the citadel visible.
The cliff walls were steep, forming a narrow gully through which a river wound its course. Cut into the sand coloured cliffs were hundreds of rough, square holes, looking like a honeycomb and as full of activity as one, or like maggot holes, in which the small, blind worms squirmed in their own mysterious activities. From above the cliff, looking directly down at the distant ground, an observer able to travel that high could see a vast basin hollowed out of the soft rock, in which was built an immense city. Splashes of colour were visible in the form of small gardens, irrigated by the same, complex, but near invisible system to anyone who was unaware of the signs to look for which brought up water for the people. The only exit, or entrance, depending on your perspective, to the city was by strange and dangerous paths up the near vertical walls of the cliffs, or by the steep and incredibly narrow and shallow steps cut out of the basin. People entering or leaving could only enter in single file, and a fall would mean almost certain death, tumbling onto the merciless rock below.
The hawk dropped, and the eyes watching it closed, imagining the small creature it had spotted below, struggling in the claws of death, unseen until the last moment. Suddenly the eyes snapped open, aware of an approaching presence.
“My lord?” asked an unsure voice from behind him. The man with the pale green eyes did not react, continuing simply to stare out across the city from his vantage point in the highest tower. From here he could see all of the people, going about their daily duties, and he could see that circular horizon of blue which surrounded them, like an endless reminder of the finality of infinity, that they were in fact small compared to that great, crushing vastness.
“My lord?” repeated the other man, drawing slightly closer. “The army is ready to be mobilised, will you give the order?”
“The army will not be mobilised. We will not be leaving today. There has been a change of plan. Inform the armies and the other commanders.”
“My lord, is that wise? The army is prepared, has been prepared for a long time now! If we leave now and launch our attack, then the enemy could fall by tomorrow. This land could be ours!”
“Do not question my motives,” said the young man, still in the same, level tone that was somehow more terrifying than if he had screamed or shouted. Approaching to stand next to the young man nervously, the other man looked across at his leader. His dark green hair with its strange, bottle green sheen fell across his pale, indifferent green eyes, which seemed strangely feline in the light, suggesting barely suppressed rage at being addressed in such an insolent manner. His long, pale hands rested gently on the top of the railing, carved from stone, of the balcony on which he was stood, regarding the bustle and the activity of the city below, seemingly mesmerized by it. He flexed his fingers experimentally.
“I have had a vision,” he continued softly, flexing his fingers again, and running them slowly across the stone, which was worn smooth as if this action had been done many times over the years. “We will become so much stronger, and it will buy us more time to seriously reconsider our strategy.”
“How do you propose that we accomplish such a vision, my lord?”
“Collect twenty children from among our people, preferably newborns, or those of the age of one year old and under. We will raise them in a way most fitting to our purpose, and they will, in time, become our strongest generals. It will take time to raise them, but time spent in such a way will be well worth the investment.”
“From among the people? My lord, how many mothers will be willing to sacrifice a child?”
“It will be an honour!” snapped the lord, turning to face his companion so that he could see the determination and the pride burning in the handsome face.
“Of course, my lord, I did not consider that,” said the man, bowing slightly to rectify his mistake. “But how can we raise children in a way better than their mothers? Surely a child learns best from its mother’s love in ways to cope with the world…”
The young lord smirked, showing his amusement and disdain at such a view having been voiced. “A child learns little from its mother, only love and such other foolish ideas.”
His companion was shocked, but did not reply.
“We will raise children with no such foolish notions. They will not be raised with love, it is unnecessary, and a weakness. By raising these children without love, they will never be shown compassion, to never know what that is, that will make them an unstoppable force! They will be merciless, ideal leaders for a battle. Do you not agree, general?”
“Yes, my lord, it is an interesting theory, and it will be interesting how such events play out…”
“Indeed. Now see to it that the first stage of the plan is completed. Collect the twenty children, and I will expect you to have completed the task by sundown tomorrow. And inform the army of the change of plan.” And with those words and an imperious wave of his hand the young lord dismissed his general.
The man who had been speaking with him looked back briefly over his shoulder as he walked off to find another commander, to pass on the message that must be delivered to the armies, but he turned over in his mind the new information he had just heard. The plan was, well, brilliant, as could be expected of their leader, but it was barbaric as well. To raise a child without love? It would never learn to cope with a land outside of a battlefield, which was probably the lord’s intention. To raise the children that way, would mean that he could command absolute loyalty over them, and that they, of course, would not know the rules of combat that even he followed, although subconsciously. The rules that you do not kill the innocent, that those who were not the enemy army deserved some pity. But in the end, he could not argue with his lord’s orders. The lord had found them when they were wasting their lives away in the desert, scraping out a meaningless existence from the bare rock and the sand. He had given them a reason, and he and his people had much to thank him for. But he could not shake the fact that the most disturbing sign that he had seen that morning had been the dark circles below the cold, calculating eyes. It was rare to see the lord showing signs of physical weakness, and he wondered how long it would be before the lord took out his irritation at showing such a human trait on one of his followers