Editing The Battle at the Gate of Adagalsack (section)

==The Choice of the Dead==
Alexandir, bowing slightly, "The field is yours, King Julian. My forces will withdraw as you command, but I bring news of a choice."*

*He gestures to the fallen body of Zictalas, the Great Prince of Zictla. Currently dead. 

"My healers could raise him anytime in the next few hours.  King Vance has the technology to as well if we get him there quickly.  It is your decision.  My advice is let Tonacat know that making war on Amber or Adagalsack has consequences.."

Julian looks to Fort.

"My bard and General , you know the ways of the Azcalans. What would you suggest?"*

Fortunadus shrugs. "There is a price for being a leader of men. Build a pyre. Let his people see him returned to ashes."

Julian nods thoughtfully and turns to Realmer. 
 
Julian looks to Realmer.  " Duke of the South Wind and my closest adviser.   What say you? "

Realmer fights his urges but says " Azcala owes the shopgirls of Amber if no one else.  He came to make war on us.   He would be a great hostage.  Tonacat would pay a great deal for him. Even dead.  Their control over life and death may be beyond ours.  But I would not turn my eyes nor disagree if he was placed on a pyre."

"My king, we have an opportunity here that cannot be ignored. The battlefield is thick with the bodies of our fallen, but they need not remain so. I can raise them, give them purpose once more. Imagine what an army of undead soldiers would mean for the future of Adagalsack." 

Relmopator’s eyes gleam with a cold fire. He speaks with the calm confidence of someone who has long embraced the art of necromancy, seeing the dead as tools, nothing more. "We will control not only the living, but the dead. And the Azcalans will fear us, King Julian. The dead obey, and they do not tire."

Julian looks down at the bodies—fallen soldiers, both from his side and the Azcalans. He sees them as men who fought and died with honor, and the idea of using them as pawns disturbs him.

Julian says, "You speak of them as if they are merely husks, Relmopator. They were once men, with families and homes. Do you forget that?" Julian's voice is tight with a quiet fury, but his mind is torn. He has always trusted Relmopator, but this… this crosses a line he isn’t sure he’s willing to cross.

Relmopator shrugs, his expression unbothered.  

"They are soldiers now, my king. And soldiers serve until they no longer can. As King Oberon was fond of saying: Death is no reprieve from duty."

Julian thinks. ''I did not wage this war to turn my kingdom into a place of the dead. Necromancy is an unnatural art. To claim the dead… it feels like an affront to their memory, to the very idea of honor in battle.''

His eyes flick to the pyre that will be built to honor the fallen. The fire will cleanse the dead, send their souls—if such things exist—into the next realm. But even as he thinks of this, the question gnaws at him: ''Would it be more honorable to let these men rest in peace, or to claim their power for the kingdom’s future?''

Julian looks to the thrice crowned bard, “Your advice?”

Fort says clearly, with conviction, "Not even your most loyal subjects will accept the raising of the dead, my king. If you claim the fallen here, you risk losing the support of the people. They may not understand why you would raise an army of monsters—no matter the threat." 

Realmer nods, with a rare solemnity, "You are right, Fort. Necromancy isn’t just a tool—it’s a symbol. What will the people say when they see our soldiers walking among the dead? They may not fear it, but they will hate it."

Relmopator stands at the edge of the gathering, his fingers twitching with the potential power he could claim. He watches the pyre being constructed, his lips barely moving as he speaks to Julian.

  
"Yet, It is not too late, my king. There is time yet to claim those who fell today. What will you do with the dead, Julian? Will you let them go to the flames as your ancestors did? Or will you make use of them, make them serve Adagalsack for a greater purpose?"

Julian looks toward the fire, his heart heavy with the weight of his decision.

Finally, after much contemplation, Julian gathers his advisors and the army’s leaders around him.

Julian speaks,  "Relmopator, I respect your loyalty. You have served Adagalsack well. But I cannot in good conscience raise these men from the dead. The battlefield is not a place for magic that defiles the natural order. We will honor them as they deserve. The pyre is for all the dead, both friend and foe. I will not have Adagalsack known for necromancy, no matter the temptation it offers. Let us remember these warriors for their valor, not their use as tools of war." 

Relmopator’s expression hardens, but he nods respectfully. He knows his king’s mind will not be changed, at least not today.

Relmopator, "Very well, my king. If that is your will, I will obey. But you must understand the costs of this decision. In the future, we may face enemies that will not be defeated by mortal men alone." He gestures to the pyre. "And when that day comes, we may wish we had done things differently."

But he also thinks, ''Ashes may not be dead enough for him to be unable to raise them, if needed.''

Julian stands tall, his jaw set.  

"We will find other ways to defend Adagalsack. We will rely on living men, not the dead."

As the flames begin to rise, consuming the bodies of both Azcalans and his own fallen warriors, Julian’s mind still churns with doubt. He knows he has made a hard decision, one that will have consequences far beyond the battlefield. The question of how far he will go to protect Amber lingers in the back of his mind, but for now, he has chosen the path of honor, even at the cost of military advantage.

Julian nods to King Alexandir as he watches the fire, stoically.  "Thank you, King of Tosa.  Would you join us at the Spiral of the West Wwind, meet my wife?"

Alex bows a full quarter.
"It would be my honor, your Majesty. "

Julian nods, issues orders but stops the giant king, “May I ask you something sir?”

He nods.

“If the field was yours, would you have raised the dead?”

The King of Wall looks to the King of Adagalsack with certainty.

“No.  And none of my advisors would have suggested it.  Of course one of my advisors is your own Duke Fortunadus, of course.  You are a new king.  I had a time to make that choice.  I made the same as you did. Never question it.”

King Julian nods.  “Then let us travel to the Hall of the West Wind, and my wife.”

And so it was done.