Chapter ten
The Battle of VendalumeThe Battle inevitably came to be called the Battle of Vendalume.
Most, not all, battles are interesting. In an academic way they hold great fascination for the student not only of tactics but of human nature. The actuality of battles is disgusting.
I had grown in my seasons upon Kregen to dislike fighting and battles and violence exceedingly, as I am sure you will have perceived. Yet I was still the old intemperate Dray Prescot underneath all the acquired veneer of calm and rationality.
When your countrymen and women — as the peoples of Vallia certainly were by now — are enslaved and treated vilely, then if you are able to liberate them it seems a chivalrous notion to go out and do what you can to restore them to their former freedoms and dignity. I a
