[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/eQ2xNhk.png[/img][/center]
[hr][sub]39 BA
Jalina River
City of Mal Bagora[/sub]

Although in the morning the crowds were silent when the troops had first marched into the city, by the noon parade they were cheering.

It hadn’t been a bloody entrance, he had made sure of that. As the captain of the guards he had betrayed the upper class of the city and made a deal with those that besieged them. Everything had been taken already before the sun rose. The army marched in carrying supplies, they had been distributed all day to gain the weakened populations trust, seizing control of the grain stores helped on that matter as well.

Next on the list was dealing with the former rulers and their wealth, he could tell some of it was being distributed to the poorer portions of the population. Bronze medallions and gilded gifts tossed to the thronging crowds, it was a good plan. If you didn’t have enough food you could trade a merchant, if you had enough, well you earned a pretty prize. 

Hralin had to admit, with the siege and the battles before that, he did not expect the populace to be so welcoming to a foreign army. Then again, he wouldn’t have expected to see the king and the nobles parades around the city bound either and that was something to cheer about.

It was a rather large procession in true form to that of a conqueror. From the gates of the outer walls in the south, marching onwards to the inner city. Men with wooden shields and good spears guarded the procession from the crowds, led first by the disgraced nobles and the king, followed by the elite troops of the invader. The Elk-riding Conqueror himself and then a number of more troops behind him.

Hralin smiled and waved, to the crowds and the column marching now towards the inner city, he hoped he had made the right choice.

[hr]

Khres of Solaria, or at least formerly of Solaria, even out here in the west the news of Solaria’s fall had brought concern, even if it reached Mal Bagora a while afterwards. Still the most surprising thing to Hralin about this Khres was not that he refused to be acclaimed King of Mal Bagora, but how young he was. Couldn’t have been much more than a kid when Solaria fell, although he supposed that might be why he was out here rather than as some refugee in the east. In any case, some manner of titles had to be upheld, if even just for the pride of the priests who were still free. Not much point in risking angering the gods even if half the priests were almost as bad as the King and his like.

After the parade and welcoming the new power into the heart of Mal Bagora, he had been brought along to the former Royal Palace where the Solarian met the Priests, dismissing most of the ones that he could soon afterwards from his presence. And then promptly seemed to ignore any real attempt at making merry in truth. He seemed, preoccupied.

Hralin approached the former dining table that Khres and his Captains stood around, looking at maps and occasionally talking. One of the guards moved to stop him but was waved away by one of the Captains, he looked more like a mountain-man than a soldier, but then he supposed it didn’t really matter given the situation.

“Conqueror Khres,” Hralin began, the title had been a compromise with the High Priest of Heresh. Continuing, “I do not mean to sound impertinent but you have just taken the city and you do not celebrate, you seem to be quite busy and I must ask what place you would have for me?”

Khres was young, perhaps only in his twenties really. Dark hair and eyes, hair cut short, his face was tanend according to one who wore a riding helmet, not surprising given the recent campaign. Khres spoke in an accent that was clear he was from the Great River, or at least kept up at that.

“Ah the Guard Captain! Yes, Hralin was it? You will be left in charge of the city, with a few of my men for now and your own of course. I would recommend you start making more permanent arrangements for rule, work out something with what of those priests you can trust. I may send a need for supplies or laborers in the future but for now your job is as we discussed before the city was taken, rule it for me. I trust you can get to that now.”

Hralin bowed low, Khres had gotten annoyed at the kneeling of some of the priests before, in Mal Bagora it was normally reserved for royalty. He noticed a small sun pendant around his neck, which made sense for a Solarian.

“Yes I didn’t want to go against any of your wishes O Conqueror.”

Khres waved him away, that went far better than he might have hoped. There was something about Khres which unnerved him, it seemed more like his eyes looked through you rather than stop, some kind of assessment there. Hralin was happy to get to starting to turn the city around from the old King’s mess.

[hr]

Hralin was not upset to see them go, not that they interfered much with his control over the city. There was a ceremony for officially putting himself in charge of the city but beyond that Khres seemed much more focused on his next campaign, and was still early enough in the year to do that given his own help in speeding taking Mal Bagora. 

In any case, most of his army moved out, towards Mal Pocora to the east, it was along the river directly unlike Mal Bagora. Three days was all he stayed after taking Mal Bagora, rest to his troops and supplies in good order. It didn’t seem like Conqueror Khres planned to stop there either, might be a while before he saw him again and that Hralin thought would be a good thing.

[hider=Summary]
We are introduced to a Hralin, Captain of the Guard of Mal Bagora who just betrayed the King to let in the besieging forces of a Solarian, Khres. There are some details of various things about Khres and his soldiers but mostly Khres moves on putting a light yoke on Mal Bagora as he plans to conquer more. Hralin is as promised left in charge of Mal Bagora and is glad that Khres might not be back for a good while.
[/hider]