Neversfall - Ed Gentry [14]
His thoughts were interrupted as Jhoqo leaned in close to him. The man's face was grim and tight. "What happened?" Jhoqo repeated.
Taennen focused on his commander and said, "Sir… I… I told my people to try to take prisoners if they could. I thought we could get some useful information out of them about Veldorn and maybe even Neversfall."
Jhoqo shook his head and said, "Durir, I've never been in a battle where every member of either side was killed. I knew we would have a few prisoners, that's why I didn't specifically request that any be taken. It's a given in any battle and soldiers fight harder if they're fighting to kill."
Taennen tried to pay attention but found his eyes wandering the camp for those who had fought under him. Who hadn't made it?
Jhoqo grabbed the younger man by the shoulders and looked him hard in the eyes. "This sort of thing is why we must adhere to the chain of command so strictly, son. I'm disappointed in you. I had hoped for better from you in that fight. I lost men, too, son, but… by all the One," Jhoqo said.
"Sir…" Taennen said, his mind back on his situation. He winced away from the look of disappointment on his commander's face and wondered if he had looked the same to his father all those years before.
"Rest now, son. Just… leave me for a while," Jhoqo said.
Taennen saluted and limped toward his tent, Jhoqo's words stinging in his ears. The man he loved as a father was disappointed with him, much like Taennen had been with his own father. Taennen stopped his wobbling walk as the setting sun caught his eye. He wanted to wallow, to drown in the lament of his mistakes and the sorrow of the soldiers he lost. But he knew he could not.
His father had told him to attach his hopes and dreams to the rising sun and let the setting sun take away his pain, fear, and sadness. That way, he had said, every day was new. Taennen stared at the orange and red hues of the horizon and did just that. Ironic, he thought, that something his father had taught him long ago would come to him when he needed it most.
"Let me help you," Loraica said beside him, drawing him from his memories.
He accepted her arm, and together they walked to his tent. The Maquar they passed whispered to one another as they continued their work. The air was filled with the scent of mucjara soup, a staple among the Maquar. The citrus scent itched at his nose and his stomach growled despite the pain from his wound.
"You should have told me before I talked to him," Taennen said.
"I know. I'm sorry. I just couldn't," Loraica said. After a moment she continued. "What did he do?"
"Nothing," Taennen said.
"Nothing? What do you mean?"
"I mean nothing. He told me what I needed to know, and that was all."
"What did he say?"
"That I acted foolishly and that I need to be a better soldier if 1 don't want more lives on my head, Terir."
Loraica stiffened at her title but said nothing.
"I'll take the list now."
"You should rest tonight," she said.
"I have letters to write to the families of our fallen, Terir. I'll have the list now," he said.
Loraica paused in her steps to look him in the eyes. "Aye, sir." She pulled a parchment from her belt and offered it to him.
Taennen took the list and released his grip on Loraica. "Thank you, Loraica. I can manage it from here."
Loraica studied him a moment longer. "Yes, sir. Rest well."
"And you, Terir."
Being so stern with Loraica felt like lying. Even through rigid military training they had always been close and had been a source of support, a stable rock of sanity for one another their entire careers. But as he stumbled into his tent and read the names from the list by the low light of a candle, Taennen knew Jhoqo was right. Soldiers followed the chain of command so strictly for a reason, and Taennen had failed to follow his orders. He had taken it upon himself to win information and, he admitted to himself, Jhoqo's admiration by trying to take prisoners. It had cost him the lives of his men and the trust of his commander. It would not happen again.