The Entity:- The Shield

Sanun sat astride his horse on a hill and watched the events that were unfolding before him. In front of him, an army was on the move, churning up clouds of dust as foot-soldiers and men on horsebacks trampled forward, and from the size of the dust clouds it was easy enough to discern that it was no small army that was headed their way. The scout watched for a bit longer before he turned his horse around and rode at breakneck speed for the encampment and within the hour he was in a tent and was speaking to the general in charge, a young nobleman of some caliber, and once he was done, he made his way out, to have a meal, while general Ratana, sat back on his chair, and pondered on what he’d just heard. From the sound of things, a large army was on its way and from what the scout had told him, they were more than formidable. He took a deep breath before he called for his scribe and had him transcribe six letters, one for each of the other five generals that were tasked with guarding the western sector, and one for the king, and once the scribe was done he sent his despatchers out to deliver them. The news made it to the respective recipients soon enough, and within a week the six generals were summoned to the palace to meet with the king.  From what they could tell, they were faced with an invasion of some magnitude, and while the rest of the kingdom was not under an immediate threat, the western provinces most certainly were, and with that in mind, and not wanting to relinquish as much as an inch of Siamese soil to the enemy, the king ordered a large scale mobilization, and hundreds of men assembled to bolster the defenses in the western sector. Once the meeting was over, the king made himself available to his chief monk, the man who presided over the religious order that prevailed in the kingdom, and asked him, “are they ready?”, and the man nodded his head, before he reached into a satchel that was slung across his shoulders, and pulled out a wooden box. He then handed it to the king. The king smiled, and took it off him, and as soon as he did so he thanked the man, and allowed him to take his leave.

The palace held many secrets, some of which were known only to those of the highest birth, and even the generals many of whom were of noble birth were not privy to the secrets that were kept hidden within the walls of the palace. The generals were summoned to a meeting with the king after their dinner, and once the men were assembled, the king who had the wooden box that his chief monk had given him earlier, opened it before he addressed the men that were there.

“I know you have a difficult task ahead”, he started, while the men in the room listened attentively. “Generals are the pillars of the nation, and if the generals falter, the nation will surely falter”. “Hence, your safety is of paramount importance”. He reached into the wooden box while he was speaking, and pulled out an amulet that sat at the end of a chain. “Wear this amulet around your neck, and I assure you that despite the numerous dangers that you will face, you will return safely”, he added before he handed each of the generals an amulet. “Lead your men into battle and do so fearlessly”. The generals returned to the western sector the following day, and once they were close enough they separated and returned to their respective encampments. Ratana, made his way back to where his battalion was camped, and once there, without bothering to get any rest, he started to inspect the defenses, and once he was satisfied, he had a meal and got some rest with the amulet that the king had given him hanging loosely from his neck.

In the days that followed the opposing armies clashed and bitter fighting ensued. Ratana heeded the king’s words and fought bravely on the battlefield spurring and encouraging his men on while he did so. He was hit initially by musket fire and despite the fact that numerous pellets crashed into his body, nothing happened and there wasn’t as much as a single bruise. He wondered why at first before it occurred to him that it was because of the amulet that the king had given him. Emboldened by the invisible armor that protected him, he continued to fight bravely, and the men were soon fighting hand to hand, and he was repeatedly cut by the sharp end of a sword, and stabbed numerous times while in combat, but his body was impervious to the attacks, and the outer skin of his body could not be breached. The fighting soon took a savage twist, but Ratana continued like a berserker who gave little or no thought to his own safety and on the first day of battle had single handedly killed more than three dozen men. The battle continued the next day and Ratana fought more savagely than before and by noon it was clear that the tide of battle was on the side of the defenders, and by the time the sun had started to set, it was obvious that the enemy was falling back. The battle continued into the third day but by then the enemy were on the retreat. Once the battle was over, and the enemy were back, deep in their own territory and out of sight, Ratana sent out messengers to the other encampments along the western border and soon learnt that they too had achieved similar victories. A week later, Ratana and the other five generals met again at the palace, where they were congratulated by the king, and once the victory celebrations were over the generals returned the amulets to the king. Any of the six amulets will protect the wearer from all external harm, and they are currently owned by six different collectors. Each amulet is worth in excess of US$1.5 million.