The Anvil (86 page)

“
You
will
lead
these
men
for
the
duration
of
the
war
as
a
test
of
the
idea
.”
Tom
simply
stood
for
a
moment
astonished
.

He
hadn
’
t
known
what
to
expect
,
but
he
never
would
have
thought
that
this
would
happen
.
Then
he
realized
the
king
was
waiting
for
his
reply
“
Th
-
thank
you
,
My
Lord
.
I
will
do
my
best
.”
Tom
told
him
,
then
mentally
got
mad
at
himself
for
stuttering
. “
Good
,
so
you
accept
.
Meet
your
men
 
tomorrow
at
seven
.
You
are
dismissed
,
Tom
.”
Frederick
told
him
.
Tom
turned
,
walked
out
of
the
room
,
walked
a
few
steps
then
sat
on
the
ground
,
astonished
.

After
a
minute
Alex
came
out
of
the
room
and
smiled
at
Tom
. “
Happy
birthday
.
I
hope
you
do
well
,
but
I
am
sure
you
will
.”
Alex
told
him
then
walked
back
in
the
room
.
Tom
stood
walked
out
into
the
bright
courtyard
spread
his
wings
and
started
flying
back
to
the
camp
.
He
landed
and
started
searching
for
his
friends
to
tell
them
.
After
a
while
he
decided
to
go
back
to
his
tent
.
He
found
Zack
and
Dejoni
sitting
outside
his
tent
,
as
he
came
close
Zack
looked
up
and
saw
him
“
So
,
what
did
they
need
you
for
?”
he
asked
,
Tom
smiled
and
replied
“
Not
much
.
Just
talking
about
my
ideas
and
that
I
am
now
in
charge
of
seventy
four
men
.”
as
he
said
that
he
saw
Zack
’
s
eyes
widen
. “
Well
that
’
s
awesome
!”
Zack
replied
“
Follow
me
,
I
want
to
show
you
something
.”
he
continued
,
then
went
over
to
Dejoni
and
got
on
.

They
launched
into
the
air
,
and
Tom
after
a
moment
followed
.
They
flew
to
the
edge
of
camp
and
landed
,
Tom
was
confused
as
they
walked
a
short
distance
.
They
turned
around
a
large
rock
when
suddenly
people
yelled
“
Happy
birthday
,
Tom
!”
Tom
took
a
moment
to
work
out
what
was
happening
.
Zack
,
who
was
obviously
in
on
it
was
laughing
along
with
everyone
who
had
yelled
at
Tom
’
s
reaction
.
Then
Caleb
was
suddenly
walking
towards
him
smiling
.
Tom
gave
him
a
questioning
look
then
Caleb
explained
“
I
’
m
here
because
the
Master
Smiths
have
been
called
out
here
to
help
make
and
repair
stuff
.”
Tom
smiled
and
hugged
his
brother
.

Tom
who
was
surprised
at
this
party
,
had
momentarily
forgotten
his
news
.
He
smiled
for
a
moment
then
said
“
Well
,
I
think
today
has
been
good
.
First
,
my
hands
are
better
,
then
I
was
called
to
the
Command
Center
and
last
I
get
a
surprise
birthday
party
.
And
if
you
wonder
why
i
was
called
to
the
Command
Center
,
it
’
s
because
I
am
now
the
leader
of
a
group
of
men
.”
and
with
that
the
party
started
.

After
a
few
hours
people
everyone
went
back
to
their
tents
.
Tom
woke
the
next
day
,
ate
breakfast
and
got
ready
.
He
walked
over
to
the
training
area
and
found
his
men
.
They
weren
’
t
hard
to
find
,
as
they
were
standing
around
looking
confused
.
Obviously
they
had
been
given
the
same
amount
of
warning
as
Tom
.
Tom
decided
to
see
how
much
they
knew
.
He
walked
over
to
them
and
asked
“
What
are
you
guys
doing
?”
one
of
the
men
looked
at
him
“
Waiting
for
our
leader
,
we
are
going
to
be
part
of
a
special
unit
.”
the
man
answered
. “
How
much
do
you
know
about
your
leader
?”
Tom
asked
,
a
different
man
answered
“
Not
much
,
apparently
he
is
young
.
He
helped
kill
two
of
the
Supreme
Generals
and
their
dragons
and
is
training
to
become
a
Dragon
Guardian
.”
Tom
nodded
“
And
what
would
you
say
if
I
told
you
I
am
your
leader
.”
both
men
looked
at
him
and
laughed
“
I
said
he
was
young
but
not
that
young
.”
one
of
them
said
.