The Adventures of Naletia: The Warring Nations

Prologue:
~Information You Will Need To Know~

The continents of Naletia are five. At least, before the fifth sunk beneath the great ocean, swallowed up by the Dragon-God War, five centuries before this time. The other four continents are as follows: Ermith, Sar'tu, Amezi, and Krephu. Each one of these continents is different from the others in very noticeable ways.

Ermith is a flatter land than the others, with only one mountain range and a single, massive river running down the center of the great nation. The Sages of Power originated there and spread out through the four continents and laid down the seeds of magic that would define those lands and their people. Ermith was given the Seed of Life, which would protect the continent from astral forces that would eventually seek to destroy the nation. Among the Sages, only two stayed within Ermith to sow the Seed of Life, the Sage of Light and the Sage of Shadow. Each Sage split Ermith into two dimensions, the Light and the Shadow, and together, these two dimensions stabilize and balance the power of this continent, keeping it alive.

Ermith was wrought with great tragedy when one dimension, the Shadow, sought to overthrow and devour the other, the Light. The Sage of Light responded by sealing away the Shadow Realm, forever barring it from crossing into the Light again, and the Light Residents would no longer be able to enter the Shadow Realm either. A few centuries later, the seal was broken by a descendant of the Sage of Shadow, and so a new Sage of Light had to seal the Shadow away again, only this time, the new Sage merged the two realms back together, to form an equilibrium between Light and Shadow the likes of which never performed before. This powerful, new bond destroyed all differences between the two realms and peace returned to the lands.

Sar'tu is a more tropical continent than Ermith, the temperatures and humidity on those lands much more severe than that of the others. Still, humans manage to inhabit this overheated continent, and it may be because of the heat that these people are much more aggressive than those from the other continents. Sar'tu is a war-loving country, and have a history of starting wars for just the thrill of battle and victory.

Sar'tu is responsible for the destruction of nearly half of Ermith's lands in their last war. Ermith rallied behind the sudden attack from Sar'tu and sent over a powerful warrior to obtain the favor of the dragons. The warrior was nearly killed, and had to be carried away by her companions before the dragon ate her, but the dragon was very much impressed with the human's strength, and did all of Ermith a favor and completely wiped out Sar'tu's army. Ever since, Sar'tu has stayed away from war in order to recuperate from their massive losses.

Among the Sages, three of them sowed the Seed of Strength in Sar'tu. These Sages were the Sage of Fire, the Sage of Water, and the Sage of Earth. The Seed of Strength, defines Sar'tu as a powerful nation, with many diverse cultures that would eventually give birth to a powerful unity...after they stop having civil wars.

The continent of Amezi is simply a sandy wasteland, nearly the entire continent is desert, the western edges the only parts of the dry continent that are green and flat. The southern part of the continent is made up of large mountains, but do not even compare to the mountains of Krephu. All of the lands of Amezi have no sovereign ruler, but instead, many tribes roam the whole land of Amezi. When two tribes meet, it typically ends in a violent fight, as most tribes are hostile towards each other. There are very few tribes who are in peaceful terms with other tribes.

To this continent, a single Sage of Lightning migrated to the land from Ermith, and sowed the Seed of Awareness, which would eventually grow into an enormous tree made entirely of rock in the center of the continent. This Seed, this Tree of Awareness, would act as a field of detection around the lands, which the tribes use to detect the presence of trespassers and of other tribes. This is how the Amezi yearly meetings take place, the tribe chiefs convene in a single spot alone, and go back to their tribes alone. This is also how the Amezi tribes can defend from invaders, by simply avoiding them until they run out of food and water and perish in the harsh lands.

The Amezi people are stubborn and strong, even when an organization of ninjas threatened to destroy them, the Amezi tribes collected a group of powerful warriors to completely annihilate the terrorist's base of operations and then go off to kill their leader. In Amezi lands, it is extremely difficult to kill off even one of the smaller tribes. Finding them is nearly impossible, and fighting them off is even more impossible, for they are a relentless group of warriors who do not feel hunger or thirst, they do not tire.

Two Sages moved to the frozen hell of Krephu, and tamed the beasts there with their powers. The Sage of Ice, and the Sage of Wind sowed a single Seed of Temperance into the land, which eventually sprouted and formed a great plateau, where the Capital City of Krephu sits. This Seed was incredibly powerful, it caused the entire continent to raise 300 meters above sea level, and frozen the ocean around it by a radius of three kilometers. The mountains in this country also began to grow taller, thanks to this seed, reaching heights of over 1,500 meters in some mountain ranges. These mountains serve to protect the inhabitants from invaders, forcing them to climb the treacherous mountains. Those without proper gear would quickly freeze and perish in the frequent, violent storms of the nation.

Though Krephu has no need of one, the army resides within a hollowed mountain, which is also where they are trained in combat. The Krephunian temperatures and storms will quickly deter an army from getting anywhere close to their lands, and so Krephu has never once been in a war, though they are experienced in combat, as some of the beasts are still very hostile.

There exists in Krephu a Manifestation of Ice, who was once able to seal off the Dragon of Fire in a massive block of ice. The dragon remains there to this day, as a display of the Ice Manifestation's incredible powers. The Manifestation lost all of its power as a result, but soon gained it back through a contract with the Goddess of Disaster, Jupiter. Now that Manifestation of Ice waits for Jupiter's call patiently, ever waiting for the time when the Manifestation is needed. Because of all these things, Krephu's borders are nigh impenetrable by any army.

Chapter One:
~The High Council of Naletia~

"The Council has been called to order. Nations of Sar'tu, Amezi, and Krephu, state your requests in that order." An elderly man boomed, his voice much too deep and commanding for his age. The old man seemed to be surrounded in a captivating white and black light. This man was actually a combination of two powerful sages, of the Light and Shadow. He fled Ermith long ago when he began to see the Seed of Life become tainted with blood red corruption. Now he stands at the head of the Council of Nations, the other officers of the Council concealed behind masks, each depicting a gnarled face of a creature in pain. A very disturbing sight for the three nation's representatives.

Naomi and Eurin were the first two to step up onto a heightened podium that was provided to them, giving them the first say in the meeting. Naomi was a tall, muscular woman with long, red hair and eyes that seemed to be aglow with bright fire. She wore a suit of hard leather, colored black and white, with a single black glove on her right hand. A red longsword hung on her back. Eurin, on Naomi's left side, was a tall man with black hair and eyes that seemed almost dead. Scars covered his visible body, showing the signs of combat experience, making him out to be a difficult adversary, if he were to attack others. Two katanas rested on his hip.

"We are the two representing Sar'tu," the woman, Naomi, declared in a confident voice, her partner remaining silent. "The government of Sar'tu has informed me that this threat that Ermith presents will be quickly dealt with by our vast and powerful armies. Also," Naomi's eyes flashed upwards to the Sage sitting at the head, "They have also told me that the assistance of other nations will not be necessary."

"The dates that Sar'tu will launch their counterattack on Ermith," Eurin continued for Naomi, his calm, eerie deadpan tone sending shivers down the spines of his listeners, "Will be on October the 23, two fortnights from today. If you other nations ever plan to join in this war, I suggest that all of you rally your forces to Ermith on that day. The government of Sar'tu thinks otherwise, but one nation will not be able to quell the corruption of Ermith."

Naomi and Eurin stepped down, allowing the next two representatives, Lacie and Ayes, to stand and take the podium. Ayes grasped the heavy marble with his massive hands, his tanned body glowing in the spotlight. His body was well defined and muscular, not an inch of him scraggly or scrawny. On his back rested a large broad sword, the hilt made entirely of gold and silver. His wide, angled face only added to his masculine appearance, his blond hair and blue eyes shining with an aggressive light. On his right side, stood Lacie, a much shorter, seemingly younger woman who wore a suit of blue dress armor, made more secure and defensive with white plates covering particular parts of her dress. She also wore padded, white gloves and two swords on her back, one made of steel, the other made of silver. Lacie also had blond hair and blue eyes, but her hair was tied back into a fancy bun, and she was a much prettier face to admire. Her curves were well-defined, and Lacie was also quite muscular, though not as much as Ayes.

"The tribes of Amezi all differ on their opinions of a full-scale war against Ermith. There are three major tribes and sixteen small tribes willing to go to war with Ermith. The other seven major tribes and thirty-five small tribes refuse to have anything to do with the war," Ayes explained, his voice deep and gravelly. The whole time he spoke, Ayes glared around at the Council heads as well as the other representatives.

Lacie picked up for Ayes and continued, her delicate voice pleasing to the ear, like a wind bell in the silence, "We agree to the Sar'tu representatives' suggestion. The tribes of Amezi will arrive at Ermith's eastern borders, which is the closest to our lands." When she finished, Lacie and Ayes moved down from the podium to allow the last two representatives up.

Fu and Marigold ascended the podium and both of them gave a slight bow to the Council as well as the other representatives, out of respect and courteousness. Fu was a medium-sized man, in comparison to the other male representatives, and was much less muscular than either of them. He wore a white, black, and gold robe, a monk's attire. Fu's hair was short and silver, with no particular style, and his eyes were a dark amber, which glowed with a compassion not unlike the residents of Krephu. Marigold stood on his right side and held her hands behind her with patience. She wore a pretty blue dress with white stockings and white boots. Her hair, eyes, and lips were all colored in a deep, navy blue. As a final touch to her beauty, Marigold wore a frozen, light blue flower on her head, which helped keep hair out of her eyes. Her very presence seemed to make the air around them drop many degrees in temperature.

"Krephu would much prefer to stay out of this war," Marigold began, her voice light and small, but also powerful. Though her voice was not loud, she carried it well for all those around her to hear. "But as the nation is very much concerned for the other continents, Sar'tu and Amezi, our democratic government has agreed to send our own army to the norther borders of Ermith on the 23 of October, as the kind representatives of Sar'tu suggested." Fu merely nodded, showing his agreement in Marigold's address. The two of them quickly descended the platform and joined the other representatives where they convened.

"Then it has been decided," the Sage of Light and Shadow declared, "The nations of Sar'tu, Amezi, and Krephu will be sent to deal with the threat of Ermith's corruption. Does the Council agree with unanimity?" All together, the heads of the council raised their hands and announced their agreement with the Council Head, in a mighty exclamation of "Aye!"

~

After the Council meeting finished, the representatives exited the courtroom and went to their respective camps, where they would stay the night before sailing back to the continents that they came from. The Council Headquarters is located in the center of the map, on a lone, uninhabited island. The only people who are permitted to live in the small land are the Council heads, which are traditionally the eight Sages of the Elements. In a Council meeting, each nation is required to send two representatives that will speak for their country.

The camps for each nation's representatives are spread apart, on four sides of the island, so as to not induce a fight between the representatives, as such things have happened before in the past. The camps are located in the directions where the representatives come from. Ermith representatives would make camp in the western side of the island, the Amezi would make it on the eastern, Sar'tu the southern, and Krephu from the north. The continents were not exactly aligned with the island, but this was the most logical way of setting up these temporary camps.

But these representatives felt different, all six of them joined together during the night at the Sar'tu representative camp, where Naomi and Eurin awaited them. Fu and Marigold were the last to arrive, and when they did, Ayes stood to address the group.

“I know that there was once tension between our nations,” Ayes looked at Naomi and Eurin when he spoke, his voice hushed so as to not overpower them. “But it is time for the nations to band together and take care of this threat. There is something more to Ermith's corruption than meets the eye, and that old man knows it.” Ayes referred to the Sage of Light and Shadow, who had fled Ermith long before corruption began to surface.

“Yes, we were thinking the same thing,” Marigold confirmed, glancing at Fu for his input. Fu frowned, then stood up. Ayes noticed the seriousness of the monk and sat himself down. They were all joined together around a small, contained fire, a few logs in the ground to provide seating around the fire. A blue-green tent was pitched a few meters away, out of range from the fire.

“Ermith has been corrupted, as you can see it,” Fu spoke, his voice confident and gentle, “But there is more to it, as you guessed correctly. The Seed that was planted in Ermith has been tainted. I would say that the once green Seed has been turned to a blood-red.”

“What does this mean, monk?” Eurin inquired, his eyes closed. He didn't seem to be taking this very seriously, which made Fu slightly uneasy.

“It means that someone with powerful dark magic got a hold of Ermith's Seed,” Fu answered, looking away.

“Fu, can you explain what the Seeds are?” Marigold suggested, holding up her hand, as if offering him something. “I myself do not quite understand the significance of these Seeds, and I'm sure the others here don't know either.”

“Yes, I would like to know what this Seed is as well,” Naomi added, directing her inquisitive gaze to Fu, her eyes locking onto him.

Fu sighed, breathing deeply and sitting down next to Marigold, as he did before. “The simplest way I can explain these Seeds is this: They are there to protect the continent in which they were grown. Each Seed has a different power that protects their continent. In Krephu, the seed grew into a large mountain range, with the center being a huge plateau, where the Capital City rests. It is also responsible for the shores of Krephu rising to unobtainable heights, 300 meters above sea level, and freezing the ocean around the continent for three kilometers, as a radius.”

The other representatives paused for a moment, watching Fu, trying to figure out what he was saying to them. Fu frowned at them. Lacie raised her hand and spoke first, “Let me get this straight, you're saying that the reason Krephu is so isolated is because of that one Seed? What about the other continents? Doesn't Amezi have one too?”

“And Sar'tu and Ermith,” Naomi added, nodding her head at Lacie, “Do they not have one, or is the Seed limited to just Krephu?” It seemed that all of the representatives still did not understand what Fu was talking about. Fu paused for a moment, looking at each one of them before taking another deep breath. He would have to start from the beginning and give them the longer version of history, as so stated in the documents that he studied.

“Krephu is just one example, Amezi, Sar'tu, and Ermith all have different Seeds. Historical documents state that there used to be five continents, the fifth one was destroyed during the Dragon-God War, and so the eight Original Sages spread out from Ermith in order to plant these seeds. Two stayed behind in Ermith to plant the Seed of Life, the Sage of Light and the Sage of Shadow. Three went to Sar'tu to plant the Seed of Strength, the Sages of Fire, Water, and Earth. One Sage went to Amezi to plant a Seed of Awareness, the Sage of Lightning. The other two traveled to Krephu to plant the Seed of Temperance in those lands, the Sages of Ice and Wind.

“I told you what the Seed of Temperance does in Krephu. In Ermith, the Seed of Life creates a barrier around the entire continent that protects it from outside forces, even the astral forces. These Seeds are possibly more powerful than the Dragons and the Gods, if the Seed of Life's power is real, which I believe it is. The Seed of Strength in Sar'tu is meant to make the lands there diverse and powerful with unity. If you would stop having so many civil wars, the Seed's power might actually reveal itself one day. The Seed of Awareness in Amezi creates a barrier around their lands, only it is different from Ermith's barrier. This Seed grants your chiefs the ability to sense the location of trespassers and other tribes at any time, so that you can avoid wars and prosper. You've probably noticed that it was odd how you always manage to avoid conflicts with other tribes.

“These Seeds were very important to the lands in which they were grown. In order to preserve peace and prosperity, the Sages used these Seeds to tame the beasts and nature, and make these areas habitable for humans. These Seeds are also the origins of our abilities, our magic, which we call our Mana. This magic was created solely to protect us, it was not meant to be used for destruction. If a Seed becomes corrupt, then it becomes a Void Seed, which, instead of giving the inhabitants special abilities and mana, turns them into mindless slaves with no energy or judgment of their own. It essentially turns the entire continent into a puppeteer's mannequins. The Void Seed has a mind of its own, but it does not think like a human does. Instead, a Void Seed can only think of one thing, swallowing the world whole. Hence its name, Void Seed, a Seed that will eventually suck everything into the Abyssal Void.”

Fu turned silent, allowing for his words to sink in and take effect. The entire group continued to watch him, as if waiting for more information, but nothing else came. Naomi sighed to break the silence and Lacie straightened her back. The two women exchanged glances for a moment before Lacie gestured to Naomi, a simple wave of the hand.

“And do you think that Ermith's Seed of Life is now one of these Void Seeds?” Naomi asked tenderly, her face tight with nervousness.

“No,” Fu shook his head, the whole group sighing with relief at his answer. “Not yet, at least,” Fu added, looking down at the fire. “Right now I'd say that it's at the halfway point to becoming a true Void Seed.”

“How can you tell?” Ayes questioned, curious.

“If Ermith's Seed of Life was a Void Seed, the continent itself will collapse, and as a result, the other Seeds would become corrupt and those continents would also be destroyed,” Fu answered seriously, “The fact that Ermith is only just announcing war on the other nations symbolizes the Seed's current state as simply corrupt. It isn't a Void Seed yet.”

“How long before the Seed is fully transformed?” Eurin asked, surprising everyone with his question. He seemed like the sort of person who would stay back and listen, not speaking. But his expression was serious, showing that what Fu talked about was a very big deal, which it was. “If we need to move before October 23, then tell us now.”

“The corruption of a Seed...” Fu paused, deep in thought, “has never happened before, so I do not know how long it will take.”

“Take a guess,” Marigold suggested simply, earning her a frustrated glare from Fu.

“Do you really want me to guess when Ermith's Seed would become a Void Seed? It could take years, or it could be tomorrow, and you want me to guess a date!?” Fu lost his cool, jumping to his feet and throwing his hands up in the air with a very frustrated appearance.

“Just do it, Fu,” Marigold growled, grabbing his robe and forcing him back down to his seat. Fu grunted, looking displeased, but obeyed anyway.

“I give it three months,” Fu guessed, “Three months for the Void Seed to become completely corrupted and so doom all of Naletia to a fate worse than death in the Great Abyssal Void.”

“In that case,” Ayes spoke up, rising to his feet, “Then I say we move the date to October 16 instead, a fortnight and a half from now. It will take Lacie and myself nearly a week to return to our tribe in Amezi, and another week to rally the tribes who are willing to battle.”

“And that last week to make final preparations and then arrive at Ermith,” Lacie nodded, calculating the times in her head as Ayes had done. She confirmed that Ayes was correct, “It's a tight schedule, but we can make it.”

“Eurin and I will appeal to our government for the early attack,” Naomi agreed.

“We will leave out all the information gained this night,” Eurin added, still as serious as before. “Including everything about Ermith's Void Seed.”

“Good, now then, since everything is decided,” Marigold stood up, brushing some dust off of her dress. The other representatives who were not standing now did so, the six of them circling the fire in their respective groups. “How about we give our little alliance a name?” Marigold's blue lips curved up in a smile as she spoke. Fu's hand met his forehead with violent force when he realized what Marigold wanted.

“We are Naletian commanders,” Naomi started, “So how about the Commander Alliance of Naletia?”

“I like it,” Ayes and Lacie spoke at the same time, an identical grin growing on their faces.

“I'm surrounded by idiots,” Eurin stated in his trademark deadpan.

“You have no idea the pain I feel right now.” Fu seemed to have given up, his face in his hands in embarrassment.

Chapter Two:
~Setting Sail~

A fortnight after the secret representative meeting, the Sar'tu commanders, Naomi and Eurin were making final preparations before setting sail for Ermith's southern shores. Sar'tu, during this time declared their war on Ermith and began massing the armies of both the North and South states of the country to the northern ports, where massive warships were docked. Naomi guided the armies to separate ships, so that there were no fights between them.

“No, go to the other ship,” Naomi ordered, pointing a Northern soldier away from a Southern ship. Slightly put off, the soldier muttered obscenities under his breath and walked towards the other ship. A burst of wind suddenly hit him as he turned his back, dust flying into his eyes as something sharp touched his throat. The dust cleared from the soldier's eyes to reveal a fire-red blade at his throat, Naomi gripping the hilt tightly with her gloved hand.

“What was that you said, soldier?” Naomi growled, pressing her blade against the man's throat. Her long hair seemed to light up like fire with her growing fury.

“No-nothing, Commander!” The soldier spat out hastily, his hands quivering in fear. He didn't even sense he was in danger before he felt the blade on his neck. This girl, this commander of the army was truly someone not worth fighting. Naomi glared at the man, growling a final time before slowly pulling back and sheathing her blade.

“Then get going,” Naomi hissed. The soldier quickly ran towards a Northern ship as fast as his legs could carry him.

“If you want to kill your subordinates,” a dark voice spoke behind Naomi. She didn't turn to look at the source, only watched as the retreating soldier climbed aboard the warship. “Then you must do it decisively and without hesitation.” A loud snap echoed through the air and the soldier, halfway up the ramp, suddenly convulsed and fell off the ramp and into the waters below. There was no doubt that the man was dead.

“Eurin, please don't kill our army,” Naomi sighed, shaking her head in defeat. The man behind her, Eurin didn't reply. He walked around Naomi and stopped by her side. “I know it's hard for you to be in such a large group,” Naomi continued her lecture, though she felt as though it wouldn't do much good. “But you need to control your impulses before you kill someone important.”

“You know that I would never kill any important people,” Eurin replied quickly, immediately setting his blank stare upon Naomi.

“There are important people other than me, Eurin.”

Just before Eurin could reply, a sharp cry from one of the Southern warships reached their ears, followed by many more shouts of rage and fear. Naomi was the first to reach the warship.

“What's happening?!” Naomi shouted over the agonized cries on the ship. Her men all looked at her in fear, each one of them pointing out towards the ocean, where a large figure squirmed about above the surface. Naomi focused in on the figure and identified it as a very large tentacle of an octopus, which meant...

“CEPHALOPOD!” Naomi bellowed, her powerful voice drowning out all those around her and drawing the attention of the other warships. “Southern fleet! Move out to engage and destroy!”

“There's no need for that,” the dark voice appeared behind Naomi again, Eurin moved quickly onto the warship after her. “I will handle the overgrown octopus.” Another loud snap filled the air, the soldiers nearby flinching in response. After a moment of waiting, the large tentacle in the distance quirked to the side...but soon returned to it's original position.

“Idiot, Cephalopods don't have bones for you to break,” Naomi slapped her forehead, pushing Eurin aside, “Didn't they teach you that in the Northern District?”

“No.”

“I'll handle this, just get me close enough,” Naomi sighed, looking at the soldiers. They stared at her, as if she were insane. “Get moving, you lousy lot!” she barked, making the soldiers jump to get to work.

The warship eventually began to move, approaching the tentacle above the ocean. It was surprisingly peaceful during the ride over, which only served to confuse Naomi. Why would the Cephalopod decide to just hang in the ocean with a tentacle out. It was almost like the octopus was baiting them into a trap, which wouldn't be too far-fetched of a reason. Naomi knew that octopi were intelligent creatures, but showing itself to a group of hardened warriors in the shores of Sar'tu would not be a very intelligent move.

“Looks like calamari’s getting on the menu, ladies,” Naomi announced to the soldiers, all of whom grinned back at her. Naomi slid her sword out of it's sheath, the red blade glowing fiercely in the sunlight. She looked back at Eurin and nodded once at him. He shrugged.

“Fine, I'll help you out for a little bit,” Eurin replied, albeit reluctantly.

“I just need to get close to the octopus, it would be bad if it caught me in midair,” Naomi explained, moving closer to the bow, Eurin remaining where he stood. The soldiers moved out of Naomi's way, they didn't want to end up like that Northern soldier from before. Naomi stopped at the front of the ship and climbed over the rail, tightening the grip on her sword.

Eurin suddenly shot his hands up in front of him at shoulder height. His body faced Naomi and the Cephalopod, Eurin's black eyes beginning to turn a dangerous yellow. Slowly, he began to bring his arms inward and his hands together. Eurin carefully folded his hand, his face scrunched up in deep focus. The soldiers around him began to feel very uncomfortable, and quickly moved as far as they could from him without getting knocked off the warship.

“Now!” Naomi shouted, jumping into the air, swinging her sword around and placing the flat of the blade against her boots. She tilted her body slightly so that the blade faced the sky. A low rumbling emitted from her blade. Soon after, a large torrent of flame exploded from the blade propelling Naomi towards the octopus at insane speeds.

Eurin, who was focusing his strength the entire time, shot forward his hands again, releasing his power, which resulted in a very loud screeching sound that came from beneath the ocean surface.

The Cephalopod burst out of the ocean, its body twisted and mangled. As it was suspended in the air above the surface, Naomi swung her sword around to the front of her body and prepared a downward strike. Flames lit up her blade again, this time from the tip and extending her blade as she swung it down upon the mangled octopus and sliced it clean in half. Not a moment later, the octopus exploded in an enormous torrent of fire that turned it to ash almost immediately.

Naomi placed the flat of her blade back onto the bottoms of her boots again and shot herself back onto the warship, where she was met by a cheering roar from all of her observers. Naomi landed safely and sheathed her sword, brushing the ash off of her suit and walking back towards Eurin.

“Good work, Eurin,” Naomi commended, smiling at the man. He didn't reply. Naomi turned towards the cheering soldiers and silenced them. “MOVE OUT!” Naomi bellowed again, her voice no doubt reaching the other warship, who obeyed her call and began sailing towards them.

~

On the shores of the eastern Amezi border, Ayes and Lacie directed the order of preparations for setting sail. They were nearly finished with the building of their fleet, only a few final touches were needed to complete the Amezi Tribes' first warship. Before now, Amezi never took part in a war overseas, they typically were the ones being invaded, and they typically won all of those battles. Now they were planning to invade a foreign land, Ermith.

“I never once thought that the day would come where Amezian tribes joined together into one force,” a chief elder spoke to Ayes and Lacie as they oversaw the preparations. They listened, but did not say anything to the elder. “And I never once thought that my own daughter would fall in love with a rat of Szolhas.”

“I've told you countless times,” Lacie replied, a vein popping on her forehead. She was getting very frustrated with the elderly man, her expression spilled all her feelings, “It was my decision, not yours, father. And he isn't a rat of Szolhas.” The older man huffed and stuck the pipe he was holding back into his mouth.

“Don't worry sir, she did not mean to offend you,” Ayes assured, smiling at the man, “You know how women are, always wanting freedom.”

“Pah! And you're giving her too much of it, boy!” the old man scoffed, jabbing the end of his pipe at Ayes, scowling.

“Father!” Lacie snapped, snatching the pipe out of her father's hands, much to the old man's surprise. Lacie was about to continue, but the look on her father's face made her stop. He appeared lost, shocked by Lacie's actions towards him. It was like he had no understanding of Lacie. Lacie, noticing this, furrowed her brow, tossing the pipe at Ayes and stalking away from them.

Ayes swallowed the lump in his throat. Though he was much bigger than Lacie in terms of size, Ayes paled in comparison to her when she got angry. Like she was now. Ayes was certainly glad that he was not at the receiving end of her fury, but...

“I apologize on Lacie's behalf, sir,” Ayes said gently, offering the old man his pipe. Lacie's father's red eyes slowly focused on Ayes, his face still detailing shock. Lacie's father's face contorted with rage, and he slapped the pipe away, his thin hands and arms not strong enough to knock it out of Ayes' hands. The old man stood up and spat on the much larger man.

“You disgust me,” he growled before walking away in the other direction.

Ayes rubbed the spit off of his body, watching Lacie's father limp away. He sighed once the old man was out of earshot, “I take way too much grief just for this relationship,” he told himself, “But I'm not giving Lacie up, not for a cranky old man past his expiration date.” Ayes straightened his back and headed after Lacie, quickly catching up with the young woman and stopping her in her tracks.

“What do you want, Ayes?” Lacie asked quietly, not meeting his gaze. She seemed dejected, though Lacie put up a front in the face of her father, she always showed Ayes her true face. The trust between the two was great.

“I want you to stop worrying about that old man, Lacie,” Ayes answered truthfully, taking the girl into his arms, careful not to crush her head with his massive muscles.

“I'm not worrying about him,” Lacie pulled her face away from Ayes' chest to look up at him, “I'm worrying about you. You know how my father is. The only time he'll stop hating you is when you're dead.”

“That just goes to show he hasn't learned from the last time he tried to mess with a street rat like me,” Ayes grinned, earning himself a short chuckle from Lacie. “He can only dream of his past now, when he used to be the noble of Szolhas. Am I right?” Ayes put his hands on Lacie's shoulders and shook her lightly, forcing her to smile a little.

“Yeah, you're right,” Lacie agreed, pushing herself out of Ayes' hold. “Come on, we don't want the other tribes to get impatient with us. We need to head out.”

The two commanders then joined the tribes on their now-completed warship and turned the large naval ship around and pointed it towards Ermith. Lacie climbed up the crows nest and Ayes gripped the helm with his super-human strength. The tribesmen worked together to ready the ship, only a few of them were fully trained in the art of the sailor, so efficiency was low, but they were moving. They would arrive at the shores of Ermith in due time.

~

Three large, white airships hovered a few meters over the thick coat of ice which was the surface of the ocean around Krephu. These airships certainly were a sight to see, as they were crafted entirely of ice. Men and women stood by the edges of each airship, their arms moving in a constant, flowing form, it was their magic that held the airships in the sky. Eventually, they would not be needed, as Marigold and Fu were on their way to the docks, and Marigold's dominance over ice and wind held no competition. She would be the one to fly the three airships all the way to Ermith.

“Prepare the mana drops, Iceweed extract should do fine,” Marigold told a nearby cleric, who immediately set off to finding the proper ingredients. Marigold and Fu both boarded the airships not too long ago, and now they were making the final preparations for Marigold to take over complete command of flight direction.

“Are you sure you want to do this yourself?” Fu asked again. He wanted to know that Marigold was absolutely certain that she wanted to do this. “You could do a lot of good out on the battlefield.”

Marigold turned her stare to Fu, seriously wondering if he was thinking this out at all. “If I do not do it, and force my subordinates to take it up instead, then by the time we get to Ermith, we would be three days late, and all of our men would be exhausted. I can get all three ships to Ermith a day early and still have enough energy to do battle. Plus, I'm having the clerics prepare plenty of mana extract from Iceweed. One drop will be given to each soldier that we have.”

“I still do not approve of the use of Iceweed,” Fu commented, looking away with a distasteful look on his face.

Marigold frowned, “It's not like you to put your personal feelings before your civic duty to your people. You are in charge of the clerics, so you should guide them proudly.” Marigold placed her hand on the monk's chest, her cold hands sending a shiver down Fu's spine. He was used to the cold of Krephu, but he could never, ever get used to the unnatural cold that came from Marigold.

“I know,” Fu finally decided, giving Marigold a half-smile. “I may not have anywhere close to the mana reserves you have, but I will make sure that each and every one of our soldiers do not die in this war.”

Marigold and Fu were confronted by the cleric from before, who held up a small drop of mana extract for each of them. Fu did eventually take the drop, giving in to Marigold's pressure, though he knew he shouldn't fall for peer pressure. It was a necessary evil. Mana extract was a powerful drug, one that boosted the user's reserves to the point of insanity. But all Krephunian warriors were strong men and women who relied on mana for battle, this substance would be essential for their victory. After all, not a single nation, Ermith, Sar'tu, or Amezi, knew about Krephu's secret weapon.

Marigold sat down where the helm of an ordinary warship would be. She crossed her legs and held her arms up, beginning to move them about in a motion similar to that of the mages around the edges of the ships.

A light wind that grew into a swirling tempest lifted beneath the ice airships, raising them a few more meters off the ground. As this happened, the mages by the edges of the ships slowly stopped their movements, so only Marigold was keeping the ships afloat. Fu communicated with the other two airships and, once all the warriors were on the interior of the airships, Fu had all of the men and women on his ship get below decks.

“It's all clear, Marigold,” Fu called.

“You too, Fu, get below decks!” Marigold replied. As soon as Fu was safely inside the airship, Marigold jumped to her feet and threw her hands behind her. The tempest beneath the airships rolled up behind the ships, mimicking Marigold's movements. With a few complex motions, Marigold managed to get the wind to shoot the three airships in Ermith's direction. Krephu had set sail to the skies.

Chapter Three:
~The Sar'tu Union Army~

“Port to starboard! Bring her about and lay siege on the city!” Naomi shouted to her men, brandishing her sword through the air threateningly. The soldiers on board roared in response and the warship began turning to face the second-largest city in Ermith, Jesu. The water city was connected to a very large lake dubbed “The Forgotten Lake,” due to its connections with the Temple of Water that lay hidden beneath the depths. But that lake was also connected to the ocean by a narrow river, that Sar'tu decided to exploit this time around.

“Don't let them return fire! Destroy the city's walls and annihilate the noble's castle!” Naomi shouted to her men again, barking orders left and right to raise her troop's morale. For this siege, Naomi commanded the four large Southern warships and directed them down the river and into the Forgotten Lake. Eurin commanded the five Northern warships to move around and dock near the Twilight Forest on the other side, where they would burn down the enchanted forest and set the dangerous creatures that inhabited those places on the rest of the continent. Eurin would then regroup with Naomi's fleet and they would dock at the ruined city of Jesu and move on to the Capital.

“The cannons are ready, sir!” one of the soldiers called to Naomi. Naomi grinned and placed her foot on a raised platform, swinging her red sword forward.

“FIRE!”

BOOM! Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-boom! The sound of multiple cannons firing in unison filled the army's eardrums. A volley of black lead balls filled to the brim with gunpowder flew through the air, their trajectories unique of each other. As soon as they touched ground, the cannonballs exploded in a fearsome blast of wind and fire, setting nearby homes aflame.

“The carnage is glorious, this morning,” Naomi admired, watching the city slowly go up in flames. She was expecting some kind of counterattack to be coming at them very soon, as Jesu City was known for being quick to respond. “Fire at will!” Naomi shouted to the men below.

“Yes ma'am!”

Naomi took her foot off the platform. Though she wanted to keep feeling important, there were other things she needed to attend to. For one, gathering a landing party and ransacking the city of survivors. Their orders were expressly clear, “kill all who oppose you.” Which meant, the slightest resistance from the captives would cause them death. Naomi's lips turned upward in a small smile and she began to quicken her pace across the warship.

Naomi grabbed ten other warriors from the ship she was on, and ordered the captains of the other three ships to grab ten others and sent them to join her group on one of the warships, which grew closer and closer to the shores of the continent. The other three warships continued to bombard Jesu City as the fourth ferried Naomi and her group of 40 strong to land.

Naomi led the charge, raising her fiery red sword and bellowing until her voice went hoarse, and still bellowing after that as they ran into the watery city. The iron gates of the city were closed, but Naomi didn't hesitate, she jumped towards the door, swinging her sword around her head. Her blade caught fire just as Naomi swung down her blade on the iron door, generating millions of tiny sparks as the hot metal hit metal.

After a moment of bathing in the intense head, the iron gates began to melt and erode away, allowing the 30 warriors and Naomi to jump through the opening and split into groups of two. Naomi went off in her own direction, charging up towards the castle, dodging through clusters of rocks from their previous attacks. Closer to the castle, Naomi finally caught notice of the Jesu soldiers and, grinning, engaged them in battle with a fierce shout.

Naomi didn't slow down, she only held her blade at an angle and swung at the closest soldier, effectively removing half of his body from the other half. The momentum carried Naomi forward and she slashed at the next soldier in line, who attempted to block but only had his shield cut through as if it were butter, and his head flew in the other direction. It was only until then that the other soldiers were prepared to defend themselves from Naomi.

A quick head count told Naomi she was vastly outnumbered. At least twenty five soldiers stood between her and the castle, not counting the two she already slew. And as Naomi observed the group, more soldier poured out of the castle, adding another fifty or so to the ranks. Naomi grinned uneasily, seventy heavily armored soldiers would be a tough challenge to overcome, even for someone as powerful as she.

“Well?” Naomi taunted, holding her left hand up and motioning for the soldiers to come at her, “Do you want to dance, or not? This is Sar'tu's declaration of war.”

~

Eurin watched the shores of Ermith from the crow's nest, next to one of the northern soldiers, who seemed to be fairly uneasy by the prospect of being next to such a dangerous person. They were quickly approaching the Twilight Forest, Eurin noticed, so preparations for the attack should start very soon. Eurin turned and took the time to climb down the ladder to the main deck, where other northern soldiers hurried to keep the warship moving.

“You there.” Eurin snatched one of the soldiers that was running past him by the breastplate. The soldier was caught off guard and nearly had his throat collapse from Eurin's powerful grip. Eurin didn't flinch from the impact, but the soldier certainly, and this poor man was terrified of the insanely strong commander. “Prepare a landing party of six men, and tell the other captains to do the same,” Eurin ordered, not even glaring at the soldier. The commander released the soldier, allowing the frightened man to run off and get to his orders.

It did not take long to prepare the landing party, the three warships converged together and allowed the landing party to approach the Twilight Forest safely, their arms filled with explosives. Their orders were to lay about these explosives throughout the forest, leaving enough space to cause maximum damage, but also allow each one explosive to set off another explosive. One of these were to be placed in clear sight of the warships, so that Eurin could set off the explosives with his magic from where he stood.

Thirty minutes passed, plenty of time for all of the explosives to be laid out, and Eurin approached the captain of the ship he stood on. “How many warriors did we send to the Twilight Forest to put out these explosives?” Eurin interrogated, his glare unrelenting. The captain of the ship was much more used to dealing with Eurin than the other soldiers, but he was still very uneasy.

“18 warriors, all of them well-trained and valuable assets to our army,” the captain answered proudly, attempting to drown out the effects of Eurin's gaze, unsuccessfully.

“Have any of them returned?”

“No sir.” The captain's eyes narrowed, wary of Eurin's speech. He didn't understand why Eurin wanted to know all of this. Of course, Eurin had always been an odd soul, and terrifying too.

“Very well,” Eurin acknowledged, quickly raising his hand and pointing towards the explosives on the beach. The captain didn't have time to react before a loud snap filled the air followed by a massive explosion, followed by many other explosions that tore apart the Twilight Forest and started fire after fire around the blast radius.

“What are you doing, Commander?!” The captain exclaimed, reaching up to grab Eurin's hand, in an attempt to put things right, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. Eurin returned his glare back at the captain, who quickly flinched away from the man.

“Let's get moving,” Eurin commanded, his voice nothing but deadpan. “18 ants for the dragon is easy to replace.”

Chapter Four:
~Amezi's Tribal Militia~

Lacie took a single step forward, the first one to set foot on the western Ermith shores, Ayes close behind her. Their ships unloaded and began setting up a small camp, which would be their temporary base of operations while they lay siege to the nearby city, Gerudo Port. It was one of Ermith's smallest cities, but it boasted the greatest economic value to all of Ermith, supplying wheat and cotton, as well as many different types of fish and shellfish. Amezi's first priority in the war was to take control of the north-western part of Ermith, as they did not have enough supplies to take with them, as the Amezi tribes still used the hunter-gatherer system.

“Quickly set up camp,” Lacie directed the tribesmen, pointing to an area not too far off from the ships, but close enough to keep watch over them while still being positioned over a hard surface. “We attack at dawn, the moon is old, we do not have much time.”

“Lacie, come look at this!” Ayes called, grabbing the attention of a few other tribesmen. Lacie directed them back to their jobs and caught up with her friend. Ayes' eyes seemed to glow in the dark, and he did not look happy, but confused.

“What's wrong, Ayes?” Lacie inquired, looking to where Ayes was pointing. Gerudo Port, a rather generic and unoriginal name for a city, was Ayes' place of attention. Lacie peered at the city in the distance, and realized that none of the lights in the city were on. Not even streetlights were on. Ermith was known for having much better technology than even Sar'tu, and every city had streetlights that were constantly on. They helped to reduce crime in the streets, as it was not dark enough for criminals to make a getaway.

“There aren't any lights on,” Ayes confirmed what Lacie was thinking. “And if that's true, there aren't any people there either.”

“We don't know that yet,” Lacie shook her head, but she did not deny Ayes' assumption. “While that is a possibility, there is not hard proof yet. They might have done this in anticipation of us.”

“Shall we send a scout to see what is going on?”

“No, I will not risk the life of one of our own men in this,” Lacie frowned, they couldn't afford to lose any of the tribesmen so early on, and even after the initial struggles of war. They were inexperienced with fighting on foreign land, so caution would be their best defense.

“Then how about I go and check it out?” Ayes suggested again, rolling his shoulders to crack his neck. Lacie gave him a disapproving look. “Look, we need to know what is going on, and the sooner the better. It's dark, hardly anyone will notice me unless they're looking for me. Besides, I'll only go in for a little while. If I'm not back in 10 minutes, then you can come in and look for me.”

Lacie hesitated, looking towards the dark city, trying to figure out an alternative to Ayes' suggestion. She didn't want anyone going into the city while it was dark, because it was harder to see any traps or ambushes in the dark. However, Ayes' night-vision was renowned throughout the tribes as the best in the world. He was like a cat, and the glow that his eyes gave off only proved his feline features. Ayes could see just as well in the night as the day.

“Fine, you have 10 minutes to report back to me, Ayes.” Lacie submitted, sighing as Ayes grinned at her and immediately took off towards the city, removing a gold lance from where it sat on his back, leaving the red lance sitting untouched. Ayes' toad-stickers were very dangerous...when he used both of them. Lacie frowned, knowing that Ayes' overconfidence would get him killed one day.

But Ayes was not overconfident. In fact, he was very nervous to see what was going on in the city. Not seeing any lights around the city spooked him, it was so strange not to see that sort of thing when the entire continent was light up during the night. He would see the lights from a mile out at sea during the night, and it helped an incredible amount with steering a ship through the dark waters.

Ayes approached the first few houses with caution, slowing down to a sneak to make as little disturbance as possible. He would slip into the closest house and search the place for any signs of life. That was his plan. He already wasted enough time running over here, he couldn't afford to spend any more time. Lacie would be coming if he was not back in the camp in six minutes, which gave him only two minutes to search the city. Ayes, true to his plan, opened the closest window and slid inside the house silently. Keeping his gold lance at the ready, the shorter length of the spear much more suited to close-quarters combat and defense. Ayes took a quick scan of the immediate room. There were tipped chairs on the floor, as if they were thrown back in a hurry. Ayes reached down and lightly brushed his hand against the chair. A light coat of dust came off on his hand.

Having seen enough, Ayes slipped back out into the night and sprinted back towards the Amezi camp, which was just as dark as the city.

“Well, what did you find?” Lacie asked as Ayes returned to her.

“No one was there,” Ayes reported, out of breath. “There was a very thin layer of dust in the house I sneaked into. I'd say there hasn't been anyone living in the house for half a fortnight.”

“Strange, what could have happened that would scare away every last cityman and villager?” Lacie wondered aloud, bringing her fist to her chin in thought.

“I don't know, but something weird is going on, they couldn't have heard us coming seven days ago,” Ayes replied, shaking his head. “We had only started sailing over at that time.”

“Right, we will confirm your findings when the sun has risen two clicks above the horizon,” Lacie turned back to the small, temporary camp and folded her arms over her chest. It was her right, as commander of the Amezi Tribal Militia, to cross her arms. It was tradition that only those with an equal rank to elder of a tribe could cross their arms, as it symbolized a thoughtful pose of one with great intelligence. Lacie more than earned that right, and her pride swelled because of it, but she did not become conceited.

When the sun was halfway above the horizon, Lacie and Ayes roused the tribesmen with the sound of a horn. It would alert the village that they were nearby, but they would reach the city before they had time to prepare. Amezi tribesmen would overrun Gerudo city in a matter of minutes, the people would not stand a chance.

That is, if there were any people in the city.

The Amezi tribes rushed into the empty city, the troops spreading out and breaking into houses. Ayes and Lacie ran ahead towards the Mayor's Manor, a larger building that was filled with traps and dead-ends. The nobles of Ermith were always well-protected, and that was true even for the poorer cities. To compare, Krephu's wealth paled in comparison to the super power of a nation like Ermith and Sar'tu. But even Sar'tu's great wealth did not match up to the resources that Ermith owned. A unity between the three continents was the only way to destroy Ermith, it seemed.

“We have our unity, of sorts,” Ayes told Lacie when she spoke her thoughts to him.

“I'm worried about this unity. It's as shaky as the unity between the tribes of Amezi,” Lacie doubted, shaking her head as she and Ayes made their way to the manor ahead of them. “If something goes wrong, this whole war could be for naught. We're treading around quicksand here, Ayes.”

“We know the sands like we know ourselves,” Ayes countered, “We've lived on sand all our lives. We were born on it. We fought on it. And we shed our blood on it. The sand is our home.”

“I didn't know you were into proverbs,” Lacie raised her eyebrow at Ayes, who shrugged.

“I try to be smart.”

“You aren't very good at that part.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Let's see who's inside the manor.” Lacie reached out towards the large, wooden double doors and grasped the handles. With a single ounce of pressure, the wood handle broke off in Lacie's hands, surprising her. The wooden doors, their balance offset by the removal of the handles, fell forward, down upon Ayes and Lacie. Ayes was quick to act, he shot his hand up and blocked the wooden doors from falling onto them, pushing them towards his sides. The doors fell to the ground safely out of reach, revealing the inside of the manor.

A thin layer of dust was evident, as the colors the dust covered on the walls and the floor and the ceiling were paler than the manor should have been. A red carpet stretched out on the floor and towards a second pair of double doors on the other side of the room. The walls were a pale gray, with paintings set up symmetrically along the hallway. Lacie and Ayes took a few steps into the chandelier-lit hallway with caution.

“Very majestic-looking.” Ayes whistled, looking around, “I couldn't even begin to figure out how much all this is worth.”

“Ermith government pays for everything concerning nobles,” Lacie explained, approaching the second wooden door. “That includes all the trap making.”

“Right, I forgot you used to live in Ermith for a few years.” Ayes stood in front of Lacie now, intending to pull the doors open himself so that Lacie didn't have to put up with the doors falling on her.

“That's unnecessary, Ayes,” Lacie said, pushing Ayes to the side. She raised her foot and slammed it against the wooden doors, the rotten wood snapping under the pressure of her kick and bursting inwards, flying across the room. Before them lay a large throne room, the red carpet extending to the seat at the back of the room. Several other wooden doors lined the west and east walls. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, one or two of them fallen to the ground in response to Lacie's kick. Everything was covered in dust, which was uplifted in some places because of the chandeliers that fell.

“Now, this is a very strange sight,” Lacie observed, looking around the empty room. “We should have seen guards or civilians by now. Surely they would not want the tribes to loot everything they hold so dear?”

“We don't usually loot all the things,” Ayes muttered behind Lacie, she ignored him.