When the chimpanzees arrived at the Army Training Ground, they held tightly onto Willem's legs in fear. Their eyesight and hearing had been robbed momentarily, but they had no idea what happened beyond seeing their world blurred away. They began to holler in fear of having some of their senses taken away, only slightly unburdened by the fact that they could still feel each other and feel Willem.
Willem rubbed the elder brother chimpanzee's eyes with magic and his sight returned faster than a normal beast's recovery would. When Willem was done with the elder brother, he helped the younger sister as well by rubbing her eyes with his soft hands. The magic flowed gently from his fingers into the iris of the chimpanzees, like a ripple against the water.
"Better?..." Willem held the younger sister's tiny face in his gentle hands while she looked at him wondrously.
The prickly hair on the younger sister's face was filled with small bugs and mud, but her big brown eyes shone with excitement.
She immediately grabbed the hands that healed her eyes and played with them, pulling them apart and studying them as if trying to understand why Willem could perform such miracles.
The elder brother was less impressed at how the affection of his little sister had been taken over by a human, even if he had performed miracles for them.
"Zira!" Willem called out normally, but the imbuement of magic carried his voice across the vast fields of the Training Grounds.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Zira charged toward Willem, whom she had not seen since their triumphal return to the Training Grounds. Her powerful hind legs dug deep into the ground, displacing it as she jumped forward toward her only friend.
As she drew closer to Willem, her run dulled into a jog, then further into a trot as she arrived a mere few feet from his face.
Willem smiled as he saw the Lightning Ape.
"Zira, are they treating you well here?" Willem patted the large hairy shoulders of the female Ape.
"Miss, you..." Zira pointed from herself to Willem to indicate how much she had missed his presence by her side.
"I found little babies." Willem attempted to transition as best as possible to the chimpanzees he had found earlier.
"My, babies?" Zira's somber attitude quickly changed as she was now overflowing with energy, cracking the ground with her ridiculous strength. "Where my babies?"
From behind Willem, the elder brother and younger sister chimpanzees revealed themselves to the Lightning Ape, thanks to an inescapable wind pressure Willem caused.
Zira looked at the little chimpanzees and the light that filled her eyes quickly faded, replaced by a subtle darkness.
"What is wrong, Zira?" Willem held his hands to her face and looked into her eyes.
"Not MY babies." Zira pretended to wipe away a tear as she walked away from Willem slowly while sulking.
The chimpanzees, unsure of what to do, screeched and threw dirt while clinging tightly to Willem's robes.
Willem patted the two chimpanzees on the head and coated them from head to toe in his magic. This small act did nothing but mask their scent from any predator until the magic wore off.
The elder brother and younger sister eventually let go of Willem's pants and began roaming the grounds looking for something to steal. Willem laughed as he watched them take a ladle from the Army cook and smack him on the head with it. Even the cook could not help but laugh as a small red lump began to form on the top of his head.
As Willem prepared to head out, he noticed that a familiar magical armor had entered his range of perception.
"A quick response." Willem whispered as the darkness magic enveloped his body, thrusting him from the mortal plane into the void.
Carrying himself forward, Willem twisted through the void toward the familiar aura of the magical armor, like an anchor to his home world.
As Willem emerged from the darkness, he appeared as if he was a demon spawning from a pool of black. The black mist that originally gathered around his arms fell back into the portal that he crawled out of.
Willem stood up from the dark pool and stared down the man in front of him.
"Grand Mage, S-s-sir..." The Knight Captain had returned from his excursion to the Royal Palace, and Willem had come to greet him personally.
The sight of Willem cloaked in a black mist reaching out from a black pool unnerved Sir Gehrig, to the point that he forgot his own rank and poise.
Willem also seemed to possess a more raw and majestic energy since he came back from fighting in the forest, and Sir Gehrig could sense that he had gotten even stronger than before.
"What was the King's response?" Willem dispensed with the trivialities, to comfort the Knight Captain.
"I have it here." The Knight Captain reached into his pocket and pulled out a missive with the Seal of the King.
Willem showed no hesitation as he grabbed it from the Knight Captain's hands and cracked the Seal. Thumbing over the letter, a small and unnoticeable smile appeared on Willem's face for a brief moment.
- To the Grand Mage, Grandia.
Thank you for your lenience in previous matters. This task you have bestowed will of course
be handled by myself personally, to ensure that things are done properly. I understand that
you have intentions against Blood City, so anything you require shall be yours. If you need
any more letters sent, I have allowed Sir Gehrig full clearance to the Royal Grounds. I have
placed my children in seclusion for training, just to make sure they do not bother you again.
The One True King. -
Willem shook his head at the foolishness of the King. To still sign his useless title knowing that the only person to read this would be Willem could only be considered a slap in the face.
Mentioning that his children were now safe and away from the Bastion of Hope, hiding in seclusion, made his intentions abundantly clear.
The One True King intended to go all out to keep the title of King away from Willem.
"So, we have the full support to march against Blood City. Tell the soldiers to get ready for another fight soon." Willem burned the letter with a beautiful black flame before disappearing into the thick black mist that obscured Sir Gehrig's vision.
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Sir Gehrig hastily ran to make the announcement about the next campaign.
Inside the Royal Palace.
Some time had passed since Sir Gehrig spoke of the campaign details, and tension was running high among the soldiers.
The war council had been summoned, by the One True King's orders.
Among the twenty council members that took their seats was the Grand Mage Archus, the Lovejoy Grand Elder, Sir Gehrig, and his mentor, Sir Kriev.
Sir Kriev had an air of certainty, and a sharp aura to him. Just the sweep of his gaze was enough to cause a mild shock across the other chair holders.
Many of the men who held positions at the council were old and frail, with wrinkles covering their faces, but their experiences were invaluable to keeping the interests of the Bastion of Hope.
"The council convenes, The One True King speaks." Grand Mage Archus announced both the presence and the opening of discussion for the King.
With a slight hint of disdain, the King tapped on the long square table lightly to indicate that what he was going to say was of paramount importance. Everyone leaned in closer to hear what he was about to speak.
"With much thought, I have decided to send the Grand Mage Grandia and five thousand soldiers to take the Blood City." The King sat back in his chair and opened the floor to discussion.
At first there was mild panic, and the elders seemed to be divided on the topic as they talked among themselves.
Those who knew the One True King personally would understand that this was not his decision but the decision of someone else. The One True King would never willingly send his soldiers out, nor did he ever think of retaliating when a skirmish broke out.
Some among the council called him "The Cowardly Lion".
Without further hesitation, Sir Gehrig tapped on the table to share his position.
"I support this decision. If we take Blood City we will have another stronghold in the worst case scenario. The resources of the Stinging Blood Tortoise would be incredibly important for the upcoming fights." Sir Gehrig finished his prepared speech and sat back down.
A few elders stood, gave their position, and rejected the idea of going to war with Blood City.
With just these votes, it seemed predestined that the decision would fail.
Sir Kriev slowly stood up, supporting himself by placing his hand on the table. With his sharp gaze he stared down the other council members, as if he was looking into their souls through their eyes.
"Cowards, in my day we would have gut you. Gehrig lacks elegance but his brain is not just for decoration and he would know better than anyone here. I support the fight."
With one swift motion, the tone of the conversation changed from a yes or no to being a coward or supporting the Bastion of Hope. The other elders refused to be seen as cowards with the three who spoke before and all readily gave their consent.
The acceptance by the Lovejoy Grand Elder and Grand Mage Archus was just icing on the cake for the decision. Thus, almost unanimously, the decision to march against Blood City passed.
As the war council ended, The One True King and Grand Mage Archus remained behind to speak.
"My King, how may I be of service to you." Grand Mage Archus bowed his head as the room finally cleared.
"Do you truly not know what your pupil has done?" The One True King spoke furiously as his temper worsened.
Red and blue magical aura poured out of The One True King's body, and the Grand Mage was forced to cast defensive spells to stop from being injured.
"My King!" Archus called out in plea as he was bombarded with an oppressive magical power.
"Your pupil has attempted to usurp the throne, has threatened my Queen and children, and now strong arms me into endorsing an attack on Blood City. You will get your pupil in check or I will remove your head from your body in front of the Bastion of Hope for all to see!" The One True King's magical aura boiled over and smashed apart the defensive shields of the Grand Mage.
"Yes, yes. Please make it stop..." The Grand Mage feigned being severely injured in order to stop the One True King from hurting him further.
After a brief moment, The One True King retracted his magical power and left the room.
Immediately, the Grand Mage spat out a mouthful of blood and teleported to Willem's Private Sanctum.
At the Army Training Grounds.
The sun had finally gone down and the moon was beautifully clear for anyone who was still awake.
Though there was some small movement, the Training Grounds were quiet, everyone fast asleep and fighting demons in their dreams.
A barn had been prepared for Zira to remain in the Training Grounds, since no other accommodation was large enough for the Lightning Ape.
Zira was quietly rustling some hay, preparing to sleep, when she heard a small creak from the barn door.
The chimpanzees were soaked from head to toe in grime and dirty water, and the cold night air hurt their bodies as it whipped past them.
Having been kicked out of every other place in the Army Training Grounds, the two siblings finally came upon the barn.
With her magically infused hearing, Zira had no problems understanding what was going on.
After debating internally with herself, she finally went to the barn door and swung it open.
The chimpanzees on the other side were shocked and attempted to run away in fear.
Zira gently placed her hands on each of them, stopping their movement but not hurting them in any way.
"Not, your fault." Zira picked up the chimpanzees and laid them against her bare chest, providing them with a source of warmth.
The chimpanzees stopped fighting against the female Ape and hugged her to escape the biting cold.