The next five days passed quickly. It was mostly filled with down time other than one tense moment. On the third day the Zorkids had streamed out of the castle numbering in the hundreds. Over five hundred of the annoying little shits. Thankfully they were spotted instantly and I led a force of six hundred to meet them. The other two hundred or so were still recovering.

The first battalion had returned with weeks worth of food from the surrounding farms and over a thousand claimed farmers. They also told me that a few of the outer farms had already been claimed by me, demonstrating Az’s efforts.

The Zorkid hadn’t even tried to fight, instead they attempted to retreat into the mountains. Unfortunately for them the windclaws of the first battalion were a bit faster than horses and a lot faster than some bipedal goats.

They were run down and turned into a feast in short order. The next two days had been peaceful and no one else had tried to desert. Finally at the beginning of the sixth day I got up and stared at the castle. The gates were still destroyed and one of the walls was missing a large section. The zorkids had most likely been starving for the last few days and should be sufficiently weakened. But it was still with a heavy heart that I gave the order. I gathered my entire force right at the base of the mountain.

A bit more than eight hundred soldiers gathered below me. We had started at around a thousand. But these weren’t the same skinny fresh faced bruisers from before. They had been fed well over the last week and they had all seen combat.

I sighed, took a moment to compose myself then started talking. “Soldiers! Today we will conquer this fortification! We will eradicate these bipedal goats and usher in a new age of glory for our race!”

My speech was met with a resounding cheer as I waited a moment before continuing. “But that isn’t the only thing we are doing today. Today I declare the formation of the kingdom of Zayan. Not the city state. I declare myself queen of Zayan and all of my claimed as citizens! Do any of you object?”

No one spoke up as I smiled and said. “Togher, we will unify the city states. Together our race will carve out a permanent place in the history books. We will rule more land than any of you could comprehend! To start this grand project, all that's standing in our way are the zorkid. Dirty animals starving and hiding within their walls. Do they deserve to hold this fortress?”

My soldiers all yelled no at once as I smiled and said. “Soldiers! Today they face the first legion of Zayan! Today they will die and we’ll eat them! We will take revenge for our fallen brethren and forge a new life for our people! So what are you waiting for? Charge! Kill the enemy! Rip them apart!”

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I ended my speech by sprinting up the hill and beginning the assault. My troops hurried after me. The zorkids had seen us gathering outside and a large group of them held the gate house. I didn’t stop running when I saw them. Instead I sped up and slammed through them. It didn’t stop, instead I continued running forward, slashing and stabbing anything in front of me.

The zorkid lines buckled as I drove a wedge through them. My soldiers filled the gap I left behind and began to destroy the enemy. We had similar numbers now and without outnumbering us the fight was over before it began. Hundreds of zorkids died every minute as my troops and I gleefully tore through them.

Twenty minutes after I had first slammed into their ranks the zorkid were dead. Fifty soldiers had died in the fight. All of my commanders were still alive although the new Ocho was limping while walking through his troops, checking on them.

I myself was sporting a few injuries but nothing that really slowed me down. Tetel found me after the combat, chewing on a zorkid while staring at the battlefield. “My Queen! The battle was a success. What would you like me to do?”

I sighed and said. “Call the commanders over, I want to talk to them about what happened here. I also want to leave our army here when I go back to the city. I need to speak with Tuobella. I’ll keep my kids here as well. We’ll be evacuating most of our district and moving them here.”

The city of Tiat was not an ally of mine. But they could still be useful. Especially since I was close to controlling the entirety of their food production. Tetel nodded and walked away as I found a nice patch of grass to chill in. The castle itself was pretty bare bones but it would be a nice palace.

It had been an impulsive decision to found the kingdom of Zayan but it made sense in the long run. I wanted to take over the entire region and to do that I would need to have my own nation. It was a good idea. And my kids are now princes! Ooh, I wonder if I can get them cute little suits.

Focus Aya! What's the next move? Do I declare war on Tiat? Should I try allying with Itzal? Nah, no reason to owe any favors. The best thing would be if I could get a few more queens on my side. A nation won’t survive without other competent leaders and the population needs to grow.

But how can I make it seem like I’m not desperate? It’s obvious my nation doesn’t have any other queens. I won’t be able to keep up with the attrition. Suddenly an idea popped into my head just as my commanders started to arrive. I archived it for later and said. “What's the damage? How’re the troops doing?”

Uno answered first, an excited look on his face. “Forty three of our brothers died in the fighting. But the entire zorkid force has been eradicated. We now have a steady supply of provisions from the goblin farmers and a home base!”

I nodded and smiled before saying. “Yes, that brings me to my next point. Most of the army will stay here. We’ll be moving our own citizens here as well. We’ll be establishing a new city. I just can’t trust the other queens of Tiat to be that close to us. My children will stay here as well. I’ll be returning to the city to see if I can get us a few more political allies.”

They all nodded and began talking worried about having to build a whole city. “While I’m gone I expect all of you to work hard. I want a wall built around the second trench. It can be made of mud and sticks. We just need something. We’ll make it better later.”

They all nodded as I smiled and said. “I’m proud of you soldiers, no matter what I will always be proud of you. So please protect my children. Uno, I’m taking your battalion with me. I have a plan that might result in some altercations and it would make me feel better if I had some help.” He puffed up and smiled as I stretched out and said. “We’re going to do a heist.