With a nod, Tukar headed away from his brother, making his way around the curve of the wall, to a place where he was out of sight. As soon as he was gone, Hushar spoke.
“Of all the people in Tartarus, you had to pick my brother? Either fate really hates you, or you simply are trying to sabotage yourself at heart.”
With that, Hushar walked back into his hut, not wanting to speak anymore. Satisfied that the two brothers were not going to try and kill one another, at least for now, Jonathan headed into the city.
As he walked through the gates, he noticed that there was a small commotion rising up from the city hall. No stranger to arrogant politicians and their fragile egos at this point, Jonathan headed towards it. Sometimes they needed a little bump in the right direction. He walked towards the building with purpose, ready to enforce his will upon the unruly bureaucrats. As he entered the building however, he heard some familiar voices.
“This city is not yours!’ One of the council members screamed, before seeming to cut off in fear.
“You are a panoply of sorry fools,” Edgar said. “Jonathan has done nothing but help this city. The presence of the Uthraki is nothing but a boon.”
“How long until that filthy animal decided to attack us? You saw him. He is nothing but a beast!” A female counselor exclaimed in fervent rage.
Jonathan would have expected for there to be less racism in a world where there were so many species, but apparently not. There was little else to do but to intervene, it seemed.
Jonathan strode into the city hall, cloaked in a mantle of his own power. As soon as he entered, the hubbub stopped, replaced by silence.
“Do not dare to discount Hushar, simply for the purpose of your own bigoted agendas,” Jonathan spat. “He has already done far more for this city than you worthless parasites have done. I tolerated your presence because you know how to guide this city. Be sure that you do not outstay that welcome.”
Although Jonathan’s voice was soft, it was filled with danger, and the councilors cringed. Only those who had not been involved in the overblown fear of Hushar remained stalwart. Jonathan strode further into the room, sending his aura out in all directions. He felt somewhat guilty for doing this to people far weaker than he was, but he knew that a demonstration was necessary.
“Ever since this city was created, a sizable majority of your number have actively worked to undermine my will, and usurp me. Now, that strikes me as odd, given that you all live here at my pleasure. Normally, one would feel disposed to support my decisions, but at every turn, I find complaints here. I am no tyrant, but enough is enough.” Jonathan headed off an ensuing tide of complaints with another pulse of aura. “It is time for things to change around here. From now on, members of this council will be elected by the citizens. Until this happens, you are all out of a job.”
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Jonathan stood there, waiting for the councilors to move. Alana and Granj did almost immediately, seeing the wisdom in Jonathan’s words. Neither had any fear that they would not be reelected. However, the others knew that their grasp on power was tenuous.
Among the citizens, Jonathan was a revered figure. Anyone who stood against him would be unlikely to get any votes. One by one, the councilors trooped out of the building, leaving Jonathan with Edgar and Eva. He plopped down in a chair, tired of the politicking.
“Those fools needed to be shown their place,” Eva said approvingly as she sat down by Edgar. “Hopefully the city will take a different direction. You have been gone a lot, but many of the meetings here were nothing more than an open forum of complaint against you. People like those councilors only care about their own power.”
“That needed to be done, but there will likely be repercussions from this,” Jonathan replied. “I doubt that they will rest quietly. As you said, they only care about power. What might they be tempted to do to gain it?”
“For now, we have other things to worry about,” Edgar reminded. “We need to prepare for the invasion. Troublesome as the councilors can be, I doubt that they would resort to open treason.”
“Who knows,” Jonathan replied. “However, you’re right. I need to focus my energy on recruiting more Uthraki. I managed to get another one today. They really all seem to think alike.”
He neglected to tell them of the drama between the two Uthraki. It was not especially useful as of now. All that mattered was that there were two powerful fighters now added to the city’s roster.
With a deep sigh, Jonathan leaned back and closed his eyes. Although he had no need for sleep, he still needed to rest sometimes, in order to clear his mind. He meditated on the nature of his element for a few hours, managing to quell the rising tides of emotion within him. Being calm would serve his city far better than being in a fragile state. When it was time to fight, he needed to be at the top of his game.
Edgar and Ava left eventually, leaving him in silence. Jonathan eventually rose from his meditation, and found himself alone. Getting up, he headed out of the city hall, and towards his cave. A bit of training, and perhaps some light reading, was in order.
Upon reaching the cave, he had decided on his course of action. He needed to find out a bit more about the armies of the Ash Heaps, and he suspected that Patrulanus would have left a few useful tidbits of information within his diary. After all, he had fought against them himself.
Jonathan found a comfortable spot to sit down, and pulled the book out of his storage device, getting ready to read. He flipped through it until he found a likely section.
The Dread Legions
The forces of Granath are many in number, and steeped in cruelty. Known for their utter servitude to their master, and their power, they are Granath’s agents in this world. When he is unable to quell unrest himself, they are sent in his stead. Led by many Tier 2s, they are a force to be reckoned with, especially in a world where the average level is so low. The core of the army is a platoon of Tier 2 fighters and mages that support the weaker members of the Legions. Rank within the army is dictated by power. You must be a minimum of level 30 to join, and every ten levels from there boosts you another rank. Tier 2s are at the pinnacle of this, and enjoy greater benefits than their weaker brethren. In our battles against them, we have found a highly disciplined force of soldiers who unquestionably follow orders. That is a dangerous combination. I do not know the state of the world when you are reading this, but the Legions are still no doubt a terrifying force. Before defeating Granath, if such a thing is even possible, one must defeat the Legions.