I gazed into the distance with unseeing eyes. While my body was in Avalon, my mind was solely focused on my reckless and brave Admiral. Using one of my Eagles' eyes, I observed the Bernan fleet's destruction. Everything was just fine until Janet had done something I asked her not to do. She bit off too much, and now she was fleeing under heavy fire. I tried to coordinate my Eagles and destroyed some of her pursuers, but there were still too many ships on her tail to shake them off.

"Theon!" Amber's voice called me just after I gave my orders to Janet through Arani. "They are here."

"Damn it... The Bernans caught Janet and her crew, and they are fighting for their lives. I don't know if Twirll will manage to save them in time."

"Can't we do anything about it?" Amber lowered her head and clenched her fists.

"No." I sighed heavily and closed my eyes for a moment. "Twirll brought the pirates with him. Blackbeard saved Janet while his ship is still shielding Victory."

"I pray to Eriar to save her and her crew."

I grimly nodded and watched the Empress of Metaka enter my throne room. She was a proud-looking lady around thirty-five years old. Her relatively short, shoulder-long, black hair was unblemished by even a single silver strand. She wore an indifferent mask, but her eyes betrayed her shock. She walked towards us and looked with mild interest as the line of Praetorians welcomed her. Her gaze rested here and there as she admired the battle standards of my Legions and the many trophies taken from across battlefields. Like no other in my entire castle, this room was designed and built to overwhelm anyone standing before me or my wives. No matter who you were, from the lowest of servants to the Empress of the mighty nation, the effects were the same: an overwhelming feeling of your own smallness. In front of the Empress, Leonard and Cassmira walked, led by Rose, who looked exhausted. Behind them were two dozen Metakan Royal Guards, whose grim expressions betrayed their nervousness. I stepped down from the height of my throne, followed by my Queens.

"My King! Despite all odds, I managed to bring Empress Matilda the Third of Metaka to Avalon safely!" Rose proudly declared and curtsied gently, slightly raising the hem of her official dress.

"Splendid work, Viscountess Rose of Avalon." I nodded to her, and as she stepped aside, I slightly bowed to the Empress. "Welcome to Avalon, Empress. I'm happy to see you safe."

"I heard many things about you, King Theon, about your wonderful city and witnessed firsthand the prowess of your soldiers." She returned the bow, making it even deeper, signifying her goodwill. However, as someone accustomed to looking for enemies behind every corner, her face darkened. "You said you are happy; however, your face shows otherwise."

Leonard and Cassmira looked at their mother in shock. The guards behind her tensed, knowing they stood no chance against the Praetorians. I took a deep breath and exhaled, surprised that someone had seen through my Poker Face. For the first time ever, I met someone capable of that feat.

"To be honest… You are right. I'm not particularly happy about the timing of your arrival." I smiled flatly and saw fear in her eyes. "But tell me, Empress Matilda, would you like to put on a farce and pretend to enjoy the meeting while your Navy and your soldiers fight and die far from their home? Right now, the Royal Navy is engaged in a major battle over Berna—one that will have lasting consequences for the entire war."

Her face softened instantly, and she even lowered her head in shame. Her soldiers discreetly exhaled a sigh of relief, knowing that whatever misunderstanding existed between the two monarchs wouldn't end in violence. The Empress raised her head and looked straight into my eyes. "Please accept my apologies for that impudent insinuation on my part. I know very well how you must feel, King Theon."

"Everyone carries their own deal of burdens. No offence taken." I nodded, and my face almost tensed as I received the report about the current losses. "I must ask you for a favour, Empress Matilda."

"After my last affront, by all means, King Theon," she replied with a nod, closely studying my face.

"I didn't want to be rude and postpone the meeting with you, Empress Matilda, but I see now that my mind will be absent until I get the word about the battle. While my Queens could replace me during that meeting, I feel you would also like to hold that meeting later. It may be time that we show the world that even monarchs can stand in defiance of the ultimate nemesis of all rulers: the dreaded diplomatic protocol."

"Oh, definitely. I would have gladly rewritten that protocol a long time ago. Unfortunately, it seemed I was alone in that fight until now." She smiled warmly and nodded. "I think we can agree that the official parts are boring and unproductive. I will gladly rest after my perilous journey, and we can meet once you get word from your fleet, in less stressful and straining circumstances. " She smiled, and I genuinely smiled back. "Before I go, however... King Theon?"

"Yes, Empress Matilda?"

"Thank you for sending a Navy ship, even though I imagine you needed them all to fight the Bernans. If not for the swiftness of that ship and the miraculous healing provided by Lady Rose, I wouldn't be here." She bowed, this time very deeply.

"Don't mention it." I smiled at her and nodded back. I probably wouldn't ever find the courage to admit that she was saved by a hastily retrofitted cargo ship and a battalion of Guardsmen recruits.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

•••

Twirll observed the battle down below, wanting to yell at the soldiers. He knew they were stressed, and this was the first battle of the forces of Arcadia where the Mortal soldiers of His Majesty were fighting without the help of the Immortal Legions. However, that wasn't a sufficient excuse as to why they forgot to summon their familiars. While not everyone has a familiar, it was impossible that all of those who had one had died in that explosion or during the fight later. The only possible explanation was that they were given an opposing order or something. Twirll sighed and decided to leave it for now and waved his large wings to propel himself towards the closest enemy brig. His Phoenix form was interesting, but he somehow couldn't come to terms with how huge and, in his opinion, clumsy it was. Being an enormously big bird had its merits, like seeing the previously big ship as an unimportant nuisance. Twirll pushed through the sky with a single wave of his muscular wings that leaked droplets of sizzling flames at their ends. He reached towards the deck of a brig that desperately shot at him with its puny magi-cannons, but they might as well try to fight an ocean by using water guns.

Once his golden talons clamped around one of the masts, it was instantly engulfed by a fire that quickly spread across the sails and deck. The horrified screams of the burning sailors and the crackling fire that rapidly consumed the entire ship soon merged into one sound. The ship, deprived of its sails and with a charred hull, plummeted down, crumbling into sparkling and sizzling ashes as soon as it crashed. Twirll hung in the air momentarily in shock, as he had not expected something like that. He knew he had unleashed more strength than usual, but the effects terrified even him. He initially thought that the Phoenix form was nothing more than a visual effect to fool the enemies, but it was much more than that. It helped him harness his power, and the more he was in this form, the more appropriate it felt. He started to notice a nuanced and complicated flow of mana around him, as well as fundamental changes within himself. However, as much as he would like to think about it, now wasn't the time.

Queen Anne's Revenge fired all her guns at both Bernan ships that tried to flank the pirate frigate. The smaller brigs accelerated pretty quickly, but that couldn't save them from the close-range fire. Their crews were decimated by the concentrated pirate fire, supported by the Arcadian Navy mages with an excellent fire line at the unprotected enemy hulls from below. At first, it seemed that the brigs would hold up and turn their cannons against the Arcadians. But nothing like that happened. Their still-living crews started to panic as spells of various elements tore inside the cargo bays and gun deck. A few high-level spells punched through the hulls entirely, leaving gaping holes in the Bernan brigs, making them deathtraps for anyone unfortunate enough to fall in. The two brigs found themselves between a hammer and an anvil without a place to run. The cannons of Queen Anne's Revenge relentlessly hit the upper decks and turned the enemy sails into tattered rags. One by one, the enemy brigs lost their fight. They lost against the pirates, they lost against the Arcadians, and finally, they lost against gravity itself. The magic that held the two airships in the air ran out, and the ships stopped midair for one last terrifying moment before plummeting to their doom below.

The last Bernan airship, seeing the annihilation of the three brigs, tried to turn around and flee. Twirll, however, wouldn't let anyone run and warn the Patriarch about what happened to his precious fleet. Effortlessly, he caught up with the fleeing Bernans, and this time, he cast a massive fireball that simply erased the ship without a trace. He made an overdramatic turn that was clearly seen from Victory’s deck and was closely observed by the remaining Bernans. As he reached the crippled ship of the Arcadian Navy, he spread his massive wings wide, hanging motionless in the air. The multicoloured flames that made his tail danced silently in the soft breeze, interrupted by the sound of a sword hitting the wood. Hundreds of eyes watched him, a golden Phoenix, covered in vivid colours of different flames, that descended slowly after dealing with those foolhardy and defiant. One by one, the Bernans surrendered, knowing they were already defeated. Twirll transformed back into a small golden bird and landed on Janet's shoulder once more.

"You defied me," he said disappointedly as he looked down angrily at the kneeling Bernan sailor. "How many times have I told you not to interfere? I'm leading my Saintess to weed out the seeds of Chaos and Void from my lands! Who are you to defy me?!"

Only silence replied to him as the terrified sailors shuddered in fear, not daring to even look at him. Twirll eyed the sailors until he finally found the one sought, an unassuming man with slightly pale skin who was making an angry face. The same man who first cried that Twirll was an imposter and appraised him with a few skills. "Irvan'n Bok. What do you have to say to me now? Do you still have the audacity to say I'm not Jukk'nala?"

The man trembled in fear as every other Bernan sailor quickly vacated the area around him. He raised his head and looked at Twirll with a mix of fear and hate.

"No matter how powerful you are, you are no god," he replied, each word dripping with spite and venom.

"That's the spirit! Come on, stand up now," Twirll said in an amused tone. "Do you think that Hur'zhun will protect you? That lazy ox is nothing without me, and he dared to defy me as well."

Irvan'n froze halfway as he started to stand up, giving Twirll an incredulous look that quickly changed into unmasked fear. Sudden doubt was evident on his face as he looked around in panic, hoping to find someone willing to help him, but he only saw the hateful gazes of his former friends. They silently put all the blame on him in their gazes. Some of them even started murmuring angrily under their breath, but a sudden and loud boom caused by a single wave of Twirll's wing silenced everyone. In absolute, deadly silence, each indifferent move made by the Arcadian soldiers and pirates was as loud as a cannon shot. The man finally stood up and clenched his fists, looking disgusted at his fellow crew.

"What you know or what you insinuate is irrelevant. You are not the Great Jukk'nala! You can kill me but know that I will live forever in the place promised to me by my true Gods!"

"Hahaha..." Twirll started laughing. "Oh, that's a good one! Kill you? Kill you?! Hahahaha! No, no, no... You got everything wrong."

The man tensed and looked confused and even more scared than previously. "Then you can torture me..."

"Oh, stop, you clown. Hahaha! No one will waste their time to torture you... We won't make a martyr out of you. No..." Twirll flew in the air, circling above the man's head. Then he returned and perched himself again at Janet's shoulder. "But you will pay for your stupidity and audacity. Because of you, many that could have lived have died. You have also treacherously attacked Lady Sparrow with a poisoned dagger. Guards, take him away. You will pay for your crimes in the deep mines of Avalon where you will spend the next few decades..."

The Arcadians apprehended the man and dragged him under the deck of Victory. He called for help, but the other Bernans turned away, not bothering to even glance at him. Predictably, Hur'zhun was also uninterested in the man's fate.

"As for you..." Twirll gazed at the remaining Bernans, who shuddered collectively in fear. "For all of you, the war is over. You will be imprisoned until the end of the war, after which you will be judged… and probably released."