Queen Xochi sat at the head of the table in her war room awaiting the arrival of her generals. Xolo and Camazotz sat to her left and right respectively. For the first time the two of them were permitted to sit at the table and contribute to the discussion that was to transpire. Xtabay however, stood behind and to the right of her mother, a position which formally her brothers occupied. It meant that she was to be seen not heard, a big step up from not even being allowed to enter the room during previous meetings. This also meant that she would be allowed to take part in the next battle. The large double door to the war room began to slide open causing Xtabay to straighten up her posture. A short and slightly robust man entered the room. Xolo and Camazotz stood from their seats in respect of the seasoned general whose battle sense and prodigious tactical awareness kept him and his people alive through the beginning of the war before he joined the Queen's ranks. Xochi remained in her chair as she greeted him. "Welcome General Salmu. Prompt as always I see." "Of course you grace. I know better than to keep you waiting." Salmu joked pointing to the scar on his cheek. "Indeed." Xochi replied. Salmu was accompanied by two warriors wearing the traditional battle gear of the Itian tribe who were absorbed by the Carneigho at the beginning of the war. They stood behind Salmu at attention as the old general took his seat. Salmu noticed the princes sitting at the table and smiled. " I see the two of you are finally ready to be part of these discussions." "The loss of General Murdoch to the hands of that witch left a void too great to fill." Xochi explained. "I need all of my resources if we are going to end this." Salmu nodded in agreement as the large double doors opened again. An old frail looking man with a long gray beard wearing a blue robe walked in followed by a young tan boy who looked to be the same age as Xtabay. The boy with jet black hair pulled back into a ponytail had a bronze sword hanging from his waste. The intense look in his eyes caught Xtabay's attention. "Ahhh General Yitoyo, you look as vibrant as ever." Salmu joked as Yitoyo shuffled over to take his seat. Xochi remained silent, her eyes fixed on the boy. "Welcome general, is this the boy you spoke of?" Yitoyo took his time settling into his chair before answering. "Yes your grace, This is Mul. His family were casualties in the battle of Tilla's Hill. He is quite talented and agreed to be of service to you my queen if I agreed to help him exact vengeance on those responsible for that tragedy." Xochi's eyes remained on the boy. "Yes I remember that battle. I apologize that we weren't able to fend off that creature of a woman and her forces. It was a failure that I shall not repeat." Mul remained silent but bowed to accept the Queen's apology. Salmu slammed his fist on the table. "His daughters are growing too powerful! Those two need to be stopped before they push through Terrabe and gain control of the Bopeen. That jungle is too dense to be fighting battles against the monsters that witch can conjure." Xochi ignored him. Instead her eyes were now focused on Mul's blade. With her hand resting on the hilt of her katana sheathed at her side, she stood up from her chair and approached him. "Boy." She called out. "That is a most curious weapon at your side." Without turning around to face Mul Yitoyo smiled and nodded, giving him permission. Mul stepped away from his teacher and faced the queen placing his hand on his blade which caused a breeze to blow through the room. The others at the table looked on in anticipation. Xtabay however did not understand what was happening and allowed a worried expression to paint her face. As Xochi slowly stepped closer to Mul she gripped the hilt of her sword as well, which instantly raised the temperature of the air in the room. The breeze that Mul had caused became filled with ash and embers which slowly became little licks of flame as Xochi got closer. "I must ask, wherever did you acquire it from?" Mul remained silent, not that he had much time to answer anyway for Xochi lunged forward with inhuman speed and slashed at Mul's neck. Mul jumped back in time to avoid the attack but the friction of Xochi's blade caused the air to ignite and send a stream of flames towards Mul. But before he could be burned a burst of air exploded in front of him dispelling the flames. "I see." Xochi remarked, heading back to her seat, her sword already sheathed back at her side. "Xtabay." The queen called out. "Take Mul and show him the palace. The generals and I have much to discuss."

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Xtabay gleefully skipped along the top of the outermost wall of the palace as Mul silently followed behind her. The wall separated the palace grounds from the marketplace where the people of Lucach would come from all over the territory to buy, sell, and trade their goods. Xtabay while still skipping turned around to face Mul who paid her no mind. "How many blooms have you seen?" Xtabay asked him in an unusually cheerful tone. "What?" Mul replied. Xtabay frowned. "How many blooms of the World Tree have you seen? I've seen six." Mul thought to himself for a second before replying. "Are you asking me my age?" Xtabay stopped skipping. "I'm asking you how many times has the World tree bloomed since you were born!" Mul stopped walking and sat down facing the market place with his legs hanging off the side of the wall. "You southerners speak strangely." Xtabay stood with her arms crossed as she gave Mul the most intense stare. Even though she wasn't facing her he could feel her staring which made him uncomfortable. "This is boring." He said standing up. "I'm heading back." Xtabay, remembering her mother told her to take Mul out of the war room so she and her generals could speak freely, reached out and grabbed Mul's arm. "Wait!" Mul frowned and jerked his arm away. "What?" Not having a real reason of her own to keep him here she hesitated. Annoyed Mul turned back around to walk away. "Why was my mother so interested in your sword?" She blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. Mul turned towards her once more. "It's magic." He said flatly. Xtabay did not expect that answer and her excitement at the idea caused her to disregard any royal etiquette. "Woah really? Let me see!" She screamed, excitedly reaching for his blade. "No way kid." Mul backed up denying her attempt at admiring the weapon. Xtabay's eyes shifted to their serpent variants. "I said let me see it!" She growled, stomping her foot and cracking the wall. Mul could feel the shift in her disposition, he understood that he was in danger but still decided to provoke her. "A spoiled brat like you would just hurt herself. So I'm doing you a favor." Xtabay's temper took hold as she lunged forward swinging her hand trying to cut Mul's throat with her nails. This however wasn't Mul's first fight with his life on the line. He stepped to the side, grabbed her arm and used her momentum to launch her into the air. Xtabay partially shifted form only allowing her wings to appear, stabilizing herself in the air. Mul pulled his blade from its sheath and summoned a burst of air under his feet that launched him off the wall to avoid the torrent of flames that erupted from Xtabay's mouth.

Inside the palace Queen Xochi and her generals were concluding their meeting when the sound of an explosion rattled throughout the war room. "What's going on out there?" Salmu asked. Xolo chuckled. "One guess." Queen Xochi sighed and stood from her chair. Without a word she stomped out of the war room with her generals in tow. As she opened the front doors of the palace they all bore witness to Xtabay in her full feathered serpent form diving down from the sky to strike some opponent that was too far away for them to see. Queen Xochi took a deep breath and called out. "Xtabay!" Her voice shook the palace harder than the earlier explosion .

The sound of her mother's voice made Xtabay instantly revert back to her human form mid dive. It also signaled to Mul that his little game was over, so he sheathed his sword as Xtabay landed beside him creating a small crater as she hit the ground feet first. Almost immediately Xtabay began to head back towards the palace, her rage completely quelled. "We're in trouble." She frighteningly stated as she walked past Mul. Pleasantly surprised at the princess's strength, Mul smiled. "Eight." He said. Xtabay stopped and looked at him. "What?" "I've seen eight blooms." He answered. Xtabay turned and resumed her walk back to the palace this time with a smile on her face.