Journey to the Royal District
Alexen and the rest bolted towards the military fort ahead of them while Kordoks snarled and roared at them fiercely. A royal guard's leg was clipped by the large teeth of these monsters, and he was dragged off, screaming in agony. Soon, more Kordoks would join to feast upon his living body.
Soldiers atop the fort scanned the area, and when they saw their own king and many more soldiers fleeing from an intimidating horde of Kordoks, they almost fell over out of astonishment.
"The king? Is that really him?" A soldier looked over in awe. He tapped the shoulder of his partner and he too looked over the cement walls and across a vast plain of grass and trees scattered here and there. He spotted them, and immediately dashed down the stairs, surprisingly swift even with heavy armor.
"The King is coming! And Kordoks are in hot pursuit!" Every guard was rushing into position and raising the gates. They were nervous, but not afraid.
"Kordoks imbounds!" Another guard yells as three other men run out, on standby at the top of the fort with bows drawn.
Those same soldiers who spotted their king ran up to the top of the fort and hurled over Kordok corpses to scare away the alive ones who were chasing their king and the rest. For some reason, the corpses of their own, especially multiple of them, scare them off like repellent. It's like they have some kind of instinct to retreat when they see many of their own species dead on the ground. It gives them the impression that danger is nearby.
After witnessing many of the corpses of their own hit the floor lifeless, the pursuing Kordoks disperse and whimper as they scurry into the thickets of a nearby forest. Alexen and everyone else rushed inside the fort with their adrenaline still pumping.
A roar of celebration broke loose and every soldier gathered around the king anxiously, chanting and cheering at their leader's arrival and safety. Men hoisted kegs of alcohol and began pouring drinks for everyone. Soon everyone had a cup in their hand and a story to tell to one another.
"This is going to be one heck of a story to tell to my kids," one guard smirked while another nodded in agreement .
"I know right!"
Alexen navigated through the fort, trying to get a hold of the king. He felt there was no time for partying, Humania could attack his homeland at any moment. He lightly pushed people out of the way while they were chugging their sixth cup, and they looked over at him with confusion.
"That guy's far away from home, eh?" A hardened looking guard quipped. He pointed at Alexen, the rest of his group began to chuckle.
Alexen shrugged it off and kept walking through crowds of drunken guards in search of the king and his fluffy friend. He hopped over people who lay unconscious on the ground; tiptoed over broken mug glasses, and traversed around a crowd of guards surrounding a single man.
The room was barely lit by man-made things, but was bright with the morning rays of the sun. The wooden flooring creaked as men danced about and the concrete walls quaked with every blow a drunken guard landed on it. It was absolutely bonkers.
Alexen stood among the crowd while they admired the king. He chugged another cup of alcohol and wiped off the foam with his beefy, hairy forearm. In tune with his sigh of enjoyment, Alexen drew closer in hopes of getting him and Calumiki out of this place.
"Hey, buddy! Why don't ya' have a drink with us?" A quite dapper guard, perhaps the most attractive of them all, halted Alexen all the while handing him a mug filled with a foamy gold liquid that strikes a hint of sweetness.
"N-no thanks. I'm underage anyways." The Glacial shook his hands to further clarify his objection.
"Ya' may be underage in Glacia," the man hiccuped. "But yer a ripe age to have some fun here." He pushed back his dirty blonde locks and grinned until another hiccup interrupted.
Alexen just about had enough with this guy and was about to leave him when he felt a fluffy tail brush against his legs. So soft like a warm pillow on a winter dusk.
Calumiki stumbled towards Alexen and the man with a pissed off expression. His tail staggered up and stood still like that as he slowly made his way in front of Alexen and in the face of the guard.
"Hey!" Calumiki barked at him. "You leave my master alone," he too hiccups between sentences.
"Master?" Alexen repeated under his breath.
Calumiki wrapped his arms around Alexen affectionately, still facing the man. His fluffy white tail loosened and was now rapidly wagging with delight.
"No one should mistreat such a good kid! If I were a little pup I'm sure he'd feed me and pet me and treat me just right." Calumiki finished it off with a nod of his head and a woof.
Alexen broke free from his grasp and pulled him away. On the way out, he looked to the man and gave an embarrassed smile.
"Sorry, my friend is a little drunk." He was exceptionally drunk.
Alexen dragged Calumiki out to the fort and onto the front gate. Right by the gate there were two large rocks sitting among the grassy plain. Alexen supported Calumiki as they ventured out and sat upon the rocks.
Calumiki slowly sat down, still very tipsy and pretty much in another world. As he sat, he kicked his legs about like a child. His soft humming played a quiet yet calming melody and reminded Alexen of his own childhood. A childhood where he would play around town, humming a melody that he heard his mother sing. Perhaps the Glacials and Beastials aren't so different after all.
The Beastial smiled slowly, then the melodious tune stopped. His feet stopped in their tracks and now pointed towards Alexen as he turned.
"Thanks, for taking me out here," he uttered with sincerity.
"U-uh, yeah. No problem," Alexen replied partly with confusion. The Glacial's eyes widened as those words were spoken to him, for he wasn't sure why he was being thanked, and it completely caught him off guard.
"Ya' know," Calumiki continued. His voice was slurred, yet he still managed to talk on. " My Papa used to work as a fort guard when I was little, and I believe it was this very fort he worked at. It was fun because I remembered my Mom and I would visit him at this fort when things were slow, and I used to run around the grass looking for cool bugs. " The Beastial began laughing, but hiccuped midway.
Alexen turned to the grassy plain that lay among them, and intently watched the grass dance at the mercy of the wind while Calumiki spoke.
"What about the Kordoks?" Alexen lifted his head, waiting for an answer.
"I don't know. Kordok just never showed up at this fort."
"Oh, I see"
Eventually loud footsteps crept up behind the two of them as they conversed. It drew closer...
And closer...
And closer...
A large, rough hand grasped Alexens shoulder. It held so much power and strength, yet was gentle on his skin.
"Hey there lads!" A booming voice rang.
"King!" Calumiki immediately dropped to his knees, nearly face planting on the ground as he was still a tad drunk and had not yet regained his equilibrium.
"What are you boys doing out here?" The King set down his mug of liquor on the rock beside the two boys and slowly sat on the rocks with them.
Alexen gagged after sniffing the odor from King Solom, it reaked of alchohol. But he was astonished how the King stood up perfectly straight and talked with fluency. It was as if he weren't drunk at all, his motor skills were in tip-top shape.
"Uhm..." Alexen spoke up. "King Solom, if you don't mind me talking with you about something..."
"Of course lad! Fire away," The King straightened up and his fluffy caramel colored ears, sadly not golden, perched up on his head, ready to hear.
"The thing is, my country is going to war with Humania, and I was sent by my leader to negotiate an alliance. We need all the help we can get."
King Solom interlocked his fingers and rested them on his lap softly while those same attentive ears twitched, perhaps out of shock or fear.
"I see. Glacial and Humania had been on bad terms for the longest time, it was only a matter of time before one snaps. " He looked up to Alexen. "So, Glacial-"
"You can call me Alexen,"
"Okay, Alexen. What brought about this war?"
Alexen dug into his leather bag, the same one the General had given him, and pulled out a golden shard with a coat-of-arms engraved into it.
"A member of the Royal Family broke a pact we had with them and attacked my brother and I. Unfortunately we had to kill him, but this is a piece of his armor to prove it."
The Glacial dropped the piece into the King's palm. Alexen decided to stretch the truth a bit, as the Royal member was most likely delirious from barely awakening from drifting in the cold icy waters for who knows how long. The war is beginning regardless of if he adds that detail or not, so it would be best to leave it out to gain allies.
"I would love to help your cause, but I'm not sure about the other leaders. In order to provide help to Glacia, me and two of the three leaders must come to an agreement. The problem is that one of the districts is currently having an election to vote for a new leader since the old one unfortunately passed away, and another leader is temporarily in charge of that district along with her district. And boy she's got the hardest heart. Her name is Natalia, and if you want us to assist you in your war, you have to get her onboard as well."
"I guess I have no choice right? " Alexen chuckled.
Alexen was curious, and although hatred for the Beastials still lingered in the back of his mind, he had never met a female Beastial before. All of the people at Shieston were mostly men shopping for weapons at the military town or were soldiers stationed there.
"Alexen?" The King called out to him. "Will you be asking every country?"
"Yes, that's the plan. We can't fight off Humania by ourselves, so I'm hoping to get every nation's military on board, or at least get some mercenaries if they decline."
"Well, then let's get a move on! You have to meet Natalia asap."
The two stood up and helped Calumiki get to his feet as well. He was wobbly, but luckily wasn't vomiting. The King glared at him, scanning him thoroughly, and came to the conclusion that he was not fit for battle, obviously.
"To get to the Royal Districts where the leaders lie, we must first cross the great plains where Kordoks still roam. I do not believe he would be in the condition to fight."
Alexen looked at him, and nearly nodded right away. "What should we do then?"
The King ran inside the fort yet again, but this time a sword was in his hands. He held a rag in the other hand and swept it over the blade. It grew cleaner and the sunlight beaming onto it reflected back into their eyes. It was a beautifully made sword.
"Here, take this. Your ice doesn't work well here from what I've been told, so this should help you defend yourself."
"B-but what about -"
"I know bits of your traditions, and those kinds of stuff don't matter when your life's on the line. So take it, lad. "
The Glacial's eyes sparkled with glee as he tightly grabbed the leather wrapped hilt and snatched it from his hand. Alexen tested it out and swung it about. He tested it's weight and started mimicking combat stances with the sword jokingly.
Thus their journey to the Royal District began.
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"Milady?" A servant dressed in black and white opened the door to the room of one of Beastials most fierce leaders. There sat a stunning young woman, around twenty-nine years old, who sat at her desk quite bored. Her rosy cheeks rested on the palm of her hand while the other one played with her long and silkily silver hair.
"You may enter," she replied, toting a voice of great femininity and eloquence. It was like a cat purring softly yet strongly at its prey. Her eyes also keenly darted throughout the room and was focused, much like one of a cat.
The servant, quite a young man himself, walked in cautiously. "Milady Natalia, Sir Calum has returned, according to the messenger from Shieston. He seems to be accompanied by a Glacial."
Natalia's pointy animal-like ears staggered up, and she sat up with a peak of interest.
"That's quite bad news, I never wanted Calum to come back. But this Glacial he's with… that's pretty interesting news, don't you say? It would be bad too if the Glacial came for what I think they did." Natalia slumped back into her chair and stared up blankly out the window.
"Oh how I hate for my expectations to be met."