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“Ha! For a Lion and an Eagle to agree on war is a rare occurrence!”

“It is no matter of agreement, Split-Knuckle, for war has already been decided for us. Now we must fight or die, and I am rather fond of living. I want my children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren to see the peaks and slopes of our new home, to soar above the mountains in our truest shape and breathe the air of the Nexus! If these southern tyrants believe that they can force us out of this valley, then there is only one choice remaining! To paint the cliffs of the Artor Valley red with their blood!”

“The question is not whether or not we will fight,” Marinos, the elder leading the Tigers, stated. “The question is how we will fight. Do we fight upon the newly-constructed walls, waiting for our enemy to emerge from the ocean? Or do we fight down amidst the plains? Keep our foe away from Artorion?”

Ustaloch, the Spider elder, was the first to respond. “We must fight upon the walls!”

Eyes-of-Glass, the Bear elder, agreed. “Our war beasts were decimated in the previous fight; we have little to spare beyond the walls.”

Len, the Hart elder, added, “Many heroes have gone to join our Ancestors. We must prioritize those who remain.”

“They must pay for every foot they advance in blood!” Split-Knuckle insisted.

“If need be, we can conduct a fighting retreat,” Lycurgus, the Jaguar elder mentioned. “Use what strategic depth that we possess, however much it might pain us to give up land.”

“Kill enough when they emerge that the rest will ever be known as ‘Morning-Tide’, for they have receded,” Runs-Through-Grassy-Fields, the Hawk elder, said.

Sitting at the head of the split table, Leon frowned lightly, taking in all that his elders and advisors were discussing. Notably, Evar, the Raven elder, and Jonol, the Bison elder, remained quiet. He wanted to know what his Tribal vassals thought of the issue, but he supposed silence was an answer, too.

With a brief flex of his aura, unthreatening though it was, he called for silence, and silence descended upon the room only a moment later. Without a word, Leon turned his golden eyes upon the Jaguar.

“The wall isn’t up to my standards,” the Jaguar mentioned, “but the mountains around the valley have a new shroud. Even arks will be lost within.”

“What of those above it?” Marcus quietly asked.

The Jaguar answered, “Our metal Prince was quick to integrate Aurichalcum into some of our weapon systems. Most of our towers are capped with our most advanced Lightning Lances, but four have new Lances powerful enough to start rivaling those aboard the ancient arks.”

Leon grinned as his eyes momentarily flickered in Nestor’s direction. The dead man noticed and subtly nodded with confidence. For years Nestor had been sitting on plans for how to integrate Aurichalcum into their current weapon designs, so when they finally got their hands on some, Leon sent some to him. He and the Ravens then essentially hand-crafted those Lances for the wall towers in their spare time. They only had the four already on the towers, unfortunately, since the rest of the Aurichalcum went to the arks to upgrade their weapon systems.

“Most of our fleet is at least back in the air,” the Jaguar added. “Bright Intent will not be returning for a few weeks yet, but Silver Spear and Bolt in Shadow remain with us. We still have a quarter fewer fighters than we had before the pirates challenged us, and our Ulta suits remain similarly diminished. Our strength has not recovered from those battles, and we won’t completely regenerate our losses for months.”

“What do you suggest, then?” Alcander asked with grave seriousness.

The Jaguar frowned and stared at a map of the Artor Valley and its surroundings, paying close attention to the fields to the south up to the coast, and the river that ran out of the valley. Several locations had been marked upon it—the highest points throughout the plain where foundations had been laid for additional towers, which would’ve, at least in theory, helped to protect the river from just the sort of threat they were now facing.

“I believe we should fight first above the fields, but retreat beyond the veil if pressed too hard.” The Jaguar paused, then made eye contact with Ustaloch, Eyes-of-Glass, Len, and Marinos. “To hide behind our walls before we’ve even engaged the enemy shows that we fear them. To show fear would be a mistake.”

“It is the safest choice,” Ustaloch protested. “This valley is our fortress! To risk the lives of our people needlessly, for the sake of pride—”

“Pride is valuable,” Leon stated, giving his first real statement since the meeting was called in the wake of the Ocean King’s envoy’s departure. His eyes raced around the room, to every elder and officer, to Clear Day, Anastasios, and Eva, to his old friends, and then to his family. “If we’re not willing to fight, then our enemy is emboldened. If they are emboldened, then they will press harder.”

He held up his hand as Ustaloch looked ready to protest, as did several others, and they fell silent.

“The lives of our people must not be wasted needlessly. But I agree with the Jaguar that to retreat behind the mountains is going too far. Hells, even hiding within the walls of the valley might not be enough, if we have the Ocean King’s attention…”

Maia’s voice resonated through his mind, and he was sure everyone else’s, too. [My girls have detected a large fleet gathering off the southern coast. We are outnumbered, but not as much as I would’ve thought an Elemental King would bring to bear.]

“How badly are we outnumbered?” the Jaguar asked.

[Three or four times, depending on how to count,] Maia answered. [More are still trickling in, including war beasts.]

The Jaguar controlled his expression, but Leon saw the ghost of a grimace there.

“We don’t even know how they fight,” Marcus pointed out. “How can we truly prepare like this?”

“Contact Alhamachim,” Leon ordered Clear Day. “Let’s see if they can shed any light on what we’re facing.”

“They know of the Ocean King’s past actions here,” Clear responded. “I’m sure they have plenty to share with us.”

Leon nodded. “What of the Titanstone quarry?”

“The survey is complete and the ground broken,” the Jaguar replied.

“Recall all workers immediately,” Leon ordered. “We are going to be stretched thinly enough just to cover the valley, we can’t also protect the coast.”

Silence fell for a moment as Leon’s eyes went to the map. In truth, while he spoke boldly and confidently to the Ocean King’s envoy, he was under no illusions about his chances against a proper Elemental King. He could only hope that the Ocean King himself was too busy with other things to bother with little old him.

His jaw locked shut, his teeth tightly clenched from the frustration and anger of the situation. His fingernails were digging into his palm even as he maintained a stoic façade. It enraged him that he couldn’t even establish a single damned city without being challenged like this. He would’ve understood if he had started conquering as soon as he arrived, but his city was barely even established yet, let alone the center of a great Empire he’d carved out of others’ domains.

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He couldn’t but imagine finding that envoy and tearing him to pieces, then blasting the pieces with lightning until nothing but ash remained, and then burning the ash in black fire. His breathing started to pick up as his heart accelerated from the anger, blood racing through his body, carrying magic and origin power to his muscles. He almost wished the Ocean King would send his forces sooner rather than later just so that he could exterminate them with less of a wait.

If he could exterminate them. He clamped down hard on his anger and hubristic thoughts. These weren’t pirates he was going up against, these were organized warriors within the Nexus’ power structure, acting apparently with the personal sanction, if not directly led by one of the most powerful beings in the universe.

He was not happy, and came dangerously close to showing it until Elise, who was sitting next to him, laid a hand over one of his. She spared him only a single supportive smile, but it cut through enough of his mounting anger that he maintained control over himself.

Any war fought blinded by rage would be one he lost. He wasn’t about to be run out of this valley, not without a hard fight anyway.

Strategizing continued even without much intelligence on how the Ocean King’s forces might choose to fight. At the very least, they were settled on not hiding behind the valley mountains like a terrified turtle. No matter how overwhelming their enemy may become, they were going to fight for their new home and make the enemy advance over their own bloody corpses if they wanted to force their way into the Artor Valley.

---

“An Elemental King, eh?” Xaphan crackled. “Been a while since I had to deal with one of those arrogant shitheads. Not long enough, I say.”

“It will be longer, still,” the Thunderbird boldly declared. “The Ocean King will not act personally, I guarantee that.”

“How can that be guaranteed?” Leon bitterly asked.

After a moment, the Thunderbird’s bold demeanor softened. “It can’t, my boy. But I know power, and I know the powerful. The Ocean King will consider you beneath him, to his detriment.”

“Ha!” Xaphan burst out. “He thinks you’re not worth his notice! And he’s not wrong!”

Leon scowled and glared into the distance. “Fuckers can’t even leave me alone for two fucking seconds,” he grumbled. “Someone just has to start some shit when shit doesn’t have to be started…”

“Hardly surprising,” the Thunderbird blithely stated. “You’ve discovered Titanstone. You’re new here, and perceived to be weak. The strong will take what they can, especially if they perceive your presence to be an affront to their honor and prestige. And make no mistake, enforcing a buffer zone in another elemental land is a mark of great power and prestige. Even if you hadn’t found that Titanstone, you would still incur the wrath of the Ocean King.”

“I understand,” Leon begrudgingly said. “Don’t expect this to be the last time I bitch about this, though. Until I find some outlet to vent, I’m going to be buzzing with anger.”

“There’re plenty of outlets for you to choose from,” the Thunderbird said mischievously. “I believe their names are Elise, Valeria, Cassandra, and the cute river nymph whose name I’m not allowed to say, isn’t that right?”

Leon gave her an exasperated look.

“I’m still waiting on more descendants, boy,” she reminded him. “Your circumstances may be unique, but that’s no excuse not to keep trying!”

“I try plenty,” Leon awkwardly argued. “Every day.”

“Leave the kid alone,” Xaphan protested. “There’s enough shit on his plate you don’t have to go reminding him of this too! Why don’t you try and be useful instead?!”

Xaphan glared at the Thunderbird, but spared Leon a quick wink, which Leon almost missed due to the fire that eternally raged about the fire demon’s body.

“Stupid demon,” the Thunderbird responded but threw nothing more than words in Xaphan’s direction. Instead, she waved her hand and conjured with light a great expanse of water by an undetailed and nondescript beach. “Those of the Oceans always fight in the same way when close to their territory.”

The water of the ocean rose into a great tsunami but merely threatened to fall upon the beach, never quite doing so. The waves below continued to spill off the enormous wave and lick at the sand, but the great wall of water remained there, practically hovering over the beach.

Looking at it filled Leon with terrible dread. For a moment, staring at the wall of water towering over the beach, he thought he saw green scales glinting beneath the water’s surface, but he blinked, and the scales were gone. When the Thunderbird continued speaking, his mind moved on, only to be replaced by a more tangible terror.

“From their conjured fortress will they attack.”

Whale-shaped arks came cutting out of the towering mass of water, their bows and sides flashing as Lances spat their deadly payloads over the beach before the arks retreated beneath the waves a moment later.

“The water is their strength and they’re loath to leave it.”

Xaphan snorted. “The Elemental Plane of Fire was once invaded by water and ice demons. They tried a similar tactic, but my Prince led a charge into the water and boiled the lot of them alive. In the end, not a single eddy of steam remained.”

The Thunderbird spared Xaphan an almost contemptuous look. “Do not expect a counter-charge to work,” she warned Leon. “Any force sent by an Ocean King will be prepared for such tactics.”

Things

flashed beyond the surface of the wall of water, and Leon felt a shiver run down his spine. Tentacles writhed, snapping and flailing beyond the surface as the twisted bodies of the leviathans they were attached to approached, but did not quite leave the water. Other monsters could be seen beneath, some breaking the surface briefly before diving back into the abyss.

Lightning would not reach them far beneath the surface.

‘It didn’t before…’ Leon thought for a moment, remembering silver-blue lightning running through his dark feathers, arcing through the air, yet splashing harmlessly against the water that protected his gargantuan serpentine quarry…

… until he tried to focus on the memory and found it elusive and fleeting.

He allowed his confusion to hold him only a moment before saying aloud, “Then we have to get our enemy out of the water?”

“They’ll be more vulnerable in the air, yes,” the Thunderbird confirmed. A proud smile spread across her bronze face as she boasted, “The Heavens were always my domain, though I had many challengers. The fools from the oceans who got in my way always evaporated. Show them this legacy, Leon.”

“Sure,” he replied with a heaping helping of sarcasm. “I’ll just hit the Ocean King himself with a few bolts of lightning and he’ll fuck right off.”

The Thunderbird clenched her hand and the projection vanished. With great severity, she said, “If the Ocean King himself appears, run.” She held her seriousness for a moment before cracking a smile. “He won’t, though.”

“Perhaps an Anax, then?” Leon offered. “Or a Basileus? I… am not confident in my chances against a thirteenth or fourteenth-tier mage.”

The Thunderbird frowned, leaving Xaphan to respond to Leon.

“Then seek aid, boy,” the fire demon said like it was the easiest thing in the world to do. “We honorable and brilliant demons of flame, whose grace and beauty are without question, and whose wisdom and power is sought by all in the universe, can be rather rambunctious amongst ourselves.”

Leon snorted. From what he knew of the fire demons from Xaphan’s stories and his personal quarrel with Amon, the impression he had of the Elemental Plane of Fire was one of strife and constant violence, with fire demons constantly fighting amongst themselves for power and position.

Ignoring Leon’s tacit doubt, Xaphan continued. “Nothing will unite us more than an outside enemy to combat! As much as we might disagree and fight amongst ourselves, a water demon will always be worse than another fire demon!” He paused and his eyes narrowed. “With some exceptions, of course…”

“You’re not suggesting I reach out to other fire demons, are you?” Leon asked, though he had an idea of what Xaphan was saying already.

“No, boy. But is there no one who may take offense to the actions of these soggy shits? You could seek aid while showing yourself as a defender of all the Storm Lands, keeping the denizens of the King’s Ocean in their little toilet, where they belong.”

Leon gave the demon a skeptical look. “How many do you think would actually help us out? I doubt Strategos Djoser will be jumping to my aid, or even Despot Archelaus. This is probably why he didn’t try to assert his authority over me when recognizing my claim over this region.”

“Some might,” Xaphan claimed, though he nodded and conceded, “though you might be wise in not reaching out. Looking weak and indebting yourself to another might not be the best idea.”

“Yeah,” Leon agreed. He pushed himself up and asked, “Any further recommendations?”

“Get some rest,” the Thunderbird said. “And keep an eye not just on the ocean, but on those behind you, and those at your side. Enemies must never be forgotten, nor friends; but I would caution you to remember those who watch and render no aid, or who wait to strike like snakes or jackals, hoping to take a bite while someone’s weak. Those fools who give you Aurichalcum… Watch them in particular.”

“You don’t trust them?” Leon asked.

“Merchants are fickle,” she stated matter-of-factly. “They do not have the heart for war, and when challenged, will give way more often than not. Expect them to abandon you once they learn of this.”

“They want storm crystal,” Leon pointed out half-heartedly, for a large part of him already thought the Thunderbird was right.

“They want to live even more,” the Thunderbird riposted, and Leon didn’t offer any further argument. After all, as valuable as storm crystal was, it was hardly worth angering an Elemental King over.

For the time being, though, he had to prepare for war. It would come soon, in days or even a few weeks if he were lucky, but it wasn’t going to just stop. These weren’t pirates, this was an organized force within the Nexus.

And if he lost, then he’d be dislodged from the Nexus entirely, if not killed. Everything was riding on this, and his odds were low.

Still, fire burned within him and lightning coursed through his veins. He couldn’t lose. If he did, all could be lost.