Valkyrie's Shadow

Chapter 9

『Xoc.』

With a dissatisfied noise, Xoc stirred from her sleep in the dead of the night. She uncurled slightly, then curled up again when she felt the warmth of her bedding threatening to escape her.

『Xoc.』

She opened a sleepy eye, searching for the source of the familiar voice. It sounded like Saraca, but, as far as she knew, he was far to the west helping to fight the Undead.

“Go away,” she murmured as her eye closed again, “I don’t want any dreams about you.”

『Xoc!』

“Muhyah!”

Xoc started at the shout, fur standing on end as she leapt out of her alcove.

“T-Too close! You’re not a bad guy, but I don’t see you like that!”

『…what in the world are you talking about?』

She looked around for Saraca. He was so huge that it should have been impossible not to notice him in the confines of her home.

“I don’t see you…”

『I’m not there with you. I’m using a Skill to speak with you from a ship sailing on the Syrillian Way.』

“The Syrillian Way? Does that mean you’ve already driven the Undead all the way across the Draconic Kingdom?”

It sounded like the counteroffensive against the Undead was going well. From what she could recall, Master Leeds and the other Humans in the clanhold lived over a hundred kilometres from the sea, so the Undead had been driven back over twice that distance.

『If only that were the case. I must regretfully inform you that Rol’en’gorek’s coalition army was unable to stop the Undead advance. The surviving forces have likely retreated to form defensive lines along the border ranges.』

Xoc rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, trying to make sense of his statement. The warrior clans had sent an army of hundreds of thousands, so how could it be that they were defeated at all, never mind so quickly?

“What happened?” She asked, “You sounded so confident when you left the city.”

『We encountered something far more powerful than any Death Knight or Elder Lich. Additionally, there were certain alarming behaviours displayed by the Undead. I’m afraid we’re witnessing the advent of one of the great calamities that occur every century.』

“W-Wait, you mean like the Demon Gods? What are we going to do?!”

“Xoc?” Her father’s voice came from another chamber, “Who are you speaking with?”

“No one!” Xoc replied.

Her eyes widened when her father appeared in the entryway, holding a boulder the size of her head in his paws. He looked around suspiciously.

“Is that so?” He said, “I heard some strange things. Chimali has made a few significant gains recently, so I thought he finally got it into his head that he could come after you.”

Xoc threw her blanket in his face.

『You don’t have to speak aloud, you know…』

How could Saraca hear her if she didn’t speak out loud? How was he even talking to her in the first place? He said it was a Skill, but she didn’t know of any Skill that let people talk from however far away he was. What was the point of having runners if people could do that instead?

Xoc slipped out of her home, just in case she couldn’t figure it out. The cool night wind washed over her as she made her way to the back of the pyramid.

“Are you still there?” She whispered.

『Yes. The Demon Gods of your history may have been a Calamity, but the Calamities are varied in their manifestations. By and large, they seem to act as they appear.』

“What does that mean?” Xoc asked.

『For instance, we had a Calamity that brought powerful Elves many centuries ago. They acted as feral Humanoids tend to, revelling in their power and using it to overturn the world’s order. Countless civilisations around the world were left in ruins by their madness.』

She didn’t know what Elves were, but they sounded like horrible creatures.

“So what does that mean for us? We can’t possibly survive against something as powerful as the Demon Gods!”

『The Demon Gods of your history seemed monstrous by nature from what our research could uncover. This may sound strange, but you may be fortunate that this Calamity is Undead.』

“How can that be? The Undead are the enemies of all life, aren't they?”

『They are. However, they dwell in their own realm of existence and how they broadly behave is dictated by the rules of that existence. I believe that they will consume the Draconic Kingdom, but they won’t advance on Rol’en’gorek until they’ve done so.』

“But they will attack us, right?”

『Eventually. But the Undead do not have the desires of the living and thus do not enact conquests for the same reasons. As a whole, they transform the realms of life into realms of undeath. Once the Draconic Kingdom becomes a new Undead ‘kingdom’, you can expect them to move again. This isn’t a guarantee, however. To that end, I have some advice for the warrior clans.』

“What is it?”

『Do not provoke the Undead in the Draconic Kingdom if you can help it. I’m on my way back to the Confederacy to report what has happened to my government. A Calamity is a threat that the entire world must face together. It may take years for us to muster the appropriate response, but, rest assured, I shall return.』

She felt whatever it was that allowed them to communicate came to an end. Her chest rose as she took in a deep breath, staring up at the starry sky as she released a deep sigh.

He didn’t even ask how I was doing.

It couldn’t be helped, considering the magnitude of the threat that faced the world. The progress of a tiny clan in an unknown jungle on the fringes of the world was an insignificant concern by comparison.

“Enxoc, is everything alright?”

Her father appeared at the base of the pyramid, looking up at her with eyes full of concern. How much had he heard? Was there even any point in letting everyone know? For the first time, she thought she could sympathise with the way that the warrior clans did things.

“It looks like we’ll be sending that gift to nar Ki’ra sooner rather than later,” she replied. “I need to send a message along with it.”

“A message? What happened?”

“Things in the Draconic Kingdom didn’t go as well as everyone hoped,” Xoc said. “Honestly, I’m not even sure if I should tell anyone.”

“Do the warrior clans know about it?” Her father asked.

“It’s hard to imagine that they don't,” Xoc said. “An army that large can’t just hunt as they go – and I don’t think they can eat the Undead, anyway – so they need a constant stream of supplies fed to them from Rol’en’gorek. The ships would have returned with the news or the Council would have noticed them never coming back.”

“Then it should be for the best that we also maintain our silence, shouldn’t it? If only to avoid the wrath of the Council.”

She didn’t like the idea of hiding something so important from her people, but she supposed that her father voiced the prudent course of action.

Sleep was out of the question with her mind occupied by the new information dropped onto her lap by Saraca, so she decided to take a stroll around the clanhold. Save for the Human district on the second terrace, it was about as busy as it was during the day. Those who preferred being active at night mostly operated as their daytime counterparts did with the main exception being that there were no Human foremen or artisans around.

The cheers of spectators drew Xoc to one of the ball courts, where a pair of Ocelo warriors faced off against one another. She picked out the voice of one Ocelo in particular as he worked the crowd.

“Four to three for Taulatl! Get–”

“Chimali?”

“Oh, hi.”

“Don’t ‘hi’ me! You’ve turned one of the training grounds into a fighting pit!”

“Me?”

She sent a withering look at the smaller male. The people crowding around trying to place their bets prudently vacated the space between them.

“What’s the harm in it?” Chimali asked as he waved a pad of paper in his paw, “You tested your mettle as a warrior in the fighting pits as well. Entertainment is also sorely needed, especially in times like these.”

“You should have asked me about this first,” Xoc said. “And I don’t think Master Leeds is teaching you how to read and write so you can keep track of bets.”

“Master Leeds encourages me to seek opportunities for business in every situation,” Chimali said. “No one present takes any issue, either. We’ve even discussed new sorts of matches to keep things fresh. After this match, there will be another that you may be interested in.”

It wasn’t as if the city prohibited gambling and she couldn’t make up rules on the spot, so she settled grumpily onto the nearest bench. The match between the two Ocelo wasn’t much different from a novice bout in the fighting pits, which didn’t help to improve her mood.

We’re trying to train new warriors, but almost all of our best warriors are out protecting our caravans and the trading outpost…

As she feared, her clan had reached the limit of what they could sustain in terms of security. At least if they only deployed passable combatants. She needed to figure out how to fix the shortage without making them appear weak to their neighbours.

“So,” Xoc said after Chimali finished settling his bets, “what’s this new type of match you wanted me to see?”

“Group battles!” Chimali replied.

“Group battles?” Xoc wrinkled her nose, “The fighting pits already had those.”

“Ah, but they were more like exhibition bouts,” Chimali said. “We never saw them past beginner ranks. For these group battles, there will be a proper format and advanced matchups.”

She had to admit that she was intrigued. The ‘group’ matches in the fighting pits were haphazard affairs where novices were just mashed together to serve as an appetiser for the main events. The teams weren’t even fair, and, more often than not, one was just as likely to be injured by an ally as they were by an opponent.

“What did you have in mind?” Xoc asked.

“For now,” Chimali answered, “it’s teams of six with one member of each race. No one really knows what will happen.”

“What made you come up with this idea?”

“Hmm…it just happened? Last week, we were talking about how dead the fighting pits were these days and how people are crowding into them for shelter instead. Somewhere along the way, I thought ‘Hey, why don’t we just open our own fighting pit?’ That makes us the owners, too, so we can arrange things however we like.”

“Not recreating the fighting pits,” Xoc said. “These group matchups.”

“It just made sense. Our clan is a strange one – I’m not even sure we can call ourselves ocelo Pa’chan before long. We’re a true clan of the city: one whose members belong to every race in Rol’en’gorek. Since you’re trying to include everyone, then we could hardly exclude anyone.”

“As usual, you’re being slippery with your words. That’s fine when it’s just us, but you’re doing so much more now. Strangers will misinterpret your intentions, you know?”

“In a fighting pit?” Chimali laughed, “I doubt they’ll have as much to complain about as they did with the old ones.”

Out on the court, the two groups of warriors had assembled. All of them had started their training within the last week. They looked far from certain about what to do, but at least that applied to both groups.

Xoc motioned for them to begin their match. She felt that she had no choice but to let Chimali go ahead with his scheme, lest she discourage others from trying to explore the new possibilities that came with her new, mixed clan. Master Leeds spoke of lords having the tendency to stifle innovation and progress, so she wanted to avoid doing so whenever possible.

The two groups spread out into loose ‘formations’ – it was more an unconscious result of their wariness – as they sized up their opponents. Xoc wondered how long it would go on for, especially since the novice felid Beastman warriors would experience a great deal of confusion facing multiple targets.

Eventually, the Lup and Gao in each group paired up. She should have expected that. Each pair went to the flanks, rushing the unfortunate warrior closest to them. On one side, a Con was bowled over while she was still paralysed with indecision. On the other, the Ocelo being targeted managed to snap out of his indecision and sprinted away. Laughter rose around the court as sheer chaos broke out.

This is crazy. Xigaoli had a massive advantage against us.

Without the requisite training to overcome their nature, Xoc’s warriors would have surely succumbed not only to Xigaoli’s overwhelming numbers, but also to the natural pack tactics of the Gao. Ocelo Pa’chan was still a long way off from being a true warrior clan.

The Nar and Urmah on both sides lunged, grappling with one another in a contest of raw strength while the Gao and Lup pairs moved to sweep up their remaining loose opponents. Roars from the crowd encouraged the match’s conclusion, then fell still as one of the Urmah seemed to lose all of his strength and fell over.

“Ah–he came back,” Xoc said.

Behind the Urmah was the Ocelo who had been chased away at the beginning of the match. Sneaking back once everyone’s attention was drawn to other parts of the fight, he landed a surprise attack on the preoccupied Urmah, instantly felling him. In the shocked silence, he pivoted to get the opposing group’s Nar, as well.

The cheers resumed as the sudden victory sunk in. In the confusion of the group match, one of the basics of battle had been disregarded: never let an Ocelo get behind you. Naturally, the mostly-Ocelo crowd loved it.

No, that one Lup-Gao pair purposely targeted the opponent’s Ocelo for the same reason. In a battle like this, it’s easier for everyone to play according to their advantages.

“Make sure you have mystics available whenever these matches happen,” Xoc told Chimali. “I don’t want any injuries interfering with their regular work. A cut of the fighting pit’s proceeds should go to pay them, as well.”

“The competitors, or the mystics?”

“Both.”

“Eh…”

Xoc flicked her ear as Chimali put on a dismayed expression. The measures had probably washed away most of his profits.

“What in the names of all the hells is going on here?”

The groggy voice of Master Leeds sounded from behind her. Xoc turned to find the rare sight of the Guildmaster out of his uniform.

“Chimali started a fighting pit,” Xoc said. “Did you come out to watch?”

“No, we thought a war had broken out,” Master Leeds yawned. “Do you plan on doing this every night?”

“Sorry,” Xoc lowered her ears. “I’ll have them move somewhere that won’t disturb you.”

“We can take over the old fighting pit once the clan expands across the river,” Chimali said. “Until then…hmm, can something temporary be built?”

Master Leeds examined the court and its surroundings.

“If all you need is simple, temporary seating,” he said, “it would be good practice for our carpenters’ Apprentices. They’ll have to be paid for their labour and materials, of course.”

“Eh…”

Chimali turned a pleading look at Xoc.

“The fighting pit is useful for the clan, right? Right?”

“If the clan builds the fighting pit,” Xoc said, “then it’s the clan’s operation.”

A quiet sigh left Chimali. Xoc brought Master Leeds away from the court and back toward the Human section of the second terrace. Dozens of them were standing outside of their homes, but they returned to bed as soon as they learned what the noise had been all about.

“Master Leeds,” she asked, “how long will it be until our shipment of equipment for nar Ki’ra is ready?”

“I was under the impression that we weren’t in a hurry to get it done,” the Guildmaster answered. “Our Leatherworkers have been busy making equipment for Ocelo Pa’chan’s forces and we’ve been setting aside one in five for nar Ki’ra. Did something happen that requires we send the shipment sooner?”

Xoc examined the Human as he walked alongside her. Was it prudent to let him know about what happened in the Draconic Kingdom? The efforts of the Humans in her clanhold were mostly for the sake of their homeland, so how would their behaviour change in light of the new information? If her people were no longer trying to rid the Draconic Kingdom of the Undead, would the Humans stop putting so much effort into building up Ocelo Pa’chan?

No, I can’t hide this from them. They made it clear that their loyalties still lie with their Queen. The longer I keep this from them, the worse the reaction will be when they finally find out.

She waited until they reached the privacy of the Merchant Guild office before speaking.

“I spoke with Saraca a few hours ago,” she said. “He was using some sort of Skill that allows him to communicate over long distances. The Undead forces were stronger than anyone could imagine and he believes our surviving forces were pushed back to the jungle border. He said that another Calamity has come – something like the Demon Gods, except this time the Undead. Saraca is on his way back to the Beastman Confederacy to form a new coalition army to fight them. I…I’m sorry. About your home, I mean.”

The Guildmaster bit his lip, looking down at the stone floor as a profound silence fell upon them. As she had suspected, the fall of the Draconic Kingdom would affect her clan’s relationship with the Humans in their midst.

“Did Saraca say that they were similar in power to the Demon Gods, or stronger than them?”

“Um…I don’t think he knows how strong the Demon Gods were. He didn’t stress anything about their power compared to the Undead. Why?”

“It has something to do with the Dragon Lords,” Master Leeds said. “Specifically, they don’t wield their power to influence events in any direct, significant way unless the action is deemed necessary for the protection of the World and the souls that dwell upon it. If that happens, our Queen won’t hesitate to use Wild Magic to wipe out whatever it is that threatens the integrity of the World.”

“…and the Demon Gods weren’t worthy of the Dragon Lords’ ‘direct intervention’?” Xoc’s tail lashed back and forth behind her.

“Apparently not. And they were right, though many may resent them for allowing events to play out as they did. The Demon Gods lay waste to much of the region – including the Draconic Kingdom and Rol’en’gorek – but the Thirteen Heroes eventually rose up to defeat them.”

Xoc couldn’t wrap her head around that. If someone had the power to help, then they should help. Instead, the Dragon Lords seemed content to see entire civilisations burn and countless millions die.

“Anyway,” Master Leeds said. “If you want us to get that shipment ready faster, just give us the word.”

“Really?” Xoc blinked, “So nothing’s changed even with the fall of the Draconic Kingdom?”

“I’m not convinced that it’s the end of the Draconic Kingdom yet,” the Guildmaster said. “But, since you framed it that way…I have a request for the Council.”

“The Council? What is it?”

“Since they’re fighting the Undead, the warrior clans may have brought some of the Draconic Kingdom’s citizens back with them during their retreat. I’d like for them to be delivered to us. We’ve made a comfortable place for our countryfolk here and I’m sure they’ll appreciate being back with their fellow citizens.”

“I can’t promise that they’d agree to that,” Xoc said, “but I can include it in the message.”

“That’s all I ask, Enxoc.”

When dawn arrived, Xoc called the elders together to discuss what she had learned and what they could do about it. Her court, however, took the news with far less fortitude than she expected.

“We’re doomed,” one of them moaned, holding her head in her paws. “The council sent hundreds of thousands of warriors, and they were still defeated! What can we do against that?”

“Have all of the strides we’ve made for the clan in vain?” Another asked.

“What’s the point in trying to build a civilisation if unfeeling monsters can just come around every century to ruin everything?”

Xoc wanted to whimper as the wave of negativity washed over her. Would all of her people react the same way?

“Undead in the west,” another elder said, “Dragons in the east! Savage tribes taking over the north! Even our great mother, Víla, has unleashed her wrath upon us!”

“The world itself has abandoned Rol’en’gorek!”

No heroes to save them; no legends to adore. Born from the ashes of a people forlorn.

Mitra’s haunting, sorrowful strain echoed from the recesses of Xoc's mind. Was this to be their fate? To be cursed to isolation and subjected to the savage whims of the world?

Xoc’s gaze went past the panicking figures of the elders to the freshly refurbished terraces beyond. The restoration of her clanhold wasn’t solely due to the work of her clan. Her eyes went back to the mass of self-pity littering her court.

“SHUT UP!!!” She roared.

The elders shut up.

“What’s the point in making all of that useless noise?” Xoc told them, “Are you going to just wither and die on the spot now? Actually, please go ahead and do that right away if you’re going to – I’m already sick of your wailing.”

“But…but what can we do?”

“We live!” Xoc replied, “You speak as if our lives have already ended, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Rol’en’gorek has been tasked to hold back a great calamity while the world rallies to our cause. We fight the Undead, which means we are fighting for life itself! What will the armies of the world say if they arrive and see that we fell to despair and self-pity?”

Silence answered her, but it wasn’t the only answer. Something in her court had stirred at her words. Was it shame, or was it indignation? Either way, she had no more words to waste on the topic.

“Master Leeds.”

“Yes, Enxoc?”

“We can no longer afford to be slow and methodical. Open up recruitment for apprentice artisans and labourers to the parts of the city that we gain control over. Finish the new shipyard as quickly as possible and rebuild the harbour to account for the floodwaters. I want the river trade redirected to ocelo Pa’chan as quickly as possible.”

“What about the rest of the city?”

“Our clan will redistribute supplies to Ghrkhor’storof’hekheralhr. I’ll speak with the gangs while we get everything done – hopefully, they’ll see reason and submit to me as their new lord.”

“And if they don’t?” Patli asked.

“Then they’ll be starved and crushed,” Xoc answered. “Rol’en’gorek cannot afford their kind running free, bleeding their own people dry. To that end, every trading post will also serve as a recruitment and training centre for new warriors. Ghrkhor’storof’hekheralhr must transform into a city that can stand against those who would bring ruin to our jungle.”

“Things are about to get crazy, I guess,” Master Leeds said. “Do you have any other orders for us, Enxoc?”

Xoc looked up to the brightening morning skies. There was one other thing that she was unsure about, but they had to try.

“We need messengers,” she said. “We need to warn the world of the advent of this Calamity. The Jorgulans; the Great Lut; the Red Dragons of the southwest and even the savage tribes of the Worldspine. Rol’en’gorek must hold against the coming darkness, but we do not have to do it alone. So long as I can help it, we will never be alone again.”