Ar’Zul

THE STORM THAT CHANGED THE PLAN

Deep beneath the Hollow, where the roots of the ancient trees twisted through the stone like the bones of buried giants, the Serpent King stood over a table of black rock.

The ancient text lay open before him.

A single blue symbol had been discovered carved into the wall of a forgotten tunnel.

The symbol of the Tide Stone.

The chamber was silent except for the steady sound of water.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Around the table stood his three most trusted advisors:

Veyra, the Keeper of Venoms, her silver hair braided with snake bones and her clouded left eye fixed upon the ancient markings.

Narek, the War Master, broad and heavily scarred, with a deep scar running across his mouth.

And Sura, the Shadow Seer, whose serpent-skull mask rested against her hip as she studied the symbols.

The Serpent King placed his hand over the blue marking.

“Another clue.”

Narek frowned.

“A clue to the stone?”

The Serpent King nodded.

“The first marking told us the Tide Stone was connected to the three territories.”

He pointed toward the new symbol.

“This one tells us where to look next.”

Sura leaned closer.

“What does it say?”

The Serpent King traced the markings with one clawed finger.

“Not what.”

He slowly turned toward the underground river.

“Where.”

The advisors followed his gaze.

The black water flowed silently through the cave.

Beyond the tunnels lay the ocean.

The endless, impossible ocean surrounding Ar’Zul.

The Serpent King’s eyes narrowed.

“The Tide Stone is somewhere beneath the northern jungle.”

Narek looked toward the darkness.

“The northern jungle is controlled by the Gorilla and Panther clans.”

The Serpent King smiled.

“Then the stone is hidden beneath the land they now believe belongs to them.”

Veyra’s expression darkened.

“And if they find it first?”

The Serpent King looked at her.

“Then we will have no kingdom left to reclaim.”

A deep rumble echoed from somewhere below the cave.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMM.

The water rippled.

The Serpent King stared into the darkness.

Then he turned back to his advisors.

“We must take the Tide Stone.”

Narek’s hand tightened around his weapon.

“Then we attack.”

The Serpent King shook his head.

“No.”

Narek stared at him.

“No?”

“We have already attacked.”

The Serpent King looked around the chamber.

Only a small number of Snake warriors remained.

The rest were dead or imprisoned.

“Our people are scattered. Our warriors are few. The Gorilla Clan and Panther Clan have grown stronger since the battle.”

His eyes narrowed.

“And now they are becoming one.”

Sura slowly nodded.

“The merchant city.”

“Korrakai Crossing,” the Serpent King said.

The town had become the center of trade between the two clans.

More importantly, it had become a symbol.

Gorilla and Panther warriors now defended it together.

The Serpent King stared at the map.

“If we attack their main armies, we lose.”

“If we attack their cities, we lose.”

“If we attack the merchant town directly, we lose.”

Narek frowned.

“Then what do we do?”

The Serpent King leaned over the map.

“We make them fight themselves.”

Silence filled the chamber.

Veyra looked at him.

“How?”

The Serpent King placed several black stones upon the map.

“We do not waste our warriors attacking their strongest points.”

He moved one stone toward Korrakai Crossing.

“We attack the things that force them to respond.”

Another stone.

“Their food.”

Another.

“Their roads.”

Another.

“Their communication.”

Then he placed the final stone beside the merchant city.

“And when their warriors are spread across the jungle…”

His finger touched the map.

“We strike the place where the Tide Stone is hidden.”

Narek slowly understood.

“You want to make the two clans defend everything.”

“Yes.”

“And when they are divided…”

“We take what we came for.”

Sura looked at the ancient text.

“And if the stone is beneath the merchant city?”

The Serpent King’s smile faded.

“Then the city must fall.”

Narek looked at the small number of warriors gathered outside the chamber.

“We do not have enough soldiers to destroy Korrakai Crossing.”

The Serpent King looked toward the darkness.

“Then we will not use soldiers.”

⸻

THE PLATOON OF TWO BLOODS

Two days later, the sun rose over Korrakai Crossing.

The merchant city had grown larger.

More buildings stood along the stone roads.

New bridges connected the jungle paths.

Gorilla and Panther merchants filled the streets.

The sound of trade echoed through the city.

“Fresh mountain herbs!”

“Salt from the western cliffs!”

“Stone tools!”

“Leather!”

“Fruit!”

The city was alive.

And watching over it was a new force.

The Two-Blood Platoon.

It was the first permanent military unit made entirely from both clans.

Gorilla warriors trained beside Panther warriors.

Gorilla strength beside Panther speed.

Gorilla endurance beside Panther precision.

At the center of the training yard stood Doran Stonehand and Mira Nightclaw.

Doran raised his stone gauntlet.

“Again!”

A Gorilla warrior charged a Panther warrior.

The Panther warrior moved aside.

The Gorilla swung.

The Panther ducked.

Then the Gorilla warrior stopped his strike before it connected.

Mira nodded.

“Good.”

Doran looked toward the other warriors.

“You are not fighting your clanmates!”

Mira continued:

“You are learning how to protect them!”

The warriors stood in two lines.

Gorillas.

Panthers.

But the separation was becoming less obvious every day.

Doran looked toward Mira.

“Your warriors are getting stronger.”

Mira glanced at him.

“Your warriors are getting faster.”

Doran grunted.

“Do not tell them that.”

Mira smiled.

Then a horn sounded from the city wall.

HOOOOOOOOOOONK!

Every warrior turned.

A scout came running into the training yard.

“Movement near the northern road!”

Doran immediately raised his hand.

The platoon fell silent.

Mira’s eyes narrowed.

“What kind of movement?”

The scout breathed heavily.

“We do not know.”

Doran looked toward Mira.

Mira looked back.

Then both gave the command together.

“Platoon!”

The warriors stepped forward.

“Move!”

The Two-Blood Platoon formed into a mixed formation.

The Gorilla warriors moved at the front.

The Panther warriors spread along the sides.

Neither clan stood above the other.

They moved as one.

⸻

THE HUNT

Far from the merchant city, Gorak and Kaela moved through the northern jungle.

For once, there were no armies behind them.

No maps.

No council meetings.

No battle plans.

Only the jungle.

Kaela carried a hunting spear.

Gorak carried a shorter one-handed hammer.

His new weapon was smaller than his old war hammer, but it had been designed for his new fighting style.

He still hated it.

Kaela noticed.

“You are staring at it again.”

Gorak looked at the weapon.

“It is too small.”

“You say that every time.”

“It is.”

“You also say that every time.”

Gorak grunted.

Kaela smiled.

They moved through the trees.

Leaves rustled around them.

SHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Birds called in the distance.

KRAAA! KRAAA!

Kaela stopped.

Gorak looked at her.

“What?”

She pointed.

A large animal had moved through the brush.

Kaela smiled.

“Food.”

Gorak looked at the tracks.

“Too small.”

Kaela looked at him.

“You haven’t even seen it.”

“I can tell.”

She sighed.

“You are impossible.”

Gorak looked toward her.

“You invited me.”

“I invited you because you have one arm.”

Gorak raised an eyebrow.

Kaela continued:

“And I wanted to see if you could catch anything.”

Gorak stared at her.

Then he smiled.

“You are becoming more annoying.”

“Your influence.”

They continued deeper into the jungle.

For the first time, the two leaders were not standing across a battlefield.

They were walking together.

Talking.

Laughing.

Learning each other’s habits.

Gorak discovered Kaela became impatient when hungry.

Kaela discovered Gorak became even more stubborn when hungry.

Their bond had grown stronger since the Battle of the Hollow.

Not because they had forgotten their losses.

But because they had begun to understand them.

They had both lost people.

They had both inherited wars.

And they had both finally begun to question the hatred that had ruled their lives.

Kaela stopped suddenly.

Gorak looked at her.

“What now?”

She pointed toward the ground.

Gorak looked down.

His expression changed.

A massive footprint had been pressed into the earth.

It was far larger than any human or clan warrior.

Kaela crouched beside it.

The footprint was nearly twice the length of her forearm.

Gorak slowly lowered himself beside her.

“This is not a normal animal.”

Kaela studied the mud.

The edges of the footprint were still fresh.

Gorak touched the ground.

“Recent.”

Kaela looked toward the north.

The jungle became strangely quiet.

Then—

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAR!

The sound tore through the jungle.

Birds exploded from the trees.

FLAP! FLAP! FLAP!

The ground seemed to tremble beneath them.

Gorak slowly stood.

Kaela rose beside him.

Neither spoke.

The roar had come from the northern jungle.

From somewhere beyond the trees.

Gorak tightened his grip on his weapon.

Kaela looked toward the distant horizon.

Dark clouds were gathering.

A massive storm was forming over the northern ocean.

Lightning flashed within the clouds.

KRAKOOOOOOM!

The thunder arrived moments later.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Kaela stared at the storm.

“That is coming toward us.”

Gorak nodded.

“And whatever made that footprint is moving in the same direction.”

Another distant roar echoed from the north.

This time, it was quieter.

But somehow more frightening.

Kaela looked at Gorak.

“We need to return.”

Gorak frowned.

“We were hunting.”

“We can hunt later.”

He looked toward the storm.

Kaela continued:

“We need to reinforce the main cities.”

Gorak looked at her.

“Both of them?”

“Both.”

She turned toward the direction of the merchant city.

“And Korrakai Crossing.”

Gorak was silent.

Kaela looked at him.

“If this storm is as powerful as it appears, the merchant city will be caught between the jungle and the ocean.”

Gorak nodded slowly.

“Then we reinforce all three.”

Kaela looked toward the dark horizon.

“And we find out what is coming.”

⸻

THE SERPENT KING’S PLAN CHANGES

Deep beneath the Hollow, the Serpent King stood over his map.

Narek entered the chamber.

“The plan is ready.”

The Serpent King looked up.

“Tell me.”

Narek pointed toward the map.

“We destroy the northern supply roads first. Then we attack the outer settlements. When the Gorilla and Panther warriors move to defend them, we strike Korrakai Crossing.”

The Serpent King nodded.

“And the Tide Stone?”

“Our scouts believe the next clue lies beneath the northern jungle.”

The Serpent King looked toward the map.

The northern jungle.

The merchant city.

The two clan capitals.

His plan had been built around division.

Make the Gorilla and Panther clans spread their forces.

Make them defend multiple locations.

Then strike where they were weakest.

But now…

Kaela and Gorak were reinforcing all three locations.

The two clans were not dividing.

They were uniting.

The Serpent King slowly tightened his fist.

Narek noticed.

“What is wrong?”

The Serpent King stared at the map.

“The storm.”

Narek looked toward him.

“What does the storm have to do with our plan?”

The Serpent King turned toward the underground river.

The water was moving faster.

SPLASH.

SPLASH.

SPLASH.

Then came the sound.

A distant rumble beneath the earth.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMM.

The Serpent King looked toward the darkness.

The ancient creature beneath the ocean had begun to move.

He slowly turned back toward the map.

“The storm was not part of the plan.”

Narek frowned.

“Then we wait.”

The Serpent King shook his head.

“No.”

His eyes narrowed.

“The storm changes everything.”

The northern jungle was where the next clue to the Tide Stone had been found.

The northern jungle was now where the storm was forming.

The massive footprints had been discovered there.

The roar had come from there.

And the creature beneath the ocean was beginning to stir.

The Serpent King slowly smiled.

“Perhaps the storm is not a complication.”

Narek stared at him.

“What do you mean?”

The Serpent King looked toward the ancient text.

“Perhaps it is an opportunity.”

⸻

THE THREE LEADERS

By nightfall, Gorak and Kaela had returned to the city.

Doran and Mira met them at the main gate.

Kaela pointed toward the northern sky.

“Reinforce the walls.”

Doran looked at the storm.

“How bad?”

Kaela answered:

“We do not know.”

Mira immediately turned to the platoon.

“Double the patrols.”

Doran raised his stone gauntlet.

“Secure the food stores.”

Mira continued:

“Move civilians away from the lowest areas.”

Doran:

“Reinforce the bridges.”

Mira:

“Prepare the healers.”

The Two-Blood Platoon moved immediately.

Gorilla and Panther warriors worked side by side.

They carried wood.

Stone.

Rope.

Food.

Weapons.

The city prepared for the coming storm.

Gorak stood beside Kaela on the wall.

Below them, Doran and Mira commanded the mixed platoon.

Kaela watched the two clans working together.

“Look at them.”

Gorak nodded.

“They trust each other now.”

Kaela looked at him.

“Not completely.”

Gorak glanced toward her.

“But enough.”

Kaela smiled faintly.

“Enough is a beginning.”

A flash of lightning illuminated the northern horizon.

KRAKOOOOOOM!

The storm was closer now.

The ocean began to rise.

Far beyond the city…

something enormous moved beneath the waves.

And beneath the Hollow…

the Serpent King looked down at the ancient map.

His original plan had been to divide the Gorilla and Panther clans.

But the storm was forcing them closer together.

The two clans were reinforcing one another.

The merchant city was becoming stronger.

And the creature beneath the ocean was beginning to awaken.

The Serpent King slowly looked toward the darkness.

“If I cannot divide them…”

His eyes narrowed.

“…then perhaps the storm will.”

Another roar echoed beneath the earth.

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAR!

The flames in the Snake chamber flickered.

The water surged.

And above the jungle, the northern storm swallowed the moon.

To be continued