Morte wasn't the only rising recruit among the Golden Lions. When Agan ran away from the Bacchitav Caravan with Morte, he had not imagined they would join a motley pack of Feral-slayers. It was an absurd notion, going with a bunch of rash rebels as they crossed the sand sea looking for trouble. But in the end Morte convinced him to come and Agan had since made the best of his time with the Lions. Like Sand Tribe compatriot Agan had earned a nickname too, the Green-and-Red title was bestowed after his first raid. He was a decent fighter to be sure; not nearly the warrior the Scarlet Plague was, but tough enough to earn Karna's favor. Where Agan truly excelled though, was in his wit on the sand sea.
"We're going to need someone in the crow's nest at night. Pictus Rex and his sharks like to patrol these dune-waves after dark and those Ferals will be able to smell the blood on deck a mile away." Agan reported to Karna. The chief Lion nodded the readied several men for different night shifts and cleaning duties. "What's that smell? That had better not be someone cooking in the galley. If there's a fire for the stove after sunset that will make a fine beacon to give away our position. And would someone please take care of the gears on the starboard side, they're screeching like a wounded Sand Whale! We have got to make sure all gears run smoothly…"
As Agan continued with maintaining the ship Karna noticed a certain large sword near the bow. Morte had helped clean for most of the afternoon and was taking a break by watching the sunset. At least that what it looked like she was doing, truly the Scarlet Plague was raring to face her next foe.
While it was sunset on the Spring Isle, the grand clocks of Galoa on the Autumn Isle had not yet chimed for the eleventh hour of the morning. Lacertus fully ignored the song of his masterpiece as his gargantuan clock hit the hour. He was too busy laying out the pictures of the remaining beast lords.
"Porcus is another harmless one though I certainly wouldn't mind if that pompous, snaggletoothed boar was carved up for the worms. On second thought I'll put him with Elephus and the wolf puppy." Three categories had formed on the reptile lord's desk; one was the harmless pile, a second which Porcus had been added to were minor irritations to be eliminated, and the final group consisted of high priority threats who Lacertus would have to be absolutely sure to slay. In that third set were Serpens Rex, a scaly master of manipulation and Aquila Rex, the war hungry eagle king. The only reason Lacertus considered that monger Aquila a notable hazard worth concern was due to the large bird's fortress being close by in Mechto. Serpens was a priority because she was a bright snake, no where near the genius of Lacertus, but smart enough to recognize what the sudden absence of both beast and Primal Lords meant. Even worse were her hypnotic powers. Lacertus had crossed out many candidates on account of the pesky cobra's mastery of mind control. The crocodile lord turned his attention to a new portrait.
"I nearly forgot Pictus. The shark with a hero complex; be it through war or a great peace treaty your greatest dream is to be remembered in history for ending our troubles with humans. Unfortunately for you Pictus, I cannot allow any compromise with those lowly creatures, nor can I let you become an idol among our ranks. Like Aquila you must be eliminated before your so-called heroic actions interfere with my plans." Lacertus said as he added the shark to his high priority list. Of course, it would be easy to trick that glory-lusting fish to his doom if needed. The same could not be said of the final two beast lords.
"That sounds great!" the Scarlet Plague leapt up in glee. Karna had just informed the Golden Lions of their upcoming battle.
"Are you kidding me Mort? The plan sounds like a great way to get all of us killed! Taking on squads of ferals is one thing but assassinating Aries Rex? Let's be reasonable here, that's a full blown beast lord we're talking about." Agan pointed out.
"Don't be such a coward Agan; that little lamb is no match for me."
"Little lamb? More like a gargantuan, ill-tempered ram Mort. Even if you are a match for that big horned monster, Aries Rex has an army of feral soldiers too."
"Which is why we, the great Golden Lions, are going to kill that oppressive beast lord while he is at the Spring Isle. Aries Rex lost his castle and much of his army when half the Winter Isle was swallowed up by the sand sea. Right now he's docked at the top of the Spring Isle to repair his ship thanks to a little sabotage on my friend's part. As soon as repairs are done he'll go to Viteau to recruit more Ferals. If we can catch Aries Rex before he makes it to Viteau the beast lord won't have much of an army to protect him. With Morte on our side we're sure to win!" Karna roared out, proudly rallying his Golden Lions at the same time.
"No, no way, I'm not going. Just give me a Sand Rider and I'll find my way to the coast. I'm not staying on this doomed cargo vessel if you intend to take on Aries Rex's war ship." Agan said putting on his hat with full intention to leave. It was too late for the whip-toting recruit. Just as the Green-and-Red rookie was going below deck he heard a surprised cry from the crow's nest.
"Light off the port bow! It's Aries Rex's ship!"
A short list of candidates brave enough and skilled enough for Lacertus Rex's vision had grown even smaller. Only three Feral warriors remained at this point. There was a fierce black cougar-Feral who was probably the best suited for the fighting needed. Next an Ursu Minor mercenary currently working for Felis Rex on the Zifnir had the skill and the will to work with a human, for the right price, that Lacertus wanted. The crocodile had one other candidate, an exceptional fox-tailed warrior who had earned the title of Tempest Avis with her mighty dragon-like pet the Jade Wing. They all had what it took to slay the Primal Lords according to the backgrounds Lacertus had painstakingly researched. However, against the last two beast lords, these mighty champions fell short.
"Aries the legendary ram without a home. No self-respecting fighter would challenge you for the sake of my grand scheme. If only you had not gained so much favor from your fellow warriors." Lacertus grumbled as he put Aries Rex's picture in his high priorities. That made ten of the twelve beast lords not counting Lacertus himself. "Noctus." the reptile ruler hissed loud and low. "The absolute bane of my great vision. As the most senior beast lord you will not accept change and for that your rule must end before my rise. For this I need a great fighter who can conquer your dreaded labyrinth of painful memories. These warriors are not fit for that task. Noctus, you decrepit, miserable old owl, are the greatest obstacle to conquer. Grr, where can I find a champion with no regrets?"
The pale blue glow of moon and starlight combined with the orange blaze of lanterns bouncing off silver blades made for a spectacular dazzle on Aries Rex's ship. Roars and bleats and battle cries filled the air. Golden Lions tore into Feral soldiers with their blades. Claws, fangs, spears and hammers countered. Every punishing blow, heavy slash and elemental explosion was equaled by another. Karna and his Lions were out sized, outnumbered, but not out willed. In the thickest throng of the battle Morte moved like a cyclone. Her eyes were ablaze with intense bloodlust. Three, no, four Ferals went down with one furious swing of her behemoth blade. A mace-toting bear attempted to run but Morte had a fire shard ready. As the heat seared the fur on his back the bear tried desperately to douse his burning tail. It was just what Morte needed to catch up.
"Bring it on! I have plenty of destruction for all of you." the Scarlet Plague taunted as she pulled her giant sword out of the defeated enemy's chest. Morte pressed deeper into the chaotic fray. Behind her, Golden Lions were going down though not nearly as fast as the Ferals. Karna and Agan were back-to-back, fighting furiously to keep their ground.
"Where do you think the captain is?" Agan asked Karna as he cracked a whip upon a wolf Feral's face. The Lion leader finished the howling soldier off with his sword.
"Taking his dear time getting out here." Karna replied. A small glint of sweat reflected off his brow. Another wolf Feral wielding a pair of wind-embedded cleavers and a goat-like fighter moved in at Karna and Agan. The Green-and-Red was a step ahead; he threw a large earth-element stone expertly between his foes. With an extra pop from Agan's follow-up grenade, the two enemies were finished.
"I hope the ram hurries up, that was my last element stone. Mort's getting pretty far from us too." the Lion rookie pointed out. As he deflected a set of claws with his shield Karna swiftly took down the blue-dyed bear Feral. Ahead Morte had been cut off from the Golden Lions. This was bad, not for Morte but for Karna's men who needed her support on the starboard flank. Before the Lion commander could order his best warrior back, an immense thunder from hooves beating the deck drew everyone's attention.
"Woohoo! I've been waiting all night for this!" Morte yelled in excitement. It was the battle-tested beast lord, Aries Rex!
Bluetegu: In the library at Galoa it said there were twelve beast lords but I counted only ten. Was Rhia the last beast lord? That had me stumped. So now there's Aries.