"Commander, if I may ask. Why allow the girl to keep the valley?" Anya asked her upon their journey back to Polis.
"Anya, my old friend. Think of her power. Kenari and Lincoln have both witnessed it. She can call the fish to her even change the landscape by asking the Earth to bend to her will. If we made her out enemy and chose to use her power in any of those manners we have already seen? We would have no meat but what of our crops? We do not know if she could effect them from a distance but I would not say it impossible. She could starve us should she choose."
"Would it not make sense to gather our army and kill her now then?" Indra asked this time.
"We already know she can change the landscape of the Earth. What would stop her from simply raising the ground to throw us from our mounts or commanding the trees to attack us when she could command their roots to lift away from the paths she built? No, this way she shall be our ally."
"And if she chooses a mate from another Clan?"
"She cannot. I was rather specific after all. I said she must choose Trikru not a 'grounder' as she and her father call us. She shall be tied to our people. I would not dare take the risk otherwise with the Valley lying between the borders of two other Clans as well." Anya looked at her for a moment before giving a small shiver from her horse.
"The Azgeda prince."
"Yes. Can you imagine if Isis chose to ally with Azgeda? I have no doubt should Queen Nia learn of her power she would attempt to offer her son. Of course there is also Shen of Shallow Valley to the south but despite his immense size and skill as a warrior he is a true ally of Trikru. I also doubt he would hold much interest in someone so young."
Month 5 Week 2, Earth
Queen Nia was furious at the existence of Skaikru and that the child before her held the title Queen of the Sky. She stood at the meeting for the formation of the Coalition and posed her question. "How can this girl and her father be a Clan? There are only two of them. This talk is foolish." Murmurs broke out amongst the Clans.
Isis realizing Queen Nia's plan posed a question of her own. "If a Clan is destroyed down to a single person, does the clan still existence? Does it not still live?"
Another grounder, the future leader of Shallow Valley spoke now. "She is correct. If any of our Clans fell to a single soul it would not matter. The Clan survives through them. Let the first to say otherwise be the one to die out and their land taken."
"Thank you, Shen of Shallow Valley. Regardless, Queen Nia there are plans to communicate with my people in space. Currently we are limited by the materials we hold but we believe that given enough time, perhaps a year or two, we will have everything we need to contact them and have them land on the ground." Isis makes eye contact with each of the Clan leaders. "I have only one worry for this. If my people come down the landing will not be controlled. While they will be able to estimate their landing it is not unlikely that they could land off course should something go wrong."
"You say it can not be controlled. I say your people landing in Azgeda is you declaring war."
"How can I be declaring war when I am telling you far ahead of time that it is a possibility? Further more, when I am about to ask that should such a thing happen that my people either be guided to my territory or that I myself or another I send be allowed to guide them." Queen Nia's eyes narrowed on Isis. The girl is clever but not enough. She opened her mouth to speak but was beaten to it.
"What do you offer to this Coalition?" Another questioned
"In return for the acknowledgement of Skaikru under the condition that the innocent are spared, the Mountain Men will fall."
"Innocent? There are no innocent within the mountain!"
"You are but one girl!"
"Please! Please!" Queen Nia spoke a smirk on her lips. "Let us hear how this little girl plans to do what we and our ancestors could not, alone?"
"I am not alone."
"None of us will allow you access to our warriors so you can lead than to their deaths."
"I never asked for them Queen Nia. I merely said I was not alone. However since there are doubts I shall open with another proposal. Should I succeed not only will Skaikru be acknowledged with me as its leader. I propose since I will be taking on the challenge without the aid of any of your nations and considering that there is no land claimed between the Valley and Mt. Weather that when I succeed Mount Weather also becomes Skaikru land."
Queen Nia burst into laughter. "Go ahead, little girl. I shall await the news of your death!"
"I shall allow it but you have 1 year. Should you succeed where we all have failed and avenge our fallen I will not only acknowledge Skaikru and its Sky Queen but be glad to stand as their ally." Shen spoke.
"I shall second this." Spoke the leader of the Plain Riders also known as Ingranrona (kru).
Murmurs broke out and soon all had agreed that if Skaikru brought down the Mountain then she could claim it and those who were innocent as her own. Though the definition of innocent had brought about another round of arguments until another agreement was made. The innocent would be those beneath the age of 18 and the elderly while all warriors were to be executed for their crimes outside the mountain. In the case of any other that did not fall amongst either of the previous (or warriors who had not left the mountain) she was to be act as a judge and should any prove to be guilty of crimes against the nations, executed.
~Author's Ranting Paragraph Insert~
A/N: I could never get over how many innocent people were killed in Mt. Weather. I understand that they had captured the remaining 100 but there were children, all the people that helped to hide them, and hell you can't say positively that there wasn't a single baby. Are you really telling me that there was no way to section off the residential areas? You can't because we know for a fact that they could seal specific rooms based on Maya being exposed to radiation and being unable to leave the room Jasper and Monty shared with the others. They could have found a way around it (a gate is shown near the scrubber that likely led to the dorms the 100 were being held in and as we know the doors have a lock feature that can be activated from the control room).
But once again Clarke's impulsiveness destroyed any chance of that when she killed Dante (losing any leverage she had gained) instead of simply giving a warning shot (like his leg or arm) and then asked the man whose father she killed to let her people go. She also could have stopped him from talking but let him encourage his son instead. Really Clarke, really? All that was basically asking Cage to kill everyone you love!
"Are you sure about this?" Jake asked his daughter.
"I am. I'll see you soon, Daddy. I promise." She kissed his cheek before leaving, a bag with an expansion charm on her back. "Keep working on getting those heaters to work off the generator and water pumps for those wells. Once I'm back I'll charm them indestructible."
"I love you!" He called as she ran towards the gate.
She turned back a smile on her face. "Love you too! When I get back you'll be father of a Sky Queen." she laughed and he watched as she disappeared into the woods.
"Good luck."
Month 6, Earth
"What's the best way into Mount Weather?" She asked her hands buried into the dirt. The Earth had been tired lately and not nearly as quick to answer her as before. It likely had to do with seeking out those power plants and shielding them. She knew the wards had to go up and build strength but if the Earth kept going at the rate it was, it was going to force itself into a dormant state not unlike the one she remembered her last world had been in. It wasn't wrong and in fact she knew planets tended to do so often but the Earth had only just awakened since the bombings and at this rate it would fall into a long sleep, if not completely lose its consciousness. Are you sure about this? I know you want to have everything done soon but at this rate you'll go dormant permanently. It sent back feelings of acknowledgement and knowing to her bring tears to her eyes as it told her of a path beneath the mountain and warned her of those living within them that had been corrupted. She took a deep breath and continued on.
She followed the path the Earth had given her, leading her deep within what must have been a mine system long ago. It was a mile or so in that she found the most horrifying sight. Bodies thrown haphazardly into a cart likely by the large shoot above it. As she looked within she saw a number of those within were still alive if their light groans of pain and small moves were not them giving out. "Shh. Stay still, I'll be back for you." She cast a cloaking spell over the cart that would prevent anyone without magic (and so anyone not her) from seeing or hearing those within it. It was only seconds later that she saw light from a flame and heard the sounds of grunting and yelping that was quicking drawing nearer. She pressed herself beside the cart knowing that the cloaking spell over herself would not prevent anyone from feeling her presence should they touch her. Large men, some with various disfigurements she had never seen before began to pass her by running and yelping in excitement. What she noticed most though was the blood that covered not only their clothing but their faces as well most noticeably their mouths and the pungent smell of rotting flesh that made her want to gag.
She continued on her path until she came upon a door with a key pad. It was times like this she was glad that she had taken to learning techno-magic. The door unlocked and she was in.
A/N: Shen of Shallow Valley is an OC that will appear now and then Depending on how people like him he may show more often though I don't see it right now. I imagine him to look a lot like Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson in Scorpion King or Hercules.