ACT III: Solarius, the Monster Carver Chapter 2: Building an Army
TRIGGER WARNING: Blood and gore, and suggestive themes ahead.
"Momma?" The young prince climbed the steps of his parents' tower one dark and rainy night. A frightening noise had stirred the boy from his peaceful slumber. At first, he thought it might have been thunder in the distance, but after no lightning had flashed, he had grown suspicious. As he continued onward, he called out to his mother, hoping to hear her voice in reply. But once he reached the wooden door, he saw a dark red liquid seeping out from behind.
Lizardmen; a vile and devious species of monster, hated even among other monsters. Solarius gazed into the yellow eyes of the beast that had finished feasting upon his mother's flesh. "MOMMA!" He cried out in anguish.
The cry echoed around the castle, prompting five guards to storm into their king's chambers. "Your majesty! Are you alright?"
Solarius rubbed his hand over his face, wiping the icy droplets of perspiration from his skin. As his gaze shifted to the window, the moonlight reflected in the glass. Many years had passed since Solarius inherited the family scepter, and the warrior king still suffered from that dreadful memory. Eventually, his breath had steadied enough for him to dismiss his guards.
Disinterested in sleep, he threw away his covers and moved to his desk. The spellbook was soon opened up to his chapter, and his teacher rose out from the pages. "Good evening, Indexia." He murmured, tiredly.
"Good evening, m'lord." She bowed, in reply. "Another nightmare, Solarius?"
"Yes, Indexia…"
"Is it the same nightmare, or were there any alterations?"
"No, Indexia. It's the same." He sighed. "It's always the same. Is Hekapoe awake?"
"At this hour? I would imagine so."
"Please, give him a call on the mirror for me."
"As you wish."
Soon enough, the magic mirror displayed the interior of the Eternal Forge. Hekapoe dipped a pair of newly crafted scissors into the quench tank before acknowledging the call. "You rang, your majesty?"
"I want the Commission to assemble the delegation at my war room tomorrow. It is time to address what we will do about the monster hordes. We will meet at dawn."
"As you command, King Solarius." Hekapoe bowed. "Anything else?"
"No, that will be all. Thank you, Hekapoe." With that, Solarius ended the call and returned to his bed.
"Additionally, sire, you have an incoming call from your father." Indexia chirped.
"... just ignore it." Solarius grunted, and went back to sleep.
The next day, every representative from the smaller kingdoms of Mewni had been assembled early in the morning. The Spiderbites, the Waterfolk, the Jaggy Mountains, the Pony Heads, and even the princess of the Underworld waited patiently for their king to arrive. At last, Solarius entered the war room last, taking his seat among the others. His clothing consisted of an enchanted leather armor that would protect him in battle. For a moment, the room was devoid of all sound.
It wasn't until Solarius' eyes landed on the Spiderbites' chair that he spoke up. "Warner Spiderbite." He said. "I was expecting either my sister or step-brother to attend."
"Sorry to disappoint, your majesty." The baron replied, trying not to sound offended. "But given that this is a matter of war, I offered to come in place of my nephew."
"Very well." The king nodded. "Now, ladies and gentlemen of Mewni… I have gathered you all here to discuss my plans for a war against the monsters." The gathered delegates screamed, hysterically. Some of them got up on the table, others were frantically running around the room. No king had ever remotely suggested declaring war against the monster hordes. Solarius observed their reactions; he saw the fear in their eyes.
"Shoot him!" Fineas Dilute of the Waterfolk cried out.
"Cut out his tongue!" Rafael Johansen added.
"Shoot him and cut out his tongue!" Hekapoe suggested, gleefully, treating the situation like a game. "Then shoot his tongue!"
"Order! Order! I said, order!" Solarius struck the rod of his scepter against the floor, trying to quiet down the room. "Now, I understand your fears, but with our combined strength, we have a chance!"
"We don't need to attack the monsters!" Baron Spiderbite voiced his concerns. "The mystic barrier will keep them away from our kingdoms!"
"Yes." Solarius growled at the baron's cowardice. "The barrier will protect the kingdoms, but what about the villages outside the barrier? What about them, huh? It our duty - my duty - to protect the people of Mewni! And that's not easy when the rest of you insist on cowering in these safe places!"
"But my liege-"
"SILENCE!" Solarius angrily ordered the king of the Pony Heads to bite his tongue. Once the gathered leaders settled down, the magical king calmed himself. "Now, I do not want you to think that I have not thought this through. Indexia told me of Mewni's past. Before the kingdom was as big as it was today, the monster's mostly resided in the Forest of Certain Death. It wasn't until two centuries ago that those wretched beasts started raiding expansionists, prompting King Gryphon to build the barrier around the major kingdoms.I plan to build an army. One powerful enough to force the monsters back into the Forest of Certain Death!"
"Begging your pardon, my king." Duchess Onyx of the Jaggy Mountains politely raised her hand. "As you are all well aware, my people are one of the only three kingdoms not protected by the magic barrier, the other two being the Cloud Kingdom which resides in the sky, and the Underworld. My castle and my people are protected by the heavy mountain terrain. But every three seasons, we send out a trade drive into the other kingdoms to stock up for winter supplies. And every time the assigned group makes this journey, they fall under siege, losing half of the supplies and at least one person. Multiple times, we have tried to fend off the attacks, but none of us have ever had proper training or weaponry. What chance could we have now, while the monsters still outnumber us?"
Solarius smiled and leaned back in his seat. "Milo? Could you come in here, please?" Sure enough, the scrawny Milo Loveberry walked into the war room, dressed in armor two sizes too big. "Please show these delegates the new trick I taught you, squire."
"With pleasure, my king." Milo squatted into a defensive stance and growled, menacingly. The congregation gasped in shock as the weakling's body mass started to expand. Solarius stood up, unveiled a blade, and broke it against his squire's super-dense skin.
"Milo Loveberry, my faithful squire, is but the first of my new army of magically enhanced soldiers for my army." The king explained. "The spell increases his strength, speed, stamina, and courage! He is the perfect soldier!"
"Impressive." Baron Spiderbite spoke up. "But it will take more than one soldier to defeat the entire monster horde."
"I know this." Solarius admitted. "Which is why I will scour the land for more volunteers from each and every kingdom. And I think I know where to start…"
Mewni's Wharf.
"~ Fifty men on a dead man's chest! ~ Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! ~"
The tavern was full of thirty merchant sailors, drinking in celebration from another successful trade deal. Among them was Captain Alphys Gibbs, an ex-captain from the royal navy. Her hostility towards monsters often caused her to act irrationally when faced with a raiding party, putting the members of her crew at risk. She was discharged from service, and forced to turn to commercial exploits in order to maintain custody of her father's ship.
"~ Drink and the Devil had done for the rest! ~ Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!~" She laughed, swallowing the bitter liquid.
Suddenly, the tavern's door flung open, and the patrons fell deathly silent. Alphys giggled and took a seat in the corner of the establishment, inviting her old friend to sit with her. "... your majesty." She greeted.
"Captain." He replied. "I need your help."
"What you need is a drink." She slurred. "Hey! Hogwash!"
"It's Hogwise!" The bartender corrected, irritably.
"Whatever! Send over two more cups of mead!" She turned away from the owner to face her ruler. "Oh, yeah, you want anything?"
"Stump, Alphys." Solarius sighed. "I need your help in looking for soldiers for a new army. I'm leading a crusade against the monster horde."
"Then you're a dead man." She snorted. "No one in their right mind would follow the son of a bureaucrat into battle. You'd have better luck trying to breed a shark with a seal."
"So what?" the king scoffed. "I should just give up? Wallowing in self-pity and booze?"
"Watch it." She growled.
"Alphys, I… I can't do this on my own." He pleaded. "You have connections that would jumpstart my quest to build an army. And of course, I'd be willing to pay you handsomely for your efforts. I could even give you your rank in the navy back! Together, we can create a world where no child will ever have to witness their loved ones being killed by those savages ever again!"
Alphys groaned and leaned back in her seat, considering his offer. But before she could reply, a commotion stirred outside. Solarius reached for his scepter, only to watch Alphys draw her musket pistol and bolt out the door. It turns out, the citizens outside were being harassed by four monsters. A size-shifter led two frogmen and a kappa on a raid, terrorizing the merchants in the process.
"Halt, beasts!" Solarius drew the monsters' attention as two of his guards joined him. "You are trespassing on this land and in kingdom of my forefathers! Leave now, or there will be trouble!"
"Pitiful Mewman." The size-shifter snarled. "This land was never yours. Your kind stole it from us. And now, my spies tell us that you plot to wipe us out. We will not let that happen. Kill them all!"
"Wait a minute!" Alphys spoke up, causing both brigades to freeze in place. "Wait a minute. I'm sorry, just… let me see if I understand this, correctly. You will fight against them, they will fight against you, all on account of him wanting to kill him? I say, let them fight each other! While the rest of us just sit back, watch, have a drink, and place some wagers! Eh? Eh?"
"Enough talk!" The size-shifter growled, picking up Alphys. "You will all die!"
Acting quickly, Solarius struck a pressure point in the shifter's arm, forcing it to release the sea captain, who easily gunned down the kappa. The two guards fearlessly engaged the frogmen in an full frontal attack. The captain rose to her feet and fired her remaining ammunition at the backside of the size-shifter while Solarius kept it distracted.
His mystic axe made short work of the wooden club, and the monster was now unarmed. It tried to use its own claws and fangs to tear apart its enemy, but it proved to be a useless effort against the combined efforts of the king and the sea captain. Solarius decided to finally end the conflict and cast a powerful firebolt spell that incinerated the beast before turning to check on Alphys.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah. So, about that army?"
The duo beamed with pride, listening to the citizens sing their praises.
Mewman Sea.
Needless to say, after Solarius' display of his own might, countless citizens throughout Mewni had volunteered to become Solarian Warriors. But the war had only just begun. Jeshica and the Magical High Commission were placed in charge of diplomatic exploits, while Milo was given a small army to patrol villages outside of the magic barrier.
As for Solarius, himself; he opted to accompany Alphys and her fleet on a year-long mission to reclaim the monster-occupied islands above the Waterfolk Kingdom. Being the chivalrous ruler that he was, Solarius paid his friend in advance and even provided her with a replacement ship while her father's was being repaired. Best of all, he reinstated her as an official captain of the royal navy, christening her Alphys "The Worthy."
The moonlight reflected off of the surface of the water on the first night of their voyage, much to Solarius' enjoyment. However, he didn't have much time to enjoy the scenery, as Alphys invited him into her room later that night. The sea captain locked the door behind her before moving to close the curtain on her window. "Alphys?" Solarius spoke in an oblivious tone.
"I just wanted to thank you, my king." She smiled, softly. "After all, you did rescue me. You deserve a reward." While she joined him on the bed, she shrugged off her heavy coat and unbuttoned her blouse.
The young king blushed, brightly. "W-what are you doing?"
"Oh, I don't know." She replied, slyly; untying her corset, now. "What am I doing?"
As the space between them grew smaller, Solarius' inhibitions melted away. Their lips joined in a deep, passionate kiss before she pinned him to the bed. Upon contact with the satin covers, the king's mind snapped back to reality. "No!" He protested, pushing her off of him. "I-I'm sorry, Alphys. You're a very beautiful woman. But you should know that I have no interest in taking a queen."
"What a coincidence; I have no interest in becoming one." She replied. Her ruler looked confused; uncertain of how to process the information. The older woman couldn't help but giggle at his naivety. "Stump behold, Solarius. I'm not asking you to marry me. I just want to show you how a sailor has a pleasant evening. And if you show me a better evening… perhaps I can extend the time my crew is in your service."
The warrior king smiled, hungrily. "The things I do for Mewni."
One Year Later...
Jeshica felt elated. She had successfully negotiated a treaty with the Underworld's army, and now her little brother was returning from the Waterfolk isles. "Oh, boy! Oh, boy! Oh, boy!" She squealed with joy, bouncing up and down on the docks. "My little brother is coming home! I wonder what he'll look like."
A few minutes later, Alphys' ship docked and the High Commission bowed in respect. Jeshica rushed up onto the ship's deck at first sight of her favorite relative, wrapping him in her arms. But her excitement faded away at the sight of his nervous expression.
"Aheh, uh, Jeshica?" The King of Mewni was drenched in sweat as he smiled, nervously. "My dear, darling sister. Have I told you how much I love you?"
Jeshica felt a knot forming in her chest. Not even when fighting monsters three times his size did her little brother look so scared. "What did you do?"
Solarius gulped hard and stepped away from the boat, helping Alphys onto the dock. To contrast the king, the sea captain was blissfully smiling, carrying something wrapped in swaddling cloth. Upon closer inspection, the knot in Jeshica's chest disappeared as her heart melted at the beautiful sight. A small baby with shining purple eyes, a curl of green hair, and dual purple spades on his cheeks shifted in his mother's arms.
"Muh… muh… meep…" Jeshica was at a loss for words. It was the most gorgeous baby she had ever seen.
"Jeshica…" Solarius finally relaxed. "Allow me to introduce you to your nephew; Eclipsine."
To Be Continued!
Author's Notes: In the Magic Book of Spells, Solaria's armor appears to be based on leather gladiator armor. As a personal touch, I like to picture Solarius as more of a Viking. Leather under armor for mobility and a few metal plates for protection. His chest still has the heart-shaped crest, though.