Chapter 68: Meeting New Faces
Vexana was looking at the audience sitting in front of her. Alice, Lynx and Sayana were sitting in their respective seats and only Yakub was absent. Vexana asked, "What happened to Yakub? Why isn't he present here?" Sayana said, "He is currently in the lower parts of the kingdom. Maybe, Iowkha or Taixun. He said that he is buying some special weapons that were once banned from the kingdom, but right now their availability is necessary."
Vexana said, "Tell Yakub that I don't like people who don't tell me things. If he wants to go and buy things, he should inform me first." Sayana said, "Okay. I will tell him that." Vexana said, "Fine. Now, let me introduce our star of the war. Ms. Alice Cooper. She is the person who is chosen by Mother Manaca to defeat Xao Chang and release the world from his terror and evil. Alice is still a little untrained and might not be the most able warrior amongst us today. But, one day she will indeed become our saviour and fight evil with her tiny hands."
Sayana said, "We know who she is. We all have read about her epic actions in the previous war. So, what's the strategy, guys?" Alice stood up and said, "Since you know me, I won't bore you with my introduction. Kystion is a betrayer and he has not only broken his vows, but also killed many innocent elves for his nefarious and selfish motives. People like him deserve harsh punishment and in the war we will give him one. He and his army of ogres will suffer not only defeat but will also be remembered as the foolish people who died fighting for a wrong motive. Kystion has many dangerous tricks up his sleeve and I won't lie but yes the war will not be clean.
There will be bloodshed from both sides and we will lose our lives, wealth and materials in this war. But, that shouldn't discourage us from fighting for the right cause because if we don't fight for the righteousness, then one day nothing will remain except evil and damnation." Lynx laughed, "Talking is easy, Alice. But, have you ever killed someone in your actual form?" Alice said, "Killing is not the ultimate solution for everyone. But, yes there will be action against those culprits and we will emerge victorious. I don't know if you have read any human books, but there is a very good quotation that "You can never win the war that takes more than it gives. Power is not the amount of guns and bullets one has, but the courage to fight without them." Lynx, I have heard that you were a soldier once but then turned into an assassin because you got married. But, when
Krymon killed your wife and three weeks child, you vowed to finish all the ogres from the kingdom. But, tell me honestly. Do you feel good after killing an ogre who didn't do you any harm and has his own family like you once had?" Lynx said, "I don't know what I feel after killing an ogre. Actually, I don't feel anything at all. After my wife and child's death, I have become emotionless and maybe heartless. I see blood and the blood keeps me alive. You killed Krymon, but I wanted to kill him and avenge my wife and child. Life is like this. It doesn't matter after all." Vexana said, "Such is life. I also wanted to stay non-violent and live a happy and peaceful life with Aliyah, but nothing of that sort happened." Alice said, "Looks like I made everyone too sad." Sayana said, "No. You did the right thing, Alice. Releasing all the sourness and melancholy out of our body will help us better fight against Kystion."
Sayana clapped her hands and said, "Listen up, fellas. Mourn time is over. Let's discuss the plan further." Vexana said, "Kystion is particularly not an easy opponent as he has seen and fought more wars than us. He killed many of our elders and I'm sure most of us have some enmity with him. Kystion has no weaknesses and therefore he is not afraid to lose. He will throw everything at us and after, he unleashed the forbidden ogre magic and created some very horrible creatures out of it. Fighting with him had become more dangerous. I don't want to frighten you guys but most of our men had died in the previous war and the wizards and witches that are alive are pretty much novice. Their magic is nothing in comparison to Kystion's. But, we still have the last option left.
If we manage to retrieve the Purple Mace from him and negotiate with Kappa and take him on our side, then our chances of winning the war will increase significantly. The Purple Mace like the Blood Spear is very volatile and controlling it will be quite difficult for most of us. But, Alice has higher chances in that case. She is the bearer of the Blood Spear and if the Purple Mace even attacks her, she will be able to deflect it and weaken its power. Kappa will definitely appear when there will be an attack on the Purple Mace and then, we have to prove our worth to him and negotiate with him. The plan is that much for now. After, retrieving the Purple Mace, we will make further plans depending on Kappa's decision."
Sayana asked, "I highly doubt that Kystion would keep the Purple Mace far from him. Won't he be keeping it inside his heart as Alice?" Vexana said, "He can't. He is an ogre and moreover, he hasn't achieved the Purple Mace, but has stolen it instead. Kappa hasn't taken any tests nor have they fought. Kystion's only surplus power is that he can control fire now. Other than that, he is pretty much the same old man whom we had threatened in the previous war."
Yakub Sultan entered the room and bowed before Alice and Vexana. He said, "Forgive me for my delay, Your Highness. I was buying some special weapons for the upcoming war." Vexana said, "Sayana told us about that. But, beware that next time I won't tolerate such indecency. We might be equal on the battlefield, but in palaces we have some lower and higher ranks to respect." Alice said, "Don't bully him. He looks like he roamed quite a lot today. The poor guy is sweating more than a man walking in the Sahara desert. What weapons were you buying, Yakub?"
Yakub replied, "Actually, for security reasons, I have to keep their identity confidential. But, don't worry, ma'am. Those weapons will definitely turn the tide of the war when used." Alice asked, "Are those of nuclear weapons level?" Yakub said, "Beg your pardon, ma'am. I don't know what a nuclear weapon is." Alice laughed, "We all have some confidential information of our own." Vexana said, "Enough chit-chat, Yakub. Tell us what you saw in the marked harbours." Yakub replied, "Three out of four harbours were closed. But, the fourth one was a little suspicious. Not that there were too many ships, but that there were none at all. Ports during wars are the busiest places in the kingdom and the absence of that is surely suspicious."
Alice asked, "If all the harbours were closed, then how did you get the weapons?" Yakub replied, "The weapons were traded through the under ocean way. Huge submarines are secretly moving all over the ocean, smuggling goods both legal and illegal. They sell their goods to the people who pay the biggest amount at the earliest time. Most of them are pirates and all the people who are associated with them are secretly in association with Kystion.
But, my old links helped me to get the weapons before Kystion and I'm sure that he will try to snatch them from by hook or crook. Therefore, we have hid all the goods in a secured place and only I can open the door of the vault." Vexana said, "Tell us more about the fourth harbour." Yakub replied, "Oh, yes. The fourth harbour, also known as "King Alapaca Memorial Port" used to be one of the most important and busiest harbours some few years ago. But, after Kystion invaded the kingdom, he destroyed many large ships and ceased almost ninety percent of the naval power of our kingdom."
Vexana said, "Kystion's magic is weak against water due to his magic being fire oriented. He doesn't want his weakness to turn into a bigger problem and therefore he destroyed many of the ships and boats. But, that is not our problem. Our main problem is the unavailability of enough men to build the ships. Yakub and Sayana can then control the water and attack Kystion on his weak side. But, according to my spies in the palace, Kystion is developing some dangerous creatures of the water. Many doubt that it might be a kraken." All asked in horror, "A kraken? The mysterious sea monster. How can that be possible?" Vexana slightly smirked, "Anything is possible with a little bit of magic, darlings. But, we can't wait for Kystion to finish his monstrous ambitions. We have to kill whatever he is making before it can create havoc." Sayana asked, "How can that be possible?"
Vexana said, "The creature is currently in the laboratory and there is a secret doorway that connects from our laboratory to the one upwards. It was built so that our precious genius minds don't get killed during the war. Kystion definitely doesn't know about the doorway as it was made much recently. It will be a quick and deadly attack and it will show the ogres that we are still the boss and boost confidence in our fellow elf brothers and sisters. I heard that Kystion has stationed his old buddy, Frankfurt as the royal guard. Frankfurt too has a lot of blood on his hands. He killed many men and raped their widows in his prime. It's time to make him pay for his crimes." Alice said, "So, that is our plan, guys. First, we will sneak through the secret doorway and then kill the organism Kystion is preparing in his laboratory and then we kill Frankfurt and weaken Kystion." All put their hands and did a hurray.
All left the room and Vexana said, "Alice, come. Let's talk a little bit till we reach our respective rooms." Alice followed her. Alice asked, "What did you want to discuss, Vexana?" Vexana said, "A lot of things, dear. But, right now only the important ones matter. Are you happy?" Alice asked, "What do you mean?" Vexana said, "War is a very gruesome thing. It dreads even the bravest hearts. Blood, both own and others. Sacrifices and destruction. Everyone is an enemy and everywhere there is fear and death lurking around. I have seen the face of war and believe me even the sweetest victory is sour in front of the bloody rotting bodies getting buried in tons.
Are you happy to fight for justice and kill those who create anarchy?" Alice said, "Aliyah doesn't think like that. She believes that it is everyone's duty to fight for the peace and prosperity of their motherland." Vexana said, "Fuck Aliyah. She has turned into a monotonous bitch. Repeating the same words for the last five centuries. Times have changed. People don't want to fight. They want to live and let others live. Yes, there are evil people who can't see other people's happiness but how many are there? One hundred? Two hundred? Ten hundred?
Whatever, it is. The world is of eight billion and it doesn't matter if a slight percentage of them turned out to be rotten eggs. So, tell me are you happy?" Alice said, "I cannot define happiness right now. Yes, if given an option I will surely seek the non violent way. Killing anyone no matter whatever the reason is, isn't a good thing. It is a sin." Vexana said, "Fine. Have it your own way. We will meet tomorrow. Let's go and sleep." Vexana and Alice entered their respective rooms and then fell asleep.....
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